There are so many things tearing at my heart's life in Christ, lately... good marriages take work and prayer, and are the testing ground of professed faith. I've managed by God's grace to press in over the last few weeks in spiritual disciplines, yet I feel more deeply broken and needy...

I guessI held the vain, evil opinon against which I have so often spoken, that life in Christ means esase of living and freedom from sorrow... but freedom from sorrow is freedom from passion--a fate worse than death

My flesh bleeds on the work of the day. My soul revolts against submission to the cross... That cross awaits me in the home, especially now that we're looking down the barrel of some major decisions: Judy's getting a promotion at CIEE, which will make her the major breadwinner and me the "housemaster"...

Ill have to take the bull by the horns and twist that monster to the ground, or I'll end up with a "tiger by the tail" with the dailies stripping me of spiritual discipline and ministry work...



As far as Grubby Kupp goes, 2Cor.8:10 is ringing in my head from a dream that I had a year ago...

and it sparks more dreams...



A house with young men living in community and mission "in the 'hood". Call them, Lord!



A 3-Car building for car-repair ministry to the Body and our neighborhood... This is one of the single greatest needs in our area. People like DanielMatt and Christine, JP, Sarah, Single moms in the 'hood, gangstas nearby, all need help.



A halfpipe for skate ministry at the house.



Waterballoon mayhem youth ministry startup in spring...



youth movie nights at the 3rd floor theater in the Chase house...



For people to deeply devote to Christ and live cheap, work less, quit the ratrace, and get their lives into the 'hood, with each other, put feet on street...



Lew

This week, i looked at Moses a bit. He was very afraid and frustrated. Right in the beginning of his walk with God, God came to kill him because of something about all that. It's hard to understand for us, but I'm seeing it... in me.



I've been saying lately that Moses' life and service to God destroys the idea that if we serve God, we'll emerge "unscathed"... The terrible shock that we're wounded and "that's gonna leave a mark!"



Moses was definitely "scathed".



Jesus was definitely "scathed". So why am I still so freaked out when I get "scathed", even in the smallest ways? Why are you? We're growing up. It's time to pick up the cross. Pray it for me. Do it for you. Same here back atchya...



freak out,



Lew

Monday Morning...

Thinking of you sitting there at your computer, trying to get at what it is that grubbykupp is all about. Thinking about how we're just trying to be a people who wait, listen, hear, and obey...

There are people in our group who are praying on weekdays at the house, and this morning there was a word from Psalm 81

"...my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel would not submit to me.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,

to follow their own counsels.

O that my people would listen to me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!"

We're in a place of repenting from years of trying to live the life in Christ by our best ideas...by our "own counsels".

In Isaiah 50:10-11, There is a scary condemnation of people who light their own fires to guide themselves through the adversity of darkness, contrasted with those who walk by trust and reliance in the dark, the whole way through.

We're in a place of repenting from years, even generations of Christianity lived by the light of fires like these... So little of the work of the Gospel in our country is founded in trust and reliance--Listening... Mostly it's based in Thinking!

Mostly it's been based in thinking up our best ideas and calling them the call. So we're stopping and sitting down and listening and quieting our souls before Him to hear what He wants.

there has been a lot of little friction that has been showing us how we need to really work with God toward unity and peace among us. Seriously, it seems like we can't go ten steps without someone really getting torn by each other... We are full to the brim, it seems to me, with selfishness and fear.

Some time ago, I got undone on us trying to transport some office equipment. I got my nickers in a twist because of it and I've been having to learn to repent and get free of the world's values in me... You should have seen me. You would have been mad at me.

Our Sunday Night Meetings are really becoming sacred time and sacred space in our lives... Mr. Weiss brought a teaching on THE FEAR OF GOD last night. I can see that we all need to soak in this, more. It's the cure for selfishness and folly.

Today is SETH ROSS'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!

He's three and we're all going to Chuck E. Cheese's for the party, this afternoon. Tom and a whole bunch from GK will laugh it up with him and AAron and all of us, there.

