Witnessing..

What if we as Christians told about what Christ was doing in our life everywhere we went? How would that change us/our relationship with our Heavenly Father? Interesting thought to ponder!
Here's some a great resource!
www.livingwaters.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=8&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=199&lang=en

My One Personal Fire Experience

Here's a paper I wrote for college recently on a fire that I was unfortunately affected by. I am thankful that God was looking out for us!! ~ 

                                                        A Red Hot Experience

The word fire in the English dictionary means a state, process, or instance of combustion in which fuel or other material is ignited and combined with oxygen, giving off light, heat, and flame. Any form of unexpected combustion can be very scary and dangerous, and any fire whether large or small has a huge impact upon our lives. The one in my life changed my view on spontaneous combustion and fires completely.

Newberry Town Holiness Camp sits approximately three miles from Interstate 83, yet it is far enough away to be located in a country setting. The tabernacle is an older square brick structure with a newly remodeled ceiling and roof. The dorm where we were all residing was stretched out away from and perpendicular to the tabernacle.  The camp and its surroundings were indeed peaceful, until the unexpected happened.

It all started out as a normal day.  About 6:30 in the evening, the scheduled service started. The P.R. group from Union Bible College got up and sang two songs. During the middle of the third song, suddenly their sound system started popping, smoking, and sparking. What we didn’t know, was that this was just the beginning of a fire. This would be a day that none of us would forget.

            Once their sound system started sparking folks around campus began inspecting and checking for the signs of a fire. Phil Nell, who is our campus treasurer, upon inspecting the downstairs of the dorm proceeded down the outside steps to inspect the exterior of the building then quickly glanced up. He stopped. Then he yelled, “I see flames!  The dorm is on fire!”

            Word spread quickly. Immediately everyone was helping where needed amidst their tearful watching. From the youngest man who had spent some of his growing up years there making memories, to the oldest saint who had once laid brick upon mortar to further the ministry, everyone was immensely affected the moment these words were exclaimed.

            Now that I have given you some perspective on the situation and background, let me give you my story.

            The moment I saw sparks fly from the sound system, I ran outside from the rear of the tabernacle, stopped to affirm the cause of the fire with some onlookers, and continued to the top of the second floor stairs. Once there, I joined Bro. Cassidy, the song evangelist, and Phil Nell and continued throwing open each door yelling, “Get out!! There’s a fire in here!”

Once I helped clear the second floor, I then proceeded up the third floor stairs. My body came to a halt. There was a panel keeping me from getting to one side of the hallway to the other. How would I check for people in the isolated rooms? I could only yell so loud! So, after clearing what rooms I could, I then turned, looked back at the flames coming from the wall panel, continued back down the steps, across the hall, and up the other side. Once I cleared the rest of the rooms, I ran frantically outside to Bro. Cassidy.  Hurriedly, I asked him, “Is everyone okay?” And, “Could we please run upstairs and try to get some of my expensive personal items out?” He replied, “Possibly, let me go with you, and make sure it’s as safe as possible.”

            From the time I first saw the hot flames coming from under the roof to the time I asked Bro. Cassidy to run upstairs and help me, approximately two minutes had gone by. You can’t possibly understand how much adrenaline was rushing through our bodies at the time of the fire. Even amidst the adrenaline flow, we really didn’t have any excuse for rushing back into a fresh fire just to rescue $1,200 worth of items, but we did nonetheless!

 As soon as Brother Cassidy said “yes”, we both proceeded up the stairs with haste, and yet caution. Upon reaching the top step, our eyes immediately began filling with tears. So we naturally ducked, turned the corner, and slowed once again. The heated inferno behind that half inch wall panel was growing rapidly. Should we continue down the smoky hallway? In my mind, my vote was already cast – it was time to run! I had to act fast! So, while Bro. Cassidy and I conversed back and forth I quickly but cautiously made my way to the 3rd door on the right, felt the cold handle, and entered my semi-normal room for the last time. Glancing quickly at my surroundings, I grabbed my camera, guitar, and laptop and momentarily paused by the wall. The flame filled air hole was visibly and audibly growing larger. So, once I glanced in passing at the other rooms next to mine, I retreated to the stairs, and dashed outside where Bro. Cassidy was already breathlessly pausing from his last tiring shuffle down the remaining two flights of stairs.

At this point, Bro. Cassidy and I were near to tears. This dorm that I had grown up with, and the place that he had been privileged to be at for a few days, would all be burnt then soaked to a muddy charred crisp in mere hours. How terribly sad, it was!

We were thankful, that out of the one-hundred and fifty persons there, only one person was injured- a firefighter was burnt while retrieving someone’s items. Indeed, we are still grateful! God did protect us and reminded us once again that our treasure is not in this world but in heaven!

After the fire, most came back and went through the building, often pausing in wonder. In my room, the metal bunk that I usually stared at while lying in bed, was bent nearly in half. One of the remains I found was the metal and wood remnants of a paintbrush I had taken upstairs to help with remodeling that now, undoubtedly now needed done. The many fire departments that responded to the fire combined to a total of about twenty fire trucks at the scene of the three alarm fire, within 1 hour from the first call made. Because of the severity of the fire, we had a chance to witness to more people the otherwise expected. Many of the personnel who came commented on the calmness amidst the un-calm situation.

             That normal day ended in many questions that still haven’t all been answered, but amidst the heartache and loss, my camp family has found true that God was really watching out for us! Only God knows the answers to all of our questions, but there’s one thing for sure- God meant the fire for his ultimate good. Part of 2 Corinthians 4:18 from the New Living Translation says, “So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Writing..

Having sharpened all of my pencils and lined them

up together at least twice, having neatly placed

beside my pencils a brand new yellow legal pad,

having visited the bathroom for the third time in the

past twenty minutes, having reminded myself that

I now compose exclusively on the computer and not

with pencil on yellow legal pad, having checked my

e-mail one final tinme just to be sure there wasn't a

note waiting for me from the MacArthur Foundation,

Having cranked up my iTunes Basil Poledouris

soundtrack from Conan the Barbarian as loud as it

should go, having done a final few deep knee bends,

having drained my fourth cup of coffee ( probably

the reason for that third bathroom visit), desperately

hoping that this time the magic would work, I sat

down at my computer, ready to write.

(quoted from: Building Great Sentences DVD series by Professor Brooks Landon)