FlowerDust.net

maybe i am exaggerating a bit, but given a little wider tornado, or a little faster wind, the tornado that hit edmond, oklahoma last night could have been much worse, and many more of my friends could have been in danger.

chris and i live in downtown. we went to bed around 12:30 after it appeared the tornado-producing storms were weakening. an hour later, the sirens went off downtown. i jumped out of bed and turned on the tele.

the only rotation was in edmond, which is where my office is and two of the lifechurch.tv oklahoma city campuses reside. as well as most of my okc friends. like terry. and sunny. and john. and john. and aaron.

i heard on the news that power just went out to the west side of edmond where the storm was. my friends began twittering about the power loss from their phones.

since we were totally in the clear, chris and i stayed up and kept our friends informed of the weather.

tornado on the ground.

over broadway.

even though they were hiding in closets and basements, they could know exactly where the tornado was because of twitter.

and they could know when the coast was clear.

i know twitter is all about friends and fun and updates and random 140 character bits of life, but in situations like this, i wonder how powerful it will be…

what if twitter was around during 9-11? during bigger storms? hurricanes? earthquakes? blackouts?

i think twitter can save lives - and i think it will. (remember, read the tweets from the bottom up in order for them to make sense!)

i’m still working at finishing up the never-ending blogroll (which, if you would like to be on, click here and let me know - i just ask that you link me back!).

i’ve spent this weekend out exploring some new blogs and visiting some old favorites. here’s a list of four blogs i am really digging right now.

1. spence smith - spence lives in nashville and is one of the people from compassion who led our uganda trip. i heart this boy. he has been an encouragement in my life since the day i got to know him. chris got to meet him this weekend when he was in oklahoma city. he thinks similarly to the way we do about church, friends, and chocolate.

2. lynseleanne.com - lynse, lynse, lynse. a birmingham girl, and wiser than any early-twenty-year-old i know. lynse emailed me a couple of years ago asking for some help working through a problem i had some experience in. she drove a few hours to meet me while i was in nashville last year, and again when i spoke in decatur, alabama. and i’m honored to say this coming weekend, i’ll have a role in her wedding.

3. ethos/randy elrod - another dreamer i had the pleasure of meeting on the uganda trip. randy and his lovely wife live outside of nashville. every conversation i had with them on the trip was inspiring and beautiful. randy is fulfilling a dream for artists.

4. ally simpson - this list would not be complete without my irish friend ally simpson. ally lives in ireland. (chris and i want to move to ireland and open a music shop and a hoover repair store - hopefully most of you understand that dream, and if you don’t you are seriously missing out). ally says things i feel but can’t say on my blog. he’s smart. he’s honest. and he’s another dreamer.

any new blogs you are lovin’ right now?

i want you to meet roland. since there are no children in uganda that have been waiting longer than six months, i decided to branch out into other countries.

ROLAND HAS BEEN SPONSORED, THANK YOU! click here to go directly to roland’s sponsorship page.

roland lives in brazil with his uncle and his mom. i wonder what happened to his dad? is he alive? did he abandon them?

roland’s uncle is sometimes employed as a laborer, but his mother is like many of you - a stay at home mom. roland has two siblings. and he likes playing with marbles. one of chris’ and my sponsor children, abdukerim, who lives in ethiopia, likes playing with marbles too.

anyway, roland has been waiting over six months for a sponsor. i trust that today will be his last day waiting. you can sponsor him now. ROLAND HAS BEEN SPONSORED, THANK YOU click here to go directly to roland’s sponsorship page.

**unless you are sure you want to sponsor him, please do not hit the “select this child” button on his page. that will make his page unavailable for an hour or more, and someone else that truly does want to sponsor him might miss the chance.**

every child i’ve ever posted on flowerdust.net has been sponsored within a few hours. that’s remarkable. i hope today is no different.

there is a severe weather seminar in our apartment complex’s clubhouse tonight. i am so there. and i am so excited. i’ve had this marked on my calendar for a month.

i love tornadoes. i’ve experienced 28 or so of them up close and personal (and blogged some of them here)

what makes you a nerd?

my twitter friends heard it first last night.

the mad church disease manuscript is done!

at least the rough draft anyway.

thank you again for all you have done to help!

needed a little break from writing and got to thinking about you guys…GOTTA LOVE THE YOUTUBE FREEZE FRAME…goo. They all looked like this. ::sigh::

by the way, if anyone has any secrets as far as making their internal mic on mac book pros work a little better, please share. i know i’m kind of quiet naturally, but i was talking pretty loudly here! my input settings are maxed out in system prefs and i put the volume at 150% in iMovie…you’ll still have to turn it up to hear me….so, help a sista out?

as craig said on swerve today, the staff at lifechurch.tv is resting, fasting and praying this good friday. i am really looking forward to having a day of focus like this.

it has been a while since i asked how i can pray for you guys, so please, allow me
to do so today. how can i pray for you this easter weekend?

i frequently check compassion’s site for children in uganda who have been waiting longer than six months to be sponsored. much to my surprise (and delight) it hasn’t been turning up any results.

until today.

oh-my-gosh-i-want-to-sponsor-her-myself. chris had to stop me or else we wouldn’t be able to pay our rent…

this is jacqueline. she is five. SHE HAS BEEN SPONSORED! THANKS! click here and be taken directly to jacqueline’s sponsorship page.

