Long Day (Prayer Request)

We had a long day on staff today. One of our children's ministry faith trainers, Chris Greene, died this morning of a massive heart attack. He was only 39 and leaves behind a widow and three young children. While I didn't know Chris personally, I do know the children's ministry staff and tried to be supportive to them today. Needless to say, none of us understand God's timing in this. Chris was a man who loved the Lord, his family and sharing God's Word with children. He will be sorely missed.

Please be in prayer for his family as they adjust to life without him. Please be in prayer for our pastor as he preaches the funeral on Saturday and our children's ministry staff as they tell the children on Sunday and try to answer the unanswerable questions. Many of the children are out of town on Spring Break trips with their families and Sunday will be a long, hard day. Pray that God will be glorified in our response to this situation as a church.

Biloxi '09

I'm back from Biloxi and we had a great time. I'm tired but it's a good tired. We have been blessed with an awesome set of kids in our student ministry. They love the Lord and sharing their faith. They are also incredibly hard workers. I heard no complaining out of this group even though it wasn't the most organized of trips and the Worship was much different than they were used to.

I am thrilled that God has given me the opportunity to work with these kids and see the growth as they mature and continue to give their lives to Christ. As one of our student ministers put it "For our kids, it's not a question of if they'll go or when. For them, it's a question of should I go to Asia or Latin America this summer." Such a different viewpoint from many kids.

I'll put pictures out there when I get them downloaded and then uploaded to the site.

Random Thoughts

A little randomness for your Friday afteroon enjoyment...

I'm off to Biloxi on Sunday for a few days of mission work with our youth. I'm super excited because 1) I love mission work and 2) I have a GREAT group. I'm sure all the groups are awesome but I have a really good group of kids. We should have a fun time in Biloxi. I can give a few status updates because I downloaded the Facebook app on my Blackberry.

This is such a fun time of year for this rabid sports fan. It's championship week on ESPN so it's all basketball almost all the time. SEC tourney, ACC tourney, Pac-10 tourney, Big East tourney, they are ALL playing right now. Then next Thursday starts the absolute best weekend in sports, the opening weekend of March Madness. I remember in college we would go to our earliest classes and then head to PT's sports bar in Homewood to watch the rest of the action, staying until well into the night. I wish I had a group of friends that liked basketball as much as I do. Oh well, I'll enjoy it by myself. :-)

To add to the sports enjoyment, by the time March Madness ends in early April, baseball season will be starting. I doubt the Braves will have a stellar, playoff type year but hey, it's still baseball. Have I mentioned lately I'm a sports nut?

Back to work...

Too Funny Not to Share

I stole this from another blog (www.pulpit-pimps.org). It's just too good not to share:

Heresy Hillbillies
(Sung to the tune of Beverly Hillbillies)

Come and listen to a story ’bout a boy named Joel
Keepin’ sheeple happy was his one and only goal
Didn’t need no trainin’ from no fancy Bible school,
To build a congregation of unScriptural fools
(Sheeple that is, darkened souls, Bible free )

Well the first thing you know old Joel’s a millionaire
With just a winning smile and a crop of wavy hair
Don’t know if a Moslem goes to Heaven or to Hell
But he sure do know his way around shampoo and gel.
(Whitening gels, glistening teeth )

Well now it’s time to say goodbye to Joel’s trophy wife
Time to let them get on back to living their best life,
You’re all invited back again to their locality
To have a heaping helpin’ of their happy heresy
(Heresy Hillbillies, that’s what they call ‘em now, nice folks.)

Y’all come back now, ya hear?


For those who feel like I do, that Joel Osteen is a charlatan who is leading people down a dangerous path, they will see the humor in this. But, we should as Christ-followers, fall to our knees and pray for Joel and those like him who are making the Gospel say what they want it to in order to appeal to a mass audience. It saddens me that the simple concept of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone can be so screwed up by man.

Facebook

Well, I finally broke down and did it...I joined Facebook. Of course it look me lots longer than most people because of my interesting last name. Facebook denied me the first time I tried and when I e-mailed them and asked for permission, I got some long e-mail back asking for every bit of info. under the sun. Well, I don't have time for that. So, I waited for a few months and tried again. Got rejected again but this time got a helpful person who opened the account and sent me a username and password. Now, I'm in the "club."

Of course, I don't promise to be the most avid Facebook person and I'll have to get my 7th grade girls to show me how to best use the stinkin' site but at least I have a spot. I like my blog better but I do think Facebook will help keep me connected if I end up moving in a few months.

On that note, be praying for me. I e-mailed today for more information on two jobs with the TO Nation. As most of you know, I'd move there tomorrow if a job was available. I know that doesn't make everyone happy but God has drawn my heart there and I am praying He leads me out there.

Now I'm off to bed to read because I'm cold and my bed is warm. Of course, I'll have to fight the cat...

SNOW!!!

It finally snowed in Alabama in amounts that could be measured in inches! It's been ages since we got snow that actually amounted to anything. While I didn't get out and play in it, it was absolutely beautiful. We had to call the kids inside so we could start large group time this morning. They were having a ball throwing snowballs at each other, the windows, brave teachers and anyone else who happened by. It's amazing how snow can make even the most "mature" teachers frolic like little kids. The only thing that would have made the day better is if it had lasted into the evening and we could get a snow day out of it. Oh well, maybe next year...

