Outreach and Christmas Cookies

Today we handed out Christmas chocolates around the Dream Center and invited people to the toy give away for kids under 11, on December 19th.

Then after the outreach we had Susan and a few of the girls over for lunch and to make Christmas cookies.

Here is the day in pictures..


Dean driving the Shuttle and Steele posing :-)

Felix with Abel and Megan handing out Christmas Candy and inviting people to the toy give away. Megan really did great at the door to door stuff!

Felix watching as Evangeline and Megan invited people to the toy give away. These two girls make me so proud when I watch them do stuff like this!

Abel, Steele and Cameron having some fun on the luggage rack in the shuttle.

The assembly line of volunteers loading the shuttle with bags of groceries to be handed out at service Sunday and at the Cafe next week.

Steele relaxing on some bags of groceries.

The group making cookies.

Tianna and her beautiful baby girl..

Neia, Macayla, Shelby and Steele.

The group; Carly, Susan, Tiana, Essence, Megan, Neia, Shelby, Rain, Mccayla, Cameron.

We had a GREAT day!

You can see the rest of the pictures HERE on my facebook, I took a lot as always :-)

BRDC Youth Christmas

This year we will be hosting a youth Christmas party at the Dream Center on Tuesday December 15th at 5:00 pm. This event will be by invitation only for 50 kids. We plan on having a sit down meal, a desert bar, games and a gift for each kid. Please plan on being there! Below is a list of things needed for the event. We are in need of donations to help with these items. Please contact Jillian.ortells@churchunited.org or Esther.robert@churchunited.org if you would like to make a donation.

Invitations
Place cards
Table favors (50)
Gifts (boys; girl under $25.00)
Props for photo booth
bows, tags
Food
Desert
Decor
DJ

Volunteers Needed:
Security
Chaperones
Set Up
Clean Up
Servers
Video/Audio

Thank you for your continued involvement and support.

My tweet cloud

..what I have been tweeting about over the last year. Very Surprised "Obama" didn't make the cut :-)

Twitter is fun.

What I found-A furniture story

Thanksgiving morning we had just left the Mississippi River Levee, where we handed out breakfast, socks, jackets, blankets and cookies to a handful of homeless people that lived there. We were now headed to the north street overpass, a place where 20 to 30 homeless people call home.

As I was making my way from the levee to North Street, I turned down a side road and passed a furniture store that was now closed. I saw a huge pile of trash out by the road. It looked like they had been remodeling the building and had cleaned out everything that was inside.

Just as I drove past, I caught a glimpse of what looked to be a nice piece of furniture sticking out from under all the rubbish. I quickly made the block and came back. There it was, like gold in a mountain. I couldn't believe this beautiful piece of furniture was just sitting there. Covered and surrounded by discarded building materials, boxes, paint, and garbage bags. Sure, the top was scratched up, but that was it.

I quickly called Vince, the leader of Homeless Outreach, he came by, loaded it up in his truck and now it sits in my dinning room.

God knows I love furniture. That and shoes are my weakness. He also knows I ain't above digging in the trash to get a gift He has left for me. Thanks God.

Ethiopia on my mind..

I recall the underlying sadness we felt at this time last year. Dean and I made a deliberate effort to be present, be joyful, and be hopeful during the Christmas season for Evangeline and Steele but it was difficult. We had been 11 months waiting for Abel to come home and we were weary of the waiting. We were sad that he was still in care and not home with us. But on December 10th we got the call that he was ours and we would be traveling to Ethiopia at the end of January to get him.

That was a good day.

Now, almost a year later, I am still haunted by Ethiopia. It scarred me forever. But many days go by that I don't think of Ethiopia. I am forgetting her. No, there she is. As I walked the mall looking for an outfit to wear to Dean's Coca Cola Christmas party, "you NEED this?" I heard in my head. Then I remembered the mothers sleeping with their babies, on the side walks, all over Addis Ababu. That stung my heart. Made it hard to shop for what I thought I needed. The Berbere spice brings me back when I open the cabinet where it is stored in the kitchen. I take a deep breath in, and remember Beef Tibs and drinking the best coffee in the world. The song "Closer" by Neo brings me back (of the few shows on TV in Ethiopia, The Closer with Kiera Sedric was one of them and they used the song "Closer" on their TV adds, which played several times a day. So, now that song is forever etched in my mind as Ethiopian TV).

I wish American life didn't chip away at reality. I am so blessed to be born in the U.S. but with blessing comes great responsibility. Am I living up to that responsibility? Does my heart break for what breaks His?

How do we not get sucked into consumer obsessed Christmas when everyone and everything is all about that right now? We do truly live in Sodom and Gomorrah.

But I wont forget. I wont forget Ebony. She lives here in the inner city. Her mother died last year from AIDS and Alcoholism and then the man they lived with died also. Now she lives with her aunt. I can't reach them because the phone number has changed. But she is on my heart and I pray God will cross our paths again. I wont forget my girl Neia either or little Destiny. I can take time to pour a little into their lives. I will do what I can. Here. Now. And I will do what I can for Ethiopia. It is a small world now.


I drew this picture after returning from Ethiopia. I didn't feel I had enough words to express what was going on inside my heart so I grabbed some colored pencils and started drawing. It was very therapeutic.

Megaphone of a 1000 voices


Click the picture to order some of the best coffee in the world, Fair Trade Ethiopian coffee. You wont regret it and you will be helping poor Ethiopian Farmers earn a living wage.

Today is World AIDS Day

• HIV is a virus that infects cells of the immune system.

• Without treatment, HIV is fatal. However WITH treatement people are living almost as long as those without the disease.

• On average, people with HIV need to take medications twice daily. They also need to have lab work and see a specialist quarterly.

• HIV is spread through sex, drug needles and birth.

• HIV is blood borne, not air borne. HIV cannot be spread by saliva, tears, sweat, urine, or feces.

• HIV is not spread through casual, household contact.

• As of 2009 there were over 1 million people with HIV in America.

• Children with HIV are perfectly safe to be around, hug, kiss, and share food and bathrooms with. For this reason, generally people with HIV are not required by law to tell ANYONE about their condition, including schools and even dentists.

Global HIV/AIDS estimates, end of 2008

The latest statistics of the global HIV and AIDS were published by UNAIDS in November 2009, and refer to the end of 2008.

	Estimate
People living with HIV/AIDS in 2008	33.4 million
Adults living with HIV/AIDS in 2008	31.3 million
Women living with HIV/AIDS in 2008	15.7 million
Children living with HIV/AIDS in 2008	2.1 million
People newly infected with HIV in 2008	2.7 million
Children newly infected with HIV in 2008	0.43 million
AIDS deaths in 2008	2.0 million
Child AIDS deaths in 2008	0.28 million

More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.

