September Beginnings

September 24, 2013Uncategorizedchurch, Kingdom SchoolChristine Hales

“Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.” 2Thessalonians 1

Kingdom School has begun, but not as we thought it would! So many changes – location changed to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Colonie, the meeting times have changed as we moved from being a GSSM Satellite school to a school that uses teachings from several on line sources but still attends Global Awakening conferences as often as possible .

We have found that the process is more important than the end result. Through all these changes we have grown in our relationships with the Christians and men and women of God in our area and are understanding more of what role we can play in Revival in the Hudson Valley and Albany Region. The key is to listen and pay attention to what God is blessing and move in that direction. That usually means giving up some ideas we’ve had and making room for new ones!

This seems like a good time to look back over what our ministry has accomplished over the past year and we wanted to share with you some of the highlights:

*Taking a team of 15 people to the Global Awakening Conferences in Pennsylvania 3 times last year was an incredible experience. Watching our students grow in maturity in Christ and gain from the experienced leadership of Randy Clark and others was exciting and gratifying.

*Graduation with over 100 people from this area attending and outstanding pastors from this area: Pastors Stan Slager, Jay Francis, Bart Henegan, Chuck Englefield, Don & Nancy Childs,Rev. Susan Baker Borjeson,Fr. Steve & Lorrie Hart, Fr. Tyler & Audrey Slade, and many others all attesting to the impact the school is having in our area.

* Philmont Community Spirit Day and The Healing service on the Village Green in Philmont were such fun ways to join together with the pastors and people of Philmont who love God and enjoy each others’ company.

*Running Kingdom School 2013-2014 – a unique ministry training program for people to mature in their faith and become equipped to carry the message of the Gospel into everyday life.

*I’ve also identified my painting calling more specifically and have spent the summer working on a portfolio of landscapes with which to approach commercial galleries – these can be seen at: www.christinehales.com. Also I took an egg tempera workshop with Koo Schadler and for my class project I am copying a Raphael portrait. It isn’t finished yet, but am including a photo of its present state, then next month you will hopefully see it completed. Egg tempera skills have improved dramatically and I’m ready to do some new icons!

My icon class teaching is increasing this year to include teaching an icon class at The Art Center of the Capital Region in Troy, NY. The Woodstock class this past summer was great and will probably offer that again this summer. My ongoing Albany icon class is forming an iconography guild: St. Luke’s Guild of Iconographers and we are having our first Guild exhibition this November at the Slate Museum in Granville, NY.

Michael has updated his photography portfolio and is increasing his client base and seeking an agent. His website is: www.Mickhales.com. I don’t know how he does everything, but he is passionate about our school, preparing the lessons and working with Carol MacNaughton on outreach opportunities. The school will be going to an inner city church in Baltimore in October to practice praying on the streets with Jay Baylor. Very exciting!

Our prayer requests for this month consist of prayers for new business for both of us, blessings on the students of Kingdom School, continued good health, and financial provision that we may grow and expand according to the vision God has placed within us.

“We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 1

Sending you our love, prayers, and thanks for your prayers,

Faithfully,

Michael and Christine

Philmont Healing Service

August 12, 2013UncategorizedChristine Hales

Hello Friends and Family:

Thank you all very much for your prayers. We had a blessed healing service, right at the same time a huge music festival was going on a mile away. Praying that God’s Holy Spirit blessed them too.

We were a small but mighty group, and our worship team did an amazing job of blessing us all. There were at least three healings and a least one couple came from the three nights Michael went knocking door to door in Philmont. The five Pastors of Philmont all worked together and everything was truly a gift from God. Bless you our great intercessors. Can’t do it without you! Next time we want more people!

Here are a few more photos and a thousand thanks for your prayers. Sending you love,

Christine and Michael

Works in Progress!

