Pray for the final building blueprints to be approved by the metro government of Louisville.
Continue reading “2007-08-01; Final Blueprints.”
2007-07-29: Beautiful Setting.
"Dear Father, Thank You for the beautiful setting that Emerald Hills made for the renewal of wedding vows between Isaac and Cindy today. Thank You that a prayer gazebo is the perfect place to make promises to one another and to You. Thank You that Emerald Hills will be available for many such events in the future. In the Name of Jesus, Amen."
2007-07-27: Answered Prayer.
Joe has good news this morning from our construction package vendor. Believe it or not, in spite of doubling the size of the basement (and not to mention virtually a year of inflation), the price of the log package actually went *down*. Turns out we'll have to pay $313,000 for the entire 10,000-square-foot structure. That includes virtually everything above ground — except mechanicals. Still, many builders regularly tell customers to allow two- to three-times the cost of the log package to estimate the final product… meaning that we could still be anywhere from $650,000 to up to $900,000 for the final building costs. Let's hope we can lean more toward the $650,000. 🙂
To this package, we'll have to add the costs of the excavation & basement, plus the costs of the septic treatment prairie and the associated array of pipes and fields.
So the good news is — our pricing so far seems right on track with what we had hoped…. and in fact,… actually *under* expectations.
Answered prayer. Next step – Joe takes these plans to the city, asks for quotes for the excavation & basement, while getting the septic system under way.
Continue reading “2007-07-27: Answered Prayer.”
2007-07-25: Beautiful Day.
"Thank You, Father, for the beautiful day to walk and pray on the prayer trails at Emerald Hills. Thank You that Ken Idleman, minister at Crossroads Christian Church, one of our "29" partners, took the time to visit with us and see what Emerald Hills is all about. Thank You for the privilege of praying for Crossroads and Ken and the missionaries that Crossroads supports. You are a wonderful Father. I love You so much. In the Name of Jesus, Amen."
2007-07-24: Rick Starr.
Please continue your prayers for Rick Starr. Here is his latest update (July 24):
“Debbie and I drove close to 500 miles in the last 24 hours to preach and sing for a funeral in Illinois. It was a great time in the Lord. The elders at the Church that we served in Oblong anointed me with oil, from James 5 and prayed over me in the Name of Jesus. There were several other people from Church there as well. It was a wonderful time in the Lord. The funeral was full of love, compassion and inspiration. Vivian was a real special lady to our family. She lived to be 91 years old here on earth and now she is living forever with the Lord!
Dr. Warnick’s office from Cincinnati called right before the funeral with the following information. He is on vacation and will be out of the office till next Tuesday. They want me to go to their clinic in Dayton, Ohio this week and have a PET Scan. We will pick up the two different series of MRI’s from his office in Cincinnati on the way to Dayton. They will then take the PET Scan and the MRI and fuse them together some how and get a better picture. Then their surgery tumor team will look at the results. They will then meet with Dr. Warnick and make a recommendation.
This is great news to me…because I was going to request another MRI after the Church here at Spencer prayed and fasted for me for 24 hours last week and the Church in Illinois prayed over me on Sunday. We are praying that God will miraculously removed the spot! (I just cannot bring my self to say t….) So it looks like we will be heading to Cincinnati and Dayton this week sometime. The office in Dayton is suppose to call tomorrow with an appointment date. But they will not make any recommendation until after the PET Scan and the MRI fusing and the team meets next week. So prayer warriors, we have another week to pray and lift my life before the throne of God.
I will email all of you when I find out the day and time of the PET Scan so all of you can be praying.
Please continue to pray as we are for a miracle….what a great witness to the power of God this will be!!!!
Serving God With You…
Rick L. Starr
Continue reading “2007-07-24: Rick Starr.”
2007-07-23: Recent Contacts.
Pray that recent contacts in Indiana and Kentucky will blossom into full-fledged "29" partners.
Continue reading “2007-07-23: Recent Contacts.”
2007-07-20: Pray for Janet Britton & the Widow’s Mite.
Janet Britton, a school teacher from Andover, Ohio, who has authored for Intervarsity, is accepting responsibility for leading the financial effort on the Widow's Mite prayer shelter. Way back in 1982, when Doug & Penny Lucas left for Uruguay, Janet began writing Penny regularly to encourage and support her. The rest, as they say, is history. She's been a strong booster for Team Expansion ever since. And now, this latest idea of hers is actually rather simple. She says that not every church or group can give $24,000. But their gift is still blessed and honored by God. So she proposed this Widow's Mite Prayer Shelter as a kind of "container" to rally together the gifts from all those folks who couldn't stretch to sponsor a full prayer shelter, but *could* contribute toward one. She is postulating that in the process, they'll get involved in other ways too.
