Rising Up to Take Their Place

When I woke up this morning and realized that today is our last full day at Allaso Ranch, it was a bittersweet moment. Sure, it will be nice to sleep in our own beds after a month away and have undivided attention to give to one another, but our time here has been so special and meaningful that it is hard to see it come to an end.

Which is precisely why I am so thankful that this is NOT the end.

Here at camp, it is just the beginning of the life change that God has in mind for our students. These past weeks have been truly indescribable. The only thing I can even type is that by His grace, there is a revival going on in the hearts and lives of high school students from across the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. During our six years of student ministry, we have never witnessed the level of worship and repentance that God has orchestrated in the lives of these students at Allaso Ranch.

After we unpack and sleep for a minimum of 24 hours (please Park, please), I will share some unbelievable stories and tons of pictures. Until then, we will be soaking up our last few meals prepared by the amazing Chef Jeff and his staff. We will be basking in the lazy river and spending some time telling the horses goodbye. We will be thanking the Allaso Ranch team and hundreds of volunteers for providing us with such hospitality and excellence. We will be giving God the glory for drawing students near to His heart and truly making this a place of change.

And we will continue our prayers and preparation for how He wants to use this student ministry in the fall to continue the work He has started at Allaso Ranch

Wild Ride

First order of business, posting pictures I promised a week ago:


Our little fish...
Allaso Ranch water park- (look in the bottom left corner and you'll see Park and Zac and even a peek at Baby Kage, Challi, and an unpictured Krew, who came to visit for the day.) The water park has a large zero entry spray pool, a regular pool, 2 extremely fast water slides, and and a lazy river.
Rocking on the back porch..
Other than swimming, this is where Park likes to spend most of his time.



Second order of business, a short update:


Since Challi lives just 45 minutes away from Allaso Ranch, they were able to come spend July 4th with us. Today, she came back with her boys and they brought my parents with them. Park had so much fun showing them around. He was so excited to expose them to all his newly aquired skills, such as urinating off the balcony and burying himself in sand. Just to ensure them that he had not become totally uncivilized during his time at camp, he also impressed them with his ability to eat his lunch with the appropriate silverware and wipe the entire table down once we finished.


The water park was also a huge hit. As much as the boys loved it, I am embarrased proud to admit that despite being 31 and 33, Challi and I rode the water slides in old-school train fashion as we screamed for the boys and our parents to, "Watch this!"


I'm certain it was a proud parenting moment for Lolli and Pops as they took care of their grandchildren so their adult daughters could fling themselves down water slides. But don't think for a moment that Pops didn't get in on the action, taking the boys with him as an "excuse", as he squealed the entire way down.


Tomorrow, the first round of campers and volunteers will head back to Dallas. Many will be leaving behind the sin and shame they formerly carried, based on encountering Christ at Allaso Ranch. Others will walk away with seeds firmly planted in their hearts. As their camp experience comes to a close, 280 more students will arrive to take their place.


And we are more than ready to welcome them with open arms. If this week was any indication of all God has planned for the rest of the month, we can hardly wait to be apart of it.


The water slides may be a wild ride, but they pale in comparison to a life of serving Him!

Gone Country

After a late night girls' night with Bridget and Sarah, I'm feeling the lack of sleep today. Even as I prop my eyelids up with toothpicks just to finish this post, I have to say it was completely worth it.

Our newest tradition is for Bridget and I to pick up Chili's on our way to Sarah's and then we eat dinner, watch a movie in the guest house, followed by chit chatting into the wee hours in the hot tub. The dip in the hot tub usually warrants some type of discussion as to why we did not more fully appreciate our pre-children figures and if, in fact, we will ever find the discipline to exercise ever again.

And after we debate that topic for a bit, we finish it off with a plate of brownies or cookies.

Last night, we never even made it to the movie or hot tub because the three of us are nothing if not capable of some serious talkage and completely loosing track of time. Especially since this was an emergency session called solely to celebrate Bridget's birthday and serve as my "going away" party.

