Alaska Adventures: Just the Beginning

Sometimes the end is the end...but sometimes...the end is just the beginning.

Endings are hard, emotional things...even endings that are really beginnings.
The leaving is never easy...whether for a day or for good...and our humanness cries out wanting to change the inevitable so the tears won't escape and the depths of our hearts won't overflow for all to see.

But life resides in these tears.
And so I embrace the raw life that I can't seem to control anymore.

And my heart aches. Really. Aches.

It aches for moments I want to relive, it aches for the change I want to be, it aches for eyes I want to look into, it aches for connections to remain, it aches to be reassured this really wasn't the end of what God has done.

On this final day, the big yellow striped tent was cleared out, loads and loads hauled away. Our hands dirty with the work, our feet wet with the doing, we closed that chapter of ministry, knowing the Truth had been shared through the meeting of people's needs...a true picture of the grace hands of my Jesus.

A local diner snuggled us all in for a final lunch together as crew. Hearts were shared, generosity reached out, and the bitter-sweetness of the sharing and understanding laid us open like a book to be read...deeper connections made through the Spirit alive in us.

Our last backyard Bible Club at the Airforce Base found us tired, energy depleted from the week's labors.
But as we looked into faces that had so recently been unknown, we were burdened with the truth that we would soon say goodbye to the little ones, now familiar...and so very loved.
How do you look into their hopeful faces and say truth, that even you don't want to hear?
How do you speak to them the finality that even you don't want to face?
So we did our best to ignore that truth for the hours we sang, and laughed and shared the glorious gospel that had brought us here in the first place.
Determined to leave His mark in this place, on these people, on these little lives of Joey, Lily, Emma, Ellie, Eden, LeeAnn, Tyler, Katelyn, Kylie, Abigale, and of course Kodie, "spelled K-O-D-I-E"! :)
And we white knuckled gripped as God asked us to place them in His hands, because our reach can't extend those thousands of miles and accomplish all He has prepared...but our prayers can...and so in trust and tears, we let go.
We let go of control and grab hold of the One who knows them best and loves them most.
But our hearts crack and twinge with this obedience and this faith that we know will somehow fuel us. Somehow.
So, joy mixes in the tear drops falling on tshirts and boots.
Because above all, He is faithful.
He grace has infinite reach.
His love is relentless.

And we know that this week, in it all and through it all, it is THAT truth we have planted...and now...it is THAT truth we have to walk away believing...walk forward living.

And so this night, I find my comfy place...I escape into worship, just me and the One I love in that crowded room...we meet and I am even further undone.
I am wanting Him to pick me up and hold me and He does.
I love my Heavenly Daddy for that.
He sees my heart, He whispers peace over my aching and I am ruined by this love and grace strength that I so, so, so do not deserve.
I am freed from the wondering and the what ifs and instead become entangled in all He is.

This is what has begun in these endings.
Lives have been connected.
Resolutions have been made.
Challenges have been issued.
Truth has been shared and seen.
Hope for steadfast momentum has been locked and loaded.

And so, as we lay heads on pillows in the far north one final time, this Alaska mission comes to an end.

But in His Name, and by His Spirit, I declare and claim that it IS the BEGINNING of so much more.

Amen.

"But cling to the Lord your God as you have done to this day."
Joshua 23:8 AMP

"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!"
Psalm 90:17 ESV


"...if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail."
Isaiah 58:10, 11 ESV

Alaska Adventures: Avoiding the Trap

Usefulness.
It's a tricky thing because sometimes we feel productive when we really are unproductive and sometimes we feel unproductive when we really are productive.
Either situation: it's a trap from the enemy.

Our morning mission at times this week has seemed this way.
Under the big yellow striped tent, we have done a lot of work, but also, a lot of waiting.
And waiting can often feel like doing nothing...but waiting takes trust and waiting takes patience, and those things, my friend, do not come that easily.
So as we longed to be doing more than the waiting, we were often lured into the trap of asking "why?".

Why am I in this place instead of that?
Why am I with this person and not that one?
Why, why, why?

But what we need to be asking is simply: how?
How can You use me in this situation?
How can I make You obvious under this tent, with this person, in this...in this...waiting?
How do You want to change me?How do you want to shape me?

