Sunday can't beat that day

-WHAT IF- Very few people have not let these two words slip from their mouths at some time in their lives and if you are bold enough to say, I have never said these words, then we know you have at least had them on your mind because of how far you have read this blog today. We live with a lot of -WHAT IFS- or at least we should but most of us don't have the time to, or make the time to consider -WHAT IF- for very long. To consider that every action has a reaction and every choice has it's consequences. And -WHAT IF- there is a purpose for each of us that would take that emptiness away, that hopelessness away, that loneliness away, that no matter what I do or try nothing seems to work for me....away. The big one would be -WHAT IF- I made a mistake -WHAT IF- things could have been different? -WHAT IF- the USA would have scored in overtime and not Canada, it would have painted a whole different picture to the world today and in our lives.

Now the important thing to remember in all of this is that -WHAT IF- is like that small rope on an elephants leg. The way they train and control an elephant is that when they are young they tie a chain to their leg so everytime they try to get away the chain holds them back and hurts their leg. So then when they grow up, with this in their mind they always think that chain is there, so once they are big, it only takes a small rope to keep them secure. That's how it works for some of us, we believe that it's too late to change -WHAT IF- so you never do anything different and your dreams and hopes get buried with you. Everyone of us has so much potential so many dreams and real purpose but only God can show that to you. So why not give Him a chance. I was once told that because we are all spiritual beings, prayer is as natural as breathing, so try this for starters. Dear God, if you're real I need your help. Thank You

Your friends Harold and Diane Stephan

Crossman Ministries and Battle River Ranch Camp

Please call if you would like to know more about this project or how you can help

Saturday surprise

Wedding day today for our niece and her new husband, and as we were driving into the city we thought about a time when it seemed every weekend was another wedding and how weddings seem to be more of an event of the past. Both of us agree our lives were a mess and we had no purpose or direction at all before our wedding. Even after our wedding it was only a bit better and that too was temporary and on shaky ground. After years of ups and downs, good times and some rough ones, some disappointments but many victories it's good to know that our spouses are there for us. They are one flesh with us. That mystical fusion of man and woman into a unity forms the backdrop for life's most interesting play. As the saga unfolds she always has a man upon whose shoulder she can cry. He always has a woman in whose bosom he can be comforted. She always has a hero to rescue her from her fears. He always has a heroine who holds the fort together while he hunts for the big game.

Our oneness is a unique human relationship. We are not two ships passing in the night. We are not mere roommates sharing the same roof. We are not partners in a business venture. We are one flesh, "a man will.....be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

Another word for united is cleave which literally means to be stuck together. A writer once described it as two pieces of paper glued together which cannot be separated without tearing them both.

As we share the extremes of life together with one another, the embarrassing moments, the great victories, the dark temptations, the tragic failings, the ecstatic joys. We need to laugh, cry, sing and dance. We must learn to make beautiful music together. Smell the roses , joke around, lighten up, be real. Because the truth is we are after all, stuck with each other. We are so thankful for all our past and present friends that we were able to spend time with this weekend and Diane and I feel privileged that we can pray for each one of you. If you you ever need someone to pray for a specific need please call us, we would love to pray with or for you. You can even type in your prayer need at the bottom of this blog and we will pray for you or someone you know who needs prayer. We miss and love you all. We pray God's blessing on all of you. Harold and Diane Crossman Ministries, Battle River Ranch Camp

Friday's Frenzy

The guys are eager to ride, so what if there's still snow?

