Baby Isaac is going home!!!

If you have kept up with my blog at all you will know who 15 week old baby Isaac is. Well, he got to get in a stroller and take a ride outside today... and if you know any of his story you will know what an indescribable miracle this is. There is also been a date set for him to go home!!... To read more about this absolutely amazing miracle and see lots of pictures of him not laying in a bed hooked up to tons of wires click here.

The Desperate Love of a Parent

How many of us will understand the love of a heavenly father who sent his son to die in our place. I linked to a blog the other day about a very sick little boy named Dax. His mom wrote an amazing entry about another situation in the hospital that makes those of us with healthy kids who have never had any serious health situations realize what trivial things we make into huge concerns and stresses.

If you're struggling to be thankful today, go to the entry "Late Night Ramblings" (it will not let me link directly to it) and read a very inspirational entry his mother wrote.

An International Audience

Since my husband mentioned me in his blog today I have to link to his blog for a laugh.

When God links to your blog

You have to go to this blog and see the link at the end of the article where it says "planting churches in France". Can God not do anything he wants? Can God not bring anyone into your path from any where in the world to tell them about His love for them? I have no idea who writes this blog, but I had 2 hits yesterday and 10 hits already today from this site from both England and France.

Father, I pray you pour out your Blessing on this blog site today and that you would bring French people across mine and Ken's path because of this blog (This French life) that will come to know you and that would be a part of a church we plant someday.

The Reason I Want to Reach The World

A friend of mine, Sue, had this blog on her blog and it is so powerful, I wanted you to see it. It is the reason I have wanted to be a missionary my whole life. It is the reason I am willing to leave my family, raise my kids away from grandparents and cousins, walk away from the only culture I have ever known and love, enter a knew culture where I am the strange one (of course some think I am a little strange here) :-) , learn a language in a culture where they will always correct my pronunciation, know my kids will grow up not really feeling at home in any country...

It hurts to think about sometimes, but it hurts more to know I have been so blessed to have been raised in a pastors family who showed me Christ so clearly, all I ever wanted to do was to follow Him... and there are people out there who live in countries where there are no churches and if there are churches, they are not showing the people who Christ is in a way that they can understand or that give them the desire to know more .

Watch this video and ask God how you can be a part of reaching more people like this.

Please Pray For Dax

For those of you who have prayed for Baby Isaac, I would like to ask you to pray for a little 3 year old boy who desperately needs a liver transplant. His name is Dax. You can check out this blog to find out more about his situation. Make sure you scroll down to read "A journey to Dax... A Look Back". His parents adopted him knowing he had a health issue that may not let him live past 1 year old. They sound like amazing people.

I pray, Lord, that you will bless this precious family with healing and/or a liver transplant for little Dax. We have seen you bring Baby Isaac back from the brink of death. We know there were probably thousands praying for him. But it is not the numbers that you listen to, it is the heart of one righteous person. I pray Lord that I would be righteous enough that you would hear my prayer for this total stranger (Dax). I love children; especially special needs children. I would love to fill my home with them, but since you have not called me to that right now in my life, I pray for those who have. Have mercy on this family and bring health and a long life to this little boy so he can bring you glory and a life that can serve and tell the world about you.

Knowing God's Love in the midst of the storms

My heart has been so full lately... full of heartache when I see the world around me... full of passion to reach them... full of God's love and God's view of wanting to reach them... full of passion for Gods word... and full of God's love for me...

My husband and I have felt bombarded with "situations" (some might call attacks from the enemy), but we know they are here to grow us. We know we have a calling on our lives, and we know we will never fulfill this calling unless we are willing to grow through all these challenges. I have been amazed at how my husband has been walking in the Spirit and handling all these "situations" with grace and God's love for others.

I on the other hand I have struggled greatly with the challenge of motherhood. I have wanted to walk away because of what I have seen in myself, and what my children have seen. I have been exhausted from lack of sleep, flustered by lack of schedule, overwhelmed by still attempting to clean my house to get it on the market, and pushed to my limit from 4 small kids who, I think, have taken a vow to challenge their mother all day every day all at the same time. My human nature has come to this strange conclusion that if I yell loud enough and look scary enough, they will listen... and they do after they get done crying. You just can't be told what to do out of a book. It all sounds great, but when it's coming at you "times 4", not including cleaning a messy house, laundry, meals, cleanup, diaper changes, helping with potty, and the never ending calling of "mommy!!!", it just sort of pushes you over the edge. (Boy it stresses me out just typing it).