Africa has over 14 million AIDS orphans.

At the end of 2008, women accounted for 50% of all adults living with HIV worldwide

In developing and transitional countries, 9.5 million people are in immediate need of life-saving AIDS drugs; of these, only 4 million (42%) are receiving the drugs.

The number of people living with HIV has risen from around 8 million in 1990 to 33 million today, and is still growing. Around 67% of people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa.

During 2008 more than two and a half million adults and children became infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), the virus that causes AIDS. By the end of the year, an estimated 33.4 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS. The year also saw two million deaths from AIDS, despite recent improvements in access to antiretroviral treatment.

AVERT.org has more about:

• HIV and AIDS statistics
  
• UK statistics summary
• USA statistics summary
• AIDS in America

Sources:

• UNAIDS (2009, November), 'AIDS epidemic update'

Last updated November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving week-END in Pictures

Abel's first time ever meeting Santa. He was impressed.


Steele usually cried and wouldn't have anything to do with Santa but when he saw Abel sitting and talking to him, he felt better about him so he sat on his lap :-)


This is my new Christmas tree that my sister bought me for Christmas. It's a slim tree, and pre-lit! I haven't had a new tree since E was a baby! And I got enough ornaments for the entire tree for $50 at Hobby Lobby too! My mom also bought me some towels which I desperately needed!


I got the kids to pose by the tree in their new PJ's.


I like both of these pics.


My sissy went back today. I miss her already. We had a great visit.


Daurie, Kandi and Karen with Donna. Aren't these some hot looking ladies?


Karen me and Kandi.



My niece Candice, her HUSBAND Shaun and their baby Bayla. Yes, they got married a couple months ago and didn't tell anyone.


Karen and her new man, Tracy.

So, I am exhausted from this Thanksgiving week. I had lots of fun with family and friends so it's worth it.

Precious

The other night my sister and I went to see Precious. It's still haunting me. It is a raw movie and a great movie. I will be shocked if it doesn't win a lot of awards at the Oscars. The problem with this movie though is it may be too raw and realistic for some viewers.

If Monique doesn't win an Oscar for her portrayal of Precious' mom, it will be a travesty. Her portrayal of this horrible women was so powerful, the mother was so evil and also a victim of her own history. You get to see so clearly how cycles of welfare and abuse have to be broken.

I have a friend that hated it. She thought it was awful. It has REALLY bad language, the subject matter is dark and heavy but there is hopeful under tones and that is what makes this movie a wonderful one to me. See Precious is just like SO many girls I know through working at the Dream Center. Her story is not a lot different then many of them. I love movies that take people into another world, one that seems unimaginable, unreal, but one that is very real and true to way to many girls in the inner city.

I think this movie will inspire girls caught in abusive families to speak out about any abuse they are suffering and to see that what they may think is normal behavior in their homes, isn't and should not be tolerated.

Another powerful message conveyed in this movie to me was that for those of us who work with Inner city teens or kids, we need to do what we can, believe in one person that no one has ever believed in. Encourage them, offer them love and hope, help them to see past the abuse and into the future. It made me feel even stronger about the importance of mentoring.

Thanksgiving- No Place Outreach

Today the No Place Outreach team brought a little Thanksgiving love to the homeless people of Baton Rouge. About 10 or 15 homeless people came out to the breakfast at the BRDC Roselawn location. Then we went roaming to the levee, where we gave out a few, then we went to the overpass where we gave out 30 breakfast, cookies, blankets, coats and socks. Mr. Lawrence, who looks like Morgan Freeman, said he had never had this many people around him on Thanksgiving. He is sleeping on the hard ledge of the over pass. Eric Doucet twittered that we needed three or so air mattresses for the ones sleeping on the concrete, and he got a huge response within 10 minutes!

Watch this Video I shot of Michael, who the Miracle Place Church Dream Center recently helped get a job. He's saving his money so he can get a place to live.



I love how God's people come together to help the ones in need at the Holidays. I know it meant a lot to our friends under the over pass.

Here are some more pictures from the day.

Happy Thanksgiving.


Serving some breakfast, cookies, coffee and juice on the levee.


Some of the people of the overpass enjoying breakfast.


Martin staying warm in the sunshine.


Abel and Steele playing with Gesepi the No Place Outreach dog.


Joey Laird bringing some word outside BRDC Roselawn at the breakfast.


Eric, Dean and Aaron praying for a guy that told them he wanted prayer to have the strength to quit doing crack.


Evangeline making cookies. Her, my sister Donna, Dean and Megan went at 5am to cook.


Megan, mom, and Donna at the breakfast.

What If?

So now we all do the "what if" stuff. We sit around and wonder aloud,

What if they hadn't had their seat belts on?

What if Evangeline had been sitting behind dad or Megan and not in the middle?

What if the boys had been with them and sitting in the back seat behind dad and Megan?

What if there had been other cars in the inner section?

My dad, Megan and Evangeline are a lot closer now that they have been through this trauma together. It just does that.

My dad drove back today in a rental car and went in to work tonight. He works for Select Comfort in Houston, he's a store manager so he had to close. His shoulder is still in a lot of pain. When I talked to him he said he's gonna try to make the drive over here more often.

God uses things like the wreck to snap us back to what is important.

I have no idea why this time the "what ifs" were answered the way they were. I know families that ask the reverse,

what if I had buckled their seat belts?

What if I had waited to turn?

What if I had kissed then good bye before they left?

And my heart breaks for those that are asking these questions tonight. Peace that passes all understanding is all that can get them through another day, so I will pray for peace for them. Much peace.

What a mystery this life is.

The Wreck

My dad's car

E was in the middle of the back seat.


The girl who hit them's car

Last night we were watching the Soloist but my dad was board because he had already seen it so he ask Meg and Evangeline if they wanted to run to Sonic for some ice cream. They were gone all of maybe 10 minutes when I get a call from Evangeline telling me they have been in a wreck. Donna and I jump in the car, Dean was sleeping so I didn't wake him up. The wreck was not even a mile away, at the end of Perkins and Airline.

When Donna and I pulled out of our neighborhood we saw a car on fire. It wasn't my dads car, but his was not to far away, totally looking like a crushed can. They were using the jaws of life to open the doors of the car. Only my dads driver side would open. They were all ok just stuck in the vehicle. Evangeline was sitting in the back middle. All had been wearing their seat belts.

