Sunday, November 02, 2003

This has been another awesome week. It is so amazing how my life seems to keep getting better. Just when I think things can't get any better, God surprises me and lifts me up even more. This is not to say that the week was perfect, there were of course a few snares in the course of things but overall good prevailed and I loved it.

Here is the lowdown on what happened. I am going to make this short and sweet so bear with me as we fly through a week of my life. On Monday, we had one of the best prayer meetings ever. Everyone who was inspired by fall conference came to the evening prayer meeting and we had 20 people there. Then as the week went on the prayer meeting returned to the normal size. In a way this worries me, I was hoping that people would have at least kept coming for a week before the high from the conference wears off. I have seen a major difference in some of the freshmen as we have started having a quiet time together every night at 11 on MLH 12. This has been such a learning experience. It is so amazing what God can do if we just allow him to be the center of our lives.

Another friend that I have seen a difference in is Joe. I really don't talk to him that much but just the conversation that we had on the way back from Fall Conference showed real growth in his life this weekend.

Our study on Tuesday night was one of the best ever. Even though there were only eight of us there, we had an amazing discussion. We really got into a good conversation on how we need to share the gospel as it was meant to be told without adding our own spin on things. In other words we need to form our lives to fit God's word and not change God's word to fit our lives. This is such a major issue with the church and I am glad that we all agreed upon it. We also went around and shared a few of the commitments that we made at fall conference and ways that we could pray for one another.

Wednesday was another great day. Instead of leading the prayer meeting myself, I let Sarah B. lead. I think she did a fabulous job and the passage that she chose really made an impact on me. So much so that, I studied the passage in my quiet time both Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Friday was Outloud here at MSOE. I was involved in a fun skit and the theme was relationships. There were three couples that had been married different lengths of time and they gave some really great answers to a lot of hard questions. I really learned a lot and it got me thinking about my relationship with Sarah.

Saturday was spent serving others through raking leaves. This was a great time for the eight of us who attended. We first worked at the Stewarts house and then moved on to the Davis 's. After we were finished working we were able to enjoy a great home cooked meal thanks to Sarah's mother.

Today was another great day. Although I was a bit tired, I was able to get a lot out of Sunday school and church this morning. In Sunday school we talked about God as our kinsman redeemer. This is such a powerful thing to think that God loves us enough to send his son to die for us and to bring us to him. In church we talked about the Holy Spirit and how we can become friends with the Holy Spirit. There was a lot about what the Holy Spirit is and how it helps us in our lives. I got some of this out of the sermon but more of this came as I was studying some of the verses given in the outline during my quiet time. I realize now that I really need to study what is presented to me and decide for myself what it is saying.

One last note before I head to bed. This Friday I received the two books that I ordered, they are Chain Reaction and Rachel's Smiles, both by Darrell Scott. I have already read two chapters and would highly recommend this book. Let me know if you would like to read it and I will gladly lend it to you.