Last June I found myself in the country of Nicaragua in a little tiny house handing out shoes to families in a village where owning shoes is like having gold bars on your feet. In the midst of handing out shoes we started to realize we did not have enough shoes for all the people who were starting to encamp this little house. As the amount of shoes became obviously low the people began to beg, cry, thrust their children out at us, and some even got angry… all over shoes.
Later that night my materialism slapped me upside the head.
I have a pair of “gold bars” for my all of my moods, adventures, weather conditions, color schemes, and one time occasions. This is puzzles me. How can I have such an obvious…. OBVIOUS abundance when others have such a great need?
Thus started WHFC Shoe Drive. We want to take 1000 pairs of shoes over to Project Hope in Springfield so they can in turn take these shoes to the people of Nicaragua.
My VERY southern friends do not think Branson is the “south.” I tell them you obviously haven’t been to the north. And their response is “you obviously have not spent enough time in the south”
Branson is the SOUTH to me. People say YA’LL, drink really really sweet tea (no mom this is not tea with a sugar packet), watch Nascar, I hear “dueling banjos” once a week… and they cancel school if there is a chance of snow.
I always miss home… which is in the NORTH… this time of year. Not entirely sure why. I think most of my fond memories of home happened in the fall. Hopefully completing this list of why I miss the north will help me grieve.
WHY I MISS THE NORTH
10. People are friendly enough but don’t over do it. It sounds like this… “hey good to see you, take care” not ” Hey there sugar, you look so great, we have missssssssed you. You need to get over to our house for dinner soon.”
9. Dog etiquette. We call the dogs in my Branson neighborhood the “dog mafia.” They rule our streets, their owners don’t care. No dog etiquette.
8. Sweet corn that does not taste like chick-lets. Corn here is gross
The colored sunsets and starry heavens, the beautiful mountains and the shining seas, the fragrant woods and painted flowers, are not half so beautiful as a soul that is serving Jesus out of love, in the wear and tear of common, unpoetic life.
This Sunday Woodland Hills Family Church… my employer and my church is launching a new marriage movement. It is called TwoIgnite. It is about restoring adventure into marriage. It is about adding the excitement and as you do that you enjoy one another. Sounds stellar huh? But…
I am marriage-less (OneIgnite) Figuring out where I fit into this has been tricky because in the trenches, way, way… way below the surface… most of my thoughts about marriage are pretty cynical and ugly. What better place to reveal these thoughts then a blog right? …
” You will have to give up all your dreams”
“At year 15 you will be out to dinner bored and not having anything left to talk about.”
“You will lose who you are.”
” Your closeness to God will change because you will be consumed with your husband”
“Obligation will rule and happiness will take a back seat.”
I contain many more of these, but before you go Christian Counselor on me… 1. I do know where this comes from. 2. I think a lot of people relate. The loudest voices in churches say “hold on for dear life”…. “stick it out” and “eventually it will get better.”
While there can be truth in it, years of hearing it have discouraged a lot of us who might someday decide to say, “for the rest of my life.” You see where this is going… I don’t want to “hold on for dear life” … “for the rest of my life.”
This is exactly why TwoIgnite is refreshing. It contains an essential for life and it is usually referred to as HOPE. I need a good bit of it, so do many of you. I am one hundred percent backing this and to prove it….
It is hard to believe we are September-ing it already. Hands down this was the fastest summer of my life. The days, weeks, and months went oh so fast. I think most of the time you really realize something was enjoyable, after the fact. Well summer is over, and after the fact… here are my favorite things in pictures.
My friends Katie and Sam had Mr. Max Hoover. He was born cute... quite unusual.
Our Student Life Center (SLICK) is pretty much done
In Nicaragua these kids made me a crown of flowers, and called me princess all day. I know I look like a hot mess, but that is what made it even more special.
Shanna became a bride. I was the maid of honor and it was an honor.
When people do things for me, that I can't do for myself. Like change a tire it makes me sentimental.
I have lots of new friends that I didn't have last year at this time. We have fun. They all sing, dance, or do something very gifted.
We took a van full of girls to florida to a great camp called BIG STUF. It was a change for me to do the camp thing on a beach, with air conditioning and nice beds.
I have talked about my best friend before. She is one of those people you feel it an extreme honor to know. So… I can’t stop telling about all that is happening with her and Haiti.
She is a malnutrition worker in the country of Haiti. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. All that she does is centered around the hope of keeping kids alive until the age of 5. If you can keep them alive past 5 their chance of surviving increases a great deal.
Bobi has found her niche and is changing her surroundings a little at a time. She lives at an orphanage and her goal each day is to find the malnourished kids in the community and prescribe them this special paste. It is called Medika Mamba. It is almost like peanut butter but is filled will all sorts of extra nutrients and supplements to help kids gain weight. The beauty of this is that it is made in Haiti, so it also helps their economy! As she is helping revive these kids… and parents she gets to share about a hope that does not disappoint, God.
If you would like to learn more about what Bobi is doing please check out these links. And if you want to watch her in action please watch the youtube video. Warning it is hard to view. But really worth it in order to get a fuller understanding of the condition of the people.
My sweet friend Robyn Furman who I can talk to for hours about music, life, and other mysteries told me about this song. I am hooked. I would love to hear your thoughts on this song… makes you think!
It is 3:30 AM and I am up. This is not the first time in the last few months.
I am not in my bed.
In fact, I am sitting on the floor Indian style, writing, praying, completely giddy.
I have never had something in my life that made me excited to not sleep. I LOVE SLEEP. But the excitement is way too much fun and there is too much urgency to sleep. I have heard that this can happen to people, It had never happened to me. “So excited I couldn’t sleep” or “God woke me up in the middle of the night”… I added these to the list of Christian cliches that I no longer believed many years ago. What is the source of all this unfamiliar behavior?….
Psalm 36. ( The scripture is BOLD, The ANG version is not)
TRUSTin the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Watch God prove that He is exactly who He says He is because you have let go. You don’t need control and you don’t want it. Stay focused on what matters. Be fully where you are and be joyful in all the circumstances presented.
DELIGHTyourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Enjoy God. It is allowed. Love how He made you, and embrace that we can never reach the end of who God is . He is always good, marinade on that. And as you are delighting he will put things on your heart and it could be the middle of the night. He isn’t dangling something in front of you so He can swipe it away. He does this because these are things HE wants you to do! You will know this is a true desire because it will be unique, it will seem God sized, and it isn’t going away. This is the perfect time to…
COMMITyour way to the LORD; trust in him and he will act. Well said.
You may be called crazy. You will be analyzed and picked apart by people. The facts are you probably don’t have the list full of “qualifications” to be this kind of dreamer. Thankfully this was not your dream, thought, hope, or passion to begin with. God just made you excited about a part of something that has been in His original plan since time began. No big deal right?
Branson is the SOUTH to me. People say YA’LL, drink really really sweet tea (no mom this is not tea with a sugar packet), watch Nascar, I hear “dueling banjos” once a week… and they cancel school if there is a chance of snow.