Tomorrow, Chris, Park and I will be heading out to Allaso Ranch for the month of July. There has been so much preparation and hard work put into this camp by the Fellowship staff and volunteers that I feel guilty even mentioning the monumental packing job I have undertaken to get us there.

But tomorrow we leave behind most of the prep work, and move forward to experience the fruits of our labor. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the volunteers on Saturday and the first round of campers on Sunday.

I will do my best to keep you guys posted throughout the journey and ask that when the Lord brings us to your mind, that you would be in prayer for our staff, volunteers, and the 600 + high school students that He will forever change through this experience.

Used

When Chris asked me to speak at The Mix, in the back of my mind, I had hoped he would do the majority of writing the message. After all, he speaks almost weekly and has much more experience with communicating God's word to large groups of people.

After being married to him for almost six years, you would think I would have known how this would go down, though.

See, Chris loves to empower others to succeed. He is known for putting the ball in someone's court and allowing them to determine what to do with it. Although he is there to offer guidance and support, he is a firm believer in allowing people to grow and flourish in challenging opportunities. He thrives on seeing God develop strength and character in those underneath his leadership.

Not only did he NOT write my message, he also selected me to speak on an "open" week, where topic choice was entirely up to me. The only direction he gave me was, "Wait on God. He will lead you to the message He wants you to teach."

And so I waited.

And waited and waited and waited some more....

Until two weeks before I was slated to speak, I awoke in the middle of the night with an indescribable assurance that my message would be titled, "Used" and it would entail something about an unlikely leader. And as thankful as I was that God had given me a title, I had absolutely no idea of the content or direction He wanted me to pursue. Not to mention, who was the unlikely leader and what on earth did that have to do with used?

Twenty-five minutes is a long time to stand on a stage, staring blankly at 400 high school students, with nothing to communicate, but a title and an unnamed, unlikely leader. Amen?

Thankfully, God wasn't done with my message just yet. At Bible study a few days later, we were learning about God's Will. The lesson had absolutely nothing to do with him, but the speaker briefly mentioned, something about "The unlikely leader, Gideon."

I about jumped out of my seat as if God had shouted through a megaphone right into my ear.

Now, I wish I could say that my Old Testament knowledge is so vast that I immediately knew the exact story the Lord wanted me to communicate, but the only thing I could recall of Gideon was something to do with him blowing a horn. And I'm pretty sure I pictured him in some type of band, rocking out while tooting his solo.

Not exactly Biblically sound truth.

But when I reread his story in the Judges 6 and 7, it was crystal clear why God had pointed me to this man. Although Gideon was an unlikely leader, a man with some serious junk in his past, God used him to conquer more enemies than any other person in the entire Bible.

Now, don't get me wrong, it was a rocky road to submission. God reduced his army from 32,000 men to just 300. Gideon wasn't even 100% convinced or confident in his abilities, despite God assuring him of victory. In fact, he tested God repeatedly and questioned if he was even worthy to serve. He was scared and unsure God could use him in the battle.

But regardless, Gideon was WILLING to fight anyway.

When I think of the word willing, I think of a man named E. King Gill. As you know, I am an Aggie and A&M is a school rich in tradition. In 1922, one of the most famous of those traditions was born, the 12th man. An underdog Aggie football team was playing the nation’s top ranked team (and I feel the need to clarify that it was not U.T.) Because of injury after injury, the Aggies were forced to dig deep into their reserves.

Everyone begin to get nervous if they would even have enough players to finish the game. So, the head coach called Gill, a former team member, out of his seat in the stands. E. King Gill suited up and stood ready on the sidelines the rest of the game. Later, he was quoted as saying, “I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I didn’t. I simply stood willing in case the team needed me.”

