The Gospel and Mickey Mouse

Many of you who don't know me and read my blog must think I'm not very spiritual or just a fruitcake. I've decided my blog is usually going to consist of the humor in life, and that the spiritual matters of my heart can be left up to those who actually interact with me in a face-to-face friendship. But with all that said, I must let you in on something that took place yesterday...

Several weeks ago I asked God to break my heart over the lost--Little did I know that that would become a desire as I walked the miles of the Magic Kingdom yesterday. Throughout my day, my thoughts kept wandering to the "lostness" of humanity and wondering how many of those thousands of people in the park would enter into eternity without Christ. While waiting in line for Space Mountain, I began to ponder all the pictures of the galaxies and stars and thought about how God knew that I would one day behold His creation while waiting for a ride in a packed line. As my day continued, a love was beginning to grow in my heart for the lost. Afternoon turned to evening and we piled into the car for the trip back to Jacksonville. A couple of hours later we stopped for gas, and Lacy and I encountered a really long wait for the bathroom due to the lack of toilet paper (that is a story in itself). As we were awaiting the return of toilet paper, I watched the Indian man who was working the counter. He seemed a little flustered when a coffee pot overbrewed, the line was backing up, and he was then trying to clean up the coffee remains. I knew the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me something I didn't want to hear, and shuffled back to the car. The doors were locked, seat belts were on, and suddenly I exclaimed, "I can't do this; I have to go back and witness to that man!"

Rushing into the store, I found him trying to mop up coffee. In such a random way I found myself asking him about Heaven-to which he responded in broken English he had no idea how to get there. More customers entered and I told him I would wait. My Mom came in and brought with her a tract to leave...As we waited in line, God was asking me to go a step further and start to mop up the rest of the floor. As I picked up the old mop, it suddenly hit me how Jesus got involved in other's lives and showed them an indescribable love. Our turn came in line and as he took the tract, he glanced at the inside and gave me one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen and thanked me. For the remaining hour of our drive, I quietly pondered Christ's love, the beauty of a seed being planted, and the need for the Gospel.

Disney World Awaits!

I was telling someone yesterday that I can't believe the summer is almost over....Only a few days left in sunny Florida! This past week I was at our church's high school camp taking care/hanging out with the Scroggins' children. After getting some much needed sleep last night, I'm packing my bags and heading to Disney World for a couple of days. One of my friends yesterday said, "I'll admit you're pretty crazy for doing all that before you leave on Tuesday..." I'm beginning to agree with him.

Middle School Camp

This past week I was again reminded of the joy middle schoolers can bring to life. Our 8th grade girls were a mix of girly-girls to tom-boys. Lacy and I had to choose a Bible story for our theme in our cabin--And ended up with Bathsheba: 'Welcome to the Spa.' We related to the girls the story of David and Bathsheba and how God took her and changed her into the Proverbs 31 woman.


Our cabin also had the honor of being deemed the "Camp Champions" at the end of the week! Between winning every game in recreation to having the cleanest cabin, they learned the meaning of being a team and working together.









Spiritually this week, the girls were immersed in classes all revolving around the theme of Absolute Truth. Two of our girls realized their need for a Savior in the middle of the week, and Lacy and I had the privilage of getting to counsel them in this decision. From laughing and crying with our girls, we ended up not only serving God, but having a blast in the process.

A 12th Year at Camp

Somewhere in the middle of this past week, I realized that this was my 12th week at Lake Yale--The camp where our church always takes our youth. Between being a middle school worker's daughter, to 7 years of camp as a camper, to getting to be a counselor a couple of times, I've grown fond of this campground. Last week I was a counselor for middle schoolers along with "Miss Jones," and we had 11 girls under our care.

We just finally finished unloading the car, and I'm finding the remaining dirt from Lake Yale amongst my things. God worked in our campers' lives....And sometime tomorrow after some much needed rest I'll tell you about it.

Lunchtime with Lizards

If you have not read the previous post, it would be helpful to do likewise before reading this entry.

Noon rolled around and still Homer, Howie, and I all sat contained in half the house while the lizard ran free in the other half. My friend, Lacy, called around lunchtime to see if she could run by to grab a bite to eat---And I gladly informed her she was welcomed, under one condition. Ten minutes later Lacy made her way to the infamous cabinet with me in tow carrying a broom, plastic cup, and paper towel. I gave Lacy her supplies, and backed away about 30 feet (just in case the lizard made any sudden moves). Five minutes later the lizard had managed to come out, run up the wall, scurry across the carpet, and was lodging under a chest. Lacy, by this time, was growing thin in patience, but I was constantly being the great encourager I am by clapping for her from a distance. Finally I heard Lacy say (in only the way she can), " 'Ello' " to the new found reptile and off she carried him out the front door in a pink plastic cup. A few seconds later she came in and said, "I think he's gone." I confronted her with "think, what do you mean by think?" She explained that when she got outside with the cup and looked inside, that he was gone, but she informed me that maybe he got flung out. So somehow, I'm not sure I should be comforted or not....