You know, this is one of the things I'm loving the most. Our people are in our house, yes, but they're also becoming family with us. Last night, Tom stayed over and got waked up by people praying in the big room at 6am...

Last Friday, we had a Bible study at 7am in our downstairs kitchen.

Someone donated a much-needed stove!

Another family has given me a desk, and donated a loveseat and two chairs to the meeting space...

There are many needs, here. We know that the Lord will bring everything together in His time.

Pray for me to be patient. It's hard for me to see so far ahead and then have a broken bannister... Want a view into my mind? I have this broken bannister and about 20 other small carpentry jobs... I could do them--POORLY and SLOWLY... But i'm busy trying to stay in the Word and Prayer, so I look at them each day and they look back at me and Satan gives them voice to call me the names I heard in gradeschool, over and over, all day...

I need this bannister so I can conquer foes I fled in the past.

I know that God will send the shelving and repairs, and all that in his time... In the meantime, I find these times mean. I mean that they bring to surface the miserly and mean spirit of my heart, shooing me into grace. They mean that I have need of discipline... Pray that I learn.

We got new tires on the Toyota, JP's escort, and the REPAIR VAN. Do you know why we call it the repair van? All of you who have given so we could get it back on the road know why. Please pray. It's transmission (it's 2nd) seems a bit out of whack lately...

But new tires are really great! I don't know thelast time I got them. But they rule. I mean, I don't slide around and the bumps aren't as sharp... Thanks Andre and Co.

Tonight, Andre is coming over to work on cars and share a meal and play guitar... Andre is a guy who is a mechanic and loves to help folks...

Peace to you from Lew on behalf of the Grubby kupp crew.

Don't laugh. It keeps rain off and adds "mystique".

Hermano Calvo... that's Spanish for "bald brother"...

What can I say about these days? The rains have come to CIncinnati and so far, I like it... I've owned this leather cowboy/indiana jones-style hat for over a decade and, like, I never wear it 'cos I'm embarrassed to... But the day before yesterday I got it down and mink oiled it up and today I wore it out to Starbucks for Bible Study. It didn't rain, so I felt kinda sheepish. Plus, it leaves a funny red "ring" on my head... You see, I started shaving my head this week because I'm just tired of messin' with it and it's so CLEAN! So i don't get hat hair. i get hat head. Looks like I had a lobotomy or my brain got replaced... So, I try to choose "low impact" hats, with soft bands... But there's no avoiding it... So, after ten years, I'm hatted in leather cowboy style...



Do you think that's related to the fact that I sang a johnny cash song at GCF, last week?



I think most of the Work of the Spirit in this group has been internal journey for the last year or so... Our little huddle of souls has come to include incredible testimonies and foe-vanquishing faith. There has been no sense of "outreach", only a sense of desire for the Spirit to come and teach us to love...





Jn 17:20 "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me



That the world would recognize Him when WE have unity like His with the Father. THis is huge, as we (the grubbykupp crew) press in to know Him and find, of all things, EACH OTHER, there before the throne...



The very same ones who let us down and disappoint our souls in daily life (not major betrayal of sin, just the simmering pot of inadequacy and limitedness), are worshipping there... profaning the Presence!



This is the scandal that we're overcoming in Christ--that he has once again enfleshed himself, by the Spirit being in "one another"... treating one another like a temple.



At the house, we're gearing up for activity as resources become available. There is a stove on the line that we'll pick up this weekend, it looks like. There's the question of building an island in the kitchen for the stove to be in, as well as tearing out carpet, refinishing the first floor oak floors, repairing the pocket door tracks, painting everything, cabinets, counters, shelves, dehumidifying and organizing the basement for resource storage, getting the Rosses moved in on the 2nd floor better, setting up the office (thank you God for the copier), and the like...



So there's a bit of outward journey arising. The challenge in my heart is to do it all in the Love, joy, peace, patience... of the Spirit...



If there's gonna be dischord and anger, bickering and fighting, we'd better just shut it down...



but we won't have to, because He is able to make us One. One Body, One Spirit, One Hope, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God...One God...



