Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16)

9 Mediations on the Man We Named Our 1^st Born Son After

2. Ananias was a disciple.

Most people who know Acts chapter 9 are familiar with it for The Apostle Paul’s conversion.  Having already met (and being blinded by) Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul is waiting and fasting for 3 days. In verse 10 we meet Ananias for the first time. It reads, “Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias.” Most scholars believe he was one of the 72 disciples we read about in Luke 10. He spent time with Jesus and was sent on mission for Jesus.  I love this. He wasn’t some flashy religious leader, just an ordinary disciple of Jesus. Reminds me of Peter and John in Acts 4:12 before the Council, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Jesus uses common men because common men are blown away by who Jesus is. Impressive men are preoccupied with being impressive.

Nias,

I pray you would be a common man who gets blown away by who Jesus is and that people would see your boldness and conclude, 'you must have been with Jesus.'

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

1. Ananias: (Ἁνανίας) is the Greek form of Hananiah, which is Hebrew word meaning “Yaweh has dealt graciously” or “The Lord is full of grace.”

God’s grace to Rachel and I is overwhelming. From calling us to Himself, giving us wonderful parents, growing us through the ministry of Campus Outreach, to crossing our paths at East Lincoln High School some 8 years ago. Grace by definition is: the free unmerited favor of God. Rachel and I earned the wrath of almighty God by hating Him and loving darkness (John 3:16-21). By sheer grace we have received the favor and love of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (I Corinthians 15:3-10). God has given us the free gift of faith to trust in and follow Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). He has surrounded us by people and gifts that keep us clinging to the cross (Hebrews 12:1-2).  He gave us a wonderful daughter, Eden two years ago and now he has given us Nias. We are overwhelmed and can fully testify that the meaning of our son’s name is as true and trustworthy as the morning sunrise…Yaweh is full of grace and has dealt with us graciously. 

Nias,

I pray that The Father would deal graciously with you, draw you unto Himself through Christ very soon, that The Holy Spirit would dwell in you and that you would know the unending Grace of our Lord. I pray that you would become a man like Ananias of Damascus. I love you son!

 

Its a.....

BOY!

Ananias Clinton Darst

We really believe in naming our babies meaningful names.  This one was a big surprise for us.  One night we were reading Eden the story of Paul's conversion (Acts 9) from the Jesus Storybook Bible.  We ran across this character whom neither one of us had ever noticed before.  Clint joked as he had with many other crazy names, "This could be our son's name." I laughed it off asking, "what do you call him, An, Ana?" Clint studied up on Acts 9 and this mysterious character. He ended up doing all of his beach project leaders teaching from the example Ananias set for us.  Ananias heard from the Lord, questioned his ability to do what God was calling him to (restore the sight of a man who was killing or imprisoning every Christian he came in contact with!), trusted God's promises, and went to fulfill God's call on his life.  And then something very interesting happens, he virtually falls off the planet.  You never again hear of Ananias.  He holds a significant role in the life of the most influential Christian leader, outside of Christ, and then he disappears from the pages of the Bible.  We pray this for our son, that he would fulfill the call God has on his life, meet the needs of those whom God has called Him to minister to and then fade into the background as the Lord's will is finished.  We pray like Ananias He will be used by God to raise up men like the Apostle Paul...So how DO you abbreviate Ananias, what will we call him?..."NIAS"

Clinton is actually Clint's middle name.  It is a family tradition and this one makes at least the 5th straight generation with the first male having Clinton as his middle name.

So with great joy we welcome this child into our home! Please join with us in praying for his salvation!

Ministry Update!!

Though we use this blog mostly for personal updates, I wanted to update you all on some really exciting happenings on all 3 of our campuses! 

Wingate: 
* Our campus staff hosted a dodge-ball tournament in the first few weeks of school and 300 students showed up!  This is unheard of at Wingate. 
* 135 students were at the first weekly meeting!  A football player who Clint has had many gospel conversations with came to Christ!

