If you’ve ever skated, stepped onto an icy path, or had children help you push a shopping cart across a parking lot, you’ll know that sometimes you can exert energy to move forward, and sometimes you can just coast or glide. Coasting seems ok initially, but when you’re coasting, you lose control and you’ll lose speed pretty quickly. Coasting is like trying to get by on past victories. King Saul’s life is a warning to us all. God anointed him to be king over Israel, but He lost God’s anointing because He stopped seeking, listening to, and obeying God. Saul started out very aware of His weakness and lack of importance. But Saul started coasting when he grew big in his own eyes and trusted himself instead of God.
We must continually walk with the Lord, listen to His voice and obey His word. We cannot rely on past experiences and presume to know what the Lord would have us do in a given situation. I’ve learned the hard way that the worst plan for any given situation is what worked last time. It might be, but we cannot presume to know God’s plan. None of us will ever arrive at a level in our Christian walk where we can kick back and relax. We are all unfinished masterpieces! We need to get fresh manna every day from God, and continually keep our eyes and ears attuned to Him.
I had an experience recently where an influential person gave me a personal prophetic word. It was framed in a very negative way, was not edifying, and neither Paul nor I felt it was from the Lord. We also asked several of our accountability partners about the word. Every one of them gave us the same counsel . . . the word was erroneous, so disregard it. We did. We prayed for forgiveness for the person. We realized that they had probably gotten out of the habit of seeking God, allowing other things to replace intimacy with God, and yet they tried to cling to their title and position. This is a dangerous place to be – much damage is done in the body of Christ by this kind of loose cannon shooting. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 instructs us to encourage and build one another up.
Just like an out of control shopping cart in a parking lot, coasting can damage both the individual and those around them. It’s a temptation to relax wherever we’re at in our Christian walk. We can kid ourselves by thinking we know God well enough, thinking we’ve done enough Bible study for a lifetime – we can take it easy for a while and focus on ministering to others. It sounds ok in a way, because it’s good to minister to others, but if we’re not actively seeking God, we’re actually living in a place of pride, trusting in our own experience, learning, strength, or gifts instead of depending on God. That is a dangerous place to be.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
moves of God – warning sign #1 – seeking experiences
Are we more concerned about seeking an experience than seeking God? It’s wonderful to feel thrilling things happen. I’ve been slain in the Spirit, shaked and quaked and experienced many other physical manifestations, had wonderful emotions while in the presence of the Lord, experienced dramatic physical healings, words of knowledge, seen dreams and visions, heard God’s audible voice . . . But as exciting as they may seem, those are just signs pointing to God. They’re not the destination! We cannot focus on experiences; we can’t live for experiences. It’s a huge mistake to base any part of our beliefs on our own or someone else’s personal experience. Can we examine our hearts and see if we can honestly say to God – “if I never feel Your presence again, if you never give me another blessing, I will still worship you because of who You are. You are worthy! I will still love you. I will still serve you. I will still devote my life to you.” Our feelings are not trustworthy; God is completely trustworthy! Jeremiah 17:9 says that “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” We need to keep our focus on God and His ways, constantly, in every situation. We need to daily seek Him and study His word. We need to check out whatever we hear preached or taught, and whatever we experience, against the word of God. I hope you will check out what I’m writing here! The problem with seeking experiences is that they are temporary and subjective, and if we base our theology on experiences, then we will be very prone to imbalance and error. Only God’s Word is permanent and completely objective. His Word is the rock upon which we can stand firmly.
We had a neighbor on our street in Atlanta who worked for the treasury department, specializing in identifying counterfeit bills. She was trained to recognize counterfeits by looking at many, many authentic bills. Being very familiar with the real thing enabled her to instantly recognize imitations when she saw them. The more familiar we become with what is true and real and authentic, the less likely we’ll be lured away by anything false. We discover the truth by studying the Bible on our own and with others. The most dangerous deception is not one that is completely opposite to the truth – it’s one that is extremely close to the truth, with one little twist. When my family moved to Australia in 1971, we took a ship from New Orleans in the U.S.A. to Sydney, Australia. If the ship’s course had been off by just a couple of degrees, we would have completely missed our destination. When it comes to what we choose to believe, seemingly small errors can lead to really big problems later on.
I long for God’s Kingdom transformation to come, I long for people to turn to Christ by the thousands. I long for sin to be swept out of the city and for God’s righteousness to prevail. But I do not want to settle for temporary excitement that is not accompanied by lasting fruit. It’s as though God has invited us to eat with Him at the most amazing restaurant ever. We walk in and see the beautiful lighting, and smell the aroma coming from the kitchen. We drink in the beauty of the flowers on each table and the delicacy of the table linens. We admire the craftsmanship of the plates and silverware and the intricate designs on the glassware. At that point, we feel good, our senses have been stimulated; we are filled with pleasure. But if we spend all our time at the restaurant simply enjoying pleasurable feelings, we will miss the best part, which is to meet with God, to know Him. He is offering us the most intimate relationship possible. He wants our hearts to beat with His, to have the mind of Christ, to be one with Him. This happens as we spend time with Him and get to know Him. There’s no fast track or shortcut to intimacy with God. I think often God gives us a little glimpse of His Kingdom and we say, “oh this is so wonderful” and we are satisfied with that. God has so much more for each of us – but He is waiting to see if we are serious about our relationship with Him. He wants us to seek Him and not just pursue experiences. Each day is precious and a gift from God . . . let’s not miss even one opportunity to draw ever closer to the face and heart of our beautiful Creator and Savior.
