Janet Mickelson
Being Outside
I have the tendency to worry too much. Not just about the big stuff, but also about the little things that come up each day. But I find when I am outside watching a sunset or looking up at a starlit sky, I remember how awesome and powerful God is. The worries of my day may not disappear, but they do become less important.
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers. And the peace of God that passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) When I am outside, God comforts me. In a hospital almost six years ago, my father passed away. His death was peaceful, and the doctors and nurses were kind, but I felt such a sense of loss. Yet while traveling home, a lone bird flew in front of my car and up toward the heavens. I felt God was reminding me my father had moved on to a better place, but I would always have his memories with me. To this day the sight of birds flying across the sky brings me comfort. "Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired; they will walk and not become weary." (Isaiah 40:31) When I am outside, I find I am a better listener. When I am inside, I do take the time to thank and praise God for the many blessings He provides. I remember others in my prayers and make my requests known to him. But I have a harder time stopping, or even slowing down, and really listening to him. I feel closest to him and hear his voice more clearly when I am outside. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."(John 10:27) I am thankful God has created this earth and all it contains. I am thankful I can be outside.
Lizzie Warth
Opening My Eyes
Going into my sophomore year I got the opportunity to go with 4 other youth and two adult chaperones to our sister parish in Shighatini, Tanzania. Being my first time out of the United States, I was extremely excited, but little did I know that the trip would change my life. My eyes were opened to life in a third world country and to a different culture than ours. I spent most of my time at their Secondary school, where I had the chance to meet a ton of really special students, and I still keep in contact with many of them. We also spent time at the Shighatini Church and many of the members just amazed me with their love for God. They showed me the importance of having a strong relationship with Jesus Christ and that material items are not important in God's eyes. For offering every Sunday, instead of giving money, most of the members would give produce of some kind such as eggs, sugarcane, or hens. Even though they had so little to offer, what they did give was a true sacrifice for them, and clearly showed their love for Jesus. Whenever I am struggling in my life, I always think back to my time in Shighatini and realize how blessed I am with the lifestyle I live, but at the same time I want to strive to love like they do. Experiencing life in a third world country has changed how I view my relationship with God and has helped me to choose a profession that will emphasize what is really important in life.
Marnette Warth
Faith Story
I was raised as a Lutheran so faith has always been a part of my life. A few years ago I shared a moment with my parents that made me feel touched by God. My mother fought cancer for over twenty years. In the last few years of her life she was not able to attend church due to her health. My mom and dad started doing a daily Bible reading and devotions each evening. When my mom was given only a short time to live my family started taking turns staying with my parents so mom could stay at home. One Sunday evening I was at their home. Mom was awake, she spent most of her time sleeping, and Dad suggested we do the devotion. Dad read a Bible verse, and the devotion and we said the Lord's prayer and the evening prayer, Now I Lay me Down to Sleep. After that Dad started to talk to me about how much stronger their faith had grown in the years they were doing the devotions together. He spoke about how even though they had always had faith now they were very strong in their faith and they were not afraid to die. They knew that they were going to have eternal life. That was a very moving moment for me. The next Sunday my mother passed away. Mom passed away on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. Seven weeks later on Easter Sunday my father passed away. His death was unexpected, he had been diagnosed with lung cancer the week before but his sudden death was not expected. The time I spent with my parents talking of their faith gave me strength after their deaths and I still remember that moment as a time when I felt very close to God.
Gary Erbes
Faith Journey
I was born into a strong Christian family and baptized in the Fontanelle Immanuel Lutheran church on August 23, 1953. Our family attended Sunday School, church, and church related functions regularly. I was confirmed when in ninth grade. At home our family would have occasional evening devotions and bedtime prayers. Dad would lead us in prayer before and after meals. In the morning Mom would send us out the door to school with "Pray on the way".
After high school graduation, I, as most people, for the first time in my life, became somewhat independent from the influence of my family. At college I rarely went to "Chapel" although my friends seemed to attend regularly. I remember only occasionally going to church. I immersed myself into schoolwork, partying, and dating. Humanities class was a requirement at Dana College for the first two years, so we all had to study some religion. For my junior interim month, I read many books and excerpts on different religions, and then wrote a paper entitled "A Skeptic's Search for God". I objectively and rationally decided that Christianity was the religion that made sense for me. I do remember feeling that my faith connection to God was like a many stranded rope wound around a central cable. The strands were many happenings and beliefs, but the central core of this rope, for me, was Christ's empty tomb.
