A month in pictures-Tapestry Project

We were fortunate to be able to serve at the Tapestry Project. We helped in handing out coats, scarves, and food. We also got to sing along with the kids and teach them some Lifekids.tv songs :)

Unloading the truck

Merrick rockin out to Lifekids.tv music

Ethan handing out blankets. He gave them out until they were all gone.

Burdened

As I write tonight I am burdened.
Burdened for hungry and alone kids out there.
Burdened for adults who are unhappy.
Burdened for people who have lost their homes in recent tornadoes,
cyclones and earthquakes.
Burdened for the fighting happening in South Africa.

After watching footage of kids who have lost both parents, my heart is broken.
Broken for a lost and hurting world in a need of a savior.
Broken because I have a very blessed life and still find room to complain or ask for more.
Broken because I feel helpless.

I want to see change happen NOW. The hopelessness leaves me dead in my tracks doing nothing. NOTHING. It is not up to me to solve the worlds problems. It is not even up to me to offer hope to them- because I am not the giver of life and hope. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is. Why not offer Him to them? That is what they need. That is their only hope. Instead, NOTHING.

Lord, help my unbelief! You carry our burdens. You love the lost and hurting. Reach out your hand like only you can. Help me to do SOMETHING, unless doing nothing is where I need to be. AMEN

Jacob's Ladder

As I stated earlier, we just got back from a micro-mission. Brandon and I had been prayerfully seeking a mission trip for both of us this summer. Although, we wanted to take our family back to Monterrey, MX, we felt like God had something else in store. We thought about Sierre Leon, Haiti and then NY. We ended up in Chandler, OK (only about 45 minutes from where we live!). Kind of ironic, huh?
We learned that sometimes we want the "big thing" and our example of a big thing is totally different than the Lord's. We didn't need to fly away to make a difference. We had a GREAT experience at Jacob's Ladder and want to go back!

Our group of about 20 completed 10 bunk beds, worked on roofing, framing, and windows. We did landscaping and mowing and tree clipping. Most importantly, we bonded together as one from all over the US, for one common goal. We worked as a team. We also bonded with God. To see Him move in so many different people's lives is completely cool. To be able to serve alongside my online life group women was humbling.
Has God shaken you up lately? Has He met a need in a way you didn't expect?

WOW

Wow...that's all I can say about this past weekend! I will probably be posting a ton about our past 5 days. 5 days? That's all? It seems like we made so many memories and did SO many things in only 5 days.

I wanted to tell you all about yesterday. We went to Lifestock which is an annual celebration held at a local amusement park. We had about 3000 Lifechurch.tv attenders from the local OKC campuses.

It was HOT, but it was a ton of fun. We had roller coasters, yummy food, a concert, and then baptisms. Baptisms are where I get all choked up. There were over 300 people that got baptized. That means that about 10% of the people there were taking their first step as a Christian and being baptized.

The picture above is of 2 of my online life group women getting baptized. What a privilege to get to be able to witness this! :) Rachel is from Maine and Kywanna is from Illinois.

It was one of those days that just confirms why the Internet campus exists. It was such a reward to meet these women in person. They are on the plane right now as I type. Write some encouragement to them below!

I will share more about the mission trip we went on a little later. It was such a positive experience. We can't wait to go back next year! We were so proud wearing our "Internet Campus" shirts around:)

Falling behind and catching up

Hey friends....sorry we have not been posting much lately. Let me catch you up on what's been happening around here. We will be away from the computer for the next few days as well on a mission trip but will be back refreshed and ready on Monday!

• Today in about 2 hours, I am driving to the airport to pick up 3 of my online life group ladies and they are staying with me tonight and tomorrow.
  

• Tomorrow, I am dropping off the boys with my parents and B and I (and my life group ladies) are going on a micro-mission with our church. We are working on a boys home for kids with incarcerated parents. We will be doing some cleaning up, minor repairs, and just getting the place ready for summer. (I'm sure we will post all about that next week!) There are several other Internet Campus attenders coming to the mission as well.
  

• Then Sunday, we return for Lifestock which is an annual event at Lifechurch.tv. It is held at a local amusement park. We all wear Lifestock shirts and it's so fun to feel like Lifechurch.tv has invaded the place! In the evening, there is a concert and HUGE baptism. I remember just sitting and crying a couple of years ago while watching the baptisms. I am still in awe that we get to be a part of such a move of God!

• Monday, my online friends fly home and we get back to schedule :(
  

• Also- yesterday we had our 2nd home study meeting. Things are progressing more quickly than we had originally thought. There is a possibility that we will get to go to the July "DHS adoption party" where the kids awaiting adoption and the prospective adoptive parents get to meet and hang out in a casual setting. We are anxiously awaiting this adoption. Got a *little* nervous yesterday when I realized we have NO baby stuff and we might be getting a little one. I know God will provide for us! Be looking for us to have a shower this fall...hee hee. We are thinking this will occur before the end of the year! Our family could be growing in just a few short months! Please join us in prayer about this exciting and life-changing transition :) We will keep you posted for sure as you are on this journey with us!

THANK YOU so much for reading! It means so much that people out there care about us and that we have unique relationships with all of you:)

Friday follow-up #3

Is it Friday again? Crazy how fast the week goes!....

• We are planning on going to see "Narnia: Prince Caspian" tomorrow with the boys on our AMC gift card. Can't wait. This is one movie the boys have been anticipating more than us. UPDATE: We saw it on Saturday and all LOVED it! It was a great family day:)
  
• B and I shot some video footage yesterday (compliments of Mr. Kevin Ely) to be shown in week 2 of Fanatic at church. Brandon is so used to the camera that it's like second nature. I, on the other hand, get silly and giggly when I'm nervous. Fortunately, Kevin is a great editor!
• Bought the boys new swimsuits yesterday- yah! They only have 6 more days of school- I absolutely LOVE summertime. This is a time of year I truly am thankful that I get to stay home with my boys and enjoy every day of the summer.
• Brandon is addicted to "Planet Earth". We rented the DVDs from the local library and they really are spectacular. Have you seen any of it?
  
