Monday, April 11, 2011

Jesus Freak

I have neglected my blog and for that I feel sad.  It is, therefore, time to play a little catch-up.  I'm going to start by recapping the first weekend in March because it was such a lovely one and I want to remember something very important that happened during that time.  To preface this probably lengthy and boring-to-everyone-but-me post, I want to go ahead and say that the first week in March was pretty rotten.  By the time Friday rolled around, I was so ready to be done with work... not only for the weekend, but for the rest of all time.  Haha!  In fact, it had been such a stressful week that I skipped prayer walking on Thursday night in order to head to Fayetteville because I was in desperate need of some time with my Dad and Mom.  They are always there and willing to let me vent my frustrations and their wisdom and Godly direction was just what I needed in order to make myself get up and head to work Friday morning. 

After work on Friday, Catherine and I went to a special friend's new home for a time of sweet fellowship and time of prayer with some amazing sisters in Christ.  I was in awe as we met and just talked about how great our God is.  It was such a blessing to see what He has been up to in this lady's life.  In a matter of months we went from praying for God to bring a Godly spouse into her life to praying blessings over her new home and the life she would soon be beginning with her new husband.  He is so good!  What an account to His faithfulness to see these answered prayers!

The next day we woke up entirely too early for a Saturday morning and drove to Mulberry to pick up Mindy and our Mom to head to Little Rock for the day.  Catherine, Jeff and I had long planned to go to the WinterJam tour scheduled for that night but unfortunately Jeff had to work at the last minute.  We persuaded Mom and Mindy to go with us and decided to make a day of it.  We made our first stop at a little place called Pickles Gap.  There was a tiny village with a few shops and, most importantly, a yard filled with baby goats.  For as long as I can remember, I have considered goats to be the cutest of all God's creation.  I dream of one day owning enough land to raise goats of my own.  They were darling and I loved seeing their babies.  Absolutely adorable!  We did a little shopping at the flea markets and I found a couple of books I couldn't live without.  Pretty soon I am going to need an intervention... or a library to house my book collection.  It's getting out of control.  After a fun time with the goats, we headed to downtown Little Rock.  By this point I was thinking that the day couldn't get any better.  Goats, flea marketing, books, quality time with my favorite women... what else could a girl need to make a Saturday better?  At this point we didn't even know if we'd be able to get into the concert.  It's general admission and you pay at the door.  We knew we would need to be there early to wait but beforehand we spent some time down by the River.  We had lunch at Gusano's Pizza.  Oh my lands!  It is amazing stuff.  We also did some shopping.  My favorite store is in Little Rock and I'm so glad we were able to stop in.  When I was in Austria, I fell in love with the fair trade store in Graz.  I loved the idea that my purchases could help artisans around the world get a fair price for their goods and live a better life by providing for their families.  It's a win/win situation.  I get to buy quality, one-of-a-kind pieces while helping people living in third world poverty.  I learned about a chain called Ten Thousand Villages while in Oregon and was thrilled when they opened a store in Little Rock several years ago.
IMG_6907.jpg
After a bit of shopping and lunch, we headed to Verizon Arena to wait for the concert.  At this point, it was over two hours before the doors would open and yet there was a significant crowd already lined up.  We began to worry that we might not get tickets and seriously considered heading back home.  But we stuck it out.  It felt like much more than two hours by the time we got in the doors.  The waiting was no fun.  It was cold and very windy outside and we quickly became pressed in from all sides by the crowd.  We almost gave up a few times but I've never been so glad of persistence.  We did make it in and bought tickets successfully without getting trampled.  We quickly found our seats and eagerly waited another hour for the show to start, thankful that we'd made it in alive!  What an evening it turned out to be.  We got to worship with the likes of Jason Castro, Chris August (Catherine and I met him and I might have a little crush now. Haha!), Sidewalk Prophets (we met Ben and he was super nice), Red (not my style... at all), Francesca Battistelli (my absolute favorite artist right now), David Crowder Band (does it get any better?), Kutless and Newsboys as our leaders.  Seriously couldn't have had a better, more worshipful time.  It was also a blessing to see so many young people there as part of their youth groups.  I'm so thankful for the times I had with my church group as a teenager and it was nice to see so many kids having those same experiences... even though it did make me feel slightly geriatric.  The only down side to the evening was an overly friendly man who tried to exchange phone numbers with my Mom.  Oh my! 

