What does a sidewalk have to do with Ebenezer? In 1 Samuel 7, Sameul starts out by calling the Israelites to turn from their old gods and return to the Lord, they go through a cleansing ceremony and commit themselves to the Lord once again. The Philistines get wind of whats going down and they rush out to beat down the Israelites. The Israelites get the 411 about the Philistines and ask Samuel to cry out to the Lord on their behalf. The Philistines sneak up on the Israelites while Samuel is sacrificing a lamb, but the Lord sent a storm to divert them. The Israelites ended up beating the Philistines down, old school style. Samuel sets up an altar and named it Ebenezer saying, "Thus far has the Lord helped us." Mark Batterson translates this sentence as "So Far So God".

This Sidewalk is one of my Ebenzers. This sidewalk is in the backyard of my friends' house that I stayed at while at the Buzz Conference. Every morning while I was there I woke up extra early. One could attribute that to several things, but in my soul I know that it was a God thing that I Woke up so early. This time allowed me to reflect and to pray and to just generally be in the Spirit. Last Friday I woke up around 4am and spent some time reading and praying and went into the kitchen mainly because I was restless and needed to pace. I paused for a few minutes in front of the door that looks out onto this sidewalk and just gazed. Those moments were some defining moments in my life. It was in those moments of quiet and openess that I felt the Lord calling me to ministry. I can honestly say that the emotion that filled me in those moments were something I have not experienced before. It is funny to me that I have gone to Bible College for as long/many times as I have and not felt God's calling. So Far So God.

Another of the big ideas that I came away from the conference with was that people are looking for something Greater than themselves to be a part of. I began to think about that in my own life and where I have been and wanted to do. The companies that have drawn my attention to work for: The Walt Disney Company, The Mayo Clinic, Harley Davidson. Think of those companies in the context of what they do and it is easy to see why someone could be easily drawn to them. There is truly an air of greatness about them. I have wanted to be a part of something that is bigger than myself and have searched for that very thing. The funny part is that I have been a part of something bigger than myself and found everything else wanting. My thought goes like this: At Disney I had the opportunity literally everyday to make the vacation of a lifetime for families from all around the world. There is a great deal of satisfaction and pride in doing that. How much more then should the satisfaction (not a great choice of words, but all I got right now!) be for helping someone secure what happens after this lifetime?? I firmly believe that this is one of the reasons why I have not gone into ministry full time...I was looking for something greater than God. Many people spend their entire lives trying to find something greater than God and that is a life wasted.

So all that to say, I am in the market for a new job...one with eternal benefits.