48 Hours of Learning

Since Wednesday, I have been overseeing the house (i.e. the 2 dogs, 2 cats, and greeting my Dad when he comes in from work). Throughout the course of the past 48 hours, I have learned some of the joys of running a household from a different aspect. For instance, Homer (one of the cats) got sick all over the laundry room one afternoon. This morning, I woke up and upon walking into the den, I discovered my Dad had forgotten to let the dogs out before leaving for work, and there was a "lake" in the middle of the wood floor. Later this morning, I was driving to the infamous Donut Shoppe of Jacksonville, and picked up a slight hint that it was recycling/trash day when every house in our neighborhood was lined with blue recycling bins and large trash cans, expect ours. After a mad dash to reach my donut destination, one could observe me lugging trash, old newspapers, etc. down to the curb in effort to beat the trash men. Around 9:30, I sat down for a much needed quiet time, and told God I can handle anything but a lizard in the house.

10:20 AM I walked into the living room to find Homer pawing under the china cabinet and Howie sitting next to him triumphantly. That could only mean one thing...In that moment, I reminded God of my prayer from just a few minutes earlier. Grabbing a BIG flashlight I hesitantly peered under the cabinet--There, in a shadow of the corner sat a lizard.

At this moment, I have closed the doors (thankfully there are doors) to the living room, shoved towels under the door slots, and removed a very unhappy Homer and Howie. Hopefully, the little lizard will exit by means of someway other than near me.....It's going to be a long day.

2 College Women & a Coffee Pot

One of my best friends, Lacy, is spending a couple of days with me. Being the kind of people that must have that all sought after cup of coffee, we found ourselves staring at my parent's coffee maker one afternoon. My parents were at church at a meeting, and I did not know how to work our new coffee appliance. Dialing my Dad's faithful cell phone, he quickly began repeating to me the instructions (repeating as in I could hear my Mom's worried voice who was sitting next to my Dad instructing him what to say...). Lacy and I decided we were indeed 2 college-aged women and that we were perfectly capable of making this pot of coffee.

Lacy carefully poured the indicated amount of water needed, while I scooped cups of coffee beans into the...um...bean thing. After mashing the "on" button, we listened to the coffee beans grind and then sat in silence waiting for the little trickle noise of the coffee to come down into the pot. A long while past (i.e. 5 min.) and I made the executive decision to try turning it off/on to see if maybe it had gotten stuck. This presented an awkward situation, because after reviving the coffee maker, it proceeded not to turn back on. I began crying out, "We've killed it, we're dead, we're dead!" --While Lacy continued on in her search of coffee by unplugging the whole contraption. Finally, the little light indicated it was "on," and a few minutes later we had a nice pot of (unusually strong...I lost count of how many scoops of beans to put in) coffee.

Triumphantly, we carried our cups of coffee into the den to watch a tv show. About 30 minutes later I went back into the kitchen for something or other, and discovered that the coffee maker had not finished brewing and coffee covered the kitchen counter....I decided that this would be an area of work before considering getting married.

The Holy Land

I have wanted to go to the Holy Land since I was about 8. So a couple of weeks ago when Dr. Brunson announced he was taking a group there, I turned to my Mom and said we are going! Today, we registered and we'll be off in March!

Egypt

I'm truly excited about tonight. The Discovery Channel is running a special on Egypt's newest tomb that has been discovered. I rushed home from church, made a pile of bagelbites, and will spend the night away emmersing myself in the ways of ancient Egypt. (Why am I not going into archeology?)

First Notes

This afternoon Howie discovered the beauty of music.

I Want to be a Pirate

Tonight my family went with some of my best friends to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Lacy and I clung and laughed together as we munched on popcorn, which ended up being devoured by her brothers as well. I must say I was not expecting that conclusion to the movie, but am throughly anticipating the next 'piratey' adventure....

A Video

During the 8th grade mission trip, the 8th grade guys quickly figured out that they could fit up in the luggage bins. Thrilled by this discovery, I heard shouts of "Miss Lauren! Look what we're going to do..." Fortunately, I managed to get it on film. (Sorry about the quality, I'm still figuring this out...)

When middle schoolers have too much time on a bus...Enjoy!

Summertime

Summer is passing by quickly. I've found myself getting to spend quality time with friends, making 12 pillows (that's a story in itself), and playing with Howie--Just to name of a few things that have been taking up my time...

8th Grade Mission Trip, cont.

Late one night I found myself sleepily helping one of my girls on how to share the Gospel in a quick, easy way. The next morning I prayed that she would be able to present the Gospel to the 8 children in our Backyard Bible Club with ease. As she launched into telling of God's love, I noticed that a mom had decided to stay and was sitting at a back table. My 8th grade girl continued to share with them about Jesus and His gift, and had 6 children indicate that they wanted to accept Christ as their Savior-- Two of the children happened to be those of the woman at the back. After refreshments were passed out and the kids were playing with balloons, I made my way over to the woman and asked her if she had ever made the decision her kids had just done. She told me 'no,' and in the next few minutes I was able to share with her the Gospel. After she accepted Christ, I was able to find her a Bible and encourage her before our time was up to leave....How beautiful it is to see a family come to Christ.





36 8th graders, 16 chaperones, 74 salvations. Praise God.




Classic Quote From the Week:
After the toilet became clogged, one of my girls turned to me and said, "Isn't there a button that you press inside to reset it?"