Jake In The House

This morning I had a brand new experience. I won a radio contest. Here's how it went down.

The DJ asked for the 7th and 8th callers to play the game "What's In My Hat." I was the 7th caller.

I asked, "Is it soft?" The DJ said, "No." So I guessed, "A CD." I was wrong

The other contestant asked, "Is it alive?" The DJ said, "No." I can't remember what he guessed.

I asked, "Does it make noise?" The DJ said, "No." So I guessed, "A coffee mug." I was wrong again.

The other contestant asked, "Does it move?" The DJ said , "No." He guessed, "A remote." He was wrong.

I asked, "Is it a toy?" The DJ said, "No." So I guessed, "A pen." I was RIGHT!

I am the smartest man in the universe!

I actually did have a bit of a strategy. I assumed the DJ would have put something in a hat that was readily available to him in his DJ booth. But, obviously, my guess of a pen was completely out of no where.

Try It, You Might Like It

Props to David Millar for his comment on my Pickle Sickle post. This man stands behind his product. And, by the looks of the website (www.bobspicklepops.com), his product is doing quite well. In fact, I feel kind of bad about publicly saying how disgusting it was. And, while I still think it tasted pretty nasty, I hope all of you will try it and form your own opinion. Maybe you'll become one of the many endorsements found on the website.

Our First Month

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." -Matthew 5:10

Christy and I have finished our first month of volunteer work with The Voice Of The Martyrs. Here are just a few of the highlights.

• Both of us have been working with the Bibles Unbound program. We have helped to send hundreds of Bibles to individuals in China. We will soon be sending Bibles to individuals in other countries as well. One cool thing about this program is that you can be directly involved! Go to http://www.biblesunbound.com/ for more information.


• Christy has spent a lot of time helping out at the VOM main office. She has helped in a variety of ways there, including signing receipts, writing thank you cards, and putting together children's workbooks that teach about persecution across the world.


• I have been working in the warehouse in the order fulfillment department. VOM offers a ton of different materials that are all focused on persecution. We ship out many books, newsletters, other literature, t-shirts, and DVDs everyday. VOM offers these great resources to educate the world on persecution. I encourage all of you to visit http://www.persecution.com/. From there, you can sign up for the absolutely FREE monthly newsletter! You can also find a link to all the other materials that VOM offers.


• In May, Christy will assume the role of Apartment Manager. For 6 months, Christy will be in charge of the volunteer housing that is owned by VOM. She will also be assisting the Facilities Manager during those 6 months. This position is a huge answer to prayer for Christy and I. We are excited about this opportunity!


• Every Tuesday, VOM offers a chapel service for its staff and volunteers. Christy and I have really appreciated these chapel services. Recently, we had the honor to go out to breakfast with one of the special guest speakers. I loved the opportunity to sit and talk with this man. He is an Iranian man who is involved with ministry to the Iranian people and he is involved with ministry to people right here in America. He told us many stories about the amazing things that are happening among the people of Iran right now. The Spirit of God is moving in the Middle East.

It has been a great first month for us. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for us. We would really appreciate your prayers concerning the fact that we still need to sell our house in Ohio!

As I write this on Good Friday, I am reminded of the cross. We see crosses everywhere in the USA. We freely display them in, on, and around our churches and homes. We freely wear them in the form of jewelry and on our clothing. The cross has become common (and often times, meaningless). Unfortunately, the message of the cross, while never meaningless, has also become common. We freely share it and hear it - especially this time of year.

There are places in this world, though, where the cross (both the symbol and the message) are not common and meaningless. There are places where the symbol is not freely displayed and worn, and where the message is not freely heard or shared. There are places where doing these things are a literal death sentence.

A note that was once smuggled from the underground church in Communist Romania stated, "We don't pray to be better Christians, but that we may be the only kind of Christians God means us to be; Christ-like Christians; that is, Christians who will bear willingly the cross for God's glory."

On this Good Friday, thank God for the cross. Thank God for the act of love that was displayed there. Ask God to give strength to those who bear willingly the cross in parts of this world where it is dangerous to do so. For we know that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church."