Dear Friends,

My mom, Sue Coventon, had a massive surgery the first week of December and wasn't expected to be recovered for 6 weeks. Instead, she was out of hospital in 2 days and tests show she's cancer free now. We are all thrilled. 

BUT I stop myself from instantly writing, "God is good" as the epilogue to this news. 

WHY?

In reflecting recently on my notes throughout this past year, my big take-away from 2009 is: 

Culturally, or even humanly, we have a faulty spiritual default: 

Blessings come because of God's favour, thinking "God must really love me" when things go our way. 

But this is false. 

The fact that mom's surgery was successful is not a sign of God's love for her. He wouldn't love her any less if they'd opened her up and found her body riddled with cancer. Over and over again in 2009, my notes from sermons and quiet times and talks and studies was: Don't base your confidence in God's love for you on your life's circumstances. These fleeting, temporal blessings are secondary blessings. Gifts from his hand, surely, but not to be focused on in any way as "signs" of his love. 

The primary blessing is that Almighty God loves us and has made an amazing sacrifice to make a relationship possible. Period. He doesn't need to do anything else to prove it.

Ah. You already know this. I'm preaching to the choir. It's just that this is what I want to cultivate this new year - a sense of gratitude and awe at the basic truth that we can have a relationships with ALMIGHTY GOD. He didn't have to bother, and yet I'm the apple of his eye.

So are you. 

Hope you're entering this second month of the new year with anticipation and hope! 2010. It's going to be the best year yet.

K!Mberly 

home address:

Blk 356 Clementi Avenue 2 #05-277

Singapore 120356

What I'm Reading:

Jim - Bill Hybels, Axiom, 1 Corinthians

Kimberly - Hebrews, 

Got Teens? Time Tested Answers for Moms of Teens and Tweens, Jill Savage & Pam Farrel

Why Godly People Do Ungodly Things, Beth Moore

Partner in our ministries by praying with us in February

1 & 11 & 18  Jim leads all-day monthly mentoring networks with Singaporean Christian leaders.  Please pray for them to grow in their mentoring of others.  Three other networks meet throughout the month without Jim's involvement.

3-6  Jim and staff member How Beng travel to Penang, Malaysia to lead a two-day spiritual leadership seminar for the Asia leadership team of an evangelistic ministry.  Pray for good rapport and new insights and resolutions.

11  Jim leads a monthly businessmen's Bible study, this month looking at the themes and lessons of 1 Corinthians.

11  CRM Singapore holds a one-day seminar on coaching skills.  Please pray for our Singaporean facilitator, Joel, to grow in his teaching skill and for the lessons and exercizes to equip Christian leaders for more effectively developing their followers.

14  Chinese New Year!  A two-day holiday in Singapore, it is a time for visiting family and friends to eat and talk and deepen relationships.

19-20 Hundreds of Singaporean Christians are performing in a National Parade, and a new musical on the life of George Meuller. Kimberly's has had a small part behind the scenes in each of these. Pray that these events will bring great glory to God and proclaim truth, his salvation and the joy of walking by faith to our Nation!

21-28  One of our staff, Andy, chairs the Asia Sports Coalition, which holds their annual meeting this week with 150 leaders from 26 countries.  Pray for them to be inspired and equipped and connected to use sports as a ministry tool in their countries.

23  Kimberly's Birthday.  The three Creasman males thank God for the wonderful gift she is to us and everybody that knows her!  She brings life and love and creativity wherever she goes.  Pray for a joyful, fruitful year for her. (Awkward. Jim wrote that part!) 

The Lord has turned my heart toward home this year, saying no to production related ministry requests and having a term off from teaching. My focus for this month: abiding in Christ, these three men I love, the women in my Thursday Bible study, and the people in our home group from church.

25  Jim launches a new mentoring network.  He is asking God for 6 facilitators and 12 participants.

Thank you for your prayers in January. Update:

1-8  Chiang Mai, Thailand. We had one of our best family vacations ever, visiting two missionary family friends and doing lots of outdoor activities - hiking waterfalls, biking, walking a beautiful park, motorcycle day trip, riding elephants, bungie jumping, foot massages, shopping the night market, lots of good thai food, watching episodes of 24 together.  It was a fun, memorable week!

