In that, I have developed a challenge for myself.  From 6PM Friday evening to 6PM Sunday evening, I am going to read the entire New Testament.  Yikes.

In the interest of full disclosure, I need to admit that I didn’t receive any sort of audible Holy Spirit calling or anything about this.   I just thought it would be a fun goal. 

So, the nitty-gritty: the version I will be reading from is the HCSB and my particular copy has 452 pages.   I would love to say that I chose this because I have done extensive research about the accuracy of translations and awesome smart things like that.  But I really chose it because its small and fits in my pocket. *Shrug*

So, 48 hours to do 452 pages.  We’ll say 14 hours for sleep leaves 34 hours. What’s that?  13 pages an hour?  I think that’s do-able.  I read the DaVinci Code in, like, 9 hours.

If I remember to bring my computer I will post some periodic updates to my progress (I say all these things like anyone actually reads this thing ).  But, more importantly (!)  I issue you this challenge: YOU CAN DO IT, TOO!

No, seriously, you can.  Just pick it up and start reading.  Sound off in the comments if you wanna join me!

And man, do I get them every week.  I have heard stories of seriously miraculous healing, stories of folks proclaiming Christ as the Lord and Savior, and tons of other great things.  Well, I had one and I thought I would share it with everybody.  I usually allow my class to give reports, but this one was just huge for me.

Let me preface the story by saying that I hate the circumstances through which this opportunity came.  But I know beyond any doubt that God is the true master of taking horrible situations and turning them into situations where grace and healing abound.  OK, sorry, the story:

I have a good friend here at my place of evening employment.  He was, at one time, my employee, but we became friends through that.  We’ve had a few spats over the three years that we’ve known one another, but we’ve had some really good conversations, as well.  They have spanned the gamut from girls to religion to sports to music.  All kinds of stuff.  We’ve grown about as close as two coworkers can.

Anyway, this friend is a (very) non-practicing Jew who has had a rough life.  I cannot disclose any details but suffice it to say that some of the confirmed stories I have heard are both shocking and heartbreaking.  Well, Monday morning he woke to the news of a VERY close loved one’s death.

I knew something was wrong when I spoke to him last evening; he broke down in tears as he told me what had happened.  I pulled him into the office and let him cry for a while and tell me stories about the good times he had with this person.

Here is the awesome part.  After he was done, I asked if he would let me pray for him right then and he accepted!  It doesn’t sound like much, I know, but this person is very averted to the whole concept of Christianity in general.  So for him to allow me to pray for him aloud like that was a huge breakthrough.

I did not take the opportunity lightly.  I made sure to emphasize the comforting power of the Holy Spirit and the saving power of Jesus Christ all the while letting the person know how much he truly meant to me as a friend.

I do not know which point of contact I am on the statistical 15 touches that a person needs to accept Christ, but I am so thankful that I was allowed to be one for my friend yesterday.  I have been praying for this man for a long time.

Thank you so much, Lord, for your mercy and grace. Thank you for sending your Son that we might be able to worship you at your throne for eternity. Thank you for allowing me to be a vessel from which your power can flow here on earth. You are so holy and so amazing, I can see your glory in all of creation. Thank you for your love and comfort. Amen.

OK, so what AWESOME stories do you have about the Lord’s faithfulness?  I want to hear them in the comments section!

Note: This post is an article I wrote for The Riches of His Glory, a devotional book for the Singles Department at Hermitage Hills Baptist Church.

For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. – Hosea 6:6

Something funny occurred to me over the course of today: God has a sense of irony that puts Jane Austen to shame. This realization started this morning when I sat down to write this devotional. I had a busy day planned, so I skipped my daily quiet time so I could finish it and get working.

Guess what? Nothing happened. I could not get a single word onto the page. I finally gave up and went to work feeling rather discouraged. I mean, I prayed that God would give me some inspiration! Where was He?

Well, things didn’t go well at work, either. I finally became so frustrated with everything that I locked myself in my office and prayed. Hard. I realized that nothing had worked all day because I had chosen to skip my quiet time with God. He wanted me to read, so I asked where. Mark, He said. “OK, God, Mark is a big book, where in Mark?” Chapter 9. Go. Now.

So I did…and my jaw hit the floor. Mark 9 happens to be the story where Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a mountain to have a little chat with Elijah and Moses. Peter, always one to speak before thinking, jumped up and suggested that they build three tabernacles right there in honor of them. He was just so excited he could not wait to do something! But wait, read verse 7: “A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: This is My beloved Son; listen to Him!”

