IF SARAH GOT PAID IN DOLLARS FOR BEING A MOM AT HOME SHE WOULD MAKE $138,095

Survey: 10 jobs moms work would bring in $138,095 a year
Check out this article at http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/02/mothers.worth/index.html

I LOVE MY WIFE-thank you Sarah for all you do! YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN $138,000--THANK YOU FOR INVESTING IN OUR CHILDREN!

Happy 3rd Birthday Elijah!

Elijah Turned 3 years old today! We went to Chuck E. Cheese, opened gifts and then went to the mall to play at the indoor playground!

Elijah is an incredible little guy! How thankful Sarah and I are to be his parents!

Happy 9th Birthday Hannah!

My oldest turned 9 years old today! She's getting older and I am getting old. It seems just like yesterday that we had her at the hospital in OKC.

For her birthday, she wanted to go to the mall, so we went to Build a Bear, the Disney Store and then she went shopping using her birthday money.

She then chose to eat at a Chinese restaurant in the mall. Grandma and Grandpa came over along with Uncle Scott and Aunt Amy!

It was a great day!

A Tribute to Families with Kids and Minivans

This is a tribute to all the moms and dads who have minivans!

Wooden Spoon Prank

This is hilarious!

Happy Easter!

These are words penned by my friend, Brent Higgins. You can check out more of his website at www.prayforbj.com. Brent's son, BJ, contracted a deadly disease while in Peru. I for some reason am drawn to BJ's life and Brent's writings. They seem to challenge me and stretch me. If you ever get to meet Brent, you will see Jesus in Him.

If Jesus was about to be crucified today, I fear many of us would be in the crowd shouting our approval to do away with the One we claim as Savior. We are so fluid in a crowd, and so inflexible before God.
We ascend to lofty positions in the church (in our own eyes) and refuse to bend our knees in private. The attitude many of us convey is one of "Jesus is my Lord as long as it serves my purposes."
When was the last time that we really studied the Bible? I don't mean read it, I mean study it verse by verse? Are we changed when we do or do we get up from studying and walk back into the same foolishness? Do we assimilate it like a college student cramming for a final only to forget it as soon as the test is over? Does it reverberate through our lives? Does our countenance reflect the Purity and Presence of Christ or the burdened heart of a beaten down believer?
We are celebrating Easter! The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead RESIDES in your heart!!! The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the same Spirit that is within you! There is so much POWER in this. Not your power but His. What is He accomplishing in our lives if we are overbooked, overbusy and underbelieving?He resurrected our lives that we would walk in His power! Are we? Or are we trudging through, reflecting a life no one would want?If His Holy Spirit is in you, then yield your unbelief, your achievements, and your personal goals. Allow Him to align your will with His. Walk in the power of Christ in you! You can do it...by His will, not by yours.

By His Stripes We are Healed! Praise the LORD!

Paul Washer - Shocking Message (full length)

A timely message for the church--shocking, yet truthful!

I LOVE my WIFE!

As I spent time praying for my family tonight, I realized that I am the most blessed husband and dad in the world.

My wife Sarah is the highlight of my life. I am always amazed by her. She probably doesn't realize this, but I watch her...I don't watch her to catch her doing anything, but simply watch her because I wish I was more like her. Her desire for God is such an example to me and this reflects in everything she does...the way she ministers to our kids, the way she handles herself, the way she puts everything into His perspective.

There have been many times when I come home from work after a grueling day and she always has the right thing to say to remind me who is in control--God. I know I do not do enough to appreciate her, but I am trying--trying to love her as Christ loved the church....boy do I have a way to go!

We've been married for almost 12 years, but it really doesn't seem that long. Yesterday, we celebrated our dating anniversary. We have known each other for 13 years! Our first date was to a Ricky Skaggs concert and Interurban--yes I said Ricky Skaggs and yes, we were the youngest people there!

