Easter 2023. I have been looking forward to Easter 2023 since Christmas 2022. I couldn’t wait to experience my first Easter at WRCC. I couldn’t wait to sing the songs Philip put together for us; I couldn’t wait to hear the message from Lance, I couldn’t wait to sit in the sanctuary, the four of us with Stacy and her family. And it didn’t disappoint. The songs spoke to me and watching Philip and the band sing/play those songs on stage, declaring their love and desire for Jesus was so encouraging; Lance hit it out of the park again…and taught me something new again….I never knew WHY Judas was offered 30 coins for Jesus’s life. And sitting with Stacy’s family in the pew with us was wonderful. Jackson was home from Purdue sitting between Todd and me. We were just missing Tommi.

Tommi has questioned God for years. Claiming atheism and then agnosticism, looking into Wiccan and who knows what else. He isn’t comfortable with the “rules” of Christianity, he doesn’t think he knows how to pray the “right way” and he doesn’t think he can be “good enough” for God. Although he does now admit God and Jesus exist, he is back to thinking of Jesus as just a “cool dude” but not someone he can put his faith in. He doesn’t trust most Christian’s outside of our family because there are too many Christians that say they love Jesus, and then act the exact opposite of how Jesus did and would want us to act. That part of his objection I agree with and it makes me sad. I’ve had discussions with people at WRCC, with Jackson and Brad and Tina ….. and their answers at this point are all similar. I know I cannot force my religion on him. And I couldn’t force Easter on him. So I pray for him and pray he finds God and let’s God into his heart. I talk about church with him, the things Lance said, the songs Philip sings… I listen to christian music and he listens with me. I go see christian concerts and he comes along. I watch The Chosen and he watches right along with me. Sometimes all of that boggles my mind, but I just go with it. Far be it from me to dissuade any activity that shines God into Tommi’s life.

Every morning I spend time writing in my thankful/prayer journal and reading my Bible (another new practice for me since attending WRCC) and every day I end my prayers with a BHAP (Big Hairy Audacious Prayer)…another WRCC thing. It’s a prayer that is so big and so audacious that you know it’s the biggest request you could possibly ask God for. I’d say 5/7 days my BHAP is that Tommi go back to being Izzy, that Tommi go back to in-person school, that Tommi stop questioning and start believing. And that Tommi realize he doesn’t have to be perfect, he doesn’t have to have the most beautiful prayer, he doesn’t have to earn Gods love-it’s there, free for the taking. That’s my most common BHAP (my other one is meeting Joel from for King & Country….but God did me one better and gave me a hug from Joel instead)!!! 😂

If you want to read about BHAP’s, Google Big Hairy Audacious Prayers…the passage by Aly Yohn on http://www.Prayersisters.org is a great read.

Her passage ends with this….

“Here’s the bottom line:

When we ask, we receive. When we see answers to prayer, it grows our faith. When our faith grows, we pray bigger and bolder prayers because we grow our image of who God is! And I think God loves those prayers! It says we are beginning to understand the scope of what He can do!

God loves when we pray big, bold, audacious prayers that only He can answer! What will your prayer be today?”