Back in the Saddle Again!

Wow.  It's been a very VERY long time since I've sat down to blog.  It is definitely something that I want to start up again though.  Looking at my last blog post, it was 2 YEARS AGO! It was about the Blazers and half of the team is different now (and they're much better this year).

I want to start blogging again as a way to talk about what I'm learning and how life has changed over the last two years.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to find some time regularly to write about ministry, family and whatever else I happen to think about.  I have found that I'm not very good at talking about what I'm thinking, so maybe by having a place to write about my thoughts I'll be able to process through life as it goes on.

Ok...2 years ago my life was looking very different.  Here is a quick rundown of where I am now.

1. I'm a MOM! and I have been one for over a year now.  I have a 13 month old son.  He's the best thing that could have ever happened to me.  I'm sure a lot of my blog will be about him.
2. I'm still working with Cru, only now I'm down to part time.  
3. I'm still working in the Cru regional office, and I bring the baby in with me!
4. I'm running again and I joined a gym.  I'm trying to get into shape to run the Shamrock Run 15k (which is in less than 2 weeks).
5. Lucas and I still live in the same place and still have both dogs.

Well, there you go.  We're back at this.  

This is how I hope you're not feeling:

Because I'm feeling like this:

More Than Teammates

So, I've started to really enjoy watching professional basketball.  Up until I met Lucas I couldn't have cared less about the Portland Trailblazers, but now I'm a huge fan.  I've had the privilege of going to several games now and it's an experience that I can't even describe.  While they may not be the best team in the NBA right now, there is something that I really enjoy about the players on the team and they even say it about themselves, they are "More Than Teammates."

I think that this showed itself last night in particular.  Last night Portland played the Denver Nuggets.  Kurt Thomas (who is the oldest player in the NBA) was in the first half.  Kurt was fighting for a rebound with Kenneth Faried (of the Nuggets) when Faried ended up kicking Kurt in the face!

Kenneth Faried kicking Kurt Thomas in the face!

Kurt ended up leaving the game because he was knocked out by the blow.  So, why am I writing about this?  Watch this video, but pay attention to Wallace (#3), Crawford (#11), Batum (#88) and Aldridge (#12), and how they care for their teammate.

Click Here to watch the Video

Wallace takes such good care of his teammate!  He sees he's having trouble and rushes to him.  Crawford knows something is not right and starts calling for the Athletic Trainer right away.  LA is the first one to come over and he and Batum are there help Kurt up.

This is something that I don't know that we do a lot as believers together.  We're more than teammates, we're one body, working together, playing this game, fighting this war: we are family, not just teammates.  When one of us gets kicked in the face, we should be there to lift each other back to our feet and be strong in standing up for them when they're not able to stand on their own.

Never knew I could learn so much from watching the NBA!

Sad Sad Little Car

Things are slowly starting to go downhill...

Ok, let me explain since it has been AGES since I've written a post about what has been happening in my life:

1) I have a broken finger.  It kinda looks like giant crooked finger now that doesn't work correctly anymore and hurts pretty much all the time.  I broke it back in November.
2) Since December 27th, I've spent 17 days away from my house, mostly in hotels in Portland, Denver and Odgen, Ut.
3) I've been feeling completely exhausted since the 27th of December as well, which makes even the most simple task of working out, nearly impossible.


The thing that is going downhill the most, however, is one of my favorite things in the world....

This is my car during a snow storm in PDX this winter

.....My Car.

I drive the worlds most "awesome" car. 

It is a 1996 Saturn SL1, and it is gold....ish.

It is little, slow, noisy, and slowly falling to pieces.

In the last two years we've replaced:

• the water pump
• the starter (this is actually the 3rd one we've put in since getting the car)
• all four tires
• the back breaks (twice)

And things that still need to be fixed/replaced:

• the radiator has a hole in it (currently being "fixed" with JB Weld)
• the heater doesn't work
• The wheel bearing might be going out as well

Oh...and it has  CRAZY bad leaks...in the transmission, in the engine and the trunk.  A really bad oil leak, to the point when you step on the gas it's like a cartoon and you get a big cloud of smoke behind you.

