School is Out for Summer

And so it begins.... a summer of fun! We kicked the summer off with lots of FUN at EPIC & then hung out at McDonalds.

Check out our summer of fun flyer.

Nose piercing

For those of you who have requested photos here is a recent one showing off my new piercing.

Disney Cruise

Well, a few weeks ago we went on our Disney cruise and it was AMAZING! Check out the video below from our Pirate Adventure in Grand Caymen. Greg is so FUN! Almost 6 years of marriage and I love him more today than ever. It was great to take some time to play & be 'kids'.

Check out the link to more photos on my Facebook.

Disney Cruise Photos

The Relay for Life

Well, we are back from vacation and had a wonderful and relaxing time. Since being back we have jumped right back into hanging with our EPIC kids. 

Last Friday we supported the 'Relay for Life' and ended up having a hang out time with ice cream sundays and video games afterward. It ended up being all guys that came back to our place and it was really cool to see their different personalities and what a fun time they were having - each of them have their own 'stuff' and most don't have kids to hang out with on the weekends. God is building a community and family for those who don't really have one.

Here are some photos from the Relay for Life.

Boot Camp

Tomorrow night at EPIC we kick off our Boot Camp Series. I am so excited, God has big things in store.  Working with teens is not always a rewarding job in the here and now, but this text below reminds me of the important part my team plays in the lives of the teenagers we work with.

Making a Difference

You don't have to actually answer the questions below. Just read the text straight through, and you'll get the point.

• Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
  
• Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
  
• Name the last five winners of the Miss America title.
  
• Name ten people who have won either the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
  
• Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
  
• Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
  

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners .

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

• List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
  
• Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
  
• Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
  
• Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
  
• Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
  

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

EPIC Update

Here are some thoughts on my week  and the conference we went to with our student leaders as I got ready for my EPIC girls night on Friday.

Leadership Rocks, Tampa FL

This past weekend Greg and I had the opportunity to take our EPIC student leaders to Tampa for a weekend conference. We had a great time and were able to have some deep conversations and heartfelt moments. One of the coolest things was being able give a Bible to and  to teach two of our students how to use it.

Our focus for the next 6 months with our students is that they would learn what it means to be a Student leader. That they would understand it is not about position or power, but about serving others. 

Underwater Fun

This past weekend was exhausting, but also full of God moments. Some of my EPIC students worked with me at our Healthy Kids Outreach at the YMCA on Sat & 2 girls spent the night. We had some incredible conversations and 1 girl Ash, accepted Christ!!!!

God is doing so much. Please pray for my teens.

Here are some fun photos from our afternoon of hanging out at the pool.

Enjoy!

Panama reflections

Here is a short video from about day 7 on our trip. We had just arrived in Panama a few hours previously and were experiencing a huge difference from the living conditions and poverty we experienced in Nicaragua

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My Life is Worth Nothing.......

So, this past week I had the opportunity to attend the Photoshop World Conference in Orlando, FL. This is the first time I was able to afford to attend this conference as it is pretty expensive ($500 for reg). Pray my business does well this year :)

Anyway, I learned lots and again realized how much I still would like to learn.

Over the course of the conference I had a severe case of swimmers ear. I was in a lot of pain and could not talk much because it hurt to even move my jaw. God once again filled my heart with the word he has been speaking to me over the past month.

OBSERVE.

So, instead of meeting new people, I observed...... and began to thank God for where he has me in life.

You see, back in 2000 I had a great internship working for a fortune 500 company. It was luxurious and paid well.  I was offered a continuation of my internship until I graduated the following year and a promise of a job.

From a worldly perspective this was great and very secure. I had been volunteering all my free time doing ‘ministry’ for the past 4 years at our college campus, leading small groups, prayer and encouragement teams, women's conferences, worship team...... I worked with many people who were on ‘staff’ with the ministry. 

While I loved serving and doing ministry, I had decided that working as a full time ‘staff’ member in a ministry was not for me. I wanted to be in the workplace and share God there.

Well, that summer God offered me an internship where I would make $800 for the summer & work my tail off. It was for a nonprofit company - Young Life. I ended up taking the internship in NY.  My fellow co-workers thought I was crazy to leave my current job and looking back, I was. However, God had a plan far beyond what I could imagine.

Long story short, that summer was one of the most fulfilling jobs I have ever had. There was something amazing about working hard and designing videos that each week shared about the adventure of a week at camp and the message of Christ dying for our sins.

