did you know secular music = singleness?

yup neither did i! but hahah guess what i learned....
i was recently engaged in a conversation with someone of an 'older' generation and to be kind WAY more conservative religious view point than i... and we were just chatin when the subject of music came up... because of my past 'vocation' (you know youth pastor) this person was aghast- shocked- maybe even horrified to find that i listened to secular music. i mean some secular music was okay- like WAY oldies (and i could even agree that i liked oldies but not for reasons they gave) and classical music... other than that all other music should be religious biased ..and best would be be with out instruments.. (okay so you can guess what brand church they go too) so on they go and out comes the best comment I have heard to date for my singleness-- yes ladies and gents... singleness is not a sickness as reported in the past... but instead it is caused by listening to secular music...you see if i would just give up my country tunes... my 80's mixes... my other not christian tunes... well then God would forgive me of all my ills and WOW He would provide my missing spouse.. HUMMMM
It was all i could do not to laugh..i mean yes i agree that we can over do things. i believe that trash in- trash out. i am careful about what i do listen to. but yes, i do like secular music...but i also love christian music...with instruments! i don't' think that because i listen to secular music i am single.. i mean come on... if that were the case most of my Christian Friends would be single. i just believe that God is waiting for the right man..right time..do i wish He would hurry up sometimes? sure.. but other times i am okay with being single... i am in no hurry just to settle.. besides i am not sure that many men could have handled being married to youth pastor liz with the 70-90 hour work weeks that i did with out even blinking an eye.. so with that ..i'm keeping my tunes..and keeping my faith ..i'm loving Jesus.. and when and if the time is right... he will take care of it all! He will drop mr. right down in front of me with yellow roses and a green bow and all will be good! ... but until then...i gonna rock on... and DANCE through this journey we call life..hey you can't dance without music!
so dance on sistas and brothas dance on to the music of your hearts!
dancing the night away,
lizzy

the deprograming and reprograming of lizzy...

well a huge shift of life ... no longer do i spend my days behind a desk at a church but now in a "corporate" office. i am only a few days into my 'new life' (whatever that is to mean) and things are going fine...yest VERY slow! gone are my LONG work days but HERE are my early mornings. UGH! i will admit i always enjoyed the freedom of 'unset' hours- but now i fund myself setting an alarm each evening to mark my rising hours- and WOW are they early. yet gone are the days of evening meetings and late night stuff- my day ents as promptly as it begins- a schedule- what the heck is that? Truly it will take some time to get use too- my body will adjust- RIGHT? can i change my internal clock that believes you can't sleep before 1am and rise before 9am? i mean i can force the wake up...but i can't force the sleep. CRAZY! okay to be fair i have done this before- but it has been a good 13 years! back in the days when i was working for the schools with my deaf students.. but i just am not a morning person.
beyond the shift of schedule is the shift of mindset....i will miss my students... bust not sure i will miss the politics of church work.... you expect it outside the church..but it is always hard inside the church. i look forward to forging new paths and seeing what God lays before me. especially with the mission ministry that he has laid on my heart all these years ago. finally now that i am not working 70-90 hours a week i will have some time to focus in on what it is He is calling me to do.... what it is He wants this to be...CRAZY ...but exciting... He is so big...we are so small... this journey is amazing ...as crazy as it is and as dizzy as we get it is worth each step!
so on with the de/re programing of lizzy!

truly amazing!

i went to see a movie Tuesday night that shook me... a movie that stayed with me into my sleep... all night...i couldn't escape it... i was there inside the movie...really not just the movie but the whole history of what the movie is about....
see long before this movie was made i have known the story because of the years of mission work i have done in the stop hold...i have fallen in love with the area and the people...come to care about the culture so i started researching it years ago to learn all i could not just about who they are now...but where they came from...what their story really is...i had seen a movie years ago...that one haunted me too...it kept me awake at night and tormented my dreams when i did sleep ... that movie...Amistad... and this one? Amazing Grace
both movies speak about the horror that we (yes i do mean we)inflicted on people who we saw as lower- that we cast out and counted and nothing- less than- we claimed them as property- as something that could be bought, traded, beaten, and discarded. we treat them as people- as humans- but as objects...
Jamaica a land- a island... a place i have come to love because of the 11 years of mission work i have done there.. is there because it was a stop-hold for the slave ships... it was a place we.. and others used to sort though the 'good' and the 'bad' ...if you have ever been it is a beautiful place..and i am not talking the resorts- because those are not beautiful- in fact they are a picture of modern day slavery and injustice... not one is owned by the Jamaica's... it is sad...
...
but the movie... amazing grace... wow... it is awe inspiring... one of the best done movies i have seen in a long time! to watch the story of john newton unfold before you.. to hear his tales... to see the pain... to hear the conviction to FIGHT in Wilberforce... I only HOPE i can be that strong in what i believe... when he stands... or sits listening to the still small voice of God speaking calling him to speak on behalf of those who can not speak for themselves...that is inspiring...inspiring today...

