Terrific Teamwork

So last night my very pregnant friend Angela and I stuffed and mailed tons of support raising letters. I was so grateful for her help! And for the fact that we didn't have to worry too much about the gluey tongue taste side effects formerly associated with mass mailings. Those envelope-making people got smart and made the pull off paper deal on the back of envelopes and consequently saliva is no longer a necessary ingredient in envelope sealing. Yeah! You probably were already aware of that, but I'm pretty grateful for it right now! And I'd have to say that taking a trip to Ted Drewes afterwards didn't hurt either! Yeah for Caramel Apple Pie Sundaes!

I love taking pictures with people who are willing to make funny faces with me!

Did I mention that Angela's very pregnant?!?! She's such a sweetheart and so joyful! I just love spending time with her! She always knows how to make me smile!

The Great Battle

"Be kind, for everyone you know is facing a great battle." -Philo of Alexandria

I don't remember where I read this quote, but I think it sums up my support-raising experience. It seems like everyone I know is facing a "great battle" of some kind. It's amazing how much the people I know are going through!

Having one-on-one support-raising appointments gives me a chance to tell about what all God's doing in my life and share my heart with other people, which I really appreciate. It's really nice to be heard. And it's amazing how much other people will share if I just listen to them. They want to be heard, too! Sometimes hearing about all the battles wears me out, but more than that it reminds me how much I just love people. I'm really excited that loving people is going to be my new career. It's pretty cool think about it like that!

The Summit: Groeschel

I had the opportunity to attend the Leadership Summit broad casted by the Willow Creek Association to churches all of the United States. Even though I was sitting in a chair at a satellite site in St. Louis, thousands of others were receiving the same teaching and singing the same worship songs in other states. The unity of that is just plain cool.

Additionally, there were two speakers who really stuck out to me. One of them was Craig Groeschel, the senior pastor of Lifechurch.TV. While Craig had some insights into how to "do church" more effectively and not burn out leaders in the process, what stuck with me the most from his talk was the statement: "Sometimes God guides by what he DOESN'T provide."

That is so true! I prayed for years about being a missionary and God guided me by what He didn't provide. He didn't provide a country, a type of ministry, or confirmation that He wanted me to be a missionary. By not providing those things, God kept me right where He wanted me to be, which turned out to be in the United States---at Truman State University and later as a kindergarten teacher in the Pattonville School District. Craig's statement has a lot to do with waiting on God and trusting Him, believing that He really does know what He's doing!

The same thing happened last week with the BBQ Fundraiser Luncheon (see earlier post)! By not providing a plethora of people, God made it even more obvious that He was at work and that He was the one providing for me. So I agree with Craig's statement and might also adjust it a bit to make a similar point: "Sometimes God reveals Himself by what he DOESN'T provide." I think guiding is more about God showing me what He wants me to do and revealing Himself is more about God showing me who He is and how He's working...

At the end of his talk, Craig prayed this powerful prayer prayer, which is actually a Franciscan Blessing:

"May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator, Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore. AMEN."

Wow. Restless discomfort, holy anger, the gift of tears, and foolishness never sounded so good!

Wonder of Wonder, Miracle of Miracles! (A Little Ditty From Fiddler on the Roof)

Yesterday was the BBQ Luncheon Fundraiser sponsored by my home church (Rooftop Community Church---see the link to the right of this page for more info.)! Shortly before the fundraiser, one of the people from NMSI asked me to calculate what percentage of monthly support I had raised so far. When I tallied things up, I was disappointed to find that I had only raised 8% of the support I needed after meeting with bunches of people over the last several weeks. As I thought about it, though, I realized that many families had committed to support me and were enthusiastic about being involved in my ministry, but simply hadn't filled out the papers or signed up on the Internet to officially begin supporting me. (If this is you, please take this opportunity to do so by visiting www.nmsi.org/donate ).

I briefly relayed this information to the people at the fundraiser lunch at the end of my presentation and was AMAZED at their response! Later that afternoon I found that God had raised up 22% of my monthly support at that luncheon, so that I now have 30% of my monthly support!!! WOW! Thirty is so much bigger than eight! I'm almost 1/3 of my way to my goal!!!

To appreciate the incredibleness of this, you must also know that we had originally reserved a room for 100 people and 17 people ended up coming to this luncheon. I say that not to make you feel bad if you didn't go, but to remind you of the story of Gideon I posted about earlier. God took a huge army and narrowed it down to merely 300 men before Gideon led them in battle in order to show beyond all doubt that God was in charge and it was by His power that Gideon and his men won the battle. God did the same thing at my luncheon! God did a mighty work through those 17 people! And did it in such a way that it was obvious that it was ALL HIM!!

My mom, dad, and Grandma came! Grandma turned 91 this past July and is having a harder time getting a round, but she still made it to the BBQ! The brochures that she has in her hand were skillfully made by NMSI's Publications Department---things I'll get to help create when I move back to Florida to work in the office.

Look at that tasty food! The pictures on the back of the table are of my Little-K small group from college, me giving a piggy back ride to some kids in Mexico, and some kids from Honduras smiling back at the camera. Though I'm absolutely certain that God is calling me to stay and work in Florida at the NMSI office for a while, I'm not entirely sure what the next step will be---what country or ministry God is calling me to abroad. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I just LOVE KIDS and would be happy in a variety of places! Luckily, there are kids in every country!

After giving the Power Point Ministry Presentation that I created in the COAT program this summer, we served pieces of cake to people while they filled out pledge cards. We put all of the pledge cards in a bowl and I drew Polly's name as the winner of the Oakley sunglasses! I thought I had a picture of all the people who came, but apparently it's not on my camera, so e-mail me a copy if you have one! All in all, it was a very encouraging day!!!

