What a trip!

It's Wednesday, and I am still reveling in our trip to Oklahoma. I has so much fun! Every second of every day was lived to the fullest.

Thursday:

• Lunch with Jay. My old boss and mentor.
• Marked the softball fields with my Dad and bro for the state softball tournament on Sat.
• Dinner with the entire family. Papaw, and Papaw's lady friend included.

Friday:

• 7 o'clock am tee time at Earlywine Golf course. We were the third group off, but we were in cart number ONE! By the way, I shot an 81 with Papaw's sticks.
• Lunch at Freddy's frozen custard. The double cheeseburger was off the hook.
• Thrift store shopping with Caleb. I found another Jack Nicklaus Golf shirt, much to the chagrin of little brother. He picked the wrong aisle!
• Two church league softball games. I went 5 for seven and pitched the second game of the twin bill. We won both games.

Saturday:

• Dad, Courtney and I were at the fields by 7:45 to complete construction of the fence for the tournament. The tournament went off with very few hitches. Props to the Howard house for basically running the whole thing. Courtney's team won state and she received All State honors.
• J-Lanes wedding in Tulsa. The evening was spent with Blake Slatten, who has the most chiseled body I know!

Sunday:

• Attended Faith Crossing (My Dad's church)
• Got to sing with the praise band.
• We were in bed by 11:15 Sunday night.

The entire trip was a huge blessing and encouragement for me. Thank you Lord for providing us with such a great trip!

I can't hear!!!

I am back in Oklahoma and it feels really good. It's always nice to be around family. The flights yesterday evening weren't too bad.

On the flight from Tampa to Kansas City, there was a boy, probably four years old sitting across the row from us. When the plane began to descend, his hears began to pop and he flipped out. He was crying, so his Dad calmly asked why he was crying. "I can't hear" was his emphatic answer.

We cracked up as over and over again, his Dad would try to call him down and his response to his Dad's talking was that his hears were hurting, he could not hear.

Finally, he followed his Dad's instruction, (although I'm unsure how he was able to understand what his Dad's instructions were) drank some water and his ears popped. From then on, every few minutes he was chugging his water.

Some people drink water to stay healthy, others drink it because it restores hearing. Just another reason to drink water.

Hooray

This evening we Mandie and I) fly out to Oklahoma for a long weekend. I am so excited to see the fam and a bunch of friends. My brother and I have challenged ourselves to see how much stuff we can cram into three days.

Red Moon Rising

I finished "Red Moon Rising" this morning. Written by Pete Creig and Dave Roberts, it is Pete's account of how God called him to begin a 24/7 prayer room in Small town England. What began as a one time/place deal, God turned into a prayer movement that has reached the corners of the globe.

It was fun to read as account after account was given of God preparing the way for Pete to meet the proper people at the perfect time. He even refers to it as God hiring people behind his back. It was a tremendous reminder to me of how much the Lord loves prayer, conversation with me.

This was a timely read for me, because we just opened a prayer room called "FUSE". It is opened every day for at least four hours a day. The goal is to one day go 24/7.

Monday

I spent the majority of my day writing. I am trying to finish my first draft of the book by the time on get on the plane Wednesday evening. Sometimes, I have a tough time being diligent when baseball is taking place, but today, I was able to fight through and be productive. It feels really good!

Sunday School

We are so blessed to be a part of a great Sunday School class at church. It is a highlight of my week. The teaching is good, but the fellowship and community is great! I don't laugh any harder than when I laugh in class. It has been incredible to join a group of folks who are so passionate about living life in a way that glorifies God, while having such a blast at the same time.

It's incredible!

3 Days

It's officially inside of 3 days until Mandie and I head to Oklahoma! I can't wait!

Hey...You asleep?

Once again, it's after midnight, and I find myself wide awake. I slept too long the other morning, and now I have started a horrible trend. I stay up too late because i got up too late. Then I have trouble getting up at a descent hour, because i stayed up so late!.

I am going to try the o'l reading trick. Maybe I can read myself to sleep. If I can't sleeo, I may talk to you later!

How creative!

God's level of creativity continues to blow my mind! Not just in things He has created, like earth, sunsets, and clouds. But his creativity when it comes to working things out in my life. The path He leads me on to get me from where I am right now, to where I need to be next.

