My Dream Of The Night Of March 26, 2011

My dream of the night of March 26, 2011 ~

I dreamed I was at church. At least, I believe it was church - there were church people around, and Bro. Earl was greeting us/them like he does at the end of the service on Sunday morning.
But it wasn’t Victory Rd.'s building. After bantering with Bro. Earl for a time, I began to wander it. It was enormous. Huge. Gigantic. Never-ending; and that is not an exaggeration. The building was literally an endless maze of wide carpeted halls and rooms (some with doors, others with large open door-ways), sudden corners and dead ends, and elevators that scaled innumerable floors, and opened randomly on any particular level. The color of the carpet was a shade like dark Rose and pale Maroon combined. This same carpet was everywhere, except in one set of rooms which I will tell about later. The smooth walls were smoke gray, just shy of blue.

There were no furnishings or anything to break the monotony in the huge endless hallways, except I remember a bench against one wall at some undefined point. There was a sort of expanded area that a hall passed through, and in it was a concrete pool, much like my mom's cousin's rectangle cattle watering trough up at my grandfather's brother's place. This trough was full of water, but the water was stale and stagnant. You didn’t realize to look at it - it looked clear and clean. You could only tell by things that had been in the water for a while. There were objects shaped like eggs on the bottom, and they all had a slimy, greenish hue. The little daughter of VRCA's assistant administrator and another little girl (in my dream I knew her, but the next morning I couldn't remember who she had been) were playing around the trough, looking at the water, and feeling sorry for a large cricket who had had the misfortune of jumping into the trough. He was swimming sluggishly around on the surface, covered in green stagnant-ness. I fished him out and set him out in the room, but in trying to leave, he jumped again into the pool. Instead of fishing him out again, I left the two little girl's to rescue him. As I exited the way I had come, the assistant administrator was coming from the hall at the other side of this area. I was aware of an undefined fear or seriousness in the air.
This whole episode was my first inkling of the sinister meanings the dream was to contain.

I began hurrying, trying to escape from something, but what, I didn’t know.

As the dream progressed, and I continued to roam the halls, I became aware of the source of danger. Robots programmed to seek out and capture Christians were patrolling throughout the building. If you rounded a corner and there was one (or a group) in the hallway ahead, they would be after you in a second. They only went after the Christians; no one else.

I learned to jump, just as they came close behind me. The big ones were structured like humans, and were tall, but they couldn’t jump, and they could only reach so high. So if you jumped high enough, even if they were right under you, you could keep away for a few more moments. You just had to hope your jump was not only high, but far, so that when you came down, you would still be ahead of them.

Many times, I found myself running in a group of a few other Victory Rd. people. Once, it was me, Andrea, and a couple others, though I don't remember who they were. There was a pack of the robots behind us. Andrea began to fall back, and I suppose my dream was subconsciously thinking of her bad ankle. We urged her on, on, not to let up! But she couldn't keep going, and she fell behind until they caught her. They were like a pack of wolves – they all stop to 'commotion' over the one victim, forgetting the others who are escaping. We ran on, with only a partial glance backward. But somehow it was alright. Many times in my dreams, most of the communication is done without words - you just know. This dream was full of those times, and this was one of them. We knew we could not help her if we stopped - there were too many of them, and they were too strong. We also knew that she (and all those this same thing happened to) did not want us to stop, but to keep going, to save ourselves, to try to get away from this place, and keep spreading the Gospel. That’s what the mastermind behind this whole cruel scheme wanted - to destroy us all so that Christianity would end inside the blank walls of this carpeted endless maze.
I was the last one of the group, and as the distance grew between us and her, and we rounded a corner at the end of the hall, I looked back and we called to each other, “Goodbye! See you in the Morning!”
Even as I type, the tears come.
And yet, it wasn’t so sad as it seems here in this world. There was an urgency to get away, but there was no shrinking from the fate when it came. Our mindsets in my dream were different from what they are here, in real life. The ideas we know to be true here, were felt and responded to literally, there. Here, we know that, as believers in Christ, we need not fear death. We know we will see each other again. We know there is nothing so worth keeping, in this world, that we would shrink from leaving it, to go to the next. We know it, yet still we hesitate.
But there we felt, believed, and lived it without any mental restrictions or hesitation whatsoever. It was like it would be if our mindsets were completely literal - if belief were action.

