Hey Pilgrims!

If you have not received "Facing Jesus" yet, please resend/email me your address... Somehow my list got lost in my mail program, and I can't figure out which of you it goes to next.

Also, please note that only one person gets it next and this tour will end.  20 Pilgrims was a little too ambitious as it turned out.  So, you Pilgrims who haven't received it will be the first ones to receive the next one!  So please don't lose heart!  Be planning how you will experience it, and help make this ministry reach lots of people!

Thank you to those who have participated and made this an exciting, rich ministry for others.  I have been greatly touched by your experiences.  Praise God for your taking part!

Hey Pilgrims!

Facing Jesus' Tour with Karen

Karen Smith of Huntsville, Alabama recently experienced being a Pilgrim with "Facing Jesus" and her account really moved me!  Thank you, Karen for sharing it and Jesus' spirit in such awesome ways!

I thoroughly enjoyed the time I had with the Facing Jesus Tour painting. I

decided before the painting ever arrived that I thought I would approach

this a little differently and I did. I decided that in an effort to remind

myself that Jesus is not something to put on a shelf and think about when it

is convenient, that I would take the painting with me wherever I went. I was

hoping that the Lord would use this to remind me that He is with me always

in every situation that I find myself on a daily basis.

I am a school teacher (8th grade) so I took the painting with me to school

and sat it on my desk for a couple of days. One of my greatest challenges is

to remember that Middle School boys are made in the image of God! I am

kidding, sort of, but not only did the students ask lots of questions about

the painting (which I answered), but I found myself looking at it when I

would get frustrated with a student. It really helped remind me that even

though they are difficult at times, Jesus loves them as much as anyone else!

This has helped me to stop throughout the day and pray for them, and myself

: )

I also took the painting with me to our Small Group Bible Study. It is a

couples study and we are studying the book " Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I

actually sat the painting next to me during the discussion. At first no one

quite knew what to make of it but after I explained what I was doing, we had

a huge discussion about how we could all remind each other throughout the

week that Jesus is present with us in every situation. This started a new

dynamic in our group, where we periodically e-mail the whole group

throughout the week with reminders of God's love and care for us. It started

with one of the guys scanning in the image of the painting and e-mailing it

to everyone in the group.

We have continued to send group e-mails throughout the week to encourage one

another and remind each other of Jesus presence in our everyday lives.

Thanks Carole for this wonderful project and a chance to reflect on Jesus!

Facing Jesus' Tour with Karen