Miracles Do Happen

FOOTBALL!

2011-08-31T23:13:00.009-05:00

The Ranch's level system is related to football...

Draft..

Mini Camp...

Pre-Season...

Season...

Playoffs...

Superbowl...

Why football? Because most boys relate to football, right? Well, about 19 years ago Jim Fry decided to put out a challenge to all the boys that come to the ranch. Do you think it has anything to do with football?

That challenge was....if the boys are on the honor roll all 4 quarters or straight A's for 1 quarter he will take them to a pro game within a 6 hr travel time. Well guess what after 19 years....it is HAPPENING!

Charles did IT!!!!!! We are so proud of you Charles....great job last year in school making the honor roll all 4 QUARTERS! We are excited to see how you finish out your senior year! They just got the tickets so it is finalized! My husband was trying to look for the cheapest Green Bay Packer tickets. However, my hubby is a die hard Rams fan from the time he was a little kid and he has only been to one rams game. So I told him that he deserved to go to the Packers vs. Rams game after waiting 19 years for one of the boys to take him up on that challenge. So here it is.......

they got their tickets.....

and both boys are super excited! So pray for them October 16th.....for their trip!

Proud tools for HIM,

So Glad They didn't shut their door to their HEARTS!

2011-07-18T13:53:00.012-05:00

GOT GUTS: Our 5th annual camp that we just completed was a HUGE success! I'm so thankful that when the boys heard me say SHUT the DOOR several hundreds of times throughout the week that they didn't shut the wrong door, their HEARTS door. God showed up several of the nights but the night that my husband shared our son Curtis' story about a one night choice he touched 3 boys hearts in particular. One boy, rededicated his heart to God. He told me that he accepted Jesus into his heart when he was 7 but had never got baptized and wondered if he could be baptized. Two other boys prayed in their rooms with Jim and I, it was so special. Curtis' story is touching lives all over not just inside his walls but out here too!

The last day of camp.....which was yesterday, Sunday July 17, we ended with a Church service and invited the whole family out to participate. We had two boys that wanted to be baptized and at the end of the service we had a dad raise his hand and ask if he could be baptized with his son. He wanted to rededicate his life and had never been baptized so he joined in on the baptism. It was amazing! Enjoy watching......the way God opened up doors this last week in hearts at the Boys Ranch! He is AWESOME! Watch it HERE!

We are rejoicing after this awesome week!

Revelatians 3:8 "I see what you've done. Now see what I've done. I've opened a door before you that no one can slam shut. You don't have much strength, I know that; you used what you had to keep my Word. You didn't deny me when times were rough."

Please pray for all these boys as they go on to spread the word.....even when it may be rough!

F.ully R.ely O.n G.od!

2011-06-29T20:09:00.008-05:00

So thankful that no matter what we are going through we have God who we can fully rely on!

PRAY!

2011-06-28T14:30:00.004-05:00

P. ray for these three young men as they are off to a youth camp this week.

R. ejoice with us as we can see the good in their hearts.

A. ccept this challenge to pray for these boys weekly so they can become mighty MEN of God!

Y. ell out to our Father up above on our behalf as we go into transitioning these boys into Jim and I's home shortly after they come back from this camp. The Clarks will be leaving soon moving onto another chapter in their life. We just trust that God will go with the Clarks and help them to move on in their new chapter but to never forget the impact they made in these three boys lives. We love these boys and we want to help them through this transition and want them to be ready for the next transition when NEW houseparents come along side of us. This will be a major transition in all of our lives here at the ranch so please join with us and PRAY!

The LORD God, my God, is with us!

2011-06-07T20:34:00.008-05:00

1 Chronicles 28:20 (NIV) "David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished."

Are we strong? We try to be! Are we courageous? Most of the time. Do we work? Well according to Jim Fry, work is spelled F-U-N! So we have FUN! We know beyond a doubt that our God is with us and HE wants to complete the work of this ministry. So we are not going to quit and will not get discouraged! We find ourselves once again in a situation of WAITING for God to bring another couple along side of us. We are very thankful for the Clarks and their help in this ministry and they will be missed. They aren't moving too far away; however, their presence out here on the ranch will be missed. Thank you Dave & Kerry for all you have done out here with the boys in the last year!

So please join up with us in this ministry looking for the couple that God has in mind for this position. The three boys that are living with the Clarks will be moving over with us sometime in July until God sends the family that he has already prepared for the ranch!

Trusting HIM,

Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T22:52:00.013-06:00

Psalm 115:14 "May the LORD cause you to flourish,

both you and your children.

Where did all the time go since the last time I posted....been a little busy.

*Proud of our daughter graduating from nursing school.

*While visiting for her graduation Nana was able to go on the

Polar Express with three of the grandchildren.

*Then Nana had all 6 grandchildren in the same place

at the same time and

was able to capture these.

I'm thankful for the Lord causing our children to flourish these beautiful little ones we can enjoy! I'm a little sad that this year when I travel 500 miles to visit all six of these in the same area only three of them will be there. However I'm proud that 3 of these will be in a place serving the Lord with their mommy and daddy in a minstry. It will be a lot harder to visit because now they will be 1000 miles away but so thankful God is going to have them serving Him with girls in need of direction. (I will stick with the boys!) A lot less emotions to deal with. Like I said this Nana is sad....but at the same time proud!

Lord, Help our family to continue to flourish in GREAT ways in the year 2011!

Trusting HIM,

Give Thanks!

2010-11-24T19:45:00.019-06:00

I remember back in 2002 a boy by the name of Dustin came to us crying out for help and in return we cried out to God our Savior to help us let him know he was loved!

Now several years later we are so thankful!

I want to take this time to give thanks to God our father for bringing Dustin into our life through this ministry at age 13. He lived with Jim and I for 4 years and after 2 years adopted us as his mom and dad. He still to this day calls us mom and dad and his precious triplet girls Emma, Lilly & Madison call us Nana and Papa. They just came to visit us from Missouri for our Thanksgiving Dinner this last Sunday and they are very well behaved little 2 yr. old girls. When I watch Dustin be a daddy to these girls I am amazed, knowing where he came from back in 2002. I'm thankful for these 3 precious girls that we have the privilege to be a part of their live's! I'm blessed through this ministry!

Giving Thanks,

Jesus is the answer!

2010-11-15T23:50:00.007-06:00

This cow is much bigger than this dog. He is triumphing over him. Sometimes life events, can be pretty BIG but our God is a BIG GOD and if we just ask him to help us with our thoughts we wrestle with and the sorrow that is in our hearts HE will TRIUMPH!

We have said for a long time that animals teach unconditional love and Jim says, "The cow barn is my sanctuary with these boys." The other night one of the boys was wrestling with his thoughts while helping milk the cows and my husband kept trying to get things out of him. After quite sometime he told him that the only way he would win is if he turned his life over to Christ. When he was done milking he took him to the house to his houseparents and talked with the houseparents and then let them take over from there. The seed has been planted by both of the spiritual leaders in this young man's life now we just have to trust that he will get tired of the enemy triumphing over him and give it over to our BIG God!!!!

Please join with us in prayer....God knows his name....he even knows his thoughts day after day and the sorrow that is in his heart!

Thanks all for your prayers as we continue to wrestle with the enemy as he doesn't like it when he is about to lose another one of his. We couldn't do it without the prayer coverage from so many.

Make sure you check out some of the other inspiring posts with Scriptures connected to Pictures at Internet Cafe and Scripture & a Snapshot!

Knowing who Triumphs,

Singing praises in the COUNTRY!

2010-11-10T00:59:00.011-06:00

The month of November; a time to be thankful! 10 things to be thankful for at the ranch!

1. God is good all the time!

2. For this ministry!

3. Dave and Kerry; our house parent's
4. God's faithfulness!

5. This young man singing praises to God....we have no idea what he is singing or playing but we are sure he is singing praises in the COUNTRY! (just received a hearing aide a couple weeks ago, first time since he was 5, he is now 20)

6. The boys God has placed here at this time.

7. God's deep love!

8. Board members that are on board with us in this ministry!

9. The supporters of this ranch.....we could not do this without you!

10. God's SOVEREIGNTY!

Make sure you check out more of the WFW

Thanking God,

How do you spell work?

2010-11-07T23:05:00.011-06:00

This is the picture I captured the other day. When these boys come to the ranch most of them have no work experience, especially farm work. Most of the boys we work with will probably not attend college, because it is a struggle just to get them through high school. So we feel other than teaching them about Jesus the next important thing is to teach them how to work. It is so rewarding to see how good they feel about themselves when they see what they accomplish. I heard one of the boys tell somebody today at church I did three new things yesterday....Bail hay, drive a skid loader and carry a 3 hour old baby calf. Jim's favorite saying is "How do you spell work? F - U - N!" It sounds like this boy had fun while he was working because he shared with somebody else. When these boys bail hay and milk cows they get paid, other work around the farm is just helping out and used as a teaching tool. When Jim pays them he grades them for how hard they work and they get a grade. Sometimes the boys may have to pay the ranch $1.00 an hour if it was a really bad job. (I guess that would be the bad check) We can't fire them and this teaches them how to work. As you will see in the next picture our dog DEUCE try's to make all the work fun. He is anxiously waiting for them to throw a dirt clod so he can catch it and bring it back to them. When I took this picture of the boys they were just doing a work job to help with a building project that we are in the middle of. However, it made me think of one of the consequences we sometimes use. If they can't get along with someone in school or at home, we have them dig a hole for the hole they put themselves in. So I am also sharing a scripture with this picture too.

Working for the Lord,

The Right way!

2010-11-03T00:47:00.009-05:00

Isaiah 30:21 If you go the wrong way—to the right or to the left—you will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the right way. You should go this way."

We want so bad to point these boys in the right direction....help us LORD! This is our passion, not only Jim and I's but also Dave and Kerry's. We just talked about passions in our group Bible Study last night. Jim asked what is a passion. One of the boys said, "It is your passion to help each of these boys get on the right road." This same boy said "I'm worried about a boy that just left here, he is not going down the right road now." Join with us in prayer that this boy would listen to the voice behind him saying...."This is the right way. You should go this way." Our hearts ache for this boy. The new boy's heart aches too or he wouldn't have told us that. That is encouraging that his heart is changing so quickly. God is GOOD!

Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and go on over to Internet Cafe and enjoy some more of the WORD FILLED WEDNESDAY posts! You will be blessed!

Passionately Serving HIM,

Planting Seeds....Reaping a Harvest?

2010-11-01T00:16:00.009-05:00

1 Corinthians 9:11 "If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?"

When farmers plant seeds they are having faith that God will water those seeds. Then they hope for a great harvest. When we as christians plant seeds in peoples lives we hope that someone will come along and water it and then we will get to see the fruit in their lives.

Do you think this boy got frustrated while messing with these individual seeds...sorting them out of the mess they were in? I don't know, I never asked him....but I do know he was having some fun at one point...because I captured this picture....

Do we get frustrated when we work with the mess in the lives of some of the boys...I would be lying if I said no. Do we enjoy what we are doing? Yes, or we wouldn't still be doing it for 18 years. Is it easy....NO! The hardest part is trying to reap the harvest....to keep the doors open.

Operating strictly as a faith ministry we have to have extreme faith that God will keep sending the supporters to keep the doors open. Does it get messy sometimes? You bet! But we TRUST that if God wants these doors open HE will do just that...because he is a God of Miracles!

Strong and Able!

2010-10-26T23:25:00.009-05:00

Do we always feel strong and able in the faith? No, but if we abide in our Father up above we can continue to grow to be strong and able. Even if we don't feel strong we need to lend a hand to those who falter even when it doesn't feel good. There have been somedays in the last 18 years that I have thought this in not convenient, not now! But, who am I? I'm just a child of God, a sinner saved by Grace and I need to continue to use my strength that God gives me for service not status!

Lord, Help me to look out for the good of people around me....and not just these boys you have sent to us. There are lots of other people out there hurting, too. How can I help, Lord? Help me to have the strength to persevere, even when it's not convenient. Help me to be open to how you would want me to help the parents out there that are hurting. I am so thankful to you JESUS for lending out your hand when I falter and helping me get back up to continue in this race! In Jesus Name, AMEN

WFW is not about books, authors, artists.. it’s about God and HIS WORD ONLY. WFW is about celebrating the gift of creativity through God’s Word.

Join in and see the gifts that God has given people @ Internet Cafe

Willing to help,

Internet Cafe Fall Giveaway!

2010-10-25T22:39:00.004-05:00

I love sitting back with a cup of pumpkin spice latte....and soaking in some good GOD stuff over at Internet Cafe! They are hosting a Fall into Jesus Giveaway .

I am so excited to be in on that drawing and would love to be blessed with one of the bundles but if not then somebody else needed it alot more than me and they will be blessed!

