Cassi’s dad

Please pray for Cassi’s dad. He had back surgery yesterday and has not recovered as quickly as hoped. He is in a lot of pain and unfortunately has had hiccups all day on top of everything else. I can only imagine feeling pain with every hiccup. That must be miserable. He also has spiked a temperature today and they started an antibiotic because it might be pneumoniae. Please pray that his pain would be controlled and that he would heal quickly and go home tomorrow without any other complications.

Thanks.

Football Season!

I can’t wait for football to start! One more month and the first games will be on TV. I love college and NFL football. My love for the sport seems to grow every year as I understand more about it and watch a lot of the players grow in their skill at the collegiate level and then start playing in the NFL.

I have fond memories of coming home from church with my family, eating lunch, and then retiring to the living room to see who was playing. My mom would be doing something outside or in the kitchen, my sister would be playing with her dolls in the floor, and my dad would be napping in his lounger. There’s something very peaceful about that memory.

Right now I love waking up late on Saturday and watching football until supper time. Catching the big games with LSU and Virginia Tech and Clemson with the guys is always fun. The Super Bowl has grown into a community event as well. Football is much bigger than just a sport to me these days. I look forward to seeing it grow as a community event in the future. It’s a way of connecting with others and it’s always a great excuse for a party. I hope to see a lot of games with all of you guys this fall as it will probably end up being my community time.

The End of an Era.

Tonight is my last night of work as an RN. Next stop—CRNA! To those of you who are wondering, CRNA stands for “certified registered nurse anesthetist”. I will be the person who puts you to sleep for surgery and maintains you while the surgeon cuts away. I will also get to go to all of the code blues in the hospital which is always exciting.

I’ve waited for this day for a long time. I’m looking forward to the next two years, even though I know it will probably be the two hardest years of my life. I will be studying constantly and have a million deadlines for papers and exams, not to mention being questioned in the operating room by CRNAs and MDs all the time. Most of my time will be spent in Raleigh or east of Raleigh so I won’t be able to see Cassi very much.

This will be one of those periods of time where what we are selling at the Patio is tested for it’s truth. We say we’re about community, but when one of us is in need, will the rest be there to meet that need? Cassi is one of the strongest women that I know. She’s intelligent, independent, and I know that she is capable of anything. But no one can thrive without others around them. 

What I am asking for is extra support while I’m in school. I want you guys to surround Cassi with all of the quality community that she can stand. I want her to have to turn down offers because there are so many.

I love everyone at the Patio and I can’t wait to see how you guys meet this need. I also can’t wait to see how the Patio grows because of our dedication to community. God has given us each other for a reason. Let’s reach Reedy Fork and minister to one another just as God intended.

P.S.- The occasional casserole will also be welcomed while I’m in school!

That face.

I had to work last night. The hospital is not always the spiritual place one might think it would be. At least not at first glance. Sure, there’s many stages of life present, even death at times, but it is actually rare that an overly spiritual conversation comes up. Even when it does, it is usually short and shallow, which is completely fine most of the time. But on occasion someone will open up and really share where they are spiritually. Sometimes it’s the patient, sometimes the family, and sometimes, like last night, a coworker. She is a good friend of mine. I trust her probably more than any other nurse I’ve ever worked with (unfortunately, nurses are surprisingly backstabbing at times). Without going too much into detail I’ll just say that she and her husband have been unable to have children for quite some time. They’ve been researching and saving for adoption for many months now. I have no doubt that one day they will be amazing parents.

We were talking about what’s happening at The Patio and her church right now. She began telling me about how a local ministry who is usually mainly supported by the city of Greensboro had sustained a budget cut of $30,000 per year, a large portion of their entire income. They had yet been able to come up with enough financing and they were a couple of days away from having to lay some workers off. Her pastor felt led to take up an offering for this ministry and try to raise all the money they needed.

This is when my friend changed. Her face got a little more red, her breathing left it’s normal smooth pattern and turned into more of a heavy and deep sound. It was obvious that she was putting more effort toward explaining her story than remembering to breath. She started looking away a little more often…….left….. down…… left again… quickly up at me and then down again. This was not because she was distracted, but rather because her eyes had started to water. You know what I’m talking about, that pre-cry, I don’t think I can stop what’s coming, red itchiness. Relying on her military background she gathered herself to finish her story. Her church took up it’s normal tithe, then they took up the building fund they have been working on for around a year, and then they took up an offering for this ministry. She and her husband asked each other what number God had given to them. They have seperate accounts so he gave his number first. She then gave her number. It was large. Large enough that they both knew that the only place they could pull that money from was their baby fund. At hearing her number, her husband doubled his number. She finished what she was saying by admitting they still want children, but now they are more dependent on God than ever for his providence. 