We had a neighbor on our street in Atlanta who worked for the treasury department, specializing in identifying counterfeit bills. She was trained to recognize counterfeits by looking at many, many authentic bills. Being very familiar with the real thing enabled her to instantly recognize imitations when she saw them. The more familiar we become with what is true and real and authentic, the less likely we’ll be lured away by anything false. We discover the truth by studying the Bible on our own and with others. The most dangerous deception is not one that is completely opposite to the truth – it’s one that is extremely close to the truth, with one little twist. When my family moved to Australia in 1971, we took a ship from New Orleans in the U.S.A. to Sydney, Australia. If the ship’s course had been off by just a couple of degrees, we would have completely missed our destination. When it comes to what we choose to believe, seemingly small errors can lead to really big problems later on.
I long for God’s Kingdom transformation to come, I long for people to turn to Christ by the thousands. I long for sin to be swept out of the city and for God’s righteousness to prevail. But I do not want to settle for temporary excitement that is not accompanied by lasting fruit. It’s as though God has invited us to eat with Him at the most amazing restaurant ever. We walk in and see the beautiful lighting, and smell the aroma coming from the kitchen. We drink in the beauty of the flowers on each table and the delicacy of the table linens. We admire the craftsmanship of the plates and silverware and the intricate designs on the glassware. At that point, we feel good, our senses have been stimulated; we are filled with pleasure. But if we spend all our time at the restaurant simply enjoying pleasurable feelings, we will miss the best part, which is to meet with God, to know Him. He is offering us the most intimate relationship possible. He wants our hearts to beat with His, to have the mind of Christ, to be one with Him. This happens as we spend time with Him and get to know Him. There’s no fast track or shortcut to intimacy with God. I think often God gives us a little glimpse of His Kingdom and we say, “oh this is so wonderful” and we are satisfied with that. God has so much more for each of us – but He is waiting to see if we are serious about our relationship with Him. He wants us to seek Him and not just pursue experiences. Each day is precious and a gift from God . . . let’s not miss even one opportunity to draw ever closer to the face and heart of our beautiful Creator and Savior.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
is this a move of God?
There are all kinds of reports floating around about “moves of God.” How do we tell if anything is a move of God? I’m not going to try to answer that question for you regarding any specific situation. But God has given me a burden to gently warn the body of Christ – be careful not to fall into deception or follow false teaching, because not everything that bears the name of Jesus Christ is authentic. Jesus Himself warned us in Matthew 24:11 – 13 that at the end of the age, “many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved”. I believe that we are living in those times.
I think there’s a great temptation especially among those of us on the charismatic end of the Christian continuum to accept everything that claims to be from God, because we don’t want to miss the latest wave of the Spirit. It is wonderful to be hungry for God and to seek Him. I greatly enjoy coming together with other believers for this purpose – in Atlanta I met regularly for many years with other believers to seek the Lord together, and here in Nizhny it is a joy to meet with the soaking group on Friday nights to do that. It is a huge blessing to be among brothers and sisters in Christ who are hungry for God and seeking His face. It’s a high point in my life each week! God is faithful to meet us every time we seek Him! I want to experience God’s fullness and blessing and presence and participate with whatever He is doing. But it’s clear that the body of Christ needs much greater discernment in prayerfully examining any claimed moves of God.
A move of God is often referred to as a “revival.” E. M. Bounds, a Methodist pastor who lived 150 years ago and who wrote many books on prayer, wrote that revivals are among the charter rights of the church. They are the evidences of its divinity, the tokens of God’s presence, the witness of his power. But there are also counterfeit revivals that are designed to deceive the most wary. These are deceptive and superficial, with many pleasant, entertaining, delusive features, entirely lacking in the offensive features which accompany the genuine ones. The pain of repentance, the shame of guilt, the sorrow and humiliation of sin, the fear of hell—these marks of genuine revivals are lacking in the counterfeit. Shallow revivals do more harm than good, like a surface thaw in midwinter which only increases the hardness and roughness of tomorrow’s freeze. All genuine revivals are simply God coming with great grace to his Church.
J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, published an article this week entitled, “Lord, Give Us Hot Coals from Your Altar!” – here’s an excerpt:
“I find myself longing for an authentic move of God. I am so weary of the fake and the fabricated. In this day of media manipulation, it seems we can use smoke and mirrors to create “revivals” that have neither conviction of sin nor conversions. Oh, we think we have the power. We boast about the size of the crowds. We brag about miracles. We are ready to declare a revival if Christians fall on the floor or give big offerings. But when the music stops, the TV cameras are turned off and the money is counted, what do we have? Nothing but a cheap imitation. Where is the God of Elijah? Where is the God of Evan Roberts? Where is the true power of God that can sweep over a city and bring backslidden Christians to repentance and hardened sinners to experience the greatest miracle of all—the miracle of new birth? I invite you to stoke the fire of the Spirit in your life. Let the hot coals of heaven purge any known sin from your heart. Repent of all compromise. Be ruthless with any idols. Let the love of God boil inside you until your heart is overflowing with love for sinners. Let’s believe that it is possible for the Holy Spirit to draw our wayward nation back to God."
There have been some very disturbing and widespread false teachings and false teachers exposed in recent years, some of which have been highly publicized. It’s sad to say that a large number of deceptive teachings have emerged from the United States, but they can come from anywhere. When deception occurs, many very well-meaning and sincere people become wounded, and some become disillusioned. We must be careful how we live, and what we choose to believe, both for our own sakes, and also for the sake of those over whom we exert influence.
