today...

we flew kites.

and it was a glorious day.

(and now I am getting ready to watch BOLT with my Jr. High girls. Here's to a simply delightful weekend!)

((and yes, I still intend on telling you all about our mystery trip!))

today i'd like...

to fly a kite.

(I am also pretty homesick.)

today is an dreary sort of paradox...

This is kinda how I feel today...

tired and dreary and a little bit downcast.

But it is such a sunshiny day outside!

Boo on days like this...

I'm sure it will get better.

going on a little trip...

And yes, it is a mystery.

What in the world am I talking about?

633 Kingdom Life Mystery Mission Trip

Yeah, I figure you are still confused. Let me back up. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God. This is the focus of our Spring Break mission trip this year. A small group of us will be leaving today to be ambassadors of the Kingdom to our world. Where are we going exactly? Well, that is the mystery part of it. We have planned this trip {mostly Cody planned; I helped} and no one other than a few select people really know any of the details. We gave each team member a detailed packing list, and that is all they really know. Oh, and they know we get back Wednesday night. 

I'll be back later this week and let you all know how it goes.

Until then, please be praying for us. Pray for GOD to move in us and use us in tremendous ways on this trip. I'm going to be honest, I hope this trip is life changing for everyone on it.  I am excited to see just how HE has decided to work.

"HE who calls you if faithful; HE will surely do it" (1 Thess. 5:24). 

I give HIM all the praise and glory, right now, for all the things HE is going to do.

a favorite way to spend a saturday...

three girls

a sack lunch

a mountain

& GOD

This past Saturday, Ashley {my roommate}, Annie {my dear, visiting friend}, and I slipped away from the craziness of our lives to Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville. We packed our lunches, put on our tennis shoes, and grabbed our Bibles {and journals, and additional reading and study materials...}, ready for some much needed quiet time. We found my favorite spot, a rock ledge that is hidden away under a canopy of trees, and sat down to enjoy our view and our lunches. We chatted for a while, and then each grew quiet. We had no particular plan, though we had originally thought we would roam around a bit more, so we each settled into the silence and our spot on the rock.

I was surprised when I looked at my phone and saw that we had been there for nearly three hours. All of a sudden, a mighty wind seemed to roar around us, breaking our silence. It almost felt like GOD was giving us HIS approval or dismissing us or something. We stayed a while longer, reflecting on our individual experience on the rock, and then left to explore some more of the park {and find a restroom}.

I had been needing a day like this for a while.

In community, but in solitude, and in nature.

 I have decided that it is definitely a favorite way to spend a Saturday.

a little bit of loveliness...

I just think this is precious. 

Where can I find these flowers and some cute antique tins?

a series of unplanned events...

... led to a series of choices.

Which required faith. 

And stepping out in that faith.

Taking action.

The result?

A beautiful scene of God at work.

And an open door for that work to continue.

Let me tell you the story of what I experienced this past Sunday morning. First let me back up. I went up to Murfreesboro on Saturday afternoon to visit Laurel and some other friends. The plan was to be there for the Coffeehouse Fundraiser that night, hang out, stay the night, and go to church with them the next morning before heading back to Huntsville. 

Saturday night we were thrilled by a huge, unexpected {though forecasted} surprise-- SNOW! As in true college student/fresh out of college student fashion {I know... it has been 2 years now. Not quite fresh.}, we ventured out for some snow sledding adventures at about 1:30am. When we got back, close to 3:30, we just weren't all that tired. Seriously, I could not fall asleep. So we had some deep, late-night real talk until nearly 5. Needless to say, we were moving a little slow as we got ready for church Sunday morning.

Bible class starts at 9:30, and at 9:35, we {Laurel, Jenny, & I} were walking out the front door into {approximately} 7 inches of snow. After clearing the snow off the windows and slowly backing out of the driveway, we were on our way. Except we stopped at Starbucks. And there was a line. And as we made our way towards the church, we realized that we were way too late to make an appearance in class, so we turned down a side street, found a Hardees, and pulled in. 

{Series of unplanned events}

As we drove up to the drive-thru, we noticed 2 homeless men standing outside. We pulled together some money as we got our food and then drove back around the building to help out these 2 men. However, they weren't outside anymore; they'd gone in. So we parked the car, grabbed our food, and headed inside.

{Series of choices}

When we walked in, we noticed that there were actually 4 of them, and we really didn't know what to do, so we grabbed a booth and sat down. I mean, we didn't really know for sure if they were even homeless. Doubts and fears kept us frozen in our seats. What if they aren't homeless? What if they get mad or offended if we approach them? What if they just see as some annoying, rich girls that want to get in a good deed for the day? How do we start this conversation? We sat there for about 10 minutes before any of us made a move. Finally, I stood up.... and walked right past them into the bathroom. {ha, pansy} I noticed that they didn't have any food, so I knew we had to do something. So when I walked out, after breathing a desperate prayer to GOD for assistance, I walked up to the guys, and just started talking to them.

{Stepping out in faith}

Laurel and Jenny were right behind me, and together, we sat and chatted with the men. We found out they had slept in a Salvation Army the night before, but they get kicked out in the mornings, so they were waiting here until the library would open at 1:00. At one point Jenny {taking another step in faith} asked the guys if they would want to go to church with us. They said yes. So we called our friend T, he came, we loaded up the 2 cars, and made our way to church.

{Taking action}

It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in church. I turned to look down the pew at the people beside me... Jerry, John, Bill, & Charles sitting between me and my friends. We ended up spending about 4 hours with these men, hearing about their lives and their search for jobs, laughing together as we sat in the back of a Chinese buffet... We dropped them off at the library that afternoon, and as we drove away, I thought about just how much this afternoon must have meant to them.... and I realized just how much it meant to me. 

Thank you, LORD, for using me as a vessel... a gift of YOUR love and mercy to these men.

Interested in learning more about the crisis of homelessness in our country and how we, as the church, can be used by God to help, even in these "little" ways? Check out Under The Overpass , a book by Mike Yandoski. I just finished reading it, and it has really given me some good perspective.