I'm Ready to Rock

So, I'm headed to the thriving metropolis of Snyder, TX tomorrow to the Red Letter Rock Fest. It is an amazing opportunity to promote Pursue & share our vision with 5,000 young people...so, I'm really excited although I'm not sure if I can do 12 hours of Christian Rock Music. I just went to the website to listen to a few of the bands, and while I'm great with the likes of Hawk Nelson, Super Chick, Family Force Five and other...I have to admit that a few of the bands just scare me!

So, just a quick request to all my readers to say a prayer for me! Here is what I'm praying for

1. That I actually can be cool for the weekend so that I have lots of opportunities to talk about our vision for Pursue missions - (My AMAZING co-worker Kyla is going with me, so I think she has coolness enough for the entire booth)
   
2. That my eardrums are protected - super jazzed that our booth is between K-Love & Compassion International...but our booth is actually on the floor of the concert pavilion, so it is non-stop music for the entire weekend!
3. And for the 3 minutes that we have on stage - that we would be dynamic, passionate & somehow communicate what is most important to convey the heart behind PURSUE!

That's it! Oh, and while I'm on it - mark your calendars now for Pursue 2009 - October 16-18 - our theme is ALL - All of Him, All of Me, All the World...It is going to be fabulous!!!!
pursuemissions.org

Just thought you should know...

It is Josh's 32nd Birthday today...and he never ceases to amaze me...

Where I am - 12 May 09

Where I am: It is Tuesday evening and I'm sitting on my couch. I'm contemplating going for a jog...part of me REALLY wants to...another part of me just wants to sit here on my couch!

What I am Listening To: Today I listened to Bethany Dillon's CD The Kingdom while I was attempting to do some writing. I'm mostly enjoying listening to the sounds of spring outside - I'm not trying to be deep with that statement, but don't you just love the way it seems everything comes alive in a new way this time of year?! Makes me think I should go jog...

What I am Reading: I recently finished Flashbang by Mark Steele. I liked his second book better, but this one had some good points in it as well. His stories are HILARIOUS...I'm also reading The Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott and I just finished Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlan

What I am Watching: Tonight I'm watching The Biggest Loser Finale. I'm feeling like Tara is going to win...this also makes me think I should go jog! Oh, and I watched Twilight last week...I really DON'T get the hoopla about this movie...I love a good romance, but creepy vampires??? not so much (sorry, I know lots of you LOVED this movie)...

Favorite Picture I have Taken:

On Mother's Day, Leslie read a book to Madi...nothing fabulous about my picture taking here...just liked this moment

Memorable Moments:

It has been a busy couple of weeks so here are the highlights! We took all of our zoe graduates out to a nice dinner & thought I'd share this pics...I love our young adults!

Nathan, Ashlee, Deneille, Hannah, Josh & Josiah

Dallas, Jeremy, Mark & Patrick

With the lovely Erin

Good Night Red Light: Myself, Josh, my mom, Kyla & Nathan traveled to Dallas last week to help out with a fundraising event for Bombay Teen Challenge. I mentioned it in my previous blog & it was a GREAT trip. I LOVE this ministry and can honestly say that they doing something to help women and children in hopeless situations. To find out more about BTC, see these 2 blogs that I wrote after visiting there last year:

http://joshandpaigeallen.blogspot.com/2008/08/being-daughters-bollywood-dancing-india.html

http://joshandpaigeallen.blogspot.com/2008/08/bombay-teen-challenge-india-02.html

Here are some pics of our time in Dallas:

My Team: Kyla, Linda, me, Christie, Josh & Nathan

Kyla & I got to work the will-call window...admit it - You're jealous - so much fun to talk through the little microphone & slide tickets under the window!

Mother's Day: This year we celebrated a bit more laid back than normal, but I still got to have my mom, sisters & their families over to my house. Since I'm the only non-mom in the family I feel it is the least I can do to honor them with a nice lunch on this day...I didn't take many pictures, but just thought I would show you the loveliness of my mom!

Mom with her newest grandbaby - Molly Kate

And with that, I'm going to go for a jog!

Repentance

I've been contemplating on repentance & forgiveness this morning...I stand in awe how God can completely change someone's life...and I'm in awe at how the words, "Will you forgive me?" after years have passed can genuinely bring healing into two hearts (or 3 in my case)...

