So as some of you know I am spending the weekend of 7/7/07 in Lebanon, TN.  This is only about 30 minutes from Nashville so it was absolutely amazing to go to the country music capital of the world.  Many buildings, clubs, shops, and what have you are country related.  I am a huge fan of country music so I was very happy to spend Friday night and some of today in Nashville.  Last night I was blessed to go to a very high point in Nashville on this hill (kind of the outskirts of town).  You could see almost everything Nashville had to offer from this point and it was so amazing!  I sat there and I was thinking to myself....wow God you created such a beautiful view and are now blessing me with it.  The drive down to Nashville was about 415 miles so I had plenty of time to catch up with my best friend Brandon.  He is the guy that encourages me, shoots me straight, and he really goes out on a limb and tells me if my silly self is lying to my heart.  Praise God because I definitely made it to Lebanon in about 6 hours with relatively few stops.  Even gone from Champaign, Illinois for a couple days I began to wonder how amazing the fellowship will be with all of you.  The deep conversations we'll be having, the great times we'll have, and the friendships we will build in the name of Jesus Christ.  I really wanted to tell you all that I just started reading a new book today.  It is a devotional book that goes over the topic of Wisdom.  As many of you may know that means going over the book of proverbs.  Another exciting part of day one is I picked an unbelievable verse to share with you all. 

  Proverbs 1:23 says "If you turn to my discipline, then the spirit will pour out on you, and I will teach you my words."  When I read this verse over and over again I really begin to love it more and more.  The key to all wisdom is listening to our Lord Jesus's perfect plan for us.  When we we turn to His discipline we take ourselves off the market to fall into the "worldly wisdom" market.  Nothing you hear from media sources, read in magazines, or etc. even comes close to the wisdom that God's word gives us.  I will be praying on this verse more today and will also be praying for wisdom so that God may let me understand all the things going on around me that he wants wants me to see.  I hope y'alls pray that same prayer tonight.  Isn't our God such a wise God?  Having faith in Him provides all answers, wisdom, and an understanding of forgiveness, love, and grace.  I hope everybody is enjoying the sweet holiday 7/7/07.  I am going to wedding this evening (in about an hour actually).  I plan on dancing a lot so it should be amaaaazing!!!

  
Support raising is going pretty well even though time is quickly moving towards September.  I'm at roughly $3000 dollars right now, but I have faith that God will provide the rest.  Thanks for all your support and tell your friends to check out my blog page.  Also let people know that you can support me directly through this website.  Love you all.

Marcus