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| The past few months I have been fighting a war. The opponent has been my flesh and the prince of this world. This war has gone on inside of me and has had many battles. I won many, but lost many also. I have been fighting this war by myself coming out weaker each time. Instead of putting on the whole armor of God I have put on the armor of Wesley. I did not seek help from others and would not take heed to the conviction from God. This I now see clearly was another tactic of the enemy. He had me just where he wanted me. I was too afraid to tell others of my struggle for fear of rejection. I thought that I had to put on a perfect persona or others would think less of me. I lied to my friends, myself, and most of all I lied to God. Last Saturday my enemy had me just where he wanted me. I was on the battlefield all alone, and without even putting up a fight I put up my white flag and surrendered. I had lost the battle even before it started and I had thought that I had also lost the war. I surrendered to my enemy and he took me captive. I failed my family, my friends, my school, the kids in my youth group, those I had been witnessing to, and I failed God. But they didn't fail me. I was trapped and I couldn't see anyway out short of death, but they were fighting for me. They began to pray. They began to search. God sent his host out to fight, and it was a mighty host. They were not going to quit fighting no matter what the cost. Three of my brothers and my mother who I haven't talked to since July without a second thought jumped in a car and drove 10 hours to search for me. Friends all around began to pray for me. People began to search and even go to places that the police were scared to go by themselves. God put His host together and He was not going to lose this war! My enemy thought he had won thought the war was over and that I would soon be dead, and never used by God again. Ohh was he wrong. God's host came in and won the battle hands down. On monday God through my family and friends saved my life, and showed me more love then I have ever seen. I was faithless, but God was faithful!!
I want to thank everyone for their prayers and all that they have done for me. I ask all of you to forgive me. I will ask as many as I can in person, but I don't have enough time to ask everyone. Please forgive me for being so selfish and proud, and for putting those of you through what I did. I have never deserved the love that was shown to me. I think even the prodigal son would have been jealous at the amount of love that I received after doing something so wrong. My God is so amazing!! I want now more than ever to fight the good fight, but now I know that I can't do it by myself. I have the greatest army in history all I have to do is ask them to join me.
I am leaving school and won't be back until January of 08, but I won't be too far away. Please continue to pray for me and I will try and stay in touch and visit as much as I can. My challenge to you is to learn from my mistakes. Don't hide what your struggling with. God has put so many people in our lives to help us and we have to take advantage of it. Please don't wait until its too late.
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| Yeah its been forever so i'll update. A lot is going on in my life, but not a ton at the same time. So to start out with this last month has been mostly filled up with classes, homework, and work with a few spotlights of hanging out with friends, ministry, and spiritual growth. I know that shouldn't be the order of things, but i'll address that later.
I'm super tired of work and school, so my attitude hasn't been the best in either one lately, but God is growing me through it. I just really want to be done with both and move on, but I have to focus on what God has for me now.
Youth group has been really good, and is usually the high point of my week. I was given the opportunity to give the lesson to 50 or so middle schoolers two Sundays ago. I didn't do as well as I wanted, but I was pleased, and it was totally not about me anyways, so i'm happy with how God worked it out. It was the first time i've given the gospel in front of a crowd that size and I was super nervous. I love my guys enormously, and can't wait to see them every week. Its exiting now that i've been there for a year now, and have really good relationships with a lot of the kids now. I think its awesome when a group of seventh grade boys will run up and give me a hug when I see them. I guess it just feels good to know that you are wanted by someone, and to know that God is using you in their lives. I have to praise God every week for blessing me with the opportunity to work with these kids. Now that I have a good relationship with them I am trying to push them more spiritually. Its hard, but God is working through me and i'm getting better at it.
I've had a few highlights of fun with friends. Mostly just hanging out and having good spiritual conversations. This last weekend Leah and I took her roommate Mimi on a surprise trip to Chicago. It was really fun. We went to some of Chicago's regular sights: Navy Pier, Grant Park, Michigan Avenue ect... and at the end of the day we surprised her by going to the Chicago Fire soccer game. They lost, but it was still really fun.
