Sailing vacation 8)

Most family vacations entail laying on a beach with magazines, bonfires and smores late into the starry nights, souvenier shops, tossing people in the pool when they're not expecting it and coming home with sand in your suitcase.. MY family however went sailing. And I thought we were going to die!

Yea.. you basically just hold on and close your eyes.. (but not for too long)

My dad, mom, Jeffrey and I went up to the Islands in Lake Erie.. on the border of USA and Canada.. sailing all day and then throwing anchor out at night to sleep in the cabin.

Dad (aka "Cappy")

Me sailing!

Mom looking like a natural

Sailing is all about technique. It has it's own language and requires your full attention at all times.. on the wheel, with the ropes, the main sail and the steering jib sail. You also have to sail on your side which is pretty scarry in intense wind and nothing is just a straight shot, you have to zig zag your way through pre-planned navigations. I read the verse yesterday morning that says "I will not die but live and tell of the works of the Lord".. let's just say I was clinging to that line all day!!

Overall though, it was wonderful to wake up and dive off the back of the boat or lay in the sun up front when we were sailing smooth. I love adventures!

Me and Dad

Redmond Crew

Last Familly vaca..

Thanks Jesus!

Despite the adrenalin rushes.. vacation definitely does have it's perks :) :)

The next month is going to be a whilrwind of craziness.. good craziness. Planning the wedding in just 6 1/2 weeks (!!!!), packing everything up for Ethiopia and longing to be with my groom and the team of heroes in Harar. Wow God.. haha!

Dallas and Jill

What a remarkable day. I was at New Life Church this morning.. an incredible, powerful, life-flowing, prophetic sister-church here in Youngstown. Pastor Juan and his stunning wife were my first directors of Master's Commission at Victory before they pioneered leading New Life over a year ago. Service began with an overwhelming and electrifying time of praise and worship followed by a celebration of baptisms!! Wow Wow!!!

The worship leaders Dallas and Jill also got married as a part of the service!! The atmosphere was simply dripping with Jesus' sweet presence as we all watched, tears welling out of our eyes, with what felt like all of heaven... anticipating, waiting and anxiously welcoming that incredible moment when they said "I do!" haha!! I love love Holy Spirit!

I had the privilege of shopping for the the dress with Jill and doing photography for the wedding. She is breathtaking in the natural and spiritual.. wow! Dallas looked stunning too!

Jill and Michelle.. My covenant heroes and friends :)

I stopped breathing right about here!

Pastor Juan and Dallas watching Jill come down the aisle :)

Thanks for letting me share in this redemptive celebration of love and life with you guys!

Hallelujah Papa!!

Does God Exist?

Do you know what you believe? We as followers of Christ are in a fight for the souls of men and women and we need to be able to give answers for our faith.

Our commission demands "Go into ALL the world." Sometimes that "going" is really just untangling the woven strands of brain matter inside the minds of those who think they already have what then need.

Here is a video clip from a "Face-off" that aired on national television between two athiests and two Christians (founders of "Way of the Master" which is an evangelism tool for believers).

There are some statements presented in this clip that I can't even listen to, they break my heart.. but the seriousness of the matter remains. We have to be aware and educated ambassadors of Jesus!

This is just the introduction to the episode.. I found the entire broadcast fascinating. Each time Ray or Kirk spoke about God, you could feel His presence stirring the hearts of the listeners. There are no limits when someone decides to open up their minds even a little bit to the possibility of God revealing Himself to them. I love it! We cannot allow ourselves to be stupid Christians. Would you know how to stand up for your faith if someone asked you the hard questions?

I studied The Way of the Master during my first year of Bible School. It's definitely not a seeker-sensitive, watered-down or sugar-coated form of telling people about Jesus. Ray and Kirk give Biblical foundations for evangelism and then use those tools out on the streets.. that's the best! They specifically illustrate how to witness to family members, satanists, athiests, homosexuals, evolutionists and others who are particularly influenced by the western world in which we live. After all, the Gospel is for everyone!

Check it out... (and remember that we must always be sensitive to the leading of Holy Spirit.. He always equips us with His words and presence. These videos set the stage of evangelism based on the 10 commandments.)

Be stirred to share Jesus with the people in your path today!

The best way to learn and sharpen the way that you share the Gospel is simply to practice. Ask God to give you a heart for the one that stands in front of you.

I'm getting married!

Samuel is the base leader for Mission SOS in Harar, Ethiopia. He's a passionate, spirit-filled, hilarious, humble, giving, strong and powerful man of God in every way. I'm in love :)

Over fika at his home in Varberg, Sweden

On our way to Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

After baptizing 5 guys at the base!

We will be getting married in September at Victory (my incredible home church in Youngstown, Ohio USA) and then moving to Africa together to join the team of missionaries who are already based there, running after the Kingdom of God among the unreached.

I absolutely fell in love with Ethiopia when I was there at the beginning of the year and am longing to get back to the team, the disciples, street kids and stunning land. My heart's in Africa.

With the girls at Christmas time!

Mission SOS is the most remarkable ministry on the planet. I'm honored serve the vision of Johannes Amritzer and all the other pioneers I've met around the world :)

Train ride to Gothenburg!

