This evening Shawn and James headed down to Anna for some manly bonding with some guy friends. Something about shooting guns and eating good food. About dark, I dressed for my run and was trying to decide whether to wait for Shawn to come home or head out. I stay close to home and run by the house several times, and Grace is pretty responsible and old enough to babysit. My only hesitation is that since it was dark, I wanted to take my phone with me and was reluctant to leave the kids without a phone. Ten minutes later I was infinitely thankful that I had not left the girls alone.
I began to smell smoke. Grace had just cooked a couple of pizzas in the oven, so I assumed she forgot to turn off the oven and crud on the burner was sizzling. Here in a minute the girls began screaming from my bedroom. Smoke was pouring from the air vents. I shut off the air conditioner and then did all the wrong, most stupid things you can do if you think your house is on fire.
1. I called Shawn to ask him if he wanted me to call the fire department or if he thought I should wait to see if the smoke cleared.
2. I threw open the doors to the closet where the air unit is to see if there were flames. HELLO!!!! What if there had been?
3. I still waited about dialing 911 because I was embarrassed that my house was smoking.
4. I wandered aimlessly around the house in the smoke to see if there was anything I needed to grab. Finally my logical brain kicked in, I realized how stupid I was being, and I walked out to wait on the fire department.
5. My children cleared to the front yard, came back in twice looking for me, and when I went outside I found them playing in the garage.
The fire department arrived and went into the house suited up. I was not panicked because I was pretty sure it was just the air. However, when a guy from the first truck came out and called for back-up I started to kind of freak out. At that moment I assumed my attic was on fire and the possibility of losing my stuff became a reality. I can honestly say that at that moment as God and I were talking about this, I really did say - with just a second of hesitation - "whatever God, it's just stuff. If this is part of your plan, okay."
Right after the other 2 firetrucks and other emergency vehicles arrived, Tammie Thompson came sprinting down my street. It was so awesome to see a familiar face. She took the kids to her car parked down the street. It was nice to know that if my house was on fire, I wasn't going to have to deal with it alone. After a few minutes, several of my neighbors also wandered out into the street. I had the opportunity to meet several of them for the first time.
It turned out to be the fan on the A.C. It was smoking and throwing sparks. Fortunately it threw off a lot of smoke to warn us that there was a problem. The fireman made sure everything was safe and brought in big fans to blow the smoke out. I appreciated their kindness in dealing with us. It is good to know that if there was a really big emergency, they have a pretty fast response time.
Tonight we are camping out in the playroom that has a separate air conditioner. I guess tomorrow we will be looking for an air guy. I'm just glad have my own house tonight.
So obviously some valuable lessons learned from this one.
*I will not EVER leave the kids home without a phone.
*I need to practice a firedrill with my children on a regular basis. Where do you go? Don't come back into the house, etc. - do some surprise drills also - so that in the real deal, they have the correct survival instincts - and establish a meeting place and remind them often so they are not waiting for me in the garage ever again.
*If I am ever in the situation again, I would exit immediately and call 911. The 10-15 minutes I spent trying to shut off the air unit and calling Shawn could have been the difference between keeping and losing my house. STUPID
*I stupidly started checking the source of the smoke before I made sure my children were in a safe location. I assumed they knew what to do. Make sure you take your children out and stay with them. Their safety is way more important than any crap you might lose in a fire.
On a positive note - It was huge for me to realize that I could have lost it all tonight and been okay. I sincerely prayed "it's just stuff." I say that often, but deep down I thought I was lots more attached to what I own. But tonight I was not concerned about all my junk. It is freeing to know that my stuff doesn't own me anymore. I would have been sad about my pictures, some family heirlooms, a few sentimental items like my Bible and some of the kid's stuff. It would certainly be hard to start over, but I wasn't panicked about the stuff. And that was cool. It was almost like I passed some sort of test.
On a funnier note - I kept thinking crazy stuff like, "I'm sure glad I washed the dishes," and "I hope the beds are made." Because these are the important things to be concerned about as firemen tromp through your house? Like any of that would matter if it was a real fire?
One last helpful hint - if your wife ever calls you to say the house is on fire, it's typically good protocol to eat your burger in the car as you are speeding home to your wife, instead of staying to finish it at the restaurant. But the cool part about Shawn's lack of panic is that his thought track was identical to mine, "It's just stuff." That is huge growth for both of us from this time a year ago.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Throw down the weights
I have been lifting weights for about 8 weeks, and I hate it! It's tough, it's boring, it keeps me from doing all the fun stuff I'd rather be doing. When school starts back up next week, my schedule will be infinitely busier than it currently is, so yesterday I sat down and tried to condense my lifting time from an hour and 15 minutes to just 30 minutes. I had to carefully look at each exercise in my plan to decide which ones worked identical muscle groups and discard those. Then I still needed to trim off a few minutes, so I had to look at the exercises again to prioritize which ones work my worst areas. I was grumbly about having to mess with this at all. Why wasn't I born with great genetics?
As I was messing with and grumbling about my weights, God brought to mind Hebrews 12:1-3. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." (King James)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (NIV)
In my weight lifting program, all of the exercises that I am doing are beneficial. They are all good things. But I can't fit them all into my schedule. I find that in life I carry too many weights. There are many good things in life that I participate in that because of the time commitment involved prevent me from doing what God has planned for me to do.
Weights can be too heavy to carry. I am very limited on the amount of weight I can lift. I am very excited when I can move the pin down a notch on my weight machine. Yesterday I was doing some leg presses with a heavy weight, but I forgot to change the setting before I did my butterflies. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the weights to even budge. There are burdens in my life like that. No matter how hard I try, I cannot carry them alone and they hinder me from serving Christ. I continually have to "check my setting" to make sure that I am not trying to lift burdens that Christ wants to carry for me.
I love the last part of the verse. Maybe because I love running. "let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Runners do not carry any extra weight. They wear very light clothing, some even shave their body hair to reduce their friction, and they run with empty hands. How silly would it be for an Olympic long distance runner to take off carrying heavy weights on his shoulders! He would be jeopardizing his chances for success. Yet I try to run my race with tons of extra stuff weighing me down. Is that not just as silly?
