Crucible of Interruption

I'm Alive...and I'm Moving

2009-06-17T17:19:00.009-05:00

Wow, it's been WAY too long. I'm incredibly overdue on a blog post and I really have no idea if anyone is still out there. But, if you are...bless you... AND...my blog is moving to...

http://www.tuneofgrace.blogspot.com/

And I promise I'll try really hard to be a more faithful blogger.
See you there!

Truth for our Times

2009-01-26T13:17:00.018-06:00

The following is an incredible article written by John Piper. In which, he makes a surprising correlation between the recent plane crash on the Hudson River and the Presidential inauguration. You WILL want to read it. I am thankful for and challenged by the depth of wisdom and measure of grace and humility with which Pastor John communicates such powerful truth. May the mercies of God win the heart of our new President.

The President, the Passengers, and the Patience of God
January 21, 2009 by John Piper

Sometimes we are so overwhelmed at being treated better than we deserve that we must exult in the all-sovereign God—the God of birds' flight and Obama’s rise. When King David pondered how many were God’s “wondrous deeds,” he said, “I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told” (Psalm 40:5). That’s the way I feel watching God’s public mercies in the last few days.

Have you considered how unlikely was the crash of USAir flight 1549 in the Hudson River on January 15—not just the rescue but the crash itself? Picture this: The Airbus A320 is taking off at an angle—maybe 30 degrees. It’s not flying horizontal with the earth. Not only that, it is flying fast—not full speed yet, but perhaps four times as fast as your car would go at top highway speeds.

The geese are flying horizontally with the ground, more or less. They are not flying in a cloud like a swarm of bees. They fly level with the ground, often shaped like a V. In view of all that, what are the odds that, traveling at this speed and at this angle, this airplane would intersect with the flight of those geese at that very millisecond which would put a bird not just in one of those engines, but both of them?

Two laser-guided missiles would not have been as amazingly effective as were those geese. It is incredible, statistically speaking. If God governs nature down to the fall (and the flight) of every bird, as Jesus says (Matthew 10:29), then the crash of flight 1549 was designed by God.

Which leads to the landing in the Hudson River—which is just as unlikely. The airbus now has no thrust in either engine. The flight attendants said it was as quiet as a library in the plane without the sound of engines. The plane is now a 77-ton glider with its belly full of fuel. Captain Sullenberger decides to land in the river. Anywhere else would mean one big fireball.

He banks and misses the George Washington Bridge by 900 feet and glides the plane into a perfect belly landing. A few degrees tilt to the front or back or the right or left and the plane would have done cartwheels down the river and broken up. On the water, the flight attendant does not let passengers open the rear door. That would have flooded the cabin too fast. The emergency doors and front doors provide exits for everyone and the plane floats long enough for all of them to climb out. Ferry boats are there almost instantly. The captain walks the aisle twice to make sure everyone is off. Then he leaves. Later the plane sinks.

If God guides geese so precisely, he also guides the captain’s hands. God knew that when he took the plane down, he would also give a spectacular deliverance. So why would he do that? If he means for all to live, why not just skip the crash?

Because he meant to give our nation a parable of his power and mercy the week before a new President takes office. God can take down a plane any time he pleases—and if he does, he wrongs no one. Apart from Christ, none of us deserves anything from God but judgment. We have belittled him so consistently that he would be perfectly just to take any of us any time in any way he chooses.

But God is long suffering. He is slow to anger. He withholds wrath every day. This is what we saw in the parable. The crash of Flight 1549 illustrates God’s right and power to judge. The landing of the plane represents God’s mercy. It was God’s call to all the passengers and all their families and all who heard the story to repent and turn to God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and receive forgiveness for sin.

I am writing these thoughts on the evening after the inauguration of Barack Obama, the first African-American President of the United States. I cried twice today. There were two points when I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all. Once was when I prayed with some brothers after Obama’s speech and was overcome with the sinfulness of my own racist background. The other was in trying to express my emotion to an African-American brother about what this must mean for him.

As much as I reject Obama’s stance on abortion, I am thankful to the bottom of my soul that an African-American can be President of United States. The enormousness of it all is unspeakable. This is God’s doing. The geese were God’s doing. The landing of Flight 1549 was God’s doing. And the Obama presidency is God’s doing. “He removes kings and sets up kings” (Daniel 2:21).

And I pray that President Obama has eyes to see. The “miracle on the Hudson” and the “miracle in the White House” are not unrelated. God has been merciful to us as a nation. Our racial sins deserved judgment a thousand times over. God does not owe America anything. We owe him everything. And instead of destruction, he has given us another soft landing. We are not dead at the bottom of the Hudson.

O that Barack Obama would see the mercies of God and look to the One whose blood bought everlasting life for all who trust him. The parables of God’s mercy are everywhere. The point of them is this: God is a just and patient Ruler, and Jesus Christ is a great Savior. Turn. Turn. Turn, O President of the United States and passengers of this planet.

Full of thanks for all God’s mercies,
Pastor John

Oooooh-NINE!

2009-01-01T15:59:00.009-06:00

What is it about New Years that makes the whole world crazy for resolve?? Each year in January billions of people make decisions...choices...commitments...to change. Even as I sit here and type my mind is flooded with all of the things I hope to accomplish, do, see, be in 2009. And this year I'm curious, why do we do this? Does it really make a difference, or does it just make us feel better for the few short days, weeks or months that we actually follow through with such commitments? Right now the tv is on in the other room and I've just heard at least three commercials for weight loss and gym specials going on NOW! And to quote a friend..."The next two weeks will be the busiest time at Memorial Park all year". Such resolutions range from health habits to relationships, to spiritual deiciplines, and on and on. Now before I sound like the ghost of New Years past and get called a "scrouge" let me just say I love what resolutions stand for, I think they're great. I just know that every year I end up disappointed with myself, and it's this failure to follow through that leaves me and a big part of the rest of the world feeling frustrated. Can anyone relate? What exactly are we going wrong?

I resolve in 2009 to make my resolving look a bit different. Let's do a little word study on "resolve" shall we...

Definition: decision, determination
Synonyms: boldness, conclusion, courage, decidedness, design, earnestness, firmness, fixed purpose, intention, objective, project, purpose, purposefulness, purposiveness, resoluteness, resolution, steadfastness, undertaking, will, willpower

I would now like to connect my thoughts in regard to new years resolutions to a book that I am currently reading that has nothing to do with new years, but has everything to do with change. The Miracle of Life Change, How God Transforms His Children by Chip Ingram, previously published as Holy Transformation. The entire book is based on Ephesians Ch 4.

