Do Not Lose heart

I bought this cute little set of homemade cards at a Christmas boutique last year titled "How to Pray in Challenging Times." I am taking these adorable laminated cards with me everywhere as the prayers are so perfect. I keep praying this one today: Pray that God will give you eyes to see your circumstances from an eternal perspective. The verse that goes along with it is
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

What is happening is really starting to sink in. I don't know if it's that I've been in shock for a few days and I have this hope that some organization like Saddleback will come in and take over or if it's the peace that comes from God. How do you know where to draw the line between reality and faith? Overall, I do have faith like it says above that our troubles are achieving an eternal glory that outweighs these troubles. And that God works everything together for good. That's what I call big picture faith. But about the specific things like the Ranch? Should I have unfailing faith and trust in God that He will bring in someone to take over and that we'll all have jobs? Or should we not have faith for something so specific? I struggle with this.

Last night at church, Pastor Buddy asked us to bring to mind our current difficulty and remember when God resolved it before in our lives. Okay, that was easy as it was only 2 years ago exactly. First Capital was bought out by Wells Fargo and I was demoted. 6 months later I started at the Ranch and God answered my prayers of not only a job I loved, but He put me at a place I could use my gifts for His glory. So if He did it before why won't I trust He'll do it again? Because I don't want to leave the Ranch. I know...it's not about what I want. I obviously haven't learned that lesson yet.

A Truth Revealed

~Rancho Capistrano
We received our formal 60 Day WARN Act Notices yesterday from the International Board of Trustees at Crystal Cathedral Ministries. A press release went out to the media as well. Our letter states the reason for closure is because "CCM finds it necessary to severely cut its expenses" while the press release states it another way; "Regrettably, the current economic climate and the rising costs of supporting The Ranch operations led the Board to this final decision." The real truth is there is a lien recorded on the Ranch which has a $41 million dollar balloon payment due in March, 2010 and CCM is unable to pay. Farmers and Merchants are foreclosing on the Ranch. I am extremely dissappointed that CCM, a ministry, is not forthright with the truth. Why? What are they afraid of or what are they protecting?

So my first presumption was correct, the foreclosure. And probably my second presumption is to follow which is bankruptcy. The press release statement, that CCM has decided to "close down operations at the Ranch" followed by (in the next paragraph) "weddings booked at the Ranch will continue through the end of the year" is a flat out lie. First, those two statement are completely contradictory. How can the operation be shut down yet still operate to facilitate weddings???? Weddings are 50 % of the Ranch business. Second, CCM knows they will no longer own the property in March so how are they able to make that promise to the brides and grooms? Third, if they know bankruptcy is around the corner, are they knowingly going to protect themselves from refunding the $1,500 wedding deposits by including those funds in the bankrupcty? Are they really going to say to those brides and grooms, "Sorry, stand in line behind all of our creditors including the $41 million balloon payment???" Is that why the statement was issued so that they can hold off all of the calls from people demanding the return of their deposits??? Holy Moly is all I can say!

Here's what I opened up in my email today from my church home:
Saturday, January 30, 2010
God's Provision: Maintain Integrity by Rick Warren
God cares about honesty in the workplace; your business is his business. Proverbs 16:11 (MSG)

Thank you so much for your prayers and thank you God for answering them. My mom is doing very well. She hasn't been released as of yet as the test results are not in. However, she was in great spirits last night and was even hungry for a grilled cheese sandwich. So prayerfully, she will come home today.

Have a great weekend! It's been beautiful here at the Ranch these past few days. It makes all of us employees have the motivation to change our doom and gloom attitudes. Come by if you haven't been here in awhile.

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My hope comes from Him, He's my Rock, He's my Fortress

~Rancho Capistrano

Psalm 62

5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.



Boy, do I need this today! The enemy is crazy working. Please pray. My dad called 911 for my mom last night. I think she may have thought she was having a heart attack or something. When I ran upstairs to see, she was panting and could barely breathe. They took her to Saddleback Hospital where doctors said she had a panic attack. They asked if she was stressed about something. I feel so bad...she's so worried about Dad and me not having a job in 2 months. In addition, she has some kind of virus that is making her nauseous and dizzy. They admitted her and she's resting comfortably. Thank you God! Please God, heal her from this illness and give her the peace that only You can give so she can really know everything is going to be alright.