So spiritually things have been way up and way down. Kind of a roller coaster type of thing. The biggest thing that i've been dealing with has been a lack of desire for the things that matter. It has been getting pretty rough, and I haven't really felt a strong connection with God, so a few weeks ago during one of my many sleepless nights I started to look for an example of someone in the Bible who dealt with the same problem. To my surprise I started to study Lot. Yeah I know, not really a good spiritual example, but I think sometimes in order to find out what to do you need to recognize what not to do. Lot did some really retarded things, but we know he was saved. II Peter 2:7 tells us that Lot was a righteous, and just man, and even though he was in the midst of wickedness he was not wicked himself, but still he was not walking with God.
Not much is said about Lot, but if you look at it intently there is a great lesson to be learned, and one that I have been trying to learn. The biggest thing that struck me was where it says "he lingered". If I needed to describe how my feelings have been over the last month or so into two words I couldn't of done it better. I just feel like i'm here doing nothing just lingering. In Genesis 19:16 the morning sun had risen on the day that Lot knew God was going to destroy Sodom, but what did he do? Did he wake up early and get ready for the move. No he decided he was going to hang out for a while and just chill! By the grace of God the angels grabbed him by the arms and got him the heck out of Dodge. Why would he do this? Why would he linger when the angel of the Lord was there with him telling what he was to do? As I think of this I as myself the same thing, why am I just here why am I not doing more. Not just in ministry, but in my relationship with God. Why am I just lingering? Why am I not leaving these thoughts and wrong attitudes behind when I know thats what God wants me to do? Through studying this, conversations with friends, and bringing it before God I have come to realize that my perspective is way off base. I have to ask myself why am I doing what I do? I try to keep spiritual objectives in sight, but I am realizing that I have totally lost sight of that lately and have been focusing on myself. Why have I felt like i'm doing nothing? Why do I feel like i'm sitting still? Its because the focus of my life shifted, and without knowing it I have made things about me and not about Him. Its an easy trap to get into, but it is completely my fault that I have fallen into it.
I don't want to linger, I want to have a close walk with God and be spiritually minded in all things. I want to be distinct from the world in all things and be a faithful witness for Christ in all places. I want people to see God working through me. I want to be prayerful, humble, unselfish, and meek. I want to be afraid of sin, and be ready for the dangers of the world. I want my calling to be sure. I don't want to be lazy, careless. I want to be ready for when Christ returns. This is a bunch of "I's" but I know that it has to be Him through me. Christ first and me dead last. I am a selfish sinner and if I am not seeking Christ everyday, every hour, and every minute then I will fall short. I worship Jehovah-Ropheka, Christ is the great physician and he is the only one that can heal my soul. He took a backsliding Peter and put a new song in his mouth. I have complete faith that He will do the same for me. How do I know this cause His word tells me, and my God is just that stinking awesome!!
My challenge to you is to check your heart and your life. What is really behind your motives? Why do you do what you do?
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| So it's been a few weeks, but things are going pretty stinking good. I guess you could say that i've been in a spiritual rut for the past month or so, but I feel like God is pulling me out of it. He has been teaching me a lot through this time, but it has just taken a while for me to listen, like usual. The biggest thing that He has done during this time is to soften my heart back to missions. It was what He called me to do shortly after I put my faith in Christ. I slowly hardened my heart to this while I was at WOLBI, thinking I would have an easier life as a teacher, and still thinking that I was serving God in it, then He closed all doors for that, and I decided hey being a counselor is respectable and I would have to be pleasing God if I did that, and I could still have all the things I wanted. Man was I being retarded, thinking I could twist what God had called me to do into what I wanted to do. I'm so thankful for God and how He uses things in our life to bring us back to Him. I know He knew every decision I was going to make, and has used it to prepare me for ministry. I also know that He is going to use what I have learned by majoring in counseling in my ministry. So here's the plan for now, nothing concrete just praying about it and seeing what God opens up. 1. Graduate and start working full time ministry in the inner city of Indianapolis, most like in a rescue mission setting. 2. Joining the Army Reserves and becoming a chaplen. (The more I pray about this the better it sounds to me: awesome ministry, pay all my school bills, pay to get my masters, only like 1 weekend a month and 1 month a year), 3. Get my masters in missions. 4. Follow God into the mission field wherever it be in U.S. or over seas, I'm game for it all. There is still much prayer and preperation needed, but I am more than confindent in my God to open all the doors and to bring the things in my life to prepare me to serve Him. I got lots more to say, but I gotta run to work. Keep me in your prayers, I could definently use as much as I can get.