12  Tyler turned 17!  Thank God for this mature, bright boy.  Pray for the Lord to guide him in college and career decisions and keep growing him deeper in knowing and loving God.  Our family will travel to the US in June to visit college campuses to try to get Tyler excited about college in 2011.

14 & 28 Jim's mentoring networks, other times through the month were personal coaching appointments with participants.

18-21  Jim joined 450 others at the annual Singapore Pastors' Prayer Summit for the 8th time in 10 years here.  This year, his staff and volunteers wore CRMS polo shirts and offered free coaching appointments to participants.  It was a refreshing week, with good connections with leaders from many churches.

23  Jim spoke to a church men's fellowship on spiritual success.

Will you consider CRM in your giving 

and partnering with us financially in our work here?

We pray that you'd have great joy 

in these kind of investments!

(whether is it with us or with other good work around the world!)

Charitable Giving thru CRM 

for the Creasmans' ministry based in Singapore:

www.crmleaders.org

Donation questions (in USA) 1 (800) 777-6658

"Creasman-acct 5651"

CRM- 1240 N. Lakeview, Suite 120, Anaheim, CA 92807-1831

"For he has rescued us from all that is really evil and called us to a life of holiness - not because of any of our achievements but for his own purpose."

2 Timothy 1:9

Out for a swim in remote Northern Thailand...

Thailand Vacation with Teen Boys...Priceless
Originally uploaded by K!Mberly

one of the many adventures from the past week. wait till you see the video!

It's that time of year...get out your post it notes!

Kimberly's doing her annual reflections & resolutions. 

Join me!!

ONLINE: 

Post a comment here pasting in your answers!

LIVE:

Talk about them over dinner with your friends, family or small group!

REFLECTIONS:
In 2009

I learned to…
I grew most in…
Another way I saw myself growing was…
One of my best adventures was…
I saw/knew God was doing something when…
A real gift from God was…
Something I really enjoyed doing more of was…
One of the happiest memories of 2008 I’d like to freeze in my mind…
I was really brave when…
A Scripture passage that meant a lot to me was…
I’m still trying to learn what God wants to teach me through this hard experience…
The best word of advice or encouragement I can remember is…
One thing I’m looking forward to in 2009 is…

RESOLUTIONS
I use post it notes to brainstorm the resolutions. It is my way of saying, "they're just ideas, so if you don't do them, you don't have to feel guilty about it." When we do this in a group, after sharing some of the reflections above, we take a break to individually do the brainstorming, then come back together to share a few. It's fun because we find that some of us have the same goal, and realize that we can do it together. I have 6 categories for brainstorming resolutions:

• Physical
  
• Spiritual
  
• Service
  
• Important Relationships
  
• Professional/Intellectual
  
• Adventure/Risk
  

May you have a wonderful new year, blessed by God the Father, Jesus the Christ the one who "became flesh and dwelt among us" and the indwelling Holy Spirit. GOD. A Trinity who leads and guides and loves you and me, if we just stop arguing with him and let him be God!

Praying you'll know God's goodness, blessing and joy in 2010!

The Creasmans

Team Tuma Inspiration

CaringBridge / teamtuma / Journal

The highlight of my year is reading about how Viven is growing stronger. Dennis chronicles their "don't waste your cancer" journey so very well. I love and miss this family more than words can express.

Joy Journal

from JUNE 2009:

Though I’ve been working hard the last few years to figure out how to do a paperless existence, I still love keeping a handwritten journal. There’s something humanizing in our techno world about the feel of your hand across the page as you make note of significant (or insignificant) thoughts, events, insights and quotes that crop up in our otherwise ordinary lives.

In the fall of 2008, exhausted after one too many international moves,  and facing the reality of life in our 21^st century Depression, I found myself having less and less on my mind that I wanted to write down and let anyone, even if it's just me, remember. The handwritten journal turned into one long chronicle of a pity party. Among other physical issues, I was having a losing minute-by-minute losing battle with “taking every negative thought captive” and was diagnosed with depression.