Just thought I would let you in on the fun fall into Jesus Giveaway. Most importantly...think about you yourself falling into JESUS this Fall because if you FALL....you will most definately be picked up by the biggest arms you have ever felt and He will wrap you up and warm you up before Winter gets here!

Enjoy.....go over to Internet Cafe....and get filled up!

While I'm blogging about a fall giveaway I thought I needed to share a picture of my little babies in their fall picture! Since my kids are all grown and my grandkids all live faraway I have to settle for these 4 legged precious kids to give me all the lovin's!

Falling into Jesus,

Tree of Life!

2010-10-24T23:03:00.007-05:00

Thankful for this man of God whom listened to God's calling and is being tested and tried but is still standing. Even though Dave, our house parent, has a broken leg....he was willing to go with Jim while he took the boys out to pick up wood. The fruit of this GOOD man is a tree full of lives and he is living out his life in front of these young men hoping to win souls!

PURE and SIMPLE!

2010-10-19T22:01:00.007-05:00

These boys are 2 of my precious grandson's helping their Papa that they really look up to. They live 500 miles away so we don't get to teach them pure and simple teachings daily. However, God has given us the opportunity to teach the boys here at the ranch pure and simple teachings. Even if it's just working along side of them on a work job. This in turn will show them how to be a man of integrity as they watch us work. Help us to teach them how to be self controlled by our actions. Help us to keep it simple so they can mature in their salvation.

Lord, I also ask you to continue to give me a craving for the pure and simple teaching so I can mature in my salvation. Because I can't teach unless I'm willing to be taught. So help me Lord to want that milk because I haven't grown up, yet! You aren't finished with me. I love you Lord! Amen

Sit down with a cup of Pumpkin Spice Latte or something and take the time to read some more Word - Filled Wednesdays! Enjoy!!!!!

Also...I just learned about Scripture & a Snapshot! So click on over there too!

Keeping it simple

...Stinks to high heaven!

2010-10-13T01:05:00.005-05:00

These....bugs are going the wrong way, they are trying to constantly get inside my home and I don't want them. They are like sin knocking at my door because of my sinful nature and that sin stinks to high heaven just like these bugs.

I look at all these bugs and how I don't like them. Then I think of how they stink....and I'm so thankful that God takes it easier on me than I do on these bugs. You see I tend to hesitate in the faith, and at times tend to take the wrong way in my everyday actions.

Help me to live out my life to be more like Jesus every day. Help me to go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Most importantly help me to always remember that sin stinks and I need to turn the other way when it knocks at my door.

I love you Lord and I want to be all that you want me to be as I continue to serve you here.

Stop on over at Internet Cafe to read more Word-filled Wednesday.

Your humbled Servant,

Sticky Christian Life!

2010-10-10T20:41:00.003-05:00

The day I wrote this..... "Thank you Jesus for this opportunity to serve you even though sometimes it can get sticky and tangled in this christian walk just like the spider web."....our new houseparents household and the ministry got a little sticky and tangled.

Please pray for Dave and his family! Remember the other day when I posted about playing football out my front door? Well that day Dave was not playing with the boys because he was sleeping. He has another job as a police officer, besides being a houseparent at the ranch. However, while they were waiting for supper a few days later Kerry, the mom, was watching the boys play football on the ranch property. I'm guessing she didn't like what she saw! Her big strapping man down on the ground! This happened on Wednesday night and after an E.R. visit it was sad to hear that surgery was needed. He has a spiral break in his fibula and torn tendons and ligaments in his ankle. Friday morning he had a plate and 8 screws place inside his leg, an internal fixator. He is home in quite a bit of pain, and does not like being down.

So we are asking that you all please lift this family and ministry up to the Father up above. Pray for the courage for them to fight through this battle, and also Jim and I, to continue to fight!

Thank you all for your support and we will run this race with perseverance with your help!

Running for HIM,

Spider web or Jesus' web?

2010-10-06T10:57:00.006-05:00

I don't know about you but I'm so thankful that I know, that I know I can continually be cauGht by Jesus' hand. Those who don't know Jesus as their personal Savior.....

"They hang their life from one thin thread, they hitch their fate to a spider web. One jiggle and the thread breaks, one jab and the web collapses." Job 8:14 & 15 The MESSAGE

Help us to totally give up our own will and do your will in this ministry helping the tangled up lives that you have placed here at the ranch. When you look at a web it looks like a tangled up mess...but the spider looks at it as a masterpiece. Help us to show these boys that God can take a tangled up mess and turn it into a masterpiece. They just have to totally hand their life over to Jesus and be caught by HIM!

Help us not to doubt that God can continue to work on the boys that have already lived here in the past. He still looks at them as a masterpiece and is just waiting for some of them to reach out their hand to HIM and say, "I can't continue to live this tangled life anymore, I knew a different way, help me because I'm stuck in the web of life."

Thank you Jesus for this opportunity to serve you even though sometimes it can get sticky and tangled in this christian walk just like the spider web.

I love you Jesus....and thank you for making me a masterpiece.

Ephesians 2:10 " "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Stop over at the Internet Cafe and read more of the Word filled Wednesday's!

Serving HIM,

New Boys....Sunday afternoon football!

2010-10-03T19:13:00.017-05:00

Today on a sunday afternoon I was doing what I like to do and that is catch up on some reading on some different Christian sites. I found a post where it talked about how to do some fall decorating on a budget. I got up right away and tried making these after I read about the idea. I love it! (very low cost!) As I was putting them on my table to see how I liked it I looked out my window and was soon taken out doors to this.

I love watching young boys and young men playing football on the ranch property. It is such an awesome site! So I thought I would share some awesome pictures I captured while watching them.

So thankful while capturing these pictures that God continues to send boys to the ranch. We are blessed to be chosen to share God's love with so many through this ministry.

Thank you God for letting us be your tools. Thank you also for sending the Clark family once again. We see great things that God has in store here.

Serving HIM,

Ok, I guess we aren't doing our job!

2010-09-22T00:43:00.005-05:00

Isaiah 59:21 "As for me," God says, "this is my covenant with them: My Spirit that I've placed upon you and the words that I've given you to speak, they're not going to leave your mouths nor the mouths of your children nor the mouths of your grandchildren. You will keep repeating these words and won't ever stop." God's orders." The MESSAGE

A few days before these two grandsons were coming to visit Nana and Papa, (for a week) we received a phone call from their daddy. They were having a little fight over who was going to get the pooper scooper and if there was going to be enough poop to scoop at Nana and Papa's house. I guess we are remembered more for the poop at our house rather than God's word...so in saying that we have some work to do because I guess we aren't doing our job!

Sure is funny, these little guys think it's so fun to help Papa scoop poop. However the big guys we work with, would rather throw the poop at Jim (which that has happened before) when he tells them they have to scoop poop for their nasty actions they just had.

Stop on over at Internet Cafe Devotions and enjoy some more WFW!

Trying to follow God's Orders,

Struggling?

2010-09-15T10:39:00.006-05:00

This is a daily thing at the ranch.....both the picture and this verse! When you are on the front line of the battle field it is a struggle. There is a spirital battle going on for these boys lives daily! But we know who the WINNER is and are so thankful that HE is much stronger than this dark world!

So thankful to be in this battle and being lead by a MIGHTY leader. Trusting that HE will continue to guide us in this ministry!

Grab a cup of coffee and stop on over at Internet Cafe and see some more Word Filled Wednesday!

Two or Three!

2010-09-07T23:52:00.008-05:00

Such an awesome site to see! This was a powerful night at the Got Guts Camp! He was definately there with us that whole week! It was awesome!

Enjoy more of WFW over at Internet Cafe Devotions!

Thankful for prayer time,

We want to hear you God!

2010-09-06T23:14:00.008-05:00

God is trying to tell us something right now but we just can't hear him. We are trying to listen. It feels like we are ready to explode but yet it seems like we are just standing still in this ministry.

God has sent us an awesome family to work along side of us in this ministry, the Clark Family and we are excited! We have been blessed to watch God bring their 19 year old nephew, Mike, to the ranch whom was born deaf. It is so amazing to watch him learn new things and blossom as a young man. I was looking out the window tonight watching him play football with Deuce, (our yellow lab here at the ranch.) I was watching him try to get the ball from Deuce at the same time wondering how I could teach him to tell Deuce to drop it and Deuce understand him. He was aimlessly chasing Deuce and he would not give him that football because he wasn't telling him to drop it. As I sat down tonight to write, I knew I wanted to write something about this but I was just chasing my thoughts around in my head and I wasn't asking HIM to help me! Why do I do that? Why do we do that? He is there for us to ask, so why don't we ask?

Lord, there is a reason for this young man being here right now at this time, help us to listen. He is learning by listening with his eyes about how to be a young man. Help us to teach him what he needs to learn in the time he is here with us. Help us to listen with our eyes so we don't miss the lessons you want to teach us. Lord, we want to hear what you want to tell us in this season of this ministry. Help us to listen. We love you Lord and we want to do your will. In Jesus Name, Amen

Serving HIM,

Aroma of Christ

2010-08-31T23:59:00.013-05:00

Sometime's ministry can be oh so hard...but Thanks be to God for leading us in triumph and helping us spread the fragrance of the knowledge of him. He helps us be the aroma of Christ to those who are perishing.

He continues to help us persevere even though we are going through a very unthinkable personal circumstance right now. God continues to help us touch lives in the midst of the storm.

I just found this verse the other day while looking for something to help with the call I just received from Curtis. He got wrote up for a wrong doing for the first time after sitting in county jail for 15 months and now prison for another 15 months. Why, what did you do Curtis? He said, "I had a dryer sheet in the front of my vent to make the cell smell good." "Did you know you weren't suppose to do that?" I asked. "No, but I do now." He answered. I guess it was a fire hazard.

The same day I received a phone call from an inmate that had gotten out and spent time with him in prison and he said, "I just called to tell you your son is a "proverbial ray of sunshine in that place." So even though Curtis' cell can't give off fragrance or aroma his character can!

Thank you God for using my son to give off aroma of Christ in a very dark place to those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

Go on over to the Internet Cafe to learn more about WWF.

Trying my hardest to give off aroma,

Brimming with Blessings!

2010-08-24T22:59:00.008-05:00

Today I got a phone call from Curtis! Some of you may not know but Curtis is our son and he is in Prison for a one night choice that changed his life and ours forever! He shared with me that tonight he was going to be able to attend a banquet. This banquet was for the inmates that have gone a year with no major report! He also shared with me that he was going to receive a huge meal and he was going to get to use real silverware for the first time in 2 1/2 years. Wow I sure do take things for granted. This has been a very difficult time but our cup brims with blessing! Our son, Curtis said to me the day he was sentenced, "Mom don't look at this as me going to prison, look at this as me going to the mission field." God continues to revive our drooping head with God stories from inside those walls and our cup brims with blessings!

WFW is not about books, authors, artists.. it’s about God and HIS WORD ONLY. WFW is about celebrating the gift of creativity through God’s Word.

Brimming with Blessings,

MCH Challenge 2010!

2010-08-24T17:15:00.004-05:00

Psalm 45:4 "In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds."

We are very thankful for Dick Grimm coming to us a few years back and asking if he could put on a Bike ride for the ranch. We weren't sure what to expect never being involved in a bike ride. But....it has been encouraging to see the MCH Challenge grow in the last few years.

We are excited to see how the 2010 MCH Challenge is going step up to the Challenge to help the Ranch; as the Riders....ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness.

We, the ranch, have gone through several challenges since the ranch was founded in 1992. We are so Blessed to be a part of the awesome deeds of all the people out there allowing God to use them to Bless this Ranch.

If you are interested in riding in the Challenge just click on over to our website and either print off the registration form or register online!

Hope to see some of you there.....and would love to feed you breakfast!

Serving HIM,

He is with me!

2010-08-18T11:15:00.021-05:00

Isaiah 43:2-3a

Here are more pictures from our Got Guts Camp this year.... there are some days as I'm passing through the waters and through the flames in life that I feel like they will sweep over me or I will be burned up. However, I know my God is a Big God and HE is my Savior, He will get me through this because He is with ME! Through these flames His Glory will cause people to be AMAZED and these FLAMES will not set me ABLAZE! I claim the victory over JESUS my SAVIOR!

Click on over to read more Word Filled WEDNESDAY's!

Serving my SAVIOR,

HIS Hands!

2010-08-11T22:36:00.006-05:00

This is probably one of my favorite pictures that I took of one of the boys from the ranch. When I look at this picture I think of two things.

1. God holds us in his hands and won't drop us or won't let us down....even though we don't always understand why he has allowed some things in our life to happen HE is still there holding us in the palm of his hands.

2. These chicks taught this boy about God's unconditional Love....no matter what he did God still allowed us to love him through God and teach him about God's LOVE!

I love looking back through pictures of boys that God has brought into our life. God has definately held us in his hands while we have tried to be his hands in helping take destructive hands and turn them into loving hands.