Here are a few quotes from the book...

"How can we claim that Christ makes a difference in our lives when our lives don't really look that different from the rest of society? Until we can answer that question clearly, we will continue to cast doubt on the validity of the gosepel we proclaim"..."The kind of change I'm talking about involves the supernatural. Our goal is not a remodeled you accomplised through hard work and self-effort, but a brand new you that thinks, acts and feels differently because the Spirit of God has taken up residence within you...the kind of change you can't fake"..."I have come to realize that the average Christian simply does not know how spiritual growth and transformation really occurs. Somewhere along the line, the clear teaching of Ephesians 4 has been replaced by hopeless busyness"..."Failure to change frequently results from spiritual ignorance. Many Christians simply don't understand their identity in Christ and the grace they have received. The ignorance destines them to the "try hard, do good, fail" syndrome."

There will definitely be more blog posts to come as I continue through the book. Hopefully that's enough to wet your appetite and help connect my thoughts as I take a look at new years resolutions and the commitment to change I hope to make this year. I can't really speak for anyone else, but I've realized that my own personal failure has come in making my own best effort to do something different rather than realizing than my own best effort doesn't amount to much apart from the power of God at work within me. If I want to eat better or exercise more or be better with my finances or be a better friend, sister daughter then I MUST make Christ Lord of my life in these areas. I have to acknowledge that there is no best effort on my part that makes me able and ask for eyes to see the supernatural work of God that is constantly at work in and around me...but perhaps I fail to see because I fail to take the time to do so. Its in realizing that I cannot that the God of the Universe, my heavenly Father who loves me more than anyone else in the universe, can come in and say LET ME!!

May 2009 be filled with a greater supernatural work of God in your life and in mine. He is able and in Him so are we. I can't wait to share my victories with each of you. Be blessed in the new year friends!

On Holiday

2008-12-29T20:10:00.047-06:00

I love the Christmas season. It's filled with some of the best moments of the year...special time with family and friends, cold weather (occasional snow), twinkling lights, baking, Christmas music, decorations and best of all....the advent of Christ and His long awaited birth.

I spent an amazing week in St. Louis visiting my family. This year I'm especially thankful for my precious niece, Mikail, who is almost a year old and my second niece, Gracyn, who is due to arrive in February. It's so fun to watch our family grow. The Lord is SO good and we praise Him for an amazing week together. I’ll let the pictures tell the story...

I pray your Christmas was a sweet time of blessing with those you love, celebrating not only the reason for the season, but the reason for life...Emmanuel, God with us!

family time--hanging out and playing games together

sweet mikail

mama & mikail

aunt aims & mikail

dani & nanny

nanny & pap

aunt sissy

game on

buzz word team 1

danielle & david

dad LOVES games!

sombody's ready for sleepytown

kitchen time--bakin' up yummies!

candied pecans

white chocolate yummy goodness

cheater turtles...so easy & SO good

rum balls...yum balls

christmas day--mikail's 1st!

i've been good all year

i bought her a hat

she didn't really care for the hat

she felt a little better about daddy's hat

she loved nanny's new gloves

dad's small gift in a HUGE box...so fun!

danielle painted this for gracyn's nursery

sara & charlie

aim & preggers

sisters

d and d & lil' m

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Silence

2008-12-20T23:07:00.001-06:00

Check out this AWESOME blog post by Mark Driscoll on the lack of/need for silence in our lives. It's SOOOOO good...

http://theresurgence.com/silence

The Singlehood Phenomenon

2008-12-09T20:28:00.012-06:00

I recently came across a really interesting book. I'm a reader, and if a book grabs me you'll usually find me with my nose in it until I reach the back cover. I read all kinds of books, some related to work, some for my own personal growth, some just for the sheer pleasure of using my imagination. I work in full time singles ministry at a church. A lot of the books I read pertain to my job...discipleship, leadership, relationships, etc. For some reason a lot of "interesting" books in regard to dating and marriage seem to make there way across my desk. I'm not sure if people are trying to drop a hint or just aid me in my ministerial studies (I'll choose to assume the latter). Now, not all of the books I've come across have been worth the read. Some I don't even get all the way through, although there is great benefit in learning what NOT to do in relationships. But every now and then I come across one that I can hardly put down or stop talking about because the contents inside preach a message so contrary to today's culture that I want to shout it from the rooftop.

As a single person there are a lot of things about marriage that I don't know, but one thing I do know is this... marriage was designed by God and it's good (keep in mind that good and easy aren't the same thing). I also know that the legacy that is currently being left behind in regard to the sanctity of marriage, or lack there of, is leaving singles wounded, skeptical and downright fearful of something that if done God's way can be one of the greatest blessings on the planet.

Since working in singles ministry the past two years God has put a real passion in my heart for relational health, for myself as well as for others. Some may look at today's culture and wonder if marriage can redeemed. My friends, I believe it can. The marriage rate in the US has dropped drastically in the last decade. As a result, we have the oldest and largest singles population in our nations history. I'm not by any means saying that being single is bad. I would be talking to myself as well, if I were. However, as the contents of this book will show, the current singleness trend can be directly linked to many unhealthy thoughts, feelings and behaviors. And it's my hope that the following information will help us to take a step towards redeeming a genuine belief in marriage, as well as help us to see marriage the way that God intends.

The Singlehood Phenomenon sheds light on 10 brutally honest reasons people aren't getting married. The authors, Tom and Beverly Rodgers address real issues as well as provide Biblically based solutions. I'll let the book do the talking...

From the back cover..."The Singlehood Phenomenon is full of hope for singles who have yet to give up on marriage. Dr's. Beverly and Tom Rodgers address the top ten reasons singles aren't getting married and show how social trends such as cohabitation, rampant divorce, and the fear of getting hurt make finding a soul mate that much more difficult. Difficult, but not impossible! Deal with your skepticism about dating, love and marriage and overcome the reasons you stay single. Learn how to integrate psychological principles and biblical truths to develop healthy, godly love relationships."