And all of the sudden, in the dreary rain of selfishness, we begin to see the light of self sacrifice break through the clouds, bringing the warm light of truth that lights the path of our days.

We SEE needs.
We MEET needs.
We LOVE because we are loved, not to BE loved.

And we remember the little 6 year old girl carrying all that worry, fighting through tears,
"I know my mama won't die."

We hear the woman say, "Really? I can have this? It's free? This was just what I needed!"

We hear, in that waiting, the far fetched dream of a 13 year old to own a guitar, then see it realized through Holy Spirit inspired generosity and obedience.

Yes, we feel the stretching of our lives as they're placed in God's hands and we allow Him to make us and call us useful...useful for His purposes, useful in His timing.

Useful.
Be that.
Not according to you, not for you.
For Him.
That's HOW He loves...through our available lives being used.

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Isaiah 6:8 ESV

We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19 ESV

You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,that the thing made should say of its maker,"He did not make me";
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,"He has no understanding"?
Isaiah 29:16 ESV

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears."
1 Samuel 3:10 ESV

The Doing

"There are things that are easy to know...but hard to do."-Ryan Warren

This was the  ultimate theme of our day.
All of us have been receiving loads of this easy to know stuff in Bible Study, rec time, track times...and all of those things are great to know...but the truth is, they are incredibly difficult to do.

So after a phenomenal day of recreation time, lunch, track times, free time, and supper, we headed to worship.
Fuge worship-especially with The Seth Medley Band- is a powerful thing.

As we worshipped, the Holy Spirit showed me that He was stirring amongst the students in a big way that night. I prayed fervently that He would empower the pastor, the worship leader, Jarrett, myself, other chaperones to feed into and water that work the Holy Spirit had already begun to do.

It is so amazing to watch students-our students- worship with such freedom and abandon. Voices, hands, lives lifted high to Jesus, unashamed, unafraid.

The night was a challenge to move beyond the word commitment and instead move toward consecration.
It was a challenge to be devoted to Him and bold for Him...
A challenge to be connected intimately to Him and consumed by Him!
Easy to know...hard to do.

As we moved into church group devotion time after worship, there was just still such a sense that there was work the Holy Spirit still had work to do.
And wow did He ever!

Jarrett asked the question to begin with: "Does it bother you when you are disconnected from God?"

That question pierced us all in different ways, but for me, it ignited a Word from the Spirit that I could not contain.
I talked to them about needing to recognize the truth of whether they were plugged in to the Source- Jesus, or whether they were plugged into some outlet just for appearance sake, with no power running to it.
Because, if you have ever experienced power, you are going to do what's necessary to restore that power when there is a disconnect! 
You don't believe me?
Think about what you did the last time there was even a flicker of a power disconnect in your house! Everything stops and notice is taken!
So if we have truly experienced the power of God, when there is a disconnect, you are going to have a desire to do what's necessary to reinstate that connection!
So the question is are you plugged into the true power source?!?
When something is plugged in to power...there is evidence.
It's really that simple.

Our students are in the midst of checking their power source.
Are you brave enough to honestly do the same?

Some have boldly proclaimed their need for a Savior and have surrendered their all!
I have had the privilege of kneeling on this Panama City beach sand and hearing them cry out for God to save them and cry out for God to take them and use them!
I have been humbled to be a part of seeing them plug in to the Ultimate Power Source so they can pierce the darkness with the light of Jesus!

The only reputation we build by playing games, playing religion, is the enemy's.
No more game players...be a transformer.
Get plugged in...shine His Light!
Be open. Be honest. Be His.

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Are u  plugged into true Pwr Source?Whn plugged into pwr...there is evidence.It's tht simple.Be open.Be honest.Be His. #FugePCB

Redeemer

Redeemer
Bound to You by my own hand
In Your grace alone I now can stand
Bound to Your freedom
A servant of Your truth
My Redeemer
Life of death now a life abundantly
A wreck restored
Broken made beautiful, useful for Him
My Redeemer
Transforming, transplanting His heart in place of mine
Intimate, extravagant Love
Fragrant, endless blood bought grace found in Him 
My Redeemer
Ransomed, rescued, ruined, restored, resurrected by Him
My Redeeemer
He is
My Redeemer

Connections

Camp has officially begun!
The students are pumped!
Why? Because they know that this week is an experience in the making.
But just what kind isn't up to us, the camp staff, their best friend, etc...
It's up to them.
The connection points are all around this week.
But THEY have to choose to plug in.