God speaks... God asks us to speak for those who do not have a voice... what are you doing? ... i know i am not doing enough and need to do more... i am moved and inspired not just by a movie of things in the past...but by some amazing young men- and now a whole stinking movement Invisible Children and how so many are speaking for so many with out voices... i am inspired by a young man Zach Hunter and what he is doing at only 15 (and he started at 12!- so don't use your age as an excuse!)... what are you doing? what are you going to do? Slavery is real today...in fact more real today than all those years ago... stand up and get a voice! ...you can even link up with the movie at the Amazing Change site.. do it! do something- you have a voice... use it.... oh an if you haven't see the movie... see it.. educate your mind and your heart!

walking with purpose!
lizzy

tis me...well weeme...

yup sounds odd...but tis true...tis me...so here goes it!
yeah... followed the clan from marko's blog.. so enjoy!

what is up with death?

so it has just been one of those weeks...tomorrow will mark exactly a week that my phone rang and the news came...you know 'the news' ..news that no one likes getting... i knew that it wasn't good the moment my dads voice was on my voice mail- you just know it in the 'tone' ... there is the sound that is there at that moment that is not there at any other time... like the time he called because he had just left the vet without the dog he swore he 'hated' .. yeah... he loved that dog.. or when he called to tell me his mom had finally won the fight and gone to dance again (she was bound to years in a wheelchair due to diabetes...i always loved that he said the words she had 'won' as he knew in his heart and in his pain she was no longer in her pain...) or the call i over heard last year on the news his brother had passed....it is that same tone his voice gets that was on my voice mail... so i put off calling him back.. for a few moments ... but only a few.. you can't change what the news will be.. you can only put it off for a moment..

the news? my grandma has take a turn for the 'worse' ... her body is 'shutting down'... it is 'wearing out' .. like a car wears out after it is driven too many miles... or a pair of shoes wears out after you walk to many miles ... or a shirt you love a lot and wear all the time wears out from too much love... her body is 'wearing out' ... or is it? not really.. it seems they think...or guess she might have cancer.. (UGH i'm pretty sick of that word..never have liked it...but it keeps coming up in my life these days) somewhere in her body that is complicating her already sick body (she has had emphysema for almost 20 years) and it just can't take it any more...they don't know how much longer she will make it...it could be days...or months... (I laughed out loud...i did... oops!)

days or months...what is that... "hi i am death...and just wanted you to know you have days...or well you have months..." i guess in reality we all have days...or months... or years.... as not one of us knows...but this seemed so odd to me- to get that call ...with that tone in the voice... and to be told... days or months... we just don't know.. but this is what we do know.....
she has lived....she has experienced... she has celebrated....she has loved...

i was pretty numb wednesday- biblestudy with the kids was kinda a wash that night- we spent time just laughing they did their best to keep my mind off what was before me. I went home that night and just sat on the edge of my bed for the longest time and thought.. about nothing and everything... i had a lot of conversations with everyone and no one... it was crazy... on my side table is a stack of books i am going to and am reading.. there as been this one sitting there since November that I have been meaning to read... but i keep putting it off... mostly because my life just seems to be full of 'stuff' that is too much right now.. and i was sure the book would be more of the same.. but i was drawn to it... but i couldn't pick it up...

thursday i stayed home from work.. i just couldn't do work .... but i finally picked up the book- i read all day thursday...in fact for 7 hours straight my first stint went- .... it was like the book was meant to be read right now...at this moment... i finished it in 2 days.. 21 hours of reading... little sleep in-between... it is the most real book i have read in a long time. if you haven't read it yet... you need to- the authors are to real... and raw....they share from their hearts...from their own stories of hurt and pain...from their own personal experience of death and sorrow.. and just when you think you can't breath...you find yourself laughing because it is written like only they can... with their strange yet amazing humor!... and it has some of the most amazing and interesting facts you could ever want...and somethings that will make you go.. 'huh?' ... and a lot of questions will be answered that you never knew you had... or maybe you did that you were afraid to ask... what about your soul?... where does this all fit into what was and what will be?... how do i explain this to others....and dang it how does this all relate to bluegrass?....okay so maybe you were not lucky enough to be raised on the sounds of bluegrass and country music... but for those of us who were the ties that binds ... they were great... so to the great authors Crowder and Hogan.. THANK YOU... and if you haven't yet... go out and get it... "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven But Nobody Wants To Die" by David Crowder and Mike Hogan... it is worth every moment spent reading and even every tear shed... enjoy!

it just 'icing' on the cake...

okay so it is a first....
it actually happened!
i never thought i would live to see the day that it did....
....but yes today, for the first time in my 33 (almost 34 years of life) ...
I actually work at ...and am a member of a church who was closed on Sunday.
Yes...you read that right! this morning at about 7:18 my cell phone rang to inform me that we would not be holding church services. i was shocked. i thought surly i was hearing things wrong. i mean come on...i grew up in wyoming and i don't ever remember our church being closed (i mean i remember a few sundays when hardly anyone was there and i wondered why we had braved the snow covered...ice slicked roads..but we were there and the doors open) ....and when i lived in Winter Park, Florida and we had our first (of what would be 3 direct hurricane hits) we didn't close our doors once (still not sure i agreed with the first one- i didn't make it to church that sunday due to the fact the family i was with had HUGE trees in their yard and i had just surrivived one of the scarriest nights of my life...my Pastor was not so happy with me...but he was rarely happy with me...I loved Jesus too much and didn't believe in kissin the butt of deep pockets- but i digress) ....but today i recieved the phone call that shocked me... yes we were closing our doors. NOW let me go on record... lots of churches closed their doors- all over- it is a little thing called....ICE... and it is interupting life as we know it in central texas.... for me it is baffeling- in Wyoming this wouldn't scare off a first grader trying to learn how to ride their new bike..but let me tell you as some one who learned to drive on streets of snow and ice..even i don't like sharing the road with texas drivers on icey roads....so i took the news in stride.... turned off the alarm...and went back to bed....ahhhh zzzzz land... woke late had some breakfast.. read a little and just enjoyed my day. but 2 days in my little house that has more holes than walls is too much....so here i am at the before mentioned closed church.... sitting in my nice warm office....feeling a little guilty for leaving my dogs to fend for themselves in my cold house.....i have a space heater in the bathroom and bedroom- but well i don't trust them alone with them on... but they have built in fur coats right? oh well...for now i am gonna go brave walmart..hahaha bout the only time you can go...no one will be there...they are too scared to come out in this ice stuff! THANK YOU MR. ICE STORM! .... i hate my cold cold house...but i love an empty walmart!!!!!!!!!

