Easter 2009

I am horrible at updating this thing. I don't think I have told many people about it anyway so I think this is more for me to look at than anyone else :) So since Christmas not many huge things have happened but things are going amazing! Youth services have been incredible. Jeff Deyo has been helping out with worship. Samantha Zeller and Ben Peeples do an incredible job leading and of course as always the amazing Zoey on keys :) Pastor Josh has preached twice and both times we had an incredible altar service. My hubby is consistently bringing the Word every week and I am so excited and thankful to be involved in such an incredible ministry. Teenagers is where it's at!!!

The kids are growing fast. Aviah is starting to talk and just like Elijah isn't happy when her point is not understood. Hmmmm...where do they get that from? No idea. For Easter we colored eggs this year with our friends Kassidy and Kayden Stryker. Church services were amazing as usual and the kids got to egg hunt in the nursery.

I have read some incredible books this year if anyone is interested I highly recommend the following: Good Morning Holy Spirit (Benny Hinn), The Fear of the Lord (John Bevere), 23 Minutes in Hell (can't remember author's name), The Final Quest (Rick Joyner) and currently reading the sequel to The Final Quest- The Call (also by Rick Joyner). The Shack was an incredible book I read at the end of last year that is also a must read.

Right now I am preparing for youth camp (June 1-5), and a trip to India (July 27-July 7). I will be sending out letters this week for my India trip. I have also been asked to speak at a girl's retreat in Atlanta, GA (July 16-18) and am SUPER excited, humbled, grateful, and amazed!!! There is nothing I enjoy more than talking about the Lord and the door's He is opening for me to do that is so exciting!! I am taking my Becca with me to Atlanta. She's my lil prayer warrior for those of you who don't know her. I see the Lord doing mighty things in her now and in the future! I will update on all my trips as they approach and/or after I return.

That's about it for now. If anyone is reading this going on the youth mission's trip I want to leave you with a thought: Going on a mission's trip doesn't make you a leader, being a leader compel's you to want to do mission's. Mission's isn't limited to a trip to a foreign land or somewhere away from home, mission's is a matter of you reaching out to the lost wherever you go. Check your heart, only God can qualify you to walk in His will. Love you guys so much. Praying for that El Salvador trip now! Ready to hear the praise reports!!

Happy Birthday Jesus 2008!

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. " Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas everybody! This was the first year Elijah is really at a place where he understands more of what Christmas is all about. Last year he got super excited about gifts etc and it was fun to see his face but this year he was able to talk about it all with us so much more. We have just started our family tradition of celebrating Christmas by focusing on Jesus' birth and all that it truly means. Instead of making cookies for Santa we bake a cake for Jesus, instead of making a list for Santa we talked about some things Elijah would like and then explained to him (in the best way you can explain to a 2 year old) that there are some kids who couldn't get presents because of reason's they couldn't help and because of that we would get him some things he liked and then get something for someone who may not be getting anything for Christmas. We let him know that St. Nick was a real man and that Santa Claus was like him and the reason St. Nick gave boys and girls presents was to honor Jesus' birth. As he opened his presents Christmas morning we let him know that Jesus gave his life for us and in honor of His life we were getting him some fun stuff to play with to celebrate Jesus' Birthday. Zach and I both grew up in very different homes but both believed in Jesus, however the focus was not on Him. The focus was much more on holiday tradition, tree, lights, food, Santa Claus, and presents. We both decided we wanted our family to have a different approach and to start new traditions focusing on the the Christ of Christmas. Afterall it is HIS Birthday!

"And on earth PEACE, goodwill towards men!"

As we enter the Christmas season in full swing I find myself reading the story of our Savior's birth on an almost daily basis. One thing keeps standing out in my mind, the word Peace. So many times we consider peace to be situational or circumstancial. We believe that if everything is going great at home with our kids and our spouse, at our job, or with our friends that this is peace. Now don't get me wrong, there is a great level of peace when the world around us as individuals is at peace, but what about when it isn't? What then? Is our peace totally tied into the situations and circumstances around us? Because if it is then our peace will come and go like the wind. The peace I believe that the "Heavenly Host" in Luke chapter 2 are refering to goes much deeper than that. Look at what Philippians 4:6-7 says: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be known to God; and the PEACE of God, which surpasses all understanding, will gaurd your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Notice here the Peace of God doesn't nessicerally change our circumstances.....it changes us! God is more concerned with what is going on on the inside of you than the outside. He wants to make sure our heart is right, our mind is right before he fixes the circumstances and situations surrounding our lives! Isaiah 26:3 says "You will keep him in perfect Peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trust You." This Christmas season I pray that our hearts and minds would be stayed on Jesus, the aurthor and finisher of our faith. That our trust would be in the Lord for all things. That peace would not be tied to situations and circumstances but that in the middle of the storm we would be a people who know who our God is and stand solid in the face of adversity. Good times come and go, and so do the bad. God is the only thing that stays the same, so this Christmas season focus on Him and the Peace of God that surpasses all understanding WILL gaurd your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!

