This Sunday is Mother’s Day. It’s a shame we need a holiday to say thanks to those we love, but I’ll take this opportunity to send a shout out to my mom and “give honor to whom honor is owed” (Romans 13:7).

I’m so thankful for a mom who loves the Lord and consistently lives out the gospel in the home. She is deeply committed to her family, and never wants to do anything that would disrespect or dishonor my dad. She looks for ways to support and pray for me and my wife, and she absolutely adores her three grandkids. My mom is generous. She is kind. The very embodiment of 1 Corinthians 13 in many ways. She is willing to learn new skills. Rarely will you find a more disciplined, trustworthy, and faithful person.

This year has been a major year of transition for my mom. She has worked for the same Christian/non-profit organization in Colorado Springs for almost 18 years, and just recently her boss retired. They had a great working relationship, and as you can imagine it’s hard to start all over again with a new boss. This has led to a tremendous amount of uncertainty and change in a short amount of time, but my mom has sought to do her best, to keep a good attitude, to support the organization and its leaders, and to commit her ways to the Lord.

One of my special memories of my mom was when I was about 12 years old. Things back then were really tight for our family. Both my mom and dad were working just to make ends meet, and we lived together in a tiny, one-bedroom duplex apartment. My bed for several years was the living room couch. Needless to say, family outings and vacations were rare. Once in a while, we’d take a trip to visit my grandma in Colorado, or my great-grandma in Illinois, but other than that, we almost never went out of town or stayed in a hotel. My mom had been itching to take some kind of special family outing, but my dad just couldn’t justify it in our budget. So my mom used her own, hard-earned money (working the night shift as a janitor at a local factory) to treat our family to a weekend at a nearby hotel. We got to eat out, swim in the pool, play video games in the arcade, and sleep in a fancy hotel room. I really appreciated her generosity and desire to make special memories as a family.

Most importantly, my mom is a woman of God who cares about the spiritual health of those around her. Charles Spurgeon said, “What some of us owe to our mothers, we shall never be able to tell. If we had to write down the choicest mercies that God has bestowed upon us, we should have to mention first the mother who prayed for us, and taught us to trust in Jesus, by the Holy Spirit’s blessing upon the sweet way in which she spoke to us about the Saviour.” So true! Love you, Mom!

“The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21)

Goodbyes are hard. Last Sunday, we had to say goodbye to a beloved family in our church. That’s the third family in three weeks – all of them here because of the Marine Base, who have now moved out of state once their assignment ended.

Every church has seasons of transition, but being a small church in a military community, ours are especially pronounced. Transitions hit us every year about this time, not with a minor tremor, but a massive earthquake, shaking us and forcing us to pick up the pieces and start over again.

The Bible describes the church as a body of believers. Continuing that same analogy, we could say that losing members is like amputation. It is always painful and messy, both for the family leaving, and for the church they leave behind. A large void, both emotionally and spiritually, is left behind.

One military family told me that a church member (not from our church, but a previous one), told them, “Our family doesn’t get close to Marines, because they are just going to leave again.” That is heartbreaking. We should have the exact opposite response. I believe instead, we should say, “We know our time together is limited, so we want to make every second count.”

Jesus spent approximately three years with his disciples during his public ministry. It was a relatively short amount of time, but he chose to build deep and lasting relationships with those men. Before his departure, Jesus comforted his disciples, “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22).

We’ve said many goodbyes over the years to dear friends and have an ever expanding network of friends and ministry partners scattered around the world. But we rejoice that in the end, we will see each other again, and there will be a sweet reunion in heaven. Our time together in this life may have been short, but our prayer is that our church fueled their love for the Lord and will yield a lifetime of harvest.

Last Sunday night, we hosted a membership class at church. These classes vary in size from just two or three people, to classes as large as 14-15. This one was somewhere in the middle, with four prospective members, plus myself, an elder and his wife, and our church clerk. A few other prospects wanted to attend the class, but were unable to do so, so I recorded the class and they can listen to it later.