But I know it is all for a reason. It is put here to grow me... and as God typically does, He does not give us anything new until we have gotten victory over this challenge... So watch out Satan! I want to go to France! People are dying and going to hell, and we want to get there! I am not a quitter or a loser! I have already won this one in Christ!... I just haven't reached the finish line yet!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Phil. 4:13 (Isn't it ironic that this was what the speaker, Robby Robison, spoke about at our church this weekend).

I THANK YOU LORD THAT YOU ARE OUR VICTOR, MIGHTY WARRIOR, OUR COMPASS THROUGH THE STORMS... I LOVE YOU LORD!!

The Birth of Catalyst France

I stole this blog from my husband just because it is sharing what is going on in our lives and I don't have to rewrite the story.

Three years ago Gina and I joined a mission organization and began to prepare to plant a church in Paris, France. Over the past year or so, however, God has begun to move in our hearts to do more that just plant a church. We began to talk about planting a church that would be a catalyst in France for a larger church movement.

This month Gina and I made the decision to step down from our missions organization and become more closely aligned with like-minded church partners. This led to the formation of Catalyst France (It's our new website still in progress).

Our vision is to see France impacted with the gospel through the multiplication of high-impact churches where French people have an opportunity to hear the gospel clearly communicated in a culturally relevant way, see it lived out in the lives of transformed believers, and to experience lasting life-change through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

While change always comes with its share of uncertainty, God has given a tremendous peace about this decision. Monday we emailed this news out to our prayer team. Since that time we have already had new people come to us asking how they can support our ministry and one couple who said that they are seriously praying about joining us in Paris.

We're really excited about what God is doing. We are still working out the administrative details of Catalyst France, but we hope to have everything setup for tax-deductible contributions in the next week or so.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can be involved in planting a church in Paris or would like to give financially to this ministry please contact us at info@catalystfrance.org.

Motherhood - a job to be accepted with fear and trembling

This is blog a friend wrote on Mother's day that I needed to go back and read today. Being a mom, wife, and homemaker has been especially challenging this week (well, every week is challenging, but this one just more so). Did you ever just want to quit, send your kids back, and move out on your own... Well, thanks to Erika I was brought back a little to reality.

Motherhood is one of the hardest, most confusing, most joyous, and amazing jobs and experiences I have ever been blessed to struggle through.

There are so many books, magazines, websites, and offers of advice you can ever ask for but there is nothing and I mean nothing greater than prayer.

I love my children. I am amazed at my children. I am blessed by my children and I am taught by my children.

When I look at their faces I see myself, David, our parents...I wonder if that is how God sees me? Does He look at me and see Himself? Does He see a characteristic and remember when He created that in me? Is He watching on this mother's day and remembering when He placed this day in my life while I was still being made in my mother's womb?

My prayer for all the mom's out there...is that you know how much you are loved and appreciated!

What Will Your Funeral Look Like?

There are not many people who have ever lived who can say they have closed down an airport or closed down public schools for their funeral. Dr. Falwell truly laid his life down for Christ, and he has reaped an amazing harvest and is being honored in an amazing way. It feels as if heaven also is standing up to honor this man.

According to Tadd Grandstaff's blog, the funeral is set for tomorrow at 1:00 pm. Nancy Regan, George & Barbara Bush, and George W. & Laura Bush are just a few of those that will be attending the service. (You can also link to a live feed of the service from his blog).

The service will be held at Thomas Road Baptist Church with live feeds to the Vines Center (LU's basketball arena) and Williams Stadium (LU’s football stadium) and they are planning for all three locations to be at max capacity with standing room only.

They will also be shutting down the Lynchburg Airport because of the influx of private planes & jets. They are closing all public schools and most private schools by noon tomorrow. They will also be closing the Lynchburg Mall to use their parking lot to shuttle people to the campus. It's really hard to imagine, but a town is basically shutting down for this funeral.

