My mom's cousin, Dr. Swanson, owns a pediatrician's office, where she works, and where I began working on Monday. My jobs include urine tests (easiest and therefore favorite), weighing people and taking their temperature followed by taking them to a room where I ask them questions about their diseases, cleaning up rooms after they're done, holding kids down while they get shots, and (since Friday), filing peoples' forms away. Plus any other jobs that they find for me. I'm the only guy in the office, but that's never been a problem. I was raised in the company of girls. I've been doing my Word time and lunch at Town East Mall, so I have the variety of the food court to choose from. I'm thinking of eating at the office like everyone else does, but then I have to work my Word time into another time of day, and that would just throw a wrench into my schedule. Monday and Tuesday, my dad got back from work around when I did, and he wanted me to clean with him, so, naturally, I just went to sleep, then woke up after everyone else went to sleep, and got on the computer. Then I would go to sleep, but, since I had already napped, I wouldn't get to sleep till 3:00-4:00 AM.
On Wednesday, Paradigm was great. There were a lot of new people, and Josh Newman and Josh Russia helped Pastor Nick preach. Paco/Pasha/Russia was on fire. He was right on with everything. It reminded me of a cd that Matt Papa just released, Your Kingdom Come. Thursday, I went to YFN for its last night and saw Emily and Kara. Yesterday, I went to work again, and it was Shane Denny's, a guy from the Sociables, birthday, so I got a urine cup and a latex glove, drew a happy face on the glove, and stuck it on the cup. It was a great present.
Today, I drove to Arlington and dropped Alexandra off at cheer, then drove on to try to find a Starbucks for my Word time. Unfortunately, Arlington only has a place called "America's Best Coffee". It sounded prideful to me, so I settled for Half-Price Books, where I didn't see fit to take my Bible, so I sat and read comic books for two hours.
The whole week, God had been telling me to do this Bible study-ish thing with a few guys. For some reason, I was adamantly against it. I was almost to the point of just disagreeing with God, and it was taking a toll on me, spiritually. I set it up and everything, but I didn't wanna do it. Anyway, Chad R. and Newman made it. Chad was basically the reason for it. He's the one everyone follows, so if he gets what God is wanting, then everyone might get a glimpse. I did it, but with a bit of a wrong attitude,
Lastly, preparations have begun for Date Night, and specific expectations have been made clear. It's gonna be good.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
YFN 2008 As A Leader
Last week, I worked at Canton, made $150.00, then went to see relatives on the 4th of July. It was fantastic. I've never had a better time with them. This was due to several factors: Daniel Lewis was with me (if you don't know him, get to know him), Preston wasn't there and Chas was busy with his friends, the fireworks occupied a lot of attention, I got to play with Grace and Harry (my little cousins that Chas or Preston usually play with), and I had my Kenya blogs as a subject of conversation. Thank you Jesus! I talked to Mrs. Nickel a lot about Kenya, and then went home Saturday night. Sunday, we had a meeting where I told my specific expectations for YFN, which I believe have a very good chance of coming to pass. I said that I wanted the guys who are iffy in their faith (particularly the Black Hole group) to turn 100%.
Then came YFN. On Monday, the worship with Jesus Culture was friggin' phenomenal. Those guys know how to keep in tune with the Spirit, sing prophetic songs, and all the above. It felt like a Thursday night blowout. And I got to talk to Alex for hours into the night about his faith and where he's at. Good start, right?
So Tuesday came, and Pastor Jude Fouquier rocked the leadership sessions, and I got a whole new respect for him when I realized that he was Pastor Benny Perez's elder, and Pastor Benny Perez looked up to him. Then that night had Pastor Benny Perez as the speaker. His focus, like last year, was on deliverance, but it was so much more this year than last year. At least three people within five or ten feet of me manifested, and I heard that over 70 in the whole place got freed of demonic spirits that night. I had the privilege of explaining the supernatural things that occurred that night to several people from our church. I spent a great deal of time telling Josh Rackley and Alex Perez stories about the power that we have through Christ. The next day, the leader's session with Pastor Benny Perez was great. One big thing he stressed was reaching out to the junior highers. In our SL meeting today, I brought that up, and Pastor Tim Meister said, "That's a good point. Who is going to take all of your places when you're gone?" and there was silence.