I am praying that God will keep my eyes open to be aware of things in my life that are too heavy for me to carry alone, as well as things that may not be bad, but are keeping me from doing the important things. I also like the perseverance part, or as another translation puts it, "keep running and don't give up." That's the secret to being a successful runner. When it becomes tough, the adrenaline rush is just about to happen. If I stop at that moment, then I am just defeated and tired. If I keep running, then I reach that supreme moment of adrenaline rush, and I build up my endurance. I am praying that God will give me the strength to run my race with endurance and to not give up.
As I was messing with and grumbling about my weights, God brought to mind Hebrews 12:1-3. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." (King James)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (NIV)
In my weight lifting program, all of the exercises that I am doing are beneficial. They are all good things. But I can't fit them all into my schedule. I find that in life I carry too many weights. There are many good things in life that I participate in that because of the time commitment involved prevent me from doing what God has planned for me to do.
Weights can be too heavy to carry. I am very limited on the amount of weight I can lift. I am very excited when I can move the pin down a notch on my weight machine. Yesterday I was doing some leg presses with a heavy weight, but I forgot to change the setting before I did my butterflies. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the weights to even budge. There are burdens in my life like that. No matter how hard I try, I cannot carry them alone and they hinder me from serving Christ. I continually have to "check my setting" to make sure that I am not trying to lift burdens that Christ wants to carry for me.
I love the last part of the verse. Maybe because I love running. "let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Runners do not carry any extra weight. They wear very light clothing, some even shave their body hair to reduce their friction, and they run with empty hands. How silly would it be for an Olympic long distance runner to take off carrying heavy weights on his shoulders! He would be jeopardizing his chances for success. Yet I try to run my race with tons of extra stuff weighing me down. Is that not just as silly?
I am praying that God will keep my eyes open to be aware of things in my life that are too heavy for me to carry alone, as well as things that may not be bad, but are keeping me from doing the important things. I also like the perseverance part, or as another translation puts it, "keep running and don't give up." That's the secret to being a successful runner. When it becomes tough, the adrenaline rush is just about to happen. If I stop at that moment, then I am just defeated and tired. If I keep running, then I reach that supreme moment of adrenaline rush, and I build up my endurance. I am praying that God will give me the strength to run my race with endurance and to not give up.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Crossing over to the dark side
I have officially crossed over to the dark side. I absolutely love to run. I love that moment when I push my body hard enough that my brain becomes completely silent. The only sensations are the feeling of my feet hitting the pavement, and the burning of my chest as my breathing becomes labored. I love the wind whipping through my hair and best of all - being united with God's heart in worship.
For many years when I read in the Bible "Be still and know that I am God." I thought that meant to sit still, but even when I sit still I cannot make my mind be still. Even in prayer, my thoughts wander. I can be earnestly praying about a heavy need and next thing I know I'm planning my next reading group or worse, thinking sinful thoughts of some sort. Running is the only thing that I have discovered as a way to make my mind be still.
I started running 6 years ago when I was having a rough time in my marriage. I ran so that I did not have to think about all the garbage in my life. I ran to escape my life. But slowly the running turned into listening for God's opinion of the situation, being still enough in my mind to hear his voice. It dramatically changed my life, and I loved it. But then I started working and could no longer manage to schedule my run into my life. That first year of teaching is a killer.
This summer I have mostly done workout videos in the house because of the heat, but on these cooler days I am tying on my shoes and hitting the pavement. I am working on an interval plan that will have me running three miles in 12 weeks. Today I upped my running time and did quite well. Today I remembered how much I love to run. And how much easier it is to listen to God when my mind is not cluttered.
I figured out today that I could shuffle my Pandora stations to have a wider variety of worship music to listen to as I ran. That was cool. But the moment that really got to me was as I was running and listening to Tomlin's "How Great is our God" a cold wind began to blow. In perfect synchronization with the music's build, the wind increased until the trees were all bending over. I saw in that moment a picture of the day when all of creation will bow before our King. But what was even more amazing was that as the music shifted into "The Wonderful Cross," the wind continued to blow in my face and whip my hair into my eyes, but the trees were barely ruffled. It reminded me that Scripture talks about the Spirit as a "Great and Rushing Wind". As I listened to the music, God reminded me all over again that He has purchased my life to use as He wills. I need to be surrendered to Him and listening closely for directions from the One who set me free.
I will say a word of caution - as the trees were bowing, I got pretty lost in worship and instinctively closed my eyes and raised my hands. That's not a wise decision if you are running down a roughly paved road. I did not fall, but the stumble was pretty big. Some of you would have fallen from laughing so hard. The guy watering his yard was pretty tickled, and he doesn't even know me!
I love to see worship becoming more and more a part of my everyday life and not something that is isolated to Sunday morning. I love this new intimacy in my encounters with God. Even though I would love to stay in this moment with God, maybe wander over to the piano and continue worshiping, I have to get dressed and head to work. I do want you to know, especially you Crossroadies that are readers, I constantly pray as I worship alone in the middle of my everyday life that God will also bring you into worship. So that even though I may be worshiping alone, our hearts can be joined together in worship in God's throne room. And I desperately want each of you to be meeting with God in this beautiful and amazing way. Love you all. LaRissa
For many years when I read in the Bible "Be still and know that I am God." I thought that meant to sit still, but even when I sit still I cannot make my mind be still. Even in prayer, my thoughts wander. I can be earnestly praying about a heavy need and next thing I know I'm planning my next reading group or worse, thinking sinful thoughts of some sort. Running is the only thing that I have discovered as a way to make my mind be still.
I started running 6 years ago when I was having a rough time in my marriage. I ran so that I did not have to think about all the garbage in my life. I ran to escape my life. But slowly the running turned into listening for God's opinion of the situation, being still enough in my mind to hear his voice. It dramatically changed my life, and I loved it. But then I started working and could no longer manage to schedule my run into my life. That first year of teaching is a killer.
