Info about Northern Ireland

• It's just now 15 min till midnight and I can still see a "wee bit" of light on the horizon over the mountains.
• They really do say "wee bit" quite often
• They drink more tea than any culture I have ever been around. I may float home from all the tea I've been offered to drink!
• Crumpets are actually served with tea
• I still have no idea what a crumpet really is...
• We've only had potatoes served with one meal... well, unless you count the "chips" (aka french fries) we had with lunch today
• I've already been here long enough that I'm typing this and expecting you to read it with an Irish accent
• It's the end of June and we're freezing. It's been cold and rainy... more so than when I was in Belgium! Ahh!
• But, because of the rain, the countryside really is as green and beautiful as the pictures and movies we've all seen!
• My roommate (for the week) and I set off the alarm when we came "home" yesterday. It was quite fun! Luckily the police didn't show up. Our hosts were out for a bit and had set the alarm. After a few phone calls they finally called and gave us the code to turn it off. whew!
• We were stopped on the road for about 15 minutes today while cows crossed the road to another field. Yes, I'll have pictures of that later :)

It's supposed to be yucky weather all week so PLEASE PRAY that God will allow good weather for our outdoor soccer (football) camps!! According to weather.com tomorrow is looking a little better so keep those prayers going!

Beth Moore on Worry...

I learn so much from Beth Moore and I wanted to share what she wrote on her blog yesterday. You can read the full post for yourself here, but most of it is pasted below... I have issues with wanting to be in control (and I'm sure some of you can relate!). So, it's a good reminder from a godly woman that GOD is the one in control... and for good reason!

The lead verse for this morning's entry was Isaiah 28:12. Of God the prophet Isaiah wrote, "He said, 'This is a resting place, let the weary rest'; and, 'This is a place of repose' - but they would not listen." Here's a little of what followed (originally written by Charles Spurgeon):

"Why do you worry? What possible use does your worrying serve? You are aboard such a large ship that you would be unable to steer even if your Captain placed you at the helm. You would not even be able to adjust the sails, yet you worry as if you were the captain or the helmsman of the vessel. Be quiet, dear soul - God is the Master! Do you think all the commotion and the uproar of this life is evidence that God has left His throne? He has not! His mighty steeds rush furiously ahead, and His chariots are the storms themselves. (Pause, Siestas, and hear the sound of those mighty steeds in your spirit. Feel their hoof-beats pound in your chest. He's on His mighty way!) But the horses have bridles, and it is God who holds the reins, guiding the chariots as He wills! Our God Jehovah is still the Master! Believe this and you will have peace. 'Don't be afraid' (Matt. 14:27)."

My favorite line: "You are aboard such a large ship that you would be unable to steer even if your Captain placed you at the helm." So, we might as well stop trying. Anyway, with the best intentions we'd steer that Titanic smack into the next iceberg with all our loved ones on board. You don't let your two-year old steer the car no matter how she might kick and scream from the backseat. God's too wise to let our control issues work out for us. If we keep insisting, He might let us give it a hand for a while but, sooner or later, we'll hit the iceberg. And the iceberg is He.

Regardless of how convinced we are, God has not placed us in control of our environments nor are we responsible for how everyone is behaving or how things will turn out. He is still God and, yes, even over "this," whatever your "this" may be. His, Beloved Siestas, is a LARGE SHIP. Something much bigger than we can picture is going on from a God's-eye view. Our trials are allowed so that Christ may be formed in us and then, through us, serve that greater purpose. Worry always and only forms thicker flesh in us and weights us down until we cannot walk where the Spirit would take us.

I've come to learn from God that worry is a waving red flag to the enemy. It is a dead giveaway that the person owning it does not trust God. The shield of faith is down. So fire when ready. Every time we're tempted to take it all on and worry something to death, let's say aloud from the depths of our souls, "I choose to trust You, Lord. I choose trust. I choose You."

Be quiet, Dear Soul! God is the Master! Don't be afraid.

With dearest love,
beth

Unique

I’m not saying I’m any kind of wise, almighty Christian.. because I am the FURTHEST thing from that. But God has been teaching me SO much lately and I realized just the other night that I’ve come back to Him in a way that I didn’t know was possible. I was never gone from Him but I’ve been so dry these past few years!

The time I had in Belgium was so unique because of the physical time I had on my hands and because of the situation I was in. I had time to wake up when my body was ready (I’m a much happier person when I get to do that!). Because I had the time, I was awake when I spent my time with the Lord in the mornings. I wasn’t rushed with my time with Him because of some crazy schedule. And I was relying on Him like never before to help me build meaningful relationships with people that I was only going to be around for 5 months.