Back at the Photoshop conference as I sat observing the other attendees and heard about where they worked and what they did, yes, there were moments of wishing I had the latest equipment and unlimited resources for designing, but there was also the reminder of the gift God has give me.

He has put me in my sweet spot.

There is nothing I would rather do than use the talents God has given me to allow people to connect deeper with him, or perhaps see a perspective of him that they didn’t even know existed.

Paul sums it up in Acts when he writes:

"But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus- the work of telling others the Good News about God's wonderful kindness  and love."-Paul  (Acts 20:24)

I guess God wanted to remind me that even though sometimes we don’t always see the affect of our efforts, there is nothing better than our efforts being to increase his kingdom.

**disclaimer - I do not believe that you have to be in full time ministry to be living your life in this way, this is just the journey that God has taken me on.

A Recipe for Disaster

38 teenagers, 4 staff members and the day before spring break....... some, me included would say this is a disaster in the making, however God had different plans.

This past week at EPIC, our teenage community with GraceRiver Church, we were down on help on up on kids packed full of energy. We had the EPIC band playing for the second time and Jeff, one of our staff members, was going to be speaking for the first time. The previous week we had four students decide to follow Christ and 5 others that what to understand what this ‘beyond ordinary life” we refer to is all about. We were praying that God would move in big ways in the hearts of our teens again this week.

Wednesday - EPIC Spring Break Kick-Off

7:00 a.m. - Drop off Greg at the airport for his business conference in PA. I am glad he has the opportunity to go, but also know how it will affect the kids him not being there. The majority of Greg’s small group return each week craving to connect with him, a solid male who is committed to them and not going anywhere soon.

8:00 a.m. - @ the Gym
As I am lifting weights I pray about the day to come and what God has in store for these students tonight. I pray that I will remember the names of new students and, even with the lack of help, be able to have some deep heart connections with ones that have been coming for awhile.

For me it is early and I want to go back to bed, but I focus and remember some of the reasons I am working out every other day.........to be in better health, to be able to hopefully have kids of my own, to be able to be more active and ‘play” more with my students that through those ‘fun’ times deeper connections would be made....so that God could be glorified more through me.

9:00 a.m. - still @ the gym
I am tired and I want to go home. But, if I go home now I know that I will not go to our Middle School to visit the teenagers during lunch. I decide to stay and take the aqua aerobics class. There are quite a few people in the class today, most I hardly know since I am working out at a different location than normal, that is fine with me - I am tired and don’t want to connect with anyone.

Several women want to talk with me, but I am still tired - God please, I really don’t want to connect with people right now - the day ahead is going to be exhausting emotionally. God says, “Connect. Be encouraged.” I speak with 4 different women, God provides opportunities brought up by them to share about GraceRiver Church, EPIC and the work God is doing.

11:00 a.m. - driving to Middle School
I am thankful that God has opened the doors for me to visit our students at Odyssey Middle School - not all schools are open to Christian leaders coming in. However, I feel it again. That tug in my gut, desperately pleading to not go back to Middle School. Middle School is a hard time in life and for most of us we would never want to go back and relive those years. Each time I go to visit the teens during their lunch, I feel all the insecurities coming back - it feels like once again I am in Middle School..... will they like me, will I have a place to sit, will anyone talk to me, am I cool enough....... this stinks!!

I pull open the doors to the cafeteria full of lost souls.

Before I can even fully get into the cafeteria one of my students comes running up to give me a big hug. I see that she is wearing her EPIC shirt - the exact same one I have one. She is coming tonight and wants me to come and say Hi to the kids at her table. After I talk a bit I get up and wander around looking for other students I recognize and praying I will remember their names. Lord lead me to the tables and students you want me to talk with.

Lunch is almost over and I am heading back to the doors to hold them open as the kids leave and the next group comes in. A group of boys at a table catch my eye. I start a conversation with them & they are snickering all through out. This starts to hurt my heart, why are they laughing at me..... I am so not cool..... I want to leave right now.... stupid middle schoolers........ 

Wait. Engage. Be Jesus to them.
Deep Breath.

Ok God lead the way.

5 more lunches to go and many more students to connect with. I stay and God provides some really cool connections. I meet two new tables full of students due to 2 teens I met at the Easter Egg Extravaganza outreach we did the past Saturday. One girl Stephanie, sees me, remembers me and strikes up conversation with me.

Ok God, maybe middle schoolers are not stupid.

