Saying YES is SO FUN.

We are alive!  We really are!

I have been a bit of a blog slacker lately, it's true.  It's not because I have nothing to say...we all know that would never be the case!  ;) It's just that we've been go, go, going like crazy and I simply haven't had the time to tell you all about it.

Delicious stop along the way

I'm a broken record, but I really can't believe how good God is.  Every time we have a worry He covers it.  A couple weeks ago we were worried about how we would be able to get the word out further than just the people we know right now.  We didn't have speaking engagements lined up, though we'd put the word out to many, many pastors.  We just weren't getting a response.  Oh dear, how we love to just hop in and take matters into our own hands.  All the while God just watches us with a little smirk on His face like "Oh this'll rich.  I can't wait to see what they do."  And all the while He KNOWS exactly what HE wants to do, and if we'll be still enough to give Him the right of way things turn out so much better.  Whew.  Still learning that one...obviously.

Tongue of concentration

We were worried about getting the chance to share and then when we had nothing left to do but sit and wait God had His way.  BAM.  We've been busier than ever sharing the word about Wide Awake and it couldn't be more awesome.

A couple weeks ago we got to share about Wide Awake with a church on the coast.  The people were so welcoming, so warm, almost giddy with excitement to hear what God is doing.  Awesome.

 

Then this past weekend we got the extreme honor to share Wide Awake and our story of "Yes" with the Vineyard youth of the NW at "Anthem", the NW regional youth conference.  Oh man, so stinkin' fun.

We stood in awe as many young men and women said yes to Jesus.  We got to pray over them, encourage them, cheer them on in following Jesus one step at a time.  We cried tears of joy as one girl said yes to Jesus for the very first time.  The Vineyard youth of the NW are AWESOME.  We made many new friends and hopefully we'll see many of them in Ukraine some day sayin' yes to Jesus.  :)

A big bonus of the trip was that several pastors who were there with their youth got to hear about Wide Awake and we've been invited to share at 4 more churches!  Praise God for that big answer to prayer!  The visions and dreams God has given us are too big for our church to support on its own.  Many, many hearts must get behind this thing.  We are thankful for the opportunity to share with whoever will listen!

 

What's up next
-The Wide Awake website should be up and running THIS WEEK!  Be on the lookout!  That webpage will be a great place to direct your friends who need to hear about Wide Awake.  It will also have easy ways to give financial support online.

-This blog will soon be moved to a Wordpress site.  I'll let you know when that happens, but just be forewarned...changes are a'comin!

-We'll be traveling almost every weekend between now and October, sharing Wide Awake at churches, saying goodbye to faraway family, and spending precious time with dear friends.

-This is Jed's last week of full-time work as he transitions out of his job.  His last day of work at his current job is September 12th.  (just typing that gives me goosebumps on my arms and butterflies in my stomach simultaneously)

If things go as planned we'll be making our big move in approximately 14 weeks.  Good gravy.

  

PS: Although we have a lot of speaking dates lined up we are not too busy to share with you and your friends!  We would love to come to your home or your small group to share about Wide Awake.  We have all the time in the world to answer questions and meet with those who want to hear.  Bring it!