Category Archives: NewSpring

Oct 22
0

What in the world’s going on?

By | Just Thoughts, NewSpring | No Comments

This morning about 5:00, I started watching the news. I checked out the cable news channels, surfed over to CNBC for a little business to see what went on overseas during the night, and sure enough, it wasn’t long before I got the obligatory sour stomach.  Do you get the idea that the talking heads (experts in their minds) don’t have a clue?  I was told, years ago, that all you have to do to be an expert, is travel three-hundred miles away from home and carry a fancy leather briefcase. Today you only need to get yourself on cable news and yell louder than the other experts.

No kidding, though. I get the feeling that the media types who are trying to explain it all to Joe the Plumber are foggier than we are.  On one channel I caught this expert selling the idea that Iran is really our friend. That behind all that death to America rhetoric and nuclear proliferation, they’re really crazy about the USA, and can’t wait to sit down and discuss with us how to help create a stable Iraq. He added that despite the saber rattling, Iran was just fine with Israel. How about a verse of Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

If that’s not enough to get you woozy, check out the expert spinmeisters weighing in on what a McCain or Obama administration would look like.  If I were a betting man, with all the craziness going on, I’d bet not even McCain or Obama know what their administrations are going to look like.

What’ll really get you talking to yourself is watching business news. Bulls and bears have been replaced by calves in hailstorms. The expert guys and gals stare into the camera and give us their opinions, but being a longtime communicator, I recognize that look. It says, I don’t have the foggiest notion what’s going to happen, but the camera is on me and I have to say something.

After about a half-hour of that, I came up for air, and went into the living room where Mary Alice was working on tonight’s talk.  For the last few weeks at Powerlines, (Bible discussion that she and I host Wednesday nights at 6:30) we’ve been looking at prophecy and things that are going to happen at the end of this age.  Tonight, we’re planning a discussion on the last battle, Armegeddon, and the millennial reign of Jesus on the earth.  Heavy but extremely exciting stuff!

Juxtaposing my news surfing against what she had been doing recalibrated my thinking. I’d been listening to people, who although smart, really have no idea what’s going to happen. Mary Alice was reading the Word of Someone who not only KNOWS what’s going to happen but CONTROLS outcomes!  Suddenly I remembered the words of a very old song, one of the first my dad taught me.  The chorus goes like this:

Many things, about the future
I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand

Mark

Oct 07
0

Things to be excited about

By | Just Thoughts, Message Series, NewSpring | One Comment

There are so many things that have happened over the last several weeks that I’m excited about! Every week at NewSpring we are hearing from people that have prayed to receive Christ during one of our weekend services. In the last four weeks alone, 34 people have prayed to receive Christ! Just since our amazing Watermark service on August 24, a total of fifty-five people have accepted Christ! And that only includes those who have responded in the main services and doesn’t include any decisions made in KidzWorld, Project 628, or Clayhouse. 

It has been amazing to see God work with such great power in people’s lives during the Pillow Talk series. Mark has received many, many emails, phone calls, and personal messages describing how God has and is using this series to change lives and restore marriages. If you missed one of the messages, you can watch it online.

Don’t miss the upcoming series Running which begins this weekend. If you didn’t have an opportunity to see the promotional video last weekend, check it out! 

God is busy doing amazing things and I’ve so excited to have a front row seat! For many years I heard stories about God miraculously changing hearts and lives — usually in a far away country. Meeting so many people here at NewSpring especially over the last three or four years, I’ve discovered that the same God is at work right here in Wichita, Kansas! That reminds me of a song title from some years back, God Is Still Doing Great Things!

During this time of great uncertainty in our country and in our world, I’m so glad that my confidence is not tied to any political party or brokerage firm. My confidence is in a God who is holding the world in place and overseeing all the affairs of man — who never changes, but is always up-to-date — who knows the future and is not nervous about any election outcome — I could go on and on and on — Isn’t God Awesome!!

One more note: Be sure to pick up mini invites for Judgement House and email the link to all your friends and family to get online and make their reservation.

Sep 29
0

GAD was a lot of fun!

By | Family, NewSpring | One Comment

Last weekend was GAD — Greater Andover Days — and NewSpring participated. KidzWorld had some very fun things to offer both during the Saturday parade and after. You can read about that and see pictures on Dan’s blog.

