Thankful Thursday: March 29th

Sunny day, spring weather….thankful for these 5 things!

1. Modern technology. In an all-day meeting to learn more about doing operations for the Berlin Summer Project. I. Love. Excel. Makes my job soooo much easier. I also love the guy who developed the spreadsheet to make it so simple. If I can understand what I am doing, anybody can do this job.

2. Sleep. Haven’t slept well in the last few months, but lately have been getting to bed at a reasonable time and sleeping all the way through the night, waking up to my alarm and well-rested.

3. Good weather. Loving being able to exercise outside again! God’s creation is awesome.

4. The reminder that things in this world are fleeting and not important. Lost something this week that I considered really important and was really anticipating using. The Lord has been reminding me this week that although it is sad, it ultimately doesn’t matter, as He is better and more important than anything I hold close here on earth.

5. Having fun during the radio show yesterday! Doug and I had a great time answering the questions, and I discovered that I love radio. Hmmm…new career maybe? Just Kidding. It was so encouraging to be able to share exactly who we are and what we do, and more importantly who Jesus is and why He is important for a radio show that will be heard by 20,000 ish people. Yes, not just 3 people. We found out after the recording (thank Jesus) that over 20,000 people listen to this show. At 5:30 Sunday mornings. Praise the Lord, and may His great name be glorified!!

The picture is a little blurry, but here are Doug and I at our Mics yesterday!

I’m Famous!

Well, not really.

But, Doug and I were asked to join WIBC 93.1FM Radio here in Indy tomorrow from 2-2:30 to record a session for a program called “Spotlight Indianapolis”! We will be sharing about Campus Crusade for Christ, Conferences and Events, as well as our ministry in the Great Lakes region and on campuses in Indiana. We were sent a list of potential questions to be ready to answer, so we are prepping today and tomorrow morning!

The only bummer is that the show is set to air on Sunday morning…at 5:30. Yep, 5:30AM. So, we will be famous to the three people awake and on the road, and desperate for something to keep them awake.

We need to be appropriately funny, to keep that 5:30 am crowd awake and engaged, but not act like we are trying to hard. Haha. J/K.

But really, maybe one of them has never heard about Jesus, and this will be their opportunity to hear the gospel! Hooray! So, for that one potential person, it is worth it.

Pray that we speak well, and represent the organization rightly, and have fun in the process!

Thankful Thursday: March 22nd

5 things to be thankful for today…

1. Green everywhere! I love the grass, leaves budding on the trees. All the new life springing (pun very much intended) forth is so happy and bright.

2. Kayla! Love getting to spend Wednesday mornings doing life and studying God’s Word with her.

3. Fresh, clean, delicious water

4. Great weather allowing me to exercise in the great outdoors, including a delightful 2.5 mile hike down at Fort Benjamin Harrison on Saturday.

5. Spontaneous drop-ins from friends for the evening!

Thankful Thursday: March 15th

My 5 Thursday Things…

1. Recovery days after my trip to Africa. Thankful today that I had two days to sleep, reflect, and re-adjust after a whirlwind week in Benin!

2. Flip flops. The weather here is completely ridiculous(ly awesome). 70′s and sunny every day. Yes, please. I’ll take spring a month early. Better get on with planting my garden so things will grow! Planning on lots of wild flowers this year, since those are easy and they worked so great last year.

3. New glasses. I am enjoying the transition to all-the-time glasses more than I thought I would. It’s nice that they are cute, and that my prescription sunglasses have gold sparkles on the inside.

4. Finding humor in stressful situations. On Friday as we were leaving Benin to head home, Brye, Brenda, Katie and I almost missed our flight – really. It’s a long, hilarious story that I will write a full post about, as it fully deserves one. But, in the midst of figuring out if we were going to have to re-book our flight, and the passport guy telling us he was tired and wanted to go home, and going through some measure of security 5 times between check-in and sitting in our seats, we just laughed. A lot.

5. Fellow thankful thursday-ers. Two of my friends have started a Thankful Thursday post on their blogs as well! It is fun to see the different things the Lord puts in our lives for which we are all thankful!

Flashback Fun

Time for some more flashback funness! Are there any theme songs that stick in your head? Or bring back memories of new episodes or videos that came out that you were so excited to see?

I loved McGee and Me when I was younger. The theme song is soooo 1990′s – but it still makes me smile:

Back from Africa!

My plane landed back in Indy on Saturday night, and since then I have spent a lot of time sleeping and in the restroom, as my stomach decided it didn’t like something I gave it at some point during the latter part of the week. My bed has remained unmade for two days. I left my apartment one time to go to the grocery store, which coincided with the only time I have put on real clothes.

This afternoon, though, I began to feel back to normal a bit. I unpacked, did a load of laundry, cooked dinner, cleaned out my work inbox in preparation for going back tomorrow, and tidied up my apartment.

There is much I am still processing through from my week in Benin, and I will be writing several posts in the coming days/weeks. We had a slight miscommunication during the trip, and all of my photos are currently on the laptop still in Benin with the rest of the team, so I will probably wait for those to begin my reflections.

But know this, we serve an awesome God who does amazing things in the lives of people, and it was a blessing to be a small part of seeing over 50 men and women put their trust in Jesus during the past 8 days!! So many great stories that I look forward to sharing with you!