Read Oswald Chambers this morning:

"The entrance into the Kingdom is through the panging pains of repentance crashing into a man's respectable goodness; then the Holy Ghost, Who produces these agonies, begins the formation of the Son of God in the life. The new life will manifest itself in conscious repentance and unconscious holiness, never the other way about. The bedrock of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a man cannot repent when he chooses; repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for "the gift of tears." If ever you cease to know the virtue of repentance, you are in darkness. Examine yourself and see if you have forgotten how to be sorry. "

And now, I'm on my way to Dallas - helping at a fundraiser from Bombay Teen Challenge - one of the most amazing ministries I've ever worked with - they rescue women from prostitution in Mumbai, India...but they do it when the ladies are ready...to help the ladies ready their hearts - they lead Bible studies in the Brothels...

Forgiveness & repentence take on a new light when I stop to really thing about it...

If you are in Dallas, I would love for you to come to this event: http://www.goodnightredlight.com/

You need a ticket, so give me a call - I'll get one for you!

The Last Installment of Adventures with Mum

My mom and I ended our trip with 2 days in NYC (she had never been and I was so excited to show her this city that Josh and I have come to love!). I quickly discovered that this is the way to get over jetlag - we so badly wanted to see all that we could in our 2 days that regardless of how badly we wanted to shut our eyes we just kept on going!

Day 1 was devoted to major sites around our hotel (we stayed at 6th & 53rd)...so Central Park, Times Square, 5th Avenue, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and Macy's all made an appearance within that day! Highlights for me were that we ran into my friend Alyson (it was somewhat of an intentional run-in - she called and was only a few blocks away) & got to have coffee with one of my best friends from highschool! Alyson told us some fantastic places to eat (yay, for John's Pizzaria - that is in an old church, and the Brooklyn Diner (we met her again the next morning for a delicious breakfast of eggs, polenta, & muffins)! The additional highlight was going to a Broadway Musical (we saw 9 to 5 - the original cast), and finding a few cute items of clothing along the way!
Day 2 was equally fun!

• Breakfast with Alyson - she showed us where she worked (she's the assistant art director for Country Living Magazine)
• Carriage ride through Central Park
• Farmer's Market at Union Square
• South Street Sea Port where we took a water taxi out to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Brooklyn Bridge
• The Outrageous Banana Split at Serendipity
• More Shopping
• Meeting Bill Clinton - saw him in our hotel while we were waiting for the eleveator...He said hi to us! We were a bit dazed but did our best to say hi back!
• More Shopping
• Fabulous Dinner near Rockefeller Center - we decided that this was our favorite meal from the entire trip and just happened upon this place (Morrell Wine Bar & Cafe) - you should try it if you are ever in the area...
  

It was fun & exhausting all at the same time!

With Alyson in the Hearst Building

The Statue of Liberty (as if you didn't know)

The Outrageous Banana Split - it was fairly amazing...

I could tell so many stories...the transvestite who was our neighbor in Prague...the waitress in Germany who asked if we wanted to eat any flesh...the girls on our water taxi who posed like models at the drop of hat...the nights of frustration because we could not sleep...the beautiful people we encountered along the way...and the many moments of laughter. Mostly though I will remember and tell others that for 10 days I got to travel the world with my mom...and in those 10 days I was reminded all over again just how blessed I am to have been raised by this amazing woman who loves easily, laughs heartily, and speaks with a soft conviction. Thanks mom for letting me travel with you - it was more than I had hoped for...

Adventures in Czech & Germany

After an amazing weekend in Prague my mom and I traveled to Hradec Kralove where we met up with Terri Reed & Amy for a prayer journey. Our mission was simple - to pray on sight - for the people & land of Czech Republic. This is something that I've done in small doses on mission trips before, but to devote 2 days to this was new for me. I quickly found that I loved it - we had some great prayer times and felt that we were led specifically by the Lord!

Here are a few pictures of our time in HK:

Our lovely Prayer Team: Myself, Amy, Terri & Mom

We walked up a tower in the center of the city to pray...here is my Czech friend, Dita as she gazed over her city.

