We are very grateful to announce the birth of our 8th child, 5th daughter, Hadassah Emma Chaffer! She was born in our brand new home southeast of Grandview into water healthy and happy, by the grace of God.
Michelle is 34 today! I thought you might all like to share the special day with us! She’s a mere month away from baby #8 saying hello to us as well! Go, Michelle, go! King Yeshua shines on you and may He continue to always. We love to see your smile! :D
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In April our family was super blessed by Steve Offutt who was the gracious giver of a free photo session for our family via the Women’s Group at IHOP-KC. Michelle won all kinds of stuff that night, actually! Weird!
Here’s Steve’s AWESOME work! Hang around his sites – he’s the best photographer I’ve ever met and one of the very best I’ve seen online! stevenmichaelphoto.com
Tonight the Chaffer fam just finished an especially power-packed nightly devotion from the book of John.Chapters 10:22 through 12:11 – Beginning with Chanuka, the story of Lazarus.. a unique first-fruit from the grave.. a sign for the Jews.. who many received and some (certain famous leaders) did not. The main lesson was this: Yeshua (Jesus) is the resurrection and the life… He represents the transition from mortality to immortality … and He Himself is our Sustainer.
We repeated especially verse 11:35 – Jesus wept. And why did He weep? Because of the sadness of the death of His friend? Or, as my 10 year old, Josiah, posited, “Because of the smallness of their spirits.”
We believe that Yeshua is not only the Resurrection of those who, like Martha, believe for the bodily resurrection of their loved ones (which happens still … when there is no defining reality outside of His Presence), but it is also for us who remain alive and adoring His scintillating life in every area of our lives.
John 11:23 (Young’s Literal Translation – shows Greek verb tenses) Jesus saith to her, `Thy brother shall rise again.’ 24 Martha saith to him, `I have known that he will rise again, in the rising again in the last day;’ 25 Jesus said to her, `I am the rising again, and the life; he who is believing in me, even if he may die, shall live; 26 and every one who is living and believing in me shall not die–to the age; 27 believest thou this?’ she saith to him, `Yes, sir, I have believed that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming to the world.’
Verse 26 is a byword for us now for many reasons – “and every one who is living and believing in me shall not die–to the age.” Not only because we now have 9 lives to care for in our house (13, including our Sister-in-law, Chrissy and 3 children), but because every thing is a miracle and must be sustained by His “living again and life.” This is where we remain. Cast upon Him with Whom we have to do.
Many wonderful developments have taken place interlaced with threats physical, emotional and spiritual, but the outward blessing seems to remain and endure. The children progress in their school, social and spiritual devlopment by leaps and bounds, Michelle finds more deep and lasting connections with friends old and new, I (Tom) am finding the “mighty men of valor” I’ve prayed for for years who can both run with me and lead me in this journey of prophetic and profitable business in the end of the age just before Yeshua’s devastatingly just return to earth. I am grateful to be accountable with such joyful and sober men of God!
Gratefully,
Tom
Tom here. I hope to get Michelle to write some posts in the near future.
Wow. SO much going on. Successfully submitted 3 songs to a “Forerunner Music Compilation Project” open to everyone on staff at IHOPKC. Here are the demos… (such as they are)
Tender in the Sight (based on Isaiah 53:1-2) LYRICS
On the movies front, I’ve been spending some very special time with a friend of mine, Michael Johnson. He’s a Hollywood veteran who has chosen to “suffer with God’s people rather than to enjoy the pleasures of Phoenix Arizona” (paraphrase from Hebrews 11) and, as he has taught scriptwriting, is currently finishing a very prophetic and gripping script (which I can’t say anything about yet) but which I’m guessing will find a production team very soon. It was my pleasure to be able to share my favorite program in the world with Michael, Celtx. It’s a free, open-source program that few people know about and Michael was well-pleased to discover it! Praise Jesus for free stuff!
I also had the chance to introduce Michael to Lou Engle. Both have a passion for California politics. It was rather historic to see them talk about the moral shape of our nation together. God’s so good.
Also, on the movies front, I’m finally wrapping up a LONG OVERDUE project I’m calling “The IHOP Media Apprenticeship 2007-2008 Yearbook.” It’s been literally over 100 hours of editing! It’s a video yearbook of sorts and, once I get it packaged (simply but, hopefully in a nice looking format), I’ve been given a green light from our fearless MA leader, Jono Hall, to distribute it to our TV crew new and old…. about 50 people. And since that’s 2 chok-full DVD-Roms each, that’s gonna give my little laptop DVD burner a workout! I’d also like to extend the same offer (free of charge) to any of you if you’ll just email me and request one!
