Late Night Talk With God

Last night I lay awake with soft worship music playing listening to God.  I spent what I’m guessing was about 20-30 minutes just talking with God.   It’s been a long while since I’ve talked to God like this.   It wasn’t me bringing Him all my needs, but it was a conversation.  Yes I asked Him questions relating to my needs, but It wasn’t all me and about me. 

Through our talk He told me many things.  He told me to make an offer on a car I'm looking at.   He told me to trust Him.   IT’S all about His love and my trust of His love.   He told me that He loves me.  He told me that He will provide.  I don’t have the money at this moment to offer for a car, but He said (again) He will provide just as He has told me.  When I informed Him that I don’t have enough He replied, “Do you doubt me?”  It was just the way He said it – it made me chuckle and I told Him, “no Lord, I don’t doubt you.”  He told me that I have trials and hard times coming in my life and right now is His time to strengthen me, therefore that is a reason why He has been (and is) testing my trust and patience.   He is preparing me for a future life event/season.   I was telling Him about my day going to Gateway and all and I asked Him why I felt such a freedom while I was there.  He just said something like, “You were in my house.”  When I told Him that we are planning to go to the Potter’s House Sunday morning, He smiled and chuckled stating, “oh you are in for a surprise.”  After asking Him about it, He would only tell me that I’m in for a surprise.  When I asked Him if I should be worried, He chuckled again and said, “Whom shall you fear?  Trust me! I am with you.”   In my heart that told me that it’s nothing I should be worried about, I think it’ll be a good surprise.  He said that TD Jakes will be there, but there will be something else too.   I’m looking forward to what that is.   – After going to The Potter’s House, I think that the surprise was either TD Jakes wasn’t the preacher, or that there was a really cool and really good VBS presentation (singing, dancing and ballet).   We also got to sit in the balcony, almost dead center, it was really neat.       

While I was talking to Him about Gateway I mentioned that the place, as open and large as it was, emptied really quickly.  I thought that there was a huge lack of fellowship, to which the lord looked down on me and smiled, “Fellowship isn’t just for my house.  Fellowship is everywhere, not just in the church.”  

Near the end of our talk, God kept telling me to get some sleep, “you’ll need your sleep”.  It was past midnight and I needed to get up around 6:00am to get ready for The Potter’s House (and I always try to get 7-8 hours of sleep Every night).  I asked Him if He’d give me extra sleep tonight and He said He would, that He was with me.  He’s watching over me.    Knowing that in the morning I always forget the awesome thoughts I had right before going to sleep the night before, I asked Him if I should get up and write down our conversation or if He’ll remind me of it in the morning.  He assured me and at my question He reassured me that He’ll remind me in the morning.  I told Him that I wish I could tape record our conversations and we both got a good laugh out of that.  

Oh Time with God is so rewarding, so pleasurable and so amazing.   I love you Lord!  

I also asked Him to teach me to trust Him in a new way.  I want to learn how to fully, 100% trust Him in all circumstances, all things, and every waking moment of my life.  To me that almost (to that seemingly extreme) seems impossible.  However all things are possible through Christ.  I want to Learn that, to trust Him fully – and I can’t do it by my own strength, I can only do it through Him.  He told me to “Revise and Live Out” again.  He said to remember what Christ did on the cross and the value of that at all times.  “Do you remember how excited you were when you learned who the Holy Spirit is?” I replied with a “yes”, God continued, “Remember that always.  Remember that meaning, who He is. Remember who you are and who I am.” -  “I love you” -  “I am yours and YOU ARE MINE!  I will take care of you. I am watching over you. Trust me.”  

The Potter's House

So I earlier this week decided that while I'm in Texas the two churches I really want to go to were Gateway and The Potter's House.  Last night I went to Gateway and this morning I got to go to The Potter's House (TD Jake's Church).   This morning the whole family came to The Potter's House with me.   It was really good.  I was a bit disappointed that Bishop TD Jakes wasn't there, but it was a good service none the less.  The service was led by Bishop Michael Pitts.

