Today was BIG

I went through the day with children. A lot of children. They had a half day at the school I do childcare at. And well, from 11-6 we had um. Luckily, they had great behavior and it was not bad at all. After work, I went and picked up a kid, and we went out to the Landmark Conference & Reception Centre. The last time I was in this place, I had my HUGE fundraiser for my trip to China to have a Stem Cell Transplant. ~~!!CHECK THIS POST OUT!!~~ to see what I am talking about. Well, tonight was Dessert Night. You can see Dessert Night from last year by clicking ~~THIS LINK~~ yes, Dessert night is a night devoted to putting the yearly budget in front of the people supporting Young Life. It is really quite amazing, and sweet to see how people want to support an organization like Young Life. Tonight was little more than amazingly unbelievable. Tonight was...well the definition of giving out of LOVE. Check out this picture.Yes, we moved up a bit in location. And tonight was really put together super well. Some big deci$ion makers probably made this call. We had a chance to just talk about what we (Young Life) does, and the impact God is having on kids and families in Fort Wayne. We (Young Life) just talked about what we do and how we impact kids. Well, it was great, and it got greater. I was standing at the entrance while people piled in. I saw this one individual (an old man) and told the a female leader standing next to me how I thought that he was the richest guy here tonight. Well, when everything was done and said, it was told in front of everyone that he said he would pay the remaining part of the budget ($105,000) and then match anything else that was raised tonight after that amount. HOLY WOW!!! I don't know what else to say other than God is sooo Good. That money is going to go to helping kids come to know the Christ that I serve. That money is going to go to serving kids in a way that is very impacting and powerful!! It is so exciting and just sends chills down my spine when I think about what was accomplished tonight out of love.

During the course of the night, I got to interview a kid named Vantrell. Vantrell went to camp, and goes to Snider. He is a Junior, and is a good guy. He is extremely well spoken, and well he did an awesome job. I just kind of interviewed him and made him feel comfortable in front of all those people. I LOVED IT!! God is so good people!! The power is literally limitless. You just have to have the willingness to step out in FAITH, and just get on along for the ride. With God, all things are possible. I AM JUST SO PUMPED FOR WHAT GOD IS DOING IN FORT WAYNE FOR YOUTH AND THE PEOPLE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THE YOUTH!!! Nothing but huge smiles coming off this face tonight.P.S.

I got a 98% on my Australia presentation. It should have been a 102%, but that is still acceptable.

Today was awesome

I had a great day today. I felt like I got a lot accomplished, and that always makes me feel super good. It all started out at school. Ya see, every Tuesday I need to read over the notes for BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and this typically takes over 30 minutes, so before I went into the library to study, I just parked on the top of the parking garage, and got to it.It is so very wonderful up there. I love being on top of the university with the wind blowing. Just talking and reading about God, with God. It's good stuff.

Then I got to study some OLS, horribly boring and silly stuff really. But it was all worth it when I walked out of one of the buildings and got to see the most beautiful leaves crawling up the side of one of the buildings.Well, I just hung around school for most of the day. I ate lunch there and everything. While I was one of my "breaks" I happened to come across a bridge being built to connect one of the most westerly parking lots to where the new soft ball fields will be I believe. It is a neat looking bridge.It's really cool looking, and there were some HUGE cranes holding that thing up. It looks kind of high tech. I really like my University. It makes me feel glad to be a part of it. :-)

Well, eventually, off to work I went. We are doing this walk for fitness thing in the YMCA, and so I like to take the kids for a walk through a near by neighborhood. We found a little part yesterday, and I promised them time to play at it today. We just had to find a quicker way to get there. Well, we did, it was to cut across a low stream. I helped all the kids get over it by standing precariously on 3 small rocks, and hand by hand got all of them to the other side safely. It was fun.They liked the little park, even though the equipment is not as nice as the other one, but I think because it was different and just some new things to crawl on, it was good.

I went home after work, and eventually made it to the YMCA to work out. I ended up in the sauna before I showered off and went home. It was sweet because I ran into a in the SAUNA, who I got to share a little bit of my story with. I got to share just a little bit of Jesus with. :-) It could very well open up new doors in the future. I see him around often, so ya never know how God will work that one.

G'NIGHT!!!

Love is where it's at

At work, I had fun with the kids. Can you believe it?? I could sit from afar, and watch, pointing and yelling, but I actually get down and dirty with um. Is this a hard concept to pull together? I am hanging upside down, there were three little ones running and laughing around me. It was much fun. Later I became the SLIDE TROLL, and would tell the kids if they wanted to get by me to go down the slide, they had to figure out the password. If your kids to be loved in a real and genuine way before and after school, well Lincoln Elementary is where it's at. FO SHO!


God some things accomplished today. Crap I have lots to do this week. But, it's all good, I will accomplish them all. BSF was awesome as well. There are 215 (with an 82% attendance average) guys signed up for BSF, and it is so powerful to see a huge body of grown male influences desiring to impact their own personal spiritual walks, but the walks of their families and communities, be it work, clubs, etc. It is such a good and awesome thing for me to be involved in. Dang, some other sweet things happened today, I don't have the finger power to share them all, but I will share this one specifically.

~STARBUCKS~

Okay, so this is pretty cool. I am driving home from work. There is a Starbucks on the way home (yea, not a big surprise) if I take a kind of "out of the way" route. I did, not even considering the Starbucks. Well, I was approaching it, and extremely tired. Knowing that I had a night of Bible Study Fellowship ahead of me, which involves a lot of sitting and writing and listening, I knew I was going to need some extra help. I NEVER go to Starbucks, it is way too expensive...and for what? Coffee? I don't care if it is the best of the best beans, it is way to expensive. I really pondered going, and finally gave in, and justified it by saying I would just get a small whatever. I pulled up to the drive through. As soon as I got to the window, this girl (name not mentioned for certain reasons) from my past was at the window, and said, "Ohhh my gosh, Mikey Riley, this is so weird, I was just talking about you yesterday with Clint!" I said, "Clint (good friend from way old past) works here, no friggin way!" She said, "heck yea he does, and we both just got into a conversation about you yesterday, and yadd yadda yadda." Just then, Clint pulls up. She asks me what I wanted, and I explained my position, I gave her my debit card, and she handed it back to me. She asked me if I wanted 1 or 2 shots. Then handed me the largest Moca Cream I have ever seen in my life. I then, went inside and talked with Clint about how Jesus is working in his life, and it was good good good. How friggin cool is that? Worry cuz it's too much, and I hate spending money on stuff like that, and I end up getting complemented, a free drink, and hearing about how God is working. Triple good. :-b