Divine Romance

Hiking...

2012-01-10T22:32:00.001-08:00

Reading...

2012-01-05T18:32:00.001-08:00

Hope

2012-01-03T10:35:00.001-08:00

Freedom for the Taking...

2012-01-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

2 Corinthians 3:17 "For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Straight,simple, and to the point.

Where the spirit of the Lord is…there is FREEDOM.

And remember…

If you belong to Christ, the Spirit lives in you.

Do you get that?

Your key to FREEDOM lives inside you.

That means it’s always there.

Just waiting for you to take it!

North Korea

2011-12-20T11:53:00.000-08:00

I was watching the news yesterday when they showed this picture of what North Korea looks like from the sky at night...

That's North Korea bordered in red. Most of it's citizens are without electricity. They have learned how to live in the dark.

I then of course started to think about the spiritual side of this. Most North Koreans are living in the dark both physically AND spiritually.

Now that Kim Jong Il is dead, the world;s attention has turned to his son that will take his place. What kind of leader will he be?

I think of all of those people in the dark, and I just want to pray for them. 24/7 Prayer actually posted a great article about praying for the new leader of North Korea. Check it out HERE.

Let's pray...

The Advent Conspiracy

2011-12-02T12:39:00.001-08:00

I'm a Winner

2011-11-28T15:13:00.001-08:00

I have validated my word count and it is now official...I am a NaNoWriMo winner! I wrote over 52,000 words in just 27 days. I'm not done with the book yet, so I'm trying to finish as much of the first draft as I can before the month is over. Then I plan to take a few days off before I start editing.

After years of saying, I was going to do it, I've finally done it...

Advent Calendar

2011-11-27T22:40:00.001-08:00

Check out this interesting Advent Calendar found at Busted Halo

Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy

2011-11-15T11:12:00.001-08:00

Ephesians 2:10

2011-11-11T12:00:00.001-08:00

Kim Kardashian & the Trouble with Herman Cain

2011-11-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

What a crazy week it's been in both pop culture and political news. I've had a few thoughts rumbling inside my head that I want to share...

Let's start with Kim Kardashian. I'm not a big celebrity news follower, but obviously news of her divorce (after only 72 days of marriage) has been hard to miss. Now I don't know Ms. Kardashian, or the details of her situation... but from the outside looking in, let me tell you what concerns me. Kim Kardashian is a role model to young girls. Now before you start yelling at me that she never asked to be a role model, let me just say that it doesn't matter. She is a role model...period. There are millions of young girls who watch her every move. They watch her reality show, and they want to know what she's wearing, and who she's dating. They watch everything she does. I'm more than a little concerned about the message that her divorce sends to them. I was watching CNN today when they shared this quote from a statement Kim released on her blog:

"It [marriage] just didn’t turn out to be the fairy tale I had so badly hoped for..."

We live in a country with a divorce rate that is well over 50%, and I think part of the problem is that we're trying to live some sort of fairy tale instead of dealing with real life. Marriage is hard, and most of the people I know that have been married for while say that after the honeymoon is over, marriage becomes a choice. When there are problems, they choose to stay, they choose to do whatever it takes to work things out.

Here's another quote from her statement:

"I felt like I was on a fast roller coaster and couldn’t get off, when now I know I probably should have. I got caught up with the hoopla and the filming of the TV show that when I probably should have ended my relationship, I didn’t know how to and didn’t want to disappoint a lot of people."

I also think it has to say a lot about our "reality" culture, that this young woman felt the pressure to marry someone she shouldn't have.

I really do wish the best for her....

Now on to Herman Cain...

One word...REALLY?! I'm sure you've heard now about the two woman who accused Mr. Cain of sexual harassment when he worked at the National Restaurant Association. The way his campaign has chosen to deal with this issue has been laughable at best. I'm no political strategist, but even I know that in the instant information society we live in today, you can't be in the public spotlight and have secrets....or at least not have them for very long. His campaign had to know this was coming, yet they were seriously unprepared to deal with it. They lied, and please someone tell me why I would want to vote for a person who lies to me?

And It gets worse...today I saw him on the news saying that these allegations were racist! Again with my one word...REALLY?! We're going to play the race card Herman?! Between him and Ann Coulter, I just want to bang my head against a wall...ahhh politics...

What are your thoughts????

Please Be My Strength...

2011-10-28T12:42:00.001-07:00

Waiting for a Sign...

2011-10-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, I worked as a youth leader with a very unique and fun couple. When I think of them, I think of two things. One is that they keep their Christmas tree up until February. And the second is a story.

When they were praying whether or not they should take the youth pastor position at this church we were attending, they asked God to give them a sign. The husband was scheduled to preach during a Sunday night service, and they were getting close to their deadline to make a decision. So they prayed and told God, if a teenager came forward during the alter call at the end of the service, that would be the sign that they should accept the position. The service began and my friend preached his sermon. And sure enough during the alter call, a teenager came forward. That was the sign they were waiting for, so they accepted the position.

Later they would find out that this same teenager, struggling in the assurance of their faith, came forward every Sunday night!

I share this story, because it's funny, and because it makes me think.

But first another story...

The other night, I was hanging out with a few people from my church. As the evening progressed we realized that we were all single, so naturally the conversation took a turn toward singleness. One of my friends revealed that he is in the beginning stages of a relationship with a girl who is not a Christian.

Just briefly I’ll say this...I can't imagine trying to share my life with someone who isn't passionate about God. My relationship with God is the most important thing in my life...How can I build a relationship with someone who doesn't share the same belief?

Anyways, back to my friend...he's basically already decided to pursue the relationship, because he asked God to give him a sign that she was the one, and he believes that God has given him several...

I wonder sometimes if we depend a little too much on signs. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe God uses signs to speak to people. But I also think that one of the most important tools that God has given us is his word. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The problem is that a lot of people think the bible is irrelevant to their modern problems. It may be true that you’re not going to find the bible verse that says “Tweet unto others as thou would have others tweet unto thee”… But it’s also true that the bible is full of wisdom and truth that can show us how to navigate this thing called life. (Psalm 119:105)

I can think of so many times in my own life, when I’ve cried out to God to show me what to do, when like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I had exactly what I needed all along…

God's word is the biggest sign of all... And any "SIGN" that we think we've received should fall in line with God's word. God does not contradict himself.

I think at it's heart, the desire to receive a sign from God, is the desire to know we're doing the right thing. The desire to know that he is listening, and that he cares enough to nudge us in the right direction.

From my own experience, I'll tell you that God's word changed my life. After being challenged at a conference several years ago, I decided I was going to make it a priority in my life. I began to read it regularly. I also began to meditate and chew on it (Psalm 1:2). And before I knew it the Holy Spirit began to work in my heart. He began to speak to me, and to reveal truth to me. It changed the way I looked at God, myself, my problems, and the world around me. So my advice to you is to seek God in his word...

Find your direction there
Find your hope there
Find all that you need to make your way home...

Unique...

2011-10-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Artists Alexa Meade takes photographs that could easily be mistaken as paintings...so cool!

Sucker Punch Wisdom

2011-10-13T00:40:00.000-07:00

Finally saw the movie Sucker Punch this week. It was interesting...

I think it's one of those movies that you either love or hate. I loved it. Without giving anything away, it was basically about a girl in a tough situation who learned that she had everything she needed within her to fight for her freedom...

Here's one of my favorite bits:

Who honors those we love with the very life we live?
Who sends monsters to kill us, and at the same time sings that we will never die?
Who teaches us what’s real and how to laugh at lies?
Who decided why we live and what we’ll die to defend?
Who chains us?
And who holds the key that can set us free?
It’s you…
You have all the weapons you need…
Now FIGHT!

It reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures in 2 Peter 1:3

"By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence."

So remember,

You have all the weapons you need....

Now FIGHT!

Persevere

2011-10-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Persevere – verb (action): To continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no indication of success.

“…Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping…” - Romans 4:18a

Album Stream: Markéta Irglová - Anar

2011-10-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

Album Stream: Markéta Irglová - Anar

Rosh Hashanah Rock Anthem!

2011-09-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

What I'm Seeing...

2011-09-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

Loving this song right now...

2011-09-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

How Will I Close the Door?

2011-09-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

I was reading Genesis 7 today, and verse 16 really jumped out at me...

"A male and female of each kind entered (the ark), just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them."

When I read vs 16 I started to wonder something about Noah. As he built this giant boat that God had given him instructions for, did he worry about how he would close the door?

I mean, let's be honest...A huge boat with an open door would do him no good, when the flood waters started to rise.

Now maybe I'm way off base, and completely wrong. Maybe Noah had a door closing solution all along. Whether he did, or didn't, I don't know. But what I do know is that the door had to be pretty darn big! After all the ark was over 4 football fields in length, and almost 50 feet high.

Biblically there's no mention of Noah worrying about the door. Noah's even listed in the Hall of Faith found in Hebrews 11. Here's what verse 7 says:

"It was by faith that Noah build a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before..."

So Noah had the faith to follow and trust God, even though he had no point of reference for the things that God was telling him were going to happen. Upon further consideration, I've decided that...

He probably wasn't worried about the door.

But after reading his story today, I started to reflect on my situation.

God has called me to go to Spain. But right now I'm still in the U.S., waiting to get my Spanish visa. The process has been just a tad FRUSTRATING! When I think about it, It's almost like my visa is Noah's door.

When God gave Noah his instructions, Noah got to work. He didn't let the fact that he didn't know all the details stop him. He may not have know how he was going to close the door. But he kept working. Building and gathering exactly as God had told him.

