Thursday, July 3, 2003

6:11 PM Two exciting reports regarding An Anchor for the Soul. The first comes from Seth Grotelueschen who is passing along an e-mail he received from a friend:

Just wanted to give you a praise report! My dear 60-year old JEWISH cousin read “An Anchor for the Soul” and told me that she wants to give her life to Christ!!! She’s coming to church either this Sunday or REAL soon, she said. She’s reading her Bible daily – which amazes her because she always HATED to read! She’s also asked me for copies of the book to give to her children. God is SOOOOOO good!

The second comes from Brian Bill, pastor of Pontiac Bible Church, Pontiac, IL:

Ray, Just wanted to encourage you about how God is using your book in Pontiac. A 20-year-old prayed to receive Christ on Sunday and I told him I had a book to give him. When I handed it to him, he said, “I already have this.” Apparently, he has hooked up with our college study and was given a copy. He stayed up most of the night reading it and then committed himself to Christ!

4:21 PM Here’s The Legacy Campaign prayer request for today: “Pray for good working relationship with the Village of Oak Park during construction.”

4:17 PM Latest update on the First Fruits offering: $180,000.

4:10 PM Back home after a whirlwind two-day vacation in downtown Chicago. We must have ended up walking ten miles yesterday because we walked from the hotel to Taste of Chicago in Grant Park and then we braved the crowds and the heat in search of delicacies such as the chocolate-covered frozen banana (the best), turtle soup (I threw it away after one sip), an excellent cheeseburger from the Billy Goat Cafe, a big piece of fried dough (delicious), tempura (okay, but not enough to suit me), a kind of Mexican pizza, crabmeat nuggets (excellent), and one or two other things I can’t remember right now. The Taste is always a blast and the proof of a good visit is that you leave thinking to yourself, “Why did I eat so much?” Last night I took a long walk down Rush Street, and it was hopping—all the sidewalk cafes were jammed. This morning we did some shopping at Eddie Bauer on Michigan Avenue and then came home.