Needless to say, the little Saturn is on it way out, and that makes me really sad.  There are lots of really great things about my little car, like 42 MPG (more than once) on the highway.  It's small so you can fit into tight parking spots (but you also sometimes don't actually get seen by big trucks).  Well, now the search is on, we have to find a replacement for the Beast!  I don't think any other car can stand in comparison. 

Now I'm faced with the dilemma of trying to find a car that is worthy to replace my Saturn.  I feel really bad thinking about getting rid of my little orphan car (yes, it's an orphan...look it up).  

Please keep me in your prayers as I search for a new steed to cruise through Portland, I really don't want to take the bus.

I hope this doesn't happen to me

There's No Place Like Home

I went back to my home church this last Sunday.  I really miss the people there.  Lucas and I made the trip down to be able to say goodbye to some great friends who are moving.  When I found out that their last Sunday at the church was this week and knew I had to go.  We loaded up the dogs and took off to get down there for the 10:45 service time.

When we pulled into the parking lot (after dropping Fletcher and Jack off at my parents house) I walked in the front doors to be greeted with hugs and smiles from all my dear church family.  The last time I was at a service at the church was Easter, six months ago!  I felt like I was back home amongst family.  It so strange how being gone for so long makes you realize just how much you do miss things that are familiar and safe.

I made my way back to the youth group room to see the students and was so excited to see everyone there, and I think they were just as excited to see me.  As I made my way around the church before the service I was constantly greeted hugs and encouraging words.  I felt how much the people of my church loved and cared for me.  I was even asked to drum with the youth group again that afternoon, which was one of the best things ever!  I miss playing drums with those guys.

I can totally understand how Paul felt when he longed to see Thessalonians in 1st Thessalonians 2:

¹⁷ But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.

 I know that my leaving home was what I needed to do, but I still have a desire to be home with my family.  But that longing is good, and I didn't leave them behind, I brought First Baptist with me.  As I reflect on my time with my friends back home I want to echo Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in Ephesians 3, and pray it for the people of First Baptist:

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom his whole family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
 ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

fbcphilomath.org

I am slowly going crazy

 

I loved this show as a kid...this is kinda how I'm feeling right now!

I realized that I haven't posted anything in a REALLY long time!  Boy, that must mean I'm super busy with work, which is very true.  I've been so busy, in fact, that I have hardly had time to do important things like doing the dishes, cleaning my living room, and grocery shopping (I'm out of popcorn...gasp!).  Why have I been so busy?  Good question.  Here is a quick rundown of all the things I have been doing that has taken all of my time.

Pretty sure I was on my death bed...
Boy, I was pretty sick this past month!  I got a cold that wouldn't go away.  I even missed a day of work (which I never miss work) because I was just not feeling well.  But now, finally, I'm starting to feel better.  I'm able to breath again, not coughing all day, and haven't used any cold medicine since last Friday! Being sick just makes everything more difficult.

Designers Beware...
Over the past month or so I have been learning how to use the program Photoshop.  It's a very awesome, yet extremely complicated, program.  If you have ever attempted to use Photoshop without any training, you might understand how this could be very frustrating.  There are so many different buttons that do a whole wide range of different things.  While I would say that I'm much more skilled at Photoshop now, I would NOT say that I am proficient at Photoshop.  But I'm excited to continue to use it and learn more about graph design (something that when I was in High School I had actually thought about doing).

Worship...
I have been helping with two different worship groups; one with my church and one with PDXCru.  I was practicing every Tuesday night with my church group (playing the drums) and then Wednesday evenings leading worship for DWTNCRU (PDX Cru's weekly meeting) playing the guitar.  It had been a while since I had played my guitar and lead worship, but now that I'm back to playing on a consistent basis I'm feeling pretty awesome about it, and look forward to it every week.  We're seeing awesome things starting at DWTNCRU and I can't wait to see what God keeps doing.

Retreat from the city...
I got to be a part of the PDXCru fall retreat, leading worship.  It was fun to get out of the city and see something new and smell super fresh air!  I couldn't have asked for a more awesome way to spend my weekend (except for maybe Lucas coming).

Life in General...
Life has just been crazy.  My car has been broken into (which means I have trouble sleeping...gotta keep watch), we've gone to the pumpkin patch with Lucas' family, and my grandma came up to visit.  All in all, well besides the whole car thing, I've been busy, but it's all been worth it.

