VBS Outreach Ideas #2

Last year I told you how our church did away with "craft" time at VBS. Instead we did Outreach Activities...You can read about last year's projects HERE.

This year here are our outreach projects:

Day 1:

Blessing Bags for Nurses - We collected tissues, anitbacs, candy and gum and stuffed 250 bags with tissue paper, supplies, a short devotional, tract and information about our church. We are distributing these to Dr. Offices, Dentist Offices, Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Homes, Rehab Centers and the hospital. 

Day 2:

Sock Bundles- We collected 250 pairs of socks, rolled them up and secured them with a rubber band, placed in a ziplock with church information and a tract. We will donate these to a homeless shelter and the Salvation Army. Socks and Underwear are the two most requested items by homeless shelters.

Day 3:

Waiting Room Bags- We collected notepads, tissues, gum, candy, hygiene packets, kleenex, snacks and bundled it with church info, a devotional and a tract and placed in a gift bag to distribute at the hospital in the waiting rooms. 

Day 4:

Water Bottles- We labeled 1000 bottles of water with a well-designed label that advertises our church service times and our children's ministries.  We will distribute these throughout the community at various events.

Thank you notes - our first and second graders wrote 60 thank you notes to the local Police and Fire Departments

It was great fun sharing this time with the children. I love teaching them about looking around and seeing what they can do to share kindness, God's love and joy with our community. 

Weekend Wrap Up

A quick wrap up of our week:

-We're in the throws of getting ready for VBS at the church. We have a recently hired Children's Director who has a fun week planned for the kids and we're looking forward to sharing God's love with our community next week.

- Savannah spent a day volunteering at the church. She and a friend washed every toy in the nursery. Between that and Taekwondo she's had a full week.

- Tucker's had a brief bout with poison ivy...it was caught in plenty of time so we didn't end up even having to go to the dr. Thank the Lord. Tucker remembers last year...and didn't want a shot in his backside!

- I tried this tip for fabric softening this week...and girlfriends...IT WORKS: (Click on Pic)

Source: matternfamily.com via Gina on Pinterest

- Bruce and I were treated to an evening out with some friends. We enjoyed the company and for me ...the adult conversation!

- I was deeply moved...and convicted...and burdened by THIS ARTICLE this week. I can't really explain it...but maybe after reading it, you too, will have something to contemplate and later act on.

- I tried this recipe off interest and I can't even describe in words how good it is! Try it!

Source: recipebyphoto.com via

The Gifts...Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I'm thankful for....

1. A sister in law who takes my kids and their friends to the local pool and gives me a few hours of Hallmark Channel time...thanks Sassy!

2. Our church staff that is truly all over the place this week. Two in Peru, two at work camp and the rest  holding down the fort here... Such a hardworking, God-n-people loving group of ministers.

3. .. the mission teams that are represented out of our church this summer 15 to Peru, 16 to Workcamp, 1 to Africa, 1 to Canada and at the end of the summer 38 to Wyoming. What a blessing to share Jesus worldwide!

4.  For fresh veggies from a friend's garden.

5. For a long talk with my mom on the phone....even at 40, nothing is better than talkin' to your momma.

6. For mail from Papua New Guinea and for modern technology that makes thousands of miles not seem quite so far.

7. For the peace of God, which passes all my understanding.

For this and so much more.

What are you thankful for today?

Change Me

Change my heart oh God...

Make it ever new

Change my heart oh God

May I be like you.

The congregation number 200 or so. The sermon was finished and God was working. People at the alter sniffled...the baptistry waters were stirring and the soft sound of a collective body of believers sang softly those words...Change my heart Oh God. 

And that's what's happening. One by one the cry is going up...change me....change my heart...change everything about me....my habits, my motives, my affections, my sin...change it all. That's white flag surrender. 

As I stood with the church that evening, I am excited about what the future holds. Could we be on the hem of a revival? What does it look like? What will it change? How will we know? I have no answers. Most weeks I sit there just thankful and humbled that God is allowing my family to be a part of something so uniquely beautiful in the world today. A perfect church...certainly not. That's laughable purely from the point that I am in it...and I understand my wretchedness as a sinner. But I am thankfully indebted to the One who redeemed me....paid the price for my ignorant sin and who is making me beautiful and new every day. 

So I join with those who sang those words Sunday night...

Change my heart oh God...