5 things you don't know.....

okay so this is OLD and long time coming my good buddy ...heck i would call her a best friend (do you still have best friends in your 30's....sure you do) mindi tagged me (is that what you call it?- ugh i am so lame!) so here goes... 5 things you don't know about me....
1. SHOES! as much as i brag that i am not your typical girl... that i don't like to shop or spend HOURS getting ready--- i really really can't stand my friends who spend hours upon hours getting ready to go somewhere .... i do have a LOVE for shoes... but... and this is a BIG BUT i will go on the record saying my shoe collection is NOT full of spiky heels and pointed toed insaned things that people (girls) claim to call shoes...and some (like my afore mentioned buddy above) LIE and say "i know they don't look like it---- but really these 90" extreme elf-pointed toed jimmi-choos are comfortable" WHATEVER! ...so anyway here is my count- yes it is a sickness and i will go i record- i did downsize in my last move:
Birkenstocks-17 pair (i only paid full price for 1 pair (my first pair) all others have come from an outlet....which make them so affordable... or as gifts...still it does make me a little sick-i use to own 27 pair..i donated 10 pair in my last move) Chocos- 3 pair- Crocs- 5 pair- in 5 fun colors of course, 3 pair of cowboy boots- 2 pair lace up ropers, 1 pair custom boots that i got as a high school grad gift in 1991 (see good shoes last people!) one pair of Italian shoes that my students call my 'bowling shoes' umm no... too good to bowl in... but so fun... don't wear them enough.. a few pair tennis shoes...fun ones...not like lets to go the gym...but these are stylin' and then 1 lets go to the gym and do some damage... and well then i have 5 or 6 pair of flip flops.... i think that may be all... man i hope so...this list is making me sick... YIKES... and to think this is down size...
2.I'm a deep thinker/analytical/have the gift of discernment: yeah yeah yeah... call it what you want... this surprises lots of people but i am a thinker.. i spend lots of think thinking about things- people -situations-things i can change- things i can't- things God has put on my heart- things He wants me to be a part of... see my strongest spiritual gift is this thing called Discernment- which many people when they give me the quick once over would never guess that- but it is there...and i try to be really faithful with it... but another friend of mine Greg, she also has the Spiritual gift of Discernment...and if you have this gift you understand...it is tough sometimes... it is one of those spiritual gifts that you at times want to throw your hands up in the air look up and go "seriously?".... i mean i don't...but there are time... wow... but i am a deep thinker... people just don't get me the credit... i think it's the hair... or maybe it's the tattoos...or both? or maybe it's the job?????
3.Speaking of Tattoos...some of my friends that read this will not like number 3....sorry... but okay for some of you you are also gonna say duh and say that number 3 doesn't count... i told you that this is hard... okay so i want to get a few more tattoos.. i know i know... some of you are rolling your eyes saying NO, DON'T, you can't....blah blah blah we can debate this later...but here are the 3 i really want to get... don't know if i ever will...on my left wrist under my watch band (so really just for me) i want to get a tattoo in Hebrew that reads "love the Lord with all your Heart, Soul, and Mind (from Duet) coming from where it says to inscribe it on your foreheads (don't want a tattoo on my forehead) and left hand. then i have a picture of my dad and i from when i was like 2 or 3 of us on the beach in cali it is us from behind walking in the surf. I would love to have that somewhere on me... with my dad's and my birth dates on it... and then a snowflake with a cross as the center with my mom's and my birthdates on it (mymom is a HUGE snowflake person) ... i am addicted to miami ink i record it every week so i don't miss it... i would KILL to have one done there i have even down loaded the application... now it is just coming up with the money and then getting accepted...well and filling out the application..i guess i never think i'll get picked anyway!
4.I always wanted to really be a Neo-Natal ICU Nurse: so from the time i was little blood, guts and the thrill of a hospital was my draw... one problem.. my brain! yup little issue called dyslexia and well an adversion to MATH thanks to the dyslexia and well that wasn't in the cards. I did the EMT deal and would love to go back and get the cert again as I LOVED riding in the ambulance and working the er...even just for weekend call and such....man! i don't know if it was all the time i spent in the hospital as a child or what...but i never freak out in those situations... never have.. you can have blood and guts every where and i am calm and in control- yet put me in a room with a bunch of over educated adults and tell me to explain how to make a a paper airplane and well i am not a happy camper... it always cracks me up to hear my friend Janice talk about a road trip i made with her one day to pick up her grand kids- we happened up on a really bad accident and i just went into action doin my thing- she was so amazed that i knew what to do..it was old hat for me...i love when old things we have done in the past come back and God can use it to bless someone... it was very useful that day for that girl...
5. I dream big, often, and believe!:so i can't so i always say that i know i had great parents..because like most teens i went though stages where i thought they were bad...horrid...awful...whatever...but i really did have amazing parents... WHY? because they taught me to dream...and to dream big... not only that they taught me to believe in my dreams..because my dreams were placed there by God and God alone...and in every dream was a possibility and in every possibility an adventure and in every adventure a new experience and in that experience growth from that growth would come wisdom and from wisdom would come knowledge and from knowledge would come grace.....see how this goes... I WAS and AM BLESSED! i still remember my 2nd grade teacher mrs smith calling my mom and telling her that i spent too much time 'imagining' things and they needed to teach me 'reality'- i'll never forget over hearing my mom telling her that children grow up too fast and my imagination was just beginning- that my dad and her couldn't wait to see what doors God opened up. that night my dad as he tucked me in to bed with is nightly ritual of a bed time story, a bible story, a kiss on the forehead, nose, and chin his 'you are the prettiest princess in all the world in both your Father's eyes' turned on my night light 'may the Son rise to greet you in the morning' turn off my big light looked at me and said something along the lines of 'hey mago tonight dream extra big- God's got big possibilities for you- no matter what teachers or other big people tell you- you are special- let those dreams get as big as He wants them to be- they are just possibilities waiting to happen.' ..... so I still dream big... and right now... my biggest dream? is simple really... "Mission Dreams" ... a new look on how we do short term missions- really it isn't a new look it is going back and refocusing and revisioning how we are approaching short-term missions- how that gonna work? don't know yet... it's just a dream...but here is the amazingly cool part..it is not my dream...it is God's...He put it there! Dream with me....and PRAY!

