Remembering God

Some of you that read this, will have already heard this message. But to those few that didn't get the privilege to hear it, here it is. This week, Evangelist Will Galkin is preaching for our Evangelistic meetings. He's only preached 2 messages, but they have both been AMAZING. Last night's message was this one, Remembering God. He preached from Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1. Chapter 12 verse 1 says, "Remember now, thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;" He talked about how we can forget that we have a Creator and a God, that He is good, that He will judge us, that we're growing older, and that we will die. We forget God in our daily lives so often. I know that I do. This was such a rebuke to me last night, especially when he said, "You will be what you are becoming." He said, "You don't just wake up one morning a prayer warrior." And this is so true! If we want to have a close personal walk with Christ, we have to start NOW. If we do want to be a prayer warrior, we have to start now, and not only start...but keep up with it! To hear him speak, is very eye-opening. He talked at the beginning of just living in awe of God's presence. What would that be like, if every day, we were just in AWE of God and His presence? How amazing would our walk with Him be?! But, how much of our lives, have we wasted? That's a point that he kept saying over and over again last night: Don't waste your life!! And in different things, much of my life has been wasted. And it hurts me to think of that and realize that my life has been wasted. And last night, I prayed that God would help me to not waste the rest of my life...but to life it for Him and let every day count for HIM. Not me. I'm so excited about the rest of this week. It's going to be an AMAZING week, I'm sure. God's going to continue to do great things.

On another high note, my Pastor's lung surgery went well and he's recovering nicely. Praise the Lord! He's such an awesome God, how could we ever doubt Him?! Classes started today and so far, it's gone well. I'm excited about what the semester holds. God knows what's best, and He will do what will glorify Him. Praise Him for that!

Well, I think I've rambled enough for now. Maybe I'll have something else to write soon...we'll see. Oh yeah...I get to see Beth Rebert (and Breleigh!!!) tomorrow night at church. I'm SUPER excited. CanNOT wait.

Many thoughts

I have so many things on my mind right now. And it's hard to sort them all out. Most thoughts aren't too confusing...yet, I feel so confused about them all! I know in time, God will sort them out and I will know the answers to them all, but that waiting period is the roughest.

The loan went through and so thankfully, I get to go up to MBBC in 1 week. Actually a little less than 1 week now. I'll be leaving mid-afternoon on Thursday. I'm excited. I want to go. Real bad! So, thankfully I'll be going. I can't believe it came so fast. It seems like the beginning of summer was just yesterday. But, I'm so glad it's here now.

I have come to the realization that I am a failure. I'm a failure in my relationship with God. I'm a failure in my relationships here on earth. I'm just a failure at so many things. Why does that surprise me? I don't know. It shouldn't. I don't take enough time to work at my relationships...so it shouldn't surprise me when I realize I'm a failure. What can I do differently to NOT be a failure? Try harder, I guess. Discipline myself. Work at it. I don't know. I have brought this upon myself, so only I can "fix" it. God remains faithful to me even when I'm SO unfaithful to Him. And my earthly relationships...well, I'm still so unfaithful to them. It's almost like, I don't care and don't want it. But, I DO!!! After next week, I'll be away from home, away from my comfort zone, away from my "normal" surroundings. And all I will have are those few relationships I remain faithful to. And that hurts that I've brought on so much of it myself...knowing that I'm the one that needs to take care of it all. Today would be a good day to start off, right? Maybe I will. No, no maybe. I will!

Short update

It's been a couple of days since I've updated, and there's no real change on my Pastor's situation. He's in a real hospital room now (before he was just in recovery with several other people) and is sedated most of the time because of pain. He will go in for lung surgery some time this week. The lung surgery will be harder on his body than the brain surgery, so it will probably take longer for his healing process with that. But God remains so good to us as all.

I have nothing else really to talk about now...which is a shocker! But, it's true. Nothing else "blog-worthy" has happened. Maybe soon it will.

God is good.

This phrase has had more meaning to me in the last couple of days than it ever has before...although it should have the same meaning all the time!

Last night, I found out that my Pastor got through his surgery very well and is now recovering...with only the little bit of cancer left on his lungs. The brain tumor came back benign! Last night was a definite time for rejoicing. He will have surgery on his lungs to remove the cancer sometime next week.

This has really made me think about not taking my Pastor for granted. He is such a godly man that I do admire and respect so much...and I can't imagine church without him. It's been odd to not have him here, but knowing he's going to be alright, helps.

Another way God has been good in my life is that Wednesday night, my dad told me that we, once again, may not have the money to send me to college. I was a little disappointed. But, through praying and relying on God to provide how he saw fit, I was at peace knowing that He is in control. I found that I might possibly have a job if I'm here (and it's not for certain that I'm going yet...the loan has to be fully approved first!), which is a blessing. Last night, my dad told me that the loan was pre-approved, but I'm waiting to know for sure.

I'm super excited about college. I can't wait. I'm so ready to be a teacher...I wish I could now. But, God knows what's best. Thankfully, I've been able to use this time especially to grow closer to God.

Praise God for His grace!

To God Be The Glory

Tonight was one of the hardest church services to attend. We at church found out that our Pastor has stage 4 lung cancer. This is the highest stage and many do not survive it. On the plus side, tomorrow he will have a PET scan taken. Sorry, I don't know exactly what a PET scan is, but it will tell the doctors if there is any more cancer in his body. If there isn't, they will go in and remove the grape-sized tumor in his brain and this should bring him down to stage 1 cancer.

God is so good though. He remains faithful and gracious. I know God's hand is over Pastor Crockett right now, and that God has His perfect plan already for him. But as a human, I can't help but wonder why. I'm trying to ask more of, "What can I learn from this?" than a "Why is this happening?" It's hard, but God is my strength. Please pray for him and his family right now. The comfort they need is can come only from God. He will be glorified in whatever He allows to happen.

Update on my Pastor

Hey friends! Those of you that read this and prayed for my Pastor, I thank you. Not much progress has really been made. The doctors found in the CAT scan that he has another tumor in his lung. The one in his brain is about the size of a grape, the one in the lung is a little bigger. The doctors are waiting for the results on the biopsy they did earlier on the tumor on his lung. We don't know yet if these tumors are malignant or benign. Please pray for him. As I said before, I know God is in complete control over what happens to him, and I have no doubt in my mind He will do what's best. But the family really needs prayer to stay strong in this time.

Other things are on my mind at this time...too many things to write down at once. God remains faithful...as I know He always will.

Prayer Request

This post won't be long. I have an important prayer request to share with you. I found out today that my Pastor at church has a brain tumor. Specialists will be contacted as to what to do for him. He's in good spirits, witnessing to the nurses and doctors, and is confident that God will, in His sovereignty, use this to best glorify Himself. I know that however God has this planned out, He will be in control of it..as He's always in control of everything. Please pray for him and his family at this time, as well as for the doctors to know what to do.