Its 11:07pm here is beautiful downtown West Cocoa and I’m “sleepless.” I went to bed around 10pm and now I sit at the computer, blogging and sharing with you, the home viewer. This blogging thing has become a strange but important part of my life. You guys are so encouraging and I love reading your comments and your posts. Now that our District Filter is blocking access to my blog from school I feel somewhat removed from all of you for I’m unable to comment on your posts as much as I would like to do so. But I’m not complaining. It seems that God is putting spiritual people and things in my path and I love it! Greg kind of said in his comment on my previous post. I absolutely get a rush hearing my son talk about spiritual things. Yesterday was another example. It was 6pm and I was getting ready to grill some marinated pork tenderloins Barb bought at BJ’s. My phone rang and it was Steven. He had been following his friend Ryan home from the YMCA (anybody doing the hand motions?) when Ryan ran out of gas about 2 miles from our home.
He asked me if I had some gas and it just so happened I had some in one of my three 5-gallon gas cans that I keep for hurricanes. When I arrived I could tell Ryan was down and it seemed he had more on his mind than just being embarrassed about running out of gas. Steven began to tell me that Ryan’s parents were upset with him quitting football and had told him to get a job. In the meantime they were not going to give him money for gas.
I tried to give Ryan some advice about being obedient to his parents and that they loved him but were probably trying to teach him lesson. Good advice, huh? Then my son says to Ryan, “You need to pray about it Ryan.” I thought to myself, “Who is the elder here?”
Tonight I gave Vaughn a ride home from church. Vaughn is one of the products of our College Ministry. Vaughn attends our local Community College and Vaughn is blind. Yet on the way home Vaughn couldn’t stop talking about how God had blessed him and how he was on fire for the Lord. He asked me if he was boring me with all of his talk about God, blessings, and being used by God. I thought about yesterday’s verse:
Jeremiah 20:9 But if I say, "I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name," Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.”
God was speaking to me through his Word, this blind kid, and my son. I think I’m getting it God. I’m so proud of the way our church seems to be entering this phase of focusing on spiritual things. I want to join in with all of my heart. Maybe that’s why I can’t sleep tonight. I’m reminded of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:
7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
: 9:19 AM 
