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Saturday, October 29, 2005

My "other half" is having fun (I presume) hunting this weekend and I'm left to fill my time for the first time in a while. It's almost like I'm single again--not worrying about another person and the other person's schedule. But I certainly don't miss being single. After all, what's better than marrying and getting to hang out with your best friend 24/7?
Last night, my dad, sister and friend Ambrosia and I went to the Jeremy Camp concert--que magnifique!
He was amazing! Sounds exactly the same in person AND he even sang a duet with his wife, Adrien, formerly of the Benjamin Gate. I wanted sooo badly to hear her sing on her own again like the time I saw her perform when she was engaged to Jeremy a couple years ago. Now she's 4 months pregnant with their second child. Crazy huh? I think they've been married two years--they jumped on the baby-wagon pretty quickly.
Which brings me to my next topic; all my friends have baby-fever (except me). No thanks, 2-5 years sounds good, although God definitely could make it happen if he wanted. To me, the gift of being newlyweds without kids gives us freedom to just go. Just pick up and go. The only lives truly impacted are ours; not our kids, etc.
Keep me in your prayers, I'm still working on getting the time off for Ireland this summer, and it's looking promising, but I still need to go get the "go ahead" from my editor and I'm not bringing it up for a little while longer.

ON ANOTHER NOTE....
Have you ever had God lay someone on your heart in a big way, even though you haven't thought or talked to the person in a long time? That's what He did to me on Wednesday for a friend named Braden. He's been troubled for a long time and basically wrote me off at 18 because he felt bad about himself around me because he said I had it together and he didn't. He didn't want to be held accountable for his actions, though all I offered him was love and friendship, no judgment.
So I was doing my Bible study and God brought him to mind and then that faded (cuz I didn't realize it was God putting it on my heart--just thought it was a random thought).
Then, we went to the Jeremy Camp concert last night and the friend with us mentioned that she had talked to him recently and that he's involved in ministry at our former church, but not doing well at all.
It finally dawned on me that God was talking to me the other day.
After the concert, i prayed all the way home about it and asked God what He wanted me to do. I felt Him tell me that I need to go talk to him (sunday) and tell him that God layed John chapter 14 on my heart.
Off the top of my head while I was driving, I had no clue what John Chapter 14 had in it. When I got home, i read the passage and saw a few things that might apply, but really, the message isn't for me.
So I'm planning on going on Sunday to the church. I have no idea if he'll be there or if I'm slightly crazy for wanting to seemingly get stepped on again, but that's what God told me to do, so that's what I'm going to do. We'll see what happens...

Saturday, October 15, 2005

This week was amazing and I am just blown away by God's loving response to situations I never thought could turn around so quickly. Let me explain...

Just after starting my newspaper job at the "Bright Star" (as opposed to the "Dark Star" across town), I met a gentleman who always seemed cheerful and kind and I truly had a wonderful time chatting with him. As I talked with him further, I found out that this fellow, we'll call him Tim, was a Christian.
Tim had attended a very popular church in the city, but said he felt "like a number" in the megachurch. He sat next to a different person every week and the furthest his relationship went with them was "hi, how are ya."
He quit going and started church shopping.
Then I happened along and invited him to mine. Not say mine's perfect, but I genuinely believe we have a knack for reaching out to new people.
I think he found the same and felt comfortable.
He immediately joined a new believers group and he now attends on Tuesdays.
Then he was baptized last Sunday.
Then, his unbelieving son, who saw him baptized, asked if he could go to Youth group on Wednesday.
He attended, came home with "The Message" Bible and the pair talked until midnight about Jesus.
Tim's son came to the Lord that night.

This all happened in the span of a month.

PRAISE GOD!

**Please keep Tim's family in prayer--his ex-wife says she's a believer, his daughter Abbey is not and is shy of public settings and wants nothing to do with Tim's beliefs. Pray that God will tug at her heart, her curiousity, anything and draw her in.