The most memorable time of the night, however, came when Newsboys took the stage.  It was a bit of a full-circle moment getting to see them in concert with my Mom by my side.  My first experience with the group came when I was a teenager.  One night I won a game in youth group and received a Newsboys CD as a prize.  By the time we made it home, my youth minister, Bro. Kelvin, had called my Mom to explain that the music might be a little "out there" and she might want to preview it before I listened to it.  You see, my Dad was chairman of the Deacons at the time and our family, though known to love a good time, had the reputation for being pretty conservative when it came to worldly matters.  So Mom and I listened to the CD together.  She wasn't a fan but I fell in love.  I think it may have been because it was the wildest stuff I'd ever heard.  All the music I had listened to up to that point had been either classic oldies, country or light contemporary Christian music.  This was unlike the CCM stuff I'd heard.  My Mom didn't approve of DC Talk or any other artists who sounded anything like what was popular at the time.  That didn't stop my sister from obtaining DC Talk cassettes and my Mom would have a fit when she heard them sing songs like "Love is a Verb" and "Jesus Freak." Getting to see Newsboys with Michael Tait as their lead singer with our mom was surreal.  What a difference ten years makes!  In fact, I don't think she even minded when her daughters ended up shouting out the lyrics to such classics as "Breakfast in Hell" and our favorite "Jesus Freak."  I loved that experience and the entire night was such an amazing time of worship.  Being in a crowd that large, I lost all inhibition and lifted my hands several times in pure worship that night.  What an awesome God we serve.  He is worthy of all our praise!  It was a late night but so worth it!  I'm so thankful we got the opportunity to go and am already looking forward to next year. 

Sundays are a time for worshipping with other believers, teaching my class, hearing a Word that I know comes straight from God, having Children's Church services, an afternoon of rest and back to Church for another Word.  I love it!  This particular Sunday service was great as usual and afterwards I went to get take-out from my favorite Chinese restaurant.  It tasted great but later, I would regret this decision.  After the late Saturday night, a nap was definitely in order.  Unfortunately I woke up not feeling well and decided to not risk getting sick at church.  Smart decision since I ended up very ill later on.  Still not sure if it was due to my lunch but I know that it became the last China Jade I will ever be able to eat.  Sad day :(  While I like to keep my Sundays restful, I did get quite a bit done in between my moments of sickness.  I spent the evening organizing the books on my bookcases (a very therapeutic activity for me) while listening to sermons on my phone.  Wild night.  Haha!

I realize this post is becoming a novel but I haven't even got to the best part yet!  Late Sunday night the thought crossed my mind to run to my mailbox since I hadn't done that since Thursday.  There was something very important I had been waiting on and I had been checking my mail quite regularly for the past two months.  On this particular night I honestly wasn't expecting anything important but I just felt the urge to check it.  Even though I had no idea what would be in the box, God did!  Just when I was at my lowest point regarding work and my future plans, He brought me my answer.  Underneath a bulletin from my former home church in Fayetteville and a bill were two envelopes that I believe will change my life completely.  The whole journey to applying and starting back to school to pursue a new career is a complete God thing and will require another post.  But on this night, my future began to fall into place.  I remember when I was first applying to college while still in High School, a big envelope was a good sign.  Well, the two envelopes I received, one from the College of Education and one from the Office of Graduate Studies, were both small envelopes.  I had a moment of panic where the only thought crossing my mind was what a failure I must be that they won't accept me into this program.  Then I heard that still, small voice saying, "I have plans for your future... and it's going to be good! Trust me."  What a calmness.  So I prayed and cried and ripped the envelopes open all at the same time.  If anyone happened to be watching me out of their apartment windows at this late hour, I'm sure they thought I was insane.  So, I pull out the letter and the first word is "Congratulations!"  Oh, my heart was done for.  I wept and it didn't stop for quite a while.  What an amazing God!  He does have a plan and it is not what I would have chosen for myself but it is sooo much better than "anything I could ask or imagine."... but that's all another post for another day.  Suffice it to say, for more than a little while I worshiped like I had never worshiped before, bowed down in His presence on the bedroom floor... He revealed Himself so mightily that night and I never want to forget how it felt to catch a glimpse of His plan for my life. Wow! It was an amazing moment.  After thanking Him for all He had done, I called my mom, still weeping, and probably scared her half to death because I couldn't get the words out of my mouth.  Since that moment, I've been in complete awe of how God continues to make things fall into place.  I'm so blessed.... with a family who rejoices with me, friends who support me, and most of all a God who cares about my future. 
IMG_5089.jpg

Now that I've finally blogged again, I am going to try and be more consistent.  I really want to have a record of this time in my life.  God is moving all around me and I want to look back and be able to praise Him for all He has done.  We will see if i can stick with it....

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
Jeremiah 33:3