On the Road

May 9, 2011

Not long after my graduation tassel had been presented to me on May 14, 1961, I sped home to the farmhouse to begin packing a few of my personal belongings, preparing for the first leg of my 50 year journey. Of course, I didn't know that at the time.

50 Years and Counting!

I was 17 years old. I knew I was called to some type of ministry when I was 13, but I didn't know what. When I was a senior in high school, my brother Lowell and his wife Connie asked if I would join them in full-time evangelism, I knew my course had been set in motion.

May 15, 1961, Lowell, Connie and I piled into a 1957 rambler station wagon pulling a small trailer filled with music equipment. We bid goodbye to our parents and off we went. We sang and ministered in churches, camps, conventions, extended crusades, TV programs and radio broadcasts. Wherever we were invited, we accepted.

In 1965, Gloria and I were married, and we became known as The Lundstrom Team. In 1967, she began to sing with the group and play guitar. The little Lundstrom children were arriving one by one and the three Lundstrom brothers and children were in buses traveling from coast to coast. Soon we were producing weekly TV broadcasts and national TV specials.

The time frame of that journey was from 1961 to December of 1982. We were blessed as a family ministry where multiplied thousands of people made commitments to Christ. On New Years Eve, December 31, 1982, Gloria, our children and I held our first "Family to Family" service in Apache Junction, Arizona. The Larry Lundstrom Family focused on families and salvation. Again, God blessed our ministry. We loved having our children play instruments and sing with us. From 1982-1990, we also had several musicians and singers travel with us. In 1997, our son Donovan left the group, and thus began a new phase of our journey as a couple.

For the past 14 years, Gloria and I have continued our soul winning journey from coast to coast seeing thousands come to Christ. I am honored and privileged to have completed 50 years on the road as of May 15, 2011. Some may say, "You're old." Gloria always says, "We are not old...prayerfully...we are gold." We pray that we are just as effectual as we were when we began.

All of the above ties in with my childhood memory of when I was 8 years old. I attended a country church with my Grandma Caroline Lundstrom. I was always touched by the chorus that they would sing, "All the way, all the way, I'm going all the way with Jesus." I was touched by that song as a lad, and I still am. Our goal is to go all the way, as long as God allows us to go, to continue to do what He has called us to do...reach the Lost.

Larry Lundstrom

this Sunday, may 15th, we'll be at our home church,

to celebrate Larry's 50 years on the road!

If you would like to send larry an email (llmin@venturecomm.net)

or letter, he'd be touched to hear from you!

Also, if you are in the area, we would love to see you at the service:

services start at 10:30 AM with a potluck to follow.

Family life Assembly of God

404 W. Hickory Street

sisseton, sd 57262

May 4, 2011

Greetings from Bismarck, ND! Whew...what a whirlwind couple of weeks - let's recap! We ministered in Sioux Falls, SD on Easter at Calvary A/G with Pastor Dan and Phyllis Kuno. Seeing precious souls at the altar and lives being changed was truly the expression of what Easter is all about.

May 4, 2011

"We were blessed this Easter to have Evangelists Larry and Gloria Lundstrom minister in our morning service! Although the season is becoming more commercialized every year and the real reason for our celebration is often lost in the fun of bunnies and candy, Larry and Gloria were a breath of fresh air as they brought us to the empty cross. Gloria prepared several altar workers to assist at the close of the service. Her helpful instructions provided them with the necessary tools to encourage and pray with those who came forward. Through Larry and Gloria's anointed music and the ministry of the Word, burdens were lifted that morning as nearly a dozen responded for prayer.

Larry was honored with a plaque and letters of commendation from our District and General Superintendents for fifty years of faithful, fruitful service to the furtherance of the Kingdom of God! Many will join us in heaven one day as a direct result of the ministry of Larry and Gloria who have been faithful to the call of God on their lives to win others to Jesus!"

Rev. Dan Kuno

Calvary Assembly of God

Sioux Falls, SD

Easter afternoon we traveled home to Sisseton, SD. We crested the hills coming in the home-stretch and as the old song goes, "It was good to see the green, green grass of home!" We left January 5^th with 8-12 foot snow banks by our home so it was good to see something green instead of white. Our first stop was to go and see my 95 year old mother at the Greenleaf Assisted Living center. I sauntered in the door, greeted the staff at the desk, looked way down the hall on the left and I could see the silhouette of my dear mother standing by her door. I zipped down the hall and when she saw me, she smiled a million dollar smile, we hugged and held each other. At her age, everyday and every minute with her is a gift. Larry, Mom and I sipped on some coffee and chatted and then we proceeded to go to our home. When I stepped out of the door of the motor home it was music to my ears to hear the robins singing and see them making nests in the trees. Spring flowers popping through...yes, yes, I love this time of year.

I spent the next three days helping my dear mother and then we headed off again on Thursday to Bismarck, ND. I was so surprised to see so many huge snow banks filling the ditches and in the tree lines. I was even more surprised to hear that there was an impending blizzard forging towards and through North Dakota, right where we were going...Bismarck, ND. Saturday, April 30^th, it hit. Rain, then snow, then blowing snow, drifting snow, 55 mph winds and 29 degrees hit. Who would've thought this kind of weather at this time of year was possible...but then again that's the Midwest for you! (We were blessed not to have tornadoes as our hearts go out to those in the tornado torn states).

Sunday, May 1^st, May Day, we woke up to raging winds rocking our motor home like a cradle in the wind. We wondered if this would keep people from coming out to church...but I forgot these North Dakota people are tough and survivors of long winters.

It may have been blustery and nasty outside, but we were greeted by a full church and a warm spirited congregation at Capital Christian Center at Bismarck with Pastor Dan and Lori Kent. There truly was excitement in the air. They came expecting God to do something - and He did. When Larry gave the invitation people responded and flowed to the altar asking God for forgiveness of their sins and to rededicate their lives. As one counselor said, "People of all ages, children, teens, couples, families, and adults all went forward." The tears of joy were so precious and as always, gave Larry and me fresh energy to keep going.