Thank you God for holding me in your hands at all times.

If you would like to read some more Word Filled Wednesday blogs just click on over.

Resting in HIS hands,

The ROCK!

2010-07-27T09:33:00.011-05:00

This is a portion of a huge rock that sits at the end of our drive coming into the ranch! Jesus is our ROCK and oh so hard to get through to some boys that HE is solid! Just the other day, a boy stopped in to get something he left here. When I went to give him a hug he turned away and said I don't want a hug from you! I said, "Why did it have to change." His response, "I have freedom, this sucks!" I just have to trust that my Jesus is the Rock and what we taught him about Jesus while he was in our home for 3 years will point him in the right direction and when he is old he will come running back! Oh so hard....but my ROCK is hard, solid and will not be moved so I TRUST in my ROCK! I love you JESUS and I lay this boy, and the other 38 boys that have slept under our roof sometime in the last 18 years, at your feet! I also lay my own three children at your feet as they are all out on their own.
Click on over to other Word filled Wednesday's and be encouraged by God word!

Trusting in my ROCK,

M & M Fest 2010

2010-07-22T01:19:00.011-05:00

Last year we had lots of fun at the M & M Fest!

The Privilege to listen to Keith Nester preach GODS WORD! Worship in Song! Taking a ride with Farmer JIM! Listening to The Graves Family and several others!

Waiting for the Horse to PLOP!

If you missed last year make sure to put it down on your calendar for this year....AUGUST 8th!

10:30 - 5:00

Pastor Tim Leathers will share GODS WORD with us.....worship from a worship team from Heartland Fellowship.....Food....Music from the Graves Family....games.....tours....cow PLOP instead of the horse PLOPPIN and the Feature of the DAY.....the FRANZ FAMILY!

Don't miss it this year because you will wish you hadn't!

Bring your lawn chairs.....enjoy a sunday afternoon listening to Bluegrass Gospel Music....while smelling the fresh country air! You will be blessed by this family!

Call on Him in the day of Trouble!

2010-07-20T18:30:00.010-05:00

I gaze out the front door and this is what I see. Cows....God's Cows on a small hill, beside a pond and they are His. These cows were adopted by God's people to place on this ranch to teach boys about unconditional love. Sometimes it is so hard to get through to a young man that he is loved...but we have to keep trusting and teaching him to call upon God in the day of trouble. He will deliver us if we only rest in HIS arms and Trust! In this ministry for the last 18 years there have been plenty of days when I have called out to my DADDY up in heaven in the day of trouble. I'm so thankful He is up there with his arms wide open and He is saying "REST in my Arms my child!"

If you want to enjoy some more of the Word Filled Wednesday just click on over using the link to the left!

Resting in His arms,

Got Guts 2010

2010-07-20T09:59:00.002-05:00

Word Filled Wednesday!

2010-07-14T23:37:00.005-05:00

My husband and I work with Boys headed down the wrong direction and we try to help them Forget what is behind and move Forward......Jesus forgives us and we need to try to forgive ourselves so we can move on!

This is my first time to participate in Word Filled Wednesday but I hope I can find time to continue...... if you want to enjoy some more of the Word Filled Wednesday just click on over using the link to the left!

Trusting Him,

His works are perfect!

2010-07-12T22:35:00.013-05:00

Deuteronomy 32:4 NIV
"He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he."

He is the ROCK!

His works are PERFECT!

and all HIS ways are just!

God knows exactly what he is doing, I am so glad He is in charge. We thought that God was telling us it was time for us to be empty nesters when we had no more boys living with us all of the sudden. Well, then along came a 19 year old Cory who needed some direction. We took him in to love on him a little before his court date. Guess what? God brought him here to help minister to some 13 year old boys that came to our Got Guts Camp. During our camp God got a hold of Cory and he asked Jesus to come in and fill that hole in his heart that he has been trying to fill up with bad stuff since he was about 13 years old! He even talked to the boys about his past and encouraged them to stop now before they get into things like he had gotten into. All three of the boys at the Got Guts Camp this year asked Jesus to come into their hearts! God is Good and all His ways are just! We are excited to see what God is going to do in Cory's life. Please pray for Cory, Jacob, Michael and Brandon as they start their way down a new road in life! We are glad Cory is going to stay with us a little while longer.....I don't think we are really ready to be empty nesters!

While we were putting on this camp we also had a family move in next door to come along side of us in this ministry and we are very excited about this! We are excited to have them run along side of us on the same team and same side of the ball......it is going to be an awesome game to watch. This family we have known for awhile now....they are from Wilton.....and we have had the dad of this family be a part of our Got Guts camp for the last 3 years. He has a story to tell and believe me when he told his story the last 3 years these boys listened! They are a family that loves the Lord with all their heart and we are excited to welcome them on board! We love you guys!

The Clark Family

(Dave, Kerry, Gannon & Daryn)

FYI - The beautiful picture of the Clarks was taken by one of our previous staff at the ranch that came along side of us during a very hard time in this ministry and helped hold our arms up....we will always be greatful for their time here at the ranch. Thanks Keith and Estelle! Make sure you check out her awesome gift of photography (just click on her name) and maybe even set up a time with her to make some great memories!

I will probably post the video I made for the boys at a later time....still trying to perfect it.....you see He's still working on me. His works are perfect but my works can use some work.

Thank you all for taking the time to pray for this ministry....we couldn't do it without you all!

Trusting in the ROCK!

Do you know of parents looking for HELP?

2010-06-26T09:44:00.006-05:00

There are parents out there struggling with their son. We have a program that might be exaclty what that young man needs. GOT GUTS (Getting On Track Growing Up To Succed)! Do you want this young man to succeed? Have you Got the Guts to get him in this program that could help him succeed? If you do email Cathy at mchboys@mchboys.com or call at 563-732-2812.

Got Guts Camp:

who: Boys ages 13 - 17

when: Tuesday - Sunday July 6 - 11

cost: (just lowered) to $200.00 instead of $300.00

Please email or call as soon as possible because the camp is just around the corner.

What is the camp all about? The camp is to encourage young men to be respectful instead of disrespectful young men. To teach good work ethics, to build a character of integrity, to learn about self respect, and most important to learn where true joy comes from.

Who will be running the camp and what will it consist of? Jim and Cathy Fry, program directors of Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch, will be putting this camp on with the help of several awesome volunteers coming out for the week. There will be exercising, eating, working, snacking, football camp, eating, showering, singing, guest speakers, snacking and sleeping.

If you know a boy that could benefit from Got Guts Camp help spark his families interest so the spark can turn into a flame. That may be his last chance for success!

Chipping away hurts......

2010-06-10T23:20:00.005-05:00

Matt 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" In this ministry we have to chip away alot of hurts these boys have carried. Some of their hurts consist of....death of their father....divorce....rejection from their father.....cut down....beat down....etc. We try to teach them about the ONE that cares about the birdies and says we are more valuable than they.

I am so blessed to have had close to 40 boys (besides our own children) live in our home over the last 18 years and give them a hug (very few nights did I miss), tell them I love them and be able to see walls start to come down slowly in each of their lives. Andy just completed the program the other day and about three days before he was ready to leave, these are the words I said. "Andy, guess what you have 3 days to try to say those 3 words to me." He say's I know. Most boys after at the ranch a couple months are able to say those 3 words but I had never heard them come out of Andy's mouth in the three years he was with us. So the next night I gave him his hug and I said, "2 days!" He again said, "I know." Well the day that he left our house I gave him his hug and I said, "I love you Andy!" He turned around and said, "I love you, too Cathy." That was huge because you see Andy had huge divot's in his heart when he came to the ranch 3 years ago. His dad passed away about 2 years before he came to the ranch and about a week later his Grandpa passed away. He had a hard time getting close to anyone because he was afraid to lose them. God worked a huge miracle in Andy's life while at the ranch.

If this story touched your heart maybe you would want to CHIP in and PUTT down your guess on the pledge form for the Birdies for Charity. If you did this I'm sure the ONE who thinks you also are worth more than the Birdies will Bless you! Just click on this link and print off the form, either mail it to the Boys Ranch at Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch; 1614 300th Street; Wilton, IA 52778 by June 28th or mail it into the address on the form to Birdies for Charity by July 5th. Make sure you put the name of the ranch and our Bird # is 596 on the form. The Birdies for Charity will bill you later so don't worry about sending in the money with the form. Thanks so much if you feel God speaking to your heart and you give in this way. Things like this is what keeps the doors of this place open.

Blessed to know HE loves me even more than the BIRDIES!

Tear jerker!

2010-05-16T00:00:00.002-05:00

So the other night Andy (one of the boys at the ranch) had Jim listen to a song by Rodney Atkins on You Tube....tonight he says, "Jim you know why I wanted you to listen to that song?" Jim says, "No, Why?" He pointed his finger at Jim and said "Daddy, I've been watching you!" When Jim told me I got tears in my eyes...then I watched the video and I cried some more!"

I'm going to be telling you a little more about Andy in the very near future because he is getting ready to complete the program...but for now I just wanted to share this video with you!

God continues to use Jim and I as garden tools to break up the topsoil and get down to the soft hearts that we know all these boys have. He is so good and I'm so glad he called us into this ministry 18 years ago.

Softening hearts for HIM,

Did you KNOW?

2010-04-21T11:20:00.005-05:00

Did you know that you can be a part of changing a life? Did you see that boy walking around with his pants hanging to the ground and he could care less about respecting anyone or anything? What about the boy that flipped you off for no reason? These are the type of boys we at Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch work with. These boys come with no respect, no work ethic, no goals in life and we at the ranch try very hard to change that.

Did you know that we have 60 boys on a waiting list? Did you know that we have been founded since 1992? We need help to be able to keep the doors of this much needed program open and to expand so we can help more boys. This is a huge need in this area. We are putting on our 6th annual Golf Outing June 5th and we need sponsors! Please go to our special event page and check out the sponsor form for the Golf Outing. It could be somebody you know that needs this program but are just sitting there on the waiting list with no hope. Any amount of money helps because this ministry is strictly supported by people, businesses, churches, and a few grants we are able to get. This ranch takes no state funds. We are a 501c3 non profit corporation so we do give year end donation receipts.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog. Now in closing I will tell you about a boy from Muscatine. We had a boy come from Muscatine with no respect, skipping school, gave a bomb threat; he could have cared less about himself let alone someone else. This young man 8 years later is doing GREAT! He owns his own home, has a wife, 18 month old triplet girls, (which he does a great job taking care of them), working and going to college (w/goal of becoming a CPA). If the doors of Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch was not here for him…. not sure where he would be today. Would he even be alive? We are asking you to prayerfully consider stepping along side of us and help us make a difference….even if it’s just one you are helping that is at least ONE!

The Triplets @ their "One Year Birthday Party".... I Cathy (Nana) had the privilege to be there!

Thankful hearts!

Blessed beyond messure! New Camera and Lord willing Staff on their way soon!

2010-03-25T22:03:00.006-05:00

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

We were blessed with a new camera for the ranch and it is an awesome toy....can't wait for all the events this summer to really put it to use. Just thought I would share a few pictures!

Thank you so much to the church that has blessed us with this new TOY!
We are also very excited to see what the Lord has for the future of the Boys Ranch,. Lord willing we have a family coming to join us soon. I will give more information later. God is so good!

Continuing to TRUST!

Faith in God equals Encouragement!

2010-03-09T14:07:00.005-06:00

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

The NIV Bible Commentary says, "It is that trust in God that enables believers to press on steadfastly whatever the future holds for them. They know they can rely on God."

When the Clawsons left we were down......wondering what are we going to do about staff now? But we continued to press on steadfastly and see what the future holds for us...because we can rely on God. We knew that we just had to have faith and trust that God was still in control because like the title of the previous post....this is Small Potatoes in God's Eyes!

Just Sunday night I, Cathy, was talking to a couple people about what we were doing about looking for staff. I shared I've been looking at resume's online that I can access through different sites, getting on every day looking for different ones. But it doesn't make since to post our job listing anywhere for houseparent job and spend $300 to $500 because when I look at other facilities like ours looking for somebody to fill houseparenting positions. They are offering a lot more money than what we can offer. So I told them that we just have to totally trust that God will have that special couple find our website and email us about the job opening. Guess what we have received an email on Monday morning and this morning from two different families that came across the help wanted sign on our website. Isn't God awesome....I mentioned that we need to be good stewards of God's money and just Trust and He provided the encouragement the next two days in a row! So now we will begin the process of meeting with our board of directors tonight, praying and continue to trust God which family HE wants here not us but HIM. So if you could, please join us in prayer the next couple weeks which family God would have join us!

Thank you God for allowing us to be a part of this FAITH ministry! It has been an awesome ride!

Trusting HIM,

Small Potatoes in God's Eyes!

