Blitz Build Spring Break 2011

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. 

When I think of what a group of college students and so many adult helpers are doing during this week of Spring Break, that is the first thing that pops into my head.  College students, choosing to pay money,and spend their whole week getting up at the crack of dawn to go build a new house for a widow in need.  

Miss Mattie is a sweet friend that we have made by visiting her home and having the privilege of sitting and talking with her.  She is confined to a wheel chair and her house is in no shape for living in.  This video says it all in the dryly humorous way that only Duane Dixon is capable of : )

Duane had the vision for building this house.  Despite his history as a contractor, there are many concerns for a project of this magnitude.  He did not shy away at the cost, time constraints, or needed resources.  He knows our God is bigger than all of those things.  He and a team of skilled men put the walls together in a “bus barn” outside our church.  Foundation has been laid and the house is ready to go up.  A team of college students from the surrounding area and Montgomery have assembled to be a part of the Blitz build team.     

Tomorrow at 6:30 am the fun will begin!  If the God of the universe created the world in seven days (yes, while the length of those days may be up for debate) surely, through his power we can put a house together in five!

Updates to come…

To God be the Glory!

Gulf Coast Getaway 2011!

If you have no idea what Gulf Coast is click this


My forth year at Gulf Coast was absolutely amazing!  ...And now I have a ton to sort through and think about.  Before I begin my reflecting I will preface with, I am about to graduate and I am freaking out!  Allow me to explain.  I don't like being constrained.  Example: My senior year of high school we took surveys on the computer to help us decide on a major.  After I went through answering all the bogus questions like, "Do you like reading? Never Sometimes Always?"  My result page said, "Laura, your results were so broad we could not narrow down any majors for you."  I'm thinking, "Whats that supposed to mean?  Out of all those questions there was not one thing that I liked more than another?!."  My point is, I like doing so many different things I freak out at the thought of doing only one thing for the rest of my life.  Call me flighty if you want, but I prefer, "free spirit" ; )


So, here I am, approaching graduation, feeling all of these doors close down around me (mind you, I slept like a baby with out a care the night before my wedding.  If that did not phase me why is this?!) sitting at a campus ministry conference where the theme is HOLOS: re-imagining campus ministry.  This really means re-imagining life.  Dr. Randy Harris, whom I love and dearly respect is the speaker, and does he ever has some things to say to me.


To not bore you with all the nitty gritty details I will cut to the chase and get to the part that I have not been able to let go of all weekend.  It was a breakout class that Dr. Harris gave.  It was simple.  Five words of advise from Randy Harris.


1. Wonderment- Go the rest of your life asking questions and don't stop a questions short of the answer you are looking for. 
2. Imagination- There is no script written for you, STOP ACTING LIKE THERE IS!  Take a minute and dream about what you would do for Jesus, with your life, if there were no fears or limitations to hold you back......................................................................................................
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OK, now what are you waiting for?!?! And don't even get Dr. Harris started on the meaning of the word impossible. 
3. Discipline- We TRY to hard and TRAIN to little.  We have the passion to show Jesus to the world but do we have the discipline to truly make those dreams happen?   
4. Disconnect- Technology is not the answer to my spiritual ills and I need to learn how to turn it off because there is a real God who WANTS a relationship with me, and real, lost people that NEED a relationship with me.
5. Covenantal Community- Means being committed to a group of fellow believers giving each other permission to speak the truth of the gospel into each others lives.  Basically having unlimited liability for one another.  And unconditionally loving them!  Wow that is commitment, it is hard enough doing that with my man, much less a group of people (its really not that difficult with him, but you get my point).


"Anything without this is mundane."  Those are the words that Randy closed with.  Blah, mundane, who wants that?   


All of this spoke to me in a huge way, but the word that got to me above all others was IMAGINATION.  Being the English education major that I am, I love to read.  I get the word imagination, I love the word imagination, I breath the word imagination on my students; which is why I was so appalled that of all these words I was not getting this one in my own life!  Just like I told you pause and dream for a minute, so did Dr. Harris with us.  I dreamed of two things, neither of which was the main part of my great "plan" for life.  This pestered me and weighed on my heart the rest of the weekend and even now.  If I know that nothing is impossible with God why am I not living with more imagination?

Turning over a new leaf

I started something new on January 1st that I am very excited about.  I occasionally get read Beth Moore's blog on days that I have some free time or need an extra pick me up.  I kept seeing things about the Siesta Scripture Memory Team, otherwise known as SSMT, sporadically on the blog.  I got my answer to what this is in December when she was gearing up to get started again.  Beth and who ever wants to join her commits to memorizing two verses a month, starting a new one every the first and fifteenth.  On these two dates you post your name, where you are from, and the verse you are memorizing.  I do understand that one could easily do this on her own.  However, number one I need the accountability and number two, what could be more encouraging than going to a blog and scrolling through hundreds of scriptures that are being written on the hearts of fellow sisters.  

