Valuable Life Lessons!

Yesterday two moms and I took a group of 17 girls to Memphis for the Mid-South Girls Conference.  It was a wonderful day filled with awesome speakers and beautiful worship to our Perfect God!  There is something so powerful about having 500 girls in one room praising God together without any boys being a distraction!

The conference got done around 6:30, and we quickly took a few group photos then headed out.  We stopped to get some dinner and fill up the vans with gas before we pulled out of Memphis.  We drove up to the gas pump opened the little doors to the gas tank and quickly realized that someone had put new gas caps on the gas tanks.  That wouldn't normally be a big deal, BUT these gas caps had locks on them!  Apparently there have been some problems in Little Rock recently with people stealing gas.  All of this would have been fine and dandy if I would have known that these nifty new little gas caps had been installed,  BUT I didn't!  So I found myself at a Memphis gas station with only a quarter of a tank of gas and a group of twenty girls and locked gas caps!  I looked at the two moms with me and said, "One day we will laugh about this...but not right now!"

We finally got ahold of somebody back in Little Rock who knew about these funny little contraptions that had been put on our vans, and were reassured that the key was back in Little Rock and that we were going to have to break the gas cap!  My amazing moms quickly pulled out the tool kit that was under the back seat of one of the vans and showed that gas cap who was boss!!!  About a minute later she had that lock busted and the gas cap off and the van was filling up with gas!  I'm really surprised that during the thirty minutes that we were at the Memphis gas station banging on the screw driver with a wrench, that no one even questioned our presence!

The van had a full tank of gas, we celebrated our accomplishment, and then we hit the road! This little speed bump in our evening reminded me of quite a few things!

1.  It reminded me of how blessed I am to have awesome parents that volunteer to go with us on trips!
     Without them we wouldn't be able to do so many of the awesome things that we get to do!
2.  It showed me that after a long day (it was a great day, but it was LONG) I have to be VERY careful in
     controlling my emotions! I was definitely tired and frustrated, but I had to keep in perspective that things  
     really could have been a lot worse.
3.  I was reminded that I have the most awesome girls ever!  The whole time this was going on they just
     chilled in vans and let us try to figure out a solution!  They had great attitudes all day!
4.  I learned how to bust a lock with a screwdriver and a wrench, so if you ever need help breaking into
     a locked gas cap, I'm your girl!  (Leah Hart & Tamara Bellcock are also PROS!)
5.  Upon pulling into PV I was reminded that God blessed us with safety on our way home and was so
     thankful for an amazing day with my girls!

The past two years in youth ministry have taught me a lot!  Just add busting a cap to the list!  God has been so good to me!  He is so faithful in all that He does!

He Gave What He Could!

Yesterday God gave me the gift of reminding me what it looks like to have the faith of a small child!

Yesterday as I was getting ready to pack up my office and go pick up a kid from school I had a little 3rd grader walk into my office and hand me an envelope with my name on it!  I was then told by this little boy, whom I had never met before, that the money in the envelope was for Haiti!  Our youth group is taking a group of 42 people to Haiti over spring break to help build an earth bag multi-purpose building as well as participate in a few other projects to help the community while we are there.  When I opened up the envelope it had $36 in it.

This little boy is in Mrs. Stafford's third grade class at the PV CAC campus.  Mrs. Stafford is planning on going with us to Haiti this Spring break with her two sons.  During class the other day the subject of Haiti came up and Mrs. Stafford got to tell her class about her upcoming trip.  Lots of her kids made comments about wanting to bring plastic bags to help us make sleep mats for the people living in Haiti and He came back the next morning with an envelope of money to donate towards our trip!

I'm guessing that he had probably been saving that money for a little while.  Thirty six dollars is a lot of money for a third grader! That the equivalent of a video game! He gave it right over to me with a big smile!  It was absolutely precious!  As he turned around and left my office I couldn't help but smile and be reminded of what a blessing it is to be able to work with kids and teens!

Stories like this remind me of why God calls us to have the faith of small children.  He found out that there were other little kids in another country that spoke a different language than him, who he would probably never meet, and who didn't have all the food and toys that he has here in the US and he wanted to do whatever he could to help.  He was willing to give up whatever it was that he was saving that money for, in order to help some other little kids that he had never met before.

