Demon possession (Ch 13 pt 4)

“The kind that can eat breakfast at any hour.”

Jason smiles, “Oh yeah, my wife and I sometimes have breakfast for dinner.”

Steven makes a sour face, then chuckles. “Me and breakfast don’t always get along. I have to keep it simple. If I get too frilly it just doesn’t go over well” he says between sips of cool ice water. “Of course, I haven’t been eating a lot lately. I’ve been so caught up in studying, praying, and debating.” He pictures himself lodged at his home computer franticly debating all weekend while his family is in Texas. “I haven’t needed much sleep either.”

“What’ve you been studying?”Jason asks casually.

“All kinds of different stuff, in the bible and throughout history. Then out of the blue I find myself on this trip and weird things have been happening.”

Jason sips his coffee and regards Steven more seriously. “What kinds of things?”

Steven tries to summarize the last few days “Well I feel like God is showing me things he wants me to do. One is a website to help skeptics on the road to faith, another is writing a fiction book series about God and the devil, plus a nonfiction book of philosophy. Then I met a messenger in the airport. It was while I was delayed. He told me lots of interesting things; things about the Bible and about my future. Now, I don’t know what to think. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”

For a minute, Jason doesn’t reply. He looks back at Steven eye to eye; the air heavy between them. Then he asks gravely. “Before all this started did you ask God to reveal himself to you?”

Steven replays memories of himself kneeling in his hallway; tears in his eyes, open bible in hand begging God to show him the truth, to allow him to see clearly, and for the eyes of his heart to be enlightened. “Yes, I did.”

Jason’s eyes dart down and back up. “I have had some experiences myself.” He says leaning closer and speaking in a more confidential tone, “My wife and I, before we were Christians, were into lots of new age stuff; trying different things to tap into spiritual energy. After I got saved, one night I woke up and my wife was possessed. Someone else was speaking through her, saying terrible things. I was really freaked out. It wasn’t even her voice coming out. That happened several different times. Man, I prayed and prayed. A few nights later I woke up again, only this time instead of a demon, an angel spoke through her and told me that the demon was gone and that my wife would be ok. I asked the angel about the crystals and things we had been using. He said that those things had some use, but God wanted me to put them aside and follow him.”

Steven stares back awed, “And your wife. She wasn’t saved then?”

Jason shakes his head, “no, she came to Christ later that year.”
Clank! Steven jumps with surprise as the waitress sets down the thick plates.
“Can I get you anything else?” the young almond skinned waitress inquires.

“No thank you” Steven says, smiling back.

“Mind if I bless the food?” asks Jason as the waitress leaves.

“Not at all” replies Steven shutting his eyes, bowing his head and clearing his mind.

Jason’s prayer is short and to the point, thanking God for the food and fellowship, asking God to bless it to the nourishment of their bodies in Jesus name, Amen. Steven has never been a big fan of long prayers at meal time. Sometimes people drag it out into a long all encompassing prayer while Steven is distracted more and more by the inviting smell of the food.

Taking a tiny metal pitcher, Jason drizzles syrup over his fluffy buttered pancakes. “I’m curious what your messenger said about the Bible?”

“Well he said a lot of things. He encouraged me to read it again. Start to finish. He said that’s how it’s supposed to be read. Like you read other books…”

“So that you get the context” Jason says, completing Steven’s sentence.

“Exactly. You are supposed to let it unfold and not try and read between the lines. Men love to put their own ideas in there. It’s supposed to be God’s word to us, but some Bibles have more commentary in them than they do scripture.”

“Oh man” says Jason dropping his hand to the table with a clink.

“What?”

“I just ordered 500 Bibles.” says Jason with a look of concern. “I’ve really been praying to pick the right one. I help out at a Christian camp for underprivileged kids. I ended up picking the NIV kids study bible. They have lots of questions and answers in them. I put the order in yesterday.” I just wanted the kids to get it as much as possible.” Jason says looking out the window into the dark parking lot. Did he mention anything about translations?”

“Well he asked to see mine and said it was a pretty good one. He said every time we change the words we get farther from what was written.”

“What kind of bible do you have?”

“The NASB. He said that it was better before 1960 though.”

Nodding Jason interjects, “I remember looking at that one. The NASB tries to go more word for word translation. The NIV goes more thought for thought, but they get farther from the original when they do that, because they try to interpret it for you.” He brings his fist down on the table causing the plates to clink. ”Man, why didn’t I see that?”