"I want to thank the Lord and Larry and Gloria for a wonderful evangelist service. It was beautiful to see children, teenagers, middle age and senior citizens respond to the altar call. We had 22 individuals that came forward to make either a first time decision or a very important rededicationof their life to the Lord. What a beautiful sight to see each age group respond to the gospel through the service that was presented."

Rev. Dan Kent
Capital Christian Center

Bismarck, ND

"Larry and Gloria,

Your ministry at our church this morning was really a blessing. There were a lot of people eager and looking forward tothe rally. You are, after all,old friends to Bismarck. I didn'treally know what to expect, butcouldsee before the service that you had faith that a lot of people would be touched. That in itself was a real encouragement. In the service, the power of the Holy Spirit was so real.The number of people who responded to the message was amazing. I also appreciate that you had very practical advice for the altar workers. Thanks again."

Gayle

Bismarck, ND

"I would just like to let you know what a blessing you guys were to me and my husband today at Capital Christian Center in Bismarck. What a refreshing service!!!! It was just what we needed. May God continue to bless you with good health for years to come."

T & C

Bismarck, ND

As always, we are thrilled when we can catch up with old friends. We've known Gary & Carolyn Rowden and Dave & Georgia Slyter since we were teenagers - wow - that was a long time ago...ha! Gary has known Larry since he was single. Gary and Carolyn have been such good friends through the years and recently brought us into Longview, TX for a service.

"Larry Lundstrom, without a doubt, walks in the true office of an anointed Evangelist. If you are looking for some good ground to sow into, you can't go wrong with this one. My husband and I have known Larry and Gloria for over 45 years, and have seen over and over, signs following their ministry. I have always told pastors if they want to see people born again, they need to have the Lundstroms. Years ago, I was in a service with Larry and Gloria where the head usher came forward for salvation during the altar call. He had been in that church for over 20 years. The pastor about fell off his pew! No one knew the man had never been saved before."

Gary & Carolyn Rowden

We also enjoyed seeing friends and partners, Dave and Georgia Slyter from Paola, KS. We've been friends with them for about 28 years!

This coming Sunday is Mother's Day. How blessed and grateful I am to have the privilege of being a mother of three and grandmother of two. I wish I could say that I've been a role model mother...but I am not. I wished as a mother that I had never failed or made mistakes, but I have. Even though I've made the mistakes I thank God for my children who have been so forgiving and loving.

As a family, we've learned the importance to laugh while we can, to enjoy the good moments while we can and stay close to each other and hold each other up with honor and respect. We have found that when the challenges and trials of life slap you on all sides, friends disappoint you and everything falls apart, we still are family and we still have each other. Most of all, what a joy to have God on our side.

On this Mother's Day, if you are still blessed to have your mother on this Earth, be sure you send a card, make a phone call or visit and tell her you love her. She needs the affirmation and to hear those words. I've been so blessed to have my mother, who is a very dear friend, for 67 years of my life...what a gift! Happy Mother's Day - have a great week!

Gloria

April 20, 2011

We celebrate Easter this week...I love it...as it was Easter season that both Larry and my families came to Christ in the 1950's. I love to remember it. My parents were invited to church, the preacher shared a simple salvation message to our family of 10, at the time...

April 20, 2011

We celebrate Easter this week...I love it...as it was Easter season that both Larry and my families came to Christ in the 1950's.

I love to remember it. My parents were invited to church, the preacher shared a simple salvation message to our family of 10, at the time...yes...I said 10 (my parents, my seven brothers and me, I had no sisters). That morning we all stepped forward to ask Jesus Christ to come and be Lord of our lives. The moment we prayed and asked Jesus to forgive us our sins...it was truly Easter...the beginning of a new life! Our eternal destinations were changed from eternal death to eternal life. Our GPS was now set for Heaven. At that time there was 10 in our family and now they are close to 112 (give or take a few) and I can hardly keep up with the addition of new babies.

When our son Donovan was about 5-6 years old, he sauntered into the backroom of our motor coach, gazed at the window where he had cut out three crosses and taped them on the window for all of us to see. He appeared to be lost in thought, so I asked him, "What are you thinking"? With a sad look in his sky-blue eyes he asked, "Mom, why do they call it Good Friday when they nailed Jesus to the cross? What's good about that?" I began to explain the Easter story and how Friday had to happen in order to have Easter Sunday. I explained to him how Jesus was crucified on Friday, but He didn't stay in the grave and was resurrected on Sunday. The stone was rolled away on that blessed Easter morning, Jesus gave us the free gift of salvation that if we accept Christ as our personal Savior and friend we can live with Him forever. Donovan's eyes lit up, "Wow! That's good! Now I understand" and bounced off to play.

Can you imagine seeing that empty tomb, hearing the words, "He is risen, He is alive"? Just the thought of it gives me goose bumps. Like Donovan expressed, I too am so happy He's alive. Not only that, but how He lives within our hearts.

Easter also gave us the gift of hope to see our loved ones again who have gone on before if they knew Christ.

Do you know Him...He waits for you to invite Him into your heart. Do it now...and every day will feel like Easter. Have a blessed Easter, may you feel His presence now and always!

Gloria

We will be ministering at Calvary Assembly of God in

Sioux Falls, SD, this Sunday at 10:30 AM

celebrating the Risen Lord!

We would love to see you there if you are in the area!

CHUCKLE/REFLECTION

Jellybean Prayer

Red is for the blood He gave
Green is for the grass He made
Yellow is for the sun so bright
Orange is for the edge of night
Black is for the sins we made
White is for the grace He gave
Purple is for the house of sorrow
Pink is for the new tomorrow

A bag of jellybeans
colorful and sweet
In this prayer is a promise
And a small delicious treat.

