A week in Michigan

Well I just got back from Michigan. I got a call that my Grandpa fell and broke his hip and was having major surgery. As I was looking at airfare I got a call from my dad saying my Grandma Benkert was dying. For those that don’t know that is two separate families. So I headed north on Monday, to my luck there was a big blizzard in Chicago and my plane was cancelled. I rescheduled for morning and it cancelled. The sad part was that I only needed to get to South Bend. I could have hopped on the South Shore but I couldn’t get my luggage. On top of that I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt because I figured I would get dressed in South Bend. Well I made it to South Bend at 1:30 and Todd picked me up. I really was expecting at this point to not see my luggage. In reality I had three schedule changes and figured I was going to be up the creek. When the baggage starting coming out.... no baggage. Twenty minutes later the carousel stops and I still have no luggage. I went to the United desk and ten minutes later they walked out with my luggage and more importantly WARM CLOTHES.

Well we headed to K-zoo to see Grandpa because Grandma had passed away at 1:00 so it was too late to see her. Grandpa was OK but was really hurting. Just so you know my Grandpa has a HIGH tolerance for pain. When he said it hurts.... IT HURTS. Well he was hurting. The next day we went to K-zoo again visited grandpa and then spent some time looking around at the area churches.

Thursday we go up to the Benkerts in Nunica, Michigan. At first I was really not looking forward to this. I have not seen the majority of that side of the family in eight years and could have gone another eight as far as I was concerned. Needless to say I had a great time. My family as a whole has dried up. My cousin Kenny has been dry for four years and the rest are doing great also. I finally met wives and children that I have never met. It’s not that I didn’t like my family it was that I had zero relationship with a lot of them. Now I wish we were closer to home so that we could be there for things like graduations, pumpkin parties and the such. I also would like to be with in range of last minute emergencies. At this point I really don’t know what or where God has planned for us. Part of me wants to dig into ministry right here in Orlando and be part of the next great revival. The other part of me wants to head north.

So we are still wandering and wondering. I know that God will make things clear for us. We are just learning to be patient in Him. We have been taking a class at church called Gripped by God led by a lady named Leah. We have really gotten a lot out of it and realize that God prepares you for great things in the wilderness. I really think our time is coming soon but for now we continue to stay in God's Council and wait.

A fast fast

I have spent the last month preparing for a long fast (40 days) I started Feb 7. I figured with family being down on vacation and Dana's birthday that the 7th would be perfect. Here’s the interesting part....
I started Thursday morning; needless to say I ended in two days. Interesting enough hunger was not my issue. I was actually surprised at the lack of hunger pain I encountered. What I did have a problem with, in regards to food, is the enjoyment of a great meal. The thought of not having flavor in my mouth and a great meal really bothered me. Why did I stop??? My headaches were so bad i couldn’t take it. Dizziness was a big issue also. I knew that I would encounter that the whole time on and off but I did not expect the severity.
Let me back up one week. I go to bed around 9 and go to work at 7. When the family came down we stayed at the WD Dolphin on Disney property and did all of Disney in two days. 6 AM till after Midnight. It felt like a Three day "teen lock-in". For just a second let’s back up a little farther. For years I have been 100 percent caffeine free. A few months ago I reintroduced caffeine in to my system having a little bit every morning. Back to last week... by Saturday afternoon I was so whipped that I downed a BIG can of Full Throttle. Yeah you’re getting the idea. Back to the fast.. needless to say I have been feeling bad about the whole fast situation. On the way to church today it hit me, I was going through caffeine withdrawal. Now for those who have never been through that, WOW it’s bad. When I did it the very first time you would swear I was a druggie. So here we go again. I am going to spend a week "withdrawing". And once I get that out of my system go for it all over again. Just for the record they say that every time you go though withdrawal it gets worse. Yeah.

On a serious note, I really want to fast in preparation for what God has planned for our family when it comes to ministry. I am refreshed, I am rejuvenated and I am ready to be used. The fast is for God to have his way with me and show me where he wants us to be. Please pray for me for strength and wisdom on this journey.

Why?

I went to visit my brother Todd in June. While we were talking he asked me to read his blog and engage in dialouge with him. I have been reading his blog for a month now and am finally ready to get into the mix. I figured if I am gonna do something lets do it right. That brings us to this blog.

I currently have a blog at Myspace (dont judge me yet) that is basically a way that I can interact with the youth and bands that I have worked with in our ministry. This blog will be a little different. This one will be more open. I'll be discussing questions and concerns that are part of everyday life in ministry.