Spicy Magnolia

Among Them

All is dark.  I see a sliver of light as I traverse and contort to fit through this confined passage. The quiet becomes filled with noise of a screaming woman in anguishing pain. In an instant, the enveloped warmth disappears, replaced by brisk cold, sending shivers throughout my tiny body. I am flesh, a baby.

Bursting forth, I emerge from my mother’s body. She’s crying, taking deep breaths of relief that the pain is subsiding. All of my senses are on overload. I cry out, trying to fill my lungs with air for the first time. My naked limbs flail uncontrollably in their new-found freedom; nothing is as I have known it. I am exposed, vulnerable.

Not so cold anymore, I feel the softness of cloth around my skin. Nestled into my mother’s chest, her arms hold me tight. I feel the gentle stroke of her hand across my cheek. Fumbling my mouth and my tongue as she presses me against her, the taste of something sweet and warm oozes forth from her bare body bringing comfort, calming my tremulous nerves. I am hungry, needy.

Squinting to see what’s around me, I can’t quite make out the forms before me. But my ears, they are engaged. The voices I recognize because I’ve heard the echoes of them while cupped in darkness. They are voices of a man and a woman, my father and mother. They call me, “Jeshua”. Clucking, mooing, baaing, all sorts of creatures add to the commotion. The night isn’t so silent. I am overwhelmed.

Over-stimulated, my eyes start to feel heavy. Safe and comfortable in my mother’s arms, she whispers sweet talk in my ears. As she sets me down in a hard, wooden manger, a piece of stiff straw scratches my cheek. Burning and itching, my eyes close tight. My face twinges and my lower lip, curving downward, pouts and trembles. Water builds up in the corners of my eyes until they are filled to the brim, then it trickles down my cheeks. Quickly, the increasingly familiar touch of my mother’s hand softly brushes the tears from my eyes and soothes the hurt. It’s been a long day. I am tired.

As I drowsily drift into a deep sleep, I am slightly aware of the noises and shuffling around me. At moments the voices burst into glorifying shouts of praise sending tingles up and down my spine. Soon, all fades away. I am at rest.

Among them I now lie.

Let the Little Children Come to Me

Climbing into the rocking chair, I lift my swollen feet onto the ottoman and breath a deep sigh before attempting to pick up my thirty-six pound, stout man-child. He shifts his body just so to try to find the perfect spot to the side of me since my belly is an ever-growing rotund obstacle. I take a few more deep breaths and reach over to the side table to grab The Jesus Storybook Bible.

Brennan’s eye immediately is drawn to a small 2x4 picture on the hardcover showing a man, Jesus, holding a child in His lap while surrounded by a few other miniature people of young age. “Jesus. Children,” he says as his finger points to the picture and his eyes navigate their way toward my own, signaling my cue to affirm what he’s seeing. “Yes,” I say. “Jesus loves little children. He loves you so much!”

Flipping through the pages to find the story we left off on, pictures of an ark with animals whizzes by, as does a huge tower built to reach the heavens, and the sea miraculously spreading apart as thousands of people cross over. We land upon our bookmarked page with a giant clad in armor and a small ruddy boy, albeit with a handsome appearance, holding nothing but a slingshot but who has a huge heart of faith knowing God is on his side.

Never sure how much we read and talk about soaks into the boy’s heart, he grabs the Bible and carries it into his big boy room, climbs into bed, and tucks the book underneath a pillow. He drifts off for a nap, as do I.

Sometimes too quickly, the sounds of crying or rustling protrude through the staticky sound monitor. Huffing and puffing, I make my way upstairs, pausing a moment before entering his room to catch my breath. When did I become so out of shape? The door creaks open and I find a boy hovering over his Bible. With a gleaming eye he looks at me and points to the book saying, “Mommy! Jesus! Children!” He’d flipped through the whole Bible to find the story with Jesus holding the child on His lap that matched the picture on the cover.

 

Only God knows the depth of a child’s precious faith that is more valuable than gold. That Brennan is drawn to this story of Jesus holding the children on His lap is mysteriously astounding to me and grabs my attention; oh, that he would know how much Jesus loves him and the plans and purposes God has for him! My motherly love doesn’t come close to that of the Father’s heart for little children and the desire He has to show them who He is, His beauty, power and majesty.

From my own life, many of my stories of the Lord’s faithfulness and His desire to show me more of Himself are from when I was a child. They’re stories I treasure and hold onto, stabilizers and solid foundation pieces when I am swayed with doubt in my older years.

One of the most frequent prayers I usher before the throne of God on behalf of my children is that they they would have markers during the very early years of their lives to hold onto in remembrance of His faithfulness. I pray they’d hear His voice, know the promptings of the Spirit in their hearts. That they would love talking to Jesus, asking Him things and celebrating when they know He’s answered their cries.

Jesus beckons the little children to come to Him. Faith like a child, this is what pleases the Father. I want to be a mother who instills a rhythm of life that celebrates the workings of God throughout our days and helps shape these precious ones entrusted to me to have eyes to see Him in everything, that from the time they are little, they would have nuggets of gold, “rocks of remembrance”, rejoicing and praising their Creator.

Their valuable lives can hold unimaginable stories of His whisper and Presence, of things Unseen.

I humbly share with you a few ways I wish I was more consistent and diligent in fostering a pulse of prayer and encouragement of the Spirit’s work in Brennan’s heart. They are a rudimentary outpouring of my heart that wants to be more open to and aware of His leading and wants to invite Brennan and Skittles to live in (and delight in living in) the Presence of the Almighty.