Ten Brutally Honest Reasons People Aren't Getting Married:

1. Skepticism about love and marriage-I'd rather be alone than in a bad marriage.

2. Lack of faith in God's provision-I'm not sure if I have a soul mate.

3. Unresolved issues from the past-I always seem to attract unhealthy people.

4. Confusion about the rules-I don't even know how to date.

5. A poor understanding of the purpose of marriage-I think being single may be an easier way to live.

6. Fear of Getting Hurt-I don't want to be hurt again.

7. Wanting the perfect mate-I'm not a perfectionist, I'm just picky.

8. Not dealing with prior heartbreak-I don't want to feel pain.

9. An unbalance focus on career-I want to be established before I get married.

10. Concerned that the marriage will fail-I don't want to get divorced.

Any thoughts?

Kiss My Face

2008-11-23T17:20:00.012-06:00

In recent days I've found myself attracted to things that claim to reduce or relieve stress. So far I've tried just about anything that involves lavender and/or chamomile...from sleepy time tea to lotions and bath soaks. Today I was walking down the organic skin care aisle in the grocery store (HEB of course) and I came across another great claim to fame. At first glance I thought that only my recently revealed stress could be helped and then I looked on. Sure enough there was more than one answer to my problems...all thanks to a little product called "Kiss My Face"....kiss it indeed!

anti-stress

early to bed

active athletic...what???

I had NO idea there was still hope for me here!

A lesson named Shingles

2008-11-19T19:18:00.006-06:00

What comes to mind when you hear the word shingles? Something that goes on your roof perhaps? A weird disease that old people get? These are the two things that typically come to mind whenever I hear the word (which isn't really very often)...until now...

Ever have one of those days that you think is going so great, and then bam something completely crazy and out of the blue happens? That's how I would sum up my Saturday last week. Things were going so great. I was enjoying the incredible blessing of great friends visiting from out of town. Amber had come from Fort Worth with her two precious boys and Allison had made a surprise visit from Baton Rouge. We were having the best time catching up, hanging out, talking, laughing, talking and laughing some more. It was so refreshing and just what I needed. I was trying really hard the whole day to ignore a rather annoying itchy bite that was on my back and seemed to be getting worse. I decided to have Amber look at it to see what she thought it might be. Like me, she agreed that it was perhaps a spider bite, but that the readness appeared to be moving in an upward pattern. In which case, if it were a spider bite could be really bad news. So off to urgent care I went. Where I discovered that at the ripe old age of 29, I had shingles. A stress induced post chicken pox virus that leaves one itching like crazy and with hyper sensitive nerves that can leave one in pain for months, sometimes even years. Great!! The even more wonderful news was that I needed to avoid small children and pregnant women so as to not pass along the chicken pox virus. Great again!! I immediately thought of Titus (4) and Justus (5mo) who had been at my house the past 24 hours and who I had definitely been holding and loving on quite a bit. After a few phone calls to the pediatrician Amber decided to pack up and head home...bummer..but definitely for the best. Allison decided to stay and mother me, which I gladly let her do. And boy was I sad to see her go on Sunday. But my roommate Jules lovingly jumped in to pick up right where she left off. I have great friends!!

So, on with the lesson. First a shingles lesson for you...
Shingles is derived from the chicken pox virus. Anyone who has had chicken pox can get shingles if under a lot of stress or with a weakened immune system (from cancer treatments or HIV). The chicken pox virus actually lays dorment in your system for the rest of our life. Huh, interesting..didn't know that one! No one can catch shingles. It is a reoccuring virus. You catch shingles from your very own pre-existing chicken pox condition. However, a person who has never had chicken pox can catch chicken pox from someone with shingles...but only through direct contact, not through the air. Shingles make their lovely appearance in the form of red bumps that itch and hurt a lot. They follow the pattern of your nerves if derived from stress. They also cause nerve pain which makes you ache and can even leave your skin hypersensitive to touch, even the touch of your very own clothes. Ok, so that's probably more than some of you wanted to know about shingles. And for those of you who want to know even more check out the Mayo Clinic website. It's very informative with pictures and all!

Now, the shingles lesson for me...
I haven't left the house since Saturday, well except to take out the trash and to see if I was missing great weather...and I was. But other than that it's been like leper central around our house. Ok, being a bit dramatic. My mind is in an intersting state after being cooped up and on pain meds all week. I've gotten plenty of rest, had plenty of time to think, read, nap, think, change my facebook status, and repeat. And in the midst of all that there's been plenty of time for the Lord to try and get a hold of me in regard to why all this happened in the first place. Today (Thursday) I finally decided to let him. Sheesh...took me long enough! Why do we...why do I...so often try to run from the very thing I need most? That lesson for another blog post. Stress-induced shingles. For a few days the itching and pain were so bad all I could think about was the shingles part. Now that I'm on the mend I'm sitting alone in my house, forced to look the "stress-induced" part dead in the face. For some reason my mind keeps going to the plagues in Exodus. God was trying to send a clear message...one that the Egyptians obviously weren't getting. And He stopped at nothing to get their attention. It's an ironic kind of love that I find myself so grateful for...he won't let me get away and he won't let me live my life foolishly. Sometimes I'm so busy that I end up there without even realizing it. And all for a good cause named ministry. When I first started in full time ministry I begged God to not let what I do for him to ever take the place of Him. He is so faithful to remember the prayers that we pray and then tend to forget. So, the cold hard truth is this...I think too much and pray to little, I carry the burdens of others, as well as myself, when I should be putting them on Jesus, the one who can acutally make a difference in these situations. I'm constantly emptying without being filled and I'm completely surrounded by people, yet without community. And the root of all this is me trying to live life on my own, void of an utter dependence on God. It feels so good to have my eyes opened to these things. The Lord has been so sweet through His Word and His presence today. This is one lesson I only want to learn once so I'm asking Him to keep me here until it sticks. And if this speaks to you at all, take my word for it...humble yourself before the Lord is forced to humble you.

George Muller is one of my favorite missionary heroes of the faith. He faced many challenges and many hardships throughout his ministry. One of his favorite verses was Psalm 84:11, "No good thing does He withould from those who walk uprightly." George was a man of incredible faith. If you haven't read his bio you should. He buried two of his own children as well as his wife during his lifetime. Each time he claimed this verse and saw his hardship as "the good thing". I sit here today to say that shingles is indeed the good thing that God has sent my way to demonstrate his amazing love and grace towards me and to bring me back to the incredible realization that daily life without Him is no life at all. He is indeed good!

H.E.B.