The dream was broken up into episodes, and I found myself fading from one to the other, and the in-between parts filled with running from robots. I believe it was the next 'episode' where I met the cruel fiend who's twisted mind created this intricate plan of search-and-destroy.

I don’t remember exactly how it came about, but I ended up as a companion to a young woman who was soon to be married. We never spoke a word to each other throughout the whole of our time together, so I don’t know how I knew this (and other things about the situation), but I just knew.
We were traveling the halls, me following her, and I sensed that she was resignedly dreading her upcoming marriage. I also knew (and I don’t remember how I found this out, if it was another one of those things I just 'knew', or if I actually 'found out' at some point that I don't remember, perhaps I even met him, but don’t recall it) that the man she was to marry was considerably older than she. Considerably, as in something like 65 to 21.
She led us to the apartments of the man who was to become her husband. This set of rooms were the only ones, through the whole of my time in that huge place, that I encountered that were furnished or anything other than the bare walls, short carpet, and occasional other features of variation. As we entered, the door was just like the many that lined the vast halls, but this one led into the end of an immediately-left-turning, narrow, and short hallway-type passage, just wide enough for one person to walk comfortably down, with a long narrow table against the wall on the left. This hallway was dark but short, and the light from the room at the other end, and the door we'd just entered, was sufficient to see by. The floor of the hall was of slate or shale, charcoal colored. The walls were dark taupe, and sheet rock instead of block. The narrow table on our left, against the wall, was of plywood on two-by-four legs, and cluttered with various wood and metal scraps and items of suspicious appearance.
We came to the end of this short hallway (about ten or twelve feet in length), and turned abruptly to the right where it ran into the room at the end.
This room, though small (it doubled back against the other side of the wall that formed the hall), was glowing warm and rich from a single lamp, plump luxurious couches of gold cloth with expensive embroidery, and an exotic rug on the cold floor. At the far end was a shadowed alcove that the light of the lamp could not effectively penetrate. This alcove contained a large and luxurious bed, possibly a desk or small table, but most certainly an individual who I recognized as the fiend - I will not give him the dignity of being called a man, even though a dream - that was preparing to force the 'marriage' of this young woman to himself, and who at that instant I realized was the instigator of all our persecutions and heartbreaks. He was seated Indian-style on the end of the bed, facing the head. He had papers on the bed in front of him that I believe had been taken from a desk or table against the wall, slightly behind and to his right. He completely ignored us, knowing full well that we were in his total power. He was laughing in an exquisitely repulsive and chilling fashion, picking up papers, regarding them for a moment, then increasing his hideous laughter to an almost ludicrous pitch and tone. The sad young bride-to-be paid no heed, turning with tired resignation to one of the couches as if longing for rest, yet having not the luxury, and I came to the impression that she had ceased to feel or fight long ago. Or perhaps, not so long ago, but ages past. There were two henchmen also in the room, standing over us threateningly, as if daring us to fight or try to run.

We didn’t bother - it would have been totally useless, at that point.

Right after that the scene faded out, the girl, the room, and the ugly monster/mastermind disappeared. I didn’t leave her willingly, but in the dream, I was simply phased out of that situation, and 'reappeared' out in the halls again.