I think Noah trusted that if he obeyed, God would work out all the details.

I think sometimes I worry so much about potential problems that could be coming my way, that I lose sight of the things that God has told me.

I know that I will make it to Spain. I also know that I can't control when or even if the Spanish government will grant me a visa.

But what I can do is trust God with the details. And the doors...

Kinfolk

2011-09-12T02:57:00.000-07:00

"Kinfolk is a growing community of artists with a shared interest in small gatherings. We recognize that there is something about a table shared by friends, not just a wedding or once-a-year holiday extravaganza, that anchors our relationships and energizes us. We have come together to create Kinfolk as our collaborative way of advocating the natural approach to entertaining that we love.”

Loving this...

Lamentations 3:22-26

2011-09-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord."

Art...

2011-08-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

Artist Natalie Irish doesn't use a paint brush...she uses her lips! Check out the amazing artwork that she's done!

restless and longing...

2011-08-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

I just read this great poem by theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, that sums up how I'm feeling as I wait. Here's my favorite bit...

Am I really that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself?
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat
yearning for colours, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighbourliness,
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all.

Who am I? This or the Other?
Am I one person today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? Hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.

Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine!

Who knew the Deathstar had a library?!

2011-08-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

Abraham, Sarah and my Uterus...

2011-08-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, my doctor discovered that I had a pretty large tumor in my uterus. To make a long story short, it was benign, and I had surgery to remove it. In the process I ended up saying bye bye to my uterus.

Yesterday in church, the worship leader shared about Abraham and Sarah. A little background...In Genesis God promises a child to this couple. The only problem was that Abraham was 100 years old, and his wife Sarah was barren.

I started thinking about the fact that God made them this promise, even though physically it was impossible for them to have children. Abraham and Sarah struggled to believe it could happen. Sarah even laughed at the thought.

"Then one of them said, "I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!" Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah waslong past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, "How could a worn out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master (my husband) is also so old?" Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh?...Is anything too hard for the Lord?"
-Genesis 18:10-12,13b

Do I do that?

Does God want to do amazing miraculous things in my life that I doubt because they seem impossible?

For a moment I imagined myself in Sarah's shoes, and I knew that if God came to me tomorrow and told me I was going have a son, at 41 with no husband and no uterus, I might have a little chuckle myself!

But is anything too hard for the Lord? The answer of course is no.

Sarah's womb was barren and dead. Abraham's sperm count was down and out. But God stepped into the dead and barren area, and gave them life. He planted a seed in a place that no one believed anything could grow. And out of that seed, Abraham and Sarah go their promised son...Issac.

So don't give up on the things that God has promised you. If they seem impossible, rejoice! God's just giving himself a stage in your life to show off a little. He's going to come into a situation that this physical world deems impossible and dead, and he's going to make amazing things happen. He's going to bring life.

41 and Counting...

2011-07-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 41st Birthday and it was an interesting day! I started my birthday off with a nutritious breakfast...

And ended it by eating birthday cake, macaroni and cheese, and asparagus with my crazy family!

AND the coolest bit of my birthday...

I love the show community, and I got a birthday tweet from the actor who plays one of my favorite characters Abed! First I sent out this tweet:

And before I knew it, I found this in my twitter mailbox:

Now I love that show even more!

One Week's Worth...

2011-07-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

These photo's were taken by photographer Peter Menzel, for his book called Hungry Planet. The book features families from all over the world, photographed with one weeks worth of food.

United States $341.98 per week

Chad $1.23 per week

Ecuador $31.55 per week

Bhutan $5.03 per week

Egypt $68.53 per week

Learning to Fly...

2011-07-25T16:14:00.001-07:00

It's my Birthday month! Last year at this time I was celebrating my 40th in Ibiza...

I can't believe it's been a year since I got on a plane, and headed to Spain for the summer.

If you've seen this month's newsletter, than you know that I've finally gotten some good news about my visa! September 15th is the tentative date that it'll be ready for pick up. Which means soon, I will be able to leave! Now I'm starting to finalize stuff here in Vegas.

I still need to:

1. Sell my Car! - I've never done that before, so it should be an interesting experience. I'm going to try to sell it myself instead of to a dealership. Anybody got any car selling advice?

2. Death to the Pack Rat! - Yes I admit it, I am a pack rat! I'm making myself go through my remaining boxes, and throw away all of the stuff that I don't really need. I have one box that I've been through at least 4 times! I'm learning to let go...

3. Packing and Shipping - I'm trying to pack as much as I can, so I don't have to ship a lot. To ship an average sized box to Spain costs about $60-70, so I don't want to send many of those! I'm thinking I'll ship my bedding, and pillows, and maybe a few other things...

4. My Books! - If any of you have ever had the privilege of helping me move before, you know that 80% of what I own are books! I know that I can't take all of my babies with me, so I've been trying to decide which ones I'll take, and which ones will stay here in Vegas. Tough Choices!

As the days pass, I'm getting more and more excited to go. For the past several months, God has been teaching me a lot about FAITH. As I get ready to step out into the unknown, I feel like more than ever He's asking for my trust. I read this great quote last week...

"When you have come to the edge of all light that you know, and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, FAITH is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught to fly"

- Patrick Overton

(Source)
Here's to learning how to fly...

Surrender...

2011-07-23T21:53:00.001-07:00

“The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender.”

-William Booth

...A Thousand Words...

2011-07-04T11:24:00.001-07:00

Fire...

2011-06-22T13:00:00.001-07:00

Waiting...

2011-06-14T17:20:00.001-07:00

I googled pictures of waiting, and here's what I came up with...

Hopefully the waiting will be over soon!

I've Got a Confession to Make...

2011-06-13T09:42:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I feel like a 12 year old boy stuck inside the body of a 40 year old woman! Need some convincing? Here are a few things I really like...

Star Wars
Video Games
Pizza
Kung Fu Movies
Lord of the Rings

I say all of that to tell you that I just watched every episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it was freakin AWESOME!

It all started when I finally watched the M. Night Shyamalan movie The Last Airbender. I'd seen a preview and was intrigued by the premise of the movie. So I watched it, and was unfortunately disappointed (hello bad casting and acting!) But a few things pushed me to watch the TV series...

I knew the movie was based on an anime style cartoon series
I was STILL intrigued by the premise
The movie was meant to be a trilogy, so there was a major cliff hanger and I wanted to know what happened!

Wanting some closure I Netflixed season one, and started watching. I was hooked. Unlike the movie, the series was funny, engaging, and the characters had real depth (not something I was expecting from a cartoon). As of today, I've watched to entire series...and I can admit that I wept like a baby during the finale when we find out if Aang and his friends defeat Fire Lord Ozai.

So feed the 12 year old boy inside you! Go watch some Avatar: The Last Airbender!

Here's the preivew for the not so great movie...

Blue Like Jazz - The Movie Trailer

2011-06-06T15:49:00.000-07:00

Seeing the movie trailer makes me want to read the book again! Can't wait to see this...

Be Inspired!

2011-06-03T11:53:00.001-07:00

Yelling at God...

2011-05-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

(Source)

At my local grocery store, they have these cool registers that allow you to self-checkout. I love using them. I was at the store on Wednesday, and after grabbing the few items I needed I started scanning my groceries.

On my way to the checkout, I briefly notice a man and woman having a conversation while standing in the entrance to the cereal aisle. As I started my checkout their conversation began to get a little more intense. Eventually the man started yelling at the woman, and I stopped to glance up at them. Once I start to pay closer attention, I realize that the woman is the store manager, and the yelling man is a dissatisfied customer. Even though I can't hear every word they're speaking, it's obvious that he is not happy. He starts to get louder and louder, until eventually he is screaming at her.

I immediately started to feel intensely uncomfortable.

I hate yelling.

As someone who grew up in a house, where there was lots of yelling and screaming, I sometimes find it hard to be in intense situations. I want to flee them instantly.

On my way home in the car, I was praying, and questioning...

Is yelling at someone ever okay?

I'm not talking about yelling at someone to warn them of danger, or the teenage girl who yells for Justin Bieber.

I'm talking about screaming and yelling at another human being.

Do we ever deserve the right to speak to another person like that?

I think in this instance, the man in the store was yelling because he felt like he wasn't being heard. But the ironic thing is that when we start yelling, we become so intent on getting OUR point across, WE STOP LISTENING.
If we really believe that we are all created in the image of God, when we yell at another person, aren't we really yelling at God?

I think witnessing this situation really made me stop and look at how I treat people. I know how yelling makes me feel...have I ever made someone feel like that? Have I ever ignored the divine in someone else, wanting to get my message across so badly that I didn't care how it made them feel?

The sad thing, is that I'm sure I have.

What I learned on Wednesday is that the heart of conflict isn't who's right or wrong...it's in how we choose to treat each.

Would love to hear your feedback...What are your thoughts on yelling?

Put me in Coach!

2011-05-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

I am still in Las Vegas, and part of me feels like I'm a high school basketball player who's been benched. I'm sitting on the sidelines, on the edge of my seat just waiting. Hoping that at any moment the coach will call my name, and tell me it's my turn to play...

On Sunday, I got to share a little about 24-7 Ibiza at church. It was awesome, as I always love talking about what we do in Ibiza.

It was a bit challenging, because the pastor gave me 5 minutes to share! Don't get me wrong, I was very thankful for the opportunity...it's just that as I began to write out everything I wanted to share, that 5 minutes got smaller and smaller. I had to cut, and edit and really get to the heart of what we do.