2008-11-07T20:14:00.019-06:00

Well folks, on this fabulous fall Friday in November the citizens of Houston, Texas are singing the praises of a man named Howard E. Butts...or at least I am! Mr. Butts is the original owner of the HEB grocery store which first opened in 1905. Today an HEB opened right down the street from me, and let me tell ya this is not your average grocery store. This my friends is a shopping experience. I went with my dear friend Courtney. We circled the entire store taking it all in...the scenery AND the samples. I was way too distracted to shop. On round two we decided we should probably get some groceries. It was my first grocery store grand opening experience. And the samples supplied my dinner for the night...literally. They had everything from fresh fruits, to various types of bread, to sushi rolls, to bavarian cream donuts and more! Here's a few pics I took with my phone. If you live in Houston you'll definitely want to stop by Bunker Hill and experience it for yourself!

Court could hardly contain her enthusiasm

Lobster...$5.99 a lb

There's a specialty section for just about everything.
This is the cheese shop.

This is where you can see cooking demonstrations

and try recipe samples

Amazing supply of fresh fish

Numberous breads for the taking...and the tasting

Hooray for COFFEE in bulk

Yes ladies and gentleman...presentation
really is everything

Fresh King Crab legs...they were HUGE and only $9.99 a lb.

Normally $18. Party anyone???

Courts definitely contemplating a party...

(while the lady behind her is having one with the crab legs)

Mikail's Dedication

2008-11-06T19:13:00.021-06:00

Mikail Elise Kuntz was born on Feb. 2, 2008. She just celebrated her nine month birthday and she is a precious gift from heaven. She was a teny tiny thing, weighing only five pounds when she was born...at full term. And even now at 9mo, weighing just 15. I love it because every time I visit she acts older in the things that she is able to do...and the number of teeth in her mouth, but she always seems the same size. This is a great thing for the aunt that lives 1000 miles away and just HATES missing out on so much of her life. I am indeed her very proud aunt aims!!

Mikail was dedicated two weeks ago at North Church, the church that my bro and sis are helping to plant in St. Louis. This dedication was a simple, yet powerful commitment, both for the family as well as the the friends that David and Danielle currently live life with in their community. A commitment to teach Mikail about Jesus and to raise her in a godly home where she will have great opportunity to hear and see the gospel lived out on a daily basis. We pray that one day Mikail will come to understand and embrace the love of Jesus as her very own.

I thought I would share a few pics of this incredibly special day with you...

My dad "Paps" reading Scripture

Danielle's dad "Papa" reading Scripture

Pastor Rick proclaiming truth...and its hard to

see but Mikail is clapping in this one. She was

giving a hearty Amen!

The prayer of dedication

Mikail enjoying her after-party

Cast Your Vote

2008-11-03T22:30:00.030-06:00

This past Saturday was Under the Texas Sky, the annual singles hoe down for my church, Houston's First Baptist. It was at an awesome German dance hall in Sealy, Texas called the Liedertafel Hall. It was a gorgeous fall night for eating BBQ under the stars and dancing to country music played live by a great band called Snake Bit. There were tons of fun things to do like a cookie bake off, pie eating contest, horse shoes, calf roping, and more. It was a blast! There are lots of fun pics from the night that you can check out on Stan's photo website.

I've recently discovered that I don't do serious pictures very well. The look I think I'm making and the look I'm actually making turn out different nine times out of ten. Go figure! Smiling is usually the better way to go for me. During the hoe down I was being coached on my serious face while posing in the "wanted" poster. My friend Courtney was a champ, enduring right along with me and making me laugh most of the time.

Since it's election day, I thought I'd run for aw-face to see which serious pose gets the most votes. Cast your vote now. And don't worry there's no electoral college here.

I'm Amy Kuntz......................and I approve this message!

1: stone cold

2: head cock

3: pursed lips

4: one eyed squint

5: western rebel

NOT everything's bigger in Texas...praise God!

2008-11-03T21:07:00.009-06:00

When I moved to Texas four years ago I fully expected having to acclimate myself to things that I wasn't quite accustomed to in Missouri. Pre-move I thought this might mean warmer winters, no seasons, no snow, lots of humidity, etc. Change in climate I could handle, no biggie. Change in insects however, I hadn't considered. I have a HUGE roach problem. Now I don't mean a problem with huge roaches. I mean a huge problem with ALL roaches. Until moving here I had never encountered roaches that cast there own shadows. It's stinking ridiculous. I'm getting the heebie geebies just thinking about it. uuuuck! And it doesn't matter how they come...big, small, wings, no wings, alive, dead...I don't want anything to do with them. This poses a big problem in the place I now call home. My incredible former roommate Sarah, a native Houstonian, was a blessing from God above because she grew up slaying roaches. I'll never forget the first time I encountered an enormous roach in our condo. It scurried across the kitchen floor. I saw it, screamed and did what I might now call the roach dance...which is a little bit like a hop, scurry and squeal in panic. Sarah thought for sure I had discovered some dead animal in the kitchen, like a cat or something. She laughed pretty hard when she discovered it was just a roach. And that was the beginning of her being my roach protector and slayer. I think the only time I killed a roach on my own was when I woke up to find one on my bathroom floor at 3 in the morning and I didn't have the heart to wake her up, or even to scream. I was tempted to just leave it be until I started thinking about where it could end up while I was asleep. With that thought I was able to muster up the killing courage...no problem.

Sara and I spent two awesome years together as roomies, with lots of roach killing and other great memories. She then went to Brazil where she has been the past four months. One of the last conversations we had before she left was in regard to Julie, my roomie to be. Sarah said, "watch her hate roaches more than you do...". I remember thinking "hate roaches more than me?...as if that's even possible" and then quickly praying "please God let her not hate roaches". So.... on one of the first few days after Julie moved in I was standing in the kitchen when I heard this blood curdling scream from the other room. I mean seriously, I thought something really awful had happened. I flew down the hall, asking Julie if she's ok, only to discover what I had most been dreading....a roach in the bathroom and Jules in a panic. I then did the only thing that could really be done. I bucked up, acted like the gross little thing didn't bother me a bit and I squashed the sucka! I even cleaned it up, which is actually worse to me cause then you gotta get close to it...ew. But after it was all over I said aloud, "I feel like I just became an adult." And it was in that moment that I was so thankful for Sarah, who was sort of like my roach mentor. Who by her courage and squashing ability taught me to stand up with courage on behalf of others in fear of roaches. Ha. It really was a big moment for me.