This summer I have mostly done workout videos in the house because of the heat, but on these cooler days I am tying on my shoes and hitting the pavement. I am working on an interval plan that will have me running three miles in 12 weeks. Today I upped my running time and did quite well. Today I remembered how much I love to run. And how much easier it is to listen to God when my mind is not cluttered.
I figured out today that I could shuffle my Pandora stations to have a wider variety of worship music to listen to as I ran. That was cool. But the moment that really got to me was as I was running and listening to Tomlin's "How Great is our God" a cold wind began to blow. In perfect synchronization with the music's build, the wind increased until the trees were all bending over. I saw in that moment a picture of the day when all of creation will bow before our King. But what was even more amazing was that as the music shifted into "The Wonderful Cross," the wind continued to blow in my face and whip my hair into my eyes, but the trees were barely ruffled. It reminded me that Scripture talks about the Spirit as a "Great and Rushing Wind". As I listened to the music, God reminded me all over again that He has purchased my life to use as He wills. I need to be surrendered to Him and listening closely for directions from the One who set me free.
I will say a word of caution - as the trees were bowing, I got pretty lost in worship and instinctively closed my eyes and raised my hands. That's not a wise decision if you are running down a roughly paved road. I did not fall, but the stumble was pretty big. Some of you would have fallen from laughing so hard. The guy watering his yard was pretty tickled, and he doesn't even know me!
I love to see worship becoming more and more a part of my everyday life and not something that is isolated to Sunday morning. I love this new intimacy in my encounters with God. Even though I would love to stay in this moment with God, maybe wander over to the piano and continue worshiping, I have to get dressed and head to work. I do want you to know, especially you Crossroadies that are readers, I constantly pray as I worship alone in the middle of my everyday life that God will also bring you into worship. So that even though I may be worshiping alone, our hearts can be joined together in worship in God's throne room. And I desperately want each of you to be meeting with God in this beautiful and amazing way. Love you all. LaRissa
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Monday Morning Update 8.9.09
I have been staring at this screen for a long time trying to come up with a fresh perspective on my Monday Morning Update. I love sharing with my readers how God is working at The Crossroads, but sometimes I run out of ways to say "Wow." I could talk a long time about what a good job Shawn and Robby did this weekend. I could talk about the cool relationships I see people building with each other in our congregation. I could talk about the some of the specific "next steps" that are happening. But instead, I think that this week I will use this space to share my personal spiritual journey this weekend. Being honest about my ugly attitude is not easy, but I want my readers to see how God can work when we are obedient, even with a grumpy attitude. I want everybody to understand that we all have "those" days when we are defeated and discouraged, but God can still move in big ways.
Last night the owner of the cheer gym contacted us to say that one of the air conditioners was still broken, we probably needed to go ahead and set up so that we did not have the doors to the gym open as long on Sunday morning. We had not planned to do a Saturday set up, honestly because we were smooth wore out after all of our camping adventures. Our house was a mess, my kids were exhausted, we needed a night alone at home to recover and prepare our minds and hearts for worship on Sunday. I was in lots of pain from my sunburn and honestly wanted to take some tylenol and benadryl to get a good night's rest. As we sent out a plea for help, we discovered that most people already had plans for the evening, so only one other couple was available to help.
I was so frustrated and discouraged. Satan uses times of exhaustion to really get in my head.
Last night I was done. I had no desire to go drag the cheer mats with my horribly sore sunburned shoulders. I had a pity party about how much work and sacrifice is involved in a church plant. I felt sorry for myself that being in the ministry means leading by example which means that we never ask anyone to give more, work harder, or sacrifice any more than what we do. My pity party was so huge that Shawn decided to contact that other couple to cancel. There are times when I am not suitable to be around others and last night was certainly one of those times. He was actually holding his phone and dialing when God got through to my brain. God reminded me why we are doing what we are. We were going in to set up on a Saturday night so that visitors who arrived on Sunday could experience comfortable temperatures and be more receptive to the gospel. God reminded me that sunburned shoulders don't compare to nail scarred hands. God reminded me that my focus doesn't belong on me. My focus belongs on others. I was being selfish. He showed me a clear vision all over again about why we are doing this church planting gig. I stopped Shawn and said, "Having comfortable temperatures for our visitors is more important than us getting a night off to rest. It's not about us." I said the right words, but my attitude was lagging a little behind my obedience.
Sure enough, we arrived at the cheer gym, and it was hot. I was in a horribly foul mood about having to spend my Saturday evening doing the set up. But before the night was over, two families arrived to help and my discouragement turned to awe. You see, these are both families that have only recently begun attending The Crossroads. They gave up their Saturday evenings to help set up in the heat, and they aren't paid to do ministry. The only reason they arrived to help is because they wanted to be used by God. It's beautiful to see new families plugging in to service. As we were leaving, I was not tired, I had forgotten the pain in my shoulders, and I was refreshed by being with some Crossroadies. I turned around for one last look at the empty chairs. I realized that God had a plan for each one of those chairs. Each of those chairs was a special seat for a person that God had arranged to meet with on Sunday morning. I began praying over those chairs, and the people that would arrive the next morning, and God began to work in my heart and move me to worship.
This morning as I awoke, I remembered those chairs waiting expectantly. I began immediately praying for our services and had some incredible worship time before I ever left the house today. You see, God took my grumpy obedience, and used it to remind me of our vision and our purpose as The Crossroads. Everything that we do, we do to love others - especially those who may not know Jesus yet. Seeing the empty chairs reminded me that God's work in Anna and at The Crossroads is just beginning. I don't want to miss out on anything that He has in store. My bad attitude almost kept me from seeing those chairs and seeing God at work and sensing His promise for the future. I'm glad that I did not give in to that voice in my head, and instead remembered that making our environment more comfortable for visitors is more important than my own personal comfort. (By the way, this is not meant to be any type of guilt trip for anyone...just a confession of my own bad attitude and my need for a refocus.)
