Treasure in Earthen Vessels

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

On January 18-19, Meredith, Lily, and I will have the privilege of participating in the Missions Conference at Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas.  If there is any way you can come, be it by plane, train, or automobile, please come.  We will be making the nearly 1,000 mile trek by car.  You'll have a the opportunity to interact face to face with missionaries from China, India, Kenya, Austria, France, Spain, Romania, Mexico, Argentina, and East Tennessee, all of whom are coming in specifically for this conference.  In just a few minutes of interacting with them, you will be able to see that God chooses to use absolutely ordinary folks, hence the theme of this years conference, Ordinary People, Extraordinary God.  If you can come, please do!  You can register online here.  In the meantime, please be praying for the missionaries as they travel in over the next month.  Most will travel thousands of miles by plane, train, and automobile to get there, and traveling that far is always an adventure!  We'll see you there!

Too much to share...

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Our Team!

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

      At the end of his gospel, the apostle John wrote, "^21:25 Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written."  With all the Lord has done lately, I feel like I can't possibly write it all down.  That will not however, prevent an attempt to summarize the main events.  December 6-9 we hosted a mission trip from Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC.  A group of 13 wonderful people made the trek across the mountains to serve alongside us for a weekend, and particularly to participate in the Christmas Store event hosted by First Baptist Church of Greeneville, where Meredith and I are a part of the faith family.  They spent the morning on Friday helping set up for the Christmas Store.  That afternoon they served sorting and folding clothes at our Storehouse, delivering meals prepared at church to shut-ins and families in need, and Friday evening they participated in an I AM SECOND Bible study.   Saturday, they served families in need through the Christmas Store.  For more info on the Christmas Store check out this video.  This year, by God's grace, 10 of our guests made first time professions of faith.  The follow-up with those individuals is ongoing, and we praise the Lord for using this event to bring glory to Himself.

      Of course, that's not the end of the story,  the people of Mount Moriah were so generous in their giving of toys for the Christmas Store that they overwhelmed us, and we had more toys than we had children to give them to on that day.  Rather than leave all of those toys in storage until next year, we were able to connect with some families who had not had the opportunity to be a part of the Christmas Store.  

     One of those families had just relocated to our area.  It's a young man taking care of his two small children and his mentally challenged brother.  He went through a terrible motorcycle accident in 2010 and spent a chunk of time in a wheelchair while recovering.  During that time, his girlfriend abandoned him and their two children and he lost everything.  Homeless and broke, they relocated to Greeneville and just got a job at a factory in town. He has now rented an apartment.  But they had no furniture except a single chair, and obviously no Christmas presents for his kids.  We were blessed to be able to take them gifts for the kids provided by Mount Moriah, as well as beds and a dining room table and chairs to get them off the floor in their apartment.  This young man does not know the Lord, but he was sure excited that somebody cared enough to help him and his family.  Please pray that the Lord would open his heart to believe as we continue to minister to he and his family in the months ahead.

Another family we took gifts to had three precious little girls.  The mom has been attending church and has been walking with the Lord for a while now.  As we visited that night, the dad shared part of his story.  His uncle loves Jesus, talks often about Jesus, and had been inviting him to church every Sunday, but he thought he'd be judged when he walked in the door because of all of his tattoos.  Well, with his girlfriend now walking with the Lord and his uncle encouraging him, he finally went to church on Sunday, December 9 and was warmly welcomed in spite of his tattoos.  He said he felt at home in the church, and during the invitation he knew he needed to repent and be saved, so he went forward and did just that.  On Thursday, the young couple got married, solidifying their family.  On Friday, we were able to take them gifts for their precious little ones, with whom our Lily made immediate friends.  We had the privilege of encouraging him in his faith, and it was neat to see how his eyes are now open to recognize the Lord's provision through the body of Christ.

On Sunday, several people from church came up to me about helping a family who had lost their home in a fire last week.  The husband is disabled, and the wife works to support him and their two teenage children.  Their house was a total loss.  By God's grace, they have another house on the family farm that they are renovating to make livable.  Some folks from church had provided heaters, and on Monday we were able to take them some chairs, blankets, a pillow and a complete bed.  They were so excited to have a place to sit and a place to sleep.  The road to normalcy for this family is going to be a long one, but they've already seen the Lord providing and taking care of them.

Like John, I have more to share, but I'll continue this in another day or two.