I have not done this since 5th grade and that was only because of the pushing and prodding of my parents and today I could not be more excited about it.  The first scripture I chose is 2 Peter 1:3-4 

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires."

This was a tad long but I came across it in a study I have been doing and simply could not resist it.  Having reached my senior year of college I often become fairly freaked out by what lies beyond this.  I worry that I don't have it all together or all figured out.  I am constantly asking myself, "will I even be good at this thing that I have gone to school for four years to do?  Will I enjoy it?  What if I still do not have the knowledge or information I need to perform well?"  The list goes on and on.  Contrary to this things that Satan wants me to fill my mind with, I do have everything I need, not because of me, (thankfully) but through the divine power of God who has called me. 

Writing this on my heart and meditating on it everyday helps me to retrain my mind.  Instead of a downward spiral of self doubt and negativity I am enlightened by the peaceful yoke of Jesus.  If you have not made scripture memorization a habit I encourage you to join me this year!    
 

Great Love

 "We can do no great things; only small things with great love." 


This quote from Mother Teresa is one of my favorite all time quotes.  For one thing it is short, to the point, and easy to remember.  For another thing it speaks directly to me.  I feel like she is my mama giving me a talking to because she knows exactly what I am thinking. 


I am a big picture person.  By big picture I mean BIG picture.  I think of these great and wonderful things that I want to do one day: write a book, adopt a child, have this life altering impact on my students, work in women's ministry, get a masters in bible and trust me the list goes on and on and changes frequently along the way ; ) Each time my ideas begin to explode or I begin to feel like an overwhelmed failure because I am not accomplishing any of these great things that I dream up, I hear a gentle whisper that says, "Sweetheart, don't you know? (Can you hear him chuckle a little to himself and shake his head?) You, can do no great things; only small things with great love."  Then I, feeling a bit foolish at this point, am able to slow down and remember that it is not I but God who accomplishes any great things, and it is the small love driven things that truly make a difference in the world.  It is never about what I do, it is about how I love the way Christ loves.  This perspective gives me such great peace and joy, so why do I always forget? 


I think I forget because I am human.  I want to be great.  I have been painfully reminded of this through Beth Moore's study on Esther that I am currently doing.  We have been taking a close look at Haman's (Ironic that his name is one letter away from human) character and unfortunately I can identify.  To get the recognition and honor of the world that I crave, I must do "great" things, as a result that is what I find myself striving for. 


I am not suggesting to accomplish some things on my list of dreams would be a bad thing.  It would be a good thing to adopt a child or write a book, but only if the path that leads me there is paved with the bricks of small things that I am doing for others with GREAT love.

P.S.  I had to edit this and make the font black (I don't know why it won't do it auotmatically).  So I apologize if this shows up twice on your blog feed.

Outdoor therapy

It is truly amazing what some perfect weather, the sweet smell of grass, and a cool soft breeze can do for the mind.  Having lived the apartment life for a few years now I often miss the luxury of a yard.  Your own little outdoor oasis.  I did not realize how much I missed it until today. 

Kurt is the new baseball coach for Hillcrest Middle School.  Now, all you coaches out there know this little fact that I am slowly but surely learning.  The baseball field (or any other sports field for that matter) is your Jewel, your pride and joy.  Its appearance is a direct reflection on you and your team.  A field primed to perfection can intimidate the visiting team, make star players wish they played for you, and even give you a little job security ; )  Therefore, in the midst of basketball season field preparation is underway.  Kurt's Dad, a coach himself, understanding this dire need took his veterans day off and hauled his top of line lawn mower and seed spreader from Brewton to Tuscaloosa.  Kurt was up by 7:30 on his day off to eat breakfast and head up to the field for a day of cutting grass, spreading rye grass, fertilizing the seed,  fixing pitching mounds, moving back stops, and having basketball practice in between.  Of course I came along to help!  This included a lot of following, watching, sitting, and some reading mixed in there.  Oh wait, I did move some bags of seed and ride on the four wheeler with Kurt while he was spreading seed : )

While I do think this is a little amusing I thoroughly enjoyed my day.  I always love being outside.  I love smelling the grass, the clear blue of the sky, the way the breeze feels around me.  I love being outside in the woods, at the lake, at the beach, in a garden, at a park, or on a ball field.  It just always has a way of calming me and clearing my head like nothing else does.  Today was no exception and definitely provided me with some great outdoor therapy after a very frustrating few weeks (more like whole semester) with my methods placement.  I do not think it is any accident that I can feel God's calming peace the most in the presence of his creation.  Thankfully, after years with out a yard of my own it looks like we just acquired a really big one!