When you ask God to take you on an adventure.. He really takes you seriously!

My China

I've been dreaming about China today.. longing to pioneer new things there. I love everything about the people, the culture, the atmosphere.. it's so fertile.

China was where my heart and call to missions all started, back when I was a little girl. Mmm.. there's nothing like falling in love with the heart God has for a people and area!

Two summers ago I set out for my first trip to South China to teach English to the most incredible students on the planet! They stole my heart in every way. Longing for them..

My 21 students!!

I was talking with a friend today about evangelism in Asian nations. It's all about relationship, love and presenting the entire Gospel.. raw, organic and powerful. I love stirring people's spirits up without them even realizing what's going on, especially atheists and those who are tied up in centuries of religious strongholds.

Here's a short testimony from God's Adventurer when I was in Thailand..

"...Within a few moments, we were following one older Buddhist woman home through the dark and then sitting on flowered tiles in the night air, laughing and sharing our hearts together to the gentle buzz of crickets under a backdrop of scurrying lizards who had made her walls their home as well. We asked her if she had ever heard about Jesus before, she said the only thing she could remember from her childhood was hearing something about the cross; we assured her that was a good place to start! After sharing the complete gospel with her again, I asked if Buddha had ever done anything for her life the way that Jesus had, she thought for a moment and then simply said, “no”. At the end of our time together, she asked us to please come back again to tell her more about this Jesus who had sparked a flame of interest inside her traditional and religious-bound frame of mind."

Our commission demands "Go into ALL the world." Sometimes that "going" is really just untangling the woven strands of brain matter inside the minds of those who think they already have what then need.

Amy and Sherri!!

Amy is a hero in my life. She is faithful, full of passion, walks in grace and beauty and simply radiates Jesus in everything she does! She truly worships God with the love song of her existence.

Amy has also been fighting cancer for several years.. yet despite this diagnosis with it's constant and rapid ability to decapitate a person's hope and dream, she has grown to be a mighty warrior and testimony of Jesus and His sweet love.

Amy

I recently found out that the battle in Amy's body has climaxed again and now an intense donor stem cell transplant is scheduled in October to completely rid her body of it's own immune system.. building a new, stronger, healthy one which will in turn rid her body of this disease as well!

Tomorrow she leaves with her best friend Sherri to travel through Europe for 6 weeks!! These two women are the most incredible on the planet. They have hearts of gold and faith for the impossible. We should all strive to be more like them as they run relentlessly after an enthusiastic life with Holy Spirit!

Sherri

When they return to USA and the transplant is complete, Sherri will help to take care of Amy round-the-clock for 2-3 months. I long to wrap my arms around you both soon!

You can follow their journey through the link on my blog!

http://architectureamy.blogspot.com/

Amy, I see Jesus when I look at you and I know He's about to take you on the adventure of a lifetime!

We're 233 years old today!

We celebrated the 4th today.. and the 85th birthday of my Great Grandma Juanita! What an incredible woman of God she is. And beautiful! I could sit listening to her for hours.. she's so ornery too which makes for hilarious get-togethers :) I'm in love with my family!

Great Grandma (she's great-great for some!!).. took the middle piece ;)

We went to my aunt and uncle's farm out in Pennsylvania.. it's gorgeous, wide-opened and perfectly peaceful. Usually we go four-wheeling but after the events of my blog a few weeks ago.. well, nevermind ;)

Instead, we sat around and caught up on life with everyone and then I taught Jeffrey a few things about proper shooting :)

Dad and Mom

Teaching my baby brother the basics...

Happy Birthday America and Great Grandma!

Date with Daddy

My Dad and I went on a mini road trip just outside of Cleveland yesterday. I was confidently placed in charge of the map.. how hard could it be right??.. only one hour away.. However, I've come to discover something about myself these last few months and am somehow convinced that no matter how determined I am on the road, the signs are working against me. Nonetheless, we made it there within a few hours..

Me and Dad!

Giant chopsticks on the ceiling of "Stir Crazy".. mmm

One of the things we talked about over fika was how vital it is to honor the heart of God and how intertwined that is with honoring people. We're both dreaming together about adventuring with the unreached too..

Tomorrow's the 4th of July! My house has been rattling for the last two weeks from all the fireworks being set off everywhere! Can't wait to spend the day with all my family.. celebrating USA!

Beach-Bum kind of day..

What a gorgeously stunning day here in Youngstown! My mom and I went on an adventure to find a little slice of sunshiny heaven.. and we did :)

It's refreshing to have days when you just enjoy living a beach-bum kind of life... dreaming with people you love. I feel ready to conquer the world again!

