Zenith 2008!!!

Well Zenith 2008 has come and gone. Man time flies when you're having fun! For those of you who aren't familiar, Zenith is a week-long Christian high school camp that's held every June on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University. I've been so privelaged and blessed to share in it and serve as a camp counselor every year but one since 2002. I had a great co-counselor this year who really loves the Lord, and we had an awesome bunch of kids we got to hang out with and share Jesus with all week. You guys rock, and I miss you already!

The week was amazing, and God was at work in alot of hearts like He usually is. I will NEVER grow tired of watching that. He also blessed me with the opportunity to share my testimony with my kids the last night of camp, and I was able to leave them with resources that God can continue to use in their lives and maybe even in the lives of their family and friends. For those of you who wanted more materials, they are on the way! Love you guys!

Group pic...

Goofy group pic...

Tanner, Collier, Kyle, Michael, and Jesse

Becca, Rachel, and Leighann

Kellie, Charlie, and Mikaela

My co-counselor Barret and I

Kara and Katie...LOL

Caitlan, Kara, me, Mikaela, and Katie Me and Elisha

Natalie Reed, Kelly, me, Brandi, and Niki Nowell

More fun pics...I miss you Nowells!

Celebrate Recovery

Timing is everything. I mean, God's timing is everything. Several of us from my church had been talking about and praying about whether God would have us to begin a recovery ministry at our church to help reach those in our pews and outside the church who are struggling to stay sober. Since all of us on the leadership team have our roots in a twelve step program, we naturally turned to the idea of Celebrate Recovery, which is a Christ-centered twelve step recovery program. Over a year ago several of us sat down to discuss the possiblitites with one of our pastoral staff, and for one reason or another, nothing ever came of it. I met with that staff member again in Januaray, really to ask what had happened to the idea. He assured me me that we had his support, and I promised to begin e-mailing the two others that I knew were interested in the ministry. Life happened though, and their e-mail addresses laid on my kitchen table for months before I remembered to e-mail them. Not only were they still interested, but they wanted to begin meeting as I did, to brainstorm and begin to really plow through all of the Celebrate Recovrey resources we could. Not even a week after I began e-mailing them, the pastoral staff member we'd been communicating with contacted each of us about a leadership training in Chicago on 6/14. All of us but one were able to go, and many others from the misistry staff at our church came too. I was thrilled to find out that another who had been set free from a sex addiction was coming as well, in hopes of begining a group at the Creek for those who struggle with porn and sex addiction. It is so needed. Much more than many realize.

We had a great time, and I really enjoyed getting to know some of them more. Some I met for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised at the intense focus on leadership at the conference, and was touched time and time again by the founders John and Cheryl Baker and by the countless testimonies of changed lives and marriages that had been a result of God working through a local Celebrate Recovery ministry. It is so much bigger than I thought...not just for addictions. I also heard testimonies of people God had set free from anger problems, co-dependency, eating issues, cutting, and past emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. I know that ours will start out smaller, with probably a focus on alcohol/drug dependency, and maybe co-depency or a men's sexual addiction group. Other Celebrate Recovery groups in our area have started the same. But it's pretty encouraging to see just how much God can make a group grow, rise up leaders for new groups, and bring healing, salvation, and wholeness to so many. We're so excited to see what the future holds!

www.CelebrateRecovery.com

Officially car-less!?!? Until Tuesday...

That's right. I've been taking a Financial Peace University class, and it's been one of the most eye-opening experiences I've had. With as much debt as I have, and as little money I make, I've made some pretty radical decisions to start the hard road of paying off ALL of my debt, in as little time as possible. One of those decisions was to sell my car, something that means so much to me. I've only had my new Vibe since late January, but after really looking into how much money I'd be paying in interest over the next 5 years, and also just how much I had left in principle, the best financial option became clear...sell it. So, on Thursday 6/12, I handed it over to the new owners. I was a little emotional, but I knew that my decision would impact my financial future in a good way. So I started looking for a pretty inexpensive car to pay cash with, which was pretty humbling, but good for me. God is good, and I knew that He'd provide what I needed. I have to admit that I started to get a little panicky though, when several cars I was seriously looking at either got bought out from underneath me or didn't check out well with my mechanic. As scary as it was at first, I knew it was all about trust. Since I decided to put my car up for sale in May, I prayed that if it was God's will for me to do so, that He would provide a buyer and another reliable car for me to drive.

