Newsletter

Newsletter – February-April 2021

Featured Image: Younger daughter Lisa & husband Jonathan holding 8-month-old twins Noah and Aaron; almost 5-year-old twins Evelyne and Isaiah (holding hands!) and almost 3-year-old Solomon

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors…”                      II Corinthians 5: 18, 20        

Dear family, friends and ministry partners:

The New Year of 2021 is finally here!  Needless to say, we are so anxious to see our children and grand-children in person once again (and to meet our new grand-twin boys for the first time!)  However, we will have to be a little more patient!  I am sure that many of you, dear friends, are also missing being close to your loved ones – Zoom and FaceTime and video clips and phone calls are great but not quite the same!

As I reflect on the beginning of a new year, I was reminded of the above beautiful and encouraging scripture – as followers of Jesus, we are, INDEED, a “new creation” and as He lives in us, using the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit, we ARE Christ’s ambassadors in this world that so desperately needs His LIGHT!  Even if we are still forced to be “hunkered down” we are honored to share HIS Light, HIS Love and HIS Life!

A few days before Christmas we offered our 14^th “Driveway Concert” and were so glad that over 50 friends and neighbors “socially distanced” on our cul-de-sac and enjoyed songs of the season, especially the beloved Christmas carols.  Winter here in Southern California enables us to be outside a lot and it is on our morning walks and interactions with our neighbors, and with phone calls and e-mails to friends and family, that we can truly be “Christ’s Ambassadors.”  I have a couple of ministry trips tentatively scheduled in March but don’t know if travel will be safely possible by then.  Also, I have been asked to give programs at local nursing homes and assisted living facilities only to have them canceled due to the ongoing pandemic.  Yet, in the midst of darkness and despair, we can all offer light and hope and comfort, through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

As you can see from the picture above, Lisa and Jonathan certainly have their hands full over there in the Middle East!  Their wonderful work sharing God’s love and the Gospel of Hope continues in spite of COVID!  Heidi’s organization, “Innovations for Poverty Action,” is more needed than ever in the dozens of countries they serve around the world, especially as worldwide poverty has seen a dramatic increase during this time.  (There is a wonderful article about “IPA” in a recent Wall Street Journal.)  Your prayers for our family and for all those incredible workers who serve as the “hands” and “feet” and “eyes” of Jesus are much appreciated.

Thank you, also, for your many prayers for my health challenges.  After almost five months of back pain, and numerous visits to doctors, orthopedic specialists, our chiropractor, acupuncturist and physical therapist, I am happy to report that the pain is way less, and I believe THE Great Physician is answering your (and our) prayers for healing and restoration.  And a heartfelt thank-you to all of you for your kind and generous support of “State of the Heart Ministries” over so many years, but especially during this one just past.

We pray continually for you and yours, that our loving and awesome God continues to bless and keep you and hold you safely in the palm of His hand!

With gratitude, love and blessings,                                                                          Ross and Tammy

Newsletter — November 2020 – January 2021

Clockwise from top left to bottom left: Grace (7) in CT stopping to smell the roses; in the Middle East, Evelyne (4 and ½) sporting the latest in kid’s masks; twin brother Isaiah does the same; Evelyne and Isaiah together at the local park; Solomon, our “Solo,” (2 and ½) enjoys a cable car ride; the Blomberg “boys” – Isaiah and Solomon holding 6-month-old twins, Aaron and Noah; Gabriel, Grace’s brother in CT, (4 and ½) enjoying a rainbow popsicle at the ER for a concussion (don’t worry – he’s just fine!)

Dear treasured friends, precious family and valued ministry partners:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:6-7)

As our good friend, pastor Greg Albrecht recently noted regarding the Philippians passage at the top: “Paul wrote these words when he was in lockdown – the power of the mighty Roman Empire insisted he ‘stay safe at home.’  Paul was social distancing whether he liked it or not.  He was in prison, or at the very least under house arrest.  He had good reason to be anxious about everything in his life and yet he said ‘Do not be anxious about anything…’”

In addition to the Covid-19 situation, here in Southern California we had been dealing with horrible air quality due to the recent “Bobcat” Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains above us, and now from smoke and ash being blown in from several other fires!  And, yes, I forgot to mention we were awakened by an earthquake a few weeks back, yet we continue to “rejoice in the Lord always” as we know that His love for us never fails, even in the current distresses!