who is Jesus for you?...

okay so umm disclaimer... these are my notes from the sermon on 24 december 2006 that i promised from my last post- so take note these are MY notes. meaning a. this is what my brain took in b. this is MY brain we are talking about c. you get my filters d. i may have missed a lot- i can be a little ADD e. i may have added something-often when someone is preaching i will have a thought and go off on something- i will try to say if it is my own thought (if i can remember or not) ... lastly- you can so go to www.stonegatefellowship.com and get their podcast or just listen to this message- it is so worth it- their Pastor- Patrick Payton is a great communicator... okay onto the message:

~Who is Jesus for you? during the Holidays and always?
~What are you doing, or are you going to do with who Jesus is this Christmas season?
~Is He just your Holiday Savor?
3 questions to really think about

What kind of Jesus do you worship/have in your life?
1. Holiday Jesus: you take him out when it's 'okay' (you might be a 'Christer') he's just always 'baby Jesus' - Get with it Jesus is REAL AND POWERFUL--- or is he just a plastic figure you put up in your yard or a cute little figure in your nativity at home?
2. Football Jesus: You find someone to hand him off too when he gets to be too much- the responsibility is more than you signed up for- or just isn't so 'cool'
3. LasVegas Jesus: You want something for nothing! You give him a token buck or ten of your life but you want the million dollar pay off- or the "what happens in church stays in church" I show up and do my part, but don't expect my outside life and church life to collide. - think about it: can you buy and manipulate God? God knows your heart!
4. Social Jesus: not too much, not all the time, not too loud, don't want to really 'hear him' you want him to be 'just like you' drive the same car, dress the same, etc. FACT: He is NOT just like us: He asks us to be like him. 'Be Holy as I am Holy...'
Our Hope and our Goal~ but be careful--- do a gut check should be that:
Jesus is King- Ruler- Lord- Master of my life... (lizzy can you say this? in all areas...loudly? boldly? what areas are maybe dull? what areas do you not feel that you can boldly proclaim? you can't proclaim it in only part of your life...it is an all or nothing deal... that is the problem so many times people want to say okay but only in part a and c of my life the rest is mine... i want to make sure i can say it and say it boldly in all parts of my life where am i not saying it boldly and best? how can i change that? ... ask Him to show you and don't wait...)
"I've come that you may have life ....." "you must lose your life..." "take up your cross...."
FACT= You can't have Christmas without Easter... or think about it...Christmas would be pretty meaningless really... okay...so you would have the virgin birth but that about it...another birthday that for some odd reason lots and lots of people celebrate for years after the person passes... think about that for a few and then it hits you...more pastors need to clue into this on Christmas i think...that my humble opinion... okay back to Patrick's message
From the cradle to the cross (oops that is mine too) with out the crucifixion we are fools (understatement) we are just a bunch of people who celebrate something that happens every day (birth) so....is he REALLY your KING? is he King of your speech? Money? Job Change? thoughts? Actions? are you following the small voice that speaks to your heart and soul?
is He your King? Yes? What does that look like???
well?????
let me know would love to talk about it some!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHRISTmas message i always wanted....