Right now, Sarah is sleeping--she has been sick with cold and stomach stuff it seems since the beginning of January. She really is the most beautiful woman in the world. I am so thankful that I have someone like her--to know that our kids are safe secure under her care.

You may not know this, but Sarah homeschool's our children. She teaches Hannah who is in 3rd grade, Noah who is in 1st grade, and Grace who is in Pre-K. Elijah is into everything. People think homeschooling is not grueling, but my wife puts her heart into teaching our kids. The main reason we chose homeschooling is because we believe God gave us children to teach them and to raise them responsibly rather than allowing someone else. Why have kids and then allow someone else who doesn't have the same values raise your kids?...it doesn't make sense. (I'm done with my soapbox.)

I am blessed!

New Orleans/Nicaragua Mission Trip

On March 17-23, I will be leading our students and adults on a mission trip to New Orleans. We will be working alongside Celebration Baptist Church in their relief efforts. We are taking 38 students and adults. Please be in prayer for us!

I will be heading to Nicaragua, May 5-12 to share the love of Christ with them. We will be going to the village of Nueva Jerusalem, a village of about 4,000 people. I will be helping to lead the sports camp for teenagers. If you would like to support me going, you can send your donation to Ridgeway Baptist Church 7785 S. Hwy 97, Sapulpa, OK 74066. On the memo line, please write in my name: Mike Lehew, Nicaragua Mission Trip.

How Real Is Your FAITH?

A quote from a friend of mine, TJ, youth pastor at Erin Springs Baptist Church
Do you really believe what you say you believe? Do you really trust in Who you say you trust in? The reason I ask is because I see people all but kill themselves for other things like sports, band, school, work at home, or even gaming systems (I am not saying that these things are bad), even drop EVERYTHING else for one of these things but church "must and has" to take a back seat? I just wonder is "church" for some just a social and emotion experience to help them feel better and simply make them feel apart of something? Do we really have God on the mind on our way to church or some other person or activity? How REAL is your faith?!?!?!

Merry Christmas!
We hope everyone had a great Christmas! We had a great day....we started with breakfast, read the Christmas story together, opened gifts and then went over to Memaw and Papaw's for lunch!

"Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited his people and redeemed them.
(Luke 1:68)

Happy 33rd Birthday Sarah!

SNOW DAY!!!

Today I got to stay home with the kids! I made a Wal-Mart run early this morning to get much needed groceries, got a sled at the local Ace, and stayed home the rest of the day having a great day with the kids. These pictures are of us playing outside and the kids decorated cookies we made today. (The second to last picture looks like the van just ran me over, but I was absolutely tired after pulling the kids around on the sled.)

Happy 83rd Birthday Jim!

This is Jim, Hannah and Grace making a funny face at Jim's birthday Party at Incredible Pizza! Jim and mom also just celebrated their 9th wedding anniversary!

National Youth Workers Convention in Austin

Sarah and I just returned tonight from the National Youth Workers Convention in Austin! It was absolutely incredible! This is by far the best training for youth workers even though it can be pricey...it is well worth the cost. Check out www.youthspecialties.com. I'm going to post something short for now, but will post more later, but here's the greatest things I got from it:
1. Spending time with my wonderful wife Sarah
It's not very often that we get to go somewhere by ourselves. For us to be able to spend Thursday through Monday together was wonderful for our marriage and our ministry! I am so blessed to have a partner in life and in ministry. Our last night in Austin we walked to the Texas State Capitol and had a relaxing walk!
2. Getting away from the hecticness of ministry.
Stepping back and getting training was so refreshing. So many times as youth workers we are in the trenches and it's hard to see the whole picture, but this weekend I had a chance to seriously evaluate our ministry, where we are heading, and some things that need to change.
3. Training
I've been in ministry for 13 years, but training is always key to keep up to date with what's happening in our society and with teens. I am so thankful for our church to let me go to this conference. I would love to see other youth workers from our church go next year.
This is just a little taste of what we experienced. As I sort through what God wants us to do, I will post more later!

