Dear Family

It is done.....my new book is available. You can order it in print right now, and Kindle will be available by tomorrow.

This is our first run, so please let me know if you find any typos :)  I can edit and upload corrections anytime. It's as clean as we could get it for now.

So exciting. ohmygoodness.  Thank you so much for all of your love and support....

:)

https://www.createspace.com/4245526?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026

March Awesomeness

Hi Family!

I remember Phil saying to me once early in our marriage that no matter what the weather outside, he was determined to find the fun in it and enjoy it. That seemed like a wise statement to me, so I have adopted it these past twenty years. So when we started getting our northern MN snow in March, we have LOVED it! Snowshoeing has been a hoot, hoarfrost amazing, and currently we have 2 moose in our front yard. They're made of snow, but whatever. A moose is a moose.

Speaking of early in our marriage, check this out:

Ilsa is graduating this spring and the school needs some pictures, so we are digging through our picture bin and sorting ...... and found some treasures!

Other family news: I (Michelle) am about ready to release the re-write of The Gift of Sam on Kindle. The book will be available in print as well shortly after. I will keep you posted! We are looking at a new title, and so far, You Smile as You Show Me Grace is the top contender. It's a line from an old DC Talk song, Mind's Eye. I am hoping to write a journal companion to the book, potentially entitled You Laugh as You Heal Me, that will take readers through forgiveness and getting rid of wounds and lies they're believing. It will be based on the Sozo ministry we have learned and are facilitating here in Bemidji.

We went to Illinois for the kid's spring break, so they could hang out with their cousin, and Phil was able to speak in his sister Louise's 6th-7th, and 8th grade classes. He told them that God wasn't mad at them, and for some, that was a revelation. Maddie got to attend a school day with her cousin Elise, and experience a different high school than what she is used to.

This was last night's Chi Alpha gathering:

Side note.....the guitar you see in the picture? It got bumped, and the neck smashed. It's un-fixable, unfortunately, and it was Ilsa's guitar that she has been seriously working with. Sigh. If anyone has a good quality guitar you would sell us, would you let us know? Thanks!

Our new president, Jolynne, is in the bottom picture right under Eli. She is a freshman this year, and is really excited to be our president! Last week she went to the office, sat down, and asked God what she should do for Chi Alpha on our campus. This is what she gave me:

Jolynne is in track and cross country, so we have been meeting students from these groups, and enjoying track meets. She wants to have a "hot tub night" at a local resort....when I asked her what students needed she said "a hot tub! Our muscles hurt all the time!"  I thought- perfect. We'll have hot tub nights at Rutgers, a local resort. Now that's ministry!

We are feeling that we are to move Friday Night Worship to campus next fall, and that would be our large group gathering. It will still be open to other adults in the community, but we will meet on campus. Until then, Phil is still facilitating his guy's group on Monday nights along with Andy, a former student who is now married and working in the community. They see a dozen or so guys every week- some students, some not- who are wanting to get healthier :)  Both of us are meeting students one on one, and having students over for pizza and game nights (last night we played Mafia- hilarious. One guy's alibi for why he didn't "kill" the person in question was "because I was in another town killing someone else" !) Love it.

A couple things we are praying about: our church, First Assembly of God, is hiring a new pastor. We had a great retirement party for our Pastor Vern and Mary a few weeks ago, and we now have a really wonderful intern pastor. So life there is kind of up in the air.  We are praying for a Kingdom-minded pastor who sees the importance of college ministry and loves students....will you pray with us?

Another thing we have been praying about, and for, is a campus center on our campus. There is a property right across from the dorms and right next to Diamond Point Park that we have "circled" in prayer. (Read The Circle Maker, if you haven't already!) We see some student apartments, a coffee house, and a large meeting area for FNW and other Chi Alpha events. Offices, study rooms, a meeting room maybe. It's a big audacious prayer, and we can't even imagine the cost, but the idea of having a place on campus where we could interact with students on a daily basis keeps growing in our hearts. We have an office on campus, but it is really out of the way and not many students know its there. We hang out in the union, but it is closed and empty at 2 o'clock. We have done some things in the dorms, but you have to be invited to be in the dorms- you can't schedule something regular in them. We can get a room for FNW on campus, but rarely can you have the same room every week. So we have felt, for a long time, that a regular place for Chi Alpha - a presence- would be a great thing. Kind of like the Newman Center or the Lutheran Campus Center. Our coffee shop would be open early and late, giving students a place to go and study and hang out. Would you pray with us about this? And if you happen to know any millionaires who need a tax break, send them our way?

There is more to tell, but I will save it for another blog. Thank you so much for your love and support! Have a wonderful Easter!

February In Bemidji

Hi Family!

Just thought I'd send a little Bemidji State University your way this lovely morning......

Enjoy!

:)

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! :)