My Greatest Fear

Here's what I DON'T want to sound like on Sunday.

Some Shameless Self-Promotion

Well, at least I can couch it as a "prayer request." This Sunday over at Fusion Church, the young Padawan (yours truly) will be preaching instead of the Master (Tony McCollum). I can't tell you what a mix of emotions this is for me. It's an honor and a privilege to be preaching for someone who is as gifted of a communicator as Tony. It's also a bit like trying to "cook dinner" over at Julia Childs' house. It's scary, exciting, and nerve wracking all at the same time.

I do want to ask you all to be praying for me as I venture into this weekend. It's funny how these things go. A couple weeks out, you feel great. You've got some ideas. You're confident that God is giving you a word for the people. And then as D-day approaches, you feel less and less confident that you should be even speaking English in front of any one person, let alone a room full of people! Let alone communicating timeless truths from the Word of God. No pressure. Sheesh. I'm not nervous at all. Heh heh. A-hem. Please pray for me.

YO! GABBA GABBA

All I can say about this show is , "Oh my dear Lord." What have we become? Seriously. My kids and I have been seeing commercials for this mysterious show on Nick Jr. for the past month. My girls were captivated by the ads from the get go. So much so that they would rewind the DVR over and over again so they could sing "Party in my tummy" one more time. It just started airing this week and already my girls are hooked. Heck, I'm hooked. This is, hands down, the most insane, freakazoid, creative, entertaining, crack-inspired kids show I have ever seen in my life. Anything else you've ever seen? Forget it. Teletubbies? Mere child's play compared to this show. Banana Splits? More like Banana Splats. I haven't quite yet figured out what the heck this show is supposed to be about. It's basically a tribute to all things pop culture packaged in electric neon candy-coated colors and hip hop music stuffed in a half hour segment. It's sort of what I would imagine to resemble a kid's version of Hell. And yes, that is Biz Markie in the ad. Today's episode featured Hector Jimenez, or "Esqueleto", from Nacho Libre. I'm completely not kidding about any of this. Do yourself a favor and watch this show. You'll thank me (or quite possibly hate me) for it later.

Facebook

I have a confession to make. I've been unfaithful. Blogger's gonna be so mad. I have been secretly involved with Facebook. He's a lot more exciting than Blogger. Blogger's just so...so...quiet. He doesn't say much. I give and give and give, and he really just doesn't give a whole lot back. Our relationship is just so one-sided. Every time I go out with Facebook, however, there's a note waiting for me, here and there. An invitation to join his Pirate Army. A song dedication. Like little gifts. He's much more responsive to my needs.

I'm not totally giving up on Blogger, though. I don't know where this relationship with Facebook is going. I'm just having a lot of fun right now. And I want to invite each and every one of you to come and meet my new friend, Facebook. You'll love him, too. I just know it.

(Oh, and don't forget to request me as a friend! Anyone can join!)

Fusion Church Ladies Retreat

Well, we just wrapped up another successful Ladies Retreat at our church. The material we based the retreat around was the Beth Moore study called Loving Well. It was such a great idea for a retreat. The foundational teaching of the study was basically that in order to love well (those around us), we need to first be well loved (by God). It's such a basic and simple truth, but one that is so easy to forget and to neglect. I think it's especially difficult for women. We love to serve, don't we, ladies? We can pour out and pour out until we have absolutely nothing left to give. We must remember to constantly draw from the Living Well, so that we can go on loving well.

Anyway, I'm still reeling from all of Beth's teachings. She's such an excellent teacher. Mainly, though, I was so blessed by all the women on this retreat. I looked around at one point at all the women at this retreat. Many of these women didn't know God when they first came to Mill Creek. But I've seen, firsthand, what God can do to a person's heart. These women are loving, giving, and serving like I've never witnessed before in my life. These women's lives are changed and they live their lives giving glory to the One who's forever changed them. The precious ladies at our church are evidence of the love and grace and power of an amazing Savior. Glory to God!

God bless you, Ladies of Fusion Church! Thank you for another awesome and amazing retreat!