Because of Gill’s example, today the entire student body at A&M (known as the 12th man) stands the whole game to show their support and willingness to be called on if needed. Now, can you imagine the fear and doubt that must have been going through Gill’s mind as he waited on those sidelines? But, regardless, he stood willing.

As a Christ follower, I can be honest with God about my doubt. It’s OK to say, “Lord, I am afraid…But I am willing!.”; “I am unsure…But I am willing!”; “I am overwhelmed,…But I am willing!” If you are like me, you can take comfort in knowing that we don’t have to be 100% confident or convinced to be willing. In fact, nowhere in Scripture did I read that Gideon shouted, “YES! I am pumped my army has been reduced to nothing! What are we waiting for? Let’s go kick some serious tail!”

But you know what? He did it anyway.

Despite the fact that Gideon was slow to be convinced, he was both chosen by and dependent on God. He got over looking at his past defeats and personal insecurities and simply seized the opportunity to be used.

Gideon was slow to be convinced, but he ACTED on his convictions. Too many times I have been slow to be convinced, putting God off for this reason or that. But Jesus continues to ask me, will you ACT on your convictions? He continues to present me with brand new opportunities to be used on a daily basis. As unsure as he may have felt, Gideon went forward with what the Lord called him to do and the Lord honored his willingness.

God did (and continues to do!) the same thing for me.

*Thank you, Chris, for not robbing me of knowing more of God's faithfulness in this speaking opportunity. By offering nothing more than guidance and support, you allowed me to grow and flourish, being totally dependent on Him. Most of all, thank you for allowing me to practice what I preach.

Available

In an effort to reflect on more positive events from last week, you will be happy to know that the focus of this post will have nothing to do with outdoor (or indoor, for that matter) bathroom usages.

Let's pause for a moment to exhale a collective sigh of relief.

Instead, I wanted to share something that God is doing in my life. For the past several months, I have been feeling a tug on my heart to become more "hands on" in Chris' ministry. Before Park was born, I was very invested in high school students and active in working right alongside my husband. I led small groups and spent much of my free time helping Chris build into youth. At the time, Chris was a Campus Team pastor under Sarah's husband, Pace, who wast the Sr. High pastor. One of the largest high schools that Chris was responsible for, was the same one where I taught. We had very strong relationships with those students and their adult volunteers.

A few weeks before Park was born, Chris was promoted to become the Sr. High pastor after Pace became the Worship pastor for the main service.

It was an incredibly unexpected time of life change for our family. Having left my job as a high school English teacher to become a stay-at-home mom, I was busy adjusting to my new position. As Chris transitioned into fatherhood, he was also learning new roles of leadership and more responsibility in ministry. It was a very challenging, yet amazingly rewarding time in our lives. Although I still attended Wed. night youth services, most of my former roles were no longer possible with the demands of a young infant. And since that point, I did small things here and there, but I never truly regained the same level of investment.

I have prayed faithfully for Chris' ministry and counseled with him on decisions and direction for many years, but recently God begin to reveal a new level of involvement He had in mind for me. Speaking. Now, because I have seen firsthand the amount of time and preparation that preaching calls for, I found myself very hesitant to respond. Surely I had misunderstood God! Not only did I not have the time or availability for it, but I was certain I didn't have the talent either. In a nutshell, I was SCARED!

However, God taught me once again that you don't have to be confident or convinced to do what He asks, you simply have to be willing.

So, last week, I spoke at The Mix, our church's high school youth service. The entire experience grew me in more ways than I can convey. And I am quite certain that I will say the same thing each and every time I speak in the future. For many years now, God has taught me that He will never ask me to do something that He does not give me the strength, wisdom, and ability to do. Apart from him I am capable of nothing, but in my weakness, His strength is revealed. When I am used in my inability, His name is glorified.

And quite appropriately, this is the precise topic He had me teach on last Wed. night; allowing God to use us for His purpose. Tomorrow I will share more of that message and I pray that it helps give you the courage to do whatever it is that He is asking of you.