I pray that my faith will grow to be like this little boy who was so willing to give to people he had never even met.  When I hear about a need I want to be willing to give what I can to bless others.  May I remember that although I might never have a mansion here on this earth that my God is building me one in heaven that is going to last a lot longer anyways!

Like a Magnet!

"Why did people come to Him?  Because He refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit.  He chose instead to be a touchable, approachable, reachable Jesus." -God Came Near

My prayer is that my God teaches me and transforms me to look more and more like my touchable Jesus every single day.  As I seek out the truths in His Word I pray that they will take root in my life and produce His fruit.  I want so badly for people to feel His love when they are in my presence.  I want so badly for people to know that they can come to me if they are broken and that they will be covered in His love.  I want to be available and reachable.  God transform me to be an instrument of your love and peace!

How About That for a Recruiting Speech?

"Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves.  So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.  But beware!  For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues.  You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers.  But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me.  When you are arrested, don't worry about how to respond or what to say.  God will give you the right words at the right time.  For it is not you who will be speaking- it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.  And all nations will hate you because you are my followers.  But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.  When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next.  I tell you the truth, the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel." -Jesus    Matthew 10:16-23

If Jesus would have been in my college speech class I'm pretty sure He would have just gotten a big fat F on his persuasive speech.  He has just called his 12 apostles together and is about to send them out and these are His words to them.  You will be sheep among wolves.  You will be flogged with whips.  You will stand trial before governors and kings.  You will be betrayed by family.  You will be hated by all nations.  None of these things sound like the nice easy Christianity that for some reason we feel like we deserve.  The crazy thing to me about all of this is that the apostles all still went.  They had seen something in Him that they knew was worth following.  They counted the cost and knew that Jesus was worth more.

I don't know where we have gotten the idea that as Christians we should be free from suffering or persecution because God loves us.  Jesus called His apostles whom He loved to walk straight into the suffering and to trust that He would provide them with the words to say in times of trial.  He called them to walk straight into the fire and see those moments as a time of opportunity to share His great name.

He says later in chapter 10 "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul.  Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell."  When I think about some of the things that I want to do in my life I have to remember this verse and other verses where He reminds me, "Don't be afraid.  Just believe." At some point in my life I want to move into a neighborhood or apartment complex that most people wouldn't exactly call "safe" and show those around me the love of our Jesus. At some point in my life I want to live in a hut in Africa.  At some point in my life I want to take care of little children who don't have a mom or a dad that love them.  I love this quote by John Keith Falconer,  "I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light."  I want to go somewhere where the people have never heard the Good News and trust that my God is the only one I am to fear.


He is so mighty to save!  I'm thankful that we serve a God who didn't sugar coat what this earth is going to be like.  Although in this world there might be pain and trials I know that I can take heart because my Jesus overcame the world.  May we choose to let our candles burn brightly where we are at today!  May our lives be a beacon pointing others to our Awesome God!

What 26.2 Miles will Teach You!

 Walt Disney World Marathon

So a few weeks ago I did something that I was far from prepared to be able to do.  I participated in a marathon!  Most people would say...I ran a marathon....But I can assure you that there was a lot more walking and crawling than there was running that happened during that 26.2 miles!

Sometime last April I signed up for the Disney World marathon and later downloaded a training schedule to prepare for the race.  The first 10 weeks of training I stuck to the plan like glue!  Then at some point during October I decided that I was going to run a half marathon here in Arkansas.  I have done 4 or 5 of these before so it was no big deal.  After running the half in Conway I decided that 13.1 miles was enough for me.  The thought of going twice as far kind of made me sick to my stomach!  So I continued to train, but really had resolved that I was only going to run the half when I got to Disney World.

Somehow when the morning of the race rolled around I found myself up at 3 am ready to get on the bus and head to the starting line for the marathon.  I would like to say that it was pure determination and discipline that got me up and going at 3 am, but I'm pretty sure it was just my pride.  With this being my first full marathon ever my goal was just to finish and to do whatever I had to to keep from getting picked up for falling behind the minimum pace that you had to keep.

