When you are unsure which course to take, totally submit your own judgment to that of the Spirit of God, asking Him to shut every door except the right one. But meanwhile keep moving ahead and consider the absence of a direct indication from God to be the evidence of His will that you are on His path. And as you continue down the long road, you will find that He has gone before you, locking doors you otherwise would have been inclined to enter. Yet you can be sure that somewhere beyond the locked doors is one He has left unlocked. And when you open it and walk through, you will find yourself face to face with a turn in the river of opportunity - one that is broader and deeper than anything you ever dared to imagine, even in your wildest dreams. So set sail on it, because it flows to the open sea.
God often guides us through our circumstances. One moment, our way may seem totally blocked, but then suddenly some seemingly trivial incident occurs, appearing as nothing to others but speaking volumes to the keen eye of faith. And sometimes these events are repeated in various ways in response to our prayers. They certainly are not haphazard results of chance but are God opening up the way we should walk, by directing our circumstances. And they begin to multiply as we advance toward our goal, just as the lights of a city seem to increase as we speed toward it while traveling at night.
-F. B. Meyer

When God Is Running Late...

WARNING - this is a long post. Just some thoughts I've been wrestling with this weekend that I decided to put down on paper.

Life doesn’t always go the way we want it to. There are many times we think God has dropped the ball. In our humanness, we think that if things would have fallen into place the way we thought it would (or should), everything would be great! God, however, failed us. He screwed up the timing! Where was He? He was 10 minutes too late – or was He?

I am learning a lot about this idea. It seems like God has been a little late on some things in my life lately. It is tempting to give up all faith and trust and try to take things in your own hands. You know, show God how it’s done. Well, this reminds me of some women in the Bible who were doing the very same thing…

Enter Martha and Mary. Remember these gals? Martha was upset with her sister, Mary for sitting at Jesus’ feet rather than helping around the house. They were very close with the Lord – and so was their brother, Lazarus.

John 11 records the unfortunate event of Lazarus falling ill and eventually dying. Mary and Martha have a splendid idea amidst this tragedy – send for Jesus. Surely He will heal their brother whom He loves so dearly! Quickly they prepare a message to be sent to Jesus. Their hope is being restored.

Jesus receives the message and responds by saying that Lazarus will not die from his illness. He then says that He (God) will receive glory from this! The next verse is especially interesting. “Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus, he stayed away where He was for the next two days and did not go to them.” In the NIV, it says “therefore because Jesus loved…” How is it loving to not answer them amidst tragedy? It gets worse in verse 14 and 15. “Then He told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. And for your sake, I am glad I wasn’t there because this will give you another opportunity to believe in me.’” What is He talking about? What kind of friend would be glad they didn’t heal their friend from a deadly illness? And what does He mean by giving His disciples (who already believe in Him) an opportunity to believe in Him?

The answers would come as they arrived in Bethany. Most of us know how the story ends. Jesus sees Martha and then Mary. He cries (debated if it is because He is sad for their mourning or sad for their disbelief). Jesus then calls Lazarus forth from the grave and restores his life.

So, how does this story apply to you and me? First of all, we learn that God does not operate on our timing. He has a plan set in motion and He will bring it forth when He is good and ready. When He does move, it will be for the sole purpose of bringing glory to His name. Sometimes when God seems late, it is because of His love, not His indifference – just like is mentioned in this story.

Secondly, this story applies to our faith life. One reason Jesus is glad He won’t heal Lazarus prior to death is because it will give the disciples another opportunity to believe. Jesus is not insinuating that His very own disciples don’t believe in Him. Rather, He is teaching them more about Himself. He is showing them that their belief can and should grow throughout their lifetime. He is also teaching them that amidst difficult circumstances, believers should not allow their feelings to so cloud their vision that they no longer believe. Faith is a continual process that grows in each situation we face. We have a choice – will we believe Jesus (even if He’s not on our time?) or will we doubt Him? This is a very important choice because if we choose to believe, then we develop perseverance, then character, then maturity in Christ! However, if we choose to doubt, this leads to temptation then to evil and then to death. We must ever be growing in our belief in Christ.