P.S. for dinner tonight, I made white cheddar mac n’ cheese. The box said that you can substitute yogurt for the milk, and since I had the former and not the latter I decided to try it…let me just say, it doesn’t work with Greek Yogurt. The result was thick, yogurt tasting macaroni, with no hint of white cheddar. Sadness. Good to know for next time though!

 

 

Thankful Thursday: March 1st

What a great way to start a brand new month! Today, thankful for these 5 things:

1. Africa!! When I woke up this morning I was hit smack in the face with God’s grace as I thought about leaving today for Benin. It has been 5.5 years since I was last on that great continent, and I have been praying for an opportunity to go back ever since. I do not deserve to have this prayer answered, and yet in His grace and mercy He opened a door for me to return. Humbled, thankful, and excited to be there for whatever He has in store for this week!

2. Five men in the application process for Berlin! Praying for 5 more to start an application this week.

3. New glasses! On my way to pick them up right now, just in time to leave…

4. Rides to the airport. Thankful for Sarah and Thao’s willingness to take time out of their days to take me to the airport and pick me up when I return. They are a blessing!

5. Travel size amenities. Since I am only going to be in country 7 days, I decided that I would just take a carry-on and backpack for this trip. No checked bag though means 3 oz or less for all my toiletries. Eek! But, I did it!! And my carry-on even has some room left over. I am going to take a picture, because this has NEVER happened before, and may never happen again. Although one of my life goals is to learn how to pack light, so maybe this is a first baby step in that direction…

Flashback Forward

Have you ever heard of Psalty the Singing Songbook? Or McGee and Me? Duncan the Donut Man? Steve Green Hide Em’ in your Heart Songs? Wee Sing? I hadn’t fully understood the breadth of the Christian youth sub-culture until a discussion during small group last week. Half of us grew up in Christian homes and were laughing and carrying on about these fun things, and the other half was looking at us like we were completely crazy.

Let’s start with Psalty. A huge royal blue singing hymnal? Totally normal in my world. Thus begins a fun series of flashbacks of fun, quirky things you may only know about if you were there. If you aren’t used to him though, I warn you, it’s a little scary. You might just want to fast forward to after the song is over…about 2:45.

My favorite line is “It’s going to be a Hopallujah Blast!!!” Hahahahaha. Soooo cheesy, and slightly creepy.

Thankful Thursday: February 23rd

Time for the weekly pause to be thankful for….

1. Weddings! Lots of friends getting married this year, and it is such a privilege to celebrate with each of them. It is also a great reminder at each wedding of the love that Christ has for his church, and his perfect plan in creating marriage!

2. Grace for each new day, and being able to start fresh every morning

3. Susie and Darla! Love their wisdom, insight and the way both of them listen and help me process through life. Thankful for their friendship and mentor-ship these past few years!!

4. Hot tea on cold mornings

5. Praying together as an office each Thursday morning. Great way to close out the week!

faith.

George Müller, on answered prayer, after being asked if the Lord had always been faithful to His promises:

‘Always’, replied Müller, ‘He has never failed me! For nearly 70 years every need in connection with this work has been supplied. The orphans from the first until now, have numbered nine thousand five hundred, but they have never wanted a meal. Never! Hundreds of times we have commenced the day without a penny in hand, but our Heavenly Father has sent supplies by the moment they were actually required. There never was a time when there was no unwholesome meal. During all these years I have been enabled to trust in God, the living God, and in Him alone. One million four hundred thousand pounds have been sent to me in answer to prayer.  We have wanted as much as fifty thousand pounds in one year, and it has all come by the time it has been really needed.’ (emphasis mine)

Müller was born in Germany, and moved to England as a missionary in the early-1800′s. He started out his ministry as a church planter and pastor, but after seeing a desperate need for good orphan care he shifted his focus to starting homes for children. For over 50 years he ran an orphanage that consisted by the end of 5 houses that cared for over 1,200 children (at one time!) from birth-17 years old. He revolutionized orphan care in the nation of England, and by the time of his death the entire system had been transformed, largely because of his efforts.

In addition to the orphanage, his church supported missionaries all over the world, including Hudson Taylor in China! He started the Scripture Knowledge Institute that trained hundreds of men in theology and teaching, and spent the last twenty years of his life traveling over 200,000 miles around the world sharing the gospel to thousands upon thousands of people.

All of this work was accomplished by bringing his needs before the Lord only. He founded his organization on the conviction and belief that God would answer when asked. That blows my mind. As I read his biography (Delighted in God by Roger Steer), I was/still am a bit at war in my heart on what I thought about that. One cannot deny that God clearly provided for Müller, and that his approach brought God much glory. But I alos have wondered if they would have seen God provide even more, had they simply asked and made their needs known. There is a balance, I think, between trusting God to provide without ever speaking, and trusting God to use your voice in drawing others closer to Himself as they give.

Sometimes I have doubts that God is really big enough to provide, but reading about the life of this man has given me renewed faith in God’s provision. So often I have a limited view of the omnipotent God. I start to worry, but then am reminded that I am the finite one, He the infinite. I have limitations, He is the owner of everything we can and cannot see. I am broken and flawed, He is perfect and Holy. I can only see one minute at a time, He sees every moment at once. I only know what I need moment by moment, He knows all of my needs and exactly how He is going to provide!