No, I’m not predicting the return of Jesus, or Armaggedon, or “the end of the world as we know it.”

Last night I had a dream-  It was in color, and it had some quite vivid details to it.  I’ve only had a few dreams in color in my lifetime that I can remember.  In fact I can only remember one that is besides this most current one.  I will say  this- I know this dream was from God, from Jesus Christ.. you can take it as you’d like though, just give me a chance and read through.  This note is for Christians, people who think they’re Christians, and people who aren’t Christians.

The dream starts with me riding passenger seat with a gentlemen who I cannot identify.  We were headed south on Telegraph Rd.  The sky was a covered in dark billowing clouds, but the land was still sort of light as if the sun was out.  All of a suddent the clouds started to part- it wasn’t a natural parting though.  The clouds parting made a space closely resembly a skewed cross.  I started pointing this out to the driver of the vehicle, but he didn’t quite see what I saw and did not see the resemblence.  I began to point out the sharp corners that showed that it was a cross, but I reasoned and stated that I understood it doesn’t look like an exact cross, but it is extremely close.  The clouds did not open to a blue sky, but instead to an orange glow, much like what you might think of when you think of a gold refinery and such.  I’ve attached a photo I found when I searched “refinery”.  It is a sunset, but the color was much like this, but it was more fierce.  I started to think to myself, “is Jesus coming back now?”  The clouds closed after a while and the scene changed.  I was now in the dining room of my parents house talking to a man about what I saw.  I cannot identify this man either.  I tried to explain the intensity of what I saw, and I just could not so I stated something along the lines of, “come here, look outside, maybe it’s still there.”  We both stepped out onto the back porch of my parents house and there in the sky was a perfectly shaped cross in the sky with the same glow, but this time it had more fire to it.  Immediately I knew Jesus was coming back, and it was with refining fire.  What ever was not holy, what ever was not something that God saw as good, would be burnt up by the flame..destroyed.  When I realized this green vines started to cover the dark clouds.  I immediately started to be overwhelmed and began to panic.  I started to run down the stairs of the deck in my parents backyard, and right away, fire began sprouting up from houses and from the Earth.  My thought as I was in panic was, “I need to tell everyone about Jesus! I need to tell people that if they give their lives to God they won’t be destroyed with all the other things that are not in line with God!”  This all happened very quickly.  As I was running down the street towards a park located just a couple hundred feet away from my parent’s house, the ground began to shake, and house came down.  They didn’t just come down though, they begin turning in, much like a slow turning tornado, but horizontally.  The would began splitting and the houses were destroyed, along with everything…and everyone… in them.  People were running and screaming, not knowing what to do.  I came to a realization that it was too late, this was judgement and I could no longer tell people how to escape this.  I came to the park where I saw trees bursting into flames, but were not being consumed.  Some people took refuge in these trees and also were not burnt up.  I stopped and tried quickly trying to process what was happening, and then finally I came to a realization.  I have salvation, and this is the end.  I fell to my knees, closed my eyes, and prayed.  A peace that surpasses all understanding fell on me as the world came to face destruction for what they’ve done.  All those who knew God, who accepted the sacrifice of Jesus, were not consumed, and found refuge in the Lord.  I woke up with no fear.  I slept great. This was not a nightmare, it was a message from God. I woke up feeling such an urgency.  Such a pushing to go tell people where help comes from..  Where salvation is.

I will explain a couple things that stuck out to me:

The houses that turned in on themselves and destroyed what was in them-  many of you, even many who might read this, you simply follow what your household does.  What your family raised you in, what you are used to, simply because it’s easy to go with the flow.  The truth is though, your fear of splitting from your household beliefs is going to kill you.

Judgement day is not determinable.  Nobody can tell you when it is going to end.  But why, why do Christians wait the way we do?  The urgency I felt when it was too late was almost ridiculous. I wanted to do things! I wanted to tell people!  But it was too late.  Why is it the thought of the end of the world that needs to drive us to what we’re supposed to do? The truth is, the end of the world can be any day, but the end of an individuals LIFE can be now. or now. or now.  You could strike dead while you’re reading this, and I hope if you do that you’ve committed your life to Jesus.