The one thing I began thinking of was that Jerry Falwell was just a man, and he used his gifts and talents to the utmost for Christ. He walked by faith, did the hard things, and was rejected and ridiculed by those who didn't believe the way he did. But it was for those that he did what he did. He loved the lost like few I've known. I have known of Jerry Falwell for a long time, and then got to meet him when I coached track at Liberty, and while my brother-in-law (Matt Fry) was the youth pastor at Thomas Road. But because of how the world has responded to this man's life it has made me take a closer look at mine and ask, "What will my funeral be like?"

Dream Big Dreams!

Aaaaaaaaah! Perry Noble... a man after my own heart. I have copied a little of his post yesterday on dreams.

What is it that you want? OK…put THAT thought OUT of your mind…

What is it that God wants you to want? Is there a dream or desire in your life that is so huge that you can’t seem to shake it…but you also can’t seem to believe that it would ever happen?

God rocked my world this morning when I read I Chronicles 11:4-5, WOW!!! Basically David had became the king of Israel…but after becoming king he STILL had ambitions and dreams. (In other words–pastors, church leaders–our point of “arrival” is no where on this planet…as long as we are alive we need to pursue God sized dreams!)

SO…in this passage he goes after his dream–Jerusalem. (Yep, I definitely think God wanted him to pursue this!) The first thing he was told was, “You will never be able to do this.”

When we pursue God’s dreams–the first thing to happen is ALWAYS the naysayers who somehow find us and begin to tell us about all of the things that we cannot do!!! I know we had them at NewSpring when we first began…we were told our church would not work, that we would never be able to move into the Fine Arts Center at Anderson University, that we would never build a building, that I would never succeed as a pastor because I do not have a seminary degree…and the list could go on and on.BUT…I would not let go of the dream!!! It wasn’t something I could let go…it was a passion that God had placed inside of me. I see that in David in this text–even though he was told by a group of people that his dream could not take place–it didn’t stop him.

In verse five we see the dream accomplished…it worked. When we pursue God given dreams and inspirations with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength…GREAT THINGS HAPPEN... AND–he didn’t form a committee to study the problem! NO…he had a vision from God–and he pursued it.

If God TRULY places a dream and a passion inside of you–pursue it!!!

Well, you get the idea. (Link here to read his entire post (yes, it's quite a bit longer than this).
I really thought this way when I was in college and spoke often to teenage audiences about these kinds of things when I was competing in college and in my 20's. "Dream big dreams," I would say. The Bible says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" Ps. 37:4 It never occurred to me that one could use this type of thinking in building "The Churh."

It's so awesome to see pastors and visionary leaders reaching the lost with this same passion, and speaking about "dreaming big" all the time. It reminds us little guys that God wants to use us to do the same types of things if we would just step out in faith and dream big dreams like these crazy visionary pastors and our heroes in scripture.

Terry Woychowski - Executive with General Motors

I love what Terry Woychowski, an executive with General Motors -- responsible for more than 8000 engineers, said at the Daybreak conference. I copied these notes from TimSteven's blog of Granger Church who took a group from his church to his conference.

He talked in this session about change. Terry drove onto the stage in a 2007 Chevy Silverado carrying the actual 2007 Motor Trend Truck of the Year trophy. Some notable quotes from his session:

• One year ago we reported a $10 billion loss in one quarter.
• We had to change or die. GM did not have the universal right to exist. We had to change or we would cease to exist.
• We had to change our processes, our systems, even some of our people. I had to let 1200 engineers go who worked for me.
• This past year was the most difficult year in my life by far. Change is hard. And massive change is massively hard.
• Change is inevitable. The question is whether you will change for better…or change for worse.
• There are roadblocks between your community and God. Your job is not to move the community to God. It is, rather, to remove the roadblocks that keep them from making their way to God.
• To change…we often need to “feel” the need deeply to be sufficiently motivated to voluntarily change.

Terry pointed to the Motor Trend trophy and said that he worked three long years to win that award. But, some day it will burn or rust or be buried. But what you do, in church work, that really matters. That will last.

My God Is So Awesome!!

