LDP

So we have started a year long Leadership Development Program. The first vide0 conference hasn't even started, and I am flattened by the pre-course work. We are reading a book called Victorious Mindsets by Steve Backlund, and I want to buy a copy for everyone I know.  Each page is a truth that God says about us. Chapter titles include "I Love Life," "I Don't Have to be Perfect," "I Have a Great Work to Do,"  "My Past Does Not Determine My Future," and "I Welcome Resistance," things like that.

And there are sixty of them.

He talks about doing small things in a great way, that we are on God's training ground for greater things, right now. "The things we are doing now may seem small compared to the promises we've been given and are believing for, but our willingness to do them 'in a great way' is the key to opening the door to these promises." (10)

He talks about knowing we are strong, even when we don't feel strong. "Victorious Christians have learned that they continually have an anointing- a divine influence on others- that is ready to be released. They function from faith rather than from emotion. Leaders are thermostats, not thermometers."  (12)

He says that "the enemy of our souls hopes we will limit our ministry to times when we feel anointed." But we have an anointing that "abides."

He tells me that I am part of the solution. He has called us to focus on contributing instead of trying to get our life from people and situations around us. (13)

He reminds me to be thankful for everything He has already done, and focus on what He is doing, rather than get caught up in my "needs list." (14)

He tells me that, like David, who "aggressively confronted the obstacle in his way," (Goliath) he "ran at his problem, not away from it." Procrastination drains power from life.

All the reminders we need, every day, in one book. LOVE.

And I think of one of our young men, Alex. This boy is taking the bull by the horns- he is aggressively declaring God's truth over his life, every day. I have seen his demeanor change, from someone who was sort of quiet and always hanging back, to someone who has confidence and clarity in where he is going. His whole manner has changed.

We feel like we are on a "re-boot"  in so many ways. Physically, emotionally, spiritually,  Every good thing comes from God, He is our source for everything. And I determine my future with my words. Dang. All of that together: look out.

So excited for what is to come!

A Great Reminder

I had this on my facebook, and then it migrated to our fridge, and now it's being printed to hand out at our small groups tonight. It's such a great reminder! I hope it ends up on your fridge!

We don't really appreciate the fact that the woman is the "successful" one and the man is the "unsuccessful" - but if you can ignore that, enjoy!

Love, Us Thoofts

2013!

Hi Family- Happy New Year!

The relief around here is tangible. We are done with our house. Who knew, seriously, that it would be a four year journey? We've assessed and re-financed and all is well.

So what now? Campus! Phil and I are excited to be back at BSU several days a week. We did as much as we could do before, with all the finance and house stuff hanging over our heads, but now we are free of that.

First off, our yearly SALT conference is coming up- Jan 18-21. We have a handful of students going with us, and we're teaching a Restoration Prayer session again, and I am doing worship for the "worship cafe" which is kind of a pre-service prayer. We are so looking forward to it all!

Second, Phil and I are looking forward to campus opening up again (they return for classes on the 14th) so we can prayer walk. We are re-booting Chi Alpha on campus, and we don't know what that looks like. We figure God does, and He will show us as we walk the campus and ask Him what he's up to. Pray for divine connections and meetings!

Third, Friday Night Worship is still going strong. We are meeting at First Assembly for awhile currently. We continue to soak our campus and city with worship and intercession.

Phil's men's group, "Fight Club" is going amazingly well. There are even unbelievers that come- how cool is that? He is building young men  to fight for their relationships and marriages. Guys are getting real about what's going on inside of them, and learning to manage themselves well and lean on God instead of addictions. Bottom-line transformation for you. We love it.

Michelle's women's group, "Real Life" is going well also. We are studying much the same stuff as the men's group- how to get healthy, in every way. Friendships are deepening and women are getting freer than they ever have been before.

We just really feel like we finally have the tools to help people get free of debilitating stuff- emotional, spiritual, physical. It comes from a lot of sources, but most of what we've been blessed with comes from Danny Silk. You can get his stuff for yourself on Amazon, or at www.ibethel.org in their book store. His DVD series "Defining the Relationship,"  "Honor Among Us," and "People Helping People" are the foundations for what we are living, experiencing, and teaching in our lives. Not to mention the Sozo ministry, which is going strong here. People helping People. So good.

Our kids are doing great- Ian is getting married this summer (! in Dallas!), Grace is looking to move into a house with a bunch of friends this spring, Ilsa graduates in June, Maddie is working hard as a 10th grader and loving all things Student Council, and Eli is rocking the third grade at Lincoln Elementary. Keeping up with them is fun. They are such a part of everything we do.

We had a wonderful Christmas. I didn't sell toys, and we rested and enjoyed the season. I am working on the rewrite of The Gift of Sam. Phil is joining us this summer for the triathlon, so we are all gearing up for "training season."  Sean Smith is coming to Duluth at the end of January and we hope to take a crew to learn from him.

And whatever else comes, I'll keep you posted! We love you family!

Hi Family!

