thinking out loud

NOTE: This is #5 in a countdown of the top 5 most amazing stories from my experience in Mission Hot Springs. See the previous blog post below for the original message.

This account is a unique one that kind of ended our experience at Mission Hot Springs (MHS) with a bang.

At the beginning of the week, a man in his upper sixties (perhaps) wasn't sure if he'd be able to be involved in MHS because he had been called in for jury duty.

He was eager to be involved in the work of the Lord, so Hot Springs Baptist was praying that he would be relieved from jury duty in order to serve on the transportation team of MHS.

Monday morning, he reported for duty, and his name was not on the list! Praise the Lord!

With great joy, he served in transportation and other capacities throughout the week.

On Sunday morning, during the report service after MHS had "ended," he was asked to tell his story from the week, since he had unexpectedly been able to be involved with MHS.

As he stood on the stage in front of almost a thousand people, waiting to tell his story, he suddenly fell to the ground with a thud. Emergency responders within the church rushed to his side. His heart had stopped. For two minutes, they worked to revive his heart. After CPR and the use of a defribillator, his heart was revived. Praise the Lord!

Now, not to get too much into the "what ifs" of life, but...

What if he had not been called for jury duty...
What if he had not been released from jury duty...
What if he had not been standing on the stage when his heart stopped...
What if he had been slumped in a seat, or by himself in another room, and those two precious minutes went by without notice...

This is just one unique way we saw God at work. After singing, testimonies from the week, and this man dropping "dead," two people were saved, and two more asked to talk with someone about eternity. Praise the Lord!

Stay tuned for the next 4 top stories from Mission Hot Springs!

Last week was one of the most amazing weeks of my life.

My uncle was in charge of Mission Hot Springs at Hot Springs Baptist Church and asked my brother and sister and me to help out.

Each day, multiple teams of energetic, gospel-proclaiming Christians entered the “streets” of Hot Springs to spread the Word….in 105-degree weather, no less.

Teams/Activities Included:
3 Backyard Bible Clubs – Wade Park, Hollywood Park, Magnet Cove
4 Block Parties – Jonestown Park, Maple Leaf Subdivision, Tahoe Estates, Rector Heights
3 or 4 Construction Projects
“Street” Evangelism
Encouragers
Prayer Walkers
Plus, Transportation, Child Care, Meals, and Hot Springs Baptist’s own VBS
Plus, a meal for City Workers: 600 Fed

It was an intense week.

My brother was involved with evangelism in the mornings, construction in the evenings.

My sister and I were involved with the Magnet Cove Bible Club in the mornings (went from 6 to 17 in attendance) and the Rector Heights Block Party in the evening (8 to 26).

I was privileged to present the gospel to a group of young girls during the week. My sister led a 14-yr-old girl to Christ, and my brother and his evangelism partner led a college-age guy to Christ.

In all, 45 people prayed to receive Christ during the week. Praise the Lord!

It was an incredibly encouraging week and well worth all the effort.

What a blessing it was to see a body of believers who had such a passion for the lost and a desire to see the gospel of Jesus going forth! Never was there a complaint. With eager expectation for what God might do in and through us, we gathered as one, and spread throughout Hot Springs, proclaiming that Jesus is Lord.

There are too many stories to tell of how God worked. I want to relate the top 5 stories in the next blog posts. Stay tuned!

Bought a car today after searching for over 6 months. White 2006 Dodge Stratus with 98,400 miles on it. O happy day.

Steve Saint is the son of Nate Saint, one of five men (including Jim Elliot) who were speared to death by Waodani Indians in Ecuador in 1956. His story is documented in his book, End of the Spear, and a movie by the same name. Steve Saint was in an accident a week ago which has caused some degree of paralysis. You can read about his injury here. Click here for info about his ministry. Click here for a video update since his injury. His father was murdered when he was five. His daughter died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage around the age of 20. And now this injury comes to test his faith. Watching the video clip, I'd say the grace of God is sustaining him even in this trial. Awesome testimony to the faithfulness of God.