“Well those are still good Bibles” Steven says pulling the white napkin from his lap and wiping the corners of his mouth.

“But more watered down” replies Jason, before taking a thoughtful sip of coffee.

Steven nods conceding the point.

God Provides(Ch 13 pt 3)

In the isle seat a grey haired woman in a floral dress blots the corners of her eyes with a tissue. She looks over her left shoulder and sees the young blonde man with thin rim glasses. “Yes, it’s my mother. She has cancer.” She shares as she folds her wrinkled hands in her lap.

“Would it be ok if I pray with you real quick?” Steven asks softly.

“Yes, thank you” says the woman.

“What is your mother’s name?”

“Edith”

Steven reaches over the seat and puts a hand lightly on the woman’s padded shoulder, closes his eyes and prays aloud. “God, father, I just want to come before you now and ask for your favor. Please be with Edith in this time of sickness. Be with the doctors and family. I ask that you would heal her, Father. Thank you amen.”

Steven lifts his hand off the woman’s shoulder and grips the seat back. The woman looks up and pats him on the hand “It’ll be ok” she says reassuringly.

Steven gives another compressed smile and sits back into his seat a bit shaken up. He says a silent prayer for his own mother’s battle with cancer. The rest of the flight passes quietly and soon the passengers are disembarking the small plane. They walk down a roll away metal staircase in the cold of night and cross the asphalt to enter the airport. Steven heads toward the baggage claim to get his checked bag, then takes an elevator up to go look for a taxi. He pulls out a folded sheet of paper from the front pocket of the sketchbook. It has the address of the church that he wrote down in the CFO’s office and the name and address of a hotel that Lynnette found on the internet.

“Hey, I heard you praying with that woman on the plane. That was pretty cool.” says a man coming along side. Steven looks up from his notes and recognizes his seat mate Jason. The two walk along the brightly lit corridor past a bank of descending escalators.

“Hey, you need a lift to your hotel?” Jason offers.

“Sure, that would be great.” says Steven answering without hesitation, amazed that God has provided a ride for him.

Steven follows Jason out past the pick up area and cabs to the short term parking lot. They stop at an older model light colored sedan. Jason pops the trunk and Steven puts his big blue bag in. He keeps his sketch book and bible with him.

“Your conference was in Shippensburg right?” Jason says as he moves some things from the passenger’s seat to the back. Steven climbs in nodding. As the car leaves the airport Steven doesn’t pay much attention to the road. He only sees a dancing pattern of lights against the pitch blackness of night. It has been a long day.

“Hey, I’m kind of hungry, you want to grab a bite to eat” asks the driver.

“Now that you mention it I am kind of hungry.”

Soon the car pulls into an all hours diner; the place is classic Americana: Glass walls, neon trim, booths and stools around an open kitchen. Walking in the shiny metal doors the two are greeted by the smell of fried eggs and bacon.  A pleasant waitress smiles and shows them to a red vinyl booth. She hands each a menu and takes their drink orders, water for Steven and a coffee for Jason. Turning in his seat, Steven looks around; One cook on duty, one waitress and only a couple of other customer in sight. Not exactly rush hour. Steven studies the menu studiously before ordering a ham, egg and cheese sandwich. Jason opts for pancakes and bacon.

“You’re not one of those people are you?” Steven asks his new acquaintance.

“What kind is that?” Jason inquires lifting an eyebrow.

Live Dinosaurs(Ch 13 pt 2)

Jason softens again. “Well, do be careful. There are a lot of false teachers out there who are more into themselves than God.  I just get very suspicious when I hear about some of these things attributed to the Holy Spirit that seem wild and crazy. Our God is a God of order.”

Steven nods along mostly agreeing. “But what if we are entering a new era?  Might not God be moving and stirring his people in new ways as a sign.  It’s just a thought.”

Jason presses his lips together then answers reluctantly. “Maybe. I do believe in the Holy Spirit and revivals. Be cautious though at the conference.  Hey, do you mind if I pray for you?”

“Not at all. That would be great. I certainly don’t want to be misled. I’m just trying to follow God’s leading.”

Placing a hand on Steven’s shoulder Jason Closes his eyes and voices “Our great God and father. I ask you to give my brother Steven discernment. Thank you for working in him and help him to find your purposes and plan for him. We ask that your will be done in all things. Amen.”

