New site

I am transferring my personal blog to another spot so that this can be for the Music Foundation going forward. If you are interested, check it out at: italsplace.blogspot.com

I will post weekly on my new blog. (that's for you Rachel)

Laughter, the BEST medicine

I just heard the funniest thing and it finally gave me inspiration to write again.
I have been sick with the worst cold, croup, sore throat sort of thing that is going around for the past few days. I haven't had much to laugh about until now.

This morning I was at the coffee stand at work, when a co-worker came up and picked up an empty pot of coffee that had been left on the burner so that it was baked onto the bottom of the pot. He looked at it and said "I don't have any children, but I can see what it would be like by working with adults".
That gave me the best laugh I have had in days!

The Amazing thing

This weekend God revealed the "Amazing" that He has for me. In an Amazing way (which is totally like Him) When I went down to IHOP last August, I loved being there and I remember telling someone that I could live there. They in turn said "Laura, you could live anywhere, that is why you are a missionary". So anyhow, while I was there, I stayed with my old bible college roommate (Dawn) who lives less than 6 miles from the IHOP base.
So maybe a month ago Dawn called me and told me that the house right next to hers went up for sale. I remember the house because when I would drive back to Dawn's from IHOP, I would begin to turn into that house each time, then remember hers was the next house. Well, I talked to the people who were selling it and asked the price, and it was VERY affordable. I have never owned a house, and I began to ask God what He was up to. Well, I began to know that He wanted me to move there. A lot of things began to happen that just made sense that God was orchestrating it all. A few obstacles though. My son who is 16, DID NOT want to leave here. He was adamant about that. He didn't even want to come down there with me when I decided that I should at least look inside the house. (Mostly to appease my family and friends who told me I couldn't buy a house I have never been inside of). Well 2 days before I was supposed to leave my son told me he wanted to come with. I was very happy, but told God if He wanted this to happen He would have to work on Jubal, because I could not leave him in Minnesota. So we got there after dark and we walked around the house and I loved it. I finally got the courage to ask Jubal what he thought and he was crying. He said he loved it too, but he didn't want to leave Minnesota.
Well, that night I was talking to Dawn and kind of looking at her house and noticing things I didn't really want my house to have. So I told God that night, "God you know I can live anywhere and I am not picky, but I really would like it if the bathroom could have a closet to put towels in, and the washer and dryer could be inside the house (Dawn's are in her garage) and a garage door opener would be really nice too". Well, the next morning when I got up, the guys who own the place were already there so I just walked over and asked if I could look inside. I walked through the house and guess what? There is a closet in the bathroom that happens to be huge, there are hook ups for a washer and dryer in the kitchen by the door that goes to the garage, and when I was talking to the guys I asked them how difficult it would be to put in a garage door opener. They both said "It already has one!" Thanks God, you are AWESOME! So I officially love the house and know God made it for me now. The hard part now. Jubal. Well he loves the house too and says yes to buying it. So I decide to check out the town so that we can see what all is around. We pass by a "Popeye's Chicken" and Jubal says, can we move tomorrow?
We love the town, and even found a Jamaican restaurant just a few miles away.
So when my job ends in May we will be preparing to move into the house in June. Now I know God well enough to know that he is going to provide me a job there and I know times are hard all over job wise, but I am not worried because I know God is doing all of this. So Dawn is talking to me and she said that the agency I am working for may have an office in Kansas City, so I should check that out. Well, guess what? They have 2 Offices!!! So I can just have a job lined up for when we move and I won't have to stress about all of that!! Wow. Amazing God.

ROAD TRIP!!