I believe it was next that I found myself in a room with the S. family (or at least some of them) and a few others, who's identity I don't remember. The only light in the room came from the open doorway. It was a big, open room, and the light flooded into this front part where we were, while the end of the room was in shadowed darkness. Piper was there I know, sad but strong. In my dream, they had another brother, older than Piper but younger than Abigail, who was really having a hard time, weeping because of what he knew was coming. I know Abigail was there, but I don’t remember taking exact note on how she was handling the situation. I think Archer had sortof been combined into Law, who wasn’t in the room at first. I was the oldest one there - responsible for keeping spirits up, while at the same time preparing us to say goodbye to each other. Someone said Law had been sent for. Evidently he was pretty much grown now, and had a farm somewhere. We waited for him to arrive to take the leadership of this group, and to comfort the younger brother.

When he walked in, at first I thought it was Archer (I think my dream kindof combined the two of them), but it was definitely Law. Though, being a grown young man and a hard-working farmer, he was taller and stronger than when I had last seen him. He was wearing a white t-shirt, dark beige work pants, muddy work boots, and a wide-brimmed hat which he took off when he came in the room. He was calm, resolved, and his face was peaceful while his eyes were sad, like Piper's. He immediately went to the younger brother, who rushed to his arms for comfort.
At this point, the younger brother's senses and mine became the same for a little while, and I knew and felt what he did.
He felt Law's heart beating against the side of his face, felt his arms holding tight, and hugged back with all his might until he was strengthened by the calm and assurance of his brother.
My heart was so glad. Physically, Law was fit and strong. Spiritually, he was stronger still.

Since Law was there to lead the little group, I had to move on. We said goodbye, sad, but not despairing – it was a sort of sweet sadness. We knew we would not see each other again, physically.

I went back out, running, again. Why, I didn't know exactly, but to get 'there' faster. To get away from what might be behind, chasing me; yet perhaps only rushing headlong into an enemy nest around the next sharp corner. Not knowing if that elevator door opening up ahead would provide a momentary asylum and chance to find the 'outside', or spill a swarm of mechanical fiendish servants to surround me. I just ran. Occasionally I would see someone I knew. Usually alone; sometimes in pairs and, rarely, in threes or fours. If we only could have all found each other at the same time and joined together, for comfort and exhortation, if not for defense! But we all had to run. If we stopped, we were sure to be captured. And as I've stated before (I don't believe I can impress it enough) the building was enormous. So we rarely saw each other. But even if we could have banded together into an army, there were more (number-wise) on the other side, and flesh-and-blood has not even a hope of defeating a mechanical, never-tiring, never-wounded enemy. So we ran. Not from death exactly, for though that fate was sure to be a tortuous one, if we were caught we submitted almost indifferently (certainly calmly), knowing it would be completely futile to resist (there was absolutely no hope for physical help or rescue), and there was the glory - to die bravely, honorably, innocently, a trophy of battle for the Christ who would set the spirit free. We did not fear - we were going Home!

So I suppose the only reason we ran was because of the slight hope of finding the door to the outside, getting away, and being the 'seed' to be planted and raise up 'next year's crop, so to speak. For if we all were to die, where would the next Christians come from?

I don't remember how the dream ended, or if it even had an 'official' ending. The last thing I remember, is running down a hallway.

When I woke up the next morning, for the first split second or two, I had the feeling of waking from an adventure, a sweet fellowship with dear friends. Then, it flooded back - the sadness of separation, desertion, and sweet young lives cut short - and my here-and-now emotions and mindset kicked in. I began to weep for the horror and cruelty and waste of it all. Every time I would think of “Goodbye! I’ll see you in the Morning!”, I'd have to bury my face in my pillow to keep the sobs from drawing the attention of others in the house.

But I got to thinking, it really wasn't all that sad. It wasn't wasteful.

If we are going to see each other again - and when we do, live forever, FOREVER, together with no painful separations, busy distractions, or limitations of physical frailty - why does it strike us as being sad?
If the Lord decided it was time for so-and-so to come Home, it's not wasteful at all – no matter how young and fresh and alive they were.
If our mindsets were like they were in the dream, we would know these things, and we would live - think, feel, believe - like it. It would be deep inside of us. Not just something we 'know', and 'believe', and 'trust' in. We would KNOW it. We would BELIEVE it. And we would be TRULY satisfied, content, and comforted.