Registration ends soon for "Add to Your Faith 2012," and there are a few spaces remaining! If you live within 60 miles of the Louisville, Kentucky, area, you need to check this out! It's a week you won't want to miss!

For: 13-18 yr old Christian girls
Dates: July 30-August 4
Location: First Southern Baptist Church, Clarksville, Indiana
Special Guest Speaker: Grace Mally, of "Bright Lights"
Registration Deadline: July 1

For all the info, or to register, go to www.add2yourfaith.com.

If you have any questions, ask me! I'm the director!

Just spent three days camping at Natural Bridge State Park with the fam! It was great! Woulda been better if I hadn't been recovering from food poisoning, but... WoW! That park is loaded with awesome displays of God's power! Hiked to Gray's Arch, took the Sky Lift to Natural Bridge, then hiked to the lookout view of Natural Bridge, then down Devil's Gulch. Then there's the one-lane tunnel, Nada Tunnel, and some suspension bridges. Awesome stuff! Anybody else been to Natural Bridge State Park?

Next adventure: Mission Hot Springs

Just spent the past three days on a "Mammoth Choir Tour" as accompanist for my church's youth choir!

It was awesome.

Sang at a retirement center in Louisville.
Drove to Mammoth Cave National Park with a delay at a truck stop due to difficulties with the bus.
Worshiped around a campfire where random visitors joined us for devotions and singing.
Hiked a trail.
Took a free self-guided tour of one tiny portion of Mammoth Cave.
Sang in the cave with random bystanders gathering to listen.
Sang for military families at the park's hotel restaurant.
Took a 2-hour tour of Mammoth Cave.
Served at a new church plant, Barren County Baptist Church, planting and watering grass seed.
Ate at Cave City's best restaurant, El Mazatlan.
Sang in the morning service at Barren County Baptist.
Returned to Clarksville, Indiana, for our home concert.

Such a fantastic week.

Loved singing gospel-filled songs in public places.
Loved spending time with friends who are passionate about Christ and who love to have fun.

Most definitely a weekend to remember.

Another year of work has concluded, and I look ahead to the summer. Time with family. Ministry opportunities. Projects to complete. Rest. Purpose. Seeking. Finding. Who knows what God has planned for these next months?

Today, I praise God that He is...

...Sovereign. In a world that's gone crazy, God is in control. God has not forgotten His people. What a comfort to know that God's power is big enough for today, and tomorrow, and forever.

...Gracious. When our country forgets God, He pours out His grace and mercy. The sun rises, and it sets. His mercy endures forever. When I forget God, He pours out His grace and mercy. His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. When I am weak, He is strong. Grace upon grace flows down.

...Coming Again. There is a day when all things will be made right. Beauty. Peace. Joy. Glory. Forever. Jesus Christ is coming, just as He said. In the meantime, all creation groans with expectation. I feel it.

"If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him.
If we endure, we will also reign with Him.
If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim 2:11-13).

Life is overwhelming.

Look to Jesus.

You know you're too busy when...

...you thought you were busy...then things got worse.

...your week includes three performances, plus the usual 25 students, and 20 hours of accompanying work.

...people are asking you to be in three places at once.

...you eat one small sandwich at 11:00 in the morning and the other small sandwich at 2:30 in the afternoon...sandwich in one hand, warming up for a recital with the other...and that's lunch.

...sighing is your normal breathing pattern.

...you fall asleep before you get in bed.

Yes, I'm too busy.

A year ago today, one of my greatest heroes entered heaven.

Professor Carl Stam lived Philippians 1:20 in a way that I pray will never cease to amaze me and change me.

"It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death."

I pray that my living and dying will glorify Jesus in the same way that Professor Stam's did.

I am soooo excited to announce this year's "Add to Your Faith" Retreat!