The typical format of our membership class is to have personal introductions, talk through a basic overview of the gospel, explain the nature and purpose of the church, explain the “Gospel Growth Process” as a personal discipleship plan, introduce our bylaws and beliefs, and lastly, talk briefly about Southern Baptist cooperation. In all, the class lasts about 2 1/2 hours, plus we like to serve our newcomers a dinner.

Since it was a smaller group this time, we invited them over to the house for hot dogs and hamburgers. It was so neat to see as the night developed how the dynamic of the group changed. As the night wore on, the group grew more relaxed, and formality and politeness evolved into laughter and casual conversation.

Although dinner was done by 8pm, many of them stuck around late into the evening. It was a reminder of the value of biblical hospitality, and the irreplaceable gift of having people in the home.

Dear friends,

It’s a joy to look through our calendar at the end of each year and see how God has been at work. This newsletter is intended to be a blessing to you, but it’s also a type of “memorial stone” for us. It is a time to reflect on the faithfulness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Will you rejoice with us again this year?

Ministry. God has been so gracious to us and the ministry in Yucca Valley. Our church has grown to 80 regular attendees. Stephen is preaching through the Book of Isaiah on Sunday mornings and is developing a basic discipleship program called “Growing in Christ” on Wednesday nights. He conducted 3 weddings, 3 baptisms, a marriage class, and a membership class this year. Exciting!

We’ve also been blessed by our first college intern who began in January. Ryan is a BAT (Bachelor of Applied Theology) student at Cal Baptist University and hopes to go into full-time ministry. What a privilege to help train up future leaders! And what a blessing he is to us!

At the beginning of the year we began hosting a young adults/singles lunch once a month in our home. Our singles have ranged from college students to widowers in their 80s. We love the diversity in our congregation.

It’s also been encouraging to see a growing evangelistic spirit at the church. We hosted summer VBS, fair booths on Memorial Day weekend and July 4th, a one-day missions trip to Pomona, and a Halloween outreach to over 600 trick or treaters.

Travel. We traveled a lot this year. Stephen was able to return to Together for the Gospel in Louisville and attended a Nine Marks “Weekender” conference in Washington D.C. While in the capital, he got to visit the Smithsonian and see the actual B-26 bomber that his Grandpa was crew chief on during WWII!

In May we took our summer vacation. We tent camped off the Santa Barbara coast for four days,  spent two days visiting the Monterey Bay aquarium, then joined Grandpa and Grandma in their cabin (our first visit) in some gorgeous mountains. Just look at our van! Tent camping, hotel life, long drives and food meant taking a lot of stuff. And yes, the door did close — barely!

Some of our other excursions included a field trip to the Natural History Museum of L.A., an Angles baseball game, and an anniversary getaway to watch The Screwtape  Letters brilliantly performed by Max McLean.

Family. After some serious health problems in the spring, Natalie has been feeling much better and her blood pressure is much more under control. Thank you so much for all your prayers.

Dylan (2nd grade) and Heidi (Kindergarten) are learning lots of fun new things. We just finished studying inventions like the cotton gin, and concluded by designing our own dams using dirt, popsicle sticks, and pebbles. We’re not sure who enjoys the experiments more – the kids or us parents! Dylan really enjoyed learning more about the Civil War and even meeting “President Lincoln” at a Civil War reenactment in October. Heidi is starting to read and got so excited the other day when she spelled the word “rat” in a game all by herself!

Abigail is nearly two now and talking in her cute little toddler voice. One of her favorite phrases is to playfully say, “Mommy? Mommy? Umm!” She’s finally able to play with her big brother and sister and loves it! From playing with Duplo blocks to sitting on   people, to discovering her alphabet, there’s rarely a dull moment with Abby around! And she loves Christmas lights. As we drive around, she’s constantly on the lookout.

We were able to visit with Natalie’s parents and Stephen’s mom several times this year (and with Stephen’s dad through Skype). We travelled to San Diego for Cousin Cara’s wedding (welcome to the family, Alex!) and to San Clemente to remember the life of Stephen’s Uncle Dave. In the spring Natalie’s Grandpa Parker also passed away. We dearly miss them.