“Amen.” echoes Steven before opening his eyes. He feels better and relieved, comforted by Jason’s concern, eased by the shared brotherhood of faith. Funny how one you have never met can be a brother in Christ. The two lapse into comfortable silence for a while. Steven checks out his window to see if there is  view. All dark. Resting his head back, he closes his eyes and slips out of consciousness.

“Bong!” A loud electric noise sounds overhead. “We have now reached our cruising altitude and the captain has turned off the seat belt light” says a metallic female voice.

Steven blinks awake to the smell of reticulating cabin air. Jason is reading the in-flight magazine beside him. It and the sky mall magazine are the same as on his earlier flight. Across the isle a young woman watches an episode of desperate housewives on her laptop computer. Behind her a man is working a Sudoku puzzle. Behind himself, Steven can hear the beeps, chirps and taps of a kid playing a hand held game system. Time to do some more writing? Steven bends to pull out his sketchbook from under the seat in front of him. He pulls out the pen from its elastic loop on the cover and flips to empty white pages and waits. He waits for the flood of thoughts to come pouring. Closing his eyes and Steven tries to empty his mind, breathing deeply and watching the colors play against his closed eyelids. He squeezes his eyes tighter and the organic shapes grow brighter. Green and pink flowers bloom on black. He loosens his eyes and opens them. No thoughts come. He only wants to record what he feels compelled to write.

Flipping back through the previous pages of feverish writing, he wonders how much is from God and how much is just his own thoughts and opinions mixed in. The words had come so passionately and forcefully, almost overwhelming him. A particular page catches his attention, it describes the plot for a book he thought up a couple of weeks ago;  one where missionaries to Brazil find a tribe who live near dinosaurs which are still alive in that part of the jungle. What catches Steven’s attention is how some words are bold and some words are faint. Why is the pressure of his hand stronger on certain words? He begins underlining the bolder words. Could this be some kind of clue to unlocking which words are more heart felt in his writing? He spends the next half hour underlining and examining a few pages.

Steven’s ears prick up as he hears a woman’s voice from the seat in front of him. “Well my mother isn’t doing very well to be honest. I’m traveling to see her in the hospital. She’s in a late stage of cancer.”

A second female voice replies” Oh, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry to hear it.”

Steven moved with compassion stands “I’m sorry, but I think I heard you say that you have a sick relative. Is that right?”

Superior Seat (Ch 13 pt 1)

In a fog of fatigue and uncertainty Steven sits, waiting for his plane to arrive. Looking around, no one stands out as marked, someone he is destined to talk to, a divine appointment. Everyone is tired; tired of waiting, tired of delays. Steven considers trying to get a little sleep. Would they wake him when the plane came? Probably, but he is still too restless.

Too many thoughts churn from his meeting with the veteran. Who had he been? Angel, spirit guide, his dead grandfather or just some eccentric. And what about the prophesies the veteran made? That Steven would be taken to perfectly preserved scrolls of the old testament to make a perfect English translation. Nonsense, surely. But what of the references to Satan held up in a mosque, just as Steven had been impressed the day before. The man said he had just gotten back from that confrontation. That would be a strange coincidence. Steven pulls out his bible to read another chapter, but the words dance on the page and their meaning doesn’t take hold in his mind. His eyes close and his head bobs in a semi sleep.

Finally the little plane arrives and the weary travelers stiffly arise to pack into a small jet. Despite his weariness, Steven feels a familiar excitement. He likes flying in little planes. Their motions are so much more dynamic; quick take offs, sharp banking turns. He even has a window seat, those being far superior. On this flight, however, the advantage of the window seat was of little scenic value once the plane was up, since it was pitch black in between the patches of city lights. Relaxing in the isle seat beside Steven is an amiable looking man with dark tousled hair.

“I’m headed home. How about you?” says the smiling stranger. From the subtle laugh lines around his Kind brown eyes Steven guesses that the man is around thirty like himself.

“Heading to a conference.”

“On business?” isle seat guy asks clicking his seat belt.

“No, not business, though I did find out about it at work and my CFO thought I should go.” Steven hesitates to divulge that the conference is about prophecy. “It’s a Christian conference” he concedes.

