Belated Italian Lunch

So, I've never blogged at work before (don't worry I'm on lunch). Actually for lunch I'm having some an Amazing concoction of pasta goodness. Anna Marie, 1st generation Brooklyn raised American-Italian, made me some pasta with beef and turkey sauce with marinara and fresh mozzarella cheese melted on top. Ahhhhh...... It's a happy belated birthday present (it's still in the same month, so it's all good).
I can't believe that the summer is on the downswing! I think of June and July as the summer. However, all the kids up here were still in school until like the middle of June and don't go back until after Labor Day! So, I guess my thinking is a little different. I know that it will continue to be hot for a while.

Summer is Here

So this Sunday at Forefront, the AC wasn't on when we got there. It was like 75 degrees at 6am when I left my apartment to be there for setup, and a heat advisory was in affect for the day. So we turned on the AC, and it did not much. Remember, we meet in a theater with a tall ceiling. We were pretty hot doing setup, but got it all done earlier than usual. Yes! we thought, now we can get breakfast sandwiches in the nice cool corner deli. But no, their AC was not on either (but the breakfast sandwiches as always wonderful). So back the the warm Blender Theater.
I think everyone had in the back of their minds the idea that it would be cool by the time the first service started. Wrong. The programs were thicker because of life group info, so they made pretty good fans. At the end of 1st service, Jacob and a few others went to Walgreens, bought up some bottled water and ice and passed them out as people left and came in for the 2nd service. I must have drank at least 3 as well as a bit of OJ.
Usually when there's a heat wave, you hear about fights breaking out. The atmosphere at Forefront was different. People joked about it, dealt with it, and kept going.
After church, we had some reorganizing to do of all our supplies, so a bunch of people stayed after in the heat to reorganize and eat hot pizza. It was great. By the time I left for the train, I was completely drained. When I got off the train in Brooklyn, I had to get yet another drink - Gatorade. I took a wonderful cold shower and relaxed. Ahh, what fun! God is good!
Ya know, millions of Christians worship every week with no AC at all and they're fine. So I guess we got a glimpse of what it's like for them, as well as what it was like for Christians in New York 1900.

Static vs. Dynamic

So I was thinking about my life lately. Over the past two years, it's been filled with transition. During my senior year at Ozark, I started in preaching at a church in Commerce, OK. Shortly after, I moved off campus into my first apartment (and what an apartment it was...that's another story). I graduated and a week later I came to Forefront to do a Summer internship. Then God led to move to NYC and do stuff with Dave Smith. For a few months I was in limbo, and then I started my first full time job with Jews for Jesus. After a few months of a "stable" situation at J4J, Brian talks to me about a possible Leadership Residency at Forefront! It's seems ironic. During my 5 years at Ozark, I often longed for the "stability" of ministering in one place to one people, pouring all my energy into a church.
Maybe transition is a part of life, an essential tension. When we're kids we want to grow up, but when we're older we want to be kids again. I wonder if the danger is to put too much weight on either side of the tension. Too much focus on stability can stunt growth, but rapid and frequent change can suck the life out of you. Not too profound I guess. But it's true.
I wonder if this tension will be the same in the New Heaven and New Earth? We will be with the Lord, and that will be a stable thing, right? But I like to think that we'll have transition and growth. It's part of how we're created. Heaven won't be singing all the time. What will we discover, invent, change, or create? Life both now and then is dynamic vs. static.
What about God? At first I would think that God is static. Ya know, Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end, always the same yesterday and today. Gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. But God is also dynamic. When there was nothing but God, He created! He changed the status quo. He created man, who is dynamic. What a gamble! He spoke to man, did miracles in space and time, he gave the Law to the Hebrews. he spoke to the prophets. He even became a man himself, Jesus. God died on a cross. God defeated death by rising again. God now fills his people with his Spirit. He continues to perform miracles, reveal, speak, and guide us. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. Static yes, but also dynamic.
So in the midst of everyday static life, we serve a Dynamic God, who is reconciling the world to himself through Christ Jesus. During the mundane, the Holy Spirit empowers us to bring his Kingdom to this earth. While there is nothing new under the sun, God is doing a new thing.
And when life is falling out of control, God is the same yesterday and today. When we are faithless, he is faithful. He is an ever-present help in time of trouble. When the weight of sin hangs on our shoulders, we know that he alone is Holy. Whatever our present circumstances, Jesus came, died in our place for our sins, and rose again to bring us life.
So...if life is mundane, maybe you need to embrace some change that God will bring into your life. And if your life is in transition, trust that God is the same that he always has been and always will be.