Friday's frenzy, what a perfect name for this day. Yesterday we were told that it was possible that we would be blessed with some kitchen equipment from Lakeland College and today we found out just how huge that blessing really was. Glenda's trailer can haul a lot of bails and when we were done loading there was room for nothing else. We also started our day with an interview with Katie at the Source Newspaper. She is going to do a feature on the ranch and it's progress, sometime in the near future. After loading all the kitchen equipment, Larry, Ben and I headed out to the ranch to drop off the trailer. This spring is lining up to be a busy time for the ranch and we are trying our best to be ready for it. We still need the concrete for the foundation and the floor of the main shop so please continue to pray as we watch God supply that important part of our start to the building project. Phil. 4:19 "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus our Lord." AMEN, AMEN, AMEN

The last few days we have crossed paths with a few friends that are overwhelmed and discouraged and we have found that when that happens to us, if you stand in a hot shower and say the Lord's prayer, sing hymns or praise songs, that by the time you're done your shower you'll have washed all that discouragement down the drain and God will help you to be able to refocus. (Hey even if you don't believe in God, it works, because He believes in you!)(and if you're in a home where no one believes in God you can whisper while you shower, so no one hears what your doing, AND IT STILL WORKS!!!!! cause God still hears, go figure).

Be blessed and bless others with a smile or an encouraging word. Your friends Harold and Diane, Crossman Ministries / Battle River Ranch Camp

Thursday the day of change

It was back in the early eighties and I'll never forget the job we were working on that spring. It was a big two story home that a farmer from Eston Sask. was building. I believe he had sold his share of the family farm and was going to do something different with his life. Well it didn't really matter to me, I was only concerned with the fact that we were doing the plumbing and heating on this new house of his. He must of had a few bucks to his name cause this was going to be one really nice shack. He sure wasn't the usual type of customer to work with though, this guy had a lot of problems and you only had to be around him for a little while to realize that he must have left part of his load back on the farm or maybe the shute got left open and lost part of his load that way. He was one of those guys that has a one track mind, it seems no matter what you had to talk to him about he would twist it and next thing he was off on some rant about the same thing he always talked about. It didn't bother me much, I mostly ignored him at those times or I would try to pull him back to reality with a good old dirty joke, or maybe try to take him for a few drinks or something like that. Sometimes I even thought that this guy could go far if he would just snort a few lines and relax a bit, but I wasn't sure if he was ready for that. I was a bit amazed the day he pulled up to my shop on a motorcycle, he was sure big enough to be a biker, but the whole picture just didn't fit. The more he was around, the more I tried to figure him out. Every biker that I had ever known up to that day was nothing like this guy and I hoped that there would be no more like him. There were days that he absolutely drove me nuts. He would just jump into my truck and not even ask what I was doing, he'd just come along for the drive and again, off he'd go on that rant of his about freedom and peace and a new life or a new beginning something like that. After a while he started to grow on ya and well I listened a bit more all the time, often wondering where in the heck he dug up some of the ideas he was passing on. Well I guess if you wonder long enough you'll find out and I did. He said it was all in this book, that he always had with him, he'd say some line or lines about some guys in the book and then get at showing me were he found it. It was like I was starting to even enjoy listening to him and kinda looked forward to seeing him pull up to the shop or our house. It wasn't that long ago I threw the guy out of my house for his weird ideas and now I was thinking maybe he's right. One evening he invited Diane and I over to his house after it was all done and they had moved in and whooh that was one weird evening. The food was great but some of the stuff that was going on, well, put it this way we didn't stay too late at that party.

August 3 / 1983 about 7:30 in the evening I was going over some numbers in my office at our plumbing shop and it didn't look good. We had done a big job for a shopping center as had many contractors in our community and all of us were not getting paid. I knew we were in big trouble and I was scared, ashamed, embarassed and had no idea who or where to turn. I felt like a failure to my family. Here I was, this big new shop and all these employees, a real big shot but really I was about to lose it all and then what. As I sat there, guess who walked in, you guessed it, that weird biker, farmer, pastor guy with his book under his arm where he always kept it. He called it his sword, how weird is that? For a long time I wondered where he got that from. Not a good time for him to walk in as I was busy tying to figure out what to do next and how I would get thru this mess I had gotten myself into. But, as usual, he just sat down and and asked how was I doing. Well I started tell him about all that was happening and how I was not sure how I was going to deal with it all. That's when it all ended, as he said all I had to do was give God a chance and if I would invite Jesus into my life and if I believed Jesus Died for my sins then He would give me hope and a new life to live. Right there I knew this was the best option and it really was and we have never looked back. P.T.L. Today that weird guy no longer seems so weird, he has one really big church in Edmonton and heads up a great Christian motorcycle club with riders all across North America. He was right, give God a chance and hang on.

