Monday, September 14, 2009

last post...

Hey friends!

I have decided to stop updating this blog and put all our blogging on our adoption blog. So please follow us there!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Baja or Bust!

Please keep us and 16 teens and adults from UCC in your prayers this week! We had been planning to go on a mission trip to Honduras. However, with all the civil unrest and political conflict going on, it was recommended by many - including the US government - not to go. So we are bummed, as Honduras holds a very special place in both mine and Logan's hearts. Please keep the Honduran people and government in your prayers. Especially one of my best friends, Nadia Aguilera, and her family as they are from there and are visiting and doing mission work there now.

Despite our disappointment, God has opened wide the door to join a group going to Vicente Guerrero (sp?), Baja, Mexico. We will be doing construction, food distribution, Bible studies and whatever else God has planned for us! Our team includes 9 adults and 9 teens - a wonderful group of blessings! I can't wait to see what God is going to do in and through us while we are there.

One thing that has been so cool as we have been making last-minute plans to travel to Mexico, is how incredible it is to be a part of God's family. We are staying in a church in LA tonight and next Saturday. We jumped on board with a team of people, of whom we only personally know 2 of them. People have been offering so many things in so many directions. We had opportunities available to go to Houston, Guatemala and Paraguay at the last minute. I love how Christ's Body comes together from all different places and circumstances. That is definitely my favorite part about traveling in the world. I have family everywhere - in every city and nation. It's awesome.

Until next week....Love you all!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

new blog...

If you haven't yet heard our exciting news.... we are planning to adopt a child from Ethiopia! :-)

Please go to our adoption blog to read more and keep updated about this exciting journey!

I'll probably still update this blog with random, day-to-day, non-adoption-related things!

May God shower you with His love!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Impact

We just finished up day 7 here at Impact. (a youth camp held at Lipscomb every summer) The theme this year is "hidden." We're focusing on hidden sins and how important it is for each of us to share our struggles. It's been a perfect topic for all of us - actually it's nothing less than God's widsom and providence - because this is exactly what we've been trying to teach and exemplify as we lead this group. It hasn't been easy, but then, it never is. Satan feeds us so many lies that keep us hiding in our struggles, wearing masks to cover our pain. "You're all alone." or "No one will understand" or "It won't make anything better" or "they won't love you if you tell" among many other blatant lies of the enemy. Stand against His attacks. If you don't share your sin, it will master you. None of us are strong enough to live this life alone or in hiding.

God has really been working and showing His goodness. Praise His name!

A few prayer requests:
  • unity in the body of Christ
  • spiritual discernment
  • healing for my sister, Andrea
  • rest!

That's all for now... more later!

Love!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Summer Lovin

This past week has been action-packed and way fun. Here are some pictures to tell each day's story...

Sunday: Bible Class, Worship, Bowling night. Got Rolled.






Monday: Got 'em back




Tuesday: Fun with teens, summer snow

Wednesday: hanging out with teens, youth group at River Rd park



Thursday: Sandlot on the green - complete with Root Beer Floats and Popcorn!
Friday: (no pictures available - sorry!) day off - lunch with Caroline, Laura's lingerie shower and cleaning the house!

Tomorrow: Lake Day (pray for no rain!)
In the midst of all the laughter, playing, talking and praying, God's goodness and light are bursting forth into our world. I'm not exactly sure what He's calling, but we're continuing to ask and seek. We can't wait to see more wonders He has planned for this life!
"For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." -Jesus (Matthew 7:8)
"Many, O Lord my God are the wonders you have done. The things you have planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them they would be too many to declare."
Psalm 40:5
Be filled with His Spirit!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Kingdom of the Mustard Seed

"Again he said, 'What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when it is planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." (Jesus, Mark 4:30-32)

Isn't it awesome when God works through our shortcomings?

I have to be honest, I wasn't super excited about our youth group service week last week. I knew that I wasn't nearly prepared enough for it. I knew there would be at least 30 kids, along with our 15 teenagers at the park for 3 days - organized chaos is what I was picturing. And it was. But it was beautiful.





