Never A Dull Moment (that might be a lie)

today i had an unexpected lunch/shopping date with a fun friend. after perusing a few stores in our quaint Lodi "downtown", we decided to drive to a nearby gift shop that is having a going out of business sale. after walking around the store for a while, looking at a lot of still-out-of-my-price-range gift items, i had a sudden urge to purge (aka, needed to pee...bad). there was no public bathroom in sight, so my sweet friend leaned over the checkout counter to ask one of the busy clerks where they hide their facilities. here we get to the reason for this post. the lady bends down and grabs this (below) from under the counter, and motions me to follow her.

We then walk over to a door that says "employees only" that leads down a VERY long, suspicious looking hallway, the bathroom being on the far end. There is a strong aroma of chinese food being prepared that fills the air, and the sound of mallets hitting cutting boards-i think. (apparently this places shares a wall with a chinese deli). Before the lady turns to walk away she says, "when you are done, come back to this door and press this button nice and hard. someone will be here shortly TO LET YOU OUT"!!! are you kidding me! ahhhhh! If I wasn't going to soon wet myself, i might have thought twice about this scene.

Beginnings

new song?

channel colbie caillat as you read :)

cue soft, sporatic guitar picking...

bring me in from the rain

bring me in from the rain

like a hot cup of tea

i'll sip on some reason

as you dry up my pride

and wring out emotion

'til i've thawed long enough

to regain feeling

and i'm ready to let the sky

stop doing my bleeding

All Things New

I got a new Bible. Perhaps this isn’t necessary information for you to know, but...I got a new Bible. It’s a new translation for me, which is somewhat exciting and as an added bonus, it has a gorgeous fabric and leather cover and bright blue font. Everything about this Bible feels bright and fresh, even the content somehow seems brand new. Perhaps this is why I find myself feeling so hungry to read it. Or, maybe its simply that I’m finally paying attention to the soft gentle voice of God calling out to me, inviting me into His presence, through His Word.

Whatever it is about this new Bible of mine, I’m having a hard time putting it down. If you’re still reading this, you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all this. I’m not so sure I know the answer to that question myself….ha! I think I just want to give you some encouragement that God meant what He said in the book of James, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” I quote this verse to my youth group often, but in this moment, I know better than I have ever known, that this statement is true.

I can't get one of the "new" stories in my "new" Bible off my mind. It’s about Hagar, a servant of Sarah (Abraham's wife). This girl was manipulated and mistreated until she couldn’t take it anymore. Instead of facing up to her problems she ran away. I'm sure this story is not a newsflash to any of you, but stay tuned because the excited "new" segment is coming up...

So, Hagar is out wandering around (hiding, really) when God finds her. He sees her state of distress and hears her cries for help. In reply to His kindness, Hagar says,

“You are the God who sees me.”

I love that! God is the One who sees us. Have you ever been in a room full of people but still somehow felt all alone? Have you ever felt invisible (like Mr. Cellephane)? I know I’ve felt that way, but what a comfort to know that God sees us, and not only so, but He looks at us with love. I can't lie. It feels pretty good to be seen.

Creative Creator

I went on the most BEAUTIFUL hike with my friend Susie last week. Unbelievable, surreal, extravagant, thought-provoking, awe-inspiring--these are all words that I could use to try to describe what I saw and experienced. Posting pictures just won't do the scenery justice, but its a start.

I was absolutely captivated as I walked from bubbling brooks, into the woods, past a marshy field, and onto the ocean shore. God is so creative. Seeing His work ignited my own excitement to create. Thinking of God as creative CREATOR was so freeing to me. I found myself enjoying God, which is something I have not often enough done, and it really did feel like freedom. Freedom to approach God in a new way, to pray to him through my own creating, to explore Him without the pressure of knowing everything.

It was a good day.

turkeys outside Susie's apartment

ferdenand, the caterpillar

E-L-A-Y-N-E

I very nearly started this post with an apology for my delinquency in updating my blog. But then I paused a moment and thought to myself, "Self, this is your blog. It's a representation of YOU. You are a procrastinator. You are kinda forgetful. You do very few things with any consistency or promptness." So there you have it. I'll show up here when...well, when I show up I guess.

So, I was tagged a while back by my cousin Ericka, and I believe I was supposed to do an acrostic with my middle name and then tag some other people. As it turns out, I don't know anyone who hasn't already been tagged, so I'm going to need to skip that step. Here goes with the acrostic...

