“And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” (Deuteronomy 8:2)

What were the top 10 highlights and low points for you personally in 2008?

In keeping with the annual tradition begun last year, I’m going to share the top ten spiritual stories of 2008 from my perspective. These stories relate primarily to Culpeper, but also Virginia because both are my home.

On December 26, 2008, the Culpeper Star Exponent published a lengthy article titled “Culpeper’s top 10 stories of 2008.” According to that, these were the top ten stories in order of significance:
1) We felt the full effects of the 2008 recession
2) Culpeper opens new high school
3) Center of the political universe
4) It started with Cox’s dismissal
5) Town thrice left in the dark
6) Controversy for Branch, Compton
7) Teen’s death hits entire community
8) Town’s future a matter of politics
9) No shortage of candidates here
10) Terremark – new facility brings jobs

In Culpeper (and Virginia), the top 10 spiritual stories of 2008 were (in chronologic order)
1) Selection of Dr. Rev. Charlene Phillips as President of the Culpeper Ministerial Association (Feb 2008)
2) Virginia-Liberia Alliance established (Apr 2008)
3) Launch of City on a Hill Church by GW Dameron (June 2008)
4) Launch of Transformation Virginia initiative (Aug 2008) – Culpeper’s fire spread because of Jack Stagman
5) Death of Kelsey Orndorff (08-29-08)
6) Eastern View High School opened (school name is very significant biblically)
7) Launch of community-wide Experiencing God initiative (09-07-08) – spearheaded by Rev. Mark Jenkins
8) Churches launch homeless initiative in Culpeper (Nov 2008)
9) Culpeper Community Thanksgiving service (11-25-08) – UNITY
10) Marching Through Culpeper convergences

Of course, these 10 stories represent only a very small fraction of the many great things that God did in Culpeper in 2008. Thank you to all of you (locally, regionally, nationally, and even internationally) who are sowing your prayers, time, treasure, and talent to make Culpeper and Virginia a bright light for the world.

At the statewide level for Virginia, one of the most significant positive spiritual initiatives I am aware of for 2008 was the decision by Bowie Curry to launch a 24/7 house of prayer in the Greater Fredericksburg area starting January 2009.

On the national front, “The epic election that made Barack Obama the first African-American president was the top news story of 2008 – followed closely by the economic meltdown that will test his leadership, according to U.S. editors and news directors voting in The Associated Press’ annual poll.

Internationally, I feel the Beijing Olympics, which began 08-08-08, brought a significant and temporary peace and calm to the world overall for a few weeks during an otherwise very stormy year.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for the favor you showed to Culpeper and Virginia this past year. Thank You that the pastors and churches in our community are coming together more and more in UNITY to address common problems we face. May 2009 be the best year ever spiritually in the history of Culpeper and Virginia. Do an amazing work to make our communities a bright light for the world! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen and hallelujah!

Link of the Day
Details for the top 10 spiritual stories of 2008 for Culpeper [see below]

Blessings to make the time to reflect back on 2008 and to set godly goals for 2009!

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Details for top 10 spiritual stories of 2008 for Culpeper (in chronologic order)

1) Selection of Dr. Rev. Charlene Phillips as President of the Culpeper Ministerial Association
On Feb 19, 2008, Rev. Randy Orndorff passed the baton to Rev. Charlene Phillips to serve as President of the Culpeper Ministerial Association for two years. This marked the very first time that a female and a black person were elected to the recognized top position of spiritual authority for the Culpeper community. Charlene did a wonderful job leading in the Spirit to bring more UNITY amongst the pastors and marketplace ministers. Thank you Charlene. And thank You Pastor Randy for the wonderful job you did leading our community spiritually for the two years before Charlene took over.

2) Virginia-Liberia Alliance established (Apr 2008)
In my devotional on May 28, 2008 titled “A Day I’ll Never Forget“, I mentioned that “December 18, 2007 was a turning point, not only in my life and Sam Reeves’ life, but also for Culpeper, Virginia, and the nation of Liberia.” As a result of my offering to help Sam Reeves and Rim of Grace Ministries, I had the privilege to
a) Visit meet Ron Davidson and visit the Gleaning For The World headquarters in January 2008
b) Participate in Operation Rescue Liberia Day on Feb 23, 2008
c) Participate in Virginia-Liberia Alliance Day on Saturday April 19 at the Reformation Lutheran Church.
d) Visit the Liberian Embassy in Wash D.C. with a large contingency from Culpeper, including Rev’s Jacob and Charlene Phillips
e) Build a strong friendship with David Bean, who I would nominate as Culpeper’s citizen of the year.