• Reading from a children’s Bible and talking about the stories. Out of the three we own, The Jesus Storybook Bible has been my favorite. We try to do this before his nap on most days. And sometimes Brennan protests to reading from it until I include another of his favorite books to read, too.
• Praying before bedtime and meals. Asking Brennan who he wants to pray for, letting him take part in the prayer or in lists of thanksgiving.  We’re met many times with, “No,” and we’ll go ahead and pray, not wanting to force anything. And other times, he’ll go on with a lengthy list that usually includes Buzz Lightyear and puppies.
• Taking snippets from The Voice of the Martyrs kids blog and newsletter, Kids of Courage, to talk about. For example, the recent newsletter featured stories on Bible smuggling into China, and we talked about how thankful we are to have our own Bibles and prayed for those who don’t.
• Praying for a nation with Brennan’s globe.
• Stopping in the middle of the day to pray for someone and taking time (a really brief time!) to stop and listen to the Lord.
• Encouraging Brennan to talk to Jesus at anytime and how much Jesus loves to hear him talk about anything. And ask, “Brennan, what did Jesus tell you back? He loves to talk back to you, too.”
• Rocks of remembrance. As a family when we have an answered prayer to celebrate, we’ll write it on a rock and put it in a vase on our mantle. Some of these rocks Brennan painted while we talked about Deuteronomy 4:9.
• I’m trying to keep up with memorizing two verses a month, and I practice them on our walks or in the car with Brennan so he can hear them.
• There have been really hard days when I’m exasperated as a Momma. I’ll tell Brennan that it’s important for Momma to take some time to sit and be quiet before Jesus to tell Him what’s on my heart and what I’m feeling. I’ll plop myself down on the floor and take a moment before God (and it also serves as an example to Brennan) to express my utter need for help and dependence on Him.
• And there’s always the moments I need to ask for his forgiveness for being impatient, quick to become angry, or something else of the like.

These are a few things that come to mind to share with you, and I certainly have a long way to go. I have yet to figure out how to have my time with Jesus while Brennan is playing on his own, and since becoming pregnant again, haven’t mustered up the energy to get out of bed before the darling wakes up.

I certainly don’t want them to be rote, but have life. Not out of duty, but out of delight. Not to be perfect, but to live in His Presence. Not forced, but out of sheer love for a God who has given me everything.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Simply trusting,

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I’d love to hear what you all do in your families to encourage a child’s relationship with Jesus, to present opportunities for the Holy Spirit to move in their lives that will be their markers of testimony. Or what stories from recent years or your own childhood do you hold as markers of His faithfulness?

A Little Link Love Here, A Little Link Love There

Good evening, dear Internet peeps! How was your day? 

After cooking for special events in April that left us with tons of of leftovers of the same food to eat for awhile and all our travels in May, I’m finally back into a routine of cooking. It feels good despite the bit of extra time and effort it takes, but savoring the flavorful gems of summer fruits and veggies is extra inspiration. Here are some great new recipes I’ve scoped out and made that were hits with me and the boys.

Peach Melba Shortbread Bars from Southern Living

Chicken and Tortellini Salad served with Bacon Parmesan Tassies from Southern Living

I haven’t made this yet, but it’s on our menu to be served with a large salad with lots of yummy fixin’s. My friend, Amy, made it for her son’s birthday party (minus the tomatoes), and it’s some of the best homemade mac & cheese I’ve ever had.

Y’all will have to peruse this post with some of my favorite summer recipes. I made the Steak & Pasta Salad tonight and have the ingredients for Gaga’s Fruit Compote. I know I’ll make the Colorful Black Bean Salad soon, too. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t promote one of Blue Bell’s newest ice cream flavors that is a hit in our household: Happy Tracks, which is a creamy vanilla ice cream loaded with chocolate-coated peanut butter cups and a dark chocolate fudge swirl. Dog-gone-dangerous! I am painfully aware that most of you in this country do not have Blue Bell. I send my condolences. 

Not sure why I started off with all the food links since I’m full from dinner and nothing sounds appetizing at the moment. Onward I move then to a new discovery:

Pinterest.

Oh, yes, I’ve jumped on that bandwagon. And it’s been so much fun and a great source to collect inspirational ideas ranging anywhere from recipes to arts and crafts to awesome gift ideas. Instead of keeping up with a vast number of bookmarks for your favorite websites, it’s a place where you can “pin” a website to a personally assigned “board”. For example, some of my board titles are:

• For the Love of the Nations (for ideas that promote awareness and appreciation of other cultures) 
• Food for the Foodie (duh!) 
• Sizzlin’ Summer Pastimes (I can’t collect enough creative ideas to do with Brennan this summer, especially in this heat) 
• A Cheerful Giver (gift ideas that either we can make or unique/creative purchased gifts)

This is what a couple of my boards look like at the moment (sorry the pictures aren’t very clear).

From the “Sparking Creativity” board I created, so far Brennan and I have made a rainbow card we sent to Mees. Sadly, she hasn’t received it yet! So this might have to be her proof.  

And yesterday, we had a great time painting some rocks that you can see was another idea I borrowed from Pinterest.