-Author Unknown

RECIPE

Resurrection Story Cookies

You need:
1 c. whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 c. sugar

zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 F. (this is important - don't wait till you are half way done with the recipe!) Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 c. sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.

Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.
Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.

Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first
Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read Matthew 28:1-9.

HE HAS RISEN!!!!!

April 6, 2011

Recently, we were in the Houston area for four days. We ministered last Sunday at Son Harvest church in Crosby, Texas, which is a small suburb of Houston. What loving pastors Richard and Joyce Amador are! Their congregation reflects them in their love also. Pastor Richard has a heartbeat for Native American ministries and us being from the Sioux Native American reservation in South Dakota - our spirits clicked.

April 6, 2011

Greetings from the Lonestar state of Texas! And need I mention "delicious, authentic Mexican food"? Oh yeah!

"Your visit to our church has been awesome. What I, as the pastor, valued most was the heart of you both. You came and fell right in with our church family as if you knew us forever.

Monday as I was about, people would call or as I ran across people, the topic was on how much they enjoyed the service and your personalities. I even heard from a member who couldn't be with us Sunday that she heard of the service by phone call.

Thanks so much for your wonderful ministry of two loving people, one loving couple, with one main purpose of winning the lost. God has truly called you two into His Will. Lives were touched and changed. Come back!!"

Pastor Richard & Joyce Amador

Son Harvest Church

Crosby, TX

We love ministering to ALL ages!

We were also overjoyed and honored to have our friends, Linda Long, and her son, Grady Long attend the morning service.

Gloria with Linda Long and her son Grady Grady Long and Larry

On Monday we were invited over to visit John and Angie Sommer, and their six beautiful children (5 sons and 1 daughter) who live in Spring, Texas. Years ago John played keyboard for us when it was the Larry Lundstrom family ministry. Then John went back to Houston and formed The Sound, a quartet. Now John is part of his father's Advanced Publishing company, and also does studio work and is very active in music in their home church. Talk about talented...John prepared a delicious, home-cooked Italian meal with all the trimmings! He gave his wife Angie a break - and gave all of us a treat. Linda and Grady Long also came over to spend the evening with us. Linda and I grew up in the same community in Sisseton, attended bible school together, and both married evangelists. Curt and Linda also traveled until Curt passed away a little over a year ago from cancer.

John & Angie Sommer The Sommer boys

An extra special time of the evening was when John got on the piano and we all gathered around and sang. It was so much fun; we just didn't want the evening to end. Thanks again John and Angie for bringing all of us together!

Everything was just super...what wasn't...was the Houston traffic...finding our way around, tiers of clover leafs and construction, beltways, beater roads, one-ways, etc. I said all of that to confess that we took one wrong turn left and embarked on a 20 mile unplanned sight-seeing nightmare in North Houston at rush hour. In the midst of this mess I said, "Why didn't we bring our Garmin GPS out of the coach?" (forgetting it actually was with us and under the seat). Needless to say, the thought came too late. Now I can just hear you ask, "Why didn't you just stop and get directions?" We did - we trusted a local, surely he would direct us correctly...but...wrong. He guessed...I guess...but he guessed wrong and so began our "long way around". Yes, we finally made it, an hour and a half later. It was at that tense moment that we both vowed we would not travel again without our GPS navigating (which ironically was under the seat, but I was having a Senior moment and forgot it was there).

This whole incident is so much like life today. People can be on a spiritual journey, get discouraged, or get diverted or sidetracked, make a spiritual wrong turn that will take them on an unplanned, long, unfriendly, disappointing and destructive journey. Then they often make another mistake by trusting their own feeling or intuition, or by trusting man and his wisdom, rather than hitting the throne room and talking to the ultimate Navigator of our lives...Jesus Christ. Isaiah 58:11 says, "...And the Lord shall guide thee continually." Wow. Christ truly is our personal GPS Navigator. He will never guide you wrong if you listen and follow the directions. You can't beat that! Have a great week!

Gloria

QUOTE

"The best way to navigate through life is to give up all of our controls."

- Gerald Jampolsky

CHUCKLE/REFLECTION

When I was a young minister, a funeral director asked me to hold a grave side service for a homeless man with no family or friends. The funeral was to be at a cemetery way out in the country. This was a new cemetery and this man was the first to be laid to rest there.

I was not familiar with the area and became lost. Being a typical man, of course, I did not ask for directions. I finally found the cemetery about an hour late. The back hoe was there and the crew was eating their lunch. The hearse was nowhere to be seen.

I apologized to the workers for being late. As I looked into the open grave, I saw the vault lid already in place. I told the workers I would not keep them long, but that this was the proper thing to do. The workers, still eating their lunch, gathered around the opening.

I was young and enthusiastic and poured out my heart and soul as I preached. The workers joined in with, "Praise the Lord," "Amen," and "Glory!" I got so into the service that I preached and preached and preached, from Genesis to The Revelation.

When the service was over, I said a prayer and walked to my car. As I opened the door, I heard one of the workers say, "I never saw anything like that before and I've been putting in septic systems for twenty years."

PIC OF THE WEEK

Welcome to Texas!

RECIPE

Speedy Pecan Pie

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 ½ cups pecans

1 unbaked 9" pie shell

In a large bowl, stir together the first 5 ingredients until well blended. Then stir in the nuts. Pour into pastry shell and bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted halfway comes out clean. Cool.

HOUSEHOLD HINT

When making fresh apples pies, substitute ice-cold cider for the water in the pie crust.

March 23, 2011

We've had another great week. We had a service in Metairie, LA which is a suburb of New Orleans. It was great being back with Pastor Dan and Paulette Flanagan and the church family. They are a resilient body of believers. They too survived Katrina suffering extensive damage where 100's lost their homes and all their personal possessions and belongings. In the devastation they fled to several different states to start a new life. Even through all of this, the remaining parishioners are upbeat and loyal.

