Keith Wheeler

Happy New Year! Happy 2024!

We pray that your new year will be overflowing with the beauty and majesty of the glory of Jesus, and the nearness and intimacy of His presence!

God bless you!

Happy New Year from the Wheelers! -- "Carrying the Cross around the World" We pray that your 2024 is full of the nearness, the intimacy, the beauty and majesty of Jesus! God bless you!!

Happy “In-Between”!

I don’t think that it’s an official holiday, but this week between Christmas and the celebration of the new year, seems kind of like that...kind of “in-between”. My prayer for you this week and all your other in-between moments in the upcoming year is that you will know the real meaning of Christmas — Immanuel! God with us! God with us in the big, made-much-of, celebrated moments. And God with us in the seemingly, small, forgotten and insignificant moments. And God with us in the “in-between” moments. And isn’t that where most of life is lived...the “in-between” moments?! Those every day, run-of-the-mill, no one is watching, ordinary, routine, normal days.

The greatest truth of my journey with the cross has not been my walk with wood on my shoulder, but my walk with the One who made that wood significant. He’s the One who has made my life significant. And He’s the One who makes your life significant. He’s the One who has never left me or forsaken me. He’s been with me in ALL my moments! When my moments have found me sleeping under a bridge, He’s been with me. When my moments have found me in a jail in a foreign land, He’s been with me. When my moments have found me at knife point or standing before a firing squad, He’s been with me. Or, when my moments have taken me before kings, presidents or prime ministers, He’s been with me. When my moments have taken me through the Amazon jungle or across the Kalahari Desert, He’s been with me. Or, to the top of Kilimanjaro or South Pacific sunsets…even all the way to Antarctica He’s been with me! And ALLLLLLL the in-between moments... He’s been with me! It’s only through Him and by Him is there purpose and meaning. He’s the One who makes our "in-between" moments significant.

He makes our insignificance significant. He makes what is common very uncommon. And He makes what is ordinary, extraordinary!

In the celebratory, over-the-top fun; the high and important moments. In the sad and the horribly bad; the "I can't wait to get through this" moments. And even in the everyday, ordinary, common, boring in-between moments!

Even in the in-between moments! Immanuel! God with us. God with me. God with you…
EVERYWHERE!
ALWAYS!

Happy “In-Between”!

PS – Don’t forget to visit our YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/. I’ve been posting a lot more videos, thoughts and reflections from many of our journeys through the years..

Thanks, again, for walking together with us!
God bless you!!

“The way to Christmas lies through an ancient gate...It is a little gate, child-high, child-wide, and there is a password, ‘Peace on earth to men of good will.’ May you, this Christmas, become as a little child again and enter into His Kingdom.” – Angelo Patri

It burdens me that God's dream is "Peace on earth, goodwill to men", yet so many wars continue, so many are hurt and broken, and so many have never heard of or understood the real meaning of Christmas, the true Prince of Peace. It seems so odd that so many of us seem to treat Christmas like it is our birthday.

I pray that this Christmas Jesus will receive the gift for His birthday that He wants more than anything ... a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation of this world. I pray that He will receive the love and friendship that He created us for. That those who can't come to Him because they don't know Him, will. And those who don't come to Him because they've forgotten, will return.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!! May You receive all the praise, glory, honor, worship and adoration that You alone deserve!

Merry Christmas! We pray that you’re doing really well and that your life is filled with childlike wonder at the simplicity and beauty of Jesus' birth. We pray that God is flooding your home and family with the goodness, love and joy of Jesus as we celebrate His coming to the earth!

We pray that this is the most wonderful and special celebration of Jesus and His birthday that you’ve ever known! We pray that God will show you how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is for you. We pray that the beauty and reality of His presence will be revealed to you this Christmas in a way that you’ve never known, or experienced, or even imagined. If you are hurting or struggling; or if you’re experiencing loss, or pain, or fear or confusion, we pray that this Christmas God will meet you in your darkness and His light will shine! You’re a blessing! We’re thankful for you! Merry Christmas! God bless you!