Only in New York

• The Wendy's Dollar Menu is $1.19.
• Standing 1/2 inch away from total strangers, while avoiding eye contact for more than 2 seconds, trying not to fall on someone, for up to 10 minutes.
  
• Seeing homeless people every single day.
• Real. Good. Breakfast Sandwiches.
  
• Riding a train with Chinese, Hasidic Jews, Hispanics, Whites, Blacks, and whoever else you can think of.
• Real. Good. Bagels.
  
• Nearly being run over by a taxi and having people close to you laugh and say "welcome to New York."
  

Gross things in NYC in no particular order

• Grabbing the warm part of the pole in the subway.
• Humans picking up dog excrement.
• Pigeons.
• Rats.
• Walking into an invisible stench of garbage, sewer, BO, or something you just can't put your finger on...and you wouldn't want to.
• Crowded subway car with no AC in the middle of July.
• Dried throw-up on the sidewalk, particularly prevalent on early Sunday mornings.
• Being caught in a sudden downpour with no umbrella...in Central Park (yes it's happened to me, and it was gross).
• 59th St and 5th Ave where the carriage horses are...it's a mix of manure, hay, and horse food all smashed together (I wonder if they sample it now and then...that's gross!).
• 85% of public bathrooms (it's a great thing when you find a clean one!).

Stolen Computer

My computer was stolen last Friday.  I was sitting in Chipotle (fast food restaurant) and while my roommate and I were talking, it disappeared.

We had gone to a Good Friday service earlier that night at Redeemer Presbyterian.  Man, it was powerful.  I don't know if you're a fan of liturgy, but it can sure focus one's mind well.  I was really confronted with my own sin.  It's been a while.  And it made talk of the cross so much more penetrating.  I had met God.

So after meeting with God, we went to Chipotle.  From the moment we left the church, Tim and I began to discuss church and worship and community - good stuff that you don't get to talk about at length often enough.  I decided the get tacos instead of a burrito this time.  It was alright.  We kept talking for at least 30 minutes after we were done eating.  I thought of something and got a pen out of my backpack that was right by my leg on the floor.  About 10 minutes later, we decided to leave and discovered that my backpack was gone.   From then on, lots of emotions flooded through me.  I sure am glad that Tim was there, because I could hardly think straight enough to think of anything I should do.  We called the police, scoped out the place, talk to the management, sent out text messages for prayer, etc.  It was rough.  No one saw anything.  There were 4 people sitting right by us, and they saw nothing.  There were no security cameras by us (I checked the others later and found nothing).  So, today it's 5 days later, and I'm pretty sure that my computer has a new memory and is in the hands of someone else.  Though there's always hope that it will get back to me with the memory still in tact.

For the most part, I've been a little surprised at how OK I am.  It's a big deal and a major inconvenience, but God is faithful.  I lost some stuff, yeah, but I've got a job so I'll be able to get replacement stuff again.

Last night in my Life Group, we talked about Jesus when he said, "I am the resurrection and the life."  Death was in the air, and I couldn't help seeing that before we can have the life that is truly life that Jesus offers, we have to face death.  We have to face our own sin and the consequences.  And when we accept Jesus' death on our behalf, we can experience resurrection.  And what does that resurrected life look like?  It's: exciting, a new lease on life, part of a bigger story, giving love to others as we've been given, running through a field, loving people unconditionally, and so much more.

So I think about this guy who lifted my bag.

I've been reading Genesis lately and before God flooded the earth, Genesis 6:5-6 says:

"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart." (NASB)

"His heart was filled with pain." (NIV)

"It broke his heart." (NLT)

My sin is a part of that.  The man who robbed me (God's creation in His own image) broke God's heart.  If God's heart is broken, then so if mine.  This man does not know the love of God that I have experienced - the kind of love that voluntarily sacrifices itself for another despite full knowledge of their complete sin.  I pray that God would reveal himself to this man, that he would crash into his life.  I pray that I would meet him one day... as a brother.

