Chameleon Christian

I am blessed to have a church where I learn something new about God and His Word every week.  While some people only learn these things in independent Bible study, I learn them every week simply by going to church.  I've not always been blessed in this way!

Our pastor is preaching on Daniel and his courageous, unchanging faith.  Today he compared Daniel's unwavering stance for what is right with a "Chameleon Christian."  Chameleon Christians change their colors depending on the situation.  Kind of like this...

Pastor Phil said today that "Your character is revealed when you are tempted to do wrong, but you choose to do right."  I have to admit.....The Lord convicted me today because I have been acting like a Chameleon Christian the last couple of weeks.  I have followed the path of temptation.

The last two weeks have been hard for me.

I've faced my own Daniel's Den.

I've had no joy.

I've struggled and suffered under some frustrating burdens.

Because of those struggles, my colors changed from those of Christ to those of a complainer and a gossiper.  Those words are hard to type.  But the honest truth is that those words describe who I am when I am NOT IN CHRIST!
                                   
So today I choose to change my response to the struggles of the past two weeks.  I choose to stay in Christ because He is in me.  I choose to be a modern day Daniel -- never compromising my godly character....even when the going gets tough.

China Survival Guide

When you go where the Lord leads, you're in for one wild ride!!  I've spent the last three weeks serving Him in China, and He was so faithful!!  I have lots to share, but first......here's my very own China survival guide!

1.  Always carry toilet paper.  If you don't have your own TP, you'll be dripping dry (or worse!).  There's rarely rarely ever TP in the bathrooms.

2.  Buy a Go Girl.  It was the best $9.95 I have spent in my entire life.  China has these "lovely" devices we call squatty potties.  

Ugh.  

You either squat to potty or you use the oh-so-wonderful Go Girl.  This handy dandy device allows us girlies to potty in the squatty without having to squat!  

Best. Invention. Ever.

3.  Handicapped Stalls.  If you failed to purchase a Go Girl before leaving for China, handicapped stalls are a must.  If there's a handicapped stall, it's probably a western toilet!  (That's the best kept China potty secret.)

4.  Practice with chopsticks. We went out to dinner my first night in China.  They had tons of food for us (including rice, of course).  I was staaarrrrving so when I sat down I was ready to dig in.  And then they handed me a pair of chopsticks.  Uh oh.  Needless to say, I was still hungry when dinner was over.  Before you come to China, practice eating with chopsticks before you come!

This was breakfast.

5.  Prepare for paparazzi.  At least if you're not in a main hub city.  In the northwestern part of the country, Westerners are quite the spectacle.  If you're opposed to having your picture taken with complete strangers, people bringing you their babies to talk to or lots of fingers pointing at you, don't go to China.  Especially if you have blond hair and blue eyes.  Whew!

6.  Watch the road!  You know the rule in America that says pedestrians have the right of way?  Yeah.  That doesn't apply in China.  And the drivers are crazy!

This is the calmest I ever saw China traffic.  No one was trying to cut us off!

The last and most important tip...

7.  Get on your knees and stay there.  The power of prayer and serving the Almighty God was not only how we survived but how we were able to thrive.  We prayed for anointing and favor.....and that's exactly what the Lord delivered.  

The Beauty of A&D

I am addicted to chapstick.  I carry it with me everywhere I go.  Actually, more specifically, I am addicted to A&D ointment.

I have been the receiver of much grief over my A&D Ointment obsession.  After all, in order to purchase this miracle ointment, you have to go to the baby diaper rash section of a drug store.  My friends refer to it as "butt paste."  BUT (pun intended) I've officially converted all of my biggest critics.  They're all using it now, too!

A&D Ointment is good for chapped skin (that's why it's good for diaper rash and chapped lips), minor cuts, and minor burns (I use it when I burn myself with the flat iron).  I actually lather up with A&D Ointment when I have a sunburn.  It's a little stinky and very slimy, but I never peel when I use it!  Seriously, it's good for virtually everything!


For those of you who may want to shy away from carrying a tube of diaper rash cream around in your purse, here's my solution.  Buy a round little travel container and it looks like Carmex.  Much more discreet.

A&D Ointment comes in a variety of sizes.  

Big tubs

And two sizes of tubes.  I have a small tube in my purse sometimes and a big tube in my bathroom.

Bottom line -- everyone needs their very own A&D Ointment!

Fine print:  I'm not a doctor.  I'm not a pharmacist.  I'm not giving you medical advice.  Go ask your doctor if you have a serious burn or cut.  I'm just telling you what works for me!

Last Call!

Okay, folks!  Last call for prayer warriors!  We're finalizing the China prayer team list, so if you'd like to be a part of God's work in my trip (which is coming SOON!),  please shoot me an email so I can add you to the this.  You don't want to miss the opportunity be a part of something this BIG!!!

Thank You, Jesus, for 3-Year-Olds

Last week I had lunch with my pastor's wife.  She is a wonderful lady and at the end of our conversation she challenged me to be more intentional about finding a small group (aka Sunday School class) to go to at least a couple of times a month.  Fellowship is something that I am lacking at my church and so I took her challenge.  My friend Courtney and her husband have a class they go to on Sunday mornings so I thought I'd play the role of the third wheel and go to their class even though it's a marrieds class and I'm (obviously) not yet married.

Courtney and Noah's 3 year old wasn't exactly cooperating with her parents this morning and so Noah was left in the kids wing trying to negotiate with Georgia a crying-free entrance into her Sunday School classroom while Courtney and I headed to class.  We were a few minutes late (no biggie) and caught up quickly on the topic of today's lesson -- marriage.

