Journey Archives - Page 6 of 27

Just Love

January 27, 2013 by Logan 18 Comments

Today in Dhaka, we went into a slum. I’ve never been anywhere quite like it.

We got out of the van and immediately the children started to look at us with such curiosity. I decided to quit trying to fit into this place and just be myself. As I was praying this morning before we left, I was reminded that carrying the Kingdom of God and the love of Jesus with me breaks all of the chains that bind. I heard the Lord say to just be the hands and feet of Jesus the way that I know how, so I smiled at them the only way that I know how…ear to ear. Then, they gave this heart of mine a gift and smiled back. Huge smiles…heart smiles…smiles with their mouths and smiles with their eyes.

We entered the courtyard of the school set in the middle of this community, amongst a group of people considered “untouchables” in this country. This is a group of people who are street-sweepers, the lower than low.

The children immediately began to follow us into the school where Food for the Hungry has been working since 1981. They gathered around us and I knew that all I needed to do was to love them well. That would be enough. That is enough.

So with the help of my sweet new friend and translator, Shefa, I began to ask the children questions. I asked their names and ages. What subjects they like. The games they play. (By the way, all of them love cricket and hopscotch most.) One had a backpack carrying books from school. I asked her to show me. She did, and they all gathered around.

They told me how in school they learn how to read and to count. And then they counted to 30 for me in Bangla. I asked if they’d like me to count for them in English and was met with a resounding “Gi, Gi, Gi!” (Yes, ,!) So, I began. By 8 they were all counting with me… all the way to 30 in English! I showed them a picture of my family and they asked questions.

We smiled and laughed and hugged, and they melted my heart. There is nothing untouchable or unwantable about these children. These children are as loving and beautiful as any children I’ve ever seen.

We were called into a briefing meeting and devotion with the staff and teachers of the school. During the meeting we learned that FH has been in this community since 1981, and that before Food for the Hungry came into this slum, the location of the school was actually a trash dump for the entire city.

A trash dump.

In clearing the area to build the school, they even found dead bodies in the midst of the rubble. Dead bodies and trash…with homes full of mothers and fathers and sons and daughters living just steps to the side of death and stench and the stagnant smell of no chance for anything better in life.

Through the sponsoring of childen, Food for the Hungry was able to build a school in place of the pile of hopelessness and to give these people a chance in life. By providing education and care, they are able to get jobs that otherwise would have been completely out of reach.

The staff shared the information with us, but then I saw it for myself. I can read and hear about change in the world (and chances are that perhaps you have too), but what I want you to know is that today, I saw it. I met people and learned their stories. I held hands and sat in homes of people who’s lives have been altered completely because of this program.

It’s not just a program. It’s a chance at living. It’s the provision of hope. I didn’t even realize myself until today that sponsoring a child isn’t just about going to school…it’s about changing everything for them.

We learned that in the 1970’s when Bangladesh became an independent country from Pakistan, during the war of independence, the Pakistanis killed the majority of the intellectuals and highly educated people in the entire country. This is part of the reason that Bangladesh as a whole has struggled, and also a huge reason that education is so important to the future of the entire country.

We met Joseph (a teacher and the headmaster of the school), Sirajul, Menohad, and Esa who are also teachers. Every single one of these men was a Food for the Hungry sponsored child. They were educated within the communities impacted by FH and have grown up to be educators. They all desire to give the same chance to other children that they have had in life.

We sat in the home of Lakshmi and met her daughter Radha.

All 4 of Lakshmi’s sons were sponsored children. Radha also got a sponsor when she was 8. She’s 18 now, and has the same sponsor. They still write one another.