3) Launch of City on a Hill Church by GW Dameron (June 2008)
On April 17, 2008, Pastor GW Dameron contacted me out-of-the-blue to say he was moving with his family from San Diego CA to Culpeper VA in June 2008 to finish a work that had been started to make Culpeper a city set on a hill (for Jesus). In the short while GW has been in Culpeper, he has been responsible for a big upswing in the spiritual climate of our community To learn more, visit my blog titled “City on a Hill Church” (July 21, 2008) -

4) Launch of Transformation Virginia initiative (Aug 2008) – Culpeper’s fire spread because of Jack Stagman
Rick Heeren had told me on numerous occasions for more than a year that he wanted to come back to Culpeper to fan the flames he had started a few years earlier. I kept advising Rick to contact Jack Stagman and go to Northern Virginia first. Finally that happened.

On July 29, we held our first ever Transformation Virginia webinar. The blog (website) for Transformation Virginia was birthed. And Rick came to Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg, and Culpeper on August 17-19,2008. After spending 3 days shuttling Rick around, Jack caught the city transformation bug. In my opinion, Jack is currently playing the most significant role in the spiritual transformation of Virginia. He has already been responsible for lighting fires for prayer evangelism in more than 7 new communities in Virginia.

5) Death of Kelsey Orndorff (08-29-08)
Saturday August 30, 2008 was definitely the saddest day of the year for me when I learned that Pastor Randy Orndorff’s only daughter (Kelsey) died in a serious car accident the evening before on her way to a Chris Sligh concert in Fredericksburg. As President of the Culpeper Ministerial Association for 2 years, Pastor Randy had been offered tremendous support to our Pray Culpeper team. As I was driving to the first memorial service held for Kelsey on the night of Aug 30, the scripture that came to my mind was Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.”

During the memorial service, I learned from the testimonies of numerous people that Kelsey had manifested an UNCOMMON love for Jesus and for the destitute in this world, especially the homeless. Given that and Pastor Randy’s reputation as one of the most beloved pastors of our community, I knew that somehow, some way God was going to bring something great out of something so tragic. He always does. People at the Culpeper United Methodist Church, pastors in our community, and the community-at-large rallied behind Randy and LeAnne Orndorff. On November, Chris Sligh came to Culpeper High School to lead a concert in memory of Kelsey. About 800 people, mostly teens, showed up. I believe the new homeless ministry that the churches in Culpeper recently embraced is a direct result of Kelsey’s death.

6) Eastern View High School opened
Two years in the making, the much anticipated Eastern View High School finally opened. School spirit ran high from the get-go, as an estimated 5,000 people attended the Cyclones’ inaugural home football game, a friendly scrimmage against CCHS. Behind the electrifying legs of star tailback Stevie Strother, EVHS went on to finish 7-3, playing to large crowds most every Friday night. More importantly, the opening of EVHS provided a big boost in morale to our community. I believe the name of this school is very significant spiritually because Moses’ Tabernacle, Solomon’s temple, and Jewish synagogues all face to the East (i.e. have an eastern view). Mountain View Community Church, a large local church having a tremendous impact on the spiritual climate of Culpeper, is moving its Sunday worship services to EVHS starting January 2009.

7) Launch of community-wide Experiencing God initiative (09-07-08) – spearheaded by Rev. Mark Jenkins
This summer Mark Jenkins caught the Holy Spirit fire of revival and he wasted no time in spreading that to others in our community. Supported by more than 100 LIFE groups, numerous churches and businesses embraced the 7 week “Experiencing God” series prepared by Henry Blackaby. Thank You to Mark for lighting a fire that will not be quenched.