The reason I told this story was because it illustrates what I want in my life and the life of each person at The Patio. This story tells of sacrifice. It shows obedience to God’s voice. It is an example of dependence on God. Ultimately, I believe this story will also tell of God’s faithfulness to His children.

I want that face my coworker had and I want all of you guys to have it often in life.

Thanks everyone.

I had a lot of fun at the cookout tonight! You guys were great. Thanks for bringing stuff and helping clean up as well. I love experiencing real community with people. There was no agenda, no plan, and no stress. People seemed to really enjoy themselves and have great conversation. This was just a small glimpse of our future. Not just our future in heaven, but here on earth as well. I believe God has called us to be in each others lives all the time, constantly sharpening and encouraging each other in our faith. I can’t wait for church on Sunday to see everyone again!

What could we do?

I don’t really know how most people go about fasting, or what they think about while they do it. Personally, every time I think to myself “Man, I could really go for something to eat” or if I even think about food, I take that opportunity to pray for whatever it is I’m fasting over. It’s 1:42am here at the hospital and I’ve prayed for the Patio’s meeting place quite a few times already. This either means that the fasting process is working and I’m petitioning God as I should, or maybe it means that I think about food too often and I need to shape up. I’m hoping the first is true.

As always, the more you think about and pray about something, the closer it gets to your heart. I am feeling a real need to do something out at Reedy Fork right now. I don’t know what (I’m not an idea man or extremely creative), but we need to have some kind of outreach to our community, even now while we’re still the core group. The weekly/monthly things are great (soccer, girls night out, poker, etc.) but maybe we should do something a little bigger. Is there going to be a July 4th party? Are there any more pool socials scheduled this summer? Does anyone have a good service project in mind? I’m open to anything.

P.S.- Thanks Kristan, Jason, and Stephanie for giving me some specific prayer requests. I will definitely be praying for you.

Prayer Request

Being part of a community is still kind of new for me. I don’t think that we (especially me) have taken full advantage of our brothers and sisters thus far. We have encouraged each other some, and had fellowship with each other a bit, but we have done little praying together. Also, we could do a lot more praying for each other. There are no small prayers. There are no silly prayers. Just like God cares about each little thing that is on our hearts, I want to care about the things that are on your hearts. I want to pray for you all specifically. The more things that you share about your life that I can pray for results in us being a more intimate body of believers. Ultimately, we grow closer to God as well.

I can only ask you to be transparent and forward with your lives if I am doing the same thing. So, the things that I need prayer for are:

A free place to live in Raleigh starting in August (Rick’s uncle may be a possibility so pray for this one specifically).

For me to get into Baptist’s CRNA program so I can live at home.

Pray that I would read the Bible more consistantly (I have been a christian for many years, yet I still lack much discipline regarding the reading of God’s word).

That I would deliberately lead Cassi spiritually, striving to love her as Christ loves the church.

Finally, pray that I would continue to seek holiness in my life. This world does not make it easy for men to pursue holiness, but Christ is winning that battle in me. In fact, take this moment to pray for all of the men in our group. We need God centered leaders in our midst who flee from sin and even the appearance of sin.

I love you all very much and I couldn’t be more excited about serving God with any other group of people. I eagerly await more prayer requests.

Mike, thanks for listing a few of our groups prayer requests. I will definitely be lifting those needs up to our Father.

Baaaaaaaa (I’m a sheep).

I see that a few people are posting for the first time in a few weeks, so like a sheep I figured I would just follow the crowd. I wasn’t sure what I would write about even when I started typing that first sentence, but now I think I have something:

SHEEP

I’m sure we’ve all heard a sermon based on sheep before. The analogies of people being like sheep are endless, and even backed up with Bible references. Sheep are dumb. Not just dumb because they have small brains, but dumb when compared to the rest of the animal kingdom. Just like people they have to be cared for and protected. A shepherd/farmer has to provide food and water for the sheep constantly. They have to be led to a stream to drink because they’re not always smart enough to go find water. When the grass in a certain field has been exhausted, sheep have to be led to another field because they can’t always find food. Sheep also need protection. What’s the weakest, most non-threatening animal you can think of? That’s right, a sheep! They’re too cuddily to be scary.