I was also at the parade because Stephen was marching with the Andover High School band. They did an awesome job. It was so unusual to have a day in late September that was very warm — in the upper 80’s I think. I know the band members were very glad to shed their uniforms as soon as they reached the end of the parade route. Because I’m old and like to reminisce, I had to tell Stephen that when I marched in a parade in our high school marching band back in 1973, it was in the 20’s and I froze. Isn’t it hard to believe the weather was so much colder in Texas than in Kansas? One detail though is the parade we marched in was the Stock Show parade and it is always in January. Texas does get cold in January! I also mentioned to him — playing the glad game — that when we marched, we came after the horses — his band was in front of them and for that he should be thankful.

Sep 19
0

I Like New!

By | Family, Just Thoughts, NewSpring | No Comments

Now, don’t get me wrong, I treasure my heritage and I’m thrilled to look back on all the wonderful things God has done for me. I can be very sentimental about my memories. When Mark and I visit Texas, one of our favorite things to do is drive by the houses we lived in during our childhood, we go by houses where my grandparents lived, churches and schools we attended and even shopping areas in the “old” part of town. All of these places bring back treasured memories but we don’t live there anymore. We aren’t children anymore, we’re grandparents! … and we’re busy making new memories for us and for our children and grandchildren. God was so faithful and good to us in the past, but I’m glad our God is a God of the future as well. He has such wonderful plans for today and tomorrow and I’m anxious to be in the here and now, with an eye toward the future. If we fail to think about the future, we will fail. After all, this life we are living is just an investment in eternity — that’s where we will spend the “bulk” of our existence.

As a matter of fact, we are commanded to “set our sights” on Heaven — our future.

Colossians 3:1-3
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

Heaven is what we are talking about on Wednesday evenings at Powerlines. Join us next Wednesday, September 24 at 6:30 in the East Building and our discussion will include a special guest from Scotland.

Have you ever heard the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” ? I came across that just recently and it really made me stop and think about the logic of that oft-quoted mantra. It might sound reasonable when we are struggling to learn a new process that seems to take more time and effort temporarily, but what if we go back and apply that to all those “new fixes” that we now enjoy every day.

For example…

My legs get me where I need to go just fine… why do I need wheels?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it..

I enjoy hauling water to our house from the creek nearby. It works for us to use that water for cooking, cleaning, and bathing and we’ve always had an outhouse – it works just fine… why do we need indoor plumbing?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it..

I love the glow of oil lamps in our house… why do I need electricity?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it..

My mother taught me how to dip our clothes into these tubs for washing and it’s so much fun to use the wringer… I think my clothes smell extra fresh hanging on the line outside… why would I want an automatic washer and dryer?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it..

My mother gave me this cast iron manual typewriter, it works just fine… why do I need a computer?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it..

My rotary telephone works just fine… why do I need one with buttons… and I surely don’t need a phone to carry with me!
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it..

My vinyl records have all my favorite songs and they work just fine, why would I want to use CD’s?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it..

I love shopping for stationery and writing long letters to my friends. They don’t mind waiting a few days to hear from me – that’s so special and it works great. Why would I want to use email?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it..

Maybe since Mark and I have been talking so much about Heaven lately, I was thinking about those who don’t like change … don’t like new. It may be a difficult adjustment in Heaven, because God has announced to us about our future….

Revelation 21:5
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

Which brings me back to….. I Like New!!

Sep 05
0

I think I may burst from the excitement!

By | Message Series, NewSpring, Next Step | No Comments

Wasn’t Watermark weekend AWESOME?  and that’s an understatement!

Believe it or not, there’s more excitement to come.

This weekend begins a brand new series, Pillow Talk, Five Secrets of Love and Sex.

Since my passion is Starting Point, I’m VERY excited to host the Starting Point Orientation this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in the East Building, Room A. If you want to know what Starting Point is, you are invited to come have a cup of coffee, look at the materials and hear from some SP “grads” to see if Starting Point is for you.

Another big event is the grand opening of our new and improved 252 Theatre, the fantastic kid space for kids first grade through fifth.

If your kids are 6th – 8th graders, NewSpring is launching a brand new Sunday morning experience for middle school students this Sunday at 9:30 in the East Building.

If you missed Powerlines during the summer like I did, you’ll want to join us this Wednesday, Sept 10 at 6:30. Mark has a brand new format and will be talking about Heaven.