So the other day in an email I get the following pictures from Sarah in Brazil. How nice of her to take these and think of me. So thoughtful! Apparently the roaches here aren't anything compared to the ones they have in Brazil. Oh and she also mentioned a spider as big as her hand that she didn't get pictures of because she was too busy getting the heck out of there. No worries..I can do without pics of that. So, the hats and the boots and the hair might be bigger here, but thank God the "bigger" roaches are someplace else.

View at your own risk...

Oh Fall!

2008-10-29T21:52:00.032-05:00

I just love fall. Cool weather, brightly colored leaves, apple orchards, hayrides, bonfires, candy corn, and pumpkin anything! This past weekend I took a much needed trip to visit the fam in St. Louis, see old friends and celebrate fall!! It was a blast. I spent quality time with my entire family, went to a reunion for my high school youth group, visited some of my favorite fall places, and celebrated the dedication of my sweet niece Mikail. Here's a detailed recap of the festivities...

My sister Sara is six months pregnant, expecting my second niece, Gracyn Mykenze, in February. We got to spend a couple of great "baby days" together. My mom and I ordered this awesome baby bedding that was on sale at pottery barn. It came in the mail right before I came in town. It was so fun to open the boxes and look at everything. There is a quilt and pillow with Gracyn's name embroidered. Just seeing that sudddenly made her life seem so real. The excitement is building for all of us. The baby activities continued as we helped Sara shop for maternity clothes at Old Navy, and then it was on to Target for some much needed gift registering. Those who know me well know I love Target and I love decorating. I've never registered for anything before but always thought it would be really fun to get one of those registry guns and just start scanning all the things you love...for somebody else to buy. What I great idea! Well, I was right...it's SO fun. It didn't take long for me to convince Sara to let me take control of the gun. Before I knew it I was scanning every cute little girl thing I could find. Seemed like a good time to have a little fun. Don't worry though, Sara didn't let me have total control of the gun. She drew the line when I told her I saw the perfect art for her wall...and she did not agree. I mean, who doesn't need a sign in their nursery that reads, "All because two people fell in love". Come on! Ha. Ok, I'm kidding. I didn't really want to register her for it, but I did think it would have been really funny to see if anybody bought it. We made it through Target having scanned all the necessities plus a few fun splurges. It was a memorable experience to say the least. However, I'm not sure Sara will be coming with me the first time I register for anything!

Here's Sara at 6 months and looking great!

With niece number two on the way and niece number one now nine months old, I'm in aunt heaven these days. Mikail is more fun than ever...crawling, pulling up on everything, playing games, trying to talk and smiling all the time. Of course, if I had four new teeth I'd flash them all the time too! I got to spend a couple days with her. We even had our first outing together...just us girls. We went to shop n' save and then to my sisters to cook dinner for the fam. We had such a good time. Of course, its quite an adventure lugging around a car seat...with an 18 pound baby in it, a diaper bag, pushing a cart, putting groceries in it, checking out, bagging the groceries, getting back out to the car and then loading everything into the car and then the house. Moms are superheroes really! I have a new found respect. And I realize this experience is really nothing compared to what parents actually face on a daily basis. It really is such a sacrifice. Good thing she's so cute! :)

Baby Blues

Such a poser for the camera these days.

A hug waiting to happen indeed!

Then there was the youth group reunion. I drove out to the country where my friend Rachel lives with her husband and three kids. I helped Rach shop, get the house ready and prepare food for 50 people. We spent the evening visiting with old friends...literally, some I have known since I was five...playing football, going on a hayride, building a bonfire, and looking at slides from youth group days--boy was that a trip. Nothing like photos of your most awkward stages to remind your how good it is that life really does move forward. Can I get an amen!

Bonfire building with my bro.

My dear friends Lizzy and Cherie who I've known for 20+ years.

Next was Kuntfest 2008...at least that's what I've decided to call it. On Sunday, we all skipped church (don't worry we went Sunday night) and headed out to Grafton, Illinois to a place that has been a special family spot for as long as I can remember...Eckert's Orchard. The drive there was so beautiful...along the Mississippi River, called the Great River Road. With the river on one side and bluffs covered with bursts of fall color on the other side....it was the perfect fall scene. We road a wagon out to the orchard to pick apples. The end of the season appeared to be drawing near and we found ourselves in a dilemma when all the apples were found either on the ground or up so high you could hardly reach them. But I should have known that wouldn't stop the men in my family. My brother, David, hoisted his wife, Danielle, on his shoulders and then proceeded to climb a tree with her on his back. My dad even climbed a tree. We left there with some of the best looking apples we had ever seen. Some had bruises, but we didn't care. There delivery to us was produced by a lot of love and determination. With pounds of apples in toe we began the scenic journey home. But not without a stop at the corner store where they sell the best pumpkin pie fudge I've ever had in my life. Over-dramatic? Not so much. I've searched high and low and have yet to find any that rivals it. I don't even know the name of the place. I just know its a white and blue building that sits on the corner and has a sign out front that says "Fudge". That's good enough for me.

Ok, I saved the best for last. I know, hard to believe when everything prior has been so great. Sunday night was my last night with the fam. We had the best celebration of all. My sweet niece was dedicated during the serve at her church on Sunday night. David and Danielle are part of North Church which they have been helping to plant for the last year and a half. The entire service was centered around being godly parents and then ended with a parent commitment, as well as a community commitment to live gospel transformed lives before Mikail in hope and prayer that her life would in turn be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was similar to a wedding where the parents recite vows and make "I do" statements. And then they asked the family and church members to do the same. I committed to living a "gospel transformed life" in front of Mikail. Wow, that's quite a commitment. I was challenged to think about if I do that consistantly now with the rest of my family and was led to the realizaton that I do not. Sometimes the safety and comfort of family can cause us to be more careless with our attitudes and words causing us to look more like us and less like Christ. Is it just me??? The dedication challenged me to refocus my commitment to walk in my true identity...as a person who has been completely transformed by the gospel. And not just for me to know, but for you to find out!

Lord, I praise you for the life of our sweet Mikail. I thank you that even now, at such a young age, you are drawing her heart to your own. I pray that she would desire to know you and to love you more than anything else in this world. I pray that you would grow her into a women of great strength who will stand firm and be a voice of truth in a culture that has such a skewed view of right from wrong. I pray that you would mold her to be gentle, compassionate and gracious, who through incredible love and kindness will draw others to you.

God is indeed good!