When I was in Biochemistry grad school at Iowa City, and feeling that research was definitely not the career God had in mind for me, I decided to pray about my future. I remember praying earnestly, and tearfully, on the top bunk in my tiny room at the AXE house. I had no idea what I should do with my life, but suddenly, and extremely clearly, I felt the lightning bolt awareness that I should become a medical doctor. I immediately tried to reject this "answer". I felt incapable to become a physician. After more prayer, I accepted this as my new calling, and felt a great peace. I will never forget that night!
I love the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 25 when Christ talks about the sheep and the goats. If I see someone hungry, thirsty, lonely, without clothes, sick or in prison, and do not at least attempt kindness, then I am not showing love for Christ. Often, I will remind myself of this passage when dealing with patients in need. I must try to treat that patient as if he were Christ's loved one, because he is! To Be Continued...
Marianne Chalstrom
The Gift of Time: "Faith isn't faith until it is all you have to hang on to."
I was brought up in the church. Some of my most memorable childhood memories are happy events from Sunday School. However, that faith in Jesus would become the most precious and only thing I had to cling to when my beloved father dropped dead the day after my 14th birthday. Mother quickly moved sister Norma and me from everything familiar, including friends in Des Moines, back to her adopted and our father's hometown of Mason City. Being a shy, honor student, I buried myself in my books and events in our new church home that welcomed us with open arms. The Lutheran Church was new to me as we had been Presbyterians and Disciples of Christ before, but it had been our mother's denomination. I actually found the greatest comfort in singing the beautiful Lutheran liturgy, "Lord Have Mercy Upon Us, Christ Have Mercy Upon Us." The Pastor's wife made sure I sang in choir, led Sunday School devotions and was active in church league leadership.
The next 6 years went by and I became a teacher. At Wartburg College I was inspired by their dedication to training students not only for vocation but for lives of service. As part of Wartburg Choir, we brought our music as not only inspiration to Americans but to hundreds in war-torn Europe 15 years after World War II. We stood and sang "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" with all those Germans who had been our enemies so recently in a church in Coburg where Martin Luther had been the pastor. At the age of twenty-three, a routine chest x-ray, required as part of tuberculosis testing for all Mason City teachers, found a shunt and a resulting aneurysm in my right lung that would have killed me within a few months. My previous school district had used skin testing rather than lung x-rays. I was only teaching at that time in Mason City because I had married a Mason City businessman, Jim Chalstrom. I was to take a vigorous physical education class at college that previous summer but circumstances required me to drop the course and the faculty waived the requirement. That summer class would probably have killed me. The surgery at that time was very new and the Mason City surgeon had performed it once before. But, mother-in-law happened to know a doctor at Mayo Clinic that insisted I go there. The principal at my school gave me the name of her lung specialist which I wrote on a scrap of paper and stuck in my pocket that early Friday morning when we drove to Rochester, Minnesota looking for a cure. (I later called my college vocal teacher and told him I really couldn't sing those long phrases because I had lived all my life to that point on half a normal person's oxygen supply.)
We all have regrets in life and wonder how we could and possibly should have done things differently in our life. But, I then have to remember that only because the Lord had led me to that place and time 46 years ago, was He able to give me the gift of time that I continually try to use in His service.
Ron Krull
Faith Story
Several years ago I found myself struggling mightily with both the mourning process at the ending of my lifelong career in education and the anguish of facing some personal issues that dated to my childhood but which I'd never really faced. It was a time of torment and I wasn't coping with it very well.
As God would have it, I was traveling in the Mountain West of our country that fall and had the chance to meet and spend a quiet weekend with my daughter. She had survived a particularly difficult time earlier that year and credited the strength of a new-found relationship with God to being able to cope with, adjust to and move beyond her challenges.
Along with football on the television, some relaxed meals together and a walk along the still-present ruts in the ground from long-ago Mormon hand carts, we shared stories of faith and fear and she shared a phrase that sounded kind of "campy" yet had the ring of truth about it - Let go and Let God. It was so obviously all that I needed and yet had not occurred to me until reminded of it. Let go and Let God. Just trust in Him, Dad.
I'll never forget that weekend, or the angel He sent me in the form of my own daughter, or the timeless message I've carried inside every day since.
The only real burden I have now is that of trying to be worthy of such love. It's a wonderful burden to bear.
Jan Gray
Faith Story
My faith story, as I look back upon my whole life, is one of great appreciation for a 28 year upbringing in the Methodist Church and led by God to become an active member of Bethesda where the Holy Spirit continues to convict me of my own sins but also to remind me of forgiveness in Christ that I am to share with others-especially the lonely, widowed, prisoners, and hungry in the world.