For those of you who have never been to The Potter's House I fully recommend it.  It has it's own kind of style and culture.   It may push some people out of their comfort zone but it'll be good.   It's a huge 2-3 hour service that feels like a 40-60 minute service.  It goes really quick and doesn't feel near as long as it really is.   The congregation is a very interactive body that responds to what is spoken.   It's unlike every church that I have ever been in, I would Highly recommend it.


And just as our SLI class did last fall after we went to The Potter's House in the morning, we went out to eat at Pappasito's (in Dallas).   Good teaching, good worship followed by good food.   

Gateway Church (Dallas Texas)

Got to do something tonight that I’ve been wanting to do for nearly a year.   Ever since our SLI class came down here to Texas for Gateway’s Leadership Conference last fall, I’ve been wanting to return to some of the churches we went to.   So tonight I went, my dad came along too, to one of Gateway’s Saturday services.  They have two Saturday services and three Sunday services.   We went to the 5:45 (2^nd) service tonight.   It was really good!  It’s baptism weekend for Gateway, and they were doing live baptisms outside after each service.   Unlike most churches, the service seemed to be a normal service, but if you wanted to stay for the baptisms they were outside after the service.  Pastor Robert & Debbie Morris weren’t there and for the service they showed a recorded message from Pastor Jimmy Evens.  I’m normally not a huge fan of recorded messages during a church service, but it was absolutely Amazing!   The worship was Powerful, the message was Powerful…I don’t quite know how else to describe it except to say God was at work!!! Praise be to God!!!  

Strangely, in a good way, I felt a overwhelming peace of freedom.   I felt they could use a bit more welcoming feel to their Welcome Center, but the whole atmosphere left me with an unexplainable freedom.  A type of freedom that I don’t know how to explain, a freedom of freedom.  A abundant peace, with a Christ-Life freedom like I’ve never felt before.   What are you doing in that house God?!  Let your Name be Glorified!!!!!!

A Few Pictures From Traveling This Week

Flat Tire (Morton IL):

Broken Drive Shaft (St. Robert MO):

2nd Break down (Near Springfield MO): 

2nd Tow Truck (Near Springfield MO): 

Good Food (Springfield MO): 

General Update

I spent the whole trip either in the driver’s seat or the passenger’s seat of our truck.  I noticed that after I sat in a seat for a while and then got up (at a gas station or something), my belly button incision from the surgery really hurts.  I’m not sure why, but it bothers me a bit.  It’s taking longer to heal than I expected.  Also when we finally made it to the school for Abi’s game, when I got out and started walking in, I felt sharp stinging pain from the incision area, especially when I touched the area (unusual).   Something to keep praying about.

Also when I got to our new Texas house I met Nutmeg. Nutmeg is our new family dog.  I’m not sure what kind of dog she is exactly all I know is she wants to play 24/7.   Buddy (out long time Shnoodle- Schnauzer Poodle) has not taken a liking to her.  He’s been an only dog for a long time and doesn’t like it when other dogs steal all the attention away.  He overall tries to avoid her and stiffens up when she approaches.  .     .    .   Dog Drama

Though my plans are not set in stone, I expect to be in Texas for a week or two.   I’m hoping either this Saturday or Sunday to attend one of the Gateway Church services (Gateway is the church our SLI class went to for a leadership conference last fall).  Gateway is about an hour and a half from where we are and I haven’t figured out if it’s the church God want’s me to go to or just a church I want to go to.   If it’s the one He wants me to go to, I’ll probably go to a Sunday service.  However if it’s just one that I really want to go to, I’ll go to a Saturday service and then got to where God leads me on Sunday.   If I can figure out my schedule too, I would also really like to go to The Potter’s House (TD Jakes church – also a church our SLI class went to).  