“Oh, cool” says the traveler, his eyes lighting up with interest. ”I’m a Christian too. Name’s Jason” he says offering a strong right grip.

“Steven”

“So where is the Conference being held?”

“Christ community church or something like that, in… Shippensburg. I don’t really know too much about it. In fact, I didn’t even know about the conference two days ago.” Steven says, excited by the strong leading of the holy spirit which so lately has brought him to this happy quest; A journey to the center of God’s will and purpose for his life.

“Who are the speakers?” Jason asks with evident interest.

Steven snaps out of his exultation. “Oh, I really didn’t catch the names. It was recommended by a pastor at my church. He’s friends with one of the guys, a Jamie something. I remember he mentioned something about a Toronto blessing and Lakeland revival.”

Jason cringes.” I’ve heard of the Lakeland revival over in Florida.”

“Something funny about it?”

“Well it’s really over the top Pentecostal, crowds breaking out in laughing fits and calling like animals, very chaotic stuff.” He says disapprovingly.

“That does sound a little strange. I don’t know if someone from that revival is going to be speaking there, but the pastor described it as part of a large scale global spiritual awakening that is going on all over the world.” Steven says, wondering about his own place in a global movement of the Holy Spirit.

“I haven’t heard as much about the Toronto blessing. From what I recall it sounds like some sort of healing thing.” he adds skeptically.

Some of Jason’s wariness is contagious. “Well, maybe some of this stuff is legit. I appreciate you giving me the heads up on the Florida thing. I really jumped into this without knowing much about the speakers or the movement.” Steven admits. “I’ve been having my own personal revival and I think there’s a chance it might fit into some larger out pouring of the Holy Spirit. I feel like I’m caught in a current and I’m trying to follow its flow.”

My dilemma reading through the Bible

one chapter from finishing Joshua. It has not been an easy book. It’s hard to read about God’s judgement on the people of the promise land carried out by the Israelites. I’ve also had a hard time examining my motives. I’m going at a very slow pace through the bible from front to back. Genesis to Revelation. What part is “want to”, what part is “should”, and what part still hears the echo of the man i met in the airport last year. who knows if i even heard him right, but what i remember is him telling me that i needed to go back to college. when i protested going back to school he told me that the bible was to be my college. which is all well and good. but after that, i understood him to say that i would be taken to preserved scrolls, by which i would be involved in translating a new perfect English Bible, or at least the old testament. oh, and of course i would be doing this work by the gift of interpretation of tongues, meaning that a scholar would read the scroll in it’s language , but i would hear him instead in English. Nuts right. right. of course it’s crazy. but for some reason it is still seductive. appealing to my sense of adventure, religious devotion. anybody bipolar out there sympathize. In my dreams, i can fly. But i know that once i wake up i can’t.

Just finished reading Empire of Blue Water!

     Empire of blue water by Stephan Talty was a look at the life and times of Captain Morgan, the real pirates of the Caribbean, privateering, and empires clashing.  Daring feats, and despicable behavior drew me in and kept me riveted. Stephan Talty mixes first hand accounts and the life of a prototypical buccaneer to tell his narrative. It started a bit slow, but kept building and building through to the end. Best book i’ve read this year hands down. I listened to it on audio, the narration was good. If you are ready for pirate fun and adventure, cast off with captain morgan and his crew.

Empty nest (Ch 12 pt 4)

In another house 1000 miles to her east, it is two hours later. It’s a quiet night in the house where Steven grew up in East Texas. His old room is now a vacant guest room. His sister’s room at the end of the hall on the right was long ago consumed by the master bedroom. In it, two empty nesters are nestled in their bed. Silence is broken by the ringing of the phone beside the bed. The man in the bed rouses himself. Who would be calling at this hour? He lifts the receiver to his ear and rubs his hand across his stubbly cheeks. He answers with a deep Texas drawl, “Hello.”

“Dad, sorry if I woke you.”

“That’s alright son,” says the father groggily, “what’s goin’ on?”

“This is kind of an odd question, but did your dad call grandma ‘momma’?”

“Yeah”

This confirms Steven’s suspicion. Perhaps the old man in the airport had been his grandfather. That would explain the resemblance to his dad. “I think I saw your dad in the airport. I talked to him for a while.”

“Son, your pappy’s dead.” In fact Ellis had been dead for many years, since Steven was a child.

