Under the Distant Sky

I love stories set in the early years of America, when people were full of hope and had dreams of taming the rugged land. The stories of the wagon trains floating across rivers and dragging through the prairie land. This is one of my favorite settings for a story. “Under the Distant Sky,” by Al & Joanna Lacy is set in Independence, Missouri, the starting point for travelling west. Hannah and her husband, Solomon, own a general store and each year hear the dreams of those who travel through their area. They see the wagon trains leave all throughout the summer and make the trek west to try to tame the wild land. As everything starts to come together, we experience Hannah’s fears and aspirations as her family makes the decision to journey west. So often, you only see the hopes and dreams of going west and don’t see that there were many who had doubts, many who died along the way, many who gave up and went home…. “Under the Distant Sky” is a great story combining the hopes of making a better life with the fears of something new and unknown.

Hilton Head

So this past weekend, Frankie, Alyx, and I sent a couple days in Hilton Head. Alyx had a great time at the beach. She loved the water and loved having a friend there to play with. She didn’t like the crabs that seemed to be everywhere on the beach! You would pick up your towel and there would be a mound of them under there! Alyx seemed to think they were spiders. And Frankie enjoyed using them so that she wouldn’t take off down the beach. It was way too short, but it was fun.

The Veil

When I first starting reading this book, “The Veil,” by Diane Noble, I was slightly disappointed. I thought I might be reading the wrong book! The main characters Hannah McClary and Lucas Knight are part of a secluded religious group called the Saints. The book really details their lives and how it would have been to live during the 19th century. The more I read, the more I was drawn into the story. The story also follows the Farringtons, a family that is making their way west to California and has to travel through Utah, where the Saints lived. “The Veil” is based on a historical, tragic event that occurred during that time period. As the story unfolds, you will find yourself drawn into the very different lives of the characters and their journeys.

God is Still in Control-2

So about 2.5 years ago, Frankie came to me and said he clearly felt God calling him to plant a church in Boston in the future. Well, that’s not exactly what he said… he wanted me to figure out where God was calling him by myself or rather God to reveal it to me. I pitched a fit, literally. I wasn’t asking for God’s guidance. I was wanting to know right now, so he caved in and told me where he felt God would lead him. He told me of the circumstances that lead to this assurance of his calling and God did some pretty amazing things. There was no specific time line, but that’s what God wanted Frankie to do.

Now, some of you may be thinking, but what about you? Did God call you too? And my answer to that is yes, he did. No, he has not specifically said “you will go to Boston,” but he called me to be Frankie’s helpmate. I love him and if he feels a definite calling from God that this is where we need to go, then I will follow. I have felt God’s calling on my life, that I would be a support for my husband before I even knew my husband.

So, when I heard Andy Stanley’s message on God being in control, my mind immediately drifted to Boston and God’s call on our lives. We may never end up in Boston; God made use our preparations in order to get us to somewhere else. It’s all in his hands, but he is still in control. He will tell us where he wants us; our only job is to follow. We don’t know much about our future right now, but God is still in control and he’ll take care of it.

God is Still in Control

I’m not sure if that’s the title of Andy Stanley’s One Prayer sermon, but it is the essence of it. I really enjoyed his message. He spoke on the last supper between Jesus and his disciples, and talked about how if you had asked the disciples when was the darkest hours of their lives, they would have answered with the last supper and moving forward to Jesus’ death. At that point, their faith in Jesus seemed pointless, their lives seemed wasted.

The whole Bible is story after story in which people faced trials of many kinds. That is our story. That is the way of the Christian life. Life will not be easy for us. We will face trials. Andy talked about how in the midst of uncertainty, God is still certain. We tend to equate God with prosperity and wealth and moving forward in life and success, but God does the greatest works in our lives during our darkest hours, during those moments when we fell our faith has failed us, during those moments when we can’t see him. Will we maintain our faith when we can’t see his hand in our lives?

Andy’s message was very relevant for today. With the economy the way it is, with people losing their jobs, with all the other troubles going on right now… there is still hope in the midst of trial. Just because you are a believer doesn’t mean you won’t face these same trials and tribulations, but there is still hope. Why? Because God is still in control. I pray this message makes its way to your heart and mine.

The Vanishing Sculptor

This is a wonderful story of an imaginary land far away which contains lots of mythical creatures. You meet a girl, Tipper, as she tries to save her father from vanishing forever. Along the way, she and her guardian, a grand parrot, meet a wizard and his librarian, riding dinosaurs (which **surprise** she gets to ride on), an aspiring artist, a dragon keeper prince, and many more interesting characters.

