Safely In Brussels...

Rick and I have made it safely to Brussels. We are both excited to get to The Gambia and are both feeling well.

In an awesome moment, I met a wonder lady by the name of Gloria from Italy on the way here and had the opportunity to minister to her. She got scared due to turbulence on the flight, so I took her hand and prayed with her for our safety. All due to our first flight getting canceled. I’m so thankful Jesus knows what He is doing!

I don’t know when our next update will be. I am uploading this over a roaming data network and there is no free wifi here that I have found. Next chance I get, I will, but it may be a few days. Thanks for your prayers.

In Christ,

jon walton

Safely In Brussels...

Step One, Done...

We have landed safely in Philadelphia. Now it’s on to the next flight and to Brussels. Thanks for your prayers and I will update again when I can!

In Christ,

jon walton

Step One, Done...

A Bump in the Air...

We are in Knoxville, but there has been a slight change in plans. Our flight to Chicago was canceled. Not big deal for our God though. We are on flight #2588 on US Airways to Philadelphia, then catching a flight to Brussels from there. All making it in time for our next flight to The Gambia. As Rick said when we checked in, “God’s sovereignty. We weren’t suppose to be on that one.”

Thanks for your continued prayers! I’ll update when I can!

In Christ,

jon walton

A Bump in the Air...

Surreal

surreal [ suh-ree-uhl, -reel ]

adjective

1. having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic

That is what I feel like when I think that in a few days I will be going to a country where claiming Jesus Christ is your Savior will make you lose your job, be disowned by your family, and possibly be tortured or killed. We have so much freedom here in the United States that we just take for granted. We take our walk with Jesus as casual when around this world people die just to know Him. Before even going, this trip is already changing my life.

Let me encourage you now: Dig deep into the Word of God and come to know His Son, Jesus Christ in an intimate way. There are so many who would go to extremes to get the chance.

I ask that you pray for Pastor Rick and I as we journey. Please pray for our wives and families while we are away. But above all, pray that the name of Jesus Christ is glorified in and through us!

You can follow along on our journey here. I will be posting updates as often as I can. Thanks for your prayers and support!

In Christ,

jon walton

Surreal

Press On...

Press On...

Tweet Prayers...

Being a pastor, I am often asked to explain different scriptures. I love studying the Word of God, so when I am asked to do so it makes me excited. It gives me an opportunity to dig deeper into a subject I may not have thought about before and think about ways to explain so the most people can understand it. I was recently asked what this verse means:

Pray constantly. (1 Thessalonians 5:17 HCSB)

Or in another version:

Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV)

The person talking to me asked, “How would you get anything done if you do nothing but pray?”

I don’t think Paul was telling the church in Thessalonica to just sit around and pray doing nothing to help the people around them. However, this is a fair question. How do you pray constantly without ceasing?

I don’t get down on my knees every time I pray, though that is a part of my routine. Instead, I have learned to send up “Tweet Prayers.” You know, like Twitter. On Twitter you have 140 characters to say what you need to say. They are short, quick, little blurbs that you send out to people. I do the same thing with God throughout the day. “God, give me the words to say right now.” “God, help me be strong.” “Jesus, give that person comfort.” “Jesus, forgive me for that.” Just like on Twitter, as people put little blurbs about what is going on or what they’re thinking about, I am sending a tweet prayers all day long. It’s a good habit to get into, and if you would try it I bet you will feel closer to God all the time.

In Christ
jon walton

Tweet Prayers...

Tired of All the Poop...

I have an awesome baby sitter. She is reliable, trustworthy, and truly cares for the well being of my kids. It helps a lot that she is my mother-in-law as well. I can almost always depend on her to watch the kids while Missy and I work. However, for the past two weeks she has been out of town. My wife is a school teacher, so I have been home watching our two children both under two years old. It has been a great bonding time, but there have been some struggles, too.

One thing that I have to admit has gotten to me is all the dirty diapers. Both kids have had no problems with their bowel movements. In fact, sometimes one child has had four in one day. FOUR! I mean, how is it possible for one child to produce that much poop in one day? Just a reminder, I have two. So, while changing a diaper that had a stench possible of burning nose hairs and in quantity too great to go into detail about without being incredibly discussing, I exclaimed to one of the children, “I’m really tired of all the poop.” I change a diaper only to turn around and change another. And another. And another. And…..well, you get the picture.

It was at that moment that Jesus reminded me that He does the same thing for me. How many times do I make a mess of things only to have Jesus come and clean it up. Sometimes things get messy and its completely my fault. Other times, there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. But no matter the cause, Jesus is always there. He always helps me clean up the poop.

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. – Psalm 121:2

 

In Christ,

jon walton

Tired of All the Poop...