The video I submitted! Check it out! And VOTE!

:-) my video for doing volunteer work..help us win!

Tiff's video 2013

In keeping with a personal Thanksgiving Tradition....

My Thanksgiving ABC's of the year...reflecting on this past year...

African adventures with Ronda! Who would have thought we would be in Kenya hanging out together last winter!
Being asked to lead the ATW for 2014.
Circuit Riders!
Daily new mercy from the throne room.
Early mornings-when I do get up and see the sunrise, my day is always a little brighter.
Faithful supporters who have continued to believe in what God is doing here. I am always blown away each month how the Lord provides.
Gardening for the first time.
Home- I love my family.
Indoor plumbing...seriously, using an outhouse in the middle of the night where you are at risk of getting eaten by a lion makes you appreciate it all the more.
Journals, they help me to process things. Though they stack up and take space in the end they are so worth having.
Kingdom Nights..of course.
Lots of camping this past summer. :-)
Mary-I've been super blessed by my friend Mary, we got to know each other better this summer. And she's been a true heart friend.
New Colorado church-Bridgeway has been a blessing. It only took 6 years....
Ouray camping trip- so much fun and much needed after a busy busy 8 months of nonstop.
Piano- I was recently given a piano. It is terribly out of tune, but its a piano to practice on.
Quiet moment for...
Rest and reflection, this fall has been the perfect opportunity.
Stacy-she's been an incredible and fun roommate for the past 2 1/2 years.
Tuesday mornings. Because I do reception over lunch on Mondays I get an extra hour at another time..so I take Tuesday morning and it's nice to just have an extra hour to get a few things done and a leisure start to my day.
Unique opportunities to learn new things all the time.
Vision...without vision people perish. God thank you for fresh vision.
WISE school! I never knew this would be my favorite school (curriculum and everything else) EVER.
X-rays at the chiropractor so I am actually getting good help for my back.
Younger brothers and sisters who have become friends.
Zero debt. Thank you Jesus.

Loneliness

I've been thinking about loneliness. I guess that is what happens when you are living slightly alone for a few months. I have come to the conclusion that loneliness is actually quite possibly part of our God given design. Hear me out.
Somewhere along the line in my life I came to this idea (and I don't think it's right) that if I was truly content then I would never feel lonely. Because if I was lonely after all, it must mean I don't believe God is with me. Nothing could be actually further from the truth.
When we are healthy people- we should at times be lonely!
I love to drink my morning coffee ALONE with the Lord, or go for a run alone or on occasion enjoy a leisure book on my couch alone.  This is aloneness..We all need it to some degree or another- granted some need it a bit more than others because they are introverted (and I am slightly.)
But being introverted has nothing to do with loneliness. The beauty of loneliness is that it drives us to community. To family. To relationship. It's why thousands of people night after night and week after week all year long go to the bar after work..because they can not stand the thought of being alone. What if they knew that their loneliness wasn't really just about them?
So, in loneliness I have two options. I can pity myself or look out- and find out who else out there may be lonely. What if I just became their friend, listened to their story, and invited them into my life? Miracle of miracles- no longer am I lonely, but also- no longer is it about me.
Now, you might ask me- how is it that you could ever be lonely? You "live" in community!
Well, let me ask you the same question...how could you ever be lonely? You are surrounded by possibly a family, a job full of people, maybe neighbors and people you see every day. And yet, in the midst of it a person can be lonely..unless they risk truly getting beyond themselves.
And truly it is in the knowing that "He will never leave you or forsake you." that allows me to get beyond myself and reach out. It is what gives me the freedom to say "Hey, what to come over for dinner?" So next time you are feeling lonely, ask yourself the question "who needs a friend today?" And instead of focusing on yourself, you will find your loneliness dissipating as you focus on the needs of others.

