"homework" projects

i just watched a video of dwight's testimony. i forgot how similar our stories are... at least the part about how God worked through prayer to draw us into a relationship with Him. it was again a reminder of how powerful prayer is and how we can/should lift others up in prayer too. both dwight and i were "homework" projects for our friends who were going through an outreach study. so little did we know at the time, but we each had groups of people praying for us throughout the study while our friends took steps in faith and with courage to ask us questions about God, church and life. God used these steps of faith to make us curious, and He softened our hearts to say "yes" to the invitations, and eventually we fell in love with our God who pursues us with unconditional love. after i became a believer, i too found out that i was a "homework" project and i was blown away that people i barely knew cared enough to pray for me during that time... and i was happy they did too. it's a good reminder that i need to not give up hope and to keep praying too!

A Full and Abundant Life

Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10b)

this is the verse that i think of when i think about dwight's life. over the past week since his accident, i've gone through many emotions and thoughts about the events that took place. there was the amazing way no one was hurt after dwight passed out at the wheel, to the timely cpr and care of the nearby construction workers, to the encouraging note that one of these workers and his whole family had just become new believers, to the way God's family came together to provide prayer and support, to the amazing miracles of his mom and uncle accepting Christ and then there were the hard times when they said his brain activity showed signs of damage and the MRI tests that showed evidence of lack of oxygen to his brain.

as i reflected and prayed over the past week, i became more and more amazed at what a faithful and FULL life dwight has had even though he's not that much older than me! i first got to really know dwight when we went on a 6 week missions trip to brazil. we were on the same team and i got to see his heart for serving others and his heart for following and glorifying God in all he did. on the trip, he hurt his foot (above pic) but didn't allow that to stop him from serving others. i saw his gentle spirit and his big heart....and his funny side too! i also got to serve with him on the mission board and saw his passion for expanding God's kingdom. then i saw him faithfully follow God to kazakhstan and loved hearing how he even used some of the english lessons we did in brazil over there too. he also followed God's guidance in organizing perspectives classes here in seattle so that fellow believers like myself could learn about what God is doing all over the world and get excited about joining God in kingdom work. dwight had such a servant heart that when my front door lock broke one morning on my way to work, i didn't know who to call and i ended up contacting dwight who came over that very day and spent several hours fixing it for me. it was always a blessing to chat and catch up with dwight b/c he had such a caring heart and just being around him encouraged me to live more for God. dwight has touched and blessed the lives of so many people here in seattle and all over the world, and though i am sad he is gone i'm amazed at how FULL a life he has had and now i know he is enjoying eternity with Jesus. how awesome is that!

for me, reflecting on dwight's life has encouraged me to renew my pursuit of a life of knowing and following hard after God (a line from a popular praise song the year we went to brazil... we sang it a lot that year). my favorite verse, the words of the apostle paul, truly applies to dwight's life and i hope they may apply one day to my life as well, "(you) have fought the good fight, (you) have finished the race, (you) have kept the faith." (2 tim 4:7)

i'll miss you dwight, and i can't wait until we meet again so i can thank you for encouraging me to live a FULL life no matter how long or short it may be.

i finally bought it!

well, i finally did it. after a lot of "thinking about it" i finally moved forward and bought a new car. when i think back on the whole process, it's kinda funny (kinda sad) how i really do "think" about things a long time before i actually "do" something about it. but for those that i don't see or talk to very often, it seems like it's an impulsive thing.

the truth is....i actually take a long time to make decisions like this, but when given the right motivation (i.e. God pushes me or i get fed up with "thinking" about it) i can go out and "get it done"!

so i've been actually thinking about buying an impreza since the beginning of 2010. i got kinda serious when i finally test drove it back in early sept, but then i sat back and thought about it again for another month and a half! then finally when the rain started and fall really began to set in, i realized that i better get a new car or at least some new tires b/c i began feeling really unsafe driving my jetta. in fact, i would often pray as i drove my jetta b/c i was afraid a tire would blow or i would skid out of control. and THAT was the motivation i needed to get going.