I’ve been LONGING for that since I came home 4 years ago, but I’ve only just realized that was a UNIQUE time and I probably will never have that again. However, it doesn’t mean that God can’t work in and through me in similar ways. My hunger for Him has grown recently and a lot of it is because of my singleness. One of my biggest desires is to find the love of my life, get married and have kids. But, for whatever reason, God isn’t allowing that right now (I could go on and on about all I’m learning through the series of Job we’re doing at church right now and how we just don't know what God is up to! It’s amazing). And since I have no idea why He’s allowing that, my purpose is to serve Him as best I can. THAT is my desire right now!! Sure, I’ve always wanted to have that attitude, but for the first time I really GET it. I know that I’m in a unique (there’s that word again) place in life and all I want is to honor Him so that I can be used by Him while I have this kind of time on my hands.

I say all of this in hopes to be an encouragement, not to brag on what a "wonderful Christian I've become." ha! I hope no one ever calls me that... because I will never amount to what God had in mind for us to be before sin entered the world. Of course if that were the case, Christ would not have needed to come and we would not have the word "Christian". But that's an entirely different discussion...

It has taken me YEARS to get to this point... and I still have a long way to go. And I will probably even backslide quite often. But at least I finally understand what Paul was talking about in I Corinthians 7:34. "...An unmarried woman is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit..."

Right now is when I have the time on my hands to serve the Lord with everything I have. Right now, I don't have a husband to devote my time and energy to. Right now, I don't have children that need my care and attention. So, RIGHT NOW is when I can devote ALL of myself to God and what He's called me to do... love and serve HIM! How amazing is that?? ;-)

the blog isn't dead!!!

i know, i know, i know, i know.... i know! it's been over a month. and i don't really have an excuse. other than i moved... again. and i don't have internet at home... at all. and i've been travelling... some. and i'm lazy... ok maybe that's the real answer :)

there has been so much going on in my head and i really want to get it out, so i PROMISE to get it up here soon (please feel free to harrass me until i do... accountability is a good thing!).

so for now, i leave you with a quote from the great Wayne Gretzky:

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take."

random, i know. but we ate at his restaurant in Toronto tonight and i liked it. therefore, i had to document while it was still fresh on my mind. haha!

Upward Blind Ambition

You need to see this story about Mitchell Bridwell...

Click here for video...

David Dean Grogg!!!

Jill and Michael welcomed their son into the world yesterday, March 31, around 5:08pm. He was 8lbs 7oz and 19.5 inches long. Isn't he beautiful??

Andrea is already a wonderful big sis! Jill's sister Meghan has more pictures and a video on her blog... check it out!

March 2008

Wow - what a month! I've been to Brazil, France and Canada and have had a blast. In the midst of that, two friends have had their second children (both boys)! Chris and Emily are continued to be amazed at the miracle God has given them in Cohen. Jill and Michael just welcomed their son, David, into the world this evening! I'm still in Canada so I don't have any pictures of him yet. But don't worry, they are coming!

So, since you've been waiting on the edge of your seat for pictures from my travels, here they are (in addition to a video from Brazil). Enjoy!

Outside Courtyard of the Louvre (more Paris pictures)

This is Chambord... one of my new favorite castles :)

Chenanceau - mom reminded me that we were here in 1996, so it was cool to go back!

This is Azay-le-Rideau and it's so beautiful!
(more pics here)

I was in France with mom and her students for a week and had a lot of fun! I've been lucky enough to travel to France quite a bit, but it's been a while since I was able to go outside of Paris. So, while I LOVE Paris, it was fun to see other parts of the country! I think my favorite was St Malo...

It's such a cute little town and it's GORGEOUS!! You can see more pictures here.

The last trip was to Canada for work. We came for our first Upward Leadership Training of the season, but also to help out with the first EVER Ball Hockey Coach Training and Ball Hockey Evaluations. I don't have pictures off the camera yet from those, but I've got some from playing in all of the SNOW when we went to Dave and Meredith's house. It was so much fun although we were all wiped out after sledding and playing for a bit.

Dave and Meredith's house. She is our first ever league director in Canada and this is their farm.

Myrna and me after we went for our run in the snow.

Sledding! Meredith was doing well!

This is me up to my knees in snow. There was SO MUCH of the stuff! And it was beautiful!

God's Power

Some friends of mine, Chris and Emily McGowan, are going through a lot right now with their new son, Cohen. Back in November they found out that their son was diagnosed with Thanatophoric Dysplasia (Emily gave a good definition in this post). Our first prayer was that God would perform a miracle and heal Cohen so that he could live a full and healthy life. The second prayer was that if that was NOT God's will, then Emily would be able to at least hold Cohen before he died.