Once I saw that they were pretty much ok, I ran back to the house to wake Dean. I called Alicia Lee, my neighbor and she very kindly came and got my boys, who were sleeping. I hurried back to the seen and Dean came just as they were loading E into the ambulance. Her back was really hurting her and since she was in the back seat, a diabetic and hurting, they took her to get checked out. They x-rayed her and did urin and found that she is just really sore from the impact and nothing was broken.

The cop came to the hospital. He said they interviewed the driver of the other car, her passengers and friends from another vehicle that were with her. Turns out she's a 16 year old girl. Her and the other vehicle were racing. She was going 80 miles and hour, needed to pass a car so decided to go into the turning lane where dad was sitting at the light, waiting to turn. She hit them, dad said he remembers looking up and seeing a white car going way too fast four feet from his bumper. He thinks he let off the break and went to hit the gas, trying to get out of her way. They spun several times.

Her car caught fire. All the passengers were fine because they had on their seat belts. I really pray this teaches her not to ever race again. And I know it will teach my kids that. They know how blessed they are to be alive.

I wish you could see my dads car. The back seat is perfectly intact but both rear doors are crunched shut. E said she remembers getting hit so hard and the spinning and she couldn't breath and then started thinking "Oh my God, I am not ever gonna breath again". The seat belt had knocked the wind out of her. She also busted her lip on maybe the back of the front seat.

My poor dad. It was his birthday! 63 years old. He was crying. The girls said they were all apologizing to each other for wanting to go get Ice cream. My dad is at the ER right now for his shoulder. He couldn't sleep at all last night it was hurting him so bad. Megan is sore but really seems to be ok.

Wow. I don't have to search hard at all to have things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I can see the Angels moving my dads foot off the break and onto the gas. I see them keeping traffic away from that intersection so the car wouldn't spin and hit any other cars. I see them keeping the area where Evangeline was in the back seat of the car completely in tact. I see them reminding my family and the girl racing and her two passengers to buckle up. There is no doubt that seat belts saved everyone involved life. Period. I am so thankful for seat belts!!!!

Alicia. Thank you for taking my boys. I owe you big time neighbor! Eric, thanks for hanging with us at the ER. Your a good man Charlie Brown.

I know this all may seem a little dramatic. I don't care. I am crying while typing this because I came really close to losing them. When you walk up on a crumpled car, that reality hits you. Life is short. Love hard. Be grateful, everyday be grateful for your loved ones. They are precious. Thank you Jesus for protecting my family last night. Thank you for them.

New Moon

My sister and I went to see New Moon last night. We wanted to see Blind Side but it was sold out. I have not read any of the Twilight books. Evangeline has read them all and she would give me a synopsis of each chapter she read, so I feel like I read the books.

I liked the first Twilight ok. I felt it played like a Life Time teen drama or some crap they would play on Disney. You know, kinda along the lines of Hanna Montana. But it wasn't super awful. New Moon took tween stupidity to another level. Bella is the most unlikeable female lead character of all times if you ask me. Kristin Stewart has only two facial expression, pain and more pain. That gets really old after, say 30 minutes of just that in reaction to everything.

Edward is stunning. Period. Robert Pattinson was so Elvis fine in the first movie but even he has lost his appeal, mainly because his lines are pathetic and he is no longer rockin the Elvis Pompadour hair, cool points way down.

But there is Jacob. The teen dream Taylor Lautner. He actually is the only person who can act in this love triangle. His character is funny, sweet, and has at least a little depth to it. When he turns into a Warewolf, things look like they are gonna finally get interesting. But no, the writers let even that fall off to a flat note.

The Vultari also seem like they will spark this movie, but that scene last for all of 5 minutes in the torturous two and a half hour movie.

Of course Megan and Evangeline can't believe how much I didn't like New Moon. Megan is team Edward, Evangeline has always been team Jacob. I am team Carlisle since we are picking teams cuz' Carlisle is the Vampire dad who is a doctor and takes in Orphaned Vampires to raise as his children and teach them how to not eat people. Wait, why are we picking teams again?

I remember The Outsiders, I had 130 posters of Matt Dillion on my walls cuz' I loved him so much after that movie. And when I was little and Grease came out, we all had to dress like Grease characters at Halloween. So, I get the teen crushes on movie stars and movie characters but what bothers me about Bella and Edward is they are sour, boring, I want to die, kinda people. They sulk, hate life and only live for each other. Uck! And even worse, I think this movie plays into that bull crap women believe about not choosing who we love. We do get to choose and we don't have to lose our souls to be with the person we choose to love, only the ones we are in bondage too, like Bella is to Edward.

I could go on and on about the stupidity of what this is teaching young girls but instead, I think I will go talk to Evangeline and Megan about it. That is one thing that is good about movies like this, they give moms a chance to talk to teens about the realities of relationships. Love, friendship, choice and how not to lose our souls in the process.

High on Sharpie

I am laying in bed, my new used laptop on my knees. There is a sticker on this lap top that reads "Books not Bombs" placed there by the previous owner. Love it!

I was out until 2am last night because we had midnight outreach. I cleaned a house today that is MASSIVE!! I love that God is giving me new jobs, I clean two houses weekly and I'm very grateful for the work. E and Meg help me clean too. They are great. BUT today only E came with me cuz' those little Chickie's were out till 4am watching New Moon. They said it was very good. They are team Jacob and no, I don't think there is anything evil about the Twilight series. It's fiction, Ware wolves and Vampires..ok, no, I will save this topic for another post. But any way, they were very tired today.

After cleaning I came home and continued work on some signs we are making for the big HPC Thanksgiving outreach tomorrow. A lot of people from the Highland Road Campus are gonna be down in Funky Town delivering Turkeys and groceries to people that signed up for help this Holiday. Richard called Frank today and asked him if he could come serve tomorrow at the outreach. All very cool. Very very cool indeed.

My sister comes in tomorrow for the week. I can't wait! Then my dad comes for the day on Monday, my mom and niece with her new baby Bayla will arrive on Wednesday, and then on Thursday, we will go eat Thanksgiving at Karen's sister Kandie's house, Karen is coming with her new boyfriend Tracy, can't wait to meet him. So, This is gonna be a great week. A bunch of people will be around me that I am so thankful for.

My legs feel like tingly jello. I am old. I don't feel it inside, I still think I'm 17 sometimes, but my body feels it when I work hard and then come home to sniff Sharpie fumes while making posters. But since I got a headache from the Sharpie sniffing I chewed up some Aspirin. I love to eat baking soda and chew chalky Aspirin.

I leave you with one of my all time favorite Holiday songs. Click and enjoy.

Better Days - The Goo Goo Dolls

Article on Helping the Homeless

An article I wrote a while back about reaching the homeless is published on Burnside Writers Collection. This is Donald Miller's (author of Blue Like Jazz) web magazine. I have submitted other articles too and they are reviewing them for publication also.