All 4 of Lakshmi’s sons have good jobs; a banker, one in a government office, one with a newspaper, and one in university. Radha wants to be a sociologist, and because of her education, her parents haven’t pushed her to marry too young. Lakshmi’s humble pride in her children’s accomplishments was perhaps one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

Today I was reminded during a devotion that of all the things that I can do or be or say, the greatest is to love.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ²And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. ⁴Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹²For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love . – 1 Cor 13

Faith and hope are something we have, but love is something we give. The greatest thing is what we can give. The greatest thing is love. We love fully and deeply because we are loved so fully and deeply by the Father. And whether I know a language, or understand the culture, or feel comfortable or uncomfortable, I know how to love. I think that has to be why I’m here. I can love people beyond the boundaries of a space or place because I know what love is.

Don’t try to figure it all out or fit in, just love.

Just love.

Be who you are…and just love.

And when you can’t think of what might be next….just love.

And then, the things that felt uncomfortable and scary even just a day before will suddenly all make sense. And the chains that bound, will be broken.

*If you’re interested in sponsoring a child with Food for the Hungry in Bangladesh, which quite frankly is what I’m blatantly asking you to do, please click on the link HERE or on the FH graphic on the top left of my sidebar and it will direct you what to do next. And if you’re not interested, I want to ask you to not think about it in terms of being “interested”, because honestly for us in America, it’s just a little, LITTLE bit of money. I’m learning here, that what matters most isn’t what I find that’s “interesting” to me…it’s not about what I have, but what I can give. And truth be told, we all have enough to give…but for these people, sponsoring a child isn’t just about us giving money… to them, it’s about a chance at really living…to them, it’s just love.

Sponsor a child today?

PS. Once again the pictoral awesomeness is due to Esther Havens photographic awesomeness. To read more about today from my friends, the other FH bloggers,just click on their names to be directed to their pages Lauren, Max, Lindsey, Daniel, Joy, and Esther.

Adventure…Is An Uncomfortable Thing

January 26, 2013 by Logan 25 Comments

We made it to Bangladesh. I traveled almost 40 hours to get here from Greenville, SC to Dhaka. I am very tired. Very. Tired.

From the moment we entered the gate of the Istanbul airport bound for this foreign land, it became very obvious that we’re not anywhere familiar anymore. The women were all wearing the Salwar Kameez, and the men certainly noticed that we weren’t.

I’ve only ever traveled to Western countries. And even in poorer places I’ve been, I guess something about it all has still made me feel myself. In Mexico a few years ago, I spent time in the rural mountains with people who lived in caves yet somehow, I still felt like me. The cultures I have been in are wildly friendly and accepting, and that suits my outgoing personality.

But I have to be honest, since being here, I feel completely outside of myself and any notion of a comfort zone.

We stick out like a sore thumb even when we’ve made efforts to wear our Salwar Kameez and cover up appropriately. People stare. I even made up a term when we arrived this morning…owl-necking. People staring so much that their heads literally turn farther than what seems possible just to keep looking at you. And it feels really weird to be a spectacle. (posing for a picture certainly didn’t help that spectacle-ness.)

We went on a walk around a lake near this part of town after a briefing on the culture and language today, and I spent the majority of it on the brink of tears.

I feel foreign to myself right now. I can’t seem to figure out what the balance is between the natural me and the culturally cognisant foreigner. I kinda fell to pieces when we got back to our rooms.

It feels foreign to be aware of just how foreign I actually am here.

Bangladesh is 85% Muslim, and in this culture, women don’t really engage people they don’t know. They are reserved and quiet until you know them well. The men do most all of the shopping, and so when our team ventured into a really fascinating market, it was even more obvious that we were out of place.

We were definitely the objects of staring and catcalls. I felt completely weird without any appropriate response beyond silence and ignoring some very un-ignorable behaviors. I feel so beyond myself that I don’t quite know how to behave here. It feels like nothing about this personality fits this place.

This culture of people is reserved and quiet. It’s not acceptable as a woman to be gregarious or touchy feely. That’s not who I am…and I don’t know who I’m supposed to be in this place where all that I am doesn’t quite fit.

I’ve been in plenty of different cultures before, but none like this at all. I’m so far out of my element that I can’t quite get my bearings. They told me it’s ok…that this is normal. But nothing about myself feels normal right now.