So though it was a hard dream, in some ways it was actually a happy dream. It was a win-win situation - for us. Those of us who were going on, we'd get there sooner! Those who got away and were staying behind, we'd avoid the physical discomfort of the passage - at least for now - and be privileged to continue the work of spreading the Word of Christ.

And eventually, we'd all be together again.

D-Now 2011 - Results

Well, D-Now is officially past, and I thought I'd record a few of my thoughts about how it went, what I thought we did right, and what I feel needs improving for next time.

It's strange the things I've gotten from this D-Now thing. I've been challenged in my own walk with the Lord, encouraged by hearty meals of a spiritually satisfying fare, learned more of the 'stories' of friends He's given me, worked hard, slept little, prayed much, loved more. And, as is so often the case, with 'highs', come 'lows', in battle there are not only victories, but casualties also.

Y'all up for another prayer request? Several things happened that were so discouraging - people I thought were so 'on track' so to speak, in their thinking, and then to find out they are extremely lax (or worse, indifferent) in areas that are REALLY important! People who are really strong in some areas, but so sure of themselves, in a way, that they refuse to admit they might be wrong in another area. And then, perhaps most of all discouraging, a rumor involving someone I would have bet my last dollar (not really, it's a figure of speech) that they could not lower themself to such a flippant disregard of holiness. This one is maybe the worse, both because of the person, and also that I'm not sure whether to believe the rumor or not. You know the saying, "innocent until proven guilty"? I'm hanging onto that, but (figuratively) not too hard, because the original source of the 'rumor' assured me they would not joke about such a thing, and also another witness, when questioned, verified that something of the sort had happened - this person though, was not sure of who had actually been involved. I'm hanging onto that small doubt. I really don't know what to ask you to pray, except that somehow I would find out that my faith in this person would be rewarded with assurance of it's validity.

On the other hand, there were a couple of big encouragements! One was getting to talk to some of the 'band members' and hearing their courting beliefs. The younger girl, the sister, is 16 and the young man who is courting her went to school with Archer when they lived up north, so I'd guess he's Archer's age, which is 18. Her parents want them to wait until she is at least 18 before they get married. Neither one of them have ever kissed anyone, and I found that so refreshing! - you wouldn't believe (well, maybe you would) how flippantly that practice is treated, even among 'Christians', or people who call themselves such. I used to take it for granted that pretty much all believers followed that standard, but I have been sadly surprised, and rudely awakened to the fact that that's just not true anymore. That little visit was one of the great encouragements of D-Now for me - there are those out there still who believe that what is "true, ... honest, ... just, ... pure, ... lovely, [and] ... of good report" is the standard by which we should seek to live.
The other, is the two young people who professed Christ during the event!

Probably the biggest part of D-Now was the "Prayer Walk". An amazing set of 18 'stations', each focusing on a different area of prayer (I'll try to post the details on each one, a little later, with some pictures too, maybe), and such a potentially powerful experience. We did it the last night (Saturday), and had scheduled from 9:00 to 11:00, I believe, to go through it. The plan was that each group (and it's college-age leaders) would go through one behind another, with one person in a station at a time, with the directors at the beginning sending people in in about 5-minute intervals. As I said, we'd scheduled 2 hours for everyone to go through. After about an hour, those that were waiting (who were more than half the number) realized that we were not going to get through in two hours, so it was agreed that the leaders who were left would wait and go through some other day, and just get the kids through.
The last ones finished after 12:30 the next morning.
Trissy and I went through it several days later, and I can easily see why it took so long. I could have spent an hour in some of those places. I pray the Lord used this experience to touch hearts and work in lives.
Sadly, some of the leaders didn't ever get to go through, because many of the rooms we were using as stations were also Sunday School and class rooms, and needed to be put back in order. With school, work, and other interfering schedules, many of us just were not free during the time before it was taken down. I think only about half of us leaders were able to do it.