There are 3 children in the family. Her father is sometimes employed as a seller in the market and her mother is sometimes employed as a farmer.

As part of Compassion’s ministry, Jacqueline participates in church activities. She is also in kindergarten where her performance is average. Playing with dolls and playing group games are her favorite activities.

the market her father sometimes works in probably looks a little bit like this. (thanks, shannon, for the pic!)

anyway…i have a feeling this little girl will break a lot of your hearts, so if you’d like to sponsor her, click here and be taken directly to her sponsorship page.

because every time i’ve done this, you guys have sponsored these long-waiting children within hours of me posting. so, if you click and it says she has already been sponsored, why not find another child and rescue them from poverty today?

i have taken the strengths finder now 3 times (the 2.0 version this last time, today).

here have been my results:

In 2004:
Strategic
Connectedness
Ideation
Belief
Input

In 2006:
Strategic
Connectedness
Restorative
Intellection
Input

In 2008:
Connectedness
Empathy
Intellection
Belief
Input

so there are some clear themes that have stuck around through the ages. i am a little surprised strategy fell off the list entirely after being my signature strength for the last few years. connectedness always proved to be a close second, so having it as the signature strength now makes total sense.

if you want to see more about what those strengths mean, you can click here.

what about you? have you taken the strengths finder?

over this guy

(it’s my husband, in case you were wondering)

today i had lunch with cathi, who oversees finance amongst other things at life. out of nowhere, she mentioned how she overheard another staff member talk about my husband…saying how much he enjoyed working with him. and then she said everyone she’s heard talk about him just raves about him. she’s not the first person to tell me this, either. his boss, john, has also expressed how much he enjoys working with my man.

so yeah. um, i married that guy. and he’s a freakin rockstar.

what do you love about your spouse? and, if you’re not married, what WOULD you love about your spouse?

what does an abundant life look like to you?

ok, so, i get a lot of emails around christmas and easter from really stressed out church leaders/staff/volunteer/family members, the like.

and i’m curious…

easter weekend makes you feel…

your vote is anonymous, but feel free to discuss as well…

easter and christmas are historically the most attended weekends in the church. many people only go to church on these weekends.

something i woke up thinking was, what if, in addition to having the amazing services most of us have, we added something different to our focus?

we would have services…worship and celebrate together…but it doesn’t end there.

to “this is the weekend you need to be AT church” we add “this is the weekend we are all going out into the community and bringing the message of the gospel TO the community?”

why not start new traditions in addition to one that the church has had for centuries?

with the masses of people who typically come on these weekends, can you imagine the impact this could have on a community?

just a thought.

ok, married people, sex does rule (cue 80s lingo flashback…now).

but that’s not what we’re going to talk about.

i’d like for us to discuss THE sex RULE.

“the rule” (for lack of a better term) that most churches have which states a married woman and a married man cannot be alone (car rides, office time, counseling, meals, travel, etc.) with a member of the opposite sex that is not his or her spouse.

all of the churches i have been employed by have “the rule.”

yet, i was talking with a friend who is also on staff at a church who does not have the rule. he thinks it’s a little legalistic.

another friend said,

“you know that whole theory where people live up to the expectations set before them? to me, this rule says, ‘we don’t trust you to make wise decisions on your own, so we’re enforcing a rule that might help keep you out of trouble.’ of course people are still having affairs and getting involved inappropriately. they’ve already been told they can’t be trusted!!”

one church i was on staff at a while back had the rule, and yet within a couple of years, four staff members, including three in public leadership, had affairs. and this happens all the time. to churches with “the rule” in place.

so…what do you think? is “the rule” necessary? should husbands and wives involved in church leadership set “their rule” instead of the church? does it really prevent anything? or is it a darn good idea that protects leaders? what do your “rules” look like if you have any??

in target, going to buy some new venus embrace razors. (the ads were getting to me, i had to try it).

anne: i’m glad i’m getting these…it’s been forever since i’ve shaved my legs.

chris: how long, really?

anne: it depends on which leg.

