The story of David and his mighty men-- Written by a soldier
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
His Eye is on the Sparrow
- Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.- Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
- Refrain:
- Early in the spring of 1905,Civila Martin and her husband were staying in Elmira, New York. She says, " We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle's reply was simple: "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" was the outcome of that experience."
Watching a flock of sparrows this morning I was reminded of God's care.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Sunrise and Spring
Sunrise, the most beautiful time of the day. Geese flying, trees blooming profusely I thank God I’m a California boy.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Our 2011 Christmas Letter
Merry
Christmas from
Marcus and Jan Bigelow
Oh how a year changes things. We are filled with thanksgiving for all of
you, our friends and family.
This year
began with the discovery of a place in the country that allows four generations
of our family to live together. It
hadn’t been lived in for over a year, but it had enough room for Jan’s folks,
Fred and Carol, Jan and Marc, and Nathan, Amy, Zach, Luke and Josh Cherry to
thrive.
So, on Feb 28, we moved to Penryn, CA (Our new address is
1490 Sisley Rd., Penryn, CA 95663. Our
new phone is 916-663-9141). It’s only
about 10 miles from our former residence, but it’s a world away.
We now live on a “farm-ette” complete with
snakes, deer, owls, Canada geese and ducks on our own pond on 2.5 acres. You can see our place at http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Amy and Jan have become quite self-sufficient, making their
own laundry soap, yogurt, English muffins and growing many of our
vegetables. The boys are in paradise
with great places to roam. They have built a tree fort with their Dad--all in
all a great place to live.
In July, I left Stadia after 15 years to begin a ministry to
Christian leaders in ministry and in business doing LifePlans (what does God
want to do with my life) and Strategic Planning. It’s still in the startup stages and we are
learning to walk by faith—again.
In October, Jan’s folks finally moved in after we finished
the renovations needed on their apartment.
Our girls and their families are all doing well.
Cara and Patrick and 3
of our grandchildren still live in Lincoln and we get to see them often. Evan,
their oldest, entered high school this year. Samantha is in 6th
grade and Andy in 3rd grade.
They attend a local charter school.
Zachary and Luke started school at Penryn School this year
and are really enjoying 4th grade and Kindergarten. Penryn school is a K-8 and we really enjoy
the small town atmosphere. Josh (3 in February) is still home and keeps us in
stitches with his funny sayings. (Check out Jan and Amy’s Facebook pages for
regular laughter.)
Anna and Jonathan are doing well in Chile and we are eagerly
anticipating a winter visit with us in a few weeks.
We are thankful for God’s presence in our lives as never before. We pray this year will bring you the joy and
peace that only Christ can bring.
Marc and Jan Bigelow
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The Most Important Person to Lead is Yourself
Having been in church planting for 28 years I have not only shot myself in the foot numerous times, but also watched other perfectly competent leaders do the same. While I don’t know who came up with the title for today’s blog, I do know that it is true.
Here are four ways we can lead ourselves.
· Lead yourself in the ways of God. As one recent church planting leader said, “If I don’t have my relationship with God right, nothing else will be right.” You would think that we would learn this lesson early on, but the number of 50 year old pastors who are still struggling with this leads me to conclude that it is a lifelong battle to be fought.
o Make a leadership choice to connect more fully to Jesus today.
· Lead yourself in overcoming fears. When we get scared we have three typical responses—Fight, flight or freeze. It takes careful leadership to have a thoughtful, prayerful response to a frightening set of circumstances. Saying, “I will walk by faith in my God in this instance” requires a leadership choice.
o Make a leadership choice to confront that situation that is causing your fear this week.
· Lead yourself in breaking new ground. The default mode of human nature is to walk by sight- to return to the safe place. But just like the church that says, “We’ve never done it that way before” so a leader who always returns to what has worked in the past without considering the future has limited the reach of his leadership.
o Make a leadership choice to try one new thing in the next thirty days.
· Lead yourself into replenishment. Often as leaders we think that green pastures and still waters are for those we preach to, but they will never make it there if we don’t model what that looks like. If the leader sets the standard of workaholism—read skips her day off, the all who follow or report to that leader will do the same. Taking a Sabbath day, affirms our belief that God is in control of our church plant and that He is Lord.
o Make a leadership choice to take care of yourself better (rest, exercise, or vacation) this year.
Your spiritual, mental and physical health as a leader will determine your effectiveness. The better you lead yourself the more effective you will be in leading others God has placed in your sphere of influence. Go ahead, lead! Lead yourself, lead your family, lead your church plant. Lead, because God cares what you do.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Prawlking
Having renewed my life plan, I have committed myself to exercising and praying more. This morning I was able to prawlk (prayer walk) 2.7 miles. At first I could only walk and my only prayer was, Lord, help me get home. Now I am finding that I can seek God's face and favor while walking.
I'm finding that Paul Cardall on Pandora radio is really conducive to distraction free meditation. And being ADD ("Dear Lord, oh there goes a bird, hmm look at that flower, wonder what the 49ers are going to do") I need all the help I can get.
This morning I was actually able to jog about 1/3 of the way. Prayer during that time reduced to "Lord help me not to die here", but am looking forward to "Progging" (prayer/jogging) with more than a survival prayer.
I believe that exercise is part of God's plan for my life. It may not be the thing I look forward to the most, but I long to grasp His highest purpose for my life and I know I cannot do that without exercise. So, I obey trusting that God is doing His good work in my life.
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