![[CF Logo]](../gifs/def_logo.jpg) A Time of
Change
The Website Move
In February of this year, the only home the Christian Fellowship Devotionals
website had ever known went out of business. It was a time of great turmoil.
But even through the changes that were flying by, we could see the hand of
God. Please continue to pray for Jimmy (the administrator for Sagelink) and
his family. They are still going through a very difficult time.
A few months prior to the forced move, we obtained the domain name,
cfdevotionals.org and began to spread the word that this was the way
to find us. It turned out to be providential. It took us nine days to move
the website to its new home on Interland. But the domain moved with us. Once
we were ready for service and the NIC moved the domain's address, people
could find us the same way all over again.
Our new web host is Internland - based in the Atlanta area. We have had no
problems at all getting settled into our new space. Where Sagelink provided
us with one T-1 line (1.54 Mb/sec), Interland provides two T-3s (45 Mb/sec)
and six T-1 lines. The pages should come to you even faster than before.
We have made significant efforts to let everyone know we have moved. If you
find an old Sagelink link out there, please let us know. We'd like to fix
any stragglers.
We thank you for your patience during our absence and Jesus for His provision
during this time.
Coming Mailing List Changes
When we inherited the mailing list from Angela in April of 1996, the mailing
list was about 80 names. We thought we were pretty busy keeping the list
up to date and making sure the people who did the mailings had all those
names. In the last three years, the Lord has blessed us with over 1,100
subscribers to these daily devotionals. As if that were not enough to do,
we added a Prayer Warriors mailing list too! Managing the mailing list with
all the welcome letters, questions, corrections and deletions has become
a full-time task. Six months ago, we recognized the need to automate the
handling of the mailing list. I started working on setting up an Internet
tool called Majordomo. We had it working and tested when Sagelink
notified us that they were going out of business. Providentialy, God kept
us from putting all our eggs in that basket that went poof.
There are several Internet-based services out there that will service a mailing
list. But we have a few criteria that not everyone requires. We promised
from the beginning to keep your mailing address private. So, we had to find
a service that would honor that promise too. We found eGroups.com.
The location for the new lists is in place and setup to provide maximum privacy
to our mailing list members. No one who is even a member of the subscription
list can view the list. We're putting together a list of basic instructions
in preparation for the cutover, especially for our AOL subscribers who may
have Mail Control settings to change. We hope to be cut over to the new service
by the first week of May. Look for the letter which should be coming very
soon.
We Pray This Never Changes
Several members pray daily for this ministry. For this we have very grateful.
Only with God's help will we stay on track. We are just frail human beings
ourselves, prone to error and stumbling like anyone else. But with God all
things are possible. And it is He who empowers us to continue walking onward.
![[Dove]](../gifs/dove_3.gif)
Growth
Since our relocation, we have seen a great deal of growth in traffic to the
website for which we praise the Lord. We're here to serve, and we can't serve
anyone if nobody comes to read. We have some wonderful Christian Index sites
that have provided us with support in an on-going role. The include
Peggies Place,
Net Ministries,
CyberGrace,
The Best Christian Links, the
Christian Interactive Network,
GospelCom,
Cross Search and
The Best of the Christian Web. Without
the cooperation that has been afforded to us from within the Christian community
on the Internet, we would be writing to ourselves. As God has blessed these
excellent ministries, He has allowed their blessing to spill over on to us.
If you have a minute, please write the webmasters of these fine organizations
and thank them for their support of this ministry.
Special
Thanks
Stunning New Graphics
Iona Hoeppner of IonaNet has done it yet again. Iona does the graphical work
for the National Day of Prayer website, a few Net-based magazines and for
IonaNet of course. She has taken an interest in our little corner of Cyberspace
as well. Everything she has done for us has been a blessing beyond our now
very high, expectations. You can now look forward to a new graphical theme
every month. There are still a few tricks that have not yet been implemented.
But with all the other stuff going on here, there had to be a few priority
decisions made. Getting things functional again was priority #1.
When we started this adventure, we had a black and white, two-dimensional
CF logo created with a word processing package. It was what we could do.
When we asked about getting an appropriate logo for our link to the National
Day of Prayer website, Iona responded with several NDP logos to choose from
and a selection of four variations on our home page masthead. It was totally
unexpected and so well done. There was no skimping, even when it was a thank
you gift to a little website in the middle of nowhere. Her work has always
been of the highest quality. She comes with our highest recommendation if
you need graphics work done. Please let her know the Christian Fellowship
Devotionals recommended her to you. Thanks.
![[email]](../gifs/envolope.jpg) Email Iona.
![[Praying Hands]](../gifs/prayhnd2.jpg) Prayer Warriors Wanted
This is not for everyone, but if you have a heart and a gift for
persistent prayer, or the desire to become so - we might have a job
for you. Every day we receive prayer requests from members and their friends
who are going through difficulties from needing a place to live to
life-threatening illnesses. Their requests are forwarded to a mailing list
of prayer warriors. Unless otherwise specified, the request remains private
to the group.
We we do receive a request with the desire to have it go as far and wide
as possible, we have our prayer site.
CF Prayer Page
contains prayer requests and has a separate page for requests that are marked
urgent. Rick's (Liv4Yeshua) wife Sandy is doing the daily updates to the
page. Her service to the Lord in this capacity is appreciated.
What started as a few items a month has become a full-time ministry. Jan
is doing the initial sifting and sorting of these requests with help from
Jennifer. Jan is also maintaining the prayer warriors list. But the real
work is in the trenches by Christians who have the time and the perseverance
to spend time on their knees in prayer.
![[Cross]](../gifs/cross1-t.gif) Series News
The Virtuous Woman Series is completed! Sandi has been busy writing
this series for several months now. Insights into this woman of Proverbs
chapter 31 can give women and men insights into what is important in our
lives: character, reputation and wise use of time and resources, etc. This
has been a very interesting set of devotionals. Sandi normally does substitute
work for CF Devotionals.
Tim has finished the Contentment Series since the last newsletter.
It is an excellent series that speaks to the causes of turmoil in our lives,
and where and how to search for contentment - in Jesus Christ of course.
But there's more. Tim is now in the middle of the Holy Alphabet Series
based on the writings of Rober Port. It is an interesting weekly bit for
subscribers. Pray for Tim as he continues in finishing his studies at Westminster
Theological Seminary.
For a complete listing of Christian Fellowship Devotionals Devotional Series,
check our Series Page.
![[flame]](../gifs/flame.gif) In
Closing...
As ever, you who read are why we are here. If you have a question or comment,
please don't hesitate to send us a note. We do try to answer anything sent
to us as quickly as we possibly can. Sometimes we get busy with life, but
we will get back to you. If you have an idea for a topic, we'd be happy to
consider it, too. Prayer requests are welcome, too. We do send out requests
to the group at the request of a member in need of prayer.
Welcome to all the newcomers! We're glad to be able to send these offerings
to you each day. Please know that your email address is completely confidential.
We do not divulge the contents of our mailing list to anyone.
The devotional site recently pass 23,000 hits since December 1996. God has
blessed us immensely, beyond our expectations. Our desire is to maintain
things as simply as possible, and reach as far as we can in the process.
Our prayers go out for you as we all begin this new year. There will be ups
and downs of all sorts, but as long as we walk with Jesus, we are never alone
to face what this life doles out.
Peace to you and yours,
The Webservants of The Christian Fellowship Devotionals
April 24, 1999 |