The Lord has been exceedingly gracious in providing for us so that we are able to provide for others.  We couldn't be here otherwise.  If the Lord lead's you to give a year end financial gift, please make the check payable to Denton Bible Church and write Shrader, 9756-01 in the memo line.  You can mail the check to:
Denton Bible Church
Attn: Serve Office
2300 E University Dr.
Denton, TX 76209  

Things you can be praying for this week:
1. Please pray the Lord would continue to open doors for pastor and church leader training in the coming year.
2. Please pray that we will keep Christ at the center of our Christmas, and the Lily will understand the true meaning of the season.


Family update next post.  Now, lots of pictures.

Lily sitting in mommy's chair reading a book to Chester the Bear and Buddy Buffalo.

Despite the cold, we had our largest group since the summer come out on our first Thursday food distribution!

Helping!

Not helping, but still cute.

Lily loves to drive the big truck with daddy.  She calls it "furniture time."

We went to see Santa at... Lowes!  So very fitting this year!

Sorting clothes at the Storehouse.

One of the guests at the Christmas Store receiving toys for her kids.

There were lots of toys to choose from.

Mrs. Joan wrapped gifts all day long.

Guests also received socks and underwear for their children.

That's a big bag of stuff!

The team from Mount Moriah Baptist Church!  What a blessing they were!

 

Our New Address!

For those who send notes and Christmas cards, our new mailing address is

Daniel, Meredith, and Lily Shrader
135 Willow Ridge Dr
Chuckey, TN 37641

So Many Things to be Thankful for...

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"We're at the neeeeewww house!"

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for us and our ministry here in East Tennessee.  I apologize for our absence from the blog.  The result of that absence is that this post is going to be longer than normal as I try to bring you up to speed on what the Lord has been up to in the past month, and it's a lot.

My class at the Baptist association wrapped up well.  The students did well on their final and they gave me good marks in their teacher evaluations.  I got to build some unique relationships that I pray will open doors for future teaching opportunities.  Pastor Willie Lunsford, who directs Seminary Extension, has already invited me to teach another class, possibly this Spring and certainly next Fall, which is exciting.

Last month through our house building process I met  a local bi-vocational pastor named David Wheeler.  He's a dirt work guy and I hired him to do some grading for us.  As the Lord would have it, his church is not far from our Storehouse.  The Lord connected us early enough last month that we were able to help him bless some needy families in his congregation with turkey dinners for Thanksgiving.  He's a unique, godly man who loves the Lord and his people, but has no formal training. I'm praying that he'll be the local contact that we need to launch our first BTCP class.  Please pray with me as I cultivate this new relationship.

Meanwhile, our benevolence ministry is helping some people with serious challenges.  One of the young men we helped this month is a senior in high school.  His dad had a stroke a while back and wasn't able to work or even communicate for a while.  Through that process the family got behind on the rent, got kicked out of their home and lost everything they couldn't carry with them.  He came to us with virtually nothing, and trying to take care of his family.  We were able to provide some furniture as well as clothing and household items to help his family start to recover, and we continue to be available to help them as they have needs arise.

On Tuesday morning of last week a lady came into the Storehouse wearing a T-Shirt, and it was about 35 degrees outside.  Charlie told her she looked cold and offered her a sweater, which she immediately took advantage of.  Apparently, the farm she'd been renting a house on got sold, and the new owner put her out just before Thanksgiving.  She's been living in her van until she can find a new place, and she could only keep what she could fit in her van.  We were at least able to provide her with some warm clothing until she can find a warm place to sleep.  Over the past month we've had more interactions with the homeless community here than ever before, and we're exploring ways that we can increase how we touch and serve this group.

The week of Thanksgiving we had the privilege of providing full Thanksgiving meals to needy families through our partnership with Second Harvest.  We were able to bless 60 households and over 200 individuals.  One of those families we've ministered to some before through First Baptist.  The church called her and let her know Mountain Vision would be giving out turkeys on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  She called me to confirm and updated me on her family's situation.  From our previous interactions I know they made some poor financial choices in the past, and they've been slowly digging their way out ever since.  They're working poor, trying to stay afloat.  They now have her dad living with them also, which, though they love and enjoy, adds to their costs.  They weren't going to have a Thanksgiving dinner this year, because they simply couldn't afford it.  The Lord enabled us to provide the whole meal with all the trimmings, and they were incredibly thankful.