Make it ever new

Change my heart oh God

May I be like you.

White Flag

I'm sitting here...the eldest just tossed her cookies and the youngest is singing at the top of his lungs in the shower, Chris Tomlin's, White Flag....and Bruce is out of town and I'm knee deep in grading phonics papers for my class of 18 first graders. And giving up is looking pretty good right now. Only it's not the right kind of giving up. It's the poor pitiful me...look how bad I have it...My life is so busy...poor me kind of giving up. (And I hear you saying "Spare me, join the club, you're not the only one"...and I am already sick of hearing my own complaining.

Our church's theme for the next year is "Take Over...Surrender...White Flag". And as I sit and contemplate all the things that surrender means....none of them includes vanishing from the face of the earth...which if I were completely honest, temporarily, sounds good. Instead, it means giving it all up to the Lord and letting Him take care of it. Trusting that He will take care of it. Loving that He will do His part to juggle the kids, the house, the school stuff, the Bible study...Knowing He can take way better care of things than I could ever. And that's really where I want to be.

I want to be that woman who is not easily flustered by life. The one who is calm and cool and well yes, even collected (although I'm not sure what that looks like). I want to be the one that is selfless and uninhibited when God asks me to do something. I want to think of others more and, instead of, myself....and that's hard when your hands are full of pins you're juggling.

So, I'm surrendering. Not because the church is having a theme, but because God says He can do more...more with my time, my talents, my treasures, my kids, my class, with me....than I could ever do in my own power. His exchange rate is prime. My overwhelmed, pitiful life for His Abundance. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. I'm raising my white flag.

The New 30

I've heard it said a million (ok, maybe not that many) times over the last year "40 is the new 30"...and in my near dread of facing the big 4-0 I was trying to convince myself that this was the case. However, I've been reading "The Resolution For Women" and the first chapter is all about embracing the moment you are in now and not wishing for a better time, a more stable time, a healthier time or a more profitable time. As I neared my birthday I had resolved that I would tackle this year with more contentment. Thankfulness for where God has brought me, that His grace will be just as sufficient for these days as the last. Contentment for those moments when I am sorely dissatisfied and markedly unthankful. And joy for this moment in the history of my life. And just when I thought things couldn't get any better...my friends showed up.

Yes..and my Dr. (who ordered me to stay in the wheel chair all night long)

These crazy girls along with 45 or so of the ladies in the church showed up to give me a really special welcome into the 4th decade of my life. Here's a glimpse into the evening:

We played some games....including "Are you smarter than a first grader". And there was poetry and music from the 70's.

I was given some charming accessories...what girl doesn't like that?!

Lasagna and all the sides were served

And of course...cake

And a very special devotion on the faithfulness of God.

Then this company of godly ladies gathered around and said a prayer over me. And that perhaps, was the best gift of all...That you are loved enough to be taken to the feet of Jesus and prayed over is a gift that I'll never forget. How blessed am I?

And one of my favorite parts of the party was when they told me what my "real" gift was...

They had all brought food to donate to our food pantry at church! This was such a thoughtful gift...knowing that our food pantry is so close to my heart. 

So, thanks Ladies of CBC. You made turning the new 30 easier than I could have ever imagined! I know lots of hard work and effort went into making it a night I will never forget! I think you successfully accomplished that! 

Welcomed

Last night our church welcomed us as the new pastor's family....and of course that means there was food...lots of good food. After church we gathered in the Family Life Center for finger foods...and well...here you go:

Pam Carter of The Catering Company and The Lodge in Commerce is also a member of our church and a friend...she made all the sweets at the celebration. In her words....she's never sliced and served a cake so fast....it was delicious! Each layer was a different flavor.....red velvet, carrot, white and marble...with butter cream icing. Yummmmmmmyyyy! My kids loved that they each had their own custom layer!

It was such special time of fellowship and getting to know our church family a little bit better. They've been so good to us over the last three years...and yet again last night. 

Thanks CBC for making us feel welcomed again!

Under Attack!

Ever feel under attack? Bruce and I made a decision years ago that Sunday mornings would not be the enemy's victory ground. You see, even before we had kids Sunday mornings always seemed to be the time that we would argue over small, unimportant, petty....even stupid things. It would be the time where the blow dryer would stop working or the iron would give out or the hem would be out in a pair of suit pants or the power would go out. It just seemed we couldn't make it to church without something terrible or irritating happening.

