Ramblings of an Internet Pastor's wife......

Roll back about 3 years....we are living in California, really praying about moving back to Oklahoma, but unsure what that would mean. Brandon talks with Lifechurch.tv (he used to be the youth worship leader). They mention an "Internet campus". We are totally unsure of what that means. An internet campus? Hmmm, what's that?

We move back to the sooner state about 6 months later and the Internet campus begins in the planning stage (Sept 2005). Then, 6 months later, they start running test drives in March. Then, in the summer of 2006, the IC is launched!

At first it was all new and exciting. Then there were tech issues and ways to try and figure out how to make "community" online. And there were critics...there still are critics actually. It was lonely! (still is at times). It was fun being on the ground floor but there still was a part of me that felt it would get old eventually. I miss going to church with my husband! I miss hugging people in the lobby.

Flash forward to Sunday, March 30th, 2008. I get to volunteer on the IC on Sunday mornings. In the 11:30am experience, I met a wonderful woman from Malaysia, a man from India, a lady from Ghana, a man from Turkey, a man from Egypt and a teenager from the Philippines (the same area of the Philippines where Brandon and I went to 15 years ago on a mission trip!). The conversations were inspiring, intriguing, and insightful.

I keep pinching myself wondering when or if I will get tired of it. It hasn't happened yet and I don't see it happening anytime soon. It's so exciting to be in the center of God's will. To KNOW that He had things planned for me, for us, is beyond understanding. He has a plan for ALL of us! 3 years ago, we never would have imagined what this "Internet campus" entailed. That's probably a good thing because we had a much smaller picture! I'm loving the spot we are in. We have ups and downs and highs and lows, but overall, it's completely humbling to see God at work all around. I don't want to sound like we have it all figured out or that we have "arrived". Just trying to express our gratitude that God cares for each of us individually.

Don't give up if there is something new you are feeling led to lead! You are probably going right where you need to be. You will look back in a few years and see what he planned for you and that it was good! Do you feel like you are right where you need to be? Getting there? Are you loving this season of life?

Into the Wild (Pt. 2 of 2)

OK- this movie really spoke to me. Sometimes you see something and it affects you beyond what you were thinking. I don't want to build this movie up like it's the best of all time or anything, but I do want to share what insights I had while watching it. I think I was primed and ready because God has been working on my heart and mind quite a bit lately. So much to where I have a hard time processing all that He is saying. This movie is based on a true story and I in now way want to idolize him or paint him to be someone who had it all together because after watching the movie, you know that not to be the case. But, I will say I admire this man and what he stood for.

As far as the movie goes.....

I learned about a man who followed his passions no matter what the world thought about him. He truly was being who he was made to be. That's inspiring! I may not have agreed with all the choices he made but I highly respect his desire to be true to himself. I want to be obedient to Christ, follow my dreams, and reach some goals all while not looking back.

I learned that we reward milestones with "things" instead of with experiences. When he graduates college his parents want to reward him by getting him a car and he says "my car is fine". I think personally, I have chosen accomplishments and tried to celebrate them with food or things, instead of just resting in the accomplishment itself. I want to do this for our kids. Instead of celebrating birthdays or anniversaries or school achievements with a night out at a restaurant or a big gift, I want to sometimes give them an "experience" that will stay with them a lot longer than the recent toy. To see nature in a whole new light, or see a person that is unfamiliar but wise is a lot more impactful than a transformer or a night out at Chili's. I am a gift giver so this one hit me hard. Sometimes it's not about how much we spend, or what we give, but rather spending time together and experiencing something new.

Sometimes we have to do things on our own. We might want to have family or friends with us, but sometimes God needs us to be alone to really "get it". I love that at the end of the movie he realized that he was lonely and experiences are much better when they are shared. I agree with that completely. I am learning that my relationship with Christ really is personal and unique. I have heard that so many times in my life that I cannot count it. But, for some reason, I "got it" this time. What God is telling me may be totally different that what he is telling Brandon. Although we are in sync and one, we still have our very own personal relationship with Christ. I can't lean on Brandon to learn from. I have to learn for myself. In the movie, he had to go out on his own and have his own independence, his own experience, before he could learn what he needed to learn. We can't lean on peers or parents, or anyone who seems to be more mature than us in our Christian life for some kind of justification for knowing/not knowing Christ and who He is to us. We can only look to ourselves and in ourselves.