The purpose of his invite was to help me with fundraising, but anytime I get to share about 24-7 Ibiza I want people to understand what it means to me. I wish I could just zap them to the West End on a Wednesday night at about 2:00 in the morning. If I could do that, I think my fundraising goals would be met a lot easier!

Trying to explain the streets in words can be tough. But I do my best, and then pray that the Holy Spirit does the rest!

Still wondering what goes on in Ibiza? Just check out the What's Poppy Doing in Ibiza? page of my Ibiza blog.

In Response to the non-Rapture...

2011-05-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Julian Walker aka Jewlee Jewels

2011-05-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

My sister Dovey had her first boy at the end of April. After Three girls, I think she may be in for a bit of a surprise!

Hot Off the Presses!

2011-05-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Even though I'm not in Ibiza yet (still waiting on my visa) I have officially launched the monthly Poppy in Ibiza Newsletter. The May issue has been sent out to all my subscribers, full of the latest Poppy in ibiza news.

If you want to subscribe, just fill out the form found on the right sidebar on my Poppy in Ibiza blog. Here's a peek at what you'll be receiving each month...

And that's just the top half! Check out this months full newsletter HERE

This week, I've been reading the book of John, and John 4:34 really stuck out to me.

Then Jesus explained: "My Nourishment comes from doing the will of God who sent me, and from finishing his work."

Here's how Webster's defines the world Nourishment: Sustained with what's neccessary for life, health and growth. To strengthen, build up or promote. To Cherish, foster, or keep alive.

There is nothing like the feeling you get when you know you're doing exactly what God wants you to. It's the ultimate sense of PEACE. I love that Jesus uses the word Nourish. By doing God's will, we not only find peace, but we also find spiritual growth. Doing what God wants for us each day is the thing that sustains us!

Jesus should be our example as he looks to God to nourish him, and not anything else. God wants to sustain us, to strengthen us, to build us up and promote us.

So let's get busy doing the things that God wants for us each day. And remember, It doesn't have to be some huge undertaking...it could be showing kindness to your neighbor today. It could be showing forgiveness to someone who's hurt you. The cool thing, is that if we ask, God will show us what to do...

Happy Veggieversary!

2011-05-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, I stopped eating meat...

It's been an awesome year, as I've stretched myself by trying foods that I'd never given a chance before. Did you know that asparagus rocks?!

So Happy Veggieversary to me! Here's to another 50 years!

Meditate, Ponder & Chew

2011-05-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

I've been reading the book of John, and have literally been in the first two chapters for like a week! I'm once again amazed at the depth of God's word...

One of my favorite verses is Psalm 1:2 -
"But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night."

Here's how the message version puts it -
"Instead you thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night."

I recently discovered this great quote..."Reading the Bible without meditating on it, is like trying to eat without swallowing." - Anonymous

If we dont' stop to ponder, meditate, chew, contemplate, consider and reflect on God's word, we can't be nourished by it.

As I read John chapter 1 vs 14 jumped out at me.
"So the word became human and made his home among us. He was FULL of unfailing love and faithfulness."

First of all, "the word became human and made his HOME among us"...I could spend a lifetime pondering that and still not get the depth of it! God didn't just come to visit us, he came and made his HOME among us!

But the part of the verse I spent some time considering is how John describes Jesus. Here's a man who walked pretty closely with Jesus, and saw him in all kinds of different situations. Yet he doesn't just say that Jesus was loving and faithful, he kicks those two attributes up a notch by saying that Jesus was FULL of Unfailing love and Faithfulness. He didn't love a little, he gave it out in abundance.

He gave it to people who society had deemed unlovable

He gave it to people who didn't deserve it

And he didn't just give them love, he gave them a love that never fails, never stops. A love that continues to give no matter the circumstance.

After reading that verse, I am challenged to do the same. To be so full of love that it just pours out of me, and touches everyone that I come into contact with. To love people that society tells me are undeserving of love. To stick with and lavish love on people who annoy me! To let unfailing love define me...

Tiesto

2011-05-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some "Connections" I ended up with a free ticket to see Tiesto this past weekend. It was AMAZING! It's kind of funny to me that I wanted to see him all last summer while I was in Ibiza, but in the end I had to wait until I came back to the states to have the pleasure!

Discipline is Not a Dirty Word

2011-05-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

(Source)

One of my top 10 favorite movies is The Last Samurai. I watched it last week (for like the 30th time!). There's a scene in the movie where Tom Cruise's character starts talking about the Samurai. Here's what he says...

“From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue…I have never seen such discipline.”

Every time I watch this movie, I’m always struck by that line.

I start to think about my own life, and my lack of discipline, and wonder…what if?

What if I woke up each day with that kind of devotion towards my relationship with God? Completely putting away yesterday and tomorrow and just focusing on TODAY.

Some nights when go to sleep, I have this moment of clarity. As I lay there in the dark, I look back on what I did that day, and sometimes recognize that I didn’t really do much of anything that matters.

I spend so many of my days worrying about and longing for what’s coming…or dwelling on and regretting the past…what about today? I want to let those things go, and give God my focus NOW.

What can I learn today?
How can I do to grow in my knowledge of God today?
Who can I serve today?

I don’t want to live my life on auto-pilot. You know what I mean. Those days you wake up and start going through the motions of life. You’re just doing what you normally do, without even thinking about it, and before you know it, it’s 3:30, and you haven’t really put forth much effort.

I want to be AWAKE and ALIVE for every second of the day. I want to be OPEN and ready to SEE and HEAR…

I’m really trying to have that attitude today as I’m anxiously waiting for my Spanish Visa. Instead of worrying about how long it’s taking, or dwelling on the fact that I want to be in Ibiza like YESTERDAY, I want to focus on God here in Las Vegas in this moment. What can I still do while I’m here?

New Name...Same Poppy!

2011-05-05T10:55:00.001-07:00

I decided to give my blog a new look and a new name...still not sure about this background, so don't be surprised if it's different the next time you stop by! The title is based on one of my favorite Phil Wickham songs...Divine Romance.

Your innocent blood has washed my guilty life
In your presence God, I'm completely satisfied
For you I'll sing and dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands to show my love...to show my love

I also added a "tag line" - Girl + God = Limitless possibilities...I think I'm just now at 40 starting to belive that's true...With God I can do all things!

Standing on the Edge...

2011-04-09T14:40:00.001-07:00

My time in the states is getting shorter and shorter. It's almost time for me to head to Spain...and I'm so excited! Right now I'm just waiting for my Spanish visa.

I would like to officially say that waiting sucks!

While I wait, I'm preparing in other ways. I've been going through all of my stuff. It's amazing the amount of boxes one can accumulate. I'm throwing things out, and trying to downsize. I'm also trying to figure out what I NEED to take with me. Notice the emphasis on need. There's lots of stuff I'd LIKE to take, but if I take it all I'd be paying $1000 in overweight luggage fees alone!

I think it's finally starting to hit me that I'm actually going to do this!

I feel like this...

...like I'm on the edge of a great adventure. I'm about to jump in, trusting that God is going to lead the way. The amazing thing is that I'm not afraid.

I'm Expectant

Hoperful

Anxious

Eager

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all." - Proverbs 3:5 (MSG)

This Made Me Laugh Today...

2011-03-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T11:38:00.000-08:00

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

(extinguish candles)

The darkness asks us questions.
You are out there and we do not see.
You invite us into the night,
the stillness, the loneliness, the desert place.

We cannot see our shadow;
the cold damp of unknowing rises up from beneath our feet.
We tread cautiously, tentatively.

We are afraid,
afraid of ghosts
haunting us with spectres of guilt
and shame.

We would like to run back,
reach the river bank,
swim the Jordan,
sit in the sun by the sea,
mending our nets.
But you have brought us here
- with no bread.

When we look we can see only ourselves,
our darkness.
When we read,
it is invisible words which cannot be grasped,
thoughts we cannot clutch,
hope we cannot capture.

Yet the wild honey remains a taste in our mouth,
a memory for a new day.

Why have you brought us here?
What miracle will you perform for us?

The darkness sighs around us,
dense with your unseen presence,
close to our breathing,
close to our breathing.

O darkness, enlighten us,
embrace us with your invisible love.
Let us see your glory in the ashes.
Take us by the hand that we may trust the darkness.
Minister to us by your Spirit that we may not be afraid.
Jesus, keep the beasts away.

Amen

(light candles)

prepared by William Loader, 15 February 1999

(Source)

Lent 2011

2011-03-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

It's Fat Tuesday! Which of course means tomorrow is the beginning of Lent.

You know that's funny! In all seriousness, I've spent the last week really thinking about what I'm going to "give up" this year. Here are some of people's top choices:

This year I've decided to give up:

1. Fast Food - Which really means no french fries! (my kryptonite!) I'll be giving the money I would normally spend to a good cause!
2.Television (2 days a week) - I'm planning on living television free 2 days a week.

I've also been attempting to memorize Romans chapter 8, and want to really focus on doing that during the next 40 days. Right now I have the first 10 verses memorized. Let's see how much more I can get done during Lent.

For me Lent is about remembering one of the toughest things Jesus ever said -

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

It's so simple, yet so HARD! If we say we are followers of Christ, we must do these three things:

1. Deny Ourselves -This means laying down our own desires, wants and needs. In a culture where it's so easy to indulge ourselves in whatever we want, this can be tough!

2. Take Up Our Cross - Jesus took up his cross when he was on his way to Calvary to die. Do you get that He's asking us to do the same? To take up our cross and get ready to go die. Not physically, but it's more the death of self. More of Christ, less of me. As I become more and more like Christ. More of my selfish ways start to diminish and die.

3. Follow Christ - That means he's leading and I'm following. Period.

24-7 Prayer has a great tool to use during lent. Go Check it out!