I LOVE road trips. They rock. I love to drive for hours and hours and see some of the different places in this HUGE country of ours. It is one of the freedoms that we have in the US that I REALLY appreciate. I am taking a road trip to Kansas City tomorrow with my son. It will be his first road trip in which he can legally drive. I am excited! I get to pass on the love of road trips that has been in our family for at least 4 generations. I think of my grandparents coming over to the USA from Europe and how exciting it must have been. An Adventure. I grew up travelling almost every weekend over the summer to different states in the Midwest to show our horses at different regional shows. I loved every minute of it. I remember hearing stories from my dad about how he traveled on the railroads when he was a young adult, seeing the country side. My mom as well, talking about the road trips she and her friends took out to Utah when they were in college. In the past 5 years my extended family has re-adopted the road trip idea, and we try every year to take a road trip somewhere and spend some family time together. Two of my brothers and their families as well as me and my 2 kids and my mom plan a trip, and we have so much fun. One year we went to South Dakota and saw the badlands, went through Needles Park, Mt. Rushmore etc. It was so awesome. This year because of schedules we were unable to do our road trip. Mom and I got the itch so we just took a day trip up to Brainerd with Jubal. It was great. One year Mom, the kids and I went up to the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. Mom had a horse show to judge so we dropped her off and proceeded to drive 600 miles around the UP and see the Soo Locks, Whitefish Point (where the Edmund Fitzgerald artifacts are) and also see several lighthouses along the way. That trip is in my top 3 list. It was a lot of driving but well worth it.
One of my favorite memories from my childhood is racing my horse bareback as fast as he could go (which once was clocked at 35mph) until the tears would come to my eyes from the wind. THAT was freedom. I get that same feeling driving a car on the freeway while seeing all of the world pass me by.

Illumination

Now I see some light at the end of the tunnel.
This I know: God brings us through some pretty tough things, but nothing is ever more than we can bear. HE promises that. His word says that he will never give you more than you can take, with His help of course. We often times think we cannot make it through something, when indeed we can.
I have found on this journey we call life, that sometimes we get into a place where it is so comfortable and nothing is really going wrong, but He wants us to move forward. We cannot move forward if we are too comfortable where we are. Sometimes he needs to make us miserable to get us to step away from something that is familiar and good, to step into something better. God has a plan and I need to pick up my tent stakes and move along with it or I will miss out on what He has for me.
Of this I am positive: His will is SO MUCH better than my will. I want what He has for me not what I think I want. I am excited to see what He has planned for me. I KNOW it will be amazing, because HE is amazing. I KNOW it will be good, because HE is good.
Set your seal of love upon my heart. For love is as strong as death.
We need to die to ourselves to realize the love He has for us.

Despair

How do you describe total despair? Let me give it a shot...

When all that you have, that means so much to you, has been stripped away from you by the very people that you opened yourself up to, because they were your friends.

How do you get up and walk away from something that has ripped the very life out of you?

Do you get mad at God?

No, you realize how poor, pitiful, wretched, and blind the human race is, and how heartbreaking it is for God, to see his kids treat each other this way. Especially when they claim to be His children.

I TOTALLY understand the Judas kiss.

WHY?
Why did it have to be a friend who chose to betray the Lord?
And why did he use a kiss to show them? That's not what a kiss is for.
Only a friend can betray a friend. A stranger has nothing to gain.
And only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain.
And why did there have to be a thorny crown pressed upon his head?
It should have been a royal one, made of jewels and gold instead.
It had to be a crown of thorns because in this life that we live,
For all who would seek to love a thorn is all the world has to give.
And why did it have to be a heavy cross He was made to bear?
And why did they nail his feet and hands? His love would have held him there.
It was a cross, for on a cross a thief was suppose to pay.
And Jesus had come into the world to steal every heart away.
Yes, Jesus had come into the world to steal every heart away.
(Michael Card)

When it is all said and done, all you can do is take the hopelessness that tries to conquer your heart and say... I will still try again.
Otherwise YOU will become cold and hard, and then YOU will become poor, pitiful, wretched and blind.
I think emotional rape is more common than people know.

Some random thoughts....

I have always thought it was an awesome concept about the powers and principalities over different areas. The bible specifically talks about it. Ephesians 6:12 says: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

I have seen it in my travels to different places all over the world. You can see it sometimes, and sometimes you can only feel it.

In Jamaica, one of the biggest spiritual strongholds over their nation is sexual sin. Christians and non Christians battle with it daily. You will see people who are leading others to the Lord, living a Christlike life, but then you hear they either got pregnant, got someone pregnant or are caught in a sexual sin of some nature. Once they become Christians they don't battle with addictions or things like that. They battle sexual sin.
Many of the denominations become legalistic. Certain denominations don't allow jewelry or certain hairstyles. They believe that is ungodly. I saw one young man who had been serving the Lord for several years, turned away from his church because of how he got his hair cut. Now isn't that Christlike?? NOT. Some denominations control what foods you eat. This issue was specifically dealt with in the bible. Peter was told that all foods are clean.

In Ukraine I believe it is hopelessness. They are a country that came out of communism and you see hopelessness everywhere. Drug addiction, prostitution, orphans... You can see it on peoples faces. What I thought was interesting is the colors people wear. Most of the men dress in complete black. The women in drab colors. You don't see happiness much.

