An opportunity...

"Today you have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, an opportunity that few receive. Don't waste it."

That was what I felt the Lord speak to me yesterday.

Hey, at least I felt the Lord speak to me again. We're gaining.

We are in Normal.

Today we will attend Clear View Church, which is not the church we originally intended to join. For a number of reasons, none of which are against the Urbana Vineyard, it doesn't look like we will land there after all. Time will tell, but at this point we are really feeling drawn to Bloomington-Normal and U of I. It's interesting how, when you try to "back away" from these things that ministry comes looking for you. At any rate, things are going well. I expect to be up to 100% capacity today, perhaps for the first day since we arrived. We got here Monday afternoon, and I got sicker than a dog--I suppose, lack of sleep. Anyway, it was a good 3 days before I could even function normally. But now things seem to be better.

So, we're headed to CVC today, which is a fairly new Vineyard plant. Technically, it's the Normal Vineyard, but it's located in the Castle Theater in Bloomington right now. That's cool--it should be a nice environment for church. Krispy Kremes, bagels, coffee, and Jesus. Should be a nice time.

In other news, I've been invited to participate with a new pomo-focused service at Grace Church here in Normal, which is the independent quasi-Baptist-but-not-really Christian church where our gracious hosts, the Beaty's, attend. They're looking for help, and I've got the experience, so one of the lead guys invited me to help yesterday.

I'll be meeting with Andrew Beaty, who is the area director for Young Life (as well as being one of my best friends), this week concerning what Young Life is doing on college campuses. YL is a great ministry, although I sometimes prefer a little more direct approach. BUT, college YL could be a whole different issue, because we can help deal with some issues. We'll see what happens. A reality: I'll probably have to continue with my degree in order to get some credibility. OTOH, being a student where I minister couldn't hurt, either.

I think I'm going to apply for a job at Office Depot this week, just to have something. I may have a position as a shift supervisor at Godfather's Pizza, part-time, but that still remains to be seen. If so, great. If not, well, then I won't get tired of Godfather's. :-)

If you have our info, know that our cell numbers remain the same for now, so you can still reach us. I normally don't like calls after 9 pm, but on weekdays they are free if you don't have Verizon (free all the time if you use Verizon wireless), so call after 9 pm. Weekends are free all the time, so that's a good time to reach us. If you head to www.myspace.com/elempoimen, you can get my address. (Note: you'll have to register. Sorry, but I don't want to broadcast my stuff across the Internet.)