August 8, 2013Uncategorizedchurch, Global Awakening, Kingdom SchoolChristine Hales

Hello Friends and Family:

I hope this August finds you well – what great weather we are having! Michael and I have been praying for two things that will both be happening on Saturday, August 10 and we would like to ask you to pray for these events too!

First, At Coxsackie Gospel Community Church at 10AM we will hold an informational meeting about the GSSM Satellite Kingdom School to see how many people may be interested in attending this year. Registration deadline is August 22 so we need to know soon if we will have enough people to run the school again this year.

Please keep that in your prayers, that God will open the hearts of those He wantxs to attend and that they would come forward with papplications. If we don’t get enough people, we are fine with whatever God wants to do.

God has been blessing both of us in our professions this month, me with some significant painting sales and two excellent icon classes to teach, and Mick with some jobs and new clients. We know it is so important to always be seeking what God is doing and come into agreement with that, so please pray for us to see and hear Him clearly.

The second event on Saturday, August 10 is the Philmont Healing Service to be held on the Village Green at 4PM. THe meeting Michael has been hosting of the Philmont Pastors believed they heard from God to hold this healing service on this date. “Coincidentally” there will be a huge punk-rock festival with thousands of people drinking and all the rest and it just a couple of miles away and it will be in full swing on August 10. Yay God! Something is going on in the heavenlies and our little band of four ministers are going to lead a healing service that we pray will change the atmosphere of this village forever. We are praying that all the young and neglected families from Main street will come with their children. Our friend Brenda has made some of her amazing posters which we now have all over town. SO, wherever you are, please lift us up in prayer on Saturday, August 10. We re praying for healings, restored relationships, and a changed atmosphere – that the spirits of poverty, addiction, mockery, unbelief and alcoholism be gone, in Jesus’ name.

We will be posting the photos and news from Philmont Healing Service Day. Thank you for your prayers!

Love you all!

Michael and Christine

Fourth of July Weekend!

July 5, 2013UncategorizedChristine Hales, Global Awakening, Kingdom School, Mick HalesChristine Hales

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

Hot, beautiful, and and a four day weekend – yay! We’re working in the heat but also taking time to play at the Lake and go to the opening of the contemporary drawings in Kingston where I have a drawing on Sat eve. Looking forward to bringing God to the art world of Kingston, in abstract form! Good place to try it out, I say!

Fourth of July is a big deal in our home – my son was born on the Fourth of July, my grandfather on the 2 and my father and my son’s other grandfather on the 3rd of July. Michael and I are both on a “read the Bible through in a year” program and have just finished the Book of Numbers. It is so clear to us that we personally are on the verge of entering into God’s Promises for us as we step out into our fields of art and photography to be all that God has created us to be. As we read the story of Moses and the Israelites, there are so many lessons for us, to make sure we DO receive the Promises Go has for us. I am now inspired to create an icon of Joshua and Caleb! Such a good example for us to keep our minds fixed on the prize, not the problems!!!! I know you know what I mean!

Michael has a book proposal out that we are praying w ill come through, and some new clients this spring. Yay! His website: www.mickhales.com is receiving lots of international attention, too, praise God.

We both feel that we owe a great deal of our every and enthusiasm for achieving our unique destiny to our attending and then running a Global Awakening School. Words cannot express the many revelations we have received from the teachings and relationships we have formed are priceless. It is so worth all that we have paid to have that experience. We were stuck, before going to that school. We couldn’t figure out what to do to get unstuck. But the teachings and the school’s directors gradually gave us the insight and deeper connection with God that we needed to be able to see our lives and professions more clearly – through God’s eyes, not our own.

Michael Has created a beautiful video describing what our school does: Kingdom School PR.
The address is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xuy2Zw-yXpM

SO, our news for now is that we are spreading news of the School for a fall start in September. Michael is in the middle of plans to hold another Philmont Revival here in August but more when those plans are finalized. I’m going to put our flyer that Michael designed here in the hopes you will share it with those you think would be blessed by our school. Sending you all lots of love and prayers, and we look forward to hearing from you soon,

Christine and Michael

Philmont Community Spirit Day 2013

June 2, 2013UncategorizedChristine Hales

Hello friends and family, and students:

Thank you so much for your prayers for Philmont Spirit Day! We could feel the Presence of the Lord, and it has been a blessed experience from beginning to end. I know many of you have been praying so I wanted to send you some photos. We are believing there will be much fruit for the Kingdom in the years to come.

You’ve probably heard us tell you how God had put it on my hear to write an article for the local paper on Community Transformation Through Prayer. I did, and it was published, but there was no response until we were t VOP and we got a call from Brenda McAlphen, a life long Philmont resident, that she had read that article and she desperately needed someone to help her – would we help her hold a Revival in Philmont June 1!

God had clearly spoken to her to do this and she had already hired the town park. We were so happy to partner with her and God caused many more people to partner with Brenda too. Pastor John Miller brought a huge tent, cooking gear and helpers from his church to cook the free hot dogs and hamburgers Brenda was giving away. Calvary Assembly of God, Stottville, Pastors and church members helped with setting up and cleaning up, worship and praise singing , and following the photos is a list of those who donated money to buy the food.

Brenda felt God had put this on her heart because she remembers a time when children ran and played in Philmont, there were active churches, God was spoken about all the time and the atmosphere was one of Christian love.

Thank you so much for your prayers.

What has been amazing in this day of worship and praise for God in Philmont is the way God brought it all together. At first it seemed like nothing was going to happen, but we kept encouraging each other to be obedient. Brenda was amazing, going out to ask for donations.

Then, Michael and I had meetings in our home with all the pastors in Philmont to invite their participation. After that, Pastor John Miller blessed the day with so much, and Brenda had the young men from Teen Challenge some and they were awesome!

The Presence of the Lord was so beautiful all day – even in the intense heat, the

event was under a large roof and there was a sweet breeze flowing gently through all day. I know it was God’s angels activating the place.

For a village of 623 people-and probably 40 church goers at most, we had about 200 people come, get face painted, Carol and Nancy made balloon swords and animals – very popular -Wayne and Kerri helped them and also activated little kids with the bubbles and bubble wands we brought, and free hot dogs and hamburgers. I gave out prophetic Scriptures, read them over people. One young man after I read a portion of Psalm 91 over him and prophesied that God has His protection all around him, pointed to his tattoo saying he was a firefighter! He was beaming as he put the Psalm in his pocket.

I would say that very few of the “church” people came, but the poor, the tattoo filled young people, and Teen Challenge people were in abundance. Praise God. Our booth had a banner proclaiming the Kingdom School logo and the words “Destiny Refreshment” .
Here is a list of those Philmont people Brenda McAlphen and all of us would like to thank:

Price Chopper

Shop Rite

Sharper Image

Gabriel”s

Skip Speed

John Campeta

Rick and Linda Howland

George & Pat Palmatier

Tom & Sharon Fink Atmost

Dr. Baillargeon

Ginsbergs Foods

Claverack Market

Stewarts

Hannafords Supermarket

Canteles

Mellenville Fire Co.

Bill Williams

Sheriff Operation Child

Ice House

Aviator

We Praise and thank God for ALL He is doing in Philmont!! More, Lord.

Shaking It Up!

May 29, 2013UncategorizedchurchChristine Hales

Does it seem to you that God is doing a lot of shaking of things these days? The ups and downs of living every day in world where the weather has gone off the charts, the news is hard to listen to, and the internal chatter is often not exactly helpful. “Pray without ceasing”, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, seems to be my refuge. When I pray in the middle of negative thoughts, I literally experience a shift in my world. It’s so exciting. It feels like we are entering a new time of promise and excitement as we hold on to our dreams and move forward in spite of obstacles.

We began May with the Graduation of the GSSM Kingdom Satellite School students. What a day! We had over 100 visitors, and all remarked on feeling the Presence of God when they walked in to our worship. What an honor to steward these students through this last school year and watch them become transformed through this amazing program that releases God’s love in ever greater degrees. Such powerful testimonies. Pastor Jay Francis of Rock Road Chapel, Berne, NY, gave a great commencement address on Revival and its cost, and the students offered prophetic words to the first 37 people who took a ticket for the Prophetic Presbytery., Both students and those receiving a prophetic word were lifted up as God gave each one the revelation they needed. So many were impressed with the accuracy of the Words they received. Truly blessings were had by all.

I think Michael and I felt a tremendous sense of achievement and happiness that the school blessed us and so many people. now we look forward to continuing on for next fall with a new first year and a follow up /outreach class for the graduates from this year. As we grow in our relationships with area leaders and churches, we hope to connect up our graduates with many outreach opportunities in the years to come.

Our good friends Bob & Marge Morrison, ANGA Ambassadors from Global Awakening visited us – a layover while waiting to pick up their children arriving back from the Mission field at the NYC Airport.

We had a great time visiting Stonecrop Gardens with them.

We also had great visits from our children- Mark, Kristi and our grandaughter Carwen who had her first painting lesson!

I would like to have a service remembering the martyrs of our faith on MEMORIAL DAY, too! And the original Patriots who fought the Revolutionary war because we owe so much to those who suffered even unto death that we might have all that we have today.

Christine has added an icon teaching class to her schedule for the summer in Woodstock and also changed the location of the Albany class to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Colonie. Her “Mandylion’ icon is in a group exhibition now at WAAM in Woodstock and her contemporary drawings will be in a group exhibition in Kingston in July. She’s trying to finish up a grant request to fund a major exhibition in 2014, so please keep her in your prayers for all this! Michael has been photographing when possible, some beautiful gardens. We are praying for him to get a good garden book going this year, so we ask you prayers for this also.

Also, a great visit with daughter Micah and son-in law Tore. His film, “Abel’s Field” is available nationally – Walmart, Amazon.com, etc. so it’s time to get your copy. Very inpiring to see a contemporary Biblical story that is well done!

One last thing- last month Christine felt led to write an article for the local paper on Community Transformation Through Prayer. A woman, Brenda Van Alphen, called up in response to this and said she was trying to get a revival going in Philmont for June 1 and she was in despair that no one would help her – would we help? Since then Michael has held two meetings with Brenda and all the pastors in Philmont who are now working together to participate in the Revival. Brenda hired the town Park for the day and will be providing free hot dogs and hamburgers as well as having preachers and singers coming from all over. Our Kingdom school will have a table called “Destiny Refreshment” to talk to people and give them encouraging words from God. We are all so excited to see what God’s going to do! we are praying that this will be an atmosphere changer, and that churches will once again flourish in the area.

So many things we need your prayers for! Thank you, thank you! And please let us know how we can pray for you – it is a joy to do so!

Love and blessings to you! Michael and Christine

May – GRADUATION 2013

April 27, 2013UncategorizedGlobal Awakening GSSM Satellite School, Global Transformation, GlobalAwakening, IAM, prayer, propheticChristine Hales

Hello Friends and Family:

Such a slow, chilly spring. I almost thought moles had eaten the daffodils I planted last fall, but yes, they are now coming up! I expect you are all ready for more warmth too, and we know that the day will come when it is all here. Faith is like that too, and as we now find ourselves with Graduation for our Kingdom GSSM Satellite School we remember this time last year we didn’t even know that there would be a school. We thought God was calling us to do a school but how? In this past year, God has shown up in interesting ways when we needed financial support, guidance, and God encounters with people.

On May 11, Fifteen students will be graduating from our school and we will be celebrating with a ceremony that includes an address by Pastor Jay Francis from Rock Road Chapel and IAM ministries, and a Prophetic Presbytery. Some of our students have been invited to give presentations at local churches, teaching on Words of Knowledge, and healing prayer. The response we are getting is that local churches are hungry to experience what our students have been learning all year.

Several of our students will be leading youth ministry in our area too, and it seems that our youth is eager to participate in developing a closer relationship with Jesus, too.

We are seeing the effect of our school on communities in our area. Christine wrote an article for a local paper about Community Transformation Through Prayer, which served as encouragement for a woman who feels called to bring a Revival to our town of Philmont by hosting a celebration of God in our local town park on June 1. We were able to hold a meeting in our home for all the local pastors to get together and each will be sharing in some way with this Revival. So exciting to see what God is going to do!

Now we are praying about what direction God wants to take Kingdom School for next year. We appreciate your prayers as always.

We believe that God is doing extraordinary things in these days and we see an Awakening around us. It is as though we are seeing the first flowers of the Holy Spirit spring, the crocus are starting to appear of His Kingdom. They are popping up all around and we are sure that there is going to be a powerful out pouring of the Holy Spirit.

Consider yourself invited to GRADUATION!! Either in prayer or in person. Bless you!! You are each in our prayers and we look forward to hearing from you,

In His love,

Christine and Michael

Easter 2013

March 30, 2013UncategorizedChristine Hales, Global Awakening, Kingdom School, prophetic, satellite schoolChristine Hales

Hello Friends and Family:

It’s Easter tomorrow, having come so early this year as to be in advance of most signs of spring. It seems odd, walking and praying in the countryside the day before Easter and it’s still winter! But Sunday’s comin’!

“Father, it’s time.

Display the bright splendor of Your Son

So the Son may in turn show your bright splendor.” John 17:1 Message

I know for us this last many months have been long days and nights of hard work, prayer, and hope that we can make an impact in our spheres of influence that will show Christ’s love in a meaningful way. Sometimes that looks like teaching, sometimes forgiving, a lot of loving people and calling them higher, traveling from place to place and reaching out to share what we have been given.

Starting a contemporary ministry school in Albany, NY where 97% of the population is unchurched has been both rewarding and challenging. We both are in awe of our students and their dedication and commitment to growing in their relationship to God. We love watching them transform into more of what God created them to be, and we ourselves are experiencing similar transformation. And it’s not done yet! We have a major conference in Lancaster Pa- the Voice of the Prophets Conference in April which the entire school is going to. We are all fasting and praying for major breakthroughs for that conference.

We were very blessed to have Global Awakening’s School Director, Michael Hutchings, come for a two day visit during which he hit home runs everywhere he went! At school he gave prophetic words and encouragement to the students, as well as inspired teaching on the Kingdom. The next day he preached at Gospel Community Church in Coxsackie, NY and we were all blessed by not only his anointed preaching, but also by the youth of that church sharing their testimonies of having gone out by themselves to pray for people at the mall. We are praying for more experiences like we had with the youth at Coxsackie. Michael and I are organizing several Outreach days for our students to preach and teach in area churches throughout the spring and summer. We are considering having a second year starting in the fall as well as another first year of training. So, please keep all this in your prayers. We feel very much in keeping with the season – lots of hope and promise but the ground is still very cold!

We bought this rooster painting today from Hudson street artist “Earl”. Seemed appropriate for the season!

I have two pieces in a digital art exhibition called “Holy Men, Holy Women”, and will be taking part in a panel discussion with other exhibitors from the Windows on Heaven exhibition in Metuchen, NJ where ten of my icons are currently on display.

Michael has two new articles recently published in NYC & G and in Flower magazine. He also gave a talk in Southampton at the Madoo Conservatory called ‘Catch the Eye’, about how our eye works in a garden, for our friend Robert Dash painter and gardener.

We are very excited about what the summer brings and look forward to a busy year preparing for the next year with Kingdom GSSM Satellite School.

Please keep us in your prayers, as you are in ours.

