men

last night was a dhop team meeting. we met in a coffee shop called urban
grind and it was really interesting to suddenly realize that renee, kathleen and i (the three amigas...or the three stooges, maybe) were completely out numbered by the men that were there. (see the photo above. one more guy, ben, didn't make it into the pic) it was so cool. i think that may be the first time i was at a prayer thing where the guys outnumbered the girls. whoever has been praying for the men to take up the burden of intercession needs to start praying for some of our spouses to materialize.

after our meeting was over i stood outside and talked to a few of the guys for another hour. ben asked me how a recent family gathering went and in the process of telling them about it i told them a bit about some relationship challenges i face with my dad, and how i'm really praying about initiating a very difficult conversation to challenge him to get help with some things. as i told them about it ben asked his name and immediately began to pray for him. it was so incredible to hear someone else praying for him by name. isaac and cliff, the other two there, joined in. it was a very important moment for me - to be surrounded by my brothers and hear them pray for my father as men for another man. it not only brought strength to my heart to continue to walk out the work of a Godly daughter that won't give up on the idea of restoration, but it was so affirming to me to be cared for as a sister.

on the theme of my last post (sharing what i love about my friends) i have to say something about my friend ben. he moved here from australia to pastor youth, and in the process has found himself pastoring and mentoring children from very disadvantaged situations. that in itself is pretty awesome, but my telling you that still gives you no true idea of the heart he has. you would be hard pressed to find someone more excited about life and about Jesus, and more devoted to the people around him.

something that really stands out to me about ben is his depth. he's pretty lighthearted and loads of fun, but he steps right up to the plate and takes charge in a very humble way. when i look at ben i see a charisma, passion and compassion that are the marks of a great leader. being around him makes me feel i know what it was like for the disciples to hang out with Jesus, because ben makes everyone around him feel they are very important to him. and the beauty of that is that they all are.

i'm really grateful ben's in my life. i haven't known him a hugely long time, but he's one of those friends that you feel like you can't remember what life was like before you knew them, like they've always been there.