I guess sometimes an adventure can be an uncomfortable thing.

Sometimes going somewhere may mean that it takes even ourselves a bit to catch up.

Tomorrow we are going to a slum community where Food for the Hungry has been investing for several years. They just recently turned over the running of the school and programs there to the locals. I’m hoping that faces like these will put me at ease.

They just played the call to prayer. It’s beautiful. It echos through the entire city. And while it’s not the belief system that I’m a part of, or a culture that I understand or feel comfortable in right now, I know that there’s something about this place that the Lord will use to change me forever.

*any awesome photo here is from our amazing and talented humanitarian photographer, Esther Havens. Also, to read more stories from my new friends on our team, go HERE and you’ll have a list of each person and web address.

The Adventure

January 25, 2013 by Logan 6 Comments

Sitting on a flight to LA, I can’t help but notice that the man sitting next to me doesn’t appear to speak any English. He talks on his phone, I assume he’s saying a last few goodbyes and I’m on the plane nows, but I don’t really know. I wasn’t listening.

He stows his phone long after they’ve warned for the 5th time to “turn off all electronic devices.” I get nervous. What happens if we don’t? Does it make the plane crash? Does it interfere with the radio signals? Does it mess up the engine controls? I don’t know…but it must do something because they always make us turn them off. He finally puts his phone away, but I’m not sure that it was powered down. Ok Lord…please, don’t let this trip all the way to Bangladesh end just 5 minutes into the air above Charlotte.

I’m sitting in the window seat. Next to me is the man who doesn’t seem to want to engage because we dont’ share a language. Beside him is the guy with Michael Bolton hair circa 1991 and camo pants. Doesn’t look like conversation for my 5 hour flight is going help pass the time.

Bummer.

So I sit and begin to run through my mind all of the things I can do to pass this first, my shortest flight, of this great adventure I’m on.

I reach into my bag and take out some celery. Celery, because I’m so clever that it has extra water in it…surely this will aid in staving off fat swollen feet over the next 24 hours of upright travel. Probably not though since they’re already swelling from the pizza I ate last night for dinner.

The plane begins to shake. The kind of shaking that reminds you that mother nature is capable of snapping like a twig this man-made metal flying box that I’m in. My stomach drops. Tears form in my eyes. I hate turbulence. The plane lurches and jerks seemingly out of control. It tilts farther to my side than I’m used to seeing, and I’m looking down below. “Come on pilots…get control of this!” It’s probably that damn phone.

I contemplate grabbing the hand of the non-friend beside of me in a moment of desperation. And just before I’m forced to make a decision, the air smooths and I’m no longer tossing about like a ducky on the Nantahala River.

I sigh….audibly. Relief.

The man next to me looks and smiles. One of those smiles that says, “it’s going to be ok.” But he doesn’t have words for me because he didn’t know the right ones to say in the right language.

“Las nubes asi me da miedo,” I say to him. I’m afraid of clouds like that.

His eyes light up and he immediately launches into a million questions about where I’m going and where I live. It’s a good thing I really do speak Spanish.

I learn that Jorge owns 15 clothing stores in Vera Cruz, Mexico. He shows me pictures of colorful shops displaying fashionable clothing…his eyes happy to have a friend. Mine must have said the same.

We talk about our homes and what they’re like. We discuss the cultural differences of life in the US…fast paced and career centric versus the slower paced family oriented Mexican culture. Sometimes I envy that. I tell him as much.

Jorge wants to know if I’m stopping in LA. But I’m not, so I tell him that next I’m flying to Istanbul, and from there to Dhaka, Bangladesh. I translate the organization, Food for the Hungry, into “Comida para los que tiene hambre.” There has to be a better way to say that. It’s ok…he gets my drift.