March 23, 2011

What a beautiful day in the Gulf Coast! I almost feel guilty enjoying this, especially when I called our office in Sisseton, SD, where they just have had another blizzard dumping 8 to 10 inches of snow and freezing rain. They tell me the temperature will drop to 5 degrees in the next few days, ouch! Can this be the end of March? Or could it be global warming? (I couldn't resist!)

Pastor Dan and Paulette have been at Metairie First Assembly of God for around 25 years and we appreciate their outlook and love for their people and God.

"What a tremendous blessing to have Larry and Gloria with us this past weekend. They brought forth such and ushering of the Holy Spirit which brought break through and comfort to the hurting. Their passion for the lost is evident both when they sing and when they share the gospel in a powerful way. In addition their burden for the members of the body of Christ are paramount in all that they do."

"I was so happy that you could come back to First Assembly. We so appreciate your ministry and the message that you shared for such a time as this. We believe that much fruit will result from your ministry and we look forward to you coming back to LA."

Linda Gaffney

Church Secretary

"The last time you were here you prayed with me for my son, Carl, who is 22 years old and there has been a dramatic turn around in his life for the Lord."

Carolyn Tice

"It was such a blessing to have you here. We love the music. The message hit home for me as there was an awakening for us to witness."

Dona Patterson

"Loved seeing the Lundstrom's again. You are like family to us. Thank you, Larry for the message. I've never heard a more clear presentation of how to witness to an unsaved person."

Bernie Schernbeck

"Larry and Gloria were a blessing to both my wife and I and to the church. Their music has a great message about the beauty of salvation and the power of the Lord. We appreciated their ministry, humor and their call to spread the gospel. I, myself, as a music minister was greatly encouraged to share my personal testimony more and win people to Christ."

John & Melissa Boover

Worship Leader at First A/G

Larry shared his heartbeat about how to win our loved ones for Christ. He gave them an outline on how to witness. Their response was great. He challenged them to use their testimony as a tool to win others to Christ. We, as believers, have to "care enough" to reach out to those that God has placed in our path. We may well determine their eternity.

This was really brought home to me, once again, through an incident that happened about a week ago. Larry and I were in Ruby Tuesday's restaurant with a relative having a wonderful time and visiting. I was looking down at my salad and glanced up at my cousin to say something and her eyes flashed with fear and were glazed over. She tried to communicate with her eyes that she was choking. I asked, "Are you okay?" She gave us a signal to give her the Heimlich maneuver. She, having worked in a critical care unit for years, knew how critical the situation was. I panicked, stood up and screamed, "Help, this lady is choking!" The restaurant was full of people, some stood and looked while others froze in their tracks. Again, I screamed, not noticing that Larry was already out of his chair to help her, "Please, someone help us!" Not one person responded to my hysterical plea. I looked back at my cousin and she looked like she was ready to pass out. All this seemed like a bad dream as the seconds were fleeing seeming more like hours. By this time, Larry was behind her lifted her up out of the chair and administered the Heimlich on her. She gasped, coughed and a piece of food flew out of her. She took a deep gasp of air. You talk about relieved! I could never explain to you the panic and fear that overwhelmed me, especially the thought of not being able to save her from choking to death. Interesting enough, as I looked over the restaurant, people were sitting down and going back to life as usual.

What if...I thought...the Heimlich maneuver hadn't worked? What if Larry hadn't been with us? What if I would have been alone with her? Would I have been able to save her? After this episode we sat stunned and relieved. We were so thankful she was okay. A few hours later, after she had driven back to Mobile, AL, she emailed us, "Thank you, Cousin Larry, for saving my life...I thought I was going to die by choking to death."

What an analogy...we are surrounded daily by people who are lost and dying without Christ. We have the opportunity to prevent them from going into eternity lost, without Christ. Will we stand up and stand by? Would we be content to "do nothing"? Will we stand by like those people in the restaurant as pillars of salt and not do anything? Or do we feel like we don't want to get involved?

I challenge you to look who lives on the right and left of you. Look for the opportunity with people you work with, have coffee with, and go to sports with. If you understand that, you will possibly be the person that God has put in their path and by you sharing Christ, you can save them from eternal separation from God. Take the challenge.

Gloria

QUOTE

"Some wish to live within the sound of church and chapel bells. I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

Unknown

CHUCKLE/REFLECTION

Purpose In Life

An executive hirer, a "head-hunter" who goes out and hires corporation
executives for other firms, once told me, "When I get an executive that
I'm trying to hire for someone else, I like to disarm him. I offer him a
drink, take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie, throw up my feet and
talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he's all relaxed.
Then, when I think I've got him relaxed, I lean over, look him square in
the eye and say, "What's your purpose in life?" It's amazing how top
executives fall apart at that question.

"Well, I was interviewing this fellow the other day, had him all
disarmed, with my feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then I
leaned up and said, 'What's your purpose in life, Bob?' And he said,
without blinking an eye, 'To go to heaven and take as many people with
me as I can.' For the first time in my career I was speechless."

-Josh McDowell

PIC OF THE WEEK

Gloria made a friend...this little guy stops by the motorhome every day for a visit! I wonder why???

RECIPE

Pepperoni Bread

1 egg white

1 loaf frozen bread dough

pepperoni

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Italian seasoning to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet with shortening. Roll thawed dough onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle with seasoning, cheese and pepperoni. Fold over and pinch dough closed. Brush with egg white. Bake 20-30 minutes.

HOUSEHOLD HINT

Before sewing on a row of buttons, place each one exactly where it belongs and hold it there with strips of tape. After the first stitches are through the button, remove the tape and finish sewing the buttons.