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| The first week of school went pretty good. I have to say that I am extremly happy with all my classes, and I really like my professors. Thats the first time I have been able to say that while at Crossroads. So this semester is going to be crazy, every week I have 30+ hours of work, 15 hours of class, youth group, and countless hours of homework/studying, and somewhere in there I still need to have a social life. I'm really excited though it's my last real semester of college, for a few years at least, and this January I hope to be in full time ministry. I really can't wait. On another note though God has really been dealing with me about a lot of things in my life. Its been good just really tough. Along with other things i'm trying to see if He's calling me to be a missionary somewhere other than the united states, or if I will just be a counselor all my life. Long story, but He might of called me to do that a long time ago, but i've just tried to talk my way out of it. But i'm really searching that right now, so I would appreciate some prayers. I'm also looking into becoming a chaplen in the Army Reserves for a few years to pay off school, and pay to get my masters in missions. Just a thought, but i'm really liking the idea. Well gotta run, and attempt to do some homework. Yay!
So have you tried to run from God's calling for an easier life. If so what were the results?
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| So This Summer I....
- Interned at a Christian recovery center,in North Carolina and got to...
- Teach classes.
- Observe one of the best couselors on the east coast.
- See three men accept Christ as their personal savior.
- Be a counselor on my own for the very first time.
- Be the director of the whole program for a week...kinda
- Grow a lot in my personal life and my minstry skills.
- Impacting the men by showing what God has done in my life
- Act like I knew how to fish
- Be discipled by Aaron Shaw who is a man which God is using eminsly
- See God working in and changing the lives of men who were once enslaved to the sin of drugs and alcohol.
- See my family and begin to see God work in a few of their lives.
- Hung out with the incredible Leah Pyle and we...
- Met her parents and some of her crazy family, and had a good time checking out some fireworks.
- Became a couple.
- Went to Starbucks about a thousand times.
- Played put put on real grass.
- Had some good devo's and prayer time.
- Saw an Indians game. (Of which they were down 11 runs with only one out in the top of the first inning. LOL)
- Decided to break up and put more of a focus on God.
- Are really good friends now.
- Worked a million hours at Penn Station and...
- Cooked way to many steak and cheese sandwiches.
- Had my one year anniversary so I get a sweet bonus check.
- I was able to talk about God to a few of the employees.
- Helped out as a small group leader in my churches youth group and we...
- Went to Kings Island and rode tons of roller coasters.
- Had an all nighter which envoled 8 games of capture the flag, 4 am football with Tiki torche sidelines, and about 50 two liters of Mountain Dew.
- Are focusing on showing the love of God through our friendships.
So that was my summer for the most part. God has taught me a lot about myself and also about Him and His love for us. So school is starting in a week and i'm going to be a senior. Can you stinking believe that me Wesley Froelich a senior in Bible College. God is so amazing, and I have no idea why He blesses me so much. A little over four years ago I was a drug addict in Newark New Jersey, and in His crazy plan He has brought me from that to where I am now. I know that I have come a long ways, but I also know I have a long way to go. God is crazy. Crazy amazing for being able to take men and women who openly rebel against Him, and to love us so much that He would allow His son to die on a cross for you and me. Yeah God is crazy and I don't think I will ever understand why He loves us so much, but I worship Him for who He is and what He has and is doing for us, and I look forward to the day to be able to do it in His presence. Oh what a day that will be when my Jesus I can see...
So what has God taught you this summer through people, ministry, trials, or just life in general?
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