what's been keeping me so busy...

This week I am painting for work. Up on a roof that is steep in some places. And holy cow, let me tell you there's been a lot to paint up there. I've been up there all week and thought I would get done today but the rain is temporarily keeping completion at bay.

Back over Memorial Day, you might remember me posting about it, I went to Anchorage with Lisa. While there we met Justin, a 19 year-old kid from Minnesota who had been praying about coming up here for a while. God impressed it upon his heart to come up and he gave up a gig that would have had him touring all over Georgia with his band and opening for Relient K and some other bands. Music is his passion, second only to God, and so that sacrifice is of course a huge one. I remember when I met him how impressed I was that he was just a young kid, didn't know anyone at all, and yet he blended right in with our group. He jumped right in and included himself in conversations, which is scary and sometimes even when you know the people. And how impressed I was that he made such a huge sacrifice. It was like his Isaac. Anyhow, he was at Covenant Bible Camp in Unalakleet for 4 weeks as a counselor and is on his way to Bethel, AK next week to do 2 years of youth ministry there. He stopped here in Soldotna for 3 weeks to do some volunteer work. And let me tell you he's become one of my best friends. It's weird, I know. I can't believe that I feel so open with him and he's said the same thing about me. We have talked, quite literally, about everything. Everything. He's asked my opinion on some lyrics and taken my advice on some of it. I've shared some writings of my own with him. We've talked about exes and friendships gone bad and our childhoods. I helped him through a potential stalker situation. I don't know how many nights this week we will have started a movie and will just end up turning it off because we'll start talking again and will continue to do so until 3am or so. It's amazing to me how much he knows about me and still wants to learn more. The best part of all this is that he's completely safe. While he is an attractive guy, I am not attracted to him at all.

So that's what I have been so busy with this week that has kept me from posting. On Sunday we went to church together and the pastor spoke about rest and the sabbath and how important it is. Our challenge for the week was to find time to rest and he gave different pictures of what that might look like: reading a spiritual book, reading the Bible, just being still, finding renewal through conversation with friends, etc... On Sunday afternoon Justin and I went for a drive and the sky was low and dark and ominous in a beautiful sort of way. Justin looked at it and looked at me and said, "The sky is resting too." And I looked and it really looked as if it had fallen wearily into its heavenly bed and was laying there heavily. It was gorgeous! He's really opened my eyes to look at things from new perspectives. He challenges my faith and encourages me to grow every day. Already I treasure his friendship. I have been surprised with how many levels there on which we connect. It's so refreshing.