What is Good?

In The Shack, God challenges the main character, Mack, saying that he "must give up [his] right to decide what is good and evil on [his] own terms." More and more I am realizing that I can't accurately judge what is "good" and what isn't. Quite frankly I'm wrong a lot, thinking that hard things are "bad" because I'm looking at them from my own perspective, when really they produce growth, healing, and make me cling to God more.

More and more when people ask how my day is going, I find myself wondering...is it "good" or "bad"? I don't really know. "Hard" does not automatically equate to "good" or "bad." Not all hard things produce growth or have purpose: there is the pain of a wound being inflicted (bad pain/damaging pain) and the pain of a wound being healed (good pain/healing pain)---cleaning out the cut, putting on some Neosporin and a Band-aid. Pain with a healing purpose still hurts, but it hurts in a different way.

Sometimes I don't know which kind of pain I'm experiencing, but God does. I'm amazed at how God knows what is good for me and what I need so much more accurately than I do. Isaiah 48:17 says, "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” God knows what is best and He knows what is good, even when I'm not sure what that is.

My Hiding Place

Recently I read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, a story of a family that participated in the Underground movement to help Jews escape capture during World War II. The Ten Booms realized that God given them friendships with a variety of people in a variety of occupations due to their congenial personalities and watch making business, which they later took advantage of as they strove to lead others to freedom. The authors write, "But this is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts into our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."

Additionally, the Ten Booms constructed a secret room in one of the upper levels of their house that their Jewish friends would pile into when their alarm system went off, signifying the approach of soldiers. This secret room was the "Hiding Place" referred to in the title of the book, but more than that, the book was Corrie's realization that God alone could be her "Hiding Place."

Throughout the book, Corrie was continually amazed by the faith of her sister Betsie who praised God for everything in the midst of their own internment at a concentration camp. Betsie even took time to praise God for the fleas on their beds, which they later realized were the reason the guards did not patrol a certain area of their barracks---where they had begun to lead prayer meetings for fellow prisoners. "More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie," Corrie explained.

I think that's such a beautiful picture---not only the distinction between prayer and "the rest of life" disintegrating, but the distinction between "ministry" and "the rest of life." The Ten Booms were constantly communicating with God and constantly looking for ways to encourage those around them in the midst of great tragedy, which they were experiencing as well. God really was their "Hiding Place," where they received the strength to go on, to keep fighting. It makes me think of Psalm 32:7 "You are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." So often I hide in other things, in work, in food, in books, in the affirmation of others, rather than in God. May He truly be my hiding place in the midst of trouble! May I choose to hide in Him!

Angela's Big Day

If all the raindrops were mini quiches and cupcakes

Oh what a rain it would be!

Standing outside with my mouth open wide

Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

If all the raindrops were mini quiches and cupcakes

Oh what a rain it would be!

Have you ever heard that song before? I thought I'd post about something fun, since many of my posts have been serious lately. You preschool teachers out there may remember that you can substitute any two food words into the lyrics and that you hold your mouth open towards the sky when you sing the "Ah! Ah!" part. It's possible that I may have gotten carried away with the "Ah!"s when I was typing it out (Smile!).

Anyways, August 2nd was my friend Angela's baby shower during which we did have mini quiches and cupcakes (as noted in above song lyrics) and spinach artichoke dip and some other tasty things. It was my first time helping throw a baby shower an my first time using a melon baller (See below!). Jack is due to arrive on September 3rd and I'm so excited that I get to be in town for that!!!

The theme for Angela's shower was airplanes, since that's what she is decorating her nursery with. (She loves to travel). We had the guests make paper airplanes and fly them in a "Paper Airplane Olympics" while they were there. There were peanuty prizes for pilots who flew the longest distance, pilots with the best accuracy, the most enthusiastic pilot, etc. I voted to have a prize for "best airplane sound effects" but it got vetoed. :0)

He's More Than You Can Imagine...

I recently read The Shack by William P. Young. It was so good I almost had the whole thing done in one day! It's about this Dad whose daughter is kidnapped and killed (it wasn't gory---the word "blood" was probably in the book a total of three times) and how God leads the Dad---his name was Mack----back to the place where his daughter died to work through his inaccurate perceptions of God, forgiveness, etc. The most interesting part is how the author depicts God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, the types of characters that he casts them as and how they interact with each other and with Mack.

One of the things that hit me most was when God gently and lovingly told Mack, "I am not who you think I am, Mackenzie." That phrase really resonated with me. In essence, He was saying, "There's so much MORE to me than what you believe about me. I am so much BETTER than how you currently perceive me!"

God could totally say that to me right now: "I'm not who you think I am, Joanne." It's a freeing realization, really. Even though it means I don't understand Him. He's so much MORE than I can imagine! A lot of times I end up painting God to be like humans that I know, but He's so much more than that. As my friend Helen from COAT would say, "God has to be different. He just has to be." Will you pray that God will paint an accurate view of Himself for me in the coming months? What a joy that will be to see!

A New Growth (Isaiah)

Someone from church directed me to Isaiah 43:18-19 and I think it totally describes where I'm "at."

"Forget the former things:
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland."

Wow! That's a scripture summary of what COAT was like this summer. God was doing all kinds of "new things" in my life and I was like, "What new things? What are you talking about? Something's springing up? I don't see anything. What growth? ....oh THAT! Man, I had no idea..."

I was still not really "perceiving it." It's hard to see growth while I'm right in the middle of it. That's something that you can pray for me, that God would remind me over and over to take time to "perceive" all that He's doing in my life, to be on the lookout for the streams of life and refreshment that He's wanting to pour into me.