Good news: we finished our house! The assessor came today, took all her measurements and pictures, and sat down to have coffee with us. She asked what we were hoping for, and when we told her, she didn't tell us to lower our expectations, she simply said "I will do the very best I can for you."

Whew. Done. Wow.

There will always be more to do, of course. But we're done with the sixteen hours a day every day jamming. In fact, due to the last week finish the house jam, we didn't get to go to Grand Marais for Thanksgiving this year. Sad. But we had a crowd here and it was a blast. Those are the pictures above.

So this means- what? All the people we've been putting off, all the meetings we've wanted to attend, all the time on campus we've wanted to spend can happen. We came back full time last spring, and it's a reality now.  It means that our budget will be in a much better place. We may still need to fundraise, but that's fun anyway, we get to come see you :)

Friday Night Worship has been great! When the remodel started, we moved from our home to Destiny Fellowship, a church that meets downtown. We were hoping the closer to campus location would be helpful, and it was fun to meet there in their second story building- we could see the city. But starting this Friday, we are moving to First Assembly. We're really excited for this move too. Our pastor at First, Vern Lathe, has retired, and the church is in huge transition. Pastor Vern called for a 21 day fast, and we all started today. FNW will be a great addition to this time of transition/prayer/fasting.

We had a great time last weekend visiting the church in Hibbing and sharing in music and testimony- what a blessing. We have former students who live there- Aaron and Jill Reini. So we stayed with them and just drank in the wonderfulness of their little family and friends. Aaron and his dad Allan have written a great sci-fi/end times-ish book called "Flight of the Angels."  Wow. It's awesome.  I was privileged to have a small part in the revisions- check out the back page. Give it a read! It's available on Kindle and hard copy.

Buy Flight of the Angels

Tomorrow night we are having a crowd of students over to watch "Father of Lights," Darren Wilson's third documentary on the move of God in our world. His first and second movies, "Finger of God" and "Furious Love" were amazing- wow, if you haven't seen them, give them a look! He was a bit of a skeptic at the beginning, and decided to make a documentary on what God was doing. It took him all around the world where he met amazing people and saw miracles. We watched Father of Lights the other night, and Elijah, who is now 9, was bummed at us for not letting him play wii instead. But as the movie progressed, he was completely sucked in. He told me later that at one point, he went to his room and told God that he LOVED him SO MUCH. He then asked Him if he would take any "gunk" he had inside him. "Mom, I got goose bumps, all over, for a long time. It felt really good."  Then he said he asked Him if there was anything He wanted to say to him. He said, "God said thank you.  And I said, 'you're welcome.'"

I just can't think of enough good stuff to say about that :)

HEY! This is more news- remember my son Ian (Sam)? We were reunited three years ago, super fun, super amazing. He did the Trinona with the girls and I this past summer. Happy news is, he's getting married! Ian met Chaley at a wedding in Texas  a few summers ago. They have had a long distance relationship, with lots of plane flights, and they got engaged last month. The Thooft family will be driving to Dallas next summer! If you live on the way, we may come see you :)

Finishing the house also means I can now finish the second edition of my book. Will keep you posted!

In the works- Christmas cookie bakes, sleigh rides, movie nights, FNW, sozos, ecumenical prayer meets on campus, and hopefully a trip to Fargo to glean from Brad Lewis (Chi Alpha director of NSDU and Moorhead State XA) with our faculty advisor, Rick Goeb.  Rick is the Athletic Director at BSU and he is full of encouragement and excitement about XA on campus. So fun.  So much is in store.

Thank you for your love and support. Dang. We love what we do.  You rock.

Have a wonderful December!!!

To check out the Father of Lights Trailer- click on the link below.

Father of Lights Trailer

PS- thanks for the reminder Eric! :)

Fall Retreat

Hi Family!

I know this is cliche, but, Aslan is on the move.

Fall Retreat was last weekend, and so many good things happened. Students were saved, healed, and delivered. A few weeks ago at InterVarsity here on campus, six backs were healed. Last night at Chi Alpha, one of our students who is a cross country runner had her foot/ankle/knee/hip healed.

It was, and is, amazing! We have been talking about how every time Jesus spoke, he followed up with demonstrating the love and power of God. He told us to go do the same, so, after the message, we asked if anyone needed prayer, and this runner raised her hand. We gathered around, and asked God what He was doing. Another student, a new believer who has been getting rocked with emotional healing, said, "He wants to strengthen you in every way." So we released strength to her leg.

After about five minutes, we asked her how she felt. "Amazing," she said.  Could she try something she couldn't do before?  She got up, stretched her leg, and did some tentative jogging around the room, all the while saying "oh my gosh, oh my goodness."  Then, "Holy Toledo!!"  as she disappeared from the room. We all waited, and suddenly she comes SPRINTING into the room. Whoops and shouts erupt from our students, and she runs into Phil and hugs him, crying.  The room was in chaos, laughing :)  We told her to bring the team next week, and we'd pray for them all.

woooohooooo!!!

