Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Lest You Think All I Do Is Complain.... This Is The Post Where I PRAISE

Were you there tonight?
At GM Place? With Chris Tomlin and David Crowder and some guy who talked?
OH MY GOODNESS.
What an awesome, awesome evening.
So. Very Good.
I love worshipping like that. You know, with amazing musicians and thousands of people and with your close friends and our kids. Honestly? There is nothing better. Nothing. (Remember? I'm not married. So, yeah. This is the best way to spend a couple hours.)

I should mention that I was stretched abit. There was this 10 minute interlude where we were to break into groups of three ("a strand of three is not easily broken" ... and "where 2 or 3 gather in My name", etc) and pray out loud amongst each other. The Talking Guy told us what to pray about and said that those not praying were supposed to verbally agree with the prayer, because there is power in agreement. I think he was pentacostal.

Anyways I survived that and was glad we moved on to passive worshipping instead. Passive might be the wrong word. Our row was actively involved in the singing and dancing and I really really love hanging out with other people who let tears fall during Chris Tomlin's songs. Good grief it was incredible.

The Talking Guy talked and talked and I tried to get moved by his enthusiasm, but it wasn't happening. Turns out he was trying to reach his target audience of 18 - 25 year olds, which is not me. And then he told a story. NEVER underestimate the power of a great story. The story was about Ashley and guess what? HE READ ASHLEY'S JOURNAL TO US. Her writing was witty and interesting and powerful and I guess I won't ruin it for you if I tell you that she started out being a opposed to Christianity and then, through her roommate (the "fruitcake") she came to know Jesus. The change in her life was dramatic. And then, as though Nicolas Sparks wrote this story, she died tragically in a car accident a few months later. Her non-believing dad gave the journal to The Talking Guy to use at Passion events.

I turned to Marj and said, "You have no idea how glad I am that I destroyed my journals last winter." NO way I'd want anyone reading them to a stadium full of teens. (That seemed presumputous didn't it? Like I wrote anything stadium worthy. WhatEV.)

Ashley's story was inspiring. Even though I'm no longer a student and I'm not part of the generation that is going to change the world, I walked away from tonight's event, more committed than ever to pray. Pray for my kids. Their friends. My friends' kids. My facebook friends. Pray for my friends' marriages.

Just to keep on praying.

And from now til Friday, I'll also be praying for Seoul, Korea because that's where the next Passion Concert is going to take place. We who were at GM Place tonight will be keeping our wrist bands on til Friday as a reminder to pray for the city of Seoul and all the 18 - 25 year olds there.

If you want to check out the Passion blog, it's here. I may post a comment. What would I say?
I would write about our parking lot experience.

Last Friday, as you know, I organized a seminar to take place at the Langley Township Hall. After lunch, I actually joined the other attendees in the theatre and listened for a bit. Mostly I was in there to take pictures. I had my purse with me, using it as a camera bag to hold whatever lens I didn't have on my camera.

Today, when Carson asked me to bring my camera to work to do a photo shoot, I checked my purse for my telephoto/zoom lens and it wasn't in there. I called the Hall and asked them to look in the theatre and the lost and found for me. I turned my house, truck and office upside down - but I couldn't find it. I don't know where it is.

Have I lost it? Was it stolen?
I don't know. But I haven't seen it since Friday afternoon, so I kinda think it's gone. I keep praying that God would show me where I put it - but so far? Nothing.

I took my camera along tonight, not planning on taking concert photos (that would be silly without a telephoto) but maybe taking shots of us in the line up, or in Vancouver or something. You know, so that I would have a graphic to add to this blog post.

But it was raining when we got to Vancouver and I didn't feel like taking pictures of us all wet, so I asked Maxine if she was locking her Suburban.
"Yes, I always do."
"OK, good. I'm going to leave my camera in here. I'll tuck it under the backseat."

Three and a half hours later, we get out to the truck and Sandra opens the front passenger side door and starts to get in. Maxine is confused as to how she got the door open because she hadn't unlocked it yet.
"What's all this mess on the floor?" Sandra asks regarding all the stuff lying where he feet should go. "Did I step on this on the way here?"

Maxine is uber upset. "What's this?" It was a bag of fast food wrappers all placed in a plastic bag, tied up and sitting on her front seat. "I think someone broke in. Those are our passports on the floor..."

Immediately I reached under the seat I was sitting on and ...








My camera was there. They (he?) had found a spare key hidden under the back of the truck and used it to open the front passenger door. He had eaten his meal, cleaned up his garbage, rifled through the glove box and took a handful of American coin. Then left.

He had the key! He could have driven the truck away.
My camera was under the backseat! He could have reached behind and grabbed it as the strap was out in the open.
He could have taken their passports! He just needed a dry place to eat his Big Mac?

I think there's a lesson here somewhere.
When thousands of people are in a stadium praying for their city; protection happens. Plain and simple - God's angels were all around that downtown core tonight and good won over evil as a result.

If you have time this week, this year, this life - please pray for the generation that is following right behind us. Let's cover them with His protection. And maybe, if you get a chance, ask Him if He could let me know where I put that lens.

Three things I'm thankful for:
1. WOW. Nights like tonight.
2. Drew came along, under duress, hissing the whole way there. Chatting happily on the way home.
3. Friends who pray, cry, worship, sing, dance, laugh and share experiences with me.

Shalom,




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Glad it was an amazing evening. Just a thought ... if God cares about your camera, how much more must He care about your boys. We won't stop praying!

Gail