8) Churches launch homeless initiative in Culpeper (Nov 2008)
Jesus said that when we take care of the destitute (i.e. the poor, the hungry, widows, orphans, the sick, those in prison, etc), we are caring for Him. Thanks to the Culpeper Food Closet, the needs for many of the hungry were already being met. Thanks to the leading of Pastors Chad Whaley and Michael Gray, the Culpeper Ministerial Association embrace coming together to care for the urgent need of homeless people in Culpeper just in time as freezing temperatures came in late November. We are trusting God to engage many more churches and volunteers as needed to continue this vital ministry.

9) Culpeper Community Thanksgiving service (11-25-08) – UNITY
In the entire time I have lived in Culpeper, I have never witnessed such UNITY among such a diverse audience as at this year’s Culpeper Community Thanksgiving service. We thank Dr. John W. Kinney for his passionate message about rejoicing always. And we owe a special thanks to Rev. Charlene Phillips for the prayers and relationship building she did to make this possible.

10) Marching Through Culpeper convergences
Virginia Morton never ceases to amaze me with her persistence, ever-growing faith, and positive attitude. The weekly MTC prayer calls on Tuesday afternoons have been my favorite times of corporate prayer. In my June 4 devotional, I stated that “the Marching Through Culpeper movie project is by far the biggest God story I have ever been involved with from a marketing perspective on the web.”

On July 24, Virginia launched her very first email MTC marketing campaign and posted her first blog entry herself. As a result of that, Georgia Willis got reconnected to Virginia and then to me. Because of her love for Jesus and her involvement in key positions of leadership on a variety of higher education boards, I have dubbed Georgia “Virginia’s Princess of Education.” On December 18, Virginia emailed me an amazing list of 2008 convergences for MTC.

Do you know what it feels like to be hungry?
Have you ever gone 3 days without eating any food?
If it was one of your kids going hungry, what would you do and when?
What role is God asking you to play in stopping hunger NOW?

In my devotionals on January 1 and 2, 2008, I mentioned that 2008 will be a year of convergences. Today’s story is a wonderful example of that. In previous devotionals, I’ve mentioned Virginia Morton, Erick Kalenga, Rize Up, Sam Reeves, Liberia, Ron Davidson, and Gleaning for the World. Recognizing convergence experiences is valuable to get involved in big things God is doing.

Wednesday May 7 at 9:30 AM, Rev. Lee Warren from South Hill, VA will be speaking at the Stop Hunger Now assembly at Culpeper High School. Lee is a United Methodist minister and oversees Stop Hunger Now in Virginia. This program has mushroomed since Lee took it over. There are some good videos posted on YouTube and GodTube. Today’s Link of the Day is one of those.

Lee’s husband went to judge’s school with Roger Morton, Virginia’s husband. God called Lee into pastoral ministry after her kids left home and she commuted to Duke to get her degree. That took energy and determination. According to Virginia, Lee is a very vivacious lady.

This Stop Hunger Now [www.stophungernow.org] assembly is important because Culpeper High School has given Rize Up responsibility for organizing it. Rize Up will challenge the high school students to raise $4,000 which will pack 20,000 meals. The packing will be done at a future date, probably in the Fall.

Frequently Lee actually accompanies the food shipments and helps distribute meals in the schools where hunger is rampant. Some of the meals are going to Liberia, and we’re praying ours will be directed by God to Liberia and Sam Reeves will be there to supervise. It also happens that Lee warehouses her supplies, dry ingredients in Lynchburg and Ron Davidson with Gleaning for the World oversees it.

Each highly nutritional meal costs only 20 cents. 25 people can package 5,000 meals in just 2 hours. That’s enough to feed an orphanage with 32 children for 7 months. Children as young as 5 years old can get involved and help.

The youth of today are having a much greater impact than ever before in shaping the culture of the world. Stop Hunger Now is a great hands-on way for young people to assist with world hunger. One goal of Stop Hunger Now is to target apathy. When Erick Kalenga, the leader of Rize Up, heard about the idea, he loved it and ran with it.

According to its official website, “Stop Hunger Now is a non-profit, international relief organization committed to ending hunger worldwide. Stop Hunger Now leads ongoing efforts to feed the hungry around the world by providing direct emergency food and other life-saving aid in crisis areas. Established in 1998 and headquartered in Raleigh, NC, Stop Hunger Now has provided over $100 million of aid in more than 55 countries.”