As I went into The Crossroads already worshiping, it was cool to join my worship with the worship of the other people there today, to become one voice of praise lifted up to a holy and amazing God. The worship set simply extended the worship I was already engaged in. As a matter of fact, at this point I cannot remember all the songs that we sang. It was all blurred together with my own internal song of worship of my Creator. It's a challenge to explain how my internal music works, so I only know to say it was an amazing worship experience. By this time I had played/sang probably 20 or more songs, so I honestly don't remember which ones were in the set and on which ones I was worshiping alone. I was sincerely just that lost in worship today.
Shawn continued his God at the Movies series with a sermon on "Harry Potter" - love that leaves a mark. It was a great sermon about how sacrificial love is life changing. You should be able to hear the sermon soon at www.welcometothecrossroads.com Be sure to listen to all the sermons in this series.
I don't know where God is headed next. In my personal life, God's doing some stuff that I can't explain in words. I am seeing some huge shifts in what I expected from God in my life and what is actually happening. So much of what's going on doesn't make any sense to me at all. But this I am sure of. God has big plans. He is on the move and is looking for people to work alongside Him. I'm in. Anybody else? I'm saying yes in advance to whatever God wants me to do, wherever he wants me to go - without knowing the desination or the details. And yes, that is exciting and scary all at the same time.
Last night the owner of the cheer gym contacted us to say that one of the air conditioners was still broken, we probably needed to go ahead and set up so that we did not have the doors to the gym open as long on Sunday morning. We had not planned to do a Saturday set up, honestly because we were smooth wore out after all of our camping adventures. Our house was a mess, my kids were exhausted, we needed a night alone at home to recover and prepare our minds and hearts for worship on Sunday. I was in lots of pain from my sunburn and honestly wanted to take some tylenol and benadryl to get a good night's rest. As we sent out a plea for help, we discovered that most people already had plans for the evening, so only one other couple was available to help.
I was so frustrated and discouraged. Satan uses times of exhaustion to really get in my head.
Last night I was done. I had no desire to go drag the cheer mats with my horribly sore sunburned shoulders. I had a pity party about how much work and sacrifice is involved in a church plant. I felt sorry for myself that being in the ministry means leading by example which means that we never ask anyone to give more, work harder, or sacrifice any more than what we do. My pity party was so huge that Shawn decided to contact that other couple to cancel. There are times when I am not suitable to be around others and last night was certainly one of those times. He was actually holding his phone and dialing when God got through to my brain. God reminded me why we are doing what we are. We were going in to set up on a Saturday night so that visitors who arrived on Sunday could experience comfortable temperatures and be more receptive to the gospel. God reminded me that sunburned shoulders don't compare to nail scarred hands. God reminded me that my focus doesn't belong on me. My focus belongs on others. I was being selfish. He showed me a clear vision all over again about why we are doing this church planting gig. I stopped Shawn and said, "Having comfortable temperatures for our visitors is more important than us getting a night off to rest. It's not about us." I said the right words, but my attitude was lagging a little behind my obedience.
Sure enough, we arrived at the cheer gym, and it was hot. I was in a horribly foul mood about having to spend my Saturday evening doing the set up. But before the night was over, two families arrived to help and my discouragement turned to awe. You see, these are both families that have only recently begun attending The Crossroads. They gave up their Saturday evenings to help set up in the heat, and they aren't paid to do ministry. The only reason they arrived to help is because they wanted to be used by God. It's beautiful to see new families plugging in to service. As we were leaving, I was not tired, I had forgotten the pain in my shoulders, and I was refreshed by being with some Crossroadies. I turned around for one last look at the empty chairs. I realized that God had a plan for each one of those chairs. Each of those chairs was a special seat for a person that God had arranged to meet with on Sunday morning. I began praying over those chairs, and the people that would arrive the next morning, and God began to work in my heart and move me to worship.
This morning as I awoke, I remembered those chairs waiting expectantly. I began immediately praying for our services and had some incredible worship time before I ever left the house today. You see, God took my grumpy obedience, and used it to remind me of our vision and our purpose as The Crossroads. Everything that we do, we do to love others - especially those who may not know Jesus yet. Seeing the empty chairs reminded me that God's work in Anna and at The Crossroads is just beginning. I don't want to miss out on anything that He has in store. My bad attitude almost kept me from seeing those chairs and seeing God at work and sensing His promise for the future. I'm glad that I did not give in to that voice in my head, and instead remembered that making our environment more comfortable for visitors is more important than my own personal comfort. (By the way, this is not meant to be any type of guilt trip for anyone...just a confession of my own bad attitude and my need for a refocus.)
As I went into The Crossroads already worshiping, it was cool to join my worship with the worship of the other people there today, to become one voice of praise lifted up to a holy and amazing God. The worship set simply extended the worship I was already engaged in. As a matter of fact, at this point I cannot remember all the songs that we sang. It was all blurred together with my own internal song of worship of my Creator. It's a challenge to explain how my internal music works, so I only know to say it was an amazing worship experience. By this time I had played/sang probably 20 or more songs, so I honestly don't remember which ones were in the set and on which ones I was worshiping alone. I was sincerely just that lost in worship today.
Shawn continued his God at the Movies series with a sermon on "Harry Potter" - love that leaves a mark. It was a great sermon about how sacrificial love is life changing. You should be able to hear the sermon soon at www.welcometothecrossroads.com Be sure to listen to all the sermons in this series.
I don't know where God is headed next. In my personal life, God's doing some stuff that I can't explain in words. I am seeing some huge shifts in what I expected from God in my life and what is actually happening. So much of what's going on doesn't make any sense to me at all. But this I am sure of. God has big plans. He is on the move and is looking for people to work alongside Him. I'm in. Anybody else? I'm saying yes in advance to whatever God wants me to do, wherever he wants me to go - without knowing the desination or the details. And yes, that is exciting and scary all at the same time.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
A Kemp Camping Adventure
Each summer we try to block off several days of vacation time to spend time with our family. We have had many adventures over the years. We have been to Disney World, The Grand Canyon, Disney Land, Hot Springs, San Antonio, and during years when funds are tight - camping adventures. What else can you do on $10 a day? We have a long, hysterical camping history. I thought that we had exhausted the realm of funny stories with storms, bob cats invading camp, broken tent pieces, crazy weather changes, etc. However, our past was no match for this camping trip.