So we talk about Bangladesh and about this land mass that’s smaller than a state. I don’t tell him that it’s not as big as Wisconsin because he doesn’t know where Wisconsin is. He lives in Mexico. I say that I read in one magazine that it’s statistically impossible to be alone in Bangladesh because the surging population to shrinking land area makes it so. There are so many people, that if it weren’t for modern technology and construction, building up is the only way to attempt to escape the masses. I tell him how I read that one man moved his house 30 times in a year because of the monsoons and flooding there. They make their houses in some places to be able to disassemble them quickly when the rains come. Jorge says that he’s never heard of that…and his eyes begin to well with tears.

He asks me about my family. I show him pictures of the 3-year-old Captain America who sleeps just down the hall from me, and the clever 6-year-old who looks like my clone but as a boy. He smiles and says he can see that they are full of personality.

He’s right.

“Are you getting paid to do this?” he asks.

“No.”

“Wow. What a sacrifice you are making.”

“I think it’s an adventure.”

“You will earn your reward some day for this.” he says with a smile.

* * *

We talk for 3 more hours and then I fall asleep.

And when I wake, I have this thought, “What is the difference between a sacrifice to some, and an adventure to others?”

Is it that we think that what we’re leaving behind is so much more valuable that what we’re moving towards? Because I can assure you that what I left behind is the most valuable thing to me in the world.

I pulled away from my house under the cover of a dark early morning, with my husband and children standing on the front door step waving and yelling “We love you Mommy.” Before I’d reached the stop sign at the end of my yard, hot tears ran down my face. I’ve paid so much for them…for those treasures on my front stoop. How can I leave them for this adventure?

Or is the adventure just something that we look at and have some assurance that whatever the costs are, we know they’ll make the forward-going in life that much greater in the end? That this trip, this marriage, that new baby, the foreign adoption, the new business to follow a dream, might just yield higher dividends than what we’re putting up in the beginning?

I’m betting on it….

Bangladesh… Here I GO!!!!

January 23, 2013 by Logan 10 Comments

Oh my words…today is January 23rd. Which means that tomorrow is January 24th. And in case you happened to miss the emboldened text on the picture above, that means that my tootsie is about to head to the other side of the world for a heart-changing adventure of a lifetime.

Ya’ll….I’ve written about it before HERE when I first accepted the invitation to join this phenomenal organization, Food for the Hungry, in another part of the globe. And then I shared about how I had to get a mass amounts of shots and vaccinations (and the fear that Passport Health put into me about the dreaded traveler’s diarrhea) HERE. Then again recently about how my 3-year-old changed my perspective and how the breaking of my heart for this people group has already begun, HERE. But today I’m telling you that the time is now, and my first flight of 3 long ones will begin tomorrow morning.

OH MY WORDS!

So today I’m packing, and snuggling my babes, and loving on my man as I get ready to travel farther than I’ve ever gone to a land that will feel foreign to me.

I’ll learn how NOT to hug the free world there, because unlike in the deep South where I live, touching isn’t so much done. I’ll wear my new TOMS shoes since they’re easy to get on and off when we enter homes, and make a flat spot on my butt since we’ll sit on the floor cross-legged everywhere we go. And I’ll cramp my ankles as I remember to not let the soles of my feet face outward and offend someone. I’ll set aside my fork and knife and learn to eat only with my right hand since the left one is considered unclean. I’ll trade my Western clothing in favor of a Shalwar Kameez every time we’re in public. I’ll spend time with the Lord, make new friends on my team, load up on books, and perfect my solitaire game during the 30ish hours of travel it’s going to take us to get there. I’ll learn that personal space is all relative, because in a country with 1/2 the population of the US in a landmass smaller than Wisconsin, there really isn’t such a thing as “personal space.” We’ll cover the faucet with a towel to remind us not to drink the water, and pray that the Lord covers our health while we’re there. I’ll eat curry and naan and love every single second of the adventure of trying new things.

Perhaps though, the most exciting thing about all of these new ways and ideas though is that this lover of people, gets to do just that! I’ll meet Ritu, our Sponsored Child with Food for the Hungry. We’ll go into homes and connect real, flesh and blood people with this foreign land that’s wrought with poverty, and flooding, and overcrowding.