Be Still

One of many things that is funny about mine and Kurt's relationship has been and still is the fact that I am a goer and a doer and he is...well, not. Don't get me wrong he is a hard worker and a really fun guy but he knows how to relax and slow down and I...don't. Basically, we go in this cycle all the time where I wear him out, he has to have "down time," I get bored, and wear him out again, and well....you see the pattern.



However, despite the annoyances of this cycle there is something beautiful in it. I push him to go and do and he reigns me in, keeping me from going crazier than I already am! Just today, for example, being the end of the semester, I have 5 lesson plans, at least three papers the majority of which are due on Tuesday, all of which I had not even started still yesterday! Basically, I am SLIGHTLY over whelmed. He comes home from work and makes me put down EVERYTHING to just go lay with him for a few minutes. I resist, skirm, and wiggle trying to get away, frantically telling him ALL of the work I have to get done and how stressed I am and that I have absolutely no time to just lay around. Of course, those of you who know us, know that Kurt is much bigger and much stronger then me. Needless to say, he always wins. Frustrated I unwillingly am forced to submit to his request.

Slowly though, as I lay still, in his arms, I am able to breath. I feel my muscles relax, the stress of the day melts away and I am able to live in that quiet moment. I am not thinking about papers, lesson plans, or exams. Instead, I am only thinking about Kurt and how perfect and priceless these little moments are and I savor every minute.

Finally after a few minutes of this peace I return to my work refreshed and revived. My homework was not more important than the precious moments I got to spend with Kurt and all of it still got done in a timely manner.

It is times like this that teach me something very important about God. He is longing for those exact same precious moments with me everyday. Unfortunatly I get blinded by the "pressing issues" that I feel have to be done now. I pray that God will open my eyes to see past the "pressing issues" so that I do not miss out on those precious moments with Him.

Easter!

Can you imagine what it would have been like to be alive that fateful Saturday 2,000 years ago? Driving down for an afternoon at the beach with Kurt's family we passed a church with black fabric draped around the cross. This has always been a powerful image for me, but this year my senses were a little more heightened to how magnificent a holiday Easter really is.

For the first time, I decided to participate in Lent. I gave up sweets, which to my suprise was easier said then done. It even put little stress on mine and Kurt's relationship a couple times : ) Just goes to show you how addicted I am. As this new experience unfolded I was continually counting down the days until Easter, just anticipating when I could ease my sweet tooth once again. As Easter came closer, however, it was not the sweets, bunnies, or eggs that captured my attention as they had in the past. It was my Savior and my God. I noticed Passover week written in red on my calander (that I had been checking like a mad woman due to my sugar withdrawls). Coinsidently I was just finishing up Genisis in my quiet time and begining Exodus. Reading about the Exodus of God's people over Passover week opened my eyes. God raised his people up out of their slavery in Egypt, and with the sacrifice of His son, He raised us up out of the slavery and bondage of our world.


As I continued thinking over this, the weekend finally came! Friday was upon me, and Christ was crucified, BUT I knew how it ended. Seeing the cross draped with black on Saturday reminded me that 2,000 years ago my brothers and sisters did not know how it was going to end. That Saturday was the worst day that could ever be imagined. Their hope was gone. They were scared. All meaning in life ripped away.


This contrast of darkness, with the light the next day would bring, made it all the more exciting for me. The hope that Easter brings to a hopeless world became REAL! I knew my Savior was going to rise in the morning and I could hardly go to sleep!


I talked Kurt into getting up at 6 with me and having our own sunrise service, together, just us and God. Leave it to me to over sleep! I woke up, looked at my clock and it was 6:45! Thinking I missed the sunrise I jumped out of bed and ran outside. It was cloudy. So technically I did not miss the sunrise, at least thats what I decided to pretend. We just sat side by side on his parent's deck, praying, having no words to express our gratitude and excitement that our God and His son CHOSE to save us in all our imperfections. Then, reading through all of the versions of the resurrection, we tried to imagine what it would have been like to be Mary, Peter, or Thomas! It was truely an intimate morning we were able to share with each other and our Father.

Here are some pictures from the weekend!


Never to old for an Easter basket! (this picture is out of order, which drives me Crazy but I don't know how to fix it!)




Saturday afternoon spent at the beach could not have been a better treat! Hopefully it will get me through till the summer!

My big 8 year old playing with every jelly fish we passed walking down the beach. Love him : )

Sharp looking boys!!!


Even Bear wanted to get in on Easter pics! (that was not posed he just walked over and got in the picture)


Yummy Easter lunch!

Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven

So...a lot has happened since my last post. I have been so busy meticulously picking through thoughts about where my life is going and what God is communicating to me, feeling like if I do not figure it out fast enough I am going to miss it completely. However, I just saw a quote on someones facebook that spoke to my terribly mistaken mind set.

"Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things." Donald Miller

And boy have I felt like running lately. Throughout this semester God has constantly been hounding me. A good kind of hounding, but hounding none the less. He has constantly been revealing His desire for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. From Gulf Coast Getaway (campus ministry conference in Panama city), Disciple now in Brewton, AL, Brown House and Blue house ministries in Tuscaloosa, and so many other things I have been running into lately have all had this same message. We are supposed to be living out the Kingdom of God in our everday lives, where ever God has put us.

This daunting thought is why my mind has just been running around in circles for the past few months. Until tonight. Tonight I have been reminded that I am never going to miraculously have all the answers or imediantly know exactly what I am supposed to do about this Kingdom living. Lucky for me our God strolls. If He went any faster then that I am positive I could not keep up with Him. Instead of dwelling on my future I have to take a deep breath and stroll with my Father. Taking in everything around me. People. Needs. Hurts. Concerns. Joy. Laughter. Relationships. Until my eyes are open to these things I can never hope to bring God's Kingdom to any situation.


The following are somethings I cannot resist sharing from Gulf Coast Getaway:

We are not following the Lord for a reward one day far off in the future. We are following the Lord because we are in love with Him because of His passionate love for us. Because of that love, living the way he has modeled for us and has called us too is Heaven on Earth!

We must deny the false ego that drives our lives. We do not deserve anything, but God deserves everything. The Kingdom of God is not about us it is about God.

Maybe God needs to rescue me from what I want so I can be who he wants me to be

And Finally Randy Harris' closing points: 10 Ways to experience the Tangible Kingdom Today ( I am a huge fan of lists, so I love this!)

1. Make covanent

2. Memorize the sermon on the mount

3. Quiet Whineing

4. Take a Risk

5. Walk/amble/stroll

6. Relocate

7. Calm Down

8. Simplify

9. Commit

10. Be present
These look so simple neatly in a list but they do not come easy for me but Jesus did them all. He established covanent with those who shared his vision, created the sermon on the mount, did not think of himself long enough to whine, risked everything he had, ambled through life so he could heal the leper or eat with the tax collector along the way, relocated himself to be where people needed him most, even the sea was calm at His hand, lived so simply he did not even have a place to lay his head, was commited to his mission even to death on a cross, and was fully and completely present where ever he happened to be.

If I was Jesus

It is only the third day of classes and I already feel burnt out. I can think of so many other things I could do to glorify God during my day if I didn't have to be sitting in some BORING class listening to a professor who uses unnecessarily big words. Not to mention the worst stress of getting homework done and studying for tests. I am constantly waiting for that day of no more classes when I can REALLY change the world. Or, sometimes I dream of quiting college, packing my bags and heading somewhere exciting to take care of a house full of kids, feeding the poor, and giving water to the thirsty (my mom would LOVE that one). No more boring classes, homework, or tests to distract me and stress me out. Well lets just face it...that's a load of crap.

Yes, while I would sometimes rather be in another country doing exciting new thing to spread Gods kingdom the fact is God put me HERE at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. This is no accident. He has put me here to spread his kingdom and bring Jesus to the college campus and throughout the city. Anything else I tell me self is simply an excuse for not being Jesus in my everyday life. You see, to be Jesus in my everyday life, instead of going to class in a groggy daze, sitting, taking notes, and just getting by, I am called to have the joy of the spirit in my heart, to actually look at people as I pass them pray for them and LOVE them. I can no longer just try to get through class with out being called on or noticed. I am called to LOVE the girl sitting next to me and over the course of the semester form a relationship with her. This sounds so simple doesn't it?

The problem is that my human nature is not wired to be as friendly as Jesus was. Jesus could go up to a woman at a well who he had never even met and after telling her, her own life story as the ice breaker offer her to drink of living water that will never leave her thirsty again (yea, that's not creepy). I can hardly say, "Hey my name is Laura. Whats your name?" with out feeling self conscious of being weird or "to friendly." I think Satan binds us into leading our private lives and keeping to ourselves. He convinces us to leave our neighbors alone telling us that they do not want to be bothered, or that somethings are just to personal to be asked about and we need to give people their own space.

News Flash! Jesus did not have personal space. He did not even have his own house to escape to so he could get away from people. So, why should I live like that? WHEN am I going to realize I constantly need the Holy Spirit flowing through me to live like Jesus because it is completely impossible on my own. WHEN am I going to surrender my plans to Gods plans. WHEN am I going to surrender my why of thinking to Gods. WHEN will I let myself die so that the spirit can live through me.