Presuppositions

So it's been a little weird telling people that I work at Jews for Jesus. I seem to often an "OH" response. It's like I just told them, "and oh yeah, I'm an expert on all things Jewish." It's funny. It's like telling someone you work for a hedge fund and immediately being asked financial questions. Well, I'll tell you now that I don't know a lot of things about Jews in NYC. I'm learning here and there, but my main job is to support the staff who does know so they can reach out to Jews.
Here's the reason I'm writing about this. I don't want to be defined by what I do for a living. I want people to known me for me.
If I tell someone that I'm a "Christian," they immediately have a stereotype in their minds of what that person believes, looks, and acts like. For the most part in New York City, it's negative. We've got to live a life so that people can be surprised when they hear we're followers of Jesus. Am I defined by following Jesus? Yes. However, people have extremely different and diverse definitions to draw from. In this context, I am forced to follow the real Jesus or fall into one of many false definitions.
There's you're fun fact for the day.

The Past Month

As you can see below (previous post), it's been a while. February was a pretty eventful month I guess. I started a new job for one thing. This past week was three weeks. I'm an administrative assistant at the Jews for Jesus office in Manhattan. Josh, the branch director was one of the speakers for two of the Ozark classes. After he taught the second class, we got to talk a little, and he half-jokingly asked if I wanted to do some "administrative grunt work" when he heard I was in search of work. I answered a quick Yes! A few weeks later I had an interview. I learned later that he was not seriously considering hiring someone until that conversation. So, I'm learning the ropes of the office and eventually I'll be his assistant. It's definitely not what I envisioned myself doing, but it's where God has led me. I thought I would get a job where I could be around lots of unChristian people, but I guess I get to share the gospel in a different way to people when they call the J4J office. So, I'm thankful for work and a paycheck.
Last weekend, an Ozark class also came out. They were here just from Friday to Monday. It was an "Introduction to Church Planting" class, and I got to be with them all weekend. They were a great group, and we had some great teachers. I am so thankful that God led me to be involved with this. I've been learning stuff and have had church planting on my mind more and more. Pretty sweet.
Life Groups also started this month. I'm leading one that's studying the Gospel of John. The three meetings we've had have been great so far. There's about 11 of us altogether (though not everyone has shown up at the same time). Though we're meeting in the Forefront office, everyone has felt comfortable. I've tried to make it as homey as possible. The group is kind of backwards from what I thought it would be though. I kind of envisioned having some people who weren't Christians, but everyone is. I also thought it would be super focused on study and not so much on relationships, but people have been staying after group for a whole hour just talking. That's OK with me.

So last week on the way home from work I saw a guy who obviously was either coming from or going to the airport. He had a large thin case, and I asked him if it was a snowboard. We started talking, and he told me that he had just come from Colorado from a snowboarding week. He got to see The X Games and showed me a video on his camera. It was pretty cool, cause I had watched a few minutes of the X Games on Sunday. It was just a random conversation with a random person, but I really felt like I should keep talking to him. It was weird, but it was like the Spirit was prompting me. So I asked him questions about whatever I could think of, and he was pretty talkative. Now the amazing thing was that this had been going on for about 30 minutes and he and I were both not home yet. In the back of my mind I kept thinking how awesome it would be if he lived in Bensonhurst and how much more awesome it would be if he was at my stop! Well, we kept talking, he wants to go to Colorado and live on the slopes. Not a bad life if I say so. Anyway it turns out that, wonder of wonders, he got off at the same stop as me. He lives like a block and half away from me! We exchanged numbers and hopefully will be a drink this weekend or something.
I question all the time why God led me to live in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. It's kinda far from Manhattan, and there's only a few people from Forefront here. I dream all the time of being a part of a group of Christians that can live close together and radically effect the neighborhood where they live. I guess God works all the time when the circumstances aren't perfectly like we've planned.