I’m excited to see firsthand how sponsoring a child with FH impacts the entire community, not just that child. And I love that FH focuses from a missional basis in the parts of the world where children are the most vulnerable and at risk. I’m certain that as a human being, but also as a parent, all of this is going to be really hard to take in and to process. But process I will…and I’ll be doing it right here for you to all follow along.

So join me? Pray for our team? Follow us on Twitter with the hashtag #FHbloggers, and join our whole team for a Twitter party at 8pm EST on Jan 28th to ask questions and to win some amazing local handmade prizes every 15 minutes!

Will you all do me a favor too and leave me some comment love on here while I’m gone? Just to connect to home, to hear the prayers of you my friends, and to connect with you from halfway around the world will do my heart such good!

Some specific things I’d love to ask you to pray for me while I’m gone:

my husband and boys who will be at home without me, to have a peaceful and special time together
the health of all of us (and particularly, I’m gonna ask that you pray that no one on our team gets travelers diarrhea)
safe travel without hiccups or flight delays
good times of connection and bonding within our team
that we would show well the love of Christ to others
that the Holy Spirit would do a transforming work in each of us to know God and love others more because of this time

Thank you friends! I value each of you and am so excited to share this journey with you!

Salaam aleykum (Peace be unto you)

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pan…A New Initiative

January 14, 2013 by Logan 5 Comments

Remember I said I was rolling out a new initiative?!

Well, here it is! The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pan! After I wrote a post about it recently, I’ve been thinking, and the Lord has been birthing a new idea!

So here’s what I’m doing, and I want to invite you all to join along.

Go out and buy a cute 9×13 pan that you don’t care to get back. Make it cute though. HERE is a decent one from Paula Deen for Walmart. for just $20. Don’t just buy a metal pan…part of this is to feel well thought through.

After you buy a pan, make your dinner and double it. Fill the pan with dinner. Now take it to someone.

Now here’s the part that I think will make this awesome. I have 2 pans that I’m starting to circulate. I have a group of about 10 friends or so that I’m going to start one pan amongst. Part of the purpose for this is just to help each other out. I know that we all have days when dinner is about the LAST thing we want to think about. So what if a friend just calls you up and brings you one unexpectedly? I do this a fair amount anyhow, but this time it’s super intentional. Grab a group of friends and plan to start a traveling pan within your group.

I’m also starting a pan in my neighborhood. I know a good many of my neighbors, but there are plenty that I don’t know. The purpose of this pan is to stimulate the growth of community and hospitality within your neighborhood.

There are rules though…so here you go:

When you get the pan, you must send it to someone else within 2 weeks from receipt. It doesn’t matter what you put in it, but it needs to be dinner. If this is in your neighborhood, then I encourage you to take the pan to a neighbor that you don’t know. This way, once the pan is going, you’ll be meeting 2 people who you didn’t already know. And you won’t just be meeting them, you’ll be loving them well!

Also, when you take the pan, I encourage you to start a notebook to go with it. I’ve created some printable 8.5×11 PDF files that I’m attaching below so that you have it all ready to go. The idea is that you keep a guest book of sorts to travel with the pan. Put your name and who you’re sending it to for each journal entry. Write a short note to the recipient on the top of the left page and on the right hand side, include the recipes that you’ve sent them. When they get the pan (or before they send the pan on its way) they write some notes about how the meal encouraged and blessed them.

Here is the journal page PDF that you see above: STP Journal Recipe Page

I think that people will love reading the past entries, and again, it will build community to get to know people better this way! I’d suggest calling that day to let someone know you’re bringing the meal so that it’s a complete surprise. If for some reason, it’s not convenient for them, then just take the pan to bless someone else!

And here’s what I ask of you: Let me know how it goes! Leave comments below on the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pan Page here on the blog, and leave comments too on the Life for Dessert facebook page! Let’s start a movement of blessing and community building one pan at a time!

