HOME. Why? America. GOOD.

Our last family newsletter from our time in Thailand.

https://mailchi.mp/3fc1bd6bd166/why-home-america-good

LICE, AMERICA, WOW, and 2017

If you don't get our newsletter, but would like to sign up, here is the link to the latest one.  We only send them every 2-3 months.

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I Know Your Name

Have you seen Moana? If not, do it. I cried during it, after it, and any time I see this video. It is moving.

"Who You Are," from Moana. This. Song. Right. Here. Just take a moment to watch this whole clip. It is just so good.

https://youtu.be/sHToFOt6OKc

Moana sees the angry fire monster, but she sees through the anger. Read the lyrics...

I have crossed the horizon to find you
I know your name
They have stolen the heart from inside you
But this does not define you
This is not who you are
You know who you are


Isn't that our God? He would cross the horizon to find you. He knows your name. The world will try and steal your heart. Sin can weigh you down, and you might show anger to the world. You are covered in dark and heavy, but God sees you. He says, "This does not define you. This is not who you are. You are mine. You are beautiful. I have made you whole again. You are protected, covered in my great love for you." He wants to lift that burden, and as you give your heart to him, he gives new life and you are set free like Te Fiti. Free to be who you are. Free to share your gifts and passions with the world. Don't you want to be wild and free for Christ?

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

I think that the world would be a more beautiful place if we tried to see the heart of people more often. People will present anger, but it is usually out of fear, sadness, doubt, or preexisting hurt. I want to bring more grace to people and think in my heart, "this is not who you are." 

And to my non-believing friends, here is some unsolicited advice - Don't let Christians influence your view of Christ. Sometimes Christians do things in the name of Christ that are hateful and hurtful. Jesus was never filled with hate for His people. He came to show us love and be love.
Christians are just humans too, and they will get things wrong, and they are in daily need of Christ. I get things wrong all the time. I freak out on my kids and lose my temper. I can be lazy, and unmotivated. I have to daily seek God and fill my heart with truths. When you choose to give your life to Christ, it doesn't mean that everything is suddenly fixed, it means that you have grace and forgiveness and unconditional love. It doesn't mean that life will now be "blessed and easy." God never promises easy, but He does promise to never leave us or forsake us. Check out the Bible for yourself. Ask God to reveal Himself to you, even if it at first feels awkward and silly. I promise you that He knows your name. He sees who you are, and He already fiercely loves you. 

It just takes my breath away, that the God of the universe would do these things for me...

I have crossed the horizon to find you
I know your name
They have stolen the heart from inside you
But this does not define you
This is not who you are
You know who you are

Sending you all so much love today.




P.S. Moana comes out on video next week. I am in no way affiliated with Disney, and I do not make money on my blog. I just truly loved this movie. There are so many wonderful and silly parts for the children, but there is a deeper, overall take away. Let me know what you thought about Moana.

Can't Stop the Feeling

At first, I think I thought that we would have to sacrifice everything when we moved to Thailand....

We were leaving our family and friends behind and going to serve God on the other side of the world. Yes, it is a huge sacrifice, and of course we miss our loved ones, but there have been so many blessings along the way. I just wanted to share a couple recent ones,  because they are so good. My dear friend Rory that I met from our adoption journey, (they adopted their son from China) was planning on coming out here for a visit. She had one empty suitcase, so we asked her to fill it with Trader Joe's snacks from dried apricots, dark chocolate covered almonds, to THREE bags of pirate's booty, and we would just pay her back when she got here. When she arrived and the kids went crazy and it was Christmas morning all over again, I brought her the money, ands she said, someone that we don't even know, heard what we are doing, and covered the cost! How fun is that? God cares even about snacks.

My sister was to be induced on Friday, January 6th. I was traumatized that I would not be there. Yet, God knows my heart. He knows what my sisters and nephews and niece mean to me. He knows that I can hardly stand it. Molly set her phone up on a ledge behind Sara's head, and I was able to hear every sound, every cheer, and even the first cries of my first niece. I wept for joy and the girls jumped up and down on my bed. I was transported to the birth room, and it was the most incredible, powerful, and beautiful thing. God knew.

Camp Hammer was the highlight of my childhood. Not only my childhood, but young adulthood. I met my husband there for goodness sakes! I came home early last summer with the kids, so that Maizie could attend. This year when I went to register, Eric (the director) Rae (the registrar), informed us that since we are now Twin Lakes' Church missionaries, our children can attend for half the price. That means when Lucy gets to go for the first time next summer, the 2 of them will cost the price of 1! What?! And then in the morning when we woke up, we discovered that someone had not only paid for Maizie to go to Camp, but also given her money for the snack shack!!!