I believe the spiritual stronghold over America is Fear of Man. How many times do we either do something we don't really want to, or on the other hand DON'T do something because of what other people will think of us? This is fear of man. It is huge in this country. Think about this when you think of how this country was founded. On freedoms that many other countries didn't have. This has been robbed out of our country. We were a country that stood on encouraging people to be individuals. Now we have to keep our yards like our neighbors, drive certain kinds of cars... I love the example of the recent flood of "Townhouses" where every yard has the same type of bush as the next yard. Everything looks the same. How do you remember which house is yours? If you are someone who doesn't go with this, then you can bet at some time you will either have someone tell you that you should do it the way that everyone else does, or they will force you to. We just sit back and shut up. Our freedoms have begun to control us as a nation.

Now on the contrary, in Uganda I see something totally different. They are a nation that has come out of a brutality that is unimaginable. They have "As a Nation" begun to serve God and you can see this and feel this. You see people who would have every right by our standards, to be angry at God or the world, having a love and hope that you don't see in many other places. You see the churches filled with people who are eager to love God and serve Him. They have stronghold as well but they are not as "strong" because as a nation they are serving God.
They are being blessed as a nation. This is how America started out, but now has fallen away from.

Sometimes I see us puny people here on the earth just trying to find a way to make it work. We always believe that "We" are the ones who have to come up with a way to make things work, or to get to God. Christianity is the only religion which is based on God doing it all for us and we just have to come to Him. All other religions are based on what we can to do please God or to earn our way into "Heaven" or someplace. It is because we as humans want to take the place of God. We are never satisfied with our relationship to God as just to be a son or daughter of the Most High God. We feel like we have to do something. I love this phrase "We are human BEings, not human DOings". All we need to do to please God is to BE. BE His son or daughter (and act like one). Love him and follow His ways. We want to make it more complicated than it really is.
Jesus said that if you love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, and then love your neighbor as yourself that you have done what is right.

We are all a mess.

Try Everything...Life is short

Today I took a very dear friend of mine from the Ukraine to a podunk town nearby that was having a carnival, so that he could ride in a helicopter for the first time. It was as much fun for me to watch I think, as it was for him to do it. My philosophy is that we only get one shot at this thing called life, and what a pity not to experience it to the fullest. Last time he was in the states he told me a few things he wished he could do while he was here. Small things like, go rock climbing and ice skating... So I told him to tell me all the things he wished he could do. I made a list and I believe that within one month I took him wherever I needed to, and made sure that everything he wanted to try, he tried.
One of the most fun things was when I took him to REI to climb the rock face. He tried a medium skilled wall even though he had never done it before. I videoed the whole thing for him. When he made it to the top it was so awesome. I stop and think of the weight of spending $10 to show someone that they can accomplish something like that. Life changing.
I taught him how to drive my stick shift car. That was fun. Prepared me for teaching my son this summer. It was a little rocky at first, but once he got the hang of it, he couldn't believe he had done it. He had said that no one had ever had the patience to teach him before. What a small thing to do to change a persons life.
He is a man who has spent the last 8 years of his life giving of himself to the orphans in the Ukraine. Babies, young kids, youth and even adults. He has poured out so much of himself for others. Just spent time with them to let them know that they are cared about by at least one person in this world. What a small thing to give back to one who has done so much for others.
I have been blessed to be able to make a few of his dreams come true. My goal is to help him to see that he can do anything he desires to do. Try it all at least once. Imagine how this can change a persons life by tasting of all life has to offer.
Imagine what the world would be like if we could all do this for each other...

Music... Amazing stuff

I am always amazed at how God can just take control of what is going on when we surrender to His will. Sunday morning Luke Anderson was leading worship (I am on his worship team as the bass player of course). He had decided to open the service with the Harp and Bowl format rather than just doing a song, like we usually do. So for 10 minutes or longer we did Harp and Bowl. Then we went into the regular worship time. After 4 songs we introduced a new song. Now if you have ever dealt with the dynamics of a church setting Sunday worship time, you know that it is always difficult to introduce a new song. People don't know it and usually the spirit is quenched to a certain extent because of all of that. Well we introduced this song "The Stand". We played it for quite some time and when we had wound it down, the drummer started playing in the spirit. I immediately picked up on it and started to give it some depth. Well we broke into a time of worship that was beyond anything we have done for a long time. It was beyond words. God broke through! Several of us on the worship team were dancing up there. I haven't done that in a very long time but you just couldn't NOT dance! It is so exciting to see people being set free in that sort of setting. People came forward for God to break through in their lives.... Forget the sermon. We did worship for over and hour and a half! PRAISE GOD! When it was all finished I got a word from the Lord that this was because of Luke's faithfulness to begin the service with Harp and Bowl. The people are hungry to come into the presence of God and we brought them there! What an honor.