 

 

Another board:

One of our first summer activities that I tried for Brennan and our guests Alex and Evan, were homemade popsicles. But they were a catastrophic flop…and a bit embarrassing. So I’m hoping this website I pinned, or saved, on Pinterest will come in handy: 50+ recipes for homemade popsicles (picture top right hand corner).

If you’re on Pinterest, let me know, or if you’re interested in setting up an account, I have a few invites left that I can use.

Last but not least, I am so, so, so excited for my friend, Marla Taviano, who launched her eBook last night called The Husband’s Guide to Getting Lucky. Don’t run away from me too quickly! As a brand new momma, the very first book I read was Marla’s Changing Your World One Diaper at a Time. It came highly recommended by Amanda, and I’m so glad I read it. It was funny, light-hearted, insightful, very personable, and relatable. It was nothing short of encouraging as I was navigating through the unknown plains and valleys of motherhood. 

She’s also penned a book that I’ve had on my shelf for two years but want and need to read: Is That All He Thinks About? Her desire for healthy, godly, intimate, and FUN marriages is one of her passions, as is missions and the nations of the world, (particularly Cambodia)…yet another reason I love her! I had the privilege of meeting her in person a year and a half ago in Houston. I was the stalker, and she was the graciously receptive one that has been a source of encouragement ever since.

On a personal level without revealing too much or embarrassing my precious husband, as a newlywed, I had specific visions of what our intimate relationship would look like. And well, it wasn’t too long before discovering that life happens. Babies come. I’m carrying an extra fifteen pounds on my body and don’t feel s-e-x-y in the least! Hands off, dude <grin>! 

But on a very real level, it’s an area of our married relationship that is precious, God-given and requires effort and selflessness. And knowing Marla and her heart for marriages, this new book of hers (as well as Is That All He Thinks About?) would be valuable resources to delve into with discernment, sensitivity, prayer, and yes, a bit of a sense of humor. Because while I know Marla approaches this topic with the utmost respect and humility, there will be some fun, light-hearted moments to her writing as well! I mean, just take a look at the cover:

Marla is providing one giveaway copy of The Husband’s Guide to Getting Lucky to one of my readers! 

Here’s how to enter:

A) Leave a comment telling me one or more of the following: 

• A favorite summer activity, trip, or moment you’ve had so far. 
• A prayer request. 
• Something you hope to get out of reading Marla’s book.

OR 

B) Link to The Husband's Guide to Getting Lucky website from your Facebook, Twitter, or any social media you prefer and leave a comment letting me know you did. 

Only one entry per person (just choose option A or B). The winner will be selected at random. Giveaway will end at 12 p.m. on Sunday, June 19th and announced shortly thereafter. 

Love to each of you this evening! 

Simply trusting, 

 

 

The Lord's Prayer: A Child's Version

 

 

Hello Daddy!

We want to know you.

And be close to you.

Please show us how.

Make everything in the world right again.

And in our hearts, too.

Do what is best—just like you do in heaven,

And please do it down here, too.

Please give us everything we need today.

Forgive us for doing wrong, for hurting you.

Forgive us just as we forgive other people

when they hurt us.

Rescue us! We need you.

We don’t want to keep running away

and hiding from you.

Keep us safe from our enemies.

You’re strong, God.

You can do whatever you want.

You are in charge.

Now and forever and for always!

We think you’re great!

Amen!

Yes we do!

 

This is a paraphrase of The Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6 found in The Jesus Storybook Bible written by Sally Lloyd-Jones. This is my favorite children’s Bible to read along with Brennan. I was struck by the paraphrase when we read it together last week: its simplicity, the fondness found between the child and his Daddy, the dependence of the child upon the Father, the humility. I gained a fresh perspective of this prayer I’ve been praying for years from reading it through the eyes of a child.

Postures for Lent

It is Sunday afternoon, a dreary, cooler day in Austin with touches of spring all around. I have a full tummy after eating Chuy’s Mexican food for lunch, and our little boy is in the process of getting his dirty diaper changed, having left a not-so-fragrant waft as he passed by me on his way to the bathroom. College basketball is on in the background, and I’m trying to put some semblance of a post together, fighting the urge to curl up into a ball and rest, letting the fuzziness of not sleeping well and losing an hour of precious slumber fade away. But my mind keeps going, trying to work its way around all that I’ve been reading and processing lately, all that I heard in church today, the first Sunday of Lent. It was all so meaningful and rich. This isn’t going to be a polished, well-crafted post. It’s simply one for me to record some thoughts that I hope linger in my soul.

This season of Lent, the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter, has been in years past, a time I’ve dreaded, wrecked with heart-ache. And yet, there was always light and hope that crept around the corner, non-coincidentally right around Easter when I could see the beauty that had arisen from the ashes of my grief. It might take a life-time to see it, or maybe it won’t be until we reach heaven’s side will we have eyes to see fully, but there’s nothing about death and grief that with Jesus won’t be turned into life and hope, used for good.

Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are has been pivotal for me in the last month. In the eighth chapter, she writes beautifully about trust and fear, and what it means to live a life of YES! to Jesus. Similarly, we sang “Blessed Assurance” today in church, and the last verse captures the content of Ann’s message perfectly:

Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blest, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

After reflecting on Jesus’ revelation to her about those things, she brings up a real point we all deal with come Monday morning, come the nitty-gritty of life. We forget. Things like schedules, burned toast, crying children steer away our focus from Jesus and His goodness and allow worry to creep in. And there are even bigger things than those that we can find on our plates: “Where is my child’s heart headed? Am I living God’s best for this life or am I bankrupting any legacy of faith?”