This is like a dream come true for me as a writer, especially one who thinks "Articles" is more my calling then say a book. So, I just wanted to share my excitement with you all.

You can check out the Article here, burnsidewriters.com, It's called "Money is Not The Answer"

Dancing...

Jambalaya for Adoption and Some Homeless People

Co-authored by Aaron Domingue

Meghan and Chris Matt sold Jambalaya to raise money for their adoption of Moses, a 3yr old orphaned boy they are in the process of adopting from Uganda. But the cool thing is they had sold all of it, yet they had three huge containers of it left over, so Meghan called and asked if BRDC wanted to pass it out to the homeless, and of course we did. Aaron Domingue, who works at the Dream Center, got some after school volunteers together and they headed out to the normal homeless outreach spots.

Isiah 58:9 and Deut. 15:11 are a couple scriptures Aaron thought of when considering the miracle of today. The Matt's raised over $2000 selling Jambalaya to bring Moses home, an Orphan who God so wants to have a family (Psalms 68:6) and God did a loaves and fishes miracle on the Jambalaya so some homeless people could eat tonight.

God is good, yay?


This is three of the After school volunteers, and Aalyiah, on of the kids, getting the left over Jambalya ready to go.


Aaron with two homeless ladies that the BRDC Cafe team have been helping. They live under the overpass.


A family that is living in their car under a bridge. Volunteer said "hey, we have Jambalya" and the family cheered!


The kids took a liking to Aaron, but how could they not? (Aaron is sitting here and he made me say that)

The Matt's are still raising money to complete their Adoption of Moses. If you would like to help them bring their son Moses home, you can email them at meghanmatt@gmail.com and click HERE to check out their blog for updates on the adoption.

A Sheltered Life

"mom, there's Stacy" Evangeline said to me as we passed the intersection of Winborne and Victoria in north Baton Rouge on our way to church last Sunday morning. Stacy is a prostitute we have reached out to on occasion. We have invited her to come get some free clothes, breakfast and coffee at the BRDC cafe. Gave her a card with the hot-line information on it, Asked her if she wanted to go to church with us, and one time tried to get her some help for a bruised face she had just gotten from a john.

Knowing the first names of a few prostitutes is part my 13 year old daughters life. She works with the homeless, befriends gang bangers, teen prostitutes, girls who have no parents and had their sister sold to the guy down the street. She helps with small kids who have lost parents to gun violence, kids without enough to eat, no electricity at home, no running water.

When Megan first moved in with us, after a few weeks she said,"Gosh aunt Carole! We have to do something with church everyday" I didn't quite understand what she meant cuz' we only attend church on Sundays. BUT then she started naming everything; I have BRDC band practice on Monday nights, Tuesday afternoon we go to Hip Hop dance class at BRDC, Wednesday they go to Epic Student Ministries, Thursday morning is Homeless breakfast, and on Friday's we sometime help at the BRDC cafe, and do Saturday outreach when we can, not to mention sports, which is at our Highland Campus, and Midnight Outreach that Dean and I go on. So after thinking about all that, I realized she was right. It is almost everyday that we are doing something "with" church.

And then I felt so grateful for the life I get to live and the life my kids get to live. Being the church, with the church, wow, We are living the dream and I never take that for granted. Our family is called to do what we do. God placed us at Healing Place Church because we are all supposed to be here, at the Dream Center, reaching out to prostitutes, homeless people, drug dealers, pimps, and all people that society deem undesirable.

Sometime people express concern that my kids are being too exposed to the darker side of life. But it's usually people who allow their kids to watch garbage on TV, waste their life online or enable them to become lost in the popularity game at their high school. I would say THAT is the darker side of life. I would rather shelter my kids from the things that steal our souls and numb us to the needs of others then to keep them from the God given gift we have of serving the ones society pretends aren't real.

I dream that one day Evangeline will be running her dream of a free lunch counter that only employs homeless people, where she daily greets the outcast of society. And I am glad Megan is here, not being sheltered, her mom is very glad of it too, who knows what this time is doing in her heart.

Thank you Jesus that my family doesn't lead a sheltered life. YOU are our shelter. We take rest, comfort and protection there.

Richard

Over two years ago the No Place Outreach team met Richard. He lived in the woods by the railroad tracks, sometimes, or on the Levee. He only has one arm. He was someone that the No Place Outreach team reached out to regularly. Dr. Sheri, who is over the HPC Mobile Medical Unit, helped Frank and Vince, who lead the No Place Outreach, get an electric arm for Richard. He was very grateful. But after that he went from flop house to flop house, had people after him for stealing and he lost his electric arm. He wouldn't accept invitations to church. Alcohol and drugs ruled Richards life. But the No Place Team keep reaching out to him, inviting him to church, telling him about Jesus, loving him, feeding him, giving him what he needed physically when they could. Then seven months ago, he dropped out of sight. No one knew where Richard was. Many believed he was on the run, maybe in jail or even worse. So they prayed for him..where ever he was.

Then a couple months ago, one Saturday night, he called Frank and asked if he would pick him up for church the next day. He was no longer homeless and he was clean.

This is how Richard looks now. That's him at church this last Sunday. I honestly didn't even recognize him the first time he came. He looks so completely different.



There are many seeds sown that look to have fallen on hard ground, swallowed up by weeds or eaten by birds. We don't get to decide the outcome, but we are called to be planters, the hands of Jesus spreading seeds of love, hope and mercy. The feet of Jesus walking by the railroad track to a camp in the woods. Giving out grits and eggs, some prayer, hygiene items, blankets, coats and work boots...and sometimes we get to watch the seed grow.

God is Good.

Birth Mom - Abel

How do I speak to you? It seems forced, but I will try. I have no pictures of you, you died when Abel was just a year and a half, then six months later your husband, Abel's father died. Did he give you AIDS? How was Abel born without it? This will always be a mystery to me..along with so many other parts of Abel's childhood. He doesn't remember you of course. He was raised by your mother until he was 5 and she could no longer care for him.

Sometimes I try to imagine what happened, but I can't. I live in a world of privilege and wealth. I am fat and never lack for anything and I am not even considered rich in my country. I have no idea what it is like to live in a country with a 75% illiteracy rate, where there are hundreds of thousands of street kids, sleeping on the side walks in broad daylight, who sell their bodies for food and sniff glue to escape the pain of hunger and rejection. A country where the life expectancy is age 45, a country that is home to 4 million orphans. No, I can't even begin to imagine what life was like for you.