As a kind-of-job while I’m down here in Texas I plan to continue to try to sell everything that I brought down and maybe some of my mom’s stuff that she want’s to get rid of down here.   I’m really hopping (as I have been) that my China Set will sell.  A creditable dealership down in Florida said it’s retail Value is $500.  However I’m not necessarily asking that much.  I would take almost anything for it – I just want to sell it. 

Which brings me to my finances.  I am still trying to find enough finances for a car and for next year up in Canada.   I was hopping to have a thousand more in my bank by now, but sad to say that hasn’t happened yet – though probably for the better.  God is giving me the money that my capacity can hold – I don’t want any more than what I can hold.  Yes I want more money and I feel a need for it since I have a lot less than my expected budget is calling for, but Trusting God is a higher priority.  

And finally just a note to all readers, my blog posts over the next few weeks may be scattered since our house down here doesn’t have internet.  I’ll only be able to post when I go somewhere that has internet.   Though, I’m hopping that I’ll be able to post more often than I’ve posted the past few weeks.   

Made It!

Praise God, we finally made it to Texas.  After out 2-day, 1-night journey turned into a 4-day, 3-night journey we at last made it.  The truck now having suffered 3 breakdowns in the last few days has been fixed up and runs Great!!!!!   Praise God!   We, my dad and I, had made a goal when we left Monday to be back in time for Abi’s volleyball game Tuesday night.  As you know, that didn’t work.  So we made a new goal to be home for her game Thursday night!   At many points during the driving on Thursday it looked like we were in no way going to make it for her second game, let alone the first.  And at other times there seemed to be a chance at making it to her second game, not the first for sure.  Praise God we arrived at the school (where the games were) just a few minutes after the second game had started!   It’s soo great to be with family again!  

Finally Off! ... and...back again...

So this morning started off a bit on the edge. The shop claimed that they started looking at the truck around 9am, but by 11:30 we hadn't heard anything. So we called them, again, and they didn't know for sure but they thought it was likely that they would have it done early in the afternoon. So we checked out of our hotel (again) and waited. Finally, early afternoon, they called and said the test drive was great except for a mysterious oil drip. So we drove it around a short bit and the oil dried up and the mechanic said it was good to go. So we left around 3pm with the hope that we could maybe get home by 11 or 12. Once again God had a different plan. About an hour into the 10ish hour drive ahead of us the rear U-joint blew (the shop had just fixed the front U-joint). So after about an hour a tow truck came and towed us 10 miles into Springfield MO. Praise God for His provision - this could of all happened in much more frustrating circumstances. After calling the previous shop (which gave us the contact for this tow truck and new mechanic's shop) they gave us a full refund for our trouble - talking with them they really seem to care!

You know, it seems that every time we make plans, we turn around to find that God says He has a different plan. God what are you up to? I want to see how this turns out.

Lord Give us wisdom, Give us patience, Give us understanding. We do not know what you are doing, we do not understand what is going on. First we ask for wisdom, is this you or is this an attack from the enemy? What do you want us to learn from all of this? How can we apply this to our lives for you? Second we ask for wisdom, do we continue on or do we leave the truck and get a rental car to get us to Texas? Lord we we ask for protection, understanding, patience and wisdom. Let your will be done!

2 Days To 4 Days

Well a day's past and were still stuck in Missouri. The Mechanic Shop said they plan to look at the truck tomorrow. Hopefully they can fix it quickly. Praying. God let your will be done. Show us what you want us to see from this. Praise God!

God's Plan Not Ours

I’ve tried many new things recently (some that may surprise some of you).  My dad’s been back in Illinois (since moving to Texas) for work, and he’s been staying with my Grandma and me at my grandma’s house.  While I was riding with him one day, he took me through the Starbucks drive-thru and got us both a drink.   It occurred to me that I just drank my First Starbucks coffee!   Two days later he bought me another one. 

I also had my first experience of a car breaking down on the side of the road (a previous post) … and more….

