..."salvation spring up from the ground"..."father, cause all to shout your name"... this is a prayer that I'm listening to tonight as I doorkeep for Tribe Issachar, a ministry of prayer in Athens. Below us, we hear the rustling sound of a partying city. Quite the paradox, indeed. Crossway, my church is doing an outreach Friday night in those very same streets, may they find good soil, tilled by intercession done here.

...This weekend was full. Friday and Saturday, a few of our girls attended a women's retreat put on by Crossway. The topic? A look at Biblical femininity-- not quite the small topic, I know.;)... it was very convicting and built up for our girls and myself. Pray that we would not be forgetful hearers of the Word, but put into practice what valuable lessons we learned.

... I threw a party for one of my disciple's, Tara, following the retreat Saturday night. She is going to Russia on a mission trip, so we got together to make a little trouble;) ...or better yet-- encourage, pray, and financially support our sister who is trusting God to provide for this call. About 30 students came and spoke encouragement to Tara, prayed over her, and gave over $500!! This was very impactful to see our students and others give so sacrificially, and in faith. Here are some pics from that night... enjoy!

... This is an encouraging time for me as I watch Tara take this step of faith. She admits, readily, that faith and trust have been a struggle for her since she's come to college and we've begun meeting. But God has definitely given her faith for this! She knows she cannot boast and I know she is so grateful for your prayers... thank you!! God is using you to mature this passionate, young woman!

Tired of sin and ready for Jesus

..."Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"... my personal battle cry this week as the effect and consequence of sin has been closely felt. But the continuous saving grace of God has also been near. Thank you for praying; God is softening hearts. David came back to us this week, apologizing for his anger towards us for challenging him to leave his sin and follow Christ. Continue to pray for repentance and trust in Chirst as he often says, "this is who I am; I cannot change"... referring to a stronghold of deception and pride. Pray he will understand Christ alone brings freedom from sin-- not our own human efforts. Praise God for his grace and protection over David; this last weekend, he pursued many people from his old lifestyle, but was not received.

... This morning I dropped Krista off at the Atlanta airport. As we drove she asked "Who decides when we die, God or the devil?" As we talked about death, sin, and the justice and righteousness of God, the reality of her uncle's rejection of Christ and her family's current rejection of Him began to hit her pretty hard. She will be in Michigan for the weekend to attend her uncle's funeral. Pray that God would strengthen and comfort her and that she would have the courage to share the Gospel with her family. Oh, that this loss would hurry them to the cross of Jesus Christ!

...Saturday night, we invited many students into our leadership training. It was a sweet time of fellowship and talking through God's definition of genuine leadership-- becoming a servant of all men and forsaking selfishness to walk in the Spirit. I was convicted personally of picking and choosing the people I serve; the students spoke of being encouraged towards Christlike leadership as well. Pray that we would be receptive to God's continual sanctifying grace in our lives...

...Now, may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it!

Urgent: Please pray for David! He is a non-student that has been in our ministry for over a year. Over the last two weeks, he has strongly fought submitting to God' s conviction over some deeply rooted sins. Last night, he came to the decision that he no longer wants to participate in the Journey, the local church, or follow Christ at all. David's sole motivation at this point is to seek out that which he thinks will make him happy and make life easy, and in his mind that means returning to the homosexual community. He refuses to humble himself and repent of his sin. Pray that God will make him miserable in his pursuit of happiness and that he will be broken before the Lord. Pray for our students as they respond to his absence. Many are currently working with him at a Athens area restaurant. Oh that God would use their lives to minister the gospel to him!

It must have been quite a moment-- to hear those words, "Come, follow me." I wonder what the morning was like for each of the 12 as Jesus called them into a life of discipleship. I wonder if they would have said yes if they knew the cost of the gospel, how Christ would soon redefine what it meant to know and love God, or how the majority of their lives would be violently taken because of this one man. Would they have left their communities, their occupations, their families, their social status as quickly? Would they still have followed this suffering servant? ...I hope so-- for their sakes and ours.

... Saturday, 17 students will be invited into "the journey's" leadership training. Freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors in college will all be challenged to walk in greater holiness, Christlike character, and sacrificial service to the Body. For us, this mirrors Christ's call to his disciples. We invite them to walk with us, as we walk with Christ, and humbly disciple them. As we prepare our hearts this week-- praying for our students and explaining what discipleship is--we have already experienced the enemy's attack on some who desire to run back to a life of sin instead of surrendering to Christ. Pray for protection of these students and for a greater heart-commitment to the gospel. Christians who proclaim their need for Jesus and walk humbly in Christlike character are quite fierce in the Kingdom of God... so it is no wonder, that we would experience a few tremors from the battle over them. This is a serious and critical time for us... pray.

Hey friends! Thanks for praying for our Bible Study at Brumby. Two new girls came and a third has made the habit of dropping in on us, listening for a while, and going about her way. Freshman are pretty silly... but have tender hearts. Please continue to pray that the girls in this group would be vulnerable with each other and surrender areas of struggle to Christ.

I am writing tonight particularly to ask you to pray for one of my disciples, Krista. A very close family friend of hers passed away tonight. He was not a believer, so it is an even more difficult time for Krista and her family. Pray that they would cling to the Father and his Word and be surrounded by people who will bear their suffering with them. She is staying the night with me tonight, pray the Spirit would be very present with us and give me words of comfort for her...

So just to bring you up to speed on our semester so far, we've been studying through the book of Judges on Tuesday nights. It definitely has an NC-17 rating given the content, but we're having a great time digging into the Word (and we're all 17 and up...).

I am discipling 5 girls this year, please read below on how you can pray specifically for them! Each of these ladies is a joy and I am so thankful God has given me the opportunity to love and serve them.

In January, my Monday night girl's small group, moved out of my house and into Brumby Hall, UGA's only female, freshman dorm. Harmless as it sounds, this is one of the hardest places for the gospel to go forth on campus. Please pray, as we have already experienced some spiritual warfare involving the study, that God would reach these women-- drawing them to himself and to us. Pray for the journey girls to grow in their desire to minister to younger women and pray for Tara as she co-leads with me, and learns to teach the Word and shepherd the girls we lead...