I need to let my kids be independent! One of my kids reminds me of Chris so much. I think I tend to hold him back. I don't want to do that. I need to trust God with my kids. If they need to go out and explore and grow, I need to let go and let them do that. It's another hard one for me but so important!

I learned that it's not about TV, or amusement parks, or "stuff" we use to entertain ourselves. It's about nature, relationships and books. When our mind is challenged, that's when change will come about. When we have to think and process, it's a good thing. The simple things are where it's at.

Thoughts? Does any of this ring true for you? Can you relate?

Into the Wild (Pt 1. of 2)

Have you seen the movie "Into the Wild"? I have watched it twice so far. It affected me on so many levels. I cried a hard cry after the first time. Like, crying where you can't really stop kind of cry. That's how much it got me.

Then, I had Brandon watch it with me. We had a 2 hour conversation after it was over. Again- that's how much it affected me, affected us.

So- I want to share my little "nuggets" I got from it but don't want to spoil it. I will post about what reflections and thoughts I have had since watching it on my next post.

For now, Have you seen it? Do you want to see it? If you have seen it, what did you think?

Your big give?

It seems to be more of a common thing to "give" these days. I know that Brandon and I have certain areas where we give our time and money to. There are shows about giving such as "The big give" and "Extreme Makeoever:Home edition".

Recently, I have been planning a fundraiser for our babysitter that is going to live in Mexico for a year as a missionary. We are passionate about it because 1) we love her and believe in her (she has been our sitter for 7 yrs!) 2) we have been to the place she is going and we have seen the need 3) we believe in the ministry she is working with. We were summer staff for 2 different summers and can't say enough positive things about their leadership and influence!

So, it got me thinking.......what areas do you give to? Do you give at all? What tugs those heart strings of yours? If you got a raise, would you give it away? Do you give sacrificially or out of excess?

Before, During, and After

Before

During

After

Ahh...I really loved that hair-do too! Brandon was tired of fixing his hair. Tired of having it in his face while he played basketball. Ready for the hot summers of Oklahoma. He looks good no matter what hairstyle he has!He cut it himself too so he has won my heart once more :)

(P.S. I didn't mean to make those pictures so big but now that they are loaded, I am not going to change them.)

Summer vacation?

We are wanting to plan a trip this summer. Either a family trip or just a get-away for B and I (we've never gone anywhere without the kids).

We need some help! If you had a week to take a trip, where would you go and why? (Oh, and we are thinking inside the US, not going over $1000 total).

Help us out!

The Resurrection of Jesus

Well, Easter is here! What an incredible time for us to remember the power of our faith. Without the resurrection of Christ the Christian faith is worthless (1 Corinthians 15:17). This is why the resurrection has become a passion for me. It is hugely important.

I hope to do a series on some of the evidence surrounding the resurrection of Jesus. But for now here are three well-attested agreed upon facts:
1) Jesus post-resurrection appearances
2) The empty tomb
3) The origin of the Christian faith

So as you watch all the specials on Jesus' resurrection, you can understand why both liberal or conservative scholars are trying to explain these amazing facts. There are many theories, but only one explains all of them together.

Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed!!

Family nights (Pt. 5 of 5)

I didn't forget to post #5....it was just a delayed post:)

These are all going to be random family nights we have had. One time we hung a white sheet up and put a spotlight behind it. We made funny shadows and told stories with our hands. The boys had a lot of fun and it didn't cost a thing.

We also had a role playing game where we acted out the "proper" way to act in public and the "not so proper" way. The boys thought it was hilarious on the "not so proper" scenario and still ask to play that game sometimes.

We have also done questions where we ask "if you could be an exotic animal, what would you be and why?" (I think we got that one from our Konnect program at church). We have told 3 reasons why we love each person. We have made up a story where one person makes up about 2 or 3 sentences and then it goes to the next person to add on. It's fun to see all the twists and turns.

We have loaded up in the car right before bedtime and went to get root beer floats at Sonic. We have done breakfast in bed. We have wrestled, danced, played too many games to name.....

The point is we love our family- can you tell? We also love trying to be creative. Spending some of our energy on feeding into our kids rather than things out there that shouldn't be getting our attention. We also learned at family vision weekend to talk up your family and of course talk up your kids. Say things like "don't we have the best family ever?" or " can you believe how blessed we are that God sent us to each other?". We want to make our kids feel like they are the best and they fit perfectly into the family unit that we are today.