One more thing. Jesus wants to fix our broken planet. He longs for justice more than any of us (although, if you’re among those who have suffered blinding injustice, you may understand more of His zeal than the average person). His heart BURNS with longing for justice for the aborted children… for the sex-slave-traded children… for women who are ritually abused… and for many other “meek of the earth” who He longs to hold and heal. Along these lines I’ve made it my purpose to instill in our family a deep sense of Yeshua’s longing for justice. And I’m SO grateful to be working with people at IHOP who feel the same way.
Both of my friends, Matt Dickey and Angel Soto (pronounced in spanish form – “Ahn-hel” – close the “l” with the tip of your tongue), are featured in my Yearbook DVDs and they have just now wrapping up the finishing touches on their 30-minute short film, 22 Weeks, which I had the opportunity to help with as a gofer, a gaffer (assisting Dusty Jones) and the occasional rescue mission. I may also appear in it! 22 Weeks endeavors, with the most beautiful insight into a dear friendship between two young, confused ladies, to tell the real-life tradgedy of one who chooses to inject her baby with “Methotrexate” in order to abort a pregnancy. It fails. The baby lives and, although Mama changes her mind when she sees her beautiful baby born alive, the Planned Parenthood nurses (illegally) force her to abandon her baby! The movie is a compelling drama that proves abortion – of any sort – is wrong and that thousands of children per year are either flushed down a toilet, asphyxiated or starved to death by abandonment… right here in the good ol’ US of A.
“Jesus, I plead Your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America!”
Now Matt and Angel are up to exposing another form of injustice against children. I can’t give any details except that they’ve flown to the other side of the planet to do so! If you think of Matt and Angel, please pray for their safety and success in bringing to light grave injustices being perpetrated upon millions of young people worldwide.
Also pray that I get really busy (in a similar fashion as I did for those songs up there) and write my own movies -
Truth – A living conversation between Middle Easterners regarding the nature of Truth.
Bull and the Butterfly – A tense, sometimes hilarious, story of a hippy girl and a tank of a man.
and Pray Fast – A short story revealing the mysteries of the life of an intercessor – using special effects to illustrate the kind of unseen activity taking place above our heads and all around us …
when we pray.
Shalom and thanks for watching!
Tom
Here’s just one testimony from an elated viewer of our 24-hour-a-day, non-stop reality broadcast television show (the world’s first!) – LIVE from ThePrayerRoom. Consider that what we are doing in ThePrayerRoom.TV is nothing short of seeing heaven’s government break in to the crusty airwaves (formerly Ephesians 2:2) of our planet! Consider how it works… (an unedited testimony sent to us via email)
Dear IHOP-KC,
The Prayer Room is an amazing gift from God to the world. I have it playing no matter where I am and in the car listen to cd’s from the House of Prayer worship leaders. It has changed the way our family and friends view the act of Worship, Intercession and Prayer. My life has dramatically changed; the music and words give me strength to face each day.
My husband and I have been married almost two years and it has been a very rough road for both of us. God has big plans for us and the enemy has done everything he can muster to thwart what God wants to established. Since listening to prayer room has become a way of life and there is constant prayer and worship in our home, the struggles are becoming less and less and the victories more and more!
I was having horrible nightmares almost every night and losing a lot of sleep due to them. I was falling into depression and losing my hope, joy and faith, and I had no peace. After we subscribed to Prayer Room I told my husband that I wanted to have the Prayer Room on while we slept. My nightmares stopped occurring when Prayer Room was on. When it wasn’t on they came back. I believe your worshippers bring protection and deliverance while I am sleeping and they are in battle for me against the enemy.
Many times during the intercessory prayer I have stood up at my desk or in my room to receive the prayers from IHOP warriors and felt the amazing movement of God and seen transformation in my life because of it.
Most of all Corey Asbury and Matt Gillman have helped me to seek the Lord and find my joy, strength and identity in Christ. They have been blessed with amazing gifts to uplift the soul, bring deep dependence on Christ and sing awesome, joyful and fun Praises to our Most High God.
We have started having Sunnyvale-House of Prayer in our converted garage on Monday nights and we are blessed by the presence of the Lord each time. We are praying for an outpouring of the Spirit to bring about a 24/7 House of Prayer here.
Thank you to all who work so hard and put in so much time and energy to make the Prayer Room happen. Thank you to all who humble themselves before God and offer up prayers for healing and deliverance for those like myself who desperately need someone to intercede. Thank you to you all for listening to the voice of God.
