The weekend
*whew* What a weekend! Friday night we went to my sister-in-law's dance recital. Most of it was kind of corny, but her dance rawked like nuthin' else! =) Afterwards, we went to JP's for a bonfire. It was actually pretty fun. I talked with BJ a lot - some about Andy Stanley - most about Starlite. It was very enlightening. The last time I talked with him about it was about 2-3 weeks ago. All he said was, "I'm very interested. I definitely want to know more. Let me pray about it." This time, he was asking if he could meet AB and saying how this is exactly the kind of youth ministry he has been wanting to do.
I told AB more about him. I s'pose we all shall see what God has in store.
So we got home from the bonfire and crawled into bed around 2am.
I was up 4 hours later to make muffins for the 30 Hour Famine. It was also a good time with the Lord. I was reading in Joshua chapter 1. There is a verse that starts off with God talking to Joshua: "I will extend your territory from the desert to Lebanon." The Holy Spirit stopped me right there and explained to me what that meant:
The desert is a dry, desolate place with no life. If one were to get stuck in a strange desert, there would be no way out and no hope to live. However, if you own the desert - if it is your land, and you are familiar with it - then getting stranded in the middle of it would not be that big of a deal. I mean, it would still be hot, and you would still get thirsty. But, if the land belonged to you, then you would know where the oasis is. You would recognize the path out. Despite the heat and exhaustion, there would be hope of survival. That is why you want to own the desert.
Then there is Lebanon: a fertile, prosperous city (at least in Joshua's time). It would be the place from which David and Solomon would receive supplies for building the temple. Gold, silver, dyed cloth, huge cedars - all from Lebanon.
So, basically, the Lord is promising Joshua: "I will give you possession of the dry desolate places so that you will not grow hopeless in them. And you will possess your place of supply so that you will never depend on another for your needs."
And this was the promise the Lord gave me on Saturday morning.
I talked with Jennifer Sunday afternoon, and she said that there had been a tongue and interpretation at her church that morning, and it had bascally said the same thing about the desert. Pretty cool, no?
Anyways, so I was at the church by 8am on Saturday. There were about 15 kids that had done the fast, and we all went to the local food bank to sort boxes. The kids were kind of grouchy (they were by this point going 25 hours without food). But we did in 1/2 day what would have taken the food bank 2 days to do. That's pretty cool, I think.
I came back to the church and prepared the food for the end of the fast. So, after clean-up and everything, I got home around 3pm. I then showered, gave Pippin a bath and headed to my dad's.
I took Pippin (my puppy) with me. I forgot that my baby nephew was going to be there. It led to a very stressful night. I won't do that again until Pip has grown up a bit and is fully trained.
I fell asleep before the game was over. *boo* UGA lost. It was an awful game.
*anyways*
Slept until 11am on Sunday. It was the first time I have slept that late in forever! Anyways, I stayed at my dad's until 3pm. It was a nice day. L, my nephew, was sick; so he cried most of the time. But other than that, it was really relaxing. (My bro took Pip home with him Saturday night.)
So then I went home, cooked dinner, and waited for B. We had a great night. We *ahem* you know, then we ate dinner and watched a movie. After that, B played x-box and I... are you ready for this?... I'm quite proud... I.... did... TAE BO!!!!
*applause*
*shouts of amazement*
*ooooooo*
*ahhhhhh*
hehe... sorry... it has just been so long since I worked out. I feel great this morning. I think I might do it again tonight! *woot*
Also, I'm skipping coffee this morning. Green tea is my drug of choice, and it's supposed to be a lot better for me.
So look at me, bein' all healthy and junk. Heck yeah!
Anyways... so I woke up an hour early this morning. I made muffins for breakfast and spent some time with the Lord. It was difficult to concentrate during the worship part because my dog was going nuts this morning.
But I did continue reading in Joshua - the end of chapter 11 and all of chapters 2 & 3. Here are the couple things that He showed me -
First of all, a lot of the promises and commands that he gave to Joshua apply to me. I feel like I can compare AB to Moses (which I have said even before I started reading Joshua), and now (maybe?) I am Joshua - not in the sense of Moses dying and Joshua taking over - hehe - no way. But in the sense of Moses training and mentoring Joshua.
Anyways... so I have been praying about the whole drinking thing, right? I mean, I have a glass of wine every now and then. I have never been drunk, and I never have more than one glass. But, like Saturday night, my dad bought a bottle of blackberry wine, and my whole family and I had a glass. Up until recently, I really didn't see a problem with that. But now I think that perhaps God is calling me to a higher standard.
So I have been praying about it, and asking God to let me know one way or another.
Then He led me to the verse 7 of chapter 1: "Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go."
It is interesting that He did not say, "Be careful to obey all the law *I* gave you." Intead, He said, "...my servant Moses gave you."
And so, there is my answer. If AB is the equivalent of Moses in this ministry, then my job is to obey *her* law.
Then it went on to say that the people would listen to Joshua as they had listened to Moses. I believe that this directly ties into Joshua's obedience to Moses. Since Joshua obeyed and respected Moses, God gave Joshua favor with the people, and they obeyed and respected him.
Anyways...
Then in 3:7, "And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.' "
Then, as I prayed about this verse, the Lord told me, "I am sending you into the Jordan, where the waters are very fast but very deep."
me - "What, exactly, does that mean? When is it going to happen?"
God - "You ask too many questions. Just know that I am sending you into the Jordan."
me - "Hm. Okay."
That really doesn't mean anything to me now. But I know that is what He said. I'm sure someday I will look back on that and say, "Ohhh... that's what you meant!"
Not today. Oh well.
"9For we know in part and we prophesy in part...12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Cor. 13)
So that's it.
I'm at work, and I really shouldn't waste any more time. I just wanted to get all this down before I forget.
Anyways... I'm off.
Peace out.