Adam showed this to me several months ago and I forgot about it until someone just posted it on facebook today. We both really like this as it is how we roll; the crux of what we believe. A church is simply a building—four walls with a roof. What happens inside it is what counts. Anybody can be a “Sunday Christian”. Anyone can “repeat after me”. It is how you live your life that truly counts. If you have Him in your heart.
ANOTHER bag of crap! But, this one is different, folks….it was a GIFT from our wonderful friends Jason and Missy. We received a heavy priority mail box in the mail last week and to our surprise it was a box full of goodies….for BOTH OF US! As Missy wrote, “This package is a custom made box of crap and other important things…”. She went on to write, “I’m sure you will be able to distinguish the “crap” from “the important things” as well as you will most likely be able to determine who sent the crap and who sent the important things”. Ha ha. I hope to be able to elude to more of what is happening in our life in a near-future post but Jason and Missy are a couple of the select few in our lives that know what is truly going on. As things have been tough recently, they decided to send us a box of crap!
First there was a beautiful card and letter….addressed to the “love birds” (that’s us, I guess!).
Next was a stack of magazines/journals from several different sources such as Joyce Meyer and the Word of Faith. While outdated, the material in these journals DOES NOT EXPIRE. Ever. God’s word is forever.
Then there is a beautiful book titled Jesus Calling. I LOVE this book already. It is a devotional type book with a VERY BRIEF reading for each calendar day. I like the VERY BRIEF part because it also gives me the time then to read the 2-3 recommended scriptures with it. Each night since we have received this Adam has read from the book and then I read the scriptures before we pray. My favorite so far was from 10/17 where it started out with “Anxiety is a result of envisioning the future without Me”.
We next have a $25 gift card to Scheel’s Sporting Goods. We LOVE Scheel’s! For those of you that don’t know, Scheel’s is like Sportsman & Ski Haus in Whitefish-only on steroids; ie: 10 times bigger!
There is also another book. One that Missy has personally used for years that she is now gifting to me for my benefit, titled Prayers that Avail Much.
Then we get to some of the “fun & interesting” treasures in the box. My guess is that these are special items directly from Jason and Jason, each item has touched our heart. Seriously. While we may not understand them, they are beautiful in their own way and fill us with happiness. Ha! We’ve got a broken ol’ toy helicopter thingy, a bottle-opener from the Texas State Aquarium and a lovely gold leaf in a baggie with multiple pieces that I believe were once attached to it. I like to imagine it was a real leaf….from someone’s yard that they covered in REAL gold and we are just lucky enough to have it!
Here is a photo of our prized gifts:
Now, all I want to say is thank you, thank you, thank you Jason and Missy. Your bag of crap blessed us at a much needed time. It lifted our spirits which were down, made us laugh when there has not been much laughter and made us cry good tears, not the bad ones. It made us feel “not so alone” at a time when we were and the reading materials have continued to do so each and EVERY day. Thank you. We love you both and miss you dearly.
For months my friend Missy and I had tickets and planned to go to WOF in Omaha in August. Having never been, I had no idea what to expect. I think, though, in hindsight I had this vision of WOF being like my yesteryear experiences at youth camp as an adolescent. I envisioned I (we) would experience raw emotion and certainly would shed some tears.
Missy & I being "dropped off" at WOF by our Husbands. We were blessed to stay at the hotel that is actually attached to the Qwest Center by a sky walk.
I was surprised. Missy, too. This is good because otherwise I would feel like a nut job~like it was my fault WOF wasn’t what I expected. Don’t get me wrong…..there was PLENTY of wonderful things experienced during the two days~it just wasn’t what I expected thats all. Not that this is bad. It just is.
Worship.I was hoping (counting on) experiencing amazing worship. WOF has a 4-person worship team. They were charismatic and had beautiful voices but their “organized, intentional” criss-cross the stage movements reminded me of watching cheer-leaders. Honestly, I think the real challenge for me was that the team sang to all pre-recorded music. I’m a band girl. Give me a good band during worship and I’m on fire. I actually put this on my comment form that I turned in. I think this is why I really enjoyed Mandisa and Amy Grant’s concerts because they had live music accompany them. I felt like a kid during Mandisa’s concert when everyone opened up their cell phones (so they were lit up) and waved them in the air.
Mandisa was so "fun"-yeah, that is a good word for it...."fun". Here she was jamming barefoot!
