April 2012

Hi, Everyone!!

GOD is SO GOOD! Heather and I are getting used to life in Texas… and loving the weather, hallelujah! We are definitely still in transition. Our household items are all in storage, we’re still looking for a place to live, getting into a rhythm for work and ministry, etc., but we are settling into a good routine for the family here in Brownwood.

I shared last time on being in the flow of life and moving forward in the plan of God for you. The scripture I built the thought upon was John 7:37-39: “He that believeth on Me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters…”. A couple of important points here were that first, the River already has a destination and knows where it is going. Second, the river comes out of YOU! This is so key and is rarely spoken about. It is what I’d like to speak briefly on today.

God has been speaking to me a lot lately on “the heart”. This is a topic that is brushed over often but rarely taught on… though it is a central theme in the Bible. The word heart is mentioned over one thousand times in scriptures. It is mentioned more than worship or prayer or offerings or faith… indeed, more than all of these put together. That is certainly because all of those things are matters of the heart. The heart is the ‘pump’ of your life. If it is not working, your life is over. If it is not working properly, you are stricken with severe limits. We are admonished in Proverbs 4 to guard and keep our heart with diligence (the Hebrew meaning is like a guard on a prison post) “…above all else”. Why so important? Well, because your heart is the pump or the source or the ‘spring’ of your life. If life is corrupted at the well or the source, then the entire life is polluted and cannot be remedied!

Lillian B. Yoemans, MD, a tremendous Bible teacher at the turn of the last century, shared how she was brought to a remote village where the entire population was stricken with typhoid. After investigation, she discovered that the well where the villagers drew all their water had been polluted. A wild pig had fallen into the well and died. It’s rotting corpse had corrupted the water source of the village and infected every inhabitant. This is precisely why the heart must be guarded with great care! It is the source where we draw our life, our strength from.

I was speaking to a dear brother who has a relative that was diagnosed with a severe disease which had rendered him hopeless and despondent. Not that the sickness had this effect on him, it was in very early stages. It was the ‘news’ that he was carrying the illness in his body that depressed him so much that he found it hard to pray, think, hope. You see, regardless of what is in the body, it must NOT be allowed into the heart. Since a healthy, happy heart can actually provide medicine to the body (Proverbs 17:22), we must not allow what is going on outside to control us on the inside.

This is where the Word of God comes into play. The Words of God and the promises of God are SEEDS to be planted into the soil of the human heart. God’s Word will accomplish God’s will when it is planted into the heart. It cannot get into the heart unless it goes through the ears. When God’s Word is heard, it produces faith. And when we believe what God is speaking to us, we release such a flow of power from our hearts that Jesus likened it to a mighty river that can carry us right into our divine destiny. So get a Word from God today! Believe the Word of God you get. Release the power from a strong, healthy heart and let the blessings flow!

God Bless! We love you all!

March 2012

Hi Everyone!!

Or should I say “Howdy”? Heather, the kids and I are all settling in Texas and busy with all the necessary things accompany a big move from a foreign country. The girls are doing ballet in Abilene, Matthew starts baseball next week and Elisabeth is, well, three... she just busy being cute! Heather has been helping with the children's ministry in the WONDERFUL church we are attending and teaching a class at the Christian school to the teenage girls. I taught the men at breakfast last weekend (we all went out behind the church afterwards for some target practice with hunting bows! Aaaaah, Texas!)

Though it has been harder on the kids than we imagined, we are truly enjoying being home. Though we are still trying to get our legs under us, we have been blessed with a bit of a sabbatical after twenty years of serving overseas. The Texas sunshine has been so good for our souls and the good 'ole Southern hospitality has been so very good for our spirits. We are thankful for having been brought back home by the hand of Providence. Hallelujah!

Though we were so very excited to come back to America, we were very surprised to see the spiritual needs when we got here. It is as though having been on the mission field, we returned to a mission field. We are truly looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of ministry here and finding our place so that we can contribute in the cause of Christ.

As many of you know, Heather and I were planning on going to El Paso to start a new work. Things haven't quite worked out the way we anticipated, however we are not discouraged. We are confident that we are in the timing of God and are eager to see what He has for us. It was time to turn over the church in Ireland; so, though one door has closed we are confident He will open another. While remaining in Brownwood for the short-term, I will be itinerating on the weekends until we sense God's direction for our next step. Please keep us in your prayers in the transition. We need to find a house, cars... everything. We also appreciate your continued support during these big changes as we look forward to all the good things that God has in store.

Thanks so much! Please stay in touch. You may reach me anytime at my email address: pksanford@gmail.com

Love,

The Sanfords

February 2012

We’re Home!!

Hello Everyone,

My family and I are back in Texas. Heather and I are very excited to be home. We truly loved living and ministering in Nicaragua and in Ireland, but there is, as they say, no place like home. The children are settling in to a small Christian school in Brownwood which is a part of Heather’s home church, Victory Life Church. Everyone has received them, and us, with such warm Southern hospitality. We are grateful. Our kids were all born in Ireland and have only known that as their home… they are still trying to throw their “rubbish in the bin”!! It is such a big change for them but the local folks here have already made them feel like family. We have a lot going on… looking for a temporary house for a family of six to move into, getting the different type of insurances, setting up the ministry, etc. Please continue to pray for us all during this time.

Also, since I am back stateside now, I would like to extend our ministry to all of our friends and partners. If there is anything that Heather and I can do for you, now is a good time to get us. It would be an honor to provide any sort of pastoral care. If you have a family member that really needs the Lord, a visit, marriage counselling, etc, just contact us. I’m sure we can organise something that could prove helpful to you and yours. You may contact me anytime at: pksanford@gmail.com.