One of the antidotes for this was starting an exercise of "choosing joy." I bought myself a little 2009 week at a glance and made a pact with myself that everyday I’d write only the highlight, or even multiple highlights, of each day. When I look back on this year, I don’t want to remember any of the doctor visits, disappointments, frustrations of living abroad, or just living.

I want to remember the good. I’m sticking in the business card from the nail shop where Lori took me for my birthday manicure. The theatre or movie ticket from a night I got out of the house (Jim Carrey’s “YES MAN” was one of those outings!). The rare note from my 12 year old son that says “you are awesome.” It’s becoming a little treasure book. I’m letting go of the fact that I irretrievably lost my journal from last year when I was back in USA. It was a significant year of growth and healing with loads of written down wonderful lessons sorting out the past that I was hoping to ponder. I’m choosing joy. God has new things for me.

Scripture says his mercies are new every morning. With this joy journal, I’m keeping track of it.

At the end of every week, I pick the highlight of the week and put it in red pen over the week. Verses from Scripture which have significance also make it in red, along with any other insights I hear or have about what a joy it is to be alive and called by God to be his hands and feet and physical presence in this word.  He’s got a reason to wait on setting up that “all things new” kingdom. Who am I to think I know better than him? He’s got me here, and now, for a reason.

Already I can flip through the book to celebrate what a good year it’s been. And at this writing, we’re just at the halfway mark. The theme of my year has become “His strength is made perfect in my weakness,” as day after day, week after week, I get tangible evidence of Jesus’ mercies also at work in the lives of those I cross paths with, and see him working through me  despite (or maybe because of) my weakness.

K!Mberly

BTW: I put the "!" in my name in 2001 to remind me to "choose joy" when I was in another valley of depression. My doctor here believes it may be a chronic problem of low seratonin levels in my brain, but now I'm choosing joy. I'm just grateful I live in an era where there is medical help for a person with my condition!

December 2009 update: I'm still writing the daily/weekly highlights, but one week in November, every day of the week reads,

"I'm so convinced of and secure in God's tender, amazing love for me, that any other highlight pales in comparison."

It's true. You know, as a believer that the worst days of life here are the closest we'll ever get to hell and that we have nothing but joy to look forward to eternally, life is a breath and we can put up with ANYTHING!

IDEA! Family Storytelling at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Family Activity: Pass the Talking Fork! - FamilyEducation.com

We have a few younger guests coming over tomorrow, and a majority will not be Americans. I like this link with the idea of story telling around the table before everyone runs off to do their own thing. Also, remembering our holidays in 2007....I think I'll get some mahjong paper and start something new. I'll have guests make a doodle on the paper and later turn it into an iron-on transfer to a new holiday table cloth.

FAMILY HIGHLIGHTS HOLIDAY TABLECLOTH 
(2007, Yorba Linda, California, USA)

After hearing from a friend Ginni Lee about how their family does this (and grandma embroiders the drawn designs), my mom tried it that year. We all drew something on the plain white tablecloth. I don't know if she's gotten around to the embroidery yet. We've not been together these past 2 years, but I think we can send her the iron-on transfer if I scan what we draw and print it in reverse.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

(mom got her iphone when they came to visit here in October!)

Teacher Poll for Weekend Privileges

Last Thursday, this little poll went out to the teachers of my son, who's in the 7th grade. I'd asked them at the beginning of the week to keep an eye on his behavior in class and wanted him to have some accountability. I got 100% response from them, and upon reading them all, my son and I celebrated that all were in the top three categories! Reply below is from the Math teacher. Thank you Mr. Ditzenberger!

If you've the time today, would you comment on cameron's behaviour in class this week? It will help us know how to move into the weekend with privileges, or not. 

_x__ exceptional 

(One of these definitely. I would lean toward exceptional. He has done a really good job!)

__x_ exceptional for Cameron

___ had problems with self control but upon reminding, he self corrected without demerits

___ still needs a lot of improvement

___ time to consider boarding school

Thank you so much for helping us stay on top of this with Cameron! He still is coming home with VERY little work to show us, and I've told him that if he's finishing and turning it in during class that I want to see the graded papers before giving him any spending money. 

