God loves you unconditionally, as you are and not as you should be, because nobody is as they should be.   Brennan Manning

At the beginning of last week I caught food poisoning and was trapped in bed for 2 days.  So what do you do if you cant do much, you start reading the books that you planned to read for a long time. One of the books that a friend recommended me a long time ago was the book All is Grace which is a biography of the life of Brennan Manning. When I started reading it, I had a hard time to put it back down. The book shares a life of struggle and hardship in the most real way I probably ever read a Christian book. It made me interested in hearing him. And I found a sermon he gave on YouTube. One of the things he said was the quote from the top about love. I heard so many times said that god loves us, but with hearing him say it in that way it spoke to my heart deeper than ever before.  It made me cry because I was so overwhelmed with his deep love.

God loves us no matter which part of life we are in. If we just made the biggest mistake, or if we just had the greatest breakthrough in our faith, He loves us. And he does not love us because we have it all together and we are perfect, no he loves us just because he does. The difference in those lines is that they don’t create shame in you, instead they encourage you to become a better person because out of that true love the father has for you. But you can be secure that you are loved even if you don’t become a better person right away. Some of us might think now, so what, this encourages us to stay where we are at and not move away from our failure. I actually believe it does the total opposite. If you are excited about a marathon and your biggest supporter your spouse stands right there at the track and cheers you up, you are more likely pulling out those last pieces of strength to win, but you also know even if you lose its not a big deal since your spouse still loves you. On the opposite if you run the race and you are at the last part and you have a spouse that tells you if you don’t win you are such a failure, you might also pull out your last strength. But why? You just do it to prove you are not a failure and you are worthy to be loved. But that is not the love the father showed and Paul described in Romans 5.8. Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

I want to encourage you to ponder on this for you personally. And be real with yourself. I feel God really wants to speak to many of us through that. And the great thing with that is, when we know his love in that way we will have also more love and grace for others in our life. Maybe watch the video sermon I added at the end of this blog or the short version of his sermon from the movie Ragamuffin. May it speak deep to your heart and bring you to a new level in your relationship with the father!

Hey our friend

We hope you had an outstanding week. Last Wednesday we had the graduation for our Fall DTS Students. All of them made such a huge impact in North Beach through their Prayer walks as well as through serving at the boys and girls club. Pray that God will guide them in this coming season to use the gifting’s he has given them to bring change to wherever they go. But also pray that they will grow even closer to Him then they have been in the last few months.

God is so amazing, this year our cost went up with increase in rent, health insurance and other living costs in San Francisco, but since the beginning of the year we have already seen a big increase in monthly support. Right now we are still in need of $1.300 to cover our total monthly cost. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. If you are not, but you would like to join our financial support team, find out more by clicking on this link. Thank you for considering us.

Know this week that you are deeply loved.

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

https://youtu.be/_a7Z4Wg2bNo

https://youtu.be/FKSofu9YlyQ

Last week we wrote about the importance of knowing the history of your family and how it can help you to move forward in your own life. This week we are writing about the importance of knowing the history of your area.

Let me illustrate it with a little piece of the history of our neighborhood. Years ago before we started doing anything in North Beach I learned a lot about the neighborhoods history. The neighborhood we live in has a rich Italian history. Many of the homes, stores and restaurants used to be owned by Italians in the neighborhood. Along with them came the culture of family but also a catholic Christian faith background. People helped each other out and were part in each other’s life, just like families do. So at one point an Italian man started the bank of Italy which was a bank for the working class of North Beach. It helped people to be able to afford homes that normally would not be able to (sometimes I wonder if the story of the movie it’s a wonderful life is in some ways based on this bank). The bank helped after the earthquake right away with loans so the rebuild of the city could start. So again the heritage of our neighborhood came to life through that bank by helping the people that lived here like a family. That bank later on merged with another bank (Bank of America) which became one of the largest banks in the world and still helps the working class with money for mortgages.

So this was just one example of a history our neighborhood carries. Many times when we find those things we can see more of how God intended a place to be. When you research the history you will understand your town so much better and again you will be able to make a greater impact in everything you do.

1. Go to a library and find books about your town. Also research on the internet.
2. Talk to older people from the area you live in and hear what they remember about the history of the town.
3. Gather your information and see what common themes you see.
4. Now start praying into it and ask God what your role is in this town.

Hey our friend

A week without community is a lost week. During the last week we saw again how much each of us needs community and people around them. During the different times we have people together at our house you can always see each one of them leaving refreshed but also we feel encouraged through there friendships. No matter if we meet up with people one on one or if it was times in groups both of them give so much life. Most of what we do is creating community wherever we go and showing through true relationship how the love of God transformed us. It might be through a game night, a brunch an encouragement group, helping out at a senior meeting or meeting up for a coffee. It doesn’t matter what way it is, the importance is to start with one!

God is so amazing, this year our cost went up with increase in rent, health insurance and other living costs in San Francisco, but since the beginning of the year we have already seen a big increase in monthly support. Right now we are still in need of $1.300 to cover our total monthly cost. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. If you are not, but you would like to join our financial support team, find out more by clicking on this link. Thank you for considering us.

Don’t forget to research your town history!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

A while ago Jen and I had a so called Amish Day. On a weekend day we would not use any electricity, phones or computers. All we would do is read books, play board games, spend time with God and each other. It was an amazing thing to do, since it really helped to get our minds to slow down and focus on what really matters. In a world full of information it is so easy to fill our minds with stuff. And it can be so easy to be overwhelmed. It can also be really easy to put all our focus on something and while doing that loosing what really matters our focus on the father. The something can really be anything even something good. I was reading the book Is that really you God with the story of YWAM and how it started and one of the stories they were sharing was a story of a ship. God told them to buy a ship and they all moved forward in that. But then the focus changed, and instead of God the ship was the main thing on their mind. Eventually they lost the ship, but through losing it they learned a valuable lesson which is still today one of the keys in YWAM: Keep your focus on God.  

The question is what is on our mind? What are we focusing our thoughts on? Are we worried about the future that is predicted in the media or are we focused on our father who is with us all the time?

When we thought through those questions let’s ask ourselves how we can change our focus and the things we think about. Maybe its by more selective reading or watching of media. One thing that helps for sure is to always stay connected with God. It might be a little prayer every hour in our day and a good quiet time with Him. Maybe its done through a regular reading of the bible. There are many ways to do that, ask God which one is the right one for you!

Hey our friend

How was your week? We hope it was a good one. Jen and I were doing a lot of work in the neighborhood. We connected with lots of new and old friends from the community. We also had our first class with the students on neighborhoods. It was great. We love how God gives people a heart for community and how he always shows us again and again the need for it. Remember to create community wherever you go!

God is so amazing, this year our cost went up with increase in rent, health insurance and other living costs in San Francisco, but since the beginning of the year we have already seen a big increase in monthly support. Right now we are still in need of $1.300 to cover our total monthly cost. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. If you are not, but you would like to join our financial support team, find out more by clicking on this link. Thank you for considering us.

Remember this week to keep God the main focus in your mind!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen