2012, a Prospectus

If half of the resolutions that people make at the beginning of the year, were carried out, half of the time, imagine what a world this would be... there'd be so many healthy, effective, patient, multi-linguistic, instrument-playing people out there. Sadly, the VAST majority of New Year Resolutions' go the way of politicians' campaign promises.I'm not excluding myself from this. I'm a pretty ambitious person, and have made some pretty outlandish New Year Resolutions over the year, so I'm sharing with you from my failures as much as from successes. So, here are some tips, to help us all have a more productive 2012.

Basically, I encourage you to set goals, not resolutions. What do I mean? "I'm going to lose weight," versus "I'm going to run a 5K by the year's end." The more specific we make things, the more likely it will get done. Make goals for 2012, as opposed to 2012. If for example you want to "be a better dad," try and make it more specific, such as- "Do daily Bible time with my kids every evening," or something along that line. Goals need to be: a) written (or typed or entered into our smartphone), b) challenging (eating a large cheese pizza would not qualify if you are a teenage boy), c) believable (dunking a basketball if you are 70 year old grandma would not qualify), d) specific (read through the entire Bible, for example), e) measureable (such as a waistline, body-weight, number of books, race time, a page of prayer journal a day, for example), and f) have a specific deadline (by December 31st, 2012 for example). Also, since we are Christians, look for goals that are spiritual, or have a Biblical connection or motivation. For example, if your goal is to get in good shape, think of "buffeting your body and making it your slave."

So set some goals, and then place them somewhere you won't lose it (guilty of that many times), where you will see it every day, and where someone else can see it as well. Remember that stuff gets done when you walk by faith not by sight... when you recognize that, as Christians, we are powered by the spirit, not by willpower, and that if God promises something, He will keep His promises. 


Ok, so here are a few (again, I'm pretty ambitious, so I've got a lot more) of my goals for 2012. Please feel free to share some of yours, so we can pray for and encourage each other! 


1- Read the New Testament each month. 
2- Memorize a verse of Scripture daily.
3- Keep a prayer journal. 
4- Get Bible studies with 10 different people. 
5- Complete the Rosetta Stone French Course Level 5. 
6- Win a Cameroonian to Christ.
7- Run 2 kilometers in 12 minutes.

Well, those are a few of the things that I'm trying to get done this year. (There are many, many more). God bless you guys, and we pray you all may have a great 2012.

2011, a Retrospectus

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and now the year is at an end. What a year it has been! It's been a year of joys, sorrows, battles and victories. We are so glad to have been able to share with you this year, through this blog, through our newsletters (if you don't get those, I'll plug them right here- get them!) through our website (www.hostetterministries.org) and especially through personally visiting with many of you! What a blessing it has been. There are many great things to reflect on from the past year... which would take a very long blog post to cover. You can re-read our old newsletters (you can see them on our website here- (https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5c4fe7e30ecd6884&resid=5C4FE7E30ECD6884!102&parid=root) or read our old blog posts. Suffice to say, God has been very good to us this year, and we have seen amazing things happen, things which I think could carry the name of miracles.

Now, you might think of miracles as raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, opening peoples ears, etc... and yes, those are miracles, which is why I think that miracles have happened this past year. Have I seen people raised from the dead, receive sight or have their hearing restored. No, but we walk by faith not by sight, we know that the things which are seen are temporal, and the things which are not seen are eternal. We recognize that the spiritual is of more importance and more permanence than the physical. SO, we've seen the dead raised, as people have been buried with Christ in baptism and raised to newness of life. We've seen the blind receive sight, as the eyes of their heart have been enlightened. We've seen the deaf hear the truth of the gospel. This has been a miraculous year in that sense. What about you? I encourage you to take some time to look back on the past year, and see the miracles that God has worked, spiritually, in your life. I think as we do this, as we remember how God has answered prayers, how He has opened doors, how He has supplied needs, how He has protected and guided us, and done so much in our lives, I think it will build our faith, to see that God keeps His promises. It should also build our faith for the coming year, to know that if God could use the faith that we had this past year to accomplish what He did, how much more could God do if our faith would grow and strengthen this year?  Brethren, I'm excited about this upcoming year, as I think about what my great God can accomplish this year, if I only trust Him and act on His promises!

Finally, I want to say a huge thank you to all those who've been a part of God's answered prayers, who have made a difference through their faith, and who have thus changed the course of history. You are helping make miracles happen.

Tomorrow- plans/goals/resolutions for the New Year, and some thoughts on how to get them done! God bless you all

Video of Buea Cameroon

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to share with you all a video I saw on Youtube about Buea. It is NOT my film, I did not make it (don't want to take credit that isn't due), you can find the credits at Youtube. Still, it is a nice look at parts of the town (mainly the market) and I think you might enjoy it!