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. - @ home
I check my email, create the slideshow for EPIC, check to see if there are any last minute needs, changes or cancelations, and connect with Greg. He has arrived in PA. I catch him up on todays adventure at Odyssey Middle School.

5:15 p.m. - Heading out to the YMCA where we meet for EPIC
I receive a phone call from our bass player that the drums we are to use tonight are locked in our students garage and his Dad has left for the evening with the key. Oh no!! Where in the world can we get a drum set in the next 20 min? The band takes up 20 mins of our program tonight - what will we do if we can’t play??

God, calm me in this moment and show me what to do.
I remember one of our pastors has an electric drum set. I call and race over to grab the set. Long story short - it was crazy, but the band was able to play - it was a bit rough, but the students just seemed excited to see their peers playing and singing.

7:00 p.m. - @ the YMCA - EPIC
Hanging out, EPIC Band playing. Games.... oh no, miscommunication we have no games??? Think, what can I do. God lead the way - we are losing control of the group we are down on staff and the teens energy is through the roof....

Boot Camp.

In May we will be doing a outreach to our soldiers overseas and as the fun aspect we will have a our own boot camp lead by a former Marine and Army member. 

We will have a test run tonight - we have to get some of this energy out or the kids will never listen to Jeff. We take the kids outside and give them a small taste of boot camp. Shane, a former Marine, has the kids going from pushups to jumping jacks to running in place. Ah yes, some of that energy is being released.

They come inside and Jeff shares. The students are so attentive, interested and engaged. It is like a different group of kids. I guess you could say the brief exercise helped, however I think it is God breathing into these students feeding their hunger for a ‘beyond ordinary life.”

Spring Break is next week - I am glad for the week off to catch my breath and jump back in again. Glory to God.

Nicaragua Photos

Nicaragua is surrounded by several active volcanoes.  We had the opportunity to visit this one and climb to the top. Because of the volconaoes and the fact that most people burn their garbage on the street, you are constantly breathing in smoke and ash.

One of the families that moved to Nicaragua from Honduras has a little boy that the polluted air has really effected his health. He has broken out in rashes and at times had difficulty breathing. They thought about moving back but heard clearly from God that they were to stay & allow Him to work in their son's life in the area of his health, that He (God) would be glorified through the healing.  They have started to see and share small ways that God is working in this area.

This is Ana, a woman in Nicaragua that I was able to deeply connect with. We stayed in her and her husbands home along with their 2 adorable children. Her husband Walter is a Doctor and runs the clinic for malnourished children. Ana and Walter speak some English & surprisingly my ability to understand Spanish this trip was amazing.  I am still not the best at speaking, but the majority of the time can understand what is going on around me.

Me and Judi Major, the founder of Mujer Mujer ministry, with a native Panamanian.

 These are the leading women in the new church in Nicaragua along with myself, Judi in the back and Xena (in the yellow) a pastor's wife from Honduras. These women are incredible followers of God. The day after the conference we had about 3 hours to meet with these women and talk with them about the struggles they are facing, pray and encourage them.

 It was especially interesting for me as even though our cultures and living situations are so very different, being a women and wife in a new church plant we face many of the same struggles. As a result of this God allowed me to connect and encourage these women in a very special way because I am also facing many of the same things they are as I help with our new church plant in Orlando.

These are some of the supplies that EPIC, our teenage ministry in Orlando and the Pharmacy staff at Florida East Hospital, donated for the malnourished children. 

Most of these kids only have 1 or 2 outfits, and they are not in the best condition.  One of the days we were helping at the clinic we basically got to give "Christmas" to these children. They would each come in one by one to the room we were in, pick out new shoes, a new outfit and get a toy. It was one of the most amazing, heartbreaking and joyous moments of our trip.

This is only a brief  look at some of our trip. 

To check out some more photos go to: 

Working at the malnourished clinic

Here are some photos from our time spent at the Nutrition center for malnourished children. The goal is to have 7-9 kids come each day & get them to a healthy state. Once they are properly nourished they will no longer come daily, but will receive free vitamins and come in for monthly check-ups.
During the days the kids receive meals, play and learn about God.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22950&l=eded7&id=519207398

Spending time with Walter, Ana and their kids (our Host Family)

These are a few photos of some fun times hanging out with our host family. We were really able to connect with them.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22951&l=e34f0&id=519207398

Photos of Sunday Morning Childcare - Greg and I watched all the kids during the Sunday service so that the women would be able to attend church. The kids absolutely love Greg!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22952&l=db183&id=519207398

More photos an stories to come soon.