I heard a message on the radio one day and it was speaking about ‘plans’ and how sometimes we have them and we think they are God’s too but sometimes they turn out not to be. The day after I heard this message I had some doors close and was thankful that I had heard that message on the radio. Just because I had a plan and thought it was going to all work out does not mean it is God’s and so I have to be obedient and understand there is a reason when doors close suddenly.
As you know I had gotten connections to go and speak at high schools in the York Region. I was sent the application you have to fill out to be able to start going in and was told that there were some things on the application that might have changed so if I had any questions to ask. As I looked over the application everything looked good except that I saw that in the requirements it said you had to be 25 or under. I was a little surprised and so wrote the person I was in contact with and asked her if that was something they still required. To my shock I got a quick email saying “Yes, we do have an age limit of 25…..thank you for your interest in the program and all the best in your work in the community.” I couldn’t believe the response and was a bit shocked to receive it but maybe there is a reason why I am not to go with that organization and speak in schools. I do not believe that is the end of going and speaking to teens but I have to accept that this door has been closed for now.
There are still great things that are happening. 🙂 About a month ago Travis and I started a small study and we meet at our house bi-weekly. The first couple of times we had dinners and played games so that the group could get to know each other more. Last Thursday the group decided they wanted to have a Thanksgiving dinner so everybody brought some food and it was a delicious meal. We said what we were thankful for this year and then we started our actual study on the book called “Crazy Love”. We have already got good feedback on the book and some have told us that it is so good they can not put it down. We have had some great moments sharing our thoughts and at the end of the nights we have had some great times praying together. I am very thankful for the group we have. I hope that this group will continue to be open with each other and that they will continue to learn so much about Jesus and his amazing magnitude.
As you also know on August 29th I spoke to the junior youth at my church. Thank you for praying for me as I prepared this message! I was nervous about what I should and shouldn’t say but I really felt the prayers and in the end I think I said exactly what I needed to say. After I spoke I had a girl who is not a Christian share with me how she could relate to so much I said that day. After that day I went out with her and she opened up with me and shared so much of what has gone on in her life and what continues to go on. She is 13 but has already been involved in things that bring darkness into her life. Not only that but she is young and has already tried to hang herself. It is so sad! Things were going awesome with this girl. I loved going out with her and chatting with her regularly. I also loved giving her hope and sharing with her about Jesus but all of a sudden I found out last week that I can not see her anymore. :S Her Mom realized she was going out with me and that she was sharing things with me that she would not share with her Mom. Her Mom got jealous that she was talking to me more then her and so she told her she did not want her to go out with me or talk to me anymore. Please pray for this girl. I will not go against what her Mom said and I will respect that but this girl needs someone to talk to. Please pray that the Mom will not be threatened by me and she will allow her to talk to me again or that someone else can speak into her life and help her with all that she is dealing with.
The other big thing I am working on right now is the process of publishing a book. I have been in touch with others who have written books and I am just trying to see what the next step is for me and what the best thing is for me to do. I have also tried to write different people to make sure that I have the rights to add things in my book that they have said. For instance I talk in one chapter on how the book “Captivating” has impacted my life and so I asked John and Stasi Eldredge if they were okay with me mentioning their book and I did hear back from them last and they said it was fine. They even thanked me for getting the message out there so that was pretty neat. My Dad has some connections with publishers too and so he has been awesome at finding out information for me. I feel like I have gave it my best in writing this book and so I want to make sure that I look into everything as much as I can before I just go ahead and sign one contract without looking into options. God knows what exactly is going to happen with the book and what publishing company I will go with so I am not worried. I know just like everything else that in His time things will come together.