In every season, we have a reason to praise. But it isn't always easy. In Hebrews 13:15, the writer talks about a sacrifice of praise.
In our own personal journey, praise has felt like a sacrifice when considering the weight of some of the things we were walking through this past year. But when we choose praise, the spirit of despair didn't feel so heavy and overwhelming. Sometimes, as we would listen to worship music, the tears would flow, as life just felt too heavy. But the Lord kept reminding us that He hears our cries and catches our tears, and is with us even when we can't see Him.
We made a daily decision to praise-even a moment-to-moment decision to praise.
In every season, there is a reason to praise. God's Word (Psalm 100:4–5) tells us that we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. If praise brings us closer to God, let us praise Him unashamedly and unabashedly, in every season.
And in this season at the end of the year, we are praising God for how he has provided for Indian Life Ministries in so many ways.
• In the last 12 months, 76,744 newspapers have been distributed across Canada and the United States!
• The paper goes to corrections institutions, half-way houses, child and family services, drug and alcohol treatment centers, pregnancy care centers, schools, businesses, reservations, libraries, colleges, churches, ministries, missionaries, inmates and individuals-basically, wherever people go, the newspaper goes.
• Over 12,000 copies of our new three-volume devotional, Council Fire, have been distributed!
• At the Native Youth Conference in Alberta, 100 youth stepped forward to invite the Lord into their lives!
• We moved into a new office with the blessing of a local church! We have welcomed two new people to make decisions for Christ!
• We believe in working together with other like-minded ministries, and so we are working with Family Life Canada and the Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and have hosted one Indigenous Couples' Getaway in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and are heading to Kamloops, British Columbia before the year's end to host another (this time, Todd and Krystal are teaching two of the six sessions, along with Gord and Beverly Mills!).
In 2025, in addition to continuing to print a quality, one-of-a-kind newspaper, we are excited to announce a few projects:
1. We are working on getting seven of our book titles made available in ebook formats.
2. We will work towards making Council Fire available as a podcast.
3. In January, we are hosting the Every Story Matters . . . Including Yours testimony conference, in Loon Lake, Sask.
Thank you for your encouragement, prayers and support of Indian Life Ministries. We are a faith-supported ministry and cannot operate without your prayers and generous financial contributions.
God has been good, and has provided for every need Indian Life has had. Please pray that we continue to follow the Lord's leading in ministry, we seek His blessing, and know we will be blessed as we continue to follow Him and as we continue to give Him praise in every season.