Dawn…………………………………………………..
Sunnyvale, CA
Greetings friends in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), soon coming King of the Universe with Whom we all have very much to do. Michelle and I have been busily managing the miracle of 7 children (one of whom is hiding inside Michelle). And that’s not all! Following are 3 things we want to share that are happening to us these days – First, a video -
1 – The above video encapsulates an idea I’ve been “pitching” since about 3 years ago now – the “Christianity 2.0″ vision for the worldwide body of Messiah. Christians still don’t understand either the potential or the narrow window of opportunity we have to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah). Here’s (yet) another pitch for the opportunity we have as believers… imagine YOUR voice heard around the world for free. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. And I’d love to show you how. Call me now – 816 813 8456.
2 – Here’s a picture we sent recently to The Werners – a lovely family who have selflessly provided a garage FULL of goodies for folks like us who are in full time ministry… a new family, the Asburys, have taken the helm and are picking up right where the Werners left off… truly amazing stuff… see?
3 – There’s many exciting things happening in and through our still-fledgling Media Apprenticeship. One thing we’re particularly excited about is reorganization! This week our leadership – together with key Media Apprentices – are assessing our almost 11 months of 24 hour a day, 7 day a week broadcast television and soon will provide us with a picture of what the program will look like and develop into in the next 12 months! Very exciting times, indeed!
Our current daily viewership spans between our 20,000 subscribers on the internet to approximately 220 million homes worldwide through GOD.tv – our partner in www.theprayerroom.tv.
4 – Also we (the Chaffer Family) are pressing forward with several Movie projects of our own. One is a science-prophecy piece based on the passage in Ezekiel 39:12-17 which details the “cleansing” of the land in Israel where some major battle has taken place. Here’s a frame from some of the footage – pretty exciting product!
That’s a LITTLE of what’s going on, at least! Amazing how much stuff you can cram into a 70 hour work week! More later! Thanks for caring.
This is HOPFAN1 – House of Prayer for all nations 1. (78 megabytes) It’s hopefully the beginning of a series of webfilms explores the whole idea that Jesus (Yeshua) loved His Father’s House of Prayer so zealously that, at one point, He took up a whip to make the point! See Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15 and John 2:15 for proof! In the beginning there are always some babies that don’t have perfectly formed (perfectly average, actually) noses or cheekbones… but to Papa… they’re perfect. I can probably point out more flaws in this flick than you ever could, but I could also tell you why I love this piece so much, too… I see it as the first sincere effort (and lightning fast concept-to-post-production) and see it as the first in a fruitful career in film. My first goal is to draw people into real relationship with the living God… not just a poetically appeal to the “sense of art”, but to burn issues of reality into mind, soul, heart and will!
In September of 2006, I was privileged to attend Vision Forum’s “San Antonio Christian Filmmaker’s Academy,” a growing effort to replace Hollywood among evangelicals of the “Reformed” sort (I’m more of a non-calvinist evangelical myself, but I get along as well as possible). It was an absolutely informative time filled with a standard of professionalism which I can only hope to equal. See more at http://visionforum.com
Lower bandwidth version available over on Tom’s YouTube site here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNFIyfX70LU
I wanted to show you this (incomplete) edit for 2 reasons… to get the thing out the door before the end of 2007! And also to let you see how much can be done in post! Hopefully (if other projects don’t swamp this little guy), I’ll show how so much can be done (especially with text effects via Apple’s Motion) to add to the final effect.
Special thanks to (in order of appearance) Joel (2:15-17), Micah, Matt, Corey, Kenny and Simon.
The music at the end is all me, Toma… with a little help from my friends at Propellerhead / Reason!
Here’s a little pitch Tom put on YouTube that tells more about “asking for nations” (Psalms 2) and what nations (among MANY others) IHOP is focusing on this week. It also features some new video effects Tom is learning to use – including using a “green screen” to isolate the subject over various backgrounds. It ALSO features really warm facial hair! Also posted on Tom’s YouTube site here.
Howdy folks! Here is a video posted a while back which begins to communicate what we do in a “house of prayer.” This particular moment peers into the burden for Myanmar (formerly Burma). Remember, Yeshua (Jesus) said, “Isn’t it written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’ But you have made it a den of robbers!” (Mark 11:17) And He felt so strongly about it, He grabbed a whip to make His point (John 2:15)! I want you all to think about the concept of the “house of prayer” – not because I think it’s cool, or even because I think it’s necessary for survival (which I do), but because God, in Christ Jesus, thinks it’s really important.
