I hate that.

Music video for “Goon” by J’son ft. Thi’sl & Pastor AD3. From the album ‘City Lights’ out 7/20/10.

I have been following the progress of Abby, a 16-year old sailor who is seeking to sail around the world by herself.  She is reportedly lost at sea (in the middle of the Indian Ocean) right now.  Please pray for her, that she is safe and out of harm’s way right now.  Pray that she will not die at sea but live!  Read the news reports below.

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• Search is on for teen sailor Abby Sunderland (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Rescuers search for Calif teen on solo world sail (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Solo sailor Abby Sunderland reportedly lost at sea (sports.espn.go.com)

ht: heaven invading washington

Right now I have a window to fix and I still have to finish setting up my home office. If I got this thing I would spend way too much time playing with it. So Evo, maybe later.

I woke up this morning thinking about how I still am not done dealing with the issues of yesterday when I decided that yesterday is not going to define my today.  You get to choose what to focus on.  Today, I am going to focus on all the great things that are happening in my life.

In that spirit I wanted to post a short list of some of the things I am thankful for today.

• My marriage.  Folks will tell you that as time goes on, you and your spouse will drift apart.  That only happens if you and your spouse are not submitted to the God of Love.  My marriage is better today than it has ever been.  I am thankful that my wife has grown as our family has grown.  I hope I have done the same.
• My kids.  My son broke said window and he tried to give me money to help pay for it.  These kids have no idea how thankful God brought them into my life.  I tell them all the time.  Anastasia tells me she knows because I tell her all the time but I keep insisting that she has no idea how much I love them and how thankful to God I am for them.
• My home.  The economy the last five years threw my family into a spin.  We were never in danger of losing our house.  No matter how bad things got, we never feared we would be homeless.
• Coffee.  Of faithful friend.  You help me regulate that internal mechanism that determines so much of my day.
• The call to south Florida.  I know great people happily serving God in awful places.  The weather is beautiful here.  I love living near the beach.  I love Delray Beach.  I love seeing the sun.  I love hot summer days.  I love flat landscape.  I love palm trees.  I even love all the lizards (not their droppings everywhere).  I love old cars with big tires, tinted windows and loud stereos pumping Miami bass.  I love long shorts year round.  I love the mixture of cultures.  I just love living here.
• Air conditioning.  Without it that last bullet point would be off the list.
• Wifi.  My office is in Panera Bread.  I spend less than $20 a month on rent instead of a grand because of wifi.
• Google voice.  transcribed emails sent to your phone.
• The bulleted lazy man’s blog post.  When only three people read your blog it is foolish to spend too much time on it.
• Khamille Barbosa.  Joined to The Mission.  Tireless worker.  Prayer warrior.  Sanctified wife of Sergio.  I just got an email from her with notes for this week’s Connection Group.  Most folks are not even out of bed and she is doing volunteer work after she hosted a women’s meeting last night, will host a Connection group tonight, will attend setup and prayer Friday night, host worship practice Saturday, and help lead worship Sunday.  And still if I asked her to do something she would not hesitate to say yes.  Fellas, stop praying carnal junk about your future wife.
• My blackberry.  The world in my pocket.
• Two working cars.  I could call this one and a half working cars but for the sake of this post we are being positive.
• My wife’s chicken parmesan.
• The many faithful volunteers at The Mission.  Without them we would have a far crappier service and my life would be far more miserable.
• Watching folks get baptized in the Holy Ghost.  If I did not get to preach any more this is what I would miss the most.  There is nothing like watching the glow on someone who gets filled and speaks in tongues for the first time.

I could go on and on with this list but you get the idea.  What are you thankful for today?  Write it down.  Or better yet, call some people and let them know.  It will make your day all the better.

Squire W—- had gone to dinner. I took down my bass-viol, and, as I was accustomed to do, began to play and sing some pieces of sacred music. After trying in vain to suppress my tears, I put up my instrument and stopped singing.After dinner we were engaged in removing our books and furniture to another office. We were very busy in this, and had but little conversation all the afternoon. There was a great sweetness and tenderness in my thoughts and feelings. Everything appeared to be going right, and nothing seemed to ruffle or disturb me in the least.

Just before evening the thought took possession of my mind, that as soon as I was left alone in the new office, I would try to pray again — that I was not going to abandon the subject of religion and give it up, at any rate; and therefore, although I no longer had any concern about my soul, still I would continue to pray.

By evening we got the books and furniture adjusted; and I made up, in an open fireplace, a good fire, hoping to spend the evening alone. Just at dark Squire W—-, seeing that everything was adjusted, bade me goodnight and went home. I had accompanied him to the door; and as I closed the door and turned around, my heart seemed to be liquid within me. All my feelings seemed to rise and flow out; and the utterance of my heart was, “I want to pour my whole soul out to God.” The rising of my soul was so great that I rushed into the room behind the front office, to pray.

There was no fire, and no light, in the room; nevertheless it appeared to me as if it were perfectly light. As I went in and shut the door after me, it seemed as if I met the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. It did not occur to me that it was wholly a mental state. On the contrary it seemed to me that I saw him as I would see any other man. He said nothing, but looked at me in such a manner as to break me right down at his feet. I have always since regarded this as a most remarkable state of mind; for it seemed that he stood before me, and I fell down at his feet and poured out my soul to him. I wept aloud like a child, and made such confessions as I could with my choked utterance.

I must have continued in this state for a good while; but my mind was too much absorbed with the interview to recollect anything that I said. But I know, as soon as my mind became calm, I returned to the front office, and found that the fire that I had made of large wood was nearly burned out. But as I turned and was about to take a seat by the fire, I received a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost. Without any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me, without any recollection that I had ever heard the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul.

(This parenthesis is in an earlier American edition: I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense wings.) No words can express the wonderful love that was shed abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love; and I do not know but I should say, I literally bellowed out the unutterable gushings of my heart. These waves came over me, and over me, and over me, one after the other, until I recollect I cried out, “I shall die if these waves continue to pass over me.” I said, “Lord, I cannot bear any more;” yet I had no fear of death.

How long I continued in this state I do not know. But it was late in the evening when a member of my choir came to see me. He was a member of the church. He found me in this state of loud weeping, and said, “Mr. Finney, what ails you?” I could make him no answer for some time. He then said, “Are you in pain?” I gathered myself up as best I could, and replied, “No, but so happy that I cannot live.

He left the office, and in a few minutes returned with one of the elders of the church, whose shop was nearly across the way from our office. This elder was a very serious man; and in my presence had been very watchful, and I had scarcely ever seen him laugh. He asked me how I felt, and I began to tell him. Instead of saying anything, he fell into a most spasmodic laughter. It seemed as if it was impossible for him to keep from laughing from the very bottom of his heart.