Lift

The law of gravity has existed on earth since the first day of creation. It is the force that holds everything in its place. Because of gravity, water stays in the oceans and rivers and not in the sky, rocks are either on the ground or falling back to the ground. Gravity keeps you and me from floating off into space. It really is a good thing. Although mans first flight was not officially accomplished until December 17, 1903, the law that allows it to happen has been here since the dawn of time. Air flowing around an airfoil is subject to the Laws of Motion discovered by Sir Isaac Newton. This air flow causes an equal and opposite reaction, as stated in Newton's Third Law and in this case, it produces lift. The law of lift for an airplane is really rather simple. Air flowing over the wing's upper surface accelerates as it passes along the shape of the wing. The result is a decrease in pressure on the upper surface of the wing which results in the phenomenon known as lift.
Ok...so what's this about? Each of us faces discouragements and setbacks in our lives, jobs, families, relationships, churches, ministries, etc. While the devil is busy attacking us and trying to pull us down, Jesus has made a way of escape for us. He gave us his Word. We can rise above our circumstances by using the Word of God as a law of lift in our lives. Are you speaking what you know is true, based on God's word? Or, are you repeating what the world is screaming at you? You can say "well our church never taught us to guard our speech" if you want to, but consider the following. For as long as gravity has held everything down, lift has been available, but unused by man until 1903. Birds have been using it since the fifth day of creation and would pay little heed to any warning from man that flight is impossible.
As I speed down the runway, in my airplane, at 65 mph you could race along beside me in your car screaming "it'll never work, it's impossible to fly!" At that point I have the option to believe you or to believe what I know to be true about lift. I can choose to speed headlong into the trees at the end of the runway, or I can pull back on the controls and soar off the same runway and over the obstacles looming ahead.

I encourage you to dust off that bible you've had tucked away and embrace it as you would the Law of Lift if you were trying to fly...for indeed, that's what we are trying to do. I believe I can fly!
Blessings,
Jim

April 2009

From our growing family, we bring greetings to all of our dear friends.
Pam and I have been so busy this month. We are excited about the many things God is doing for us. Neither time nor space will permit me to share them all but here are a few things that are happening.
It seems God is always requiring each of us to step up to one more task. Let me share a brief story with you to explain our most recent one.
A year ago Pam had two dreams which we have pondered a good bit. In the first dream she was in a delivery room giving birth and both of our daughters were there as her coaches. A few weeks later March 08 she had dream number two: Once again she was in a delivery room and the doctor said, "I see 1, 2, 3, 4, and there could be more..." then she woke up.
One night, the week before Valentine's Day this year, Pam woke up thinking about those dreams and a way to incorporate youth into missions in some sort of training program. The next morning she shared her thoughts with me. As we continued to discuss it in the following days, we realized that we were talking about some sort of Intern program that would train young men and women for the mission field.
That very week we went to Iglesia Sobre La Roca in Dallas, TX on our way to MX. (It was Valentine's weekend this year) Pam preached in the first service and at the end of her message (having said NOTHING about interns), a young lady 19 years old came up to her and asked; "Do you have an intern program?" Pam brought her and her parents immediately to me and introduced them. It was an amazing coincidence. NOT!!! We have spoken 100's of times in the past 5 years and have never been asked this question. What are the odds?
We know that God is moving us to begin a mission’s preparation program. Since we will be preparing missionaries for work in Latin America, we will call it Latin American Mission Preparation, or LAMP.
This young lady is already preparing to attend. Javier is so excited about this new leg of LAM (pardon the pun). Unbeknown to us, he has been praying about an intern program for years. Please help us pray about the path we should choose for developing young missionaries. Also, we need a short slogan to accompany the name LAMP. Some suggestions have been made; “Taking the light to the darkness”, ”Shining a light in darknesst”, etc. Please send us your ideas. The winning slogan will receive a free gift.
If you or someone you know would like to attend the summer course (3 weeks), July 19-Aug 8, please contact us for more details. We also plan to develop a long term program which will be a nine month course. In this program you will have in depth language studies, bible studies, teaching/preaching skills, music, and many other areas of focused mission preparation.
Plans for a fall Motorcycle Mission Trip are well under way. We already have several people planning to make the trip. This is a great opportunity to visit the Feeding Centers and enjoy a cross country trip on your bike. The exact dates will be forthcoming but, the proposed time is mid October. The trip will be 10 days with stops in some beautiful places along the way. We will spend one night somewhere deep in Cajun country, two nights in beautiful San Antonio, TX. We will be in Saltillo, MX 3 nights and 4 days, just to name a few of the places we will see. You will get to see and meet the children in the feeding centers as well as attend a powerful church service you will not soon forget. We hope you will plan to join us for an exciting time.
Your Friends,
Jim and Pam Stockdale