So, now, here is my opinions list:

What I think we did wrong:

1. Just two days of D-Now.
It was too short. It started on Friday night, went all day Saturday, and unofficially ended after church Sunday morning. It took until the middle of Saturday for everyone just to calm down, focus, and get our minds off of the things that were cluttering and pressing in on them. By the time the 'momentum' was gained, D-Now was over.

2. Too few 'church' services.
There were only two times of preaching messages, and only three music services. 'Revivals' in the old days used to go on for weeks! It took that long for people to let go of things that they were hanging onto, and let the Word of the Lord take effect. You don't cook meat for a few minutes, and hope it's done! The best way is to put it in the crock-pot, surround it with an environment of permeating onions and spices (prayer, Bible study, good music), and let it simmer for a good long time. Then, it becomes tender.

3. No 'closing' service or meeting.
We should have had some sort of congregational ending, to officially close D-Now. As it was, the students just strung out and on home, at various times Sunday morning. There was no follow-up to the Prayer Walk of the night before, and many of the groups were so wiped out that the scheduled Saturday night small-group time was just skimmed over.

4. No meeting of leaders and workers after the event was over.
It would have been good to have a sort of 'debriefing' time with all the leaders, workers, and volunteers who made D-Now possible, to discuss what we did wrong, what we did right, and what we would change, should there be a 'next time'.

5. Little group prayer.
We did have one prayer service with the leaders and most of the core workers on Friday evening before the kids started arriving. I think it would have been good to have a sort of walk-through prayer time, going through the rooms and buildings, and praying for the Lord's blessing and guidance during the event.
Also, we should have had a designated prayer time afterwords (possibly during the 'debriefing' meeting?), spending time to thank the Lord for the blessings He provided, and the two precious souls who were saved during the event.

6. Too little 'structure' sometimes during activity time.
Some of the kids were beginning to get distracted and into mild mischief during some of the lulls between games.

7. Too little time for the Prayer Walk
Maybe next time, the groups could go though it at different times during the event, while other groups are otherwise occupied, allowing each person to take more or as much time as they need, while going through it.


What I think we did right:

1. Made the college kids the group leaders.
We are young adults. We need to be given positions that will stretch and challenge us to become leaders for Christ. Now of course, if one is not spiritually ready to lead others, then they should not be in a primary position of leadership. But in that case, put them with someone who is spiritually grounded, where they can learn what it means and how important it is, to grow in their faith and abilities for the Lord. I think Bro. Mike did a pretty good job of pairing up the leaders (each small group had two college-age leaders).

2. Had alot of small-group, one-on-one type discussion time.
People (kids especially) will open up to someone in a close, cozy, comfortable, and non-threatening situation. There were reports of good discussions and serious, thoughtful questions that took place between students, leaders, and host-home adults during the group session times at the host homes.

3. Had preaching as well as the more informal small-group settings of teaching.
Meeting as an entire group, being in a more 'formal' environment, encouraging attentiveness, and listening to a preacher teach from God's Word, is an invaluable experience. The Bible says that the Lord uses the "foolishness of preaching" to work in hearts and lives.

4. Used a great small-group study.
I thoroughly appreciated Andy Stanley's teaching on this subject of Prayer. Some of it was just a tad modernized for me, but the basic foundation stones, and the firm roots in Scripture were very much intact! If you ever have a chance to go through that study yourself, watch the entire messages (not just the small-group sessions), and I am convinced you will learn so much, while being encouraged and strengthened in your walk with the Lord.

5. The Prayer Walk.
This was an absolutely wonderful tool, and such a powerful experience. I know some of the adults of Victory Rd., who weren't even personally involved in D-Now itself, took advantage of it being available, and many expressed their appreciation and blessings they'd gotten from it.