At first sound of this idea, I think we would all agree that we enjoy creativity. But when it comes to God's creativity with our lives, how much do we really enjoy it? For me, most times, He could provide in the same way He has in the past and I would be just fine. But, if God only moved in ways that He has in the past, think of what we miss out on. We forfeit the opportunity to watch God paint masterpieces. The lights go would dark in God's art galleries (our lives).

We hear it all the time, "don't put God in a box." I tire of hearing this saying so often, but it is no less true today than when it was first spoken. Throughout scripture, God continually answers prayers, solves problems in ways that humans would never have drawn up. And I love that about Him! He knows best! Isn't it great to know we serve a God who knows best? Who can see around the corner and down the street?

You may not be there right now, but, inevitably, you will find yourself with an invitation to trust God with your next move. Cling to His direction. Patiently wait for his voice, and then move obediently. What a great opportunity to feel His brushstrokes in your life.

Go ahead and prepare yourself for the possibility that his direction will be creative. A painting you've never seen before.

9 Days

There are nine days until my deadline for my first draft arrives. It appears as though I should make it without a problem. The past few weeks I have been writing quite a bit, and it has amazed me how tired I get from writing. Being creative takes it out of me way faster than physical labor.

Anyway, just a thought.

Open your God's mouth

I remember attending a Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) meeting at Oklahoma City Community College (O-trip) during my first senior year of college. The meetings consisted of free pizza, cokes and a thirty minute bible study.

I only attended three meetings, but I have always remembered one particular meeting. I have no idea what the topic was that day, but I do remember the physical shape of the speaker's Bible. It was a black cover that was quite faded. Sitting there, listening, I locked in on his Bible, and I thought, you would have to handle your bible a lot to wear it out like that.

The picture of the faded bible got me thinking about my bible. The relization that I have never handled mine enough to fade it out hit me hard. Truthfully, I should be wearing them out. I need to be so dependent upon the word of God, that I use it so much that I wear it out.

I was just talking with a guy the other night about how God speaks through his word. A lot of times we complain because we feel like God doesn't answer our prayer, and yet we never open our God's mouth, searching for the answer.

My exhortation to you and myself is to wear out our bibles!

April 23rd

I have done it this time! Mandie and I are heading to Oklahoma for a few days at the end of this month. Tired of dilly-dallying on my book. I have officially committed to bring my completed first draft with me to Oklahoma on the 23rd of this month. The good news is that I now have motivation. The bad news is that my deadline is now 15 days away. I have never felt more like a writer than I do right now trying to beat a deadline.

Rock Chalk

The men's basketball championship was amazing! What a great and entertaining game. I feel bad for Memphis. They were ten seconds away from winning and it was ripped from their hands. On the other hand, I am glad for Kansas. I didn't realize that is only their third title. I figured a school whose first coach created basketball, would have had more titles. I guess you learn something everyday.

Congrats Jayhawks!

I kow what I said

I said I wasn't going to play Fantasy Baseball, but here we are in the second week of the season and I received my team today. I am going to try my best to not let it run my life like during the football season. Hopefully I can finish like I did in football with the championship.

Bracket-saster

My NCAA bracket held strong until last night. I had UCLA vs. UNC in the finals, with UNC winning it all. Both lost and I have no more opportunities to earn points in the three pools I am in. So, will I watch? Absolutely! I will be watching until they play "one shining moment" at the end.

Even though my bracket is done...Go March Madness!!!

Loud Noises

The MRI went off without a hitch. It was my first experience in the small capsule. It was louder than I thought it would be, but overall not too bad. The hardest part was keeping perfectly still.

I will be sure to let you know what i find out!

MRI

I am going to get an MRI on my ankle today. I have a bump below my left ankle bone that has been growing slowly but surely for the past two or three years. I now have pretty good insurance, so we are getting it looked at and we are now at the MRI stage. The Doc wants to make sure there are no tears in the tendon because it rubs on the bump.

I know what your thinking. Can Jonathan sit still in that small space long enough to get an MRI? That is a valid question. I am wondering the same thing.I will be sure to let you know how it goes.

God-Rocked

The ONETHING conference has come and gone...and it was great. We had almost 2,000 people attend from all over the United States. It was a tremendous time of sitting int he presence of God. He totally rejuvenated within me a craving to spend time with Him, to reach the nations, and to make love an action.

I bought the "relentless" cd by Misty Edwards and I can't stop listening to it. I can't decide if I like the studio cd or the unplugged disc better. If you need a good cd to soundtrack your reading or painting, this is a good one.