I think there are some lessons that God has been trying to teach me over the past few months, namely, to trust Him and stop trying to control everything and consequently to have peace and joy in the midst of stressful circumstances.
Unfortunately, these were lessons that I did not learn. Buying our house was certainly a stressful ordeal. Things weren’t as smooth as I would have liked. Near the end of the process I realized that God was probably trying to teach me not to worry, to trust Him, and yet even after I realized this, I still worried, I still got stressed, and I failed to trust.
Sometimes I’m so dense.
The 50th day after Easter is called Pentecost. The 10 days leading up to Pentecost make up the Pentecost season, marking the period between Jesus’ ascension into Heaven and the day when Jesus’ followers received the Holy Spirit.
We’re approaching the day of Pentecost and are in the middle of a sermon series called “Miracles” here at NCC, so it seemed appropriate that we pray that God would move in a powerful way, much as he did at the first Pentecost.
Consequently, we are doing a 10 day fast, praying and believing that God will do great things.
I’ve decided to fast a few things, each symbolic of the things I’m believing God for.
I’ve given up alcohol as I pray for my brother’s health. He’s had some stomach problems for a while now. I’m praying for total healing. (Alcohol = not super-great for your stomach)
I’ve given up coffee as I continue to pray and believe for another place in the marketplace for NCC. (Coffee = something I drink at work)
I’ve put myself on a strict diabetic-friendly diet as I pray that God would heal me of diabetes. Note that I manage my diabetes well, but I usually do this through extra insulin rather than proper diet.
I’ve given up searching for a home as I pray and trust God that He will provide the right place. This is perhaps the most difficult fast I’ve ever done. There’s always the idea that something great could come on the market and disappear during the 10 days I’ve stopped looking.
There you have it. There are a few other things, but they are either overly-personal or not mine to share publicly.
If you’re interested in doing a Pentecost fast, it’s not too late. We’re only a day-and-a-half in. Join us in fasting and believing that God will glorify himself through miracles that only He can do.
I’m about to start a series of posts on some things that God is teaching me and the good things that He is doing both in my life and here at National Community Church, but first I need to put it in the context of some recent life events.
- In September I finished my year as an intern at NCC.
- I spent six months working on some web projects and playing online poker.
- In January I was diagnosed with diabetes.
- In March, I was hired for a permanent position at NCC. I’m now coordinating logistics for our small groups. And I’m still searching for a good title. Let me know if you think of anything!
- Rachel & I are looking for a house, we’ve put in three offers, had one accepted, and backed out after the inspection.
More on most of this stuff later.
I guess I should begin at the beginning.
On Sunday I finished up my time as a Protege at National Community Church. It was a year of ups and downs for me personally, but I learned a ton. If you’re looking for some good ministry experience, good people, and a good city, you should check it out and I’d be happy to talk with you more about it. I especially recommend Team D (a.k.a. the Discipleship Department, a.k.a. people who work on small groups).
On Monday I launched a new website, but more on that later.
On Monday night Rachel and I walked by a house that she had seen for sale online. The man selling it happened to be sitting on his front steps, so we asked him if we could take a look around. It was a great deal, and we decided to see if we could buy it, so I spent the next two and a half days applying for loans, running numbers, etc.
On Wednesday night I won $40 playing poker.
On Thursday morning I was working on getting pre-approval letters. Around 11:40 I checked the house listing again, and they had received multiple offers and weren’t accepting any more.
Whew…
I’m frazzled. I think I’m busier this week than I was when I was working at NCC. Ah well, back to work on the website.