She's asking us to help her by coming up with a rustic-looking bench… like a bench in a shoe cobbler's workshop… to set on the site for this shelter. When tours, prayer walkers, and others pass by it, she's asking us to tell the story of the Widow's Mite with the hopes that it will inspire prayer and hope for the future — not just for a prayer shelter, not only for Emerald Hills, but for Christianity in general… worldwide.
Janet's proposal was specific — that we not construct the shelter until the entire $24,000 has accumulated. She also suggested, in fact, waiting until the entire building was funded, because it's her theory that the Widow's Mite fund will actually be the biggest one of all.
So please pray for Janet. She had already mustered the troops at the Andover Christian Church Youth & Sunday School to take on a 29 partnership. Their goal is to raise an average of $100/week from the youth and Sunday School classes at a church that is excited to hit 300 in attendance. For the Widow's Mite partnership to succeed, she'll need lots of friends… and lots of prayer. But she's aware of that . . . and notwithstanding that, she has told us to ink in this project, which should be an inspiration to us all.
Continue reading “2007-07-20: Pray for Janet Britton & the Widow’s Mite.”
2007-07-19: Widow’s Mite.
"Thank you, Father, for the fourteen partners who have committed $24,000 each to build a prayer shelter, buy a hand-held computer, and contribute to the building of the Prayer Center/Atrium at Team Expansion. Thank you for others, Father, who do not have $24,000 to give but have given from what they have. Please raise up others who will contribute as a "widow's mite" partner. In the name of Jesus, Amen."
2007-07-18: Pray for Rick Starr.
Please pray for our IS partner in the Emerald Hills project, Rick Starr. Here is his e-mail from today:
Where do I begin….The news was not what we wanted to hear today. But we are still thanking God and I am still standing on Mark 5:46, “do not be afraid, only believe.” In my prayer time this morning I also added, “help me overcome my unbelief.”
The neurologist appointment today said that he was going to have 3 other doctors that he works with at Baptist East look at the MRI’s. He told us in his opinion that it is a “glioma tumor” and that it would have to be removed. But since it is in the inner temporal lobe of my brain, which controls speech, that I would have to go to a specialist to have it removed. A surgeon that would operate while I am awake! (Doesn’t that sound like fun!) That way they would be able to tell what parts of my brain control my speech. Very important to have my speech since I am a preacher and teacher, I need that ability. He wants me to go to Cincinnati, Ohio for the surgery. He is suppose to call me tomorrow after the other doctors read the MRI’s and gets their opinion.
He then said he wants me to meet with the neurologist and neurosurgeon from Cincinnati this week if he can get me an appointment. They would then set the date for the surgery if they agree with the diagnosis. It might be needful for me to go into the hospital a few days before the surgery so they could run some more test. Surgery recovery in the hospital would take 4 to 6 days and then 8 to 12 weeks at home. (sounds like some good reading time to me) Then after that radiation and possibility of chemotherapy.
All this was a more than I was prepared to hear! I am still having a hard time trying to put my mind around it all. I have truly come to believe that it is a spiritual attack of the enemy in the physical realm. There is so much to be done at Emerald Hills and Spencer Christian. I have not seen the dream that God gave me fulfilled with the Retreat Center and God continues to bless Spencer Christian weekly with new decisions and growth. I know we must fight this battle with faith. Please continue to come along side our family and friends as we fight this spiritual battle for the Lord.
There are so many of you that I want to call and talk to personally but I just do not have the words right now. Please forgive me for not calling personally. I do love each and every one of you and thank you for standing with us in faith and prayer. I know you did not want to hear this way, but I needed to get the message out and this was the quickest and easiest way that I could think of so that the message did not get confused. Once again, thank for your prayers to this point and we ask that you continue to pray. I AM A PREACHER…I AM A TEACHER…that is my Spiritual Gift and I ask that you pray that I will continue to be able to honor God by using those gifts for His glory.
Serving God With You…
Rick L. Starr
23 Carter Ct.
Taylorsville, KY 40071
502.477.1591
"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2 NIV
Continue reading “2007-07-18: Pray for Rick Starr.”
2007-07-13: Rick Starr.
Please pray for healing for Rick Starr. Rick is scheduled to have a brain biopsy on July 19. Pray in faith in the name of Jeus that God would remove the lesion shown on the MRI so that Rick can have more years of service in the Kingdom. Rick has been instrumental in buiding relationships to further the development of Emerald Hills.
Continue reading “2007-07-13: Rick Starr.”