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Today
I’ve felt nothing but the Lord’s peace, love and tender-kindness and I
knew all of it came as a result from your prayers.  I’ve had
people that I haven’t spoken to in a long time, connect with me. 
I’ve had family members give me their loving support (which went a long
way), and later today… even had a family member go as far as to try
to set me up with a girl at the family get-together.  I mean… it was
flattering, but seriously… there should be a rule against that kind
of stuff. 

All in all, your prayers have helped me to have a good closure on all
of this and even be a good support in return for my family.  We
were all there for each other, and I’m glad that I was able to play a
role myself.  I fly back out to the ohio snow at noon.  Blessings!




Viewing

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Man.. this is tough.  We had the private viewing this afternoon and I gave every ounce of my energy to supporting my two younger sisters, hilliary and vivi.  I broke shortly after we had left when my mother pressed in.   Right now, as I lay in our king size bed, my mother has fallen asleep holding my right hand while I’m typing with my left.  Priceless.

I want to give a warm thank you to all of those who extended an extra hand to bless me through all of this.  Just to name a few… Mom, Rex, Patsy, Holly, Eric, Barbara, Josh, Jodi… there are countless others.  I’ve also received quite a few voice mails.  Your voices alone are a great support for me.  I just feel the Lord continually telling me… “Erik… let them bless you.“  It’s a big lesson.  Thank you all for your support.

Image

let it snow

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News Report: There’s supposed to be three inches of snow by Wednesday.

(new: see update at the end of this post)

Confession: I started listening to Christmas music about a week ago.

Birthday: in 11 days

Pictures: starting from a week ago…

 


drove to virginia last weekend — lots of curves and adventurealong the way, i had a chance to have dinner with heather and mae (here’s mae)

started orientation this week at a fancy italian restaurant (more pictures soon)



i also got to see autumn reynolds and the gang play worship at an area youth group
(yeah, it was like worshiping back on campus all over again… priceless)



also went home to visit family… here’s vivi’s thanksgiving play

here she is smiling at me (she’s such a ham)

all the chiefs (dads) got to eat with their pilgrim — man, this made my week
(being that dad was in the hospital, i had the pleasure of playing the role)


i also got to spend some great time with my other beautiful sister (20)


… isn’t she beautiful

I also had one of my favorite meals at Sonny’s BBQ (i miss that place)



even better… i got to enjoy it with a good friend of mine who lives down the street


on the flight back to ohio, i enjoyed a two hour layover in atlanta (lots of browsing)

…and picture taking (i practically live at the atlanta airport)

this is the neighborhood i live in (with Josh) — taken from the airplane


but out of the whole week… this was my highlight.

update … 11/23/05 (wednesday)


(what i found wednesday morning — i was hoping the weatherman would be wrong — but i’m up for it)(update #2: above picture taken this morning at 9am EST — now, at 5pm, there’s 5-6 inches!)

(update #3: i drove all over town — i have a declaration to make: i love snow!)


A special thank you to everyone who is keeping my family in prayer
and i hope all of you have a happy thanksgiving with your pilgrims!
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i turn 25 in twelve days…  :: full body shiver ::


a highlight of the past week is that I got to spend time with mom and
the girls.  Oh and little vivi had her thanksgiving play — it
turned out that *she* was the pilgrim and that I was the “indian
chief.”  I had the video camera up front with all the other daddy
chiefs and was making goofy faces, somehow making the entire right half
side of the kindergarden choir giggle and point at me. 
afterwards, the chiefs got to eat with their little pilgrim over a
small styrofoam bowl of beef stew.  priceless.

plane touched down in ohio this afternoon.  soon after i got off the plane, i had to head straight to work and pull a late night.  i think the hardest part is that i’m trying to comprehend that i just saw my step-father for the last time.

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ever go back home and notice your town added stuff… and they didn’t even ask if you’d appreciate it?

my sisters are all extremely beautiful and little vivi (5) has a play
that I get to see Friday.  she’s so excited that i get to see
it.  she tells me that I have to be the pilgrim.  “ok, love,
i’ll be the pilgrim”  hilly (12) and i are going to go on a night
on the town for dinner and some ice cream.  we’re also going to
listen to book 3 of the Chronicles of Narnia on tape and then i’m going
to give her book #4 to read.  she’s having a difficult time
reading, and while book 3 is a little challenging, we’re going to pass
to book 4.  i’ve been helping her improve on her reading
skills.  she’s pretty pumped.  idania (20) and my mom
(unlisted), both beautiful as ever… it’s really good to see the
entire family.

i visited my step-father last night… that was tough.  it’s a
little easier after having spent a considerable amount of research on
heaven for my book, and knowing that’s where he’s going… but it still
just stinks that this is happening and equally difficult for the
family.  he’s a little spaced out with all the drugs and they’re
waiting for a bed from hospice to open up so he can move there. 
i’m just glad i had a coherent discussion with him before all of this
went down, because he hardly knows who anyone is right now.  the
hardest part is that this is hilly and vivi’s biological father. 
vivi doesn’t understand what’s going on, and hilly is having a
difficult time.  sigh.  i’m just glad i can be here for them.  thank you for your prayers.  seriously.

i spoke with a lady on the plane (catholic) about the Lord.  she’s
searching “other religions.” i explained about the relationship the
Lord desires to have with us and compared it to love over a husband and
love over a child (she has two children herself).  we didn’t come
to any definite conclusions, but I closed the discussion by telling her
to question everything about religion.  i just wish i had more
time (don’t we all).

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i feel like a little boy having a blast this morning. 
today, it’s a game called “lets’ see if anyone can guess that i’m not a
campus visitor”.   it’s a campus visit weekend at liberty
university and there are literally hundreds of guests that are…
well… lost.  so, i’ll come in and show them where to go, welcome
the parents, and pretend like I’m just a student that’s been around a
hundred times.  man,
i could totally work as a spy for the CIA.  even now, i’m parked
at a cafe with lappy and enjoying the moment.  next, i’ll go to
some foreign soil and do the “let’s see if anyone can guess that i’m
not a tourist” (i’ve already done a great job at NYC and other places,
leading groups to do the same).

there’s a few classes i’m going to jump in on, and then i’ll meet with
a person regarding a marketing position.  here’s the deal: if i
don’t get the job, i don’t go to liberty.  the odds are not in my
favor, so please keep it in prayer that the Lord gives me some form of
favor.  other options include texas and florida (and i really
don’t want to go to florida).


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a pastor’s last message…


For those who don’t already know, just about a week ago Kyle Lakes, the pastor of where musician David Crowder leads worship in
Waco, TX, was electrocuted during a service when he reached out to
adjust a microphone while standing in a baptism pool in front of his
congregation of 800.  Doctor’s in the congregation who witnessed
the fatality tried to revive him, but unfortunately the intense trauma
to his heart was too severe and he passed away shortly afterwards. 
“At first, there was definitely confusion just because everyone was
trying to figure out what was going on,” said the church’s community
pastor, “..everyone just immediately started praying.” 


His funeral was this past Tuesday and those in attendance filled the
sanctuary of FBC, Waco to a standing room only, even filling even an
overflow room with a TV.  While it’s been a very pressing time for
everyone who witnessed the tragedy, it’s his unpreached sermon,
unformatted and unedited taken from the notes of his service, that left a lasting impression on everyone:

Live. And Live Well.
BREATHE. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.
On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.
If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.
Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.
If you bike, pedal HARD… and if you crash then crash well.
Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.
If
you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted
if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all… because soon he’ll be wiping his
own.
If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And Grieve well.
At
the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you’re eating and laughing
at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke. And if you
eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on
the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And TASTE.
Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste
every ounce of Life. Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift.

Please keep his wife and three children, who also witnessed the tragedy, in prayer.  Thanks.

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update…


Thank
you for your continued prayer over my father.  I spoke to him the
other evening and he sounds pretty rough.  I have my grandmother
trying to see if she can cash in a voucher for me to fly home around
thanksgiving, and I have a friend willing to sponsor me if it falls
through (which is a big blessing — thank you). Some other things going on:


second book
working
on development of a second book as of a week ago.  although i don’t want to get into
details, it’s a book from a future husband writing to his future bride,
including prayer, encouragement, and advice.  It’s never been done
before and doesn’t take away from the development of the first book, which is why i like it.

atf & liberty university
I’m
going to the acquire the fire this weekend in cleveland, which will be
a blessing to finally see. the following weekend, I’ll be traveling to
lynchburg, virginia to visit Liberty University.  I’ve been
accepted, but its all pending on whether or not I get the job I want
there. 
i have no other choice but to trust in the Lord, which i feel is
exactly where the Lord wants me.  I have an
interview when i arrive. 

employed
that’s
right, as of yesterday, I was employed at a brand new Italian restaurant.  Orientation starts right after I get back from
Liberty and the store opens at the end of the month.  It’s a great
job for this season of transition.


thank you to everyone who’s kept me in prayer and all those who support
me.  seriously, your heart-felt emails, comments, conversations
and support doesn’t go unnoticed. thank you.  may the Lord surround
you even right now with His glory.  blessings to you all.