That last question stopped me dead in my tracks. I read it over and over again, and there was a pit in my stomach as I continued reading the chapter. I felt uneasy and unsettled. It’s a feeling I’m all too familiar with: fear, anxiety, worry. In a chapter that ironically is about trust and fear (the antithesis of trust, of active-believing faith) I was shaken by a question that wasn’t even the point of her chapter. But her example of that trap of worry is one I fell head into while reading! And maybe, just maybe, the legacy of faith that I’m allowing to be bankrupt from this life of mine is because I’m fearful: fearful of messing up, failing, of missing something important and vital to train my children, of making wrong decisions. And yet, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 NIV). In response, Ann writes, “If God didn’t withhold from us His very own Son, will God withhold anything we need?”

My fear of failing limits God, His faithful provision and His love, for both me and my children. What can He not give that He’s already given us in Jesus? He’s wisdom. He’s good. He’s never-ending love. He’s safe. And the more I know of Him, the more I want to trust Him—to live a life of yes. So this Lent, while our family gathers around the Advent-to-Lent Wreath around our dinner table and reads a devotion, there have been a few things that I want this season of Lent to look like in my life as I prepare for Easter. Instead of dreading Lent, of being in fear of what grief or heart-ache I might walk through like in seasons past, I want to be in a posture of the following:

• Having an attitude of humility, recognizing my complete need for Him and my frailty of living in fear; and instead, making a conscious Spirit-guided and Spirit-dependent decision to walk in trust, in active-believing faith.
• To slow down. To be content in the quiet.
• To remember and be thankful, recognizing the immense blessings He’s given; acknowledging His goodness; remembering Jesus Himself, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). To live in intentional gratitude, “counting blessings to discover who can be counted on.” (Henry Township)
• To be in prayerful, communion with Jesus.

Our church service today included the Southwell Litany, a set of twenty different prayers that were read aloud and a communal response of, “Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord,” followed. As we started praying, I consciously wanted to single out a few of the prayers that were meant for me, so to speak, ones that targeted my own weaknesses to take home and continue to pray through Lent. Well, out of twenty, every single one had a little sting to it as I recognized that my sins cover the whole gamut of life! But the prayers were so deep and meaningful, rich and comprehensive. I didn’t feel hopeless, just humbled recognizing my need for Jesus. I brought home the prayers to help guide me in my fourth posture. I hope to share a few of these along the way with you, but want to share this one today:

O Lord, free us from weariness in continuing struggles; from despondency in failure and disappointment; from overburdened sense of unworthiness; from morbid fancies of imaginary backslidings, raise us to a lively hope and trust in thy presence and mercy, in the power of faith and prayer; and from all exaggerated fears and vexations.

Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Blessed assurance, Jesus in mine!

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

 

There is no one like Jesus.

 

Simply trusting,

A World Beyond Our Own

Did you know there is a man in Bangladesh squatting hour after hour, day after day, in the grueling 115 degree heat chiseling away at them to make pennies a day?

Did you know there is a young Muslim teenage girl who had a dream last night of a man who knew her name, who beckoned her to follow Him, who had nail-scarred hands?

Did you hear of the boy, age six, who saw his parents gunned down before his eyes because they were caught in a crossfire between drug lords in Mexico?

Did you know there is a boy in kindergarten who is struggling to learn how to read? And if the statistics are right, and he doesn’t have help to learn to read by the third grade, he’ll be a number the State of Texas counts to project their future inmate populations in prisons.

Did you know of the village in a rural Kenyan town that is moving their bodies in all sorts of wild contortions in jubilee, singing at the tops of their lungs so that the sound echoes through the valley, filled with excitement over the newly dug well? They finally have fresh, drinking water!

Have you heard of the father, worn out and wrinkled from fretting over how he would provide for his family after dolling out their family’s savings to tend to his ailing son after the local shaman required it of him?

____________________________

With my index finger gingerly placed on the sphere of land masses and bodies of water, I give the globe a hearty spin so that it whirls around and around, my finger sliding gently up and down so that it covers both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Finally, it comes to a stop. Will that be the next place I go? It lands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Probably not. Around and around the globe spins again, and this time my finger lands on India. Just maybe.

At the formidable, young age of thirteen, my parents wrestled against their own minds and hearts, as well as the naysayers who didn’t understand how they could be in their right mind to let their daughter fly half-way across the world with a group of other kids and a few adults who wanted to introduce them to the nations and teach them how to share the love of Jesus to those they met. Emotions raw from anticipating the six weeks of separation and nerves a bit frayed, in faith my parents sent me on that plane with tons of hugs and kisses, and prayers both cried out and whispered for my safe keeping. And thus, I was introduced to the world beyond my own. A  world of other cultures, of people who did things vastly different, yet beautiful in their own way. A world of poverty and death that you wish you could rub away from your eyes after seeing it, but it’s burned on them. Burned on your eyes and your heart. Just as it should be.

Traditions, food, customs, dress, habits, lifestyles of the whole-wide-world were opened before me as I boarded that plane and numerous others to land on nearly every continent and dozens of countries since I was thirteen. It certainly explains the untamable travel bug of mine. And it has shaped every part of who I am, this privilege of seeing the world beyond my own. Not to negate the genuine needs of people in my own city, my own neighborhood. Not in the least. But there is nothing like the understanding and acknowledgment of people beyond our own micro world, compassionately recognizing both the desperation of need that most of the rest of the world faces, and also the appreciation of other people, of other cultures.