My parents were raised Lutheran, but chose to become members of the little Methodist Church in Harris, Iowa where the only other church in town was a Missouri Synod Lutheran that was not tolerant enough of others for my family to remain a member of.
In my own life, as a believer in the Book of James and the great commission, I have relied on God to help me know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it and sometimes I succeed, but sometimes I fail. Thanks be to God that we can take risks and not worry about the outcomes of our lives if we know God is working through us and in us, making us into the person He, or She, wants us to become.
I have not arrived yet, but I am enjoying the journey of faith, and I hope the ministry that God has given me as a volunteer church librarian will bless us as a congregation who cares about others and can provide resources to help us all grow in our faith. Caring for one another and reaching out to others in the larger community of Ames and the World is what God is leading me to do through church libraries and I am thankful to all who have helped me and are helping me along the way.
Jesus taught us a prayer that I wish we could follow more perfectly-to forgive others rather than to seek revenge on anyone and to judge not, lest we be judged. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Light. May we all live as little Christs in this world. Through continued studying of resources available and through prayer and fellowship with fellow believers, I will continue to be the servant Jesus wants me to be. To God be the glory!
Henry Gray
Faith Story
My faith seems to have developed a little like Martin Luther's faith did. I think that it is human to want to figure out a way to live life so we are pleasing to God; just as Luther did and found it is impossible. I had no dramatic events like Luther had, but gradually came to the realization that my fate was in the hands of God and depended upon the power of Jesus' resurrection. This freed me from thinking about ways I could please God and thus gain his favor. Instead, I found that any good that I did is in response to what God has done for me and others through Jesus.
I think the first great influence on my life was my mother who served as a model of servant hood with out intentionally setting out to do so. She seemed to take on as her main goal, after my father died, to raise her two children to be successful and worthwhile. This seems, in retrospect, to be her only goal. She sacrificed personally for each of us. This was much truer then we recognized at the time. I think servant hood is one of the great attributes of a good follower of Christ. I thank God that my mother helped me gain this perspective on life.
It is easier to assume the role of servant if our salvation is assured. I feel comfortable in the assurance that Jesus has taken care of my life through his sacrifice. This has freed me from working for my own salvation and allowed me to serve God to the best of my ability.
Faith is sustained by study of the Word, fellowship with fellow believers, prayer and meditation with God, discussions with other faithful people, and reading of materials that can enrich my faith. I fully believe that faith is not stagnant, but alive and must be nurtured and growing or it starts to die. This is why daily devotions, weekly church services, regular reading of the Bible, discussions with others about spiritual matters, and devotional prayer are essential to my faith development. Constant relationship with God through these means and servant hood are my keys to faith development.
Brooke Langston
What an awesome God we serve
First, I just want to thank all of you for your prayers. I cannot tell you how humbling and how powerful it is to have so many people praying for you. God has taught me so much since the day I was diagnosed with this disease, but first and foremost I have learned how powerful that prayer truly is.
As most of you know, I had surgery on September 23. The surgery was to remove my thymus gland which is part of the treatment of this disease, though there is no cure. The surgery went very well, but after the surgery my symptoms were much worse than they were before the surgery. I was having a lot of difficulty speaking properly, I had muscle weakness in my arms and I was extremely fatigued. Due to the difficulties that I was having I asked my boss to remove me from the trial team and allow me to be assigned to the indictment division which requires much less court time. One of the tests that I do to determine how much medication that I need (I take medicine every 4 hours but the amount taken every 4 hours can vary depending on the severity of the symptoms) is to count to 100. Sounds silly, but the disease causes muscle fatigue and constant speaking tires out the muscles and that is why I lose the ability to speak correctly. After my surgery, I could not make it past the 20s before my voice went out.
During this season in my life I prayed for many things. I prayed for a good attitude, I prayed that I would not live in fear, and I prayed that God would teach me what He wanted me to learn. Although I know that many of you were praying that God would heal me - I never prayed that prayer. I don't know why exactly...I think I felt selfish and sometimes I think I was scared that I would be too disappointed if God did not heal me. Every morning on the way to work I listen to a program on 970 am led by Chip Ingram. It comes on at 8:00 (right before Dr. Youssef) and that is the time that I am in my car every morning for my 30 minute commute to Gwinnett. On December 1, I was listening to this program just as I always do. The topic was dealing with difficult things that happen in our lives and at the end of the program Chip said something very simple but something that changed my life. He said that what we should do is pray God sized prayers and expect God sized results. When he said that I began to think about the magnitude of what he said. The reality that I had never prayed for healing hit me and at that moment, I turned off my radio and I simply said "God I do not want this disease anymore. It is the desire of my heart that you take it away. I know that you can do this and I just want you to take it away." About that time I pulled into the parking lot at work and I went about my day as usual. I always counted on my way home from work to see how I was doing for the day. That evening I counted and I made it to 100 with no problem. I had really never been able to do that since my diagnosis. The next day, I counted to 100, and the next, and the next and well you can see where this is going. On December 5, I completely quit taking my medication and I have had absolutely no problems. I still to this day have taken no medication - medication that I had to take every 4 hours!! My energy has returned and I have even been doing Magistrate Court hearings and Grand Jury proceedings with no problems. Keep in mind that the day before I prayed that prayer I could not make it past the 20s fully medicated.