Anyway, Wednesday night was mostly for those who haven't been filled with the Holy Spirit or spoken in Tongues, followed by Healings of things like growths and deafness and whatnot. I got to talk to Alex a lot that night, too.
Thursday, Pastor Jaycee talked in the session for longer than he was supposed to, then Pastor Jude Fouquier did the same, talking first about making a youth group grow, then turning the same points towards marriage. It was hilarious. That night flowed with the Spirit more than I've ever seen with any service, I think. Worship was incredible, and immediately following it, Pastor Jaycee came up and said, "If you need to use the restroom, do it right now, 'cause God wants everyone in this room to have a face-to-face encounter with Him tonight, and we wanna keep the Spirit flowing." Before they could get back from the restroom, Pastor Benny Perez said for all the young women who had had purity taken away from them to stand up (people who had gone to the restroom weren't allowed in during this time). He prayed for them from the stage and some were overcome by the Spirit (slain in the Spirit). Throughout this time and the worship before, and the rest of the service, demons could be heard screaming as they were forced to manifest, 'cause they cannot stay in the same place as the Holy Spirit for that long. He preached his message which, as he said, was short and simple, about not letting the negative things spoken over you in your life to have any control over you. Then he called the pastors onto the stage, and we/he prayed for them, and then they were released to pray for us. For those who didn't prophesy or whatever, Pastor Benny Perez said that God had erased all those negative things in the past, and they were enabled to do any of it as God called them to it. When one prayed for me, I was released to pray for others, and my gift of Faith, which I hadn't used in around five or six years, was released, and I prayed like crazy. Some of them just stood there, some cried, and some were overcome by the Spirit. Then Josh Rackley prayed for me, talking about how I didn't have to wait to start my ministry till after college, that it was already started, and that I would be able to witness at my school. Then I went on stage to pray for the band, and I accidentally placed myself in front of a band member, with everyone else behind him, which meant that I was leading the prayer. I didn't even know which instrument he played, but I kept on praying in faith. God had told me that morning to thank Pastor Jaycee for The Core, and tell him some of what it did to me, so I did it after service that night. Then I went and told David about how, when he goes back home, everything will be black and white, and he'll be able to see what's wrong with everything around him. Then I talked with Joel Elam, Lauren Anderson, Jonathon Tranel, Kim, and Ezzy, from last year's Core, for like ten minutes, and Ezzy sounded interested in the trip. Then we had a fun night cleaning and packing.
Friday morning, I woke up five minutes before service, so I was late, but I was a leader, so I got into service without a problem. On the way home, I told Chad Rush to work on making his humor less perverted, and to model it after the Davises.
Saturday, I slept in till three and lazed around the house till I mowed the lawn, then went to deliver Katie's Bible to her at Lakepoint, where she didn't really care to sit through the service, so we just talked the whole time. I also saw Mrs. Davis and Emmy there. After the service ended, I talked to Michelle and Bri, and a little to Meagan Ferguson (maybe I should be friends with her, since everyone around us is friends with each other).
This morning (Sunday), we had an SL meeting where we just told testimonies, then Trish, Pastor Nick and Liz, Pastor Tim Meister, Josh Newman, Josh Russian, and I all went to Chipotle, where the food was might delicious. I talked to Pastor Tim about deliverance and stuff for a long while during that meal. Then Trish and I went over to Pastor Nick's house to watch some Lost. Following that, I went back home, fell asleep for a few hours, and texted with Bri a lot while writing this.
Then came YFN. On Monday, the worship with Jesus Culture was friggin' phenomenal. Those guys know how to keep in tune with the Spirit, sing prophetic songs, and all the above. It felt like a Thursday night blowout. And I got to talk to Alex for hours into the night about his faith and where he's at. Good start, right?