(Yes, he is rushing through still. I have warned him, but he doesn’t heed my advice. Imagine that!)

A Helpful List

Parent Advice - Rules of the Road for Parents in a Digital Age - Common Sense Media

As much as we'd hate to have to use it, we've asked our kids for passwords to their accounts online, and the password to cell phone if it get's locked.

When he balked, I told Tyler that I don't expect his FB wall to be squeaky clean from his friends' posts - if it was all just Bible verse quotes and perfectly clean language etc posted by only teenaged followers of Jesus, then he'd not be doing very well as being Salt and Light - He'd be stuck in the saltshaker!

Praying for our wisdom in parenting this morning! May we all make wise choices in raising our kids and preparing them to love and honor God into adulthood.

Tyler's in "The New Paper" & Other News from Here (emailed newsletter)

Look what hit the newstands yesterday...

(Search "singlish" on youtube, you'll find what got him noticed in the paper. 

Email me - or comment below - if you'd like to read the larger copy. Not on our email list?
What are you waiting for? sign up!)

Dear Friends:

Here are the highlights from last month and some prayer requests for November! 

Thank you for partnering with us as we serve the church by building up stronger leaders in Asia.

October highlights 

Finished up with 2 championship football games. Both boys grew a lot from the experience.

Still can't believe we have a league here! Met a whole batch of new people and enjoyed cheering with other parents in the stands!

From Jim... 

The two highlights for me last month were the Executive Committee Retreat on the 8th and the launch of a new mentoring network on the 14th.  All eight members of the Executive Committee were engaged and enthusiastic about dreaming and listening to where the Lord is leading us as a ministry, and how we can expand to be a blessing to all the churches in Singapore.  We came up with some clear priorities that will guide our decisions in recruiting staff, and decided to meet again in November to talk about expansion to other countries in Asia.  There was wonderful rapport and responsiveness at the new mentoring network, and I sensed the Lord had brought together the right members.  All of them were sending a flurry of emails in the week following our first one-day meeting.  This is only the second time I have had women in one of my mentoring networks, and they add a delightful touch!

From Kimberly...

The CRM women's conference (16th-24th) was genuinely encouraging and empowering. 

I am so blessed to be a part of an organization with Godly leaders I so deeply respect as the years deepen us all. It was a unique privilege to be a part of this pilot group, and I look forward to opportunities to pass on what I've gained. Besides The Gospel of Ruth (photo above), another good read for this retreat was: COURAGE & CALLING, Gordon Smith

Please Pray for us in November 

It's a big month for James, while Kimberly is mostly behind the scenes supporting others' big events:

5-7 CRMS Focusing Leaders Networks: Facilitator Training

11 CRM Coaching Workshop

12 Hosting a table at a dinner for our local Young Life. 

Lord we're so thankful for the Young Life staff and families who are here and invest in our children!

17 CRMS Executive Committee meets for 1/2 day prayer & planning retreat

18 Helping start a weekly Home Group at Redemption Hill Church 

Thank you Lord for Leading us here and our growing relationships with You and one another. It's exciting to be part of a new church with so many passionate young believers.

20 Youth training for outreach during the Youth Olympics. 

Lord, guide and bless this is a massive undertaking to recruit 5000 Christian volunteers to help in this first ever Youth Olympics next August.

20,21 "The Habitudes Experience" Equipping Youth Leaders with author Tim Elmore. 

Lord, I pray that the sketches to support these dynamic lessons will hit the target and be a good growing experience for the youth who are cast! 

21 Jim teaching church leaders on Mentoring while Kimberly has a Parade Rehearsal (will the boys be involved? the jury is still out!)

22 Jim Preaches 2 services in a local church.

23 Kimberly's Performing Arts in Ministry students have their final class for the term. 

As you have in the past Lord, inspire these students to take what they've learned about many forms of theatre and build upon this simple 

foundation to creatively reach the Nations and bring hope and meaning to life through your good news: You're alive and we can know you!