Ephesians 4:14 tells us that it is possible to be “blown here and there by every wind of teaching”. Paul exhorts Timothy to “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” How can we watch our life and doctrine closely and not be blown around? Over the next several weeks, I want to share some warning signs that we might be getting off track, and also some key characteristics of genuine moves of God.
I think there’s a great temptation especially among those of us on the charismatic end of the Christian continuum to accept everything that claims to be from God, because we don’t want to miss the latest wave of the Spirit. It is wonderful to be hungry for God and to seek Him. I greatly enjoy coming together with other believers for this purpose – in Atlanta I met regularly for many years with other believers to seek the Lord together, and here in Nizhny it is a joy to meet with the soaking group on Friday nights to do that. It is a huge blessing to be among brothers and sisters in Christ who are hungry for God and seeking His face. It’s a high point in my life each week! God is faithful to meet us every time we seek Him! I want to experience God’s fullness and blessing and presence and participate with whatever He is doing. But it’s clear that the body of Christ needs much greater discernment in prayerfully examining any claimed moves of God.
A move of God is often referred to as a “revival.” E. M. Bounds, a Methodist pastor who lived 150 years ago and who wrote many books on prayer, wrote that revivals are among the charter rights of the church. They are the evidences of its divinity, the tokens of God’s presence, the witness of his power. But there are also counterfeit revivals that are designed to deceive the most wary. These are deceptive and superficial, with many pleasant, entertaining, delusive features, entirely lacking in the offensive features which accompany the genuine ones. The pain of repentance, the shame of guilt, the sorrow and humiliation of sin, the fear of hell—these marks of genuine revivals are lacking in the counterfeit. Shallow revivals do more harm than good, like a surface thaw in midwinter which only increases the hardness and roughness of tomorrow’s freeze. All genuine revivals are simply God coming with great grace to his Church.
J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, published an article this week entitled, “Lord, Give Us Hot Coals from Your Altar!” – here’s an excerpt:
“I find myself longing for an authentic move of God. I am so weary of the fake and the fabricated. In this day of media manipulation, it seems we can use smoke and mirrors to create “revivals” that have neither conviction of sin nor conversions. Oh, we think we have the power. We boast about the size of the crowds. We brag about miracles. We are ready to declare a revival if Christians fall on the floor or give big offerings. But when the music stops, the TV cameras are turned off and the money is counted, what do we have? Nothing but a cheap imitation. Where is the God of Elijah? Where is the God of Evan Roberts? Where is the true power of God that can sweep over a city and bring backslidden Christians to repentance and hardened sinners to experience the greatest miracle of all—the miracle of new birth? I invite you to stoke the fire of the Spirit in your life. Let the hot coals of heaven purge any known sin from your heart. Repent of all compromise. Be ruthless with any idols. Let the love of God boil inside you until your heart is overflowing with love for sinners. Let’s believe that it is possible for the Holy Spirit to draw our wayward nation back to God."
There have been some very disturbing and widespread false teachings and false teachers exposed in recent years, some of which have been highly publicized. It’s sad to say that a large number of deceptive teachings have emerged from the United States, but they can come from anywhere. When deception occurs, many very well-meaning and sincere people become wounded, and some become disillusioned. We must be careful how we live, and what we choose to believe, both for our own sakes, and also for the sake of those over whom we exert influence.
Ephesians 4:14 tells us that it is possible to be “blown here and there by every wind of teaching”. Paul exhorts Timothy to “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” How can we watch our life and doctrine closely and not be blown around? Over the next several weeks, I want to share some warning signs that we might be getting off track, and also some key characteristics of genuine moves of God.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Permanent Impact October 2008
. . . a newsletter to keep you up-to-date with Sculley family adventures in Russia and beyond
We're willing to go . . . are you willing to send us?
What's the latest?
Sculley snapshots
We've been back in Nizhny Novgorod just over a month now, but it seems much longer as typically happens when there's a lot going on! We've taken advantage of the warmer weather to explore our surroundings and enjoy connecting with lots of friends all over the city. The first snow fell in September, but thankfully autumn decided to return again and we're so thankful for many unexpectedly sunny and warm days. Please enjoy these snapshots . . . scroll down for prayer requests & praise reports . . .
1. J preparing to rock climb . . . the guy on the left is finishing construction of the side wall ;)
2. Picnicking & enjoying the amazing view of the Oka River at Shveytsaria (Switzerland) Park . . . sitting on the edge of a very steep precipice
3. Hang-gliders take off from that cliff and soar - so wonderful to watch!
4. While we were gone, our landlady remodeled the little balcony off Paul & Karen's bedroom, which doubles as a place to store suitcases and a cute playroom for E & K.
5. Riding the Volga ferris wheel while the first snow fell . . .
6. A typical birch forest (well, in the city anyway - you can tell this was planted in recent years)
7. The Volga view from our window, with J & E out collecting sand for a chemistry experiment
8. K & Vitya on Pokrofka Street (this is for Jane, who loves goats as much as I love sheep :))
We enjoy people of all ages, but our family seems to be magnetically drawn to youth and young adults, and have spent much time hanging out with, encouraging, and feeding our young friends. Although the Nizhny Vineyard youth group had not met since shortly after our return to the U.S., it regathered on our first Sunday back here and is going strong again. The youth surprised the church with a delightful drama during the service last Sunday as part of the Nizhny Vineyard's 15th birthday celebrations! They are a wonderful group and we look forward to watching God work in and through each one. We've also had the joy of connecting with lots of young adults, Russians & foreigners alike . . .