If you’d like to read our Christmas letter here’s a link -https://mailchi.mp/ab6429f7842b/merry-christmas-from-the-wheelers

Christmas. Immanuel. God with us. The Word became flesh. Hands to heal & touch. Feet to follow. Arms to carry us. Eyes to see. Ears to hear. A mouth to speak. Flesh to be torn. Blood to be spilled. Tears to be shed. A heart to be broken. Immanuel – God with us ALWAYS...even through the valley of the shadow of death…even to the ends of the earth!

Merry Christmas! We are thankful that you walk together with us!
God bless you!

These are two of my favorite pictures of the year. Usually, my fairytale princess is the one who takes the pictures along the way. Almost always, the pictures of us, together, are selfies. Or, the photos are of me, or her. Rarely do we have photos of the two of us walking or ministering together. A dear friend caught these moments while we were in Amsterdam this year. I share these because I’m inviting you to pray together with us, and for us. So far, she can only travel with me in the summer, but she teaches (she was awarded Teacher of the Year, by the way!!!) the rest of the year. We are asking people to pray with us that God will make a way for her to travel together with me, not just some of the time, but full-time, all of the time.

You’ve never met two people, more head over heels, madly, upside down, crazy, silly in love with one another than the two of us. We just want to spend the rest of our breaths and heartbeats together adoring and following Jesus! We just, really, love being together and, honestly, I'm a much better man when we're together. Thanks!

“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone…” Genesis 2:18

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor…A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9,13

We know that when we seek our Father’s Kingdom and His righteousness first, He will take care of all things and meet all needs.

Thanks SO much for joining us on this journey with Jesus and the cross!! God bless you!!

This little guy heard that we were coming and he was waiting on the roadside with this cross that he wanted to give me. Oh, how I love the children and embrace the lessons that they teach me! May we, with surrendered, childlike hearts be willing to wait for our King and give him our favorite and our best!

We are thankful for you! Thanks for your prayers, encouragement and gifts! You truly walk together with us! God bless you!

I pray that you hear my heart in this...

This day has, somehow, been dubbed, “Giving Tuesday”. I’m sure that over this past week your inboxes have been flooded, and are full of many good, purposeful and legitimate needs and reasons to give. I’m not sure how it began? Maybe it’s a reaction to “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday”?? I’m sure it’s a good thing. It has to be. Anytime people give is always a good thing. I pray that many ministries, friends and causes are blessed because of it. I pray that the wonderful news of Jesus and His love and God’s Kingdom advances. But there is something in me that’s just not sure about this day?? Should we do something because everyone else is doing it? Do we need a day to be reminded to give? Do we have to have a day to validate our requests?

Please don’t misunderstand me. My prayer is that many ministries, friends and causes are blessed in such an overflowing way that the wonderful news of Jesus and His love and God’s Kingdom floods the earth. I sincerely want an outpouring of love and generosity; of prayer and financial support!! Make no mistake, God has trusted us with a ministry that depends on the generosity of others. We also need, and are so very thankful, for the gifts and donations from others.. But do we need a “day”?

Why not just give because God calls us to give?
Why not just give because Jesus said it’s more blessed to give than receive?
Why not give because it’s right?
Why not give because we love Jesus and the people that He loves?

I love what the great missionary, Amy Carmichael, said, "You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving." Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give." And our loving Father loved us so much that, “He gave His only begotten Son...” He gave His best!

So, let’s give – as much as we can, whenever we can! Let’s give today, but let’s not give because it’s “Giving Tuesday”. And for those of us representing ministries, let’s walk in integrity. Let’s not use this day to coerce or manipulate, or to compete and compare as we ask and present our needs.

May we be a people who give at all times. May we give with hearts overflowing with love. May we give joyfully and freely. And may we give, never in response to a request or a need presented on our special day, but simply and purely, and ALL for the glory and honor of God!!

