three.”
“Then I’m in!” shouted Laura.
“Me too!” said Allie giving her a high five.
“Me three!” I said joining them.
And so it looks as if Redemption might not be dead after all. I’m relieved I didn’t cancel any of our gigs yet. I had planned to do that this weekend, but instead it looks like we’ll be practicing big-time.
And although I’m rejoicing over this, it’s mixed with sorrow. The whole thing with Pastor Rawlins has been a bit sobering to me. It’s not that I expect all pastors to be perfect, but I suppose I’ve putthem on a bit of a pedestal. Even Pastor Tony. I need to remember that, like me, they’re just human. We all make mistakes. I suppose the difference is what we do with our mistakes. I realize now, more than ever, that I need to humble myself before God when I blow it. I need to accept His forgiveness and move on. I’m praying that Pastor Rawlins does the same. I’m praying that God will use this for Pastor Rawlins, and maybe he’ll be a whole lot happier in the end. He sure didn’t seem very happy to me the other day.
BLESSED REDEEMER
thank You, God
praise Your holy name
You are so amazingly
incredibly, powerfully, almighty
God
thank You
for redeeming
redemption
and me
amen
Eight
Thursday, May 15
Marissa seems to have really warmed up this past week. It’s as if she suddenly has this keen interest in listening to our conversations—no more of the “you’re making me sick” talk. So I’m feeling hopeful that God is really doing something in her after all. Not only that, but Laura’s gotten a lot more open to hanging with a wider variety of people. It’s as if she’s not scared anymore.
Oh, I know that Jake, with his weird tattoos and lip rings, and Spencer, with his obvious drug habits, make her a little uncomfortable sometimes, but Laura’s actually managed to eat lunch with us twice this week—and been friendly. And she seems fairly impressed with what’s going on with Cesar. What’s even more surprising is how she and Marissa have made some sort of connection. Talk about your opposites. So anyway, when Marissa asked if we three wanted to go hang at the mall with her after school, before Allie and I could speak up, Laura said, “Sure, sounds fun.”
Naturally, I was thinking, “Uh-oh, this could be trouble. Should I warn Laura about our last adventure in the mall with Marissa? Then again,Marissa had sworn off shoplifting.” Anyway, when I met Laura after school, she was so excited—and in a very un-Laura-like way acting like a total chatterbox—that I never got the chance to warn her. Besides, I was curious as to what was up.
“Guess what?” she said as we walked toward her bright yellow Neon to meet Allie and Marissa.
Well, I hate those ‘guess what?’ games. “Let’s see…you’ve decided to dye your hair pink?”
She laughed. “Oh yeah! No, I was coming out of my algebra class, and Ryan Hall said hi.”
Now I had to laugh. “That’s your big news, Laura? That Ryan said hi?”
Of course, I should know better than this because Laura’s told me, in sworn secrecy, that she’s had a crush on him since grade school. Ryan Hall is a good friend of her brother James, not to mention a great athlete who probably has several college scholarships being tossed his way. Even a freshman like me knows all this. But anyway, I decided to play along with her. “So, did you say hi back to him?”
“Of course, silly. And then he kept talking. He told me that he’d heard some good stuff about our band.”
I smiled now. “Really? What does he think?” “He thinks it sounds pretty cool. But he reallywants to hear us play. So I invited him to the Paradiso on Saturday.” Just then Allie and Marissa walked up, and we all piled into Laura’s car, and although I exchanged glances with Allie, it was too late to say anything else.
But when we got to the mall, I locked eyes with Al and said that I was going to the rest room. Fortunately, she got my
“Then I’m in!” shouted Laura.
“Me too!” said Allie giving her a high five.
“Me three!” I said joining them.
And so it looks as if Redemption might not be dead after all. I’m relieved I didn’t cancel any of our gigs yet. I had planned to do that this weekend, but instead it looks like we’ll be practicing big-time.
And although I’m rejoicing over this, it’s mixed with sorrow. The whole thing with Pastor Rawlins has been a bit sobering to me. It’s not that I expect all pastors to be perfect, but I suppose I’ve putthem on a bit of a pedestal. Even Pastor Tony. I need to remember that, like me, they’re just human. We all make mistakes. I suppose the difference is what we do with our mistakes. I realize now, more than ever, that I need to humble myself before God when I blow it. I need to accept His forgiveness and move on. I’m praying that Pastor Rawlins does the same. I’m praying that God will use this for Pastor Rawlins, and maybe he’ll be a whole lot happier in the end. He sure didn’t seem very happy to me the other day.
BLESSED REDEEMER
thank You, God
praise Your holy name
You are so amazingly
incredibly, powerfully, almighty
God
thank You
for redeeming
redemption
and me
amen
Eight
Thursday, May 15
Marissa seems to have really warmed up this past week. It’s as if she suddenly has this keen interest in listening to our conversations—no more of the “you’re making me sick” talk. So I’m feeling hopeful that God is really doing something in her after all. Not only that, but Laura’s gotten a lot more open to hanging with a wider variety of people. It’s as if she’s not scared anymore.
Oh, I know that Jake, with his weird tattoos and lip rings, and Spencer, with his obvious drug habits, make her a little uncomfortable sometimes, but Laura’s actually managed to eat lunch with us twice this week—and been friendly. And she seems fairly impressed with what’s going on with Cesar. What’s even more surprising is how she and Marissa have made some sort of connection. Talk about your opposites. So anyway, when Marissa asked if we three wanted to go hang at the mall with her after school, before Allie and I could speak up, Laura said, “Sure, sounds fun.”
Naturally, I was thinking, “Uh-oh, this could be trouble. Should I warn Laura about our last adventure in the mall with Marissa? Then again,Marissa had sworn off shoplifting.” Anyway, when I met Laura after school, she was so excited—and in a very un-Laura-like way acting like a total chatterbox—that I never got the chance to warn her. Besides, I was curious as to what was up.
“Guess what?” she said as we walked toward her bright yellow Neon to meet Allie and Marissa.
Well, I hate those ‘guess what?’ games. “Let’s see…you’ve decided to dye your hair pink?”
She laughed. “Oh yeah! No, I was coming out of my algebra class, and Ryan Hall said hi.”
Now I had to laugh. “That’s your big news, Laura? That Ryan said hi?”
Of course, I should know better than this because Laura’s told me, in sworn secrecy, that she’s had a crush on him since grade school. Ryan Hall is a good friend of her brother James, not to mention a great athlete who probably has several college scholarships being tossed his way. Even a freshman like me knows all this. But anyway, I decided to play along with her. “So, did you say hi back to him?”
“Of course, silly. And then he kept talking. He told me that he’d heard some good stuff about our band.”
I smiled now. “Really? What does he think?” “He thinks it sounds pretty cool. But he reallywants to hear us play. So I invited him to the Paradiso on Saturday.” Just then Allie and Marissa walked up, and we all piled into Laura’s car, and although I exchanged glances with Allie, it was too late to say anything else.
But when we got to the mall, I locked eyes with Al and said that I was going to the rest room. Fortunately, she got my
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