Mareshah leaves the nest

Well, yesterday I sent my daughter (who graduated this summer) off to Jamaica for 8 months.
She had decided that she wanted to go visit her family and spend some time with them. She also wanted to be able to have the opportunity to get into shape. The food in Jamaica is so much healthier than here. No additives or preservatives. You also have to walk everywhere you need to go, so she knows it will make her feel better.
I have to say that I am SO PROUD OF HER!! I did not think that she would ever do it, but she has! We had to postpone her flight one day because hurricane Gustov was passing over Jamaica and I wanted to make sure it was gone before she went. We left for the airport at 2:30 Sunday morning. We had a good time of prayer on the way, and God proved Himself faithful as the day went on. There were a few things she had some concerns about. We prayed specifically for each of these things. I will list some of the concerns and how God answered our prayers.

1. This was her first flight alone and she had a stop over in Memphis. From the scheduled time of landing in Memphis and when her next flight started boarding there was only 11 minutes! I had instructed her to talk to a flight attendant to ask how to go about finding her next gate. Well she texted me from Memphis and said that her flight was early into Memphis and she was sitting at the gate and had several minutes before they were going to board! Thank you Lord!

2. At Immigration in Jamaica, the officers like to be crabby and give you a hard time. Visitors can only stay on the island for 6 months. You have to have certain papers to be able to stay longer. I had instructed Mareshah what to do if they gave her any difficulties when she was at the Immigration station, because she (being born in Jamaica) is a dual citizen and her first passport is stamped with a "unconditional permit" to stay as long as she wants. (It is the cutest passport because she was about 5 when she got it, but she has to carry it because of the stamp in it). Well, they never even asked her anything, they just stamped her passport and let her go through! Thanks again God!

3. Once you clear customs you have to go out into the area where there are a whole bunch of porters who harass you to let them carry your bags (so they can make some money) before you get to the place where whoever is picking you up is waiting. Mareshah was scared about this because she is such a sweet soul she was not sure she could deal with this. Well check this out...
NOT ONE of them even asked her. She walked right through the area and out the door to meet uncle Assie and uncle-in-law Audley, along with Audley's two young children AJ (5) and RJ (3), that were waiting for her! Praise God!

It is nice to know she is in good hands. God will take care of her there. I already miss having her around the house, but I know she is going to grow up while she is there. She is going to see what all she is capable of doing. She has needed to be able to prove to herself that she can do something like this. I am just so happy that she has lived up to one of the meanings of her name (Brave) and taken this step. I can't wait to hear all of the stories she is going to be able to tell when she finally gets back!

IHOP

WOW! I finally made it to IHOP in Kansas City! I can't believe it took me this long to taste a bit of heaven on earth. I was blown away by the talent of the people who played or sang. It was like going to a musical museum... The best of the best... God is raising up a generation of young people who see things in a whole new way. I was priveledged to be a part of it, even for a short time. My favorite was Tim Reimherr. Hearing him sing to Jesus was like tasting Acacia Honey for the first time. It was amazing. Check out some of his songs here: http://www.rhapsody.com/timreimherr I like "Come and Let your Presence .... Also, "See Me Through". My other favorite is "I Can't Wait"....
http://www.audiolunchbox.com/album?a=167016
My next favorites were Justin Rizzo, and Cory Asbury. These are all young men who have dedicated their gifts and talents to Jesus. We should all take the time to drink of what the Lord is doing in these days. Cory Asbury has a My Space, listen to "Where I belong" It is my favorite song of the whole time I was there. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=383010570
I would recommend that anyone who has a hunger for God either go to IHOP or watch the live streams of the prayer room on GOD TV. http://www.ihop.org/User/EmailLink.aspx?mid=1000121948&usr_id=1000840589&lnk=2&url=sggk%3a%2f%2fddd.rslk.lit%2fTilfk%2fTilfk.zhkc%3fRW%3d8999987523