Missionaries

I am in love with missionaries, it's true. I want to be one, I want to marry one, I love to hear their stories, I admire their passion, I desire their adventurous lifestyle of faith...on and on. So I was intrigued by the book Revolution in World Missions and since I could get it for free, obviously I requested a copy. I finished it this morning. Not to say that I read it all in one sitting - I've had it for several weeks, but this weekend especially God used it to deal with me about some things that I have ignored in my own life. Here are the major points He taught me this weekend:

Stewardship - it's not just about money, which I know; it's also about talents and resources and influence. And the point of all of these things is to bring glory to God by telling others about Him. If I'm not using what He's blessed me with for that purpose, I'm not being a good steward. I might as well bury it all in the ground (Matthew 25:24-30). One of the biggest things I have stewardship over is BigHouse. God has blessed me by allowing me to come and serve at BigHouse full-time. I prayed and prayed for this opportunity! But He didn't put me here for my benefit alone - I have work to do for His kingdom! We have the awesome privilege of building relationships with children and teens who are, by all practical purposes, the "least of these" in our society. We have the freedom to tell them about Jesus and set an example for them. We have the opportunity to serve their families in order to demonstrate the love of Christ. It's easy for us to get caught up in taking care of the building or planning programs and events or raising awareness for kids in foster care - all of which are important, but secondary to the reason God gave Micah and Blake the vision of BigHouse, which is to share the love of our Savior with those who have not been shown love.

God has reminded me that we need to be intentional with every interaction we have with strangers. We need to prepare our minds for action (1 Peter 1:13), be clear-minded and self-controlled (1 Peter 4:7), make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:16, Colossians 4:5), always be prepared to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15), and love each other deeply (1 Peter 4:8).

Pride - this comes up a lot for me. In this book, K.P. Yohannan talks a lot about the wastefulness of the Western Christian world in comparison with the needs of the Two-Thirds World, as well as the inefficiency of sending Western missionaries to Eastern countries when Eastern missionaries can spread the gospel more efficiently. He did not say that there is not a place for Western missionaries in Eastern countries - obviously God has called and continues to call Christians from the United States and elsewhere to the mission field in Asia. Don't worry, there's plenty of work to go around! But I felt very defensive reading his argument for national missionaries (vs sending foreign missionaries). Basically he's saying, "You don't need to come over here, we have our own missionaries, we just need you to give your prayerful and financial support." The thing is, if that is how the Holy Spirit is working in Asia (and it sounds like it's working fine), then yes, we should support it. And instead of getting our pride hurt, we need to reevaluate our work in the mission field God has given us here - in our neighborhoods, cities, states, and across the nation. Obviously we're not doing all that we can here. We need to take the plank out of our own eye and step up to the task that we've been given.

So I want to encourage you to examine your own life - the time, resources, talents, and influence that God has equipped you with, and allow Him to reveal the areas of your life that need to be surrendered to Him, so that you can be useful in the body of Christ.

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: 'He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.'" 2 Corinthians 9:8-9

No-Snow Snow Days

At the risk of being severely unproductive today, I thought I should go ahead and write a new post. Opelika totally missed out on all the snow that seemingly EVERYONE else got. And I'm only slightly jealous. Ok maybe more than slightly. We were very ready to play in the snow. Boo!

At any rate, we haven't started our After-School Program yet since the kids were out of school yesterday and today, so we're planning to start back next Tuesday after MLK Day. That gives us more time to get things ready which is good. Maybe we can even have some progress toward having central by then. That would be GREAT!

For the record, I did not watch the National Championship game last night so that I would not be able to discuss it with anyone. Instead I played Wii Fit with Julie. It was lots of fun.

Today my plan is to go to the Sportsplex to run and do some weight machines. Wii Fit is only good for so much - then you actually have to work out, haha.

Our Bible study starts back tonight - I'm so glad! Without regularly scheduled activities I feel like I've been living a month of Saturdays (I am NOT complaining!). We're in 1 Peter chapter 4. My favorite section is v.7-11:

"The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

New Year - New Start

I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions, but I do enjoy the feeling of a fresh start that comes with a new year. So here's what's NEW with me and BigHouse

Me:
I'm determined to get in the best shape of my life this year, so I joined the Opelika Sportsplex, and downloaded the Couch - 2 - 5K app on my iPod to start running. The Sportsplex is great - super close to Grandmom's house, has lots of fun classes (so far I've tried Zumba), cool weight machines, indoor and outdoor tracks, an indoor pool, a hot tub, on and on. I've done the first two days of training with C25K (oh and Micah's goal is to run the 5K too). So far it's not too terrible, and I feel so accomplished after running, haha.

Not much else is new with me I guess...which is lame, I know, since it's been over a month since I've updated the blog. So it goes during the holidays.

BigHouse:
We had our first annual BigHouse Staff Planning Retreat at the end of December (me, Micah, Blake, and Joe). We mapped out all the events and programs we want to do in 2011. We're big dreamers, that's for sure! Joe is coming on board as our 3rd staff member (staff, as in "missionary"). He'll be coordinating our tutoring program, doing house maintenance (yay, I'm glad that's not me!), and making a promotional video and other technologically advanced things, like the website. He started his blog today - http://powerofmypower.blogspot.com

The kids come back on Monday - oh we have so much to do before then! Our house still doesn't have heat (although it's in the works, don't worry), so for now it's still cold and nobody wants to clean a house that's 45 degrees! So...our tree is still up, and everything's in shambles from last month. We're planning to go to IKEA in Atlanta on Friday to get some desks/tables/chairs and other things that are going to make our office space a lot more usable. Also changing the art and tutoring rooms somewhat. So that's kind of our weekend project. I'm still in the process of lining up volunteers to lead classes for the After-School Program. We have a new e-newsletter! I found an awesome website that lets us use their services for free b/c we're non-profit. And we can post it to Facebook and Twitter, so be on the lookout. If you don't currently get our newsletter you can email me at bighousefoundation@hotmail.com and I'll put you on the list.