Million Miles

2011-03-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

Donald Miller's Million Miles is out in paperback! And it shall be mine...

Are you living a great story with your life? from Donald Miller on Vimeo.

Gobble, Gobble!

2010-11-24T16:39:00.000-08:00

Here's what I'll be eating tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving...

YUMMY!

The Next Book I'm Going to Buy...

2010-11-04T20:07:00.001-07:00

Re-adjusting…

2010-11-04T13:21:00.001-07:00

My three months in Ibiza was amazing. I’ve been home for a few weeks now, and I’ve just been trying to re-adjust to life here in Las Vegas. Getting my body clock back in order took me a good 10 days alone! The awesome news is that I’ll be heading back to Ibiza in the spring of next year. I’m super excited, and really just depending on God for all that needs to happen between now and then…

Since I’ve been home I’ve…

Moved
Eaten more veggie burgers than I care to admit!
Gone Trick or Treating with my nieces and nephew - One of my 4 year old nieces was seriously surprised at each house as she got more and more candy. I don’t think she fully understood the whole concept of trick or treating!
Re-discovered what life with internet is like. (amen!)
Realized that I still do know how to drive after 3 months of being chauffeured around!
Had some amazing God time…
Been writing…thanks to NaNoWriMo

So I am re-adjusting to life back here in the states, but…I’m not getting too comfy, because I know I won’t be here for long…The cool think is that I feel like I’m in this kind of in-between stage. Like I’m in holding while I wait for the next part of my life to take off. It’s weird to feel comfortable here. But, I get that any comfort I feel here comes from God. And when I use the word 'comfortable', I don't mean the kind that is lethargic, and is just going through the motions. I mean the kind that knows that I'm resing in God during this in-between time. The kind of comfortable that knows I'm exactly where God wants me...

I read this great devotional called God Calling, and recently i was struck by a line in the entry from October 30th:

“Use this waiting time to cement the friendship with me, and to increase your knowledge of me.”

That’s exactly what I feel like God is calling me to do during this in-between time. To keep digging deeper, and to keep drawing closer and closer to him.

Part 2

2010-10-28T11:28:00.001-07:00

Finally posting the 2nd part of THIS post….

Thanks so much for your comments! Lovey, you make an excellent point. I think other people can have a HUGE affect on how we view God. Here are some of the reasons I came up with:

Why do we have these misconceptions about God?

1. Sometimes we humanize God. We expect him to act the way we would in a situation. We need to remember that God’s ways are different then our ways. His love is revolutionary!

Ephesians 3:18 – “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his live is. May you experience the love of Christ through it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

God’s love for us is so much bigger then we can fully comprehend!

2.Sometimes it’s easier to believe that God is going to give us we we think we deserve. Grace can be hard to accept.

When I lived in California, I use to drive a silver Volvo. It had over a 100,000 miles on it, and one day it started making a strange noise. I knew I needed a new car, but I also knew that I didn’t have the money to buy one. I really didn’t know what I was going to do. I asked for prayer about my car dilemma during my small group meeting one Sunday night. One of my group members told me about another lady in our church who had just purchased a new car. It seems she was looking to sell her old car at a good price. She suggested I call her to check it out. Even though I really had no money to buy a car, something told me to just call her. When I did she shocked me when she told me that her plan was to give away her old car to the first person who called to ask about it. That person was me, and before I knew it I was driving around in my new FREE car!

Ephesians 2:8-9 - “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast boast about it.”

Me getting that car reminds me of God’s grace. I didn’t do anything to deserve it. That car was a gift that I didn’t earn. Grace can be hard to accept, because there’s a part of us that feels like we need to do something to deserve it. Which brings me to my next point…

3. It’s hard to wrap our heads around the fact that we don’t need to work for God’s affection. It’s a gift that we just need to accept. That means we can’t boast about it, but that also means that we don’t have to worry about working to try and earn it.

I think if we realized the depth of the LOVE God has for us, it would change the way we live our lives…

Psalm 139:17-18 - “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!”

...but not for long!

2010-10-22T11:16:00.001-07:00

I'm back in Las Vegas...

Accountability

2010-10-15T09:14:00.001-07:00

vulnerable
open
naked
no desire or place to hide
i bring myself willingly here with you
each of us with trust in our hands
ready to offer
when our shields come down
and our masks come off
all of our weaknesses are laid out
i let you see into me
and I see into you
open
in this time let us be
honest
bare
gentle with one another
there is no space for condemnation or
judgement
only LOVE
acceptance
wisdom
shared freely amongst us
we are sitting in the presence together
being still
being healed
in this place let us
speak
listen
HEAR
reflect
and never be the same again.

...naked personalities

2010-10-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Living as part of a community here in Ibiza has really changed my life. If I'm being honest I'll admit that I'm not the most open or vulnerable person. In fact I think I do more hiding than most people do. Why is it so hard to just be open? There are the obvious reason...like when you close yourself off after being hurt a few too many times. I think it's tough because even the world vulnerable has negative connotations to it. Here's how Webster's defines vulnerable:

Capable of being physically or emotionally wounded. Open to attack or damage.

I mean COME ON! Who wants that in their life?!

What I've learned this summer is that being vulnerable doesn't always mean getting hurt. Sometimes opening yourself up, and letting someone else look in can bring an incredible amount of healing to your life. I read this amazing C.S. Lewis quote today -

"Eros will have naked bodies; Friendship naked personalities."

In real friendship we can just be ourselves. We don't have to hide. I'm finding that when I can be naked, honest and vulnerable with another person, cool things happen.

Ibiza Graffiti

2010-10-12T14:21:00.001-07:00

Misconceptions, Jesus & Santa Claus...

2010-09-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

I got to give a preach in church on Sunday, which was awesome. I love getting the opportunity to share within this community. I talked about some of the misconceptions we have about how God views us. Here’s my sermon in two parts…

You probably didn’t know this about me, but I believed in Santa Claus until I was pretty old. Older then most kids. Why was this? When I was about 6 or 7 I remember one Christmas Eve night looking out my window and seeing Santa Claus (or what I thought was the man in red) In reality the city I lived in thought it would be cute to fly a helicopter with special lights over the city while playing recorded sleigh bell sounds (with a few ho-ho-ho’s sprinkled in) through a PA system. When I looked out my window that night, my young mind was convinced that I had seen Santa. Most people stop believing in Mr.Claus because an older brother or sister spoils the fun, or because some big mouthed kid at school tells. When a girl in my class tried to share the news with everyone, I was not convinced. After all, I had actually seen Santa with my own eyes. Eventually my mom had to sit me down and have a conversation with me about what I’d seen. I think I was 12!

The point is things weren’t exactly what they seemed. But I saw what I thought was truth, and believing it had a major affect on me.

I think we sometimes look at God and see things about him that aren’t true. Those things then have an affect on how we look at him, and how we look at ourselves in relationship with him.

Watch this video…In a funny way it shows how we sometimes view Jesus and how he feels about us.

Misconceptions from the video:

1. We can never make God happy.

2. God is angry with us.

3. All God wants to do is point out all of the things we’ve done wrong

4. There is no hope for us,

5. We need to be perfect, or at our best for God to really love us

6. We’re so messed up, that not even Jesus can help us.

If we’re being honest, all of us have felt one of those things at some point in our spiritual journey. But what does the bible have to say about these misconceptions?

Psalm 103: 7-12

“The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”

I just want to point out a few things about these awesome verses.

1. God is slow to get angry. He’s not up in heaven on his throne fists clenched just waiting for us to screw up so he can punish us. He’s slow to anger and as the next words say he’s FILLED with love.

2. God does not constantly accuse us…AMEN! (if he did he would be so busy with me, he would have not time for anyone else!)

3. God doesn’t give us what we deserve. That’s basically the definition of Grace. We get love and mercy, when we don’t deserve it.

4. …As far as the east is from the west. God has taken our mistakes and cast them as far away from us as he can. It’s like he’s telling us to forget about them, get up and move on. We’re the ones who have a hard time letting go.

I’ll post the part two to this tomorrow, but I have a question for discussion. Please feel free to put your answer in a comment.

Why do we have these misconceptions? Where do they come from?

to love and serve

2010-09-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

It’s been an amazing summer for me so far. Night after night, I’ve continued to be amazed as I’ve seen God lead me to the people he wants me to talk to or help. Monday night, I was out in the West End with Ed. We got a call about a guy lying in a bush, so we went out in search of him. Let’s call this guy Sam. Ed and I head out, and we find Sam in a bush really close to a main road near the West End. Seriously if he had rolled over, he would have been lying in the middle of the road in busy traffic. We managed to find him before that could happen. We spent the next two hours with Sam, trying to figure out where he was staying, and then working to get him sober enough so he could take a taxi back to his hotel. It’s amazing the things you can learn about someone in two hours. He was pretty drunk, and out of it for most of our time together, so we didn’t really get to have a deep theological chat with him. We chatted about football, movies, his job and family. And then after about an hour and 57 minutes he just snapped out of it. It was almost like the clouds cleared and he was coherent. He gave us a genuinely grateful thank you, and then he was in a taxi on his way back to his hotel.

Once Ed and I got back to the prayer room, I just started thinking about how much God really trusts us with his children. I really believe that God sent Ed and I to spend two hours with Sam, because he wanted to make sure he was going to be okay. And so that through the unexpected kindness of a few strangers Sam might stop and turn his eyes to the divine for just a moment, and consider…that maybe there is someone out there watching, and waiting…

gutter love...

