MID-LIFE CRISIS OR MID-LIFE TUNE-UP

Most automobile manufacturers insist on major tune-ups often at the thirty, sixty and a hundred thousand, mile mark. Our bodies need tuning more frequently than these lengthy intervals and thanks to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that God makes this possible in a daily provision as we seek His face. In missions work, it is not that we would often eat a deadly thing but rather that we are exposed to variances of diet, water, weather and other variables that take their toll on our bodies. God likens our body to a temple of the Holy Spirit and what we put into our temple is just as important as what comes out of our temple in the form of verbage and action. In automotive terms,"You are a Ferrari" and God never intended that you fuel your tank with fish oil. God's optimum is high test, carefully refined, fuel and oil of the finest degree to make your motor run according to the manufacturers specifications and manual.

I am beginning to realize some of the Old Testament laws that God had put in place was not filler space of types and shadows, bridging us into the New Testament but rather by the inspiration and wisdom of God,all of what is written and said in the Word has merit for us in the 21st Century. On the mission field, sometimes "fish oil" is the only fuel available and I am presently undergoing a sixty-year tune-up. My filters have been changed, my spark plugs have been changed and I am coming home with a new vitality and vision for what God wants to do through Sara and I and Impact Ministries in the future. The treatments here in Perm, Russia have consistently brought my blood pressure down to 120/70 and my blood sugars have been returned to the normal range. I feel new strength in my legs and my heart doesn't seem to be stressed out, despite the very HOT TEMPERATURES and stair climbing we have been doing daily to our fourth floor of our apartment.

We attribute this most of all to the mercy of God's healing covenant, provided by the stripes of Calvary in Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank each of you who have affectively released that covenant and its efficatious application to our lives through your prayers. Sara has had several other health issues that God has addressed which we are also eternally grateful for. We thank God for each of you that covered us with your prayers, your giving and just being our friends. God is better to us than our feeble words can tell and we can indeed say with the "Psalmist" "That the lines of our life have fallen into pleasant places." Isaiah is right when he declares, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint."

Thank you for waiting with us and believing together for our heavenly tune-up. We are coming home July 26th, renewed in the Lord and the power of His might, due largely to your agreed participation and prayers. God bless each and everyone of you with health, healing and God's greatest happiness in your lives and family.

In Christ,

Richard & Sara Michalski
Impact Ministries
P.O. Box 2500
Redmond, WA. 98073-2500