For those of you who read this blog, I must apologize for not updating it as often as I would like. Most of you know my great Aunt passed away a few weeks ago and we were out of town. Also, the day of my great Aunt's funeral we (my wife and I) received a call that my wife's roommate's mother, Sue, passed away. All of this to say is I usually update the blog over the weekends and for the past two weekends we have been out of town. My request is that you would pray for the Benzing family. Mrs. Sue Benzing was a believer and for her, her death brought nothing but gain. However, she left behind six children and her husband. They are a great family as Sue was a great wife/mother/friend. Some of you were privileged to meet this woman at our wedding. We would ask for you to pray for our friends, the Benzings. Faith and I have been trying to be ministering to them in this rough time and we would ask for you support in prayers. I would like to introduce you to probably a familiar name. His name is Jim Elliot:

Jim Elliot was an American missionary to Ecuador, specifically to the Auca Indians. His love for God was reflected in his willingness to lay down his life for those who did not know the Life, Jesus Christ. He was martyred at the age of twenty-nine, when ten Huaorani men slaughtered him and four others. There is a part of his story that really touched me, though. When his wife, Elisabeth Elliot, asked if they would use their guns if they had to, Jim replied, “We will not use our guns!..Because we are ready for heaven, but they are not." The story of his wife, Elisabeth “Betty” Elliot, is equally inspiring. She would eventually go on to spend two years as a missionary to the very tribe members who killed her husband. Those in the tribe, in time, came to know Christ. Elisabeth Elliot has written numerous books which I highly recommend to both men and women. Two books in particular based on Jim Elliot, written by Elisabeth Elliot, are Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot and The Journals of Jim Elliot. Also, she has written books that I recommend, such as Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ's Control, God's Guidance: Finding His Will for Your Life, and The Mark of a Man: Following Christ's Example of Masculinity. There have also been two major movies put out about Jim Elliot and the story that follows: Beyond the Gates of Splendor and End of the Spear.

Here are some of his memorable quotes:
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."
"The sound of 'gentle stillness' after all the thunder and wind have passed will be the ultimate Word from God."
"I many no longer depend on pleasant impulses to bring me before the Lord. I must rather responsed to principles I know to be right, whether I feel them to be enjoyable or not."
“Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth!”

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.