I’m also going to post recipes and other ideas frequently here too that will make great ones to take for your Traveling Pan! If you ever take soup or something that doesn’t fit in the pan, just make sure you take the pan with the meal so that it doesn’t stop! Who wants to join me? Let’s start a mobile revolution that connects people and loves well!

Make sure to join the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pan on Facebook to share stories, recipes, and more!

Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe

January 14, 2013 by Logan Leave a Comment

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a week…ahh…those darn intentions! They so often don’t cooperate with my actual plans!

For the past week, I’ve been squealing with joy inside my heart! My dear friend Sarah Mae, just released her first published book this past week! And, it broke into the top 100 on Amazon! I’m so proud of my friend because of what she’s accomplished, but I’m probably even more proud of her because of what this book says and means.

Sarah Mae, along with her mentor, Sally Clarkson, are pulling back the veil on motherhood in all of its glories and challenges. Life with small kids is full of joys, but most days it’s also completely exhausting. And God didn’t mean for us to do it alone. He is our strength, but he also calls older women to speak life and truth into younger ones. We’re not alone in this journey called Motherhood, and my friend, Sarah Mae, beautifully shares her story.

“Desperate is for those who love their children to the depths of their souls but who have also curled up under their covers, fighting back tears, and begging God for help. It’s for those who have ever wondered what happened to all their ideals for what having children would be like. For those who have ever felt like all the “experts” have clearly never had a child like theirs. For those who have prayed for a mentor. For those who ever felt lost and alone in motherhood.

In Desperate you will find the story of one young mother’s honest account of the desperate feelings experienced in motherhood and one experienced mentor’s realistic and gentle exhortations that were forged in the trenches of raising her own four children.

It is our prayer that reading Desperate will leave you soul-filled, refreshed, and hopeful.”

I’m putting my stamp of massive approval behind this book, not just because it’s well written and tackles with honesty a subject worth tackling. I’m endorsing this book also because I know the woman behind it. I know her heart, and I know her in honest and open friendship, and I can tell you without reservation that Sarah Mae is the “real deal.”

So run out to your favorite local bookstore and buy “Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe” or click on the book above to pop over to Amazon and snatch a copy. Trust me…you’ll be glad you did.

The Pretty Paints…

January 9, 2013 by Logan 11 Comments

I just have to tell you that my littlest did the sweetest thing today.

I went yesterday to Target to pick up a few things for my upcoming trip to Bangladesh. You know, stuff that’s really important to have with me….Immodium, Pepto, Propel packets, and a new pair of yoga pants for an eternally long 30+ hours of airline travel. (Seriously…almost 5 hrs to LA, then almost 16 to Istanbul, and then another 8 to Dhaka….and that’s just the in-flight time.) I’m pretty sure my new yoga pants will be put to good use. Anywhoo….I picked up a couple of little things to take to Ritu, our sponsored child who I’ll get to meet when I’m in Bangladesh. I didn’t want to get too much or overwhelm her, but what 7 year old kid doesn’t love colored pencils, paper, and some watercolor paints?

My littlest wanted to see what I got to take her. It was actually my kids’ idea to get her a present…they’re gifters, just like their mama.

When I showed him the bag, he pulled out the 8pk of watercolor paints and said “no mommy, you cannot take this.” I thought he was being selfish when he ran off with them.

But then he came back…carrying a his used 16pk watercolor paint box and said “mommy, take her mine because it has even more pretty colors.”

He’s 3 next week. And he gets it. I’m afraid that maybe sometimes, he gets it even better than I do.

You know what I’m nervous about? I’m nervous because once I go…once I see…once I live this journey….I can’t pretend it doesn’t exist anymore. Don’t I wish that I could say that I’m not nervous about how this one trip can change my worldview?!

I know it will. I’m counting on it. But the truth is, that once you really come face to face with the hard reality of life in most of the rest of the world, you HAVE to do something about it. You have to be different. And I’m excited about what that different will look like, but I’m nervous about it too.