Dates: July 30-August 4
Location: First Southern Baptist Church, Clarksville, Indiana
Special Guest Speaker: GRACE MALLY
(of BRIGHT Lights, Author of Will Our Generation Speak? and Coauthor of Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends)

Check out all the info at www.add2yourfaith.com. Register Now! Spaces are filling up fast!

if you know much about the persecuted church in our day, you know about tom white. tom is the executive director of the voice of the martyrs. tom died suddenly late tuesday at the age of 64. tom was my second cousin.

tom was an amazing man of God. tom married a sweet, costa rican lady, ofelia. shortly thereafter, tom was flying his private plane over cuba dropping gospel literature where such material was illegal. his plan crash-landed, and he was captured, imprisoned, and tortured for the next several months. after his release, tom began serving alongside richard and sabina wurmbrand in their ministry for the persecuted church. he eventually assumed the position of executive director and served in this capacity for over 20 years. more often than not, tom was spending time in an "underground" church in another part of the world, encouraging, assisting, and documenting.

my dad says tom was always into trouble when they were kids. then he kinda made a life career out of it.

buy his book, "God's missiles over cuba," and read the whole story.

"the voice of the martyrs" is an incredible ministry which serves the persecuted church around the world and informs the "free church" that, "Christians were persecuted. today."

tom's life was one of devotion to Christ. he lived to make Christ known, and he proclaimed the message boldly. when on trial before his captors in cuba, he was asked, "how do you know there is life after death?" he responded, "we can't see it, but we believe it by faith; someday we all will know the answer." now, tom knows. he is being greeted by many bold sufferers who have gone before. better yet, he is face to face with the Christ he loved and risked all to serve.

attended my second "secret church" friday night.

"secret church" is one of the most amazing things happening in our world today. you are missing out if you have not participated in a secret church.

over 50,000 believers from all over the world gathered to study the Word of God intensely for over 6 hrs straight...in the middle of the night.

topic: suffering and the cross. 75 key texts on suffering. 5 powerful conclusions.

a night i won't forget.

participate in the next "secret church": good friday 2013. topic: heaven and hell. go to secretchurch.org.

in other news, Jesus is alive. hallelujah.

i am the accompanist for the boyce chorale.

thus, my weekend went like this.

packed a charter bus. loaded it with 50+ college students. drove 8 hrs to cleveland, tennessee. drove 2 out of 8 of those hrs at 5 mph due to a "rock slide" where the interstate dropped off the mountain. missed our "service project" due to the traffic delay. stayed at awesome host homes with southern hospitality. lead worship for two lively morning worship services. relaxed for an hour. gave a full evening concert that was just awesome. left cleveland at 8:00 p.m. arrived in louisville at 2:30 a.m. worked all day monday with a dazed look in my eyes.

it was a blast.

just here to say "ditto" to a recent post i wrote entitled, "humility." that's all.

my family and i spent almost three hours in marysville today cleaning up debris in a field. we gathered trash and separated wood and metal into piles. it was windy and a little cool...otherwise, a nice day for it. it rained a lot yesterday, so we trudged through lots of mud. we came across lots of interesting and random things: batteries, car cd player, car speedometer, water proof speaker system, golf clubs, christmas lights, book pages, muffin pan, paint can, a photograph, an unopened package of dental floss, lots of diapers and baby girl clothing/items, a highlighter, and a skip-bo card. all of this debris was dumped in an empty field. the trashed space across the street was the original location for much of it. a driveway, sidewalk, front porch slab, kitchen floor foundation, and empty spaces where a house, garage, barn, shed, etc., once stood was all that remained. several destroyed vehicles. large pieces of debris hanging from the trees. unbelievable hail damage...holes driven through cars and houses. it's quite a sight out there. drove past many destroyed homes/cars...and a spray-painted sign which read, "God is still good."

on march 2, an EF-4 tornado passed within 5 miles of my house.