6. Much prayer.
I believe, even though there was not alot of collective prayer among the workers, that D-Now was held together by the glue of persistent, passionate, pleading prayer. So many times little things kept happening that could have potentially stopped (certainly hindered) the event from even taking place, but there were always people praying, and I believe the Lord acknowledged and blessed our efforts to please Him.

7. D-Now.
So much we learned! So much that was gained that we could not have experience quite like this, any other way. It was a step of trust, a huge project to tackle, but the Lord guided us in this experiment, this endeavor, and with His guidance came His blessings and encouragement.
I hope we do it again!

-Kyrie<><

Thoughts of Spring Blog Party

Found another blog party! This is the last day, and I love 'trivia' (as I've said before) so decided to jump on the tail end. :)


1. How would people describe your personality? (If they could only use ONE word.)

That's a kind of funny question. I mean, how would I know what word OTHER people would choose? I guess I could take a poll and find out a common word...
Until then, some words I think some of my friends would choose, would be "enthusiastic", "opinionated", or "loyal".

2. Are they right?

Depends on the context, but mostly yes :)

3. What celebrity/celebrities would create a “Star-Struck” feeling if you saw them in real life?

Hmm, not really any, I don't think. There are several I'd like to meet, but they're just regular people like I am - the only difference is more people know their name than know mine.

4. Who is your favorite blogger? Why?

Wow! I could not pick a "favorite"! I enjoy too many. But Jenna, Josh, and their mother, Mrs. Regan have been some of my biggest inspirations and encouragements in the faith. I love their honesty, their imperfections, their passion for the Lord, their love for family, for farming, for frugality, and for fun. I'm challenged by their examples, I'm encouraged by their less-than-perfect-ness. They have become dear friends - even if only blogging friends.

5. What is one of your comfort foods/drinks?

Potato soup!

6. Be brave – tell us something very random and weird about yourself.

I believe birth control is just as wrong as abortion.
I believe it is wrong to kiss someone who is not your spouse.

The reason I listed these two opinions as something 'weird' about myself, is because recently I have been rudely awakened to the sad fact that many 'Christians' do not believe either one of these things. I won't go into detail here, but I plan to do a post on both those topics soon.

7. Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done?

Oh yes!

8. What is it?

Goodness! Lots of things!
One that stands out would be going to Scotland.

9. Movies: Action, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Documentary, Comedy? What are your favorite genres?

Action, historical fiction, documentary, adventure, etc. But always from a Christian standpoint, and I am VERY strict about content. So, I have more 'favorite movies' rather than 'favorite genres'.
I love Sherwood Pictures' movies!

10. Books: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Romance, Biographies, True Stories, Self-Help, Devotional/Study? What are your favorite types of reading material?

Here again, like movies, I have more 'favorite books' than a whole category. But I love Christian historical fiction, biographies and autobiographies of great missionaries and historical people, Christian resources, and about anything worth reading I can get my eyes on.

11.Music: Funk, Rock, Country, Jazz, Classical, Film Score, Blues, Classic Rock, Crooner, Alternative, Heavy Metal, Techno? What are your favorite types?

Ew yuck, some of those. I love old-fashioned Southern Gospel - four-part harmony, men's quartets and trios, and toe-tapping convention-style music. I love the old hymns. I love quality, inspiring, stirring orchestra and military music. I like some of the WWII era big-band music. I also love Celtic - of course, if the words are appropriate.

12. If you inherited a million dollars, what is the first thing you would do with your money?

The first thing? That would be to tithe it, and give the tithe to my church or to missionary work.

13. Name one weakness of yours (confession is good for the soul).

Miniatures. HMMHMM I LOVE miniatures! Almost miniature anything - but not everything.

14. If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?

Well, some of my loved ones may have other places they'd want to live, so it would seem a little selfish to drag them all to my place... But I understand the question.
Scotland or Tennessee, but I'd need to think a little before I could decide between the two.