Grandmother, since you raised him, I will talk to you now. Abel talks about when you dropped him off at the Orphanage. He said "she say 'you stay here. I go' and then she leave". I know you are old for your country and you support other family members, so I know it was poverty that made you leave him that day. I know you did the best you could for him. I cannot even begin to understand the agony of knowing you could no longer care for the child of your daughter, the daughter you had lost.

He said you came to visit him one time when he was at the Orphanage and he didn't recognize you. I think that was his way of coping with the loss, he blocked you out, the pain was too great.But I imagine that had to hurt you.

I am sorry Abel's first mother, that you got AIDS and died of a disease that is possible to live with now in the privileged world. But I promise you I will fight for all the kids like Abel. I will do what I can to help AIDS orphans and the orphans that have AIDS themselves. We are tied together for this life time you and I. Your son is now my son and grandmother, the child you cared for is now in good hands. He is loved, fed MANY times a day, he's healthy, He goes to the doctor when he needs too, plays and laughs and goes to school. You would both be so proud of him. He is kind, giving, gentle and athletic as well a fabulous dancer, that's because he's Ethiopian, he's got great skills.

Now that I am writing to you, it doesn't seem forced at all. I search for you in his eyes, all that history that I will never know. So much pain and grief from losing the both of you, I see it there. I will do my best and then let THE best take it from there. God loves our boy Abel and he's gonna make it all ok. He's gonna turn that pain into victory and a story. You will be there mom and grandmother. He will makes us proud, I believe it.

Birth Mom - Steele

I looked at your picture today. You are a beauty for sure. I cried. Not sure why. I guess because I look out the window and I see Steele. My heart, my love and I know he wouldn't be my son if not for you. I can't imagine the pain you felt.

You look good, healthy. I am so glad. I know things went bad between us. I know you acted out of your pain. I know we misunderstood each other, maybe, maybe not but I know I didn't handle the situation the best, but I did try.

Some people are all for open adoptions, I would not recommend it to anyone. It's just too hard. I think it would be better for a child to get old enough to decide if they want a relationship with their birth family. But I say all that and then I think of your mom and how great she is to the kids, even the ones that are not her grand kids. I know she loves Steele so much. How can I deny her that?

I know that one day Steele will want to know you. How do I not let fear and jealousy keep me from allowing that?

I can't help but feel connected to you. To deny it would be lying to myself. Your child became my child. I think this relationship is one that we are not meant to understand, we just have to somehow navigate it and I have to trust God to guide me to what is best for Steele.

Thank you for choosing us to be Steele's family. He is so deeply loved. His father adores him beyond measure. His sister loves him and his new brother loves him already. He is happy and thriving.

The Divine Commodity

There are books that inspire us, books that convict our hearts, some entertain, some teach but then there are the ones that lead us by the hand deeper into where we are called to go. THIS was one of those books for me. It affirmed my course and gave me instruction for the next leg of the journey.

I don't want to say too much about the content (yea, some book review huh?) but I will leave you with several savory nuggets, quotes that I sent out via Twitter while I was reading it. I pray they wet your whistle and you go read this book. I think every American Christian should read this book. It is THAT good.

If you are a church leader or any kind, you should read The Divine Commodity by Skye Jathani. period. the end. 11:09 PM Nov 2nd

"Phil Vischer's epiphany while scouring thru debris of his ministry was that the Christian life wasnt bout impact:it was bout obedience" 10:37 PM Nov 2nd

"i had grown up drinkin a dangerous cocktail, mix of the gospel, protestant work ethic n the american dream.." Phil Vischer- Vegie Tales 10:34 PM Nov 2nd

"..the lord may be among us in the form of a stranger, but we would never know it unless he filled out a response card." Divine Commodity 12:13 AM Nov 1st

"Jesus does not have a scum filter He has a scum magnete" Skye Jathani, The Divine Commodity 10:41 PM Oct 31st

"shopping occupies a role in society that once belonged only to religion-the power to give meaning n construct identity"The Divine Commodity 10:55 PM Oct 24th

You can read a great review of this book on Stuff Christian's Like.

http://stuffchristianslike.net/2009/04/the-divine-commodity

Homeless Outreach-Rescue and Restore

Today I went to homeless outreach. The No Place Outreach team found that they were encountering more are more Prostitutes that were homeless. As a part of the Rescue and Restore Coalition, I now go to Homeless Outreach to meet with and try to help these ladies.

Today I met Brenda who had been badly beaten, her friend brought her to us out of the crack house where they trade sex for drugs. Georgia from Revelation House was also on outreach with us for the first time and she was able to take Brenda right away and help her. God certainly worked that out. Pray for Brenda that she can break free from the life that is killing her and pray for her friend, Laura, who brought her to us. Laura was very brave and I did get a chance to pray for her that God would keep her safe, help her leave the crack house and come to know Him.


We also discovered 20 people living under one over pass, the most that has ever been there. Just the other day there was a news story on one local station about how police were going to clear out all the homeless from that area, they said they were going to run them all off, but instead this morning, the cops brought them all Pizza.


This is Lawrence, he looks and sounds just like Morgan Freeman. He lives under the overpass.


Sandra lives on North Blvd. She doesn't want to live anywhere else. Today she had soiled her pants, the No Place Team just so happen to be bringing her some new sweat pants.


The team getting ready to serve it up under the Mississippi River Bridge.


Megan and Evangeline get to serve the Homeless with these amazing ladies, Julie, Tecca, Ellen and Barbara.

Guys that live on the Levee..


Serving up Grits, Eggs, Biscuits, juice, coffee and Hot chocolate. Also handing out socks.

Tooth Miracle

Steele had fallen and killed his front tooth when he was 2, he had to have it pulled a couple months ago because it was black, rotten and made his breath smell like poop.

A couple weeks ago Steele said "mom look at my tooth way up high in my mouth" he pulled up his top lip to show me a corner of a tooth sticking out of his top gum, way up above where the new, permanent tooth was supposed to come in. I was mortified. It was gonna grow straight out of his gum up there it looked like. I kept looking at it, touching it, trying to figure out if I should call the dentist, watch it or what. It was definitely his tooth coming out of his gums where it didn't belong and I wasn't sure what or if there was anything that could be done about it.

The other night during our bed time prayer I said "Steele, mommies gonna put her finger on the tooth sticking out up there and we are gonna pray that God will heal it and make it go back into your gums and down into the space it supposed too." Steele said "ok" and he closed his eyes and we prayed.

Today, Evangeline was asking Steele if she could look at it,(we had all become morbidly fascinated by this tiny corner of a tooth coming out of his gums) Steele lifted his lip to show her and when she went to touch it, the little tooth fragment fell out! His gum had a dip in it, like a mark where that piece of tooth had been sticking out but there wasn't a hole!