Each year a number of the families we provide Thanksgiving meals for live in a local area of subsidized housing, where an assistant director helps us identify families with real and significant need.  We passed out some turkeys at the Storehouse Tuesday morning, then we delivered the rest to this housing area.  While we were there passing out turkeys, one of the ladies we were supposed to deliver a meal to had already come and gotten one at the Storehouse earlier that morning, unaware we were coming to her house later.  She asked if we could give the meal to one of her neighbors instead who, as the Lord would have it, was not on our list and was running out of food.  The neighbor had small children in the house and almost nothing left to feed them until we arrived on their doorstep with a turkey, rolls, all the fixins, and even a pumpkin pie!  Meeting a very thankful mother, seeing her little ones and knowing that they were going to have enough to get them through the end of the month is a tremendous feeling.  We always make it very clear that it is the Lord Jesus who is faithful to provide, and we're simply privileged to be a part of that provision.  Thank you for enabling us to be here and touch the lives of real individuals with very real needs.

It's important to say, the Lord is not just using us to meet others needs, but faithful to meet ours as well.  On the Friday after Thanksgiving, the clutch in our big truck slipped itself into oblivion, and the truck stopped on the side of the road.  Charlie and Chuck spent some time Sunday trying to see what we need to fix it, and ultimately the answer was a quality diesel mechanic who's able to work on a 1987 UD box truck.  After talking to Charlie about our options, I prayed and then googled.  The very first place I called, after I explained who we are and what we use the truck for, offered to tow the truck to his shop at his expense and then to donate the majority of the labor as a donation to the ministry.  Basically, all we'll need to pay for is parts and a small portion of the labor.  Our truck is a key part of our day to day operations, and having someone to work on it for basically free is a huge blessing and the Lord showing himself faithful to keep us rolling!

Meanwhile, on the homefront, Meredith, Lily, and I moved into our new home the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  It's still a work in progress, but we're thankful to be in!  We've moved 6 times in 5 years of marriage, and we are praying the Lord will plant us here and let us stay for a very, very long time!  Thanks to the beauty of bonus space in the basement, our new home has a guest area set up downstairs where we hope to host many, many of you in the years to come.  Our prayer is that our home will be a place of ministry, and you're certainly welcome to come and be a part of it!

In fact, our first guests arrive this Thursday.  This week is a week of local missions at First Baptist Greeneville, and we've got opportunities for the congregation and community to be involved every day.  In particular, on Tuesday we're doing a furniture drive which will largely benefit Mountain Vision, so please pray people will be generous and the Lord will use this to provide some much needed furniture.  On Thursday, a group will arrive from Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Garner.  They'll be serving alongside Mountain Vision on Friday and participating in the Christmas Store outreach that we do at First Baptist on Saturday.  I'll fill you in next week on how their trip went, but this week, please pray for traveling mercies as they come and pray for the Lord to make his name famous in our community as a result of this weekend's outreach.

Things you can be praying for this week.

1. Please pray for the team from Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Garner, NC as they travel here on Thursday, minister alongside us for the weekend, and then return home on Sunday.
2.  Please pray for speedy repair and return of our box truck, and that the cost of parts would not be exorbitant.
3.  Please pray for Meredith, Lily, and I as we continue to transition into our new home.  We're thankful to be here, but we've still got quite a few projects left to finish!

Finally in!  Sitting on the front steps of our new house.

Our new house.

The view from the street.

I want to help!

Lily helping daddy finish the retaining wall.

That block weighs 82 pounds.  She's a strong little one!

Helping load the truck.

I wanna ride here!

Caught resting in mommy's bed.

Strutting her stuff.

The view from the back yard.

Passing out turkey dinners at the Storehouse.

We served families of all ages.

Passing out turkeys in town.

Lori helps us identify families in need, and she's tremendously thankful for you!

We had a great group of volunteers to pass out the turkey dinners.

Going to work with Dad is lots of fun!

Equal Rights for Preborn Women

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Psalm 82

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ God presides over heaven’s court;
    he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings:
² “How long will you hand down unjust decisions
    by favoring the wicked? Interlude

³ “Give justice to the poor and the orphan;
    uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
⁴ Rescue the poor and helpless;
    deliver them from the grasp of evil people.
⁵ But these oppressors know nothing;
    they are so ignorant!
They wander about in darkness,
    while the whole world is shaken to the core.
⁶ I say, ‘You are gods;
    you are all children of the Most High.
⁷ But you will die like mere mortals
    and fall like every other ruler.’”