My dad and I were planning to leave for Texas Monday at 1:00pm.  I was planning to pick him up at work in the truck (which just had to have it’s shocks replaced) and we would drive till midnight, stop at a hotel and then drive the remainder of the trip on Tuesday (the whole trip is 14 hours).  However, as often seems to happen, that didn’t happen.  My alarm clock (my iPod) died during the night so I got up 2-3 hours later than I had planned, thus pushing the time I picked up my dad until around 2:00pm. 

Strange thing happened.  Shortly after I pulled away from my grandma’s house till I picked up my dad an hour later, I felt my spirit urged to pray in the Spirit for a reason I didn’t know.  A few minutes out from picking up my dad I heard a loud “Bang” from the truck, but I didn’t think anything of it since I didn’t see nor feel anything.  When I got to my dad’s work about 5 minutes later, the front tire was completely flat.  So I am assuming that God spoke to me to pray in the Spirit protection over me so that I wouldn’t lose control over the truck when the tire blew out and that the truck wouldn’t be hurt by it.  Praise God!  So with my dad and his friend, Justin Koch, we worked to fix the tire.  We tried to get the spare out and after much unsuccessful work concluded that the fixture holding the spare was stripped and we would have to cut the cable sometime.   So Justin and my dad worked really hard to get the bolts off the tire, but one bold didn’t want to loosen in any sort of way.  So after, having engineering minds, got long poles, tools and many other things really started to work with it. 

Oh yeah, grandma, those old World Books and Dictionary that we thought weren’t worth much at all were really put to some good use, they were used as a leverage point and a large block of wood (they are now in the garbage since they were covered with grease by the end).   Justin then drove home quickly to get some tools and some jacks. My dad wanted while we were at it to get both front tires replaced since the other front tire needed it.  So he called Tremont Oil and they had two new tires ready.  We jacked up the car and really worked hard to get the tires off (we had to unload a lot of the truck to get some of the tools).  We then put the tires in Justin’s other car and took them to Tremont Oil.  Then we went over to Miller Automotive to pay them for replacing the shocks, then we came back and got the new tires.   After putting the tires back on the truck we headed off and dropped off Justin’s car at his house, then went to Miller Automotive again to have them cut the Spare Tire holder.  When they looked at it they said we were just using the tool wrong and it worked perfectly.   So at last, more than 3.5 hours after we had originally planned, we headed off for Texas.  We were hopping to make it 6-7 hours yet into the night before stopping. 

Yet again, as things tend to go, that did not happen to its full extent.  We were making really good time, and were really happy that we might actually be able to make it further before stopping.  But… 3-4 hours into the trip the truck broke down in the middle of the Interstate.  After spending about a half an hour trying to diagnose the problem, we concluded that the Drive Line was loose.  We could drive it, but no more than about 2mph before it made unhealthy noises and vibrated a lot.  So through much trouble (there was very, very little cell service here) we called State Farm Road Side Assistance and they lined up the nearest tow truck to tow us to a good mechanic and a hotel.   It took about 90 minutes for the tow truck to get to us (come to find out he was the closest tow truck in the area, and he drove 90 minutes to get to us – he covers a very large area in his work).  When we unloaded the truck from the tow truck we backed it into a spot in the mechanic's parking lot.  However as we did this the Drive Line completely snapped.... So by the time we got to the hotel it’s midnight, and were only three and a half hours into the 14 hour trip.   Sigh….. things just aren’t going as planned… God what are you doing????  He has some plan that we cannot see.   Who knows…… God does.  

The Tow Truck driver, Johnny, was a believer and we had a short talk with him.  Something that really stuck out to me that he said (and I will quote him on it) when people tell/ask him if he has religion or he’s religious, he replies, “I don’t have a religion, I have a relationship.”   He was telling us that about 85% of his time is spent in the cab of his tow truck, and he spends much of it talking to God.  He easily and confidently was able to say that his relationship with God was great.  In that way, I am jealous of him.  He gets more time than most to just sit and talk with God on a daily basis.  Praise God.