Me and my mama!

mmm.. sun 8) 

Take some time for yourself soon.. wake up early and drink coffee with Jesus, go for a run or just a nice walk somewhere in a park or in the city, watch a good movie, talk with good friends, dream... Love life. And if you're feeling like this is a bit unattainable right now.. here's a "Devo" I wrote during Master's Commission. I just stumbled on it again and thought it might help someone :)

The Beast

..."Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 

It's 5:30 am, the stars are fighting to hang on through the bright blue haze of early morning mist just before the sun makes it's rounds and follows the path to your window where it will settle for the day until returning once again to where it came from 24 hours before.  "BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!!" your alarm squeals for a moment before you slam the snooze button...again.  Just as you pull the warm covers over your head for one last snuggle in your toasty cocoon of dream land and roll over to place your bare and vulnerable big toe on the cold and dangerous floor, you hear a crack, as if something were approaching just yards...feet...and now inches away from you.  Your heart stops as you hold your breath and listen with your whole being, waiting, waiting, waiting...

Suddenly, you're knocked down and tumble from the side of the bed upon which you just sat, to the floor opposite, tangled up within the blanket you just held with security.  As beads of sweat drizzle down your spine and moisten the edges of your hairline, you find yourself pinned to the floor like prey with something beastly on you.  It's big and fiercely strong, breathing with such intensity that it almost purrs and vibrates the entire room with each inhale and exhale of the once peaceful air.  You strain, tense and attempt to scream, but nothing comes out.  There's nothing you can do.

Crawling to the bathroom, you apply makeup and dress in your favorite pale blue shirt.  Within the hour, you're out the door and about your life, beast in tow as if you're giving a free piggy-back-ride for the day.  He growls in your ear while making the atmosphere reek with a muffling odor of rotten eggs and dead fish; a tangible substance thickening upon your shoulders like molasses and smothering your ability to think and move and breathe and sometimes even feel; everyone stares and points, making you the unwanted center of attention.  This is anxiety.

The beauty of this beast is that he's not ours to carry like some rat/snake/dinosaur-ish pet.  Rather than adding him to our life like a newfound accessory, we can literally cast him out of our bedroom the moment he comes in with stealth to attack.  We need to be on the offense rather than the defense, crouching at the foot of our bed and then pouncing the instant he does, bringing such a vigorous collision that will send him flying through the air until he lands at the feet of Christ like a wet cat on a stormy day, shivering and helpless.  He's not ours to carry.

"mmm hmm"

So.. I'm studying Swedish and the further along I get.. the more and more I'm finding the English-American language to be crazy confusing and silly. Yet somehow, we all understand each other. How does that happen?? For example..

"mmm hmmm" - yes

"hmm mmm" - no

"hmm" - either "ok, I see" or "what?"

"huh" - "yes, continue" or "what?"

"there's a whole nother world out there" - nother?? what is that?

"that's a beast" - either means it's really awesome or really terrible

"how are you?" - usually just a way of saying "hi" as we keep walking, we really don't want a genuine answer

"he's gonna get wrecked(blasted)" - that's good if you're in church, bad otherwise

"zilch" - nothing

"buggy" - shopping cart

"chick flick" - girlie, romantic movie

"gee" - "wow"

"gee whiz" - "wow" for the older generation

"whiz" - a really smart person

"man" - a male or a term of disappointment

"dude" -  male or "wow"

"word" - something made with vowels and consonants or a way of saying "I agree"

These are just a few I've thought of.. I'll keep you posted as they keep coming!

The Little Things...

I've come to wholeheartedly fall in love with the little things each day brings... it's another form of adventuring through life with Jesus and making yourself aware of His sweet love notes. How amazing is that?? I don't serve a superstitious god that sits bound up in a stone statue for all eternity.. I serve a living God that hears my heart, knows my name, my desires, my dreams, expectations, the things that make me laugh... and then kisses my days with those very things just because He's in love with me and wants to be intimately acquainted with every part of my life. Besides, religion doesn't leave room for swooning, only relationship does. 

Many times we make ourselves oblivious to His presence and daily whispers and then condemn ourselves for not having Holy Ghost goose-bumps... when all along, we were just too wrapped up in the performance of it all to recognize that He was speaking and moving the entire time. One of my amazing friends once told me.. "He never leaves the room". His sticky notes are scattered everywhere and most the time, they're silly ones :)

Like today.. I was leaving the little cafe I work at and someone made me a latte with the froth in the shape of Africa and a "G" in the middle!! Hahaha... that made my day! God used this little latte to remind me of what my heart is longing for.. why I'm serving fikas and smiling to customers at 5:30 in the morning! It also confirmed that the testimonies of Jesus aren't going unnoticed :) What a life.. what an adventure I'm living.. and what an amazing latte!

Unreached and Father's Day!

I had the honor of preaching at Pleasant Valley this morning for the children's Great Commission service! We talked about living adventurous lives(crazy things like skydiving and swimming with sharks.. you know the kind of things that make kids go wild!)and then what it means to be an Adventurer of God(preaching in villages, healing sick, multiplying food and raising the dead!). The kids were soaking it all in with big eyes. They will be the next world shakers!!

There's nothing greater in all the world than to be preaching Jesus to the unreached or inspiring believers to go do it themselves...

The kids were shocked at these numbers.. and are now longing to go to the nations!

Today is also Father's Day... and I have the best Dad in the whole world! I couldn't have dreamed up anyone better. He's incredible! Thanks Daddy for teaching and imparting into me the way that you do. You're the best!!

Dad and Mom

Dad preaching to the unreached in Thailand!