Highs & Lows

On Sunday, the church service and bible study sessions went well. After the service, some of the ladies at the church had presented me with a bag of Filipino delights, pork adobo, chicken tinola and a filled container of rice. You've got to bless their hearts! Hey, I was blessed. I didn't have to make lunch or dinner for the next two days.

Membership orientation and luncheon went okay as well. A group of newbies, including myself, met with the pastors and leaders of the church @ the upstairs cafe. There were approximately a dozen of us there, not including the homefolks. Pastor D gave a short intro and history about himself and the church. As he is such a nice guy, pastor, then, introduced the interested individuals and talked a little bit about each person. I was greatly surprised by the pastor that he mentioned I plan to give my testimony to the congregation very soon. When I heard him speak in front of the stage (this room is decorated as a "hip urban street cafe w/ an elevated performance stage"), my heart nearly fell from my mouth. My initial reaction, "What did I just do?" Sitting right next to me, "G" from Dallas had enquired that he was curious to hear my testimony. Let me tell you, I am a bit curious about it too.

When talking to the pastor earlier about testimonies, I didn't think that it was going to happen so quickly. I was thinking about speaking at a service when I get to know a few more folks and get comfortable with the church environment. So, you know what that means. I'm praying for the Lord's leading about this topic. Can you hear the knees knockin'???

I'm currently reading TD Jake's "Can You Stand to be Blessed?". It isn't a difficult read. He talks about his experiences and insights with the "peaks and valleys" of daily living and trials and offers some solutions how the reader can deal and excel when encountering these extreme times. He picks out particularly useful verses that are uplifting. If anybody is interested, here is a link from Amazon with different reviews.

You can give those valleys to God, and you can thank Him for the peaks. It has been such a great blessing to read, especially helpful in dealing with my latest life events. My time will come, and it will be such an awesome time. Glory to God!

Today's verse Isaiah 40:3-5 (New American Standard Bible)

A voice is calling,
Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;

Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.