Frankenmuth Snowfest

Today we took a family trip to nearby Frankenmuth for Snowfest, which includes snow and ice sculpturers from all over the world! Frankenmuth was jammed with people like us who braved the cold to see the sights. We had a great time with Grandma Flanders who came with us. We saw many amazing sculptures, a few animals, and the boys even got a pony ride! Luke was fearless and all smiles on his horse! Our day ended with dinner at McDonalds playland. Hope you enjoy the pictures of Snowfest!

Our First Duet

Last Sunday, Micah and I sang our first duet together. We sang his favorite song "What a Day that will Be". Micah loves to sing the tenor part and is harmonizing quite well. We are grooming Andrew to sing with this brother. I think Andrew is a sure bass:) Hope you enjoy the song!

40 Doors update 1/26

Last week was another wonderful week of seeing God work in hearts. Throughout the week, I had several appointments with various folks as well as various times of door-knocking. I had the priviledge to witness to one of our faithful attender's husbands for several hours. Please pray for this gentlemen to be saved soon. The Lord also brought me and my partner (John Vuckovich) to the door of a young man named Ross in whose heart the Lord had been clearly working. Ross is saved but is not attending church and is in need of discipleship. Obviously the Lord has been working and it is a thrill to serve Him! Please pray that the Lord would empower my witness for Him and that the good contacts will soon translate to church attendance and salvation decisions, as I continue to depend upon the Lord.

Two New Cousins!

The Flanders family would like to welcome two new cowboys to the family. Tucker and Tanner Green were born last night to Lis' brother Pete and his wife Katie. They are obviously twins but not identical. We are thankful for a healthy birth and for many years of family fun together. Congratulations, Pete and Katie!

40 Doors update 1/18

I praise the Lord for another profitable time on door to door last week. I was able to get to around 45 doors last Thursday-Saturday. Admittedly, it was a bit cold! The neighborhood that I was in had many elderly folks who were friendly, but seemingly satisfied with their religious belief systems. I met a huge michigan football fan named Howard. Our mutual interest in UM football seemed to open a door for a brief gospel witness and and invitation to church. Howard told me that he would visit church soon. This week, I am hoping to bring a partner with me to visit some of the good contacts from the last two weeks (along with another 40 doors). Please pray for us as the Lord leads!

Senator Green's Inauguration

Today, Grandpa Green officially became a state senator by being sworn in at the Capitol building in Lansing. The whole family was able to join him on the Senate floor. The Green delagation was the largest in Lansing with around 100 invited guests. We had a great time as a family touring the Capitol and hanging around grandpa's office. We are very proud of you Grandpa Green, and are praying for you!

Below is a link to video footage of Senator Green's swearing in.
http://www.senate.michigan.gov/gop/MMPlayer_Video.asp?ArticleID=910&District=31

Sledding with the cousins.

This week, we have been blessed to have Lis' brother Phil and his family visiting from Pavillion, NY where Phil is a pastor. They are visiting for the inauguration on Wednesday. On Monday, we took all the cousing to a park in Caro to go sledding. We had a great time together! We can't get over our little Luke's love for sledding. He will go down any size hill without hesitation, laughing all the way!

40 Doors update 1/11

Upon being called to Landmark Baptist Church, the still small voice of the Holy Spirit was speaking to me about making a weekly committment to the Lord for personal soulwinning. The particulars of the committment are purely subjective in and of themselves, but are specific to how the Lord was leading me personally. The committment the I believe the Lord led me to was to knock on at least 40 doors / week here in Clio for the sake of the gospel. As we moved and got busy with housing and other necessary activities of the church, the committment dimmed and was not fulfilled (to my shame). As we celebrated the New Year, the Lord reminded me of that committment and I have publicly committed myself to gladly follow through on this committment on a weekly basis. My plan is to update this blog weekly with what the Lord did in the previous week's door-to-door visitation. This will inform those who would like to pray with me, as well as help me be accountable to the committment that I have made.

Last week, I was able to get to around 50 doors. My visitation was confined to Friday afternoon and Saturday morning because or our car accident and other committments. It was such a joy to simply obey the Lord in this area. On Friday, the Lord gave 3 divine appointments. First, I was able to briefly share the gospel with a catholic woman named Andrea. I was then able to talk to her neighbor Steve about the Lord. Steve has been through alot and is aware of his need for a Savior. Steve expressed interest in coming to church himself and wants his children to come on the bus. I believe we will have an ongoing open door of ministry with Steve. A had another great conversation with a man named Tom. Tom studies his Bible regularly and is clearly seeking the truth. Tom promised to come to church and has agreed to allow me to visit him again. On Saturday, I made some more follow up visits for the church with some of our teens. After the initial visit, we went door to door and came across some former members of LBC who have since fallen away from church. Later, I found out that some folks at Landmark have been praying for that family by name but had lost contact because of their move...God led me to their door in answer to prayer! Lastly, I was at the door of a Christian grandmother who is desparate about the spiritual condition of her daughter. She gave me her number and has asked me to contact her.

Needless to say, it was a wonderful time of outreach from which I am praying for lasting fruit. Please pray for souls to be saved in Clio! (II Cor. 9:6)

Big Cats

Check out the mountain lions that my father in law, Mike Green, and brother in law Andy shot this week in Idaho. They tracked them with the help of some hunting dogs, and shot them down from trees. I'm sure they will be appearing in a living room nearby!

Testimony of God's Protection

We are thaking the Lord for His protection yesterday. I was taking the boys to school and the roads were quite icy. We were probably traveling 35-40 mph when we went over some railroad tracks on our route to school. After hitting the tracks, I lost control of the car. We swerved into the oncoming lane of traffic, thankfully no one was coming at the time. In an effort to get back into our own lane, I turned the wheel which caused the car to do a doughnut in the middle of the road. We then traveled backward into a roadsign in the ditch. After we got out of the car, we looked at the ditch and there was about a 5-6 ft dropoff not far from where we stopped. I took the boys to a nearby business and the manager concluded that if we were going into the ditch, that was the only place we could go without heading over the dropoff. The boys and I are unharmed and doing well. The car has about $2,000 worth of damage which our insurance will cover after deductables. We are reminded that our God is in control of everything and we are thankful for His obvious protection.