26 Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We've so very much to be thankful for, and yet, Lord we still get homesick and our parents are lonely during the holidays. May we keep our eyes on you and look forward to the precious times we will have together this coming June.

As always, we treasure news from you and the opportunity to be praying for things close to your heart. We're blessed to know you and believe God is doing and will do wonderful things in and through you as we head into the holiday season.

 

Fondly,

Kimberly & Jim Creasman

(and the child of some friends!)

"And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is."

-Ephesians 3:18

Here are links to our other news & articles: DRAMA MINISTRY, CRM SIngapore

What I'm Reading:

Jim - Hebrews, Sound Doctrine, Brother JC Hedgecock

Kimberly - Philppians, ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life, Judith Kolberg & Kathleen Nadeau

 YEAR END GIVING...

We'd love your partnership in this way,

and pray that you'd have great joy 

in these kind of investments!

(whether is it with us or with other good work around the world!)

Charitable Giving thru CRM 

for the Creasmans' ministry based in Singapore:

www.crmleaders.org

Donation questions (in USA) 1 (800) 777-6658

"Creasman-acct 5651"

CRM- 1240 N. Lakeview, Suite 120, Anaheim, CA 92807-1831

Perfect Singlish from the Singaporean White Boy | CNNGo

Perfect Singlish from the Singaporean White Boy | CNNGo

never thot Tyler'd make CNN for Singlish...pretty funny...

K

SEPTEMBER 2009 Highlights - emailed

School started up again 

and things got going, 

got shaped up,

healed up, 

or wrapped up!

Phew!

Dear Friends

It's always strange this time of year to think about many of you putting on sweaters, sipping hot chocolate, seeing your breath on a cold day as over here, we stay in our shorts and continue into the "fall" with BBQs, sunglasses and sunblock!

Life in the 21st century can get full no matter where one lives. In Singapore, for all the Creasmans, that's what it has been!

Thank you for your prayers and support for us through a couple months of silence!

Here are the highlights from last month and some prayer requests for October.

(BTW, here are links to other news & articles from the past few months: DRAMA MINISTRY, CRM SIngapore)

Aug 26-Sept 6 - See below for Kimberly's exciting report about 2 weeks of events for Christians in theatre in Singapore/Malaysia.

2 - Jim spoke at the monthly gathering of the Evangelical Fellowship of Singapore, on "Growing in Spiritual Authority" from Isaiah 42:1-7

3, 16, 28 - Jim led small groups of Christian leaders in monthly mentoring networks.

7-11 - CRM Singapore sponsored a weeklong training in Coaching Skills for Christian leaders.

12 - The boys play their first football game of the 2009 season, which only lasts two months!

25 - Kimberly's parents arrive for a two week visit, yeah!  Grandpa Chuck helps out every afternoon as an assistant coach on Cameron's football team.

26 - Jim leads a quarterly breakfast meeting of the facilitators for CRM's mentoring networks.

27 - Kimberly co-leads an informational briefing for church leaders on how to participate in the National Chinese New Year Parade next February.  She is serving as Artistic Director for the float representing the Christian Community in Singapore.

Here are a few things we're praying for as we step out in OCTOBER:

1 - CRM Singapore hosts a one day workshop in coaching skills for Christian leaders

7, 22, 26 - Jim leads small groups of Christian leaders in monthly mentoring networks.

8 - The CRM Singapore Executive Committee has a planning retreat to develop strategy for CRM's growth.  Please pray for Jim as he leads this time, and ask the Lord to give wisdom and clear direction for the group of 9 as they discuss how to grow staff and programs in order to fulfill their vision of building spiritual leaders for every church and ministry in Singapore and birthing apostolic mentoring teams for every country in Asia.

11- Jim preaches in a local church.  Pray the Lord speaks through him to inspire and mobilize believers to a more devoted and fruitful life.

14 - Tyler (11th grade) takes the PSAT.  Less than two years until he heads off for college!  Please pray for a clear mind to demonstrate his brilliance :-0

14 - Focused Living Seminar.  Jim and two pastor friends lead a one-day seminar for Christian leaders to clarify their calling.  Please pray for the right people to attend and out of this seminar to form 1-2 mentoring groups for ongoing growth and accountability.