Lastly, we learn that God’s plan and timing is what is best. The timing of this situation ends up being quite near Jesus’ own arrest. This is one of the complaints the Pharisees will charge Him with. Yes, Jesus could’ve healed Lazarus and still brought glory to Himself. God’s best was to wait and bring greater glory by bringing Lazarus back from the dead. This would aid in the perfect timing of Christ’s crucifixion later on and foreshadow His resurrection.

The next time you are checking your watch, wondering “where is God? He’s late again,” remember God does not operate on our timing, God wants our faith in Him to grow through our situation and God’s timing and plan is what is best.

Trust and Obey

We received a phone call last night, indicating that the church we've been pursuing has chosen not to extend us an offer. A little disappointing. God is really challenging us and calling us to a new level of faith! Read the following poem in "Streams in the Desert" one of my all time favorite devotional books.

If we could see beyond today
As God can see;
If all the clouds should roll away,
The shadows flee;
O'er present griefs we would not fret.
Each sorrow we would soon forget,
For many joys are waiting yet
For you and me.

If we could know beyond today
As God does know,
Why dearest treasures pass away
And tears must flow;
And why the darkness leads to light,
Why dreary paths will soon grow bright;
Some day life's wrongs will be made right,
Faith tells us so.

"If we could see, if we could know,"
We often say,
But God in love a veil does throw
Across our way;
We cannot see what lies before,
And so we cling to Him the more,
He leads us till this life is o'er;
Trust and obey.

Personal Evangelism

I have really been challenged for the last year or so on how I am doing with evangelism. I ask myself, "have I lead anyone to the Lord in the last 12 months?" The answer is yes, but it seems like it is from the mission field - not my local one either. The next argument I resort to in my mind is, "I work in a church, I am around only Christians, besides I help teens reach their friends who I never could reach." This thinking is wrong, though! I have been trying to really keep my eyes open for evangelism opportunities. I really believe the Lord provides them. The more we are faithful, the more He provides.

A few months ago, I was pumping gas. I saw a guy going up to another person to ask them something. In my mind I though, "oh no, I hope he doesn't come over here." Well, he did. He seemed really desperate and was asking if I had just one or two dollars for him to buy gas with. My first response was, "I don't have any cash." (which was true). While my gas pumped in my car, I felt really convicted. I went up to the guy and said, I'll go in and pay with my debit card for you to have $5 of gas. He was incredibly thankful. I wanted to tell him why I would do this, but just as I started to go over, he was in his car and gone. I trust that God will somehow use that experience to draw that man to him. It's funny because I just finished studying chapter 2 of James yesterday. It talks about if we go up to someone who is hungry and has no clothes, it does no good to say "God Bless You!" We must show we are Christians by following up with action - in my case, buying a stranger some gas.

I always hear, speakers in particular, talk of these great evangelism encounters on airplane rides. It has never happened to me - until last week. Jon and I were headed home from Texas. We got to our row and the 3rd passenger was a little girl who was crying her eyes out. Instantly, I thought, "I've got to figure out a way to talk to her and tell her about Christ." I introduced myself and asked her name. That was all it took for her to start opening up to me. She was going home from a 6 week visit with her dad (parents are divorced). She was crying because the visit went too fast and she didn't get to say good-bye to her younger brother and sister since they were still sleeping. Her dad is in the airforce and is going to go to Iraq soon.