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness"

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Wednesday Report

Imagine you're a child studying astronomy. You read about the first mission to the moon, and you begin to ask your teacher all sorts of space travel questions. "What's it like on the moon?" the teacher replies, "well I would guess or I think or perhaps." She's never been there. But the next day, astronaut Neil Armstrong enters your class room. Now ask your questions, the teacher says, and Armstrong answers each with certainty. He knows the moon; He's walked on it. No speculation or hesitation - he speaks with conviction. So did Jesus: He taught as one having authority Math. 7:29 NKJV. Jesus knows the dimesions of heaven. He knows the words of the songs sung by the angelic choir. He has unrivalled knowledge of God - and He wants to share His knowledge with you: 'No one truly knows the father except the son and those the Son chooses to reveal him" Math. 11:27 NLT. But notice what Jesus says next. "Come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens... Let me teach you...and you will find rest in your souls" Math. 11: 28-29 NLT. Underline the words Let me teach you. Let me teach you how to handle your money, your marriage, and your mood swings. Let me teach you how to live the right way here on earth, and how to go to heaven when you die. And don't we need to learn? The age of information has become the age of confussion: To much know-how, and hardly any know why. We need answers. Answers only Jesus has. But can I trust Him? Well there's only one way to find out. Just give Him a try, I know so many of you are living lives that are empty and void of purpose and hope. It's your own little world, your own little understanding, your own little belief system. And like a freind of ours once said to us I see you got religion, well you just keep it to yourself. And after a bit more of our conversation he admitted that his life was absolutley empty and without purpose but he wanted nothing to do with Jesus. As a sheet metal worker I take a piece of metal and to make it useful I need to Cross Break it, than I need to surround it with a double fold in order that it can be attatched to a duct system so the air can be directed to where it needs to go to complete it's purpose. I could easily build that sheetmetal piece and just put away on a shelf and never use it, just keep it for myself and it's purpose would never be complete. Like each of us we come broken to the cross to gain strength, a new life and as we surround ourselves with good people and good books, we then can be used to share the love of Jesus to those in the world around us. But so many choose to get all they can out of this Jesus and Christian thing but never seek to improve the world around them. Not one thing Jesus did was for Himself, not one thing, it was all about others and that's what He calls us to be. But look at the world around us, are we doing a good job? We are to be a light to the world around us, our friends, families, nieghbours, co-workers our communities. I've heard over and over again what can I do, or what can one person do, well Jesus was one person and He said we would be able to do even more than Him.

(Math. 28:18-20 NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surley I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Thank you for - The Word for you today!!!

Tuesday's trivia

The first few days after being away are always busy with trying to catch up and to bring the home and office back up to speed. Ben of course is always a big help and together we do get the job done. Also there are lots of new contacts to enter on our list of those to stay in touch with. We often wonder where we would be without our family and friends around us to help us to keep up with this pace. This evening we received an encouraging call from Merv, he mentioned that we are making headway in the community as many know and are in favour of the ranch project. We are believing God will bring in everything needed for our start up in the spring as this is His project. He is faithful and will bring into completion all He has started, we just need to be obedients. At 3:00 am, Mon. morning we had an RCMP officer at our doore It seems someone had broken into 3 vehicles on our street and they noticed the lights on in the car in front of our home. It was Ben's car, the young guy who is living with us. The officer wanted to let him know, wo he could check it out. Fortunately not much was stolen just a few unimportant items. We later found that our van was also broke into but it seems nothing was missing just a big mess. Praise the Lord!

