Rafting Trip & Brotherly Gathering

I'm having one of those moments where God's presence is really strong. I'm probably missing an opportunity to learn something or relax with Him, but I just really feel like sharing it. Whatever a blog is worth in the grand scheme, that is. But let's be up front about something nonbelievers really miss out on: the Holy Spirit is a romantic at heart. He loves to variously tickle and melt your heart.

I've been meaning to jot down several events from the last week. Since tonight is most fresh, I'll just start with it.

25 August 2009 (6:15 p.m.-11:00 p.m.)
The guys came over for poker and burgers. It's the first time most of them had been here, and it'll be the last time for a while that we're all in the same room together. The roster seems to change every time we get together, as schedules tend to fluctuate, but the core group is usually the same. And it was a guy's night par excellence. From the themes we covered in our jokes to our shared esteem for hamburger patties. It was authentic. They trickled out of here maybe an hour ago, but Matt and his parents lagged behind a bit. My folks and I sat around chatting until the night was truly over. And then it set in: I'm effectively out of calendar events between the present and Briercrest. I could make another appointment, and I could slip into having something nearer to look forward to, but this big life change ain't going anywhere. I don't want it to. But I guess, for all that I dismiss about Yarmouth, it hasn't sunk in that I'm leaving. And that's a weird thing to find out after filling one's gullet. You get that weird sense of controlled diziness where you feel like you're viewing the world through a soap opera tint. It's half dream state, half interstate. Anyway, I can't thank God enough for giving me wonderful friends. Some day, when I re-read this blog post, may I not need it to remind me to pray for the following wonderful people: Matt B., AJ, Matt F., Jon, Mike, Scott, Chad, Dick and Doreen.


23 August 2009
Hurricane Bill. Usually, the mention of a hurricane conjures images of floods and destruction and people who've been ejected from their homes. Bill was different. He grazed our province en route to dissipation, and I don't mean this to make light of those who did suffer loss as a result of his personified wake. But what he did for our church was beautiful. I emerged from the house at roughly 10:00 a.m. and dashed to my car, hardly getting sprinkled with warm, tropical drops. Not realizing he would leave our area unscathed, I decided to gas up my car en route to picking up a friend for church. By the time I reached the pumps, the wind was gusting a good huff, deflecting the rain horizontally through what should have been a central, sheltered gas pump. I spent the rest of the morning drenched on my back side. When we got to church, the power was out. I was kind of dumbstruck and wet, but then when I spied people bringing chairs into the foyer, which was lit from the outside, I knew something special was about to happen. We had an acoustic piano in the entrance, which served as our worship focus along with an acoustic guitar and set of bongos. It was probably the most intimate church experience I've had since I joined the Wesleyan church almost two years ago. AJ preached a dynamite sermon (i.e. God speaking through him), and the rest of the day was quite pleasant. Sunny and everything. So yeah, Hurricane Bill. We hardly knew ye, but we won't forget ya.


21 August 2009
Not sure why God has been so kind to me lately, but I received an invitation last week to join a group from church who were going tidal bore rafting. The plan was to meet in the church parking lot at 4:45 a.m. so we could make the trip to Shubenacadie for 9:30. Chad, Tiffany, Colton, and I shared a car and a lot of laughs throughout the long return drive. Can't say what we spoke about specifically, but I am truly blessed to have such great and encouraging friends. I know God has a lot of new ones waiting for me in Saskatchewan, but in a way it feels like I'm just catching my stride here.

I hope, if anything, people who stumble onto this blog appreciate how much God has given me. It's nice to re-read some of these posts and trace a few of my life's events, but it occurs to me that I didn't copy over my testimony from my other blog (try this), which means this one is sorely lacking in standaloneness. If my life sounds like an adventure, it's because it is. But things weren't always this way. These posts are penned by someone who more than once contemplated suicide and had been caught up in drugs and the whole business. God hasn't given me a new chance in life; He's given me a new life, period. Not just through the events I've mentioned so far, either; He goes way beyond that. People are finding me, and I'm finding people. God is everywhere. I receive encouraging notes all the time, from friends I had drifted from or never really known until now. (Natalie, you've been a great help lately! May God bless and keep you and your family!) So yeah, this journey is just beginning. This is an odd place to insert a gospel message, but I will just say for the record that it doesn't matter what relation to me or what you typed into Google that has brought you here. I dare you to make a sincere plea with Jesus and tell me He's not real! But if you're like I had become, sincerity is a dangerous, vulnerable place you might not want to go. It's the kind of thing that only experience can explain; words won't suffice. That's why I try not to Bible thump people, though I fail miserably at times. But yeah, you can think me insane or deceived or delusional, but I nothing can pry me away from Jesus. I want to die in Him and He in me. I like my chances at a hope and a future. :)