2 years...

OKAY.... SO THIS IS LAST YEAR'S PICTURE... BUT THE IDEA IS THE SAME!!!

May brings two significant anniversaries... three really. On May 7, 9 years ago, IHOP officially started 24 hours a day. Pretty significant... 7 years later, or 2 years ago, on that same May 7, Sanctuary House of Prayer began officially (not 24 / 7, but it began!).

I have had the great privlege of spending 2 1/2 years at IHOP, and now the last 8 months at Sanctuary (hereto refered to as SHOP). Tonight, those two worlds came together for a few minutes. Phil Guse (aka Phil the farmer) went down to IHOP with his family a while ago and captured greetings from all of our friends down there and put them all together for us tonight at SHOP. Many of the faces were of dear friends, and especially Hope City folk. I forget sometimes what those days were like when I am under the sickness that hits me again and again, the pain in my feet, and the overwhelming (sometimes) issues of those I work with. Tonight was a reminder of WHY I love my job, WHY I love the prayer movement and WHY I know it's time to visit KC again. I was made for this.

I've always loved to sing, I love to read the Word, and I have great compassion for the poor and underprivleged. Hope City brought that all together for me. Now SHOP and my job at the mission bring it together for me again. Five years ago it was all about the kids in the innercity and seeing freedom come to them, but I didn't know HOW to do it... I couldn't figure out WHAT to do in order to see freedom come to the inner city, partially because I thought I had to do it! NO WONDER it always fell short of what I wanted to see. GOD is at work in HIS way, and in HIS timing... I either line up with HIM or build in vain.

The third anniversary May brings is not such a happy one. On May 5, last year, Pat Bickle passed away. I think of him often and of the Bickle family as this anniversary comes around. My prayer is for great comfort and peace as well as revelation of God's hand to be real for all of the Bickles especially tomorrow. I know he is greatly missed, and I haven't forgotten.

Okay...b ack to SHOP. Two years is quite a milestone. There are many great things to come for SHOP, we all believe it and know it. There are many great things happening NOW for SHOP, and that is awesome to see... what I KNOW, and have heard or felt everytime we pray for Brian, or SHOP or the leadership of the prayer movement globally is "it's much bigger than we know". THAT is a cool thing to think about!

SO HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SHOP... and let's STAY STEADY!