So Tuesday came, and Pastor Jude Fouquier rocked the leadership sessions, and I got a whole new respect for him when I realized that he was Pastor Benny Perez's elder, and Pastor Benny Perez looked up to him. Then that night had Pastor Benny Perez as the speaker. His focus, like last year, was on deliverance, but it was so much more this year than last year. At least three people within five or ten feet of me manifested, and I heard that over 70 in the whole place got freed of demonic spirits that night. I had the privilege of explaining the supernatural things that occurred that night to several people from our church. I spent a great deal of time telling Josh Rackley and Alex Perez stories about the power that we have through Christ. The next day, the leader's session with Pastor Benny Perez was great. One big thing he stressed was reaching out to the junior highers. In our SL meeting today, I brought that up, and Pastor Tim Meister said, "That's a good point. Who is going to take all of your places when you're gone?" and there was silence.
Anyway, Wednesday night was mostly for those who haven't been filled with the Holy Spirit or spoken in Tongues, followed by Healings of things like growths and deafness and whatnot. I got to talk to Alex a lot that night, too.
Thursday, Pastor Jaycee talked in the session for longer than he was supposed to, then Pastor Jude Fouquier did the same, talking first about making a youth group grow, then turning the same points towards marriage. It was hilarious. That night flowed with the Spirit more than I've ever seen with any service, I think. Worship was incredible, and immediately following it, Pastor Jaycee came up and said, "If you need to use the restroom, do it right now, 'cause God wants everyone in this room to have a face-to-face encounter with Him tonight, and we wanna keep the Spirit flowing." Before they could get back from the restroom, Pastor Benny Perez said for all the young women who had had purity taken away from them to stand up (people who had gone to the restroom weren't allowed in during this time). He prayed for them from the stage and some were overcome by the Spirit (slain in the Spirit). Throughout this time and the worship before, and the rest of the service, demons could be heard screaming as they were forced to manifest, 'cause they cannot stay in the same place as the Holy Spirit for that long. He preached his message which, as he said, was short and simple, about not letting the negative things spoken over you in your life to have any control over you. Then he called the pastors onto the stage, and we/he prayed for them, and then they were released to pray for us. For those who didn't prophesy or whatever, Pastor Benny Perez said that God had erased all those negative things in the past, and they were enabled to do any of it as God called them to it. When one prayed for me, I was released to pray for others, and my gift of Faith, which I hadn't used in around five or six years, was released, and I prayed like crazy. Some of them just stood there, some cried, and some were overcome by the Spirit. Then Josh Rackley prayed for me, talking about how I didn't have to wait to start my ministry till after college, that it was already started, and that I would be able to witness at my school. Then I went on stage to pray for the band, and I accidentally placed myself in front of a band member, with everyone else behind him, which meant that I was leading the prayer. I didn't even know which instrument he played, but I kept on praying in faith. God had told me that morning to thank Pastor Jaycee for The Core, and tell him some of what it did to me, so I did it after service that night. Then I went and told David about how, when he goes back home, everything will be black and white, and he'll be able to see what's wrong with everything around him. Then I talked with Joel Elam, Lauren Anderson, Jonathon Tranel, Kim, and Ezzy, from last year's Core, for like ten minutes, and Ezzy sounded interested in the trip. Then we had a fun night cleaning and packing.
Friday morning, I woke up five minutes before service, so I was late, but I was a leader, so I got into service without a problem. On the way home, I told Chad Rush to work on making his humor less perverted, and to model it after the Davises.
Saturday, I slept in till three and lazed around the house till I mowed the lawn, then went to deliver Katie's Bible to her at Lakepoint, where she didn't really care to sit through the service, so we just talked the whole time. I also saw Mrs. Davis and Emmy there. After the service ended, I talked to Michelle and Bri, and a little to Meagan Ferguson (maybe I should be friends with her, since everyone around us is friends with each other).
This morning (Sunday), we had an SL meeting where we just told testimonies, then Trish, Pastor Nick and Liz, Pastor Tim Meister, Josh Newman, Josh Russian, and I all went to Chipotle, where the food was might delicious. I talked to Pastor Tim about deliverance and stuff for a long while during that meal. Then Trish and I went over to Pastor Nick's house to watch some Lost. Following that, I went back home, fell asleep for a few hours, and texted with Bri a lot while writing this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)