We’re just so comfy, cozy here in America…and any other place I’ve ever been is pretty comfy, cozy too. I’m pretty sure that Bangladesh is about to make me abandon that ship called Comfy Cozy and change my life.

Follow along with me? Encourage me along the way as I follow the lead of my 3 year old and learn what it looks like to give away my favorite paints too.

The Wire {We Are Free}

January 3, 2013 by Logan 19 Comments

My kids got a book for Christmas that has had me really thinking lately. It’s called “The Man Who Walked Between The Towers” by Mordicai Gerstein. It’s the true story of a French aerialist, Philippe Petit, who on August 7, 1974 secretly strung a cable between the Twin Towers in New York City under the cover of night, and during the daylight spent almost an hour walking, dancing, and performing tricks a quarter of a mile above the city on that wire.

I’m not that daring. And for that matter, I’m afraid of heights.

Officers rushed to the roofs of the towers.
“You’re Under arrest!” they shouted through bullhorns.
Philippe turned and walked the other way.
Who would come and get him?

For almost an hour, back and forth,
he walked, danced, ran, and knelt in a salute upon the wire.
He even lay down to rest.
The city and harbor spread beneath him.
The sky surrounded him. Seagulls flew under and over.
As long as he stayed on the wire he was free.

In the past 24 hours, I’ve gotten news that my dear friend’s cancer has spread, and then that a 14-year-old girl from within our community at church has taken her own life. My heart is so heavy.

I called my sweet friend, Sarah Mae, this morning in a mess of tears and just cried and grasped for answers that I don’t have. Why do babies die? Why do mommies get sick? Why is innocence stolen? When Lord, will you come?

God has big things swirling in my life right now for the glory of his Kingdom….His Kingdom here and now that he’s expanding more over the earth. I’m a part of these things he’s doing. You’re a part of these things. And, I’m under no illusion that doing great things for the Kingdom makes me safe. In fact, being dangerous for Jesus makes us dangerous to the schemes of the enemy. So when a cloud of darkness starts swirling near me as this year begins, I know it’s meant to make me fearful. It’s meant to make me anxious about leaving my family for 10 days to travel halfway around the world for Kingdom work. It’s meant to make me anxious about Allume details and organizational minutia. It’s meant to strike fear and doubt and trepidation. And in some ways, it does….that much works. My heart beats fast and I get anxious when I think about it all too long.

But I can’t put my head in the sand and ignore it. I won’t allow it to rule me. I won’t let the fear paralyze the work that God has for me to do. I will fight it.

It doesn’t matter what’s over me, or under me, or waiting on the other side. And when I stay on the wire that is strong, and secure, and above it all…when I remain in Jesus….then I am free.

Friends, would you commit to praying for my upcoming trip? Would you pray for a hedge of heavenly protection around me and my family? Would you pray for the families in my community who are struggling right now? My littlest is having surgery tomorrow morning too to have his tonsils out, would you pray over that as well? And would you pray for my focus to be on Jesus? For my heart to remember that my safety and security are found in Him. In Him we are free.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:31-32

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. – Gal 5:1

*Picture credit from the book, “The Man Who Walked Between The Towers” by Mordicai Gerstein; Video: “We Are Free” by Aaron Shust

2013…Dwell in Possibility

January 2, 2013 by Logan 8 Comments

I’m having a moment.

Blogland is ripe with words that people have selected as their word for 2013, and right now, I’m just struggling.

I took the past week off from writing and working in general as my hubs had taken the week off and we busied ourselves with home improvements and family time. It was great. Christmas was relaxing and sweet.

When we were at church on Christmas Eve, I felt like the Lord told me that a sweet couple we know didn’t have plans for Christmas Eve dinner and that He said to invite them home with us. So I did. And, sure enough…they were headed home for their first Christmas at home by themselves to a last minute dinner of crackers. They excitedly joined us with their precious 3 year old girl, and we enjoyed the evening surprisedly with friends. I love how the Lord is looking out for his children like that. It was a great evening.

