Hey everyone.. Wow today was such a day...in a bad way. I went to a funeral today for some friends (twins) little sister. One of the twins was my table leader at TEC, and the other one I know through church. Their sister was a diabetic, but apparently the parents didnt know it, and that was the main cause of her passing. She was only 2 and a half. It was hard to see such a small coffin, and it was especially tough when they played a slideshow of various pictures of her, and in some she looked EXACTLY like my little sister! Very heart wrenching. It was also tough because the entire family aren't christians(parents are divorced), and it was tough to see the spiritual warfare going on in the family.
THen on the way to a barbeque later on tonight, I was driving with some friends, and there was an accident up ahead. I saw it and said "I hope that's not one of our friends"(who were also heading to the bbq, and it turned out to be another friend of mine from Church! It was a 3 car pileup, and his (Jon) car was in the middle, basically sitting on top of another car. As we drove by I saw him standing behind the cars, and of course, was very scared for him and his fiancee, Dana (read the last post). I called him and he said he was alright. Later on that night though, I got a call from a friend saying he was in the hospital, and they were checking him out becuase he was in mucho pain. Turns out he is going to be alright, he has some bruised vertebrae and a bruised collar bone. This isnt good, because he is a football player, and needs to keep in shape for the upcoming fall season. So if you guys could please pray for him and Dana as they try to get a new car and he gets healed. Also pray for James and Adam's family (the friends who's sister's funeral I went to) as they mourn for her, and also help them see God in the situation.
Thanks,
Mark
Monday, May 28, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
This one goes out to you Brophy part 2
Well hello to you all again, as promised, here is an update of my life!!
Things are going really well here in Calgary...now. This past weekend I went on a retreat for youth called TEC (Teens Encounter Christ). It’s really meant for teens age 16-21, but almost all of my friends have gone, and they really encouraged (and allowed) me to go. Overall, it was a really amazing weekend. I won’t tell a lot of details because there are tons of surprises, but I was really loved and blesses by a TON of people!
Overall the weekend was difficult, emotionally and spiritually speaking. My group was extremely small (I was the only participant on my table, the other guy didn’t show up), and my table leaders were James and Dana (a friend I know through Center Street church). James didn’t participate much, but that was very understandable because he had just had a family tragedy. Dana, however, was an amazing leader and is an awesome friend. We had some awesome heart to heart talks about things we had/are struggling with, and it was great to finally be able to open up to someone with no reservations. Not that I am not able to open up with my other friends, it is just different with her. And I like it (BTW she is engaged, and not to me, so I don’t want to hear any comments about it!)
The other thing that happened on the weekend that was really trying for me happened on Sunday night. Before dinner, I was doing great, we were having awesome discussions, I was in good spirits, and things were going excellent. After dinner, however, things were a different story. I was in THE worst mood of my life, and I could barely function. There were hilarious skits going on, and I could barely manage to smile, let alone laugh. I tried to worship and find God, but it was like he was not around. I almost felt like Satan had found a weak spot in my faith, snuck in, and was squeezing all of the spirituality and faith out of me. I had no idea what to do, and it was obviously scary. Laurel, another friend I had known before the weekend asked if I needed anything and offered to talk while I was reading my Bible (which also wasn’t working), but it stupidly told her I was okay, when I clearly wasn’t. I had gone to bed, and barely slept all night, so the next morning wasn’t very fun.
After breakfast Dana sensed that I was not alright, and we went upstairs and continued a meaningful discussion we had had the day before. I was able to share a lot of stuff with her that I had not shared with anyone ever before, and a huge burden was taken off my shoulders. It was great.
After that, the happenings were once again swell. There was a reconciliation service where a lot of prayers were given up to God, a very intimate & awesome worship service, and then a great closure where a lot of friends showed up. And to top it off, I got lots of lovely wheat;)
Cheers, til next time,
Mark
Things are going really well here in Calgary...now. This past weekend I went on a retreat for youth called TEC (Teens Encounter Christ). It’s really meant for teens age 16-21, but almost all of my friends have gone, and they really encouraged (and allowed) me to go. Overall, it was a really amazing weekend. I won’t tell a lot of details because there are tons of surprises, but I was really loved and blesses by a TON of people!
Overall the weekend was difficult, emotionally and spiritually speaking. My group was extremely small (I was the only participant on my table, the other guy didn’t show up), and my table leaders were James and Dana (a friend I know through Center Street church). James didn’t participate much, but that was very understandable because he had just had a family tragedy. Dana, however, was an amazing leader and is an awesome friend. We had some awesome heart to heart talks about things we had/are struggling with, and it was great to finally be able to open up to someone with no reservations. Not that I am not able to open up with my other friends, it is just different with her. And I like it (BTW she is engaged, and not to me, so I don’t want to hear any comments about it!)
The other thing that happened on the weekend that was really trying for me happened on Sunday night. Before dinner, I was doing great, we were having awesome discussions, I was in good spirits, and things were going excellent. After dinner, however, things were a different story. I was in THE worst mood of my life, and I could barely function. There were hilarious skits going on, and I could barely manage to smile, let alone laugh. I tried to worship and find God, but it was like he was not around. I almost felt like Satan had found a weak spot in my faith, snuck in, and was squeezing all of the spirituality and faith out of me. I had no idea what to do, and it was obviously scary. Laurel, another friend I had known before the weekend asked if I needed anything and offered to talk while I was reading my Bible (which also wasn’t working), but it stupidly told her I was okay, when I clearly wasn’t. I had gone to bed, and barely slept all night, so the next morning wasn’t very fun.
After breakfast Dana sensed that I was not alright, and we went upstairs and continued a meaningful discussion we had had the day before. I was able to share a lot of stuff with her that I had not shared with anyone ever before, and a huge burden was taken off my shoulders. It was great.
After that, the happenings were once again swell. There was a reconciliation service where a lot of prayers were given up to God, a very intimate & awesome worship service, and then a great closure where a lot of friends showed up. And to top it off, I got lots of lovely wheat;)
Cheers, til next time,
Mark
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
This one goes out to you Brophy
Hey guys
Sorry I havent posted in a LONG time, I will write soon, I promise!! If you do not see a new post here by 6 P.M. tomorrow evening, please barrage me with requests!! (I really need sleep now)
Mark
Sorry I havent posted in a LONG time, I will write soon, I promise!! If you do not see a new post here by 6 P.M. tomorrow evening, please barrage me with requests!! (I really need sleep now)
Mark
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