What I Need

2008-10-12T13:06:00.009-05:00

Yahoo! I'm finally back in the internet saddle, and oh so glad to be. I figure now that I'm "from" Texas I can get away with using such talk. He he! Now that I am back online, I have lots of catching up to do. I'll start with a report on the women's retreat from this weekend, The Power of a Word. God showed up and definitely gave me a word...or two...or tons, really. It was exactly what I needed. There's nothing quite like that end of a retreat feel of being run over and refreshed all at the same time. An interesting paradox, I know. But true none the less. We had an incredible speaker and worship leaders. The presence and power of God were strongly evident. I could write about several great things but think I'll stick to two very specific things that I hope I never forget...

1. Kelly Matte, our Pastors wife, gave a word for early risers on Saturday morning. Anyone that wanted to join Kelly at 6:30 was invited to do so. One of the first things she said was,"I need you to know that Kelly Matte is not worth getting up this early in the morning for...but Jesus is. I think they both were and I'm SO glad I went. Kelly taught from Matthew 11:28-30 on 'Coming to Jesus for the REST of our lives'. This portion of scripture is addressed directly to the weary and burdened and a divine invitation to come to Jesus for rest. The definition for rest here is "the cessation of our toils." There are many things in life to toil over...things that can easily consume our lives. But this toiling is contrary to the abundant life that Jesus offers and the very place we often find ourselves when we choose to live life in our own strength. This toiling leads us to be worrysome, fearful, insecure, stressed out people. Kelly then asked a question that really shook me to my core...who would you be without all of your toiling? Remove all of the stress and strife, fear, insecurity, people-pleasing, etc....who would you be? She then asked us to call out our responses from around the room. I was going to list some of them for you here, but even as I type I cannot recall a single answer except for the one that I gave...perhaps because it was pounding so loudly in my ears at the time. The answer that I could hardly keep to myself was....COURAGEOUS. That's who I would be without all of my toiling! I would be a person who goes when/where God says go and who speaks when God says speak...without thought or hesitation. My eyes were open to how often I hold myself back in situations for all the wrong reasons. I want to be fearless for Him and I'm ask Him even now to change me.

So...who would you be without all of your toiling?

2. Many of you know from my previous post that I have been preparing a breakout talk on 'waiting' for the last several weeks...months...29 years really! The Lord has been speaking and orchestrating the details of this talk every step of the way. And Saturday, the very day of the talk, was no different. I was unexpectedly and a little irritatingly wide awake at 5am on saturay morning, thinking perhaps this was the Lord's final lesson in making me wait the long five hours to 10am, when I was scheduled to give the talk. However, this wasn't the end of the preparation. During the morning session I was asking the Lord to bring to mind a story that would allow me to put a personal touch on my talk as well as be a good illustration of waiting in my life. I knew there were several, but for whatever reason was having a hard time recalling just the right one. As always the Lord knew just what He was doing and brought to mind a very powerful reminder during our worship time. The words of a favorite and familiar hymn took me suddenly back to the pew of my home church where at just 17 years old the Lord transformed my thinking in regard to waiting on Him. I have no idea why I hadn't thought of this before and even had to chuckle over the Lord's waiting until just the last moment to recall it to my mind.

As a 17 year old, having just graduated from high school, I was seeking the Lord for direction in regard to my future. College wasn't of much interest to me at the time. Degree's didn't really seem necessary for things like marriage and children. There wasn't a whole lots else I was interested in then. I figured what better career could there be than family and I made the decision to stay home, knowing instantly that this was my own way and not the Lord's. So off to college I went... It was at this same time that I stood in sanctuary of the small Bible church where I grew up in St. Louis singing these words for about the 100th time...

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand has provided
Great is Thy Faithfulness Lord unto me

Only that day it was like hearing the words for the very first time and they may have looked, or felt, a little more like this...

Great is Thy Faithfulness
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
ALL I HAVE NEEDED THY HAND HAS PROVIDED
Great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me

Is was as if that particular line jumped off the screen and straight into my heart, as I heard the Lord whisper with such gentleness and grace...if you don't have it, its because you don't NEED it.

I'm so thankful that at 17 the Lord allowed me to grasp the idea of his mercy being demonstrated in witholding things from his children. There are so many things...God glorifying things that I want sometimes. Things that I think are good, but that God from His sovereign, all knowing, big picture perspective knows are not.

As I shared this story in my breakout session I was able to give glory to God for His all sufficent, all satisfying provision over our wants and our waits. He makes no mistakes. And my life...your life...doesn't just happen to be the one exception. There are NO exceptions. Whatever you are waiting for...give thanks to God that he's sparing you from something you think you need, but that he knows for whatever reason, at this exact moment...you don't. He is lavishing his infinite love on me...and on you as he withholds. What a great God!! I pray He gives our hearts and our minds a deeper understand of this as His ultimate goodness.

To Hunker or not to Hunker...

2008-09-14T21:46:00.020-05:00

...that is the question. Or was on Thursday, Sept 11 when news of hurricane Ike flashed across every news channel in Texas. After three previous false alarms its easy to understand why many Houstonians were taking the news so lightly. A possible category three hurricane brewing in the gulf. Possible landfall near Galveston. "Hunker Down" became the oh so popular and ever annoying phrase of the hour. Mandatory evacuations started around noon on Thursday. Galveston Island and several zip codes in Harris County and surrounding areas of Texas began packing up and heading out. Those not in a mandatory evacuation zone were asked to stay put in order to make room on the road for those needing to get out.

I sat on my living room couch watching the news and began thinking about what I should do. I've never been in a hurricane before, I thought to myself. In fact, I've never been in a natural disaster at all. The curious side of me was set to stay. The practical side of me decided I should probably do some consulting. My research proved profitable. My house isn't in a flood zone, all of my neighbors were planning to stay, I live right next door to work, which is also my church and a very safe structure if need be. So...that settled it. With hurricane Ike just days away the residents of BW #35 were hunkering down. The decision had been made. The next steps at this point were very important. First stop....Costco! When you need to stock up on food and water why go anywhere else. I mean, "stock up" is Costco's middle name.

When I pulled up in the parking lot at Costco I knew I was in for quite the adventure. From the parking lot to the door I saw at least 7 people trying to fit generators in their cars. Some had to be removed from their boxes in order to fit in people's trunk. Inside was even more interesting. People everywhere, carts loaded down, crowds, lines, etc. But Costco proved faithful yet again in great customer service. One of many reasons I love them so! I quickly found what I needed and made my way to the line, which by the way went down both sides of the store from the front registers all the way back to the cold section. I had a great time talking with the people around me, seeking advice from the hurricane vets. One lady suggested I fill my washing machine with ice in case we loose power...that was a new one. I amazingly made it through the crazy line in under 30 minutes. Costco employees were busy making sure everyone could find what they needed...and passing out fresh baked cookies all the while. Nice!