My Soccer Chick
Here's my oldest, Hannah, before her first soccer game! She did great! She was a little nervous, but for her first ever game in any sport she did very well! It was a little nerve racking as a dad, but my desire is that she just has a great time playing.

Way to Go Hannah!

More Pictures of Our Father/Son Trip
Upper Left Picture: Riding the sheep at the rodeo
Upper Right Picture: Steve, Tammy, Brayden, and Kayden
Lower Left Picture: Noah freezing---it was 53 degrees--too cold!
Lower Right Picture: My dad's burial marker....my dad passed away in 1994...I sure miss him!

1st Annual Father/Son Road Trip
Noah and I ventured on our first ever Father/Son Road trip. Elijah will join us next year. We went to Cal Farley's Boys Ranch for the annual rodeo and reunion as well as to visit my brother in Guymon.
Upper Left Picture: My brother, Steve, and I in Guymon. Steve is an elementary music teacher in Guymon. It was great to see him, Tammy, Brayden, and Kayden.
Upper Right Picture: A picture with Noah and a statue of Cal Farley. We went to Cal Farley's Boys Ranch, my alma mater, for the rodeo and reunion.
Bottom Left Picture: Noah at the Texas state line as we entered Texas from Oklahoma on the first day of our trip
Bottom Right Picture: Driving from Guymon to Tulsa, there is a stretch with wonderful scenery(if you can believe that), so here is Noah striking a pose.