If you have ever ran even a 5k before you know that there are always people in races around you who you can't believe are beating you.  Nothing does more to humble you than to look up and see an old man triple your age beating you.  Usually in races I pick out those people and do whatever I have to to make sure they don't beat me to the finish line, however one thing I learned about myself during the marathon is that my pride goes out the window after about 20 miles.  For example an older lady dressed up as WonderWoman spent most of the last 6 miles within eye sight, yet at that point I no longer cared that an old woman dressed in spandex from head to toe looking like WonderWoman was going to beat me across the finish line, I just wanted to finish.

At mile 26 my parents were waiting for me to cheer me on.  At this point I think it was clear that I wasn't at the risk of setting any world records so I stopped for a minute to give them a nice sweaty hug and receive the encouragement I needed to finish my .2 mile crawl to the finish line.  It never fails!  Those two amazing people are always there to offer me the encouragement I need to finish what I have started!  I am beyond blessed to have them.

After crossing the finish line I couldn't help but smile.  It didn't matter that the huge blister on the bottom of my foot had exploded about mile 23 and hurt like the dickens.  It didn't matter that I was completely exhausted.  It didn't matter that I knew I wasn't going to be able to move for the next 2 days.  It didn't matter that it had taken me forever to finish the race.  I was done!  I made it!  I didn't set any world records along the way, but I finished what I had set out to do.

I pray that in this marathon of life that I will set out to do the same thing.  I pray that I will finish.  I pray that I will make the name of my sweet Savior known.  It doesn't matter how you start the race if you never make it to the finish line.  I pray that when I make it to the finish line that I will be absolutely exhausted because I gave my God everything that I've got.  I trust that He will be there throughout the whole race providing me with Powerade and icy-hot to keep me going!  I pray that I will run His race in humility and thankfulness for all that He has done for me!  I want to finish.  I know He will be waiting for me when I cross that line!

I Know How the Story Ends! My God Wins!

Don't we all want to be on the winning team?  Nobody enjoys losing.  Some of us will go to great lengths to win!  I remember playing sports while growing up and crying after every game we lost.  I HATE losing!  It doesn't matter if it is a game of horse, the state championship game, or the 4th grade spelling bee...I want to win!

Nobody ever goes into a game thinking...I really hope we lose today!  Nobody normal enjoys losing.  Over the past 23 year I have been on some really great teams and I have been on some really not great teams.  No matter who the team was it was always more fun to win than it was to lose.

There are two teams battling it out right now.  We have a chance to be on the team that we know will win!  Everyday as followers of Christ we fight a battle against Satan and his demons.  I love the imagery of this battle in Ephesians 6.

A final word:  be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in time of evil.  Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.  Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.  For shoes; put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.  In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.  Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.    Ephesians 6:10-17

Christ has called us to be a part of His winning team.  Even if we lose a few battles we can trust that He has won the war.  He has been that player that even when everyone around him isn't all that great He is such a stud that His team wins anyways (I'm reading Tim Tebow's book right now and this kind of reminds me of how he could carry an average team and make them great because of his skill). He has told us that when this world comes to an end that He will call us home.  He has adopted us into His family and is preparing for us a place in heaven!  That reward is so much greater than any little trophy, medal, or ring that this world has to offer.

I've never won a national championship or even state for that matter.  The closest thing to that that I have ever been a part of was my senior year of college.  Our basketball team made it to the NAIA national basketball tournament on an at large bid.  We pulled two huge upsets to make it to the quarterfinals before we lost to the team that ended up winning the whole thing.  I remember the first game of that tournament.  No one thought we had a chance at winning, and for the first half of the game I think we believed them.  When the second half rolled around we caught some momentum and ended up turning around a 15 point deficit and pulling out the win.  I remember our excitement and celebration after that win.  We were so pumped!

How many of us go through life like we have lost?  We go through life upset and lacking any joy.  We seem to have forgotten that we are on the winning team.  We seem to forget that with Christ as our savior that we have won.  We didn't just win state or a national championship.  We won the World Championship.  Our Christ made the best play ever and has set us free.  We have so much to celebrate.  We have so much to be joyful about.  We have so much to share with this world!  