1. E, Nastya, and the well-traveled Poohs (thanks again, Tatarsky's!)
2. Nadia
3. Nizhny Vineyard youth leader, Olya
4. Rebecca . . . how amazing that God would send a close friend of our close Atlanta friends the Parkison's & Hendry's (C & M) to Nizhny this semester! She's a wonderful young woman and we all love her . . . It was so cool to be invited to speak to her group of 16 Christian College students from all over the U.S. about life and missions - what a great group of young adults!
5. We love our weekly ice skating outings . . . Anton is gathering his troika!
It's been a blessing to serve at the Nizhny Vineyard however we're needed, whether setting up & tearing down equipment, praying, visiting the sick, counseling, opening our home, or preaching. We try to support the various ministries of the church and focus on serving, learning, and encouragement ("Encourage one another daily as long as it is called Today . . . Hebrews 3:13"). Pastor Dave, Kathy, and Stephanie returned from their furlough in the U.S.A. a few days ago, just in time to celebrate Steph's coming-of-age (18th birthday)!
1. View from the kitchen window, flanked by the beautiful gladiolus flowers we were presented by the church on our first Sunday back
2. C enjoying beautiful baby Milana with mom Tanya
3. K - Worship banners are so cool!
4. Ministry time
5. Taking a balloon to our friend at hospital #13 :)
6. Studying together with Yannochka
7. Almira, Zhenya, and our ever-present washing drying in the kitchen :)
8. Some of our dramatic youth . . . prince Michael, angels C, Olga, & Luba, princes J & P, king Ian
9. Steph's 18th birthday party!
A highlight of our time here has been Misha & Larissa's wedding! We have become very dear to one another, and were so delighted and honored that they invited Paul, Karen, and C to spend the entire wedding day together, to participate in all the pre-wedding festivities with about 15 others. It was our first evangelical Russian wedding (we attended Paul's sister's Russian Orthodox wedding in Australia many years ago). The day of crisscrossing the city began with picking up the groom from his home, and decorating the convoy of wedding vehicles. We then drove to the bride's home, where Misha had to complete certain amusing challenges in order to win Larissa's hand (e.g. walking up a flight of stairs on his hands, answering questions about his bride's preferences, etc.). After satisfying her attendants and paying the bride price, the groom and the rest of us were all allowed into the apartment for tea and special refreshments like caviar, etc. We then headed to the official government building to register the marriage. In this brief but formal ceremony, they declared their intention to marry one another, exchanged rings, had their first kiss as husband and wife, and received the official blessing of the Russian federation. Interestingly, the official ceremony does not include any promises. The place was packed, as weddings are scheduled every 15 minutes in each of the rooms. We then went to several special scenic locations for photos - God blessed them with a gorgeous and warm autumn day, with highs around 64 F / 18 C. Following that, we again visited the groom's mother's home, where she presented her new daughter-in-law with a special decorated loaf of bread as a way of welcoming her into the family, and of course we had more tea and refreshments. Many of the traditions parallel so beautifully the love of Jesus Christ for His people (He calls us His bride in Revelation 19). Finally we went to the church hall where over 150 people joined for a celebration with pastor Dave leading a brief ceremony of commitment and blessing, followed by much food, fun, entertainment, games, and dancing, a delightful end to a very long but wonderful day!
1. Misha, Paul, and Dave scrub up pretty good, dontcha think :)
2. during tea at the home of Larissa's parents
3. Steph (the official photographer) & C (her camera caddie)
4. Andrei & Lena, our new friends from the soaking group
5. The happy couple waving on the wall overlooking the confluence of the two rivers . . . Larissa was gorgeous in her pale blue
6. Some of the guests at the reception
7. Guess who caught the bride's bouquet?
We've been delighted to share our apartment with several overnight guests - our friend Irina from Nizhny Novgorod, Simeon from Scotland, and Sergey, Lena, & Vitya from Ufa.
1. Some of the gang with Simeon, our new prayer-walking-radical-Scottish-seminary-student friend!
2. Enjoying a meal with Sergey & Lena, pastors of the Ufa Vineyard. P & J had met them and their older son, Zhenya, 5 years ago when they were all on a team together helping to birth the Ufa Vineyard. Karen met Lena at the Vineyard Women's Retreat last year in Perm. It was so good to get to know them a little better and hear about what God is doing in Ufa!
3. Vitya with his two guardians :)
P's studies . . . he expects to begin his Information Technology studies at the University of Nizhny Novgorod (a.k.a. Lubachevsky) within the next couple of weeks (they wait until all of the students arrive from various countries around the world). We just found out also that P has received early acceptance to study Electrical Engineering at LeTourneau University in Texas in the fall of 2009. We are so proud of P and his wonderful attitude in waiting patiently to begin his next phase of studies (he finished high school in January) . . . he's been keeping himself occupied with M.I.T. online courses when Sculley Academy is in session . . .
Our contact information:
local U.S. number that will reach us in Russia: 678-389-9379
Russian apartment phone #: +7-910-432-81-77
facebook: Karen Sculley
snail mail: (print this out and stick it on the envelope)
RUSSIA
603093 Г. Нижний Новгопод
Ул. Родионова
Д. 180/1 Кв. 23
Sculley family
Financial Partnership Opportunities:
We'd like to offer you a variety of opportunities each month . . . let us know if you'd like to partner with us in any of these ways. THANK YOU for your support . . . it is a joy to walk this road together with you!