chris: [silence]

lesson: husbands, your wives are busy people. sometimes, we can’t shave them both. we’re lucky if we can just get the knee down. if you think it’s something you might not want to know…don’t ask.

pantyhose and elevators and my own skin. those are three things i’m uncomfortable in. (oh, wow. that rhymed!)

why the pantyhose? should be obvious. elevators? not a fan of getting stuck in a big metal box.

my own skin?

it has to do with my heart and my brain and my aspirations and dreams.

ministry is a fairly male-dominated game. and that’s cool. drill it down even more, when you have a heart for encouraging and equipping and dreaming with other pastors, well…as a girl, that can be tough to do. as a 20-something year old girl, perhaps even tougher.

most male leaders i know aren’t playing any kind of chauvinistic or age-hatin’ cards. so it’s not an issue of disrespect that i feel like i’m up against. there are just differences in guy leadership and girl leadership. the ways god has gifted us and crafted us.

most (but not all) women in ministry feel led to work in children’s ministry, education, women’s ministry…but i don’t. i know my calling…and it is working with pastors.

most of whom are men.

this is not a women-in-ministry debate. i just know that sometimes, i have a hard time wondering how it will all work out in the end. how does this look in my daily life? in my job? in the world…?? writing a book is pretty universal. and that’s a good start…but i know there’s more…

brody had this on his blog.

since i am a dallas-girl-moved-oklahomian, i found this ever so appropriate and dare i say, modestly true?? (grin) i kid.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM ALL!!!

a few people have recently brought to my attention a disconnect between my blogging personality and my in person personality. on my blog, i use phrases like “shut yo mouth” and “turn it up, baby!” which i would never, ever say in person.

unless i was heavily medicated.

it’s true - it’s super easy for me to write using lots of !!! and CAPS and i am certainly a blog extrovert. as shaun said in africa, “you’re much more reserved in person…” and it’s true.

i took the myers-briggs test today (like the official one) and i ended up being an INFJ, or Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging.

i’m not that introverted…it was almost split down the middle. my two strongest characteristics were judging (90%) and feeling (70%).

FEELING? WHAT? did you NOT just say you were a thinker?

yeah…so i thought. i guess i was in denial.

anyway…since i am beginning to meet more of you in person, i just thought i’d give you a heads up.

if you want to know the details of my personality, this page right here pretty much sums it up 110000%.

have you ever taken the myers-briggs? what were your results?

so, the post from the mailbag stirred up lotsa lotsa good discussion. i think, after reading through it today, i am going to separate out a few topics which brought out some great chit chat.

one of those things - tithing.

some people said it’s not necessarily biblical to tithe at all. some people said 10% wasn’t required. some people said it should be given to the church. some people said the church is hard to define, so who’s to say the bible doesn’t just mean THE CHURCH?

what do you think…and why?

i’ll be honest. i didn’t know who penelope trunk was a few months ago. a friend said she was a fab writer, and as an aspiring fab writer myself, i figured i should click on over.

hooked. on. sentence. one.

imagine my delight when i discovered she was going to be speaking at south by southwest. imagine my heartache when i discovered she was speaking at the same time as kathy sierra.

oh well. i could get the kathy podcast later.

after an amazingly brutal career advice conversation with the crowd (i love this woman even more now) i stood in line to bid a fond (and admittedly nervous) hello. something she had said earlier about people being afraid to be amazing and great really resonated with some things i’m internalizing at the moment.

so my question for her at the end?

“what would you say to someone who’s afraid to be great?”

“well, uh, you have some food in your teeth.”

lovely. bloody spinach dip. $^@%#!

“you need to surround yourself with people who will tell you that you have food between your teeth.”

she encouraged me to find people who fail, so i can learn. she inspired me to set huge, ginormous goals. to find people who dream big too.

**
now, i know i am not the only one who’s struggling with that fear - the fear of being great. and if you have asked the why and the how of overcoming that fear…

don’t worry.

the fact you are asking that question in itself means you care.

and you will be great.

(that’s the last little bit she told me).

and with the smallest little bit of oomph in my heart, i said thank you, we said goodbye, and i scurried off to the bathroom to pick the spinach out of my teeth.

i am sitting on i-35 in austin right now, very grateful for the 3g wireless card plugged into my mbp. traffic is a little better with a litlte wifi.

occasionally i get emails that i think can provoke some awesome discussion.

