leaving dodge

I'm about to leave for the weekend - going down to Plainfield to visit some friends.  M & L have been my stability while I've lived here in IL.  (If you recall from a previous post - Lint in the Belly Button, L was the one who so lovingly didn't question the request.)  They've had some hard times in the past and I have tried to support them the best that I know how, but sometimes I feel like I've fallen short of what God would have me do.

I think I can say this objectively.  Lori was a brand-new Christian when I first met her - she was so excited about her faith and the wonders of God.  She could also see God's hand in her life several years before she came to know Him personally.  And yet, I feel that her transformation has ceased.  I can see several clear reasons why this would happen, but I'm disappointed in myself that I have not been able to support her spiritually - in fact, I find it extremely difficult to do when I live 70 miles away.  I know that 70 miles is not all that far, but it is far enough that I don't get down there but once every 2 months or so, and as everybody knows, long distance relationships can be difficult to maintain.

I would like some payer to help me help her.  I would like some ideas of things that I can do with her (NOT just giving her a book) that might spark something.  I don't even have to be the vehicle - God could use anyone and anything - but I would like to have my eyes open enough to see it happening, if that makes sense.  Okay, I had better get on the road before it takes me 6 hours to get down there.

Toodles!

a little nervous

Something good has happened, but I'm a little nervous about it.  The Small Group has been bonding left and right these last few weeks - I think we can all sense the closeness and cherish it.  What has happened is that we now have a new member.  I'm hoping that our momentum will carry through to her and she can feel welcome and intimate with us as much as I also hope that we don't lose the ground we've gained.  Changing group dynamics mid-stream is always a challenge - I just hope it doesn't backfire on me.

God keeps showing up

This is probably one of the biggest weeks of my career.  I have been spearhading a project that will allow the college I work for to hold Online Registration.  This is HUGE.  It starts tomorrow with about 55 students and then on Monday we'll add in about 400 students to the test group.  I'm nervous about several things: 1) will the server crash or can it handle the load?  2) are students going to be able to figure it out?  3) are faculty going to be able to figure it out?  4) is the system going to work?

I am ususally a fearful person and I was very stressed out over the weekend in anticipation of everything I need to get done this week.  Strangely enough, God has shown up and has put me completely at peace.  Yesterday when I got to work I saw 3 deer feasting near the library (the building I work in) and I was able to get fairly close to them.  Awsome.

Then today I saw one of THE most beautiful sunrises ever.  The sky was red, the sun was a big glowing red ball...the lake was calm.  It was perfect.

Thank you God.  I really needed this.

loyalties

I was reading something yesterday (daily devotion!) and one of the things that it talked about was how hard we have to work to have something that is good.  For example, I've been trying to lose weight for nearly my entire life.  However, I don't really put into it the effort that is truely required: working out, drinking more water, really (really!) watching what I eat, etc.  So why, then, do you suppose, that I am always depressed over not losing any weight?

It seems to me that when I am stagnant in my faith it is because I'm not really working on it.  Effort needs to be made to connect with God and to grow in ways that I don't initially think that I need to.  To have a dynamic life of constant transformation requires an effort equal in measure.  And it all boils down to where my loyalties lie: as soon as I feel that I'm in a good place, I slack off and my loyalties change to things more of this world.  Oh what a battle of a life we live!