I wanted to write some inspirational blog today, but I didn't want my picture of the Arch de Triomphe to be moved down where I don't see it first thing when I go to my blog... and I love that blog. It was from my heart. Do you ever have those. I also like the link to my husbands blog that I refer to on the last blog. And, since mine is like a small essay on the Arch, I will just keep this short so everyone can finish reading it or go back and remember what it was they read.

I also have to say comfirmation of our new step of faith (stepping down from our missions organization & creating "Catalyst France") has been overwhelming. People have actually come up to us or emailed us and said, "we would like to support your ministry in France, where do I send the money." I want to burst out crying (for joy) every time that happens. It overwhelms me that God really does care about our dreams and does not call us to do something He does not provide for.

I LOVE MY LORD!!

"Impacting Culture in Paris"

My Hubby has a very complimentary blog to what I just posted on France. It's worth taking a look at.

Paris, France and the Dream in our Hearts

PARIS - Right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy became president of France on Wednesday, officially taking over from his conservative predecessor Jacques Chirac. After a private lunch Sarkozy will ride in a motorcade up the Avenue des Champs Elysees, escorted by the mounted Republican Guard, and lay a floral tribute at the tomb of the unknown soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe (Read entire story on MSN).

If you have ever been to Paris, this has to be one of those moments in time you would never forget. Riding up the Avenue des Champs Elysees (something you can see from all over Paris) and then laying flowers beneath the Arc de Triomphe (one of the most famous monuments in Paris).

The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly the Place de l'Étoile, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. It is the linchpin of the historic axis (L'Axe historique) leading from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace, a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route leading out of Paris.

It attracts many tourists. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon I at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years, and in 1810 when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed.

The monument stands over 51 meters (165 feet) in height and is 45 meters wide. It is the second largest triumphal arch in existence ^[1] Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus; The Arc de Triomphe is so colossal that in the Paris victory parade marking the end of hostilities in World War I, an early daredevil flew his biplane through it, and was caught in a newsreel.<sup>[2]

Just writing about this makes my stomach begin to churn and puts a lump in my throat. Is there anything you ever wanted to bad that it hurt not to have it yet. My heart and my husband's heart yearn so much for the people of France and Europe. We really do believe we have experienced something here in the states that can be applied in France and all over Europe. It is the new creative church movement that has inspired so many new church planters to try all sorts of new and innovative things.

Churches like the one we go to (C3 church) and others like New Spring church in S.C., Mosaic L.A., and Granger Community Church in In. have an amazing way of getting the unchurched in the door. We believe the organization of ARC has an amazing way of training up and providing for new church planters. We believe organizations like Catalyst</sup> and the many other conferences put on by these creative church planters (Exponential Conference, Origins, Buzz Conference, etc.) train, encourage, motivate, and simply light a fire under this movement for Christ.

We want to do this in France. Not because there is anything in ourselves that we think is special or talented, but just because God has put this burden and dream in our hearts that is so clear it sometimes hurts not being in France yet, and we are just willing vessels clueless enough to think God can do this through us and those He chooses to join us.

Jerry Falwell - An amazing icon for Christ

I am sad to report what most people have already heard, but the icon Jerry Falwell died this morning at 10:45 am. He was found unresponsive in his office. Not matter what you thought of him, he was a man that had a vision and followed that vision with passion for most of his entire adult life.

He has been responsible for millions turning from their own way of living to following Christ. Our pastor, Matt Fry (my brother-in-law) went to liberty and God called him into ministry there. He helped in the youth group at Thomas Road while in school, was a youth minister for years, went back to Liberty as the Senior Youth Pastor and now has one of the top 100 fastest growing churches in America according to Outreach Magazine (C3church).

I attended seminary there for a year while coaching track and I loved Liberty University. My husband Ken Witcher (then boyfriend) was a youth intern at Thomas Road Baptist Church underMatt Fry. Liberty has a large University feel with a consevative Christian environment. It even has a Division I athletic program. The worship at chapel was done with drums and a band and was always dynamic. The students had purpose and a drive you don't find on typical university campuses. It was just a fun place to be... a far example from what most people saw Jerry Falwell as.

He was also an exremely personable person. What you saw on T.V. was not what you saw on campus. He loved to have fun with the students and gave many students a second chance after failing out or getting kicked out. He was also an amazing family man never missing a birthday of any of his kids and attempted that with his grandkids.