I came across a list of reasons not to have children. I thought of how our lives have been so filled because of having children. Dr. Dobson say's parenting is not for coward's, which is true, but it's like any step or decision in life we take there will always be challenges. Having and raising children is the most natural and normal part of living. The family is the most important unit of society and we have an enemy out there who wants to destroy the family. That's why it is so important to not be cowards and know that God will give us everything we need to raise our families if we will just let Him. As a society turns inward and selfseeking one of the obvious conclusions will be the destruction and negative view of children and the family. Here's the list that will take our society nowhere.

-40 reasons not to have children

1. The desire for children: A false aspiration.

2. Childbirth is torture.

3. Don't become a travelling feeding bottle.

4. Continue to amuse yourself.

5. Subway-job-kids: No thank you!

6. Hold onto your friends.

7. Do not adopt the idiot language we use to address children.

8. To open the nursery is to close the bedroom.

9. Child, the killer of desire.

10. They are the death knell of the couple.

11. To be or to make: You shouldn't have to choose.

12. The child is a kind of vicious dwarf, of an innate cruelty.

13. It is conformist.

14. Children are too expensive.

15. You become an ally of capitalism.

16. They will destroy your time and your freedom.

17. The worst drudgery for the parents.

18. Do not be deceived by the notion of the ideal child.

19. You will inevitably be disappointed by your child.

20. To become a /merdeuf/ (soccer mom) - what horror!

21. Parenting above all else - no thanks.

22. Block your professional path with children.

23. Families: They are horror and cruelty.

24. Don't fall into an overgrown childhood.

25. To persist in saying "me first" is a badge of courage.

26. A child will kill the fond memories of your childhood.

27. You will not be able to prevent yourself from wanting your child to be happy.

28. Child care is a set of impossible dilemmas.

29. School: a prison camp with which you'll have to make a pact.

30. To raise a child, but toward what kind of future?

31. Flee from the benevolent blandness.

32. Parenting will make you soft.

33. Motherhood is a trap for women.

34. To be a mother, or to succeed: You must choose.

35. When the child appears, the father disappears.

36. The child of today must be a perfect child: a brave new world.

37. Your child will be in constant danger from pedophiles and pornographers.

38. Why contribute to a future of unemployment and social exclusion?

39. There are too many children in the world.

40. Turn your back on the ridiculous rules of the "good" parent.

Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?

A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land. Also, probably a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.

The ranch is about building strong families and as God has his way that's what will happen

Mondays momentum

We just finished our monthly bored meeting and a lot of great things are happening, our bored is the best bored ever, I don't know if there is a better bored anywhere. We have had new monthly supporters this month and if this is an area you could help us out with we would be so blessed as the need to cover daily expenses are always there.

We are also praying that we get the call from Lakeland about the kitchen equipment.

Before we left Edmonton, Diane and I had a meeting with Alberta Municipal Affairs about the sewer disposal system at the ranch and got the information we need to move on to the next stage. All in all please continue to pray as we build a place to grow and learn to pour into the lives of others that often we don't even know.

SUNDAY-CAN'T BEAT THAT DAY

Final day of a great time at missionfest. Spent some time with Michelle from Caronport and she was telling us about a young guy that came to Briercrest and after 5 years could have gone into seminary he decided he'd rather find somewhere that he could learn some life skills or maybe just go and work in the oil patch and learn that way. She was excited about getting back and telling him about the ranch.

Anita Jones formerly from Caronport also stopped by and had a chat about the old days.

The worship time this morning was very good and the worship leader and his family stopped by later and they would like to come to the ranch and help in what everwhat ever way they can, so we are to just let him know, when they are needed.

Ben Reich our pastor from Moose Jaw's, son, stopped by for a visit also so we got an update on their family. So great to run into old friends from the past. We continued to hear Bible verses as the young and older lined up to say their verses. Dawn, friend from our days in C'Port spent much of her time with us and helped listen to Bible verses, she also bunked on a cot and stayed the night with us last night. Had lots of laughs and shared many memories.