There are so many exciting things to talk about, and these I’ve mentioned are only a few. God is blessing so much that it’s almost overwhelming. I’m reminded of a passage in Malachi that actually is talking about tithing, but I think it applies here in that it describes how abundantly God blesses our faith and obedience. In the middle of Malachi 3:10, the Bible says,

“…I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in!…”

Maybe another reason that passage comes to mind is the reference to “enough room.” If you’ve been attending the 11 o’clock service, you may have noticed how crowded it is. You might have struggled to get through the incoming traffic and then find a good parking spot. If you’re not that fond of big crowds, there’s good news! NewSpring has two other identical services available — Saturday @ 6 p.m., Sunday @ 9:30. There’s more space in the auditorium, in the kid’s classes and in the parking lot. So, give it a try! (My personal favorite is Saturday at 6 p.m.)

See you this weekend!


Aug 27
0

Reflections on Watermark

By | NewSpring | One Comment

I was too wired to write for several days! What an experience! One hundred and sixty-four people went public with their faith in Jesus as thousands watched. If you were there, you don’t need me to write about it, you know what I’m talking about, it was transforming.

And you volunteers… you guys are incredible! To pull off an outdoor service that combined the attendance of three normal services, to assist everyone so that it all flowed seamlessly, and to feed that crowd too (cooking 3600 hot dogs and hamburgers!), and most of all to do it with you guy’s infectious joy… well, words fail me, except to say, you are my heroes!

Kudos go out to the world’s greatest church staff. You worked around the clock getting ready while carrying your normal loads. I’m so proud of all of you.

Let’s talk about weather for a moment. In my last post before watermark, I asked you the following…

Pray for good weather. We’ve had huge crowds the last few weeks, and going from three weekend services to one, we will have more people on our 40 acres at one time than ever before. Especially pray that the land will be dry enough for parking. If the land is too wet, it could get, shall we say, interesting.

You prayed! When I got up Sunday morning, the weather channel showed a huge band of rain heading right for us. Flood warnings were out for multiple counties right around us, and sure enough, as we all got in place at 10:30 the rain was rolling in. A few drops fell on us, but then the most awesome thing happened… it was as if God just held it back with his hand. Several times, I looked out across the expressway only to see it raining on the other side. One guy who was watching the radar said that the rain was like a horseshoe around us. We sailed right through the whole morning dry (except for those who were baptized.)

Normally, I wouldn’t think much of this kind of thing, but about ten different people told me independently that when we were closing the service, right over the soundstage, the clouds looked like two huge wings. I don’t get off on that kind of thing much, but this time it gave me chill bumps. No doubt about it, God did some incredible stuff.

Here’s the main deal… NewSpring Church is all about helping people who don’t know Jesus get to know Him. We’re not into religion, we’re not into politics, we’re not into drawing disgruntled church people from their church into ours. We’re about one thing…life change through the power of the living Son of God. We’re getting to watch it happen at an incredible pace. But here’s the best part… I don’t think we’ve seen anything yet! Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be mind-blowing!

Mark

Aug 21
0

Watermark

By | NewSpring | 2 Comments

I’m so fired up I can’t stand it!  This afternoon, I walked over to the site where Watermark is going to happen. Fantastic! The pool is already in the ground, filled up with water and ready to go. (Special thanks to Tim Weddington for building the pool for us, it’s perfect.)  The soundstage and landscaping are in place, and the tents are up. Over 160 people are ready to “go public” with their faith and celebrate believer’s baptism.

Just a few thoughts…

  • Pray for good weather. We’ve had huge crowds the last few weeks, and going from three weekend services to one, we will have more people on our 40 acres at one time than ever before. Especially pray that the land will be dry enough for parking.  If the land is too wet, it could get, shall we say, interesting.
  • Pray for those who are preparing to take the step of baptism. I’m sure Satan will throw all kinds of junk in their path to make things difficult and distract them from their goal.
  • Pray for the hundreds of people who will be invited this weekend.
  • Don’t forget to bring chairs for yourself and your family, and a few extras if you have them.  Special rewards in Heaven are yours if you bring extra chairs. (No proof on this last part)
  • 10:30… 10:30…10:30… 10:30… 10:30 (It would be a good idea to get there early. You know what parking is like with multiple worship services, imagine only one.) It’ll give you time to check things out, and get situated.
  • Get ready for a life-changing experience. I just talked with a friend who was baptized in a similar service as I was. In a traditional church, on Sunday night, in front of a few faithful people. Nothing wrong with that. But just imagine how it would be to have thousands of people, outside on a beautiful Kansas morning, cheering as you celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ by baptism. Those who will be baptized will never be the same. I don’t think I will be either.