Love & Prayers,

Michael and Christine

Awesome Blossoms

February 28, 2013UncategorizedGlobal Awakening GSSM Satellite School, mike hutchings, personal transformations, Satellite School. Global awakeningChristine Hales

Hello Friends and Family:

Worship at our GSSM Kingdom Satellite School has always been awesome, but now it is getting exciting! God has been giving us prophetic words about transformation in our area. Isaiah 54 “Enlarge the place of your tent, let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;spare not;…For you will spread abroad to the right hand and the left; and your offspring will possess the nations and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.”

This weekend we are preparing to welcome Mike Hutchings, Director of the GSSM School to visit us and speak to our school and Gospel Community Church, Coxsackie, about “Equipping for the Kingdom”. What we are witnessing through the personal transformations happening with our students and ourselves, is the culture of God’s Kingdom beginning to blossom in our area. We are seeing people healed of cancer, relationships being restored, and a new hunger for inner healing amongst families. The really wonderful thing is that most of our students are being equipped to go out into their spheres of influence and affect the people around them with God’s love on a more forgiving, and trusting level than ever before.

So, as we come near to the end of this school year, we begin to plan for next year’s school and outreach by praying and dreaming with God about how He wants to transform our Hudson Valley, the State and the Nation. We will share more about specific plans in the coming months, but for now, we are confident now that we have the components to do some major outreach efforts in our area. Some of that will look like showing Christian films in local venues, open to the public, and having Q & A and fellowship/refreshments afterwards. Some will be praying on the streets with people, and also expanding praying with the elderly in our local communities.

The b & W painting on the right was from a worship time at school, when the Lord spoke about Jonah, and how important it is to put aside our judgements about God’s people and just bring God’s message – whether we want to or not!!!! Love and prayers,

Michael and Christine

January Thaw

January 31, 2013UncategorizedGlobal Awakening, MOMA, prophetic paintingChristine Hales

Dear Family and Friends:

Who wouldn’t want to see a field of golden pollen at the end of January? I suppose that’s what MOMA and artist Wolfgang Laib were thinking when they arranged “Pollen from Hazelnut” a current exhibition in NYC.

For Michael and I, this month has been bright with hope, also for seeing more of God’s Kingdom blossoming in our area. Rob Stoppard, the Inner Healing instructor at GSSM came to stay with us and teach at Kingdom School from Thursday through Sunday, Jan17-20. He taught at the school and also at a dinner in our home which was open to people from our geographical area, It was very well attended (some of the younger ones gracefully chose to sit on the floor!) and people were blessed by Rob’s teaching. It was heartening to see so many people come to receive healing and inspiration and we hope to host similar events in the future.

We have some exciting news, too. We’ve received our 501 c3 approval for Kingdom Arts Ministry! Hooray! Quite a long process, but now we can receive tax deductible donations directly to Kingdom Arts and be more able to support our local community in many different ways. Praise God! We are praying for God’s direction and strategy for this next year in terms of planning for Kingdom School, outreach in our community and how we can further God’s Kingdom here in the Hudson Valley. We will be needing more space to hold events, and along with that, will need audio visual equipment and speakers, so that we can continue offering to bring speakers, films, and art events to our area and Albany. Please keep us in your prayers as we move on now, to expand to the next level God has for us. Here is a photo of a Prophetic Painting that Christine did at our last class. God has been moving so powerfully, and showing her as well as others the “Lion of Judah”, and His power is moving amongst us, He is fully in the Universe and also intimately present within us. Our strength and our salvation:

One last thing. another blessing- we were able to purchase a pellet stove to help cut down heating costs and it is now installed and working great! Finally, warmth! And it was just in time for this really cold weather. Praise God, I don’t have to paint with gloves on! :).

Sending you all lots of love and hoping you will be in touch with us and share how God is touching your lives, and any prayer requests you may have too.

Love,

Christine and Michael