2010-09-14T06:47:00.001-07:00

Since I've been here, I've had MANY interesting nights in the West End. Before we go out at night, we meet up in our center in the chapel for some worship and prayer time. After about 30 minutes half of us go out in pairs while the other half of us stays in the chapel to pray. After an hour we switch, and we continue that pattern of breathing in and breathing out, until about 4:00 or 5:00 am.

When I head out into the West End, I like to just walk and pray, and ask God to lead me to whoever he wants me to talk to or help. It's amazing how many times people will just walk up to me. Sometimes they want to say thank you because someone from 24-7 Ibiza has helped them out. Or they may have heard about what we do, and they're curious. Whatever the reason, suddenly I find myself in the midst of a conversation, and before I know it I'm being asked why I do what I do. I love that question. It's probably the number one thing I get asked out here. My answer is pretty simple. I'm here because I want to show people that God loves them no matter where they're at. Even if you're drunk and passed out in the gutter, God is still reaching out to them. When most people are in that state, they're a embarrassed, and they think they're the furthest thing from God's mind. It really is quite a mental picture if you stop and think about it. God (through me) is reaching down to pull them out of their mess. One night in the prayer room I was praying and was just reminded that God doesn't wait for us to get cleaned up. He comes to find us when we're still in the middle of our mess. He finds us where we're at, and the most wonderful thing is that no matter what state we're in, he sees beauty in us...do you really get that?! Even when we've messed up and we look around and find ourselves in a situation that is the complete opposite of what God would desire for us...God looks down and sees the possibility and potential. He hasn't given up on us, He still loves us, and desires to know us, and for us to know him... How cool is that?!

Give us Your Courage

2010-08-26T08:41:00.001-07:00

There's an excellent song by Tim Hughes that gets played a lot on my iPod. It's called Give us Your Courage. Check out the lyrics:

I'm not backing down
I will stand my ground
Lifting high the name of Jesus

Holding out Your light
To a world in need
Living out the love of Jesus

And though the battles rage
Your blessing still will come

To the ends of the earth we will go
To the ends of the earth we will go
Fill us with power
Fill us with power
For the truth of Your word we will stand
For the truth of Your word we will stand
Give us Your courage
Give us Your courage

Be our strength and song
Till the battles won
Nothing is impossible for You

Stretch Your hand to save
You will never fail
Nothing is impossible for You

Would You breathe on us
Would You breathe on us
Would You breathe on us
Would You breathe on us

It just reminds me that as I go out on to the streets of the West End, I'm not going in my own power. I don't have to depend on myself to be good enough to save people. I can trust that as I go, I go with God's power in me. Using me and fueling me to be his light on these streets. Here's what Romans 8:5 says in The Message version:

"Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God!"

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead walks the streets of Ibiza with me every night. My prayer is that I would go out in HIS power, and awaken people from the spiritual death that they've been living in.

Amen!

Won't Be Silent...

2010-08-11T09:23:00.001-07:00

I'm working her in Ibiza with a great group of other Christians. It's been challenging and life changing for me to get to live life in community. Some of the team live here year round, and during the winter they really felt like God was speaking Isaiah 62 to them for Ibiza. I wanted to share it on my blog, because I think it's so powerful! (Zion or Jerusalem have been replaced with Ibiza)

"Because I love Ibiza, I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for Ibiza,
I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her
until her righteousness shines like the dawn,
and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
The nations will see your righteousness.
World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name
by the Lord’s own mouth.
The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—
a splendid crown in the hand of God.
O Ibiza, I have posted watchmen on your walls;
they will pray day and night, continually.
Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.
Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work,
until he makes Ibiza the pride of the earth."

Wherever God has placed us, we are watchmen on the walls. Let's not give God any rest, let's pesevere in prayer, until his work is complete!

Real Love

2010-08-08T15:53:00.001-07:00

We have a church service that we do in our center every Sunday. I know God smiles when he looks down at the rag tag bunch of people we are. Some of us sure of our relationship with God, and other’s full of questions…seeking. Today, I got to speak, and I spoke from 1 John 3:16 which says this:

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we ought to give up our lives for out brothers and sisters.”

I read that verse one day, and just started meditating on what Jesus giving his life up for us says about real love. Here are a few of the thoughts I came up with:

1. Real Love is self- sacrificing – Jesus put our best interest before his own. He thought of our needs first. (Philippians 2:3-8)

2. Real Love is love with NO LIMITS! – Through his sacrifice on the cross Jesus showed us that he was willing to give EVERYTHING for us. He loved us with wild abandon, not holding anything back, but giving us ALL he had to give.

3. Real Love changes us for the better – Jesus showed us real love by giving his life for us. When we put our faith in him, we’re made right with God. (Romans 3:22-25)

4. Real Love takes the 1st Step -

“ But God showed his his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS.” (Romans 5:8)

Real Love puts itself out there, it makes itself vulnerable. It doesn’t wait until it’s safe, or until it knows how others will react. It’s not afraid of looking foolish. REAL LOVE GIVES LOVE NO MATTER WHAT THE RESPONSE! Jesus showed us love while we were still in our sin. While we still had our backs turned on him, he was loving us.

5. Real Love forgives, when there is no reason to – Through Christ’s death, we are forgiven. God showed us mercy, when we didn’t deserve it!

So what should our response to Real Love be?

“ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”(1 John 4:11)

We need to be self sacrificing in our love. Putting other’s before ourselves

We need to love with no limits

We need to love people in a way that points them to God

We need to take the 1st step and love first

We need to forgive, even when it’s not deserved

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us and his love is brought to full expression in us.” (1 John 4:12)

I’m loving that verse! It gives us a role in revealing God’s love to people. God loves people, and his love is perfect, but when I follow in his foot steps and show people that same love, his love is fully expressed in me. We have a hand in other people seeing God’s love in action. It’s up to us to show them love like he did.

I challenge you this week to show Real Love to the people that God has put in your life. Stop living life on auto pilot. See the people that God has put in your path, and ask him to show you how to love them.

Three Guys, Three Bibles

2010-08-07T10:12:00.002-07:00

Most times if we’re out at night, and we find someone who’s really intoxicated that we’re helping back to their hotel, we really don’t get to chat with them a lot. We’re working to try to figure out where they’re staying, or we’re dealing with their friends, or they’re just too drunk to have any kind of conversation with! The good thing is that most people who come to the island come for at least a week, and sometimes longer. So if I get to help someone, and somehow I find out that they’re here for 10 days, and it’s only their first night, I pray that I run into them again. The other night I was out on the streets with Christine, when suddenly these three guys come rushing up to us. The first thing they asked us is “Are you guys the Christians?” We of course replied that yes we were.

Just a little background before I continue. When we go out on the streets we wear our 24-7 Ibiza shirts.

24- 7 Ibiza has been on the island for several years, and has really established a good reputation. The West End is a very branded kind of place. It’s common to see lots of different groups walking around in shirts advertising their club or bar. I’ll always remember my very first night on the streets Claire and I approached a young guy sitting in front of a bar who needed some help. When the bartender saw us this look of relief came over her face. She saw our shirts knew we were with 24-7 Ibiza and that we were there to help.

I say all that to say that the reason the 3 guys stopped us is because they saw our shirts. It turned out that the night before, one of them had gotten pretty drunk, and got separated from the rest of the group. Now if you’re a guy, and you’re drunk and passed out somewhere on the streets of the West End, one of two things is going to happen to you. You’re going to get robbed, or if the police find you, they’re not always so nice. Before anything bad could happen to this young guy, he was found by someone from 24-7 Ibiza, who got him back to his hotel safe. So these three guys were stopping us to say thank you. In chatting with them, I got to talk to the guy that got helped. He told me that he’d never heard of a Christian doing anything like what we’d done to help him. He admitted that he never really thought about God, but because of the kindness of a stranger in God’s name, he’d decided that maybe he should take a closer look at this whole God thing. So I got to chat with him when he was sober, and encourage him to give God a chance…We also were able to give the three of them bibles, that we personalized with a little message and a scripture for them to read.

Later that night when we got back to the prayer room, one of the other teams that was out told us that they’d seen three guys sitting outside of a bar reading their bibles.

How cool is that?!

Vomit Monday...

2010-08-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

First of all, aren’t you glad this post doesn’t have a photo?!

Monday night out on the streets was an interesting one. Somehow I’ve managed to make it two weeks without really being exposed to much vomit. Monday night ended my streak!

When we go out at night, we go out in pairs. On Monday I went out with Neil, and the evening started slow. After our first hour out we were back in the prayer room about 5 minutes when we got a call, about two girls alone and in trouble. Neil and I were able to help them get back to their hotel. In the middle of the madness of helping them, I was able to have a conversation with one of the girls about why she doesn’t believe in God anymore. I’m still a little overwhelmed by the amount of opportunities I get to share God with People. I was able to encourage this girl, by telling her that God was still there, and reaching out to her. I got to give her a bible, and I really just felt like the whole situation was a divine appointment. Like God brought me all the way out here to Ibiza just to meet her, and share His love with her. As I get to help people, and talk to them, and pray for them night after night, I'm struck by that thought that my being here is God's love. That he's loving people through me. He's meeting them where they're at, and reaching out to them. In the middle of vomit, and mess, God is here.

Greater Intimacy...

2010-08-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

One thing I’m absolutely loving about my time here in Ibiza is that I get to spend some quality time with God. This week I was listening to a great sermon by Francis Chan which you can find here. It’s called “You Have Everything You Need,” and It’s based on one of my favorite chapters in the bible 2 Peter 1. One of my favorite verses is number 3 which says:

“By his divine power God has given us everything we need for living a godly life, we have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”

The Message version says it like this:

“Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received!”