Thanks for reading and commenting on this series. I have loved some of your ideas as well! What kinds of family traditions do you have? Any more family nights you want to mention? (I'd love to hear about them)

No place like home!

We are home. After driving ALL day yesterday in the rain, we are finally back. Brandon is back at work. The boys and I are home getting re-acquainted with our things. Now it's time for laundry and bills- guess there really is no place like home :)

It's amazing how tired "vacations" can make you. It was nice to unplug from all the daily responsibilities. No Phone. Not much internet. Just us- UNPLUGGED from the world.

How do you unwind? What place do you go to to "unwind"? What kinds of things do you like to do on vacation that you might not get to do at "home"?

Heading out to Arkansas....

We are all packed up and ready to go. We are heading to Arkansas for Spring Break so will be out of the loop for several days. We'll be back to posting next Wednesday!! Enjoy the weekend :)

Family nights (Pt. 4 of 5)

The Family party!

We have started a new yearly tradition of having a "family party". We have cake and decorations....the whole bit, just to celebrate the family.

After attending family vision weekend, I cannot tell you enough how much it changed our life and the way we live it. So, on this joyous occasion, once a year, we sit down and talk with the boys about the family.

We set individual goals. We talk about what we want to be known for. We talk about our core values. We talk about our individual strengths and who God made us to be.

Then we celebrate! We celebrate that God brought us together. That we all have things to bring to the table. That we have generations and generations to affect in a positive way. We celebrate that we love each other and have each other.

We want our boys to be so proud to be in this family, and have such family esteem, that they won't struggle with self esteeem as much and want to be different than who they are.

Our family vision statement is "Be true to yourself, be true to your faith".

We are hoping that our home is a place of stability and grace so that when they are out in that big world of ours, they can still feel confident and able to try new things.

What is your family all about? Do you have core values for your family? Ever been to a family vision weekend? What would you want your family's legacy to be?

Jesus doesn't meet our expectations

**short break in the family night posts. Christi will post one later today**

Easter is close and what a momentous time. I was just listening to a teaching over Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey a week before he was crucified (Mark 11:1-11) and was hit with a powerful truth. Jesus doesn't meet our expectations. Here are a few quick context bits on this story.

1. Israel was longing for the promised Messiah. They were looking for a military leader to lead the revolt to end the control of Rome. These were tense times in Israel. (In just 40 years from this passage, Israel was in full rebellion and they would see the complete destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.)
   
2. Jesus and the Jews were intimately familiar with the prophets. In Mark 14:27, Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7 when prophesying his upcoming death. In Jesus entry into Jerusalem, He has His disciples get a colt. Zechariah 9:9-10 prophesies this very thing.
   

I always wondered how these people could be shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!” then ONE week later they are shouting, "Crucify Him!" Jesus had finally come out and said, "I am the Messiah." by riding that donkey into Jerusalem. People heard about it and were pumped. The miracle worker and great teacher is going to lead us out of the rule of Rome. They came out and put branches and cloaks on the road praising Jesus. But when Jesus gets there...nothing. No speech! No big rally! He looks around and leaves. Wow, talk about anti-climatic...and, I am guessing, quite dis-heartening to the excited crowd.

Expectations can be a dangerous thing. Jesus was the Messiah, the one all of Israel was looking for, but they could not see him because of their expectations. Not only that, but they turned against him when He did not fit their expected Messiah. Wow, this sounds too familiar. We are a culture that puts our own expectations on God, and when they are not met, we resent or run from God. Nice reminder from the happenings of Palm Sunday. It is not circumstances or personal agendas we expect God to work out according to our desires. It is God Himself we expect. Jesus is Lord! That far exceeds our highest expectations.

Family nights (Pt. 3 of 5)

Going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot.....

A couple of weeks ago we planned a treasure hunt for the boys. The first clue was taped to the bottom of their chairs at the dinner table. When we finished eating, we had them look underneath.

That clue led us to "taking a walk around the block to find a door to unlock"

The next clue was locked in Brandon's car. It led to the Wii and we played games for a while.

The next clue led them to the mailbox where we had chocolate pudding and spoons waiting. We also had the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian book. We read a chapter and then they saw a note inside the book.