God healed me on that beautiful day. I did not pray any special prayer. I just told him the desire of my heart and asked Him to do what only He could. I share this with all of you because I want you to be reminded of what an awesome God we serve.
Thank you for all of your prayers and kindness. I have an even deeper love for my Lord and I hope that He blesses you with the knowledge that He heard all of the prayers that you lifted up for me and He answered them far beyond what I could have ever wished for.
I love you all and may God bless each and every one of you! (Brooke is Cheryl Langston's daughter who has had a baby girl since her healing)
Bill Marion
My faith story
The story of my faith development began two thousand years ago when God decided to break onto the human scene in a new way with the birth of his son, our brother Jesus the Christ. God had previously and frequently intervened in the lives of his people. He blessed them, they prospered, but something happened over and over again. With their prosperity the people lost their focus. They sinned and moved away from a close relationship with God. He penalized them with defeat in battles, with disease and pestilence, even with the destruction of their temple.
Certainly I am not privileged to know all God's reasoning for this treatment of his disobedient people, but he promised that he would send his son to be their savior and that his kingdom will have no end. Although that message has not and does not resonate well with all peoples of the world, God is open and receptive to all who are willing to accept his plan.
I grew up in Virginia, deep in Southern Baptist tradition. Beyond setting an example of Christian living, taking the child to church and encouraging its religious development, parents encourage the child to make its own decision to "accept Christ" at some point, usually coinciding with the onset of the age of reasoning. I did that around the age of 16. I experienced a desire or yearning for this added dimension in my life. In the main, I reckon that decision was the right one to make. It has encouraged me to be directly involved in assisting our brothers and sisters. I seek to find areas that allow reasonable closeness between the giver and receiver. Contributing to the Emergency Shelter, working in Bethesda's food pantry, participating in Stephens' ministry at one point and serving on Bethany Life Communities' Foundation Board are examples of my modest response.
Overall, I seek quietness of soul and peace of heart. I like the 23rd Psalm. Beauty surrounds us, but often escapes us because we take little time to be alone, to be quiet, to be reflective. The raindrop, a flower, Mother Teresa, a Man on the cross - each helps us to see beyond immediate concerns and experience beauty and gratitude. Do they motivate us to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and provide suitable housing and health care to those at the margins? Evidently, the answer is "No," but we pray that this may change. Herein lies my conflict, challenge and hope.
Jesseca (and Faith) LaFayette
Faith Story
My family and I moved back to Ames in the beginning of June from Marshalltown. The first weekend that I was actually in Ames I attended worship at Bethesda. I was on a serious hunt for a church home as we are expecting our second daughter this September and I wanted to have a church ready for her baptism. At Bethesda I felt welcome. I spoke with Pastor Joel who approached me as Grace and I wandered around the hallways checking things out before service. Before and after worship there were several members who welcomed me and introduced themselves. I felt right at home.
I figured that I shouldn't "settle" for the first church I visited, so even though I felt the presence of God at Bethesda I decided to give several other churches a chance. I visited a huge church and no one spoke to us at all. I visited a smaller church and the only welcome we received was from the greeters. One sleepless night in July I said a silent prayer asking God where it is we should go next and asked him for a CLEAR sign so that I would for sure know.
The following day I took Grace to the public library and on the way out I recognized Pastor Joel coming in with his small daughter. He greeted me by name as we passed and I was astounded. We had only met the one time I had visited Bethesda and he called me by name. Not being very good with names myself I took that as God's way of calling me by name back to Bethesda.
Now I was already excited about my clear message from God that I emailed several church friends in Marshalltown. One friend emailed me back saying she had received a message from her friend who lives in Ames about the church he attends. The message was from a man I have not yet met but a Bethesda member, Russ Melby. His email detailed all of the different aspects of a church home I was seeking: Women's group, adult and child education, preschool, worship options, and child care. The message to me was "stop looking, come to Bethesda, don't think about it again!"
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