March 16, 2011

It's a beautiful Mississippi day! You can finally sense that spring is coming. When it hit 70 degrees yesterday, I got a taste of spring fever...the only problem...I don't have the energy to go with it!

March 16, 2011

Yesterday we stopped at a Home Depot to find caulking to repair the leak where the water poured in during those horrible storms last week. Due to a lack of energy, I told Larry I'd wait in the car. To be honest, I was just too tired to go in. He sauntered off and I was sitting...watching people coming in and out of the store, and noticed that the far end of Home Depot they had all their plants, flowers, shrubs and ferns outside. People were rushing around gathering various plants and shrubs. Like a flash, I exited the car and hurried over there. The spring flowers were so brilliant! There were flowering plants that I'd never seen, and of course, that we don't have in South Dakota. I was sniffing them, touching them; in fact I was just thoroughly enjoying my flower inspection when the manager of the Home and Garden department approached me. He evidently had been observing me admiring the flowers and he chuckled as he addressed me, "Wow, you are really enjoying these plants and flowers." I shot back, "Yes, I love seeing something more alive than I am." He laughed. I explained that in South Dakota we wouldn't have these plants out until mid-May or June. He looked at me with disbelief and I informed him, "You're planting flowers here while South Dakota is still shoveling snow." He shrugged his shoulders and cringed, "Oh, I wouldn't like that." I can still remember how those plants felt and the sweet fragrance of the flowers.

A week ago we experienced another sweet fragrance - the fragrance of Christ as we ministered at Christian Life Assembly of God in Picayune, Mississippi with our pastor friends, Darrell and Sharon Worley. Coming back to this area every 2-3 years is also like coming home. When I had my broken leg, this church made meals and cared for me until we hit the road again. The church has been through a lot... Katrina and all its' destruction, building a beautiful new sanctuary and 2-3 days before moving in, experiencing a wire fire that burned the sanctuary before they even got in to it. But you can't keep this church or pastor down. They got back up again, rebuilt and have a beautiful new church. It was so refreshing to minister on Sunday morning and evening, feel the presence of God and see lives of all ages touched.

It was great to be back to minister with Pastor Darrell & Sharon Worley and Darrell's parents, Rev. Ken & Faye Worley.

"We always look forward to our evangelistic services with Larry and Gloria Lundstrom. There is a special anointing on them to invite and lead the lost to a relationship with Jesus! Their ministry in song and in the Word of God is water for the parched soul. Thanks, Larry and Gloria, for continuing to reach out to lost people with your steadfastness. We love and appreciate you."

Pastor Darrell & Sharon Worley

Christian Life Assembly of God

Picayune, MS

"We enjoyed so much having you back at Christian Life Assembly of God in Picayune. Thank you, Gloria, for sharing about your trials and how you chose to allow those trials to become a blessing to others. I appreciate the way you turn practical life experiences to spiritual life-giving illustrations that impact others for good. Also, thank you, Larry, for the admonition to evangelists wherever God leads us!"

- Melinda Bowman

I love seeing those who respond to the altar call. They walk forward looking so heavy burdened and so sad, and after they pray and ask God to forgive their sins, it almost appears as if they all had face lifts as the joy of the Lord turns their frowns into smiles.

Psalm 55:22 encourages, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you." We live in a troubled world and again I was reminded of this in the last couple weeks with all the floods, fires, tornadoes and earth quakes. We are literally seeing the book of Revelation on the front page of the newspapers and in all the media. Unfortunately, rather than enjoying living in a country of the free - we are becoming a country of fear!

Aren't you glad that you can cast your burdens on Him - and He promises to sustain us until He comes back to get us? Blessings on you!

Gloria

QUOTE

"With perfect peace You will protect those whose minds cannot be changed because they trust you."

- Isaiah 26:3

CHUCKLE/REFLECTION

Department of Fish and Wildlife Department

The Louisiana State Department of Fish and Wildlife is advising hikers, hunters, fishermen, and golfers to take extra precautions and keep alert for alligators while in St. Tammany, Jefferson & Orleans Parish.

They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as "little bells" on their clothing to alert, but not startle the alligators, unexpectedly.

They also advise the carrying of "pepper spray" in case of an encounter with an alligator. It's also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of alligator activity and be able to recognize the difference between young alligator and adult alligator droppings.

Young alligator droppings are small, contain fish bones and possibly bird feathers.
Adult alligators droppings have little bells in them and smell like pepper.

PIC OF THE WEEK

We stopped on a small bridge of the Mississippi bayou last Sunday where two couples stood looking straight ahead. Jokingly I asked, "See any alligators?" They pointed straight ahead, and there it was. Of course, I had to get this photo - from a distance - thank goodness!

RECIPE

Easy Butterscotch Bars

1 pkg. butter brickle cake mix

1 cup flaked coconut

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup rolled oats

1 - 6 oz. pkg. butterscotch chips

¼ cup oil

1/3 cup water

2 eggs

Combine all ingredients, mix thoroughly and spread in greased 15x10 pan. Bake 30 minutes at 350.

HOUSEHOLD HINT

To have a scorch-free pan when cooking with milk, put a little water in the pan first, heat it to a boil and then add the milk. This helps to keep the milk from burning or sticking to the pan.