A globe. A spherical representation of the earth is what Brennan received from us for his second birthday. An odd gift choice for a two year old. He’s likely to want to use it as a basketball. And if you’re anything like my husband, you have the same quizzical look on your face reading this as he did when I broached the idea with him. The love for the nations pulses through my veins. While Brennan may not have the same travel experiences as I, nor is that my aim, I hope a love for the nations pulses through him as well, a compassion for the poor and needy, for those who need to know Jesus. And it’s never too early to instill that in him.

For a brief moment this week, we set aside the toys. Placing the globe in front of Brennan, he started twirling it; it’s instinct. I placed his tiny finger on the ball of blue and brown and showed him how to hold it there gently while the globe spun around and around, just like I did as a child, just like I still do today. It landed on China. So for a few minutes, we sat together and prayed for a special friend of ours in China who is there for a couple of weeks teaching business and finance to students.

Thus it begins, as is my hope and prayer, that as the spinning and praying become part of our life, that there would be instilled in Brennan a Jesus-longing in his heart for the people represented by the boundary lines and colors of each country of the world on that globe. A God-breathed love for the world beyond our own.

 

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:  “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:9-10

For the Next Generation

 

Did y’all know that I have a second brother? That’s the best way I can describe the guy I grew up with who: is my brother’s best friend, regularly raided our refrigerator, traveled with us, spent holidays with our family, and teased me as incessantly as Mac. I think it’s the last point that qualifies him to have the honorable title of “second brother”. I was the ‘good girl’. Mac and Oscar have a track record they will work tirelessly to hide from their children. Funny, my daddy has the same thing: stories about the trouble he got into that he probably never wanted his kids to know about, but stories his kids repeatedly desire to tell a perfect stranger. I should share them some day. They’re classic! Anyway, I digress.

Oscar married his better half, Candis, in 2004. Candis is pure sweetness. I don’t know how Oscar ended up with her. Oh, I jest. I’ve got to have an avenue to which I can return some of the teasing I’ve received for nearly all of my life! By the way, the teasing from my two brothers hasn’t let up! I haven’t had the privilege of tasting the goodies Candis bakes, but the pictures I’ve seen look out of this world! And I know she’s won a few baking contests lately, confirming I need to get my hands on her treats. Oscar and Candis have three kiddos: two young boys, Asher and Ezra, and one little girl, Caris. They currently live in Phoenix, AZ and serve with Student Venture, the branch of Campus Crusade for Christ that serves among high schoolers. Oscar and Candis were personally impacted by the Lord during their youth and know the value of ministering to teenagers. They’ve seen the need to make an impact on today’s youth. They equip students by discipling them through small group Bible studies and providing ministry resources during the school year. During the summers, they also take students across the country and the world, to build upon the love God has for the nations in the students’ hearts. Their basic ministry model is called Build-Send where they win students to Christ, build them in their faith, and send them out to reach others. 

Why am I writing about Oscar and Candis? First, as a parent, I am more profoundly aware of the statistics and the unsettling issues facing the youth of today. We have our heads buried in the sand if we’re not aware of the tumultuous environment our kiddos walk in every day, or think our children won’t face those struggles themselves. I want people like Oscar and Candis who are wise; who make decisions with integrity; who respect others; who step out and do courageous things even when the rest of the world thinks what they do is absurd; who have a living and active relationship with Jesus Christ; who serve wholeheartedly to see high schoolers know Jesus’ grace and glory, His amazing power to transform their lives and help them through anything through which they’re struggling. I want people like Oscar and Candis to have an impact on Brennan and other kids during their youth. Brennan isn’t always going to look to me and his daddy for help and guidance. Prayerfully, people like Oscar and Candis will be there when the time comes to invest in Brennan, leading by example and encouraging him to make right choices.

Secondly, Oscar and Candis are transitioning from Phoenix to Boston where they have a goal “to lead a dynamic ministry team who will equip students to walk with Jesus”. As you can imagine, the cost of living is significantly higher in Massachusetts than it is in Arizona, and as Student Venture staff, Oscar and Candis not only raise all of their financial support, they need 100% of it before they can move. They are looking for prayer partners to support them in their ministry to high schoolers. They are looking for financial supporters as well.

Before I proceed, let me humbly tell you that while this blog platform is small, my heart nevertheless, is to handle the communication on here responsibly and with the utmost respect for my readers. I have come to you before asking for specific prayer for friends and highlighting significant giving opportunities for individuals, causes, and organizations I hold in high regard. There is not an individual, cause or organization that I’ve written about asking for prayer or financial support that Matt and I do not pray and/or financially support first, before bringing it to you (as well as I can remember over the last three years <grin>). This is an opportunity to support and encourage two people whom Matt and I respect and deeply love who have stepped out in faith to see high schoolers lives transformed by the love and power of Christ. They have a need, and some of you just might be the ones to help fill that need.

For those of you who have a heart for the youth for today, whose heart breaks to see all that they’re are wrestling through and know they need Hope, I’d encourage you to think about the following ways you can be moved to action as led by the Lord:

• Take time to visit Oscar and Candis’ website and read about their ministry. Send them a note of encouragement or take time to pray for them. Maybe you’d be willing to sign up to pray for them regularly, support them financially, or receive their newsletters. There are some fun pictures of their family on the website, too.
  