So, without a car, and without one really in sight, I left on 6/13 for Chicago and then Oklahoma for a week, unsure of how I'd get to work the Monday I returned. Not only did I still not have a car, but I was out of town and not even able to look at any for more than a week! God is really something though. There was a guy at a local dealership who knew what I was looking for, how much money I had to spend, and knew that I was out of town. I gave him my father's cell number just in case he were to find anything while I was gone. And he did. He called my father, who came and testdrove the car, and my dad called me to let me know he thought I'd be impressed. I was able to get a deposit to the dealer, my dad was able to get it to my mechanic for a second check, and essentially the car was waiting for me when I got home! I got to close the deal on Tuesday, and drive home an 2001 Saturn SC 3-door coupe that's in EXCELLENT condition, deemed mechanically sound, and with lower mileage than I'd expected. In fact it only has 10K more than the Vibe I sold, and I paid less than half of what I bought my Vibe for! I ended up needing a little more money than I thought, but God provided that too. I've really just been amazed at how He's orchestrated this entire thing, but I shouldn't be surprised. That's the kind of God I serve.

My Vibe...

My new Saturn!

And do you want to know what else came of this? An opportunity to be a witness and plant seeds. When I went in on Monday, after getting back in town, to look at and test drive the car for myself, I was able to spend some time talking with the guy who had found the car for me. We got to talking and found out we had some things in common, and he ended up sharing a pretty neat article with me about a martyr from hundreds of years ago that God really used to make an impact on the world. This guy was impressed by the article, and I was touched that he wanted to share it with me. So, as we're walking across the parking lot to the other building for me to pay and get a receipt for the car, God prompted me to throw out a question. "Jim," I said, "can I ask you a weird question?" "Well, sure!" he said. "Jim, what do you think happens when we die?" He began talking about how some people believe there's nothing, some believe in reincarnation, etc. I said, "but what do you believe?" He said, "Well, I was raised Catholic, but honestly, I'd like to believe there's some kind of glorious afterlife." Reaching the next building, our conversation was promptly cut off, but I had hoped that maybe a seed had been planted to get him to think more about eternity.

Then as we left that building to walk across the parking lot back to the main building, HE began to pick up the converstation where we left off! Wow God is amazing. This guy wanted to talk about eternal things. Quite the opposite of what the Enemy tries to convince us of when he wants us to keep our mouths shut. He started to talk about how he really thought that there was so much more to this life than just working, accumulating stuff, and then dying. Then he said, "you know though, there are alot of scientists that have become atheists through their study." And I followed up with, "Yes, I know unfortunately, Jim. But did you know that there are also scientists who have become believers as a result of their study? You never hear about those, but their stories are just as real." "Really?" he said. "Definately," I said, "even just the fact that the human eye is more complex than any computer on the planet Jim...the deeper they did into the complexity and magnificence of creation and humankind, the more apparent it becomes that it's impossible that this all just happened by accident." "Wow," he agreed. "I know the galaxies are infinate, and it would only make sense that there would be an infinite being behind it all."

I left that day so grateful for our converstation, but God wasn't done. I had to go back the next day to have some scratches touched up, and God laid it on my heart to give Jim a thank you card, a tip, and a copy of One Heartbeat Away. It has answers to the questions that still linger in Jim's heart about what awaits us in eternity. He wasn't there, so I dropped it off for him. The next day he called and left me a voicemail to let me know that he was so thankful for the tip I left and the book, that he was touched that I had taken the time to do that for him, and that he started reading it the night before. He said he's going to finish it and hopes to maybe chat with me afterwards. I can't wait for the call. Please pray for Jim, that he would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Kinda makes you wonder what was the real reason God convinced me to sell my car!