Is Clothes Sorting a Spritual Gift?

Not usually found in the list given by Paul but I seem to be really good at it. Must be the spiritual gift of administration kicking in. I actually like to organize stuff. I spent close to 5 hours this morning and afternoon helping Heather from 1Way sort stuff from the storage unit the ministry has. I have to say that having so many clothes and shoes to sort is a great problem to have. Praise the Lord that there are so many people willing to part with perfectly good (sometimes brand new) clothing and shoes to help those who have little or nothing. Donors can rest assured that donations to 1Way are packed up and shipped either to AZ or to South Africa and distributed freely to those in need. We had to have sorted enough kids' clothes to outfit every kid on the reservation. :-) I kept finding shoes that would work so well for the little one who has stolen my heart. It's also neat to pray over the clothes, for the people who will receive them, that they will be receptive to the love with which the clothes are given and be receptive to the Gospel message shared by those giving out the clothes.

I so love that God gives us the opportunity to help missions organizations even when we can't necessarily "go" on one of their trips.

Birthday Weekend

I had a wonderful weekend this past weekend. God has blessed me with a great family that I love spending time with. I spent Friday, my actual birthday, taking care of my dad who just had knee surgery and then went house-hunting with my sister. We saw one really nasty house, one so-so house, one great house with a great yard but lousy kitchen and one really cute little house that Sarah has fallen in love with. Then she and I went out for Mexican and then home to have birthday cake that she made for me. I also got to open my present. It was full of wonderful stuff to pamper myself with. It included a WONDERFUL pair of cashmere slippers that Bath & Body Works had this Christmas season. I wouldn't pay full price for them but Sarah managed to snag the last pair they had when they were 75% off. They are so comfy on my feet. :-) Those of you who know me know I cannot stand shoes and barely tolerate socks so I rarely find good slippers. These make my feet feel like they have their own special pillows. The whole bag had stuff I will enjoy using but would not buy for myself. Between the cake and the gift, I felt so special.

Saturday we went shopping since I needed a new suitcase. We then went and looked at more houses. We didn't find anything that matches the cute house from Friday. Provided the budget numbers work out, this could be her house. Saturday night, we got to have daddy grilled steaks. I know most men who are less than a week post-op would beg off grilling. Not my dad. He got Sarah to help him and he fired the grill right up. The steaks were marvelous. I think I'm spoiled. I can only think of two restaurant steaks in my lifetime that have come anywhere near the quality of steak my dad grills. After dinner, Sarah went home to spend time with Barney and mom and I watched basketball. Perfect ending to a great day. Slept in Sunday and then drove back to the 'ham.

This weekend is just a memory now but I'm blessed to have a family that truly enjoys being around each other and can make pleasant memories instead of nasty ones.

Prayer Request

I know I have several readers so I thought I would put this out in cyberspace for additional prayer support. I can't give too many details because I'm not sure how much I can share in open cyberspace but God will know who you are talking about.

I have a friend who was involved in an auto vs. pedestrian accident on Friday in another state. He hit a pedestrian who wandered into his lane (the police have found the pedestrian was at fault). The man he hit is in critical condition. Please be in prayer for the pedestrian and for my friend who is dealing with the enormous weight that results from this type of accident. Thanks.

In Love...

Not that kind of "in love". In love with my Savior. As I posted earlier this month, I am working on spiritual goals this year, one of which is trusing in God and resting in His perfect timing. As I've continued to have my daily quiet times, I find myself drawn to Him more and more. In the past, my quiet times have become somewhat of a chore or an "I have to do this" concept. Fortunately, this year, God is revealing Himself to me in a way that I haven't experienced before. Everyday, I see something new in Scripture. Even in the more "mundane" passages in Nehemiah. It makes me want to dig, know more, experience more and just BE more with my Jesus.

For instance, today, I was reading Psalm 46 and most people know verse 1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of need." But, do we keep reading and get to verse 10 "Cease striving and know that I am God."? How contrary to our fleshly desire to do things for ourselves! This is an especially hard verse for me and my type A+ personality. What? You mean God doesn't need my help? Are you sure? That seems to be my message from God for early 2009. I'm slowly learning that our very present help in time of need is also our very present help every single minute of every single day. If you haven't heard it, check out "By Your Side" by 10th Avenue North. Such a great song and a much better conveyer of this message than I am.

Wrong on So Many Levels

John Smoltz in a Boston uniform??? That is just so wrong. What were the Braves thinking? This guy has been the face of your organization for so many years and has taken less money in the past to stay with you. Couldn't you come up with a deal that is respectful of who he is and his abilities? Even by their own admissions, they were impressed with his December throwing efforts. What gives?

This one doesn't hurt quite as much as the Glavine to the Mets deal but it's still wrong. Frank Wren is an idiot.

Randomness

I've taken down the New Year's stuff and was planning to put a winter background up but my favorite blog template site (www.thecutestblogontheblock.com) did a server upgrade over the weekend and I can't get to their site right now. So, we've reverted to the blogspot standby for now. Hopefully my favorite website will be back up and running soon and I can get off the boring stuff.

In other news, I met with the guy who is our South Africa contact over the weekend. He's a cool dude. We learned that we will be accompanied by local hospice workers while we're there. It actually provides two bonuses: first, they will be our translators and they know the area and secondly (and most important in my book), some of them are not Christ-followers and we will have the opportunity to share the Gospel over and over and over for 5 days and develop a relationship with these ladies. I am confident God is going to do some amazing things in the lives of these ladies. We have also had three additional people sign up for the trip over the weekend (Woo-Hoo!!). Right now, we are at 7 people who are confirmed with at least three "maybes" waiting in the wings. Please pray that God continues to stir in people a desire to share God's love with those that are truly the "least of these."