March 9, 2011

"Larry - come here - QUICK"...I belted out this morning at 5:30 am. He groggily opened his eyes and grunted, "What, come where, for what?" I panicked and commanded, "Just hurry and come!" It had been another day of storms and high winds, flash floods and tornado warnings. It had stormed all night with high winds and a wall of rain. We raced back into the living room of the motor home with our feet sloshing in water on the floor; I looked up and saw a stream of water pouring out of a cupboard. I slowly opened it and the water gushed out like out of a fire hydrant. It was as if someone had left a water spigot on. It was running on the floor, down the walls and onto the couch. We quickly grabbed every towel and bucket we could find as literally gallons of water poured in for about 3 hours. Larry and I were working as in an assembly line... bucket filled, transfer to him, dump it out, wring out towels, and sop up more water...until at last, at about 8 am, there was a break in the downpour. Fatigued, we uttered a sigh of relief and hoped we could lie down for a few minutes. I turned and looked out the driver's side windows just in time to see the grove of trees and the creek about 120-150 feet away crest its' banks. I warned, "Larry, I think there's a creek over there." We just stood there a bit stunned for as we realized it was a raging flash flood that within literally 5-10 minutes was up to our motor home, under it and two inches from pouring into the bay doors, which holds all of our equipment. By this time, the panic has hit both of us. "What is next...?" I thought, "Will the surge of the water lift this rig?" But Larry assured me it wouldn't. Then, urgently, Larry said, "The 220 power, 60 amp cable and the connections for the motor home are submerged under the water. I've got to unplug the power now!" He ran out of the coach, in about a foot of water (against my better judgment) and turned off the church RV hookup and breaker. As we thought of what to do next, the surge of the raging water was eating away the grass and ground underneath us and we didn't know how much higher, or how much faster the water would continue to rise. The weather reports were not good and talked about more flash flooding. We knew if the water got into the motor home electric systems, it would be a major problem.

It didn't take me long to pray intensely! Larry was wondering if he could try to get it out, but the front duals had sunk and the water was already on the drivers' side by the steps. After a quick call to the pastor and a quick response, he, along with some staff and men from his church, raced over to see what they could do. Thank God, the water started slowly receding (2 inches from flooding the bays was close enough).

These men brought in a flat bed semi with a backhoe on the back and stretched out a 3 inch in diameter tow rope - joined it with the chain, and within minutes they pulled us out.

I can't even tell you how relieved we were. I was one happy Norwegian to see them pull my motor home out! As things started to slow down I took a moment to take some photos. By this time the water had receded about 12-15 feet. We were very happy to get back into the coach.

As I was standing there, thinking this situation over and thanking God, Pastor Darrell Worley looks at me very seriously and asks, "Did you happen to see any alligators or water moccasins out there?" I shrieked, "No, are you kidding!?" He replied, "No, there could very possibly be some out there." I told him I was too busy praying and worrying about the motor home to even think of the alligators or water moccasins - then I wilted at the thought.

This is the season for the spring storms in the south. There have been half a dozen tornadoes or more that have whizzed around this area for the past 4 days. There was one that had a quick touch-down here in Picayune about 1 mile from the church this morning....close enough!!

As I sit here writing this, I'm always blessed knowing that we have so many friends and partners who are praying daily for us. In Psalms it says if we pray and ask, God hears our prayers. Thank you to all of you who pray for us, for we know He hears your prayers. Have a great week - God bless you!

Gloria

After a day like this, here's a little something to laugh about:

CHUCKLE/REFLECTION

The Prayer of a Little Boy

"Dear God, please take care of my daddy and my mommy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and me.

Oh, please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we're gonna be in a big mess."

March 2, 2011

I just had a rendezvous moment here... it is almost exactly 6 years ago, that we traveled to Kiln, MS and Picayune to hold a soul winning rally. It was a great day. The next day, Larry climbed a ladder up to the top of our 12 foot motor coach to fix a leaky vent. As I watched in dismay, Larry lost his balance, slipped off the top of the motor coach and hit the ladder. Oh yes, I guess I should tell you that, I was standing on the bottom step of that steel step-ladder in order to assist him. BOOM! The steel ladder collapsed under his 240 pounds. His impact acted like an ax, amputating my right foot at the ankle as the ladder snapped together.

March 2, 2011

It's hard to believe it's March already. Only 10 months until Christmas - ha! We are busy packing our motor home to head to Picayune, MS.

It's a long story - but I'll make it shorter for those of you who've never heard it. Here's the "mini-version": On February 28, 2005, I was rushed by ambulance to Slidell, LA, suburb of New Orleans, and rushed into emergency surgery to reattach my right foot. Praise God for prayers, and thanks to a great surgeon, the kindness of people, 6-8 months of rehab and therapy, I was able to walk again. I am still walking - with pain - but I'm still walking!

Today I was thinking back over this event, and I remember one particular day I was doing rehab and therapy in Rapid City, SD. The therapist was trying to teach me how to put weight on my right foot to learn how to stand and walk again. I was proud of myself, taking a few steps at a time. Though fatigued and sore, I finished my session and was walking down the hall of the rehab unit when I heard, "Gloria". I was taken aback by the sternness in his voice. I turned around to see my therapist, who commanded in a scolding tone, "Don't limp!" In excruciating pain, I snapped back, "It hurts." Again he pointed at me and shouted, "If you give into that limp, you will always limp - think before you take each step."

A bit miffed and in pain, I struggled out of the hospital. At the moment that situation happened I was really upset...but it really made me straighten up and think before I took each step. It took a huge discipline to manage the pain and the "new normal" of walking. Because the nerves were all severed and a deformation of the bone on the bottom of my right foot happened, I still have pain with each step...but I always remind myself before the first step, "Don't limp." Because of this statement, which was truly great advice, I've learned to walk...not without pain, but without a limp.

I've applied that unforgettable lesson to many areas of my life. All of us, including myself, have been injured, wounded, rejected, severed from family, friends and even churches. We built relationships that we thought would last forever, and painfully they didn't. Maybe it was a loss of a job or the death of a loved one that has thrown you off balance, causing you to limp through life...sucking the joy, strength and peace from you. Maybe your dreams and life goals have been clouded. When the burdens are crashing in like tsunamis, God's word tells us in Psalm 55:22, "Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you; He will never letthe righteous be shaken." When we feel that we are faltering, or that limp causes us to want to collapse, the Scriptures also tell us in Psalm 62:5-7, "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge."