So, 16 years ago when Bruce started pastoring we decided to figure out a way that this Sunday morning havoc wasn't ruining our attitudes and actions before the day really got started. We started laying out and ironing all our clothes on Saturday nights. We started limiting what we did and how late we stayed out on Saturday evenings. We went to bed at a decent hour. Bruce started leaving earlier on Sunday mornings and I would have the house to myself and the kids so that his mind was at ease and in tune without having to worry about finding kids shoes or a blow dryer malfunctioning.

Sound silly? Well, maybe it is, but it's what it takes for us to arrive at church on Sunday mornings without the traditional fight on the way, or angry looks, or mismatched socks. It just took some intentional planning on our part. It works for us.

Sometimes when fighting the enemy we have to remember that the enemy isn't the spouse or the kids or the blow dryer or iron or _______. It's the prince of darkness...the one who is after your peace and your mind and your hope and your marriage and your contentment and your hope and your Sunday mornings. He wants it....bad. He knows if he can rob Bruce and me of a peaceful Sunday morning, he can distract Bruce from presenting a clear presentation of Christ....he can get him flustered and most of all hinder his worship of the Giver of all good and perfect gifts. The enemy is after you....he hates you.

Take the extra measure of attention to put up the barriers, to fight the good fight, to protect your family. It's worth the odd looks, the inconvenience and the early Saturday nights. Someone asked me once, "so how long are you going to do your Saturday night routine?" I don't know. What I do know is that it's way more important for my family to arrive at the church building in harmony with each other and ready to worship than it is to arrive with a plastered smile, a fake hallelujah and a look that could kill. So if it means we're home every Saturday night until eternity, it's OK with me.

Guard yourself...protect your family, filter your computer, monitor your kids TV (and your own), read your kids text messages if you need to....because your enemy is seeking whom he may devour.

Thanks God...

- For your protection over Savannah while she was at camp last week and for wonderful counselors who took such good care of her!

- For some recent girlfriend time that nourished my heart.

- For an unexpected blessing of a meal paid for while we were out eating recently....and not just our meal, but the meal of the people we were eating with...there were 10 of us altogether!

- For missionaries who share ideas for ministry.

- For golden opportunities to love.

- For your undeniable presence in our church.

- For tears that flow freely out of worship.

- For real fellowship that lingers more than an hour after church is over.

- For hard conversation made easier because you reside in the lives the of hearer and talker

- For music that touches the soul no matter the mood.

- For dreamers and visioneers and hope-filled people who see potential.

- For prayer time with believers who WANT to pray and WANT to hear from you.

- For altars full with heartbroken people who desire to be fixed with the Truth of God's Word.

- For using the broken, the out of sorts, the shy, the misfits and the unsure...along with those who seemingly have it all together...God truly does make Beautiful Things.

The last seven months have been a roller coaster of emotion and hope and doubt and trust and unrest within me. Over the last month its been a relief to have so many unknowns settled for my little family and, in a way, our church. Being in limbo is never fun (or at least not for me). It requires such trust in the God who sees past today. I'm changed because of limbo. My faith and trust in God is strengthened and my hope is secure, not because of ANYTHING I did, but because over and over God was faithful to give hope and purpose to the waiting and the in between.

What's God doing in your life...your family...your church?

Outreach Ideas for Vacation Bible School

This year for Vacation Bible School our church did a little something different. Since I'm always on the lookout for new ministry ideas, I figure there might be someone out there that could benefit from hearing what we did.

Instead of crafts this year our kids did outreach activities. Grades 1-6 participated in four activities that will benefit someone else. Our VBS theme was "What's in it for me?"...and obviously we were trying to get them to think of others instead of themselves.

Here's what we did:

Monday: The kids wrapped and boxed 2500 water bottles. We printed labels with the church information...times, programs, contact information... And plan to pass them out at a local July 4th event in our community. We finished nearly 1800 on Monday and completed the rest on Thursday. We boxed them up and took them to a man in our church who has a refrigerated truck and he's cooling them down for us before the event.

Tuesday: We painted a clay flowerpot and planted flowers in each one. The kids were challenged to give there potted plant to a neighbor, elderly person or someone who might be lonely. We heard at least a dozen reports at how people were touched by this act of kindness. Our local Lowe's ordered the pots in bulk for us, so if you need an abundance you might check to see your local stores supply ahead of time.