We ended the Bible School with a cookout Wednesday night, inviting all the families of the kids, our youth group and families, and Tuscaloosa Life Church who partenered with us through the whole thing. Talk about the Kingdom! Getting to know the families of these precious children and hearing their desires for their part of town; hearing about how the kids had loved, learned and looked forward to VBS each day; and watching the children present their scripture and hand motions to their parents, it was all wonderful!



The Spirit has continually reminded me of the racial division in this city. To illustrate my point, here's a story from this past week.


I was playing Duck Duck Goose with a group of kids, when one of the children - a 7 or 8 year old girl, wouldn't sit down. So I pulled her into my arms, tickling her to get her to sit. She looked up at me with a confused look on her face, studying my eyes. After that, she was like glue - wouldn't let me go. So as I'm trying to get people together for our next activity, I took her into my arms. She continued to study my face and then said, "I thought all white people were supposed to be mean." Talk about a heart breaker. I believe that had our races been switched, a white child may have said the same thing to an african-american adult. My point is just how sad it is that we have come this far, as a people, away from the ways of God. Even our children hold stereotypes and judgements. But to see her wall break down was an awesome picture. I believe God brings the ways of His Kingdom through the willing- inadequate thought we may be. My prayer for our Bible School is that walls were broken, Jesus was preached and hearts were changed. I know that God's Word does not go out and return to Him empty. So please join me in prayer for the families in Alberta City, just one mile away from our church building, who do not know the saving power of Christ. Pray that God will present more and more opportunities to touch the lives of these people.


I have more stories, and I could go on! But i pray that you're encouraged in knowing God is working in big ways. Seemingly small ways that turn into something big. Like the mustard seed, making it's way through the world.


Oh Lord, may your will be done and your Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Let the Summer begin!


So it's been a pretty busy life around here lately... but it's so good.


So Logan and I really enjoyed our Sabbath weekend! We did a lot of just hanging out at home, which is exactly what we had hoped for!




Logan grilled his first steaks on our grill!

I was hoping to get our beautiful flowers in this pic, but you can barely see them there under the window!

Grilled to perfection!




So that's a picture into our weekend!


Since then, it's been graduations, parties, out-of-school excitement and summer interns! Ted and Natalie are our wonderful interns this summer! They just got here last Saturday and have been jumping in feet first! It's cool to have Ted here, since I pretty much grew up with him, he's sorta like a brother and I love it! Natalie is wonderful, also! I'm confident that this will be a summer of transformation and community-building! That's what we're asking for and we know that the One we ask is faithful! Here are a few pics into the past week...

Yay! Ted and Natalie!


Taco Casa double dares! I love the girls' faces!


The dart game: it's everywhere you want to be.




Brooke's graduation!!

We had our senior graduation party on Sunday and it was very bittersweet! We are really going to miss our seniors, but we are so proud of them and where God has brought them! AND, we still have the summer! :-)


Doug, one of our elders, dressed up and read "Oh The Places Y ou'll Go" by Dr. Seuss. oh yes, and he dressed up for the part!


The cake and lovely decorations! I'll get more pics up here once I get Walter's professional pics!

Well there's an update on Lindsey's life! Gotta go get some lunch! Love to all!






Friday, May 8, 2009

it's been awhile...

Hey friends! I have been meaning to post on here for at least a coule of weeks. With summer quickly approaching, I feel like my head is spinning. My to-do list is is ridiculously long and I'm behind on so many important things... it makes me kinda want to shut down.

So I am.

Logan and I love to have Fridays off, because Saturday always follows! It's like 2 Saturdays in a row! So we have dedicated today, tomorrow and Sunday evening to be times of rest and renewal - our extended Sabbath. I am more and more convinced that God never intended for our lives to be the way we live them here in the US. For the past few years, I have struggled with slowing down the pace of life in order to really live it - the way we were intended to live. The pace of our culture mixed with my "I can do it" personality are a deadly blend. On paper, it looks like I can keep up with all the commitments and plans, when in reality, it just wears me out. I want to focus on a few things and do them well, rather than do a lot of things half-heartedly. Even good things in our lives can replace our love and passion for Christ. I just don't know how to do it

But I do know the source of Peace.