Fall Quarter

This season has been different for me, as every season is..but this is my first fall quarter since my very first, that I am not working directly with a school.
So what do my days look like?
I am currently overseeing our accounting department, which consists of 2 other girls. (A change from when I first began to work in there and was the only girl!) Several years ago when our friend Cary passed away we were left without an accounting overseer. Our Administrator sort of took it on, but with all of the other things he had on his plate he really couldn't give as much attention to the department as was needed. Last spring he mentioned this and immediately I knew I needed to step in. I was full trained in the department but because of my constant assisting of schools it had left me unavailable. So, this quarter and next I am focused on this office.
I actually really enjoy the work. Our accountant who comes in once a month or so told me that our books are NOTHING like those of a regular business because of the amount of information we need to track- student finances, staff fund raising, automatic donations, and one time gifts (both online and via check or card), overseas workers information, bills for electricity, garbage, propane, dishwasher maintenance, new bunk beds..you name it. :-) Probably why I love it.
I love to learn, to have projects and also to teach others. One of the girls working with me was partially trained and the other brand new, so it's been fairly easy to resurrect some of the practices we had in the office before.
Currently I have been spending a lot of time going through old documents and bringing them up to date, while taking phone calls and doing all the day to day tasks. I also meet each week with my girls to talk about how things are going, what needs to be changed, how they are doing personally, and sometimes just to drink a good cup of tea and laugh about things not work related!
This last week I have also begun to focus in on ATW prep again- I hadn't given it too much thought for a few weeks as I was reacquainting myself in the office. But with 5 students already accepted to the school I know I need to start giving it some attention.
We just welcomed 3 teams back and graduated them last friday. They were off our summer DTS- An ATW, Haiti & the Dominican Republic, and the Philippines. All teams had an incredible time and saw God do a lot of amazing things.
Our current schools (we have 4- with about 135 students) just ended week 6. The outreach teams are decided. We are sending a large team to Uganda & Kenya, Another large team to Thailand, a team to Mexico & Belize, another big team to Colombia and a team to Costa Rica. Pray for the leaders as they prepare and for the students as many will be going overseas for the first time, and it will be most of their first time away from home for the Christmas season.

50 fun facts.

1. I enjoy lists.

2.  Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes

3. But i didn't love it till 2010.

4. I attribute some of the cooking skills I do have to my friend Derrick.

5. I have lived on both coasts and in the middle of the country.

6. I wanted to live in NH from the time I was ten.

7. And I did...ten years later.

8. I have 9 incredible siblings.

9. My parents are amazing. I love them dearly.

10. Horses are my favorite animal-always have been-probably always will be..unless I see something in a foreign place I like more.

11. I don't like flowery smells.

12. South France is on my list of places to go back to someday.

13. I cook almost everything in a cast iron skillet.

14. I dislike washing dishes- hence # 13 (and it tastes better anyway.)

15. Friday nights are generally my favorite because it's ministry night on the streets.

16. Three years ago I would have never walked up to strangers and told them about Jesus...somewhere in there God has changed me.

17. Puzzles are relaxing.

18. I am an extroverted introvert...

19. Give me Settlers and Ticket to Ride over Monopoly any day.

20. When it comes to sugar, it seems I am all or nothing.

21. I love to snowboard.

22. But i prefer it hot outside!

23. I hang my clothes in rainbow order.

24. I can't stand dressers.

25. Yo hablo un poquito español.

26. And I also am conversational in Sign Language.

27. I know I am loved.

28. I once witnessed Jesus restore a man's voice.

29. I love crunchy leaves under foot. 

30. My family has probably received more crocheted gifts than anything from me, because fall comes and I get inspired.

31. I'm making a braided rug.

32. I paint.

33. I'm forgiven.

34. The more chaotic my day is, the more fulfilled I find myself.

35. Colossians 2:13-15

36. I have over 60 journals...

37.  Jonathan is my favorite Bible character

38. I have a yellow piano in my house...and sometimes I play it :-) 

39. My sister Christy is a prolific writer.
40. I had my first garden ever this summer. It grew one green pepper, about 5 zucchini & 2 tomatoes (well more tomatoes but bunnies stole them and then it froze so six are on my counter ripening-hopefully.) 

41. I love Kenyan Chai
42. I like accounting.
43.But I never enjoyed math....
44. I just like real life problem solving.
45. Butternut squash soup is DELICIOUS.
46. So is sushi...
47. I love to burn candles.
48. When I was 16 I thought it would be cool to go on a mission trip someday...God took me up on that one I guess :-) Far beyond ANYTHING I could have asked or imagined.
49. I love learning...so I read random blogs and articles all the time.
50. And that's what gave me this idea..except the one I read had 100....and I figured 50 took me long enough. 