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for using Virginia Morton, Erick Kalenga, and Rize Up to open the door for Lee Warren to share about Stop Hunger Now at the school assembly on May 7. Bless all those who participate to ignite an epidemic of people following in Jesus’ steps to feed the hungry. Use the web to magnify the impact of Stop Hunger Now 100 fold in 2008. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Stop Hunger Now – Operation Sharehouse @ NCSU 2007

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Blessings to play your appropriate role to stop hunger NOW!

“But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Will you help spread this message in the social networks?

Butch Mills has an inspiring story to tell. From the time he was buried in dirt up to his neck until x-rays showed miraculous healing in his lungs, God was beside him. He credits Culpeper’s prayer vigil for him as the divine power which led to his healing. He will share his survival story at 2 p.m. Saturday, February 23, 2008 in the Fellowship Hall of Culpeper United Methodist Church at the Operation Rescue Liberia rally.

For the first time in the history of the United States and Liberia, both flags along with the Virginia flag will be flown in historic Culpeper during this rally.

Operation Rescue Liberia, headed by Rev. Samuel Reeves of Culpeper in partnership with Gleaning for the world, is seeking to raise $30,000 to ship and distribute $1 million dollars in medical and other supplies to war-torn Liberia. Liberia is emerging from fifteen years of civil war which caused 250,000 deaths, the disabling and relocation of a large percentage of the population, and a current unemployment rate of 70%. Liberia native Rev. Reeves was educated in the U.S. He will return to his homeland, the only African nation created by the United States, to distribute the medical supplies through Rim of Grace Ministries, and to work towards improving the economy through job formation.

The rally will begin at 11 a.m. with Christian music led by Dwight Parker and worship leaders from four area churches. Among the speakers beginning at 1 p.m. are:

Rev. Ron Davidson, Founder of Gleaning for the World
Jim Mead whose BTK Shipping Company of Washington D. C. will handle the shipping
Dr. Randy Peck and Virginia Morton of Pray Culpeper
Felicia Chavey of the Red Cross
Lyndon Peabody, a Liberia native and U. S. Marine
A representative from the Liberian Embassy

Madison County resident David Bean and Wallace Powell, a Liberia native residing in Providence, RI will serve as Masters of Ceremonies. For the first time in the history of the United States, the American, Liberian, and Virginia flags will be flown together at this event.

The greater Culpeper Community is invited to attend this rally to gain a better understanding of Virginia’s close historical ties to Liberia. Rev. Reeves says, “We’re seeking the prayers, support, and financial blessings of the community to make this mission of mercy possible.”

Hot dogs, hamburgers, and drinks will be available for purchase. For more information call David Bean at 540-718-2752.

Prayer Power
Most gracious and merciful Father, we thank You for this upcoming convergence rally on Feb 23 in Culpeper. Thank You for bringing together these different people and ministries for this historic day in our historic community. Bless each participant and all those who pray for the rally. May many people in Culpeper choose to adopt Liberia as a nation to bless in a mighty way. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Rim of Grace Ministries

Blessings to see Culpeper and Virginia adopt Liberia as nation to bless!

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)

Why don’t people obey God?

For several years, I used to listen to American Family Radio (AFR) several hours each day when I was home. One of my favorite preachers on AFR was Adrian Rogers. AFR frequently aired this brief but powerful message by Adrian Rogers – “Why don’t people obey God? Because they don’t know Him. Knowledge of God leads to trust in God. Trust in God leads obedience to God. Obedience to God leads to blessings by God.”

The Bible teaches that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God (1 Cor 3:19). Many of the things that God asks us to do don’t make sense. And it often takes a while to see the fruit of our obedience. That’s because we reap later than we sow. However, God often opens a series of progressive doors when we obey Him. Life in an adventure for those who chose to walk closely with God. Here’s an example:

On December 18, the Holy Spirit prompted me to go to the monthly Culpeper Ministerial Association (CMA) meeting. Even though I had just gotten back from a week long anesthesia conference in New York City and needed to mail out 700 Christmas cards, I chose to go to show my appreciation to Pastor Randy Orndorff for his two years of service as President of the CMA. Little did I know that I would meet Pastor Sam Reeves and David Bean and that they would capture my heart with Operation Rescue Liberia.