We headed out early Monday morning to Albert Pike. This is one of our favorite camping destinations because it is close to Shawn's family, has incredible scenery, and is also close to Hot Springs which is one of our favorite cities to visit. We met Shawn's mom and grandmother for lunch in Texarkana and did some school shopping. Then we went back home with them for everybody to get their back to school haircuts.
We left Shawn's home early in the afternoon, because we wanted to allow plenty of daylight to set up our camp. Our past experiences have taught us that we need to allow extra time for our crazy mishaps. When we arrived at Albert Pike, we discovered that all the tent sites with electricity were taken. We had to use a primitive site instead. However, that's no sweat to old camping pros like us. No electricity? No problem. Who needs a griddle, electric skillet, coffee pot, and a fan. That extension cord turned into a great clothesline, and Shawn made super coffee in a pot on the camp stove!
We rolled out our tarp, then laid out our tent. We slid the poles in and raised the tent in record time. No glitches at all. We unpacked the car and set up for the week. Everything was still smooth sailing. We grilled hot dogs for supper then drove around to make sure we could find the trail head that we wanted to hike on Tuesday. We saw a deer and some beautiful scenery. Abby yelled that she saw a Tiger, but I think it was imaginary. We turned in early, and Abby settled right in, even though she probably didn't remember ever sleeping in a tent.
Tuesday morning dawned beautifully. It was pleasantly warm, but not scorching hot. We ate our pancakes, cleaned up camp, then headed out to hike 5 miles (round trip) to the Winding Stairs waterfall. This is probably our favorite trail to hike at Albert Pike. It is fairly easy and incredibly beautiful. I have not hiked that trail in at least 10 years, so I had forgotten a few important details. For example - to get to the waterfall you must cross many rapidly flowing creeks. We wore our tennis shoes instead of water shoes. We attempted the first crossing barefoot, but it was too slippery.
Instead we waded across in our tennis shoes. I don't like hiking with wet feet, but I was not going to be whiny about it and kept right on going. We finally reached the waterfall, a stunning sight. The kids and I climbed up the waterfall and played on the rocks. Why not? We already had wet shoes. Shawn found a perfect swimming hole at the bottom of the falls. It had a huge rock that the kids could climb up and jump from. We decided to jump in. I hate hiking in wet clothes worse than I hate hiking in wet shoes. Being a country girl, and knowing the remoteness of this location, I left some of my clothes on the bank. We swam about an hour and then finally decided to head back to camp. I realized then that my impulsiveness cost me a sunburned back and shoulders. Lesson learned - either leave your clothes on, or reapply your sunscreen when swimming in a mountain river on a sunny day.When we got back to camp, we decided to cook hobo pork chops for supper. Shawn seasoned the pork chops, then wrapped them tightly in foil with some onions and potatoes. Then he buried them in coals in the firepit to slowly roast. We an hour or so of spare time before they would be done, so we decided to head down to the river for a quick swim. As an afterthought, Shawn placed a can of green beans on the edge of the coals to warm as well.
We had a super swim. The kids explored the river, Abby threw rocks and watched them splash, I avoided getting my face wet, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. That's when we heard a really loud "BOOM." It sounded like a shotgun, but I couldn't figure out why anyone would be shooting in the park. Stupid hunters, somebody could get hurt! That's when one of our neighboring campers came running into the river to get me. He said, "Ma'am, your supper just exploded." Now that's something you don't hear everyday. That can of green beans was not vented, so when the liquid inside began to boil, steam built up and the can exploded. When the can exploded, so did our campfire. When we got to our camp site we found coals, ash, and pieces of firewood as far as 20 feet away. Our neighbor's quick thinking saved our tent from burning. They had put out the coals on the tent. We did eventually find the can, but not a single green bean. We are thankful that no one was injured. Our lawn chairs resembled swiss cheese from the rain of falling coals. However, since no one was hurt, it's a pretty funny story. Just picturing the can exploding and flying through the air got us tickled. Supper was ruined, but we ate anyway and headed to bed early.
Wednesday morning right before daylight, I awoke to Shawn shaking me and saying, "It's raining, get up. We have to put on the rainfly." Seriously, we checked the weather like fourteen hundred times to make sure it wasn't going to rain before we went. But then, where's the adventure in that? So in the rain, Shawn and I scrambled to find the rainfly and get it up. It cleared up right after we had it secured!
On Wednesday, we had plans to drive a few miles across the mountains to a small, beautiful lake. Shady Lake is tucked into a ravine just a short distance from the park. An old CCC project, it was quite popular back in the day. Now its remoteness keeps the crowds away. That's our favorite kind of place. Except for this day. When we arrived, we realized we had a flat. Not just a low tire, but a very flat, rim on the ground kind of flat. Shawn kept his cool, planning to change the tire real quick while I fixed a picnic lunch for the kids under the nearby pavilion. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work out that way. He didn't have an allen wrench to get the rims off. This place is deserted. Nobody. Nothing. Nada. But God did send us a park ranger with an allen wrench. But then things went from bad to worse as the tire wouldn't come off because we had the wrong size thingie that you unscrew the lug nuts with, and we couldn't get anyone to answer our phone calls for help.
I decided to give Shawn some space to take care of the tire, so I took the kids in swimming. (Forgot about sunscreen in the craziness of the flat. STUPID and I have the big blisters all over my shoulders to prove it!) The big kids had a blast jumping off a diving platform, and Abby loved swimming around in the shallow gravel bottomed swimming area. However, our fun ended when James sliced his foot open on a rock. I deemed the cut shallow enough to treat ourselves, but he had to get off it for awhile, and could not hike the rest of the trip because of the soreness.