I pray that as Christians we will live life full of joy.  May people be able to see that there is something different about us.  Even when times are hard may we remember that this world is temporary and that in the end if we are faithful to our Christ that He will give us the best trophy ever.  Praise God that because of His awesome game plan we get to be a part of the winning team with an eternity to celebrate!

I Want a Faith Like That!

While reading about Abraham this morning I couldn't help but be amazed by his faith!

"The boy and I will travel a little farther.  We will worship there, and then we will come right back."  Genesis 22:5

Even though God has called Him to sacrifice His son on the mountain, Abraham never stops believing that God is going to provide.

"We have the fire and the wood," the boy said, "but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?"  Abraham answered, "God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son."  Genesis 22:7-8

I want a faith like that.  Abraham trusted that God would keep His promise to him.  He knew that God would provide.  I wonder what Abraham was thinking as he drew his knife to kill his own son.  I can just imagine myself thinking, "okay God...anytime now. You aren't actually going to make me do this are you?"  I truly think that if the angel wouldn't have stopped Abraham that he would have killed and sacrificed his own son in complete obedience to God's command.  He knew that God's power was not limited by death. He trusted God so fully even when he didn't understand what was happening!

I wonder if I was Abraham if I would have had the faith to tie my child up and put him on the altar.  I can picture myself trusting that God would provide the sheep up until I got to the altar, and then when I got there and didn't immediately see a sheep I wonder if I would have just turned around and headed back down the mountain.  Or maybe I would have trusted God up until the altar, but then when His provision wasn't exactly at my timing and exactly what I expected I would start to take matters into my own hands.  I would find my own "sheep" to sacrifice upon the altar.  I feel like I am so guilty of this in my own life.  I trust what God tells me up to a certain point, but when I come to the place where I feel like He hasn't provided for me what I think He needs to provide I start to take matters into my own hands.

I want to learn to trust my God so fully that if He calls me to make a huge sacrifice that I am willing to go all the way.  That I am willing to trust all the way.  I know that what my God has promised me is true.  I know that He will come back for me and that He gives me eternal life in His presence.  May I be faithful to sacrifice even my life for Him.  I trust and know that He will provide.  God give me a faith like Abraham and increase my love for your Kingdom.

Matthew 6

As I was spending a little time in the Word this morning these verses stood out to me!

And if God cares so wonderfully for the wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you.  Why do you have so little faith?  "So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat?  What will we drink? What will we wear?'  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above ALL ELSE, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.  So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today's trouble is enough for today."  -Jesus

I'm so thankful to serve a God who knows my needs better than I know them myself.  His faithfulness amazes me!  May we never let our worries dominate our thoughts.  As followers of Christ we must remember that He will give us everything we need, and often times so much more.  We just often get confused by what we think we truly need and the extra blessings that He has poured out on us.

You give and take away; yet my heart will choose to say Lord blessed be your name!

What Does Safe Look Like?

It's a funny thing to me how the safest place can really be the most dangerous place for Christians to be.  Were we really created to live in a "safe" place?  Sometimes I fall into the trap of being more concerned for my safety than I am for my Father's Kingdom.  Yet I think God is revealing to me more and more that the most dangerous place is actually the safest place when we are close to Him.  Riddle me this...Which is safer?  The "safest" most predictable place out of the will of our God or the most "dangerous" place right by God's side in step with His plans?  I want to be with Him!  When we follow Him life is never predictable.  Sarah Young puts it this ways, "No matter how steep or treacherous the path before you, the safest place to be is by His side."

I must trust that if my God leads me to the most treacherous peak that He will not abandon me.  His hand will guide me!  I must also remember that in death I gain VICTORY!

My prayer to my Perfect Father,
Lead me forth onto solid ground, rocky ground, steep ground, or sinking sand.  I trust that no matter where you lead me that there your hand will hold me up and keep my feet from slipping.  Grant me an eternal perspective to see so much more than what this world sees.  May you be my safe!