I have different thoughts on what specific things meant, but I’m going to leave this at that.

So, as most of you have heard, I am now engaged-  The biggest moments in my life (outside of accepting what Jesus did for me on the cross) do not amount to this step in my journey.  There is something so exciting, and so glorious about two people so beautifully coming together in such a divine way.  I’m not going to tell the whole story of us coming together, but I am going to tell the story of the engagement and what took place.  I think Danike and I will put something together concerning our entire story for our wedding day (which is not picked yet people!) just to add something special to it.  So, here’s what went down

Danike and I had talked about marriage and what not before the big October 22nd, 2011 date, but we just didn’t know when we would get engaged.  We were extremely open and put all things on the table with everything about our relationship and it was no surprise that I was some day going to ask her to marry me.  The nice thing was, Danike was under the impression that it could be as late as sometime in 2012 before I would have money to buy a ring and what not.  In fact, I was under this impression as well!  This didn’t keep me from wanting to know what ring I was going to buy the woman of my life who would walk with me for as long as we lived.  I started praying about it, I said something along the lines of, “God, I want this ring to be the ring that you want Danike to have.” And instantly the verse of Ecclesiastes 4:12 came to mind: “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”  The funny thing about this verse is, I’ve read it plenty of times before this.  This was the first time that I understood what it meant.  What used to go through my head was, “What? It was just talking about two, and now it’s talking about three… What is going on here?!”  but I realized what it meant right away.  The Holy Spirit opened my eyes, just like scripture talks about.  When two people who love Jesus and have been redeemed by his blood come together, it is not just the two of them, but they are braided into their purpose with God.  I knew right away that the ring needed to represent that.  I spent the next while speaking with different jewelers and what not and finally decided to go with Kay in Twelve Oaks Mall.  I gave them some drawings and pictures of what I wanted the ring to looks like, and they began the process of putting this thing together.

Now, Danike and I had long talked about wanting to watch the sunset on Lake Michigan and were planning on spending a day out in Grand Haven.  So, we picked a date, October 22nd, 2011, and we were going to fulfill that desire!  Now, I never intended to have that date be our engagement necessarily, but the thought had gone through my mind.  As October 22nd approached, more and more I felt the desire to have that day be our engagement.  That being said, I was on a mission to push these jeweler people to get my woman’s ring made!  Just a couple weeks before the Grand Haven trip, I stopped by the store, and told Marcus my plans-  Right away they started putting things together to get this done in time.  That being said, it was no easy task.  They came back with a wax for the ring Friday the 14th of October, and part of the ring was not designed the way we had discussed…It was starting to look like I wasn’t going to be engaged till after our Grand Haven adventure, and I was pretty discouraged.  Marcus ensured me they were going to try anything and everything to get this right and get me a ring in time.  Long story short, The ring came through with some hand crafted touches by a talented jeweler, and just in time as it was 6pm on Friday, just the day before October 22nd.  Mind you, we were driving out to Lowell, MI that night to spend the night at Danike’s aunt’s house there, so I really needed the ring that day.  Now, just a little about the ring-the braid pattern goes around the entire ring.  God is represented by the center strand, as the two outside strands represent Danike and I and weave over, above, and around the strand representing God.  Something Danike pointed out that I hadn’t realized at first, is that the center strand continues throughout the entire ring- this was designed that way for structural purposes, and quite fitting as God’s eternity is to be our structure in life!  The three diamonds in the ring again represent the three of us.  Danike and I on the outsides, God in the center, just as we will choose to keep him in the center of our relationship and lives always.  The Lord is really awesome, and definitely had his hand in all of that process, and I give him glory for giving me grace.