We ended the "hunt" and talked about how spending time with family is one of the greatest treasures of all. They loved it!

Yo ho ho ho, a pirates life for me!

What are some things you have done with your family lately? Read any good books? What does your evening routine look like? Are you planning on seeing "Prince Caspian" when it comes out?

Family nights (Pt. 2 of 5)

Camp out

Another thing we like to do for family nights is "Camp out". We bring pillows and sleeping bags into the living room and watch movies until late at night. We also go outside and lay on the trampoline together and look at the stars. In Oklahoma, we have warm summer nights which are great for this (until the mosquitoes eat you up!) We even make smores in the fireplace :)

I know it's not as creative as yesterday's, but sometimes the simple things are the best things. Just staying up late talking and laughing. Ethan usually always falls asleep before the movie ends. Merrick has to finish it before he can sleep.

I love slumber parties with the boys. This is something I hope to continue even as they get older. We are heading to Arkansas in a few days and I hear the grandparents are planning on us "camping out" one night on their property...can't wait!

Do you like to camp? Got any fun camping stories? Are you a night owl?

The picture above is Brandon and Ethan fishing in Arkansas last Fall. It's not too clear but just seemed to fit this post.

Family nights (Pt. 1 of 5)

Family nights.....those are words I hold dear to my heart. We have a "family night" once a week (at least) where we are all together, alone, totally focused on each other. We play, we laugh, we treasure this time bonding with our boys.

Someone asked me what we do for "family night" so I wanted to post some of our fun ones. You can use these with your family, or just enjoy reading about ours. I know I will enjoy sharing about them:)


"Our awards banquet"

One week, we made up awards. We just got plain white paper and markers. Each one of us picked a certificate to make and color. We had a "best pose" award, a "funniest face" award, a "best snort" award, and a "laugh champion" award. It was so much fun just making the certificates.

Then we started the competition, because in our house there is always competition! For the "best pose" award, we had to strike 5 poses and hold them for 5 seconds- it was really funny seeing what the boys came up with. I won this award:)

Then, It was the "funniest face" award. This one got us laughing of course. I think we did 5 faces as well. Ethan won this award (for those that know him, you know he has the best facial expressions!).

On to the "best snort" award. It's pretty self explanatory but I'm still asking myself why we taught the boys how to snort, and snort loud! Brandon won this award. Ask him to snort for you someday:)

Lastly, we had the "laugh champion" award. We had to make our best attempt at making the others laugh. You could do just about anything (except tickle). Merrick won this one. It was great because we ended the night laughing!!

I picked this family night because it was fun. It also gave the boys much needed self esteem. You could hang up the awards in their room or on the fridge. They had to "perform" in front of us but had fun while doing it. We still have the awards and it's fun to look back and remember that night. Our boys are now 8 and 5, I think this was about a year and a half ago so your little ones should be at least 4 so they understand what's going on. Or, mom and dad could just perform for the kids and they would think that is pretty funny too!

Stay tuned for more details on some of our family nights. Do you have a "family night"? Any ones you want to share about?Tell us about your family- how many kiddos are there? How old are they?

Loving others

When I was little, I used to think about traveling to new places and meeting new people. I still have that desire. One thing that has been so unique for me is that God has granted that desire although it's been in a new way.

I volunteer on the internet campus for our church each Sunday. I am a "lobby chat host". Basically I greet people and help them make it to the video area. We also connect people with others and make connections that lead to those people getting plugged in to small groups and maybe even missions. I meet the most amazing people. Granted, it's not face to face but after chatting with them, I usually feel like we've just sat down over coffee.

I met a man from Ghana whom I will not name. There were about 3 of us carrying on a conversation with him. We were trying to help him with some technical aspects and then get plugged into a small group that meets during the week. The man asked "Why do you care about me? We are strangers. Why are you being so nice?".

It was really sweet. We explained to him that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. God tells us to "love our neighbors". I'm not posting this to brag at all. The sad part is that If I would have met this man from Ghana on the street- I would have been shy or reserved. I would not have known that he spoke English. I probably would not have spoken with him at all even if I had wanted to.

"Our neighbors" are everywhere. Not just random people in a lobby chat. But everywhere! We have our real "neighbors". People at the grocery store. People at school. People at the park. I feel like I am a friendly person but do not bend over backwards to make connections with people. In fact, most of the time I am too caught up with my kids acting up or what time schedule I am on to even notice people sometimes.

