aunt linda; more

aunt linda
so it's been a while since i updated. here goes . . . i talked to my aunt on sunday. she still isn't to the point where she can have conversations, but she's getting close - she can say whole sentences.

i call my mom (or my aunt sue, now that i have her cell number), and she puts her cell phone to aunt linda's ear, and we talk. i tell her how much i miss her and how much i love her, and i ask her if she can hear me, and in response to my question, she says, "yes." then she says, "i miss you, too." she tries to say more, but can't quite get it out.

this talking thing is a big deal for me. some of you out there (lauren .-p) who say i talk alot. and i do. at least sometimes. or when i got somthin to say. but talking together was what aunt linda and i did. when i would stay at her house, she always cooked breakfast. now it wasn't just for me, cause my uncle ate breakfast, she usually ate a little bit, too. but as i grew older, she and i would sit and talk at the table, and as i began to wake up earlier (read: got more older) we would talk while she cooked and then some more as we ate. she always said that the difference between me and my brother was that i ate breakfast and talked to her - peter wasn't much of a breakfast eater or talker.

so, to be able to talk to my aunt, but to not be able to converse with my aunt is really tough.

Daniel 3:16-18
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

i believe that my God can heal my aunt. completely. this is my prayer. and i will praise him. but if he chooses not to heal her, or only to partially heal her, i will praise him just the same. and i believe that my aunt linda would say the same. this is the comfort i have in Jesus. i pray that as you read this, you will lift up my aunt and the rest of our family up to God in your prayers and pray that God's will be done, and i pray that you will do the same concerning the things in your life in which you would have God work.

more
i've begun to realize there's more to this whole youth minister thing than 5/4's, pizza, and Bible studies. maybe it's because i'm starting to get more people around me. for so long, it seemed like i was the only one doing it. sure, there were parents who helped make the 5/4 happen. sure, there were the parents who helped drive kids across the country. sure, the secretaries helped me print and get stuff mailed.

but for the most part, it was me, just me. i didn't have to plan wednesday or sunday night Bible studies. well, i did have to plan, but if i didn't tell anyone my plan, it still got done, because i knew the plan. i didn't have to plan for who was going to teach six months in the future, because that was me - and i knew the plan.

now, i've got people who love students, who love God, and who want to be a part of helping students to love God. now, i've got to make plans that involve more than just me. i've got to plan far enough (is that even possible?!?) into the future to account for a growing group of students and how best to minister to them. i've got to utilize my volunteers and help them to feel a part of a ministry to students.

now then. let's see what trouble i can get myself into with this whole "planning" thing . . .