ELM December 2018 Newsletter

Greetings once again in the name of our blessed Savior and Lord Jesus Christ!  I hope you are all ready to celebrate Christmas and welcome in 2019!

Ministry News

Greetings once again in the name of our blessed Savior and Lord Jesus Christ!  I hope you are all ready to celebrate Christmas and welcome in 2019!

The Lord continues to enable me to juggle my counseling duties with mom’s care.  The ladies’ conference at Grace Community Church was a real blessing to me.  They have been so supportive of me through the years, and it was great to be with them again.  The videos of the talks In the Midst of Life’s Storms are posted on my YouTube Channel.

I’ve been a little busier with clients which is great.  Due to Ken’s accident, Ken took a break from contributing to our blog.  I also noticed that YouTube had deleted some of my Nugget videos from my channel without informing me or giving an explanation.  So, I’ve been reposting several of them along with the Armor Series that I produced in 2014.

You may remember that on September 11th, Pastor Ken Keeler was seriously injured in a car accident.  He broke several ribs and his leg along with an arm laceration.  He was finally cleared for full weight-bearing on his leg at the end of November.  His ribs were the last part of him to heal, and he still has to sleep in a recliner.  He’s back to working at Christian School of York each day, but he’s wiped out when he gets home.  He and Linda are so grateful for your prayers.

Testimony Time

Laquisha was referred to me by a former client who thought I could be a real help to her in resolving some of her emotional struggles.  Her father had fought in Vietnam and came home with PTSD, which at that time went untreated.  She and her siblings had to be quiet and well-behaved or Dad would go on a rant. 

Her mom just tried to keep the peace, but it wasn’t easy.  Laquisha witnessed many outbursts of anger from both her parents.  Also, her siblings were older than her and emotionally distant. 

She struggled to find love and affirmation from her father, and when she got to high school and started dating, she found herself attracted to men who would emotionally abuse her.  After several relationships like this, she finally found a man who needed her and treated her okay.  Their courtship was long-distance, and he had three young children from his previous marriage that had just ended.  He needed a mother for his kids, and she needed a husband.

Even on the day of the wedding she knew it wasn’t right, but she went through with it anyway.  The marriage lasted only a few short years, which were filled with stress and rejection especially from his kids. 

In our time, we are laying the Identity in Christ foundation for her so that she begins to see herself as God sees her….His precious daughter who is loved and accepted by Him.  Light bulbs are going on for her as she learns of His great love for her.  Freedom is coming too as she replaces lies with God’s truth in her life.

We are both marveling at God’s healing power at work in her life!

Update on Mom (Emma)

Thanks for your faithful prayers for mom.  Her decline is still slow, and she is down to only 118 lbs.  Her appetite is not strong, so I can only get 2 meals into her each day.  If I let her, she would stay in bed all day.  As it is, getting her up around 1pm is met with complaining.

Recovering her breath and oxygen levels after walking short distances has worsened. But, at least, she has not complained again of chest pains. I still hold out hope that she’ll make it to the Rapture, but that means it has to happen really soon!

Please keep her in your prayers and me too as I face a variety of daily decisions about her care.  Thank you!

ELM Finances

Thank you so much to all of you who made donations this quarter.  Praise the Lord, I’ve been able to take my full salary each month. Please continue to remember ELM in your regular financial giving.

Donations of any amount are such an encouragement to me as I try to juggle all the needs of the ministry while caring for my mom.

Please consider making a year-end tax deductible donation to ELM.  You can do so directly on our website by clicking on the Donation tab or by sending in a check to our address.  Simply, make your check payable to ELM

Prayer and Praise

Prayer:

1. For consistent monthly donations so we can keep going.

2. For new client referrals.

3. For Mom to be stable .

4. For wisdom in each counseling session.

5. For me to stay focused on the Lord and His love for me, and for my faith to be strong in Him.

6. For Pastor Ken Keeler to regain his full strength.

7. For ELM’s social media following to grow exponentially.

Praise:

1. For a few new clients.

2. For  Pastor Ken’s steady recovery from his accident in Sept.

3. For my clients’ growth in Christ and their emotional/spiritual healing.

4. For a growing social media following of our blog.

5.   For a solid 4th quarter of giving and sufficient funds to keep the ministry going.

6.  That Mom’s decline is still moving at a slow pace.

7.  For my wonderful hospice team that helps with  mom’s care.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6