And then the blessing on top of all blessings. In becoming a Twin Lakes Church missionary, there was one stipulation. One of us would have to come to Aptos for their annual missions' conference in January. That's right...HAVE to. ;) Ummmmmm, OK!!!!! Do you see? Not only did I get to see my niece, Sawyer Skye, come into the world...I am going to meet her when she is just 2 1/2 weeks old. God knows my heart. He knows the way I love. He is not going to take everything away because we said yes. In fact, we have seen Him bless us more abundantly and lavished His love up on us, more than we could ever have imagined.

'Til then I'll be singing...

"I've got that sunshine in my pocket
Got that good soul in my feet
I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops, ooh
I can't I can't take my eyes up off it, moving so phenomenally
Room on lock the way we rock it, so don't
Stop"

I really hope you sang that as you read it.

ACTION PLAN

It's the time of year for resolutions, changes, and fresh starts. I wrote this back on December 7th, but was too afraid to post it, because I let my people pleasing self stop me from speaking my heart sometimes. It's time though. Time for me to put on my big girl pants and be real.

I had a big long chat with my girl, Suzanne Campbell, this morning. We are like minded and agree on most things, so when we are verbally processing it is a super safe place, and we can say what needs to be said without fear of judgment. Now I'm all fired up, and want YOU to get fired up too.

You see, my dear Suz, has moved her family to the inner city to live intentionally different from the norm. To live extravagantly for Jesus, by loving her neighbor as herself. Her family has chosen love over comfort. They have chosen to open their doors and hearts, and invite the hurting world in. She sits on a park bench with a Muslim woman who is scared for her family's future in America, and just listens. She carves pumpkins with a Jamaican immigrant, who is separated from his family. She cares for children, whose mamas have to get to work early. She says, "Welcome. We are equals. I love you. You are beautiful. You are a child of God." Her family is the real deal. They love Jesus and they love people. They have read God's word, and now they are doing something about it. They've got their action plan.

“I think if we, all of us, collectively, take one step of obedience...I think that gets dangerous.” Jennie Allen

If you have FOMO (Fear of missing out) this is perfect for you. You do NOT want to miss what God has for you.

Faith without action is dead.

If anything, I am writing this for myself. I am writing this to process and to remember. I am not trying  to change minds with a blog post, but just to push you into your full potential and calling. We can all be the change we want to see in the world.

Luke 3:11
John answered, "Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same."
James 1:16
Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.


We've all been fired up about this election. It was crazy...am I right? This is not about politics or who you voted for, it's a call to action. During the election we saw a lot of anger and we heard a lot of WORDS. 

Words, words, words.
Talk, talk, talk.
Yelling, yelling, yelling. 

I believe that if you are going to complain about something in the system, you have to be willing to step up and help. 

I was saddened by this election. I am a Christian, 100%. My Jesus comes first, and I want to honor Him above all else. I wasn't thrilled by either of the main candidates, and I will be respectful and hopeful with this new president, because my hope comes from Jesus. I was heartbroken over how some Christians acted during the election. Jesus is about love. If you are promoting hate, that is not of Jesus. Jesus would go have dinner with the outcasts. The unwanted. 

I am writing this to inspire, encourage, and call out your passion! 

Words are empty without action. What is your passion? Do something about it. 

To effect change in our country, we are going to have to go out and get our hands dirty. If the church will rise up, we will end the foster care system, because there will always be a home open and ready for a child in need. If one family from each church in America adopted a child from foster care, there would be no children left in foster care. "Take care of the orphans and widows in their distress." (from James 1:27)

If you don't want people to be on welfare, are you going to offer them a job? Invite them over for dinner? Offer an after school program for their children?

If you are pro-life, get involved with a pregnancy resource center. Adopt. Foster. Stop yelling about it, and go out and love those women. Help them find a job. Buy groceries. Be a SUPPORTER of women and children.

If you are for building walls, well I guess I would challenge that thought completely and ask you a question. What would Jesus do with a refugee? How would Jesus treat an illegal immigrant? Really, truly. Just give it a moment of thought. 

It is time church! Time to get off the pew and go into the community. If everyone sitting next to you looks, acts, and thinks exactly like you, then you are too comfortable. It's time for bravery. It's time to be wild for the Gospel. I sat next to you on the that pew for years. Safe, comfortable, and happy, until God said to us, "ENOUGH!" I want your obedience, not for you to be happy. 

If you have a passion and think a new ministry should be started in your church to reach the community, guess who should start it? YOU! Don't tell your pastor about this great idea that he should do, YOU SHOULD DO IT! Our pastors are their to inspire us and empower. They are pastors because they want to love and serve and teach. But in response, we are then supposed to go out and serve and love in our homes, schools, towns. 