so i have been putting off posting this... trying to figure out how to put this in words and realized it wasn't gonna happen till i just sat down and did it! so here it goes:
okay so this year was kinda a strange Christmas for me- first time to not be with family- and for being 33- it is kinda odd- okay no lie- it was ROUGH- and to be really honest- i mean why lie now- i wasn't really looking forward to Christmas eve services. i mean lets get real.
you go to church on Christmas eve and you get these feel good baby Jesus messages, light candles, sing songs, go home, go to sleep, get up and open way too many gifts- really we have things a little- okay A LOT messed up.
so this year being what it was, i was really not so hip on going to hear a ho humm happy go lucky message- now i will say that i was expecting a pretty good sermon from the church i was going to in the morning as the i really like and respect the pastor at the church- but i wasn't sure how much he would 'bring it' being that it was Christmas morning at all and they were not doing Christmas eve services- just morning services (which can i go on record and say AMEN! why do it twice in one day if you are gonna do it right the first time...and they did btw..more on that in a min) so i get up and go to meet my friends at church....
it was tougher than i thought to be at church- didn't help that i was sitting between two of the sweetest people in the world (frances and charlie) and when the singing started up he sounded just like my dad- a little off key (sorry charlie... love ya baby) but sang with heart and JOY! so i got a little teary... but pulled myself together...music over- pastor comes up to give the message- i get my bible out and my journal ready to take some notes- thinking 'will i have something to really 'chew on' this week?' - and this pastor gives the CHRISTmas sermon i have been wanting for years. in fact it was a message i have said in some ways to people before- i am sure some people sat there a tad bit uncomfortable- it is okay- sometimes we are spose to be uncomfortable at church. I was once told if you are too comfortable at church you must be asleep or at the wrong church- but i digress- so this message-- it was amazing- it was not your feel good lets get baby Jesus out and put him in the manger...NOPE! it was the yup it's Christmas- but what are you gonna do with this gift from now on... because reality is with out the resurrection- Christmas really wasn't that exciting... you HAVE to have the whole story... WOW... i will blog more about his message in my next post...but i want to give you a little contrast...so in the morning i get this AMAZING message-- then that night I go to church with the family i am staying with for the 6pm service and what do we get? a pastor who prays we find Manger power (i still haven't figured that out yet--- what the HECK is manger power? is it like what Superman has when he can stop a moving train? but it is holy? don't get that...is it something you can wrap and put under a tree for your unsaved friends? cause that is kinda what it sounded like...CRAZY) and then made the statement that the Trinity teaches us that we need to be in community as God himself was lonely as he created 3 of himself.. I sat their confused ... thinking surly i misunderstood him- so i waited for church to be out- and asked the college aged daughter of the family i was with if i wrote down the quote right. she said she heard the same thing. I still hope I am wrong- if not- that is some confusing theology- ahh GRRR welcome to some crazy preaching... so more on the great message in the next post

a christmas meme? whatever that is...

okay so someone sent me this in a 'tag' which i am still confused about...and i am kinda tardy...but it isn't new year's yet so i figure i still have time! so here it gos....
the Christmas meme:
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Chai please as egg nog is gross and I am allergic to chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Santa wraps…but Santa still comes…so life is good!
3. Colored Light on Tree/House or White? white on tree…don’t care on the house
4. Do you hang mistletoe? no reason to
5. When do you put your decorations up? haven’t put them up the last few years…for various reasons
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? prime rib with Yorkshire pudding…. if not with my family then sweet potatoes
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? my green push peddle frog car that I got when I was 5. I grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming- so I spent the first 3 months of ownership driving it in my basement- but man was it awesome. I think I even ate Christmas dinner sitting in that thing- would have slept in it had they let me.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? truth about Santa? you mean that he is a really busy man on Christmas eve and so we have to leave cookies and lactose free milk out for him? yep got that memo!
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yep- Jammies! and they always match my siblings
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? with special-ness of course….how else?
11. Snow. Love it or dread it? hate it----well kind of…just cause it caused me not to get to see the fam this year…stupid closure or DIA for 3 days! GRRR
12. Can you ice skate? heck no
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? see #7
14. What’s the most important thing about Christmas to you? Celebrating the birth of our Savior…spending time with family and friends….blessing people for no reason with out getting caught
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Snickerdoodles
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? tomato rice soup and cheese rolls on Christmas eve before going to Christmas eve service…or our 8 hour hearts or Mexican-train playing on Christmas day as a family
17. What tops your tree? a star
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving.
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? umm if I can only pick one- O Holy Night
20. Candy Canes. Yuck or Yum? Yummy- but only in SMALL amounts!

please pray....

today i recieved one of those phone calls that you never want to get. my dear friend Bud (pictured here with his grandson j.p. in august) found out on december 21st that he had a brain tumor- he had surgery today- it went well- but the news is not so great- it is cancer and it is gonna be tough- i don't have all the details yet- but that is of little importance anyway- i just wanted to ask you all to pray: pray for his recovery from surgery, for wisdom of his doctors from this point forward on which direction to go, for his wife Cozy, daughters Brandy and Toni (their husbands Pete and Travis) and for grandson J.P. (he is too little to understand what is going on-just that gpa-bud is not up playing) ... the road ahead will be a long and tough one...but with prayer it will be one that will be more managable....
thank you.....
for His renown alone!
lizzy

somethings just don't go as you plan....