• If you were impacted positively by someone during your youth, or if you have children who have a special, godly mentor in their life that you are grateful to be a part of your child’s life in this season, take time to pray for them or send a note of thanks. Personally, I can’t tell you enough how thankful I am for the nursery workers who lovingly take care of Brennan each week! And I know several of you serving in youth ministry capacities. THANK YOU for investing in the lives of our kiddos in Jesus’ Name! Your work and selfless love you invest in the next generation does not go unseen!
  
• To those of you in the Austin area who would like the opportunity to meet Oscar and Candis and hear more about their ministry first-hand, we are hosting a dinner for them this Saturday, November 6th and would love for you to join us! If you are interested, please email me by Thursday morning.

Dear ones, if you’re left with anything from this post, may it be a reminder to encourage, pray and give thanks for those who pour their hearts and souls into the youth of today to see the next generation fall at His feet and proclaim, “Worthy is the Lamb!”

 

My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.

Psalm 78:1-4

 

Simply trusting,

 

 

 

 

A Bunch of Good Stuff

The alarm blared a little too early this morning. At 3:50 a.m. Dazed and confused, all three of us somehow made it intact to the airport where I said, “See ya later,” to my loves. They jetted off to Canada this morning and should land in about an hour whereupon Brennan will receive the first of hopefully many stamps in his passport. Little did we know that we were supposed to pay an international tax for Brennan’s travel and it nearly jeopardized the boys’ final leg of the trip across the border. But I happen to think that blondie simply captured the hearts of the flight crew that they had no choice but to transport him to his final destination.

I mean, really. Who can resist this face?

 

Matt’s dad runs a school for children with learning disabilities in Canada. He’s commuted 20+ years to Canada from Virginia and this is the first time any of his kids have been able to see first-hand the school he’s directed with passion all these years. For Matt’s birthday and Christmas last year, my parents helped Matt with a ticket to visit his dad. And a few months ago, we thought it would be great to take advantage of Brennan flying free (well, aside from the international travel tax or whatever it is) and make the trip my boys’ first Daddy/son trip. Even at 4 a.m., “Da Da” was repeated over and over and over. I think he knew he was gonna get some good testosterone time. Everything is about “Da Da” these days. He’ll see a car that looks like Matt’s car and it spurs a number of “Da Da”s. He’ll walk into the closet and see Matt’s clothes and out comes the “Da Da”. I haven’t heard “Momma” in quite awhile unless coaxed out of him. That’s alright. My man child has a great man to look up to!

Speaking of clothes, I had some slight jealousy in me yesterday of Matt who will get to see Brennan wearing some of his new fall outfits for the first time this season along with his jacket, hat and mittens. Matt endured a 10 minute schpeal about all of the outfits: what socks go with what, what outfits were for what days, when to wear the tennies and when to wear the brown shoes. And as a courtesy, I even threw into Matt’s pile of clothes a nice shirt that I encouraged him to wear when Brennan wears his nice outfit as they meet Ed’s staff for the first time. I almost tied bows around each of the respective outfits so there was no chance taken in a pair of socks being paired with the wrong outfit. I know my hubby’s weaknesses. Matching is one of them, bless him. And I’m no fashionista!

What will I do while they’ve run off to Canada? Give some TLC to Molly who has surgery tomorrow. Plant my behind on the couch to rest and watch some movies. Maybe pick up the new Francine Rivers’ book, Her Daughter’s Dream. Start on my third round of antibiotics and new steroids to kick this lingering bronchitis (I’m on week #4) to the curb. Hopefully it’ll kick the sinus infection I’ve had the past week to the curb, too. I’m desperate to feel better, so if making sure I stay on the couch all weekend is part of the plan, then so be it. I’ll happily oblige! I’ll meet my momma for lunch on Saturday. And I have the honor of treating my friend, Courtney, to a nice lunch tomorrow in thanks for the many lunches she braves eating with me and Brennan at Chick-fil-A! As a woman who doesn’t have children, that says a lot about her character, people! I’m aiming for peace and quiet. That’s what my body and my soul need. If only I’d be brave enough to turn off the TV and sit in total silence.

Last week, I recorded a bit of Brennan and a new routine we’re working on. I’m no Julie Andrews, just warnin’ ya! And I’m not sure where all the facial expressions came from. Maybe he wants to be the next Jim Carrey.

 

I hope to catch you sometime this weekend, friends! And before I sign off, if you want some good, albeit challenging, reads, I highly recommend these:

J.R. Briggs wrote a post regarding the possible Quran burning a few weeks ago. If you’re tired of the whole topic, this is not the same old stuff! J.R. actually called Terry Jones and you need to read about it!

Lysa TerKuerst on marriage and parenting. This post gave me some great prayers to pray for Brennan. How counter-cultural is it to pray that he’d get caught when he makes wrong choices!? Good stuff! And this one made me reflect more on the cost of my choices.

What do you think of the American church? That topic can open up a can of worms. Kathy Escobar wrote a letter to the American church that is some great food for thought. And potentially, some powerful encouragement for transformation.

And this post over at Nothings and Notions from my Noodle broke it down in a way I could totally relate to wanting to live for the glory of God in our daily lives. My daily life that looks like cleaning peanut butter and honey off the booster chair every morning. My daily life that includes giving thanks for the family bathroom at the mall that offered some privacy where I could run to to discipline and instruct Brennan when he was having the FIT OF HIS LIFE yesterday. Yes, it was a great post to remind me I have ample opportunity to bring glory to God in my daily life that doesn’t necessarily mean me hopping on the next jet plane overseas. But I’d like that, too!