And that Source instructs us to take a Sabbath - every week. And so that's my goal -to be like God. Though I fail and fail often, He is the Standard. Shon is teaching a series on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8). The theme verse he's using is Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." I know I'll never reach perfection this side of heaven, but shouldn't that still be our goal?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, so here's a few highlights from the past few weeks:
  • Logan was out of town a couple of times in April, but God used those times to really bless me here at home! When he was in Honduras, my mom came down to spend the week with me! Then when he went to Nashville to spend some time with other youth ministers, Julie came down here and stayed for a few days! I just love that God is always giving us just what we need, right when we need it!

  • Logan and I and 8 of the UY teens participated in Invisible Children's "The Rescue" in Birmingham on April 25th. If you haven't heard of the Invisible Children documentary about the 23 year civil war in Uganda, please go visit http://invisiblechildren.com/ The Rescue was a worldwide attempt to raise awareness and promote action against Joseph Kony, the rebel leader that is terrorizing the children and families of Uganda and the Congo. Please keep this situation in your prayers. It is sickening to see how Satan will use people to oppress humanity in the name of God. Like Hitler. Oh Lord Jesus, come.


Logan and Curtis before we made the walk to our "LRA Camp"

We walked about 3 miles to our camp, repesenting the child slave soldiers in Uganda.

Our great group at the camp site

  • Logan's family came to visit last weekend! We had a really good time together and were super excited that the entire family got to come! Logan's parents were picking up Lisa from college in Montgomery and Laurie and JB came down from Nashville! We had a great time celebrating birthdays and Mother's Day!

    This is the only picture I got last weekend!
  • I went to the neurologist on Monday for my semi-annual check-up. I was again reminded of how great my God is and that he has kept me healthy and MS-symptom free for 3 whole years now! He is so faithful.
  • UY's summer interns will be here one week from tomorrow! Ted and Natalie will be awesome blessings to us and the teens! We're so excited for summer!

    Peace out, friends! Don't forget to take your sabbath!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Home

Home. It's a strange concept to those of us who have moved around a little. It's an even stranger concept to us when we belong to Christ. It's like we're at home everywhere and no where, all at the same time.

My greatest feeling of my "earthly home" is with Logan. Whether I'm at the house I grew up at or our new house, I just can't feel the complete comfort of home without him. And at the same time, we can be at home in a very different place if we're together. It's a beautiful thing, really.

So now we own a house - I guess they call us "home-owners" now! But I don't think that you can really own a home - a home is created through your love and acceptance of people. We pray often that our house is a refuge to many, a home to all who come here. I feel like I might suffocate in a house if it's not filled with people on a normal basis! I never want my blessings to become my burdens. So please help us out with that! Come on over!



The church threw us a housewarming party yesterday, I have to say that we are really overwhelmed by the love that was poured out on us! We are so blessed by having so many awesome people in our lives!
Thanks to the Tomlins and their small group (9th and 10th graders) for our beautiful and just as yummy cake!

Some of the wonderful teens hanging out on the back porch! They informed us yesterday that we had a maximum of 3 years till we need to have a baby. I even found hidden notes around the house after they left! "3 years..." haha, it's nice to have some family planners around! Those decisions need to be made by somebody, right? :-)


We didn't get a whole lot of pictures, but this is a good one of the Belews! Such a great family!

Thanks so much to Sandy Campbell for putting the party together! She's always trying to find new ways to encourage! It's so great to have encouragers around often! Thanks for helping us "break in" the new house!

We are so excited about the plans God has for our home! Maybe someday it'll be filled with the laughter and pitter-patter of our own children - that's exciting! (I guess we have 3 years though!) But we hope that it's a place of joy, acceptance and family in Christ!

