A Pentacostal Experience

I've been raised pretty much in the Assembly of God Church, so hearing people speak in other languages that they don't actually know themselves is not really unusual for me. I pray in other languages daily and it's simply part of my life. I have heard over the years of people having a person speak into their life via another language (one the hearer knew and the speaker didn't). Members of my own family have had it happen. I've heard snippets of things that I thought I recognized, but never before have I experienced being let in on a conversation with God that I was not part of before. A minister has been visiting our church for the past week and I honestly don't know him personally. I do know English is the only language that he understands. He was praying in toungues next to me at the alter tonight and started repeating the same line over and over and over. It caught my attention. After the line had my attention I realized it was spanish, you know that really fast native spanish that we second language learners have trouble with. After about the third time I was starting to get the gist and after the twenty something time I finally understood. As soon as I 'got it' the person praying went on in another language. It was interesting to me that with my limited spanish vocabulary, God still took the time to have someone repeat a phrase again and again and again, until I understood. It wasn't an earth shattering revelation. It was simply that 'We all of us have a voice, don't let ours be average and lost in the crowd. Let our voices glorify the Lord'. A simple message really, but exactly what I needed. I needed to hear to speak out, don't just fit in, but to allow God to use me to glorify him. And God in a unique way, one of His ways, allowed me not only to hear it, but in a way that I can not doubt, and through someone who has no idea that God used them to speak to me. I don't know if I will ever see this person again. But If I do, I hope that before then I will be given opportunity to Speak up, not let my voice be lost in the crowd, but use it to Glorify the Lord.

Vacation & Timeshares

This past couple weeks has been a blast. It's summer time and like many families we went on vacation. First we drove over to Springfield, Mo., for James River A/G church's annual fireworks show. For those who don't know, this church puts on a day of events and fireworks that rival a small cities. This event, that draws upwards of 120,000 people, will always have a special place in my heart. My youngest walked down to the front last year with a multitude of others to ask Jesus to live in his heart. It was to use the venacular, way cool.
We left Springfield and headed south to the most patriotic town in America. Branson, Mo., is great for shows and food, but they also have about 30 different timeshare resorts. We stayed at the Wyndam Meadows (3 1/2 stars) and had a great time. The boys went swimming, we had a kitchen to cook in so food was not expensive. All in all a great time. Of course they wanted to sell us a timeshare for 20 to 60k, and this is what I wanted to blog about. While we were in Branson, we took in two timeshare and two travel club presentations. While we enjoyed the 150 dollars and free meal and show, we decided that 20, 10, 3, and 1 thousand dollars were not low enough entry fees join their programs. And yes some of those prices were from the same places as we kept saying no.
One of the things we learned is that the maintenence fees on a timeshare are unavoidable. They will come after you for them if you don't pay. (They won't take back the timeshare.) Also, because they are deedable, you get to sadle your kids with the same incrementally increasing fees. Now, if you and your decendents want to stay in condos and vacation yearly, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The ability to stay in a 3-5 star resort for the same cost of a super 8 for a week and spread the payments out over a year is a decent deal. If you do want to have a timeshare, just remember that there are many people who don't want theirs anymore. Ebay is a great modern tool for the consumer. 400 - 800 dollars will get you that same timeshare the salesman wants you to buy for 20 to 60k. If you do want to travel, but not necessarily to condos and you plan on vacationing each year a travel club may be for you. 1000k up front (keep saying no until the price goes from 10k to 1k), and 170/year fee and you can book 10,000 vacations for 2,000. I don't book 10,000 vacations, ok let's be honest, I don't book 500 dollar vacations. I would like to someday........... someday..........someday. So, anyway, We had a ball and I learned a little about vacations. Have a great summer! Only 22 more days of freedom and then back to work. If any school kids are reading this, school starts in 29 days. That's less than a month away! Later.