As I write, Tammy and I should be arriving in the Middle East to meet our two new grandchildren – now 6-month-old twins Aaron and Noah.  Sadly, we’ll have to wait until next Spring to be with our daughter Lisa, son-in-law Jonathan, as well as Evelyne, Isaiah and Solomon.  Please continue to pray for this amazing family as they share God’s love in a very challenging place!

In the meantime, I have been receiving physical therapy this past month for some rather acute back pain due to a defective L5.  I am also dealing with Dupuytren’s Contracture on my right hand (inherited by my siblings and me from our northern European ancestors!) causing my little finger to begin to bend.  Soon I will have to make a decision regarding surgery to correct this or some other option.   I am sure you can understand this could be rather distressing, given how I use my hands in ministry.  Your prayers for complete recovery and healing would be most appreciated.  My hands are His hands and all of us are safely in the palms of His hands!

After giving a dozen “driveway concerts” we had to take a break, first due to rather excessive heat (up to 115 Fahrenheit!) and the above-mentioned air quality.  We were going to resume these community outreaches this week, but once again the air quality prevents that.  It was wonderful, though, for Tammy and me to be able to lead a Zoom worship service with Grace Communion church in Orange County a few weeks ago.  And, of course, we continue to reach out via phone, e-mail and videos to friends, family and loved ones, even though ministry travel has had to be curtailed for the moment.  Thankfully, I am starting to receive invitations for ministry visits early in 2021.

Your prayers for, and ongoing financial support of “State of the Heart” are so very much appreciated.  We are so grateful for each and every one of co-workers in the Gospel and pray for you and yours often.  Please let us know how you are doing (via e-mail, phone or letter) and tell us if you have need of prayer specifically for your friends and family.

With love and prayers and blessings,

Ross and Tammy

Newsletter – August-October 2020

Featured Image: Four-year-old twins, Isaiah and Evelyne on the outside, two-year-old Solomon (“Solo”) in the middle, welcoming home twin-boys Aaron and Noah (now 3 months!) from the hospital!

Dear treasured friends, precious family and valued ministry partners:

Once again, Tammy and I hope this finds you and yours staying safe and keeping healthy. Needless to say, like so many, this season is particularly challenging — we SO miss our families, especially when they live SO far away. We can’t wait to hug our new twin boy grand-babies, and the other five as well! For now, we must settle with regular FaceTime calls and almost daily video exchanges. It’s not quite like being there, but so very much appreciated for the time being!

For the second time in 23 years, I am not including a schedule with this quarterly newsletter!  Needless to say, all planned ministry trips have been canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future.  We are surely hoping that changes soon. I WAS able to give a concert at a local nursing home/assisted living on America’s Independence Day, July 4th.  I was outside in the courtyard and most of the residents were inside, socially distancing, and able to hear through open doors. The welcoming response was enthusiastic as so many residents enjoyed the first live entertainment in almost 4 months. I am looking forward to many other opportunities like this.

Also, since our last newsletter, I have given 12 Saturday evening “Driveway Concerts” for our friends and neighbors. The last one had about 75 in attendance, spread out in small groups up and down our street.  It has been a great way to reach out to our neighbors and develop closer relationships. I usually field many requests during the 90-minute programs and even include some hymns and inspirational songs. We are taking a little break right now due to the very warm summer temperatures, but plan to resume in a few weeks as soon as it is a little cooler. (Most of the audience are seated in the shade but the logistics put Tammy and me in full sun!)

If I have your e-mail address, some of you will have received the daily “musical offerings” of videos of my original compositions, so far 27 of them, accompanied by short messages of the biblical passages on which the songs are based. There has been a lot of wonderful feedback to this project as well. If you have not received these via e-mail, please drop me a note and I will gladly add you to the list, and send you some or all of these “offerings!”

One other exciting project recently completed is a recording of piano arrangements of 100 Best-Loved Hymns and another recording of piano arrangements of A Variety of 100 Popular Songs (including Broadway songs, jazz, folk, classical and more!) Just like the “musical offering” project, I am making these available through a Dropbox link and can e-mail that to you as well. Needless to say, these two recording projects cost quite a bit to produce — I am offering them each at a reduced price of $45. (Each of the 2 sets is the equivalent of 7-8 CDs of music.) You can order via e-mail or, if you prefer, call me on my cell phone with your credit card information.