Seriously?  It's not awkward enough for me to be single going to a married folks' class, but now we're actually talking about marriage!  I literally sat on my left hand so as to not expose my marital status.  Courtney leaned over and assured me this was not the normal topic of conversation in class.  I swallowed hard and convinced myself that it was okay and that maybe I could steal a nugget of wisdom for the future.

And then, as if it wasn't painful enough, it got worse.

The class teacher split us into two groups -- guys and gals.  Guys on one side of the room.  Gals on the other.  We were to work with our same-sex group to determine what our needs were to feel loved inside of a marriage.  We were to make a list of these needs.


Lord Jesus, save me now.  

The teacher talked for what felt like an eternity about some potential marital "needs" and I swear the ceiling opened up and a spotlight lowered down just to shine on my ringless left hand.  The teacher went on to say that there are no wrong answers and that basically we shouldn't be embarrassed to write something down because, and I quote, "We're all married in here."  


What kind of bad joke is this?!  I seriously didn't know if I could make it out before tears found their way out of my eyes and down my face.  I not-so-gracefully excused myself to Courtney, picked up my bag and left the room.  I barely got to an empty office room before the tears came.  UGH!  Darn married people's class.  


Thankfully, Noah was still in the kids' wing trying to convince sweet little Georgia to go to her classroom.  I asked Georgia if I could go to Sunday School with her.  She took my hand in hers and we marched right on into that 3-year-old classroom.  And let me tell you -- I may have been the loser in the married class, but I was the coolest kid in the 3-year-old classroom!  We made fireworks with glue and glitter (I've gotta say I was a little jealous that I didn't get my own black piece of construction paper and glue stick) and then it was play time.

I was trying to convince Georgia to play with this sweet little girl who was apparently in love with me and trying to stand as close to me as possible.  (Just to help set the scene, here's your mental picture.  I'm 5'8'' and I was sitting in a chair made for a 3-year-old and this precious little girl was literally as close to me as she could possibly make herself.)  I asked Georgia which of the multitude of toys in the room she wanted to play with, but she just ignored me.  She knew my trickery.  Then I asked Rylee (my new little buddy) what she wanted to play with.  "I want to play with you."  Melted my sad little heart!  

So instead of pawning Georgia off onto another 3-year-old, she got a stack of books for us to read together and before I knew it, half the class was huddled around me and Georgia and Rylee as we read about colors and Jonah and David and loads of other fun things!  I could barely pull myself away from those sweet babies in time to get to big church.

The day started out kind of rough, but one thing's for sure.....I was thanking Jesus today for my 3-year-old friends!

Show Us Your Singles -- Part 2

I love when Kelly's Korner does a Show Us Your Singles post!  It's so much fun!!  My wonderful friend Courtney posted about me in January but the Lord still has me in a place of singleness.  Soooo.....we're going for take 2 of Show Us Your Singles!  

Hello Kelly’s Korner readers! I’m Courtney and, with permission, taking over Lauren’s blog to introduce her to YOU and your single GUYS!

This is Lauren……….

Look at that smile! I cannot help but smile when I think of her smiling! She radiates joy and warmth!

Lauren and I have known each other since we were tots growing up in church together. One of my favorite memories of us is singing a duet together for a Christmas pageant when we were upper elementary age. I remember we put our heads together at the end of the song. She was in her element even back then…singing for Jesus! She loves music and experiences God through music. I love that she always has a song in her heart and will sing it out wherever she is!

Lauren is 29 and lives in Kansas City, Missouri. She truly is a beautiful, strong, capable and intelligent woman. All who know Lauren know she is passionate and determined. Whatever she sets her hand to do, she’ll do with forethought, focus, and follow through.

Lauren is a 2^nd grade teacher, having felt led to leave her love of teaching elementary music to gain additional teaching experience as she finishes up her Education Specialist degree in Elementary Administration. Her co-workers praise her influence on students and describe her as an advocate who knows just the right questions to ask and will speak up when she thinks an injustice is being done or something is not purposeful. It’s easy to see that she loves her students. Her eyes are filled with pride (and tears!) as she champions their achievements!

She's always been one to take steps to have a life of meaning and purpose in Jesus. In the last year I've watched as she has responded to Him more fully and in great faith that His plans are to be her plans. God has led her to change teaching focus and daily meet with Him.

Lauren would love to meet a tall, active, intelligent man who is confident, compassionate, educated, and courageous. She wants a man who is willing to be open and transparent, love the Lord first, enjoys newness in life, and is ready to be loved.

She'll be his partner shouting in the stands at the game and the princess on his arm all dressed up ready for the opera. She'll always be up for an ice cream date and a great discussion over wine.

If your guy will appreciate Lauren’s well rounded feminine fabulousness,

leave a comment with a way for her to contact you!

Joplin Days 2 and 3

For the sake of saving myself some time, I'm going to stray from my TypeA-ness and just post the rest of my Joplin pics without really editing them.  Pictures now.  Debriefing later.

This used to be a Burger King.  If you look in the background, there's a Hobby Lobby that was completely untouched by the tornado.

 This is in the same parking lot as the Hobby Lobby.  On the left you can see a Shakes building.  On the right was a cell phone store.  The difference a few hundred feet can make...

This is Joplin High School

 If you look closely, you can still see books on the shelves.

 This is St. John's Hospital.  Many lives were lost here.

Samaritan's Purse chaplains praying for our site.

Our team leader Ellie.  She did a super job keeping us all busy!

I took a couple of videos to show the damage everywhere.  I really thought I was taping slowly, but I apologize.  I really needed to slow down!!