E- Elegant (but only at first glance-if that). A funny friend of mine one said, "Grace, when I first saw you I thought you were so graceful..." She stopped there and everyone in the room burst into laughter because they apparently knew just what she meant by that :)

L- I wish this was not true, but I'm late to almost everything. Not REALLY late, but 5-10 minutes. I've always been this way. The root of this embaressing problem (at least in the morning) is that I don't respond well to alarms. I should buy one of those alarm clocks that jumps off of your side table and makes you chase it around the room. Maybe that might cure me.

A- I am almost 100% right-brained, a.k.a. an artistic thinker. This can be a good thing if I'm writing a worship service, orchestrating music for the worship team, or writing lyrics for a song, but it also means that I can become so entrenched in a project that I block the whole world out and stop noticing the passing of time. This trait also makes some ordinary tasks feel like chores. It can take me a while to muster up the energy to make phone calls, check the mail, or work my way through a to-do list, and after completing these tasks I feel strangely drained.

Y- I often find myself yawning throughout the day because I stayed up too late the night before. For some reason I am much more productive at night than I am during daylight hours, and when I'm feeling productive, I run with it--and pay for it the next day.

N- I'm a Nebraskan...or am I a Texan? I'm a Nebrexan living in California.

E- If it's possible to be an introverted extrovert, then I am one. Obviously I'm not a shy person (though I was very shy as a little girl), but I thrive on quiet, alone time. At the same time I have strong need to bounce my thoughts off of other people.

Kalled to Kisumu, Kenya

I have a sneaking suspicion that anyone who is reading my blog has already heard about the following, but Katie thought I should post it just in case. Who am I to disagree?

This is a letter I sent out to potential supporters about my fast-approaching adventure.

"Less than one month ago I was sitting in an auditorium at a leadership conference in Chicago. Though there was much to be learned throughout every part of this event, there was one underlying theme that struck me on a very personal level. Africa. It was as if God was ever so gently whispering it in my ear. Africa. I cried as I enjoyed the music and the spirit of the African Children’s Choir. My heart grew heavy as I listened to stories of churches who are working tirelessly to make a difference to African communities plagued by the AIDS pandemic. The whisper grew louder as I listened to speaker after speaker encouraging church leaders to find our strengths and follow our passions. Africa.

Looking back I know that these were not the first whispers. When I was only five years old I remember sitting in the downstairs lobby of my church listening to the stories of a family of missionaries to Africa. I remember the beauty of their traditional dress, their handmade treasures and, I even remember the way the sun was pouring in through the window behind them and seemingly shining around them. I remember thinking, I want to do that.

Six days after returning home from Chicago, I was helping at an LCMS District event when I was approached by Dan Deuel, pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Stockton. “Have you ever had any interest in overseas mission work?” he asked. “Yes!” I responded, without hesitation. “Why do you want to know?” Pastor Dan went on to explain that He was planning to take a group of missionaries to Kenya this February. “The first meeting is tomorrow. Can you make it?” “I’m there”, I blurted out.

All of a sudden I find myself in the middle of an adventure that I was not expecting, but one that I have been waiting for. I’m going to Kenya, Africa! And even more exciting than the destination is the mission. On February 13-28 2008, along with 6 other missionaries, I will be leading a church leadership conference for clergy and lay leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya. I will also have the awesome opportunity to work with the street boys of Kisumu, Kenya and hold a VBS for children with special needs.

...Thank you all for the love and support I have already received and for your support of this ministry. Through you I am blessed and the Kingdom of God is furthered."

“O God our savior, You are the hope

of everyone on earth…” Psalm 65:5

Partners in Crime (actually I'm partner to his crime)

This is Henry.

Swimming Upstream

There's been a whole lot of peer pressure in the air concerning my entry into blog world. So, I guess you could say that I just caved. Here I am.

Swimming upstream is the name of a song that I wrote a few years back as I suffered from an internal game of tug of war. As it turns out, this has become a "lifesong" of sorts for me as i continue to struggle with what it means to really follow Christ and live a life sold out to Him.

Following are a few lines of that song. Perhaps this is too intimate for a first post...but here goes anyway...


How can I know if this desire’s from you?
Who’s gonna test that my intentions are true?
When my heart steers my head like a sail on the breeze
Should following you feel like swimming upstream?

...or is is possible Lord, that we could dream the same dream?