My Broken Testimony

For much of the last three years, I have been in a fog—my heart, my mind and everything else. I continued to do life, but there seemed to be something not right. I felt as if there was something holding back my own walk with Christ and my ministry to our students, but I could not figure it out. I always tried to blame circumstances beyond my control on why things were going better and we weren’t seeing tons of students saved. I blamed the circumstances on everything from our church’s past to my pastor to our students. I kept trying to come up with new things within our youth ministry to try to get our ministry out of this rut.
Back in May, one of the teachers from our Christian school handed me a book by Nancy Leigh Demoss called Brokenness—The Heart God Revives. Up to this point I had also been praying for revival not so much for me but for our students and our church. When the teacher handed me the book, my initial thoughts were, “Oh, great..another book to read—I’ve got plenty to read.” I hesitantly took the book planning on it to just lay on my bookshelf.
The next week we went on a Pastor’s retreat and I decided to take the book, Brokenness. As I read it along with the Scripture, an overwhelming conviction consumed me. I realized that pride was my downfall. Pride took over my life, my ministry, and my whole being. I was so consumed with pride that I didn’t realized it was me that was causing the sin and all of the problems. I was a hypocrite much like the Pharisees:
“Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you saying: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me.” (Matthew 15:7-9)
For the better part of three years, I was drawing near to God with my mouth, but my heart was as hard as a rock. For the better part of three years, I was trying to figure out the next best thing to get our student ministry moving and myself moving, but the whole time it wasn’t what we were doing, but it came down to who I had become—prideful and arrogant. I took pride in the fact that I had been doing youth ministry for 13 years and I knew all of the answers and there wasn’t anything “new under the sun”. I took pride in my own abilities and had an attitude as better than thou. This pride quickly spread bitterness in my heart and I found myself blaming others.
God finally crushed me on a Wednesday morning as I was doing my quiet time. As I was praying, God laid on my heart that there was a couple with whom I needed to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. I knew for the past year that this was what God wanted me to do, but I ignored God and disobeyed him because of the condition of my heart. God told me to do it that day, so I went by their house in the afternoon but no one was there. After our youth worship I took kids home and was driving by their house around 10 p.m. and noticed the headlights were on which was my opportunity to go by and talk to them. I kind of surprised the gentleman, but I told him, “God told me this morning to come by and talk to you!” So, for the next hour we talked and I asked them for forgiveness. They are truly an incredible couple whom I love and respect, but I hurt them because of the pride in my life. What a weight was lifted off of my shoulder!
I truly believe because of my pride I held back my own walk with Christ, our youth ministry, and church. I believe we did not see the hand of God move because of me. I was the Achan in the midst of the camp, but I tried to blame the condition of our youth ministry on other people and circumstances.
Because of what God did in my life, I felt impressed to pray incredibly hard for our student ministry-that God just has he did for me—that he would break our students and youth workers. A churchwide movement of prayer took place from June through July praying that God would bring brokenness. I had our youth workers read the brokenness book before we went to camp for a couple of reasons. The first reason was for them to get an idea of what brokenness is and for us to pray in that direction. The second reason was for our youth workers to become broken. I believe our students would have never experienced revival if we as adults wouldn’t have taken the first step. I applaud our youth workers for being open and willing for God to examine them.
All that I can say during the week of camp is—WOW! Sixteen students came to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior! We challenged the kids on Monday night to examine their hearts by using an illustration. All of our hearts are in one of these conditions: hard clay, silly putty, or moldable clay. I took the hard clay and asked the students to try to shape it, but they couldn’t. Many of our students had hard, angry hearts. I then took the silly putty and described silly putty hearts as hearts who think this whole Christianity/church thing is just a big joke. There is no seriousness to a relationship with Christ and the tendency is to come not for Christ but for their own selfishness. The silly putty sure looked like moldable clay, but it was a cheap imitation and it wasn’t the real thing. I then took the moldable clay and had one of the students shape it. It was very easy to shape and I told them, “This is what our hearts should look like.” Throughout the week we brought that illustration up and the students evaluated their heart condition. Through the quiet times, the amphitheater experience, our in cabin Bible studies and devotions, and even the recreation, God moved in the hearts of our students. It seemed like every time I turned around, one of our adults was introducing a new brother or sister in Christ OR a student was returning to Christ. WOW!
I have never been as emotionally and spiritually stirred as that week. When I say emotionally, I do not mean it was all emotion based commitments. I’ve seen that almost every year at camp, but this year was different. I could really sense a Christ changed life! I saw Christ change angry students. I saw Christ change hard hearted students. I saw Christ change silly putty students. I saw God use moldable students to minister to other students!
Another God thing was that when we went to YEC, the theme was brokenness! As one of our student theologians, Jake, said, “There’s no such thing as a coincidence…God always has a purpose for everything.”
We continue to see God’s hand move by students being spiritually sensitive and praying for God to continue to do great things. They are more motivated than in years past to see their friends come to know Christ! What a blessing.
I do not say all of this to say that I am the one that caused the revival to happen. I am saying that it was because of me that revival did not happen. The sin of arrogance and pride grieved God so much that we didn’t see revival. I guess I say all of this to encourage you to look first at your own heart condition. I know we teach this all the time, but honestly as youth pastors, pastors, etc., it’s true. We may be the one’s causing the problems because of our heart condition.
With all of this, am I saying that I am out of the woods and everything is great? Yes and no. Yes, life is good as I try to yield my life to Christ on a daily basis, but pride is and had been my biggest downfall and I have to continually almost on a minute by minute basis guard my heart and mind from pride, envy, and jealousy. God presently is teaching me to surrender my all to him. That is so easy to sing, but it’s another thing to live and He is challenging me with this!
My desire through this testimony is that you would examine your own heart…that you would test yourself for any pride or arrogance. It’s easy to do especially in ministry. My utmost desire is that God gets all of the credit--that He be made famous through this!
I would be encouraged to hear your broken testimony.

The high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this: "I live in that high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts. (Isa 57:15)

You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them. If I brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it. (Psa 51:16)The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psa 51:17)


Email: mike.lehew@ridgewaybaptist.com

Why Haven't I Updated???? LIFE

It's been crazily hectic. Three letters describe my summer....WOW! I am amazed at what God has done in my own life and in the lives of our students. After vacation, I hope to share with you specifically how He has restored my joy and my walk. Until then, have a great week!