A week and a day ago, I was about to get on the plane to head to Brazil when Kelly called. She had meant to call Jessica, but hit the wrong speed dial :) But I was glad she did! Emily was going in for her C-section a couple of weeks early and was calling to update Jessica. She told me what she knew at the time, but I got on the plane with a heavy heart and prayed for them all on the way to Brazil. When we landed and I turned on my phone, Kelly's text message had good news!

"Cohen is breathing on his own. Certainly has a form of dysplasia, looking at days, may be able to take him home."

WOW! Our God is a GOOD God! Later that day, we received an email from a guy at work who is also friends with the McGowans and gave more details, praising God for this miracle. As I read the words, tears streamed down my face with all God had done and was doing!

It's been a week and a day and Cohen is between breathing on his own and needing oxygen. He's been taking bottles and eating well too! But, there is still a long way to go. I have no idea what Chris and Emily are feeling or are going through right now, but I know that it isn't easy. It's incredible to watch them cling to our Lord through it all and remember that every minute they have with Cohen is precious. They also know that God is in control and whatever happens, He will be glorified.

My prayer right now is three-fold. One, I pray with all of my heart that God will heal Cohen. He has shown His power and might just by letting Cohen come into this world and be with us for this long. Two, I hope so badly that Chris and Em will see at least a glimpse (if not much more!) of how God is using this. I've already talked to and heard from people who have been touched by the situation and as a result... God's name is being praised! Three, I pray that Cohen will one day know how his life has been used by God :)

Please be in prayer for this precious family. Their older son, Cort, is at his grandparents this weekend. Pray for him too as things are not "normal" for him right now and his little heart may not understand at all what is going on.

They have been good about updating their blog, so keep checking so you can keep praying. Thanks!! http://cortmcgowan.blogspot.com/

from brazil...

My first time in South America has been nothing short of awesome. The land is beautiful, the weather is WARM, the people are friendly and the food is yummy! The only negative thing I've heard from people in Dourados is that I haven't really been to Brazil until I've been to Rio de Jeneiro :) Maybe I can make it there on my next trip down.

on a side note... I just had a conversation with one of the hotel employees and neither one of us understood the other. i KNOW we were having two completely different conversations! lol!

I'll add pictures when i get home...

THE Reason

Have you ever gotten into a rut... with your job, with church, with life? Please say yes so that I know I'm not the only one!!

Anyway, I was there last week. Well, I think I had been there for a while and was in desperate need of some rejuvination. The thing that made me upset though is that I had no reason to feel like I was in a rut! My church is amazing, my friends are wonderful and my family is the best ever. To top all of that off, I have an amazing job that not only allows me to travel the world, but as I do that, I'm able to impact the lives of people for the Kingdom! Hello!! But, even in ministry, it's easy to get into a rut. One thing I have done to try and stay out of that rut is to coach an Upward team every so often. This past fall I coached a 5yr old soccer team (oh la la!) and we just finished our basketball season where I coached a cheer squad (2nd to 5th grade). While the kids could be nuts and were often times hyped up on sugar (or so it seemed), they were adorable (as you can see below) and SO loving.

Well, even with coaching these incredible kids, I found myself in a rut. I was tired, I was anticipating all of the travel that I have during the month of March as well as moving at the beginning of April! But, God used a missionary to Bethlehem and a friend of mine to renew my soul :) Just hearing the missionary talk about how sports can bring the people in Palestine and Isreal togther and how Upward can play a part in that helped me to realize and remember that what I do at my desk each day has an eternal impact.

I've been working on some manuals that we will use in Brazil this week and much of it was mundane... but when I think about how each small task - getting those books translated, working with a graphic artist to lay them out into a printable format and then having them printed - will all fit together and allow a coach in Brazil to teach kids basketball and tell them about Christ, I realize that my life and my job have purpose.

I'm so thankful that these small things are behind the scenes because if I was able to see all that God sees in how my job affects each person who comes in contact with Upward... my head and ego would be too big to fit into a room. I'm not telling you this so that you can see how humble I'm trying to be... I'm telling you this to help you see how BIG our GOD is! I have NO CLUE how God uses each aspect of Upward. But, I'm so glad to hear the stories from coaches and kids and people who are involved in the ministry because that is what helps keep me motivated.

So, if you think about it, pray not just for me and my travels or for Upward and the ministry, but pray for all of those who are reaching the world for Christ. Regardless of your job title, if you are a believer who has a passion to live your life like Christ, then you are a missionary and the world is your mission field. It's a big challenge, but luckily we serve a BIG God.