CHANGE                   

                                                                                                            Change                        

                                                                                    cHaNgE

               change

CHANGE ??!!

 What changes are coming to Evergreen in 2012?

We’re glad that you’ve been asking.

* implementing into this ministry the changes that God did in each one of us     

   this past summer (if you don’t know what these are – check out our Dusty 

   Feet blog)

* completion of our basement remodel to “house” this ministry (puppets can 

   take up a lot of space)

* development of a new stage layout (not your typical puppet stage)

* developing and making of puppet characters specific to Evergreen 

* new story lines and songs are being written

* sharing of testimonies and praise and worship will be implemented 

* new creative performance ideas are being developed and practiced 

* new use of technology

* …and then there are all of the “important” legal decisions that have to be 

   taken care of

HAPPY  NEW  YEAR!!

“I am doing a new thing!”

Isaiah 43:19a

*Scheduling events for fall 2012*

"Dusty Feet" Our Summer Journey... Entry #14 - THE FINAL ENTRY

Change is in the air.

Summer has come and gone.

This summer, God helped each one of us to see – sometimes making us painfully aware – of just how much “ME” was still in each one of us. God has guided us, directed us, worked us and molded us, and sometimes lovingly dragged us kicking and screaming on down that dusty road - until He got us to the place where we were empty of ourselves.  It was at this place we began to realize that “ME” is not our source. 

God does not desire another group of people playing ministry. He wants us so humble and empty of ourselves that we won’t get in His way. He wants us to have a servant’s heart full of love and compassion for others. He wants us open to His love and truth, trusting Him in all things and for all things…even when it doesn’t make sense to us. 

So, as our summer journey down the dusty road ends this season of our lives, we have found that another journey has begun…the journey of walking out all that we learned this summer.  It’s about becoming the ministry that God created us to be. We will always be Evergreen…but Evergreen will not be the same. We are currently working with God to create and develop new ways to share more of His love and truth... “to grow the families of tomorrow.”

 As our ministry verse says… “Blessed are we who trust in the LORD, whose confidence is in HIM. We will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. We will not fear when heat comes; our leaves are always green. We will have no worries in a year of drought and never fail to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7, 8 (our paraphrase)

"Dusty Feet" Our Summer Journey... Entry #13

Spotlight please.

          Give  our “ME” a top hat and a cane…position the spotlight just so… be sure it captures the best side of our  “ME”…add a microphone so that our “ME” can be heard …and now presenting ….center stage…drum roll please... “ME.”

          Isn’t that how we want it? We want the attention, we want it to be all about us, we want to be heard, we want to be right, we want it our way, and we want it now. It’s all about me…ME...ME!!!

          Oh Lord, forgive us. We know in our hearts that it is not about us. But our “ME” can be so demanding, so dramatic, so loud …so like a diva. Help us to take off the top hat, lay down the cane, step away from the microphone, and step out of the spotlight.

          Give us a song and dance for You. Not to draw attention to ourselves, not for our applause…but for Your honor and glory… to praise and worship You.

          In the dance, in the song, in the beating of the drum…help us to abandon our “Me” in humble submission to You alone.

          Goodbye “ME” …your journey is over. 

"Dusty Feet" Our Summer Journey... Entry #12

        We took a little detour from the road we’ve been on this summer and spent a week at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, attending the Fellowship of Christian Puppeteers. This little side trip was a much needed break from the dusty journey that we have been on.

          And what we found among the puppets, between the mimes and the clowns, in the sign language and in the dance, and hiding in the shadows of the black light…were friends of the creative arts. They blessed us so much as they shared of themselves and their talents. We ended the week with enough encouragement to keep us moving ahead on this journey.

          We’re going to keep on singing and dancing and moving on down this dusty road. 

"Dusty Feet" Our Summer Journey... Entry #11

Yea…we’re still here…but Lord…our feet hurt.

It’s been a tough six weeks. A lot of rough terrain on this dusty road.  It’s been a nasty part of this journey.   It’s been hard. It’s been painful. It’s been emotionally wretching. We’ve felt the frustration and cried the tears. We’ve felt the pressing and the pain. We have, at times, wanted to quit, to turn around, to run away.   We have fought and kicked and screamed.

But you know what Lord… I think we’re finally getting the purpose of this journey.

IT’S  NOT  ABOUT  US!!!!

Are we empty yet? Empty of ourselves? Because that’s what this journey has been about. Being emptied of ourselves. Being emptied of ALL that is not of YOU, Lord.  Our flesh is stubborn. It wants center stage. It wants to be heard. It wants its own way.

So, here we are Lord…in this empty, desolate place …where we feel emotionally drained and battle weary. A little bruised, a few scars, and sore feet…but you know what, Lord…we’re beginning to see the value of the past six weeks…the value of this whole journey down this dusty road.    We’re beginning to move out of Your way, to allow You to take the lead. You’re becoming greater…we’re becoming less. And we know it’s all because You love us and desire only the best for us…even if at times it’s a dusty, painful journey to get there.

We’re wondering what’s up ahead.

"Dusty Feet" Our Summer Journey... Entry #10

Lord, is that singing we hear?  It’s faint, but someone is singing.  Hey, it’s coming from us!   There is music rising up from the inside of us. When did that happen? Somewhere between the complaining and the praying and the waiting, You put a new song in our hearts…a new heart attitude.

It’s not that we have any more answers or direction, and we still don’t know where we’re headed …but…singing beats complaining. It’s much more pleasant to listen to. Even if we aren’t singing on key…we just need to keep on singing.

 Even though the road is still dusty and the journey still seems long and the new places are still unknown…we’re going to sing our way down this dusty road.

And if we lapse into complaining Lord …get the duct tape.

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, praise His name…for great is the Lord

and most worthy of praise.”

Psalm 96: 1, 2a, 4a NIV

"Dusty Feet" Our Summer Journey... Entry #9

“I will lead you and guide you and not let you fall by the wayside.”

It’s been a while since our last blog.

 No, we didn’t give up and take another road.

We’ve been going over some rough terrain.

We’ve had to stop and rest for a while.

Dump the sand out of our shoes, dust off our feet, nurse our stubbed toes.

Those rocks and hills can be rough.

Lord, we admit that want to run ahead of You, and when we do we catch a glimpse of a mountain in our way.   We admit that we allow frustration to set in as we become discouraged with the pace of this journey and the road conditions.

But as we find rest in Your promises and wait on You and Your timing…we find that the mountain… was just a speed bump.

We just need to slow down and take our time…one dusty step at a time.