FlowerDust.net

you should.

you can.

here.

this girl is my long lost sister.

we seem to go through the same things at the same time.

for instance, this month, she and i are both:

moving (chris and i are having to change apartments because of this).
traveling overseas (me-africa; her-china/india).
having birthdays (she’s 25. me, 28).

she wrote this today.

i couldn’t agree more.

would we ever step into moments that are too large for us if we knew how small we’d feel while we were in them?

how big is your head?

i was browsing something on cafe press the other night. out of many, many products, two bore the stamp of “made in the USA!”

loud and proud.

bright red.

bubbling over with pride.

MADE IN THE USA!

so…what you’re really telling me is 98% of all your products are NOT made in the USA? yeah. maybe that’s not so smart…

when bragging rights beat out common sense, nobody wins.

except for “oh” bama…

i love this girl. seriously. she is amazing and bright and beautiful and just amazing. did i say that already? well, she deserves it to be said twice.

libby works in our hilarious finance office (you would be shocked at what really goes on in there!!) and, did i say she is amazing? her blog is here. you know where to leave her love.

she writes -

Bigger Body Image

I struggle with ‘body image’. I have for a while now and this is definitely one of the main areas He has been working. My personal ‘body image’ has greatly improved recently and is much healthier and closer to His image. Thanks to Him, His breaking, and His Spirit. But lately God has been telling me ‘think bigger’ . . . ‘What?!? I don’t want to be bigger!’ J . . . ‘No, eternally bigger.’

That one always gets me – that ‘quit thinking about you, think about Him’ realization. So I started thinking about the organization of LifeChurch.tv. The way it functions. Its structure, purposes, goals, and staff. I really have a passion for it - the organizational body. . . . ‘Eternally Bigger!!!’ ‘Biggest!!’

‘Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it . . .’ I Corinthians 12:27

Gut check! I wonder what kind of impact we all could make if we focused together being the Body of Christ.

‘ . . . And now I will show you the most excellent way.’ I Corinthians 12:31

What body gets most of your focus?

in less than 2 weeks, i’ll be in uganda. a generally peaceful country (considering some other areas of africa). i will be posting many more thoughts on our trip soon, but for now, i want you to see something.

this is a boy? a man? a life…that has been taken.

i am not a big shock value person. i don’t like sensationalism. but can i take a moment and be honest with you?

the violence in kenya right now is breaking my heart.

we do have a stop over in nairobi on the way to kampala, and some people have been asking me if the recent violence (800 deaths in a couple months) has me worried. after all, many kenyans are fleeing to uganda. people are going around with machetes and arrows and guns and fire and anger and hate.

am i afraid?

my answer, is surprisingly no.

i am not afraid.

it makes me so…so unbelievably sad.

there is no more room in my heart to be afraid.

as i sit on my fluffy carpet, wrapped in my fluffy blanket, typing on my amazing computer, not worrying if my apartment door is locked or not, tens of thousands of miles away, a spirit of evil and murder and destruction is destroying and taking lives.

beautiful lives.

beautiful minds.

beautiful souls.

i wish i could go now.

i don’t even know what i could do, but i wish i could go now.

WE ARE RICH.

whether you like it or not, we are rich.

WE HAVE THE POWER TO INFLUENCE THE CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS IN THESE COUNTRIES TODAY…AND HOPEFULLY AND PRAYERFULLY CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE HISTORY OF AFRICA.

we could sacrifice so little and make such a huge impact.

it seems like it’s a world away…

but it’s not.

when you’re at work today, i want you to think about the people who are being brutally tortured all over the world.

when you’re eating lunch, i want you to pray for the fear they experience that we will never, EVER know.

WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS…

will you??

The Mad Church Disease deadline is fast approaching. As a wise man and fellow author encouraged me, you must “vomit words.” So, I am taking this week to vomit. :) And as you can tell, my writing habits as of late have forced me into a natural (or unnatural) state of capitalization. ::Scary::

So, I’m not sure what FlowerDust.net is going to look like this week…but, I do know what it’s going to look like today. Meet Aaron Havens. Aaron is the Director of Student LifeGroups at LifeChurch.tv. My husband has a man crush on him. I think he has a man crush on my husband. They look cute together.

Visit Aaron’s blog here - but show him some FlowerDust love in the comments. Aaron writes,

Off to Work I Go

As I drive to work I occasionally have moments of clarity where I believe God is desperately trying to open my eyes to truth and I slowly begin focusing on what He is showing me. Somewhere in the ritual of listening to the XM satellite radio, talking on my cell phone, while sipping on my Starbucks “grande carmel macchiato” this was one of those moments many thoughts went through my head. I’m for sure in the top percent of the world’s wealthiest people, and very much massively extremely spoiled. What do I do with my wealth? With all the blessings God has given me do I show others the love of God? Do I stand out in this world as one that is passionately committed to God, or do I just blend in? At what point am I so much a part of this world that I just blend in?

