Hi all,
Some short updates and such.
Upcoming meetings: This Tuesday, March 14-22 I’ll be in Lithuania. April 8-9 in Osawatomie, Kansas holding a seminar and prayers for emotional healing. From April 18-30, I’ll be in Finland and Norway. May 25-28 is the Dutch conference. July 14-16 Montreal/Granby, Quebec, Canada. October is our New England regional meeting over the Columbus Day weekend, exact dates TBA but generally 4-11th. We’ve got lots of money going out right now so your giving this month is especially appreciated.
House churches affiliated with CWOWI: We would like to expand our e-newsletter to include short paragraphs about what is happening in some of our affiliates around the world. If you are in an affiliate of cwowi or even hope to start a house church, email me please at cwowi@aol.com so we can include a paragraph or two in these future newsletters or on a web page on our site about what is happening around the world. Thanks!
For us personally
We’ve had a lot of behavioral issues with Chris the last 3 weeks – Brain injury people often want to say something but it gets garbled between the thought and being able to speak it out, which results in what appears to us on the ‘outside’ as sudden outbursts of anger. But we found last week he lashed out while getting on the bus to the workshop because someone there had hit him the day before. He had a good week this week, but it took a lot of time by me talking to the aides, getting to the bottom of what the issues were, and deal with that team of caregivers. Please pray he does well during my travels this and next month.
Neanderthal?
Barb and I recently had DNA reports done to find our ancestry. It’s simple enough; spit into a tube and mail it off in the provided padded envelope, wait 6 weeks and they give you your ancestry based on your DNA. We did it about 5 years ago but technology is more advanced now so the report was much more detailed than before. Mine came out pretty much as I suspected other than one important element. I’m all European with Irish and British making up 48% of my DNA. German/French was another 19%, Scandinavian 1% and another broadly northern European 25%, Italian and southern European 5%, and 2% eastern European.
The report was detailed, showing eastern European and Scandinavian in my DNA back into the 1600’s, then to Italy and Germany and France by the 1700-1800’s, then to Ireland and Britain in the early 1800’s.
Then came page 4
All that information is the summary of pages 1 through 3. Interesting enough I thought, and I was impressed they could go back into the 1600’s to trace the move of my ancestors across eastern and southern Europe into Germany, France, and to Ireland and Britain. Then I turned to page 4 which said in large and bold font:
“Neanderthal Ancestry. You have 291 Neanderthal variants. This is more than 70% of (our) customers.” Evidently long before the 1600’s and my eastern European ancestors, there were other ancestors from the Neander Valley in Germany from which science says the Neanderthal’s came. It says and I quote: “You have 1 Neanderthal variant associated with your height.” Short story – I’m part Bigfoot. lol. There are 1436 DNA markers from Neanderthals and I have 291 of them…
I don’t know all the science between me and Adam and Eve and then to Noah and family that eventually led to me being born into this earth, and if I let it I might base my whole self-image and sense of worth based on what is now a rather confusing set of DNA facts. But what I do know is that in my spirit and soul I changed families back in 1974 and it is that family that I identify with more than the temporary earthly designations of family.
But the truth is all of us born of the Spirit have changed families. The question is which family do we identify with, try to emulate, and find our sense of worth and destiny? That is a life-long process called discipleship. Whatever science says I am according to my earth-body I know that in my spirit and soul, and one day in body too, I am a family member of the Father God and His Son Jesus.
There is only 1 method of transforming our lives offered in scripture: “Be transformed (undergo a metamorphosis) by renewing your mind…” Romans 12:1-3
The only way to renew the mind is to reject thoughts that are contrary to revelation from God. No one can lay hands on you to make it happen, no devil can be cast out, no fasting will suddenly change your thoughts – we have to actually do what the Word says, argue against old thoughts by thinking new thoughts and only those new thoughts. All else is distraction. He does touch people here and there to heal a moment in our minds from the past, or touch us to take away emotional pain or sadness, but on a day to day basis, we must control our thoughts and emotions. That’s the only way to grow in Christ.
Sounds simple but it is hard at first, then progressively easier. Win the argument with the old thoughts by insisting on the new. At first it is a test of wills, especially if old thoughts originated or have demons attached to them – but a person must establish their will and insist they will think only what God says about them. End of argument. End of discussion. Only then will the momentum change.
As always, we really, really, appreciate your giving and prayers for us!
John & Barb