Her father has been gone for years, just disappeared one day and never came back. However, one night, he comes back to Tipper and she is charged with helping him to find a way back permanently. Her father talks of a Wulder, a God that she knows nothing of, but learns about along the way on her journey. Wulder is intriguing to her and very different than the god she has know, one she is sure is just a fairy tale.

Join Tipper, her father, and a host of other characters on this magical adventure! You can find out more here!

A few things….

1. My mom got her test results back… and it’s good news (well, better than it could have been). She has a hiatal hernia that she knew she had, but it has grown big enough that it showed up on her yearly tests. When I talked to her, she was just ecstatic and said “I’ll be here a little while longer!”

2. I’m a little frustrated. We need an onsite supervisor pretty badly. I still don’t know the outcome of my interview, though something tells me it’s not going to be in my favor. I don’t know why, maybe I’m just a skeptic. But we need someone who can say “do this” or “don’t do that.” We just do.

3. I’m proud of myself for working out in the mornings…. I’ve been going with Shawna and I’m really glad she asked me to go with her because it keeps me accountable! I just hate taking a shower at the gym.

4. I’m really saddened by a couple of things. First, Sanford’s affair. How sad for his family. I’m praying God would help them all through this difficult time. Second, Michael Jackson died! I just cannot believe that he’s gone.

MIP: June 2009

Movies in the Park turned out great. It was really HOT, but so many people showed up. I am always amazed by how many people come out to see the movie and I am equally amazed by how many volunteers we have that help out. After having 12 people last year, to see all the Hub City shirts out there this year is just awesome.

I did learn a few things about myself this weekend… mainly about how people perceive me,  I guess. I was disappointed in myself that I come across that way, but knowing is at least good in that I can try to watch what I say and how I say it. I know that I’m not meaning to sound like that, but that’s not how it comes out, obviously. Yes, I know that’s vague, but I’m still working through it all, so I’d rather not be too specific. Plus, I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings if they are the one who made the comments to me.

I will tell you one major thing I always find out about myself when I do MIP: I AM SOOOOO OUT OF SHAPE!! Walking up and down that hill even a few times is enough to make me short of breath for a while. I’m hoping my morning workouts with Shawna will help!

Today, my mom had her X-rays. Please continue to lift her up as she awaits the results.

Movies in the Park: Madagascar 2

This week is our second Movies in the Park. I’m really excited. We are showing Madagascar 2… so move it, move it….. to Barnett Park this Saturday around dusk! Free popcorn, free Coke, free water, free peanuts, and lots of give-a-ways! So come join us!

Ways I Pray

I have several prayer requests in my life right now. If you would like to, maybe you could remember these things:

1. Frankie has a vision to plant a church. He believes God is calling him to Boston. There are all sorts of ways we need prayer for this one, but the main thing for me is just that we would be ready whenever God calls us and that we would listen to his direction.

2. Hub City Church is growing spiritually! I am so thankful God chose to impress this church upon our hearts. We love it! And the things we are learning are too numerous to count. Pray that God would continue to show us favor and would continue to keep us focused on His will for Hub City Church. Pray for the right people to step up from within and fill some roles that need some attention.

3. Pray that Movies in the Park would be a bridge to bring people to God and pray for good weather! God has blessed us every time we have done a MIP. He is awesome!

4. Pray for my dad. I so wish I was closer to him, but it’s not meant to be right now. I pray that the right people (and maybe even woman) would come into his life that would help hm to find true happiness.

5. Pray for my mom and step-dad. Tom’s job is moving to Duluth, GA. Most of their families are here, in the upstate. They don’t want to move away, but with the economy as it is, they will have to go if they don’t find something soon. Today (6/15), I found out that my mom had something show up during her yearly checkup. She will go on Monday for some more tests. Pray for her. Pray that she would seek God’s will in this; that she would see his hand working; that she would leave it in his hands. Pray for her family as we deal with this news as well.

6. Pray for Spartanburg. This is where we live, where our kids are growing up. May God bless this city. May He show himself in a new way to the 69% of people who don’t go to church on any given Sunday. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Pray for workers.

7. Pray for the churches of Spartanburg, that they would unite together to reach our community. It’s not a competition. We need to work as one body.

I’m sure the list could go on and on, but right now, these are the things that I pray for most. Maybe it’s something, you could pray for as well.