Newsletter Aug 2022

 August 2022

STILL TRUE TODAY! Consolidation 1. The action or process of making something stronger or more solid. 2. The action or process of combining a number of things into a single more effective or coherent whole. Family 1.  A group of people, usually of the same blood (but do not have to be), who genuinely love, trust, care about, and look out for each other. Real Family is a Bond that cannot be broken by any means.

Consolidation & Family What does this all mean and WHY is it still relevant today? Consolidation & Family have a very similar definition.  Both of them require work and a dedication to see things through, no matter how hard.  I like the way that the urban dictionary defines family: REAL FAMILY IS A BOND THAT CANNOT BE BROKEN BY ANY MEANS. This also is a beautiful picture of our Heavenly Father as He calls us his children.  We are a part of an eternal family that will never be broken.  He promises to never leave us nor forsake us.  What an amazing thought! Two years ago, we began the process of moving the Ethnos360 Jackson, MI campus to Waukesha, WI.  Since then we have continued the process of Consolidation and have worked hard to make a new family stronger.  We are still receiving new staff members to the school, along with interns each year, and of course the new freshmen and returning students to our campus. As with many schools, it can be a constant revolving door of Hellos and Good Byes.  After living overseas for over a decade and moving to different countries we are all too familiar with this process, and one would think that it should be easier for us, but it becomes harder every year.  We have now lived in Waukesha for close to 8 years, making this the place we have lived the longest in our married lives together.  We will be celebrating 30 yrs of marriage this year!  My goodness how those years have gone by so fast, and yet so slow all at the same time.  But one thing is for sure, God has been faithful through them all!  We are continually blessed with His presence and guidance in our lives and in the lives of our 3 boys.  Our oldest son Nate is running our family's painting business, and doing a great job of raising our grand daughter Alice, who turns 7 already this fall. Then comes Josh, who is starting Dental Hygiene school this fall.  He was top of his class in Assisting school and has worked as a dental assistant over the past year, while working two other jobs to raise money for school. And, our youngest son Luke is serving in the Air Guard.  He has been deployed to the Middle East and will be there till next spring. Andy is now overseeing the Accreditation of the Bible School, which is a long process and has many details to stay on top of.  I am still overseeing the campus library and working to merge the Jackson Campus library into ours.  I am blessed to have 2 other staff ladies helping along with my mom and an intern this year.  My goal is to get all the books done and finally be through the mountain of boxes that came this way. This year we have close to 110 new freshman coming.  Ethnos360 also offers online course and we have commuters who do not live on the campus.  All together, there will be close to 250 students coming together to learn from God's Word and build a firmer foundation of Faith.  We will all be learning about the family of God and how we can work together for His Glory.   We would appreciate your prayers for us and for whole campus as we kick start this year.  Aug 19-21 will be registration, and the campus will be busy once again.

Shortly before Covid hit, in 2020 we moved into our new home.  Since then, we have been busy remodeling and updating this adorable mid century home.  We were blessed to receive a gift that helped us purchase our home.  We have been able to have students living with us and coming and going through out the year...some more than others!  If you are passing through and need a place to stay, our guestroom might be available.  The above photo is outside our back windows.  We love being able to feel like we are not in the city!  We also have our "girls", adorable chickens who give us fresh eggs. 1240 Salter Drive Waukesha, WI 53186 Thank you for your friendship over the years, for your prayers for our family and for partnering with us in ministry.  You are an encouragement and a blessing to us. Keep up with us at the following places! Facebook Gina's Email Andy's Email Our Blog More stories of what God is doing can be found by following Ethnos360 on social media. UPDATE: Gina has a small business called "Books by Design" where she can sell her creations. Click on the picture if you are interested in placing an order.  She also does many other crafts and paper flower arrangements.  Books are made to order, or choose from several designs already done.   Our Family has a painting business! Nate runs the painting business year round, Andy helps oversee the finances and estimates.  He also helps paint over the summer.  We also are able to hire several students from the Bible School to work as well. We finally have a facebook page set up, simply click on the picture to see the work that we are doing. Facebook Instagram Twitter Ethnos360 Our mailing address is: 1240 Salter Dr. Waukesha, WI 53186 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

.