so some of yall dream of a white christmas? well maybe you dreamed too much! so much so that it snowed and snowed and snowed in colorado and wyoming to the point that denver international airport was closed for 2.5 days.... so what some of you say...so what means that some 5600 people were stranded at DIA.... so what means that flights all across the US were all messed up... and so what means that for the first time in 33 years i will not be spending christmas with my family....it is crazy. ya know it would be a tad different if it were my choice. it would be a tad different if say i were on a mission trip serving others doing something of meaning- but nope it is just that i can't get to them....well i could--- you see southwest could get me rescheduled onto a flight on the 28th that would get me to denver on the 28th at 7pm which would get me to my parents at 9pm that night and my sister and dad have to leave for denver on the 30th as they have to be at dia on the 31st at 430am for a 615am flight...so you see...in reality...it really isn't worth the flight to see them for a day... grr all that white christmas....infact as i am typing this right now....on the radio that song is playing- i have never ever wanted to throw a radio across a room until now....... but no i shall resist...
so what shall i do?
i am back in midland... i am blessed...i do admit that - am not like so many people who don't have people to spend the holidays with- i have amazing friends who are more like family then many people who have family they wish they didn't have. so i am in midland with my second family- my God family- as we use to call ourselves when i lived here- I will make the best of it...and maybe this is what God wanted for me--- maybe there is something that is spose to happen- maybe there is a blessing here that I don't know- but there is a sadness too of not being with my dad right now that is tough as well... so for all of you that are with your famlies...enjoy it... love them and love them well... don't fight over the stupid stuff and love even the yucky hand made shirt that don't fit...because there are many people who can't be with family- our men and women who are fighting for our freedom and the freedom of others.... people who have no family left- or whos family don't want them or don't understand or claim them... their are people who are not free to celebrate this wonderful day of the birth of our Saviour we get to celerate... wherever you are... whoever you are with- REJOICE and GIVE THANKS...

okay... with that... i am off to find my happy place...
be blessed and bless someone for no reason but to bless!
lizzy

join me in a journey in africa and PRAY!

my friends vernon, amber and titus burger are in sudan, africa where they will be in ministry until january 13. they have an amazing ministry in sudan to orphans and widows and those living in the villages and even out in the bush. they are joined this season by a small team as well. you can read about their amazing journey and hear about more specific ways to pray by visiting their blog at www.sudanskids.blogspot.com please join me and others in praying for them and with them for the orphans and widows in sudan and for the many people they will meet during their journey in sudan this season. their ministry is a unique and amazing ministry- and they are truly anointed and blessed to be apart of this ministry. won't you join me and others in praying for them? check out their journey...join their journey- PRAY!
as always be blessed to bless
and enjoy the journey in africa
lizzy

blessings come from the strangest places...aka...a view from the interpreters platform day 3 pt.2

so blessings truly come from the strangest places at the oddest times sometimes. today we took a few moments to go through the exhibit hall. if i am honest i usually avoid it--- so often i feel asulted when i go in there- you walk passed a booth and 5 people jump out and start talking to you all at once or you are walking by and things are shoved at you.... i am a simple shopper--- always have been. i like to look- i look 2 or 3 times then if i want to try something on i will- and to top things off i don't like large crowds in small spaces- so it is kinda a hard mix for me..... but today it was different because it wasn't for me..i was there for me- so in we go... we went to look for media presentation options- we stopped at media shout- it took awhile for anyone to talk with us (that was kind of surprising) but finally they did.... we looked at the program and asked the questions that needed to be asked and headed over to check out easy worship- it was time for their give-away of the day so we got tickets and waited though all that then vchurches was doing their deal...it was MADHOUSE...that was one of the things that drives me nuts....i will live without a ipod seriously....YIKES...so Judd gives up on the give-aways and goes back to easy worship to talk to them about the program to ask some questions. we wait to talk to this guy and ask the questions that he had. anyway- it was what was spose to be as Judd and his ministry with Deaf teens was richly blessed today by Easy Worship- when the guy heard about the ministry of Deaf Teen Quest and Judds ministry he wanted to bless the ministry with the program. it was truly a great gift for Judd and the ministry- and it was awesome to be there...that was worth the journey into the crazy world of the exhibit hall.....Thanks Easy Worship!!!!!!!!!

so tonight we had a break from interpreting so i sat in the green room and just soaked in worship and the message- it was nice just to sit and listen and take things in. starfield was truly amazing- wow. their sound is great- but their lyrics are truely anointed by God... they are so rich and full- beautiful. Mike Pilavachi gave the message tonight- he is amazing. I was transformed by his message 2 years ago in atlanta when he spoke. i was in such a dark place with my church at the time. they had told me right before i had left for the convention that the pastor might have it out for me...so i was in a desert place- felt like shattered glass that can't be put together again. his message that year was about being in the desert and finding water again....for me it was realizing that my shatterd glass self is shatterd sea glass--- ya know tumbled smooth in the water of the sea...or the water of his hands...anyway...i have held onto that message since then....i recall it often... so i was looking forward to tonight so much. ...tonight to no surprise he met me again right where i am- again i find myself in a place that is at times uncomfortable- and sticky. a place that is not exactly how i would like it. but God has me where he has me for a reason for a season and he will lead and let me know when and how. I am called to trust.....and if i get too ahead and sure ...he will let me know...it is called HUMILITY....Mike has this way of speaking softly and beautifuly over you that you dont' soon forget...it is amazing.

with that my brain is over full.... my body is tired...my arms are so weak they want to fall off and my left ear is STILL ringing from TFK....ugh.... but can we just say....what a day....what a day to stand with 4,000 other youth pastors....4,000 Jesus lovers just lovin him back....

walking with arms outstreached...
lizzy

views from the interpreter platform pt3....halfway through day 3...right?

so no picture today because i am not on my computer...i am on a borrowed one right now but while i have 15 min to stop and just be i thought i would just stop....take a deep breath and collect my thoughts and share them with yall....