For His Pleasure

Sometimes my motivation for blogging and interacting with the online world gets so muddled. I’ve come to love blogging and having an outlet to write. And while it brings me much joy, there are times when the battle inside me rages and I am bombarded with the ways that blogging highlights my many weaknesses.  Nearly every area of weakness in my life gets targeted when my focus is not where it should be with writing: comparison, insecurity, jealousy, selfish ambition, pride, discontent. Oh golly, when I look at that list, it’s enough to discourage me from ever writing another post. It would sure be easier. But somewhere deep down inside, there is the hope of Truth that while I am weak, His grace is sufficient, and His power is made perfect in my weakness. And hopefully, prayerfully, He can sift through all of my wrong motivations and twisted desires for fame to use it for His glory, His fame.

Lately I’ve realized that a very simple prayer has been absent from my life recently. It’s a prayer that has been blanketed in genuinely praying for “His will to be done”, but the delight and pure desire to please Him has been absent from those prayers. It used to be a desire within my heart that made its way through my lips as I talked to Jesus. Lord, I want to be pleasing to you. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. He knows, He knows very well that over the past five or so years, I have put my hands out in arm’s length out of fear of what He’ll ask of me, out of fear of what the Lord will allow me to face. So of course, why wouldn’t the desire to please Him slip ever so slowly and subtly out of my heart when I lack the faith to trust Him, to believe that He is good all the time and that He desires my good? Over the last few weeks it has come to my attention that I have been out to please myself, and it has masked itself deceitfully in a way of wanting to protect myself…from Him.

Everything from the books I’m reading (The Mark of the Lion series and Radical), to the Bible study I’m doing on Believing God, to friends and family I get to share life with, to some of the blogs I read, they are all things the Lord is using to bring me back to Himself, to strip me of my fear and to replace it with the desire to live for His pleasure…to live by faith.

You know the Compassion bloggers trip to Guatemala I’ve written about? I’ve wanted to encourage them and pray for them so much! I’ve known about bloggers trips before, but for some reason, there has been a special tug on my heart for this trip. So I’ve read nearly all of the four bloggers’ posts about their last few days in Guatemala and their experiences getting to meet their sponsor children. For those unfamiliar with Compassion, Amanda gives a great summary of the organization here, and I will borrow some of her words:

In a nutshell, Compassion International is a child development organization that serves over one million children worldwide. Six hundred thousand sponsors are currently partnering with this organization to rescue children from poverty in Jesus' name. Compassion's aim is to be an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty, and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults. This is largely achieved through monthly financial support from one sponsor to one child.

The adrenaline pumping in me after reading some of the posts cannot be explained other than that Jesus has been a part of their trip! There’s no other reason for the sheer joy and excitement (all the while challenging me in my faith) I have over what the Lord has done in and through this team the past week. I heard about Compassion a number of years ago but last year, we decided to become sponsors to Rubina, whom I wrote about in my last post. I wanted to be a sponsor, however, with mixed motives once again. There was such and such a blogger who was a Compassion blogger, and then this one, then that one, and well, it just seemed to be the ‘cool’ thing to do among the community of bloggers with whom I was interacting.

Over the past year, we’ve enjoyed corresponding with Rubina but haven’t been great at praying for her. The Lord has used the Guatemala trip to rekindle in me a desire to please Him with our interactions, prayer and support for Rubina! Through the posts of the team, I have a better understanding of Compassion at large; their commitment to work with local churches; the emotional, physical, and spiritual support they are for families. In the case of Guatemala, they helped several families rebuild homes after Hurricane Agatha. I read about children who can’t wait to write their sponsor, if only their sponsor would take the time to write them first so they could start corresponding. I read about children whose lives have been eternally changed because of the relationship between them and their sponsor through letters. There is such joy in receiving letters, both for the children and the sponsors!

I know you all don’t have time to go back and read the bloggers’ posts. But please permit me to share with you a few of the nuggets that grabbed my heart.

Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama:

Our letters are more important than our money. Our words more valuable than our automatic withdrawals. And we can change the course of history by investing in the person instead of just the payment plan.

Did you know that Compassion sets up a way to be a letter corresponder to children who have sponsors but no communication!? I had no idea, but I think that shows the heart of Compassion is more about relationship than just sending money. Maybe you’re interested?

Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience wrote a post that contained the following quotes:

…Compassion is more than bread and a blanket; its ultimately the beliefs of a man that will save him. Walfred will have to hide the Jesus words, wear them as armor, to survive the crime of this place, to avoid the gangs that kill 16 people everyday in the city of Guatemala, to climb out of this pit and this is why Compassion does everything in Jesus' name.

About a family who the team visited because the local pastor said they needed particular encouragement:

Compassion is more than funds --- it's about a family that holds you tight when you are slipping. That knows your name and your needs and never gives up on you. That believes in Jesus and believes in His good life in this place, in you --and affirms you --  and does this in all in Jesus' name.

About a young boy who was falling into disrespectful and rebellious behavior because of bad examples in shanty town who was changed through Compassion’s Child Development Program with mentors that modeled Christ’s love and life to him:

Compassion is more than giving money from our pockets --- it's about giving moral and spiritual mentors to communities where desperate poverty leaves the door wide open for stalking Satan to come stealing in.

