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Faith: A vital part of life

June 8th, 2010

Climbing Faith is a big word and people of every culture, nation and race know about it. We often think that faith is especially designated for our believe in Jesus or in religion. If we have big faith we go to heaven and with bad faith we’re going to hell. But there are so many other parts in our life where we need and use faith.
It seems so special but actually everybody has it. From the beginning there was faith. Human beings are created to have faith.
A child has faith because he believes his parents care for him and the environment he is in it. I have never seen a child without hope for something good. Not even among the poorest kids of this world.
Faith is a vital part of life. Everybody believes in something.
For example: I believe that there is a place called: Australia. I’m totally convinced about it. I’ve actually never been there, but I believe what other people told me. I trust that the people who have been there tell me the truth.

The Bible has a great explanation of what faith is:
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. Hebrews 11:1

WE all hope for things and WE know that they are real even if we do not see them. We all use our faith. It’s like breathing. We can’t live without it.
Faith The big question is: In what do we have faith? There are so many questions we have to answer. In what are we’re going to put our trust? In what do we believe? Is it true or false?

If you believe you are a loser, you will become a loser sooner or later. But if you believe that you “…are more than a conqueror through him (Jesus) who loved you…” (Romans 8:37), then you will be a winner and losers anymore.
If you believe, that “…God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 4:19) then you will find that he does provide for everything you need.

Jesus said that he is “…the way and the truth and the life…” (John 14:6). When we believe in him then we know that He has all the answers and that He himself is The truth. Everything he said is true. We can trust that what the Bible says is true and that it is good for us. We need to understand all the truths that the Bible teaches us.

onward If we know His word and trust in it, hold on to it and speak it out, then we start to live a life of faith, founded in Jesus, who is “…the author and finisher of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2
We actually don’t need a huge amount of faith, it can be small “…like a mustard seed…” Matthew 17:20 The challenge is not to doubt. Matthew 14:31
“It is with your heart that you believe and justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10:10

In other words, You cannot just believe in your mind. You need to have faith in your heart and speak it out and then things will start to happen.
Start by getting to know the truth through his word. Fill your mind and heart with its reality and speak it out. Hold on to it. Don’t let go.
Then things are going to happen which you have longed and hoped for but never would have dreamed to see. It is an exciting and awesome journey! Come and join us and put your faith into action.

Photos:
A Garden of Climbs by Jason Miller http://www.flickr.com/photos/cptspock/2557842978/
South Coogee_NSW_4s by snappED_up http://www.flickr.com/photos/snapped_up/173533287/
Sail to the moon by gaab22 http://www.flickr.com/photos/snapped_up/173533287/
All released under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

Posted in Experience, Thoughts, compass | No Comments »

What Happened ?

May 7th, 2010

There has been a time in my life when I was pretty messed up. A lot of times I was depressed and even felt lonely and lost when I was among other people.
Then one night, I had a revelation, that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, that he loves me and that he wants me to follow him.
Although I still had a lot of problems I was generally happy and did spend a lot of time with the Lord. It all was a great and exciting adventure. Jesus had become the center of my universe.
Then one Thursday afternoon I found myself sitting in a church meeting thinking about a computer problem that I had at home. All the time I was looking at the clock and I was anxious to get home. I remember, realizing this and being shocked. Suddenly I was not interested in what was said anymore.
That night I went home very worried. What had happened?
There is a scripture in the book of Revelations that is talking about something similar:

Revelation 2.2-5
“ 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you have forsaken the love you had at first.
5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. …“

This is a letter to a whole church of loveless believers. The same thing had happened to them. There had been a shift in priorities. Jesus was not the center of their universe anymore. Now he was somewhere on the outside.
Of course this is not something that happens intentionally. It is the same as if we are in love with someone. Over time the first excitement and romance settles down and our daily worries and troubles take their toll.
The Lord Jesus describes this very well in the “Parable of the sower”

Matthew 1. 3 – 23
(…) 3 A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.’
(…) 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to people who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to people who hear the word and understand it. They produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.’

nice weather So here I was. My love for the Lord had grown cold and I was obviously not alone with this problem.
Timothy was a young pastor in the city of Ephesus in what is now Greece. He had come there with the apostle Paul and they had started a church. Paul had left after a while and Timothy stayed behind to be the pastor there.