December

Wow, so most of december passed without a post. That's the holidays for ya. I got to go home for Christmas. It was great! It was nice just to be home with family and hang out. Many of you heard about the ice storm, and lots of you experienced it. I was overwhelmed! I'd say that 95% of every tree had some kind of battle injury, and every driveway had a huge pile of branches stacked in front. It looked like a bomb went off 20 feet in the air. It was crazy.
So the big gift I got for Christmas was from my parents: an iphone. Yes, I got an iphone. Everyone seems to go gaga over it. Well, that's apple technology, culture, and advertising for you. It is pretty great, especially having the internet and google maps anywhere in the city. And thankfully, it's a great phone.
I got back to New York on new years eve, and much to my dad's chagrin, I did not go to times square to watch the ball drop. Instead, I enjoyed time with my roommate and another friend in a more quiet celebration.
While I was home, I got to go to my home church, Cedar Ridge CC, twice - which was great! It's always good to see familiar faces and have everyone ask me if it's cold here (actually this week it's been the coldest yet with highs in the 20's!).

Survival vs. Love

I just watched the movie Crash. If you haven't seen it, it chronicles the experiences of various ethnic groups interacting in LA. It shows a raw picture of the feelings and outcomes of racism. It's a well-made, well thought out movie, and I highly recommend it. It will definitely stir your emotions.
However, by the end everything was not tied up in a nice bow. Characters learn some lessons, but in the last scene racism continues to manifest its ugly head yet again, as if to say "it will never end." It's a pessimistic ending. I hardly found any sense of honor or integrity either. Bending the rules was common place and any thought of forgiveness or reconciliation was hardly in the equation (Julia Roberts' character was a small exception). I think what I was searching for and found missing was love. Love. In the midst of racial tension and misunderstanding, no one humbled themselves, no one took the time to understand another's viewpoint, and no one tried to make amends. Instead, each character simply did their best to survive. There was a self-centered justification to their actions. Love. Where was love?
It makes me think about the way of Jesus. I sure hope that Jesus followers are known for their love - not just a lack of racism because they are trying to survive. Trying to survive because that's what society says is best, or because that's what makes them feel good. I sure hope that Jesus followers understand more than anyone else - really anyone else - how precious people are. We should understand that every person has been made by God in His image. And more than that, He showed how precious every life is when He died for them on a cross. Love.
Now in the end, everyone is a racist to a certain degree. I'm a racist. When I look at a stranger, I observe their skin tone, what they're wearing, their language, and body language, and then I make judgments. Stereotypes flow quickly. It's almost automatic. We all experience this. It's a survival technique. But we must go beyond just survival. We must own up to our stereotypes, and then chose the way of Jesus. Love. Every time. Is it hard? Yes. But that's what Jesus did for us...for you...for me.

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility to all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved up through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. -- Titus 3:1-8

Learning from the Monks

I think that if I was born in the middle ages, I would be a monk in a monastery. I know they had their flaws. I'm not so much attracted to the simple life, but the focused one. Being a part of an entire community where everyone is seeking one kind of life together. When I look at American society, I often hate it. Each person must fight alone - against everyone else for the mighty dollar, or whatever else the individual wants. However, I know that every culture and society is imperfect with its flaws. But what about the church? Shouldn't it be the best society/culture - a different people living within a people? American/Western Christianity is still so individualistic to me. It's believers getting together as individuals - not as a community together focused on one kind of life together. That's what I want. That's the kind of church I look and strive towards.
And so here I am writing about it on my own, personal blog. Ironic?

Not from Brooklyn

So tonight I decided to get some pizza for dinner. I went to the local pizza place, Giovanni's, to enjoy some authentic New York sausage pizza. While I was waiting, the woman beside me was talking with they guy working about her cat that had been lost for a week and a half. I struck up a conversation with her, asking about the cat. We chatted a little, then she asked me where I was from. When I told her I was from Oklahoma, she responded with: "You're not from Brooklyn...so that's why you're talking." So I started a conversation with a stranger - guess I'm not from Brooklyn.
Actually Bensonhurst, my neighborhood, has been really inviting. When you start a conversation, people are really open to talking. It really is a great neighborhood. It's definitely a lot different from life back in Broken Arrow, OK. But like I often say, people are people. It's not like New Yorkers are from another planet or another people group. There are some differences, but in many ways, people are the same as back home.
So I guess the moral of the story (haha)...don't let your stereotypes of people get carried away.

