TRACK 1 Class for TEENS in 2010

I am so looking forward to the new direction the Lord is leading TIL in 2010. God is casting His vision for us!

For the past year, I’ve been praying and wondering how TIL was going to train teens to do biblical counseling. I think I know how now. I’m looking forward to implementing this in 2010.

Please pray that God will continue to provide the finances we need to do His work as He has so faithfully done in the past but I do not want to presume upon His grace. I want to continue to ask Him to lead us.

Primarily, pray that God will keep our eyes on Jesus and our ministry pure so that we can continue to have a powerful impact upon the kingdom. I think TEENS are a key and am excited to teach them!

-Mark (drawn to authentic ministries like TIL)

2 of the Hardest Working Men I know…

Most of you know how hard I work (at least, I hope you do!) but there are 2 other guys in this ministry who get after it every single day: Jason and Ronny. I’m so thankful for these men in my life. They love Jesus and are following hard after Him (not me!).

We all feel privileged to be able to do the Lord’s work through TIL and thank you for your support (note: 100% of your donations to us go to furthering the kingdom and not to overhead costs- praise the Lord!).

Please continue to lift us up in your prayers! We are under attack right now but God is bigger!

-Mark (serving a BIG God of love!)

Please pray for Ronny – TIL office manager – as he grieves death of his mother today.

Ronny Shaw, our office manager extraordinaire, lost his mother today at about 4:30 p.m. We believe she was a Christian so she is now with the Lord which is where we all want to be one day!

Please pray for him, his two surviving brothers, and extended family as they grieve their loss. Victoria Shaw was 95 years of age so she lived a long life. She was outgoing like Ronny, very friendly, extremely funny and fun to be around, loved to play cards with me, competitive, loving, sacrificial, and giving. She had a very hard life as many in that generation did. She also lived with me and my wife for a year and a half after our second child was born, who was named after her (Victoria) before we ever knew she’d live with us. It was a special time for us and my wife was grateful for my grandma’s training!

Thank you for your prayers for our family during this time!

I Thessalonians 4:13 says: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, [Lev 19:28; Deut 14:1; 2 Sam 12:20-23; Mark 5:39 ] that you may not grieve as others do [Eph 2:12] who have no hope.”  – ESV 

-Mark (I lost a grandmother, Ronny lost his mother so it’s a difficult time but we do not grieve as those without any hope!)

Take the TIL 20-20 Challenge!

Recently, I’ve been challenged with losing 20 pounds by the end of the year 2009 - 5 pounds per month for Sep, Oct, Nov, and December.

Therefore, I thought I would issue this “challenge” to myself with YOUR help, if you willingly do so!

Encourage me to lose 20 pounds by December 20th by pledging to give Truth in Love Ministries a $20.00 tax-deductible gift to our ministry. If I weigh 20 pounds less on that day, I’ll blog and let you know. Then, if you want to, you can give TIL a small gift that will benefit you as it is fully deductible! Plus, you can partner with us in the Lord’s work through this ministry (a young person was saved this week thanks be to God and the many who financially support this ministry).

If you never hear from me again, then you’ll know I did not achieve my goal. Just kidding! I’ll blog with updates periodically so people can pledge support at different times.

I need YOUR help and encouragement so please prayerfully consider this pledge!

I need to get into better shape (not just round as the shape I’m in!) so that I can glorify God in my body and through this ministry.

Will you consider helping me by pledging your support today?

-Mark (grateful for your prayer support even more than financial support!)

FREE biblical counseling means….

We offer FREE biblical counseling to all of our counselees; however, FREE does not mean there is NOT a COST involved.  Our ministry keeps its costs down by God’s grace and it is an honor to be great stewards of God’s money.

We ask that counselees give to the ministry NOT as payment for their sessions but to help the next persons we counsel. They are “paying it forward” to be a blessing to others and are vital partners with our ministry.

It is our privilege to serve hurting souls who often do not have the financial means to contribute much to Truth in Love, but do so to help others. We thank the Lord for every gift that is given to TIL! We rejoice and pray for the $10.00 gifts to the $1,000.00 gifts! Thank you for giving to our ministry!

We desire your prayers and ask that you continue to lift our ministry up to the Lord! Pray for strength, endurance, workers for the harvest of God, financial resources to continue, and for our counselees to see Christ through our biblical counseling and discipleship ministry.

-Mark (praising God that the cost of the ministry has been shared by Jason and myself as we work sacrificially to advance the kingdom of God. I’m not saying this to puff us up because we are redeemed sinners saved by God’s grace; however, it is the truth…in love!)

Glory Revealed 2

Been listening to this new album and loving it!

Great lyrics! All of the lyrics are biblically based and true to the text. It’s great to listen to and I love for my children to learn the Bible while they listen to the great music.

Thanks to David Nasser, a great speaker, who loves Jesus and proclaims Him as an evangelist to the lost!

Mac Powell of Third Day did a great job as well.

Let’s pray for these brothers and for this album to show many the GLORY that God has REVEALED to us through our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

-Mark (blessed by music that praises God with His very own Word of truth!)

Asking for prayer

I’m asking you to pray for wisdom for our Board of Directors.

As Truth in Love Ministries grows, so grow our responsibilities and opportunities. Pray that we seek after God with our whole hearts and follow His leading for this ministry.

Also, please pray that the Lord would provide us with a couple of capable, dependable volunteers to help us at our various locations.

Thankfully, my wife and I understand the season of life we are in is extremely busy! I have many responsibilities and God gives us grace to daily do what He has called us to do. It’s a privilege to serve Christ and to see Him transform lives almost daily!

In summary, pray for this ministry to do God’s will. We are being blessed financially and we are very grateful to the Lord! Jason and I want to be as effective in our roles as possible. We are thankful every day for the opportunities He gives us to share His truth in His love through us!

-Mark (too blessed to be depressed! my eyes are on Jesus!)