Wednesday: A few weeks before VBS we started collecting sample/hotel size shampoos, toothpastes, body washes, lotions, conditioners and wash clothes. A local dentist donated several hundred toothbrushes. And we used ziplock bags to assemble 1400 hygiene bags. We donated these to the local pregnancy center, our church food pantry and our local hospital.

Thursday: We closed the week out by purchasing enough fleece to make 30 fleece tie blankets. We bought various colors and patterns to appeal to boys, girls and adults. We donated these to Home Health Care who will distribute them this fall as the weather gets cooler.

The great thing about these outreach activities is that the kids understood the correlation with the lesson time and the activities and had a greater understanding of focusing on others rather than themselves. It was a great week!

That's What I Like About Sundays....

The body of Christ meeting together...

The Spirit of God present amongst us...

The atmosphere full of anticipation...

The music gathering us in...

The Word of God broken before us....

The Man of God under the control of God....

The power of God filling the space....

The fellowship of family.....

The worship of a Savior....

The blessing of moments shared together.


That's what happened in our presence this Sunday. I don't know if I've ever sensed the presence of God so thick in any one place before. This afternoon I was still talking about it...and now...because it's still fresh on my heart...I'm writing it out. I don't want to forget it.

Ironically, just because I sensed it today doesn't mean it hasn't been there before....like, every single time we meet. But today I paid attention. I tuned in. God had my attention and I am changed because of it.

Thank you Lord for a little glimpse of what heaven will be like. It's going to be beautiful!

Little Known Facts...

Last night at our mom's meeting at church we played a little game....List 3 little known facts about you that you think no one knows...

Here's what I listed:

1. Played high school basketball.
2. I have never worn a baseball cap (you should have heard the gasps!)
3. I broke my arm 2 times playing volleyball

Eventually someone guessed my name and the game went on to the next person. It was a fun "get to know you" game and I actually learned some pretty interesting things about some of the ladies that were in attendance.

I'm thankful God knows about every detail....from my broken bones to my next meal to the things that are too painful to even say out loud. As much as I love blogging and try to be transparent, there are a host of things that never get talked about here. Some things were just meant for my conversations with the Lord. I'm glad he doesn't have to guess which one of His children are bringing their requests to Him. He's completely aware of our needs before we approach Him...and He knows our thoughts without us uttering them.

Is there something too personal to share with a friend, something you think is a little known fact about your life....something your concerned about, ashamed of, maybe you're feeling alone or unloved? Take your burdens to Jesus....He already knows about them anyway...with Him, there are no little known facts.

The Cards....

....Before we begin....this is not a post about baseball. So if you came here looking for some inspirational talk about the Rangers and the Cardinals...well I'm afraid your google search did you wrong.

Anyway...someone recently asked me if I was "happy with the cards life had dealt me thus far." It was out of the blue...and I quickly, without thinking, said..."absolutely" and then afterward I thought maybe I should have given it more thought.

You see...here are some of the cards life has thrown me....

- loss of father at a young age
- paying my own way thru college
- fertility issues
- near loss of life in child birth
- near loss of life of firstborn
- financial difficulties
- small church ministry pitfalls
- taking a loss on selling a house
- 3 months of bed rest
- hurricanes

And...

-Salvation
- Christian parents
- Bible College
- A godly husband
- Opportunity to serve in full-time Christian service
- 2 wonderful kids
- fulfillment in employment
-A beautiful home
- steady paycheck
- sweet friends
- Freedom to homeschool
- Peace of mind
- Support
- Good health


And there's more...much more. God's allowed so many things to happen in these short years and each one of them has had its purpose. I haven't always liked it when I went through it...and even now the twinge of pain I might feel about some of these things is tough, but I know these things are just the beginning of the good things he has planned for me. He allows these things to mature me.  In our ladies Bible study at church we've been studying James and how to walk a more spiritually aware life. It's difficult, but possible. I'm finding each and every day a struggle between my flesh and my spirit, but when I learn to trust Him completely....100%, then I can accept these comfortable and uncomfortable situations and all these moments in between as time designed to get focused on His goodness and His character...and to walk in HIM...under His control. There's no better place to be!

