I'm leavin' on a jet plane - and two other announcements.

I am off tomorrow on my way to Ft. Lauderdale for 6 fabulous days with 3,000 of my closest friends, my mom, and one not-so-friendly gal named Paula. We're really hoping Paula will pass us by, but it's looking like we may be in for quite a stormy day in Key West on Friday. Paula is supposed to be coming ashore in Cozumel as we speak (midnightish on Tuesday), so we're also hoping there's not a lot of damage there, as we will be in Cozumel on Saturday. At this point we are praising God that the storm's path has changed, as we were predicted to cross directly through it on Friday night!

Announcement #1 - I did it! I can hardly believe it myself, but last night I submitted an application to go to Uganda next June with Kari Gibson and her team from Visiting Orphans. I am still in shock, and keep saying to the Mister, "I'm going to Uganda! Me! I am going! To UGANDA!" Can you believe it?! There is one slight little glitch, as the team filled up RIGHT BEFORE I submitted my application. What are the chances of that happening? But I am #1 on the waiting list, and 3 different people from the mission organization have assured me that someone always cancels. So....I guess we'll see. Kari says she completely believes God is going to send me to Uganda. Eeeeeeeeeeeekk!!

AND NOW......the moment you've all been waiting for! (cough) The Very Exciting Thing Kari told me about that I am so excited to now tell you....

I'm going to be a guest poster on Kari's blog tomorrow!!! (Wed)

And again I say - can you believe it?! Really? Me? A guest blogger? What in the world? I'm telling you, on the day someone asks ME to be a guest blogger, GOD is doing something!

So if you have a minute, I would so very, very honored if you would stop by My Crazy Adoption and visit me while I hang out at Kari's place (leave me a comment if you go, k?). Thanks so much, friends, you guys are the best!

God is awesome, girls, and I CAN'T WAIT to see what He is doing! Wahoo!!

Back in a week(ish)!

Oh my goodness!

You will never guess who I received an email from on Thursday! Never, ever, ever in a million years! Ok, maybe in a million years - that's a long time.

I got an email from KARI GIBSON herself from My Crazy Adoption!! (remember I quoted her blog about a week ago?) I used the little "contact me" button on Kari's blog and asked her some questions that were weighing on my heart about mission trips...and she emailed me back! I was little bit star struck for a minute or two. Or thirty. Ok, actually I still am. Eeeeee! And not only did Kari answer my questions and offer her encouragement, but she had something VERY EXCITING to tell me!!

But I can't tell you yet. You'll have to wait 'til tomorrow. Or maybe Tuesday. {bwahaha - that's so fun! I get so frustrated when other people do that, but now I know why they do it. Totally fun! :) }

In the meantime, let me tell you that Kari is hosting one of the biggest giveaways evah on her blog for the next 2 1/2 weeks! She is giving away....are you ready for this? A mission trip to Ethiopia!! Kari has a t-shirt company (with awesome shirts, by the way) that she uses to help people raise money for adoption and missions. From now until October 28, every person who buys a t-shirt from her site will be entered into a drawing for a spot on her team going to Ethiopia in February!! Isn't that cool? So if you've ever wanted to go on a mission trip but the financial requirement held you back, now's your chance! Head on over to Kari's blog and check out all the details. You can click on this cute giveaway button to go to her store.



BUT WAIT! Even if you're not interested or able to go on this trip, you can help give someone else the opportunity to go by purchasing a t-shirt and specifying that the proceeds are a general donation to the giveaway fund. OR you can enter someone else (a friend or family member who's been wanting to go on a mission trip) in the drawing by purchasing a shirt and specifying their name in the entry. SO FUN!

Please go check out Kari's blog. She is so very excited to be offering this awesome giveaway. What a great way to help someone become a SEED, taking the love of Jesus to the world! Wahoo!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for my very fun announcement! :)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Wait. What do you mean it's Thursday? Oh my stars. My head has been in such a whirl - what with The Mister being out of town all week, and my dad coming to visit (this weekend!), and trying to get ready to go on the cruise (next Wednesday!), and God trying to boss encourage me to go to Africa - I barely know what day it is!

And anyway, Tiny Talk Thursday just doesn't sound right.

So here's Tiny-Talk-Whatever-Day-It-Is, and Jen, this one's for you. :)

One day last week (of course, I can't remember which day), the kids and I ran home really quick after school, just long enough to change clothes and run out the door to somewhere we had to be. I yelled down the hallway to Jacob, "We're about to leave - are you ready to go?"

He yelled back, "Yeah, I just need to go to the restroom first....AND I WORE UNDERWEAR TODAY!"

Ummm......excuse me?

If you'd like to read some Tiny Talk Tuesday posts from people who know what day it is, click on over to Not Before 7.

God's ways.

This morning we visited a church we don't normally attend. We've visited there a few times before and really like it. One of my good friends and her family visited there a few weeks ago, and she said the message was phenomenal. We've been niggling to go ever since.

When we walked through the front doors today, I was handed a bulletin with this picture on the front:



When we sat down, I looked up and on the wall directly in front of me was a huge banner with a similar picture and this verse, "Therefore GO (in capitals) and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey EVERYTHING I have commanded you. And surely I am with you ALWAYS, to the very end of the age." (Matt. 28:19-20) Oddly enough (uh-huh), this is also a key verse used by David Platt in Radical. I looked around, and similar banners lined the front wall of the sactuary. I started having that weird twisting feeling in my stomach.

After praise and worship, a lady came to the platform and began to explain that today was the first day of a month-long focus they would be having on missions.

Well of course it was. I looked at the Mister and said, "Are you kidding me?"

They had a guest speaker today - a missionary - who spoke on Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43, the parable of the weeds. He specifically focused on verses 37 & 38, in which Jesus explained that He is the sower in the parable, the seeds are the sons of the kingdom, and the field is the world. "Notice the field is not your home, your church, or even your city," he said. "The field is the world."

"When does a grain of wheat become a seed?" he asked. A grain of wheat is still connected to the stalk and rooted to the ground. Rooted to its here and now. Rooted in its home, its job, its day-to-day life. When Jesus uproots us, detaches us from our here and now (maybe literally, but not necessarily), then we become a seed that can be sown in the field of the world.

"Jesus was calling them to abandon their comforts, all that was familiar to them and natural for them. He was calling them to abandon their careers... Jesus was calling them to abandon their possessions... Jesus was calling them to abandon their family and their friends... Ultimately, Jesus was calling them to abandon themselves." -Radical, pp. 11-12.

At the end of the service, the speaker asked anyone who was feeling a stirring in their heart (or a churning in their stomach, if you're me) for missions to raise their hand. Anyone who was willing to say, "Here am I, Lord, send me." He explained that being "sent" means:

• Jesus might call us to GO.
• He might call us to GIVE.
• He might call us to PRAY.
• He might call us to SPEAK OUT.

Usually in those situations I hesitate, looking around first to see if anyone else is going to raise their hand before I commit. Today, my hand was in the air before I knew what was happening.

He asked those of us who had raised our hands to come forward. I was out of my seat before you could say "StopAreYouCrazySitDownWhatAreYouThinking?!"

He prayed that God would begin the process of turning us into seed. That He would mark us as those who had said Yes.

He spoke a blessing that we would have feet to go (oh.my.gosh.), hands to work, and mouths to speak.

He said, "I'm not here to help you. I'm here to mess you up." (see previous post)

And then he said,

"Now go do something."