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20080331

born to rest in your father's arms

What happened this week, and what's with the video in the previous post? Here's the rundown, and know that this will most likely be the topic of many an entry from here on.

Heather's sister Amy died the day before Easter. She killed herself. I'll leave out the details of her death, and rather focus on discussing the events immediately afterward.

I was running camera at our Honoring The Father's Conference at MorningStar and had just eaten dinner when Heather got the call from Katie that something happened to Amy and it was apparently very serious. I told Heather that we would rent a car and drive up there regardless of what had happened and I sent her home to be with Katie and wait for more information.

I told Andrew and Dean that I would have to drive up to Virginia on Easter, but the conference would have been over at that point, so it wasn't that big of a deal as far as work was concerned.

I'm getting some of my tapes and batteries together when Heather calls me and tells me that Amy is dead.

As I'm typing those words it's sinking in even more what happened and how.

Our friend Matt Lockett paid for a rental car and we left on Easter Sunday to be with Family.

Cathy Mlinarcik and Jonathan Zook got a word to contend for Amy's life, and when Heather asked me about it, I told her that I got the same word and so Cathy approached Mr. Crane to see if he would allow Cathy and Jonathan to pray for Amy to be raised from the dead.

What followed was a week full of intercession, trevail, deliverance, tears, laughter, mourning, celebrating, worship and waiting. There was peace at times, there was anxiety, and through the whole process, God was entirely faithful.

As I was pressing in to God and praying for His mercy, I was also trying to stay focussed on Isaiah, Heather, and little baby Muffin.

I got to a point during the week where I felt release from contending and really had peace about resting and waiting on God. I did not have peace about striving, but that is for a later post.

Because we all had faith and trusted God with Amy, Mr. Crane went ahead with funeral plans.

Friday afternoon, around 3pm, in Norfolk Virginia, we said goodbye to Amy at a graveyard on Granby Street.

The next day, hundreds of people came to celebrate Amy's life, and mourn her death. Ultimately, we praised God for His goodness.

My family and I are back home in Fort Mill right now, and we haven't even really begun to process the events, but again, we lean on God's goodness and faithfulness. When we were contending for Amy's life, we had faith that God would raise her from the dead, but in the end we had to trust that God knew what was best. It's a hard thing to do, but he is a perfect father, and a just God.

Amy is in Heaven, dancing before Jesus' feet. I can rejoice in that. However, please give me grace while I work through this grief, as it's hard to love when there has been terrible loss. Through the pain, there has been faith, and there has been hope, but the greatest thing is love.

Thank you all so much for all the facebook notes, text messages, phone calls, emails and hugs. It may seem like you don't know what to say or do, but believe me, anything and everything helps.

Labels: Amy, Crane, heather, isaiah, Levi

posted at 12:25 PM | 3 Comments | leave a comment

20080329

Amy

posted at 8:42 PM | 0 Comments | leave a comment

20080318

It started out super positive and then just got crazy.

Today is Tuesday which is the day that the TV show that airs in two weeks has to be put on DVD and sent up to Rick Joyner for approval. So, while it's exporting, I get to post a web log entry. Also known as a blog entry. web+log=blog. See what happened there?

20 minutes left on the DVD burn.

So I'm excited and scared and nervous and thrilled and happy and sad about this summer. In July I'm going to be traveling to India with my good friend Joel Khouri who I met last summer during TheCause Tour. I will be shooting a documentary that chronicles our trip through the heart of India, bringing back a story that raises awareness for the child sex-slavery that is rampant in that country. If it all pans out, then the day we leave India is the day I fly to England and shoot some footage of Suzy and Kamran Yaraei whom I've had the pleasure of getting to know these past few weeks. They are teaching a Worship and Holy Spirit Encounter Workshop/Conference/Intensive/Whatever it turns into. Leonard Jones will be there too, and I hope it works out that I can make it there as well. However, at that point in the year, Heather will be 8 1/2 months pregnant and due around the 16th of August (Reigner's Birthday). So not only will she not be able to fly with me, but I'll be on the other side of the globe for almost a month. Thank you Jesus for Skype.

11 minutes left on the DVD burn.

The video in the previous post was done for Matt Lockett(the director of Bound4LIFE) and his sons. He sent me a video that he shot of the boys fighting in the front yard with a fishing rod and a toy lightsaber. I have been messing around with rotoscoping and compositing(fancy words for animating frame by frame and overlaying stuff) in After Effects, but this one was a challenge. As geeky as it sounds, I really want to make a Star Wars fan film. Or at least an intense fight scene. I need Reigner, Jared and Josh.

2 minutes left on the DVD burn.

We are still without a car, and it's pretty tough. It seems that every paycheck goes straight to rent and bills, and anything leftover goes to food, diapers and toilet paper. So I say, let's stop eating, which will stop us from pooping, and then we'll have some money. Makes sense to me.

It only took me 2 minutes to complete that thought, and now the DVD is done.

posted at 2:46 PM | 1 Comments | leave a comment

20080316

feel the force

posted at 3:08 PM | 0 Comments | leave a comment

20080315

now what?

I think I keep up with my twitter more than I keep up with my blogs, but I think that's because I can do it so many different and easy ways. I'll see what I can do about getting those posts on this page just to make it easier on everyone.

I think this page is overdue for a face-lift. At least according to the A.D.D. calendar of Levi Bethune. By the way, how many A.D.D. kids does it take to- hey, let's ride our bikes.

I've been working hard at MorningStar, editing a new breed of TV shows that show a lighter, honest, and more real look at what goes on behind the scenes of what some people would call a "Mega Church". I have to say, that was my impression of MorningStar back before I came here, and I associate huge congregations to disconnect and religion, but after just a couple weeks, it's probably the most non-religious place I've been. I'm not saying they let anything fly, but they certainly don't get hung up on petty issues. I'll just say, the leadership there, especially Rick Joyner and Steve Thompson, are NOT driven by fear. They aren't out to please people, they have been given a mandate to equip. And after only working there four months, I feel like such an intricate part of that purpose. In fact, it's helping me fulfill my purpose and the things I've seen God training me in for years and years. I'm NOT saying it's the end-all ministry and that I want to die on my desk as comfortable as it may be, but I am saying that I know I'm in the right place and with the right people.

I've also been able to be around and work with some truly amazing and talented people. I drove up to Moravian Falls last week to shoot an interview with Suzy Yaraei, and got to spend some time with her and her husband. I took the BMW, which was already having some serious problems, and on the way back I blew a tire. "No problem, I have a spare." Ten minutes later, the spare blew out. So here I am with two flat tires, $10,000 worth of video and lighting equipment in the back of a car sitting on the side NC route 16 on a Saturday night, and the closest anything is about 8 miles. So to make a long story even longer, Heather borrows Ian's jeep and comes to get me. We left the signed title and a key in the glove compartment. Farewell friend, you were brave to the end. So now, we have no car. But we are getting a pretty fair tax return (thank you Isaiah), so we're going car shopping. I just don't know how we'll get there.

Labels: car, heather, isaiah, Levi, morningstar, taxes

posted at 9:04 PM | 0 Comments | leave a comment