So, no matter what you thought of him, he was a man who was passionate about the lost and gave his life to following Christ and making a difference. I could only hope to end my life and say I have influenced as many people as he did for the Kingdom of God.

Read also what others have said about Dr. Falwell:
Tadd Granstaff - a friend and fellow church planter of Pine Ridge Church in Burlington, NC, who attended Liberty.
Tim Stevens - Pastor of Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana.

Martha Fry on "Faithfulness"

I forgot to mention that my sister, Martha Fry, pastors wife of C3 church, spoke on Mother's Day. She is a great speaker, and if you can figure out how to download a sermon (unlike myself - I have to get my husband to do it) She did an awesome job and it is worth your time to listen to.

Great job Martha! I was very convicted there at the end when you talked about at the end of your life seeing Jesus face to face, can He say, "Well done my good and faithful servant."

I began thinking if I saw Him today, could He say that? Having 4 small kids and all your typical household duties, I am at the end of my rope much of the time and have to confess my children do not see Jesus in me as much as I would like. In fact I'm quite ashamed at how often they don't.

Please Father, may the power of Your Spirit work in me, so that not only my children may see Jesus, but that everyone I meet will see Jesus through me.

The LG HDTV Refrigerator - The Bomb!

I was surfing the blogesphere this morning and Tim Stevens of Granger Church mentioned this refrigerator. Well, before I even saw his blog, we (Ken & I & all our kids) just happened to be in Best Buy this weekend and saw this piece of art. I thougth to myself, "What a great Mother's Day idea."

Now to someone like myself who is a news junkie who doesn't like to cook (well I use to like to cook until I had kids) I thought, "What a brilliant idea!" I might even prepare meals ahead of time if we had this refridgerator. Of course this might be like offering alcohol to an alcoholic... I may never get anything done... which is the reason we don't have cable anymore. I guess this refrigerator with fuzzy T.V. wouldn't have the some effect.

Of course now that I read the display I see that it only gets the latest weather updates using a cellular network, but also features a recipe bank (preloaded with 100 recipes) and organizational tools such as a calendar and to-do list. In addition, the screen can be used as a digital photo frame. Maybe this T.V. is my dream T.V. I certainly need recipes on hand that I don't have to look up, and a calandar with a to do list in front of my face might certainly help. Of course, now I look at the cost...

Oh well, it was a nice idea. Maybe in my next life.

Oh, the Joys of Motherhood!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! to all those overworked, exhausted, unappreciated, but blessed mothers.

I woke up this morning with the opportunity to, well... be a mother. As I lay there in bed hoping this would be an opportunity to read in a quiet room while my husband made breakfast and thinking what it would be like to get to enjoy a delicious breakfast I had nothing to do with... in bed...

...A crying (okay screaming) almost 2 year old let me know my peace and quiet was short lived. I went into the kitchen to help my husband with the omelet he was trying not to burn for me, while trying to appease our youngetst children. I Helped my daugher find some pants. Continued helping my husband by cutting up pancakes as he cooked them for the kids. Changed a stinky diaper. Cleaned up the table and filled the dishwasher while my husband helped the kids get their Mother's day card done and wrap a present. Broke up a fight somewhere in there I'm sure, and finally sat down in my fuzzy slippers to drink some tea. (We did go to church last night if anyone is wondering why I'm sitting around and casually drinking tea on a Sunday morning) :-)

Oh the joys of motherhood...

I will say I am getting to enjoy my new CD of the soundtrack from "When Harry Met Sally"... How did the kids know I would like that? I am so impressed.

How Big Are Your Dreams?

I once again am going to quote some of what Perry Noble wrote on a past blog where I felt like he was writing my story. His words are in italics and I will be adding my comments in red.

I cannot explain what the Lord is doing in my life right now. Scripture is more alive to me than it has ever been…and the closer I get to Him the more I am realizing how small my dreams are. So…I am asking Him to fill me with His dreams…and here is what is coming to my mind.

I I don’t want a good marriage–I want a GREAT one! God is doing something in our marriage (mine and Ken's) that we really never expected. Taking this new step of faith together has united us in a way we have never experience. We have become each others best friend, and I cannot remember the last time we had a argument... now that is a miracle.