In one of his letters to Timothy Paul writes:

2. Timothy 2. 3 – 7
3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
4 No-one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs; rather, they try to please their commanding officer.
5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.
6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Paul is encouraging Timothy to set his priorities right. To focus on the task at hand and to not be distracted or discouraged. Maybe he was getting distracted when he was there by himself. Too much work, too much opposition.
Many people think they can rekindle their love for Jesus by attending a Christian Conference or by going to Church more often. Some try listening to some Christian music on the radio. Some might read a Christian book.
Unfortunately this will not work. It will just give us some religious feelings.
It would be that same like if your marriage is in trouble. Your wife and you don’t talk to each other anymore and you both live your separate lives. Buying her flowers and taking her out to dinner only once will not fix it.

Following Jesus is not about religion but about relationship. There is not a huge list of “things that you have to do”. The scripture in Revelation gives the answer:
The first step is to remember what it was like when our love for Jesus was still new and the relationship was alive. How did it feel? What was I thinking? How did I tell others about it?
Then we need to repent. This is the only thing we need to do to get right with God. Jesus has died on the cross and He rose again from the dead to make this possible. We need to ask the Lord for his forgiveness and we have to do it in words. Not just thoughts. He loves to hear our voice.
Lastly, we do the things we did at first. This is different for each one of us.
Whatever made your relationship with Jesus special, it is time to do those things once again.
Maybe this is something we have to do over and over again. It does not matter. When we make Jesus the center of our universe again, He will take care of the rest. Our relationship to him will be renewed and our love for Him will grow stronger…

Photo Credits:
“Two trains took divergent paths…” http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/2387565844/
“in the words of George Formby—’’turned out nice again!!’’ http://www.flickr.com/photos/skitzitilby/2465625444/
“The Bonding – Father and son take a walk” http://www.flickr.com/photos/tweng/2130975956/

All released under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

Posted in Experience, LIFE Stories, Thoughts, compass | No Comments »

Generator Broken

February 23rd, 2010

Well, yesterday afternoon we have been very busy at Cream And Sugar. It was cool to meet so many new people and we really had a great time hanging out on the drag. The only bad thing was that our generator went out and we could not make any more coffee or hot cocoa. We do apologize.

Today we are working on getting the generator fixed. If all goes well we will be back at full swing on Wednesday.

Just to let you guys know, we got a lot of clothes available. A lot of t-shirts and pants. We are hoping the get more hoodies and sweaters since the colder weather persists.

We love you all and we hope to see you soon at Cream and Sugar.

Gerald

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Ocala Gathering 2009

March 5th, 2009

Howdy guys,

You might have seen the pictures of the Ocala Gathering which were uploaded a few days ago. I just wanted to share some of our experiences with you guys and let you know that we had a great time at the Regional Gathering in Florida.

We set up our Cream and Sugar Camp right next to Main Circle on a large clearance. This area was about 40 minutes away from the road and it was a lot of work to carry all our stuff from the car to our Camp but we made it. It was tough, but after setting up everything we really enjoyed having our Camp so close to all the people who had their tents out there. We were able to meet really nice people, had great conversations and of course a lot of fun. It was good having so many people over at our Camp and we were glad that we could help out with hot coffee, tea, cookies, ramen and oatmeal.

We also really enjoyed the scenery. Every morning when we got up to make the coffee ready, we had such a marvelous view on the lake, the woods and on a line of people who were already waiting for coffee! =)

This way we all had a good start for the day!

We are already preparing our stuff for the National Rainbow Gathering in New Mexico, so we hope to see you there and to spend time with you at the Cream and Sugar Camp!

Posted in Events, Experience, Thoughts | 1 Comment »

The Great Surprise

January 7th, 2009

Christmas 2008

I wanted to tell you a story about the greatest Christmas Present that I ever got. I remember it like it was yesterday and every year at Christmas time I have to think about it because every gift that I receive reminds me of that story.

Back then I was still a little kid, I must have been five or six years old. We were celebrating Christmas Eve at my parents house. All my Family was there and I we all had actually finished unwrapping our presents. As usual everybody was pretty content with what they got and the women chatting and preparing dinner and the men were playing with their new gadgets.
I was playing with whatever toys I had got and was happy as a clam.

Then the most amazing thing happened. My Dad was standing right next to a wardrobe that was standing in our living room and said: “Come have a look! It seems that there is another gift for you behind the wardrobe!” I could not believe my ears, so I went there to see what he was talking about. Really, behind the wardrobe was a rectangular box. Funny enough, it was NOT wrapped in giftwrap. So I carried the box so the middle of the room, where the light was better. I opened the box and could not believe what I saw. It was a toy gun! Not some plastic, cheap of the shelve toy gun. It appeared to be custom made and I have never seen one like it after that. The stock was made out of real wood and all the other parts were made out of metal. It looked real. It was for me. I remember taking that toy gun to bed with me that night.