 

 

 

 

 

Meditaions

Having coffee with Andy (my loving husband) this morning, we were discussing some of the ways our speech can be used for good and bad. He brought up Psalm 19:14

 

"May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer". 

Knowing this verse for as far back as I can remember, it should have been my default! But today, it struck me, and dare I say convicted my heart. 

The simple yet straight forward words of the Psalmist pierced my heart. 

Have I been using words in such a way that they are "PLEASING" to the Lord?

In our world today with social media, texting, instagram, and video calling, it is so easy to lash out and put our immediate thoughts on display for the world to see. We want to stand on a platform and shout out our discontent with the current state of the world, and even our own lives. 

It is so much easier to complain than it is to proclaim His blessings. 

I was searching out the many different versions of this verse, because it always intrigues me how one verse can be said in so many different ways through language. Yet, when looking at this verse, I was amazed to see that it doesn't change that much. Below you will be able to see the many different versions and how they don't change: Psalms 19:14

 

  New International Version May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. 

  New Living Translation May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. 

  English Standard Version Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. 

  Berean Study Bible May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

 

  King James Bible Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

 

  New King James Version Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. 

  New American Standard Bible May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

 

  NASB 1995 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. 

  NASB 1977 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

 

  Amplified Bible Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer. 

  Christian Standard Bible May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. 

  Holman Christian Standard Bible May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

 

  American Standard Version Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in thy sight, O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer. 

  Aramaic Bible in Plain English Let the words of my mouth be for your pleasure, and the meditation of my heart before you, LORD JEHOVAH, my helper and my Savior. 

  Brenton Septuagint Translation So shall the sayings of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing continually before thee, O Lord my helper, and my redeemer. 

  Contemporary English Version Let my words and my thoughts be pleasing to you, LORD, because you are my mighty rock and my protector. 

  Douay-Rheims Bible And the words of my mouth shall be such as may please: and the meditation of my heart always in thy sight. O Lord, my helper, and my redeemer. 

  Good News Translation May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O LORD, my refuge and my redeemer! 

  International Standard Version May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. 

  JPS Tanakh 1917 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before Thee, O LORD, my Rock, and my Redeemer. 

  Literal Standard Version Let the sayings of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, Be for a pleasing thing before You, O YHWH, my rock, and my redeemer! 

  New American Bible Let the words of my mouth be acceptable, the thoughts of my heart before you, LORD, my rock 

    Many times when looking at the different translations, you can come away with different views on what that one verse is saying. With this verse, I only walk away with ONE THING:

 

  CONVICTION 

 Is my speech pleasing to THE LORD? 

Do the words I say bring Glory to Him?

 

If not, than I should re-evaluate and re-focus my attention on the Lord.  Over and Over, "BE PLEASING"  Do the words I say, please the Lord?  To be honest...NO...Not always, I am not perfect, I complain just like everyone else.  I should how ever be ready to admit my faults and redirect my words in such a way that the Lord is pleased in them.

While searching out this thought farther I was reading a blog written back in 2015 by NEIL ALAN WILLARD. “Let the words of my mouth . . .” | Tumbleweed Almanac (neilwillard.com) 

This is his final statement:

  "I don’t know about you, but I look forward to the moments of silence that follow the sermon and the invitation to confession in the liturgy here at Palmer. They are moments of hesitation before we feebly attempt to speak the truth about God and about ourselves. They are also moments of holiness, pregnant with the movement of the Holy Spirit. It is evident in those moments of truth that God’s love, which is stronger than death, can set us free to come to this Table at peace, reconciled with our sisters and brothers in Christ, forgiven by God and forgiving of others. 

So today embrace the words of Psalm 19 as your words too. Regardless of what the politicians and the pundits and the people around you are screaming at full volume, let the words of your mouth — uttered carefully, thoughtfully, and truthfully — be acceptable in the sight of the Lord, your strength and your redeemer."