During one point in his message, he asks everyone if they had one wish, what would they ask for. He gives them time to think, and then he says this:

“Would you have asked for greater intimacy with God, believing that greater intimacy with God is the solution to all of your problems? Believing that a greater knowledge of him will lead you to the more grace and peace.Do you really believe that the knowledge of God is the way to be fulfilled in life?”

That really hit home with me. I think sometimes we get into this mindset where we pray to God to help us with our problems. But we don’t really get, that our knowing him more is the solution to everything. Knowing God more can help me with:

Financial issues

Relationships

Problems at work

Self-Esteem issues

Addiction

Dealing with my past

The knowledge of God is a powerful thing, and something that I’m learning more and more to desire above everything else. Like I said earlier, I’ve gotten to spend some quality time with God since I’ve been here. If I’m being honest, I’d say that a big reason for that is because I don’t have a TV here! In the quiet, I’ve been feeling God challenge me to continue this no matter where I am. Here in Ibiza I have this freeness in my schedule to be able to spend as much time with God as I want. I want to have that habit so ingrained in me that from now on, I never let anything distract me from seeking him.

Jesus LOVES Ibiza!

2010-08-01T06:33:00.001-07:00

We have these super cool Jesus Loves Ibiza bibles that were made specifically for 24-7 Ibiza.

Here’s what the back says:

Does Jesus Really love Ibiza?

Totally. We don’t know what you think about Jesus, but we do know that He loves this beautiful island and all who inhabit it. Jesus loves everyone, regardless of race, gender or social standing.

Following Jesus is a bit like dancing. The wrong things that we have done have put us out of step with God and left us in a mess that we can’t get out of by ourselves, but Jesus made a way to rescue us if we follow him.

Following Him is about catching His rhythm and allowing your life to move to the rhythm of his beat! His dance is a dance of love, mercy, justice, forgiveness, selflessness and sacrifice. It’s a dance that lead us to repentance and relationship with God…”

So far this summer we’ve given out hundreds of these bibles, and I’m so struck by the power of God’s word reaching out to people. The awesome thing is that people aren’t just taking them and forgetting about them, they’re actually reading them!

In Isaiah 55:10-11 God promises this:

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the the grain to grow producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

As I get to give out bibles this summer to prostitutes, and sun worshipers, and summer workers, I’m trusting that God keeps his promises!

What's Poppy Doing in Ibiza?!

2010-07-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

What is Poppy Doing in Ibiza?!

I’m sure a few of you are still a little foggy on exactly what I’m doing here in Spain. So the goal of this blog is to give you a clear picture of what my work here is all about.

A major goal of 24-7 Ibiza is to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of everyone we come into contact with.

We do most of our work in a part of Ibiza called the West End.It’s a long street that leads down to the ocean. Both sides of the street are filled with bars and strip clubs, and a few fast food type restaurants.

During the summer season at night this street is a madhouse! It’s full of people, and always super busy. Each of the places along the West End hires a person called a PR. This person basically stands outside of the front entrance and works to try to get people to come through the door. If you were to walk down the West End at about 3:00 am every few steps you’d have someone stopping you and trying to entice you into their bar with whatever the drink specials of the night are.

24-7 Ibiza has a center that’s right smack in the middle of all the madness of the West End.

During the week Monday through Friday our center is open from 4:00 to 8:00 for workers. Most of the workers here in Ibiza are British, and they come to live and work in Ibiza for the summer. We offer them free internet, we have a Wii, and we have table tennis.It’s basically a place for them to chill. During those times in the center the goal is to fulfill a bit of their practical needs while also getting the chance to chat and get to know them.

Monday through Thursday in the evenings, we go out into the West End from 12 am until 5 am, and just wait for God to lead us. That may mean approaching someone and asking if there’s anything we can pray for them about, or it could be catching up with a worker we’ve met in our center. When we’re out during the night times we split in half. So half of us are in the prayer room praying, and the other half are out in the streets.

If we see someone whose overly intoxicated and needs help, we offer it. Most times that means a ride back to their hotel. We use the 24-7 vehicle that’s lovingly called “The Vomit Van!”

There are taxi’s here on the island, but if you’re too drunk the taxi drivers won’t take you, because they’re afraid you’re going to throw up in their car! There are so many young people that get left in really vulnerable situations. Imagine being in a foreign country, you’ve somehow lost your friends, and you’re drunk. You try to get a taxi, but they won’t take you, so you just lay down on a bench hoping to sober up soon. If you fall asleep or pass out, you more than likely will get robbed, or possibly even worse. We try to keep an eye out, and help those that we can.

So far it’s been awesome, and I’ll be sharing more about specific encounters that I’ve had even in just my couple of weeks!

I'm in Ibiza...

2010-07-22T06:41:00.001-07:00

That's right...I'm FINALLY in IBIZA!

Since we do most of our work at night, I’m trying to get into the same rhythm as the rest of the team. The street work that we do usually happens between 11:00 pm and 5:00 - 6:00 am. So I’m working to get acclimated! I’m living in an apartment with 3 other girls who are here long term. Christine, Claire, and KT. Everyone here has been really welcoming which has been great.

On Sunday nights there is a service that the ministry has started doing. It was so cool to participate in it this past week. There were at least 6 of the West African girls who work as prostitutes here on the island who attended. They took bibles, and were really open to chat and pray. These girls are brought to the island during the busy summer season to work. Some of them come not knowing that they will be prostitutes. Once they’re here they’re forced to work off their “debt” before they can return home. When I was here on the prayer team last April, we spent lots of time praying for them, so it was good to finally meet them tonight. I’m praying that God would give me the chance to speak and pray with as many of them as I can.

Exploration...

2010-06-13T15:26:00.001-07:00

The girls and I went trail walking. Here's a little of what I saw...

Trust me...I know what I'm doing.

2010-06-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

Last year in April I got to go to Spain on a short term mission trip…it was awesome! Click HERE to read a recap of my trip from last year. In mid-July, I’ll be heading back to Ibiza for 3 months.

If I’m being honest, I’ll admit that I’m both super excited and a little scared about going back to Ibiza. As I’ve been praying about my trip, one of my recurring prayers has been that God would give me the ability to look at people and really see them. Most of the time, I’m so wrapped up in my own life, and super focused on me, that it’s really easy for me walk past someone and just ignore their situation. I’ve just been asking God to let me see people like he does. I want to be bold, and I want to be able to see past the “public” face that most people put on. You know, the one we show other people when we’re trying to hide. I want to look at someone, and feel God’s heart breaking because He wants them to know how much he loves them. I want to be the vessel that God used to express that to them in both word and deed. As I’ve been praying about my trip, I’ve been hearing God speak to me…Trust me. For provision, and for guidance. Trust me for everything. I’m going to Ibiza this summer because I really feel like God is calling me to go. I know that he’s going to walk with me. And I believe that if I trust and am obedient, the Holy Spirit is going to lead me in every situation I find myself in. I keep thinking about the story in the bible when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. The bible says that “early the next morning” Abraham got up and started on the journey to do what God had asked him to do. He did that trusting that God would provide. I want to have that same immediate obedience. I want to hear the Holy Spirit speak, and immediately set out to obey without a second of hesitation. No excuses, just obedience and surrender.

That’s one of my prayers for this summer, and for the rest of my life!

Viva Liberace!

2010-05-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

One of my crazy sisters is OBSESSED with Liberace. So for Mother’s Day her kids decided that they would treat her to the official Liberace museum here in Las Vegas. She was thrilled, and I learned way more about this flamboyant performer then I ever wanted to! (the picture in the shorts is by far my favorite!)

Family at the Park...

2010-05-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

Lost...the end

2010-05-27T17:42:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday marked the end of one of my favorite shows of all time. I’ve watched from the very first episode. I distinctly remember the end of episode one when the castaways are all staring into the forest as the “monster” shows up for the first time. From that moment on, I was hooked. I know a lot of people feel strongly about the finale. Some loved it, and some hated it. I actually liked it a lot. It was deeply spiritual, and I’ve loved trying to wrap my head around what it all means. I still have it saved on my DVR, and I’m sure I’ll watch it several more times before I delete it. In the end, I’ll admit that there were a lot of questions that didn’t get answered. But in the last 10 minutes of the episode, I was in tears, and it just didn’t seem to matter to me anymore. As I watched Jack at the end of his journey, it hit me just how far he‘d come. From a man of science to a man of faith. If you haven’t seen the finale, you may not want to read any further as I’m about to share some of my favorite moments (in no particular order) -

1. Sawyer and Juliet’s awakening - so sweet and passionate. I was never a Kate and Sawyer fan, so I was pleasantly surprised when he and Juliet fell in love. It was good to see them re-united. Did anyone else catch that as they were embracing he whispers to her “I got you”? This was of course in reference to her death (falling down the well).

2. Kate tells Jack that she loves him. I thought Matthew Fox was in the acting zone during the finale. The look on his face, and his response just took my breath away. Also in the final church scene when Kate comes up to him and takes his hand, again his expression was just priceless. So full of just raw emotion.

3. Hurley asking Ben to be his 2nd. A major theme through out the series and the finale is redemption. And who needs it more than Benjamin Linus?! I loved seeing the look of awe and disbelief on his face as he finally gets the purpose he’s so desperately been longing for.

I think I’ve been so consumed this season with trying to figure out all the mysteries of the island that I lost sight of the fact that these people were a community. At the end of the finale that point was hammered home. The tears were definitely flowing as Jack steps into the church and you see his reaction to seeing his island companions. At that point it hit me that even with all of the crazy mysteries of the island (polar bears and all!) at its heart lost was about these people. It was about there individual journey’s of redemption, but also about each of their parts within this community that was forced upon them because of the crash of Oceanic 815.