God's faithfulness to lead and guide

In 2010 I assisted a team around the world. It was an incredible experience that changed my life. In six months I will have a team coming that I will be leading.
Tonight I ran across a blog (thank you facebook) from one of the guys on our team- He's now in Korea. Wow! That means 5 of the 13 students we took on that trip are now serving full time in one of the nations we were in. Three are in France, one in Uganda and one in Korea. (And one is in Denver on our staff as well now.) The rest are also doing amazing things...one is on full time staff in Thailand, another is a wonderful mama to a little beautiful girl with downs, another studying to be a lawyer, another in Bible school....
Please pray with me as I am in the preparation process for the next trip, I have some locations in mind for this trip-but I really want to go to the places that those who will be on my team could eventually be called back to-or at least locations that would spur them onto what God is calling them to long term.
It's so exciting!

RIch history...

Sometimes I forget what rich lyrics I listened to as I was growing up...I used to put CDs/tapes in and listen to them over and over until I knew every word. Tonight I was reminded of a song I hadn't listened to in years...wow, the words are so powerful. Music is such a powerful influence. Thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy

Make my life an altar
Let me give all I am for the purpose of You
This is all I can offer
I give all that I can with a heart that is true
Lord, I know what You do is right by me
And not a single thing in this world is gonna take Your place

I'm building my life unto You
Knowing Your love will see me through

Make my life an altar
Let Your will be my own in whatever I do
This is all I can offer
Let my heart be Your home, Lord, I give it to You
'Cause I know what You do is right by me
And not a single thing in this world is gonna take Your place

CHORUS:
Lord, I'm building my life unto You
Knowing Your love will see me through
You know I'm building my life unto You
Knowing Your love will see me through 'til the end of time

I will build it on solid ground
Make a place for this love I've found
Let Your glory and grace resound, for Your Spirit is coming down

Lyrics from eLyrics.net

MINI-HOLIDAY!!!!

It all started a couple of weeks back when my friend Mary and I were dreaming about road trips and rest and talking about a myriad of things. We'd just had a "faith day" with the WISE school-where we went down town with no agenda and were available to do what God wanted us to do (another time I should write a post about that because our day was quite an adventure.) So we thought..why not pray about a vacation!  I don't do vacations much..except to visit family. But this trip was so refreshing I do believe I will pray about where to go on vacation next time as well!
In the end, our little faith trip took us to Ouray, Colorado. (And we invited our friend Jacob to come along).

The three of us on a hike outside our campground. 

One big Aspen! 

The gorgeous town- we spent the morning of the first day hiking and then the afternoon exploring the town. 

Rivers run with mining residue which creates the green color. 

Box Cañon Falls..the thing that started this whole adventure! So beautiful and deafening. I marveled over the reality that God's Word says His voice is like the sound of rushing waters-every tone of sound and capable of drowning out all other noise. The actual Falls comes in out of a hole way in the back and is difficult to capture in photo.) 

The town from where we camped. 

Little Switzerland of America

Rivers everywhere. 

Driving on cliffs...

Standing on cliffs...

A grove of iridescent aspens. We stopped here to do a little shooting. I managed to hit the target a few times. 

Mary in the hot springs- our second day we went for a little hike, hopped in these amazing pools for a couple of hours, took a scenic drive and then went back again! 97 degrees in the one she is in...the hot one was 105. 

We cooked every single meal over the open flames. Here we are making Chicken Pot Pies. 

Pie Irons are excellent fun. 

My chicken pot pie..one of the many delicious things we ate...pizzas, pancakes, eggs....not to mention hobos and hamburgers. 

More beauty on our way out. We took the scenic route. 

"the Million dollar highway" 

More of beautiful Colorado. There were ranches everywhere...my oh my I was dreaming! :-) Horses in every valley...and big log cabins. 

A little pit stop at YWAM Cimarron. We saw the sign that said " YWAM 12 miles" and decided to stop in..what a beautiful base. We got a tour, lunch and some new friends..and a place to go back to again. I'd love to return and retreat there sometime. 

All in all, I am blessed and feeling quite refreshed...ready for Fall quarter! 

I have the best dad.

That's all I have to say for now... :-) 

Thanks Daddy for being amazing. 