Esther

So I just read the book of Esther in the Bible. It's such a great story. Whether or not you're a Christian or even religious, it is a must read. Today as I was reading it again on the subway, I thought of how fun it would be to read it to children at a library (in the children's version of course). There's love, humor, action, and lots of great irony. It's written like a great legend. I believe that it is.
One really interesting part I noticed this time came at the end(if you haven't read it yet, go and take 20 min. to read it right now!). When the Jews are able to defeat their enemies all over the kingdom, it says that they were given the plunder of their enemies (8:11), but they ended up not touching it (9:16)! What happened to all that plunder??? Well, when Mordecai tells all the Jews to celebrate the two days of relief from their enemies, he tells them to feast, give presents of food,...and to give gifts to the poor (9:22). Where did the poor enter the picture. I wasn't there and the story doesn't specifically say this, but it looks like they would celebrate by giving gifts to the poor, because that's what they did with all the plunder when they defeated their enemies. What would cause these exiles in a foreign land not to take advantage of all the plunder? The followed Yahweh. They were different. God cares about the poor, so they did too (so much that they gave gifts to the poor - others - as part of their celebration! That sounds like a really neat idea - give to the poor when you have a celebration). The Jews are painted as very different in Esther. Mordecai doesn't bow down to Haman. Before Haman's demise, his wife tells him: "Since Modecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him" (6:13). When the Jews were given permission to fight for themselves, "many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them" (8:17). Wow! When the day came for the showdown between the Jews and their enemies, people were afraid of them, and all the king's officers supported the Jews (9:2, 3). The Jews were different. Even though "God" isn't mentioned in the story, He's all over the place working for the favor of his people. I could go on, but what a great story of God's work through his people to ultimately bring our hope, Jesus.
What's your favorite part of the story? Go ahead, leave a comment!

Haircut

So on Wednesday I finally got a haircut - trim actually. I hadn't been to any places in Bensonhurst (the neighborhood in Brooklyn where I live). But I saw a sign for $10 mens' cuts at a place right by the subway entrance, so I tried it out. There were two women there and then three women working. Just a slight bit awkward. Anyway, while the woman was cutting my hair we had the small talk going on. She had an accent and would periodically speak in another language to the other women working, so I asked her where she was from. Albania! Not just Albania, but Dures, where I went last summer during my missions trip with CIY! They were really excited and so was I. My landlord is also from Albania. Who knows how God has been working and how he will use this for his glory. Please be praying for me that I will be able to make some relationships with people in my building and in my neighborhood here in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

Free Time

The past few weeks I've had a lot of free time - mainly because I don't have a job yet. Yes, I am helping Dave Smith quite a bit, but that's a little more sporadic. But like I said, I've got a lot of "free time." It's really nice when there's a party or concert or baseball game, and I've got nothing to hold me back. Other times though, it drives me crazy. I hate not having something pressing to accomplish. Sure there are things to be done, but nothing extra to spring me out of bed in the morning with that much more gusto.
I remember a few summers ago in high school (wow, that was like 6 or 7 summers ago, I'm old!) when my pastor from my home church gave a devotion for the youth group. I think it was the last Wednesday night before summer. We had a tailgate party and volleyball game. He talked about how sometimes the most dangerous place we can be is in our "free time." Satan uses it to tempt us toward sin. It's true. So in the past few weeks, I've been having to practice the discipline of self-starting. I'd say that most of the time, it's better to be doing something rather than wondering if anything will happen.

Random New Yorkisms

I was going to put this in my newsletter, but I didn't. So here it is!
Living in New York: Here are some random and interesting things I’ve discovered about the Big Apple.
1. People aren’t jerks. Everyone is more direct here; no beating around the bush. But if you need directions, people are happy to give them. People aren’t cold-hearted, just intensely focused.
2. I feel safe. No, I haven’t been mugged, shot, or solicited. I never really feel threatened anywhere. Even at the dead of night, there are plenty of people on the streets (“city that never sleeps”). I guess we think of the 80’s and early 90’s when it was a little dangerous. I’m glad it’s better now.
3. The poor and homeless are everywhere. Everyday I see at least 5 homeless people, or people asking for money…and that’s if I’m not looking for them. Jesus came to preach good news to the poor (Lk. 4:18)…do I?
4. There is a heightened awareness of social issues…to an extent. People care about healthy foods, the environment, AIDS in Africa, and the Darfur, which are all great. But the awareness is limited to the socially popular issues.
5. It’s diverse. I hear people speaking various languages every day. I’ve seen Catholic priests, Buddhist monks, guys in Muslim garb (no they were not in a bar), and more ethnicities than I know. You really can find a flavor or everything in this city.
6. It’s expensive. I’ve heard it’s one of the most expensive places to live. I believe it from the cost of rent alone! Most things are a little more expensive, so you’ve got to be pretty savvy. However, a frappuccino at Starbucks is always the same price everywhere in America.