Ranch update: Yesterday, supposedly (and I will preface this with saying that I have no substantial proof other than word from my fellow employees) the OC Register called the Cathedral for confirmation about the rumor of the closing of the Ranch. Someone at the Cathedral responded by saying the Ranch was closing because the operation did NOT meet its sales projections in 2009. Whoa!! is my response. I don't actually know what the numbers are for projected and actual sales, but I do know we were profitable and not by a small margin. It's public knowledge about the financial struggles of the Crystal Cathedral so it brings to mind a question. If a non-profit church organization were to file for protection in the bankruptcy courts, would it matter if a ministry within the organization was profitable or not? I know virtually nothing about bankruptcy law but common sense would be for the courts to question bankruptcy when there is a viable entity with valuable land within the church. So if this profitable entity was shut down and unable to generate revenue before filing bankruptcy, would that make a difference? Hmmmm. Interesting explanation. Sorry, just once again trying to rationalize this irrational decision. This is the only one that makes any sense so far.



One more prayer request please. I have been working tirelessly on my jewelry web site for the past couple of weeks because I finally made a commitment to get it done in January. Before this, it's been one thing or another including procrastination on my part. There have been things happening all around to distract from my progress so I can't help but think that there is something or someone that doesn't want to see it published. It's crazy I know. I tell myself all the time that it's my imagination or the common one we always attribute everything to: coincidence. But with God, nothing is a coincidence.



Until tomorrow, may God bless you!

60 Days Notice

1/28/09
~Rancho Capistrano
Yesterday, we, the employees of Rancho Capistrano were given an informal 60 days Notice by our Operating Director. The Crystal Cathedral is planning to shut down the ranch in 60 days and our formal WARN Act notices are to arrive by Friday. I’ve decided to journal the next 60 days to document exactly how God will miraculously intervene. Maybe not exactly intervene as He has had this orchestrated long ago. To me, He’s coming to save the day. Over the next 60 days I, along with many others, will pray fervently and unceasingly. I step out in faith to say two things will happen. 1. God will reveal His glory and 2. My faith will be stronger than it's ever been and I will be stronger as a result. I look forward to this journey.

The Ranch is a viable business. There are 97 weddings booked for 2010 along with numerous conferences. The P&L for 2009 showed a profit of nearly $350,000. So from a business perspective this is a horrible decision! From a ministry perspective, my guess is that the Crystal Cathedral’s first priority is to save the Hour of Power and therefore, all the focus is there. To shut down all of the other ministries within the organization will allow them to do that. In the meantime, there will be a giant-sized wake following this decision when it’s made public. What will the brides do when they get notice of this when their weddings are in a few months? Who will maintain the property so that it can be put on the market for sale? That is of course, assuming Farmers & Merchants won’t foreclose before then. Maybe that’s the inevitable…this property will be foreclosed and those in power at CC know it’s coming. My head has been spinning to understand the reasoning behind this decision.

Whatever the outcome God is in control. God is in control. God is in control!!! I had to write that 3 times to make it really sink in deep. There are hundreds of logistical questions surrounding the closure of this beautiful 20 acre place. It’s an undertaking of massive proportion that all has to take place in 60 days.

It just kills me to think that this holy land that has been used for God’s glory will soon be deserted and desolate? All of the Spanish Colonial buildings with its amazing tiles and brick to be left with no one to enjoy their beauty. It kills me even more to not have had the opportunity to turn this amazing piece of land into the picture I have for it in my head. Why did God put me here for this short time of a year and a half? Since acquiring this position without any prior experience was a miracle in itself, I believed that God’s plan for my life involved this Ranch. I gave my heart to the Lord as a 13 year old girl attending the youth ministries at the CC. I seriously felt a stirring in my heart when I used to drive by the property on the freeway. Everything came full circle and seemed to finally come together in my life. Yes, it’s been a huge struggle financially as my salary is only a fraction of what it used to be. But along with my jewelry, I truly believed it was God’s plan. So now what?