I kept going over and over in my mind of good transitions to the gospel. Finally, I came up with, "my mom and dad weren't together when I was your age. I know it is hard. You know what helped me? I remembered that God could be my Father when my dad wasn't there and I missed him. " She seemed a little intrigued by such an idea. She told me her grandma used to take her to church, but had since died. I went on to tell her how to have a relationship with Jesus. I didn't feel like I did the best job, though. I didn't want to scare her off, you know? We went on to talk about other things. At one point, she looked out the window at the clouds and asked me, "Where do you think heaven is? Is it above these clouds?" The Holy Spirit opened the door for me once more. I told her how the Bible tells us that the streets are gold in heaven! I asked her how she thinks people get to heaven. She had no idea. I then explained the gospel a second time. I asked her if she ever asked Jesus to have a relationship with her. She kind of changed the subject. Later, she told me of her friends next door. I could tell by her description that they are Jehova Witnesses. I explained that they don't believe the same things about Jesus I had just explained to her. She responded saying, "well, I guess they go to a different heaven. Or maybe the same one." I just shrugged my shoulders, indicating that I did not agree. The cool thing in all of this is that from that comment, I could tell she did take in at least some of what I had shared with her. The Holy Spirit is amazing. I was so tired and had planned on taking a nap that entire flight, but He had something else in mind!

It is never our job to produce results, but we must be obedient when opportunities arise. I just hope I can continue to keep my eyes open for the next person God places in my path. There is something wrong with a Christian if they are not doing evangelism - that's not healthy. The church continually struggles with this balance - feeding the flock vs. outreach. I think this balance might disappear if the individuals of the church take the feeding they receive and live it out. If we all were reaching people in our personal lives, then the church wouldn't need to hold special outreach events. People would come as new believers because their friend, neighbor, co-worker had witnessed to them. I don't write this having attained the goal - I am talking to myself as much or more as I am talking to you. Just some thoughts...

Someday

I've had the new Nichole Nordeman cd "Brave" playing in my car for a couple of weeks now. There is always one song in particular that stands out to me. It is the song, "Someday." I believe it is based on the Scripture 1 Cor. 13:12, "Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now." What a reassuring verse! We may not have the answers to all the "whys?" of this life, but someday we will see clearly. The cool part is that as I was looking up the lyrics online to post this, I discovered that the inspiration for Nichole writing this song was a couple friend of hers who suffered a miscarriage. As I belt the song out at the top of my lungs in my car, however, I believe it was written for me. Enjoy the lyrics!

Someday, by Nichole Nordeman
I believe in the rest of the story.
I believe there's still ink in the pen.
I have waisted my very last day
Trying to change what happened way back when

I believe it's the human condition
We all need to have answers to why
More than ever, I'm ready to say that I
Will still sleep peacefully
With answers out of reach for me until

Chorus:
Someday all that's crazy
All that's unexplained
Will fall into place
And someday all that's hazy
Through a clouded glass
Will be clear at last
And sometimes we're just waiting
For somday.

We are born with a lingering hunger
We are born to be unsatisfied
We are strangers that can't help but wonder
And dream about the other side of
(Chorus)

Every puzzle's missing piece
Every unsolved mystery
More than half of every whole
Rests in the hands that hold you for someday

Thank You, Friend

This is a picture of me with my great friends - Emily (whose about 5 months pregnant in this picture) and Angie. This was taken in March of 2005 when we spent a couple of days together.



I got a lot of studying done today - I am now almost done with chapter 2 of James! Whew! I don't think I would've embarked on this journey if I'd known how much work it would be, but it's worth it. It is so amazing how the Holy Spirit illuminates scripture! I read the same stuff everyday (since Jan.) and yet I still get knew truths out of it!

I decided to haul out all my scrapbooking stuff to get going on that. I am so far behind! I decided that I needed to get caught up before doing Africa pics (from last year). I usually collect stuff for my scrapbook. I was going through stuff I saved and came across some pictures of me with my friends Emily and Allison. They came to visit me in Michigan after I moved. It was such a great weekend! I cried when I saw them - tears of joy of course. They both also wrote me cards and hid them for me to find when they left. I was working on some themes for these pages and decided to put some collectible frienship books to use. You know, the kind that have pictures and quotes.

I came across this poem and couldn't help but think of Emily. I alluded to these thoughts and feelings in an earlier post, but thought this was great too. Emily will probably be totally humble about it and minimize the impact she's had on my life, but every word I type is true! She's been a gift from God. Emily, this poem's for you!