dad and i hadn't made it home. we were at my church ten miles away. we sat in the basement listening to the radio weather-men talk about a half-mile-wide tornado ripping through our town. my dad couldn't get anyone at home to answer their cell phones. he panicked.

we found ourselves driving home through this incredible storm. he drove through the hail. i prayed...and watched the clouds. he drove far above the speed limit (few other cars in sight). i prayed harder.

we arrived as the worst ended. everyone was fine. my family had just watched a nasty-looking funnel cloud pass directly over our house, ripping our front storm door nearly off its hinges. they had also watched and heard the "henryville tornado"..."it sounded like a monster was eating the town for lunch."

we live in borden, within ten miles of pekin, memphis, henryville, and marysville...all of which were hit by this half-mile-wide EF-4 tornado.

approximately 40 died on march 2. crazy videos, pictures, stories. a 2 year-old who "rode the tornado" and survived. a twisted fire hydrant. the shell of a school bus (which minutes before was full of children)...thrown into a restaurant. hail so large it ate through dry-wall.

last august, my family and i traveled to tuscaloosa, alabama, to help with disaster relief. now, it's been thrown into my backyard.

a weekend i'll never forget.

"We have finally come face to face with the one question we have scrupulously ducked every time it got within a mile of us: You are free. What do you plan to do? One of the problems with any authentic pronouncement of the gospel is that it introduces us to freedom. So, what are you going to do now that you don’t have to do anything? The secret of worship is that it’s only when you deeply grapple with the pride-smashing fact that you can’t do anything for Jesus, you begin wanting to do everything for Jesus. True discipleship happens when you come to terms with the fact that you are so unconditionally loved, forgiven, pardoned, and free that you say “yes” to whatever God wants."

-Tullian Tchividjian

Click here for Tchividjian's complete blog post.

pray for God to take away your pride, and it'll come.

just sayin'.

check out this video on the sanctity of human life:

99 Balloons

You created me within.
You knit me in my mother's womb.
in Your book were written the days planned out for me before there was a single one.
i praise You for i am fearfully made.
Your works are wonderful.
(psalm 139)

"as Everything, He became nothing,
so that you, as nothing, could have everything."

-tullian tchividjian

so, i'm trying to sell my car...

i've had it for a year and a half. it's beautiful on the outside, but the insides need help.

so, a mechanic made an offer on it yesterday. too low.

i drove it home. on my way, i hit (and killed) a deer (first time ever), putting a dent in the hood and cracking the bumper. (at least the deer horn is still in place...)

how's that for timing?

so, i'm trying to sell my car...

thinking back on a blessed year...

new:
brother leaving home to attend jbu

celebrations:
25th birthday
mom’s & dad’s 50th birthdays
cousin’s wedding

opportunities:
chaperoning for the “give me an answer” conference
third annual "add to your faith" retreat
playing piano for jubilate tour, youth choir tour, kbc all-state junior-high weekend, seminary string camp, dr. mohler's christmas receptions, a friend's wedding
life action summit
secret church
singing at a louisville bats game
sunday morning service at the church at brook hills (david platt)

travel:
alabama
arkansas
illinois
indiana
ohio
oklahoma
kentucky
tennessee
west virginia

further fun:
creation museum for the second time
final southeast easter pageant
gulf shores
having two friends and two cousins spend a week with me…all at the same time!
lamberts
seeing an old friend (hadn’t seen her in nine years!)
singing at the top of the john hancock center, chicago
spending lots of time with my best friend and her growing family in their beautiful home
standing (just long enough for a picture) in the glass boxes at the top of the sears tower, chicago
visiting my old home in pulaski, tennessee, where i was raised for almost ten years
week with grandparents

challenges:
busyness & pressures
death of a dear friend and spiritual mentor
maintaining a close relationship with God
maintaining good health
waiting on God

and so another year ends.
life is a vapor.