My First Soul-Winning Experience

When I was 14 I went to Oklahoma City for six weeks to teach a Character training curriculum in the public schools there. I was on a team with about 6 other teenagers, all of whom were from various parts of the country. One night before dinner a bunch of us decided we wanted to go for a walk and, after getting permission, set off down the street. We came across a homeless man who was sitting on a bench and I remember one of the older girls (I think she was 17) suggested we share the Gospel with him. I was terrified...

We sat down on the bench with him and this girl pulled a tract from her purse. I remember thinking that if it were me, I would have no idea how to share the Gospel with this man, what verses to cover or where to start. Then I watched as she went to the back of the tract and began reading the verses listed there, and explaining what each one meant. Why didn't I think of that?! Is it really that easy? It was. The Holy Spirit was working and the man accepted Christ as his Saviour on that bench.

Now, 13 years later, I still feel nervous when I approach someone to give them the Gospel but I don't worry about whether I will "cover all the points" or "miss anything". Instead I tell them what Christ has done for me and I try to be as real as possible. I think soul-winning plans, techniques, and programs have their place, but we should be careful to not become rote by dryly reciting a script and reading verses like a robot. Be real, and if you get lost, grab a tract.

A New Bible

I lower my nose to inches above the surface of the text and slowly inhale, taking in the scent of fresh leather, ink, and paper. The new black Scofield Study Bible in my hands feels firm, heavy, and resolute. I drink in the sight, the feel, the smell, the sound of the pages as they whisper when I turn them. I carefully run my fingers over it so as not to bend a corner or mess up the beautiful gold trim on the edges of each page. There is nothing quite so wonderful as a new Bible.

My old one was wonderful, but was worn out. More than one page on which resided verses of the Romans Road had been ripped from heavy use, and then there were the ketchup stains from the Children's Church sermon where I preached on Sisera, Barak, Deborah, and the tent peg through the temple (my Bible was a casualty when the tent peg caused the ketchup to violently squirt, as was the white dress of a little girl in the front row). Ah yes, a Bible which carried with it memories, stories, and legends. But now I have a clean slate. A new tool for my use in the service of the Saviour. A fresh blade with which to behead the forces of darkness and free captives from the bondage of sin. A sharpened blade. And I will keep it sharp, clean, and ready. Always ready.

I was taught in the Marines to never allow my weapon to be more than arm's length from my body. I ate with it, slept with it, and lived with it. It was part of me and as comfortable in my hand as my right arm in my shoulder socket. And when the enemy attacked I was ready to fight with it.

May we never take our weapons for granted. I will treasure this one.

Tearin' it UP

Wow, I've been a posting machine today! I completed 3 PayPerPost opportunites totaling $55.00! If I do this everyday (except Sunday of course), I would earn $1,430/mo which would pay for the car AND the gas! I can practically smell the new leather...

Am I Still Spiritual?

You may be wondering if I am still going to post things of a spiritual nature on this blog. The short answer is...probably. Here is the complicated answer:

I started EarnSpareChange.com for the sole purpose of making money, and writing about making money. The problem (as I've mentioned before) is that PayPerPost requires that I complete ten opportunities before I can add another blog to my profile. I'm up to 7 with them right now, so once I can migrate to the other blog, I'll use that for my money making ventures as much as possible.

That being said, this blog has a better Google Page Rank, and PPP rates it higher with their rating system. I've never had many readers on ESC so it only has a PR of 1 (all of which mean I won't qualify for as good of opportunities).

The long and short of it is time will tell. I don't have as much time to post spiritual stuff, and search the web for funny yet tasteful videos like I used to, but I still hope to be of some value to those who stumble by. Thanks.

An Update On The Twins

I figured anyone who reads my previous post will want to know some more details about the twins, so here they are. Their names are Daniel Giles and Jenna Michelle. Both were born July 31st (they were born early at 32 weeks), and were both 17 inches long. Daniel weighed 4 lbs 9 oz, and Jenna was exactly 4 lbs. They are still at Kaiser, but doing well and we are expecting them to come home in a couple of weeks. So there you have it. I now have four kids under the age of 4, and three are still in diapers. Yay!

Update

Hello to all you who have stopped reading my blog. As you know, I put the brakes on writing because of school, and now my wife just delivered twins! Life comes at you fast. Good thing there's Mastercard (I heard that somewhere).

Anyway...I'm starting up again, but this time for selfish reasons. I want this:

PayPerPost.com, iHype.com, and PayU2Blog.com are all going to get me there. Since this is a $50,000 vehicle, I figure I can finance it for $1,000/mo. Now since I can afford a $1,000/mo car payment, I've come up with a plan to earn the money via "unconventional" means. If I can earn $39.00 per day from blogging opportunities, I will have my $1,000 car payment! While you may see posts here, watch my EarnSpareChange blog for updates on my progress.

A Check From Google!

I received a check in the mail from Google yesterday for $114.00! I knew it was coming, but it's so exciting to finally get the money since it's been almost 9 months from when I first started using AdSense. I guess it really works!