Harvest Chicago Event A Huge Success

The Harvest Crusade has come and gone and I guarantee you it is an event that many will remember for the rest of their lives. Not because they saw a cool concert or heard a great speaker, but because it was the night that they surrendered their life to Jesus Christ. How awesome is that!

I have some thoughts to share from the event as well. It was very emotional for me.

When John and I heard the Crusade was coming we were all excited and ready to jump on board. We wanted to get involved and volunteer and invite people, etc. We were able to get involved and found out how to be ushers or follow up workers. We prayed hard for the event and who we could invite. I prayed a lot for my co-workers. I was ready to load up the Ion van (if we had one) and take the whole company. I was so very ambitious.

The event drew near. A few weeks, a week, a few days, the day of…I didn’t invite anyone. Friday night I went home from work defeated. I felt completely deflated and like such a coward. Why didn’t I ask anyone to go? Is it really that hard? Yes and no. I guess part of me didn’t feel like I have that great of a relationship with anyone at work to be in a position where they would consider it, but I still should have asked.

That being said we ate dinner and headed over to the All-State Arena. It was pretty full by the time we got there. We checked in as follow up workers, got our assignment, our bibles to giveaway and made our way up to the balcony to find a few seats. I could not get over this spirit of defeat within me. Even as the Katina’s began with the worship songs I just felt so oppressed and so ashamed of myself. I asked God to forgive my cowardice but I still felt this hold on my heart. David Crowder came up with his band and began his set. He is really funny and I love his songs but my heart was still aching.

Then he began to sing one of his songs I love.

¯ He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

(Pre-Chorus)
And O how He loves us
Oh, O how He loves us

God’s love was penetrating my heart and I could feel the guilt and the shame dissipating with this renewed realization of the depths of his grace, mercy and love. And then began verse 2

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

He loves us
Oh, O how He loves us

O how He loves us ¯

My heart was turning violently inside of my chest and the tears of shame and regret were turned to tears of joy as I was radically overwhelmed by the love of my Father who loves me despite my weaknesses. I could no longer dwell on the past but I was very much in the present enjoying this moment with my Abba in which He reassured me that He won’t give up on me despite my short comings. A love like this I don’t deserve.  My heart was freed and I was able to enjoy the rest of the worship as I poured out my adoration and thanks to my Savior.

The message that night was good. Greg Laurie is a great speaker and he spoke on the topic of living for something. We all live for something, but only one thing lasts. As he neared the end of his message I was getting nervous. We were going to be going down to the floor soon to follow up with those who gave their lives to Christ. This was a very scary prospect for me. I’m just not very good at talking to people.

Despite my fears, as he asked people to come forward we joined the parade and headed to the floor. They packed us in good and it took a while before he prayed with everyone. After so many people gave their lives to Christ they were supposed to find one of us, counselors, who would give them a bible and some next steps if you will. John found someone right away. I did too, only another lady found her friend and they kinda wanted to be together so I gave her up if you will. And then, everyone had someone already. I felt kinda useless. But I know it wasn’t about me. Honestly, part of me was relieved and the other part was disappointed. But either way, I know I was there and willing so I am proud of myself for following God despite my fears. And it was really cool to be a part of the action if you will and get to see first hand the lives impacted. God was certainly moving.

Saturday night we went just to go. Skillet was playing, which is John’s favorite band, so we didn’t want to miss that. And of course they rocked it! It was a very high energy night and the place was packed. We were sitting almost behind the stage and there were literally no empty seats. People were standing because all the seats were taken. Amazing! The message was another great one, but honestly I can’t tell you exactly what he said. What sticks with me most is what happened when he gave the invitation to come to Christ. The floor where we had been the night before was packed solid. There was no more room for anyone to come down. We sat the top amazed and praying for these soon to be new believers. What a testament to the power of prayer! It was an incredible sight to see!

This is a picture of the packed out floor on Saturday night.
No room left, Praise God!

We were not able to attend on Sunday but I know it had a great turnout as well. In total for all three nights 47,600 were in attendance and 4,758 people made decisions for Christ. Those numbers are staggering. Check out the website to view more stories from the events or to watch the webcast and see for yourself how amazing it was.

Harvest Chicago

The challenge for John and I now is to remember that we don’t need events like this to speak to our neighbors and co-workers about Christ. We need to be looking for opportunities to love others and build relationships everyday.

Gandalf vs. Moses

John and I got into a random discussion last week while doing our devotional together. We were discussing the sermon series which is going through Deuteronomy. In talking about Moses I had the most random thought, "I wonder if the Israelites viewed Moses kinda like the Gandalf of their day." So John and I set right out to see if we could come up with a list of the ways Moses and Gandalf are similar. (Gandalf is the good wizard from Lord of the Rings, just fyi)

Similarities between Gandalf and Moses

1. They both have a "magic" staff
2. They both had white hair and beards
3. They both wore robes
4. They were not conjurers of cheap tricks
5. They were both leaders of quests, Gandalf of the ring, Moses to the promised land
6. They both brought evil empires to their knees

Obviously we know that any of Moses "magic" was the power of God which makes it really that much cooler. That story is 100% true.

Busy Busy Busy

Life has been a little crazy around the Cox residence these last few weeks. Work has picked up for me tremendously. This is both good and bad. Good because I get paid overtime which is nice. However, it's not so great for my sanity and leaves me feeling very exhausted and emotionally drained some nights. It hasn't helped because I've had trouble sleeping the last few weeks as well adding to the stress and exhaustion. But I did sleep better last night, so I am hoping the trend will continue. 

Our schedule has changed some as well. Awana (church kids club) began last week and we are leaders for a group of kindergarten boys. They are really cute and I think it's gonna be alot of fun. It is somewhat of a rush for both of us to get there on time though. And then we have our new bible study group that started as well. Although we have merged with a new group and more than doubled in size it has been a real blessing and I am so encouraged already. It's great to continue to meet new people and grow with them. 

We have been able to play tennis a few more times and even got in a doubles match with some friends. We are enjoying that and hope the weather will stay nice enough to play some more. 

Random thoughts:

Hot tea is so wonderful! It's so soothing and relaxing. Hot tea and cookies is even better. Hot tea and cookies and a good book or tv show....life is good. 

We've Reached a Goal

As many of you know from our Christmas newsletter we've been following Dave Ramsey's steps to financial freedom. We've been working on Baby Step 3 (Saving 3-6 months living expenses) for about a year. As of two weeks ago we reached that goal!!!  God has been so faithful to provide and sometimes I am amazed that we got there so quickly. 

No sooner had we celebrated our victory then John's car had to have a major repair. However, that just happened to be same week I got my 2 yr bonus at work, had overtime in my paycheck and got our ComEd Refund check in the mail. Needless to say, God provided in a big way and we didn't have to touch the money set aside. It was such a great reminder of God's provision and care for us, no matter what.

We've been a little slow to start moving on to the next step but I am excited that we've made it this far. We don't know what the future holds but at least we know Who holds it.

Becky's Rants and Raves:
Ok, so this is my time to get a little off my chest. I think it's because God has blessed me with sound financial teaching from an early age and wisdom that I have never been a huge spender. Plus, I've never been one to have to keep up with the latest fashions or trends. And yes, I realize that I probably have no sense of style, but I'm ok with that. 


I do and don't understand why people think the way they do about money. I know that doesn't make sense, but let me explain. I understand why people can be influenced to think they need everything now, even if they can't afford it. Advertising and marketing in our country is extremely seductive! Credit is readily available and if you interviewed 10 random people, probably 9 of them have some sort of debt whether it's a car payment, or college loan or mortgage. So this message that it's ok to spend what you don't have is out there. 


However, what I don't understand is why people buy into it. To me all it takes is a little common sense to understand that you don't spend what you don't have. When you are teaching children about money you might take them to the store and say, "Here is 1 dollar. You can buy whatever you want with this dollar." So they look and decide and bring you what they want. It adds up to $2. So what do you tell them? Well, normally a good parent who is teaching them would tell them they have too many things and need to put something back. You help them learn that they can only get $1 worth of goods for the $1 they have on hand. 


So what happens when we grow up? All those rules don't apply anymore? They should. Our national government and state departments are all broke. Why? Because they spent what they didn't have and borrowed what they couldn't pay back. Obviously it's no wonder society followed their lead. We really need to get back to the basics. I tend to agree with Dave about getting rid of credit cards. Cash is a sure fire way to control spending. $2 is $2, not $500 that you can spend now and pay back over the course of your life. 


I am passionate about this topic and feel like I have some personal knowledge and experience with it. I understand sometimes life throws crazy circumstances at you and not everyone has a choice, but most of us do. I have not made perfect financial decisions and I do regret some choices I've made, but overall I am very happy that from a young age I never got hooked on credit. If I wanted something I saved for it and then bought it.  I do consider myself so blessed to have had parents that could help with some major expenses and I realize that is not the case for many either. However, instead of throwing away the money I did have I was able to save. This allowed my husband and I to be debt free early on in our marriage. It is a huge blessing to know that we wont' miss any payments no matter what happens on the job front. And now with our savings even if a job loss occurs we are covered for a little while. There is so much freedom in that. 


I'm not saying all this to brag. If anything I brag that God's financial plan works. Try it out. Save and then spend, not the other way around. Don't let our credit driven, you need it now, culture get it's grip on you. Just like you should say no to drugs, say no to credit! Say no to debt! 

Labor Day Weekend 2010

Work has been extremely crazy for me lately and I definitely welcomed this 3 day weekend. While we did do some relaxing we had a very full and fun weekend starting with Saturday morning. We woke up early to head to Bloomington, IL with some of John's extended family that lives nearby. We were able to visit with some of John's relatives down there that haven't seen him in a l-o-n-g time, so that was really neat.

A restored Camaro that John couldn't wait to check out

While down there we were able to pick some apples from family backyards. I came home with 3 huge bags of apples. So most of Sunday was spent making apple things: applesauce, apple cobbler and apple ice cream to accompany it. We got to eat the cobbler and ice cream today and it was good! I love free food!

I know John really loved being out there in the "country" as well. And I even enjoyed a little more space. Got me thinking it might not be so bad to move out of the city a little bit more.

Wind turbines graced much of the landscape we saw

Sunday, as I mentioned was our apple cooking day and grocery shopping and dishes and dinner. It was a busy day. Though we did get some tennis in too. I really am enjoying playing tennis with John so much! We are both about the same level so it's really competitive and we have to play hard to be in contention to win. It's a great workout!

Today we met up at my sister's house with my parents and had a relaxing time. Played a little tennis, ate alot and watched some Office episodes. It's always nice to have a laid back day chillin' with the family. Overall it was such a great weekend. I am not ready to head back into the craziness but I know it is only for a season. Speaking of seasons. I know fall is fast approaching but I was also able to enjoy the art of summer this weekend too and I leave you with a few parting pieces of summer art.