so brenda salter mcneil was the speaker this morning...and well to simply sum things up...she brought it! oh yes...wow! She preached on Jer.1- on how we are losing our identity in God and that causes us to lose sight of ourselves- it was so right on. she shared a clip from 'the lion king' and how simba losing sight of his father is the same as us losing sight of God- our Father- that if we look- REALLY look inside ourselves we will find our Father- He is there inside us- why? because we are part of the Creator himself...it was a beautiful message- a beautiful way to connect two stories- wow...that is forsure a convention cd that i am going home with- AMAZING! This morning was also our last time with the guys from dc*b- it was as usual amazing- they bring such an energy and feel to worship that is amazing...our deaf friends have enjoyed it so much... i do look forward to our time with starfield as well- just this time and place to be and soak in is amazing- and hey KUDOS to alex, marko, tic and the crew of ys for being so awesome to work with ....the deaf with deaf teen quest have been so blessed this year....and are looking forward to a relationship growing over the years.

on a fun side off the platform- we met a guy Doug from indiana- hearing guy that has a heart for deaf teens- not cause he can sign or anything- but because he sees a need and sees that so few people are reaching out- i knows about deaf teen quest- so anyway long story short instead of eating lunch today i talked with doug about youth ministry, deaf youth ministry, passion and life...it was well worth not eating a real meal....besides who am i to complain when people don't get to have meals at all....so i will sit and talk over eating any day....especially when it is convos like that...
okay interpreter duties call...need to get set lists etc for general sessions.... the job never ends...but i love it.....

oh hey ask marko about the belly dancers...i have pictures that i will share later

walking to the road that leads somewhere ....need directions? humm
lizzy

NYWC day 2.....views from the interpreter platform....pt 2

wow what a day. i am beyond tired. as i sit in my bed i dream only of crawling under the covers and falling asleep- yet i am at the point that i am so tired that my body is beyond the ablity to sleep....CRAZY...but yes it happens.
today was a FULL day- beyond what you would expect- okay maybe not. we had 2 gs- phil visher from veggie world past was in the first gs with us- amazing! talk about a humble and gifted spirit. his message was very full of grace and mercy- had this underlining of forgivness- beautiful really. of course we had some fun stuff in gs1 as well- jared hall- great stuff- fun to watch...and tic, marko and jeanne (the new kid on the block) did a great job setting up the week...well the conference for us.... thousand foot krutch was the 'mini concert' umm wow...'interesting' is really all i can say there- it was truly too hard to understand to interpret and my new deaf friends decided to leave so we bailed on that one- we couldn't understand it at all- CRAZY... but of course my FAVORITE moment personally was getting to interpret worship with the guys from dc*b- the music is such a connecting point for all of us- a way for all of us to be together as one- they did my favorite song to sign- 'you are my joy'...the way it goes from song to sign...the meaning behind the words...for me i get this feeling that just builds up inside me....and last year i had a great experince with one of the guys that is here again this year over this song- anyway- just the experince and opportunity to interpret worship- yet then marko pulls one on me and makes a coment on about watching me sign....it is one of those things...it is kind of uncomfortable to sign a coment about yourself...anyway...it was a anointed moment---- the worship time...

enter gs 2 donald miller...and i must make a confession- i have not always liked everything i have heard donald miller say- i have read his books- liked 80% of what i read- but sometimes get frustrated wondering if he realizes the impact he has on young adults/college students because of conversations i have had with some of my students...and some of the scewed ideas they have that they have gotten from donald miller.....yet after tonight.....he has gained so much more of my respect back....okay confession over......
so tonight...interpreter world got fun work out.....my interpreter friends got to sign for the horn guy...did yall see him before at NYWC? or hey americas got talent? yeah ...that was funny.... and well building 429... again intresting... ROCK AND ROLL baby! hahaha and then we got to meet Linda the 'fly in' which is always one of my favorite things- i love that YS takes time to hear stories and bring people here for conventions that wouldn't be here other wise...it is always fun to hear their stories... it was fun to see a video and get that connection-and well to hear stories of their ministry and life...but umm i think i could have lived with out the 'spin cycle' story...laundry will never be the same...humm
dc*b brought it again- hoe-down and all! woohoo! it was so fun and amazing. it was great to sign a song i grew up on....go wyoming! haha my dad would be so proud...if it wasn't so late i would call him....hahaha...
lastly...donalds message- WOW! i could listen to it a few more times there was so much to soak in. (and well interpreting takes so much out of you that my brain was about gone by then) he had some great things to say and to really think about. about where we have been and where we are going as the church...and our motive about why we are doing it....very amazing. i also really appreciated his honesty and being so real and raw. he wasn't ashamed....he didn't appologize for what he was saying.... he didnt' hide behind his message ...yet he also didn't get in the face and shove it either.... so much tonight i kept saying 'amen' ....'amen' ..... so okay.... i agree more than i thought....Thank you donald for a great message that i will spend more time with in the days to come....thank you for challenging me...