When I left Costco I was completely stocked with water, food, light sources and batteries. Basically everything I would need to make it through a worse case scenario type pf hurricane. I was so proud of myself! Next stop...fuel. This proved way more complicated and frustrating than the first stop. To make a long story short I went to six gas stations...and nothin'! I finally gave up and went into work. I woke up friday at 6am for no apparent reason and all I could think was 'go get fuel'. So I ventured out and happened to find some at my first stop. I was on "e" and just kept thinking about what if I need to get out after the hurricane if conditions proved dangerous or just plain frustrating. Which turned out to be a good decision. The tank was full, the supplies were stocked, now we wait...

Friday night was filled with movie watching, and an occasionally news update, while hanging with my roommate Julie and my friend Mia who lives in downtown Houston and was looking for a safer place to hide out during the storm. We finally headed to bed around 1am. Little did I know it would be the longest night of my life. The last thing I remembered from the news was "Brennen's" restaurant downtown burned to the ground after nearby transformer blew up. This was not a good thing to have on ones mind while lying in bed for six hours listening to howling winds, trees crashing to the ground and transformers exploding. My constant prayer all night was "Lord, please keep the windows from breaking and please don't let anything catch on fire!!"

I now sit in a cozy air conditioned home in Fort Worth, surrounded by friends, running water, hot food and freshly showered....amen! There's so much to be thankful for. Minus a long, scary night, some minor flooding on our enclosed porch and the brief loss of a/c and water, we escaped the fiercest of Ike's grip, unlike thousands of others who's belongings now lie scattered across lawns and who's power may not be returned for weeks. Lord, we ask for your nearness and comfort over those who have experienced great loss. May those who know you and love you extend great love to those who are in need at this time.

Here's a few pics from my first hurricane experience. The next time a hurricane threatens to come my way I will give leaving some serious thought. Turns out 'hunkering down' is not for the faint of heart...

This is the parking lot right outside my condo door. The blown out fence is the barrier between us and the bayou and separates us from the HFBC parking lot.

Our enclosed porch suffered a few inches of water on friday night, as well as saturday night.

Ike's winds tore down and uprooted many HUGE trees...it was an unbelievable sight.

HEB was one of literally two stores in the area with power. People had to wait in line and were being let in the door 20 at a time in order to control crowd craziness.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

"Waiting"

2008-09-11T15:45:00.008-05:00

If you are reading this post then you're just the person to help me out. In four weeks I'll be attending a women's retreat for my church where I have the awesome privilege of leading a breakout session. The theme of the retreat is The Power of a Word and each breakout will focus on a different word that can have power over us in one way or another. The word I'll be speaking on is "waiting" and I would love for you to be a part of my preparation.

In my study, as well as conversations and life experience over the last several years, I have come to realize that life is about waiting. No matter what season of life we find ourselves in we're always waiting on God for something. And let's face it, waiting can be hard. But, I am also convinced that in our waiting the Lord desires to magnify His goodness, faithfulness and sovereignty over our lives all the more.

So what is it, in your current season of life, that you are waiting for? Please take a brief moment to comment in answer to this question. You can be as brief or detailed as you like and your comment can even be anonymous if you prefer. This will help so much in my teaching, as well as have a great impact on several people's lives. It's so great to know we're not alone in our wait! Also, if you have a word about a waiting experience or a waiting fulfilled feel free to share that as well.

I look forward to reading your comments. In the meantime, I'll be waiting...

Blog Head

2008-08-24T20:16:00.009-05:00

Wow! I had no idea that when I closed my laptop on July 15 it would be six long and challenging weeks before I could blog again. Things have been CRAZY...which I'll get to momentarily. Before I started blogging I never understood those really experienced bloggers (you know who you are) who would talk about how they think in a blog. What? What does this even mean? I had no idea........until now! As life has unfolded over the last six weeks I've kept asking myself how in the world am I going to blog about all of this? Something would happen and I'd begin to write a blog in my head...weird. But, there comes a point where you just gotta press your fingers to the keys and get the word out. And finally...there's time. So, consider yourself warned. I'm back. And this introvert turned blogger has lots of catching up to do...

Here's my last six weeks in a nut shell. I'll write more detailed posts over the next couple of weeks and pictures will be added once my laptop returns from the geek squad!

I went on a trip to Las Vegas to visit family and say goodbye to my grams who passed away at the age of 88.
My bff and roommate Sarah moved to Brazil for a year.
My new roomie Julie (aka Jules) moved in.
I killed a HUGE roach all by myself (there will definitely be a post coming about this!).
My sister celebrated her 31st Bday in St. Louis.
I celebrated my 3 year anniversary working for Houston's First Baptist Church.
My bff from highschool had a sweet baby girl, Aria Grace.
I went to the Hill Country with the Summit Ministries leadership, where I cooked a lot and conquered the blue rope swing. I love the river!!
My bff from college had a sweet baby girl, Abigail Elizabeth.
My roommate Jules lost her step-dad suddenly this week.
The ministry I work for celebrated 10 years with The Sum of It, at the Houston Club downtown.
This weekend I attended a Beth Moore conference in San Antonio where the Lord poured Himself out in abundance.
My church is two weeks away from moving out of our gym and back into a newly rennovated worship center. Today we wrote names of people who don't know Jesus on the cement floor before carpet gets laid--Salvation come!
My dear friend Courtney left Houston today to go work for FEMA...miss her already.

Lots of ups and downs. Aren't you so glad that in the midst of ever changing thoughts, circumstances, emotions, relationships, etc. Jesus IS!! Can't imagine where on earth I would be without Him. I love you sweet Father!

Great Jehoshaphat!