I was not expecting such a gift. I had gotten a lot of things that Christmas and was already quite happy but after that surprise I was blown away. I had that toy gun for many years until it was so worn out that one could hardly recognise what it was.

Christmas is about surprises. And I believe that God wants to surprise you today. Maybe you don’t expect anything this Christmas. Maybe your family lives for away or you are not in touch with them at all. Maybe your happy just to make it through the holidays without getting depressed.
Back when Jesus was born we know the story of the shepherds in the field. They were tending to their flock, working hard just to make a living. They were poor, the slept outside. Everything was business as usual. They did not expect anything spectacular to happen. We know the rest of the story. Angels are appearing, they see heaven open, then they are told to go and see a new born king, the promised savior. They go, actually the find this baby king, born in a stable just like the angel told them. The fall to their knees and worship. I am sure that when the shepherds went back to their fields they had a hard time falling asleep. They must have been awestruck by what the have seen and maybe some of them were dreaming about this new king that would bring salvation to everybody.

God want’s to surprise us. No matter what our expectations are, he wants to overwhelm us with his goodness and love. At Cream And Sugar we want to make you feel welcome. We want you to experience that God is real and that He loves you more than you could imagine. He wants to reveal himself to you. If you get the chance, ask us for prayer. You might be surprised…

Gerald

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Road to Happyness

July 17th, 2008

I was born and raised in Switzerland in a small and pretty village. I have two brothers and two sisters. When I was a teenager my parents
had some major problems in their marriage. After some years of “fighting” they finally got divorced. For me it was a difficult time. I was in the middle of an apprenticeship and what I actually needed was support from my family and advice for the daily things I encountered in this new business world. But home was a chaos! I felt like everything was dark inside of me. It seemed to me like someone had taken away the foundation under my feet. My parents didn’t have much time for me and my siblings anymore. They kept us on a loose leash. I took advantage of my “new freedom”. I was going out every night, also because I couldn’t stand it at home. I soon started to have one boyfriend after another.
I drank alcohol and often was so drunk that I didn’t know what had happened the night before. I was smoking a lot and a couple of times I tried marihuana. But nothing and nobody could fill this vacuum in me. My life was like a downward spiral. It was not only because my parents got divorced but also because I didn’t think that my life would make any sense. I often was searching for God but somehow I never broke through to Him.
I felt that I was like a vase that was broken in a thousand of pieces and no one could help me fix it. From the outside no one could see
that I was so unhappy. After some time I started to suffer from bulimia. That was devastating for me because I couldn’t imagine living
like that. My biggest dream was always to get married and have a family. It all topped when I was moving together with my boyfriend in another city. After ten months I realized that our relationship was falling apart. I felt so desperate that I started to pray. I cried to God that
he would help me and that this relationship wouldn’t break apart. I couldn’t imagine to life without my boyfriend. God heard my cry and
helped me but in a different way than I had expected.
This relationship ended. In the same time I started to read the bible and I had a revelation of God. I suddenly realized that I am a sinner and that without the forgiveness of Jesus I would go directly to hell if I died.
So I bent my knees and I prayed… “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner and I am so sorry for it. I need your forgiveness. Please come in my life and be my Lord”. It was very important to me that Jesus would be the Lord of my life and not me anymore. With my inner eyes I saw two ways.
It was like a Y-junction; the old way and the new way with Jesus. I decided with all of my heart to go the way with Jesus and not to live ‘my way” anymore. Something happened then. I quit smoking from that moment on. I didn’t have any desire for it anymore! All my old lifestyle suddenly seemed so unattractive to me.
My whole life changed from one day to the other. For me it was clearer than crystal that I would follow Jesus for the rest of my life and that He has something better for me – a purpose for my life! Over the following years God was transforming my life and my heart. I got to know Jesus better when I started to join a church and became an active member.
Now I am a missionary in another country. I have the best husband and three super cute kids…AND…I really feel so complete and happy! If you feel empty inside, like I did, it is because you need Jesus. Ask Him to come into your life and follow HIM.

Sonja Liechti

Posted in LIFE Stories | 1 Comment »

Be a Realist – Belive in Miracles!