The message that God has been speaking to me lately is out of John 7. Jesus said that they that believed in Him as the Scriptures taught, “...out of their belly would flow rivers of living water. This spake He of the Spirit which they that believed in Him would receive…” (v. 37, 38). This seems particularly pertinent to us right now as we are “moving”. One thing about a river is that it has a flow to it and a direction of its own. You can’t control it. Remember that the Lord was speaking back in chapter four of John that He would give water to thirsty people that would be “in them a well” as a type of Salvation (v. 18). Both a well and a river have water. But the river has a powerful current that can carry life, transport great ships and even produce electrical power to run cities! It is one thing to be “saved”. A person can have Jesus (that well of eternal water on the inside of them) and still not be found in the plan of God for their life… fulfilling their God-given purpose. And to get in the flow of the plan of God for your life, you cannot remain stationary. When we believe in the Scriptures, it opens up a flow of the Holy Spirit through our own hearts that will lead us into our divine destiny. We MUST participate by walking by faith! Please note that this Spiritual River was to flow “out of their belly”. In other words, it is just like the Rock in Exodus (a type of Christ). It was smitten and the water flowed out of it for the people of Israel. Well, when we receive Christ, the Rock is now within us. The potential for the flow is there, in every believer. But we must open up our hearts through believing (and therefore speaking which I will speak on next time) and allow the plan of God to come forth. One thing about going down river, the scenery is constantly changing. The Holy Spirit will keep you moving in life. You can tell when a person is following the call of God on their life. Things keep changing around them. When a person, or a Church, stops changing, they are probably no longer in God’s divine flow. So don’t be afraid of change… its God’s plan from glory to glory! And, boy, has the scenery changed for us! And remember this, you don’t even have to know where you are going. The River knows! We kind of feel like Father Abraham: He went out not knowing wither he went! Just get in the water today and let God be God.

More on “how to” get into the flow and to stay in the flow next time. Until then, we love you all. Keep praying for us. Thanks for the faithful support. We have really needed during the transition.

God Bless,

Kevin, Heather, Hannah, Abbey, Matthew and Elisabeth

January 2012

Hello Everyone!!

Happy New Year to you all. Heather and I are very excited to be bringing our family home to Texas this month to begin a new chapter in our lives. Having turned the church here over to some wonderful, very competent pastors, we are satisfied to head home with a great sense of accomplishment and a knowing in our hearts that we have obeyed God to the very best of our ability. As a great basketball coach used to say, “we left it all on the court.” We are so pleased that the church here has stayed strong during the transition and the Hand of God has been evident in every way. After our last Christmas in Ireland, full of goodbyes and bittersweet going away parties, we turn toward our new assignment with terrific expectation.

Starting something new is always challenging, but we believe that it is particularly significant that we are starting something new in 2012. Twelve is a very prophetic number in the Bible and reveals many, many things. It “speaks” about God’s government and structure. There was no leadership manual for the New Testament church, only 12 men that were selected by God Himself to lead it. There were 12 sons of Jacob which became the 12 Tribes of Israel and the founders of a new nation, God’s nation in the earth. There were 12 precious stones on the breastplate of the High Priest signifying that it was God’s structure and ministry… close to His heart. There were twelve rods in the Ark of the Covenant, one for each tribal leader. There are 12 gates in the New Jerusalem and 12 foundations… the structure undergirding the Holy City. That’s why we believe that this year is particularly important to the plan of God: it is foundational for God’s structure! To be starting again this year, we believe we have found the timing of God to lay a foundation for something powerful. And foundations are so very important!

The other day I was sitting on the sofa and talking with my Father-in-Law who was with us over the holidays, Dr. Henry McGowen, and Elisabeth was crawling on me. As I was loving on her and enjoying our playful little toddler of three, I lamented out loud what a sad thing it was that she would never remember these sweet and wonderful moments. I began to ponder the joys of putting her to bed at night and praying for her, and those special times singing together while driving down the road in the car. It was then that the Holy Spirit whispered something so exciting to me. He said that this was a “foundational” time in her life. Though she would not remember, this was such an important time for her. Just as the foundation of a building is never seen, this hidden but secure time in her life would bode well for a strong and powerful life… we could build big on it. She would be strong. She would be safe and secure. She might never remember, but that foundation would always be there.

Likewise, we believe that twelve is a foundation number, a number with God’s imprint of structure and stability and order in it. We believe that this year is extremely important…as important as a foundation is to a building. As Psalm 11:3 says, “…if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Therefore, whatever you do in 2012, make it sure. Even though it seem simple, unseen, do it well. I encourage you to put a lot into this year. I certainly intend to. I believe we will all look back and see how important this year was to the rest of our years. Heather and I are so blessed to get to start again in Texas, building with all our hearts to the Glory of God. We trust that the year will be well spent and that we will be wise master-builders. I remember John Osteen always telling a story about his children’s church building. As Lakewood Church grew, he wanted to add a second story onto the facility. The architects told him he absolutely could not do it as the foundation was not strong enough for it. He regretted that he had not put more into the foundation so that, when God’s blessing of growth came, he would not have been limited by what he had done in the past. What a great lesson for us! This might be the last time that 12 comes up on the calendar… it is time to build. And this is the year for God’s blessing on the foundation of that “new thing” (Isaiah 43:18,19).

God bless. Hope to see you in Texas!!

Love, Kevin, Heather, Hannah, Abbey, Matthew and Lilly Beth