Thank You, Friend
I never came to you, my friend,
And went away without
Some new enrichment of the heart:
More faith, and less doubt,
More courage for the days ahead,
And often in great need
Coming to you, I went away
Comforted, indeed.

How can I find the shining words,
The glowing phrase that tells
All that your love has meant to me,
All that your friendship spells?
There is no word, no phrase for you
On whom I so depend.
All I can say to you is this:
God bless you, precious friend.
-Grace Noll Crowell

The Great I AM!

There's nothing like an African sunset!

I was reading "I am not but I know I AM" by Louie Giglio last night and thought this whole little section was pretty cool.

God knew it was imperative for Moses to know who He was - that He was I AM. I AM is the present tense, active form of the verb to be. As God's name, it declares that He is unchanging, constant, unending, always present, always God.

God was telling Moses:
I AM the center of everything.
I AM running the show.
I AM the same every day, forever.
I AM the owner of everything.
I AM the Lord.
I AM the Creator and Sustainer of life.
I AM the Savior.
I AM more than enough.
I AM inexhaustible and immeasurable.
I AM God.

In a heartbeat, Moses knew God's name - and something more. He finally knew his. For if God's name is I AM, Moses' name must be I am not.
I am not the center of everything.
I am not in control.
I am not the solution.
I am not all-powerful.
I am not calling the shots.
I am not the owner of anything.
I am not the Lord.

Update...

Hey everybody! We made it back to Michigan safe and sound yesterday. We had a wonderful second visit out to Texas. I loved getting to know the students' hearts!

We have not received a formal offer as of yet. The team needs to assemble and share feedback before a final decision is made. We will hear some time next weekend. The outlook seems optimistic (isn't that phrase on the magic eight ball?). We would probably move by September 1st if things work out.

Jon leaves tomorrow morning with 18 students and staff for a week-long trip to Kentucky. It should be a great trip and wonderful growing experience for students (many of whom this is their 1st mission trip). I will stay home and probably scrapbook, work, and read. I hope to have lots of profound updates for you!

Thanks for your prayers for us! I'm off to ColdStone (my last ice cream for a while - I'm going to start a stricter diet this week while Jon's gone. Good-bye to those last 15 pounds!)

More sweet Zambia pics...

This picture is one of the two bedrooms at The Restoration Mission Home - one of the orphanages we work with.








This is just a great picture of Jon and I before ministering at one of the local schools.









Jon and I teach some Zambian children how to give a high-five!










Some male impala battling each other on the Mukuba Hotel grounds.

Howdy from the Lone Star State!

This is coming to you live from Plano, Texas! We are here for a second visit to interview for a position at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship. It has been a great time the last day or so. We have had some awesome opportunities to get to know the high school students here. I love hearing their hearts for God, missions, ministry, etc. We've had some fun times too - capture the glow stick on the golf-course was pretty sweet - or as the Zambia team would say, choice! I look forward to tonight - Jon is going to lead an improv set! We should have plenty of laughs from that. We head out tomorrow morning for Michigan. Jon turns around and leaves for Kentucky Saturday morning. I will be staying home - hopefully packing for Texas! We will see how God leads. Thanks for all your prayers for us. We appreciate every single one!
ps- I'll try and snap some pictures to post tonight!

Zambia Sunday

Today was Zambia Sunday at Oak Pointe. The team videos were debuted and each team shared testimonies. It was an awesome time of sharing with the congregation what they were a part of in sending us. It is sort of bitter-sweet. I found myself crying by the end of the first service. All I could think about was how blessed I was that God allowed me to participate in this amazing trip! Praise God! Enjoy the following pics I got from Ray M. today!
(This pic is my team - Loren, Jessica R. and Ginny- praying before we head out to do some village witnessing)

This is a picture of me on our sweet bus!