At 5:30 we shut it down, cleaned up, packed up and moved out. We headed over to Pastor Doug and Sveta's and they blessed us with a great supper at Montana's which pretty much finished us after all you can eat ribs, WOW were we full. Over and over we have been blessed this weekend and God has given us a lot of new connections that will be of great value as time goes on. P.T.L.

saturday surprise

Another great day today as we heard so many Bible verses and gave out crosses to people of all ages. And once again the organizers came over wondering what we were doing as there were people all around our area and blocking the walkway. Plenty of new contacts and Hope Mission is arranging for us to do a presentation to their leadership soon. They work to pull people off the street, get them on their feet and do a bit of life skills training, but after he saw what we have planned he knew it was an answer to prayer and wants to work together with us. Met with Sean Gurnsey also from our old church in Moose Jaw, he is arranging for us to come to Living Faith in Carroline to do a presentation to the student body. Sean also was given 80 acres of land a couple of years ago, located by Whitecourt and until this weekend he was not sure what God wanted him to do with it and now he can't wait to get home and start to plan to build a ranch similar to ours and he's thankful for our help.

Doug Klan also visited us and invited us to their home for Sunday night. As we were having supper, Pastor Sid and Judy Chalmers walked by the hotel restaurant and were surprised to see us as they had just been on facebook checking out what was happening at the Ranch. They were at a different conference at the hotel and were not even at the Mission Fest, we had a great visit with them. So wonderful how God brings all His family together! Pastor Sid is going to get us up to Slave Lake to do a presentation for the Ranch. Then we spent time with Paul Johnson of Open Doors Ministries, we have been friends with Paul for many years through CMA. God is doing a mighty work and we are so greatful to be a part of His Kingdom Plan.P.T.L.

Friday's Frenzy

Our first day at Mission Fest has been fantastic. We have had opportunity after opportunity to tell about the ranch. And no matter where we went there were people we knew. Mostly people from Caronport or people that used to live in Caronport. We also had a developer that wants to know more about the ranch. Today is supposed to be a quiet day so boy we can't wait to see how tomorrow goes. We have also had many youth memorizing Bible verses to earn crosses. So we are so thankful for the friends God has sent to help us so we can have a break once in a while. Barry and Brigitte are great at getting the youth motivated to memorizing Bible verses. We so appreciate the way God takes care of every need. P.T.L.

Thursday the day of change

Our day started out nice and early as we met at the Best Western with several business people, community leaders and Hon. Gerry Ritz to share and discuss the position of the Ranch. We had a lot of good input and were able to share our needs for a spring start up. Hopefully God will use this and our many other efforts to accomplish what needs to happen so we can have a successful spring construction start.

We got away a bit later to Edmonton for the Mission Fest than we had hoped, but still arrived in good time. We arrived at our hotel and got settled in nicely. We were surprised though when we looked our room was number 1313, thankfully we are not superstitious. Out our window we saw three guys in a hot tub. LOL Diane and I got settled in and then headed downstairs for a bit of supper. As soon as our waiter saw our Christian Motorcyclist patches, he came over and wanted to talk with us. He was very happy to see we are believers as he is also a Christian. So we spent a bit of time sharing with him all about the ranch ministry and after we told him all about it he told us that he would like to bring his youth group out in the summer to help with whatever they could. We love the way God brings all His people together to accomplish His purposes. It is so great to be a part of this family of believers. Well, time to shut down and get some rest as we have been told it's a long, busy weekend.

Thanks for praying for us! God is good and we look forward to seeing what He is going to do during Mission Fest.

Wednesday Report

Flew home from Dodsland back to Lloydminster to meet with organizers for the breakfast tomorrow morning. Also met with Lakeland College about some kitchen equipment they are considing donating to the ranch, sounds good and we may be blessed with some really good equipment to set up, with P.T.L. Please continue to pray for us as we have been going steady and both of us have not had a good nights sleep for a bit so we are fighting of a bit of a cold. We also need to get stuff ready for Mission Fest over the weekend which will be busy but exciting and open some new doors of opportunity.

Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a Little prophet.