(Though numbers are not our primary goal, there is a reality that the more people involved in these types of events, the more will hear the gospel.  Please pray that the momentum, fun and community would translate into genuine conversions and growth into laborers in the kingdom!)

UNCG:
* Many of the leaders in the movement are multiplying their own lives, leading Bible studies and sharing their faith with non-believers on campus!
* 35 girls and 17 guys just returned from our annual fall retreats! 

Elon:
* Artie, our newest addition to the team, showed up to Elon today to give his life away for the sake of the gospel!!
* The ministry is becoming very student led!  This is a huge answer to prayer as students gain vision to impact their campus and "own" the ministry's convictions and vision!


*Between the 3 schools about 300 students are hearing the gospel weekly at our evangelistic meetings!

Please pray with us that the Lord would use these meetings, retreats, relationships and events to draw unbelievers to Himself! 



A special thanks to Mike Sal and Luke for admitting they read my blog :)

Things We Love

I am a bit of a health nut.  Not overly crazy, just a little less...well American in my diet than most.  Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE Chick-Fil-a and various other fast food.  I love a good cheeseburger.  Sweet tea is a delectable treat and a must for summer.  But in our lifestyle we have to eat out a lot.  So when I am at home what I cook is more than a few healthy steps above Bojangles.

My husband grew up not eating many veggies and eating a ton of sugar.  So when we got married we had some issues agreeing on what was bought at the grocery store.  This applies not only to food, but sometimes more so to the beverage category.  I didn't want to have super sweet tea in the house all the time and he wanted something besides water.  One day I stumbled upon a little green box that brought harmony to our dinner table!

Let me start by saying not all green tea is created equal.  This is the ONLY brand we like.  Others tend to taste like either grass, mint or citrus.  Ick.  But this is pure refreshment!  Hardly a day goes by when we don't have a pitcher of this in our fridge.  And I'm proud to say we are responsible for converting many green tea haters into lovers.  :)  Green tea has more antioxidants, less caffeine and requires less sugar than black tea.  So while the heat of the summer lingers on, I highly suggest you go grab a box of this goodness and do the following:

Microwave 4 bags in 2 cups water for 2 1/2 minutes

Let steep until nice and green

Add 1/4-1/3 cup of sugar and stir until dissolved

add 6 cups cold water and chill

try not to drink the entire thing in one day (good luck)

Rock a bye baby...

Today marks exactly one month until our due date with baby number 2!!  While I am still in shock at the reality of this, I am feeling the pressure more and more.  This is especially true when I remember that Eden was 2 weeks early!  Yikes!

Currently, the baby's room looks a lot like an attic.  Boxes everywhere, a crib in pieces on the floor, no furniture what so ever (we realized about a week ago that we have NO furniture for his/her clothes.  This happens when someone is living in the "nursery" pre-move with their own furniture.  Oops!).

Anyway, we have gone back and forth about whether or not to keep the baby with us in our bedroom at first.  We kept Eden with us because she never slept.  And at the time walking across the house every 45 minutes didn't sound very exciting.  However, we know moving the baby out of the room means a little more sleep for at least one parent.  We don't have a bassinet and so had settled on just putting the baby in his/her room.  That is until my mom showed me this... Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleeper.

 

What a great idea!  With the amount of traveling we do, and the lack of flexibility even a small bassinet provides, this is amazing!  It holds a baby up to 25 lbs. (which in theory means my toddler could use it!  Ha!) and folds up to move from room to room (or city to city- hooray no huge pack-and-play to pack in our car!)!  So now, this little one can sleep in our room at night, in the living room during the day and at grandma's for the weekend...eventually.

This is a must have for us.  Thanks Fisher Price!  I cant wait to get one of these for our new little one!

Face Lift!

The house is finally done being painted... 

Before (a little drab and fading)

And After

a much cozier color! 

(Please excuse the dead ferns hanging from the porch.  I'm in the process of trying to revive them!!)

Next on the list is the door color.  I want something bright that pops!  I'm thinking cherry red.  Suggestions?