Okay, I’ve got this ring, and I have a plan- now to just carry it out.  Step 1.  Put the ring box in the body of my guitar..”What? Why did you do that, David?”  ..Don’t worry, you’ll find out : )  Step 2. Let’s hit the road and do this thing!  We were off by about 7:30pm to get to Lowell, MI where we would spend the night..right after I forgot my wallet at home that is, and had to drive back 15 minutes to get it. Good start, David! Woo!  Alright, wasn’t going to let that get to me, let’s move on with it!  Spending the night in Lowell was wonderful and I was able to meet more of my fiance’s family, (ps- if any of you are reading this, it was really great meeting you all and I’m so happy to be joining you in your family!)  Saturday morning rolled around quite quickly.  It was the big day.  I was about to be engaged! (!!!!!!!!!!!!!).  We left early enough, and arrived in Grand Haven where I surprised Danike with our first stop-  a nice breakfast at the Morning Star Cafe.  Why is this significant?  Danike’s name means “morning star” and God put this cafe there just for that moment I believe..it was her day, and God really loves her enough to put something in the plans like that. It was one of the best breakfasts I’d ever had, and they even sent us out with Coffee and Tea to-go at no extra charge!  From there we stopped at a nice little used book store where we just lingered for a little while-  it’s one of Danike’s favorite things to do, and she’s a big reader (and I really enjoy books as well, I’m just not as good at keeping myself on top of reading : )  ).  Anywho, from there, we made our way to the Tri-City Museum and looked at some interesting little things there.  I’ve told some people this already, but, did you know that they were able to put trains on boats, and transport them to other areas?!  I thought that was pretty wild  After our adventure there, we walked down the Grand Haven boardwalk laughing and loving and all that good stuff.  We reached the lighthouse/peer and stayed there for a little while and enjoyed the view.  You get a bigger idea of how big God is when you see all that water in one place.  We made our way back to a restaurant that was on the boardwalk where we had this awesome mushroom appetizer thing..had cheese on it and what not, it was good.  We both had bowls of soup, and Danike had a delicious root beer. The biggest thing I will remember about being in here is seeing this older couple, probably in there 70′ or 80′s, having lunch together, making each other laugh, and being completely in love still.  It was a beautiful site for a young couple in love. Oh, by the way, we had a pretty late lunch, and it was now time for us to make our way to the Rosy Mound Natural Area.  It was a park that had a few different trails leading to some sandy dunes of Lake Michigan. After Danike took a few minutes to close her eyes in the car, we both dressed in some nicer clothes (which I talked her into) and made our way to the beach.  The funny thing is, we had both been planning on just walking barefoot the 1.5 miles we had to walk, but the ground was a little too cold as it was a sort of gravel pathway for part of the way, so we decided to put our sneakers on.  So! Here we go, got my guitar in hand, picnic basket, we’re dressed up, wearing sneakers, got our not very fancy winter coats on hahaha.  The glorious thing is, this just defined our ridiculousness, and anyone who knows us well enough will understand.  The journey to the beach was glorious, with the path cutting through a forest of trees (it was also a little breath taking in a literal sense with all those stairs- sorry Danike =x ..) We came across a couple on the path who asked, “ohh, is something special going on?”  I believe the lady was intrigued by the guitar.  So I responded as nicely as I could- “yup, just for us two!”  Now get this, she continues to respond now with, “do you mind eavesdroppers?”  I wanted to say, “lady, you’re being creepy..” but instead I said, “depends how close you are!”  and we went on our way. Haha.  We got down to the beach, and the sun was making it’s way down the sky- it was about 6pm or so at this point.  We sat down at the shore and I pulled my guitar out and just started playing some music.  No words, just the sound of my hands playing the guitar.  Some words were shared, some laughs were had, some smiles were shown (a bunch of them actually).  I was getting nervous though, and the sun was taking a REALLY long time to go down.  ”That’s it” I thought, I have to do something.  I asked Danike if she wanted to go for a little walk- so, we went about 5 minutes down the shoreline, and came right back. “Oh no! The sun is going down to fast now!” I thought to myself.  We got back to where we had been sitting, and I started playing my guitar again-  This was it..I’m about to do this. I’m going to ask this woman to MARRY ME!  They could hear my heart beating in Wisconsin at that point!  At least, it felt that way.  I started to sing a little song I’d wrote for this moment, but I’d only written the first half, as I wanted the last of it to be from my heart and on the spot.  It ended with, “I just have one last question.”  At this point, I stopped playing my guitar, reached into my pocket, and to much of Danike’s surprise I pulled out… “WIRE CUTTERS!? David what the heck are you doing?!” I imagine that’s what was going on through Danike’s head  I proceeded to cut away the strings on my guitar, and Danike proceeded to ask, “David, what are you doing?!”  I just responded with, “These strings are no good! They’ve got to go.”  (You should’ve seen the look on her face!)  After cutting through three strings, I reached into the body of the guitar and pulled out the ring box which held the symbol of commitment to life and love.  ”Oh my goodness…David, oh my goodness.”  That’s all I remember her saying as I pulled her up, got on my knee, and pulled the purity ring off of her finger that was given to her by her mother.  I spoke words from my heart, opened the box, and asked Danike Becker to marry me. -She said yes, and I put that ring right where it belonged.