Wow. God had to come down here in a cloud and tell Peter to chill out and listen. How often do we get so busy doing “things” that we forget to stop talking and listen? Not just worldly things, either. Sometimes “Christian” things like writing a devotional can get in the way of your communication with God. We can get so wrapped up in “doing” that we forget that God just wants us to love Him and get to know Him.

After reading that passage, I knew exactly what God wanted me to say in this little lesson. As you go through this week, do not forget to spend time with God and get to know Him. Do not get caught up in doing…just sit down and listen to what He has to say. I promise, it is exactly what you need to hear.

• I know beyond the shadow of any doubt that she loves me to death.  I feel it every time I see her.  She has always put her children first, and I am very appreciative of that, even though I don’t show it as often as I should.
• I have never doubted her devotion to Christ. She always made sure that a strong grounding in faith was a top priority for all three of us.
• She is the best household manager I have ever seen.  Even though I always give her a hard time about her obsessive organization and cleanliness, I know that I will be a much better husband and father because I have learned how to shoulder some of the responsibility of running a house.

Mom, you are the greatest I could ever ask for.  We both know that I will always be moving forward with my life, but I promise I will make time to remind you that I love you.  Thanks for being my mom.

I hope it is treating you well so far and that your resolutions are still in place 16 hours in!

I will be starting a more regular posting schedule at the beginning of next week.  I am really going to try and do three good posts every week.  One will probably be a book review, but I am not sure about the other two.  I imagine that one will be just thoughts from my Scripture readings that inspired me over the course of the week.  We’ll see.

So, keep a look out for all new content hitting your doorstep on Monday!  Have a great weekend.

Merry Christmas from Life Outside the Lines.  I hope your holiday was full of wonderful times spent with your loved ones!

Honestly, I am a little bit behind.  Not too much (less than a full day’s work), but some.  Nothing that I can’t have completely made up by Saturday.  Plus, I just had some time become available this weekend (you know who you are), so I should be in great shape by Sunday.

Thanks to everyone who has asked about the process and sent me encouraging emails and texts and whatnot.  They really do help.

I shall try my best to get a more serious post in sometime this week; I might even throw in a bonus post with a bit of a plot summary for the new book!  Thank you all again for the encouragement!

“Slow down, now,” you say, “a novel in a month?  It can’t be done!”  Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s what I said, too.  However, the more I sat and thought about it this morning, the more confident I became that I could actually be successful.  So, here is the formal declaration of my goal for the month of November 2008: I, Eric Sherwood, am going to write a novel of (at least) 50,000 words before December 1.

Fifty-thousand words.  Holy crap.  To be honest, I am both ridiculously scared and excited at the same time.  I hope that both of the emotions will drive me toward achieving my goal.  Moreover, when I am completely honest with myself, more of the fears (listed below) are quite unjustified:

• 1) That is a big (and I mean BIG) commitment. 1,667 words written per day. 2,084 if I take a day off every week. This is really the only one that is justified. It is a big deal and it is going to be hard.
• 2) People might think I am an idiot. Let’s face it; becoming a (published) author is a lofty life-goal. Tons of people try it and, like, seven are actually successful enough to become household names.
• 3) It might suck. I cannot decide if this is one of the justified fears or an unjustified one. Of course, the first draft probably will suck to some degree, but I know that all of the good novels started out as a flawed first draft.
• 4) Insanity. OK, probably not…but there is a bit of a chance that I might actually lose my mind during the whole ordeal. *Shrug* If I walk up to you in November spouting gibberish, just shake me a bit and do your best to hold out until December when I should return to my semi-normal state of mere confusion. J

On the other hand, though, I really am excited about it.  I have always wanted to write a novel and this seems like a perfect opportunity to do so.  I know that I want to write professionally and this is just one of the ways that I am going to work towards making that dream a reality.

So, I am going to need your help.  Send me an encouraging text message occasionally.  Write on my Facebook wall, please.  I know that I will be stressed out quite a bit this month (Thank God that Phillip is going to be doing most of the heavy lifting during our Sunday School hour on Sundays this month.  Thanks Phillip!).  Oh!  And keep me accountable.  Ask me how it’s going and hit me (gently, I’m kind of a wimp) if I do not boldly proclaim that I have already finished my word count for the day.   

From what I can tell by reading the NaNoWriMo forums, Week 2 will bring the mental roadblocks and fatigue.  There is a good chance that you might find me on my roof screaming curses at the Phoenicians.  Or wheeling around an IV filled with Starbucks’ bold blend.  Either ignore me or give me a hug, or try to do both with that awkward sideways hug that everyone hates.  I will appreciate it either way.

*Deep Breath* I am going to do this.  Look for random posts this coming month about the overall process.  I will keep writing my posts of other flavors, but this will be my focus.  Here we go…