Last, but by no means least, please keep Tammy and me, Lisa and Heidi and their wonderful families in your prayers. Please pray for their ongoing safety and God’s promise of protection and blessing. The twin baby boys are doing great! Thank you so very much for your heartfelt prayers and your kind and generous support. Tammy and I are praying for you and yours. God’s word tells “all things work TOGETHER for good.” (Not ALL things – especially this pandemic – ARE good!) Our loving God is always FOR us, WITH us and IN us (“Christ in you, the Hope of Glory!”)

With love and prayers and blessings,
Ross and Tammy

Newsletter – May-July 2020

May-July 2020 Newsletter
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Psa. 127:3-4

Photo: The Blomberg Family in the Middle East Jonathan holding Isaiah; Lisa with Solomon and Evelyne and baby twins Aaron and Noah

Dr. Ross Jutsum State of the Heart Ministries P.O. Box 56, Sierra Madre, CA 91025

Dear treasured friends, precious family and valued ministry partners:

We hope this finds you and yours staying safe and keeping healthy. For the first time in almost 23 years, I am not including a schedule with this quarterly newsletter! Needless to say, all planned ministry trips have been canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future.

Over the past eighteen months, I have also been giving programs regularly at about ten different nursing homes/assisted living retirement communities, but those opportunities have come to a grinding holt, at least for now.  The last program I did was on March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, at Royal Oaks/Bradbury Oaks not too far from our home – I was alone in their chapel with a grand piano, a microphone and a camera which streamed my one-hour program to all 250 of the residents’ rooms. In addition to the Irish folk song repertoire, I also included several hymns and some words of comfort and encouragement. I have gotten to know many of our dear senior citizens there and many of them are quite lonely with no family close by to visit them. Apparently, this, my last program for now was very much appreciated – the Activity Director texted the next morning to say that her voice-mail box was filled with messages of appreciation with some saying it was the “best St. Patrick’s Day ever!”

One of my ministry projects during this “hunkering down” time is developing ways that I might serve from a distance via video streaming and recordings. Also, for the past 3 Saturday evenings I have given a “Driveway Concert,” setting up my portable keyboard, amp and microphone, joined by most all of our neighbors on the block singing along on their favorite songs and also a few hymns. I plan to continue these on a regular basis – obviously with everyone, including Tammy and me, “socially distancing!”

If I have your e-mail address, some of you will have received the daily “musical offerings” of videos of my original compositions, so far 21 of them, accompanied by short messages of the biblical passages on which the songs are based. There has been a lot of wonderful feedback to this project as well. A dear 90-year-old friend who lives alone in Milwaukee wrote that she hasn’t been able to leave her assisted-living apartment in over 6 weeks and cannot see family, and that my daily musical offerings were the highlight of her day! If you have not been receiving these via e-mail, please drop me a note and I will add you to the list, and even catch you up!

One other exciting project recently completed is a recording of piano arrangements of 100 Best-Loved Hymns and another recording of piano arrangements of A Variety of 100 Popular Songs (including Broadway songs, jazz, folk, classical and more!) Just like the “musical offering” project, I am making these available through a Dropbox link and can e-mail that to you as well. I would love to be able to give these away also, like I did with the 21 musical offerings, but, needless to say, these two recording projects cost quite a bit to produce and I am offering them each at a reduced price of $45. (Each of the 2 sets is the equivalent of 7-8 CDs of music, so I think it’s a pretty good deal!) You can order via e-mail or, if you prefer, call me on my cell phone with your credit card information.

Last, but by no means least, please keep Lisa and her beautiful family (pictured above at her baby shower, right before the lock-down) in your prayers. Lisa is 37 weeks pregnant with another set of twins (boys!) She is in great spirits and has a wonderful doctor. A dear Christian couple, refugees from Iran, are staying with them and helping out with the children at their home there in the Middle East. However, their country is on lock-down 4 days a week right now. Please pray for God’s protection and blessing on the arrival of 2 more precious grand-children, and for the family’s safety.