15. Strange Talent? Can you juggle basketballs, put your legs behind your head or perform some other strange feat?

Hmmm. Well, I can sit flat on the ground with my knees bent and flat on the ground so that my heels come back and can touch the sides of my thighs! I can also make the back of my tongue vibrate forwards and backwards really fast, so that if I say "Ah" at the same time, it sounds like, "Yoin, yoin, yoin, yoin" but really fast and run together. Don't know if that one counts - probably lots of other people can do that, but Trissy can't - she's always exclaiming, "How do you DO that?!" whenever I'm going around doing it ;) .

16. What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift).

Caring.

17. What is one of your favorite things to catch a whiff of?

Mmmm! The perfume or cologne of a friend. Gives me a good feeling.

18. When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less?

Well, of course it depends on what I said, and what I didn't. Usually some of both I guess.

19. If money wasn’t a factor, what stores would you shop in?

Etsy
Hobby Lobby
Michael's
Books-A-Million
And if money wasn't a factor (in other words, I had all I'd want to spend), then probably other stores too.

20. What is your greatest fear or strange phobia?

Greatest fear: Disappointing the Lord.
Strange phobia: Bears. I hate bears. Real ones, that is. Stuffed ones are fine :)

21. What is your greatest accomplishment?

Glorifying the Lord.

22. What are your favorite animals?

1. Horses
2. Dragonflies
3. Pigeons/doves
4. Dogs

23. Are you a hopeless romantic?

Um NO-OO!

24. What movie or book character can you most relate to?

Dan, from the book "Little Men"


Well, some of that 'about me' I've already covered in other posts or blog parties. But I had fun doing it!

D-Now 2011 - Expectations

About a month ago, I guess it was, Justice began sending a daily e-mail out to each person of the college class with a quote from a preacher, missionary, or author, or something thought-provoking or encouraging, and then a little note from himself at the end. Now for the past week or so, leading up to D-Now, he's been sending quotes on prayer, since that's the theme. D-Now begins this evening about 6:30. This is his e-mail from today :) :

"DNOW IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im not putting a quote today, but I just want to encourage everyone to be ready for tonight. It is going to be a great weekend! Archer and I got to spend most of the night with the band, and after talking with them and learning where their hearts are at, I think I can speak for us both that we were impressed. We are going to have a great time of worship, and I can not wait to hear what God has given [the visiting preacher] to say. Remember group leaders try to be at the church around five if not earlier to make sure everything is ready, and to greet your groups as they come in. Hope everyone has a great day, because I know the night is going to be great. Love you guys!
-Justice"

The 'band' he mentioned is a group from up north. They are all in their teens or twenties, I'd say, and there are two girls and four boys. Archer went to school with one of the boys, so we invited them to come on his recomendation. Yesterday, as I mentioned, we canceled College Bible Study and worked on finishing up what needed to be done to get ready for the weekend, instead. Trissy and I got there as the 'band' was unloading, so we went out and met them. A couple travels with them, who are the parents of two of the boys, and one of the girls. The other girl is married to one of the sons, and one of the other boys is courting the daughter. The last boy is a friend (hope all that made sense!). Trissy and I were thrilled to find out that they were homeschooled! Well, the brothers and sister were, but all six of the young people were either homeshooled or private schooled.
I am looking forward to finding out more about these kids. I would not have guessed by looking at them that they believed in courting or homeschooling, but that goes to show (again!) that you really can't always judge a book by it's cover. The daughter-in-law especially struck me as having what the Bible called 'an excellent spirit' - gentle, kind and friendly, honest, open, meek, and cheerful.

I must admit, I have no idea what their music is like - I pray the Lord will be glorified.

I'm fixing to head on over to the church to help finish up the last-minute stuff.
Please continue praying.