Although I have been too busy as well, I've now had to let some things go, which is good.  And I want to be able to spend more time with Lucas, the dogs and, most importantly, the Lord.

Here, There and Everywhere!

I know that a lot of the time when I talk about my job I end up talking about raising support.  It's just part of the deal when you work for a non-profit like Cru.  But it not just staff that needs to raise support.  My whole summer pretty much revolved around support raising.  It was pretty crazy. Here's a look into what my summer assignment was.

Officially this summer I was assigned to "Summer Project Operations."  What this means is that I was here to help out our various summer project operations directors by processing income, i.e. student support. Some people think that this sounded like the most boring job possible.  And if I told you that what I did was got the mail, opened it, recorded all the checks (scanning and entering into a spreadsheet) then mailed them to our world headquarters it might actually sound INCREDIBLY boring.  If it was for anything else it might have been, but it really wasn't. 

How is this tedious task of check wrangling not boring, you might ask?  Well, when you get to see how God provides for people who have the desire to serve Him, it brings joy.  It is something that is so hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced support raising.  I've seen the Lord provide funds for students in weeks of beginning the process as well as the Lord leading people in a different direction.  It helps to remind me if I'm diligent in my support raising the Lord will provide.

So, whats so great about looking at all the support coming in for other people when I'm struggling to get the last bit for myself?  I got to see students go all over the world!  They did things that I can't do.  I'm in Portland, not in Australia, East Asia, the Middle East, or Costa Rica.  I'm in Oregon, not in Alaska, Tahoe, or Colorado.  But the students I interacted with were in all those places.  I got to see and hear about the Lord working ALL over the whole World!  Not many people get to experience that as part of their job. 

Matthew 28:19-20 says:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

 I'm one person who has responsibilities here in Portland, but by serving as an income processor I was able to help fulfill part of the Great Commission.  It's such a blessing to be a part of something that big, something that huge, that name of Jesus got to go to so far.  It's awesome.

Would you like to be a part of something so far outside yourself that it feels so amazing to know that you just get to be a part of it?

Is It Worth It?

Note: I am writing this a lot for my own benefit, but I would love to share my thoughts with you.

That has to be the question I have been asking myself almost every day for the past month.  As most of you know, I work for a non-profit called Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru).  Since we're a non-profit we rely on the donations of individuals, businesses and churches to fund our ministries.  While some non-profits have a department that raises funds for the organization as a whole and pays it's employees that way, Campus Crusade is different.  Everyone in Cru reaches out to individuals and churches they know for their funding.

Last year, in order to start working in the Greater Northwest Regional office I had to raise enough support so that I would be able to work and have all of my monthly expenses paid.  This year isn't any different.  I have been spending my summer working on raising the support I need in order to continue working in the regional office, but this has been a slow, painful and emotion filled time.

So that begs the questions: Is it worth it?

Are the sleepless nights laying awake wondering where the rest of the funds are going to come from worth it?  What about the days where I feel like I have failed in my mission?  Are the fears of losing friends and causing strife between family worth raising the funds so I can continue serving the Lord full time?

My answer: YES!

I know that my job IS important.  I know that the Lord WILL provide the support I need.  I know that what I do makes an ETERNAL difference.  I can't think of anything that is more important than what I do and the difference it makes.  Why is what I do important?  I get to be a part of an international organization.  I get to help spread the good news of the Gospel not just in Portland, not just in Oregon, not just in the Greater Northwest, but all the way around the world.   

It is so much fun to see the Lord work all over.  I get to see 600+ students come to Cru Conference every year where they get to learn about serving the Lord for the first time and for their life time.  I get to talk with students about who Jesus is and what he has done for them.  I get to see students spend their summers completely dedicated to serving the Lord and share the gospel all over the world. 

So yeah, I'm pretty sure I have the BEST job and I love going to work every day.  I like being the support system to help Campus Staff spend their time on campus with students.  I like planning conferences and creating videos that can be a tool the Lord can use to draw students closer to Himself.  I just have to trust the Lord that the support raising process is worth the payoff of seeing all this happen, especially when I lose the sight why I do what I do.