...still standing...

WOW! Can I tell you about the blessing that my week has been! First, it has been a little over a week since you and I have discussed life, specifically mine. It's kinda interesting that I have a blog about MY life and call it no longer central. Oh well. I guess I just try to remember that ultimately this blog is meant to minister to others. Hope it is doing that for you.

Anyways, we had a ridiculously amazing group last week and we are having a pretty amazing group this week as well. Last week we were able to do a tremendous amount of work for my friends, the Small Family (see posted ...giddyup...). To our surprise, she made the groups lunch every day. What a servant. This week we finished their home and have begun work on two additional projects; a teen center for the Boys and Girls Club and a major overhaul on a local church that will begin using the facility again this Sunday for baptisms. It has been a pretty insane 1 1/2 weeks. However...

...I would totally be lying to you if I said this was not hard. Its not as much about the work as it is aobut the really long hours, and honestly the ridiculous amount of spiritual warfare. There I said it, outloud at that. A few years ago, a fellow staff member at a church I served began to use the fact that I used that language against me. He began to throw the term back in my face and act as if the use of that term was simply to glorify me and get my own way. Since then I have rarely used the term. I am currently in a place of life where I have no choice but to acknowledge it. Call a spade a spade. Now, some things happen just because, but I totally embrace the idea that we do have an enemy seeking to kill, steal and destroy. To acknowledge anything less would simply be uncivilized and not very bright. Anyways, with all that said let me tell you about the weekend: radiator on the van blew up halfway to Billings and had to go buy a new van Saturday and go shopping for 3 meals a day for 70 people. Yeah. Supposed to be the day off. I had a little friction with someone (resolved PRAISE Jesus!), got hardly any rest, and started over on Sunday night. Sunday a Monday were just a little off for me. It was weird. Everything went fine, but ALL the staff felt such a heaviness surrounding the site and ourselves. Eventually we had opportunity to pray together outside. It was hazey and no stars were to be seen. Amazing enough, as we began to pray against the enemy in the name of Jesus, the fog totally lifted taking with it the heaviness and revealing the most beautiful mass of stars. God is good.
Oh it would have been so easy to just give up on a weekend like this. It would have been so easy to just kinda go through the motions this week and not care about anything. It would have been so easy to wallow in our lack of rest and spiritual heaviness. But, I always remember something my ex-girlfriend use to tell me in hard times (shout out to your wife Phil!). She would always tell me, "when times are tough Lance, you just stand! Don't quit or give in...just STAND!" I am thankful to Amy for those words of life that encouraged me this week to simply stand in the presence of the all-providing and all loving savior Jesus Christ!

Amen.