Sandi Patty was amazing as I mentioned in this post. In reference to the whole worship experience, what happened while Sandi was singing and signing at the same time is what I think I yearned for. While Sandi was singing, God was literally palpable in that arena. His presence was soooo strong. I’ve second-guessed myself since WOF and am as I am typing this very instant, too that perhaps it was all me. Perhaps my heart wasn’t open enough during worship to truly “feel” it. Maybe it was all me and had nothing to do with the WOF worship format/presentation.
Amy Grant. Ahhhhh, amazing. This was her first WOF. I had mixed emotions about her before her concert. She hurt my feelings when I was a teenager. Ha! I know how odd that must sound but when she crossed over from Christian pop to secular music my heart broke. And, then she got divorced and that cinched my hurt feelings. Ridiculous, I know. I had (have) no right to put her on a pedestal prone to standards above the rest of the living, eating, breathing people of the world. But I did. No more, though. Now that I am old enough to think back to when she crossed into the secular music world I now believe it all happened for a purpose. God used Amy in such a way to introduce Christian music to the secular world because think about it…..it is nothing now-a-days to hear a Christian song on a regular plain ol’ radio station. This used to not be. I think Amy Grant played a huge role in this. Did you know she is the one of only 2 Christian singers with a star on the walk of fame?
And, she was so for real. If that even makes sense. During her concert between songs she would kind of talk to herself, even saying at one point “Ya all can talk amongst yourselves you know”. And about her divorce….I think WOF was good for her, too! Right before her concert there was a skit about a 9 year old girl who’s parents divorced and their lives “went on” but she was stuck in the middle. Amy actually commented during her concert how this struck her, saying that when she got divorced her girls were only 9 and 6 and she said she realizes now how true that skit was. Both she and her ex’s lives went on (remarried, etc) while the girls were stuck and pulled in between still. When she was done she came back on stage for an encore and while singing invited Sandi Patty up to sing with her. Sandi’s mic wasn’t working so they had to share a mic. It was totally impromptu and fun. Afterwards, the WOF hostess (as they refer to her) said that it was the first time Sandi and Amy had ever sang together and that they weren’t even going to charge us extra! Too cool, it was.
Sandi and Amy together....for the first time EVER
So, the jist of my WOF experience thus far centered around the live music, no surprise to me. My favorite speakers were Patsy Clairmont and Andy Andrews. Knowing nothing of these two prior to WOF, I had no expectations what-so-ever but I LOVED them both. And, learned from them, too.
Andy was hilarious. Full of ADHD, the camera crew had a hard-time keeping up with him. Some of the things I took home from Andy:
Patsy Clairmont is amazing. She is a hoot. She started out our first day and told us that she likes to think of herself as “not weird but rather a limited edition”. LOVE IT! We are all limited editions after all. Some of my favorite highlights from Patsy:
The WOF hostess was Lori Robertson. She seemed really sweet but also very scripted and not very charismatic. And, I love me some charisma! I think one of the main things I need to remember about my WOF experience is that they (WOF) are trying to target multi-denominations. It takes all types. While I, personally, do not enjoy worshipping from a hymnal there were (for sure) some women there that do, etc. It kind of reminds me of during Amy Grant’s concert there were some ladies behind us that wanted us to sit down. It frustrated Missy and I because we were there to party! Party with Amy Grant! Sitting was the last thing we wanted to do.
Marilyn Meberg and Lisa Welchel also were speakers. For some reason I didn’t feel very connected to Marilyn and Lisa. I did more so to Lisa only because I know her, I think. Blair, from Facts of Life, it was fun to see Lisa in person. And, she truly looks the same as I remember from the show!
My girl Missy & me...
The one thing that really bothered me about the conference was that they really didn’t have an alter call. It wasn’t until the second day an hour and a half before it was supposed to end that they talked about salvation and asking Jesus into your heart. They did the whole “pray this prayer with us” deal and then announced where the room was that we could go to if we needed prayer or wanted someone to pray with us for our salvation. An hour and a half before the END of the conference. I sooooo wish they had that room open and had announced it throughout the entire two days because I am sure-I KNOW– there were women there that probably needed it. I received a follow-up email from WOF saying that 747 women checked the little box saying that they asked for Christ to come into their heart for the first time during that prayer. IMAGINE how many more women could have been reached if there was an alter call or if they had at least had the prayer room open earlier! I was disappointed and bummed about this.