• Our anniversary is next week, I'll have to post more about that later.
• We have a mission trip at the end of the month that I will be posting about as well.

What are you up to? Read any good books lately? Seen any good movies you'd like to recommend? (pretty sure you know by now we are movie junkies).

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?

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?

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 :)

Flowerdust much?

Our blogging friend, Anne Jackson, is heading to Uganda to make an impact with several other members of the blogosphere- stay updated by clicking on the picture below and checking out her blog this next week. They leave on Sunday Feb 10th and return on Feb.18th. Sponsor a child if you can as well:)

Want to help a child in need?

It's Thanksgiving week, can you believe it? I have so much to be thankful for! I have a relationship with the Lord Jesus . I love my family to pieces. I have incredible friends. And, although we have been struggling a bit with finances- we have met ALL of our bills on time. You know, I don't think that we really know what "struggling" is! To me that means that we don't get to eat out (gasp) or buy things that we really don't need!

We are going to use this holiday season to GIVE any way we can to those that are REALLY struggling. Our church is collecting "lifepacks" to give to kids in need. There are so many parents out there that are trying to make ends meet. They want to give their children the world just like we do. We want to stand beside them and help them reach the needs of the kids in our communities.

So, if you want to help make a Lifepack, just click here. You won't regret it!

Most lifepacks will cost about $20-$25 to fill. Make a difference in a child's life! Do you REALLY need that CD or that I-pod this year???

Several months back our church did a series called "mysecret". It was modeled after postsecret where people go and confess secrets anonymously. The thinking behind ours was that if people can identify their secrets (sins) and admit them in writing, then it will be easier to tell another person eventually and hopefully confess to God.

Well, it ended up being a national news story and they had people debating over whether or not it was the "right" thing to do. It's still going strong! People are still confessing on a daily basis. It's really sad to read the posts and can be a downer for sure. But the thing that's hard to see is that these are really people struggling with real sins! Some of them are deep into it and see no way out!

Tonight we are having a micro-mission on the Internet campus where we are going to go to mysecret.tv and pray over people and encourage them. You are all invited if you want to join us!

TONIGHT- 8PM (CENTRAL TIME), MEET IN THE LOBBY CHAT ON THE INTERNET CAMPUS! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!

I want to make a difference!

Brandon and I are in a pattern of watching documentaries and historical movies based on actual events. It has been very eye opening to say the least.

We watched 2 that dealt with the 1994 war/genocide in Rwanda. The sad part to me is that while THOUSANDS of people were dying, I really had no idea. I was in college then and Brandon and I were dating. Honestly, I don't even remember seeing it in the news. I really didn't watch much news back then anyways. There is a statement in Hotel Rwanda where Joaquin Phoenix says that people in America see things on the news and say "oh, that's really sad" and then just turn the channel because they don't want to "see" it. I think we don't want to see it because then we would have to do something about it!

I realize that particular war is over, but there are new ones going on in our world right now! I became aware of Darfur through George Clooney of all people. I'm to the point now where I have to do something. We should all have something that moves us to action. It feels so overwhelming sometimes because you wonder if one person can make a difference. I say yes, they can. To think that genocide is going on right now is so surreal to me. I mean, it seems like something that happened a long time ago. Brandon said that there is also a huge slave trade going on and there are at least 100,000 slaves in America right now. RIGHT NOW! In 2007! I don't know why it shocks me, but it does. I need to start doing some reading!

So, I hope that when the movies come out for our present time, I will be able to say that I remember it and actually made a difference in someone's life during that time. I pray that I will not be so focused on myself and my family that I miss the chance to show Jesus and His love to everyone I can.

What's your Holy hurt?

What's your Holy hurt? Our pastor asked us that several months ago. What is that thing that makes you burdened? What stays on your heart and on your mind for a while? What makes you want to stand up and "do" something to make a difference in this world? What breaks your heart? What makes you angry?Well, that is your holy hurt!

This past weekend our church reinforced that by talking about our burdens. It was REALLY good and eye opening. Sometimes we just complain about injustice, sometimes we sit back and feel helpless, and sometimes we do small things to appease our cares.

Brandon and I are getting really close to identifying our burden but that is only the beginning! Now, we want to let our burden call us to action. The bad thing about me is that I want to do so many things. I think about those things a lot....but I never DO them because I am not sure what the first priority should be.

God has been stirring the pot...he has been MESSING US UP if you know what I mean. We both read Irresistible Revolution, we watched several movies that brought up our burden. We went to Mexico for a couple of weeks. We gave to the needy. We did these minor things that really in the scheme of life do not mean much.

My "burden" is neglected kids and teens...those that can not help themselves. Those that don't have much of a chance. That's why I worked with teens in maximum security prisons before. That's why I love to single out the person in the room who looks most uncomfortable and try to talk to them. That's why I love to smile at those hardened by life's hurts. That's why I love to sing and play with little ones who have had to face so much in their short little lives.

Brandon's is similar but he feels led to educate and inspire. He wants to make those same "kids" see they can be more. He loves to teach. He loves to equip. He loves to challenge with questions and actions. He loves to confront and ask those tough questions that most people shy away from. He loves to be real, to be genuine.

So, like I said, it's great to identify....but what's next? Only God knows. We will be praying and seeking what He is telling us. We will be patient for His timing. We will also do what we can to act NOW. Do what we can now. We don't want to let those little moments pass us by.

What's your Holy hurt? What's your divine burden??