2010-02-12T23:36:00.021-06:00

2 Corinthians 4: 15 - 18 "Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us.
There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever." ~The MESSAGE ~

Jim and I are exhausted......but God is GOOD! He continues to show us his grace and we are not giving up.....even though that is exactly what satan would like us to do.

We truly believe God brought the Clawson's here three months ago and we believe that God is still in control of this ranch. We don't always understand things but faith is stranger than fiction. The Clawson's decided that this was not the ministry God had for them....so we move on and trust that God will bring us another family to come along side us in this ministry.

We are thankful for the time the Clawson's were here and trust that God will put them in a ministry somewhere that will workout for them.

Please pray for Jim and I as we adjust to having 3 boys living with us now in the small cabin instead of two. Also join with us in prayer for the family that God would bring along side us. He is still on the throne.....and he will continue to carry us through this trial just like he has several.

We will miss you Clawson Family!

Willing Hearts to Serve HIM,

Got Guts Camp 2007, 2008 & 2009

2010-01-27T00:29:00.008-06:00

Tried to combine the three years we have had Got Guts camp to share with you a little of what takes place in the summer at Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch.

We offer this camp to at risk boys headed down the wrong direction in life. This camp runs from July 6 - 11 this year.

We are looking forward to our new bunk house being built hopefully this spring before the camp takes place. God delived $14,000.00 in about 7 months to build this project.....we serve a pretty awesome God. Thanks for all who helped raise this money!

Please pray for the construction of this bunk house......The Filling Station! Also please pray for the lives that will be touched during the 2010 Got Guts Camp!

Thanks so much....ENJOY the video!

G(etting)O(n)T(rack) G(rowing)U(p)T(o)S(ucceed)

Wanted to share my devotion I read this morning!

2010-01-20T09:26:00.001-06:00

Lord I just pray that the testing of my faith continues to develop perseverance. Use me God because I love you and I want to be a blessing to someone. In Jesus name, AMEN!

January 20, 2010 VERSE: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. -- James 1:2-3

THOUGHT: "Hang in there!" There are few traits more important than perseverance. Most important accomplishments in life happen because of perseverance. Most "luck" occurs when we've persevered long enough for the "magical moment" to come along -- in other words, Idon't believe in luck. Edison said it best: life's greatest feats,the world's greatest discoveries, his own most fantastic inventionsare "1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." "Hang in there!" and seethe glory of God come through in you, not because of luck, but because of God's grace, love, and Providence!

PRAYER: Unchangeable and Unshakeable God, through the friends you have sent into my life and by the power of your gift, the Holy Spirit, help me to stand up under trial and prove my character true with perseverance when under fire. Give my faith courage and endurance so that my life shows forth your enduring strength. I pray in the name of him who remained faithful even unto death, Jesus Christ myLord. Amen.

Persevering because of Jesus,

Christmas Party!

2009-12-15T23:18:00.003-06:00

Tonight we had the board Christmas party......we didn't have as many as we usually do so it was kind of different this year. We had to cancel last week because of the roads and rescheduled for this week. We did our usual tradition of writing a couple stories. We have everyone go around the room and give a one liner and I write it down and then read them our story. We do a funny one and then a serious one about the reason for the season. Here is our serious one this year:

The angel appeared to Mary and Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant." Proud mother was stricken with joy and happiness. She had a baby in a manger and then there was a bright star in the sky. The shepherds fainted -well it scared the heck out of them. The reason the baby was born in the manger was because there was no room in the inn. Thus fulfilled what the angel had said to Mary when she was stricken with joy and happiness. Remembering the long journey and that there was no room in the inn they found shelter from the weary journey. There were animals...MOO...oink...neigh...neigh (this came from a 2 1/2 year old) a humble place for our humble King of Kings and Lord of Lords to be born. For there were three wisemen that brought gifts. They all came to see him and gave him frankincense, gold and myrrh. The END!

Just thought I would share a fun tradition that we started several years ago at our board Christmas Party's for the ranch.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

2009-12-11T15:41:00.002-06:00

We, Jim, Cathy, Andy & Hector would like to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! The boys will be going home for a pretty long Christmas break with their families so pray for them. Pray that they make wise choices and that they help out wherever they can at their family gatherings. Pray that they continue to show their family the changes they have made in their lives because of their relationship with Jesus.

Jim and I are excited to hopefully see one of our past boys over this Christmas break. I wrote about him in the newsletter that I just posted on the website. After I sent this newsletter out he contacted us again and will be in Iowa for Christmas and wants to come out to see us and bring his daughter out to meet us. This is why the heartaches of this ministry are worth every bit of it.

One of our boys and I was having a little heated discussion the other day and he said why do you love us? I said because I do and I will continue. Please pray that this boy will continue to accept this love instead of trying to push it away at times. God's love is unconditional and that is what we have to teach these boys. Some days I will have to say it is not easy but that is what we are called to do and as long as God continues to give us the strength and peseverance we will continue on in this ministry.

Thank you all for your continued support in this ministry.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thankful hearts,

Thankful HEARTS!

2009-11-18T10:20:00.008-06:00

Jim and I are so thankful for our supporters....its' at this time of the year that we reflect on what God has done to build this ranch. To think that Jim carried me into a rat infested trailor house when we first started that looked a little like this...... To living in a beautiful log cabin for the next 13 years......

And now living in the 2nd log cabin that was built on the ranch so that we could bring on a family to help us continue on in this ministry as Jim and I are ready to move into the stage of not having boys live right with us and just being the administrators. There is lots of work to do to keep the doors open of a faith ministry.....so it's time we train another family to work with the boys. We will still work with the boys because on the other families days off we will have the boys at our house......so pray for us as we are making this adjustment. The biggest adjustment is moving into a much smaller home...but God is good.....

This is a picture of the small house after we have made it our new home.....we continue to thank God for his goodness in all he has brought us through. As we have been on this journey he called us to 17 years ago.

God Bless you all and may you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Thankful Servants.......

My poster add for next years MCH Challenge Bike Ride!

2009-09-26T23:31:00.003-05:00

Today was our 4th Annual MCH Challenge Bike Ride thanks to Dick Grimm and his wife Karen. Bikers come from all over to ride either 25, 50, 72 or 100 miles. This young man, Cliff Warner, age 70 has not completed a 100 mile ride for 15 years.....until TODAY! Wow can you imagine being 70 and riding 100 miles...I can't even imagine riding 100 miles at my age. But, there are several dedicated men and women out there that ride all over. We had a great turn out....74 bikers. This is just a start of pictures from our bike ride today....I will be posting more on the original website on the Special Event page. Keep checking back if you rode you might see your picture. Thanks so much all you supporters for riding in the MCH Challenge and all you who donated through this fundraiser. We brought in $3369.65. We serve an awesome God that continues to keep our doors open through people like this who participate in our fundraisers. If the doors don't stay open we can't help boys feel good about themselves because of success.

So again....thanks so much and don't forget to check back in the near future on the Special Event page for more pictures from the Bike Ride.

So Thankful,

Where does the time go?

2009-09-09T14:56:00.007-05:00

Well the M & M Fest was a great success we raised $3,796.00 with donations, horse plop and silent auction. We had some great groups out sharing the God given talent with all of us here on the Ranch Property; it was a beautiful day!

The Nester family moved on to a different job, after finding out houseparenting wasn't for them. We thank them for helping out while we were going through our unthinkable circumstance. We are looking forward to a family from Texas to join us as soon as they sell their house. Please join us in prayer for the Clawson family and the selling of their house. They will be moving into the cabin Jim and I have lived in for the last 13 years and after being here for a short time we will fill their home up with 4 boys on the waiting list; along with their own 4 boys.

Jim and I will be moving into the smaller cabin on the ranch property, with the two boys that are living with us right now; Andy and Hector. They are doing great right now, just getting started back in school. Here is an awesome picture of them as we went horse riding one night.

We have been speaking at churches a lot lately but could always use more churches or groups to share what great things God continues to do at the Boys Ranch.

Continuing to Trust HIM,

M & M Fest

2009-08-06T23:16:00.002-05:00

Hey all we are getting ready for the Miracle & Music Fest on the Ranch property this Sunday; August 9th. We would love to have you. We will start off at 10:30 with Keith Nester Preaching the word of God, then right into.....good ole' Gospel Music. Food will be served on the grounds the whole day for nothing but a free will love offering all proceeds go to Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch. The actual music will start at 12:30 with Oscar Perales starting off. Also sharing their gifts of music that day will be The Graves, Country Friends, Allegory, Jimmy J and the Son Rays and All Things New. We will probably be going until 6:30 or 7:00 in the evening.

Bring a lawn chair, sit back and enjoy the fresh country air, (cow pooh and all). Listen to music, take a tour of the ranch, and listen to stories of boys' lives that have been changed. We will have a silent auction with several items to auction off. The biggest thing to bid on will be a getaway to Branson, MO. (3 days and 2 nights motel room, 4 tickets to Dixie Stampede, 4 tickets to Shepherd of the Hills........ that is just some of it) Come on out to find out what else is included in the package.

We are excited to share with you what God has done out here at the boys ranch in the last 17 years, come see for yourself what he has done.

1614 300th Street; Wilton, IA call if you need directions 319-930-2806 (Cathy's Cell phone).

Take care and hope to see you.

Serving Him,

Golf Outing 2009

2009-06-12T15:19:00.006-05:00

Our Golf Outing was a huge success again this year. We had at least 41 sponsors that helped tremendously. We had 21 teams playing, only 2 dropped out because of the rain, the other 19 were great sports and played after they got wet.

We had a lot of volunteers helping out and we appreciate everyone of you. Thanks so much.

Hope you enjoy watching some of the fun we had that day on this youtube video.

Thanks so much all of you that helped the ranch raise $7,500.00.

God is good!!!!

You all have helped put another piece together of broken pieces out in our world.

Trusting HIM,

Please Forgive Me!

2009-04-18T15:49:00.003-05:00

I'm so thankful that Jesus died on the cross for ME so that I might have forgiveness. I told you last August, eight months ago, that I will try to get back in the swing of things of keeping you updated. Wow I really failed at that! So please forgive me!

We are still here working with boys. We are so thankful that Keith and Estelle Nester joined up with us last August working full-time for the ranch. We have been blessed to have them help us through this last year. This last year (plus) has been a difficult year with a very unthinkable circumstance happening in our personal life. That unthinkable was February 8th, 2008 our 21 year old son was arrested for 2nd degree murder. His trial just ended in March 2009 and his verdict was read April 3rd, he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. If you want you can read the judge's verdict of his case so you can understand why this was such an unthinkable just click on over. We are so thankful for the prayer support that we have had through this journey. We could not have pressed on without the support. Thanks so much to all who were praying!

God is still on the throne and now we await for Curtis' sentencing which will take place May 7th. We know God is in the middle of this, he has already used Curtis' story and will continue to use Curtis' story to reach more young lives. Curtis has helped several young men while sitting in the county jail for the last 15 months and will continue wherever God sends him after May 7th.

Today, I had the privilege to sit in our church and look to the left to the front row, and look at the back of 4 young men. Two of these young men are past boys that lived here at the ranch, the other two were friends of these past boys. The one young man that was here about 4 years ago, said to me today, "After this whole thing with Curtis, and my last stay in county jail, I can't do it any longer without HIM! I need to get right with God." One of their friends said to me, "He brought me here last week on Easter and I have been looking forward to this day all week to come back again today."

We will continue to claim the verse that we claimed at the very beginning of this unthinkable, Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Please continue to pray for this ministry that God would continue to give us strength to continue being the tools he uses to reach young men.

Trusting HIM,

Busy week!

2008-08-04T23:52:00.002-05:00

Well, we are going to have a very busy week. We will be registering the boys for school, they will all three be starting football camp tomorrow. We are getting ready for the Miracle and Music Fest that will be this Saturday and Sunday. We hope you can all come check out our great music and especially the cow plop.

The boys are getting excited about the big event, and being a huge help getting the grounds ready, the house and the barns. We try to keep up on everything all the time, but we want it to look especially nice for our guests when they arrive.

I will try to post something after the big event with some pictures. Keep coming back, I will try to get back in the swing of things of keeping you updated.

Trusting HIM as we run the race,

Back to blogging

2008-07-26T13:29:00.002-05:00

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

I will try to get back to blogging about how God is continuing to work here at Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch. We have endured some hardship, but continue to press on in this ministry. God continue's to show us his Grace, Mercy and Blessings as we run this race marked out for us.

We had a great time at our golf outing's in June. We were blessed with a number of sponsors and golfers. Thanks so much all of you who were a part of that.

We also had an awesome GOT GUTS Camp the end of June. I will try to put up a video later on the Camp.

We are getting ready for the MIRACLES & MUSIC FEST that will be on the ranch property on August 9 & 10 from 12:00 - 5:00. You will not want to miss it because we are going to have a great time.

Thank you all for your support through the last several months as we have gone through a very unthinkable circumstance in our personal life.

Continuing to SERVE HIM,

Distractions!