I don’t want to raise a child...I want to make a disciple. God is growing me so much in what my kids see on a day to day basis. Do they see an exhausted, frustrated, angry mother, or do they see Jesus?

I don’t want to pastor a church…I want to be a part of a MOVEMENT! This is why Ken and I have taken this step of faith. We feel God wants to start a new church movement in France very much like the new church movement we have seen here in the states that is impacting millions for Christ and He wants to involve us.

I don’t want to talk to God more…I want to listen to Him!!! I spend WAY too much time talking to God, telling Him what I want Him to do. I want to listen…to hear His voice. I want His voice to be as real to me as anything. I know that if I am going to be successful as a husband [wife], father [mother] and leader [follower] that I need HIS direction. I want to spend more time in Scripture, seeking the mind of Christ. I say it all the time–but no one EVER screws up when they follow Christ!!!

God is stretching me right now…REALLY stretching me. I [Ken & I] have had thoughts and ideas during the past two weeks that I [we] have NEVER had before. I am so excited about my walk with Him, my family, and the direction of this church [our ministry]. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Click here to read Perry's whole entry.

Discipleship - Our job or God's job?

I love what Perry Noble says about discipleship:

We have a different view of discipleship here at NewSpring Church. It bothers me that Christians will trust God’s Holy Spirit to draw someone to Him…but once that happens we often feel like we need to take over…and, like it or not, there are some really screwed up Christians because they have been taught to listen to man and not to Jesus.
I have seen the “process” of people becoming more like Christ merely reduced to a “to do list” in churches, and while this has managed to produce some fruit…I have seen it, unfortunately, develop way more legalists and self serving Christians? So…where is the balance? How do we “disciple” people at NewSpring? After all, Jesus did encourage us to “make disciples” in Matthew 28:18-20.

Click here to read more...

Successful Knee Surgery!

If you have been reading my hubby's blog, you will have read that he had knee surgery yesterday (like being a single mom of 4 for 2 weeks wasn't enough) :-)

Well praise the Lord!! they were able to do the least invasive procedure and get rid of alot of scar tissue from 3 previous surgeries 17 years ago. There was a possiblity that he was going to have to have a new ACL replacement, which meant many weeks on his butt and another human to take care of 24/7, but God had mercy on me.

Well, lucky him, all the bandages come off in two days, and he can probably start helping me clean the house next week. Now I won't make him carry anything heavy, but he certainly could fold clothes and do toilets.

France Has A New President!

I don't know if many of you have heard, but France has a new president! MSN said:

Sarkozy, a U.S.-friendly conservative and an immigrant’s son, defeated Socialist Segolene Royal by 53 percent to 47 percent with about 85 percent voter turnout Sunday.

French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy plans to waste no time making France a friendlier place for business — and a less inviting place for criminals and would-be immigrants

The win gave Sarkozy a strong mandate for his vision of France’s future: He wants to free up labor markets, calls France’s 35-hour work week absurd and plans tougher measures on crime and immigration.

The article on the MSN page is very interesting, and looks as if Sarkozy may be a welcome change. Many say change will be hard for a country steeped in tradition, and usually things get worse before they get better. What an awesome time to enter a country and offer a security that will never change. Pray for France during this time and for those of us who will be ministering during, what could be, a historical time in French history.

Mosaic Origins Conference

If you read my last blog" Big Dreams" it is so exciting to see how God might be in the beginning stages of bringing that about. My husband, Ken, went to the Mosaic Origins Conference this past week and saw God moving in amazing ways. The people God has put in Ken's life and who he is beginning relationships with just blows us away; many of them who have amazing talents and are professional artists, also have hearts for the lost and have a desire to use these talents in Paris. God has definitely confirmed over and over the direction He is leading us and His blessing on our blind step of faith. My hubby, Ken, has written a little about his trip, the people he met, and the amazing things God did in him through this conference.

"Dream Big"

I love this blog posted by Tim Stevens at Granger Community Church called "Dream Big". The question was asked the staff and 400 members of their church and they answered the question, "What is Granger Community Church?" Their answers helped create their vision statement.