Today are you passionately committed to God, or just blending in with the world we live in?

if there is one thing you think the modern church should do differently in order to fulfill her mission, what would it be?

i was reading something a moment ago about people making a difference.

i think the difference has already been made.

we just have to step up and into it.

i’m just curious.

when i’m really stressed or on the brink of burning out, the one thing i feel is ___________.

susan “de-lurked” herself yesterday in the post about thailand. i know there are others of you out there…

delurkify yourself! i’d like to get to know you!

last night i got to meet a couple from lifechurch.tv who are moving to bangkok. they are both from there, but have been living in the states for a long, long time. god really worked in their lives over the little while and they are pretty much packing up and leaving this weekend to go. talk about crazy quick obedience!

the woman talked some about her mom, who lives in thailand, and is culturally buddhist. her mom really wanted them to move back, so the woman challenged her to pray. and wow, her prayers were answered quickly! her mom had even been praying for employment to open up and sure enough, the woman’s husband found a job!

it was so inspiring to see god working in this couple’s life. i would imagine the task of moving 30 hours away to another country would be quite overwhelming (chris and i moved only 4 hours from dallas to okc and i remember how stressful it was). but the only vibe i got from our time was joy! from the job, to finding a place to live, to their excitement about starting this new life…their happiness and vision were contagious!

the hour i got to spend with them last night inspired me even more to think globally when it comes to the church and reaching people. even though they are moving far, far away, we can stay connected through technology, and we can help support them in their efforts to reach people for christ. and i can’t wait to hear what happens!

most of the time, i have a pretty good “tact-filter” up.

today is not one of those days. so with that in mind, please excuse any abrasiveness that may emerge.

flowerdust doesn’t get too many negative comments. i don’t mind when people disagree with me at all, so discussion is good. but a couple days ago we had one of our first “critical” comments.

not a big deal. i was actually a little excited. i’ve learned to take criticism and keep the source in mind when accepting it.

however, bloggy-curiosity had me click and click and click and follow links and read blogs with believers criticizing (in unloving and very prideful ways) other believers. the the people who disagreed would respond in kind. then everyone would just blah-blah-blah and before you know it, you have almost 14,000 words (the average non-fiction book is about 50-60,000 words).

one recently eruption of discouragement i read had 60-something comments and 14,000 WORDS!!

14,000 words on ONE post!

and what good is going to come out of it?

um….probably nothing!

so, as the title says, i think we could use a good dose of shut yo mouth! i’m all for edifying discussion. but seriously. i think we all can agree that most of what happens in situations like that is just a big fat waste of time.

pastors.

i talk with pastors a lot.

i email with pastors a lot.

i love pastors.

maybe because i was a pk.

hmmm…i don’t know why.

i just know i do.

so yesterday, i was talking to a children’s pastor. he has a budget of $500/year. in a church of about 150.

he didn’t have a chair for his office. he’d been using an old metal chair.

so he went shopping.

by driving around.

and he found a chair on the side of the road.

picked it up.

cleaned it off. says it’s better than new.

he was SO excited. it was really the highlight of our conversation.

wow.

we take so many things for granted.

every time, before i spend that next dollar, i’ll think of my friend…

his mismatched bookshelves.

and the chair he picked up on the side of the road.

CLICK HERE…

I am VERY excited/honored/humbled/kick me in the face, chuck norris, please!

…about this!

A few months ago, Carlos asked on his blog,

What could be done if bloggers put the influence of their blogs together to create change in a single moment?

Well…On February 10…

We’ll spend several days in Uganda with Compassion International, visiting villages, meeting children and sharing this experience with you through video, photos, and our words. We will bring these children to you.

They need you…

Here is a list of everyone who’ll be going. Visit their sites. Pray for us. We return on February 18. Over 20,000 miles round trip. I can’t wait.

Joe Carter http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com and http://www.frcblog.com/
David Kuo http://blog.beliefnet.com/jwalking/
Randy Elrod http://randyelrod.typepad.com/
Chris Elrod http://www.seekersolutions.typepad.com
Carlos Whittaker http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/
Heather Whittaker http://whittakerwoman.typepad.com/
Shannon http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/
Sophie “Boomama” http://www.boomama.net/
Anne Jackson http://www.flowerdust.net,
Phil Ware http://blogs.heartlight.org/phil/
Doug Van Pelt http://www.hmmagazine.com/blogs/doug
Shaun Groves http://www.shaungroves.com/shlog/

Compassion Staff

Spence Smith http://spencesmith.typepad.com/spence
Brian Seay http://brianseay.wordpress.com/

Photographer

Keely Scott - http://keelymariescott.blogspot.com/

this has been my day…

mr. ragamuffin soul, his lovely wife whittaker woman, the wonderful shlog, blogfather randy elrod, myself, and a few other secret participants (who will be revealed at a soon but not soon enough date) will be taking a very long journey.

one that requires vaccines for lots of scary diseases. that’s the nurse who stuck my arm with live yellow fever buggers at 3:30 today.

one that requires me to sign a release form that says this:

The undersigned has been informed of the U.S. State Department briefing on this country and understands the risks that may result from such participation including, but not necessarily limited to, acts of violence perpetrated upon the undersigned individually or in a group, kidnapping, piracy, hijacking, and/or the possibility of accident, disease, or death. The undersigned nevertheless has voluntarily chosen to participate.