2008-01-18T00:24:00.000-06:00

It seems like lately we have had some distractions in the race that we are in lately. Two biggest distractions being Jim's health and a flare up with my back. I read a devotional today that really spoke to me, we are not running in competition with other believers we are running against our enemies, the world, the flesh, the devil. I really believe God is about to perform a huge miracle here at Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch and the devil doesn't like it so he is trying to distract us anyway he can in the race we are running. Please take the time to read this devotional that I read today by Greg Laurie. Wow, and the funny thing is I just spoke and wrote about the race we are running on Sunday. So let me ask you...............are you running as well as you can in the race God has placed you in or are you only offering a half-hearted effort?

Regarding Jim's appointment today with the allergist: he diagnosed him with eosinophilic non-allergic rhinitis and non-allergic asthma. He has him on 6 different prescriptions and needs to go back in 4 weeks. Hopefully, Jim, will get his health on the mend. Keep praying and keep running the race God has marked out for you!

Running the Race!

2008-01-13T22:07:00.000-06:00

Tonight, I talked at a High Point Bible Chapel in Daveport, about the race Jim and I have been running in for the last 15 years. I started off with how, it feels like a marathon more than a race, but I like to look at it as a relay because in a relay you can hand the baton off. I know we have handed several baton's off to Jesus in this race, such as patience, perseverance, endurance, discouragement, faith and trust. I didn't follow my paper I had typed out at all, but I hope I got the point out that this is a faith ministry and if it wasn't for Jesus running along side of us, I think I would have quit this race along time ago. It is only by the grace of God that we continue on, some days and weeks are harder than others. Right now, we are dealing a lot with the boys just coming back from a 13 day Christmas break being at home. One boy decided to come back with an I don't care attitude that had a pretty good attitude before going home. Another boy Jim wiped his consequence board of almost 500 hours clean before he went home and told him that he was giving him a new start when he came back just like Jesus does when he forgives us and wipes all our sins away. He came back with a really good attitude but then his first week back to school we were right back to not turning in his work. Another boy decided that he wasn't going to go to wrestling practice the whole time he was home, after being told by us several times that he would go to all his practices while at home. In order to teach how serious we are Jim pulled him out of wrestling. I just pulled him in the office, as I was typing this to ask him what he has learned from this. He said,"Not to test Jim." Then he told me that coach ask him if he was going to go out again next year and he said yes and the coach told him he was getting better. He has been grabbing different boys and taking them on the wrestling mat here to practice. It is hard to seem like we always have to be the mean one, but after hearing one of the boys talk after I talked to the people at the church, I realized that is what we have to do to get through to these young men. I was crying while listening to a very mature young man, talking about his life in front of a group of people, telling his testimony of the changed life that he has because of this ministry. This young man was a very angry little boy when he came to the ranch almost 3 years ago, he has developed into a respectable young man, because God has used Jim and I as the tools to turn a hardened heart into a open and loving heart. Deuteronomy 8:5-6 "Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him." Lord, help Jim and I to continue on in this race, and discipline these boys as our own sons, and help us to observe your commands, and walk in your ways and revere you, so we may be the example in their lives that they can look up to. In Jesus Name, Amen

We are also are going through some rough times with our personal family, please pray for us to be able to hand all the batons over to Jesus right now, as we continue on in this race.

Specific prayer requests are:

Cassie, our daughter, is back in the hospital after having the baby with some kind of infection, not sure what, she has been there since Friday 11th and is looking like she will be there another 2 days for sure.

Jim is not feeling well again, just finished another antibiotic, and coughing bad again, going to allergist on Thursday.

Dylan, Cassie's 19 month old son, ear infection and croupy cough (he wants his mommy)

Our friends, with the loss of their daughter, strength

A close friend of mine, giving up on her marriage, and no longer wants my friendship.

Thank you all for your prayers, and helping us run this race, especially, when the road is rough and rocky.

Sorrow and Joy!

2008-01-10T23:16:00.000-06:00

Please pray for our good friends as I mentioned in the last post their daughter was in ICU after surgery, and she went home to be with Jesus. As words written by her and sang by her good friend at her funeral say "One of these days it will be easier to mean what I say

If I remember, this world is not my home

And before time began my days were known by you

And before time began my days were known by you"

There was definately sorrow with the loss of this young girl of only 25 but there was also joy to hear that she was actively involved in missions work in inner city Chicago and Minneapolis, Mexico, Guatemala, Columbia, the United Arab Emirates, and India.

It is very hard to understand the reason for God to take her so young when she had such a servant's heart but God had her days numbered and she is in a much better home than we are in this world.

As we had sorrow for the loss of this young girl we also had joy for the birth of our grandson on January 4th. He and mama are fine, Colton Bryce weighed in @ 7lbs 11 oz. and was 21in. long.

Relaxing? Praying? Waiting?

2007-12-30T13:10:00.001-06:00

Jim and I are trying to relax while the boys are home over the Christmas break. They went home on the 21st and will return to the ranch on the 2nd of January. One of the boys parents called today and said he was in the Emergency Room with one of our boys. We found out after a ct scan that he has a kidney stone and infection. They will treat the infection and he will need to drink plenty of water to try to pass the stone. Please pray for him, that he will be able to pass the stone with no complications.

We are also waiting for 3 more cows to have calves that are due on the 31st. The dairy barn has been flooded 3 times since the boys went home, our daughter went to the hospital with a false alarm, because she is due on the 11th of January. Her doctor said she will probably not see her at her appointment on the 2nd because she will probably have it before then. So we are waiting for another grandson to be born anyday.

We are also praying and waiting for our friends, they have a 25 or 26 year old daughter, who just had one of her lungs removed due to a growth that was in the lung. She is on a ventilator, in ICU. Please pray with us for this family. God knows who they are, just lift them up with us please.

We really are trying to relax and enjoy our time off.

Isaiah 40:27-31 "Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying,"God has lost track of me. He doesn't care what happens to me"? Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening? God doesn't come and go. God lasts. He's Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out.He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles,They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind." THE MESSAGE

So pray for us that we will WAIT upon God, get fresh strength for when the boys come back, that we can continue to run this race and that we won't lag behind.

Relaxing, praying and waiting in the arms of our wonderful savior that came to this earth as a babe so that He could die for our sins.

A new tradition!

2007-12-19T00:46:00.000-06:00

Tonight we had our Board Christmas Party! We had taco's and they sure were good. We also had, cookies and more cookies and too many cookies. We started the night off after we ate with a short business meeting, then I, Cathy, held up the most beautiful present under the tree and it was to: JESUS!

I'm not sure what I said, because when you stand up in front of people you sometimes get tongue tied well, I tried to say something like. Jesus should have the best present because he is the reason so I want everyone to write down on the index card what they want to give Jesus for a present for next year and then put it in His present. I had cut a little slit in the box under the ribbon, and everyone put their gifts to Jesus in His present. Then we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

As, our own children were growing up, the tradition was always we had to find baby Jesus before the Christmas Story and then we could open up presents. We still do this every Christmas morning, I'm sure our kids think they are a little to old for this now, but we will probably still carry this on because now our grandchildren are old enough to start hunting for baby Jesus.

I've tried to think of something to do with the boys here at the ranch that is different than our own family tradition and I finally came up with this new tradition this year that I read some where, not even sure where, but I hope that it gets the boys here at the ranch and us adults to really think about what Christmas is really all about. It's not about, gifts, Christmas trees, lights, food or cookies but it all about JESUS! HE is the REASON for the SEASON!

The Boys Say: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Show and Tell!

2007-12-15T22:17:00.000-06:00

I just have to show off 2 of our grandchildren. Heaven (3 1/2) is Cassie our daughter's, step-daughter, and Dylan (19 months) is her son. They are pretty precious don't you think? We are about to have another one as you can see in the picture below.

Cassie's due date is January 11, but I don't think she will make it till the New Year. She is having another boy but we don't know his name yet. Just had to show and tell a little about our personal side of our life. We do have fun with these precious lives God has blessed us with. It is a lot different being a grandma and grandpa than mom and dad. We sometimes tend to spoil them just a little. It's a lot harder disciplining grandchildren and keeping a straight face than I ever remember with our children.

Mary, my unsung hero!

2007-12-13T23:54:00.000-06:00

About a year ago I wrote this little writing for a christian writing contest, didn't win, but thought I would share it with you this Christmas season.

"Mary, my unsug hero"

I can’t imagine being a young virgin girl, taking care of my everyday chores and suddenly a stranger just appears in my house. This stranger says something like, "Look at you! God has looked upon you as a special woman. God is with you!" Wow, I think if that happened to me that I would have to sit down and take a deep breath, before I fell down. Then I would be wondering why me? I’m just an ordinary girl. Why would God say that about me?

Then out of the blue this stranger says, "Hey, girl, calm down, it’s okay, God has picked you out of all the girls around to have you carry his Son. You will give birth to this child and you will call him Jesus." Wait a minute, that is so far fetched, there is no way, I have never slept with a man, how can this happen? The stranger answers "Yes there is a way, young one. The Holy Spirit will come down on you and the power of God will cover you. Anything is possible with God."

I can’t imagine I would tell this stranger that I understand everything he is saying and I do want to serve God with all my heart. So I will wait for this to happen.

How could I show my face when everyone knew I was not married, but pregnant? Then when the time came to have this baby holding him in my arms, knowing that some day I would watch him suffer, a very brutal death, to save the world. How could I do that?

How could she have possibly done this? As we approach this Christmas Season let us remember Jesus is our "HERO", He is the Reason! As an empty nested mother I would have to say that Mary is my unsung hero this Christmas, because She gave birth to Jesus and later let go of him trusting God to finish her job.

Thank you God for choosing Mary and not me!

I may not be a true empty nester but my blood children are all grown up now and it is hard to let them go. Not only have my own children left here but I have had to watch several boys that I have grown to love leave and let go of them trusting God to finish. I just want to revoice Thank you God for choosing Mary and not me!

2 Pins equals 1st Place and 3 Nails equals 1st Place!

2007-12-09T22:57:00.000-06:00

Andy says, "If I was not at the boys ranch right now I would probably be smoking cigarettes, drinking or in jail, but instead I'm out for wrestling and with the help of Jim and Curtis, I just got 1st place at my wrestling tournament yesterday." He pinned both of his opponents.

Andy is doing great and we are proud of the fact that he went out for wrestling. His record so far is 3 wins and 3 losses, his 3 wins are 3 PINS. He didn't wrestle last year because he was to busy trying to find trouble but we thank the Lord that he came to the ranch so he could change his life around.

He has a great personality, a great heart and has had a life changing experience so far here at the ranch. When he first came he had a no care attitude, when ever we gave him consequences he would say I don't care. He soon found out that you don't challenge Jim to have him help you care, because Jim doesn't give up trying to teach a young man that they need to care. I think Jim won that match, because Andy now cares about a lot of things.

Andy also wanted me to share with you his future plans. He is only a Freshman this year but he plans on staying on at the ranch until he graduates from High School. Then he says he is going to stay here at the ranch and help boys like him change their lives. He loves milking the cows and riding the horses. He wants to help Jim teach the boys how to milk the cows and work with the horses. This is a totally different boy than when we first met him. He now not only cares about his own life but is already making a public comment that he cares about other boys like him.

Jesus got pinned to the cross with 3 NAILS (pins) and won his match for all of us, if we only let him take us down to the foot of the cross and give our life over to Him. He is the ultimate winner and he definately won this match with this young man's life. Please remember to pray for Andy as he finishes the ultimate match, his life living for Jesus.

Down and Out!

2007-12-01T15:45:00.000-06:00

I'm down and Jim is out! One thing Jim looks forward to every year is deer season, he loves to hunt and he enjoys supplying food for our table. Today is the first day for shot gun season. What a nice day for him to be out in, ICE and COLD. So that's what he is doing today OUT enjoying the ICE and COLD while I am down on the couch or recliner because my back is out. If you think about us please pray for my back, Jim's cough, (especially being out in this), the boys so I don't have to call Jim while I'm down and he is out.

Really, what I really want to share is it is times like this that the true heart of these boys show. They have been a huge help today, I haven't had an ounce of trouble. Sometimes when Jim is out hunting, the boys push me to the limit to see what I will do. I guess God knows what he is doing when he put me down with my back this time, I guess I needed some peace and quiet while Jim was out hunting. Seriously, though, it isn't fun and very painful so if you could send up an extra prayer please do.

Thanks for your prayers,

Thankful!