Pax Cristi cum spiritis vobis

May the peace of Christ be with your spirits

Tom-o chillin at Rohs Street Cafe in Clifton, Cinci. These are the marketplaces we preach in...

8x10 painting at the Rohs St. Cafe. I sit under this one to write these.

6am Tom at Clifton 'bucks.

6am starbucks... JP crackin the word on sleepy skulls... Mercy!

We're so grateful for the chance to visit the Great Commission Fellowship in Wilmorek, KY. They are the first church to send me and Judy out as missionaries, commissioned to preach the Good News. Now we had a chance to come back and share. Cool beans in Christ, eh?

Keenan Trimble, youngest of 3, captured our hearts. Zara couldn't put him down! It was a great time. Notice JP. Notice my son, Aaron. Not very cute. Now notice Keenan. See? Cute!

She's gotta be Abby! The Trimbles are a missionary heart family if ever there was one. They have labored the last few years to make sure the missionaries of GCF get care. We're so thankful for their connectivity.

Eldest Trimble Child, either Rachel or Abigail. I'm thinkin' Rachel.

Dave and Melissa Trimble: our hosts for the night. Great Red Curry Melissa! Thanks!

Lew, JP, Zara, Keenan Trimble, Aaron, Piyanan, Dave Trimble, Rachel, Abigail, all out in the sun on a cold Fall Sunday Morning before Church on Sunday... Sharing in Church was fun. I sang a Kris Kristofferson song, "Lord Help me Jesus".

JP, the shamelessly fatigued, at the GCF Ministry Center, where we enjoyed delicious fare after the Church Service.

Visit to GCF, Wilmore KY





Lew, JP, Zara, Piya, and Aaron went down to KY to the Great Commission Fellowship, this past weekend. Lew did a 5 minute talk on Sun. Am. Played a johnny cash song. Aaron jumped on a trampoline at the Trimble's house. All ate great food. Zara decided she wants to be a christian. JP was shamelessly exhausted the whole time...

i don't know if Aaron ate any cicadas, but i think this one tried to drink from his eye... yuck.. sorry.

I think JP enjoyed the cicadas even more than we did...

Dr. Eric and Lew enjoying a tequila/lime cicada meal, back when we first moved to Chase house...

These are a bunch of brothers who are "with us" in the love... Adam, Ryan (both recently cast into the ministry), Paulscout (seriously gentle giant in Christ) and me... Lew

Here's the whole fam. Check out www.grubbykupp.msn.com for updates on us, too.

www.grubbykupp.blogspot.com

yeah, that's not an msn.com... that's my email! it's www.grubbykupp.blogspot.com

2 Cor.11:3

The Map Room

Last night I went down to Old Saint George in Clifton--That's a monastery/cathedral that got turned into a coffee bar/community center/bookstore... Anyway, there was this thing there that was organized by my friend john wallis who does this thing called josiah's window around the university--he's the American Baptist Campus minister guy, recently appointed with a radical vision for old school love in Christ... It was a great event last night! There was this whole cathedral, with the center open, with coffee and cookies yum-yum... And in the front of that was this cool video about God and His love and what it means to really live as a Christian... it had U2 in it... very cool, very stripping of the soul... Then on the sides there were sectioned off parts for Prayer, Chilling on Couches, Stations for praying that were really interacive, and this "labrynth" thing that was really cool... My kids, Aaron and Seth (Zara and Pia stayed home) were totally there, too... it worked! They enjoyed the whole time, and we were there for like 4 hours!!! This thing'll be going every month. It was great and I loved it... Thanks John and Larry and Lilly and everyone who did it... It really rocked in spiritual encouragement...

Last night I went down to Old Saint George in Clifton--That's a monastery/cathedral that got turned into a coffee bar/community center/bookstore... Anyway, there was this thing there that was organized by my friend john wallis who does this thing called josiah's window around the university--he's the American Baptist Campus minister guy, recently appointed with a radical vision for old school love in Christ...



It was a great event last night! There was this whole cathedral, with the center open, with coffee and cookies yum-yum... And in the front of that was this cool video about God and His love and what it means to really live as a Christian... it had U2 in it... very cool, very stripping of the soul...