July 17th, 2008

Born in September 1949 in Germany, I was a typical postwar child. My parents were penniless, but all their love and care they focused on me.
However, there was one thing that utterly disturbed me, and that was their devoutness towards God and their mission to drag me to church and all kinds of Christian events.
As a teenager and young adult in the 50-ies I was totally bored by all that. The young people in our neighborhood played and listened to Rock ‘n’ Roll and Elvis Presley, threw parties and enjoyed the so-called wild life. All that attracted me a lot more than church. At the age of 14 I decided to turn my back on God, church and anything Christian.
As the world headed towards 1968, I found my place among the hippie community, became a flower power kid proclaiming sex, drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll to be the emphasis in life. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and others became my heroes and I surely didn’t miss any festival.
The more I followed my desires in life, the more I turned my back on the – from my point of view – bourgeois life of the average person in Germany. Christian religion was nothing I was considering at all.
Through smoking cannabis and absorbing LSD I gave access to TM, Indian mystics and the supernatural. All of these were everyday practices and experiences among me and my friends. Travelling became my favorite activity, and by dealing drugs it was quite handy to pay for it. For approx. 10 years all my life turned around these things. As time went by, the drugs my friends and I were consuming became stronger, some of my friends died, were arrested or taken into psychiatries. From time to time the police arrested me, too, and I found myself in prison. That was definitely not funny at all.
One day, all of a sudden, Jesus was the main topic on the scene of my home town. My friends started to read the bible in the discotheque and discussed things about God. One of the occult freaks we were hanging around with said, Jesus was an outstanding magician. I only thought that all this was horrible. This went on for two years, without having any effect on me.
My life went down the drain. One night, while we had another drug party in our commune, where I was high on drugs, I was finally ready to commit suicide. The spirits that I had invited into my life wouldn’t let go of me. In my desperation, realizing that I had hit the rock bottom of my life I cried out to God for help.
And the miracle happened! In the glimpse of a moment I literally got baptized in his love. His peace consumed me and I felt as if I was bathing in his light. I instantly knew: I will take no drugs any more and I will never be the same again. Irrespective of me, Irene, who was my girlfriend back then and is my wife today, had a similar experience with God. Because of this experience and the fascination drawing us to Jesus, we realized that he lives and that we are supposed to live, too.
Since then we have been on our way with Jesus together. We are travelling the whole world and are privileged to see thousands and thousands making the same wonderful experience as we.God is the God of miracles. He is not further away but one simple and humble prayer.
The cross of Calvary was no accident – it rather is the biggest event in all of history. Jesus, the Son of God, suffered and died for you. He has overcome the power of death, and now he lives and wants to reconcile you with the Father in heaven. He has awesome plans for your life. He wants to use you to make this earth a better place. And on top of all this, his precious gift to you is his eternal life dwelling in you.
Dare to invite him into your life and you’ll see miracles.If you want, please pray the following prayer and personally invite Jesus into your life:

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the truth, the path and the life all in one. The truth is that I have messed up my life. I ask forgiveness for all my wrongdoings, following my own paths, the hate I harbored in my heart, the many times I hurt myself and others. Thank you that you died for me. Thank you that the truth also is that you carried everything on the cross, and that I can be free! Lord Jesus, I want to step on and walk your path. I want to live the life that you have designed for me. Deliver me, heal me, forgive me. I am so grateful that you are standing there with your arms opened wide, waiting for me. And I am running into your loving arms. Amen!

I never regretted praying this simple prayer and I pray and trust that it will also bless you as you start a new life with Jesus!

Walter Heidenreich

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The Cream And Sugar Experience

March 27th, 2008

Have you ever been at Cream And Sugar ? Ever had a Hot And Spicy Ramen ? Ever chilled out and talked about the purpose of life ? How did you like it ?

Video: Hanging Out At Cream And Sugar

January 10th, 2008

A typical afternoon at the creamandsugar.org trailer. Check it out.

Thanks guys for letting us record this. You are great friends and we love you all.
You will find more videos on the video page.

Posted in Thoughts, video | 1 Comment »

2007 National Rainbow Gathering

July 25th, 2007

The 2007 annual Rainbow Gathering was held at the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas. Approximately 5000 to 10000 people from all across the United States gathered in the woods and joined the Rainbow Family for a couple of days.
Some came simply for partying, others came with an earnest desire to make a contribution to world peace. There was a impressive mixture of individuals of all kinds of races, languages and beliefs. A large contingent of law enforcement representatives was present too and they did a good job without any harassment to the participants of the Gathering.

On July 4th, people gathered in a big circle and prayed corporately for world peace. One could sense a great hunger for peace and love among these mostly young people.
Jesus said:”Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”.

We pray that this wonderful generation of young people would get to know the real source for peace and love and that they would meet the only one who is capable to make their dream come through: Peace on this earth!

His name is JESUS!

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »