tangible answers to prayers

Yesterday (Friday) I got up early. I awoke at six and found myself unable to sleep, knowing that I should get moving and get myself to the Visible Grace garage sale. So I dragged myself out of bed at about 6:30.

I decided that I would get a shower first thing, a rare occurance before rest time in our house. While chatting with God, I began to think about the garage sale. Perhaps, I thought, I might run into someone who I haven't seen in a while and get an opportunity to reconnect. Maybe I'd even get a chance to talk with someone or two about Visible Grace. I simply asked God to give me these opportunities and to allow me to be open to them.

I then spent the morning preparing lunch for myself and our friends. I ate breakfast and sat down to read the Bible (also a rare occurance before rest time). Josiah got up around eight, ate breakfast, poked around, and finally got dressed. We headed out for the sale shortly after nine.

At about 10:30 or 11, Josiah asked if we could play with the playdoh. I had packed up my "Sunday school playdoh kit" for the kids to play with at the sale. So Josiah and I headed off through the parking lot. A white car was just parking and just as we were passing it, the driver said, "Hey Angie." It was Stacey, a gal who I had ment through teaching at MOPS this past year. She was Josiah's teacher and I had her son, Cooper, in my class.

Here it was, God's tangible answers to my prayers. Stacey and I had ment to get the boys together this Summer to play and give us a chance to better know one another. She's someone I've been wanting to connect with, but I just haven't taken the time to do it. I guess God seems to see that it does need to happen. We start chit chatting about this and that, how life is going. She'd taken her older daughters to BCC's Bible Camp and saw the sale and decided to stop. Turns out that she's been accepted into a Master's program at George Fox, exciting news for this recently single mother of three. The conversation turns to the g-sale, anything good over there type things. I start explaining that I'm actually there helping and I have this friend Ashby who... Now not only has God handed me an opportunity to reconnect, he has also given me an opportunity to share about VG. Oh, but there is so much more to it than I could have imagined. You see, Stacey has a dream. A dream that before yesterday, she had never shared with any adult, just her children. Stacey will be working on her master's in education at Fox. Her dream, to start a school and teach in Kenya. NO KIDDIN'!!!!

God is amazing. He uses a simple child's request for playdoh in amazing ways. If he hadn't asked, I might have totally missed my opportunity to reconnect with someone who could become a friend. I might have missed an opportunity to share about VG. I might have missed an opportunity to connect one person with a dream with another person with a dream. It really does emphazise the fact that we just need to tell people. We need to tell them about God. We need to share what he is doing through VG. You never know where a person might be at and what step they might be ready to take. In the future, Stacey could be teaching at Grace Academy!

Wes also pointed out something else, on our way out for a short date. Not only did God use me to connect two people who have dreams. He also is using VG to fullfill a dream and purpose in my own life. http://angiesphotoblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/how-last-week-came-to-be.html
Three dreams, plus one God, equals thousands of lives being changed. It gives you goose bumps, chills, and brings tears to the eyes.