Blessed in a Basement!

I walked down into the dark basement at in my in-laws yesterday about 4 pm, the day I turned 33. I could not see 1 inch in front of my face but I knew the room was filled with friends from a far.  A candle was lit and Brian McLaren's face was all I could see.  Elise had surprised me and organized a surprise dedication day for my book. Friends and family were there to celebrate with me the release of Wanting More.  Brian spoke for about 15 minutes and shared his comments about the power of story and comments about the book. I was blessed.  The candle was passed around the room and others began to speak:  My father and mother from Atlanta; Kevin from Ohio, Ian & Michael from Costa Mesa, CA; Rich from Quebec, Canada; Ty from Texas; Russ from Texas; Steven from North Carolina; Mo from Las Vegas; Michael from Austin; Sky from Seattle; Adam, Kristin, and Chris from Indy were some who were there.  I could not believe my eyes.. so many different relationships from around the country in 1 room. People I thought would never meet each other but were present on my birthday. The best gift anyone could give, the ministry of presense!   The group then annointed Elise and I with oil and prayed over us a prayer of blessing.    Elise had prepared an INTERNATIONAL cuisine from about 10 places around town: Korean, Lebanese, Thai,  Ethiopian, Japanese, Nepali, Indian, Nigerian, Morocon to name a few - It was a day I will never forget.    

Comments

[Darren Moore]

Happy birthday Joel. I am really enjoying reading the book and being challenged by it. I've also shared a couple of copies with friends and look forwrad to seeing where the Lord leads us.

[Sivin]

http://sivinkit.net/archives/001464.html check this out

[Sivin]

Happy Belated Birthday Joel ... wow!
what blessings you've been getting