I told Steele that God had answered our prayers. Now the tooth could come on down under the gums, into the space it's supposed too cuz it was no longer coming out way up high in his gums.

I think it would be cool if that new tooth when it comes in, has a corner off it, like a reminder from God that HE did do this. He cares about even the little things and the prayers of a 5 year old boy.

It was a tooth miracle and we know it.

Orphan Sunday-weekend

Yesterday, Aimee and Tommy Poche, who lead His Heart for Orphans, the Adoption ministry that we are apart of at HPC, received an award of recognition from the state of Lousisana for their work with the Foster Care System and adoption! Click HERE to read all about it. I am so proud of them. They are paving the way for many to follow and I am blessed to be a part of what God is doing for Orphans through the His Heart for Orphans ministry.

AND then last night at church Stephanie and Randy Rhoner dedicated baby Hayes (miracle story, they had been through 6 failed adoptions in the last three years!) and Heath and Dina Slack dedicated baby Grayden. It was a wonderful start to Orphan Sunday weekend.


Dina and Heath Slack with Jacob, Olivia, and new baby Grayden. whom they just adopted.


Randy and Stephanie Rhoner with Hayden, Kaylee and new baby Hayes.



Pastor Dino and Pastor Johnny Greene praying over the families.

And below are some pictures from today at the Dream Center. My life is full. I am a former Orphan whom God adopted. I received the grace of a beautiful marriage, a miracle daughter by birth, an adoption miracle baby, an adoption miracle 7 yr old Orphan and a niece who lives with us. And it all just makes me want more kids.

Helping Orphans, from sponsorship to adoption, to funding a Care Point or and Orphanage, all these things will make YOUR life better, while at the same time make THEIR life better.

This Orphan Sunday the miracle of adoption fills my heart in so many ways.


Family picture: Steeele, Me, Dean, Abel, Megan, Evangeline.


Evangeline kissing Abel. She so loves her little brothers.


Me and Dean. I love him.

THE BATON ROUGE DREAM CENTER-WHO WE ARE AND HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

Holidays are just around the corner and there are many volunteer opportunities at the Dream Center if you would like to help the less fortunate this Holiday season. I've listed the up coming events for November and also below that is all the information about the Dream Center. I am blessed to be a part of this campus, daily I thank God for allowing our family to be a part of what He is doing in the inner city of Baton Rouge. We love it!!

Here are the Thanksgiving Holiday outreach dates for your calendars:

Saturday November 7th and 14th we will be meet at Roselawn Dreamcenter at 10am to get the word out about Thanksgiving.

Saturday November 21st we will be delivering Thanksgiving Baskets to the community. We will meet at 10am at Winbourne Dreamcenter.

Sunday November 22nd after Service we will also be serving a hot thanksgiving dinner to the community.

So there are many opportunities to serve this month, come out and join us we would love to see you there.
_______________________________________________________

The Baton Rouge Dream Center is an outreach campus of Healing Place Church. We are located in the Winborne Baptist Church facilities, in one of the most crime ridden and poor areas of the city. We hope to be a light in the darkness and reach the ones forgotten and abandoned by society for Jesus Christ.

SUNDAY SERVICES
Church service starts every Sunday at noon with lively worship and preaching from Gods word. Our discipleship classes, Walk It Out, start at 11:00am. During this time we study the word of God, share some breakfast, and build relationships in a small group setting. Buses head out into the community at 10:00am to bring people to church. If you would like to be a part of our Sunday services, we need greeters, bus drivers and workers, ushers and help in the nursery and kids church. For more information contact Hope Boutte by email at hope.boutte@healingplacechurch.org

CAFE
The Cafe is one of the main entry point for people from around the Baton Rouge Dream Center that are seeking assistance or curious about all we have to offer. Many hurting, lost souls come through the doors. Often times they are in great need. Some are in need of a home, others an escape from a pimp, or maybe some tutoring, groceries, diapers. etc. The cafe is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Free Community Coffee is served, along with snack breakfast foods. On Friday, our boutique of free clothing is open during Cafe hours. A representative from each support service area of the Dream Center is available to meet with people and get them plugged into the resources that will hopefully meet their needs. Right now we need volunteers to greet the people, sit with them, fill out the intake forms, which tell us what each person needs, and also just to hang out, be a nice face, talk to the people, make them feel welcome and at home at the Baton Rouge Dream Center. If you would like to help with the Cafe please contact charity.trahan@churchunited.org or jillian.ortells@churchunited.org.

STREET YOUTH OUTREACH
In an effort to bring hope into hopeless situations, this is an outreach targeted specifically for homeless youth, at-risk kids and child prostitutes. We go to the streets to reach these kids by offering food, care kits and a listening ear. Our goal is to develop trust with these young people that they will allow us to help them to seek another life. Along with our street outreaches we will also be offering a drop-in center where homeless and at-risk youth can take a shower, wash their clothes and spend some time with people who really care. We are looking for volunteers who are willing to serve a forgotten and discarded population. It may not always be easy, but the rewards will be phenomenal. We do street youth outreach on Monday nights and Thursday during the day, drop-in hours vary (day and night), so please contact Charity Trahan at charity.trahan@churchunited.org.

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
Every Tuesday and Thursday from 3pm-6pm we open our doors to the youth in the community with a special youth leadership meeting Wednesdays from 3pm - 6pm. In an effort to build relationships and offer positive avenues of recreation, we offer young people ages 12-18 the chance to be involved in sports, crafts, dance and a myriad of other activities. We are in need of volunteers who are willing to give up a few hours of their time to pour into the lives of these young people. Whether you’re a sports enthusiast, a stay-at-home mom or a teacher, everyone has something to offer. More than anything else, these kids need someone to care about them and their lives. If you are interested in volunteering with our after school program please contact nathan.robert@churchunited.org

RESCUE AND RESTORE
Human trafficking is a huge problem across the globe and here in the United States. The Rescue and Restore coalition works together with other faith based organizations and government agencies in the fight against Human Trafficking. If you would like to help Rescue and Restore the victims of Human Trafficking, contact alliece.cole@healingplacechurch.org or natalie.laborde@healingplacechurch.org

MIDNIGHT OUTREACH
We reach out to those involved in the sex trade, drugs and violence. Whether they’re dancing at a strip club or selling drugs on the corner, we believe that God has a purpose for them. Through handing a dancer a rose or giving a dealer a cold drink, we have seen these simply acts of kindness speak volumes about the love of God to these lost and hurting people. For more information about Midnight Outreach please contact Summer Kelly summer.midnightoutreach@gmail.com

WAREHOUSE PREP
Every Thursday a group of volunteers help sort food, inventory products and prepare grocery bags for the weekend outreaches. We meet at our Roselawn location at 9am and usually wrap up around 12:30pm. If you are interested in being part of our behind-the-scenes prep team please contact hope.boutte@healingplacechurch.org

GED PREPARATION CLASS
Through partnership with Literacy Coalition. The Dream Center facilitates G.E.D. Preparation classes, Monday - Thursday from 9am to 1pm. Email Susan Rogers at tavelrogers@cox.net for more information.

