I’ve found a new hotspot.

This WiFi card in this el-cheapo IBM they’ve given to me from the school system is good for something after all. Then again, I don’t wanna curse the thing….TEN of them have already died on teachers at school and I don’t wanna be number eleven…not that I believe in curses anyway…

but yeah….I’m at Panera Bread out at Golden Ring. Relaxing atmosphere – they’re playing jazz, a few folks are just around having good convo, the lights aren’t too bright… and best of all, there’s a FREE wireless connection for as long as I like and free refills on coffee! Did I mention their cheese danish is the BOMB ?

Church today was good. Josh Lickter from The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals was our speaker for the morning. Josh did a great job. Young guy – married. This was actually his second time speaking (to my knowledge) and also his second time speaking at G-Church (Tony invited him previously). I got to church a little past 10 this morning, but helped out as much as I could. I wish I could’ve done more, but the new Deacon (actually the FIRST Deacon) at our church just called me with a thank you call for helping out with stuff this morning…. so I guess I’m doing something right.

I’ve had a lot of ‘alone’ time recently to reflect on my walk with Christ, my contribution to my local church, my obedience and more. I still have a few things to work on. I’ve had time to reflect some more on my feelings about marriage, work, ministry and more of the ‘major issues’ that 30something year old Christian men usually reflect on. I know I’m going to raise my kids up to be family oriented and to want to marry early…. never make the same mistakes I did. I used to wanna get married early when I was in HS – my original plan was to get married to Nicole (my HS sweetheart) by about 22-23 and have our first kid my senior year in college.

We all see how that turned out.

Just as well – knowing what I now know about marriage, God’s standards, etc…. I know I wasn’t ready.

I signed up to eHarmony.com, did I tell ya ? Yes, Neil Clark Warren got to me. Yes, I’m one of the one million plus losers who signed up for a free personality test valued at $49 dollars …. anyway, I got 3 months on there for a discounted price. I know my in box keeps getting crammed full of ‘requests for communication’… mostly by some Arminian chicks who think Joel Osteen, Brian McClaren and such are the best thing since sliced bread.

Mmmmm…. sliced bread……

Oh, where was I ? Oh yeah…eHarmony. Keep me and eHarmony in prayer. Wisdom and discernment. That’s all I’ll say there.

Okay, Eric Simmons was wrong. Splenda does taste like sugar…. at least in my coffee. And instead of 9 sugars to make it taste good (along with all the fat), it only takes 7 splenda.

I know I’m mighty random with this post… but it’s just one of those good evenings where my brain gets a chance to relax. I’ve had a chance to do some good ‘ministry work’ on the 5th. There’s a few people I’d like my reading audience to keep in prayer for salvation (and I’ll leave screen names and real names out for now):

– SD. He and I had 2-3 long interactions on the 5th a few months back and I had an opportunity to present the gospel to him on the board several times. He apparently comes from a skeptical approach background, but at times seems open to discussion (though he did seem at other times, to just skip over points made that rebutted stuff I posted as answers to his questions).

– KH. Someone I care about very deeply and would love to have as a sister in Christ. She hasn’t been frequent on the site lately, but she and I have had a lot of contact recently.

– CW. Those who freqent the 5th know who these letters are attached to. I don’t know the state of her soul before the Lord, but she’s cool peeps and one of the folks I pray for.

– HI. Sweet girl, kinda weird, grows on you after a while. Seeking for something… not knowing that what and WHO she needs is Christ. She’s restless… and may the Lord increase her restlessness until she finds her rest in Him.

I’m leaving off a ton of folks… there’s a lot of non-Christians floating around the 5th…. so in short, pray for the whole site.

I have a few brothers and sisters there I’d like you to keep in prayer as well (and I don’t think they’d mind their names being posted):

– Tracey. Sweet, honest and ‘real’ sister in Christ. Pray for her continued growth in the knowledge and wisdom of Christ as well as her continued sanctification. She’ll make a great wife for someone some day.

– Toofpick. Yeah, I said it! Pick is overseas somewhere right now in the military, so keep him and his family lifted up.

– BP. I wonder about this cat sometimes…. but he seems to come down on the right side of the really important issues.

– ‘Shanti. Sweet woman with a big heart. Her continued growth as well.

– Funkadelic. A bastion of Biblical wisdom and knowledge. Pray for his continued growth and opportunities for him to reach out to others with the gospel.

– DirectorReborn. Praise God for my new friendship with this man. Pray that the Lord continues to comfort him and his family during this time of being ‘away’ from the career he really prefers.

and though he’s not on the 5th, pray for this brother too:

– Redeemed. Yeah, the same cat that posts comments on here occassionally. He’s about to be Daddy for the 3rd time (praise God!). So he’ll start going bald from pulling out his hair shortly No, seriously, he’s busy with church, family, study and more… so pray that the Lord gives him wisdom to continue to wisely use his time. Some of you who are pastors know how difficult it is to juggle family, career, wife and ministry. Redeemed does a great job so far and his marriage is (from my observation) a good exmaple to follow. Pray also for his wife – that she be strengthened throughout her pregnancy and deliver safely. I love this family tremendously and it makes my heart glad to spend time with them and watch them interact.

(Yeah man, I just embarrassed you on the net. Love you bro!).

Well, Panera closes in 30 mins. I think I’ll do a little Bible reading and start on a commentary for Colossians or something and then pack it up and go home. I’m about to get my 3rd refill.