I’m the happiest man alive at this moment in time- hands down.  There is so much to do now, and so much to plan.  But even more, God has so much for us to do for him..together, as a team.  There is so much I haven’t been able to talk about as far as my calling goes and what not that I can now share.  So much of my calling has to do with Danike being in my life now…be ready for great things to come-

Danike Becker, you are my fiance.  I love you so much.  I look forward to the rest of our life-

I never updated on my 31 mile walk!  Excuse me while I apologize for being a lousy news flicker *apologizing*.  Alright-  I’ll go ahead and cut to the chase and say, I did not complete the full 31 miles.  I finished just under 22 miles if I calculated/remember correctly-  This was the longest distance I’ve walked in one shot in my entire life.  My legs could have finished the journey, but I was having “hernia like symptoms” (the quotation is one from my own statement).  I promise it wasn’t an excuse.. I was really, really disappointed that I couldn’t finish.  Nonetheless, the journey was an extraordinary one-  Pastor Trey brought a couple of trekking poles for me to use; those things are pretty nifty! “It’s like a second pair of legs once you get used to them” (this one is from Pastor Trey, I may be paraphrasing).  It’s amazing how much more we can handle then we realize.  The personal encounters were really great, as well as the conversations with the walking expert himself. Oh, almost forgot, we also stopped for lunch at this place (of which I forget the name) in Frankenmuth to get a couple of BLT’s that consisted of lettuce, tuhmato, and a WHOLE STINKIN’ POUND OF BACON. I’m not kidding, or exaggerating, and neither was their menu.  Look at the picture, it speaks for itself!  In summary, I learned a lot of wise things from the Lord, and I pushed myself in new ways- it, was, good.

Essentially, life is good- There are struggles, there is joy, but most of all, there’s always Jesus-  Hopefully you’ll hear more soon- Oh and hey, Danike, thanks for walking in life with me:

If I had the time, I’d join Pastor Trey on this journey for the whole shebang- unfortunately, I can’t get that kind of time off of work..but, what I can do is walk the longest leg of his journey with him and accomplish something I haven’t ever done.  I’m going to walk about 31 miles from Mt. Morris to Saginaw, MI.  I’m pretty excited for the challenge, for  I know it will be one.  But if my Pastor can do 300 miles, I can do 30!

Let’s do this-

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

It isn’t, “demonstrated”, it is, “demonstrates.”  You see, God’s purpose was not a once and done type of deal-  Jesus did it once(lived a holy and perfect life, died on the cross, and rose again) but its effects are timeless.

TRUTH: John 8:58

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Jesus doesn’t have bad grammar.  He is the Word after all-  no, he was just letting you know that he is the “I Am” ( Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”).