Ann writes a great summation:

How does my theology press through the grid of this geography? How does my faith in a land of iphones and ipods and ipads respond to a whole city of people in ramshackled tin and relentless rain washing them away? Because whether consciously or not, intentionally or not ---  faith is always responding. Either with indifference or with intercession, either with apathy or aid. Faith cannot have a non-response. Once we have seen, we are responsible --- we will make a response. One way or the other.

And I still encourage you to read her post, “How to Make Your Life an Endless Celebration”.

Amanda at Baby Bangs got to experience pure joy meeting her sponsor child, Stefanie, and her family! If you choose just to read one post, you’ve got to read this! I can’t do the post justice picking out a few nuggets.

Last but not least, Lindsey at Lindsey Nobles has a great point for all of us to ponder:

There are no lack of someones to love in my life. They might not come in the package I expected. But they are here. They are there. They are everywhere. If I would just open my eyes. Are you ready to stop asking God why and when and start asking him how and whom?

Their final posts about their trip will be published tomorrow morning here, so you’ll have to read them to glean your own nuggets <grin>. Undoubtedly, there will be some. Each of these bloggers stepped out in faith to go to Guatemala. Each of them probably had their own challenges and anxieties about getting on that plane. But they still went, in Jesus’ Name, and oh, how I know He’s taken such pleasure in them this week! He’s sure used their team in my life, too. I wish I could see each of them personally as they landed back in the U.S. to give them hugs and to tell them how much, even from afar, their trip has impacted my life.

Along with the other things and people I mentioned above that have been shaping me, this team has served as a reminder of how much Jesus loves the unlovely, the poor, the outcast, our enemies, those who curse us, the lonely, the ones with messy lives. I know I’m a mess myself and sometimes I’m so unwilling and scared to love on others out of fear of taking on some of their mess, too. But as I’ve had the honor of encouraging and praying for the team and reading through the Guatemala posts, I’ve been heavily struck by how much God is in the center of loving others (it’s what He commands us to do, after all). He takes such pleasure in it and is deeply honored by it.  Maybe you’d like the opportunity to love one of the least of these, too?

Lord, strip me of my fear to love You with my whole heart and to love others well, in Your Name. Keep stirring in me a desire to live to please You. Take my mixed motives, my messy life, and my inadequate words and use them for Your glory. You are everything, Jesus.

She’s Watching

Who do you say Jesus is?

An historical figure and that’s it? A good guy, but not for you? Someone who demands too much? A fake? Someone who made outrageous claims?

As I read Ann Voskamp’s post today entitled, “How to Make Your  Life an Endless Celebration” which I highly encourage you to read, I was reminded about the depth of sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for me. For all of us.

Everything about His life shows that He came with an attitude of a servant. From the way He was born, to the way He interacted with others, to the way He gave of Himself in death. A humble servant who considered His life worth nothing. He was a man who suffered physically, emotionally, and mentally. A man who took the weight of the world’s sins upon Himself to bring us, the ones who had fallen short, the ones who do wrong, the ones who spit in His face and reject Him, into right relationship with God. What could have possibly been His motivation to endure the cross other than love? He was stripped and beaten and cursed. For nothing? Oh, no. For everything. He came that we might have life. Abundant life. To know grace. To know forgiveness. To know freedom from our own sin and wretchedness that binds us so heavily at times. And because He considered Himself nothing, and became obedient to death, God exalted Him to the highest place, giving Him the name that is above every Name!

Yes, I believe that you, Jesus, are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who came into the world to save us from death. I believe you died. And I believe you rose from the grave!  You are the Way. The Truth. The Life. And your way is that of a servant. Your way is love. Your way is forgiveness and goodness and mercy and redemption and reconciliation. Everything good comes from You. You are to be esteemed and glorified. You love those who hate you. You love even me, although I fail time and time again. You pursue us and long to draw us to Yourself. For You want all men to come to a knowledge of the Truth.

Believers in Jesus, we have been called to be servants as He was, to love as He loves, to give of ourselves so that others may see His glory and goodness, to see lives changed for eternity. Eternity.

So as I think about the proposed Quran burning in Florida on 9/11, I think of all the reasons why this is unnecessary and harmful. And hurtful. What good will come of it? What is the point? Vengeance? I think of the Christians across the globe who could be jeopardized, both their witness and literally their lives. And as been reported, what about our troops? It puts them in harm’s way, too. Very clearly in my mind, however, is a 13 year old girl who just purchased a goat for milk. She is a fantastic artist and loves to learn. She has short, dark hair and deep, dark eyes. Her name is Rubina. She lives half-way across the globe in Bangladesh, a predominately Muslim country, and we’ve been delighted to get to know her through Compassion.  As she hears word of something like a Quran burning in the United States, what is she likely to think as an impressionable young girl who, aside from our family, has a limited understanding of Americans (and thereby Christians) that she receives from the news or Hollywood? Let that question sink in a little bit and put some fear and trembling in all of us.

There’s a whole world of people out there beyond our American borders. Yes, our neighbors watch. And lest we be mistaken, young boys and girls like Rubina who live half-way across the globe watch, too. I want to show them Jesus. The Jesus who He says He is in His Word! The Jesus who could only do something as wonderful and amazing as what’s in Ann’s post! The Jesus they need. Who I need. The Jesus who loves them. Loves them!

 

Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:1-6