“what’s the deal with most modern churches? i understand the idea of local churches, but doesn’t that mean a body of believers within a community (not necessarily a “building”)? and with technology the way it is nowadays, can’t a community be practically anywhere? why do i feel guilty for not serving in my local “building” when i know i serve others daily in my life. why do i feel guilty for not being in a small group or always going to a service that my local “building” coordinates when i know i hang out with other believers regularly? why do i feel guilty when i don’t tithe to my local “building” but i give money to other believers and causes that i feel led to give to? is the culture of the modern church one that is so singularly focused that the local church has become an institution and not a lifestyle, which i think is the way the new testament intended it to be? i know there is a need for churches in our culture, but why do those churches make other ways seem unacceptable?”

any takers?? let’s discuss…

tomorrow, terry, zach (our digerati ninja) and i will road trip down to austin and meet up with bobby for the south by southwest interactive festival.

(yes, i wish i could stay for music and film. i really, really do)…

anyway, we are having an open, meet up type breakfast sunday morning at 8 am (yaaaawwwnnn!!) at las manitas in downtown austin. if you are going to be at sxsw or you just want to hang out with a bunch of techies, feel free to join us.

if you are planning on dropping by, can you email me here?

otherwise…i’ll try and get a little video going…these little road trips can be fun…

question to keep you busy over the weekend: what is your favorite blog (other than mine, of course…ha! just kidding!) and why?

After three solid days of intense experiences in Africa, we took a small plane (which was an intense experience of itself) to a spot about 250 miles away from Kampala, the only city in Uganda. The lodge we were staying at was powered by a generator. The nearest medical facility was six hours away on unpaved and potentially unsafe roads.

We were in the middle of nowhere.

And it was time to rest.

One afternoon, we took a ferry across the Nile River and then hopped in a small bus. We drove half an hour on the bumpiest dirt road one could ever imagine to Murchison Falls, one of the many wonders of the world. We then hiked another half hour to the very top.

Slowly we progressed on a narrow, rocky trail, dodging tree branches and mosquitoes along the way. We occasionally stopped at the most beautiful parts of the rapids, taking each other’s pictures, but for the most part, the hike remained quietest part of the trip.

As we reached the top of the falls, we passed several signs warning us of the steep cliffs and the danger that awaited. Nobody was scared. Everyone was in awe. We helped each other over the slippery rocks and finally reached the very top.

Our guides told us many people have died at Murchison Falls. There are no rails to stop you from falling over. It’s you. The rocks. And the falls. The beauty of water is transformed into something breathtaking. People become mesmerized by the unique blend of tranquility and power. Some to the point they lose footing and fall over.

Standing as close to the edge as our leaders and guides would let us, we let the wind carry the spray and slowly drench us. Any fears of falling, of accidentally swallowing the parasite-infested water, of getting ravished by malaria-carrying mosquitoes…had all vanished.

The hardships of the trip – the pain we saw, the poverty, the brokenness…those things didn’t disappear or float away in the rapids of the Nile. But taking that day to rest…to go to a quiet place and be reminded of the incredible power of the Creator, if anything, more tightly knit His sovereignty and hope to the terrible things we did see.

Rest bound together the incomplete to the complete.

We cannot be dependent on ourselves and dependent on God at the same time. When we consider the practice of rest unnecessary, we also will inevitably lose sight of the necessity of God.

barna released a report recently identifying five segments of church attendance.

from the report,

“The fact that millions of people are now involved in multiple faith communities - for instance, attending a conventional church one week, a house church the next, and interacting with an online faith community in-between - has rendered the standard measures of “churched” and “unchurched” much less precise.”

so, out of the following…which segment do you identify with more? if you would rather remain unidentified, just type in anonymous for your name and don’t link back to your blog.

Unattached - people who had attended neither a conventional church nor an organic faith community (e.g., house church, simple church, intentional community) during the past year. Some of these people use religious media, but they have had no personal interaction with a regularly-convened faith community. This segment represents one out of every four adults (23%) in America. About one-third of the segment was people who have never attended a church at any time in their life.

Intermittents - these adults are essentially “under-churched” - i.e., people who have participated in either a conventional church or an organic faith community within the past year, but not during the past month. Such people constitute about one out of every seven adults (15%). About two-thirds of this group had attended at least one church event at some time within the past six months.

Homebodies - people who had not attended a conventional church during the past month, but had attended a meeting of a house church (3%).

Blenders - adults who had attended both a conventional church and a house church during the past month. Most of these people attend a conventional church as their primary church, but many are experimenting with new forms of faith community. In total, Blenders represent 3% of the adult population.

Conventionals - adults who had attended a conventional church (i.e., a congregational-style, local church) during the past month but had not attended a house church. Almost three out of every five adults (56%) fit this description. This participation includes attending any of a wide variety of conventional-church events, such as weekend services, mid-week services, special events, or church-based classes.

what does going to church look like for you? how do you think “going to church” will look over the next ten or twenty years as our world gets smaller with technology?