This is a cool pic of me and some of the students singing some American songs for the Zambians. This was at an alcohol and drug rehab center in one of the poor villages. It was so amazing to see the joy the recovering addicts have found in the Lord. Especially moving to someone whose a professional counselor.

Ken & April's Wedding

This is Ken & April, two of our 707 volunteer staff. They got married this weekend and Jon performed the ceremony. He did such a great job for his first time! This picture is just at the conclusion of their marathon kiss. It was great to be a part of their special day. They are so cute and I know they are going to have an incredible, God-honoring marriage.







This is me and my pal Becky. She's been a great friend to me here in Michigan. She's a true prayer warrior for me and a great accountability partner. I'm really going to miss her when I move.









This is me and Jon at the reception. It was so fun to eat a nice meal with our friends and then have some real fun on the dance floor. A bit shout out to all my "dancing queens!"

Save, Save, Save

Yesterday, Jon and I opened a savings account at our bank!!! We are blessed with some awesome friends who in response to our Zambia support letter sent us a check requesting that we use it towards our future adoption. We added to this and opened an account yesterday. This will be our adoption fund. It helps to feel like we are making ground. We might not be able to start the process just yet, but we can do this. Jon discovered an adoption blog last night. I read an article about financing adoption. The article talked about sacrificial saving. It's true. Every extra expense I now look at through the eyes of taking away from our adoption fund. I know many choose or suggest to others to take out a loan to fund adoption, but I just don't agree with that. I strongly believe that God will help us to find other creative ways to finance this, which won't result in further debt on our part. I am already excited about our plan which will have us completely debt-free (except if we buy a house or face some major circumstance) in five years or less. Why would I add to the pile? I look forward to seeing how God allows this account to grow before our eyes!

Amber's Let-Go List

I finally finished the infertility book I posted about over a month ago. It was probably the most helpful of any that I read. It talks all about your heart and relationship with God in the journey. Anyways...I was reading a chapter on letting go of the dream and the author encourages you to make a list of all the things you have to let go of due to infertility that you had been looking forward to. She then says to pray over them and give it to God. I took some time this morning and wrote my list in my journal. The cool thing is as I was writing this list, I got excited about the next list I am going to write. It will be all the neat things that having a child through adoption allows you to experience. I will then pray over that list with praise! (more on that later) Here's my let-go list!

1. experiencing the excitement of a positive pregnancy test.
2. coming up with a creative way to tell Jon I'm pregnant.
3. hearing my baby's heart beat for the first time.
4. feeling my baby kick inside me
5. buying maternity clothes
6. surprising family & friends with the announcement, "I'm pregnant!"
7. waiting in expectation to see if our baby has my eyes, Jon's creativity, what color will it's skin be?(my husband has asian indian heritage)
8. experiencing my first ultra sound
9. having baby showers (still possible with an adoption)
10. registering for neat new baby things (still possible with an adoption)
11. looking in the mirror at the profile of my pregnant belly
12. nursing my baby
13. trying to figure out if the baby is a boy or a girl by its position in the womb, etc.
14. enduring the pain of labor for the joy of the moment I hold my baby for the first time.
15. experiencing all the false alarms of thinking I'm going into labor
16. Having matching hospital bracelets for my scrapbook
17. the excitement of people visiting us at the hospital or later at home - and bringing meals!
18. being a part of the club of women who have been through labor and share about it.

That's the start of my list. I plan to add to it as I realize unmet expectations. It actually felt really good to get it out. There is a little sigh that comes with each one, but I am trading it in for something better! God has an amazing plan at work for me and I wouldn't trade it for anything else! Stay tooned for my future praise list about adoption.

Perpetua - A Sacred Legacy

I was going to post this last night, but due to technical difficulties with posting pics in my last entry, I was too flustered. It took over an hour to get that post to work properly! Agh!

I started reading a new book yesterday entitled, "Sacred Legacy - Ancient Writings from Nine Women of Strength and Honor." It talks about nine different women and then highlights some of their writing.