School of the Circuit Rider -LA 2013

Our WISE school crew on the "party bus"! We drove a mini bus all the way to LA and back. It worked great, the Lord's hand of protection was on us! When we returned back to the parking lot of our base, the starter went out..but we were home! 

My Friend Mary and I during the Love Santa Ana Outreach! We went out with a couple hundred people and ministered to people all day long. One man a few of us met in the park the day before and we were able to spend a lot of time with him because we kept seeing him all over town. He went from hostile and unwilling to talk to us to protective and encouraging. 

Frances Chan sharing a message during the Love Santa Ana teaching the day before we went out. One of the most humble and godly men I have ever heard. He was on his face before God weeping and asking Him to speak only what was on His heart to speak. 

Worship together every day during Circuit Riders-we mostly met at Newsong Church -Irvine. 

Joy Dawson sharing with us. Her message has changed my life. And not even so much what she said, but rather how she talked about God, her late husband, the Fear of the Lord, the stories she told us about encounters where people gave their lives to Jesus, everything she said made me want to surrender more and more to Jesus, to hold nothing back. I was weeping when she was talking about Intercession because I realized I haven't even begun to understand what it means to pray for the lost, broken and lonely. 

Packing out the Hollywood House of Prayer. We joined them for a day of teaching and ministering on the streets...with one mission..to love the people. In a place that influences our nation so much-we got to spend time bringing the influence of the Light of life. One girl my friend Alyssa and I spoke to broke down and as I started to pray for her, she began to repeat after me and so I led her in repentance and acceptance of God's grace and love in her life. We then got to share with her the TRUTH about how God sees her- when we left she was no longer discouraged about being a mom and feeling inadequate- but rather encouraged that she could walk to through every thing-hard and good with the Father on her side. 

Some of the girls from my small group! We were split into groups of about ten and every day we preached to each other, joyfully repented together, testified, prayed and laughed together. 

I am so grateful! 

Fulfillment of a hearts cry...

Two years ago I was sitting in a Timothy Team leadership meeting when The Orange County Circuit Riders outreach was mentioned...as a ministry we were going to partner with YWAM Kona and see a wave of revival rise up in Huntington Beach- land of the Jesus Movement. When I heard it something in me just screamed Yes Yes Yes! Lord, send me! I honestly nearly lept out of my seat with excitement a me didn't even fully know why. 

Several weeks later I was on the road, headed to set up and do the ground work for 300ish wild eyed Circuit Riders. It wasn't until tonight that I got a fuller realty of what I am a part of, and I can't get over it.....I get to be on the forefront of one of the biggest thrusts of the Kingdom of God in all time. 

We sat in Amy's living room tonight (one of the forerunners of Circuit riders) and as I listened to her share the testimony and history of what has happened these last couple of years, I had the same reminder..the leaping out of my chair with excitement. I recognize it..it's the Spirit of God bearing witness. The story continues...

Last year we hosted The School of the Circuit Rider in our city- in fact in the very epicenter of Denver, in a messianic synagogue...in a city where the majority (around 94-97% don't know Jesus. And in that two week period over 200 people.gave their lives to Jesus. Again, overwhelmed that The Father let me be involved in the process of setting everything up to see His dreams become reality. Wow...simply by saying YES to Him! I can't even get over it. 

Now, in this moment, I am in California- about to be a student in The School of the Circuit Rider, along with the entire WISE school. This is something me and my friend Mary dreamed about last year...and now we are both here....My heart is full of Joy and anticipation and its just the beginning!   

The lost are being found, the blind are seeing...Jesus is being preached to the whole world...and He invited me to be a part of it...He is inviting you too. Won't you come along? Just be prepared to hold on tight to Him because it isn't a ride for the faint of heart. 

OUR GOOD GOOD DADDY.

I desperately desire to communicate the heart of the Father- to shout it from the roof top, I want the world to know- WE HAVE A GOOD DADDY! Oh, how he loves us so..and it's heart breaking when His kids don't know it..when they believe the lies of the enemy, the liar from the beginning. 

There was a song we used to sing when I was a kid and whining and complaining. "Nobody likes me, everybody hates me- guess I'll go eat worms." WHAT?! Nothing could be further from the truth because actually- I'm so loved. And so are you. 