· Sculley Family support
o Our current support level is 68% of our financial needs through June 2009 - praise God!
· Resources for Russians
o We've had the joy of distributing many books and CDs that were donated in the U.S. The Nizhny Vineyard library is growing in English titles that we brought with us, and we are investigating available Russian titles to donate. We have found that worship CDs are the best resource to give away, as almost everyone has time to listen to music (usually on their mp3 players), and music touches the heart like nothing else! If you'd like to donate worship CDs, please get them to our Atlanta address, and we'll arrange for a way to get them here. (Sheri Carr's CDs have been distributed in Nizhny Novgorod, Ufa, Scotland, and Zimbabwe.)
We trust God to provide everything we need to do all that He wants us to do in and through us. If you would like to invest what God has given you in Kingdom activity, through financial partnership, here's how (all financial contributions are 100% tax deductible in the U.S.A., and are processed through the Atlanta Vineyard, our sending church to whom we are accountable):
· automated giving (automatic monthly deductions from your checking or savings account - click here for the form - be sure to write "Sculley - Russia" in the space under "recommended giving"). Once you print out and fill in the form, please mail it to the address indicated at the bottom of the form.
· online giving via PayPal (http://www.atlantavineyard.com/resources/online_giving.html — just mention “Sculley - Russia” on the online giving comment line)
Praise Reports:
· Our transition back here was much easier this time, though it was definitely much harder to leave Atlanta twice in 8 months! Thanks for praying for our travels - everything went amazingly smoothly. It was comical at best when we had to give directions in Russian only to our rented van's somewhat impatient driver as to how to drive from Moscow to our apartment in Nizhny at 3:30am at the end of the journey.
· God's grace has been on us in every way - we thank Him for good health, protection, favor, provision, and loved ones all over the world.
· We've had frequent opportunities to serve, pray with and counsel people in a variety of situations - praise God for His ordering of our steps.
· Sculley Academy is going well - 2008/09 is the 13th year of our school, and we only have 5 students this year :) J is finishing off his high school studies this year and next, and the younger children have been studying Ancient Rome, doing lots of science experiments, reading "Dangerous Journey" (the youth edition of Pilgrim's Progress), along with the usual collection of other subjects.
· Karen is studying Russian language & culture for 5 hours a week at the Linguistic University, which is close to where we live. Sample homework - "memorize 3 stanzas of this patriotic Russian song" . . . it's very enjoyable yet one's brain feels quite maxed out after a 2 hour class. Praise God for the blessing of being able to study the language - she longs for deeper conversations with Russian speakers, and it's gradually becoming a reality! We all help each other with language around the meal table, and contextually.
· God continues to connect us with brothers & sisters from many different streams (denominations, demographics, locations, styles) - this has been a constant cry of our hearts, to help bring unity to the body of Christ (through prayer & serving mostly), a precursor to Kingdom transformation.
Please pray for us:
· for our long-term visas to be issued - the short-term ones we have are good for 3 months, and the long-term ones we're waiting for are good for 3 years - those are basically the only two options available. We trust God for His timing, plans, and provision. We've heard that half of our visas are ready, and are awaiting news on the others.
· for God's plans in every area of our lives - we want only what He wants and continually lay everything at His feet. It's so freeing to not have to figure everything out ourselves - we trust Him to show us each day / month / year what's next . . . may Jesus receive ALL the glory in our lives.
· for P's studies at Lubachevsky to go really well, and for meshing of schedules when he begins - it's amazing how full our calendars already are - we want to maintain our family worship & fun times and continue to be balanced & flexible in reaching out to others. It would be really easy to get overloaded here as anywhere - we constantly need God's wisdom and direction.
· for God's abundant grace & blessing on Misha & Larissa (and four-year-old Roma) as they begin their new life together; also for Artyom & Valya who are planning their wedding for late November.
· for God to show us who, what, when, where, how He wants us to invest most in
We pray for you, too - please let us know your specific prayer requests. It's such a joy to pray for one another! We have all 1000 or so of our email and facebook friends' names written on our prayer wall in the kitchen.
Our vision:
· mobilize prayer
· promote unity in the body of Christ
· raise up leaders
We appreciate your prayers so much! Thank you!
“The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” (1 Samuel 30:24)
Visit our blog (updated weekly):
http://permanentimpact.blogspot.com/
In Russia with love,
Paul, Karen, P, J, M, C, E, & K Sculley
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:28 - 31)
We're willing to go . . . are you willing to send us?
What's the latest?
Sculley snapshots
We've been back in Nizhny Novgorod just over a month now, but it seems much longer as typically happens when there's a lot going on! We've taken advantage of the warmer weather to explore our surroundings and enjoy connecting with lots of friends all over the city. The first snow fell in September, but thankfully autumn decided to return again and we're so thankful for many unexpectedly sunny and warm days. Please enjoy these snapshots . . . scroll down for prayer requests & praise reports . . .
1. J preparing to rock climb . . . the guy on the left is finishing construction of the side wall ;)
2. Picnicking & enjoying the amazing view of the Oka River at Shveytsaria (Switzerland) Park . . . sitting on the edge of a very steep precipice
3. Hang-gliders take off from that cliff and soar - so wonderful to watch!
4. While we were gone, our landlady remodeled the little balcony off Paul & Karen's bedroom, which doubles as a place to store suitcases and a cute playroom for E & K.