Coming to the realization that the country of Liberia was birthed out of Virginia, I felt strongly led to offer to make a free website for Rim of Grace Ministries. As a result, Sam and David asked to receive my daily devotional. Making the new website and doing my first few devotionals of this year led to this reply from David at 9:19 AM on Jan 2:

“Randy thank you so much for doing this. I know you are doing this first for the Lord, but you are also helping Sam and I and lifting our spirits as well. Again a great big thank you.

I do believe we need to talk about the future and what God is doing in this time in History. I just read your daily devotional and what Virginia said as well. I know now that the Lord wants to do mighty works in Liberia. Using the two words you and Virginia received from the Lord, Convergence and Restoration, I know the Lord wants to use this ministry to converge both the United States and Liberia in order to restore both societies unto himself. However, I believe with all my heart that God wants to move in a mighty way in Liberia in 2008 so a Holy Spirit Revival will occur in 2009.”

But the blessing didn’t stop there. At 3:30 PM on January 2, Sam sent me an email titled “New Shoe Proposal.” I learned that Gleaning for the World has 20 crates of brand new shoes worth an estimated $157,495 available for just a $5,000 service fee. Sam wants to acquire those for the poor people of Liberia who have no shoes, but he is completely dependent on the generosity of others to seize that opportunity before it disappears within a few days.

Sam’s email went on to ask me to call Brucie Quick for details. Even though I had lots of other things to do, I called Brucie within an hour of receiving Sam’s email. Because she was in a meeting, the secretary scheduled a phone appointment with her the next morning. Wow! What a blessing. I learned so much about Gleaning for the World, an amazing ministry. Brucie invited Sam, David, and me to come to Concord within the next month to see their facility and to meet with the founder and president of that organization. Another door of opportunity has opened because of obedience.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for the thrill of serving and following You each day. Thank You for Your many unexpected surprises and blessings. Thank You for the joy in my heart. Thank You for the opportunities and resources to bless many other people. Bless Rim of Grace Ministries to converge both the United States and Liberia in order to restore both societies unto Yourself. Bless Gleaning for the World with their best year ever. Thank You Jesus. We love You and praise Your holy name. Amen and hallelujah!

Links of the Day
Gleaning For The Word
Rim of Grace Ministries

Blessings to know God, trust Him, and obey Him to live a life of adventure!

“Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally RESTORE, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little. To Him be the dominion forever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:10-11)

In what areas of your life do you need restoration?
How might Life Focus coaching help in that process?

Yesterday morning I completed and posted my devotional titled “New Beginnings in 2008″ shortly after 9 AM. In less than an hour, I had confirmation from the Holy Spirit that two key words for 2008 are convergence and restoration. Here is what Virginia Morton, the quarterback for our Pray Culpeper team, shared in her email to me:

Dear Randy,

I was just out walking and praying, and came inside to discover your devotional. Bingo! I’ve been seeking the Lord’s word for 2008. Just before Christmas I was walking on a clear day and jet trails were all across the sky. Normally they run parallel. But that day two bold steams of white converged over my head. It was in the secluded spot where I hear the Lord most clearly. I knew this was a message of convergence. I kept studying the sky and I counted at least 8 convergences of these jet trails, which is very unusual. Therefore I felt convergence was the key word for 2008.

But I’ve also been hearing restoration a lot. This morning I was reading my Bible and the passage that jumped out for me was:

“Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally RESTORE, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little. To Him be the dominion forever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:10-11)

Therefore I feel my two key words for 2008 are convergence and restoration. Then God confirmed it by giving you the same words! His wisdom is infinite and all glory to Him! Perhaps He is telling us that through convergence He will restore that which the enemy has stolen.

Thank you for your support and blessing for Sam Reeves (Operation Rescue Liberia). He is so excited at what the Lord is doing.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, I praise You as the God of restoration. I gladly submit my plans and goals to You this year and ask You to restore all that has been lost. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in my life, my family, my home, my work, my ministry, and in Culpeper. Raise a new standard of excellence and obedience to change the world. Thank You Jesus. Amen and hallelujah!

Link of the Day
The Inner Change Freedom Initiative – by Dr. Henry Brandt

Blessings to gladly submit your plans and goals to the LORD to experience His restoration in 2008!