One Year at LUC Boys Ranch

The last year has been a glorious testimony of God's grace and mercy of Him working in us and through us.  He is doing a work in our lives and preparing us in some unknown, but special ways.  Marilyn and I have enjoyed the opportunity to serve at Lives Under Construction (LUC) Boys ranch for just over a year now.  We are on an Ozark adventure and enjoying God's leading us here.  Marilyn, along with volunteering at the ranch, has also been enjoying her time here as a college student at College of the Ozarks.  She is seeking a double major in Dietetics and Chemistry, which has been tough for even her.  She is such a wonderful student and remains on the president's dean list after two semesters.  I have been working full-time at the ranch primarily as a teacher.  I am learning so much about so much here at the ranch.

The LUC program is so unique in various ways which really defies the world's methods and gives great glory to God.  We truly learn here that God's ways are far above our own ways and His thoughts are far above our thoughts.  One way we see this is that we won't give up or dismiss a boy.  Many boys come here after getting kicked out of other programs and here they find stability and security knowing that we are willing to work with them as long as it takes.  Another credit to God's ways are how we confront the pressure to medicate America's youth.  The thought that a pill (or a dozen pills in some cases) is an effective way to mitigate negative behaviors or temperaments is simply erroneous.  We are losing our youth by chemically altering their personhood.  Our boys at the ranch get off their meds when they come to the ranch and as one boys recently explained, "It is so good to feel like a real person again."  He was referring to the refreshing ability to again express emotions, experience pains and joys, and escape the artificial nature of previous prescriptions.  The mind-altering, and mind-numbing drugs that we give to our kids are demonstrating our lack of ability to properly handle our nation's troubled youth.  False diagnosis is a crutch and is doing nothing but providing excuses to bad behavior.  There are other ways to confront these behaviors than with a doctor's diagnosis followed by pills.

I could go on and on at the neat thing God is doing at the ranch, but I will cut it short only to say that God is doing a special work in these young men's lives and when they surrender to Jesus Christ it is a special joy to see a boy graduate as a radically changed person.  

This last year I have taken up a new hobby of gardening.   I adopted an orphaned greenhouse and revived the soil back in January.  I also chose a small plot of ground fifty feet from our apartment where I prepped the ground in February.  Since then I have met great success and a few failures in producing quite a few crops.  My drive to be in the garden has dwindled some lately due to the terrible heat here in southern Missouri.  I still am able to water and harvest, but it seems like I am always behind the care needed in my garden.  Marilyn and I are loving, however, the ability to eat a meal that we have grown ourselves.  I think God may use this drive to garden in some exciting ways in the years to come.

I am happy to report that Marilyn and I are still in love and our marriage is strong.  This is only a testament to the transforming work of His Spirit.  Our continued patience with one another stems from Marilyn and I both staying immersed in the Word of God where we are then able to reflect God's unconditional love to one another.  When we take our eyes off of Jesus or neglect the Word of God then we are doomed to operate in our selfish human nature.   We must both keep coming back to His Word.  I trust that as long as we stay close to God in the keeping of His Word we will have a wonderful and fruitful future together.  We can do nothing apart from Him.

The school year is about to start and though I still don't know what classes I am teaching I am excited to get back to the school.  Marilyn is excited to start another year as well.

May God richly bless you all as you come to know Him deeper.   May you all surrender to His will knowing that the Word fo God is powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword able to discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts.  May God's word fill your heart richly and may you all be doers of the Word and not just hearers only.   May you all shine as lights in this dark world.