No more shock and awe

Dear friends-

Last night I was awakened at  about 2:30. The presence of "darkness" was all about me. I clearly heard "you are going to die."  Needless to say I began to pray. I prayed on and off for about  2 plus hours. For friend, family, situations and the like. I was not frightened by this darkness, just surprised. Hmmm. A Christian who is surprised.  I thought God revealed all things to His prophets. On the other hand the stress related to more flooding brought me to a place of chest pains and saying, "why God, I think I am processing this correctly." I will admit I feel helpless. I am a list person and I like the idea of removing things from that list. I have developed habits of keeping the list small, just so my life is relatively stress free. Only yesterday as I was vaccing water for day 5, I was confronted with the fact that the escrow lawyer was now playing games.  So much so, I am headed to my bank to have a serious sit down.

But, as I prayed I processed things about how people see things in this day and age. The other day a ministry friend had sent me a letter about the 10 commandments and the reason people are who they are. Last night I watched the revelation come forth about Obama's relationship with a man who wrote a book dedicated to many in prison including Sirhan Sirhan. Sirhan Sirhan? That's the guy who killed Robert Kennedy. So, not to get political but I would think it would bother the Kennedy's but apparently not.

I remember exactly where I was when I heard about Robert Kennedy. I remember thinking about the heartbreak that family was going through. I was shocked. I was in awe that it could happen again and I was only in 8th grade. We used to care about such things. Murder and assassinations bothered us. No it appears we compartmentalize things by "oh well, that will not happen to me." Folks, I have friends dying from cancer, others attacked by cancer, broken marriages and the like and it affects me. I still stand in shock at those things . I still am awed by the blessings of God.

My life is a mess right now. I no longer really know who I am or where I am going or what I am doing. What is the next step? But I hope I never get to the place that I can not feel or have hope.

And here is a final thought. Perhaps this is the answer to my questions about why we do not feel shock or awe. Only this morning, I received this. http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/20081012YB


Blessings,
Lee

Lee Johndrow
Pillars Of Clouds& Fire Ministries
88 WCFR Drive
Springfield, Vermont 05156
802-384-3993
Building relationships for the goodness of our region.
www.pocafministries.org

1 Corinthians 10:13

Dear friends-

1Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

I joked last week that we were going to change our name to the Millers, because we had gone through the mill. Friends have thought I was relieving the ordeals of Job. I preached this message last weekend. Despite all the stuff, I am still there with God. I will tell you there never was a point where I wasn't with God.  (On the other hand I did think He lost my address a time or two.). We had a great time in that church and believe God blessed not only the people, but ourselves.

Our house is not complete but it is further along than it was.  We still have a roof to place over our deck and new oil tank area, but the cement is poured, etc.. We have a quote for $3,800 to deal with the mold and we still need to go over after the contractors. Yes, unfortunately that is plural. 4 separate contractors developed the "stuck on stupid" mode and we paid the price. What should have been a 2 week deal has taken over 3 months and is still not complete. We spent a lot of money, but I will say this. Not one dime went on credit. We are tighter than I want to be, but hey, unlike many of our neighbors, we did not end up paying $5 per gallon for fuel. Sometimes procrastination pays off!

Maybe that is part of the escape of 1 Cor. 10:13. Cheap fuel. Maybe it is that the removal of our central air was FREE because the contractor removed our furnace and water pump wiring. Honestly, I am not sure.

Today I will be taking my grandchildren to the area's pumpkin festival. 70,000 people all in one place and the opportunity for God to do something. Looking forward to it.

One of my escapes has been the paper. It has allowed for the creativity to flow and opened doors for other things. Check out the article on "No whining!" It is opening the door for a conservative paper and has allowed for ministry in the streets. And honestly, that is where I am most comfortable. I "like" being in church, but I love being out there and bringing the word to people. I recently had the opportunity to begin praying for a young man with 3 children and cancer at 30. Another man with a bone eating disease. I have seen the marriage of a friend begin to restore. Church is "good" and I will go anywhere, but when God moves amongst unbelievers and the like, it is precious.

Blessings,
Lee

Lee Johndrow
Pillars Of Clouds& Fire Ministries
88 WCFR Drive
Springfield, Vermont 05156
802-384-3993
Building relationships for the goodness of our region.
www.pocafministries.org