Shawn and the park ranger did finally get the tire aired up with some fix-a-flat and an air compressor and get it to a service station for repairs. You'll have to get Shawn's impersonation of the guy at the first place they stopped for help. Great to hear his accent, and his story about how some of our tools were stolen! Be sure to ask him to tell you the story in person. I was relieved that Shawn's parents got our message that we needed help and came out to pick up me and the kids and take us back to camp.
We were getting ready to cook some hamburgers for some old friends, when a bad storm blew in. We secured everything as best we could and drove to a nearby town to meet our friends for supper instead. It was amazing that after being away for 10 years, we picked right back up with our relationship, in large part due to staying connected through facebook. After supper, we dropped by to visit another family and wait out the storm. When the storm let up, we headed back out to our tent. Fortunately, we only had a few minor leaks from where the coals had burned holes in the tent, nothing major. We settled down to sleep, when I spotted a nasty looking brown spider. I chased it all over that tent and never could get it. We had the creepy crawlies all night. The wind was howling, the tent was blowing, the thunder was crashing, the lightening was flashing, and all I could think about was that somewhere in that tent with me there was a nasty spider. The next morning in the daylight that spider was a goner!
Our last day of vacation dawned bright and clear. The rain was over and the temperatures were very mild. Because of James's hurt foot, and my sunburn making me very sick, Shawn hiked alone on Thursday up to Window Rock. It's an amazing hike up onto a bluff that overlooks the entire river valley. The kids and I read and played games. We ate some hamburgers for lunch, went to Hot Springs to play some miniature golf, ate ice cream, swam in the river, and grilled fajitas for supper. We finished up the night sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories. It was a good day.
Friday morning we packed everything back into the suburban and went for one last swim before we headed home. The kids had such a good time camping. They are old enough that they found the humor in all of our bad luck. They practiced telling the stories to each other and reviewing other tales from past experiences. My favorite thing about camping is spending time with the kids without any distractions. We visit, play games, and reconnect in ways that more elaborate vacations do not allow. Experiencing all of our camping misfortunes together creates a bond, a family tradition of sorts. We loved being outdoors and enjoying the beauty of God's creation together. I liked that my kids picked hanging out with their parents hiking and swimming over going to a nearby amusement park. It's cool that they know a good thing when they see it.
We had a great trip, we have added some more crazy camping stories, we relaxed and enjoyed our family, some friends, and our God. One of the best things about camping is seeing all the surrounding things in nature that are infinitely bigger and better than anything I could ever imagine. I spent some time really looking at the intricacies of some moss on a stone wall, and I examined rock after rock, each one unique. We serve a God with an imagination and creative ability that we cannot even begin to comprehend. I am glad that I had the opportunity to be immersed in His incredible creation for a few days. I hope that we make a greater effort to spend more time in nature with our kids this year.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday morning update 8.2.09
We had a great opportunity on Saturday to have a booth at the Anna health fair. We set up our bounce house, gave away bibles, and info about The Crossroads. We made lots of new contacts. It's cool to get the chance to meet and serve our community.
Sunday was amazing. We had another big crowd. One family was here on vacation from Liverpool, England. We had to set up extra chairs again. Continue praying that God will provide us with a larger meeting space very soon.
The worship time was unreal. Worship Dude changed the set after practice on Saturday. The original set was good, but the new set was incredible. One of my favorite things about him is the way he seeks God every week to pick out the worship set. He has the skills to do it on his own, but he listens closely to God's direction and as a result, we see God move in amazing ways. It was hard for me to play this week. I had to focus hard to not get so lost in worship that I forgot to play.
Set
O praise him (crowder)
Love is here (tenth avenue north)
Wholly yours (crowder)
Here with me ( mercy me)
Forever starts today ( Robby Thompson)
Shawn continued with his message series "God at The Movies". This week he used the new "transformers" movie to talk about how we can live transformed lives. God's word, our experiences with God, our circumstances, and other people can all be transforming, growing opportunities. My favorite line from the movie is when optimus prime said, "fate rarely calls on you at a moment of your choosing." I have such a hard time not scheduling God into my life - to be available anytime and anywhere is challenging for me.
Sunday evening we had another baptism. We did this one at a community pool and then had a party afterwards. I love to watch God changing lives through The Crossroads. I had a great time hanging out at the party afterwards. I love having people in my home, but it was so nice to be a guest in someone else's home last night. I could really focus more on building relationships without having to hostess. I love these friends that God has blessed me with. I am often overwhelmed by just how much God has blessed our family in the church plant.
We are on our way to spend a week camping in Arkansas. I am blogging from my phone, so be patient with errors and infrequent posts. I dont expect to have service. If you miss my blogging this week, go back and worship through running in rain. Take some time to listen to the songs and pray my prayers with me. If I have service, I'll post about camping. It's always an exciting and crazy adventure for our family.
Sunday was amazing. We had another big crowd. One family was here on vacation from Liverpool, England. We had to set up extra chairs again. Continue praying that God will provide us with a larger meeting space very soon.
The worship time was unreal. Worship Dude changed the set after practice on Saturday. The original set was good, but the new set was incredible. One of my favorite things about him is the way he seeks God every week to pick out the worship set. He has the skills to do it on his own, but he listens closely to God's direction and as a result, we see God move in amazing ways. It was hard for me to play this week. I had to focus hard to not get so lost in worship that I forgot to play.
Set
O praise him (crowder)
Love is here (tenth avenue north)
Wholly yours (crowder)
Here with me ( mercy me)
Forever starts today ( Robby Thompson)
Shawn continued with his message series "God at The Movies". This week he used the new "transformers" movie to talk about how we can live transformed lives. God's word, our experiences with God, our circumstances, and other people can all be transforming, growing opportunities. My favorite line from the movie is when optimus prime said, "fate rarely calls on you at a moment of your choosing." I have such a hard time not scheduling God into my life - to be available anytime and anywhere is challenging for me.