-Pastor Zach

Thanksgiving

1 Thessalonians 5:18
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines Thanksgiving as:

1: the act of giving thanks
2: a prayer expressing gratitude
3 a: a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness b capitalized : thanksgiving day

In the Thanksgiving proclamation, written in 1782, I quote,

“IT being the indispensable duty of all Nations, not only to offer up their supplications to ALMIGHTY GOD, the giver of all good, for his gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give him praise for his goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of his providence in their behalf: Therefore the United States in Congress assembled, taking into their consideration the many instances of divine goodness to these States…..”

How awesome is it that our forefather’s recognized the importance of taking time to thank GOD as a nation for His goodness! How incredible for American’s to come together in unity in gratitude for the many blessing’s the Lord has bestowed on this great nation. I am thankful for Thanksgiving Day! How easy is it for us to forget how blessed we really are, yet during this season we are all reminded how important it is to give thanks.

Here are some things we are thankful to the Lord for specifically today:

1. God’s Word- the fact that His un-changing, un-compromising Word never fails. The fact that there are places in this world where people are not even allowed to have a Bible because of religious persecution but we in America have the freedom to worship. When nothing else is our life is certain on Christ this solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!

Hebrews 5:14 “For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and of marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

2. Our family- A. Zach, Angela, Elijah, and Aviah. “but above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” Colossians 3:14
B. Cornerstone Family- “But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.” Matthew 3:33-35
C. Biological Family- He knew exactly which family we would be born into and it was no accident no matter how wonderful or how crazy our biological family can be. Today we thank God for our families …” the days were fashioned for us when there were yet non of them, He saw our substance when it was yet unformed…” Psalm 139

3. Those things which are eternal specifically love, joy, and peace!

4. The power of the Holy Spirit- “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

5. Having a security in knowing who you are in Christ- there is a counterfeit security that comes from so many things in this world. I am so thankful that I am not defined by who I am, but by who I am in Him.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galations 2:20

We could go on and on but we will stop there…at least for the blog!

Be blessed, be a blessing!

New Blog

My old blog (that I started last August) is still up and running but I will probably delete it soon because I never kept up with it and I couldn't figure out how to change things without deleting all the old stuff! I decided to start fresh with a brand new one and go from there. I will try to update it more often with new pictures for our out of town family!

Title: We were looking for a fun name (yes, I know we're cheesy)....and decided on the Hinson Herald. The word Herald means the following (taken from dictionary.com):

1.
(formerly) a royal or official messenger, esp. one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime.
2.
a person or thing that precedes or comes before; forerunner; harbinger: the returning swallows, those heralds of spring.
3.
a person or thing that proclaims or announces: A good newspaper should be a herald of truth.
4.
(in the Middle Ages) an officer who arranged tournaments and other functions, announced challenges, marshaled combatants, etc., and who was later employed also to arrange processions, funerals, etc., and to regulate the use of armorial bearings.
5.
an official intermediate in rank between a king-of-arms and a pursuivant, in the Heralds' College in England or the Heralds' Office in Scotland.–verb (used with object)
6.
to give news or tidings of; announce; proclaim: a publicity campaign to herald a new film.
7.
to indicate or signal the coming of; usher in.

For those of you who know me, you know I LOVE to study. Not that I have much time these days with my two babies, but early mornings and late nights are working well for me :) My favorite thing to study is the Bible. I use the KJV, NKJV, and NASB. Anyway...I wanted to know what Herald meant exactly before I used it. I want to focus on this definition for the word herald: (formerly) a royal or official messenger, esp. one representing a monarch in an ambassadorial capacity during wartime.

When you study the history of the monarch specifically the king, he was constantly followed by a man who held the title of the kerux. When the king was absent or un-available for any reason the kerux would be his representative. His main duty was to bring the message (to herald the message) to the people when the king was out. In this particular portion of the word herald you see noted that this takes place especially during wartime. It is our job as representatives of "The King of Kings and Lord of Lords" to represent Him and herald His message to this world. In studying out the the duties of the kerux, his sole purpose was to follow the king in order to learn his ways. His ways including how he spoke, how he carried himself, how he dressed etc. The goal was for him to be so closely associated with the king that he himself took on all of the king's characteristics as to make sure that the king was the one being seen when other's looked at or heard him. The Word of God tells us that we are crucified in Christ, it's no longer I that lives but Christ that lives in me (Galations 2:20). When we are surrendered and yielded to His Holy Spirit, choosing to be His hands and feet, lights in the darkness, cities on a hill that cannot be hidden, we are hidden in Christ, decreased that He might increase, we are able to represent Him in the way the kerux represented the king. The Word of God tells us we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). Just as the kerux spent time with his king to learn his ways and become more like him, so should we make time to spend with our King. This blog is for fun and for family to keep in touch with the many miles we have between us, but more importantly I would like to use this blog as an outlet to herald the message of the King. I hope to keep up with it as time allows and post words of encouragement and interesting facts as I study the Word. Zach will be posting things as well and we will add pictures of the youth group etc so that the people we know and love can live life with us even across the many miles!

Love,
Zach, Ang, Elijah, and Aviah