A Summer of Song

Music. The universal language. I remember standing in the store front church in Pichanaki, Peru for a worship service earlier this summer and listening as the small congregation of Peruvians sang worship songs to the Lord. I remember thinking what an awesome thing that God understands the universal language of worship. He doesn't have to know your native tongue because He knows your heart. That's all that matters.

This summer I've had the blessing of singing with an ensemble at church. I've loved it. It's been a while since I've sang with four part harmony in a small group and it's been so much fun. The people that I get to sing with each week have been hard working, fun, talented. Our worship choir will start back up in a few weeks and then I'll get to enjoy all the big sounds of many voices. It's all a win win for me because it's all about the music and the words and the worship. 

I sing at home, not necessarily in the shower, but it would not be unusual for you to pop in and find us with the music loud. I sing in the car....I usually am also beating on the steering wheel in some drummer type fashion...and from the time my kids were little they've had "their" song that I sing to them at bed time. 

Music has the power to take us back to places we first heard a song, it can carry us from sadness to joy, from anger to love, from frustration to peace. It's comforting, energizing, soothing, prayerful, insightful. It spans language barriers, cultural differences and generations. 

No wonder God gave it to us. I'm reminded that He has placed the New Song in my heart. The one that is different from the world. The one that worships Him. The one that whispers and shouts in the same breathe that Jesus in the only one for me. 

Psalm 40:3

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
         Many will see and fear
         And will trust in the LORD.

Things I Learned at Jr. Camp

1. Never underestimate the power of deodorant...especially in 115 degree heat.

2. Some children wear all the clothes in the suitcase during the first 2 days.

3. Some children will spend all their money in the first 2 days.

4. One child will look you in the eye and say thank you...and that child probably will not be the one you think it will be.

5. 4-6th grade girls will not claim their dirty underwear off the floor unless you hold the underwear up with a stick and publicly describe the underwear.

6. Some counselors were meant to go to camp. Others should stay at home and take their happy pills.

7. Clean cabin award incentive should not be giant pixie sticks. That's not really incentive for the counselors to motivate the children to clean.

8. Watching children worship in their environment is beautiful.

9. Leading a child to the Lord is breathtaking....everytime. What a privilege and a blessing to be able to share Christ with ready hearts.

I've worked with kids for years in one capacity or another. I'm more convinced than ever that parents and churches have a huge responsibility to train generations to know God and His Word for their lives. It would be great if we lived in a world where every parent did their job of teaching and that church was just a reinforcement of what is being taught at home. But let's face it. We live in a sin drenched world where parents don't do this. Even Christian parents don't do this, much less a godless people. Instead of just worrying about our own kids...which would be the easy things to do....we need to have compassion and extend grace to children who walk through our doors, who play with our kids in the neighborhood, who are in our schools, who play on our kid's soccer team. As the church for this generation, we need to step up and love and lead and reinforce and guide and partner with families who need what God has given us.

I'm thankful for the children's ministry of our church. It's comforting to me to know that my kids can go to a safe place to learn about God. God has gifted people to be teachers who can share effectively the messages of His Word. I'm thankful that He gave us these helpers for our family. It's just another way He provides. I'm glad I'm not in this alone. I'm thankful that, while I am very aware of my responsibilities as a parent raising children in this world, that God, in His grace, partnered my family with a church that takes children seriously, creates a fun place for learning and fellowship and exposure to gifted teachers who just might be the ones that say those words or present that message in a way that my kids are drawn closer to Christ. And I'm ok with that. Because in the end....the glory and praise is to the Father.

Camp Bound!

I'll be at church camp with Savannah and 37 other junior campers and counselors from our church this week so you won't be hearing from me. There's a probability that there won't be internet service, a greater probability that we will be so busy having fun....and possibly an even greater probability that the girls will have tied me up somewhere in OKLAHOMA....and that in and of itself could be the end all for this girl!

Seriously speaking please pray....

1. Children will realize how much God loves them and desires a relationship with Him.
2. That the heat (upwards of 106 this week) will not keep us from having a great time
3. Safety
4. And tons of fun!

Talk to you Friday!

The Take-Away - Review #7

I've had some time to really think about the things I will take away from this trip to Peru. Certainly all the obvious things like...