If you’ve never watched LOST, I’d encourage you to get season one on DVD and get hooked!

Transparent

2010-03-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

Transparent def. - "So sheer as to permit light to pass through, easily seen through, Open, free of pretense or deceit."

If I'm being honest, I haven't been the most transparent person in my life. Even as I write this, I want to edit myself, and be less OPEN. Why is being transparent so hard for me? That's a question I've been asking myself this week. My answer boils down to the fact that I'm afraid. When you're transparent, people see EVERYTHING. There is no place to hide. No mask, no pretenses...just you. The raw, bare, real you. I think maybe we're all a little afraid that if people see who we really are they won't like or accept us. The fear of that rejection, causes us all to hide to varying degrees. My goal is to move past that, because I'm coming to realize how important being transparent can be, to how I share Christ with people. If I make myself vulnerable by being transparent, will that let people see Christ more in my life? I think the answer to that is yes. Knowing that challenges me to make sure that Christ is prevalent in my life. Because when you're sheer, if there's no substance, people see nothing. Here's a cool verse -

"Christ is the visible image of the invisible God..." (Colossians 1:15a)

So basically when we see Christ, we see who God is, through him. I want the same to be said of me. I want Poppy to be the visible image of Christ to people. To do that, I have to get rid of all of the things that get in the way of people seeing Christ in me. It's a tall order, but one to work on!

...

2010-03-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

"Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action."

Mahatma Ghandi

My Reading Machine!

2010-02-06T10:46:00.001-08:00

I FINALLY got an Amazon Kindle. Can you tell that I'm excited?! For those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, it's basically an electronic book. And because it's got wireless capability, I can download a book almost anywhere I'm at. I'm a bit of a book worm, so you'll have to excuse me, because I'm in reading heaven!

Steady...

2010-01-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

There’s this great Baz Luhrmann poem that was turned into song called “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” One of the lines in the song goes like this:

“Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.”

I cling to the thought of that! Here I am 39 years old, and I feel like I’m 17, still trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. Sometimes I feel bad about this. I look at my life, and I wonder why I don’t have it all figured out yet. This last year I’ve come to a realization. I may not know what I want to be when I grow up, BUT I do know what my life’s ambition is - to please God. Simple but true. I think I’m finally getting to a place where I’m realizing that that’s enough. I don’t have to have my life mapped out. I’m not a failure. It’s okay for me to wake up each day, and offer myself to God for whatever he may want. To follow him, no matter what that means. I was praying the other day, and I started thinking about Enoch. This is what Genesis 5:23-24 says about him –

“Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.”

That’s the kind of relationship I want to have with God. As I read those verses, I just imagine two people walking on a path together - Enoch and God. Notice that it says he walked steadily with God. Here’s the dictionary definition:

Steadily – Even, or regular in movement, Free from change, Constant, Habitual

I think that Enoch’s relationship with God was his focus. It wasn’t something that was optional. He ALWAYS walked with God – Period.

I like to think that the reason that God took Enoch was because he wanted to be with him. He didn’t want to wait. He enjoyed his relationship and company so much that he just decided to take him home.

Sometimes I’m right there walking with God, in step with him in every way. But I also know that I’m easily distracted! Something else will catch my eye, and before I know it I’m excusing myself to go off and put my focus someplace else. I’m really trying to learn how to change that. I’m trying to really get that there’s nothing else in this world that deserves my focus like my relationship with God does. I desire to have a constant, habitual and steady relationship with him. I’ve been seeking change in my life, and that’s where it comes from. From me being intimate with the creator, and letting him change me from the inside out.

Resolve...

2010-01-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

2009 was not a great year for me. To be blunt…it was kind of crappy. I went through some major transitions, and was forced to make choices that I otherwise would not have. I spent the last couple of months of the year looking around at my life in bewilderment.

“How the heck did I get here!?”

There’s something inherently “clean slate” about the New Year. It’s like a fresh start, a new beginning - another chance to start over again. Hence the rush that happens the last week of every year, as people scrounge to come up with their New Year’s resolutions. I haven’t had one in several years. Now don’t get me wrong, I definitely think they can be a positive spark of change in a person’s life. I just think around this time of year, they’re something people do, because it’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s probably why only about 8% of people actually achieve their resolution. I’m a little turned off by making promises for promises sake. If I resolve to do something, I want to mean it and most importantly, I want to actually do it!

I’m a huge fan of dictionaries. I think we use way too many words that we don’t even really understand. Here are a few eye opening definitions…

Resolve – To come to a firm decision about something
Firm – Unyielding, solid, unlikely to give away, unbending

This year, for the first time in a long time I’m encouraging myself to make some
resolutions…Now it didn’t happen before January 1st like it’s supposed to. But I’ve really started thinking about some things I’d like to accomplish. I was having a little quiet time the other day when I thought…”What if this is the year I REALLY let God CHANGE my life?” What If I let him change the areas of my life that have grown familiar, comfortable, and stale? When I thought that, it hit me that I REALLY want to do that.

I really want to stop being scared of that.

I really want to open up my hands and surrender the things that I’ve been holding on to for so long.

Surrender – To yield, to the possession or power of another – To give up, to abandon
Abandon – To leave completely and FINALLY, to desert, to yield without restraint or moderation

That's my prayer for this year. That it would be a year that I yield without restraint or moderation. A year in which I completely abandon myself to all that God has for me...

Bring it on!

December

2010-01-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

I've been such a bad blogger lately! No excuses! Here's what I've been up to...

December was a fun month. I got to participate in a 5K here in Vegas called The Santa Run. It was me and 14,000 other people dressed up like Santa, running a 5K. It really was one of the coolest things I did all year long! Here are some photo's...

I also spent the month of December as a Vegan! It all started when my vegetarian niece asked me to watch a video on YouTube called "Meet your Meat". Let's just say that after viewing it I had to sit down and have a long conversation with myself about consuming meat. So I decided to pledge to be Veg for 30 days. It was interesting. The biggest thing I learned is that it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be to give up meat. Here's me having a Tofurky for Thanksgiving...

The 30 days are up, but I'm still hanging strong. Eating a cross between Vegan and Vegetarian...and I'm actually loving it!

The BIG Apple...

2009-11-15T09:03:00.000-08:00

Been busy writing. Now that we're coming to the end of the 2nd week, I'm noticing that it's starting to get harder! I'm sure that's because I was so excited about the possibility of actually finally writing a book in week one. That excitement is starting to wear off, as I settle in and actually write one. It's both hard and rewarding at the same time. I know that this is just the first draft, but I think part of me thinks it should be Shakespeare the first time without editing...but of course it's not! I feel like a lot of what I'm writing is crap. But I'm hearing that's normal for the first draft. I'll go back and edit once I'm done with the challenge.

I got to go to New York last week with my sisters. It was Amazing! I got to see my first Broadway show. We went to see Wicked which was great (again!) Here are some photos...

Word Count...

2009-11-05T07:26:00.000-08:00

11,136 - WOO HOO!

And so it begins...

2009-11-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

Writing, Life, and Teenagers...

2009-10-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Poppyland...

For the past few days I've been consumed with preparing for NaNoWriMo (see previous post).I've been trying to get a good handle on my book idea before I start writing.
Last night I went to a Nano kick-off event that was held locally. It was pretty cool to meet other people in my area who are taking up the challenge with me this November. They actually have write-ins at local coffee houses and bookstores planned. So I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of time away from home this month.

This past week I had my first small group meeting with a group of teenage girls I'll be helping to lead. It just reminded me how much I like working with young people. I remember what it was like to be 14 and full of questions about God and life. My goal is to just be as honest and transparent with them as I can. I became a Christian when I was 15, and one of the best things that happened to me was meeting a lady in my church named Pam Shaw. She was my Sunday School teacher, and she made it her business to help me grow in my relationship with God. She basically discipled me. She really helped me build a firm foundation of faith. She challenged me, and I know that I am the "Christian" I am today because of her. I'd love to pass that on to someone else. Plus I think after working in youth ministry for many years, I'm tired of a lot of the shallowness I see. I don't know if I'm expressing that well...I've just seen so many instances where we're not really being honest with teenagers about what following Christ means. So many youth ministries are full of games and pizza, and movie clips, and not much else. Where's the substance! I think it's like that because most adults think kids can't handle anything else. We do them a disservice when we have that attitude.

So I'm just praying that God would use me to impact my small group in a REAL way.

I'm off to stress some more about my novel!

(The picture is of my nieces Tahani and Richelle...they ROCK!)

NaNoWriMo 2009

2009-10-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

NaNoWriMo starts on November 1st. For those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, here's a brief explanation...
NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month is held every year November 1st through the 30th. As a participant your goal is to write a 50,000 word novel within the 30 days. I think that equals 1667 words per day. I've been saying I was going to write a book for ages, and I've actually had a decent idea for a couple of years now. I think part of the problem is that the idea of writing a novel is kind of daunting. It seems so HUGE that whenever I try to do it, I usually don't get far. We'll see how it goes this year...