I pray that my heart came through in this. Thanks for walking together with us!
God bless you!!

Along the way, I often see things I don’t always find here at home...
Fresh fish (kind of)...in “bulk”
Fresh fruit...in “bulk”
And a “rubber tree”?!!
😂🤣‼️

Have a great weekend!
Thanks for walking together with us!
God bless you!!

My fairytale princess is Teacher of the Year! It’s official! I’m not only married to the most amazing woman ever! I’m now married to the “2023 Union Intermediate Teacher of the Year”! For me, she’s always been the Teacher of the Year! But now, it’s official! My fairytale princess has just been honored by her peers as the Teacher of the Year! Can you believe it?! God lets me be married to this woman?!

Yes – she celebrated her 60th birthday by running THREE half-marathons (trail AND at altitude) in THREE days while sleeping in a tent each night! Yes – she’s eaten grub worms in the Amazon Jungle! Yes – walked with me into active war zones (including Ukraine just last year)! And, yes – she’s walked onward with me, even when people were threatening our lives!! But now...NOW, she is the Teacher of the Year! I couldn’t be prouder!

Yes – she makes an incredible difference while we are walking together with Jesus and the cross on the roadsides of the world! I love it when she gets to walk with me. It hurts beyond words to be apart from her when she can’t come along. I’m praying like crazy that one day that God will make a way for us to walk together all the time! But in the meantime, when people are running away from public schools, she has run right into the need. As the school counselor she makes such a difference in a generation of young searching, hurting, precious lives!

I’m SO grateful to have another opportunity to honor my true, treasure trove, gift from God. Yes, she’s my wife…but SO much more! She truly is my fairytale princess! We have more fun, laughter, craziness & silliness, more adventure and fun than anyone can imagine. And did I mention, she’s the Teacher of the Year?!! And, OH...by the way...did I mention that she won the award twenty years ago in 2003?! Can you tell that I’m excited for her?! Does it show that I’m proud of her?!

She’s amazing! Not only does she encourage me, she inspires me EVERY SINGLE day! I’ve never met anyone who is a harder worker, more dedicated, more disciplined, more finding the good in everyone and every moment, more team first, more humble, more servant-hearted than this incredible treasure from Heaven! Her heart overflows with our loving Father’s unconditional love And her eyes sparkle with His indescribable joy!

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it hundreds of times… there is absolutely no one in this world who deserves this woman. I DEFINITELY don’t deserve her! I just think that God saw that He could trust me to take care of her heart. There’s no doubt that I’m the toad that got to be kissed by the Princess! She is the dream that I could not even begin to dream! She’s the words to the song that I was trying to sing! She makes my heart melt… and BURN! I still get sweaty palms when I’m with her and my heart still races when I simply think of her! I cherish her! I’m head-over-heels, crazy, madly, upside-down, silly in love with this woman.

My sweet, fairytale princess, I want to thank you for being such a beautiful reflection of God’s great, big heart of love! You are such a noble, wise, humble, strong and tender, tough and full of love, fearless, Jesus-adoring woman. Thank you for showing me what it really looks like to have the light, life, love, joy, peace & goodness of Jesus shining through a heart that is completely surrendered & yielded to Him! I’m a blessed man! My life has been forever changed for the better!! Thank you for saying, “yes”!

Congratulations for being selected Union Intermediate High School’s “2023 Teacher of the Year”! I’m SO proud of you! I love you!

PS – You’re my nomination for “Mom of the Millennium” and “Wife of the Millennium”, as well!

As I walk the roadsides of our world, I never know what I'm going to eat or drink...or if I will even find anything to eat or drink. Sometimes, my understanding of what is edible, or drinkable has been pushed to the limits (maybe that's for another post for another day😲😀‼).

Other times, our loving Father brings along just the right refreshment at just the right time. Click the picture below to watch this short, happy video to see, not only, the perfect refreshment at the perfect time, but also the perfect hosts!

PS -- I'm starting to put more videos up on our YouTube page than I am here. I hope you'll join us there, as well.