I have to choose to connect.
You have to choose to connect.
Connection is key.
Connections matter.
Connections are crucial.

That truth is the focus this week.

Ryan, our camp pastor put forth the truth this way:
"In order for there to be a connection with the Creator, there has to be a correction in the created."

Examining areas in need of correction isn't fun, but its necessary!
Why? Because disconnect leads to a void of power.
Jarrett posed this question to our church group:
"What isn't working in your life because of a failed connection?"

I am challenging myself to ask these hard questions and have the courage to listen to the Holy Spirit answer.

I want the ultimate connection with my GOD.
But I know that means radical correction has to take place in my SELF.

How will you connect with God this week?
Allow Him to correct your connection.

Keep lifting us up!....Julie

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In order 4 there 2 b a connection w/ the Creator,there has 2 b a correction in the created.

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Fuge Panama City 2011

Fuge Panama City 2011

We made it!
Well, almost, that is.
We're currently in a hotel near the camp location and will check in at camp just after lunch tomorrow.
Tonight, the students have had a blast swimming, hanging out together, eating loads of pizza, and generally taking run of the place!

We have been so proud of their conduct and attitudes on the way down and here at the hotel.
I pray it is indicative of the week ahead with this great group of students!

Tonight Jarrett challenged the youth to begin to thinking about the magnitude of the gift they have been given in salvation through Jesus Christ. 
And I couldn't help but wonder myself...

What does my life declare that I value the most?
My words can proclaim many things, but my life declares the truth.

If someone simply watched my life, and were asked that question, what would they say?
Would they see passion for a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, passion to tell others about Him, passion to live out His desires?

Would they see a life being shaped by Jesus
or
a life trying to shove Jesus somewhere in the midst of it?

I am praying this week that we are all challenged to ask hard questions, hear hard answers, and do hard things.
I pray that whether for the first time ever or for the first time in a long time, Jesus would take His rightful place on the throne of our lives, and we would passionately, and with complete abandon, give Him the glory, honor and respect due His name!

What about you?

We would never simply just stay in the hotel this one night, then never actually go to the camp, yet come back and tell you how great the camp was.
What a waste of money, of time, of effort! How absurd!
What a pitiful comparison to the true reality of Fuge!....right?

Then why should any of us be content to come so close to a true experience with Jesus, yet leave without ever having actually gotten to the place where allowed His tranformation power affect us, boasting all the while of how great the experience was, that we have been where He is and allowed Him to dwell in us?

Empty words.
Empty actions.
Empty lives.

Don't be satisfied with "almost".
Let your LIFE say,  
"I made it! 
I have come fully into His presence...and I am forever changed!"

Mission: Nicaragua 2011

Planning. Preparing. Gathering. Packing.
Now what?
Going!
As I write, 21 of us are on the infamous big brown bus to Atlanta packed and ready to catch our plane in the morning.
The excitement is palatable with chitter chatter all around!
Just the physical planning and prepping in getting here has been full throttle, trying to anticipate needs and situations that may arise.
But as I travel this time in-between the planning and the mission itself, I am wondering: did I do all I needed to do to prepare spiritually?
When I encounter a situation and the Holy Spirit asks me to step up, to be an empty vessel, will I be ready?
You see, in the spirit just as in the physical, there has to be more than just a plan or good intentions.
The work of preparation is vital.
The patience required in gathering His promises is vital.
The diligence of packing that Word in your heart is essential.
And then...the going: the willingness to step out and be available for the Holy Spirit to use you- wherever you are.

So really, although my mission and your mission may be in different countries, states, or continents even, it is the same.

We are all called to plan, prepare, gather, pack, and then embark on our specific God inspired mission with excitement and anticipation whether its in the next yard over or two countries away.

His Kingdom calls:
Believer, this is your mission, if you choose to accept it...

Mission: Nicaragua....here we come!


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Prepare yourself to be an empty vessel 4 the Spirit 2 fill and pour out in ur mission 4 the Kingdom!

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