Close Call...

So this last weekend I had a close call.

What kind of close call, you might ask? The kind that keep me awake at night. Yup, I had a run-in with the Windows screen of death.

So here's how it all went down...

I came up to my room Thursday night to go to bed and thought I would check my e-mail before bed. So I came up and tapped my mouse to bring my computer screen back up. Well, the screen came up for about a second and then... pffttt!!! Died.

My first thought was that my computer had died, but then I realized it was just the monitor. So I unplugged the monitor and checked it on the power outlet. Sure enough, my monitor was fried. I was not too surprised seeing as I've had this monitor for almost 4 years now. I was probably lucky it lasted that long.

So Saturday morning, I stopped by Circuit City to catch a 'going-out-of-business' deal on a replacement monitor. I picked up one, brought it home, and plugged it in. So far, so good.

And then I watched in horror as Windows failed to boot and I saw the bone-chilling message, "Windows could not start due to missing or corrupted file: Windows/System32/Setup."

Great. I just replaced my monitor, and now I can't even boot up Windows. My first thought, of course, is that I had lost all my files. My pictures, my music collection, my high scores in Minesweeper. All gone.

So I called Uncle Earl, figuring he would know what to do. Good choice! I took him up on his suggestions and was finally able to boot back up today! Hooray!

My advice to everyone if they have not already done so: Back up your important files! I picked up an external USB hard drive over the weekend and backed up my files just in case this happens again. I would suggest doing it before something like this happens to you.

Speachless...

Let me just say that this week's church service was off-the-charts, freakin' awesome!!

I love our church!! In fact, I can say that Sunday is becoming my favorite day of the week. You know, awhile ago, I would sometimes wish I could sleep in on Sunday mornings rather than go to church. Nothing against my previous churches, but there were plenty of things I liked better than going to church.

But The Lord is totally rocking my world right now! He is showing me what He has wanted for His church all along. He is definitely showing up each and every week and the results have been amazing!

Just today, 7 people were baptized, publicly declaring their love for Jesus and their desire to follow Him. And towards the end of the service, about 6 or 7 more people made the decision to invite Christ into their lives for the first time! It seems that The Lord is using our church in a powerful way to bring people to Him and to reveal Himself in the community. What a privilege to be a part of that!

And the worship today was incredible too! When The Lord shows up, how can you not bask in His glory and just praise and glorify Him? I could not have sat down even if I wanted to!

This church is really becoming what God originally intended the church to be, and He is leading it to reflect His glory. A church is not a building where people meet on Sundays. The church is a community of believers who function as a whole to serve as the Body of Christ and to glorify God. And I am learning now more than ever what it means to be in a community of believers. Of course we are here to love, support, and pray for each other when times get tough, but we are also here to rejoice and celebrate life together! And that was never more evident to me than this morning when I witnessed some of my good friends being baptized.

What a great weekend!!