Then on the sides there were sectioned off parts for Prayer, Chilling on Couches, Stations for praying that were really interacive, and this "labrynth" thing that was really cool...



My kids, Aaron and Seth (Zara and Pia stayed home) were totally there, too... it worked! They enjoyed the whole time, and we were there for like 4 hours!!!



This thing'll be going every month. It was great and I loved it... Thanks John and Larry and Lilly and everyone who did it... It really rocked in spiritual encouragement...

What does childlike trust look like to you? This week, I've really been thinking on 2 Cor.11:3

"LIFT UP YOUR EYES TOWARD HEAVEN"

by Ching Co, Philippines



September 28, 2004



Today, during my Bible reading time, the Holy Spirit quickened these words to me from Isaiah 55:8,11 (New Living Translation), "My thoughts are completely different from yours, and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine...It is the same with my word, I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it."



As I was meditating on these words, I saw in my mind a multitude of God's people, and in their minds/hearts they were asking/thinking about these thoughts: "Does what I do really matter?? Am I making any difference at all??" Each one of these saints were enclosed in a bubble.



At this point, I felt a quickening in my heart and sensed the Lord speaking these impressions to me:

"Yes, what you do in obedience to me matters. Its effect goes beyond the sphere of what you can possibly think or even imagine. It is destroying strongholds and breaking down spiritual barriers, preparing the way for My Spirit to move in greater measure."



"Your Prayers and Love are Affecting Not Only Your Own..."



Pictures of people flashed through my mind.

Parents loving and praying for their wayward children.

Husbands and wives living with difficult spouses as they continued to love them/submit to them as God has led.

Pastors and ministers crying out for their sheep and spiritual wards.

Spiritual children crying out for their pastors.

All types of people carrying difficult burdens, living under difficult circumstances, all crying out to God while doing the best they can in response to God's leading where they are now.

All feeling tired, vulnerable, and wondering if their situations will ever change, if their prayers will ever be answered, if all their labor and effort is making any difference at all in the lives of those they are called to minister and labor in.



As I continued to watch scene after scene of people crying out to the Lord flashing in my mind, I sense a battle going inside my heart. A tug of war of different emotions and thoughts. Forcing myself to be still, these words like cool refreshing water to my thirsty soul flooded in. May these words bring the same healing to those who need to hear them today:

"Tell my people that all will be well with them. Lift up your eyes heavenward. For the battles you are fighting are greater than just your own. When you love your wayward children, you are not just loving your own, your love is breaking down barriers in the hearts of many other wayward children. Because you have chosen to love, the others, too, will be set free by the love you pour down on your own.

When husband and wife continue to love and submit to each other.

When shepherds and sheep choose to walk in my ways no matter how lonely and difficult these paths may be.

When you choose to trust and believe me despite the sicknesses, difficulties, and trials you are facing in your midst, you are not doing it just for your own, either; you are helping me restore order to a chaotic society, establishing my value system in the world, planting my seeds in the hearts of men, and bringing healing to many broken families."



"A Great Purpose is Being Accomplished""Every day that you choose to obey and follow me, your labor avails much. The heavenly hosts are able to move forward, breaking down strongholds, taking back territories with each step that you take and each tear that you shed.



You are doing much, my children. Lift up your eyes heavenward, for the victory is much greater that you can perceive or imagine."Not all of you will taste and see the victory you so long for in your lifetime. But take heart, your labor will not be vain. Your cries have been heard, your desires will be granted. And great will be the blessings that you will be leaving behind."Like my people from old, you have been called to walk and live like them. Their lives were signs and symbols for their times. It was not only for their own that they lived and walked. It was for a greater purpose. And just as their obedience resulted in great victory, so your faithfulness in what you are doing now is also achieving the same greatness. Again, I say lift up your eyes heavenward, for great things are happening and you are a big part of it."I am pouring out my refreshing spirit upon your souls. Breathe it in. Your soul will be restored, your spirit will once more be lifted up for the battle ahead. Come...come...come...my beloved."



by Sis. Ching Co

Cebu City, Philippines