Free Flirting with Disaster by Sandra Byrd

the two of them grinning broadly in the fading daylight.
    “Did you hear about Be@titude, then?” Isobel asked me.
    “What do you mean?” I answered warily.
    “Well, Becky had some kind of computer disaster. She had to replace her whole system. So the clothing program is off for a bit. Perhaps till September. We should pray for her.” Isobel made no mention of her own setback, though she would now be getting no new clothes for job interviews.
    “Yes, we should pray,” I answered softly. Of course Isobel didn’t know who had caused the problem. I felt confident Becky would never have told anyone else I was to blame for the malware meltdown.
    “Well, we’d best be off,” Isobel said.
    “We actually get to eat supper out tonight. Though Mum says it has to be cheap and cheerful and not a posh nosh.” Emma giggled at that, and we laughed along with her. “Be sure to tell me when I’m in the paper.”
    “I will,” I promised as we left. “Oodgay anplay,” I said to Louanne and was gratified to see that it took her some time to figure out what I was saying.
    “So is she really going to be in the paper?” Louanne asked.
    “Depends on if the new editor runs the article,” I said.
    “When’s the election?”
    “Next week.”

Chapter 29

    After midnight that night, I snuck down into the living room—er, lounge. The draperies were pulled open, and the moonlight lit the room in a magical way, like a fine mist over everything. I settled on the couch and curled my feet up under me and opened my Bible. Then I pulled out the piece of paper from Wednesday night. I read John 15:5 and thought about the branches blowing in the park. I thought about the sweet-smelling blossoms that promised ripe fruit.
    In my Bible, I found another paper Joe had handed out at church recently. I looked up the verse from the bottom of the page.
    Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing.”
    My real problem was that I had done what Savvy wanted to do without asking the Lord if that was what He wanted me to do. My desire was to do ministry. I didn’t ask Him what ministry He desired for me to do.
    My dad had shown me how he’d protected our computer from malware. First, you needed a program that would identify anything bad that wanted to get into your system. The computer had to recognize something was wrong—Trojan horse or not—and stop it at the door.
    I grinned and looked down at my Bible. Check.
    Second, if something did get through, you had to remove it right away. Acting fast was the key to minimizing damage.
    Repentance.
    Lord, I’m so sorry I ran ahead of You. I do love You. I want to do good things. But I only want to do the good things You prepared in advance for me to do. So help me to remain connected to You and do what I see that You want me to do.
    And then, in the quiet of the night, I heard it. It was in my heart, but it was loud and unmistakable.
    Go!

Chapter 30

    On Wednesday night I got to church early. They hadn’t even set up the coffee stand yet. I found Joe and waited patiently while he finished talking to another staff member.
    “Hullo, Savvy. What can I do for you?”
    “I want to be baptized next Saturday.”
    “Are you sure?” he asked.
    “Very sure,” I said.
    Joe grinned. “Well, then, let’s talk!”

Chapter 31

    It was the second Saturday in June, so it was supposed to be warm, right? summerish? Not quite! Although I was grateful it wasn’t raining, it was definitely not beach weather. I had a big towel in my bag, though. We were going to pick Penny up and then head out of town to a private bank on the River Thames.
    Mom, Dad, Louanne, and I piled into the car and pulled out of the drive. Vivienne, our next-door neighbor and Mom’s book club friend, gave us a cheery wave as she plucked dead leaves from