Aug
02

043 – From Martha to Mary

Play

It was a sheer joy to be back in the podcast studio after our break for Faith Camp and Vacation. We were blessed with an awesome Faith Camp. Hearts were moved, lots of young Catholics continue to testify that Faith Camp is “the best week of my life.”

Today, in the studio, when John Paul and I talked about the show, we really felt we both needed to be reminded of the Gospel’s call to sit at the feet of Jesus. We can, as humans, so easily get too busy for God. We can even get really busy doing God’s work. But without centering our Faith, Hope and Trust in Jesus, nothing that we do will be fruitful for the everlasting. In the story of Martha and Mary, Martha is anxious and worried about her service to the Lord. The scripture says she was “burdened by her serving.” She was also resentful of Mary. She asked Jesus to scold Mary, and tell her to help her out. Martha is even scolding Jesus, “Don’t you see….” Jesus answers her with a challenge. I can even imagine tenderness in His voice when He says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from us.”

John Paul made the point that Jesus doesn’t criticize our work, but he does criticize our worry. We  shared testimonies of how the Lord takes care of us when we are overwhelmed. We need to sit at His feet. He is real, we will get some real comfort and consolation from His real help. Listen in, I think you will hear in my and John Paul’s voices a true delight to be back in our podcast studio. May the Lord inspire you and help you move from Martha to Mary.

Our Scripture for today is from Luke 10: 38 – 42. “… He entered a village; and a woman named Martha received him into her house….”

 

Spread the word! Spread the Gospel!

Jul
09

042 – Life Comes In Seasons

Play

During one of our busiest seasons it was refreshing for John Paul and I to be back in the studio, sharing with our faithful listeners. We shared about Faith Camp and the work it is to bring a relationship with Jesus to the young people who attend this great ministry and find it to be the best week of their lives. God is so faithful, and we know that this work is His work, so we have to give it our all and know that Faith Camp is going to happen with God’s total help.

John Paul shared about his new business, Infinite Focus Video Productions. God has put him and Jill in the busy season of starting a new business. And yet through discerning, and waiting, God had them as a family being readied for this new step. They are a Catholic Christian Couple building a business for the glory of God. And they are in a season where God is blessing them financially. They are working at being responsible with their finances and building a family life based on God’s financial principles.

Frank and I are renovating an old, worn out house. I am super busy with all our other ministries and caring for my Dad, and now the renovations. but as I see the opportunity to creatively bring this house to life with updates and elbow grease, I see a parable in that. God sees so much potential in our lives. He wants to take our brokenness and make it beautiful.

Today’s scripture, Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8  ” For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven….”

 

Spread the word! Spread the Gospel!

Jun
25

041– Is God Going on Your Vacation?

Play

Summer is in full swing and we, the privileged nation of the USA, are taking our family vacations. A family vacation is such a blessing in an era where we are constantly on the run, leading full lives and moving at such a fast pace. It was great for John Paul and I to be in the podcast studio at Our Lady of the Bayou and sharing with our listeners about the mistake people make when they try to leave everything behind for vacation and end up leaving God behind.

God is the author of family life, He is the master of creation, He delights in giving His children good things. We should make our prayer lives more special on vacation than ever. John Paul made a wonderful point of saying that in the old testament and in the new, The Lord constantly asks us to give Him the choice portion as a gift. He used the example that Cain gave God the ordinary and Abel gave God the choice portion. Give Him your vacation.

I shared some practical ways that the Summers family always is blessed and have a better time because God is a real companion on our journey.

This podcast we announced a change of schedule for the summer months. John Paul and I both have Faith Camp coming up. It is the biggest ministry of the year for him and for me. We love Faith Camp. God loves Faith Camp and so we need to devote more time to this wonderful ministry. We are also both building something new right now and feel that God is in this change. We will be podcasting only once a week, on Mondays through August. Do stay tuned in, don’t tune out. We love this podcast and want to see what more God will do!

Our scripture for today, and for family vacations is Philippians 4: 4-9 . Rejoice in the Lord always…..

 

Spread the word! Spread the Gospel!

Jun
21

040 — How to Have a Family Retreat

Play

My Best Friend and His Missionary Family

What a joy it is to be back at Our Lady of the Bayou’s Podcast Studio. John Paul and I have a really useful tool for families in today’s podcast — “How to Have a Family Retreat.” Our family has used this method or program of a family retreat for all of our Christian lives, almost forty years now. Our episodes often come back to the theme of how important it is to “hear” God if you are going to surrender your life to Him. If we want to follow Jesus completely then we need to know where He is leading us. He KNOWS that we need to know, so He promises that if we seek him with all of our hearts, we will find Him and find His will for our family.

John Paul shared about how important a recent family retreat was for he and Jill. They went on a “Come and See!” weekend with Family Missions Company to discern if this was the year the Lord was calling them to serve full time in the missions. They heard God say, “Not this year.” They heard him say, “Start your own business.” How comforting it is to have taken the time at any juncture in our lives to have first sought God’s will. This episode gives all the steps to the family retreat.

Listen in and enjoy. You won’t need to write it down because the outline is linked in.

Our Scriptpure for today is Jeremiah 29: 11-13. “For I know well the plans I have for your says the Lord…”

Here is the retreat outline for you to print out: Retreat Format -Family

Spread the word! Spread the Gospel!

Jun
14

039 – Tithe Your Talent

Play

Exciting stuff in this podcast. As John Paul and I were chatting before the episode, we both heard God talking to us about Tithing our talent. John Paul and Jill are just coming away from a “Come and See” weekend with Family Missions Company. They have not heard God call them to full time missions just yet, but are wanting to stay in the posture of being totally surrendered to God. We started talking about a recent project John Paul had done to help raise funds for JPG Academy. He made a really neat video and it is being circulated to possible donors.

My heart is so full of the need of this world of media, technology, and creative juices flowing all the time. The Gospel has to go out in power through all of these avenues. So we began to talk about the Catholic Christians in the marketplace who could contribute a wealth of talent to the non-profit world and fill the need in their own lives to be about building the Kingdom. Anyway, the episode started running and the concept of “Tithe Your Talent” was born.

Listen in and you will hear the birth of a very important new ministry. I just feel in my heart that God will use this. Right after the episode was over, John Paul bought the Web Site, “Tithe Your Talent!” I can’t wait to see what God will do.

Our Scripture was 2 Corinthians 3:4-6

Spread the word! Spread the Gospel!

Older posts «

» Newer posts