5. Riding the Volga ferris wheel while the first snow fell . . .
6. A typical birch forest (well, in the city anyway - you can tell this was planted in recent years)
7. The Volga view from our window, with J & E out collecting sand for a chemistry experiment
8. K & Vitya on Pokrofka Street (this is for Jane, who loves goats as much as I love sheep :))
We enjoy people of all ages, but our family seems to be magnetically drawn to youth and young adults, and have spent much time hanging out with, encouraging, and feeding our young friends. Although the Nizhny Vineyard youth group had not met since shortly after our return to the U.S., it regathered on our first Sunday back here and is going strong again. The youth surprised the church with a delightful drama during the service last Sunday as part of the Nizhny Vineyard's 15th birthday celebrations! They are a wonderful group and we look forward to watching God work in and through each one. We've also had the joy of connecting with lots of young adults, Russians & foreigners alike . . .
1. E, Nastya, and the well-traveled Poohs (thanks again, Tatarsky's!)
2. Nadia
3. Nizhny Vineyard youth leader, Olya
4. Rebecca . . . how amazing that God would send a close friend of our close Atlanta friends the Parkison's & Hendry's (C & M) to Nizhny this semester! She's a wonderful young woman and we all love her . . . It was so cool to be invited to speak to her group of 16 Christian College students from all over the U.S. about life and missions - what a great group of young adults!
5. We love our weekly ice skating outings . . . Anton is gathering his troika!
It's been a blessing to serve at the Nizhny Vineyard however we're needed, whether setting up & tearing down equipment, praying, visiting the sick, counseling, opening our home, or preaching. We try to support the various ministries of the church and focus on serving, learning, and encouragement ("Encourage one another daily as long as it is called Today . . . Hebrews 3:13"). Pastor Dave, Kathy, and Stephanie returned from their furlough in the U.S.A. a few days ago, just in time to celebrate Steph's coming-of-age (18th birthday)!
1. View from the kitchen window, flanked by the beautiful gladiolus flowers we were presented by the church on our first Sunday back
2. C enjoying beautiful baby Milana with mom Tanya
3. K - Worship banners are so cool!
4. Ministry time
5. Taking a balloon to our friend at hospital #13 :)
6. Studying together with Yannochka
7. Almira, Zhenya, and our ever-present washing drying in the kitchen :)
8. Some of our dramatic youth . . . prince Michael, angels C, Olga, & Luba, princes J & P, king Ian
9. Steph's 18th birthday party!
A highlight of our time here has been Misha & Larissa's wedding! We have become very dear to one another, and were so delighted and honored that they invited Paul, Karen, and C to spend the entire wedding day together, to participate in all the pre-wedding festivities with about 15 others. It was our first evangelical Russian wedding (we attended Paul's sister's Russian Orthodox wedding in Australia many years ago). The day of crisscrossing the city began with picking up the groom from his home, and decorating the convoy of wedding vehicles. We then drove to the bride's home, where Misha had to complete certain amusing challenges in order to win Larissa's hand (e.g. walking up a flight of stairs on his hands, answering questions about his bride's preferences, etc.). After satisfying her attendants and paying the bride price, the groom and the rest of us were all allowed into the apartment for tea and special refreshments like caviar, etc. We then headed to the official government building to register the marriage. In this brief but formal ceremony, they declared their intention to marry one another, exchanged rings, had their first kiss as husband and wife, and received the official blessing of the Russian federation. Interestingly, the official ceremony does not include any promises. The place was packed, as weddings are scheduled every 15 minutes in each of the rooms. We then went to several special scenic locations for photos - God blessed them with a gorgeous and warm autumn day, with highs around 64 F / 18 C. Following that, we again visited the groom's mother's home, where she presented her new daughter-in-law with a special decorated loaf of bread as a way of welcoming her into the family, and of course we had more tea and refreshments. Many of the traditions parallel so beautifully the love of Jesus Christ for His people (He calls us His bride in Revelation 19). Finally we went to the church hall where over 150 people joined for a celebration with pastor Dave leading a brief ceremony of commitment and blessing, followed by much food, fun, entertainment, games, and dancing, a delightful end to a very long but wonderful day!
1. Misha, Paul, and Dave scrub up pretty good, dontcha think :)
2. during tea at the home of Larissa's parents
3. Steph (the official photographer) & C (her camera caddie)
4. Andrei & Lena, our new friends from the soaking group
5. The happy couple waving on the wall overlooking the confluence of the two rivers . . . Larissa was gorgeous in her pale blue
6. Some of the guests at the reception
7. Guess who caught the bride's bouquet?
We've been delighted to share our apartment with several overnight guests - our friend Irina from Nizhny Novgorod, Simeon from Scotland, and Sergey, Lena, & Vitya from Ufa.
1. Some of the gang with Simeon, our new prayer-walking-radical-Scottish-seminary-student friend!
2. Enjoying a meal with Sergey & Lena, pastors of the Ufa Vineyard. P & J had met them and their older son, Zhenya, 5 years ago when they were all on a team together helping to birth the Ufa Vineyard. Karen met Lena at the Vineyard Women's Retreat last year in Perm. It was so good to get to know them a little better and hear about what God is doing in Ufa!