Dita, Terri & Mom

We also got to spend some time with Sean, a missionary from Church on the Rock...he bought us dinner from a cart on the side of the road - I thought it was delicious...my mom wasn't too sure where the meat came from!

Dita

My time would not have been the same hand I not gotten to spend time with my wonderful friend, Dita Targosz! We met 6 years ago, and after my 8 trips to Czech & her two trips to Lubbock we have truly become friends! I told someone not long ago that in some ways I share more of my true heart with Dita than I do with many of my American friends. We have cried together a time or two and laughter is almost always in the air...mostly, I feel like she gets me. She too is a young woman working full-time in the church and we have been able to share frustrations, ideas, and talked extensively about how to juggle the many things dear to us.

Plus, as you can see here, we have matching coats - what are the odds of that? I think it is a sign that we were meant to be fast friends!

Oh, and Dita likes to eat with me! This was some yummy food in Germany!!!!

Herrnhut

After two nights in Hradec, our team along with Dita traveled through Czech and Poland to Germany where we had the opportunity to pray at Herrnhut. When Callie (the organizer of our trip) first told me that we could go to Herrnhut I was ecstatic! As a missions pastor I have long been in awe of the stories that originated from this small community of passionate people. In short, Herrnhut was the home of Count Zinzendorf and he opened his home to a group of Christian Moravians who were being persecuted for their faith. These young people were passionate about two things - prayer & missions. They actually had a 24 hour prayer movement that lasted for 100 years at Herrnhut, and over the course of these years they sent out over 500 missionaries throughout the world!

When the young people decided to go they were given two things: a Bible & a coffin...the Moravians are the ones who led John Wesley to a greater understanding of the Lord and there are countless stories that would amaze you from these people...

All this to say - I was excited and expectant, and Herrnhut did not disappoint. Although I was envisioning old buildings or a museum - what was left was a simply a beautiful cemetery. As I walked through the gravestones it was actually more than I hoped for because its simplicity all the more solidified in my heart what I've always learned from the Moravians. They are not famous for eloquent words or elaborate buildings, but simply because they lived what they believed. They gave their lives with abandon & as I gazed across the cemetery the Lord spoke volumes to my heart. I'm still processing some of the things He whispered to me on the hill overlooking where the Moravians lay, so for now I'll end by sharing these pictures of my time in Herrnhut.

Adventures with my Mum

I returned last night from a FANTASTIC trip with my mom! We found ourselves in several cities in Czech Republic, a few days in New York City, and even a few hours in Germany & a few minutes in Poland (we drove through)... This trip was far better than I had hoped it would be - it was truly a block of days where it was obvious that God had ordered and directed our steps.

So I'll recap in 3 separate blogs - the first is focused on our time in Prague! We were invited by Eva Bubik to speak at their first ever Women's Conference, and it was AMAZING! We met ladies who traveled from all over the country & I even met 4 ladies who traveled through the night from Slovakia to come to the conference!

Over and over I heard ladies comment that they had never been to anything that was as nice or as relaxed at this weekend. Eva was precious and she put so much thought and time into planning this weekend. She explained that she wanted this to be fun, a place where they could connect with other ladies and be free to laugh or cry or whatever! It was just that...at one moment in the midst of the conference I walked into the cafe that was connected to the theater where the main meetings were held & I saw women craying...some laughing...others enraptured in deep conversation. I told my mom that I actually left rejuvenated myself even though we were there as the speakers!

Here are a few pics of our time in Prague

My mom spoke on the sufficiency of God - it was powerful and just what the ladies needed to hear!

Eva & the worship team were rocking!

The church runs this cafe everyday as an outreach - I LOVED it! During the conference you could always find ladies together sharing their lives...

They asked my mom & I to share one session together - it was great, and I think that the Lord used it too. During our prayer time on the last night we actually had several ladies ask us to pray about their relationship with either their mom or daughters...so cool that God used our relationship & sharing together to minister in that way!

This is called "Hot Chair" - Dita interviewed 5 ladies about how God is using their talents

Some of our favorite girls! My mom, Alice Mackovickova, Ali, Miriam, & me!

We also got to do just a bit of siteseeing!

My mom & Eva - please pray for her - she was in a car accident the day after the conference. She is going to be okay but hurt her back.

More adventures with my mom to come!

(I have some funny stories to tell too)!