He then encouraged any church leader:
If you are leading a church, dream big! You'll have plenty of people tell you your dream is ridiculous, but it is the dreams of leaders that can change families, churches and entire communities. So, dream big!

So I used their vision statement to create what I envision our "Dream for France" will become: (This is just my own crazy thoughts after being enspired by his blog)

It is the dream of a biblically functioning community in Paris, where Christ-followers are continually taking steps in their walk with Jesus. It is a place where all are quickly connected in meaningful and life-changing relationship with others; where care and comfort happens in the context of shared life together; where a plethora of opportunities are available to help seekers and believers take their next step toward Christ.

It is the dream of an organization able to support a regional ministry and training site for ministers and pastors to learn how to reach their country in radical relevant ways and for them to be sent out to train others.

It is the dream of traveling all over France to train and teach believers how to reach their country for Christ and ultimately their continent for Christ.

It is the dream of hundreds of thousands gathering each weekend all over France to explore Christianity and take their first steps toward Christ, and then growing together in spiritual maturity through worship, study and fellowship – loving, laughing, and learning together, understanding God’s plan and living life to its’ greatest potential.

It is the dream of a people who never shrink back from communicating the truth of God’s Word using relevant and innovative means; where “cutting-edge” is normal and change is readily accepted; where artists are pursued, affirmed, cultivated, loved, and released to use their gift in the church.

It is the dream of a church that makes an indisputable impact on our region, where people of all races and religions will wonder aloud what God is up to.

A New Direction and A New Love

I feel I need to blog again, but it is hard to top the "pajama burgler", but I will try to go on.

Ken got home today!!! Can I just say, "I LOVE MY HUSBAND!" Now before you stick your finger in your mouth and do the gag reflex, or sit in envy because your marriage is struggling, our marriage has not always been this way. We have spent the last 9 years slowing growing from a nightmare marriage to what I feel has become the honeymoon period (we sort of missed that the first time around). Now if we had given up at any moment (which we thought of a million times) we would be missing out on what God is bringing us into; uniting us together for His Glory and Kingdom and showing us His plan to bring about dreams we've had in our hearts for years.

Ken has been gone almost two weeks, but when you and your spouse are on the same page with God and what He has called you to do, seemingly tough things end up not being tough at all. I was a single mom to 4 kids ages 1-6 (the 6 yr old being homeschooled) for almost two weeks, and I actually had alot of fun. We planned alot of outings, visited friends, watched movies, climbed through windows in our pajamas,... but what really made Ken's being gone so easy was hearing the awesome things God was doing in my husband through the people he was meeting from around the world. It made being his wife and the mother of his children exciting and fulfilling.

God is doing some amazing things in our lives right now. I haven't shared much, because God has been in process for the past few months, but Ken and I feel God has been moving in our hearts to take a step of faith and step down from our missions organization and go independently with a church or group of likeminded churches. The only reason being that we feel our vision is more like that of the church planters we have been meeting. We have been connecting with church planting groups and amazingly creative church planters and brainstorming with them and learning from them these past 3 years and we have found our niche. We believe God has been "filling our toolbox" (what my husband always says) with the ways He wants to reach the French, and connecting us with the people (other successful and creative church planters) we really need over us as we embark on this endeavor.

There were also some changes beginning to happen in our organization that were going to affect us, and we felt this was the time and God was saying, "Go... take this step of faith and see what I will do.

Even when we first began to think along these lines, God's peace overwhelmed us. And ever since we finalized our decision and obeyed what we felt God was telling us to do, God began making connections that we could not ever have imagined. It was almost as if He was just waiting for us to follow Him blindly by faith, and then He began pouring out His blessings almost immediately. Our connection with churches and church planters has doubled, and God has connected us with so many professional new artists from an array of different backgrounds (dance, design, modeling, fashion industry, fine arts, theatre, etc.) from all over the U.S. and world, and many who have done their work on the professional stage in France and want to go back, or ones that just want to go with us.

God has already been preparing a team, and a church or possibly churches that will be our sending agents. God has not shown us the whole plan yet, so we will let you know as soon as He opens those doors. Our support will be coming through another avenue starting in June, and we will let people know that also this month. We feel our time table is the same. We hope to be in France by the fall, but we know God's timing has always been the same, and when we get to France He will have prepared the hearts of thousands of French people who are searching and will find Him in the movement God has put on our hearts; to help French people plant relevant dynamic exciting churches for this young generation.