Here are some of the pictures from today:

Back Patio:


Cars Covered in Snow:


View off Back Patio:


Breezeway View:


Some From Church:








This poor tree must be so confused. Don't know if it shows up but it was fully bloomed...

Rain, Rain, Rain

I took a sick day today because I felt like I had been hit by a bus, twice. I was still so incredibly tired from last weekend that when I left yesterday, I had a headache, ached all over and the computer screen was fuzzy. My body was screaming for a day off. While I did take Monday off, I spent a couple of hours running errands so I didn't get total rest. Today was different, I stayed indoors, out of the rain and storms.

Speaking of rain, I'm really thinking about going to Home Depot tomorrow and checking to see if they got a shipment of gopher wood. It has rained like crazy today and is supposed to rain/storm all night and into tomorrow. We needed the rain, I just don't think anyone wanted it all at once. And they're talking snow for tomorrow night. Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it. This is AL after all.

I did enjoy my day today. I slept in, had my quiet time and then lounged on the couch all day. It was quite nice to just rest and not think about anything in particular. Tomorrow may be much of the same although I'll probably do a little cleaning and then work some on my South Africa AIDS stuff.

Now, I'm off to surf the 'net for a few minutes and then go to bed.

It's a Good Tired...

I am still a little tired from the weekend but it's a good tired and a contentment that the main crunch is over. We had a amazing turn out Sunday for our membership finale. There were somewhere near 300 people in attendance at three events and most of them are completing the membership process. Praise the Lord!

We had such a great volunteer/support system to pull this off. Without them, we could not have successfully funneled 300 people through our Student Building. We had people helping out beforehand, filing paperwork, sticking stickers on folders, alphabetizing, putting out tablecloths, cutting out circles, spreading napkins, etc., etc., etc. God really blessed me and Debby with some truly AWESOME people. Our new members commented about how welcomed they felt and how smoothly everything ran.

I also got to watch God work. I was tasked with assigning potential new members to table hosts. For the most part, I was matching people by age, life stage, interests, etc. There was only one table where the host had requested people. Everything else was based on where I put them. I had a number of people ask me "I knew the people at my table, did you do that on purpose?" I was thinking to myself, um, how would I KNOW that? It was a God-thing pure and simple. He knew where the people needed to be and guided my decision making. It's so cool that we have such a big God yet He cares about the simple things like table assignments. It was just one more way people felt invited and loved on.

Now my life is back to a semblance of normalcy. I am planning a meeting with committee members next week to get started on data collection and hopefully get to a point in very short order where I'll have some good results to comment on and write up to defend. I am so ready to be finished.

I am also starting the job search process. I covet your prayers as I begin this journey. I know where I would like to end up but I want to make sure my will aligns with God's in this situation. I want to stay in ministry but be able to use my public health knowledge at the same time. I am just growing so much while being in a ministry role, I would like to see that continue. I know He has the perfect place already decided, I just have to be diligent and pray through my decisions. Thanks in advance for those prayers. :-)

Now I'm off to watch some TV before bed. More to come when I feel inspired again.

Go God!

I picked the title because that's how I feel after yesterday. I had such an interesting time teaching my 7th grade girls yesterday. I have one girl, H. who is a processor. She thinks out loud and it's so neat to watch her process what God is teaching her. H. is also quick to say "yay God!" for her successes and share those with her classmates. For example, she was nervous about doing well in track tryouts and she said she prayed all day "God take away my fear." and He did. Track tryouts weren't a problem. I love the way she's willing to take God at his word and trust Him for her needs. It's neat when Beth (my co-teacher) and I can see growth in the girls' walks with the Lord.

I'm also excited about getting to chaperone the Spring Break missions trip to Biloxi. I have no idea what we're doing but I know we'll be working with World Changers so I imagine they'll keep us busy. Last year's trip to New Orleans was pretty powerful for the students that went so I imagine this year will be the same.

My most exciting part of yesterday was the AIDS Hospice team meeting. God has brought together the most amazing people. Kristi and I could NEVER have put together a team like this if we'd tried. We have three women who've been to SA before and have a heart for the people, one hospice social worker and one member who has lost a relative to AIDS. Everyone is so excited about the possibilities for the trip and the opportunity we will have to share Christ's love with a desperate people. What greater urgency for the Gospel than among those who are staring eternity in the face? My fervent prayer now is that God will knit us together as a team and that we will work together for His glory and be Christ to those we encounter.

I'm also excited that God is working the membership process details out. While I am still incredibly busy, ever since reading that Chambers' quote last Monday, I've had such a different outlook and I think God is blessing my efforts. We have a system in place to handle almost every contingency that people can throw at us so now it's just a matter of working the system.

Now I'm off to go watch another "House Hunters" episode and then head to bed.