Where is the love?

What are you passionate about? What is your first step toward action? What is your action plan?
I'd love to hear about it, and get a healthy conversation going. 

LOVE YOURSELF

I am determined to not let the blog die!! I haven't been able to write for a few months. I just haven't been able to put things into words, but I'm hopeful that I will be able to process through writing again soon. Therefore, I leave you with this....
Kenny and I had a "video off" where we were given 1 hour to make a video with Video Star to Justin Bieber's, "Love Yourself." This is how our family entertains itself on a Saturday afternoon when friends are over.

And if you haven't seen Maizie's "Sit Still, Look Pretty," well, it's a keeper. 

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From Baby Dedication to the Mission Field

I grew up on the Twin Lakes Church campus. We went as a family to Sunday school and main service. I was dedicated as a baby on the front steps of the sanctuary. I was baptized by Pastor Paul Barton in the baptismal. I can remember Pastor Kraft asking if anyone wanted to accept Christ or come forward to say they wanted to be baptized, walking down that aisle feeling like my heart would burst. Getting to take communion for the first time after my baptism. We would go to Pioneer Girls mid-week.  I remember fun girl talk with Gloria Krom. When Molly won the lip sync trophy for singing along to Amy Grant's "Fat Baby," I thought Molly was the coolest thing EVER. (Do yourself a favor and give it a listen, it's as horrible as it sounds, but I loved it). I spent many a Sunday afternoon in the choir room with Connie Fortunato, and became lifelong friends with Kristin Herkelrath and her family. In the 4th grade we would memorize verses to earn a Lifesaver from Mr. Weeks.

In the 5th grade we got to attend Sunday school in the basement, led by the 3 funniest dads at the church, Ward Pitman, Alvin Scarborough, and Dan Kraft. They told jokes in church and I loved them for it. My mom was in leadership with BSF.  We would sit next to her on the green carpet on her bedroom floor as she prepared the lessons. I played indoor soccer and cried when Coach Glenn tried to put me in as goalie. In the summer we would attend their summer camp, called Camp Hammer (where I would one day meet my husband). Greatest summer camp on earth. In junior high, we would play hide and seek in the main sanctuary building at night with all the lights out. My junior high boyfriend tried to get me to go behind the gym building on a Sunday morning for my first kiss, to which I said, "NO WAY." And it's a good thing too, because he and his wife are our dear friends to this day ;) I worked at KruzKidz, Camp Hammer, and then finally at Twin Lakes Christian School as a third grade teacher. TLC is in my blood, it is part of my culture, and it holds such a special place in my heart.

When I was 15, we went to a church, while we were vacationing at Lake Tahoe, to hear a young 32-year-old pastor speak. His name was Rene Schlaepfer.

My mom used to cook big dinners with Althea Larkin during the missions' conferences for like 800 people. She would have us all come to the church kitchen after school to prep food. Our favorite job was to use the industrial dishwasher to clean dishes. I can remember the missionaries from all over the world coming together and sharing their stories. The foyer covered in the flags of the world. Never did I imagine that one of the flags would one day represent my own family! Paul Spurlock is the Pastor of missions at Twin Lakes. My first interaction with him was as a child at Camp Hammer circa 1987, when he was known to me only as "Bazooka." I wish I could find the camp photo, but he let my friend (Jessica Fudge) and me pull the skin on the sides of his neck like some sort of iguana! So hilarious. I'll look for photo evidence of this when I'm home next. He would later become my high school pastor. Last summer we were invited to Paul's house to present to the missions' board, and they just notified us in February that our family had been chosen as one of their missionaries. My parents happened to be visiting us in Thailand when we found out this news and it was such a sweet time to reminisce about all of our fun times at Twin Lakes Church.

This means that we get to represent ZOE at the next TLC missions' conference! WORLD OUTREACH WEEK!! So surreal. Such a blessing. https://vimeo.com/153831610 You can check out a video from this year's WOW week at TLC. "You can't spell "GOSPEL," without the word, "GO."

I know that not everyone has this kind of church experience, but if you are at a great church and you are feeling lonely, sign up to serve in one way or another. I promise it makes all the difference. When you serve together you bond and form deeper relationship. The people we met at church are the ones we shared holidays with. Those Carpenter and Warren boys could eat us under the table every Thanksgiving!! We are still close with them and love them so dearly.

We are so thankful for Twin Lakes Church and the blessing that they are in our lives. Thank you for joining ZOE in the fight against child trafficking! You can check out the Twin Lakes Church Missions' page to learn more about our family by clicking here. 

If you are looking for a great podcast, you can listen to the Twin Lakes Church' message each week. http://www.tlc.org/media/sermons/ or they even have an app you can download on your phone.