Fall In Love

Brink Fire Recovery

IMG_0312Rich and Linda Brink are good friends.  They are selfless, dedicated, joyful, and loving.  We love Rich and Linda like family.  We met them in Boston in 2011 at the Closer Conference for Ivy League students.  They have shown us continual love, support, and encouragement.  In 2012, Rich visited Boone, NC and ministered at the Fall In Love retreat we hosted and ministered to students and staff at Appalachian State University.  IMG_0275In April 2013, we visited their new home in Harrisburg, PA and experienced their outstanding hospitality.  After living in Maine for 40 years, they moved to Pennsylvania to help launch Global Celebration School of Supernatural Ministry.  It was an act of obedience to the Lord.  Their heart truly is for the kingdom of God. The Brink home received serious damage from a fire that began at the house next to them.  Their third floor is totally destroyed.  Their second floor was also severely affected.  Thankfully, everyone is safe.  Read the official story on ABC27.com and watch the news footage here:abc27 WHTM.

We have never once heard Rich or Linda ask for anything.  We have, however, seen their heart of service and generosity.  Now, it's time to give back.  Click on any of the images in this post to donate and support Rich and Linda in their recovery.  We love them dearly and desire to see them blessed beyond measure.    Please pray and give generously as you feel led.  Thank you.

Brink Fire Recovery Bold

 

 

Jesus the Matchmaker

Springtime means one thing for many couples… It's time to plan a wedding.  What happens if all the details don't fall into place?  What if the pieces don't fall into place where you want them to?  Maybe Plan B was God's original intention.  I want to share with you how God works all things together for good. One of my best friends (also named Jonathan) was getting married to his fiancée, Nikki. Jonathan was a roommate in college.  I wish I kept a book of quotes because every word out of his mouth has the power to drive away boredom and the blues.  I've never laughed so hard as I did with Jonathan.  We continually discover that Nikki is a great catch for Jonathan.  She is well rounded, very talented, and can do almost anything.  It's wonderful when you can celebrate the spouse your friend marries.

Jonathan had asked me to be a groomsman in his wedding.  I was honored but, unfortunately, I had to decline.  Our friends had been planning a conference for many months that we had committed to.  It was scheduled right in the middle of the wedding.  I was conflicted and didn't want to hurt my friend.

Months passed and the conference was cancelled.  Thankfully, we were able to attend the wedding but I was not going to be a groomsman.  Jonathan had found a replacement but I was happy to be able to celebrate with them as they were wed.

Over a year after Jonathan and Nikki had been married, we met up with them.  They were telling us about their two friends who were getting married.  One was a bridesmaid in their wedding.  The other was a groomsman…The same groomsman who filled my space!  They met at the wedding, fell in love, and tied the knot a few months later!

Had I been a groomsman, they may have never met.  For months, I had felt bad for declining the invitation to be in the wedding party.  That is, until I found how Jesus turned it around for the benefit of a man who met his wife.  Sometimes, Plan B was actually Plan A all along.

If you're planning a wedding, my encouragement to you: Don't sweat the details. Don't lose sleep. Press in and pray.  God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). That means you!

Jonathan Fawcett

Jonathan and Nikki

PS: This tip is free.  If you're getting married, get help from these guys: www.coordinatedevents.net

Feather and Fedora

Fall In Love 2012 was a weekend conference in Boone, NC focused on power evangelism.  It certainly was that and more.  Friends traveled from around the country to gain experience in “doing the stuff” that believers were commissioned to carry out. This conference was unlike any I’ve ever experienced.  It wasn’t masses of people coming to listen, take notes, break for lunch, and return for the nightly sessions.  Instead, it was a small group of strangers that connected through their appetite for the supernatural and left as friends.

Rich Brink, a friend we met in Boston, flew from Maine for the weekend.  Rich stirred us with testimonies and shared from John 4 (where Jesus encounters the woman at the well).  He taught practical ways of sharing the Gospel simply and powerfully.

Upon finishing, we were ready to begin the treasure hunt.  This is where we pray in the Spirit and write down every impression we hear from God.  Then, we compare notes, break into teams, and search for the people - the treasures - that the Lord wants to show us.  Often, people get healed, encouraged, or saved.  It was homecoming weekend at Appalachian State so “black and gold” were obvious clues.  We prayed in the Spirit, wrote down our clues and began sharing and connecting the dots.

BJ and Lisa Sullivan, worship leaders and friends from Charlotte, were present.  BJ, sitting down at the front says, “All I saw was a fedora with a feather in it.”

Lisa, standing by the door points out the window and says, “There he goes!” On a skateboard, a man wearing a fedora with a feather in it, shoots by in a blur.  BJ and Richard (our friend and former intern with Immersion Church) try to chase him down but he was too fast.  With many thousands of ASU fans, parents, and students, we knew he would be found again.

We divided into groups of three and began to follow the clues.  I am almost certain that every person with crutches, a cast, or boot was ministered to, prayed for, and some said they began to feel better.  I was with Rich Brink and Josh from Alabama.  Josh attended Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry for two years.  He gave an accurate prophetic word to a friend who serves on the custodial staff.

We then start making our way to the stadium.  Josh and Rich speak a moment to someone on crutches and return right as the fedora and feather walks a few feet right in front of us.  Rich and I catch up with him.  He tells us that he was already found once but was willing to receive anything we had to give him.  We pulled off from the moving crowd and began prophesying to him, encouraging him, and praying for him.  I asked him to stretch out his hands to feel the glory of God.  His arms began to sink under the tangible weight of God’s goodness.

We returned to see that it only took a short time to cover ASU’s campus with a handful of believers.

Jonathan Fawcett