2007-11-25T22:44:00.000-06:00

We are thankful that we just got some time away. We left Friday afternoon, drove about 3 1/2 hours to Jim's brother's house Tim's and spent the night with him and his wife Lisa. Had a great visit, then took off in the morning and drove about 3 1/2 more hours following them to Jim's sister's house Kim's to have Thanksgiving dinner with the whole Fry family. We had a great time getting to see the family and Dustin our boy that lived with us for four years also drove up from Branson to be with us for Thanksgiving at Kim's too. It was good to see him. This morning Jim and I got up and finally was able to get Jim to St. Louis to see his first Ram's game. We had a great time, but it would have been a better time if they would have scored that touchdown when they were on the 1 yard line with only 30 seconds left of the game. But it wasn't meant to be they lost 19-24. Bummer! But we are still thankful Jim finally got to a game, after all he has been a Rams fan since he was a little boy. Wait a minute isn't he still a little boy? Oh, I guess not, he is an old man now. Anyway it seems like that because this last year he has been fighting the pneumonia and bronchitis so much.

We are thankful to find out that his lungs in a ct scan were clear and normal, so he is on prednizone, 3 different asthma medicines, and an antibiotic, trying to get rid of his cough and we are waiting for a blood test that they sent away testing for allergies. The pulmonary specialist is pretty sure it is allergy related (the cow barn?). Please pray that we can find out what to do to keep it under control, he is tired of being tired from all the coughing. But very thankful that his lungs were clear.

We are also thankful that the boys went home Wednesday night the 21st at 4:00 and their parents will take them to school tomorrow morning the 26th and we didn't get a single phone call while we were off. Very thankful for that!!!!!

Now please pray for us this week, as the boys get back into our routine, that things go well and we are able to continue feeling refreshed after time off. Not that we don't love the boys we work with and enjoy working with them but it is good to have the time off occasionally.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend and also have a lot to be thankful for.

We are also thankful for Jesus being the reason we are getting ready to celebrate the next season coming up. Thank you Jesus!

Serving Him,

Not sure who did this but GOD knows!

2007-11-11T22:00:00.000-06:00

As we drove out of the lane this morning to go to church this was our view. Not a very pleasant sight.

Our son Curtis, spent quite a bit of time building this mailbox for us, to go along with the cabins we live in. Like I said in this post, is this ministry easy? No, it can be very hard, trying and frustrating. This would be one of those days. We don't know who did this but a little while ago I posted about a Lost Boy. Then in another post I asked you to pray for the Lost Boy because he has left the ranch before completing it, and never accepted Jesus into his heart. Our heart goes out to this boy, we came to love him like our own, and he is still running, still hurting and still searching in all the wrong places. Please pray for him.

We are waiting for the police to find the person that did this crime. We find it a little amusing when we found an abandoned car along side the road this morning about two miles away from the ranch by a little country church and it happens to belong to the lost boy.

We do want the person(s) involved in this crime to be consequenced for their actions. So please pray that God would bring to the surface the truth in this whole thing.

We not only want them to pay for the crime but deep down we want them to realize that they can't keep running from God and have a "good" life.

Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 "Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I'm still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a "good" life. No matter how many days he lives, they'll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow—because he doesn't fear God." The Message

Wreckers vs. Builders!

2007-11-10T10:17:00.000-06:00

James 3:1-5 "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark."

As I was shopping last night telling store clerks, no thank you I don't need help.....I'm just browsing. One thing I noticed was how it is so sad the way customers come in and wreck all the organized shelves and the workers have to fix the mess. Back at the ranch, while I was wrecking our checkbook by spending money (oh, oh!) Jim was home with one of the boys listening to him say he doesn't need help he's a loser and he is going to end up in jail anyway so it doesn't matter. It is so hard when we hear these words come out of a young man's mouth, it makes us realize how the words we speak says it all. It is so hard to get through to anyone when they have been called a loser all their life, that they are not a loser. Last night while Jim was milking cows with this young man, trying to BUILD him UP he would say.... hey, Hector, you're a winner, you can be a winner...... Several times throughout the hour they were milking Jim would tell him this, and then stop just to give him a hug. By the end of the hour Jim finally got an answer from him, when he asked him, "so what can you be Hector?" With a real slow drawn out answer he said, "a winner." It wasn't very convincing but it is a start.

Our job is a very hard job, and we need all the prayer support that we can get, because like the scriture says we are judged more strictly being teachers to these young men, we stumble, we will not be perfect until we are in heaven with our Savior Jesus Christ. We are trying to take a heart that has been broken, ripped, calloused, wrecked by a small thing called the tongue. We have to rebuild this broken heart, to learn how to love and that it is okay to love. We make mistakes because we are human but we try everyday to make a difference in these young men's lives. Is it easy? No, it can be very hard, trying and frustrating. Is it Rewarding? Yes, very! Especially when we get a report card from the school and see that a young man is on the honor roll now instead of mostly F's, or when young men pray for a little 4 year old girl everyday. or when they start to feel good about themselves instead of thinking they are a loser. The most rewarding thing is when they accept Jesus as their personal savior to be Lord of their life.

So please help us out by praying that we can be builders in the young men God entrusts us with and not wreckers. Pray for our tongue because some days are harder than other, when they push us to the limit because they want to see if we are still going to be there for them.

I'm so glad our Father up in Heaven is who HE is because I know there are times when I push Him to the limit to see if He is still going to be there for me.

Thank you Jesus for loving me through it all.

Builders for Christ,

Rejoice in the Lord Always!

2007-11-04T23:28:00.000-06:00

Phillipians 4:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I know that God's word here does not say that we are suppose to rejoice only when life is good, no it says Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!!! I'm sure as you have been reading the blog lately that it doesn't sound like I have been rejoicing. I apologize if I have sounded negative, I'm human and I know God is not finished with me yet. I know HE is near and I am not to be anxious about anything. BUT.............. in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving , present your request to God. So my request to God is everyone out there that is reading this please pray for the Lost Boy that I talked about in this post. He has left the ranch before completing it, and never accepted Jesus into his heart. Our heart goes out to this boy, we came to love him like our own, and he is still running, still hurting and still searching in all the wrong places. Please pray for him.

Some other request to God in our life right now are:

Expansion of the ranch.....................(30 on a waiting list) That's a lot of hurting parents, wanting help for their son. Thankful that this ministry is needed!
Our (personal) Church Family / Middle of a church split/ Thankful that we can go to a building and worship!
Some friends of ours going through a divorce / Thankful that we can come to a Father of love and cry out for help on behalf of our brother and sister in Christ
Jim's health/ thinking that he has allergies to something in the barn/ seeing a pulmonary specialist/ Thankful that God is the great physician
That we can be obedient to God's word and Rejoice Always!

We do want to Rejoice in the Lord, He is faithful to show His love to us even through the hard times. We love you Jesus and thank you for who you are.

Rejoice with us, as we lift these requests to God.

Serving Him,

CHALLENGED!

2007-10-25T13:21:00.000-05:00

James 1:2-4 "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." THE MESSAGE

I know it has been almost 3 weeks since I have posted now, I aplogize, I guess we have just been challenged lately. I'm waiting to become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. I have lots to say but I will have to post again later. My goal today is to get the pictures posted from the Miracles Can Happen Challenge Bike Ride. I hope all you riders that were challenged that day (by the wind) can take time to say a prayer for us in our challenge we are in several days of the week with the ministry we are in. Our rider that came the farthest to ride was a man all the way from South Carolina. Wow! He said he was coming out here to observe the harvest, and meet some farmers in the area and he got online and saw our bike ride and came to ride in it. How awesome is that! I hope he had a great time observing the harvest here, and I really hope he had a great time riding in the Miracles Can Happen Challenge! We appreciate everyone of you who gave of your time to ride or help in our Bike Ride to help us make a difference. We especially want to thank Dick and Karen Grimm for putting this ride on.

This is our South Carolina Rider!

Where did the last two weeks go?

2007-10-07T22:41:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it has been two weeks since I last posted. Wow! Tuesday the 25th of September I had a great talk with one of the boys while Jim and another were out milking. We talked for a good hour and a half and the most important thing we talked about and he agreed was that he has heard Jesus knocking loud on his hearts door 2 times and decided that he didn't need him in his life at this time. About 4 days later this boy ran from the ranch and is still on run right now, and we are asking all of you to pray without ceasing for him right now. He has been on run for the fourth time now in the last week. He has been gone since Tuesday this time, and we are concerned not only for his well being but his future. He was failing 4 classes out of 8 already before he took off, this is his senior year and he is throwing his diploma out the door, when he was this close. He was doing great in the program , moved out into the bachelor pad, after 2 years of being here, gave him a little freedom, some major family issues started taking place, started hanging out with new friends and this is where we are today. Please Pray! He is a great young man, with a great heart, with a lot going for him, with several people out there I know are praying for him. Please pray for his Salvation, protection and willingness to let us love him through Christ. God knows who he is just call him The Lost Boy.

Galatians 5:7 & 8 "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you."

Thank you for helping us run this race, so we can help young men run the good race, and try to persuade them to stay on the right track. This race is not always easy, at times it's very challenging, but with God all things are possible.

I will try to be back soon, to tell you all about the Miracles Can Happen Challenge Bike Ride that took place on September 29. I'm hoping to get caught up this week.

Sleeping with the cows!

2007-09-23T23:30:00.000-05:00

Last night we got home from Clinton after speaking at the Victory Center at about 10:15 just in time to milk the cows. Jim and Zeck went down to milk, to find that one of the cows just had one of her calves. Jim called me to have some of the other boys go down to help him get her inside the barn, so they could milk her, and he put the calf in another pin in the barn. The boys came back up, then Jim and Zeck started milking. Jim got in at about midnight and ask me for the camera because, Zeck did not want the calf to be all by himself his first night here so he was going to sleep in the barn by the calf. Just thought you might like to see Zeck's picture of him sleeping with the baby calf. Looks like Zeck is learning a little about love. When Jim first got the idea of milking cows in this ministry he never imagined that God would use the cows the way he has. Zeck is a living testimony of what the dairy barn has done to change his life. He ask Jim to pray with him to ask Jesus into his life while they were in the barn one night milking the cows. We always tell people we have holy cows because K-love is on at all times in the dairy barn. Thanks for checking in on the ministry God has placed Jim and I in to share about the love of Jesus through something as simple as dairy cows.

Life on the Ranch!

2007-09-18T22:44:00.000-05:00

About 3 weeks ago I wrote about schedules, and talked about how I was already exhausted, well I don't know what I am now after yesterday. I started off with devotions with the boys at 7:30 before Jim took them into school, then I walked my mile and did a few excercises. Read my own devotions while eating breakfast, answered some of my emails, made a few phone calls regarding the Miracles Can Happen Challenge Bike Ride that is coming up on the 29th of September. Did a couple loads of laundry, then went down to the barn to milk the cows at 10:15. Came into the house at 11:30 to the phone ringing, wrote down some notes to be involved in a mission conference October 13 at Grandview Baptist Church in Davenport. Jim and I quick heated up some left overs shoved the food down our mouth, don't know if it tasted good or not, we ate so quick. We took off with the tractor and truck to go bailing for the day, I drove the bailer while Jim bailed 860 bales of hay. Oh I forgot to mention, we covered for in between our daughter and son-in-laws shifts too with our grandson. So he got to help Nana Moo drive the tractor. We called our son-in-law(Scott) at 6:30 and ask him to go into the school to pick up the boys from football practice, and then feed them and by then we should be done bailing. We got into the house at 7:30, I took care of Dylan, (our grandson) and cleaned up from supper, while Jim, the boys, and Scott unloaded most of the hay in the barn. The boys got in a little before 11:00, and Jim got in from milking at 11:30. Oh I forgot to mention that I got supper in the crockpot in the morning also, but that only consisted of browning a couple pounds of hamburger, and taking out some seasoned potatoes and carrots I had in the the freezer, and adding a couple cans of beef broth. Jim and I finally crawled in bed at about 12:30, and started this morning with devotions at 6:30, because the boys rode the bus. Our day continued on, but I'm sure you don't want to hear play by play again, but just thought you might want to read about our life here on the ranch. There is never a dull moment. Jim is just about ready to come in from the night milking it is 11:30 so I suppose I should end this rambling about life at the ranch. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Creative!

2007-09-13T23:35:00.001-05:00

Well what do you think of the new look? I think Crystal from A Pink Lacy Design did a great job of giving the boys ranch blog a new look. Thank you Crystal for using your creativeness that God gave you.

We have a couple boys that have had to stay home from school the last couple days because they got kicked out of school for fighting each other. One, stabbed the other with a pencil and in return the other made a racial comment to him. I'm sure they have learned these last couple days that Jim is pretty creative in getting the point across that the next time they better think about their actions in school. They have had some fun loading manure with a pitch fork for the distasteful action they had in school, and they have dug fence post holes for the hole they put themselves in for not getting along with each other. I think they are getting a little tired and hopefully they will learn from their mistakes. Please remember we can always use the prayer for extra strength as we deal with these boys that have felt abandoned and rejected in their life. Join up with us in prayer to help them realize that they are a new creation in Christ. Pray that we can be creative in this ministry that God placed us in to demonstrate the Love of Jesus to some very hurt young men.