I was laying in the tent while we were camping this past weekend and pondering this thought, and the lyrics to an old hymn ran through my head "I'm a child of a King, a child of a King, with Jesus my Savior-I'm a child of a King." 

Do you know what that means?! Our Dad is the King of the Universe...and HE LIKES US. Whoa. And you know what? I have a pretty cool dad here on this planet-how much more amazing is our heavenly Father?! 

"I have NO greater Joy than this, than to know that my children walk in TRUTH." -I know why John said this. Because when I get to see someone capture the reality of their identity in Christ, they become unstoppable in the Kingdom of God. They begin to radically take Him at His Word. Nothing is off limits from Him in their lives- Purity and Holiness become a daily outcome, they listen and obey..they go anywhere, do anything..to see His Kingdom come and His will be done. They do it..not because it's a religious activity- but because it's a relationship. 

Our sustainability is in a love relationship with the King who loved us first. And it's for this reason that I will challenge the lies that people believe- to call out the Truth. Truth is found in the man- Jesus. Savior, Redeemer, Friend, Love. 

The World is DESPERATE for Love- for value- for meaning and purpose. 

Jesus really is the answer to all of it. He is love. He gives us value, meaning and purpose. 

Jesus is the BEST thing..

Life with Him IS the greatest adventure. 

I'm a child of a King...in Him, I lack nothing. 

Oh, do you know this? DO you know that you know who you are? Do you believe it? It's TRUE. 

Truth is not based on feeling- it's not based on popular ideas- It's based on the man- Jesus. He is TRUTH. What He says goes...

"I came that you would have life, and life to the full."

"You are the salt of the earth"

"You are the light of the world." 

"Do not worry about your life..what you will eat or drink.." 

"...How much more (than your earthly fathers) will I give what is good to those who ask."

"Your sins are forgiven."

"my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

Just to declare some Truth...and oh there is so much more! 

My latest delicious concoction!

So I had thawed some meat from the freezer not realizing it was beef stew meat...I thought it was steak. When I have an ingredient but no recipe my first instinct is always to hit allrecipes.com and see what I can find. I found a recipe that sounded good ( I was searching for non stew recipes cuz stew on an  85 degree day I isn't really ideal.)  So here is what came out....and sorry no picture because Stacy and I devoured most of them before I realized. First off when I find a cope I usually don't have all the ingredients it calls for and I don't like to have dirty dishes so I eyeball most measurements. (Maybe why I don't prefer baking?) anyway...

Sauté a quarter of a sweet onion  -add the following 3 ingredients after these are translucent. 

Add roasted garlic (fresh if u have it) I think I threw in close to about 2 TBs

1 package of beef stew meat. 

A 4 oz can of green chiles. 

After the meat is cooked sprinkle with: chili powder, taco/fajita seasoning and red pepper flakes. (Or whatever your little heart desires) 

Add a half a can of fire roasted garlic tomatoes. 

Heat your toaster oven to 400 degrees. 

Layer a 5x7 pan with corn tortilla shells. Fill each one and top with cheese. I used a peeled up mozzarella stick- hey just go with whatcha got. 

Fold closed the tortillas or cover with another layer. 

Douse with foster's salsa...or your favorite kind. 

Add another quarter of the can of tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese. I had about a 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella. 

Cook in the oven until they smell and look delicious. 

Eat. Best when shared. This made enough for 3-4 people...we have a little left over. 

Yum. 

YWAM Denver Blogging :)

So, I wrote a post a while back about Intercession and Abraham when interfaced with God about Sodom and Gomorrah. It for some reason gets a lot of hits... I updated it a bit and shared it on our YWAM Denver Blog. There are a lot of really cool stories and posts on our website if you have some time to check them out. Also, If you want to check out the original post you can right here.

Hope ya'll are enjoying spring weather. We went from winter to summer, and now have just had a few springy days. The Around the World outreach team is leaving this weekend. Be praying for them! They are on their way to Amsterdam first. They will be gone on outreach for 3 months. We have one more month here with the Awaken DTS Mexico team and then we launch them out as well. Tomorrow is also the graduation of 2 schools- The Boarders DTS and Compassion DTS. God has done so much in and through them, we are excited about where He is taking them in in the future- serving Him around the world and in their hometowns.

