Departure

This trip was a wild ride. The apathy leading up to it was pretty hard core – it seems that everytime I go to KC I totally lose interest right before. Without fail this apathetic feeling is a precursor to something huge happening. Sure enough.

I went for my second Joseph Company “Cities of Refuge” conference this year. This was regarding marketplace ministry. So this JoCo was held 3 miles away from the prayer room which made me rather dependent on the shuttle and common charity. It was also 25 hours of content stuffed into 2 long days. On Thursday I treated Isaac and my hosts to some Jack Stack because they won the CBB contest. Turned out we are all from Philly which was an added bonus.

On Saturday I met Emily for the coffee that she also legitimately won as the CBB contest winner last week. I then shuttled down for the final day of the conference.

Well just a little bit into the teaching I began getting an enormous headache as well as some serious fever symptoms. It just kept getting worse as the session progressed to the point of my thinking “I haven’t felt this bad in 2 years!” And I really had not. Was convinced I would have to skip the next session to nap if I could.

So I forgave myself for drinking the soda they gave me on the flight out here and asked Jesus to heal me up anyway and did some silent spiritual warfare techniques. It was miserable.

Then the session was closing and they opened the session for prayer and words for people – I figured why not just pray for a few people. I felt slightly better after doing so. In short after lunch I started feeling much better and was feeling great by the end of the day. Also ended up getting a rather public prophetic word at the last session. I’ve never been called out to that degree and it is a bit awkward since I had to stuff my false humility and just receive this rather glowing affirmation with everybody there watching.

My flight leaves in 5 hours. I’ve got a few hours left to enjoy the prayer room.

EFV ’07 Virginia Beach, Part 1

Today is Day 2 of the Family Vacation. Our T-shirts have been presented and initial jokes have been pranked. My cousin is conspiring to defile me with a nipple twist at an unsuspecting moment but his intimidations are ineffective. Currently our extended tribe has just shy of 50 people.

Uncle Bruce gave an excellent devotional before dinner about how God protected him during his bout in the hospital after his 2nd floor faceplant off the ladder. He claims that angels were assigned to him during the fall and in the hospital stay. He said there is no other explanation for how he could be doing so well. Other than some minor therapy exercises, and some difficulty sleeping, he is doing very well. He even drove down to the shore.

Thanks again readers for praying for Uncle Bruce.

Marketplace Prayer List

My prayer list is growing. Want to help me out?

I’m not really a “prayer list” kind of guy, but there are a few important situations I have got to address frequently.

1. At the Call, there was a great deal of attention given to adoption. Yesterday when consulting one of my clients, I learned he will be adopting a Guatemalan baby near the end of the year. Her name is Marlene.

Due to the political climate down there, a strong possibility exists for complications and last minute problems, both naturally and at the hands of unscrupulous people.

I told Jeff that his situation just made it on my prayer list. The best thing about this is that Jeff has not yet found Yeshua to my knowledge, but is wrestling with his need for atonement, despite the Temple not being in working order. He doesn’t buy the solution of many of his orthodox friends who are just trying to follow as many rules and laws as possible.

A great example of God breaking into my marketplace -we have had some great discussions. So please pray for this adoption situation with Marlene.

2. I am relatively new to my career field, and had been asking God hard for a mentor in my new field. God answered and I ended up partnering with Noel on a project for a client. What a great way to learn, by making money at the same time.

About a month ago I find out that she, like a former pastor and also a notable prophet, has been diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer. Chemo starts within this week.

This is completely unacceptable. I am not going to sit around when the enemy tries to take out or slow down my mentor right after God positions her to teach me so much. I realize many of you reading this have never had a firsthand experience of seeing God halt or completely eradicate cancer in response to prayer, even though you have prayed just as much.

I have seen this happen several times, and to be frank about it, the healing result has been a significant minority of cases. But I would like the scales to tip in favor of a majority of situations healed.

Anyhow please join me in confident prayer for Noel.

3. By the way, Uncle Bruce has been driving his car around. 40 days ago, he had a horrible accident, concussion, and shattered shoulder. However he hasn’t been sleeping well at all so we can pray for God’s rest to come back to him.

Ladder Update

I got a call from my uncle who had a bad experience with a ladder a few weeks ago. Some good things are happening, thank you for your prayers.

Per the doctor, he is ready to have physical therapy and start repairing his shoulder. The doctor took off the full body cast type thing (looked like something Michael Landon wore in Little House on the Prairie when he was injured) and gave him a sling, which is good.

Keep on praying. Let’s get him off the sling.

Uncle Bruce & Ladder Update

Uncle Bruce has come home from the hospital and is recuperating. Thank you for this initial, effective burst of prayer. It is so effective that many people may consider stopping the prayer since everything appears to be as good as it can be.

I shared on this blog somewhere about a situation 3 years ago with a family’s toddler daughter that I rented a room from being healed from 3rd degree burns to the extent that a scheduled skin graft was canceled. I am asking God to do something even more dramatic in this case.

There is a shattered shoulder and a major rehab issue with the use of his arm. I believe and would like to see a complete reconstruction of his shoulder/arm in the short term. I don’t think there’s any reason not to ask God for this, as it would be preferable to a painful, time consuming rehab for my uncle, who is not known for his tolerance for pain 🙂

So I ask you to say a quick but intense prayer for him and repeat as you recall this situation. I love it when God does miraculous stuff on the east coast!

Uncle Bruce and the Ladder

He fell off it yesterday morning from the 2nd floor.

Just found out about this tonight after church. Don’t think that he or my aunt would mind my blogging this, as long as we pray for him. He has a shattered shoulder and a “brain bleed” that is being monitored. He had a Level II Trauma but is stable I think. I will update as I hear good news.

Even in this there was a high level of protection. His glasses fell with him but remained intact instead of shattering. I believe that God is able and eager to speed up his recuperation and fully restore the use of his arm which is in need of serious rehab in the natural right now. As well as dissolving any clots from this bleed.

Fortunately I happen to be stuck at a 24 hour prayer center all week long, so Uncle Bruce will be getting some serious prayer here.

I Tried Not To Watch “American Idol”

…and I didn’t last night. From the blogging world I have already gathered that the underage Jordin has won.

To commemorate this occasion, I am reposting my humorous account of last year’s winner, a guy who resembled faith healer Benny Hinn’s twin.

Faith Healer Hailed as American Idol!

Wednesday May 24, 2006

Controversial Faith Healer Benny Hinn has defeated Katherine McPhee to become the new American Idol.

During his winning duet, “I’ve Had (the Time of my Life)” from the movie, “Dirty Dancing”, several dozen fans unexpectedly collapsed onto the floor and had to be removed by paramedics for safety reasons.

Approximately half of those fans reported feeling a jolt resulting in improved physical characteristics, from unclogged nostrils to being able to jump up and down to being able to touch their toes.

Head Judge, Simon Cowell, said of the incident,

“I think he is a counterfeit performer, and these strange phenomena are obviously fake, a result of group hypnosis by our new American Idol.”