Life's Great Mysteries--# 572

How is it that I carry a camera around with me at all times and yet when given the opportunity to spend a tremendous week of ministry with some of my very favorite people on the planet, I took NO PICTURES? Nix. Nil. Nada. You get the point.

It is a great mystery. I am a great mystery. Okay, really I am not, I am just totally and completely forgetful. But I want to enjoy life as I am living it rather than just take pictures of it. I do try, really I do. This was supposed to be a fascinating post on the power of team and how a motley group of crazy, love-sick Christian leaders get together and pull off a camp for hundreds of children every summer. I was going to tell you what incredible people I am privileged to work with as we plan this camp throughout the year and how no one is prideful and self-promoting but rather everyone lays their lives down, surrenders their gifts and talents, and the lives of children are forever changed. I was going to comment on the fact that the many children's pastors I work with are of the highest caliber. How they are not known nationwide is yet another of life's great mysteries. Napoleon once said that "A leader is a dealer in hope." And these leaders offer hope in immeasurable abundance to the children of this generation. I love the power of "we" and how together we attain what alone we could only dream. These are the things I wanted to tell you.

And I was going to post a picture of these amazing leaders that I call friends but, as I mentioned earlier, my camera never made it out of my bag. And that is mystery # 572.

Read more...

Truth-tellers

"The essence of friendship: the 'unbuttoning' of oneself that invites intimacy, followed by the ability to step into that close, vulnerable space."
--Sue Monk Kidd

I cannot fathom life without my truth-tellers. Truth-tellers are intimate friends who love you enough to enter into the messiness of your soul and tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Many are the leaders in the church who have no truth-tellers in their lives and for most of them, failure is an inevitability because for those who have no one to hold a mirror up to the soul, pride becomes a constant companion.

I spent this past weekend with two women who are truth-tellers in my life and I came away from their company with a clearer understanding of the largeness of the Love of God and the graciousness of His Holy Spirit. To see who you really are through the eyes of intimate friends that love you enough to speak uncompromising truth is a gift and a privilege.

Do you have such people in your life? Are you willing to make yourself vulnerable to another that they might see you as you really are? Have you given anyone permission to examine your messy interior and help you set things right? If you lead in any capacity, find at least one truth-teller and put them on speed dial. Allow them to help you tend the garden of your heart and then watch and see the bountiful harvest that follows.

Read more...

A Small World After All

We had a great time of ministry in Florida last week and during some down time on one of the days, we took our boys to Disney World and a few other Disney parks (it was a long day!). And as much as I love roller coasters, I love seeing old friends even more. We were just heading past Cinderella's Castle when I spotted two former students(back in the day when we were youth pastors) and their baby daughter heading our way...it really IS a small world after all!!! This is Charlie and Miki Chastain and their sweet daughter, Isabel. They are missionaries to Russia with the Mission Society and you can check out who they are and what they do here.

Aside from the fact that this is not a flattering picture of me (it IS still all about me, right?) I was so excited to see old friends and snap a photo that means so much to me. Charlie is also an amazing guitarist and was the earliest influence on our middle son who is now completely obsessed with guitars. You never do know what fruit will come from the convergence of your path with someone else and I am thankful for what God is doing with Miki and Charlie and for the mark they have made on us. Do pop over to their website...they are living big and making a difference. And that is more breathtaking than Cinderella's Castle!

Read more...

Just Another Face

It is an odd experience to find yourself abruptly out of community. I mean in the sense of the local church. It is not a bad thing but only because it is a temporary symptom of relocation. Most every time in the past that we have relocated, it has been to another place of ministry in the local church, which means you have instant community and instant "friends", if you will. This is so very different. Not a soul in this town knows us (except my sis and bro-in-law) and when we enter the doors of a church we are just as likely to be ignored as anything. Very strange, indeed. As an introvert I am enjoying the extra time of quiet and the lack of busyness but I very much miss that sense of belonging. Honestly, I am pretty intrigued by this opportunity to view the church from the other side, to feel unknown and to explore so many other different bodies of believers in complete anonymity. I know I can only be content like this for a short time as I do so crave community...the "Cheers" kind where everybody knows your name and are happy to see you and you can really be you. For now, I am just another face in the crowd, waiting to be seen so that I can then allow myself to be known.

Read more...

Piper Simpson

Piper Simpson (pictured here with her Mommy) came through her heart surgery and is doing well. She is breathing on her own without the ventilator and is eating. Go God!!

Read more...

Pray for Piper

This is Piper Simpson, the newborn baby daughter of two former students of ours. She is having heart surgery tomorrow to repair a defect. Please pray for her and for her parents, Aaron and Lauren. Pray for her heart to be whole, her breathing to be normal and her ears to hear. We are all "fearfully and wonderfully made" and the God who fashions us in the secret place can heal and restore this tiny, beautiful baby girl.

Read more...

Shrimp Poop

I was with some very good friends this past weekend on Jekyll Island. We ate at a Japanese steak house where they cook the food in front of you and so I ordered the steak and shrimp combo. Now, if the friendly hibachi chef has his trusty knife out and is going to butterfly the shrimp anyway...how about deveining those bad boys?? I don't think it is too much to ask. Some of those shrimp had obviously just had a Thanksgiving feast and I was not about to eat that....stuff. My good friend, Rodney, chided me and said I should "just eat 'em!" Rodney says he's going to get me to eat crawfish and love Nascar, too, but THAT ain't happening!
Not one to waste food (or my food's waste!), I gave them to my husband. He's not like Mikey...he really will eat anything. I don't think I am weird because I prefer my shrimp heavy on the garlic, light on the excrement. Today I read about a man who plays the turkey baster like an instrument--now that is weird! Rodney dared me to write a blog about the shrimp poop, so this is for you, Rodney Thrift. Long live the shrimp deveiner!!

Read more...