PS...speaking the Around the World...looks like I will be leading one next Spring!! So excited for this opportunity. Join me in praying about which locations we are to go to. I already have 1 student accepted and a couple more in the process.

Reflections on the journey.

Chatting today with my friend Steph about my journey coming here..and I began to share about my time living in NH and in particular being a part of the Christian Outreach Church youth group. 

I had been there for about 6 months, the youth group had dwindled to about 5-6 kids, and a couple leaders. Jonah was out of town actually here in doing a School of Worship and a Phase II. (he had been the youth group leader). Shortly after his return I remember we all talked about what we should do- and felt like we needed to just shut things down and pray until God said to open the doors again. 

So...we did. Every week we would get together and get on our faces. For about 6 weeks we did this, no youth group-just getting before the Lord. 

After 6 weeks, we felt like it was time to restart the youth group-so we announced that we were starting it up again, we had some specific direction for the teaching and such-and the first night, 30 kids showed up. 

It wasn't about the program, it wasn't about the activities, the volleyball, the coffee...I believe it was because it was about Jesus. We prayed-He answered. Looking back I am so thankful for that season. Thankful for Jonah, Jeff, Russ & Grant...being willing to stop and listen to the Father- and inviting me and Autumn into the process! 

Virtue.

Just returned from our Staff Women's Retreat. I am so blessed to work with the people that I do, who see the value of investing in our community. We spent the weekend talking about Virtue. I had the privilege of leading our first evening session. We talked about what virtue is in the context of 2 Peter 1 and how we apply it to our Faith as we are instructed to do. And how it all flows out of recognizing what Jesus has done and never losing sight of it.
Over the course of the last couple of weeks I have come across so many little tidbits that fed into what was being prepared to be shared. My great Uncle sends these newsletters out each month with all kinds of stories, quotes from other things he is reading, personal writings, family history..you name it. Anyway there was one segment on good character that really struck me and I was able to share it with the girls this weekend."A person of Good Character will faithfully serve Christ out of love and gratefulness. Those with poor character begrudgingly serve out of duty, obligation or for personal gain. If they manage to serve at all." -Tom Blackaby.
When we lose sight of what Jesus has done for us, we lose sight of Thankfulness..our perspective goes haywire and we miss out on the fullness of Life with Him.
Another quote I picked up came out of a book called Moral Revolution by Kris Vallatton. (I give it very high recommendations..it's incredible) “Virtues help us live from the inside out instead of from the outside in. No longer do I live by other people’s rules. Instead, I live by values that guide my attitudes, which in turn determine my choices. Choices dictate my behavior. My behaviors become manifestations of my personhood and my personhood leads me to my destiny.”
Virtue is not only for our personal lives however, it is ultimately something that is the fragrance of our lives to others. Virtue in the Greek is not an abstract word, but rather a word that emirates to others Who it is we love and serve. It is what remains when we are gone. The aroma of Christ.

Go therefore and make Disciples...

Had my friend Heather over to hang out tonight and so I made these delish nachos! I thought I'd share the recipe. We have some lentils in our cupboard given to us by a friend from Pakistan when she left back to her country and it got me searching the internet for some good recipes. I tried them last summer and have been craving them for a while now. They really hit the spot! I threw on some sour cream and used some homemade salsa and a few minor alterations based on what we had around (such as cheddar cheese instead of jack, etc. And the lentils I used were red split lentils. Click the pic and get yourself the recipe! I love using Allrecipes! So many good ideas on there. YUM. 

checkin' in!

Awaken DTS is in full swing!
25 students who are absolutely incredible.
Last week we had our first week of teaching on the Character and Nature of God. Now today started Father Heart of God. Our students are holding nothing back-ready to go all in for Jesus.
It's been refreshing for me, a season where I've had much energy to be hospitable and do things that are life giving! Yesterday we had a birthday BBQ for Matt (it was warm enough and now today it's snowing). Saturday Myself and Stacy took a crew of them out to see the movie NOT TODAY.
Just finished grading tests and think I will go pop over to class for a bit since I have time!