I’d like to just share a little of what God is calling me to. I don’t believe I’ve shared much of that yet on here.  Back when I wanted to leave Dearborn, MI, God called me to stay.  Spoke through individuals and to my heart that I had work to do here: not only for the city, but on myself as well.  God really has grown me in ways I never imagined..It’s been tough, it’s been a battle, but it has been a process of refinement I will never regret going through.  I’m not called to stay in Dearborn the rest of my life- sorry, Dearborn.  I know that I am going to be all around the world, in a multitude of Nations, among a multitude of cultures, immersed in the beaten and broken- I’m going to share the Light of the world so that death and anguish will be sent to the depths of nothing, where it belongs. “How’re you going to do that?”  It’s simple:  1. Love God 2. Love those that are close to me-  I don’t know the full plans of God, but I’m realizing that they’re not my plans to know..not just yet anyways.  I believe He’s leading me to start a website that sells “t-shirts with a message” in order to raise money for a ministry that I will start.  I want to be able to bless people in the world without having to get money from other people- having people support this through donations is wonderful and gives them an opportunity to share what God has given them with people who need help- this is going to happen, but I don’t want to rely on this means of support solely.

Right now, God is preparing my mind, body, and spirit for the things to come.  It’s exciting.  PS. I’m an adult, I’m starting to actually feel this and not just know this, so that’s kind of cool.  Hmm- What is new!  Too much, that’s what.  I’m going to be moving into an Ypsilanti apartment with some fellas.  The lease on my house is up, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, but God opened this up and directed me to it, so here goes nothing!  I’m in a transition phase in many aspects, so I’m having a really hard type putting this into words- I apologize, yeah?  Okay.  Danike and I spent a month apart while she was at Cedar Campus- It was tough, but God really worked in both of us during that time, revealing things inside of us and just refining us.  I’ve grown quite a bit as a human being since our relationship began-  and not surface level wise either.  I’ve grown in a deep, deep ways.  Thanks, Danike- I love you.

I don’t know what to say really…this is terrible!  Essentially, God is still working in and through me.  I don’t have anything profound to say, but I can say this-  my life is just beginning.  Actually, my life is pre-beginning(makin’ up my own words and what not).  Jesus laid low for about 30 years before going out in full-force.  I hope I don’t have to lay low for another 10 years, but it’s all in God’s hands, and I’ve got a lot of learning and growing to do. Don’t we all?  Hey, be encouraged.  Having flaws, and seeing that you’re not 100% together is not a bad thing.  We’re all broken, allow yourself to be put together, but don’t try to do it yourself.  God has enough Scotch tape for all of us, and that’s a metaphorical promise in my own words.  And you probably have more potential than you give yourself credit for..but again, don’t try to fix yourself, because it won’t work.

Until I learn to gather my thoughts again, catch me later-

Mean while, I’ve got a bunch to share with everyone, because God is awesome, and He’s always working in my life. I’m going to post more on those things in the near future, and hopefully by that I mean tomorrow.  PS.  Just want to give a shout out to Emilia, Doug, Melissa, Sarah, and Grace for supporting me in getting my new guitar. I’ll be helping with worship with recording artist Aaron Crider tonight and Judah will be there with me being used.

Hey, Jesus loves you-

What have I been up to?

I’m not even entirely sure actually!  A lot of “intense” stuff, a lot of “stuff” stuff, and a lot of just “not much” stuff.  I think the one thing that’s been on my mind majorly is something more recent.  I received a phone call from my oldest sister the other day informing me of an update on my brother Sammy.  It turns out speculations were right, and he failed a drug test-  “Does that make you mad?”  It makes me mad at the devil (he’s not worthy of capitalization), for being such a prick-  but that doesn’t make me lose my focus of why I’m here, and how this is fought.  You see, I’ve seen prayers do great things, and I’ve seen anxiety destroy great things, so I will for one choose to pray and be anxious about nothing.  I can see the reasons my brother would have fallen again.  The devil came to seek, kill, and destroy, and he doesn’t want Sammy to live- good news though, Jesus came to give life, and at that, give it to the fullest.

Hey, if you pray in the name of Jesus, it’d be great if you could join me in praying for my family to be strong in all of this.  While your at it, if you think about also praying for Danike’s family, we’d both appreciate it-

Thanks people!