Hello all:
I told you in the last post that I would point out observations of God's specific work in peoples lives. Here is my attempt to do that. The person I would like to introduce you to is Derrick Oster.



yeah, him. on the right.

Some of you may remember him from VQ. I remember him a long time before that. See, we were both homeschooled (see, there are cool homeschoolers out there.) We both went to Boy Scouts together back in the day. We both played basketball for the Boy's Club waaayyyy back in the day. We both went to co-op classes together. But I never really saw him outside of those times. We were friends, don't get me wrong, but it never went futher than that.
So, I was surprised to see him at Cornerstone one Sunday. See, his family had started coming to church events. (RELAY meetings, Sunday mornings, our care group, the New Members Class) They got plugged in and loved it. They started bringing Derrick (though he didn't want to come) to Sunday mornings. He never went to VFC, so when VQ came around, he didn't think much about it. His parents, on the other hand, loved the idea of Vision Quest and made him sign up and go. The first time I saw him at VFC was the meeting before VQ. He told me he was going to VQ because his parents made him and I was excited. I was excited because I knew that though he didn't have any expectations, God was going to meet him.
Well, I'll give you a preview of what's about to happened: God met him. God met him and saved him.
I'm not really sure on all the details, but he was saved at Vision Quest. I was joking with him later about it, and asked him, "so, were your expectations met? (he didn't write anything down because he didn't expect anything) he laughed and said, "yeah, I think they were definitely met"
Isn't God good to us. He providentially brought Derrick into a family that cares about him so much to make him go to a trip they know will benefit him. God providentially brought Derrick to VQ where he heard they Gospel and responded. God providentially brought Derrick to a room with 3 people he already knew (Will Kittrell, Stephen Carcello, and me) that would encourage him and build him up. God providentially brought Derrick to himself.
You know, Derrick's testimony sounds a lot like mine. It sounds like a lot of people I know. God providentially brings sinners to His' Throne of Grace, where He shows us what He did for us through the death of His' Son.

Isn't God good?

04-10-06

Hello:
How has everybody's month been? I have had a great one. It had it's rough parts (some reading this know what I'm talking about). Jonathan's message on Thursday was exactly what I needed to hear that day. Isn't God good to us like that, putting things like that right when we need them the most? I think that Jonathan's message just gave me a desire for glorifying God in everything that I do, and using every moment of it. God's shown me over the past few weeks how great the relationships are in my life. I thank God everyday for these great, amazing friends. I am happy and excited when I look around and see God working in other's lives!
One of my expectations on my VQ Expectation sheet was to see God's specific work in other's lives. That expectation was exceeded by far at VQ. It's amazing to see the growth over such a short period in my friend's lives. I will share a couple observations I've seen, both at VQ and other places, in the next post. God's grace in others makes me jump up and down in excitement. (not kidding)
I'm excited to see what God has planned in the next couple of days, weeks, months, and yes even years. I'm running out of time, gotta put the headphones full of love songs (yeah, I'm a little wierd) down and do my part in bringing more people to get excited about.

Talk to you later.

hello

I know I haven't posted in a while so here it goes.

Vision Quest was absolutely amazing! The best week of my entire long life!

I loved it so much I decided to write a peom about it:

VISION QUEST 2006

Vision Quest was the best
Even though we got no rest
The messages were amazing
The food made us craving
The worship was passionate
The fellowship did resonate
Vision Quest was the best
We still haven't got any rest

If you would like to see the talented side of my love for Vision Quest (that wasn't it) I made a video of all the things we did at VQ. It is 2 hours long and may be done by the time I post this. Talk to me anytime about getting a copy, I'll have enough for everybody. Cost: $1 (gotta pay for the DVD's)

bye,
Matthew Reynolds