Imaginative Prayer

2009-09-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I heard about this great podcast called Pray-As-You-Go. They're devotionals that you can download from iTunes or from their website. There's one for each weekday, and they're about 12-15 minutes long. I've been using them on and off during my quiet times for about a year. Lately, I've been using them a lot more frequently. I'll either listen to it on my way to work, or I'll take a walk and listen to it during my morning break. Usually there's a scripture reading, and then a few questions and or thoughts to meditate on. It's a great devotional tool. I mention it because today's was especially awesome. I've been learning a lot about spiritual formation and a lot of the disciplines that go along with it. One of the practices that has really impacted me is Imaginative prayer. It's a practice that was started by Ignatius of Loyola.
Here's how Mike King describes the practice in his book "Presence-Centered Youth Ministry:

"When I practice imaginative prayer, I often select a scripture passage that I want to spend time meditating on and praying through. I imagine what it must have been like to live in the situation described in the passage. I interact with the text of scripture, contemplating it, asking question like these:

What do I see?
What do I smell
What do I hear?
Who do I see myself as in the passage?
How am I reacting to the events?
What is the Lord saying to me?

I read the text several times as I ask these questions, being patient and taking time to listen."

It was cool because today's podcast utilized this practice...And today, God used it to remind me of some things that he'd spoken to me earlier this year. It was a great way to start my day!

Reminded...

2009-09-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

I went to California last weekend, and I got to see some of the people that I miss sooooooo very much. It was a great trip. It also reminded me just how much my life has changed in the last year. The cool thing is that through all of the uncertainty God has continued to remind me over and over again that he is with me. How cool is that?! I love it when God takes the time to re-assure me that he loves me, and that he's with me. It just blows my mind!

light

2009-09-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Shining
Bright
That's what you do
That's who you are
Why is it that some are blind to you?
To your beautiful light
Preferring instead the darkness
The hiding
Truly the light exposes all
Everyone can see
Weakness
Imperfections
The light is Truth
It cannot lie
It forces us to face our
mediocrity
(selves)
apathy
(selves)
fear
(selves)
The things we'd rather keep our eyes closed to
It is hard
But
in the light is where you are
It is who you are
And that is where I want to be

2009-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Wanted to update everyone on what's been going on in poppyland...

I posted a few weeks ago about my family going to church, and I'm super happy to say that they're still going. Both of my sisters have joined a small group, and the three of us are taking the members class together. My sister Lovey actually got baptized last week! My nieces are getting involved in the youth group, and I am just sitting back and watching God move in their lives. To say it's been awesome is a bit of an understatement!

Right now I'm still working at my temp job. I really like it, and I've got my fingers crossed that it's going to become permanent. Until then I'm living with one of my sisters. When I finally get a permanent job, I'm planning on FINALLY getting a place of my own...I think...I say that because part of me is kind of glad that I haven't signed a lease or anything like that yet. I just feel like I'm taking it day to day. Like I'm just waiting for God to tell me to sell all my stuff and go off on an adventure. That's one of the cool things about being single. I can just pick up and go at any time!

My times with God for the past couple of months, have been pretty amazing. I feel like he's just been pouring into my life. I really believe that God is always trying to reveal himself to us. That if we take the time to stop and listen, he's waiting to speak. As I've done that in my own life, I've just been overwhelmed with the things that God is speaking to me.

So to sum it all up, I still don't know WHERE I'm going...but I'm at a point where I'm okay with that!
Until next time...

Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

2009-09-07T21:23:00.001-07:00

This is AWESOME!

Working...

2009-08-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

So I've been working! FINALLY! I started off doing a 2 week temp job for Wells Fargo. The people were really nice, but it was just temporary. I'm now on a temporary job that I hope will turn permanent. That would be nice! I feel like I still haven't really found my place here in Vegas. I'm making an effort to really get myself involved in church. But I'll be honest and say that I'm still feeling a little lost. If somebody came up to me tomorrow and said "Tell me what your dreams are, I'm going to give you everything you need to accomplish them." I think I'd have to really sit and think about what my response would be. I just don't know anymore. Beyond wanting to please God with my life, I'm at a loss...The good thing is that instead of sulking, or worrying about my lack of direction, I've decided to just focus on God. That's the one thing that I KNOW that I want to do with my life. So I'm just going to do that. I figure everything else will just fall into place eventually...

Impossible?

2009-07-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

I want to start this post off by sharing a little bit of my background. I grew up in a family that didn't really go to church. Before I was 15 I can only remember going a handful of times, and most of those were for weddings. When I was 15 we moved next door to, and became friends with this great family who attended church. To make a long story short, I started going, and God changed my life. Since then, I've really been praying that everyone else in my family would get the chance to really meet God like I did. To give you some perspective, I just had a birthday and I turned 39. So
we're talking 24 years!

A couple of Sundays ago one of my sisters called me out of the blue and asked if she could go to church with me. I of course told her yes and we were on our way. I've been going to a church called Central here in Las Vegas, and it's been growing on me. I'm having some serious Rock Harbor withdrawals! Rock Harbor was the church I was attending in Orange County. I LOVED it! But God is the same no matter where I go to church, so I've been sucking it up...But anyway, back to my sister...Of course on the Sunday that she asks to go with me there is weirdness on the way to church. Some radical pro-life group decided to protest in front of the church. As we get closer we begin to see people holding up these large banners with picture of aborted babies on them. Very graphic. I can't imagine what I'd have been feeling if I were a parent bringing my kid to church that day. As adults my sister and I were both shocked. She of course begins to ask me who the people are, and if they are connected with the church. I know they're not, so I'm trying to re-assure as we head in the door. By this time I'm worried that the ugliness of our experience getting to church will hinder her from getting anything from the service. But God rocks...my sister had a life changing experience, and it was pretty cool. God spoke to her in a specific way that really affected her. The whole situation just reminded me how GREAT God is. He took a situation that seemed kind of impossible, and he still made it work.

My sister was so excited that she signed her kids up for children's church. Her excitement also motivated my other sister to come with us last Sunday. So imagine the smile on my face as I'm sitting in church last Sunday with both of my sisters, my mother, and one of my brother in-laws (who grew up Jehovah's Witness)...pretty darn cool!

Food, Inc

2009-07-17T16:24:00.001-07:00

FINALLY went to see Food Inc. last week. It was a real eye opener. It made me both sad and angry, and I think it's a movie that everyone needs to see. Here's one of the statistics from the movie that scared me:

1 out of 3 children born after the year 2000 will at some point in their lives develop type 2 diabetes. For minorities that number jumps to 1 out of 2.

That is just unacceptable! We really need to take a look at the foods we eat, what's in them, and where they come from. It made me take a look at my own family, and the way I was raised to eat. I'm sitting in my sister's kitchen typing this blog and as I look around at the food she has, I'm realizing that probably 90% of it is processed. Most of it contains chemicals that our bodies were not meant to process.

Seeing the movie makes me want to pay more attention to the foods that I put in my mouth.

Today...

2009-07-07T22:32:00.001-07:00

Today was filled with the Michael Jackson memorial. The one thought that's been running through my mind all day is - why do we wait until people are dead to celebrate them? Let's be honest...a week before he died MJ was being ridiculed by the media, but now everyone wants to honor him as the true "King of Pop". Today has challenged me to celebrate the people in my life. Someone you know and love has a birthday coming up...What if on that day, you took the time to sit them down, and tell them what they mean to you? I'll bet that would be a lot more memorable to them then any gift you could buy them. Just a thought...

On the job front, I'm still not having any luck. I'm not really loving Vegas at all, and I'll admit that I'm a little confused as to what my next step should be. Whatever that is, I'll need money to do it, so I'm really just trusting that God is going to provide. Have I mentioned that I suck at trusting and waiting?

I Cut My Hair!

2009-06-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

I cut my hair! Here's a semi blurry picture of my new doo...

Now that all my traveling is done (for now!) I've finally thrown my hat into the Las Vegas job market. Hopefully I'll have some good news to share soon. I really want to get my own place, plus I'm tired of being poor!

That's it for now...

Movie Reviews

2009-05-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick review of a few movies I've seen lately. I went to see the new Star Trek movie, and was pleasantly surprised. Though I am a lover of sci-fi, I've never been much of a Star Trek person. I just never got into any of the TV shows, and before this one, I'd never seen any of the movies. I saw the preview a couple of months ago, and I was sold! I went with my sister and her husband Bob who is a certified trekkie. I thought the movie was great. It was funny, and there was lots of action. I was pleasantly surprised by Zachary Quinto as Spock. For all you fellow Heroes fans out there, you know Zachary as Sylar. It was cool to see him not be the bad guy. Plus Leonard Nimoy was also in the movie. I thought it was great that J.J. Abrams (the director) chose to pay homage to the original crew. Seeing this movie and enjoying it like I did, actually made me want to give Star Trek another chance. So I may be searching for some Star Trek on DVD in the near future!

I've been wanting to see Valkyrie for a while now. I saw a great Documentary about the Valkyrie plot on The History Channel that fueled my desire even more. On my flight to Spain a couple of weeks ago it was one of the movie choices so I finally got to see it. For those who don't know the movie is about the Valkyrie plot which was a plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler. I'm such a history buff, and I thought they did a great job building the suspense, and sticking really closely to the story. Plus the movie has a stellar cast - Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, and Bill Nighy just to name a few. It reminded me of another historical type movie that I really liked which was Thirteen Days with Kevin Costner. It's about the Cuban missile crisis. Great movie!

On a completely different front, I'm still looking for a job, and hopefully will have a few interviews this week. I'm headed back to California at the beginning of June for a wedding which should be fun. My goal is to get to work, and get my own place within the next couple of months. I've had a blast living with my mom, but it's time to move onward and upward!

I Left my Heart...

2009-05-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

I've been up in Northern California visiting my good friends Larry and Rhonda for the past week. They're always so much fun. They live near San Francisco, so we actually got to go and spend a day in the city. Here's some of what I saw...