D-NOW

Hello reader friends! Been a while I know, but if ya knew how busy I have been the past couple of days, you would understand. And freedom has been found in those days. Lots of freedom. Haha. Moving on though.

I worked a Disciple Now D=Now this past weekend in Winona, Mississippi. My first one to ever work, and lets just say my group of 9th and 10th grade girls set the bar high if I ever work another one. I had prepared myself to have to demand these girls to go to bed and pour water on them to get up in the mornings. Totally wrong. They went to bed way before I expected them to and were typically up before I was. It was great and I learned a lot. And found a bit of freedom. I didn't learn this directly from the D-Now, but I learned it regardless.

I struggle with PRIDE!

I've known this for a couple of months now, because there is a particular guy in my life who points it out to me occasionally, in a loving way of course. But it is different when you can see it for yourself and honestly admit  that you struggle with it. And when you do, you find freedom. Or at least I did. I discovered the struggle when, I could not get the hot water to work in the bathroom that I was supposed to use. I did everything I knew to do. I turned the red knob on first. Let it run for a few moments, put my hand in to check it and it was still cold. Turned it off. Checked to make sure I turned the right knob, and I had. I then gave credit to the girls who were early risers that all the hot water was gone. I proceeded to tell my hostess about it and she graciously let me use her shower. Got up the next morning, earlier, to beat the girls to the water, and it still didn't work. I gave up, and went back to bed. A couple of hours later, I woke up to find I had been beaten to the shower once more by these girls. Ha. No more hot water, or so I thought. I told the hostess that I was still having problems. She quickly tells me that the knobs are mis-marked. As in, the blue knob was the hot and the red was cold. I laughed. I thought to myself, I could have showered in here had I not just asked for help. I didn't ask because of Pride! AHHHHH!!!!!! I went and did it the way she told me to and then had a perfectly warm shower. 

Another instance during the same weekend was the fact that Saturday I felt terrible. Like it was "Satan Pick on Amber Day" or something. My head hurt like never before and I was sore all over. I felt as if I swallowed a quarter and it was lying heads up in my throat. I get through the morning and lunch feeling somewhat okay. As soon as we get to the home, I was feeling 20xs worse. I told the girl I was working with, Ann Claire, that I was going to lye down for a bit. I typically try to sleep off headaches. I woke up, expecting it to be gone, but it wasn't. And to top it off, I felt I had a fever. Oh no! Not good. I am in Winona and now I am sick. Still not completely sure if I told my parents where I was this weekend and I didn't want to call them to ask them to come get me. The family I was with, had a doctor as the father. He checked me out and said my sinus cavities had just swollen. He instructed his wife to make me take ibuprofen and then drink warm tea. Warm tea by the way is not my drug of choice, but I felt better afterwards. Maybe had I asked for help earlier, I wouldn't have felt so bad. Maybe I would have been more effective with my group of girls than I was.

So I found this verse today. It's Proverbs 16:18

Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

As soon as I read this. I said "I don't want to destruct." This means, I need to be able to admit that I need help and not feel bad for asking for it. That is just a bit of freedom I have found this week. 

-amgfinding_freedom