NEVERTHELESS…i have voluntarily chosen.

ominous.

exciting.

watch monday for a huge announcement that the blog world has never seen before!!!

if you see a post in your reader about kidnapping….
if you’ve commented on a post about kidnapping…
and you no longer see it here…

there’s a reason.

stay tuned.

really.

you’ll find out later tonight about that….

muahahahahaha.

i love you guys.

thanks for reading.

i really think you rock.

last night i was reading intensely about the life of david. how the bible says so many times that others knew god was with david, or how david himself would claim god’s power over a situation. god was so faithful to him, and then made one of the most well known and important covenants in the history of mankind.

later on, as we all know, david screwed up pretty big. he was a successful king. he was a successful warrior. kicking other nations square in the pants. during one particular spring time, when most kings went to war, he stayed back in jerusalem. he was hanging out on the roof and saw bathsheba.

hellooooo……naked lady.

i’m sure the memories of god’s faithfulness of times past flew out the window. or off the roof, as the case may be.

we all know what happened. as the deadly vipers call it, boom chicka wah wah.

bathsheba must have been beautiful. stunning in david’s eyes.

and that one beautiful distraction contributed to many, many more terrible mistakes from david. lying…murder…

beautiful distractions are all around us. and not just in naked-lady form (although there’s plenty of that). power. pride. attention. obsession. status. facebook. television. the perfect suburban life. getting marred. the internet. becoming single.

they may look good. feel good. some of them may not even hurt us immediately.

but they distract.

from what’s best.

what’s your beautiful distraction?

[aside: the original title for this post was simply "beautiful distractions." however, upon learning of the content of this post, my husband suggested my title should be "hellooooo......naked lady." i figure that would be a smart move for the googlebots, so i obliged.]

there is something really weird in the water here in OKC.

i’m not sure what it is, but it has completely reworked my DNA.

anne jackson circa 2008 has taken me by surprise. she is, kind of, dare i say (i shall) more confident? she is, kind of, dare i say (i shall) more outgoing?

she is.

anne jackson circa 2006 would have never waved wildly at a stranger who she *thinks* she recognizes from facebook…she would have never talked for fifteen minutes to the lady in the lobby of her apartment…

there are a bunch of other little things i have done over the last couple of weeks, and in the last couple of days in particular, that would never have gone through my head and now those things seem more comfortable, more a fit.

wow.

needless to say, the past two days as i get settled in my office at lifechurch.tv have been nothing short of incredible. i’ve so enjoyed finally getting to meet you all, and thank you for making me feel so at home. (and for fixing my email a million times).

i heart this place.

this thought of not doing anything for christ has really played itself out in writing my book.

obviously, i can’t exactly ask god to email me my completed manuscript. i have to pray about it. i have to listen. i have to type it. i have to email it to my editor. i have to meet deadlines.

but as i am writing, it seems as if during the process, i fall into one of two zones.

one where i’m doing the writing.

or one where i’m just pressing the keys.

i know that sounds so corny, so spiritually-hokey, but as i read and re-read things i’ve written, it is VERY obvious which zone i was in. and it’s not like the stuff i write is bad. but the other words from the other zone are just…so different.

when i find myself in a dry spell, i realize i have not been filling myself to begin with.

how can i type words from the spirit to his church when i have separated myself from him?

this year i have only one resolution: to do less.

i’m not talking about simplifying, either. i mean that very literally.

i will do less.

this doesn’t mean i’m complacent. it doesn’t mean i’m lazy. it doesn’t mean i’m apathetic. it doesn’t mean i’m going to sit on my rump all day and google stuff. that’s not what i mean at all.

lately i’ve been studying a really great book that has caused me to re-evaluate my typical complicated way of thinking and doing things.

normally i think, “i want to do more for christ.”

may i be so bold to state: i don’t want to do anything for christ.

the more and more i walk along this road the more and more i realize how backwards i have it. i cannot do anything for christ. the things that are done through me for his kingdom are just that. they are done through me.

in the aforementioned book, watchman nee talks about the process of saving someone who’s drowning.

if they’re doing all they can, fighting to stay afloat, there’s no way somebody can rescue them. they’ll take both the rescuer and themselves down under.

they only way you can rescue a struggling swimmer is to either let them freak out until they’re too tired to do it anymore, or you have to knock them unconscious in order to bring them back.

i have been desperately treading water far too long.

and i really don’t want to be knocked unconscious.

i am going to go and walk in the fact that everything god has accomplished is done. and i just need to lose more of myself and let him guide my steps. i need to get out of the way.

chris woke up today with a ginormous fever and body aches and the chills. he hasn’t been to a doctor in years, literally, so this is really rare for him. please pray that he gets better (and that i stay well) as we both start at life tomorrow…

leave my man some love below and let him know you’re praying!

(yes, that title was just to make you click & read this post…but hey, he does, doesn’t he?) :)

seriously though,

if jesus lived as a us citizen today, do you think he’d vote?

*please play nice*