We hope you know what a blessing you are! Thanks for walking together with us! God bless you!

Roadside Refreshment & Fun -- Carrying the Cross around the World I don't know which refreshed me the most -- the fresh, cut coconut juice or the smiles and laughter of these beautiful children! ...

I feel so privileged and thankful to have the privilege of speaking tonight in Carthage, TX at Men of Courage: East Texas. If you are in the area, I'd love to see you. If you can't be there, I would be honored if you will pray for us. May Jesus be lived up and honored in every way. May His voice be heard. May His face be seen. And may His love be known.

We are honored that you walk together with us!
God bless you!!

Communication does not always equal understanding. Anyone who has ever had any kind of relationship knows that this is true. Parent and child relationships. Husband and wife relationships. Teachers and students. Coworkers. Friends. The list goes on and on…

How many times have I said something that was heard differently?! I know what I meant, but that’s not what was heard. Or, I know what I heard, but that’s not what was meant.

Even Siri. I don’t know how many times I’ve had Siri dictate a message that I was SOO glad that I read before sending. Because when I read it, it was not even close to anything that I said! (PS -- I don’t cuss!)

And believe it or not, even the media does it. And Google! And sometimes, both!! Recently, I was interviewed by a newspaper as I carried the cross in Iceland. The reporter was kind and did a wonderful job. I even had the privilege of praying for her.

BUT....when the article was translated from Icelandic to English, communication did NOT equal understanding!! The reporter started the article by quoting me, “I’ve been in jail more than forty times...and my cross has been in jail more than fifty times”. That’s what I said. That’s what she wrote. But that’s not how Google translated the article.

I was about to speak at a church. It was a quiet moment. I felt my phone vibrate. Thinking it might be my wife letting me know she was praying for me, I looked. It was a friend who had posted the article on FaceBook along with the Google translation to English. I’ve heard the phrase “LOL”. In that quiet and holy moment, I literally laughed out loud. Because Google translated my, “I’ve been in jail more than forty times...and my cross has been in jail more than fifty times” to “I’ve been in jail more that forty times...and I have been crucified more than fifty times”. Ha! LOL!!!

Communication DEFINITELY does NOT equal understanding!!

Thanks for walking together with us!
God bless you!!

Thank you, thank you for praying! With God’s help, I’m back home with my fairytale princess. It was such a wonderful time of walking with Jesus and special friends, and carrying the cross in Iceland.

I apologize for not posting more videos recently. Usually, when I’m away all our time is spent carrying the cross. Sometimes, I’m invited to speak in local churches and meetings in the evenings. So, when I’m finished each day, I’m usually ready to sleep. Also, the local Wi-Fi usually is, often, not able to upload the videos.

Soooo....we have TONS of great pictures and videos! Hopefully, this is a start...

I hope you enjoy this from my time in West Africa!
Once again, thanks for walking together with us! You’ll never know how much it means!
God bless you!!

West Africa -- "Carrying the Cross around the World" This is a short recap of our walk with the cross in the nations of Gabon, São Tomé & Principe and Equatorial Guinea. Thanks for walking together with us! God...

God willing, I leave again to carry the cross on Saturday. Unfortunately, my fairytale princess can’t make this trip with me. Please continue to pray that she can join me full-time one day, soon!

As I go, my prayer is like this little guy. He and his family came to the cross while we walked recently in New Caledonia. They all wanted to give their lives to Jesus. They were truly fascinated to hear the story about Jesus and to see an actual cross. But this little guy wanted to hold it. He wanted to touch it. But he wanted to give more than just his life...I noticed that he kept looking at the crack where I bolt it together. And then I saw...he had wedged a coin into the crack. He told me...”I had to give Jesus everything! All I had was this coin. But I wanted to give everything to Him.”

Owning so little, but possessing so much! “Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

May this be my prayer as I leave to go on this trip. May it be my prayer each day. May this be the prayer of each of our hearts. “I want to give EVERYTHING to Jesus!” He’s so very worthy!

