johnragsdale.com + john’s blog

the past few weeks have been tough
on all of us being away from joshua
while has been in bethesda, md
we miss him so bad
and talking on the phone only tells you so much
we need to see him

video chat has been such a blessing
we have spent a good bit of time just hanging out
it has been wonderful

we thought we would share
one of those conversations with you all
enjoy…

i am once again reading
“The Pursuit of God” by A.W. Tozer

it is an amazing book
a must read
and a must re-read
for anyone wanting more of Him

todays reading just jumped out of the page at me
with all the talk going around about
how to do church
mega
mini
house
campus
big
little
public
private
on and on

Tozer seems to explain it perfectly
read the following excerpt
and let me know what you think
by commenting below

“Someone may fear that we are magnifying private religion out of all proportion, that the “us” of the New Testament is being displaced by a selfish “I” Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole Church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life.”

The Pursuit of God
Chapter 7 – The Gaze of The Soul
A.W. Tozer

as a fulltime minister
there are times that you long for a sunday off

well we have had several of those this month
this is due to us taking time off to be with my brother
and the fact that scheduling is slow this year for itinerant ministers

when we have these days off we look forward
to attending church at our home church (gracechurchnashville.org)
then today the services at grace church
were cancelled due to snow & ice

you would think i would be thrilled for a day off
i was not

as i looked out at the white blanket
i longed to be doing what i am called to do
i felt like the quarterback must feel
when he is sidelined to save him for the playoffs

he is getting a day off
he is guaranteed to be in the playoffs
he should be happy
but he is not
he is a football player
he wants to play football

while i am not comparing myself to peyton manning
i get it

i am a minister
i want to minister
as a matter of fact i feel it coming on now
i think my family is about to get some preaching!
(insert church shoutbeat here)

we got a call today that tbn is planning on
airing the worship program that was supposed to have aired on 1.15.10

tune into tbn tomorrow at 4:00pm cst
for the airing of the program
that we taped last year
i will be worshipping with lindell cooley
susan ashton, chuck dennie & lenney leblanc
it was a great night
i had a blast blasting away on “new sound”
it truly felt like it happened

we also felt a strong call to prodigals
i end the night by singing “tenderly”
from the new cd “the sound”
God certainly showed up
make sure you watch
whether it be live, online or dvr
and tell as many folks as you can

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE SOUND

no it’s not his birthday
but since i shared the wonderful picture of davis
with you all yesterday
i wanted to post our elder son’s
handsome photograph as well
he is as gorgeous inside as he is outside…

8 years ago today
God dropped Davis into our lives
we told him this morning that we can’t
remember our life before him
and cannot imagine our life without him
he is so full of
passion
fashion
style
energy
and life
as Kristin says “he is my joy”
we love you buddy…
happy birthday D-man!

i love this comic strip from today’s paper

my wife and i love the devotional
“God Calling” by The Two Listeners
it seems to speak to us everyday
if you do not have this little book
you need to get one soon
you can also follow online at
twolisteners.org

todays reading really spoke to us
especially since it is truly a gray day in nashville today

Gray Days
God Calling by The Two Listeners
January 22

You must say ‘Thank You’ on the grayest days.

Be not afraid. I am your God, your Deliverer. From all evil, I will deliver you. Trust Me. Fear not.

Never forget your “Thank you.” Do you not see it is a lesson? You MUST say “Thank You” on the grayest days. You MUST do it. All cannot be light unless you do. There is gray-day practice. It is absolutely necessary.

My death upon the Cross was not only necessary to save a world, it was necessary if only to train My disciples. It was all a part of their training: My entering Jerusalem in triumph; My washing the disciples’ feet; My sorrow-time in Gethsemane; My being despised, judged, crucified, buried. Every step was necessary to their development – and so with you.

If a gray day is not one of thankfulness, the lesson has to be repeated until it is. Not to everyone is it so. But only to those who ask to serve Me well, and to do much for Me. A great work requires a great and careful training.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy
God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold
thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” – Isaiah 41:10

joshua leaves in the morning for bethesda, md
he will be gone until june or later
we all met tonight to give him a sendoff
we had a sweet time laughing, crying and
thanking God for this miracle
he will spend the next 2 weeks being tested
after the testing our family will alternate our time staying with him
for now our hearts & prayers go with him

we got the call last night
they found a perfect match for joshua!
i mean a perfect match
so perfect that he will be able to forego
some of the radiation that would normally be required
YEA GOD!

it is also amazing that the gentleman that is his match
is the exact height, weight and age of joshua
when God answers a prayer He does it right
the odds of them finding a perfect match were 1 in 12 million!
YEA GOD!

another answered prayer is joshua getting
into the clinical trial at nih in bethesda, md
this is the top hospital for this type of treatment
YEA GOD!

i want to thank each of you for all that you have done
to help make this possible
we are so appreciative for all of the prayers, the giving
and each of you who registered for bone marrow
YEA GOD’S PEOPLE!

you can continue to help
by praying for the transplant to go smoothly
you can also continue to give to joshua’s medical fund
(his bills are enormous as well as the living expenses
he will have during the transplant)
click here for more info

thank you so much
now i gotta go celebrate…
YEA GOD!