and with that my hands..my brain....and my eyes need to REST.....
off to ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
enjoy the journey
lizzy

day one (really 3) NYWC...a view from the interpreters platform

so it is day one...of the madness that is the nywc...i love it....but have to admit i am already so drained! not a good way to start the convetion time off...but i have faith that i will be back to my super go go self soon. i arrived monday night to help begin set up tuesday as part of the vol team- this year i am heading up the interpreter team as cincy is serving as ys's 'Deaf friendly' convention. we have 3 deaf youth workers coming and i am stoked to be working with them and the other interpreters. chris and stacey are back this year as interpreters and judd who was here last year is back...it will be GREAT fun....we are not interpreting any CCC which i must admit with how i feel right now is SO okay with me.....for now i am just running around helping out where I can...getting set lists....checking lyrics to make sure we know what it is they are really saying....making sure rooms are set for the seminars that they will be in....working with the artists and speakers so they are comfortable with working with interpreters in their seminars and doing whatever else i can to make things run as smoothly as i can for the great folk at ys...i tell ya i have worked with a lot of organizations through the years and ys has really stepped up to the plate to make this a great experince not only for all the hearing youth workers fixin to converge (and who are and have converged) on cincy...but they have done an amazing job to make sure that the 3 Deaf youth workers coming have just as great as an experince as everyone else....hats off to ys...especially alex who has been working behind the sceens with me on this for the last few months...wow....ys cares....but we all knew that...okay....enough...back to work....i have taken my 15 min brake now.....the whip is being cracked :-) hahaha see yall in cincy....come down front and say hey to us!

enjoy the journey....and hey if you have extra socks...yeah i didn't pack any and my feet are FREEZING....DANG!
Be blessed
lizzy<><

One Word.....

You can only use one word...
Not as easy as you may think.
1. Yourself: Freak
2. Your girlfriend/boyfriend: imaginary?
3. Your hair?: funky
4. Your mother?: teacher
5. Your Father?: best-friend
6. Your Favorite Item: none
7. Your dream last night: painting
8. Your Favorite drink: chai
9. Your Dream Car: xtera
10. The Room You Are In: hotel
12. Your fear: dark
13. What you want to be in 10 years: willing
14. Who you hung out with last night?: joe
15. What You're Not?: famous
16. Muffins: scone?
17: One of Your Wish List Items: missions
18: Time: 9:50
19. The Last Thing You Did: email
20. What You Are Wearing: jammies
21. Your Favorite Weather: warm
22. Your Favorite Book: Starving Jesus
23. The Last Thing You Ate: Mexican
24. Your Life: insane
25. Your Mood: yeah…
26. Your body: pain
27. Who are you thinking about right now? students
29. What are you doing at the moment?: “House”
30. Your summer: interesting
31. Best part of your life: Jesus

fighting the let down....

after a big weekend it always happens. never fail- the let down. slam! whap! smack! right in the face it hits. this past weekend was our last youth sunday of the year- and one of the best we have done. but it was also the one i put the most hours of work into as well. WOW- 67 hours from wednesday morning until saturday night- it was crazy- but so so worth it really. the students did an amazing job. the sanctuary looked amazing- i really believe we got the message across that i felt God wanted us to get across...now the question is did it sink in? did people listen not just with their ears but with their hearts? and if they listened with their hearts...what's next? because you see if they listened...i mean really listened things should start happening- rancid water should become a thing of the past.....but you see that is the challenge...the problem. so manytimes when the youth get up to lead worship people think it is just so 'cute' and 'precious' ....so did they really listen- because i can tell you the youth ...they got it...they understood the point of the message- we spent a month really unpacking and talking about what it was all about- time will only tell....so here is the question we asked...."what does your heart beat for?" what is it that God uniquly created you to do and what are you going to do about it? ....
with that...i am off to my prayer corner...gots a heavy heart right now
lizzy

stand up.....stand up for what you believe in....I believe in GOD!

so it has been a wild week. and a week full of short sleep and crazy dreams. do you remember your dreams? i must say i am one of the lucky- or sometimes unlucky ones who remembers almost all my dreams. but this past week i have been having this same dream almosty every night. a little bit of it changes....but it is the same one.....and it sarts with this little cartoon sarting Veggies....HELP!
VeggieTales were first introduced to me when i started in full time youth ministry back in 1997 in walla walla, washington where they thought it would be fun to EVERY summer host Veggie Town VBS...don't get me wrong. the children of the church and commuinty loved it...but when you are part of the music team and told you get to dress as "larryboy" and lead singing well lets just say it was not my favorite moments of my day....but i will say i have always liked the videos....yes when i have had to watch the sameones over and over and over they got old...but i have always liked them all the same.....
so enter the story of Rack, Shack, and Benny....you know the real story right? hope so....if not...you know the King Neb? and the Golden idols he wanted everyone to bow down to? well this king had chocolate bunnies that everyone could eat and that you had to bow down to. well R,S,& B won't do it...so well into the fire they go...and you guess it they don't burn up....well enter my twisted brain...in my dream....i am all of a sudden in the veggie tale...yup ...me and all the animation...CRAZY....and it is me....my friend alex...and my friend vince...we are Rack, Shack, and Benny... but it isn't Bunnys we are asked to bow down to but this situation that i am dealing with right now.....and not a king but a pastor....CRAZY....so every night i am having this dream....and sometimes the friends change to other people....different friends...there to stand beside me to support me with what is happening....the strangest thing....is that who ever i am with we are all singing the CRAZY insane song that they sing in that show..in the Rack, Shack, and Benny episode..."stand up, stand up for what you believe in, believe in, I believe in God.....He's the one to back you up....." and on the song goes.....CRAZY.....
so here is my one wish....can i please have a NONVEGGIETALE night tonight? just one...it is starting to scare me.
so more on what happened later....just had to share the veggie tale crazy with ya
blessings and may you have a veggie tale dream tonight!
off to zzzzzzzzzland....
lizzy