Last night, I read the first chapter. It talks about Perpetua of Carthage, North Africa and dates 181-203! This woman certainly was a hero of the faith. She was thrown in prison for refusing to make an offering in honor of Caesar. She had an infant son at the time and was only probably about 21. I can't imagine (especially after seeing new mom Emily) willingly giving up my life with a new infant on my mind. She not only does that, but rejoices when her infant son no longer needs to nurse! Add to this, her slave friend, Felicitas. She was eight months pregnant upon her imprisonment. It was illegal to execute a pregnant woman and so she was going to have to be executed with criminals (after her deliver) rather than along with the rest of her believing friends. They all began to pray for an early delivery. God answered those prayers and she gave birth to a baby girl who she gave to her sister to raise! It's so hard to believe this is for real! It sounds like a movie, but these women really existed. Below are some excerpts of Perpetua's writings. Enjoy!

While I was still with the police authorities, my father out of love for me tried to dissuade me from my resolution. "Father," I said, "do you see here, for example this vase, or pitcher, or whatever it is?" "I see it," he said. "Can it be named anything else than what it really is?" I asked and he said, "No." "So I cannot be called anything else than what I am, a Christian."

Then I was granted the privilege of having my son remain with me in prison. Being releaved of my anxiety and concern for the infant, I immediately regained my strength. Suddenly the prison became my palace, and I loved being there rather than any other place...

Then the sentence was passed; all of us were condemned to the beasts. We were overjoyed as we went back to the prison cell. Since I was still nursing my child who was ordinarily in the cell with me, I quickly sent the deacon Pomponius to my father's house to ask for the baby, but my father refused to give him up. Then God saw to it that my child no longer needed my nursing, nor were my breasts inflamed. After that I was no longer tortured by anxiety about my child or by pain in my breasts...

The following talks of the group praying for Felicitas to deliver her baby early...

And so, two days before the contest, united in grief they prayed to the Lord. Immediately after the prayers her labor pains began. Because of the additional pain natural for an eight-month delivery, she suffered greatly during birth, and one of the prison guards taunted her; "If you're complaining now, what will you do when you'll be thrown to the wild beasts?" She answered, "Now it is I who suffer, but then another shall be in me to bear the pain for me, since I am now suffering for him." And she gave birth to a girl whom one of her sisters reared as her own daughter.

Pretty amazing stuff, huh? This is why I am digging biographies so much right now. They do at least two things for the believer: 1. We are mentored by those who have journeyed ahead of us 2. We come face to face with other believers who encountered difficulties and suffering (usually worse than we Americans face) and persevered and grew spiritually through it. How can we not be encouraged to go on and do likewise in our lives and spiritual journeys? I'll continue to bring you highlights as I read on about more amazing saints of old!

Back from the Buckeye State!

We had the awesome priviledge of visiting with some of our great friends from Ohio as well as Jon's parents and sis last weekend. It was a great trip!

We first went to check in with our good pals, Matt and Emily and their 1 week old sweet daughter, Addelyne. Here is a picture of her sleeping in her swing. I just love all the pink!

Matt and Emily are very special friends of ours. We've known them for almost four years now and seen each other go through life's joys and sorrows. It was such a blessing to see them as new parents with their beautiful daughter.

Some individuals who are struggling with infertility find it hard to truly rejoice with others when they become pregnant or have a baby. It's been so neat to see how God has really protected me and my friendship with Emily from suffering through that. He has taught me that in order to fully accomplish what He wills in Em's life right now, she needs to be a mother to her daughter given through the miracle of conception. The probelm comes when we get what God wants to do in others' lives mixed up with our own. You see, this is His plan for Emily - and I rejoice in that! His plan for me is altogether different, but equally praiseworthy. God longs to accomplish different things in my life. He knows in His infinite wisdom the best way to grow me and bring glory to Himself is through the journey of infertility - and Lord willing - adoption.