- I am more thankful than ever for hot water, toilet seats, toilet paper, ice, diet coke, air conditioning, grocery stores, American food

- I am more aware of the abundance I have ....in material possessions, in my family relationships, in America

- Lost people are everywhere...sin levels the playing field and the grace story hits the homerun

But there were a few less obvious things that I am taking away. These things have just hit me this week as I've had time to really think about the reasons God allowed me this trip.

- God allowed us to witness some of the most amazing scenes while we were passing out tracts and Bibles....things like women kissing the Bible they held in their hands, sailors stopping to read the tracts handed to them, a construction foreman hoping that we had enough Bible's for the entire construction crew. There was such a hunger....why? And I've been wondering about myself in all that...is my hunger that great? Is there an eagerness to share? Is there an aggressiveness to be sure those around me have God's Word? Is there a passion to be sure everyone gets a chance to hear? What does this look like for me? Am I willing to send, pray and go?

This was a little disheartening to see...A study of 1200 towns in America....but no fundamental church to attend...For argument's sake...let say that in reality there is at least one church in 1/2 these towns, since it's not clear when the study was done....still...look at the results:

Bob Jones University Study: 

Smaller Cities and Towns — Church Planting

We have identified almost 1200 smaller U.S. cities and towns with no known Fundamental churches within a 30-mile radius, to the best of our knowledge. Additional on-site investigation would be needed to fully verify the need. Here are the cities and towns of 5000 and more with no known Fundamental church.

CLICK HERE

Does this concern me like it concerned me about the people in Pichanaki or Lima? Because it can't just be an emotional thing....I want to know the burden across the board....a realization that world wide there are people who don't know about this amazing love the Father has for us....about His willing Son who was sacrificed and about the amazing miracle of a risen Savior. I'm committing to pray for these towns...that God would send laborers into the harvest and I'm wondering how else can I be a part of doing something to help reach these people and the people in my own town who have not heard. 

I guess I just don't want to be let off the hook. I don't want God to leave me alone just because I am not moving to Peru. I want to be bothered by the faces of lost people where I am at this moment. I want to be burdened by poverty, prostitution, slavery of any kind and sin. I want to feel those same emotions and longings toward the people in Sulphur Springs and the rest of the USA that I felt in Peru. Those feelings of hope, longing, desire for them to know the one who gives eternal life. I want to be as free to love someone living next door to me as I did Rita, a Peruvian woman who ran a store down from the church we were working at in Pichanaki. But, for some reason, it's hard to picture Texas, or the USA for that matter, needing the same thing Pichanakiairconditioning with a toilet seat and toilet paper matters nada if we don't know Jesus and His grace....Location is nothing....relationship is everything.

Got Fruit? Review #6

On Sunday morning the people in Pichanaki take it easy....stores open later, families spend some time catching up and a very few people go to church. Wisely, Brent and Miriam have decided that for now church will be in the evenings on Sundays until the church is established. So, that being said, on our Sunday morning there we didn't have church. Instead we passed out tracks, inviting people to church. Over a three day period of time our team passed out over 7,000 tracks, 400 Kid's Club invitations, and 600 Bibles. People were practically begging for the Bibles....over and over we saw people reading the tracks and the Bibles after we gave them away. They were hungry for something...

Such a stark contrast to what we see in America. On any given day you can have dozens of doors slammed in your face, or find discarded Christian literature littering the roads, or worse, encounter Christians who don't want to go to church even though they know what Christ has done for them. It's like the world is satisfied with what they have in America....wealth, cars, homes, clothes, pride....and yet, the one thing that would satisfy all those cravings is discarded in the street like an unclaimed coupon. What a shame.

In all the distributing we did for Brent and Miriam, I am overwhelmed with joy to announce a new sister in Christ. Poula came to know Jesus on Sunday Night while we were in Peru. After a simple service where the gospel was taught she stayed behind and talk to one of the workers and accepted the gift of salvation. More exciting news is that the next week she brought visitors with her! She's already bearing fruit!

What are we doing to bear fruit? Would we tell 7,000 people in America about Christ and be happy with one soul? Are we prepared to share the gospel....do I know how to tell someone? do I carry some sort of literature or card or New Testament with me so others can be left with someone to ponder? do I pray that God will guide my path so that I will be able to share His story with someone? Just some things to think about...I want to bear fruit....but I am afraid that sometimes I don't make a plan! I completely "get" that it's the Holy Spirit's job to convict and woo.... but He uses people too and I'm more focused than ever to be prepared to be used!

