[part one] (Here goes my fifth or so try for that post that got erased.)
I shouldn't be at a loss for things to say since I haven't posted in a while. I'll start with last Wednesday.

Wednesday night Bro. Mark spoke at Alpha and Omega. It was quite a good message. One of his first points was "Doubt is not a lack of faith; Doubt is being caught between two beliefs." That's huge! Some people may think that when Christians begin to doubt we've somehow lost our faith in God, but that's just not the case. It's good to know when doubt comes into our lives we can still rely on God to help us overcome that doubt. Mark was speaking from Matthew 11:1-6 where John is in prison and sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the real deal or if they should look for someone else. Mark equated John's questioning with doubt, which isn't necessarily how I would read that passage, but all the points he made about it were good, so I wouldn't make a big deal out of that. Mark pointed out that when John asked Jesus a question, Jesus didn't make John the issue; Jesus made Jesus the issue! In other words, it's not about us, it's all about Christ. One of the final points Mark made was when he quoted an author who said, "The person who finds the courage to go back to square one finds the strength to go on." He meant that when we begin to doubt we must go back to the foundational elements of our faith--the things we know to be true. Overall, it was a really good message.

Thursday in my devotions I read Proverbs 12:11-19. I wrote this: "This passage speaks much of the tongue, the mouth, and the lips, which all refer to speech. The speech of the righteous has been considered before it is spoken; it is healing and not hurtful; it is truth and will endure. The speech of the wicked gets him into trouble, is hurtful, and is fleeting." Then I wrote, "Make your words worth being heard. No one really listens to the person who talks all the time. Like James says, if you can tame your tongue you can do anything." This passage reminded me of something a friend told me during first semester this past year. She said something to the effect of "Megan, you never have much to say, but when you have something to say it's always valuable." That's so important to me. Without me ever really even putting much thought into it, it's always been one of my goals to be a person who only talks when she has something important to say rather than talking to be heard. It's not like there's anything wrong with being a talkative person; it's just that that's not who I am and it's better for me not to try to be something I'm not.

As my week ended, I planned on having a rather packed weekend, which is rare for me, but a few things changed. My friend Melissa from high school had invited me and some of our other high school friends to come over to her house to watch movies and hang out Friday evening. I got off work around 7:00 on Friday and called her to let her know I was going to stop to get gas and then come straight to her house rather than going home first. I called mom to let her know what I was doing; got on the interstate; got off the Wilson exit to get gas (the exit I normally take when going home); got gas; got back in my car; turned the key; nothing happened. Great. Tried several times to start my car and still nothing. So, I called home and dad headed up to the gas station to get my car started. He jumped my battery and followed me home. The only thing wrong was the battery had gone bad. I was really glad that's all it was because we've just finished spending a bunch of money on getting my car fixed and I couldn't imagine that there was anything left to go wrong! Anyway, by the time we had the new battery put in, it was too late to justify the long drive to and from Melissa's house, so I wound up staying home. I'm just glad I got gas near my house so I didn't have to sit for an hour at a weird gas station or anything.