Hi everyone! It's pretty cool to me that this is my first post of the new year. This is THE year. Most likely my favorite year of life. By the end of this year so many incredible things will have happened. My favorite? John will be graduating Teen Challenge on September 26th. All are invited. And I mean that.
There are quite a few things to tell all of you since my last post, so I won't write them in any particular order. Here we go!
-As of today, there are roughly 10 weeks until John comes home for his 6 month break. 10 weeks. 2 and a half months. There used to be 6. Time really has flown by. *knocks on wood*
-John has consistently been working out and gaining weight since he entered the program. He started at 150 and at Christmas he got up to 180. He is allowed to have a disposable camera so he has been taking pictures of his progress.
-He is starting off the new year not drinking any pop (or soda as he calls it ;)). This is mainly because his teeth are bad and he doesn't want anymore cavities, and he's also hoping it will clear up his face.
-He recently mentioned to my mom how sorry he feels for putting so many people in danger. There were a lot of times he was high and drove people around like his nephew, my brother, our friends, and me. He said he thinks a lot about everything bad that could've happened.
-Teen Challenge does a lot of ministry and helps with outreaches. Before Christmas they helped hand out presents and give food to the poor. John really enjoyed that. He said I need to get prepared cause he wants to do a lot of that when he gets out of the program.
-The guys also go and share at The Stevenson House, which is a juvenile detention center. One of his friends shared his testimony and then said "John's gonna pray for you now, he's our prayer warrior". You may have heard in the news about a girl who rode around for a few days with an old woman in the trunk of her car. Well, John got to talk to her, share his story, and pray with her.
-I mentioned before about the possibility of Teen Challenge starting a ministry going into schools. They are starting it up this year! They went over all the details the end of December and John is ecstatic. This is something he has wanted to do for a long long time. He is so passionate about sharing what God has done for him.
Now, for the unfortunate part.
I woke up this morning and read the daily devotional in the book Jesus Calling:
"I am able to do far beyond all that you ask or imagine. Come to me with positive expectations, knowing that there is no limit to what I can accomplish. Ask My Spirit to control your mind so that you can think great thoughts of Me. Do not be discouraged by the fact that many of your prayers are yet unanswered. Time is a trainer, teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust Me in the dark. The more extreme your circumstances, the more likely you are to see My Power and Glory at work in the situation. Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention. Keep your eyes and your mind wide open to all that I am doing in your life."
This was preparing me for what I was about to find out. I went into my mom's room to talk and found her teary eyed. I got a little scared. She said something bad happened but it wasn't about John.
Teen Challenge has banned my mom from visiting John now. There are reasons we were given that are likely not the actual reasons. They said that because she is an "in-law" and not technically family that her, my dad, and my brother can't visit, write, or receive calls from him now. When my mom found out, John still didn't know yet, so please pray for him as well as my mom. John looks at my mom like his own mom and loves getting to see her and talk to her.
It's a very unfortunate situation. But things could be way worse. God is able to do far more than we can imagine.
"Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention. Keep your eyes and your mind wide open to all that I am doing in your life."
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