“I know it sounds crazy. The man I spoke to looked a lot like you. We talked for a long time. Are you guys going through a hard time right now?”

Steven’s mother rouses “What’s wrong honey?”

Her husband holds up a finger trying to make some sense of what his son is saying. “We’re fine.”

“Because he helped me realize that I haven’t been honoring you and he said you were in some kind of bind.”

Steve looks over at his wife not wanting to trouble her.

“Is it Steven?” Ann whispers. She has been concerned about her son since her daughter -in-law called and shared several concerns about Steven’s recent behavior. The father nods his head and leans back against the headboard. It’s hard for him to find a place to interject as his son goes on talking about the man he met in the airport.

“Hey dad I’m about to get cut off. I’ll talk to you later. Sorry I haven’t been in touch more, I’ll try to work on that. I love you and I’ll….”. The line disconnects and Steve Sr. is left with a dial tone and a bad feeling.

Honor your father and mother (Ch 12 pt 3)

The veteran continues his quiz, apparently appeased on the prior point “You read the whole Bible?”

“I’ve read through it once, but Its been a while.”

“You should read it again.”

Steven nods his head. The old man pushes off from the wall. “I’m gonna head back over to the gate”

“Yeah” says Steven who decides to follow along side, “So where are you headed?”

“I’m going home” the man says as though it’s been a long time and much anticipated.

Steven wonders where “Home” might be. Heaven? Earth?  He still can’t shake the feeling that this man might be an angel. The veteran has a powerful presence. As the two again take seats at the end of the terminal, Steven feels that his time is coming to an end with this special individual.

“Can I have a hug?” he says appealing for some fatherly affection that he has desperately longed for over the course of his young life. 

“Sure” says the man placing an arm around Steven and giving a squeeze.

“Thanks”

A line begins to form at the gate. Steven takes a place behind the veteran. The attendant checks passes. When the old man nears the kiosk he turns to Steven “This isn’t your flight.”

“What?”

“You aren’t on this flight, yours is over there.”

“Oh” Steven says. He looks up at the LED display. It reads “college park”. Steven’s final destination is in Harrisburg. He checks around and notices a gate not far off that tells him that his flight is still delayed.  He turns back to try and catch a last glance at the veteran, but he has already gone through the tunnel to the plane. Steven wonders if he is now on the plane or if he somehow disappeared. He looks at the plane half expecting it to give some sign that it isn’t ordinary. Perhaps it will vanish or levitate or something, but after the ramp is detached it simply taxies out of sight. Steven waits, but nothing else out of the ordinary happens.

He thinks back on his time with the veteran and quickly pulls out his sketchbook to take notes, afraid to forget any of his lessons. Steven makes a quick crude drawing of the man, noting his Vietnam hat, tattoo, and tourist shirt. The man was like an older version of his own dad down to the way he sometimes lifts one eye brow and lowers the other. It’s a trick that not everyone can do. Steven considers this a family trait; he has no problem doing it and even his son Zander can do it with a little effort. When Steven gets to the place in his notes about the 10 commandments he shoots up to go call his wife.

”Lynnette! Hey, could you do me a favor?”

“Uh, O.K.”

“Write a check to my parents for $100 and get it in the mail.” Steven considers the hour. “I mean, not right now exactly, but soon.”

The woman on the other end of the line is unsure what to make of this request. She had been restlessly asleep in their rarely so empty bed.  “Alright, I can do that. Is it for something particular?”

“Well, I haven’t been honoring my mother and father, and they are in some kind of pinch right now. It would be O.K. with you if we sent them a little money to help out, right?”

“Yes, that would be fine” she says.

“Good. Did I wake you?”

“Yeah, but that’s ok.”

“I’ll let you get back to sleep; I still have a little while before my plane boards. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Steven says “I love you.”

“Love you too” the line goes dead in her hand and she Is left wondering what is going on. She says a prayer for him, for God to protect him and give her and the kids comfort and peace.

One Hundred Dollars (Ch12 pt2)

As Steven is walking back down towards his departure gate he notices the veteran leaning against the wall by a fake tree in the hallway. New questions have come to mind.

 “It seems like I have all this work to do and I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay at my job. There are books I feel I am supposed to be writing and a website to create, I’m worried how I’ll make money for my family.”

“There might come a time when you can’t work there anymore”

Silence hangs heavy between them.