The Lord blessed us with some extra time, funds, and energy to tackle several projects around the house. We painted and organized our family room, bought solar panels, tiled the living room, and installed a wood burning stove. We’re thankful for these improvements that will make our home more energy-efficient and comfortable for visitors.

So those are some of our highlights from 2012. We’ve seen God’s faithfulness in new ways and old, and are one year closer to heaven.

We love you and pray for you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love, Stephen, Natalie, Dylan, Heidi, & Abigail Jones

Related posts:

• With God, All Things Are Possible!  
• 2011: A Year to Remember

Thirty years ago this spring, God changed my life.

My father Alan was a godly pastor. My mother Ellen was a tender homemaker. Both are alive and still serving the Lord faithfully today. I was an only child, but my parents’ affection more than compensated for my lack of siblings. They loved each other and they loved me. But most importantly, they loved God. Because of this, I had the privilege of learning the Bible early, both at church and at home.

I honestly don’t remember the day I accepted Christ. It feels like a faint dream lying just beyond the haze of my earliest memory. According to my parents, I asked one night how I could avoid hell and make sure I was going to heaven. That evening, my dad shared the gospel again, then led me in a prayer to receive Christ. It was Monday, March 29, 1982. I was three-and-a-half years old. Every December, my Mom inscribes that day on the new year’s calendar so we can celebrate the day of my second birth. In many ways, it is even more important than my first birth.

One key moment in my spiritual journey took place at summer camp when I was around six or seven years old. The camp speaker asked who would be willing to go anywhere and do anything for Christ — to completely surrender to Him. With heads bowed, we were invited to express that commitment by walking up to the front of the auditorium. No one moved. The room was silent. It felt like hours had passed. I was sitting on the front row next to my mom (one of the camp counselors). I was one of the youngest campers there. I turned to her and whispered whether I really had to go forward — to do this in front of all these people. She said if I really loved the Lord and believed in Him, I should be willing to do it. So, I stood up and went forward. Soon, others followed suit. This was a big step for me to work out my salvation in bold obedience.

I’m thankful God saved me so young, but I must confess I struggled with doubt during my adolescence. Had I really believed in Jesus? Was I truly saved? Was I absolutely sure I’d go to heaven if I died? These questions haunted my soul. To make matters worse, traveling evangelists would sometimes come to our Christian school, employing scare tactics to get us to walk the aisle and convert. But finally, on Friday, March 27, 1992, I had enough. I realized that my lack of assurance was really a lack of faith in the finished work of Christ. I needed to stop fearing and start trusting. If I had truly believed in Christ, then His gift of eternal life was already mine (Jn. 3:36). That night, I re-dedicated my life to the Lord one last time — just to be sure. And I’ve enjoyed peace ever since.

The Bible promises that “if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That is precisely what God did in my life. He transformed me. He gave me a new nature, new thoughts, and new desires. I remember the thrill of sharing the gospel with a girl not more than five or six years old. I remember the joy of listening to a men’s quartet who visited our church when I was a little boy. I remember being scared out of my wits and praying desperately for God’s protection while huddled on the couch during a fierce Midwest thunderstorm. I remember gazing each night at the John 3:16 plaque hanging above my bed. I remember memorizing Bible verses for Vacation Bible School and Quizzing. I remember refusing my first cigarette and declining my first porn magazine — not because Dad and Mom might find out, but because I knew it would dishonor God. Even the tiniest “white lie” tormented me until I confessed it. God was faithfully protecting me and using His Spirit to produce a growing holiness in my life. While I was far from perfect, God was undeniably living inside of me.

Ultimately, I don’t rest my assurance in any childhood experience, but in my present understanding of the gospel and the fruit of a changed life. I admit that I am nothing but a poor and helpless sinner (Eph. 2:1-3) who stands condemned before a holy God (Rom. 1:18). I rejoice that God sent His only Son to obey God’s Law and die in my place, raising Him up on the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4). By the grace of God, I have repented of my sin and been washed by the cleansing blood of Jesus (Titus 3:5). My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

Echoing the words of John Newton, my testimony can be summed up in one sentence: