SE Chronicles… - Wednesday, June 21, 2006

I’m getting to the point in the week where it is very hard for me to remember what I am doing from one minute to the next!! I think it is a combination of lack of sleep, lack of coffee, lack of um….I can’t remember what I was saying!!

Yesterday was an incredible day at Summer Excitement. God is doing so many fantastic things!! God is totally using the testimony of Amber to change lives!! Yesterday, both Josh and I were lead (at the same time but in separate places) to Amber to ask her to share her story with us last night in worship. At the very same time, Amber was in her quiet time….wrestling with God of where she needed to go. All that came together last night when Amber bared her life to us in worship time. She did something that all of us as followers of Christ must do. She walked directly into the thing that scared her the most. She confessed sins that were scary to confess in front of people who thought she was something different. She was real….she didn’t tie up the end of her testimony with a tidy….”and now everything is alright and I’m not sinning any more” type statement. She made it very clear that she is in the midst of a journey with God. She is not perfect and she hasn’t arrived…but at the same time….she is perfect and she has arrived. Today…Amber is FREE….she no longer is a slave to hiding who she is….PRAISE GOD!! And now…all over this campus, kids are experiencing freedom for the first time. They are able to be real with each other a deal with real issues….they are FREE. Isn’t that what followers of Christ are supposed to be doing….living in freedom and delivering freedom to others??? God, I praise you for Amber. Thank you for bringing her to SE this year….even though she did not want to come….did not want to follow you here….you delivered her…thank you for orchestrating all of this….thank you for delivering us and cleaning us up over and over and over again. Thank you God for all of the others that are experiencing freedom today. You are amazing God. Let me continue to walk around today and be amazed by you!!

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

- My Rabbi….Jesus

Then there was Kyle Hutton….I have to admit…I was very nervous about this. I knew Kyle was going to be very talented…I knew that he was cool…but I was worried that some of the kids wouldn’t like his music (country music). I was worried they would check out…and hate it. Of course…Kyle was great…he was real…he was authentic…he told stories about his journey….God did more than we asked or imagined. What an incredible gift. Then he sang with Brooks (his son). He sang a song with his son that his wife wrote….HOW STINKING COOL IS THAT!!! There is so much more to that story that is just plain glory to God in the highest….maybe one day I will blog about it. Thank you God for how you orchestrated Kyle being here. How you put him in community with Brian…how you put me in community with Brian…which lead to Kyle ministering to us…and us to Kyle last night. This is a true picture of who you are…always taking care of your children. Thank you God. I am still amazed by you!

So many things yesterday that allowed me to see more of God…those were just a couple of them…but there were more…and will be more. It seemed like all day…all day…I was praising God for what he was doing. I want to walk every day like that!!

Looking forward to what God is going to do tonight. Wednesday night at SE has always been special….but something seems to be building…the Spirit is very thick today around here…it’s like God is going to blow the doors off tonight. Father, protect us from the evil one today….I know he’s scared…your children are getting real and confessing and loving each other and praising you and satan is scared….we depend on you to defeat him. You are a MIGHTY WARRIOR…crush the darkness. Amaze me once again tonight. Speak amazing things through Ian and Josh. Anoint them with the fire of your Spirit tonight. Cut everyone in the room…students, staff, non-se, EVERYONE…cut them to the heart so that you may be given glory. Bring us to You. Father…will you let confession be our language tonight. Don’t let one person leave the room with a mask on…totally change who we are. I praise you for answering this prayer already. YOU ARE GOD!!

I’m also looking forward to jail break. Jail break is always fun but Quaker goes the extra mile. Quaker is just so awesome at this. I’ll report on this tomorrow!!!

Last thing….here is a picture from Wild n Crazy Games yesterday….courtesy Carey Jones.

God is even working through “noodle hockey”!!!!

Doyle