The old man resumes “You’re an artist, right” Steven nods.  “You could sell your drawin’s on the uh, internet.”

“But could I support my family off that? It seems like it would be hard to make much money.”

“There are people who have plenty, like the money changers in the temple.”

Steven pictures Jesus running out those money changers with a whip.

“God’ll provide for those who are walkin’ with him.” The man drawls softly.

The category seems a bit ambiguous to Steven. He frowns considering his many shortcomings.

“You  keepin’ the commandments?”

“Which commandments?” replies Steven thinking of the 10 commandments of the Old Testament and the commandments from Jesus in the New Testament.

“The 10 commandments” replies the veteran.

“You mean those are still binding?”

“Of course they are.” He says firmly “Them were written by God.”

Steven begins trying to remember each of the 10.

“You ever killed anyone?” the older man quizzes.

“No”

“You love God?”

“Yes”

“You keep the Sabbath?”

“Well I’ve had to work sometimes.”

“But you have kept a day as holy in your heart?”

“Yeah” says Steven, not committing fully.

“You honor your father and mother?”

“Uh” A guilty pause “I don’t know. I do love them, but we don’t have much of a relationship.”

“Why not?” he says flatly

“I don’t know I guess I’ve always been a little distant with my Dad, he’s not one to encourage intimacy. I was a bit closer to my mom but we don’t talk much.”

“So” says the old man, ”your parents didn’t reach out to you as much as you would have liked. Does that let you off the hook?”

“No” another pause laden with more guilt. “I don’t really talk to my sister either.”

“That’s why you don’t realize what a hard time your parents have been going through. They are really strapped right now.”

“I know mom’s been sick, but I didn’t know anything particular was going on right now. What should I do?”

“Well you could help out a little if you could send them say $100.”

“Yeah, I could do that.”

Sci-Fi Bible (Ch12 pt1)

Sitting alone now, Steven tries his best to read the Genesis creation account without over thinking it, which is very hard: his mind keeps wandering.  What did he mean by “over the water”? The most famous boat in the Bible has to be Noah’s ark. Did the man mean that it could fly? How high above the water? Maybe the planet was covered with water and the ark flew to another planet, a new earth. Ok Steven, stop with the science fiction. You are just getting silly. Reading into the text is exactly what the veteran said not to do. The student closes his eyes and tries to clear his head.  He skips back several paragraphs and begins reading again, trying this time to just let the narrative unfold without asking a bunch of questions or trying to read between the lines. He considers how distracting it is when his son Zander keeps interrupting with questions while daddy is reading their current “long book”, The Hobbit.

After reading a few gold rimmed, onion skin pages Steven remembers that he hasn’t called his wife to let her know about the delays. Since the veteran is occupying the one good phone in this area, his protégée continues farther up the concourse to the next bank of phones. He deposits a dollar, in quarters, from his pocket and dials.

In a steamy bathroom in Tucson, Lynnette hears the phone ringing and quickly turns off the water mid-shampoo; so much for taking a quick shower. Grabbing the phone she notices an unfamiliar area code. “Hello.” She says into the drenched phone. Realizing it’s Steven, she wraps a towel around her soapy body .

“Hey Lynnette, I just wanted to let you know that I’m still here in the Pennsylvania airport, my flight has been delayed several times now. I was going to call earlier but I got distracted and I had to help this German woman.”

“German woman?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain, but I think I was given the gift of interpretation of tongues, It all happened so fast, I’m still trying to process it. Then I’ve been talking to this other guy in the airport. He actually just got back from Iraq. I think he’s part of this whole thing, like I was supposed to meet him.” 

On the other end of the line, Lynnette, cold, wet and very anxious sits Indian style in front of their beautiful cherry wood rice bed facing the door of their bathroom. She can’t keep her legs still and resists the urge to stand up and pace the house since there are 3 boys that have just been put to bed. Not only is it impossible to get a word in edgewise, what she hears is hard to understand and only makes her worry more. She doesn’t know whether to believe there is something spiritual to this or accept the fear in her heart that something is really wrong. Lynnette wonders if she just needs to have more faith. Her mind digs through the past few months remembering how devoted Steven has been with his quiet times. They have both been digging in and studying the scriptures.  

Steven talks out the remainder of his minutes then at the prompt for depositing more money assures Lynnette that he will call her back later.