Em is a blessing in another way - she journeys with me. She has been a part of my infertility from day one. She's been there before my struggle was even known. She has prayed for my children countless times before she even thought of having any of her own. She dreams with me. She cries with me. She makes my battle personal. I love being around her because she always makes statements such as, "when you get your baby", "I think you'll have a girl", or "you'll need this for your child." She never doubts that there are children in our future. She prays for them and us. I guess what I am trying to say is, God uses Emily to renew my hope. It's so amazing that He chooses to do that with a woman who has what I so desperately want one day. I am amazed at all I've learned through this experience and thankful that I have not chosen to go down the path of the comparison and jealousy trap. Praise God!





This is a picture of (I think) Cally - the little mother hen of a dog. She is constantly concerned about little Addy - so cute! By her side is the ever faithful Jay Jay. We love that dog!


This picture is of me, Jon, Matt, Emily, Dave and Angie. After spending some time with Matt & Em, we went over to Dave and Angie's. We had dinner with them and Emily's awesome parents and sisters. This group of 6+ adults have definitely got to be some of our biggest prayer warriors. Dave and Angie are always so hospitable and gentle. We just love being around them! Em's parents, Tom and Marilyn, have always been so special. They adopted us as their own when we lived in Ohio. They still think of us, call us, email, write, etc. They are such blessing to us! Em's sister, Allison, is also really special. I just love hearing about all she is learning about herself as she continues to grow into the woman God wants her to be.



This is Jon and I holding little Addelyne!

Saturday night we traveled to Cuyahoga Falls to stay with Jon's parents. We had fun sharing our Africa videos with them. Sunday morning, Jon shared about missions and evangelism at his dad's church. We then had lunch with his parents and his sister, Andrea. It was great to spend time hanging out with them. It was especially nice to see Andrea and hear about the new things in her life. We seem to miss each other - last time we were in town, she was on vacation. We topped off our visit like a cherry on a Sundae by going to Handel's for some yummy ice cream! Thanks everyone for a great weekend!

Thought You'd Be Here...

I discovered the words to this song written by Wes King. Good way to express some of the thoughts of infertility...

Pearly Whites!

Ok, so if you know me, you know that I have issues with my teeth. I have a recurring nightmare about my teeth falling out! So, due to the horror of this dream, I relish going to the dentist. I know. I know. I am sick. What can I say? Today was my 6 month cleaning and check up. I was almost giddy with excitement for my teeth to be really clean. The hygentist wasn't sure what to do with me. Actually, it didn't hurt that bad. You see, I've been perfecting my flossing technique the past six months to stimulate my gums. Supposedly if you do it right, it won't hurt when they floss at the dentist. I am here to say it is true! It didn't hurt at all when they flossed my teeth! To top off my experience, I had NO cavities!!!!! This is a huge deal since I have soft enamel and get cavities just by thinking about dessert. Hopefully there will be no more dreams over the next six months.

btw - I was thinking about buying one of those metal scrapy things they use. I saw it at the store and thought it might be nice to regularly clean my teeth myself! I think I'll control myself, however due to the fear of doing permanent damage.

The Power of the Music of the Night (and I'm not talking about the Phantom!)

Tonight was so great! I just loved seeing everyone again, watching the Zambia videos, hearing testimonies and having Jeff lead worship. He did a great job! Two of the songs he picked out for tonight particularly struck me and spoke to me. It's funny,I usually don't really get to participate in the worship on Wednesdays because I'm running the slides and if I start singing, I'll forget to switch them. One benefit, however, is that I must follow along with the words. Reading the words to these songs tonight really challenged me on two fronts.

The first song that struck me is "How Great Is Our God." Here are the lyrics if you don't know it:
The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice. All the earth rejoice.
He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide.
And trembles at His voice. Trembles at His voice.

How great is our God! Sing with me, how great is our God!
And all will see how great, how great is our God!

Age to age He stands, and time is in His hands.
Beginning and the end. Beginning and the end.
The Godhead, Three in One. Father, Spirit, Son.
The Lion and the Lamb. Lion and the Lamb.