3. Vitya with his two guardians :)
P's studies . . . he expects to begin his Information Technology studies at the University of Nizhny Novgorod (a.k.a. Lubachevsky) within the next couple of weeks (they wait until all of the students arrive from various countries around the world). We just found out also that P has received early acceptance to study Electrical Engineering at LeTourneau University in Texas in the fall of 2009. We are so proud of P and his wonderful attitude in waiting patiently to begin his next phase of studies (he finished high school in January) . . . he's been keeping himself occupied with M.I.T. online courses when Sculley Academy is in session . . .
Our contact information:
local U.S. number that will reach us in Russia: 678-389-9379
Russian apartment phone #: +7-910-432-81-77
facebook: Karen Sculley
snail mail: (print this out and stick it on the envelope)
RUSSIA
603093 Г. Нижний Новгопод
Ул. Родионова
Д. 180/1 Кв. 23
Sculley family
Financial Partnership Opportunities:
We'd like to offer you a variety of opportunities each month . . . let us know if you'd like to partner with us in any of these ways. THANK YOU for your support . . . it is a joy to walk this road together with you!
· Sculley Family support
o Our current support level is 68% of our financial needs through June 2009 - praise God!
· Resources for Russians
o We've had the joy of distributing many books and CDs that were donated in the U.S. The Nizhny Vineyard library is growing in English titles that we brought with us, and we are investigating available Russian titles to donate. We have found that worship CDs are the best resource to give away, as almost everyone has time to listen to music (usually on their mp3 players), and music touches the heart like nothing else! If you'd like to donate worship CDs, please get them to our Atlanta address, and we'll arrange for a way to get them here. (Sheri Carr's CDs have been distributed in Nizhny Novgorod, Ufa, Scotland, and Zimbabwe.)
We trust God to provide everything we need to do all that He wants us to do in and through us. If you would like to invest what God has given you in Kingdom activity, through financial partnership, here's how (all financial contributions are 100% tax deductible in the U.S.A., and are processed through the Atlanta Vineyard, our sending church to whom we are accountable):
· automated giving (automatic monthly deductions from your checking or savings account - click here for the form - be sure to write "Sculley - Russia" in the space under "recommended giving"). Once you print out and fill in the form, please mail it to the address indicated at the bottom of the form.
· online giving via PayPal (http://www.atlantavineyard.com/resources/online_giving.html — just mention “Sculley - Russia” on the online giving comment line)
Praise Reports:
· Our transition back here was much easier this time, though it was definitely much harder to leave Atlanta twice in 8 months! Thanks for praying for our travels - everything went amazingly smoothly. It was comical at best when we had to give directions in Russian only to our rented van's somewhat impatient driver as to how to drive from Moscow to our apartment in Nizhny at 3:30am at the end of the journey.
· God's grace has been on us in every way - we thank Him for good health, protection, favor, provision, and loved ones all over the world.
· We've had frequent opportunities to serve, pray with and counsel people in a variety of situations - praise God for His ordering of our steps.
· Sculley Academy is going well - 2008/09 is the 13th year of our school, and we only have 5 students this year :) J is finishing off his high school studies this year and next, and the younger children have been studying Ancient Rome, doing lots of science experiments, reading "Dangerous Journey" (the youth edition of Pilgrim's Progress), along with the usual collection of other subjects.
· Karen is studying Russian language & culture for 5 hours a week at the Linguistic University, which is close to where we live. Sample homework - "memorize 3 stanzas of this patriotic Russian song" . . . it's very enjoyable yet one's brain feels quite maxed out after a 2 hour class. Praise God for the blessing of being able to study the language - she longs for deeper conversations with Russian speakers, and it's gradually becoming a reality! We all help each other with language around the meal table, and contextually.
· God continues to connect us with brothers & sisters from many different streams (denominations, demographics, locations, styles) - this has been a constant cry of our hearts, to help bring unity to the body of Christ (through prayer & serving mostly), a precursor to Kingdom transformation.
Please pray for us:
· for our long-term visas to be issued - the short-term ones we have are good for 3 months, and the long-term ones we're waiting for are good for 3 years - those are basically the only two options available. We trust God for His timing, plans, and provision. We've heard that half of our visas are ready, and are awaiting news on the others.
· for God's plans in every area of our lives - we want only what He wants and continually lay everything at His feet. It's so freeing to not have to figure everything out ourselves - we trust Him to show us each day / month / year what's next . . . may Jesus receive ALL the glory in our lives.
· for P's studies at Lubachevsky to go really well, and for meshing of schedules when he begins - it's amazing how full our calendars already are - we want to maintain our family worship & fun times and continue to be balanced & flexible in reaching out to others. It would be really easy to get overloaded here as anywhere - we constantly need God's wisdom and direction.
· for God's abundant grace & blessing on Misha & Larissa (and four-year-old Roma) as they begin their new life together; also for Artyom & Valya who are planning their wedding for late November.
· for God to show us who, what, when, where, how He wants us to invest most in
We pray for you, too - please let us know your specific prayer requests. It's such a joy to pray for one another! We have all 1000 or so of our email and facebook friends' names written on our prayer wall in the kitchen.
Our vision:
· mobilize prayer
· promote unity in the body of Christ
· raise up leaders
We appreciate your prayers so much! Thank you!
“The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” (1 Samuel 30:24)
Visit our blog (updated weekly):
http://permanentimpact.blogspot.com/
In Russia with love,
Paul, Karen, P, J, M, C, E, & K Sculley
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:28 - 31)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
h2o
H2O . . . a.k.a. water . . . “a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life.” Water is used in agriculture, as a scientific standard, for drinking, as a dissolving agent, as a heat transfer fluid, in extinguishing fires, for chemical & industrial applications, in recreation, and in food processing.