Are you dealing with a limp that is pertaining to your day, family or life? Call upon the Lord. He promises He will uphold us... "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand", Isaiah 41:10. He'll carry the weight of your pain, take away your limp and give you peace and joy.

Gloria

LaDawn and the kids took an early spring break and came down to visit and were able to spend a couple days at Disneyworld.

QUOTE

"By perseverance the snail reached the ark."

- Charles Spurgeon

CHUCKLE/REFLECTION

Be Careful what you Ask

Last Sunday Larry and I were walking out of a restaurant and saw four women who were senior citizens sitting together giggling and having fun. Larry steps up and chides, "Hey, what did you do with all your husbands."

To which they piped up and replied, "We buried them."

PIC OF THE WEEK

Doesn't the Scripture say we know not the day or hour of His return...?

RECIPE

Caramel Pears

3 medium pears, halved

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. butter

½ tsp. vanilla

½ cup cream

Preheat broiler, put rack about 4" from heat. Grease 8" pan and put pears in (cutside down). Sprinkle on sugar and butter. Broil 8-10 minutes rotating to brown evenly. Remove and set oven to 375. Combine cream and vanilla and pour over pears and bake 15-20 minutes or until sauce is golden and bubbly.

HOUSEHOLD HINT

When a drain is clogged with grease, pour a cup of salt and a cup of baking soda into the drain followed by a kettle of boiling water. The grease will usually dissolve immediately and open the drain.

February 14, 2011

Larry and I have now been married for 45 ½ years, and we have found that there are rules for marriage that help keep the garbage at bay if we diligently abide by them. Years ago, someone handed me a piece of paper with some "Rules for a Happy Married Life," that I have kept, utilized, and expanded.

February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

If you are married...I hope you were lovingly surprised with flowers, a card and/or some sweet sentiment to remind you that you are loved. If you are single and feeling left out, take the time to buy yourself a bouquet of flowers or or a special treat to remind yourself that you are special to God and many others. Buy a book, go to Starbucks or splurge on Haagen-Dazs chunky monkey ice cream --oops...I better stop there.

Larry is always good to bless me with flowers---but then again, I'm blessed even more so because I am showered with love, respect and honor every day of the year. I love experiencing Valentine's Day every day.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought it was appropriate to share this story:

December 9^,2010, was our daughter, LaShawn, and son-in-law, Liam's, 3^rd wedding anniversary. The evening of their anniversary, LaShawn called me and shared the following exchange:

LaShawn & Liam

"Mom, this morning I sauntered lazily out of our bedroom, and as usual, Liam was up before me. The aroma of coffee lured me into the living room and I continued to follow the teasing scent closer to the kitchen. Liam peaked around the corner. There he stood; with his brown eyes twinkling and a mischievous grin on his face, he chirped, 'Honey, do you know what day this is?' I instantly panicked, 'Oh no...it's garbage day! We have to get the garbage out!' He chuckled, 'No, honey, it's our third wedding anniversary.' Deflated and embarrassed more than I could or would ever confess, I apologized, 'Oh honey, I am so sorry. My mind just instantly turned to the garbage.'"

After sharing this, she made a very striking and thought-provoking statement, "Mom, that often seems to happen in our marriages. The daily demands and marital pressures build up, and garbage comes to our minds rather than sweet, pleasant words and/or acts of kindness.

In marriage relationships, it is much too easy to pile up garbage of hard feelings over petty things that cause stress, resentment and broken bridges. Under the pressure, we are tempted to spew out words that wound, accusations or ghosts of past mistakes.

Larry & I saying our vows

1. Never both be angry at once.

2. Never yell at each other unless the house in on fire.

3. Yield to the wishes of the other as an exercise of self-discipline if you can't think of a better reason.

4. If you have a choice between making yourself look good, or your mate...choose your mate.

5. If you have any criticism, make it lovingly.

This reminds me of the story of the wife who sighed one morning, "I'm convinced my mind is almost completely gone!" Her husband looked up from the newspaper and commented, "I'm not surprised; you've been giving me a piece of it every day for 20 years." (Enough said!)

6. Never bring up a mistake of the past.

7. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.

8. Never let the day end without saying at least one complimentary thing to your life's partner.

9. Never meet without a sweet or affectionate welcome.

10. Never go to bed mad.

11. Laugh a lot--it is oil to the marriage.

12. When you have made a mistake, talk it out and ask for forgiveness.

13. Lastly, but most important....Make God the center of your lives. Strive to have daily devotions and pray together. I firmly believe that those who can pray together or hold hands while they pray and discuss problems, can also stay together weathering life's storms.

Always be Best Friends!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails."

We pray you have a blessed week and may you always know you are special to God and to us!

Gloria

QUOTE

"Love one another as I have loved you."

~ John 15:12

CHUCKLE/REFLECTION

Grandpa John was celebrating his 100th birthday and everybody complimented him on how athletic and well-preserved he appeared. "Gentlemen, I will tell you the secret of my success," he cackled. "I have been in the open air day after day for some 75 years now."

The celebrants were impressed and asked how he managed to keep up his rigorous fitness regime.

"Well, you see my wife and I were married 75 years ago. On our wedding night, we made a solemn pledge. Whenever we had a fight, the one who was proved wrong would go outside and take a walk."

PIC OF THE WEEK

One of our favorite pictures - it was a great day!

RECIPE

Buffalo Chicken Dip

***Our granddaughter, Myanna, made this for Grandpa and Grandma and it is definitely a favorite!

8 oz pkg cream cheese softened
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
2 cans chuck breast of chicken drained
1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth. Mix in salad dressing, wing sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken. Bake 20 minutes or until mixture is heated through. Stir. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or veggies.

HOUSEHOLD HINT

Use a rolling lint remover over your dusty lampshades; it works like a champ! It even collects all the lint!

