Destination: 2014 Kentucky Bike Rally, Sturgis, KY

Head Out on the Highway
On July 16, Bill and I packed up our camping gear, loaded up the motorcycles, and rode to the Union County Fairgrounds in Sturgis, Kentucky. The Kentucky Bike Rally attendees include bikers from Wisconsin, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri.  The Kentucky Christian Motorcyclists Association's (CMA) State Coordinator and his wife, James and Linda Collins, work with the event sponsor closely. CMA members work at the gates of the event, set up a hospitality tent within the rally, and provide prayer.

God is amazing.
James shared with us that he did not have enough workers to cover the gates this year. Then, he received the email from Bill and I telling him we had bought our armbands and would be arriving on Wednesday, July 16. Another, unexpected, CMA couple arrived and worked two gate shifts. Problem solved. Pray and give God room to work. He will provide.

8 A.M. at the Cemetery Gate

Salvation and Prayer
Three salvations occurred during the rally! Love it when the Lord works in the hearts of his children and leads them  back to Him. We, Bill and I, were able to provide prayer, a listening ear, and information about motorcycle ministry to several folks. Throughout the rally we kept hearing CMA members say, "Man, hearts are receptive to hear the Word this weekend." Made me smile to hear this because I knew our church family prayer warriors were providing prayer coverage. Other church family prayer warriors were too. Prayer is Powerful!

Foreground: Our tent
Background: our neighbors

The Spiritual Battle
Those of us serving the Lord at the rally were praying continually for the participants and ourselves. We needed our Lord to shield us, his servants, from the flaming darts of  The Enemy. It saddens me to see God's children following the prince of this world. The Enemy takes such delight in leading them downward on a gently sloping path that will eventually end in a pit of misery, emotional bankruptcy, and loss of hope. Been there.

The Pit Bottom
I know what lies at the bottom of the pit. Emotional pain and a spiritual vacuum inside your body where Jesus is supposed to be. A hole in your soul. Nothing you feed your spirit with will kill the pain anymore. Not drugs, not alcohol, not shopping, not food, not your partner, not gambling, not...not...not. I know. I was there.

My Past is My Strength
The Lord called me into rally ministry because of my past; the Before Jesus Sallee. My past is now my greatest strength in working for the Lord.  My outreach tool is my past. How I escaped the pit with Jesus Christ. How the Lord heals me, helps me, and makes me whole. All of this enables me to help my sisters climb out of their own pits. Today, my greatest joy is in serving Jesus Christ.

Bill and Sallee - Kentucky Bound

#Godisamazing  #ministry  #powerofprayer

Christian Motorcyclists Association Outreach At Lake of the Ozarks Bike Week

Bill and I arrived at the Harley shop (Lake of the Ozarks Harley-Davidson) around eleven thirty. We parked in the rear lot because it was close to vendors row and the hospitality tent. However, the front and side parking lots were already full of bikes, so that was the only place to park anyway. After parking our bikes and unloading the chairs, we walked to the hospitality tent pictured below. We relieved another couple who manned the tent from nine til we arrived. I was a little surprised at how many people walked up and asked about the items on the table. When they found out everything was free, another item or two left the table. 

 Outreach to the bikers in vendors row
All items on the table are free
Pictured left to right - Kelly N. and Andy N. with a visitor

 

Some of the items we give away are motorcycle themed bibles - Hope for the Highway, coins with a Christian Motorcyclists Association phone number on it, and rag tracts. Kelly and I folded fifty Ragg tracts and about fifteen were left when I took this picture. Ragg tracts are shop towels with a paper tract folded inside. I tell people that the towel will help clean up messes on their bike and the tract will help them clean up messes in their life. Curiosity will usually cause people to pick one up. Many
Bill and I packed up our chairs, fired up our bikes, and rode out of the Harley dealership parking lot around three-thirty. We are truly blessed to be riding disciples for our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 If you would like to find out more about Christian Motorcyclists Association, visit www.cmausa.org

9/11, Washington D.C. and Motorcyclists

Last night I watched YouTube videos showing the hundreds of bikers streaming toward Washington D.C. Then, I read some of the many articles covering this event and the misinformation that has been dominant with this effort. My motorcycle is in the garage, but I am with my brothers and sisters on the road in heart and mind. Prayers are being lifted to the Lord to protect the riders, their machines, the event, and our country. I still remember the day the Twin Towers fell.