A thought on fitness

Started doing the 30 day Shred last week as inspired by my sister Julie. We always like to give one another a little "clap clap motivation" (inside joke..sorry). Well, It's day 8 already on this thing and my thighs and shoulders are still paining me every time I work out. Hopefully I am doing all the work outs right, I think I am! I'm just a little bit of a weakling in some areas! I was missing running, but it's hard to get outside when there are sporadic snow storms still..welcome to Colorado in the Spring. So, Jillian Michaels it is.
I have noticed that in the last 9 days (yes, took a day of rest in there..God said do it..I think it most CERTAINLY applies to working out) I have had more energy to do many more things. After outreach I had a stack of papers/cards/receipts to sort through, a mess of a closet, several crochet projects, a house that needed cleaning...and I am sure more that I am forgetting, but ZERO motivation..all I wanted to do was sleep and sit. (Which is sometimes ok when you have been gone from your house for 12 weeks, but I knew it was not just from that!)
I think I have actually done more the last few days than the first two weeks I was back home. The house is fairly clean, my closet is partially organized, the receipts are cleaned up, cards and papers almost there, 2 small crochet projects out of the way with only Mindy's blanket really on the docket.. not to mention laundry done, and more.
It's amazing how much our physical, emotional and spiritual health are tied together. They all affect one another. With more physical energy I am also more inclined to spend time in the Word, Prayer, and Worship..also I am more inclined also to spend time with people. Oh, and choosing to be "Joyful in all things" is much easier when you're energetic. On the flip side, spending time with Jesus can motivate us to be more physically active and taking care of ourselves. It's all interconnected. Brilliant God we serve.  I was realizing that if any of these things are off kilter the rest gets off REALLY quick. Laziness in any area of my life quickly breeds laziness in other areas...and you know what...it has NO place in my life, I do not want it. Praise God that every day is a brand new day!

There you have it, that's what's on my mind tonight..and now I really need to go to bed since that's also helpful in being healthy. :-)

p.s. stay tuned for some insights on the first ever AWAKEN DTS starting on Monday. :-) Looking forward a new and fresh quarter.

Kingdom Night Testimony

Below is a video testimony of what happened the other night when a few of us were out ministering on Kingdom Night! I was so blessed to be a part of what God was doing! Enjoy.

A special blog for McKenna:

Ways we tell people about Jesus:

We help them with jobs that need to be done. 

We go to church with them and preach/teach and sing! 

We do vacation Bible schools.

We play with the children and share God's love. 

We visit people at their homes and share about Jesus and pray with them. (The man in the middle gave his life to Jesus this day when we told him about God's love!) 

We have outdoor ministry times where we share the gospel. 

We tell Bible stories (this is David and Goliath) 

We pray with them to give their lives to Jesus. 

We use puppets to tell the story of how much Jesus loves us and why he died and rose again. 

We also use dramas to tell the story of God without using any words. 

We sometimes give special gifts. 

And we love the little children who have no one to love them.

These are just some of the ways we tell people about Jesus..these were some of the ways we did in Africa! 

Kenya Episode 2: People we love!

Pastor Rhymes- Rapper and preacher. We did ministry with him quite a lot. He took us with him to a youth camp where he was scheduled to speak and we all did ministry together. 

Tito (Titus) one of our main contacts. He was with us every day and became part of the team. He can preach, sing, fill in for dramas, translate, share the gospel and more. 

My other mother! Ronda is now living in Africa and was my main contact for our trip. She helped connect us with everyone we worked with on this trip. 

Betina, our friend from Canada who now lives in Kenya. We got to encourage her and her husband a lot and help them to reach some of the street boys. 

My favorite Kenyan, John! :) Love him! 

Jonathan with Elvis, our host. 

My amazing assistant, Kevin. 

My african brothers- Noah and Newton

Moses, our excellent cook. 

Kenya Episode 1: Food

The most common Food in Kenya: Ugali and Sukumawiki. 

Good food after a long day of ministry! (the thing that looks like a pizza slice is Chapati..it's one of my favorites!) 

Wedding reception food! We were invited to attend tho we didn't know the couple or the family for that matter. 

I got delicious fish a couple times while we were out on free days. 

A meal at the church in Katthiyoni Village

Breakfast at South B...favorite part? Mandazi (the triangle on the end) 

Final Meal...at a place called Rolf's

More to come! I am now home and can access my blog readily and will begin to post stories and more photos!