February 2, 2011

Sunny greetings from sunny Florida to all our friends! If you are experiencing the blowing wind, blinding snow, ice or blizzards our hearts go out to you and I wish I could send you a little of this 82 degree temperature to warm you up a bit. This unusual weather pattern has been no respecter of persons or of states; I think it was last week that Hawaii was the only state that didn't have freezing temps. Our office staff back in South Dakota informed us it was nearly 50 below windchill on Tuesday night. In fact our office staff has been snowed in their homes for the past couple days unable to even get into the office, so they are working from home or any computer they are able to get to. Seriously, our hearts go out to all of you who are experiencing all of this.

This has been an unusual month also, but for different reasons. For us it's been with cancellations of services...not due to bad weather...but bad economy. It is really putting a financial drain and strain on the churches and many of them are struggling financially as the old saying goes, "Just to keep the lights on and the doors open." Many churches have had to cut staff, special guests (which is us) and special outreach events. It truly is sad for the churches and...unfortunate for us too, as we were in the canceled category. But, we have taken our lemons and have made sweet lemonade using our time to pray and read, regroup and meet with hurting friends, partners, discouraged pastors and former missionaries. It has truly been a special time of ministering one on one, or "two to two" (Larry and I), giving hope and encouragement to those that are going through difficult times. Larry and I have been reading through Psalms and Proverbs again and day by day His word tells us in Psalms that He is our strength, our tower to run to in a time of trouble, He is our place of refuge, our friend, our song, our light, and He guides our footsteps to keep our hearts strong as we trust in Him. In other words, He is our all in all - and He is all we need! The world is in turmoil and with all the events in the middle East, we know that Revelation is winding up. We all know that the only answer to inner peace is to know Jesus Christ and to hold on.

Among the many we visits within the last couple weeks, was a delightful drive over to Tampa to visit our dear friends Carl and Betty Malz, ages 88 and 83. Many years ago we ministered with Carl and Betty when they and we were employed by Lowell Lundstrom Ministries and shared in crusades, family life seminars, etc. Both of them are truly giants of the faith. Betty, an accomplished writer, speaker and author of several books including, "My Glimpse of Eternity", and Carl, a great preacher, mentor, Bible scholar, former missionary, have had a great impact on our lives and have been a great example of "flourishing in older years...rather than fading". They've impacted thousands of lives all over the world.

Carl & Larry Gloria & Carl

Another quick visit led us to see and chat with our friend, Duane Pankratz, who is originally from Keystone, SD and is in Florida right now. We also met Scott, who gave us the wonderful treat of fresh lettuce and onions out of the garden. It will be a long time before we can get that in South Dakota, so we were very thankful!

Larry & I with Duane Scott

We also had the joy and opportunity to see my cousins Frank and Fran Burleson from California. Their family lived only 12 miles from us in Browns Valley Minnesota when we were kids. We spent a lot of time together as families growing up. Frank's mother and father would always call and invite us to go to church. They were a catalyst in getting us to church and getting us plugged in. My cousin Frank was a pilot in the military for many years, then retired and he and his sweet wife Fran went to China for 5 years as teachers with the main mission to witness and lead people to Christ. And that...they did.

Larry and I with Frank & Fran

With the ongoing turmoil in the world and the minute by minute impacting events happening in the middle East we need to pray harder than we ever have as these events will in fact effect America and the whole world. Pray for Israel, God's chosen people, for protection. Pray for our leaders that they will turn to God for wisdom, rather than trusting their own judgment or politics. I love the scripture 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." We can pray and pray and pray sometimes and we're tempted to get discouraged and we are tempted to say "well we prayed and nothing changed", but what is supposed to happen is that our lives change because of getting into prayer and spending more time in the throne room of God.

We appreciate your prayers and being partners with us On the Road, and on Facebook and we pray God's blessing of protection, wisdom, knowledge and strength for you. God bless you!

Gloria

QUOTE

The key to successful aging is to pay as little attention to it as possible. ~Judith Regan

CHUCKLE/REFLECTION

Ole and Lena were at the kitchen table for the usual morning cup of coffee and listening to a weather report coming from the radio.

"There will be 3 to 5 inches of snow today and a snow emergency has been declared. All vehicles should be parked on the odd-numbered side of the streets today to facilitate snowplows," the radio voice declared.

"Oh, gosh, OK," said Ole, getting up, bundling up and heading outside to dutifully put his car on the odd-numbered side of the street.

Two days later, Ole and Lena were at morning coffee when the radio voice said:

"There will be 2 to 4 inches of snow today and a snow emergency has been declared. You must park your vehicles on the even-numbered side of the streets."

Ole got up from his coffee as before. He bundled up, shuffled off, and put his car on the even-numbered side of the street.

A few days later, the couple was at the table when the radio voice declared:

"There will be 6 to 8 inches of snow today and a snow emergency has been declared. You must park your cars on the ..." Just then, the power went out.

"Park it where?" Ole asked in the dark, "What should I do?"

"Aw, to heck with them, Ole," Lena said, "Don't worry about it today. Just leave the car in the garage."

PIC OF THE WEEK

This SD road is cleared, but notice the height of the snow!

RECIPE

Curry Chicken with Croissant

2 ½ c. cooked chicken, cut up 2 T. sour cream

½ c. chopped walnuts, optional ½ tsp. curry powder

1/3 c. chopped celery ½ tsp. Cajun seasoning

2 T. grated onion ½ c. mayonnnaise

sliced seedless red grapes, optional

Mix all together and serve with Ritz crackers or on croissants.

HOUSEHOLD HINT

A lot of recipes call for 1 or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. To ensure you can use the whole can, measure out tablespoons of the leftovers on wax paper and freeze them, then take the frozen tablespoons and wrap them in plastic wrap. Keep them in a zipper top plastic bag and put back in the freezer for future use. Simply thaw, or microwave selected portions when needed.

« Newer 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Older »

Church Websites | Ministry Websites by NetMinistry .