God Sighting | September 4, 2010

While at Starbucks this morning I spent some time reading, and as I read, it occurred to me, again, that Austin was full of entrepreneurial-minded people. I wanted to meet more of those people, as there was a kind of "aliveness" that was unmatched by many--an energetic, creative, risk-taking spirit. Later that day I had set out to hang out with my nephew for a while. I darted up the stairs of his apartment building and knocked on what I thought was his door. There was no answer, but from the door behind me I heard an amazing rendition of John Mayer's "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room." I wasn't sure if I was listening to a live player or if someone happened to be watching a DVD of a live performance. As far as I could tell, it was flawless, with a few stylistic improvements too. Finally one off-note tipped me off to the fact that it was indeed someone playing the song, and doing an amazing job at it. At that point, I couldn't resist--I had to knock on the door and tell them how awesome it sounded! So I did. The door opened to four guys just hanging out, with two playing guitars. We clicked on the topic of music, and when I heard that they had recently moved to Austin from Colorado to start a church plant, I couldn't help but think that God was so awesome in answering prayer that honors Him--I was literally meeting a group of entrepreneurial-minded people right then and there! My nephew joined us shortly thereafter, being just one stairwell away. We all went to Torchy's Tacos nearby for a late lunch, being greatly encouraged to find that their hearts were on mission to bring glory to the King, and that they were my nephew's neighbors at that!   

God Sighting | December 10, 2010

My co worker, Darren V., stopped by my cubicle to ask if I could help fix his printer, an essential tool he needs to do his job, a job which everyone in the company relied on. He had explained how all day he’d been pulled in six different directions, and that the entire time his printer was not working, so he hadn't even been able to start his work day. As we began to walk downstairs, I said, “we’ll make it happen,” and immediately realized that I in my own power could make anything work, so I prayed in my thoughts to God, “Father, please make this printer work.”
 
We stepped into Darren’s office, and he started showing me what was wrong by printing using his normal process, saying, “so this is what was happening when I tried to print” and midsentence he stopped and said, “hmm, that wasn’t working all morning!”—the printer printed just fine!

God Sighting | June 10, 2010

I'd begun to realize that I hadn't had many people as guests to my apartment lately, and asked the Lord last Saturday if He would let me meet someone who very much enjoyed coming over to the apartment, as quite a handful of people I frequently interact with are unable to visit regularly, if at all, due to family or distance. Yesterday I had asked the Lord to let me meet someone who enjoyed coming over to the apartment. That very day I had met up with someone to practice a song for a wedding. He and his wife live in the premiere apartment community in Austin, and so today when that same person came over to pick something up from my apartment, he surprised me by making several unsolicited comments regarding how much he really liked the apartment and its surroundings. My prayer is that the Lord would forge this into a kingdom-based, encouraging relationship.

God Sighting | April 26, 2010

Asked the Lord this morning to help show me how to start a work-related, centralized information search site utilizing Google. The night before, I considered some options, however, those Google options required money. As the work day wore on, I explored the extent to which the already installed (and free) Google toolbar could be utilized. It was already capable of doing what we needed it to do! God's resourcefulness and creativity never cease to leave me in awe. I am privileged to know and follow the One who is the source of all ingenuity and creativity.

God Sighting | June 6, 2010

This morning I asked the Lord if I could have a Starbucks drink in order to better serve the people I was working with today, namely my supervisor and vice president, as we had a very pivotal and complex report to construct that day. I arrived at 7:30am and worked through lunch until the report's completion at around 2:30pm. The vice president asked me if I had taken a break, to which I replied that I had not, but that I was going to wonder off to Starbucks for a while. "I'll buy," she responded, "just get one for me too!" So off to Starbucks I went, knowing that the Lord provided in order that I might both enjoy the drink and serve my co workers better as a result.