"Now it is God who made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith not by sight."
2 Corinthians 5:5-7

I am so excited for the day when we'll all be at home with the Lord! But in the mean time, let's make homes for people through our love - living by faith and not by sight!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

encouragement

I've been in a funk the last couple of days and I just don't know why. But I know it's a spiritual longing that I don't yet understand. So I'm waiting, praying and reading the words of Christ. John 14-16 are some of the most incredible chapters in the Bible - Jesus' very personal and last words with his disciples before His death. So read them and be encouraged!

Outside of Jesus and the Bible, 2 of my Christian heros are Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King, Jr. I know they're very well known, but every time I read something they wrote or said, I can feel the presence of Christ flowing from them, even now. They lived out the call of Christ so completely. So I'll share a prayer from Mother Teresa - I hope it will encourage you like it does me.

"Dear Lord, Help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go. Flood my soul with your Spirit and Life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of yours.

Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Let them look up and no longer see me, but only you, oh Lord! Stay with me, then I shall begin to shine as you do, so to shine as to be a light to others. The light, oh Lord, will be all from you; none of it will be mine; it will be you shining on others through me. Let me thus praise you in the way you love best, by shining on those around me.

Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to you. Amen."

What I love about Mother Teresa is that her words are preceded and backed up by her life of love and sacrifice. May our faith always produce these things!

One more Mother Teresa quote to think about for now:

"You must allow Jesus to use you without consulting you first.
You belong to Him, you are His and only His."

Love!

Monday, April 13, 2009

permanant peace

It's kinda crazy. Being a somewhat recent (2007) college graduate, I'm still a little stuck in the mindset that everything I do is temporary. Let me explain - in college, I moved from Ohio to Nashville - for 4 years. I worked summer jobs - for the summer. I worked school-year jobs, for the school year. I went on mission trips - 2 weeks at a time. I moved in and moved out of my parents house, the dorms, my aunt and uncle's house, wherever. No decision I made seemed truly permanent, with the exception of marrying Logan (which I definitely view as permanant!)

So now we're coming up on our two-year anniversary of being youth ministers in Tuscaloosa. (DISCLAIMER: we are NOT thinking of leaving! Just getting adjusted!) We just bought our first house (after 2 apartments) - a huge commitment! We finally feel like we're getting our feet on the ground in so many ways. I love the realization that we get to spend more than 4 years in one place (Lord willing). I love knowing that God has put us somewhere to grow with people and plan for the long road. I was looking at some youth group pictures from two summers ago, and loved seeing how much the students have changed and grown! But sometimes I feel so restless. It's like I want to be in a million places, doing a million things all at once.

I know that the Spirit is trying to tell me something, but it's so hard to drown out the noise of life to listen. I want to hear His call. I want to be where the Spirit is, doing His work. I think this restlessness comes from just that - being too occupied to listen to God. If all of God's people would follow His command to take a Sabbath day of rest every week, how much more would He do through us?

"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper."
1 Kings 19:11-12

He's always speaking, yet I'm not always listening. Oh Lord, I'll listen...

to blog or not to blog...

So over the past several months, I have been debating - to blog or not to blog. I really enjoy reading the blogs of others, so much that it often keeps me from work I need to do. I just enjoy seeing into the hearts of people I love and adore. It's like a different perspective on their hearts and daily lives, like an open journal. But I also wonder if my life is really so interesting that people want to read about it often - or if I should even take the time out of the day to write it. I don't have children yet from whom I can post their silly quotes and adorable pictures. But on days like today - days when my mind is so full of thoughts that I can't get any work done; days when I have such a deep longing for something I can't put my finger on; days when I just need to voice the Spirit's nudgings - I think a blog might be a blessing.

I have one of those personalities that I just can't think about something and process it completely. I have this urgency to get it out - either talk about it (poor Logan...) or write about it. I'm an avid journaler, but maybe this can be a new kind of journal: less intimate than my prayer journal, yet can hopefully bless those who might read it as well.

So welcome to my blog - a messy rambling of the events of my life, nudgings of the Spirit and questions I can't answer!