STAND
This is a State ran program for youth who are aging out of the Foster Care system. Life skills are taught in order to make the transition as smooth as possible. Volunteers are needed to partner with this program in visiting Foster homes on special occasions, mentor the kids and the young adults as they transition into adult life and help with special events. Contact charity.trahan@churchunited.org for more information.

VICTIMS ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT SERVICES
When an act of violence or sexual assault takes place, it affects the victims and their families long after the immediate act. This program provides assistance to these victims and their families in such ways like helping them connect with financial assistance for funerals, court accompaniment for the victim, along with raising awareness and building relationships with the families after they have lost someone to homicide, while walking them through their grieving process. To find out more about the program and how you can serve in this ministry contact Aaron Domingue at aaron.domingue@churchunited.org

STEP OUT
Step Out is a federally funded program that helps recently released offenders to develop life skills and to find meaningful employment. Along with job training and education, we also provide case management and mentoring to non-violent, non sex-related offenders. There are lots of people in our community who are in need of a second chance. If you are interested in investing in the lives of these men and women we invite you to join us at our mentoring program, Equip. We are always looking for men and women who could invest a few hours of time a month to help change the course of people’s lives. Please contact william.bradford@churchunited.org if you are interested in helping out.

SATURDAY OUTREACH
If your heart beats for the poor and the hurting then you need to check out the Baton Rouge Dream Center. Reaching out to the inner city through block parties, grocery giveaways, and street outreach, the BRDC endeavors to bring light to the darkness and hope to the hopeless.The first, second and third Saturday of each month at 10am we meet at 450 Roselawn for street outreach. For more information contact charity.trahan@churchunited.org.

HOMELESS OUTREACH
On Thursday mornings we serve a hot meal to the homeless population of Baton Rouge. So often these precious men and women spend their lives being overlooked and ignored by society. By providing a free meal and doing what we can to meet some of their basic needs, we can make a huge difference in someone’s life. We need volunteers to cook breakfast at 5am, at the Highland campus Outreach building, and volunteers to help serve the breakfast at 7:00am at 450 Roselawn.

We also need donations of:
1. Men’s jeans in any condition,
2. New socks and underwear.
3. New or nearly new towels.
4. Travel size personal hygiene items (shampoo, soap, lotion, etc.)
5. New or used men’s shoes.
6. Men’s coats
7. Tents
8. Blankets

You can drop off your donations at the Cooking for Christ Shed, which is adjacent to the HPAC Concession stand which is behind the HPC office building on the Highland road campus (call or email Vince prior to drop off). Or you can bring your donations by 450 Roselawn on Thursday’s between 7:00 and 8:00am. For more information contact Vince at vince@noplaceoutreach.org or call 225-445-3226.

CLOTHING BOUTIQUE
The boutique is open during Cafe hours on Friday. We always need help sorting and organizing the clothes. If you would like to help please contact jillian.ortells@churchunited.org or if you would like to donate here is what we need:

1. New clothes (or clothes that look like they’re new).
2. New socks and underwear.
3. New or nearly new towels.
4. Travel size personal hygiene items (shampoo, soap, lotion, etc.)
5. New or nearly new shoes (no heels or dress shoes)
6. New or nearly new Baby Items (diapers, blankets, strollers, clothes, etc)
7. Also we gladly receive couches, chairs or mattresses that are new or nearly new.

You may drop these items off at the BRDC/Winbourne on Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday between 10am to 1pm. Please contact jillian.ortells@churchunited.org to let us know that you are coming, especially if you are bringing furniture so we can make arrangements for the items. Please label donation containers with the sizes and gender.

Authority

Authority Song - John Mellencamp

As I am typing this post I am listening to "Authority Song" by John Mellencamp. It's a true classic. I know people now that every time they gripe to me about leadership stuff, I start hearing this song in my head. I know completely what it means to fight authority, come out grinning, but in the end, authority always wins.

My boss once told me "no matter where you go, you will always be there" In that moment I realized that all the trouble I had was not the other people but my inability to work with them. I was so completely guided by an independent spirit that I had no ability to see past having to always be right. Hard lessons are hard. I was raised without a father and by the time I was 17 I was living away from family and completely on my own, so the concept of learning from and submitting to authority was very foreign to me. I have fought authority and authority won. I feel like God has taught me some hard lessons in this area and is still teaching me. (go read all my post under the category "Unmedicated child birth while getting a root canal" to see the worst of it)

Here's the bottom line. God sets up authority. God. Not you. Not the devil. God. Jesus was not a rebel in the sense that so many rebel Christian's like to say he was. He embodied love, grace, forgiveness, NOT pride, attitude, selfishness, which are at the core of fighting the authority we are under. Jesus even said "give to Caesar what is Caesar's" The entire bible is full of stories about people having to submit to one another, to authority and mostly to God. When we think we know better then the person we are under and we start bad mouthing all we are doing is hurting our selves and dripping poison into the ears of people around us.

Here are a few things God spoke to me about authority:

-Don't jump on the ship and start trying to change the way the captain does stuff, you aint the mack daddy you think you is.

-The hard truth is, You are not the only person who hears from God or has a call to action on your life. Watch and learn.

-If you cant submit to authority, but want to lead yourself, how can you expect others to submit to you?

- Next time you start spilling the poison listen to how many times you say "I", that should be your first sign it aint God.

-Pride made Satan rebel against God. The bible says that Rebellion is as witchcraft.

Those are some things to think about.

A book that changed my life is "A Tale of Three Kings" by Gene Edwards. If you have authority issues, you should read this book. I often times have to ask myself, "right now, am I being a Saul, a David or an Absolom?"

Adoption Awareness month, Hard Questions

November is Adoption awareness month. Orphan care is the passion of my heart and adoption is a huge part of caring for orphans so I will be doing several post about adoption this month, which is not at all out the norm here at The Wardrobe and the White Tree BUT I'd also like to ask you some questions and ask you to submit questions concerning adoption.

This was actually inspired by a comment I received the other day on my post about the adoption booth at Live The Dream. This is the comment and my response to her really great question.

Anonymous said...

"God will provide the funds" Is that also what you tell young unmarried expectant mothers who are struggling to raise their baby themselves? How much of the money you raise goes to them to keep their families together?
Claire

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Carole Turner said...