Thanks, again, for continuing to walk together with us. You’ll never know what a blessing you are. God bless you!!

PS -- If you haven't watched the video I posted earlier this week, I really think it will make you smile. It's from our trip to Kiribati. Just visit our YouTube page... I think it's . I pray that it blesses you.

Sometimes you just have to be there...
They say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”...then this short video must be a book!

The laughter...so contagious!
The smiles...ear-to-ear!
The joy...beyond words!
And the Name...above all others!

“...Out of the mouth of children and nursing infants You have perfected praise...” Matthew 21:16

Thanks for walking together with us (and these little ones!) as we seek to carry the cross and follow Jesus! God bless you!

Pure Joy!! "...Out of the mouth of children and nursing infants You have perfected praise..” Matthew 21:16

How awesome and fun is this?! Thank you, thank you, Jesus for this privilege!!

“...He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.” Mark 10:14 NLT

Thanks, again, for walking together with us!
God bless you!!

For the past months, my princess and I have had the beautiful privilege of walking with Jesus and carrying the cross in the Netherlands, Montenegro, Lithuania, Fiji, New Caledonia and Kiribati. With God's help, I'm catching my breath and will be posting a couple of times each week some of the stories, reflections and stories.

Here's a tiny peek into our journey through the streets of Amsterdam...

Each one has a story...

Each story is one of pain, loss, fear, meaninglessness, frustration, brokenness, anger, and dead ends.

Each story is one of hearts being mended and made new.

Each story is one of a lost and hurting child coming home to a loving, patient, waiting Father.

Each story is one of angels rejoicing!

Thanks for walking together with us on this journey! You matter WAY more than you can ever imagine! God bless you!!

This time of year, many of us have returned, or are now returning from “mission” or “ministry” trips. We’ve been amazed and awed as we’ve watched what God has done! We’ve been blown away by how “open” the people are, and how “easy” it is to share the Gospel “over there”. Some have even prayed for and watched God perform miracles! We come home and talk about how God is, moving “over there” and we lament about how “hard” the people are right here.

First of all, let’s thank God for everyone who has so faithfully gone! Let’s praise God for all that we have had the privilege of watching Him do! If you don’t mind, however, may I make a little “course correction”? Yes! We’ve had the honor and privilege of watching what God did over there, but perhaps, it’s not that God is moving “over there. Maybe it was the amount of prayer, focus and intentionality that goes with us as we go that gave us eyes to see and a place and expectancy to see Him move. If we’re not careful, we can find ourselves going back to the Old Testament pattern of thinking that God dwells in “places”, instead of people. Here’s here! He’s with me – right now! And He’s with you -- right where you are! And He wants to use us WHEREVER we are...IF we open ourselves to Him!

True ministry is not an “event”. It doesn’t have a set starting or ending time! Real ministry is simply the overflow of a life lived in love with Jesus! Success or momentum cannot be the goal of ministry. Pure ministry can only be measured by how much I reflect Jesus and His nature and character. Do people see His love in my eyes? Do they sense His love and compassion? Do they hear His name on my lips when I speak?
Real ministry can truly only be measured by obedience and by love! If the only time that I’m telling other people about Jesus is when I’m in another country, or the cross is on my shoulder, or when I’m involved in some ministry activity, then I have become a hypocrite! My heart’s desire is that people will not remember the name of our church, or mission organization...or your, or my name. The prayer of my heart is that wherever we go, and whatever we do, people will see the image of Jesus!

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them [as having been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

Maybe, just maybe (and I think PROBABLY), if we approached each day wherever we live with the same intentionality; the same amount of prayer; the same open eyes – truly “seeing” people; the same broken, tender heart of love and the same focus on Jesus as we do “over there” we will see more than we can ever imagine RIGHT HERE!

Yes! Let’s share, testify and tell what wonderful things God has done. But let’s not limit His move to “over there”! He’s with me! He’s with you! Let’s be pure and holy vessels that allow His pure love to flow through us WHEREVER we are; wherever we go!