There you have it. My WOF experience. There were some fabulous moments, for sure. Will I go back? Well, that is a loaded question! Initially on the second day while visiting with Missy I actually said I didn’t think I would but God has other plans for me, folks. I was the sole recipient-the ONLY winner- of two tickets for life to WOF. I’ve never won anything! At first I thought-oh my goodness it is my lucky day~I should go to the boats and play craps (since the boats are literally right next door to the Qwest Center). Quickly I thought, no….that isn’t very Godly. Ha! Then when I filled my tank up with gas on the interstate on the way home I thought~I should buy a lottery ticket (I am lucky right now!) but again, I decided~not Godly so I didn’t! 😉
So, yes….I will be going back to WOF. And I will be able to bless others, too on the years that I cannot go. Because, obviously God wants me to go back…As always, He has plans for me and who am I to argue with Him?
These past two weekends have been great! Packed full of goodness which is fabulous as it has been very much needed. We decided to spend our 15th anniversary apart. No, wait….that sounded bad.
We were together the actual DAY of it, you see but had plans for the entire weekend that didn’t involve one another. We started the weekend together in Omaha and then went our separate ways. You see I had got tickets to Women of Faith months ago to go with a bestest girlfriend. This is where things got tricky (more comical than anything because you have to KNOW Adam-he’d never, ever want to hurt my feelings). Adam came home one weekend awhile back wanting (nervously) to ask me what I thought about him going on this 4 day hiking/camping trip with a bunch of Christian guys in WY. The catch? “Ummmmm”, he said…..”it is over our 15th.” I’m all Dude! No problem! I’m leavin’ town myself so go for it! Totally caught him off guard and for about 3 minutes he looked like a little kid in a candy store.
Fast forward and he ended up not going camping but I still ditched him. For Women of Faith. But he made his own different fabulous plans, too. Missy and Jason lived in Tecumseh while we were there and left around the same time we did last year only they went South~to Tulsa. Missy is who I went to WOF with and Jason and Adam spent the weekend together re-living some of their favorite childhood (ahem, early 30’s) memories (such as a going fishing, geo-caching, getting a 12-pack and gaming for 24 hours straight-that would be a 12-pack of OATMEAL CREAM PIES!). Missy and Jason are a couple that inspires Adam and I. They are strong in faith, no matter what which always amazes me because that is where I am weakest. They are funny so you can’t NOT have a side ache from laughing while with them and they have 3 beautiful kids that they are raising and Missy, in fact is getting ready to start homeschooling this fall….something I am so very proud of her!
You may not know it....but that look in my eyes that is making them look all squinty and weird: PURE fatigue (read more below about the whole whacko backo!!)
Jason, Missy, Adam & I
Jason being the grown man-child that he is (a great big ball of fun!)
So even though we have had some things on our minds (Adam and I) and I have a defective back (long story but the short version now involves me sleeping on the queen size guest mattress on the floor in our bedroom while Adam is still sleeping on the king set in that there same said room) we have been re-fueled these past two weeks.
WOF was amazing. I will post another snippet about it with some more pics and stories. There were a few things I wish were different but overall….I NEEDED that two days. It was very good for me. I have one story for this post and it involves Sandi Patty. I’ve never heard her sing before and she was amazing. We had fabulous seats-4th row! It just so happens that those who were hearing impaired were only two sections to our left. Sandi sang “We Shall Behold Him” and while she did she signed it too. While she was doing this she was facing the section where the hearing impaired folks were. Her voice was booming through the arena and her sign language was so very animated. People, I cannot even begin to describe to you how it felt at that moment. God’s presence was there for sure. All of those folks were signing back to her the song as well. It was beautiful. Can you imagine how if it touched and moved me the way it did…..what she must have done for the hearing impaired folks? Apparently she does this….sign while singing at times, that is.
Sandi signing while singing....
Later she said a quote that I love. It was something to the effect that when we don’t get what we want, it may not be that He is saying no to our dream; it may be that He is saying yes to a dream that we have not had yet. Kind of reminds me of that country song….”some of God’s greatest gifts~are unanswered prayers”. Anyways, she touched me and refueled me a tad.
Last night we volunteered for World Vision. We had been contacted a couple of months ago as we sponsor Abdiel still and they asked if we would be able to volunteer at an upcoming concert. Sure! Our duties were minimal and were good but the concert…..Casting Crowns. You guys, they were amazing! They are fantastic worship leaders and their new song that is coming out “Come to the Well” is beautiful. I hate to write this but it is true: the presence of God was in that arena last night in Kearney more than I felt it the majority of time in Omaha at the Qwest Center during WOF (kind of what I’ll elaborate on more later). If you ever, ever get a chance to go to Casting Crowns…..do. You’ll feel re-fueled. Pinky-swear.
After returning home from the concert (I look tired and Adam, um....well, looks....twitterpated maybe??)
Our World Vision friendship bracelets (80s flashback!!!) & VOTA band. They were the opening band and are from Lincoln-they were great!