Thoughts on Romans

I finished reading the book of Romans yesterday and I have decided it is one of the best books in the entire Bible if not the best. This isn't the first time I've read all the way through it but I had some new insights from it this go around. Romans really is a perfect book to use with sharing the Gospel. You could easily tell a questioning person to read through Romans and then sit down and talk through it. From Chapter 1 to Chapter 16, it is full of great wisdom and guidance for the whole Christian walk, from beginning to end. It begins with a great outline in 1:16-17 - I AM NOT ASHAMED of the Gospel...what great words! Salvation for EVERYONE who believes. Not acts, not tries hard enough, not is good enough, not prays enough, everyone who believes. What other religion offers that kind of promise. Then there is the beauty of Chapter 3. While it starts out very heavy, the transition in verse 21 with the word "but" should make everyone shout praise the Lord from the rooftops. The majesty continues into Chapter 8:1-2 when Paul says there is now NO condemnation for those in Christ Jesus and on to vs. 14-15, we have not received a spirit of fear but a spirit of adoption. (Can I get an amen?) Verses 28-32 are an awesome promise to the Christ-follower. He is continuing to work in us. The instructions continue as the rest of the chapters outline how we as Christ followers are to act. This whole book is an instruction manual for how to live a Christ-like life and how to glorify Christ with our lives.

I would highly encourage anyone who hasn't read Romans all the way through to give it a try and see what God will show to you. It is such an amazing 16 chapters of truth! And speaking of glorifying God, I want to close with a John Piper quote that I thought was cool when I came across it a little while ago in my quiet time:

"Salvation is not a ground for boasting of our worth to God. It is an occasion for self-abasement and joy in the glorious grace of God on our behalf - a grace that never depends on our distinctives, but flows from God's overwhelming concern to mangify His own glory on behalf of His people." -John Piper, Desiring God

Streams of Consciousness

(This will ramble so just bear with it)

I truly love how God works in amazing ways. This week started the "true" insanity at work and yesterday was somewhat stressful. I was kind of crabby at work and a few outside things were happening that compounded everything so it was just weird. But, last night, I was reading Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest" as part of my quiet time and came across the greatest quote. "You have no right to complain 'O Lord, I am so exhausted.' He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember He is your supply." Talk about an attitude adjuster. It gave me a whole new perspective on work. Plus, he sent me an awesome volunteer to help over the next two weeks as we shepherd 550+ people through the membership process. See, He was being my supply and I hadn't even taken time to thank Him for it. Needless to say, I had a whole new attitude at work today and the day was marvelous. No less busy but with the different perspective, it was a good busy.

God is also so cool in how I see people getting excited about what God is doing at Brook Hills. People are working through what David is teaching in their own personal quiet times and prayer closets and are beginning to see that David isn't trying to beat us up. He is trying to equip us to get about God's business. God intends for the local church to be the body of Christ to the nations and gave us the fullness of Christ for that purpose. (Check out Ephesians 1:15-23 for more detail). We are so spiritually illiterate that we get caught up in comparing whether we are as good or as radical as the next guy and miss the whole freakin' point. God wants to use us as part of the local body to not only win Bham but the whole world for Him. We have to be willing to strip off the junk and deal with our crap and let God restore us as we are used by Him. We'll never be a "finished" product this side of Heaven but we NEED to spend time with God and let Him identify what needs to be changed. David is doing what a pastor is called to do...preach the Word. The Holy Spirit is convicting people (I know He has me) through David's messages but if conviction didn't happen week in and week out, how would we be any different?

I also marvel at how God is putting together a team for South Africa. As of two weeks ago or so, we had less than 6 people signed up including me and my co-leader. As of today, we have a full team and have had to close registration. Praise the Lord!! One lady doesn't yet know she's going. Her husband is giving her the trip as a Valentine's Day present. How cool is that?! She gets a global trip for Valentine's Day. That's the kind of husband I want. I sense God moving in an awesome way in how this team is developing. Since what we are doing is new, we have no idea what to expect but we also have a wonderful blank canvas to work with. We'll come back to the US with what works and what doesn't and be ready to send 10 more teams in 2010. Just one more step in reaching Sub-Saharan Africa for God and seeing His glory shine in all nations.

If you're still reading, thanks for putting up with the randomness. Sometimes the worst part about living alone is being so full of God-stuff to share and having no one to share it with. I feel better now that I've gotten it all out.

Super Bowl Wrap-Up

I had a good time last night at a mini-Super Bowl party hosted by some friends of mine. I say "mini" because it wasn't your all-out, decorate, serve food for an army type of party. Sure, we had plenty of good food but it was more about hanging out with your friends than a party. It was the first time I've watched the Super Bowl with a real fan of one of the teams playing. One of the guys at the part (the imp's husband) is a big Steelers fan and had his terrible towel and everything last night.

The game was good - actually a competitive game. Neither team played exceptionally well but it was exciting til the end. Most years the commercials are better than the Super Bowl. Definitely not so this year. The commercials were horrible for the most part. There were a few good ones (Mr/Mrs Potato Head, a couple of Budweiser ads, Etrade ads) but most were a HUGE waste of money. I can't remember a year where the ads were so forgettable.

Now that the Super Bowl is done, it's on to the most optimistic four words in professional sports...pitchers and catchers report.

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.