A friend of BJs recently let us know (thank you Tara) that Xangaland was revamping and old sites would be deleted, so I went to BJs site, which I haven’t visited in awhile, and started copying all his entries. Quite a project I must say with two years of entries. I started wondering if I would have time to copy the comments too. That project I finished today in two and a half hours – well worth the time. I did get caught up in reading entries as well as the comments so I wasn’t as efficient as I could have been. What was quite sad was that very few people commented on many of his entries. His consistent comments were from his cousin David and his sister Lauren. Many of his friends commented here and there but I’m just saying… Anyway, his posts are very interesting. If you think BJ was perfect, they will blow that perception right away. In his first entry, he explains why he picked the name he did and I don’t remember knowing that. He says:

In case any of you, or maybe just you two, (Lauren and David) were wondering why my username is DeadSilence7 and my "Welcome Message" says what it does, it is because I wrote a song having to do with my fleshly and incessant silence amidst the need for speech, and my complete inarticulation amidst my rare speech. It was contrived from my feeling that I never can say what i mean to, if i say anything at all when i need to, (for instance when I'm sharing Christ with the lost, etc) my cry out to God: change me and speak through me, and my cry to my flesh: go away and stop defiling the tongue upon which God wills to speak . . . The seven is because DeadSilence was already taken, so i decided to chose a holy number to vary my name from the one already taken.

Lauren and I went to youth camp with our church this past week. Lauren and I had to come home early because she just couldn’t kick this bug that she had. After visiting with the doctor, turns out she has pneumonia. Wow, we didn’t see that one coming. She is getting better every day, still sleeping an incredible amount, which I guess is not terribly unusual for her… However, I did get to know some of the students in our youth group. It was fun in an uncomfortable sort of way. I think my life of comfort is over… not really, we’re plenty comfortable, but it often feels like it in situations and places that are unfamiliar to me.

I’m surprised BJ talks about being silent and never saying what he means to when he seems to always know what to say but I guess that just shows how effectively God can work through us. Moses didn’t know what to say, claimed he couldn’t speak; Gideon was the least in his family and his family was the weakest clan (Judges 6); Jehoshaphat faces a “vast army” that sent him into a panic (2 Chron 20). These are some of my favorite examples in the OT of ways God showed His power through seemingly impossible situations and through weak, ordinary people. He is truly all we need. We know He is the one with the power but we don’t act like it. To think that all we have to do is be available, ready and poised to listen and follow His directions. Yet, we forget and get overwhelmed with… whatever. BTW, I learned today that w/e is short for whatever.

I’ve heard from Brent a few times. The team is doing well. You can check www.awestar.org, click on trip updates and Peru or whatever team you want to read about. They’ve changed the format and you can also leave messages. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you and how you’re praying for them. The teams all got to their respective countries without incident and are immersed in ministry. Continue to pray for stamina and perseverance, unity and focus, health and rest.

Deanna