2008-07-15T16:03:00.011-05:00

I work on a church staff and am blessed to be surrounded by incredible people every single day in my job. I find myself constantly challenged to think about why I believe what I believe as well as the decisions I am making about how I live my life. Last week in staff meeting was just such a time. We have a fairly new student minister on staff named Doug. Doug is currently working on his doctorate in student ministry and is incredibly smart and down to earth all at the same time. During a brief devotion time Doug challenged us to think about this statement...People in ministry are often expected to have all the answers....The reality is that either we put this on ourselves or it is an expectation put on us by those we minister to. Either way, its quite a load of ridiculousness. The funny thing is that even though I can write that here with deep conviction that I really mean it, I have to stop and think about if I really live my life as though I mean it. Know what I mean? If I'm called to do what I'm doing then everything that comes across my desk, path, through my door, etc. is God's battle and I'm called to fight it His way...ultimately to let Him fight it for me. Sounds like a great plan right? Well then why on earth do I make the decision to fight for myself so often? As if I even stand a chance of figuring things out on my own and that ending well. Insert Jehoshaphat here (we'll call him Jehosh for short, cause its way easier to type)...I spent the better part of last week glued to II Chronicles 20 fascinated by this great king of Judah who truly gets what we're talking about here and begging God to help me get it too.

Background:
Jehoshaphat reigned as King for 25 years, a reign that shown brightly of his devotion to the Lord. II Chron 17 mentions that "The Lord was with Jehoshaphat...because he sought the God of his father and followed his commands....his heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord..."

Jeshosh's Shining Moment:
When we show up on the scene in chapter 20 we find King Jehosh in a bit of a predicament. This is where his true dependence on God is put to the test. Here the choice is simple: humility before God or pride in himself as capable ruler over the people. King Jehosh receives word that his nation is under attack, not by one, but three vast armies. It's when I get to verse three that I have to stop and let my jaw drop for a sec. "Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah". I don't know about y'all, but this is the kind of leader I want to follow. He didn't gather all his mighty men, begin to draw battle plans, seek advice from some war council or tuck tail and run. He RESOLVED to inquire of the Lord and he besieged a vast number of people in his kingdom to do likewise. He then led his people in a prayer to God.

The prayer of Jehoshaphat (sounds like a good book title!):
1. He begins by recognizing WHO God is... "Are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms and all the nations. Power and might are in your hand and no one can withstand you.
2. He reflects on WHAT God has already done... "Did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham?"
3. He acknowledges WHERE he belongs... ""We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us".
4. He wraps up his prayer by leaving it in God's hands... "We do not know what to do but our eyes are upon you."

The End:
In verse 30 we see the end result of this nation wide prayer meeting..."And the Kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side." So what happened between the time Jehosh lifts up his prayer to this time of rest? The Lord promised to come through....to be who He said He'd be. And as the army of Judah marched into battle singing songs of praise to God (literally), He brought them a great deliverance.

"...and all the people of Judah fell down in worship before the Lord."

So what are the Take-Aways?

People who make the choice to walk in obedience to God are not exempt from hard things.
The Lord desires to fight our battles for us and asks that we resolve to inquire of him.
Worship is a weapon.
Dependence on God delivers true rest for our souls, even in the midst of battle

The challenge that I received in this study, that I pass on to you now, is this... What's one thing that you do not know the answer to that you need to inquire of the Lord about right now?

For me it was regarding a direction that I need to take to meet the needs of single women in my ministry? And as a testimony let me just say that the Lord has been answering that big time over the past week. I look forward to letting y'all in on that journey in the days ahead.

My Lil' Squeak Toy

2008-07-12T14:11:00.018-05:00

Every time I watch this video I laugh out loud. My bro/sis brought my 4 month old niece, Mikail, to Houston. I waited all week hoping to catch just a glimpse of her recently learned belly laugh, thinking it was to no avail. Then finally on one of their last days here Mikail decided to let her aunt aims amuse her! It was well worth the wait. Oh and the best part is definitely towards the end so endure if you can...

I Heart H-Town

2008-07-11T15:17:00.022-05:00

Don't you just love that really tired feeling at the end of a busy week? When you're fully aware of the weariness in your bones, but it's totally worth it when coupled with all the joy in your heart. That's how I would define the second week of July, 2008. Houston Project comes but once a year. For those who aren't familiar, Houston Project is a churchwide endeavor to love our city. We partner with urban churches to reach local communities through VBS, evangelism, youth ministry, sports, block parties, etc. We had 800+ peeps from Houston's First Baptist Church on mission this week. My amazing singles Bible study class, Beyond the Ink, served at Park Temple Baptist Church on the Northside. I got to be in a 10-11 year old classroom with about 20 kids who were hungry for God's Word and some good attention. The week started with kids hearing of Jesus for the first time in their lives and ended with them walking away, Bible in hand...having heard the message for themselves and now fully equipped to share it with others. It was beautiful and I praise God for the opportunity to be a part of the miracle of changed lives.

Overall, I learned several things....

I miss small church.
I love the gospel and fail to dwell on its beauty often enough.
I want to learn chronological Bible storying.
I love skits and need to embrace my dramatic side more often.
I love my fellow BTI'ers.
I miss Arich, Amber, Allison and Carrie.
Childlike faith still exists.
Philemon new what he was talking about... vs.6
"Unload" is an amazing synonym for confess.
God doesn't waste a thing. I love how everything that we go through in life is intended to point directly back to Him. Everything we lack, everything our lives seem to lack...He is! Hope.

Here are some pics of my kiddos for the week and my Bible study peeps...

Let Freedom Ring

2008-07-08T16:07:00.004-05:00

The fireworks have come and gone, yet the sound of freedom still rings on...

Sounds poetic, I know. I'll go ahead and pat myself on the back for a great start to my very first blog post. And then I'll move right along to quickly say that is not the goal here. I love to write. It's true. And I do hope the things that I have to say will be both meaningful and enjoyable to those who graciously choose to partake. But more than anything I hope that this blog will make some sort of contribution, no matter how large or small, to life in community. I simply wish to share my story with you, that together we might grow in our understanding of this exciting and often bumpy journey called life.

It goes without saying that the usual things that make 4th of July great rang true again this year...great food, friends, family, fireworks, etc. But I found myself, completely without intent, on an interesting journey of freedom that had absolutely nothing to do with red, white, and blue, my country tis of thee or anything of the like. This years freedom came in the form of shackles hitting the floor, followed by a great bit of dancing. Come on, you know the tune. Some of you are singing it in your heads right now....and for you extroverts probably even out loud! Freedom this year looked a little bit like swinging from rope swings along the Guadelupe River in the Hill Country of Texas, learning to dive for the first time at the age of 28 and getting up on stage in front of a bunch of little kids at Houston Project vbs and singing and dancing my heart out that the name of Christ may be praised. Freedom this year came in the form of childhood revisited and joyous moments carried out without fear. Let this freedom bell ring on...