Mark

Aug 01
0

Ready for School?

By | Family, Just Thoughts, Message Series, NewSpring, Next Step | 2 Comments

This summer is almost gone — not the hot weather, but summer vacation. Our youngest son, Stephen will be attending band camp this coming week and the following week classes begin. It’s always sad to see summer vacation come to an end even though I’m not in school. I’m also still trying to get used to the fact that my youngest child is starting high school. At my age, four years go by so fast that I’m trying to prepare myself for the empty nest that’s coming all too soon.

As we prepare for this fall, we are very excited to anticipate what God is going to do at NewSpring Church. Even though summer attendance is usually down, the last two weekends we have had over 2,000 and from those two weekends, 15 people have let us know that they prayed to receive Christ. Last weekend, KidzWorld had their highest attendance (472) since Easter and as of last Monday, 103 people have registered to be baptized at Watermark on August 24. Forty-two people have signed up for Discovery Reception where we will introduce our leadership team and ministry opportunities. Discovery is also the place to find out how to become a member of the NewSpring Church family.

This weekend begins a new series and I have gotten some previews, so I can say that you won’t want to miss it. The first message is called “Filing Jointly.” Mark and I were sitting at the lunch table when he was telling me how he was still struggling with the illustration he needed. A minute or two went by and I saw the light come on! God gave him just what he had been asking for. Although I got a small sample, I’m very anxious to hear the whole message this weekend.

I can’t imagine a more exciting life than what God has given me. Even with another summer coming to an end, the best is yet to come!

Jul 25
0

get out a half sheet of paper

By | Just Thoughts, Message Series, NewSpring | No Comments

I don’t know what phrase they use nowadays, but when I was in school, that meant a pop quiz was coming. A pop quiz was an unannounced test over material that had been covered either in class or in a homework assignment. Usually, there were only a few questions, which meant they all had a high value. (In other words, it only took one or two wrong answers to fail.) If you’re like me and you’ve been out of school for a long time, you may have forgotten that sinking feeling that you felt when you took one of those quizzes, but I have been revisiting that lately.

I have noticed a pattern that I picked up on a while back, and it seems to be consistent with me. Whenever a series is preached on a particular subject, I seem to get a quiz. For instance, this summer the series have covered anger and humility. So.. I should have had a clue what was coming. Indeed, I have had many pop quizzes on both subjects (which, by the way are very much related), and I’ve passed a few and failed a few. Now, I have noted that the ones I passed were ones I was prepared for. How? I was much in prayer and finding help in the Bible. I also spent time reflecting on the practical helps given in the messages. Those quizzes I failed… well, you can guess.

My conclusion on these quizzes is that if I stay prepared by prayer and reading God’s Word, I am much less likely to suffer that sinking feeling. I can face tomorrow’s quiz with confidence.

By the way, what’s the next series?

Jun 17
0

Summer Stuff

By | Family, NewSpring, Next Step | 2 Comments

Our family is enjoying a great summer this year, mostly at home, but with a few “away” adventures sprinkled in. Stephen is participating in junior golf and also getting ready for camp coming up next week. Mark is preparing to speak at a church in the great state of Texas, however it will be in West Texas which is very different from northeast and south central Texas where our roots are. West Texas is a little more like the wilderness the Children of Israel wandered through — or at least that’s my opinion. When I visited there as a young girl, my cousin Carolyn and I went out to explore and I remember looking for a tree (of any size) or even a small patch of grass to get some relief from the hot summer sun, but to no avail, there was none to be found. It was a hot, barren desert.

Speaking of grass.. we’re trying to grow some in our yard. It’s one of the projects that goes with a new house. We are watching the weather patterns and looking out at our partial crop with great interest daily as we chose seeding over sodding. It’s definitely a long-term project.

In my world at NewSpring, we had a wonderful Discovery Reception on June 8 with a room full of people who want to be part of what God is doing here. This last weekend, we had a Starting Point orientation and will begin a new group this Sunday that will meet through the summer. I’m so thankful that God has now given us six couples to lead Starting Point groups, so at the present time, with two groups just concluded last weekend, we have three active groups going even through the summer months — awesome! AND we will plan to begin at least three new groups in the fall. What a great joy to get to know everyone that comes through Discovery and Starting Point!