Miracles upon miracles

Even as I'm sitting here updating the blog about how God is working, God is still getting my attention. I'm tucked away in a booth near the coffee shop at church (I know), and the discipleship groups came upstairs to get waffles. I saw Matthew, but he didn't see me at first. Then he walked by to get water, and said hello. He went back to join his FRIENDS, and then I heard him say "Hey, Thomas - I'm going to go shoot hoops with Quinn." Well, at the time, they were in the middle of a game, so he said "Let me know when the game is over" and he walked off. When he came back, they were just shooting, and he walked in and joined!! He shot and missed, and then when he made his next shot, the guys cheered for him. A few minutes later, he was coming toward me holding his mouth and the ball. His friend Quinn was on his heels... apparently the ball hit him in the face, and with braces -- OUCH. I assured him it wasn't bleeding, and at first he said he wasn't playing anymore, but after Quinn and I assured him it wasn't bleeding, he went back in the cage -- and kept playing! Now THAT is a miracle! When it was time for 2nd service to begin, he asked if we go to the main sanctuary (we had planned on going to the Hangar today). When we got there, Laura Story was leading worship. I asked him if he knew that and that's why he asked, and he said yes. The song set was awesome, and we sang one of my all time favorites: "Waiting Here for You". LOVE it. It was a great service. After church, Matthew's discipleship group had a pizza party to celebrate the end of the year AND their record-setting Bible memory performance. They are the first discipleship group EVER to have the entire group memorize all eight verses for the year. By the end, they have to be able to say all 8 verses, and they all did it! Greg (Mr. Badgett - their leader) named them the 1013th... like a division in the Air Force, and they all had a call sign. He titled Matthew "Bold Heart". Today he presented them with some memoirs from the year... it was pretty cool. He was an awesome leader and PERFECT for Matthew's first year. We enjoyed the party, and Matthew tried air hockey with Quinn, pool with Thomas and ping pong with me and then some other fellow that wandered in. My heart is overflowing. We gave Mr. Badgett and end of the year gift, and here is the letter Matthew wrote him (completely by himself): Dear Mr. Badgett, There is not even the smallest doubt in my mind that you were brought into my life by God because He wanted you to teach me that the Devil is waiting to ruin my life, and to be ready for it. Moreover, I think Jesus sent me into your life, first and foremost, to pray for you, especially in this tough emotional time, and for your youngest and oldest children. This year was my first at Perimeter, and I believe a lot of what you have taught me has been beneficial—everything from Delta Flight 185, to the man who tried to fight a train, to two men rushing into the burning ammunition warehouse at Pearl Harbor just to help out their brave comrades, and, most importantly, that faith comes at a cost. You have been one of the best teachers of the Christian faith, and I thank God for bringing you into my life for so many reasons. In Christ, Matthew Plunk