16-24 - Kimberly joins a gathering of CRM women from around the world for a time of growth. This is the 3rd conference for this pilot group for CRM called "Women of Influence." More about this program in the attachment below.

30/31 - Cameron and Tyler play their final games of the 2009 season in the Singapore American Football League.  Please pray for the Lord's encouragement as they go through withdrawals.

As always, we treasure news from you and the opportunity to be praying for things close to your heart. 

God is good, all the time, even in hard times...and life can be hard! 

We're blessed to know you and believe God is doing and will do wonderful things in and through you in the place he has you this season. 

Fondly,

Kimberly & Jim Creasman

(and the child of some friends!)

"And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is."

-Ephesians 3:18

What I'm Reading:

Jim - 1 & 2 Timothy, Managing Corporate Lifecycles, Ichak Adizes 

Kimberly - Job, COURAGE & CALLING, Gordon Smith

Charitable Giving thru CRM 

for the Creasmans' work in Singapore:

www.crmleaders.org

Donation questions (in USA) 1 (800) 777-6658

"Creasman-acct 5651"

CRM- 1240 N. Lakeview, Suite 120, Anaheim, CA 92807-1831

About the WOMEN OF INFLUENCE conferences Kimberly's attending in October:

A Pilot for CRM Women

In 2007 CRM launched a pilot program specifically designed to train women who serve in various positions of influence within CRM and the greater world of missions.   The primary purpose of the group is to provide a safe environment to explore the unique challenges for women in missions in the 21^st century and to equip them to become women of greater influence in the nations where they serve. 

Eighteen women representing varied ages, life stages, ministry experience, and gifting were selected to accurately reflect the diversity among women serving with CRM.  This group will joins six mentors and two leaders for three 3-day workshops focused on training, mentoring, and prayer.

Dr. Betsy Glannville, associate professor and dean at Fuller Theological Seminary, and Dr. Judy Lingenfelter, retired professor from Biola University, will provide the teaching.  These workshops, spanning over an 18-month period, will address such issues as:

• the call to be a woman of influence
• gender differences in leadership
• how leadership gifting in a woman affects a marriage
• the seasonal nature of ministry for women (i.e. motherhood season)
• challenges of women in leadership in cross-cultural settings.

The cost of the training and workshops is covered by a handful of donors who feel led to participate in this project.  Each participant, however, is asked to pay $750 into a travel pool to cover the flight costs for all the women.  Each workshop will cost CRM almost $28,000 for the training, lodging and transportation.  Over 75% of those costs are for the international flights for these 28 women.  The travel pool helps to offset those costs.

These missionary women are already living on donor support, and many cannot afford the cost of their participation.  Yet, their attendance would benefit untold women throughout the world, in repressive cultures as well as in the West. 

I am writing to ask that you prayerfully consider sponsoring this initiative through giving to your CRM missionary.  A donation of $750 will cover her participation for one retreat OR a donation of $2,250 will cover her for all three retreats. These are truly some of the most influential women in our organization.  Your time in prayer and your economic investment will provide her with needed support and training for her ministry.  Thank you for your consideration.

With gratitude for you,

Amy Galloway

Staff Development and Care Team

Church Resource Ministries

Thoughts on THE SHACK critcs....

I suppose PILGRIM'S PROGRESS got similar flurries of the writings of theologians debating the theological accuracy of that era's fiction -- which IN ITS DAY helped countless people understand the Christian journey of faith. I'm glad for the gatekeepers of God's truth who want to guard the Bride of Christ (aka HIS SHEEP) from heresy; but seriously, why can't we celebrate that a piece of fiction has and is drawing in those who may not have otherwise "got it" or have not known salvation through Jesus and the unwavering love of the Father for us? When's the last time this article's original author had the joy of praying with someone who wanted to follow Jesus? ... Just as I guessed. Too busy writing and harassing (I mean, Interviewing) those who may not have all their lights on the way we understand the lights should be, but want the world to stop walking in pitch blackness.