How great is our God! Sing with me, how great is our God!
And all will see how great, how great is our God!

Name above all names! Worthy of our praise!
My heart will sing how great is our God!

This song struck me on two levels: 1. It was playing in one of the Zambia videos. As I watched the images of the Zambian people and heard the words, "how great is our God," it occurred to me that the Zambian believers were God to us as He flowed through them. Seeing those people was allowing me to see God and hence say, "how great is our God!"(incidentally, this idea was strongly reinforced by Jon's message tonight) 2. The second verse which talks about time reminded me that God is in control of time - the beginning and the end. He knows where I'm moving and when. He knows the right time for me to experience the priviledge of motherhood and He is timing the beginning of that child's life! What a comforting reminder!

The second song that struck me is a new twist on part of a hymn. It's another Chris Tomlin tune, entitled "Take My Life." See lyrics below.

Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord to Thee.
Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move, at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be, swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing, always only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withold.
Take my intellect and use every power as You choose.

Here am I. All of me. Take my life. It's all for Thee.

Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is Thine own; it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord , I pour at Your feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

Pretty powerful words, huh? I especially struggle with giving God my will, my heart and my love. When I sing, "Here am I. All of me. Take my life. It's all for Thee." do I mean it? Once reminded of God holding time in His hands by the first song, I realize that (again) the only place I want my life is in God! Thanks for listening to my ramblings.

God-
Here am I. All of me. Take my life. It's all for Thee.
Amen.

Sweet Video Action...

It is t-minus 30 minutes until the debut of the youth team 2005 Zambia videos! I am writing this as I await the masses at the church offices. I have a strange sense of excitement for tonight. We has such an amazing trip that anticipating seeing my team tonight is sort of like a breath of fresh air or coming home after a long journey. I love you guys! It was such a blessing to work alongside of you and minister to and with you!

If you want to catch the videos, you can see them online at www.707online.com.

PS- I'm wearing my chetenge right now! Woo-hoo! (btw a chetenge is basically a wrap that you wear kind of like a skirt)

Welcome Addy!

This is Addelyne Raine! She arrived on July 2nd around 1:30 am. My good friends Matt and Emily have eagerly been expecting her. We are so excited she is now here and doing well! Congrats Matt & Em - we love you - and little Addy too!

Jeff, Matt, Hoang and me playing a card game called "Bang". We played this in Atlanta while on a layover yesterday. This game is sweet -sort of like Mafia. 

Me with some baboons. 

On the bungee jumping bridge - we crossed over into Zimbabwe. 

One of our staff, Hoang, bungee jumping. 

One of the many monkees in our path... 

no words needed for this one... 

This is us on a safari - see the giraffe in the background? 

Me and Loren on the bus. 

Beautiful African sunset... 

Jon and me on the boat cruise. 

This is us by Victoria Falls - we had fun with Jon taking this picture of us! 

Jon and me with wild Zebra on the hotel grounds 

We debrief in Livingstone at the end of our trip. Here we are at the Zambezi Sun posing with some of the actors there. 

This is our team. 

This is me and Jon literally being mobbed by some kids by the medical clinic. 

Ginny, me and Loren attempt to teach some African village children some American songs. 

This is Jon with some of our students while at Mimi Christian Academy in Ndola. 

This is a picture from last year's trip. Jon and I were really drawn to this little girl in the red dress. She recited a poem about AIDS. See below to see where she is now... 

This was taken in Kitwe at Hope-Trust School. We went there last year and I really was drawn to this little girl. I was so excited to see her again. She's really shy, but I did convince her to stand with me and hold hands while we were there. 

This is me presenting gifts to Glenda - the wife of the pastor. We stayed at their home one night and gave them gifts as a "thank you." 

This pic was taken our first full day there. We were on a home stay and walking around and had the opportunity to stop by the Restoration Mission Home. It is an orphanage started in partnership with Crusade and the work our church does each year with orphans.