What’s so Scary About Free Water?

Yesterday was pretty busy.  I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep and thought about running.  It was cold and I wanted to stay in my cozy bed BUT if I’m gonna run in the Dallas Marathon in December I better get used to running in the cold when I’d rather be in bed.  So I got up and ran 5 miles, no walking, go me!

Then we headed down to the church to do some Easter outreaches.  We broke up into groups and my group headed into the neighborhood around the church and placed Easter baskets on the doorsteps.  We hit 50 homes and each basket had candy and an invite card to our Easter service.  We’re not sure if they have church homes already, if they’re looking for a church home, if they could care less, or if they have been burned by a church and vowed to never return.  It doesn’t matter.  We just wanted to let them know Revive Church is in the area and they’re welcome.

Next we joined the other group and handed out 352 water bottles to the thirsty people willing to roll down their windows.  That was a blast!  This is the 2nd time we’ve done this, and it won’t be the last.  We stood at the corner of a very busy intersection and yelled “Do you want some water?  It’s free” for over 2 hours.  We shared the corner with a bus stop and we asked all the people entering/exiting the bus if they wanted some. The bottles had invite cards attached and I’ve decided people don’t know what to think when you’re yelling at them from the sidewalk.  🙂

A car full of guys said they smoke pot all the time, well, stoned people need water too.  One chick took some water, said they were headed to a strip club and then poured the water out in front of us.  Not sure what she was trying to prove, but what she did prove was she wasted water.  A guy was walking past wearing pants and a jacket.  It was hot and I asked him if he wanted some water.  He said no, but a pretty girl can talk him into anything.  I gave him a bottle and told him to stay hydrated.  One guy gave one of the kids some money for a donation.  His mom happened to see it and told him to give the money back.  She told the man thanks, but we’re not taking donations.  There was a homeless man at the bus stop and yelled “Give it to me; I’ll take it!”

I noticed how many people tried to ignore us.  I’m sorry.  Just because your window is up, doesn’t make you invisible, we can still see you. lol  I think they were afraid we were gonna actually talk to them.  People just stared ahead and some pretended to be on their phones.  Some asked us what we were doing and we told them we’re a new church down the street and invited them to our Easter service.

Brandn was the water king.  I would ask someone if they wanted water and they would mouth “I’m good” through the rolled up window.   Then Brandn would walk past the same car and they would roll down the window and take some…what!?!?  I think the ladies thought he was cute and wanted to talk to him…..stand back chicka, that water pusher is all mine!

I love my church and we’re just trying to love on those in the community.  One of our signs said “We’re Not Crazy.”  I think that may be a lie….you have to be slightly crazy to move to a new city and plant a church.  Please click here to see how it went…

Thanks for allowing me to share my world with you….welcome to my brain.

A 2 Band-Aid Kinda Nite

We don’t use band aids very much in my house. I’m sure some of you read that sentence and can’t comprehend it. No band aids, what?!?! It’s true.

Danica loves arts and crafts, playing any kind of game that requires massive amounts if imagination and, my favorite, interpretive dancing. I’m not being sarcastic here; interpretive dancing is seriously my favorite. We love to let movies run all the way to the end and dance around to the instrumental music during credits. She’s really good at it too. She can “feel” the music and dance accordingly. I’m totally banking my retirement on this. 😉

This is the time of year when Brandn spends most of the day outside and b/c he works part-time he has Danica when she’s not at school. (I am very blessed and jealous that he is a part-time, stay home dad…its hard work and he’s great at it.) He’s been planting a garden and some trees in the back yard the last few weeks so she’s been outside playing in the dirt; this makes Brandn very happy.

She came in the other day crying because one of our dogs “pushed her into the fence.” She showed me the scratch and the rule in our house is if it’s not bleeding, you don’t need a band-aid. This scratch was the tiniest scratch I have ever seen, but the skin did break and she reminded me of the rule. So she earned a band-aid.

Later that night she walked out of the bathroom and had blood streaming down her face. She didn’t even notice it but I freaked out and ran her into the bathroom, grabbed some toilet paper and held her head back. Once she saw all the blood she started freaking out. It wouldn’t stop bleeding and I’ve never had a bloody nose so it’s not like I knew what to do.

Blood has a weird effect on me; it makes my butt tingle, yup. I was trying to calm her down while my butt was tingling up a storm so I’m sure I was very ineffective. Brandn to the rescue; he got a towel and laid her down on the couch till it stopped. When it was over I told her since that was the most she has ever bled in her life; she deserved a band-aid. That made her crazy happy and she was so excited to show Brandn. After about 20 minutes she said it was itchy and she wanted to take it off…I couldn’t believe those words came out of her mouth!

Anyway… here she is being silly with a Strawberry Shortcake band-aid on her nose.

Thanks for allowing me to share my world with you…..welcome to my brain.

Harvest Rains

Usually in the Bible, where a storm is mentioned, there is turmoil:

Noah – everyone was evil, the whole earth was flooded.
Jonah – ran from God, thrown overboard, swallowed by a huge fish.
Peter – took his eyes off Jesus and sank.
Sea of Galilee – the disciples freaked out, Jesus spoke and the storm stopped

I’m not talking about storms today; I’m talking about rain……huge difference.

James 5:7 – Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.

Isaiah 30:23 – He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.

Hosea 6:3 – Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.

I held desperately clung to Hosea 6:3 the last few weeks.  God can’t lie:  God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19.  The Bible is full of promises, and since God can’t lie, I knew without a doubt that since the sun was gonna rise tomorrow, my harvest rain was on it’s way; I just had to be patient.

I have a job;  it was a huge blessing from God and it fell into my lap just in time.  This job; however, was making me, my husband and my daughter miserable.  I needed a new one.   I would apply for jobs and get rejection letter after rejection letter.  I can only handle reading “thanks but we have decided to go with someone who is a better fit” so many times before I get totally discouraged and stop looking.  But then I would reach my breaking point and start looking again; then get more letters and stop.  Employers would read my resume or interview me and decide to hire someone else because they were better than me; I wasn’t good enough to be hired.  You read something often and long enough and you start to believe it. (And by “you” I mean “me.”)  I don’t take rejection well.

You know the saying “It’s not personal, it’s business?”  Well that’s a bunch of crap; it is personal!!  I know when I wasn’t chosen for a job it was because “God just has a better job out there for you” or “this just makes you one job closer to the one God has for you.”  I know that is true, but seriously?!?!  My friends have learned not to say this; they just smile and say I’ll pray for you. lol

This madning cycle lasted 1.5 years.  Once I discoverd Hosea 6:3 I didn’t let go.  I would quote it back to God in my prayer time.  I told God I know the sun is gonna rise tomorrow so I thank you for the harvest rain you have in store for me and my family.

Just like God promised, He delivered.

I start my new job in 9 days!!  Whoo-hooo, insert happy dance!!  I’m so excited about this job and this company.  Not to mention that it’s 2 miles from my house which means my 1 hour commute to work (on a good day) will soon be over and since it’s so close I plan on riding my bike; this actually makes me the happiest.

If you are stuck inbetween the harvest rains or if you feel invisible to God or think He doesn’t care; He does.  He…..sees…..you.   Smile and take heart my friend, your rain is on it’s way.

Thanks for allowing me to share my world with you….welcome to my brain.