Sunday evening we had another baptism. We did this one at a community pool and then had a party afterwards. I love to watch God changing lives through The Crossroads. I had a great time hanging out at the party afterwards. I love having people in my home, but it was so nice to be a guest in someone else's home last night. I could really focus more on building relationships without having to hostess. I love these friends that God has blessed me with. I am often overwhelmed by just how much God has blessed our family in the church plant.
We are on our way to spend a week camping in Arkansas. I am blogging from my phone, so be patient with errors and infrequent posts. I dont expect to have service. If you miss my blogging this week, go back and worship through running in rain. Take some time to listen to the songs and pray my prayers with me. If I have service, I'll post about camping. It's always an exciting and crazy adventure for our family.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Running in the Rain
My story today is about a very intimate and personal encounter with God this morning. If you are skeptical about God still meeting with people or are uncomfortable when I bare my soul, you might choose to skip this long blog. I will not be offended. I am going to do this blog a little different. I will share my story, then take you through the experience with me as best I can. You may need to split this blog into shorter segments if you want to take the time to pray and worship with me as I run in the rain. Or you can just read my story and move on.
This story began last night. I worked out in my living room, and when I sat down my brain immediately said, "Let's go running early in the morning before it gets too hot." I told my brain that it was crazy and stupid - that we always sleep late on Monday. My alarm went off this morning before 7. I didn't set it, can't explain it, but it went off. I could hear the thunder in the distance, rolled over and hit snooze. I finally meandered out of bed after 8, had breakfast, drank lots of coffee, and snuggled my 3 year old Abby on the couch. The entire time my brain was chanting, "run, run, run, run." I am logically overruling that crazy voice, "It's raining, hello!" Around 10:30 a different voice, one that I've come to recognize as God's Spirit said, "Get off your butt and out the door. You don't have to like it, but you do have to be obedient." So reluctantly I tied my shoelaces and tried to bargain back with a workout video, but instead heard my voice telling my son, "I'll be running. If you need me I won't be far." He said, "It's raining." I said, "Yep. I'll be back soon."
I grabbed my phone, slid it over to Pandora to listen to some tunes and took off. No lie.... On my first lap, every song used rain as a metaphor of some kind. I was praying and meditating through Job 26:14 "These are some of the minor things he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who can understand the thunder of his power?" I often think about rain as a metaphor for God's grace and his presence. This is the song that came on Pandora as I was praying: "Rain Down" by the David Crowder Band. As you listen, pray that God would rain down his presence on your city. Pray that he would move in your life and in the lives of the people around you.
Then as I kept running, the drizzling rain became a down pour. I was soaked. Water dripped from my hair; it ran down my arms and legs. My clothes became glued to my body. Still I ran. But now I was self-conscious. The glued on clothes outlined every curve. Some of those are sexy, some are not. Fluff doesn't win wet t-shirt contests! So I ripped my focus off God and onto myself. I decided that when I finished the next loop I would go in. Then "Bring the Rain" by Mercy Me played. As you listen, pray about the crap from your past that keeps you from surrendering all that you are. What is it that brings you pain that you are not allowing God to bring healing and glory into your life? Will you sincerely pray that God will do whatever it takes in your life to bring glory to Himself?
As I was running, the feel of the rain shifted. This is the part that may be uncomfortable for some of you. I was really struggling with discouragement about working out. I was fighting with feeling overweight. I was angry that I am working so very hard for so very little results. I began weeping that I can not overcome the lack of selfworth, the feeling that I am too large to be beautiful. The feel of the rain shifted from a promise of God's presence to become a lover's caress on my skin. Chill ran over my arms as the rain slid down my skin. It was suddenly a sensual experience for the rain to drip from my hair and gently glide down my face. That's when God spoke, as a lover to a bride. "My beautiful, beautiful one, you do not need to be skinny for me to love you. I am asking you to become healthy because I want to use you. I don't want you to miss out on opportunities to spend time with me because you are too tired or physically unable to go when I call you. This journey is not about the mirror or bikinis or sagging boobs. This journey is about becoming able to say 'yes' to me, whatever I ask you to do. Being my masterpiece has nothing to do with your mirror." Wow! What a beautiful affirmation. Then "The Wonderful Cross" played as God reminded me that all of my sins, all of my struggles have already been paid for by his blood. What is your struggle that keeps you bound. Will you accept that you have also been set free as you listen to this song?
So as I headed into my third lap I began to wish that my friends could experience God's presence with me. I began praying for them to see God today. I was praying that my friends would meet with God amazing and miraculous ways today when "It is You" by the Newboys began to play. This is where I very literally stopped in my tracks to worship. God was so hearing my prayers for my friends and promising to reveal Himself to them as well. Would you let this be the cry of your heart today. "As we come to this place, will you meet us here?" Wherever you are today, ask God to meet with you.
I was rounding the home stretch, feeling the rain, engulfed in an unbelievable worship experience. Running and gasping for air, experiencing God in ways I did not believe were even possible. I began to pray about surrender. (See yesterday's blog) I began to say to God that I know there are many things in my life that I want to hang on to. I cannot let go of them alone, but I want my worship to be more than words. I want all that I am to belong to God. That was the moment that "All of the words" by Kutless began playing. As you listen, I dare you to turn lose of that one thing that keeps you from being sold-out for Christ. What is that one thing that you cannot walk away from, you cannot let God be in charge of? Give it away, or pray with me, "God take this from me, and help me want to want you to take it from me."
Almost done, I was experiencing an amazing moment with God. As my feet pounded the pavement, the water poured off me. Lightening was flashing in the distance, thunder was booming. The rain was a downpour. It was all I could do to keep running and not fall flat on my face in a stranger's yard in worship. I had run through praying for God's presence, turning over my garbage, hearing an affirmation of his goodness and love, listening to him promise that he would love to meet with my friends, and that He would help me want to want to live a surrendered life. I began praising him. Running with arms lifted in worship, I was looking forward to the future time when I could see Him face to face. When encountering God in a real and intimate way is no longer unusual. That's when "One of These Days" by FFH began to play. As you listen, offer up some praise to the Father that someday He's going to bring us home, and there will no longer be any barriers to our relationship.