Goals!

2007-09-08T20:16:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We try to teach the boys we work with that God wants to give them hope and a future, so they need to have goals to try to reach. One of our boys just brought one of his first papers home from school for us to look at. He got a 10/10 and had an excellent comment from the teacher. She ask them to write a paper in English about their goals for school and their future. Also what they want to get out of her class. I would like to share a portion of his perfect paper, he was so very proud of.

* My goals for school would be to graduate high school. Pass all of my required classes so that I can finish High School. Then when I turn 18 and have my High School diploma, I'm going to enlist in the Army or some type of branch. For the simple fact that it will guarantee me a job when I get out of the Army or any other branch. Then I feel that God is calling me to ministry with youth....... I just want to learn what you teach me and I will try to my best ability to learn how to do it. I hope we do a lot of reading cause I really like to read. I may not be good at it but I like to do it. *

This was just a portion but the main thing I wanted to point out, is that this is a young man that about 2 years ago just wanted to give up on life, and was a very angry boy wanting to make everyone else around him miserable. God has done some remarkable changes in this boy's life and we are blessed to be able to witness these changes because of some of you who make this ministry possible.

His teacher replied with a little note that says: James, You seem to have the insight and maturity of people much older than you. You clearly bring a wealth of wisdom to this class and I'm happy to have you here. Let me know what I can do to help you reach your goals!

This is exactly the encouragement he needed to start this year out, because at the end of the year last year, we saw a little sign of him giving up on his school work.

Please pray for James schooling, anger issues, rejection issues and an unspoken issue that he needs to work on.

We see this look on his face a lot more than we see the look in the top picture. We like the new look. What about you?

Schedules!

2007-08-28T22:27:00.000-05:00

School has started, schedules are in full swing, football games are about to start, and I'm already exhausted. The boys are learning that they need to pay attention to schedules, if they don't they have listening excercises from Jim to help them learn to listen to schedules. We have 4 out of the 5 boys in football right now. The night before their first scrimmage, we ask them what time they were suppose to be in at the school. Guess what? We got 4 different times, then we ask them what time it started and not one of them knew. They were to find out when they went to school the next day and let us know, not one of them called and not one of them came home after school. We chose not to go to the scrimmage to support them, hoping to let them know that communication is a big part in the life of family. When we got the call that they were ready to be picked up, Jim went in to get them and didn't say anything to them and told them to meet him on our football field. They got a taste of a listening excercise. I'm sure they felt like they were in a boot camp. I think that they are going to make sure to listen to the coach when he gives a time of when practices are or when they are suppose to be at the school for a game.

By the way this was not the first time since football started that we didn't know what time they were suppose to be on the field, actually it was about the 4th. Remember we don't just have one boy out for football, we have 4. It has been so frustrating, but I think we might be getting through to them that listening and communicating are a huge part of family life.

Listening and communicating are also used every day in your job, we have to teach these boys the importance of these two actions, so they will be able to someday hold down a full time job.

Please pray for Jim and I as we continue to try to teach these boys life skills everyday. We would also like prayer for Curtis, he has decided to take another job away from the ranch. He is still going to give us a night off each week and milk for us 8 milkings a month, in exchange for living in the bachelor pad. Which will be a great help, but we will miss him tremendously. We understand he needs to go after his dreams in life, and see what God has in store for him.

We also have our daughter and son-in-law, living here now, instead of Texas. So that means we have some of our grandchildren closer, exciting. They have also told us that they are going to fill in for us occasionally, too. So we will still get some down time. God is good, and knows exactly what is needed at just the hour it is needed.

Miracles and Music Fest

2007-08-13T21:56:00.000-05:00

What a great day of celebration we had on August 11th. We had 5 bands here playing great music. Savior Sent (The Franz Family), The Country Christians, The Graves, Andy Landers and ER Praise Team. They did a wonderful job! We also had great testimonies from three boys.
One boy, Zech, whom is living here right now, another boy Jeremy whom graduated from the ranch in May of 1997 and the third young man was a survivor of our FIRST G.O.T. G.U.T.S. Camp, Andrew. You can read a little about him on a previous post.

God also allowed me to use a gift he has given and that is miming to music. I don't know if the last song touched anybody else's life that day but I was very touched that day to the song His Anchor Holds by Ray Boltz. I almost didn't think I was going to be able to finish the song because I was thinking of all the trials we have gone through in this ministry and it never fails He always gets us through them, His Anchor does hold in spite of the storms of life. It was awesome!

Our boys gave great tours to people on the ranch property and what God has built here the last 15 years.

We had a great day and look forward to doing the Miracle and Music Fest again next year. If you missed this year make sure to mark it down on your calendar for next year. The second weekend in August. Thank you to all the Board members and volunteers we had helping this year it was awesome! Thank you all!!!!! We couldn't have done it without you.

Prayer Please!

2007-08-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

We are doing a lot of Praying, Planning, Preparing and Praying right now getting ready for our 15 year celebration.

God is about to do something big here and we are excited about what is about to happen. We are not sure what that is but because of all the trials we are going through getting ready for this big event we are sure God is going to show up in a very BIG way.

Jim is fighting pneumonia, I'm fighting brochitis, and My Aunt passed away yesterday. Visitations tomorrow, and funeral on Friday.

Please Pray! Thanks!!!

Email from boy...........

2007-08-02T09:25:00.000-05:00

How exciting. We just received an email from one of the boys that was at the Got Guts Camp and I would like to share a portion of that letter.

.......I'm doing great ever since I got back from your ranch. I finally got my dads trust back thanks to you guys. Hay Jim I need to tell you that I'm going to kick yours and Curt's butts at wrestling one of these days so you better start practicing...........

This is the same boy that was delivered to us the first night of camp from a police department and would not shake Jim's hand when he stuck his hand out.

It was amazing what God did with young men's lives this week, please keep praying for all the boys that were involved in the Got Guts camp, including the boys that are still here.

Thanks for helping us run this race that God has placed us in.

Got Guts Pictures!

2007-07-27T00:52:00.001-05:00

Make flash movies with Toufee.com

Got Guts?

2007-07-01T17:50:00.000-05:00

Do you have the Guts to do the right thing? This was the topic all week at the Got Guts Camp we held this last week. We had 5 campers plus our 4 boys that are residents here at the ranch. We had some great helpers and speakers all week long.

We started off last Sunday night with pizza donated from Pizza Ranch in Muscatine, it was awesome! Then watched a movie the boys could somewhat relate to, GRID IRON GANG, with a follow up after the movie by our very own speaker JIM FRY! His challenge was do you have the Guts to let God work on your life this week? Monday the boys woke up to the beautiful outdoors of stretching to the birds singing to get ready for their first run through the timber. Then breakfast out in the woods. Then they helped load wood and cleaned up in the woods and the creek, some sand volleyball, Then we had a hotdog roast and our guest speaker was Kevin Jandt and he spoke about ENDURANCE. He was a participant in the IRON MAN Triathlon and finished a 2.4 mile swim, 112 m. bike ride and a 26.2 mile run in 11 hours and 44 minutes. That's what you call endurance. We also had a guest that night that shared also on endurance, Tim Sylvia 5-time UFC heavyweight champion. That was a pretty packed first day of camp but it was awesome to already see a changed heart in one young man whom wouldn't even shake Jim's hand the night before to be the hardest worker for the day and was awarded a bottle of pop from Jim. Tuesday about the same thing, accept a little bit of playing in the creek in the afternoon because it was so hot. Our guest speaker on this night was Cory Smith one of our counselor's (and board members of the Ranch) and talked to the boys about the choices we make in life. Wednesday, we had a little rain, so we spent the afternoon in the basement of our house, playing pool, ping pong, carpet ball, air hockey and some of them sparred on the wrestling mat with a man named Dean that spars at Pat's Gym. Our son, Curtis decided to spar with Dean also. Thanks for coming out and letting the guys beat up on you, they had a great experience. That night our guest speaker was Craig Peters, a pastor of a church in Davenport, and also has been Jim's accountability partner for the last almost 15 years. He talked to the boys about God being number one and we are #2. If we follow that we will always be a winner, never a loser. Thursday, after working hard moving Brad Imes, whom was out here all week long helping with the camp. Jim and the counselors had a surprise for them and took them out in canoes down sugar creek. They had an awesome time. Our speaker Thursday night was Rick Fountain, and he had a story I don't think the boys will forget, he shared about making something of your life, even though you had one adversity after another, God's Grace is enough. Friday, after working hard in the timber again, Jim, I and the staff took the boys on a longer canoe trip down Sugar Creek, once again an awesome time. I almost forgot, we had awesome coaching staff from Durant here all week teaching them football skills and drills, to get the boys ready for a big football game in front of the parents on Sunday, against the staff. Friday night, we had one of our boys that graduated from the Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch, back in 1995 speak about Choices and change, he has a great story to tell also. We really had two speakers that night, we also had another one of our counselors Brad Imes, an ultimate fighter, wanted to share with the boys, he spoke about perseverance, his mother sounded like quite the fighter and he talked to the boys about perseverance. Saturday night, we enjoyed food donated from Olive Garden, from the Davenport and Coralville stores, it was great! Our last night in the trees on a huge screen, we watched Facing the Giants and it felt like we were at an outdoor theatre. There were a couple nights it felt like we were walking on holy ground, God was moving in the hearts of adults and young men's lives. We topped the week off Sunday morning with church in the trees, with an awesome speaker, Rob Miltenberger from Eerie, Illinois, with an awesome testimony. He talked about us facing Giants everyday in our lives, no matter who we are. It was an awesome time, the parents and grandparents of the campers were invited and then we ate lunch together, and watched a great game of football. The staff played against the boys, it was so fun to stand back and watch the parents and grandparents watch there sons and grandsons have so much fun, playing football against men that they learned to look up to in a short week. We had one camper that wanted to get his haircut so he could look like a new person, we had a couple campers that were having a hard time leaving on Sunday. A couple not so dry eyes, especially one camper on the way home, he asked his grandma why he had to go home, he wanted to stay forever, because it was the first time he was really happy in his life. This grandma just wants to be a grandma, and Lord willing we will keep this young man to fill an empty spot we have so we can step up to be fill in parents for him that he has never really had, then Grandma can be Grandma.

Not only were young boys lives touched this week of the Got Guts camp, but grown adults lives were touched too. God was very present, we had a very busy week, but so moving by God's presence that it was a life changing week for a lot of people involved. I know Jim and I are praying about some more things that we feel God revealed to us through this week, that we would like to share but need to talk to our Board of Directors before we share a whole lot. God is Good and He is continuing to work miracles here at Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch.

Thank you all who helped with our first year of Got Guts, I'm sure we will have another Got Guts camp in the future, we were blessed with some great volunteers for the week. We are sure God will bless you for the tiring week you put in giving of your time, your family life, and your hearts to help young men GET ON TRACK and GROW UP TO SUCCEED. Thanks!

I will post pictures later!

Our precious Dylan!

2007-06-02T23:25:00.000-05:00

Since I told you we were on our way to Texas to see our precious grandson, I just have to show off our pride and joy. He was so much fun! Hope you enjoy!

5K Wild Run/Walk

2007-05-28T23:42:00.000-05:00

Running Wild Store put on a 5K Wild Run/Walk on Saturday, May 26, 2007 proceeds will come to the Ranch. I made a little video and posted at the bottom of this page, please check it out. I couldn't figure out how to size it down so I could post it right here, so this will have to do. I'm just a little computer, blog, and website challenged lately. This will have to do, hope you enjoy!

Breathing much easier!

2007-05-15T22:10:00.000-05:00

The boy has been found, he is at his mom's house in her care, while we go to Texas to be with our precious grandson Dylan for his 1 year birthday. We didn't know how it was all going to work out with him missing and we were suppose to be leaving. God is in control and we need to just trust him in this whole situation. His mom and him are going to work on things for a little while to see if they can resolve issues without him coming back here, if not we will take him back and try again. Please keep him in your prayers!

God Bless You All for your continued prayer support!!!!!

Breathing a little easier!

2007-05-07T22:27:00.000-05:00

Had a phone call from our car insurance company today, stating that if our Rav4 was damaged, due to needing a miracle, it would be covered but if there was any damage to anyone else's property or vehicle, NOTHING would be covered. UGH! Then at about 6:00 we got a phone call that the Rav4 was found, it was parked in front of houses on Friday night, the lights left on. Nobody reported it, one guy said he just moved into the neighborhood and he just figured his neighbor had somebody visiting. The Rav4 was unharmed, AMEN, and we just had the oil changed, so we could see according to the miles that he just drove it to Davenport and parked it.

However, we still have no idea where the boy is. Jim has guardianship, so we would still appreciate your prayers, for him and his protection. We also were going to leave on the 16th to go to Texas to help our grandson celebrate his 1 year birthday, but if we don't find him before then, Jim will probably not be able to leave the state, even if we do find him before then we are not sure what we will do about Jim's airplane ticket because, we won't want to leave him with Curtis, our youngest son, after all this has happened. Please continue to pray for this situation, and thank you for your prayers already because we are breathing a little easier, knowing that he is not driving around in a vehicle with no drivers license.