I pray that you hear my heart in all of this. Thanks, tons, for joining us on this journey! God bless you!!

Zdravo! Sveiki! Hallo! Ola’! Bom dia! Bula! Bon jour! Mauri! Hi!

I think that covers all the languages we’ve had to navigate this summer! Only by God’s grace!

With God’s help, we’ve had the privilege of walking with Jesus and carrying the cross in Montenegro, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Fiji, New Caledonia and Kiribati! All along the way it’s been amazing to see how, in spite of language difficulties, through interpreters who miraculously show up, Google Translate, or broken bits and pieces of English or the language of that particular nation the Holy Spirit speaks to hearts as we share the message of Jesus and His love. Then, with awe and humility, we get to watch as hands are held, heads are bowed, and tears begin to flow as people along the roadsides and in the cities pray, “King Jesus, I’m sorry for my sins...I need you...I trust You...I give my life to You...”

Thanks for walking together with us!
May our loving Father bless you and your family in every way!

Have you ever been accused of shoplifting? Everything said that you were obviously guilty. The evidence was right there. You were caught red-handed. But you were innocent!

It happened once when I was sixteen, and then it happened again earlier this summer. We were in Montenegro and had carried the cross to a very beautiful, very famous monastery high in the mountains. It is literally carved into the side of the mountain! It is spectacular! People from every religion, race and background come from across the world to this special place. We had a beautiful time of sharing and introducing many to Jesus. Our hearts thrilled as hands were held, heads would bow, and tears would flow. You could almost hear the angels rejoicing in this special, holy place set apart for God and His glory.

And then it happened. As we turned to leave, a young priest ran up to us. He was out of breath and obviously, very anxious. He humbly asked me where I got my cross. I told him that I had made it in obedience to God’s call for my life. I explained that, with God’s help, I have been carrying it along the roadsides of the world for the last thirty-nine years to share with people the message that because Jesus died, we can be forgiven. Because He’s alive, we can know Him. When we say yes to Him, He wants to make our home in Heaven, but right now He wants to make His home in our heart.

He laughed nervously and breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh! I’m so sorry that I bothered you. I thought that you had taken the cross out of the monastery. I thought that you were maybe stealing the cross.” Yep! He said it! Yes! It actually happened! We're still laughing! I'm sure the headline would read, "Thief breaks into Monastery. Steals VERY large, wooden Cross!" 😂😂‼️

And, yet, maybe there’s a lesson here. Things aren’t always what they seem. The evidence was on me. I had a large cross on my shoulder as I left the monastery. At least he was willing to listen... Even more so, he was willing to apologize...

Are we? I’m not sure how we’ve gotten here, but most of us don’t have time (or take the time) to listen. It has become far too easy to judge, condemn, criticize and gossip based on appearances. In today’s world it’s just easier to assume that people are guilty until proven innocent. And when found innocent, it seems that we quickly move on without an apology. We have become experts at “exposing the truth” and “bringing things to light”

Are people guilty? ABSOLUTELY! Are people doing really, really dumb things? Of course! That’s not what I’m talking about here. That’s a different discussion. I’m talking about judging by appearances.

I have found that when we hear someone’s story, it’s much easier to give grace.

The world doesn’t need our pointed fingers of judgement...even if they truly are guilty. They need our outstretched arms of love.

Everyone has a story. Are we willing to listen?

Thanks for joining us on our journey with Jesus and the cross!
God bless you!

Thanks so much for praying for us this summer! Thanks for those who have been reaching out to us to make sure that we’re okay. No! We didn’t fall off the face of the earth! With God’s help, we’re doing great! We’re almost home from an awesome time of walking with Jesus and carrying the cross in New Caledonia and Kiribati. Our internet service hasn’t been strong enough to post anything. That’s why we’re just now posting this. We can’t wait to share some of the stories and pictures from our summer!

Thanks so much for joining us on this journey! God bless you!