Finally, thank you so very much for your heartfelt prayers and your kind and generous support. Tammy and I are praying for you and yours… it is so true that we are “all in this together” – please know that our loving God is FOR us, WITH us and IN us (“Christ in you, the Hope of Glory!”)

With love and prayers and blessings, warmest regards and virtual hugs,
Ross and Tammy

Newsletter — February-April 2020

Clockwise from top left – Ross and Tammy enjoy visiting many historical sites; Lisa and Jonathan and family serve as tour guides; Grand-twins Evelyne and Isaiah love to “help” in the kitchen; Solomon, “Solo,” enjoys taking Grandpa on a treasure hunt; Ross leads a chapel service at a Christian ex-pat school; “Grammy Tammy” and “Grandpa Rossy” playing tourists

February-April 2020 Newsletter

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Hab. 2:14 (NIV)    

Family Update – Without a doubt, the highlight of 2019 for Tammy and me was our four-week trip to Middle East to visit our daughter Lisa, husband Jon, and treasured grand-children Evelyne, Isaiah and Solomon.  In addition to some wonderful family time and music-making, I was privileged to lead worship at the English-speaking Christian church at the Cultural Center and also lead a chapel service at the Christian expat school.   We were also able to visit some amazing historical sites and meet many of Lisa and Jon’s friends and co-workers.  On our last day with them, Lisa invited us to join her and Jon at a visit to her doctor to see the sonogram of the two precious baby boys she is carrying – yes, Lisa is expecting another set of fraternal twins in May!  With Solomon turning 2 in April and the twins turning 4 in June, they will certainly have their hands full and I am certain would appreciate your prayers for Lisa and the twins’ delivery, and for the assistance they will need for their growing and delightful family.

Other Ministry Visits – November-December 2019   

Immediately our return from overseas I had the opportunity to serve on Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November) at Royal Oaks Retirement Community in Bradbury CA in their Skilled Nursing, Assisted Living and Independent Living areas for one hour each.  Though these programs include a variety of musical styles, weaving both piano solos and vocals, there are invariably a number of requests for hymns and other sacred pieces.  This often leads to my being able to tell an inspirational story or two!  The incredible therapeutic power of music has been well-documented, especially in these wonderful facilities catering to folks in the twilight of their lives.  I have had many family members comment on what a difference these programs make in the lives of their loved ones – many of whom often feel lonely and disconnected — this is my opportunity to bring joy and happiness and hope into their day.  During December, I had opportunities to serve in four other communities similar to this one!

It was wonderful to make a return visit to South Bay Christian Church in San Jose, CA.  I believe this was the 20^th time to have been privileged to serve there in our 23 years of “State of the Heart!”  Our dear, long-time friends Pastor Mel and Barbara Dahlgren and Aletha and Brad Mann were delightful hosts and the dear brothers and sisters were so enthusiastic and encouraging as we worshiped together on the third weekend of Advent and as we enjoyed a Community Christmas Singalong that evening.  The following morning, I made a return visit to One in Christ Community Church in San Leandro CA and thoroughly enjoyed leading worship for Pastor Jun and Yolando Caranto and their beautiful congregation.  At both these venues, a delicious potluck was served and fellowship was excellent!

The weather cooperated the following December weekend when I traveled to Washington D.C. in order to serve once again at the Central Seventh-Day Baptist Church in Mitchellville MD and at Living Hope Christian Fellowship in Vienna VA.   I am so grateful to my hosts, Barbara and Dusty Miller and Sylvie and Torney Van Acker, for their hospitality, and to Pastor Dr. Lawrence Watt in Maryland, and Bonnie Edwards, Juanita Carlisle and Barbara Miller, pastoral team members in Vienna.  The rental car company graciously gave me a big Ford 150 four-wheel drive pickup truck for the price of an economy car, but thankfully there was no significant snow or ice that weekend and my 200 plus miles of driving went smoothly.

Ministry Contact Information

We are an established 501C3 California non-profit corporation and tax-deductible donations and CD orders can be done online at www.stateoftheheart.org or by calling 626-818-7113 or by writing to “State of the Heart Ministries” at P.O. Box 56, Sierra Madre CA  91024-0056

Ross’ Ministry Schedule – February-May 2020