Fall Retreat with UMD was wonderful, not only for our students, but for us personally. We had more confirmations that we can count, telling us we're doing exactly what we were created to do- from almost the whole student body showing up at our break-out session, to Chuck directly from the pulpit encourage us as ones who have gone through the fire and come out changed. And many more in-between.  We are energized and blessed.

Thank you thank you thank you for helping us do this! WE LOVE IT!!

LOVE YOU TOO!!
Us Thoofts

September!

Hi Family!!!

I know we say this every year, but what a whirlwind fall!  Highlights:

Our friends at the Newman Center had a brat feed. They bought 60 brats. They served 150 students. They had 200 brats left in their fridge after the event.

!!

I was sortof thinking, to myself, "well Lord, what about Chi Alpha?" and he immediately said, "Isn't this what you've been asking me for? That I would pour out my spirit on ALL the campus ministries? This is your win, too!"

:)

And remember our first Nepali student, Sudhir?  He is finishing school in Pittsburgh, and called us the other day. He and his girlfriend Bina were traveling home the night before at midnight. The truck in front of them started dropping its cargo somehow- chunks of metal. A 400# chunk hit Sudhir's car at full speed. It smashed every bit of glass on the vehicle, and literally took out the axles and wheels. Their car flew through the air, missing the steep banks on either side of the road. An EMT heading the other way on the highway saw them sail through the air and turned around to come to their aid, fearing the worst.

Sudhir had a small scratch on his hand, Bina was unhurt. He attributed it all to God's protection, because we loved him and took care of him in Bemidji. He said that if he was here right now, he would come to our house and praise and thank God with us for three days.  :)

The policeman who handled the crash said, "How is it that you two are not dead?"

!!!?!???!!!!  God is definitely on the move.

We are fully into fall. Chi Alpha meets on Tuesday nights, Phil and Andy's men's group meets on Monday nights, Friday Night Worship is going strong, and I have been taking girls out to coffee.  We have our fall retreat with UMD the first weekend of October, and the second weekend of October we're hosting a basic sozo training here in town. All of this while finishing the house- the trailer is moved away, the worst of the renovations are finished. We hope to be refinanced by mid-October- pray for godspeed and good weather- and please, family - pray we assess HIGH.

Our kids are doing great- between school, Judo, driver's ed, Swing club, Chi Alpha, canning salsa, and building, we are all busy and well.  Making time to keep the important things at the forefront, guarding each other's hearts, dealing with pain and disappointment, it's all life. We hope you are well- let us know how we can be praying for you too.  Because of you, a Hindu is praising God. How's that for good news!

Love, us Thoofts

Summer's End

Hi Family!

We are in the throes of getting ready for Fall- pizza feeds, hayrides, meeting on campus again, girls teas, mens groups, relationship classes, kids in school, board meetings, Friday Night Worship resuming, Fall Retreat planning, finishing and refinancing our house, Bemidji Organization Bash Fair, building our sozo teams and having a weekend training- !

Makes me kinda dizzy looking at it :)

We sold the double wide- yes! It was moved away last week. We are living with one toilet, no hot water, no kitchen, and one sink. Good thing we're so flexible :) Phil, and all of us, are working hard to get this place finished before school starts, but I don't think that will happen. We'll just do our best and get it done when it gets done. I have a bunch of pictures on facebook and will post a few here.

Needless to say, Friday Night Worship can't meet here for now- and we'll be starting up again on the 24th at a historic building downtown Bemidji. Destiny Fellowship is allowing us to use their space- pretty cool! We should have a kitchen and bedrooms within a few weeks, so we're hoping by the time move in weekend comes and we start FNW again, we will have the bulk of the work around here done.

We got a note today from a student that graduated last spring. It was so encouraging. One of those notes that makes you want to keep doing what you're doing no matter what :) This is what she wrote:

Dear Phil and Michelle

You both have been such an inspiration throughout the past year. Your growth in your relationship with Christ has been a constant encouragement to me and gives me hope for my own future and relationship with Christ. I want you to know that if Chi Alpha or FNW didn't exist, I wouldn't have found my faith again. I want to encourage your work within the student body. You both have so much to offer! I love you both like family!

I don't share that to blow our horn, I share it so you can see that your love and support goes a long way. That note is for you, family, as much as it is for us. Every prayer you pray for us, every resource you share, every idea you have for us, every bit of wisdom, every dollar you send- just makes us more effective here. We appreciate it all so much.

Please be praying these next few weeks- that we get the work done here (so we can refinance and release some of our financial burden) quickly, that the students that are supposed to be part of Chi Alpha would be, that God's presence and love would be a highlight on campus this year. Please pray for strength and wisdom for us and our kids. Please pray that the remainder of our budget would come in for this month!  And pray for rest- even in the midst of all of this. We know we can have supernatural strength and rest both.

Love you all- hope you're having a great summer!!

Us Thoofts

Horse camp in Grand Marais

Our "summer kitchen!" Since we're kitchen-less right now!!

our friend Tony says this construction/remodel is like therapy. Therapy to never be hoarders. 

enjoying some campfire action!