Oh! One more thing before I go: the high school was supposed to have a parade Saturday and anyone in the high school band HAS to be in it (supposedly. *rolls eyes* Dumb Mardi-Gras! Anyway...). That means ALOT of our youth group, would miss a big part of D-Now tomorrow, to have to be in the parade!
A 70% chance of rain had been predicted, and Bro. Mike said Wednesday night that he was praying it would rain so the parade would be canceled. We started praying too, and ( :D ) yesterday evening when we were there at the church working, he told us that it HAD BEEN canceled! Praise the Lord!

Ok, I'm gone for real now ;) .

{Note to Uncle Alvin's girls: Please forgive the lack of a recent e-mail! I AM working on it, just with school, and work, and the grandparents, and church, and and and... *sigh*
Maybe you can gather at least some of the news from here. :/
P.S. Y'all let me know what you want your names to be on here - preferably something that matches your initials, since you've already left comments with them. You need something more than 'Uncle Alvin's two youngest daughters' as a title ;D !
P.S.2. Please pray for this D-Now thing!
Love y'all!}

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

D-Now 2011

This weekend (Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning) Victory Rd. will be hosting a youth (Junior High and Highschool age) event called 'D-Now' - it stands for Disciple Now, and these events evidently go on all over the contry. The focus is always on discipleship, and ours will be teaching on prayer. I'm really excited, and kind of nervous at the same time. There is alot of potential to really change some lives through this conference, and I know maybe that wording is somewhat over-used ('life-changing'), but prayer is such a powerful thing, and there has seemingly been such a resistance from Satan as we've worked so hard getting ready for this, as if he knows what an impact it could have for the Lord's glory. Bro. Mike is almost running ragged trying to coordinate all the details, and the college kids have been given the primary roles and responsibilities related to the event. But we have definitly also experienced the Lord's help as we've gotten ready. There has been unity among the workers, unselfish giving of time and resources and hospitality, and little details that have just fallen into place.

The study series we are going to be using is called "Permission to Speak Freely" by Andy Stanley. It's taught from Matthew 6:5-15 (the "Lord's Prayer"). Bro. Mike wanted all the small-group leaders and primary workers to watch the sermons before D-Now, but Trissy and I have only gotten half-way through them; so far it's seemed good and thought-provoking, and I feel like I've learned from it, even though I've grown up in a 'Christian' environment. I'm hoping we can finish them today.

During the day, there will be small-group sessions in host homes (which is where the college young people are going to be group leaders and where we will use the videos), and in the evening there will be a preaching and service at the church building, then there will be anther small-group session when everyone has gone back to their host homes after the service.

Dad didn't want Trissy and me to be group leaders since that would mean spending the night at someone's house, but we are working in other areas, and hopefully we can go to the sessions, just not stay the night.

Saturday night will be the 'climax', in a way, ending with the 'Prayer Walk'. There are 18 'stations' set up in various classrooms in the church, each focusing on a specific area or caegory of prayer, and the students will go through it one at a time, taking as long as they need to at each station, with adults postioned along the way to help or guide. This has probably taken the most work to put together, and I can see it REALLY having an impact.

Please be praying that the Lord will use this D-Now thing to really work in the lives of these kids, and the adults too! All involved. So many of the young people that come to Victory Rd. are the only believers in their families, have troubled lives, or are not even saved, just come because of the kindness that is shown them. Pray that the believers would be encouraged and strengthened and 'grown' in the Lord. Pray that those who do not know Christ as their Savior would accept Him. Pray that those who are struggling would be comforted. Pray that those who are fighting would surrender.

We are canceling our Thursday Night College Bible Study and going to all work on the last-minute touches and details.

I don't know if I've even made coherent sense through this post; I just knew that I wanted to record some of my thoughts before tomorrow night when it starts, and also to ask anyone who reads this to be praying for it.
Thanks!

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

-Kyrie<><
{Graphic image ceated by Kyrie McAlan and copyright 2011}