Absolutely I would Claire. My sister was 15 when she got pregnant with my nephew. If an unwed girl came to me and said she wanted to keep her baby but was afraid she couldn't do it financially, I would definitely encourage her to seek her father God, believe he loves her, will provide for her because she is his beautiful daughter.

Carole Turner said...

Forgot to answer your question, none of the money we raise goes to girls wanting to keep their babies. We are an adoption ministry but we do partner with a single moms ministry led by Jennifer Maggio who herself raised two kids by herself till she married a few years ago. Our church even partners with a home for unwed mothers.

I really do appreciate Claire asking a hard question. I don't claim to have all the answers to every adoption question, I don't know if Claire liked my answer to her question but all I can do is answer honestly and I do know lots of people living out many different adoption situations, I know they will help me if any of you hit me with a real doozie.

So send me your questions (you can post anonymously if you like) and here are a few I would love for you to answer:

Have you ever felt a pull toward adopting a child?

Why not adopt?

What are your fears?

Adopting Every waiting Child in the United States

by Jason Kovacs

Did you know that there are roughly 130,000 children that are waiting for adoption in the United States today? These children have had their parental rights terminated and living in temporary situation (either a temporary foster family or group home). Legally they are wards of the State with no parents but the government. You can adopt these children at no cost! In fact, in most States, you will receive a monthly stipend.

Every child in America (in the world) should have a permanent family. There is no excuse for this! So, what would it take to find each of these kids a family? To start off, I broke down the numbers by Southern Baptist Churches (they were the easiest to find figures for – as I have time I will add up all the other evangelical denominations – my initial count is roughly 170,213). But, just counting Southern Baptist churches the results and ratios are very powerful. There are roughly 40,000 Southern Baptist Churches in the US. If every church committed to 3 children, every child would be cared for. In 11 States all it would take is 1 church committing to 1 child. Again, that is just counting the SBC!

Will you please 1) Look at the numbers below, and 2) pray with me that God would move in an unprecendented way among His church to see that every one of these children (every number is a child!) have a permanent home. And in the case of the children represented below who are 16-17 years old and about to age out of the system, pray that they would have a family who would commit to care for them when they are left on their own in a couple months or a year.

For the full chart with all 50 States click here to download in pdf.

http://abbafund.wordpress.com/

Blankets and Coats for the Homeless

Winter is on it’s way and we are in need of blankets and/or coats, mittens, hats, etc. to give to our homeless brothers and sisters so they can stay warm.

This Holiday season, you can bless someone who will never know who you are.. but God knows. So if you have any clean, used or new blankets and coats that you would like to donate, please put them in a bag labeled “homeless outreach” and leave the bag at the Cooking for Christ shed behind the HPC offices. We will be handing them out at the homeless breakfast on Thursday mornings, at 7am, 450 Roselawn Ave and after the breakfast when we go out into the city where the homeless sleep and live throughout the down town area.

Thank you and God Bless you for helping the less fortunate this winter.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, you can contact Vincent@noplaceoutreach.org

What brings me joy..

Life in the fast lane

My weekend consisted of trying to get back into life as usual after being at the Story conference for four days. I have never gone away from my entire family, for even one day, much less four. I came home to a clean house, sweet husband and children and a day to rest and recuperate. It all was such a blessing.

Going to Story inspired me greatly. I really pray I can go back again next year. And being with Donna Frank and Natalie Spera at the conference was an added joy. We are all so completely different and we had a blast. I am so honored to call these two ladies my friends.

Meetingh with Carolynn Twietemeyer and Melinda Devonouge of Project Hopeful the Tuesday before Story really inspired my heart. It's like they were part of my conference experience because talking with them about Ethiopia and HIV+ adoptions, was just as educational, inspiring and God ordained as was the conference. My favorite speakers at the conference were Dave Gibbons, Chris Seay, Donald Miller and Skye Jathani who did a workshop. I have also been reading Skye's book, The Divine Commodity ( I will be writing a review of this book soon) and it is rocking my world! It is so speaking to me right now, where I am and where I am headed. I love when God drops a book into your life that confirms your path.

The cool ladies I got to go to Story Conference with, the people I got to spend time with there, the speakers that spoke to my heart and the book God has me reading, all have been a great blessing from My father and I am so grateful He allowed me to do it.

He's been dealing with me for a bit about somethings I need to change. It's hard because when I say yes to something it's because I really love the idea of it, I want to do it, but that doesn't mean God wants me to do it. I gotta make some changes in my life that are hard. I gotta learn to say "no" or "Let me pray about it" and really pray about it and find what God wants me to do before I commit to something. Time management, priorities, all that is hard for me cuz' I really do want to do it all..but I gotta do what He wants, that is where the blessing is, the life, the peace.

But after this time of refreshing, I can see clearer, I know what I need to do today and I feel more equipped to handle life in the fast lane.

Me Monster

This was shown at the Story Conference workshops. I love humor, especially humor that convicts your heart while your laughing uncontrollably.

"Lord, how many times have I been the 'Me Monster' ?"

I came away from Story 09 with so much. Way more then I can articulate right now. I'm actually still processing it all and basking in the gratefulness to God that He allowed me to go. BUT one big thing I came away with was to really care, really listen and actually hear other peoples stories and then when allowed, tell their stories. Don't be a "Me Monster".

Check out all the Story pics taken by professions HERE.

Pics from Story

I don't really have time to type all I would like about Story but here are some pics..

The drum line. AWESOME!!


Me and Natalie with Ben Arment. He is the creator of Story 09. Super great guy.


Natalie and Me with Carlos Whittaker.


Me with Carolynn Twietemyer and Melinda Devenouge. Melinda picked me up at the air port Tuesday morning and her, Carolynn and I spent the day Tuesday talking about Ethiopia, Adoption, HIV+ orphans, all that kinda great stuff. It was a super day. So grateful to these two amazing ladies for taking time to hang out with me and for lunch.


And Tuesday night I also got to hang out with Arianna, a childhood friend who now lives in Chicago. Thanks for dinner Ari :-)

I will blog more later, I'm using Natalie's computer and she's ready for bed. Check out my facebook page for more pictures.

The Workshops are tomorrow so I will be twittering bout them too.

Headed to Story 09

It's 5:45am, I'm in the car on my way to Chicago for the Story conference. I'm typing this from Dean's iPhone.which I still don't have n sure could use on this trip, but anways.. I'm super excited but also sad I'm gonna be away from Dean and the kids so long. Dean took the week off so he's mr mom this week..pray for Dean and the kids :-)

I will try to post pictures, and I will be twittering for sure so check the side bar for twit updates.