While it touched me what this man felt like (through Christ in the 3 of us), I want to carry that out. I want people in the places I mentioned above to say "Why are you being so nice to me? Why do you even care about me?"

That's a challenge for all of us. Reach out to those you don't know. Those of a different ethnicity. Those that are right there even when you don't "have time". Reach out and see what God does :)

My 5 yr. old heartbreaker

While driving home this morning from taking Merrick to school, Ethan asked me if I wanted to know about everything that happens at school. I was a little nervous but said yes enthusiastically.

He replied with " I think a girl in my class is in love with me and it's embarrassing. She always tells me how cute I am and I don't even like her".

Ahh....the heartbreaking begins. Sorry ladies, The Donaldson men are just studs!

Fruit of the Spirit

A little look at Galations 5:22-26.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Have you ever noticed, no matter how many times we are told it is God's work in us, we still try to make it happen on our own? There is something in us that continually tries to gain control. There is something about our faith that waivers when we have to rely on God's Spirit to produce fruit in us.

24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. The truth is our job is to crucify our sinful nature with its passions and desires and live by the Spirit. We are not meant to produce the fruit, but instead, keep in step with the one who does.

In The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer discusses the definition of "fruit" versus "works of the flesh." Here is a great excerpt from that discussion:

There are many works of the flesh, but only one fruit of the Spirit. Works are done by human hands, fruit thrusts upward and grows all unbeknown to the tree which bears it. Works are dead, fruit is alive, and bears the seed which which will bring forth more fruit. Works can subsist on their own, fruit cannot exist apart from the tree. Fruit is always the miraculous, the created; it is never the result of willing, but always a growth

26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
But this definition of fruit must also change our measurements. We are not out to compare, copy, or demean each other in regards to our fruitful living. The fruit is not our doing. It was not meant to be the focus. "There is no room for boasting here, but only for an ever more intimate union with Him."

May we all keep in step with the Spirit of God as he produces fruit in our lives.

One Body (part 2 of 2)

Diversity in Unity

One thing that can quickly become twisted in this concept of being One Body of Christ is the individual aspect. Uniformity is not the goal of unity. Sometimes when the church takes on programs described as "discipleship" we consciously or unconsciously have the incorrect goal of uniformity. The analogy of the church being the Body of Christ tells us the opposite of this is true. We are encouraged in our uniqueness. We have EACH been given gifts (have been designed differently) by the Spirit of God. It is our uniqueness that unifies that allows us to "fit" together and work as ONE body. Uniformity creates more of the same. Our diversity is what should be celebrated not feared. We have too many believers trying to be just like other believers and too many local churches trying to copy every detail of other local churches, and we are reaping the benefits....a dis-functional body.

So how do we grow in unity while discovering our diversities? A.W. Tozer in one of my favorite books, The Pursuit of God, paints a great picture to illustrate this. He writes, "One-hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other. They are one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard." If you try to tune each piano to each other, you will drift away from the original tuning. You have to have the one original that all are tuned too. I love that. When tuned to him, we are able to live out our individual uniqueness in order to promote growth in the ONE Body! The consequence of "tuning" to Jesus is that we are all tuned to each other...like a great orchestra that has been tuned to one standard is only great when they each play their unique parts in unison.

Any thoughts, personal application, or church application from this idea?

One Body (part 1 of 2)

This has continually come up in my reading lately,that as Christians we are uniquely individual in order to promote unity in ONE body (Eph. 4:11-12). To be the ONE Body of Christ is the reason we are all unique. In the church, we have been guilty of pushing the uniqueness of believers to an individual faith. In the Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, "It is impossible to become a new man as a solitary individual." Have you ever thought about that? The fullness of Christ is expressed in his Body, the church, not in me individually (Eph. 1:22-23). By myself, I miss being a part of the fullness of Christ expressed to the world. It only happens through the ONE body. Bonhoeffer states, "The Church is one man, it is the Body of Christ. But it is also many, a fellowship of members (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12)." We need each other. We need to discover, maintain, and celebrate our uniqueness, for the goal of growing our unity in the body.

Where do you feel the Body of Christ is concerning the issue of being One Body? What can we do differently to realize and live out this wonderful truth?