Off to make dinner...

Only in AL??

Why does Alabama seem to attract the idiots? It seems that a pilot of a small plane made a distress call over Huntsville and then made another one saying his windshield had flown off. This plane then crashed outside Milton, FL. Everyone of course was looking for the pilot, fearing the worst. Well, turns out, everything was faked and he bailed out over Shelby County, AL. To top things off, he is the owner of an investment company in Indiana that is under investigation from the feds. Now, if he was taking off from Indiana headed to FL, he had to pass over KY and then TN. Why couldn't he have chosen those states to bail out in? This is leading to a manhunt, costing taxpayers who knows how much money. Maybe we should call in his investors. I bet they could find him!

South Africa 2009

Last night, I had a medical team leaders training for my South Africa AIDS Hospice trip. Yes, God has a funny sense of humor. Me, the white knuckle flyer is going to South Africa in July and last night was the reality check that there is still LOTS to do before we go. Of course, right now, we only have four team members so praying up more team members is job #1. We'll go with only four but having more members means better preparation for 2010 and beyond.

This is the first trip that I have been the responsible party for. Somehow methinks this will be very different than driving on the reservation. :-) Up 'til now, that was my biggest responsibility on the field. Now, I am tasked with training a team on how to share the Gospel cross-culturally, how to interact with those who are dying, how to protect themselves from HIV, TB, and God only knows what else. But, it's like I told my boss last night: God never said obedience would be safe.

It is interesting to begin thinking about how to effectively build a team and equip them to function effectively on the field. I think our biggest task will be reminding them to think about the trip from the eternal perspective. The Gospel will be first and foremost on this trip and if we remember that, we will be successful even if we don't give a single bath or pass out a single pill. Fortunately, David has been preaching an excellent sermon series on grace and freedom in Christ that has tons of valuable information to use while building our training. I am also pulling from other sermon series. Why re-create the wheel?

One piece that I didn't expect to happen so quickly is my excitement about the trip and what God is planning. I know just from what He's showing me in His Word daily that there are lessons to be learned in every experience and the process of sanctification is a learning process. I love knowing that our Father loves us so much that He wants to show us new revelations from His Word if only we'll open our hearts to it. I actually WANT to hear more from Him and learn more. Not because I'm a geek but because I'm in love with my Savior and yearn to know more of Him.

I think there are multiple prayer requests and I would love for prayer warriors to join the fight. First, I am praying for the team members God is preparing to go. Pray they would be open to obeying God's call, learn and grow as a team and be ready to go when the time comes. Secondly, I am praying for the people we will see. Many of them are dealing with the reality of death in the coming months. Pray that they will sense the urgency of eternity and the Spirit will stir their hearts and minds to be receptive to the Gospel message we will share. Finally, I am praying for myself. Pray that I will be open to God's teaching as I prepare to co-lead this team. Pray I will put aside me and my desires and do all our trainings in a way that glorifies only Him.

Thanks in advance for the prayers and support. I will keep posting as we continue to prepare. This is a long process but it will be July before we know it.

New Year, New Goals, New Insights

I had a nice long post typed out this afternoon and the computer froze and ate it. See, the network was down at work and since everything I had to do today was network related, I couldn't do jack. So, I decided to blog. Well, with the network guy in San Diego and helping people out by phone, they shut off the whole system without saying anything to anyone. I lost everything I had typed. I'll try and re-create some of it but some of it will stay gone...oh well, such is life.

I have decided to go with the rest of the blogosphere and not make resolutions. I'm making goals but nothing is set in stone. Anytime I set anything into stone, God comes in and rearranges the furniture (see quote below for explanation). My goals generally revolve around three areas: spiritual, physical and financial. The financial one is pretty obvious. I am graduating soon (cue the Hallelujiah Chorus!!) and will be searching for a job. That new job will pay more than I am currently making which will help out in financial goal #2, paying down credit card debt. I royally put myself into a hole and am diligently working to pay it all off. I am also avoiding putting new charges on and am only purchasing things I truly NEED.

My second area is physical. I am not focusing on weight per se, I am focusing on eating better and getting exercise. If I lose weight in the process, great but I refuse to be bound to numbers on a scale. But, I have a horrible family tree when it comes to heart disease, diabetes and the like so I figure now's as good a time as any to make important changes. I will also feel better in the long run.

Final area is spiritual. I have a goal to read the Bible completely over the next year. I've done it before but it's been a few years and with all the potential changes over the next year, I think this will be a good time to see what God will reveal. I'm also hoping to continue to grow the discipling relationship I've begun and see how God chooses to use both of us for His Kingdom. One of the biggest areas I see God working in my life in 2009 is in the area of trust. I have to trust in Him and Him alone to provide a new job once I am to that point. While my heart's desire is to work with the TO in AZ, He may have something else entirely planned. I am open to that, I just have to be comfortable in His timing and provision. To that end, I found a great Scripture reference this evening as I was having my quiet time.

It is Psalm 62:5-8
"My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. TRUST IN HIM AT ALL TIMES, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."

What a great set of verses. I've found my first Scripture to memorize for '09. Also found a great quote that I mentioned above. It so fits why I've decided to make goals and then let God rearrange as He sees fit.

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
— C.S. Lewis

This is such a great quote by C.S. Lewis. He and A.W. Tozer manage to take words and make them say the most amazing things. If you haven't read Tozer and Lewis, I highly recommend them. Tozer is a bit heavy but well worth the struggle to get through it. To steal a line from a friend, I'm a construction zone. :-)

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year to all my readers (all three of you). I hope everyone has a magnificent 2009!