Author: Wick

Recently I’ve experienced God in a way I would not have expected, and I have my greedy nature, and Wheel of Fortune to thank.

Most of you know by now, that this past Thursday I competed on Wheel of Fortune. The show will air on Monday, September 17th, and you can all watch me make a fool of myself. What you won’t see, however, is the peace in my soul that day.

I struggled with so many aspects of the show. Obviously, I prayed fervently that God would somehow “bless the wheel” so that I could do well on the show. For the 2 weeks leading up to that date, it was on my heart and mind more than I care to admit. About a week before the show aired, I was struck by how much of my energy was spent asking God to bless me that day….and how little time I had spent praying for others recently.

My whole being seemed consumed by this opportunity. I’m ashamed to think of the prayers/conversations I may have overlooked because of this preoccupation in those days…but I smile remembering the times spent with God those few days before we left. I prayed for His forgiveness…I gave the burden of caring about the show into His capable hands, and asked that He would teach me to pray more, and pray less selfishly. (which I suppose, could still sound selfish).

If any of that makes sense or not, the point is this: Sometimes we forget how much we believe in prayer, until we find something that (even selfishly) reminds us…we believe prayer is effective. So with this realization came a renewed sense that I need to be praying. Praying for people in my life. Praying for my family. Praying for my church. Why? I believe God has created us as “beings that pray”.

As for the show….we had a great time, and whether God touched the wheel Himself or not……we don’t know for sure. But I’m still thankful for the experience, and for the reminder that PRAYER plays an important role in my life….and I need to be involved in it more often.

The question for you then…might be…what would motivate you to pray more? Why wait until something does? If you believe in prayer…pray. 🙂

God loves me.

He has shown me this recently through the Hershey’s sub-company of Reese’s.

Anyone who knows me well….knows that since early in High School…I’ve been frustrated at Ice Cream toppings in general. Disappointed that the only way I can get decent peanut butter on my ice cream is to go all the way to Dairy Queen or Culver’s. Or buy an entire can of their topping, and somehow keep it at home.

I’ve always wondered why no company was taking advantage of putting liquid peanut butter in a squeeze bottle (much different than Skippy’s tube version) so that I could enjoy it at home.

Until now. Recently, at our local Kroger…I’ve discovered Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream topping….right there near the chocolate syrup. WHOOO HOO!!!

I’ve looked it up online a little….and so far can’t find it listed as a product…so I wonder if we’re a test market, or if they don’t make it anymore….either way….I should buy a lot. 🙂

That is my joy of the day. 🙂

Oh man…it’s been a while. Allow me to catch you up…

We left on July 15th for a 2 week mission trip with the youth…it was incredible. God revealed His heart for each of these teens, and many of them responded in ways that make you glad you’re on this journey together. Our first half was the Free Methodist Youth Conference, “IYC”. That week we focused on becoming servants, and denying ourselves for others. The second week was a great “GROUP” Workcamp, also in Tennessee, where we met some other incredible teens in search of God, and worked hard serving the community around us. I don’t have enough time/space to list everything that caught my heart/mind…so here’s just a few:

– We don’t worship the experience, we worship the God. This sentence caught me in a way that makes me want to say it often, aloud and in my own quiet times. No matter what our “experience” of God…it is not the experience we worship…it is God Himself. God will not change, and neither will our need for God. That gives us plenty to be thankful for, no matter if we’re on the mountain top, or deep in the valley.

– What kind of Messiah do you want? When Pilate offered the people to release one person…Barabbas or Jesus….he was asking them what type of Messiah they wanted. The same question rings true for us each day. Do we seek a Messiah who will free us, and overthrow the “powers”, conquering them and raising us up? Or do we seek a Messiah who speaks of dying to ourselves, giving up our desires, and serving even our enemies?

– SIMPLE GREEN! This cleaning solution pretty much kicks butt. During a week of painting a billion different walls, we discovered that Simple Green can clean ANYTHING….and pretty much do anything. Oh, and Jordan Hill is one hip country artist…sponsored by Simple Green. 🙂

So yeah, that’s it in a nutshell. If you’d like to hear more stories, or see more pictures, or just worship with us….come this Sunday, August 5th…to Moundford Free Methodist Church in Decatur, IL….at 10:30am. See you there!

ps. I will be competing on WHEEL OF FORTUNE on THURSDAY, AUGUST 9th in Los Angeles….and it will be aired at a later date (I’ll announce ASAP). God bless you all!!!