People are just like this. God has to provide for us because we are not completely self-sufficient (despite what we may think sometimes). God has to protect us because we don’t even understand all of the dangers that are around us. But there’s more.

The thing that I hate most about sheep is that they don’t often think for themselves. If one sheep gets the bright idea to walk away from a healthy field into the desert, the rest of the sheep follow it. That’s why they need either good fences or constant supervision by a shepherd. When scared bad enough a herd of sheep will follow each other right off of a cliff and all die.

Again, this is just like people.When we are not following our shepherd, we end up following other sheep. They may lead us to unhealthy places or maybe even over a cliff. Understanding this tendency of man, there are two important things we need to do in life.

1. Make a real effort to always have your eyes on the shepherd (Jesus). He will always provide and protect.

2. Be aware of the sheep around us who are good at following the shepherd. These are usually older and more experienced sheep (not always, just usually). An example would be Lyle. Lyle was my team leader in Brazil. When we had down time or an extended break he would not just sit around and do nothing. He chose to go out on the streets with the interpreter and talk to people about Jesus. If you’ve never done this, then let me assure you that it is not easy and probably one of the most uncomfortable things that I have ever done. However, God blessed his efforts and at least one person, and potentially many more, came to Christ that day. I would not have been out on the streets following my shepherd had it not been for the influence of Lyle.

In conclusion, be a good sheep. Follow Jesus. And follow people who are following Jesus. Surround yourself with them and live with them daily to ensure that Jesus stays the leader. You all are part of my herd. Let’s follow as close to our shepherd as we possibly can.

P.S.- I want to thank those of you who blog consistently for leading the way. You are helping this particular dumb sheep along.

Traveling

I don’t like to travel. I like being somewhere, not getting somewhere. As a child my mother would drug me and my sister with dramamine so we would fall asleep and quit whining on long trips. I don’t harber any negativity because of that. On the contrary, I appreciate that I didn’t have to be concious for the ride. As an adult I’m still not much of a traveler. The one way that I can stomach traveling for many hours is if I’m driving.

Friday morning I’m flying to Brazil with Kevin and his youth group. This will be a really long trip (10 days) with people that I don’t know in a place I’ve never been. I’m excited to serve God and I look forward to the actual work that will be done, but I know there will be things that are unpleasant (like flying for 8 hours). Please pray for my patience and attitude during this mission trip. Pray that I would exhibit the patience of Job and be able to encourage my group like Barnabas. Pray that God would renew my spirit each morning so that I come back home fired up instead of run down. I’m thankful that you guys are out there reading this and that you take prayer so seriously. I especially expect the prayer warriors like Mladen to have my back. I love you guys and I eagerly await the day that we are all doing mission trips together!

By the way, I believe God is continuing his amazing work at The Patio. I can’t wait to come back home and hear the newest developments. Even though I will not be there for church the next couple of Sundays, you better believe I will be present in spirit and in prayer!

Instant gratification

What do you think about after you pray? Sometimes I think to myself “Finally, I’m done, now I can go do something fun.” I hate it when I think that way. Sometimes I think “Cool, I’m glad that’s off my chest, now God and I can be close again.” Sometimes I think about how God will answer a certain prayer. I often wonder how long before I see His answer. Rarely do I expect immediate results.

Well I think that shows a lack of faith. I know that God wants us to pray and then wait expectantly for his answer. We serve a powerful God who greatly desires to see His will done in our lives. We should pray with confidence.

Yesterday I was prayering before getting out of bed. I prayed that God would begin to bring people into The Patio because they caught the vision of what God is doing here. I prayed that he would equip us to do what he wants done. After getting out of bed I returned a call I had missed while sleeping. This friend told me about some possibilities that might be in our near future. If these things acutally happen then they will be direct answers to those prayers.

From now on I will pray and immediately open my eyes for God’s answers. He doesn’t always choose to do this, but sometimes He does, and I refuse to miss anything God wants to tell me or bless me with!