Christmas day was a good time with just the 4 of us. There was a bittersweetness too since last year, I found out on Christmas day that I was pregnant. In January of last year, 2012 was looking really pregnant with possibility, and so was my belly. 2012 did birth lots of exciting things for me, but as you know, those things did not include a baby.

So the month has flipped and now it’s a new month and a new year. January 2013.

And I keep trying to think of what this next year holds. There’s a LOT to be sure that I’m excited about. I’ve taken on a much larger role with Allume, I’m heading to Bangladesh with Food for the Hungry in 3 weeks, I’ve got a few other exciting projects up my sleeve, and am hoping that we just might get to move into the house of my dreams if we sell ours here soon. I am BEYOND blessed and thankful for all that is going on in my life this upcoming year. But I would be lying through my teeth if I told you I’m starting this year doing an internal happy dance.

In the past 3 days I’ve spent an evening visiting my friend Melissa in the hospital, as the cancer invading her body is causing some new troubles, and I found out that 2 of my dear friends are pregnant with their 4th babies each. Now, don’t hate me for typing obvious bad in the same sentence as obvious good, but for this mama, the pregnancies of others, while a complete joy to me, do bring the hard with it for this heart. This time last year I was pregnant for my 6th time, and my heart still longs for another baby.

There is SO MUCH GOOD around me right now. There’s so much greatness that I know the Lord has for me and my family in 2013, but make no mistake that no amount of good in our lives can completely erase the hard. I continue to learn to focus on Jesus because He is all that is good. And he makes all things possible. And I don’t know what this year will hold for me in the realm of what God makes possible, but I choose….I CHOOSE to trust that whatever it is, it is good. So this year, I think that I will choose to dwell in Jesus…because to dwell in him IS to dwell in possibility.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” – Mark 10:27

Because you know what…sometimes there really is a whole world hidden in a clover and we just have to listen to hear it.

Please if you all would be in prayer for my sweet friend Melissa. She’s a warrior, and even warriors get tired. Moses had people holding his arms up when he got tired….so join me to pray and hold Melissa’s arms up. With our God, ALL IS POSSIBLE!

Move Over Clark Griswold…

December 20, 2012 by Logan 2 Comments

Who doesn’t love Christmas lights?! Seriously…there’s something magical about them. We drive around neighborhoods looking at them, we love Clark Griswold because of them, we are fascinated with them.

When I was a kid we used to go to a whole town that does up their lights for Christmas, McAdenville NC. Ya’ll….it is something to see! But the past few years, we stick around town and go to this one house. Get directions if you’re anywhere in upstate SC to #106 Shearbrook Drive in Mauldin, SC. It is just plain incredible.

I swear half of Greenville County turns out to see this house. They’ve been on the news, in magazines, and all over facebook from locals. It’s just a couple of guys who get seriously into the Christmas spirit, and with the help of family and friends, they go ALL OUT. You park, walk to the house, and then go along the lighted pathway around their house (and into the neighbor’s backyard) where it is the most spectacular Christmas light display I’ve EVER seen. It’s all digitized to music (which changes in different parts of the property.) They serve free popcorn and hot chocolate, have a Santa Claus with candy canes, and honestly, it’s just the MOST fun. They run on donations to cover the cost of a $2600 electric bill for one month, and to help replace lights and add to the display each year.

They love Christmas, and that’s why they do it. With more than 270,000 lights, and over 65 giant inflatables running, these people have to turn off their stove, dryer, indoor lights, heat, and water heater to accomodate the power pull from this thing. AND, they borrow power from a few willing neighbors who love to help make the whole thing possible. The use over 700 extension cords, 17 20-amp breakers, and an amperage meter to keep from blowing up the neighborhood. They start unpacking boxes and decorating in mid-September and spend 2-3 hours per day, in addition to 2 weeks worth of vacation spending 16 hours per day to get it all done.

These guys deserve an HGTV or TLC special. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Check out a few shots and a video that I took.