What seed are you planting?

"But plant your hope with good seeds, Don't cover yourself with thistles and weeds." - Mumford and Sons.

I have been thinking about this line a lot lately, Here is what I have come up with.

Don't go about life aimlessly. Don't shoot for things that don't matter. you waste time and get covered in thistles and weeds.
Same is said about sin. Don't make exceptions for sin, it just gets bigger and out of control until it consumes you.

Plant your hope in Good seeds! Follow God, Strive through Him to accomplish His will. and in doing so you have a good harvest.

Ben

Things I am thankful for

1. Jesus. With out him I am nothing.
2. My family! I love you guys so much! You support me no matter what God has me doing even tough its not always easy.
3. BTEA. For giving me a place to serve God with every ounce of my being, and the great and mighty work you do spreading the Gospel.
4. House of Joe. all the fun people I have met.
5. church family. for all the encouragement and strong preaching.
6. friends! Some of you I have known for a long time, and some I have just met. But I love you all.
7. January! Because in this month I am returning to the Philippines! (14th-29th)

God Bless

Benji

:) Happy as all get out!

Well its Friday the 24Th! I leave for the Philippines tomorrow! I am excited for all God is going to do this summer. I am going to miss my family and friends a lot. But Gods got that in His Hands. I have had such a good week! All my friends from House of Joe have been praying with me and encouraging me so much ( Special shout out to Ted Travers)! You have been such an encouragement this past month. Wednesday My best friend Emily came down for a couple of days! We have have had so much fun! After work on Wednesday Matt, Courtney, Jason, Em and I went to go try to find sea turtles laying eggs! Knowing that we may not see any, We saw one before we even left the board walk!!!! We had such a good time and saw 6 turtles in all! Well today I am going to pack because I have been so busy the past couple of weeks that I have not done anything to pack lol.
I will write again but probably when I'm in the Philippines!
Love you guys and God bless

Its only Tuesday and my week is starting to get crazy! I wont go in to details but trust me its been crazy.
I have been listening to a CD called "Sights & Sounds" By Ryan Shelley a man and friend who comes into our Coffee shop and plays. One song is sticking out to me more then others today. Its called "By your Grace". It says
By your grace oh God, I am what I am. Just the first line made me stop and think WOW!
I may be having the craziest week but God's Grace is sufficient for me, I walked in Sin and darkness, and Jesus came to earth to die for my sins! And forgive me for all my wicked sin. Just that thought alone has my mind in Awe of Him, the Bible says in Romans 6:23

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So thankful for that Gift Jesus gave me!

Have a Blessed week
Ben

Pressing toward the Father!

Hey All,

I am getting ready to leave in 19 days for the Philippines to go serve Jesus for 5 weeks! I am so excited to return to a country where my heart is so intertwined.
This trip is going to be more intense then other trip I have been on, I am looking forward to the Challenge and fun of representing Jesus with all my heart.
Please pray for our team as work our tails off for Jesus!!! Pretty exciting stuff if you ask me! So much is fixing to unfold in my life here in Melbourne! God has my spirits so high right now! ( More about that later though)
Post more later!
Love you guys
Ben

Summer trip to Philippines

Hey Everyone!

I am preparing for my 5th trip to the Philippines to go share Christs love with thousands of filipino people. I will be there for 5 weeks ministering to people in Schools, bus stations, markets, airports, And anywhere else God leads us!

Please pray for the team as we go out and tell these people about Christ, And pray for the hearts of the people we minister too!

The Trip costs, 5,000 Dollars and I have bought my airline ticket but still owe 3,000$
This money goes towards buying fuel for jeeps, food, and places to stay for me and A Staff pastor to translate for us.

We plan on reaching 3,500 schools this summer this is a big task, But God does not limit Himself and is bigger then 3,500 schools.

I am asking that you partner with me in prayer and also pray about supporting my trip to go, I can tell you that you will not be disappointed to hear what your act of love did this summer when I return.

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation you can go to
www.btea.org on the left hand side of the page you will see short term missionaries click that and scroll down and enter the amount by my name.

God Bless!

Benjamin Pickett

Wow this year has gone by fast! I've been out of the country 3 times this year to put roofs on and minister to people in Haiti, and gone and Preached to thousands in the Philippines twice! God has been so good to me and let me do all these things for His glory.

I am almost done with the newsletter from my last trip to the Philippines in November and should be getting it sent before the end of the year! I look forward to partnering with you in the future for the sake of the Gospel.

There is a trip January 15th to the Philippines, I am not able to go but my friend Emily White is going. She will go for the two week trip and then head to south Mindanao to minister to the BTEA orphans for 4 more weeks. she needs to raise about 500 more dollars to be able to go. I ask that you pray for her as she goes out to share Gods love with these people. Please pray about supporting her financially, this trip reaches thousands of students with the Gospel and changes many lives.

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation go to www.btea.org on the left hand side click short term missionaries and then scroll down to her name and enter the amount.
Thanks and God bless as we go through the Christmas season!