Lord,

We thank you for the fact that the vehicle is back and the boy is not riding around in it, however, we are very concerned about his protection and well being, please put your loving arms around him, wrap him up, and soften his heart so he will turn himself in, and come back to the ranch, to let you continue to work on his heart. Please watch over him where ever he is, and bring him back safely to us like you did the vehicle. We thank you and praise you in advance for what you are going to do through this whole ordeal that took place.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

We need a miracle!

2007-05-05T00:47:00.000-05:00

Christian Clipart

Today we got our new boy as I stated in this post that we would be getting on May 4th. We definitely thought it was of God when we went to get the guardianship just the way things transpired getting him. We got him home, did a work job, Jim and Curtis wrestled around in the front yard with all of the boys, ate supper, did inside chores, and all of the sudden one of the boys, came to tell me, I might want to check on the new boy because he was sitting in the Rav4, (our personal vehicle). I ran out there and he was backing out of the drive way, and peeled out. I called Jim on the cell phone, right away because he was down in the barn, and he took off with the truck through the hay field after him. We still have not found him and this happened about 5 hours ago. He is out there on run, with our personal vehicle, with no license. Please all saints join up with us in prayer, for protection for him, and everyone else he comes in contact with that vehicle. We have the Cedar County Sheriff's office, involved with this, and just pray that he will be found soon. Please pray for his mom also, as this is very hard for her.

Psalm 77:14 "You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples."

Please pray for a miracle for the Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch.

Off to the Bachelor Pad!

2007-04-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

E R I C ---------- E is for Entertaining, R is for Riot, I is for Ingenious and C is for Comical. These are a few words we could use to describe a young man we have grown to love as he has resided here at Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch since August of 2005.

Eric has completed the Season Level in our program and has now advanced to the Playoff Level. He moved into the bachelor pad, to begin a new phase in his life. While living in the bachelor pad, Eric, will learn how to hold himself accountable, control a check book, what paying bills is all about, and the basics of what it takes to be an adult living on your own. He will strive to make it to the Superbowl, in completing the program by staying in the bachelor pad at least 6 months. When he leaves, we pray that he decides to leave as the winner of the Superbowl. We say that in saying that it is their choice what they want to get out of this program. So, if you think of Eric please pray for him as he is entering the playoffs, taking on new tackles that will be set before him, with new privileges, different passes thrown at him, and needing to decide if he wants to listen to the coach of life, that we all need to listen to, or if he wants to try to be the quarterback that decides his own play to run. Thank you all for joining us in prayer for Eric as he moves forward in this program.

New boy coming May 4th!

2007-04-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

As my husband and I have met with different parents in the last month, to fill our empty bed, I found myself in a very hard situation of helping my husband make a decision of which boy we should work with. As I sat listening to each of these mothers, hurting for their sons that they gave birth to, I couldn't help but think of my own son that I gave birth to 23 years ago. I love my son with all my heart, but he is making some choices in his life right now that are not going along with the way his father and I raised him. I, have sat in this living room, for years meeting with several parents, and cried for the mothers as they have hurt for their sons. Now, I sat in my living room, crying not only for these mothers but also for myself and the choices my son is making. I know, though, that God's word is true, and the verse that I painted on the rock at the entrance to this ranch, and the verse that is on our brochures, is the verse I will continue to hold onto. Proverbs 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." My God is a Big God and He is not only going to do Miracles in other hurting mom's son's lives, but in my son's life too. The reason I have had a hard time helping my husband make this decision is because I want to help them all, because I am walking some what in their shoes now. The only difference is, my son is an adult and their son is still living under their roof. Please pray for the New boy that we have chosen to come here on the 4th of May, I will reveal his first name later, after we see if the guardianship goes through. Also, we would like you to join us in prayer for our son Cory.

Serving Him,

Recovery from surgery!

2007-04-22T23:05:00.000-05:00

One of our boys, James, had to have galbladder surgery at the young age of 16. He is recoverying but can use your prayers, as he goes back to school. Pray that he will be able to catch back up on his school work that he missed out on, and pray for protection from elbows in busy hallways. He was at home with his mom, recovering from the surgery and we received a phone call about an arguement that was going on. Jim talked to James and told him that his mom is going through a lot right now in her life, and he needed to step up and be mature about this whole thing, he understood and hung up the phone. About a half an hour later, his mom called back crying, telling us that what ever Jim said to him thank you, because she just got the biggest hug ever from her son. God is using this young man, in a mighty way, in his families live's by the change they are seeing in his actions. Please pray for James recovery from this surgery and also for his family, when you think about it. His mom especially, she just went through one knee surgery about 6 weeks ago, and now has to have the same knee operated on, this Tuesday because it won't bend properly due to scar tissue. Thank you all for checking this blog, to get updates, please leave a comment so I know if I should keep this going.

2007-04-13T10:46:00.000-05:00

ICorinthians 16:19 & 20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Heinsite fitness center in our area put on a biggest loser contest, with 47 participants. These participants were trying to see who was the biggest loser and they lost a total of 899 pounds. Before they started this they were explained that the money they paid to enter and the money they had to give for not reaching their goals, was going to go to the #1 winner (loser) to be given to their favorite charity. There was a tie, so they had to share the money to give to the charity of their choice. Guess what, we were both of their choices. So because they were the biggest LOSERS we were the biggest WINNERS and recipients of $1,010.00 to help us run the race God has placed us in. Our God is an Awesome God and uses people in very creative ways to help us continue doing His work.

Sacrifice! Thank you Jesus! Thank you supporters!

2007-04-07T10:01:00.000-05:00

Hebrews 7:26-28 "Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever." NIV

Hebrews 26-28 "So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God's presence in heaven itself. Unlike the other high priests, he doesn't have to offer sacrifices for his own sins every day before he can get around to us and our sins. He's done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice. The law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, who is absolutely, eternally perfect." THE MESSAGE

Thank you Jesus for fitting our need; you did it once and for ALL, even for me. Thank you God for appointing your SON, who is absolutely, eternally perfect. Jim and I couldn't do this job of working with these boys daily but you sacrificed your life for us, so that you could forgive us when we mess up trying to deal with these boys. It's not an easy job, but with your help we can do it and we will continue on in the race you have placed us in.

We would like to thank all of you who have sacrificed a part of your life to help us run this race. I especially think of everyone who sacrificed a little to adopt a cow, the cow's are even being used to minister to these boys. The one on one time that Jim or Curtis have while milking the cows has been a great tool. So when you see a cow running in the pasture, think of the boys ranch, the race we are running and say a little extra prayer.

This cow's name is praisin', it's kind of funny to think back of how the proud parents of this adopted cow came up with her name. They were having septic problems with their house, and were praying, thought they were going to have to pay $2,000 to 2,500 to fix their problems but God took care of them so they felt God was telling them to take that $2,000 to buy a cow, so they did and they were praisin God so they named her praisin. We are having septic problems with this cow, she is our dirtiest cow, because the gets down on her front knees and poops, therefore poops all over her bag and is constantly covered in poop. But we just keep praisin the Lord because he is good, and it makes us laugh to think how this cow got her name.

Do not Steal!

2007-04-05T00:27:00.000-05:00

Luke 19:19 Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself."

Sometimes it is so hard to carry through with our consequences that we have established when it is so major, but we know that we have to be stable, consistent, and follow through with the rules or we might as well hang up what we are trying to teach them. They at times are just testing to see if we are still going to be there for them.

We just had one of the boys, that have been here for a while just get caught stealing at school. With the school rules he got kicked out of school for three days. Our rules when they get kicked out of school are 2 loads of manure everyday they are kicked out. However our rule for stealing is paying back double the amount that was stolen, this really hurts when the item that was stolen is valued $200.00. So this boy has a huge lesson to learn through this. At first when he got caught he was just going to give up, didn't care and was just going to end up in jail when he got out of here anyway. However, our God, is a powerful and loving God and the holy spirit got to working on him while he was loading the manure, his attitude changed, and he worked off his consequences and is ready to try again, and start to accept the fact that he can succeed and that he wants to succeed.

Please pray for this young man, help him to continue to realize that yes, he can be forgiven and move on from here. Jesus knows exactly which one he is.

Thank you for your prayers!

He really does provide!

2007-03-07T00:13:00.000-06:00

Phillipians 4:12 "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

We spoke at Wilton Baptist Church, this past Sunday, where the teen girl attends that said, "Hey, our church has toilet paper collected for you," We were in awe when we walked in the Church, it was lined up on the pulpit and was packed every where. I haven't counted, but from what I can remember the Pastor had counted it and said it was something like 300 rolls of toilet paper, 147 rolls of paper towels, and 70 pairs of socks. Wow! It is so awesome to see the last 15 years living by faith how he does provide our every need! Our God is an Awesome God!!!!

Servants for Christ not in need of toilet paper,

God Really Does Provide Our Every Need!

2007-02-28T21:58:00.000-06:00

I Peter 5:5-7 "Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

You are probably wondering why the toilet paper, right? Well, we are living by faith in this ministry and that means we are even trusting God's people to supply our need of toilet paper. So just to let you know being in ministry sometimes can be a very humbling experience. Did you know........

Before paper was widely available, a variety of materials were employed. The Romans used an L-shaped stick (like a hockey stick) made of wood or precious metal; at public toilets people used sponges on sticks that were kept in saltwater between uses. In arid climates, sand, powdered brick, or earth was used. Until the late nineteenth century, Muslims were advised to use three stones to clean up. One favorite tool was a mussel shell, used for centuries. Until the early twentieth century, corn cobs were used.

In the late fifteenth century, when paper became widely available, it began to replace other traditional materials. Sometimes old correspondence was pressed into service, as were pages from old books, magazines, newspapers, and catalogs. People also used old paper bags, envelopes, and other bits of scrap paper, which were cut into pieces and threaded onto a string that was kept in the privy.

Well, I said all this to say, I think our boys here at the ranch would rather be a little embarrassed when a teen 'girl' comes up to him in school to say "Hey, our church has toilet paper collected for you," instead of having to use magazines, newspapers or corn cobs in the privy.

So saying all that, thank you all who have helped us teach these boys about humility, by donating toilet paper for us to use in the privy.

I will continue to cast my anxiety on him to continue to supply our toilet paper need so I don't have to use corn cobs.

Hope you enjoyed the funny post!

Humbled servants,

He will never leave you!

2007-02-23T09:55:00.000-06:00

Christian Clipart

Deuteronomy 31:8 (New International Readers Version) "The Lord himself will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will never leave you. He'll never desert you. So don't be afraid. Don't lose hope."

We just did a very hard thing here at the ranch, something we have only had to do 3 other times in the last 15 years of this ministry. We just had to let the #34th boy go from this program, he was only here 8 months and because of some choices he made, we decided we can't help a young man that doesn't want to help himself. Some of the last words we, Jim, Cathy and Curtis, said to him was:

Curtis said, "You hurt me bad it really hurt me but...... I forgive you and I love ya, man"

Cathy said, "I hated your actions but I love you and the only way you will ever make it in life is if you turn to Jesus, because HE is the only true one that can help you."

Jim said, "I really don't feel like hugging you right now but I'm going to anyway, I'm giving up on you, but Jesus will never give up on you."

We learned to love this young man through Christ's love and it is very hard having him as a part of our life trying to teach him right from wrong, and then having to let him go, knowing that he was choosing to still go down the wrong path. We know though that our GOD is a GOD of MIRACLES and HE used US to plant the seeds and HE will send SOMEONE ELSE to water it and HE is the only one that can make it GROW!

I Corinthians 3:5-7 "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."

Lord, Jim and I, know we are nothing, you have just chose us as your servant to be your tool, to just touch a portion of this young man's life, but we know that you are EVERYTHING to us and we trust someday you will be EVERYTHING to this young man, because you are a God of MIRACLES. Please just watch over him as he leaves our home, and put you arms around him and give him that hug everynight that we are not able to do now. We thank you in advance for what you are going to do in this young man's life and we thank you for letting us be a part of his life for the 8 months he was here. In Jesus Name, Amen

Miracles Happen Even Today!

2007-02-16T11:28:00.000-06:00

Psalm 77:14 "You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples."

Jim and I would like to be able to share daily or weekly little miracles that are taking place at Miracles Can Happen Boys Ranch through this blog that will be posted on the website. We are in awe of what God has done at the ranch in the last 15 years. It has been a rough ride but a very awesome ride at the same time. Please feel free leave a comment; either a prayer, a word of encouragement, or a question if you have any. I hope to use this as a journal, to keep track of the daily, weekly, or monthly miracles God performs here at the ranch. He is the God who performs miracles.