God Sighting | August, 2007

While interning at my local church’s youth group, I was delegated to preach a sermon relating to ‘Building the foundation of one’s life on the Rock versus the Sand.’ The night before I was to deliver the sermon, I stayed up late doing some small edits and practicing delivery—needless to say, I was pretty tired by the time I went to bed. At the crack of dawn the next morning, I was driving to the church campus and still felt pretty tired. “Starbucks would definitely be great right about now,” I thought to myself. The only problem was that I didn’t have time to stop by Starbucks, and in my year and a half internship stint, no one had ever brought me a Starbucks drink on a Sunday morning—more likely than not, I knew I would not get a Starbucks drink today. Then I remembered, “Hey, isn’t God able to do anything (according to His will)?” So I prayed, “Father, I’m really tired. I know this seems really impossible, but I’m going to ask anyway because You can do anything. Can I have a Starbuck’s drink to keep me a little more energized and awake in delivering this sermon?” And with that, I continued off the freeway exit, drove down the long, morning tinted oak-lined road and arrived at my church’s parking lot. About 20 minutes later, I was doing some prep work when I received a call from a high school student from our youth group with a peculiar announcement, “Hey Nate! I’m riding my bike to church today and I’m stopping by Starbucks, whaddya want???” Needless to say, I was blown away by God’s attention to even seemingly insignificant details, like a Starbuck’s drink. I didn’t realize that the God of the universe would bother Himself with those details; how much more would he be concerned about the bigger things?

God Sighting | September 28, 2009

Life's been quite a conglomeration of work and travel lately, with the latest trip being to Germany for a short, 3-full-day stint.

About a month a half ago, I bought plane tickets to be a part of my friend's wedding reception in Germany, sensing that I should go, but immediately cancelled the tickets the next day, seeing that I couldn't afford the trip with the onslaught of apartment rental and auto mechanic bills. Last weekend, however, as I was sitting at Johannes' wedding rehearsal, I was overcome and compelled with the sense that I should go--that it was one of those decisions with which I would look back with intense regret for not having gone, or intense gratitude that I had gone--that either God was telling me to go, or that I was going crazy. So that very night I made a point to search for and purchase plane tickets for an international flight that would depart just five days later. "God," I mentally spoke, "if this is really You telling me to go to Germany, then I will buy a ticket, no matter what the cost." The ticket that I found ended up being $80 less than the ticket I bought month prior. That was the first confirmation of God's hand in it all. The second confirmation I needed was the fact that I needed to get time off of work--if not, quitting may have been an option I was willing to consider. It was Friday night, and I would not be back at the work place until Monday. I felt like Ester or Nehemiah, making a request before the king (or in this case, my boss), just praying that God would grant me favor for time off with such short notice. I made the request the following Monday, and it was granted--Austin to Germany in three more days.

It was a trip of much needed rest and respite; I didn't realize how badly I needed it until I was there. It was a weekend where God gave me the precious rarity of placing "life-as-I've-known-it" on pause, midst a hectic conglomeration of work, church commitments, sin, and procrastination. As a result of the short, three day stay in Germany, I had much more opportunity to reflect in an environment that is both rich in relationship, yet full of autonomy. Incredibly peaceful--outside I saw the greenest fields, forest, and German-style country houses, all to a backdrop of a slow, sun-setting sky. Up till now, I'd known that things needed to change back in Austin, yet I'd rarely caught my breath enough to parse out what this change might look like. Now I was able. I had the chance to make a list of changes--resolves--of habits, things to start, and things to stop, that must take place upon arriving to Austin, for the Kingdom's sake.

God Sighting | August 1, 2009

Had an entire afternoon-through-evening seafood smörgåsbord at my cousin's house today. Her family comes from a religious background, but the reality of Jesus seems far from their lives. They had a guest named Gene, who was a pretty interesting guy to talk with--a former McKinsey partner and CEO of multiple companies. It was fascinating to speak with him about his experiences and line of study--Organizational Development and Communication. The food was delicious, and as for the conversation, Gene unexpectedly shifted the conversation toward thoughts about God, His reality, and what He is like--not once, but twice. At first, I thought it was a passing comment, but when Gene brought it up again, I thought, "Ok, this is the real deal. He's really interested in this stuff." Needless to say, more interesting conversation ensued.

Back in January of 2008, my holistic prayer was that God would develop and grow me (by any means necessary) to be in positions of influence whereby I would be able to influence other people in positions of influence for the Gospel's sake. It's been interesting to see glimpses of how He's been working this out, for His glory.

Another seed planted.