In Russia, water is ABUNDANT! Water is literally everywhere we look at all times of the year:
Above
• Horizon-to-horizon clouds blanket us on most days. These masses of water vapor become visible only when billions of the tiny droplets gather together. One beautiful side effect of living so far north on terrain that is mostly flat as far as the eye can see is that we often see the sunset below the cloud layer – it’s very beautiful as it stretches across the lower south-western sky.
• The term “precipitation” extends far beyond the rain that I associate it with . . . I’m not sure what precisely differentiates snow pellets from snow grains, but I think I can safely say Russia regularly receives every one of these variations: rain, freezing rain, drizzle, freezing drizzle, dew, snow, snow pellets, snow grains, ice pellets, frozen rain, hail, ice crystals, hoarfrost, atmospheric icing, and glaze ice. We had our first snow the last Saturday of September!
Below
• Large, unjumpable, muddy puddles are a common sight here, thanks to the disrepair of most streets and sidewalks, and lack of ground cover. They’re a lot of fun for the young’uns!
• Pretty soon we’ll hope to completely avoid those puddles as they turn to slip-sliding lakes of doom :)
Around
• Audible water trickles in the pipes from the apartments above us!
• Fog rolls in from the river on many mornings. I grew up in a town with similar pea-soup fog, and love it! It speaks of the Father’s embrace, as it completely surrounds and enfolds us.
Nearby
• Daily we see beautiful views of the Volga, Europe’s longest and largest river. The name of the river is akin to the Slavic words for “wetness” and “humidity.”
• The Oka River literally defines Nizhny Novgorod with its 3 trafficky bridges, and the line of separation between the upper and lower parts of the city.
For sale
• Every store and mini-mart sells a favorite Russian drink, mineral water. When ordering water, it’s important to say, “bez gas”, unless you’re fond of that variety.
• This morning we received our weekly delivery of four 19-liter water bottles, thankfully hoisted for us up the two flights of stairs.
Recreationally
• Russians seem to favor water-related activities when it comes to recreation . . . the favorite one being visits to banyas (steam baths), also ice skating and walking by the river.
Water, water, everywhere! Isn’t the abundance of water such an amazing testimony to God’s presence and faithfulness? He pours out so much blessing on us – more than we can contain. He goes to great lengths to display His love to all people. Creation shouts to our senses and to our spirits, “I LOVE YOU!” But despite the profuse quantities of water in every arena of life, the people here are really THIRSTY! Jesus said to the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13 – 14). He also said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37). “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17). Praise God for His creation which speaks so clearly of the supernatural – water – What A Treasure Exhibiting Redemption! Pray with us for the people of Russia to thirst for Jesus Christ, the only One who can quench their thirst.
In Russia, water is ABUNDANT! Water is literally everywhere we look at all times of the year:
Above
• Horizon-to-horizon clouds blanket us on most days. These masses of water vapor become visible only when billions of the tiny droplets gather together. One beautiful side effect of living so far north on terrain that is mostly flat as far as the eye can see is that we often see the sunset below the cloud layer – it’s very beautiful as it stretches across the lower south-western sky.
• The term “precipitation” extends far beyond the rain that I associate it with . . . I’m not sure what precisely differentiates snow pellets from snow grains, but I think I can safely say Russia regularly receives every one of these variations: rain, freezing rain, drizzle, freezing drizzle, dew, snow, snow pellets, snow grains, ice pellets, frozen rain, hail, ice crystals, hoarfrost, atmospheric icing, and glaze ice. We had our first snow the last Saturday of September!
Below
• Large, unjumpable, muddy puddles are a common sight here, thanks to the disrepair of most streets and sidewalks, and lack of ground cover. They’re a lot of fun for the young’uns!
• Pretty soon we’ll hope to completely avoid those puddles as they turn to slip-sliding lakes of doom :)
Around
• Audible water trickles in the pipes from the apartments above us!
• Fog rolls in from the river on many mornings. I grew up in a town with similar pea-soup fog, and love it! It speaks of the Father’s embrace, as it completely surrounds and enfolds us.
Nearby
• Daily we see beautiful views of the Volga, Europe’s longest and largest river. The name of the river is akin to the Slavic words for “wetness” and “humidity.”
• The Oka River literally defines Nizhny Novgorod with its 3 trafficky bridges, and the line of separation between the upper and lower parts of the city.
For sale
• Every store and mini-mart sells a favorite Russian drink, mineral water. When ordering water, it’s important to say, “bez gas”, unless you’re fond of that variety.
• This morning we received our weekly delivery of four 19-liter water bottles, thankfully hoisted for us up the two flights of stairs.
Recreationally
• Russians seem to favor water-related activities when it comes to recreation . . . the favorite one being visits to banyas (steam baths), also ice skating and walking by the river.
Water, water, everywhere! Isn’t the abundance of water such an amazing testimony to God’s presence and faithfulness? He pours out so much blessing on us – more than we can contain. He goes to great lengths to display His love to all people. Creation shouts to our senses and to our spirits, “I LOVE YOU!” But despite the profuse quantities of water in every arena of life, the people here are really THIRSTY! Jesus said to the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13 – 14). He also said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37). “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17). Praise God for His creation which speaks so clearly of the supernatural – water – What A Treasure Exhibiting Redemption! Pray with us for the people of Russia to thirst for Jesus Christ, the only One who can quench their thirst.
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