I was at work in Belle,MO at the elementary school when the Twin Towers fell. The principal came around and notified the staff quietly that something had happened on the East Coast and no one was sure what was happening. Then, parents started arriving and checking their children out of school. About a quarter of the students were gone in less than an hour. TV sets were connected to the Internet in classrooms and everyone watched the Twin Towers fall and the crash of the commercial airliner that had been headed for the Pentagon. Little learning happened that morning, but everyone knew that a monumental event had happened in the United States of America.

For the next two or three days, the USA was welded into a single unit. Color, class, and race was forgotten as the population of the USA came together and merged in heart and mind. Slowly though, this merging of the citizens fell apart. Local, state, and federal government contributed to this. Instead of bonding the way the population had, politicians continued to argue and then pass laws that changed the inherent freedom of America. The people dissolved back into factions of culture, race, sexual orientation, and the stew of other issues. The "sleeping giant" faded away.

Please pray for the patriotic motorcyclists who are riding and standing in the capitol city as a gesture of unitedness. Pray for the unity that this country experienced for a few short weeks to return. This unity of purpose is what won World War Two. The "Silent Majority" is vocal and visible today. The bikers who are in the national capitol today are part of the "Silent Majority" who have become convinced we need to show unity and give honor to the victims of the horrific events which took place on September 11.

Sunday Morning at a Bike Rally

5:30 A.M.
Morning is such a peaceful time at a motorcycle rally. A few early bird riders fire up their bikes for a port a potty visit or to beat the morning shower crowd. The birds are chirping a cheerful morning song above the soft snoring accompaniment of sleeping bikers. What a contrast to eight hours ago.

9:30 P.M.
Running motorcycle motors blend with the thumping bass of the rock band and blend into wave after wave of sound. Others sounds are the squeals of women, cheers of men, and the blaring emcee announcing another anatomy based contest. A stream of bike headlights form a single, bouncing strand of light; the stage is an island of glowing light amid the surrounding darkness; and twinkling or glowing lights adorn a variety of vehicles and people to add excitement and allure to the evening.

The contrast is vivid. As a saved follower of Jesus,  I see the contrast as the difference between the darkness of sin and the light of Jesus Christ. The darkness of 9:30 P.M. used to be my life and it makes me sad to see the frantic activities of people who are having "a good time". My good time activities were because I had an emptiness inside me that just wouldn't go away. I filled this empty place with things that made me feel good. However, the pleasure of my activities was temporary. In the darkness of late night and early morning -  I was alone.

That empty place is where God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit belong. Man needs to be in a relationship with God and when man is not; an emptiness is felt that just won't go away. Contentment is short-term. I remember when I was filled with the Holy Spirit. It felt like a glowing ball of happiness formed within my chest and expanded until I just couldn't contain the feelings of joy, love, and happiness. The expanding light filled me, my eyes overflowed with tears of joy, because I knew I would never be alone again! My personal relationship with Jesus filled that empty hole with the wholeness of God.

Bill and I studied scripture for his Sunday morning sermon at the rally. Those verses all describe the call of Jesus as being in the light of life.

John 8:12
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

John 6:35
35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

Proverbs 4:18
18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day

Jesus is the answer and will satisfy all of our needs when we follow him.

Pray for the sinner who is having "a good time". Pray for those seeking carnal pleasures that are temporary and fleeting. Pray for the knowledge of salvation to reach the lost within the darkest corner of night. Pray without ceasing brothers and sisters. Guard yourselves with the Sword of the Spirit - God's Holy Word. Now you know why I am "A Joy Filled Woman".