Pajama Burgler

My husband posted this on his blog yesterday, and I thought I needed to add an explanation.

I received this email from my wife late last night.

Honey,If you are still up, I just wanted to let you know we need a new screen. It would also be good to put a spare key outside in case we get locked out… and could you leave your phone on so in case somebody broke in our house and tried to hurt us at least I could get in touch with you.

Me

I can just picture her tearing off the screen and climbing in the window in her pajamas at mid-night. This really happened.

Okay, he left out the part about how I went outside to get a book out of the car, and when I came back to go in, the door was locked. We have a couple of those doors where you can lock it from the inside, yet still open the door from the inside, but not the outside. I prayed, "Lord you are not doing this to me!! (I wondered if He was laughing thinking, "Sweetheart, I did not do this to you, but it is fun to watch). I prayed, "Lord please do not make me call the police from a neighbors house in my pajamas at midnight... and I would rather not sleep in the car."

Speaking of cars, I dug in all the cars for any set of keys because we sometimes leave a set in them because we have gone somewhere together, or, we just left them laying on the floor or in a drawer... I found none. The kids even have a set the like to play with that I know were in the car the past couple of days... no such luck.

So my next idea was to look for an unlocked window on the porch (we have a wrap around porch, so there were 3 opportunities... they were all locked. So I went to the front door and rang the doorbell incessently for about 5 minutes realizing that that was not going to wake anybody up on the second floor (remember my oldest child is 6). The only response I got was the cat staring at me through the window from the stairs and then looking up the stairs almost as if he understood my delima and thought, "would someone please come help this crazy woman."

I then went around and checked windows again just to make sure there were none unlocked, and then ring the doorbell again. I did this over and over a few times in desperation while I prayed, "Help me Lord!!" I then decided to check some other windows on the back... praise the Lord for a full moon, it made it easy to see the window latches on the back windows in the dark. I finally came across a window to my husbands office where one of the latches looked half locked and the other one unlocked. This window was my only chance before I climbed up on the roof. Praise the Lord also it was in front of the airconditioning vent and easy to reach.

I poked some holes in the screen where the latches to the screen were and tried to get the screen out without bending it. When I realized that was not going to happen, and I was not even going to be able to bend the screen, I thought, "buying a new screen is less embarrassing than going to my neighbors...", so I stuck a few fingers in those little holes and ripped the screen all the way to the bottom. I pushed on the window for a minute... and the lock, that was not quite half latched, finally popped up and I was in. I couldn't believe it! I almost cried.

"Thank you Lord that I did not have to face my neighbors and the police in my yellow monkey pajamas tonight."

Baby Isaac Update

Well, just wanted to update you on Baby Isaac. You can go read it for yourself on his blog and see cute pictures, or you can read it here:

Well, today has been a day of clarification. The morning began with Isaac in optimal conditions for extubation - vitals, nutrition, vent settings, the works. We were thrilled to see our sweet boy's face when they removed the tape & pulled out the ET tube. To see his whole face without tape or tubes...what a blessing! We must have kissed those sweet cheeks a hundred times!

Isaac sailed through the first half hour, sating in the high 80's & holding a steady, comfortable heartrate. However, he was unable to cough on his own &, with the build-up of secretions in his lungs, began to tire quickly. In spite of suctioning & albuterol treatments, Isaac simply had to work too hard to breathe & grew too fatigued to clear his lungs on his own. So after nearly two hours, our sweet boy was reintubated & allowed to rest once more.

We are so proud of how well Isaac did, especially considering that he's been intubated for 9 weeks & his many issues (diaphragm, vocal chord, pharynx). He's certainly a fighter, never giving up even when its hard. Now we know for certain that a trach is the best & necessary option in moving Isaac towards recovery. He will head back to the OR on Thursday morning for the tracheostomy. Though this route is different than we had expected, we're happy to move forward in getting Isaac well enough for home. God remains faithful & even when His answer differs from our hopes, we still trust Him, knowing that He heard us & has greater plans in store. We now look ahead to surgery #5.