I hope you used this blog to run alongside me in the rain today. I have encountered God before, but this was incredible. I loved feeling the rain on my skin, praying, and then hearing in astonishment as each song that played perfectly meshed into my worship experience. The only thing missing is that I was in God's throneroom alone. I missed each of you. Hoping you find your way into God's presence today as well.
Love you much, LaRissa
This story began last night. I worked out in my living room, and when I sat down my brain immediately said, "Let's go running early in the morning before it gets too hot." I told my brain that it was crazy and stupid - that we always sleep late on Monday. My alarm went off this morning before 7. I didn't set it, can't explain it, but it went off. I could hear the thunder in the distance, rolled over and hit snooze. I finally meandered out of bed after 8, had breakfast, drank lots of coffee, and snuggled my 3 year old Abby on the couch. The entire time my brain was chanting, "run, run, run, run." I am logically overruling that crazy voice, "It's raining, hello!" Around 10:30 a different voice, one that I've come to recognize as God's Spirit said, "Get off your butt and out the door. You don't have to like it, but you do have to be obedient." So reluctantly I tied my shoelaces and tried to bargain back with a workout video, but instead heard my voice telling my son, "I'll be running. If you need me I won't be far." He said, "It's raining." I said, "Yep. I'll be back soon."
I grabbed my phone, slid it over to Pandora to listen to some tunes and took off. No lie.... On my first lap, every song used rain as a metaphor of some kind. I was praying and meditating through Job 26:14 "These are some of the minor things he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who can understand the thunder of his power?" I often think about rain as a metaphor for God's grace and his presence. This is the song that came on Pandora as I was praying: "Rain Down" by the David Crowder Band. As you listen, pray that God would rain down his presence on your city. Pray that he would move in your life and in the lives of the people around you.
Then as I kept running, the drizzling rain became a down pour. I was soaked. Water dripped from my hair; it ran down my arms and legs. My clothes became glued to my body. Still I ran. But now I was self-conscious. The glued on clothes outlined every curve. Some of those are sexy, some are not. Fluff doesn't win wet t-shirt contests! So I ripped my focus off God and onto myself. I decided that when I finished the next loop I would go in. Then "Bring the Rain" by Mercy Me played. As you listen, pray about the crap from your past that keeps you from surrendering all that you are. What is it that brings you pain that you are not allowing God to bring healing and glory into your life? Will you sincerely pray that God will do whatever it takes in your life to bring glory to Himself?
As I was running, the feel of the rain shifted. This is the part that may be uncomfortable for some of you. I was really struggling with discouragement about working out. I was fighting with feeling overweight. I was angry that I am working so very hard for so very little results. I began weeping that I can not overcome the lack of selfworth, the feeling that I am too large to be beautiful. The feel of the rain shifted from a promise of God's presence to become a lover's caress on my skin. Chill ran over my arms as the rain slid down my skin. It was suddenly a sensual experience for the rain to drip from my hair and gently glide down my face. That's when God spoke, as a lover to a bride. "My beautiful, beautiful one, you do not need to be skinny for me to love you. I am asking you to become healthy because I want to use you. I don't want you to miss out on opportunities to spend time with me because you are too tired or physically unable to go when I call you. This journey is not about the mirror or bikinis or sagging boobs. This journey is about becoming able to say 'yes' to me, whatever I ask you to do. Being my masterpiece has nothing to do with your mirror." Wow! What a beautiful affirmation. Then "The Wonderful Cross" played as God reminded me that all of my sins, all of my struggles have already been paid for by his blood. What is your struggle that keeps you bound. Will you accept that you have also been set free as you listen to this song?
So as I headed into my third lap I began to wish that my friends could experience God's presence with me. I began praying for them to see God today. I was praying that my friends would meet with God amazing and miraculous ways today when "It is You" by the Newboys began to play. This is where I very literally stopped in my tracks to worship. God was so hearing my prayers for my friends and promising to reveal Himself to them as well. Would you let this be the cry of your heart today. "As we come to this place, will you meet us here?" Wherever you are today, ask God to meet with you.
I was rounding the home stretch, feeling the rain, engulfed in an unbelievable worship experience. Running and gasping for air, experiencing God in ways I did not believe were even possible. I began to pray about surrender. (See yesterday's blog) I began to say to God that I know there are many things in my life that I want to hang on to. I cannot let go of them alone, but I want my worship to be more than words. I want all that I am to belong to God. That was the moment that "All of the words" by Kutless began playing. As you listen, I dare you to turn lose of that one thing that keeps you from being sold-out for Christ. What is that one thing that you cannot walk away from, you cannot let God be in charge of? Give it away, or pray with me, "God take this from me, and help me want to want you to take it from me."
Almost done, I was experiencing an amazing moment with God. As my feet pounded the pavement, the water poured off me. Lightening was flashing in the distance, thunder was booming. The rain was a downpour. It was all I could do to keep running and not fall flat on my face in a stranger's yard in worship. I had run through praying for God's presence, turning over my garbage, hearing an affirmation of his goodness and love, listening to him promise that he would love to meet with my friends, and that He would help me want to want to live a surrendered life. I began praising him. Running with arms lifted in worship, I was looking forward to the future time when I could see Him face to face. When encountering God in a real and intimate way is no longer unusual. That's when "One of These Days" by FFH began to play. As you listen, offer up some praise to the Father that someday He's going to bring us home, and there will no longer be any barriers to our relationship.
I hope you used this blog to run alongside me in the rain today. I have encountered God before, but this was incredible. I loved feeling the rain on my skin, praying, and then hearing in astonishment as each song that played perfectly meshed into my worship experience. The only thing missing is that I was in God's throneroom alone. I missed each of you. Hoping you find your way into God's presence today as well.
Love you much, LaRissa
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