⁸ Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,
    for all the nations belong to you.

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

Please don't let the title of this post discourage you from reading it.  In general, I dislike politics.  I dislike being lied to by politicians.  I dislike the division politics causes between friends and families.  I dislike how those with whom I agree politically constantly berate and belittle the other side, instead of treating all people with honor and dignity as Christ commands us to.  I strongly dislike name calling because it betrays an immaturity that just isn't appropriate when discussing serious issues.  Nobody wins an argument, because the person proven "wrong" is so badly hurt that they'll never take the "winner's" position no matter how much sense it makes.  With that in mind, I'm going to dip my toes into the political arena for this one post because I feel that it matters.  In this day of hostile politics, please read this post as a humble plea for the protection of the weakest members of our society.

At the end of the day, I'm a single issue voter.  I've been told that's an ignorant and uneducated way to vote, but I don't believe that's the case.  Let me share some information with you.

The three greatest genocides of the 20th century were led, first by Mao Zedong, who was responsible for the death of tens of millions of Chinese in the mid-twentiest century in the founding and early years of the People's Republic of China; the second was led by Josef Stalin, who killed at least 8 million Russians and was responsible for the deaths of many more Ukrainians while he ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist; and the third was led by Adolf Hitler, who killed approximately 6 million Jews during the Holocaust.  History records the time periods under these leaders as dark tragedies to not be repeated, and rightly so.  However, since abortion was legalized in this country in 1972, more than 50 million children in this country have been killed, which is more than Mao, Stalin, and Hitler combined.  

And this genocide is ongoing.  Today, Wednesday, October 31, 2012, another 3,700 children have been killed in our country.    Compare that with the approximately 8,000 US soldiers who have been killed in Iraq  and Afghanistan over the last ten years.  The loss of those servicemen is a tragedy, but we have lost more children in the last 3 days in our country than soldiers in the last ten years through two terrible wars.  Where is the outrage on behalf of the most weak and defenseless members of our society?  1.3 million children are killed in our country every year!  It is my personal conviction that the lives of these children matter more than any other issue, more than taxes, the economy, healthcare, or foreign policy.  

I was recently told that abortion would never be made illegal in this country, but I'm far from convinced that is true.  For the first time in decades, the majority of the Supreme Court leans in the direction of life, and challenges to Roe v. Wade are working their way up the court system.  Also, for the first time since Roe v. Wade made abortion legal, more than 50% of Americans describe themselves as pro-life.  If the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, then the Congress will have to pass pro-abortion legislation to keep it legal, which may or may not happen, depending on who controls Congress.  Your vote matters.

I want to be very sensitive here and let it be known that I don't support any war on women, and that I am not in any way advocating for a reduction in women's rights.  Quite the opposite, I am advocating for an increase in the rights of preborn women, whose rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are being altogether disregarded.

Let me also make it clear that I'm not advocating punishing women who have or have had abortions.  I believe these women are victims who have been lied to by so-called professionals about the nature of life and the person they carry in their wombs.  The grief and loss experienced by these women is an  indication of that.  It is the doctors and healthcare professionals who actually kill the children who should be held responsible and prevented from continuing.  Penalties should only be levied against those practitioners who continue to take the lives of children after it becomes illegal to do so.

Finally, let me encourage you to think about adoption, and what that would mean for your family.  Presently, about 20,000 of the children killed each week are simply unwanted babies.  If abortion becomes illegal, there are going to be a lot of unwanted children who need good homes, and we the Church are going to have to take the lead, step up, and take care of them.

It is life that matters to our Maker.  Whether you like the candidate or not, let me encourage you to go vote for life and give the babies a chance.  That's why I'm a single issue voter.

Next Tuesday, please go vote if you haven't done so already!

I'll write you a personal note and ministry update  next week.  Until then, here a few pics of the family from the last couple of weeks.

Our little Zebra in motion!

Lily and Daddy had fun at our Fall Festival tonight!  We helped with a Gas Card giveaway that we will use the contacts from to share the gospel with and invite them to our church.

She loves the horsey ride!

My wife is stunning!

Snow on the mountains!

Little Diva!

All the Shrader cousins.

Shrader men (minus Josh) and their babies.

Lily loves livestock!

Lily made her second visit to the NC State fair, even if it was only for a few minutes!