Crazy-Cool

So I found something interesting this week as I was reading through my journal. Last year on the first entry (July 06), I had just finished reading "If you want to walk on water you've got to get out of the boat" by Jon Ortberg. It's about living my faith. Ortberg asks a question at the end that I wrote down in my first entry: "If your God truly is a big God, and you could ask him to do any one thing in your life, what would it be?" I didn't know what to answer back in July 06. When I finished that journal on July 22, 07, I looked back at that question. Here's a part of my entry on July 22, 07: "Looking back @ the question at the 1st entry of this journal, I would say that the one thing would be to find a job & apartment in New York a week after I get back from vacation." Well, yesterday, on my 6th day back, I signed a lease on an apartment, and I already have a job lined up! Wow! God is crazy-cool!
It's the same apartment that I looked at on Wednesday. Thanks for your prayers. It's a big decision to sign a year-long lease. I'm really going to live in New York - definitely for a year. Now I just need to deal with the details of furnishing the place. All of my furniture is back in Oklahoma of course (I just couldn't fit my bed and dresser in the overhead bins on the plane). It's actually more normal here for people to buy the things they need here and then sell them whenever they move. However, I do still have lots of things back home that I would like to have here (like so many great books - a commentary set I just got for my birthday for one!). Pray that I'll be able to get the things I need whether buying for from home, and that I'll be content with what I have (Philippians 4:12; 1 Timothy 6:6-8).

I'm Back!

Well, I'm back in New York City. The past two weeks were wonderful! I got to be with my family, both in Oklahoma and in Kansas, and I got to see some friends from Ozark for a few days. I was also able to go to my home church for the first time in almost a year! Being away from home, or ministering at other places has kept me. Once again I was surprised by the weight of support from those at Cedar Ridge. It's not that I didn't think it was possible, but I didn't realize how much God has blessed me. So, to my supporters once again, THANK YOU!
Some of you probably know that I've been looking for an apartment with my roommate. Well, today I looked at one in Brooklyn where a couple at Forefront lives. It's going to be a really nice, new place once it is renovated, it's in a good community, and most important it's at a great price! After looking the place over, the landlord told me that I should let him know by tomorrow afternoon (thursday), because he would be showing it to other people. I'm glad I called him right away! So my roommate and I are going to sleep on it and decide in the morning. We really haven't heard or found of any other apartments like this one - good price, newly renovated, people from Forefront, great price. This really looks like God's provision right now. Over the summer, I've been living in Queens. I don't want to get too much ahead of myself, but how could God work through me with my landlord or with my neighbors if I went to this place in Brooklyn? To quit rambling, would you pray for me and my roommate, that God would give us wisdom about this? I know that some of you have already been praying about this. Perhaps this is the answer, or perhaps it will come later. Either way, I'm excited to see where God leads. Thanks.

Joy and Grief

I'm coming home on Tuesday! I'm super excited! I'm going to be in Broken Arrow for two weeks, form August 7-21. I'm looking forward to having a good break. I only had one week between graduation and moving to New York. Now I get to have a break from always having something pressing to do or someone to see. I'm hoping to go to Kansas this next weekend and to Joplin on the 20th to see friends from Ozark.
On a more serious tone, I just received an e-mail about a friend of mine, Patricia, who recently suffered a brain aneurysm. She played piano at 1st Christian in Miami, OK, where I preached during the spring semester. It has been a hard season for her recently anyway as her husband, Nate, passed away in the Fall. Every time I spoke with Patricia she encouraged me with her faithfulness to God. Whether wet or dry eyes, she was either praising God for his faithfulness to her in the midst of grief or she was concerned about others who didn't know God's love. It pains me to hear that she is having to undergo surgeries, and will probably not be able to live by herself again. But with Patricia's same spirit, I believe that God is faithful to his people. Soon I will be able to worship before the throne of the lamb with both Nate and Patricia where there will be no more sickness, pain, tears or death. How great is our God! Come quickly, Lord Jesus.