Happy New Year!

Whoa - November, where did you go? I just realized that I haven't updated in a while.

BigHouse news - we had a very successful "BigHouse of Blues" fundraiser (live and silent auctions). I wish I would have bid on some of the really nice items at the silent auction! Next year for sure. Blake won the bid on the car (Praise Jesus - he needed it for sure!), and my friend Julie won the bid on a 3-night stay at a chalet in Gatlinburg - woo hoo!

We are getting ready for our Christmas events - so much to do! Two Christmas parties, two benefit concerts, Kids' Night Out...and then after all of that is over, Micah, Blake and I are sequestering ourselves for a BigHouse Planning Retreat - similar to the Planning Campouts I used to take as a Girl Scout - to brainstorm, pray, eat, relax, and play games. Oh yeah and plan - getting some dates on the 2011 calendar!

Other news - I am going to Canton on Thursday to begin the Rogers/Samples wedding festivities! I can't believe Jenna and Trent are getting married on Saturday! I'm so happy for them. I hope I won't trip and die in the heels I have to wear...haha.

My Bucky had knee-replacement surgery last Tuesday, and then Wednesday night had a heart attack at the hospital. She was moved to ICU for a few days, but now she is doing better and they sent her on to the rehab facility for her knee. Please pray that she is able to recovery from the knee surgery and that her heart will continue to get stronger too.

I got to spent most of Thanksgiving break with my brother Cuyler, sister-in-law, Leilani, and nephews, Cameron (2) and Marshall (9 months). It was a lot of fun. They said I was a lifesaver, but all I did was play with babies! We had Thanksgiving dinner at their house with my mom's side of the family (minus Bucky, of course).

December is going to be a very busy month, as expected. I'm going to be singing Handel's Messiah with the Trinity United Methodist Choir (one of our two benefit concerts for BigHouse). I'm sooo excited!

Tonight I have Bible study, and it's time for me to head out. C-Ya!

Kids

Some fun things from today:

Playing with scarves and the parachute and instruments during music class with our preschoolers.

Helping babies go down the big slide on our playset; pushing sisters on the glider swing.

Pretend play with baby dolls - taking them to the grocery store.

Reading a book while the kids played along with instruments corresponding to characters.

Sharing a snack.

Playing Sardines with just as many big people as little people (and the big people wanting "one more round" at 6:00!)

They are a great group - from the smallest baby to the biggest "kids" (volunteers). The noise was a little much for me today, and I'm sure I'll be sore from toting babies on my hips this morning, but it's worth it. It's all so worth it.

Missionary Living

What an experience I've had the past couple of days! I attended the Alabama CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) conference in Birmingham today. CASAs are assigned to foster children to meet with them on a regular basis, get to know them, and provide information to the court during hearings concerning their cases. The goal is to ensure that kids don't linger in the system, that they receive the services they need, and that placements are appropriate. It's a wonderful program! There is a new CASA program starting in Lee County hopefully by next Spring, and we want BigHouse to be a strong partner with them. So I signed up for the conference.

Last night I drove up Hwy 280 to Mountain Brook where I stayed with Heather's family, whom I haven't seen for a couple of years at least. They were so hospitable - sheets turned down on the bed and all! I got to visit with them for a long time and tell them all about what God is doing at BigHouse; it was great!

This morning I got to the conference - on time, without any traffic or parking problems! Answered prayers! I made a new friend at breakfast, Cari who works with a non-profit called Family Bridges which serves at-risk families in Clay, AL. She went to high school with my sweet college roommate and dear friend, Jennifer! So we had a lot in common.

The speaker I followed to each session today was Holly Schlaak who wrote a book called Invisible Kids. She was an excellent speaker - engaging, passionate, knowledgeable. She told several stories of her experiences working as a caseworker and Guardian Ad Litem for foster children in Cincinnati, OH.

The whole day I felt overwhelmed by the need of these children, the sinfulness of our fallen world that has led to the destruction of our families and children, and the broken heart of God. I felt so burdened to share the love of Jesus with someone - and what an appointment God had in store for me! I met a man named Rufus - a security guard in the parking garage and I shared with him a little bit about my day, and that I wanted him to know that Jesus loved him. He shared with me that he was a believer and he was glad that I had stopped to talk with him.

I got back to my car, completely overwhelmed by the love of God and His willingness to use me for anything. It was wonderful, and all too much. So I called my friend Julie and had a great conversation. Afterwards I was just driving in traffic, not paying attention because I was busy worshipping, and then I looked around and noticed I was in Alabaster on Hwy 31 - NOT on 280 like I thought! So I was all confused, and got on I-65 like the GPS wanted me to, but was still like 2 hrs from Opelika, so I called Julie back and she told me I could spend the night at her parents' house in Clanton. I'd stayed there once before with her, and her parents are wonderful, so I definitely was ok with that option.

Her parents - SO SWEET! I was so relieved to get here and feel at home, and got fed a delicious meal, and took a shower, and now I'm ready to get in the bed. God is SO GOOD to me!

Fall Festival

Mr. Incredible and 3 Blind Mice and a sleepy puppy.

That's what I'm talking about!

Cool dudes.

Blind faces.

Face painting! Cheyenne - such a cute flapper!