Reproduction - Review #5

"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:8).

Oliver and Gloria Williams have been missionaries for 40 years in Peru. Can you say WOW???!!!! Not only is this a testimony to their own faithfulness to what God has called them to, it is also a glorious testimony to the never-ending faithfulness of our God. When we realize that He is forever faithful it is comforting, encouraging and reassuring....and energizes our efforts.

Over the 40 years they have served in Peru, they've started numerous churches, led young men and women through the Baptist Seminary in Lima, helped meet the physical needs of the poor and needy, mentored many and now, with the help from others are helping build a youth camp. While we were in Peru, our group had the blessing of spending our time with three of the most beautiful women who are a direct result of the work God has done through the Williams.

Kathy, Nilda and Yeraldine (although I am pretty sure I didn't spell that correctly) are three women who have been led to Jesus in Peru. All of them are less than 7 degrees removed from the Williams' ministry. During the week, these gals helped get our meals prepared, worked with the children's and youth ministry, led music, ran errands, taught the gringos a little Spanish, cleaned and pretty much anything else they were asked to do. Such sweet, giving servants who wanted to be a part of our trip to Peru.

These ladies were a huge blessing to everyone...but I couldn't help think about how rewarding it must be for the Williams to see fruit of their labor so willing and happy to be serving the Lord. I know this is a missionary's dream....to see fruit reproducing in the lives of the people who come to know Jesus. This is the dream of every worker in the field....that their seed would be harvested and be a crop that was hearty and healthy and viable. And as a I picture the ultimate Farmer surveying the field, I know when He looks at these ladies He's smiling....so pleased at the crop that is harvesting as the result of faithful missionaries, willing servants, grateful women...who are living their life to serve their Savior.

That's what reproducing is all about!!! In my own life I need to carefully look around and see what kind of fruit is being produced. When people are near me are they drawn to Christ, His Word, His love? Is the harvest I'm producing one that would spur others to a life of dedicated service and ministry to our Lord? That's some thought provoking questioning going on right there! In a non-panic mode....I say to myself,

"Don't waste time...words....actions....get busy planting and watering the crops for the Lord...and He will get the increase...the praise...the honor...the glory...the credit! Draw men and women to Jesus."

I pray I never forget the beautiful masterpiece I saw when the church from Texas met the church from Peru. Different languages, different skin tone, different hair color, different customs....but ONE God.....one harvester....one ultimate farmer who desires to see fruit in each of His children.

Who's Louder? - Review #4

“if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” 

Luke 19:40

On day four of our trip to Peru we headed through the Andes Mountains to a town of 55,000. Pichanaki is the last town before you enter the thick of the Jungle in Peru. The ride there was exciting, naseating (think roads that wind and wind and wind somemore!), beautiful and long. It took us 10 hours on a double decker bus. With my camera in my hand nearly the entire ride, I couldn't help but think about the verse that says, "the whole earth is filled with Your glory". Truly, Peru is filled with some of the most creative landscape that God created!

From the Andes Mountains filled with waterfalls, gardens, jungles and even dessert places, the earth was crying out the majesty of the creator...and as I witnessed creation calling out praises, I joined in. There was no way I couldn't. Throughout the bus ride you could hear our team calling attention to the beauty around us....camera's clicking to try to capture those rare, beautiful, tropical scenes, eyes glued to the cliffs and the mountain peaks. The rocks weren't going to show us up. 


Check out the pictures HERE


But....sometimes...in everyday life, away from the mountains and the waterfalls and faced with the long lines at Walmart and bills to pay and dinner to cook, I've lost track of the beauty around me that calls attention to the glory and the worship worthiness of my Lord. I get distracted by the busy-ness of life and in between vacuuming and blogging and ice cream with friends I forget the glory and the majesty and the price He paid and the truth that even if this world was brown and dusty and cloudy and ugly...He would still be worthy....even if the sun didn't shine, my house was destroyed and my kids were sick....He would still be worthy....even if I lost my job, my friends disowned me, my money ran out...HE IS STILL WORTHY....and what a shame....a horrible shame it would be if I let the rocks outsing my praise in the everyday, if the mountains cried out His worth louder and more sincere than I.


Thank you Lord for the beauty of this world....but even without it....You are worthy of every morsel of praise I can give!