when vacation feels like the movies

I don't know what it is, but many times a vacation can feel like a movie. Everything you do, and even the experience itself brings some weird feeling of being in a movie. You keep looking around wondering if this is real and just in awe of how you got to this place. This vacation for me was just that, but it came in the most familiar place in the world... home. This year I come home to Texas like usual for Christmas, but this time I saw some family that was somehow lost for the last 6 years of my life; my mom and 3 sisters. As the anticipation built as I got closer to the terminal in the airport, I didn't know what to expect when mother picked me up. But as I got there it all I know is that is was a long time coming. I couldn't believe I was driving with my mom again to see my 3 sisters. It seemed a little sureal, but was such an amazing time. As I walked into a kind of unfamiliar home, I was greeted by my 3 sisters on the staircase. I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy and love for my family that I have missed out on. Anyway, after staying up until 3 am, we were all laughing and talking about the life we have missed. They have all grown up so much and am glad we reunited again. I am looking forward to growing together in the coming years. Now that the close of my vacation comes near, I know that I am going to miss the thick Texas accents of my little sisters. If I had time to tell you the whole story, you would probably agree with me that it feels a little like a movie... It is funny how sometimes vacation feels like the movies...

all it takes is a picture

Have you ever looked at a picture of yourself and just wonder how you got to where you are in that picture? Have you ever looked at an old photo and think "what in the world was I thinking?" I had one of these moments today. As I stared into a photo of myself I didn't really know quite what to think. These last few months have been rather difficult for me. With my dad going through his second divorce and my grandfather passing away, it is easy to look at your life and wish things didn't have to happen the way they do. But as I continued to look at that picture, memories of the past filled my head. I remembered the heartache of when my parents first got divorced as a child. I remembered the many tears I cried when seeking to do the right thing. I remembered all the petty things I did that I got in trouble for. I remembered the good times and the bad times. I remembered the anger and the pain. I remembered the love and the laughter. And then I remembered what Jesus did and is still doing in me. I remembered Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." It is easy to look at what happened then or what is happening now and begin to ask "what if..." or even "why?" But as the memories of my life flashed in my mind, it was very clear of how I ended up who I am today in that picture. It was the love, the anger, the laughter, the pain, the heartache that made me who I am today. It was the trials and the victories that forged my character into something that could be used by God. See I believe that God is doing something in every one of our lives, helping us to become who He has designed us to be. Sometimes its easy and other times it is so hard, but if we persevere, it will produce character, and out of that a hope that lasts way beyond ourselves. Look at yourself today... what do you see? Sometimes all it takes is a picture...

duty, honor, & country

"Duty, Honor, & Country." Those 3 words continually loop through my mind as I recall my grandfather's funeral yesterday afternoon. As his casket was ushered in by highly ranked military men, we watched as they folded an American flag in memory of his life. We all stood in honor of him as three military men fired off their weapons for a 21 gun salute in honor of a great man, a great father, a great friend, and a great grandfather, Mansford Moon. Tears began to roll down my face as a soldier played the famous military tune from a small horn. The notes from that horn penetrated deep in all of us as we were finally hit with reality that our "Popo" was gone. As the soldier continued to play, it was as if the notes he were playing were somehow tugging on our heart strings. It is such an honor not only to have been blessed to have such an amazing grandfather, but to also carry on his name, "Mansford." As the memorial came to an end, the soldier took the flag and began to walk over to my grandmother. It was as if she already knew it was coming. My grandmother began to weep as well as each of us, as we watched her receive the flag in memory of her husband. It is those kinds of moments when you have to be truly grateful for the comfort of God's hope and the comfort of being together. For each of us, that was a memory that we not be lost. As tears continued to roll down all of our faces and we held each other tight, another soldier walked up to my grandmother and handed her 3 bullets from the salute. He said, "the first one represents Duty, the second represents Honor, and the third represents Country." Duty, Honor, Country... what powerful words to describe a long-lived life. As I held my cousin tight and walked back to our car, I looked back once more at His casket, thanking Jesus for blessing me to be able to be a part of this wonderful family. Salute to you Popo... I love you with all my heart. We will always remember the man you were to all of us. See you soon!!

i am second

I have been really interested in this new movement called "I am second." It is a collaboration of short movies created by real people, telling real stories of how Jesus is first in their life and how they are second. I was watching a video from a guy named Chris Plekenpol and I am utterly speechless. He was in the army and was the commander of about 100 men. He was fighting in Iraq when all of a sudden a car bomber ran his car into a tank. The bomb didn't go off when it was supposed to, but the terrorist was badly injured. The terrorist rolled out of the car, with the car about to explode. For a split instant, Chris could have saved the terrorist. But he said that he wasn't at the place to save his enemy. A few minutes later, they all watched as the terrorist blew up. Then it hit Chris... I am that terrorist... I was the enemy to the Lord, yet He sent His Son to die to take that heat. What a powerful picture of God's will for us. Anyway, there are tons of testimonies on the site. I am blown away at the reality of each testimony. If you have a chance check out the site at www.iamsecond.com... and you can check out Chris' testimony here.

Reunions

I don't know about you, but I love reunions... especially when you get to see or talk to people that you haven't gotten to be with for awhile. I got to spend this Thanksgiving with my dad and two sisters. They flew all the way up here from Texas to be with me... what a happy reunion. I love each of them so very much. I think that Thanksgiving has a whole new meaning when you get to see the ones you love face to face. I am so grateful for such a wonderful family. Speaking of family, today I had a happy reunion with the other half of my family that I haven't seen in over 8 years; My mom and 3 sisters! What a delightful day it is to finally connect with a piece of your life that you thought may have been lost forever. I spent the last 3 hours texting my sisters, catching up for all the years that we had missed. I am looking forward to seeing them all very very soon. You can check them out at www.shoushhouse.blogspot.com The Lord is so good!! Until next time...

the magic of Twitter

Well I have a confession to make. I am officially a fan of Twitter. I have had one for over a year now, but have not realized what it actually does until today. They always say that you learn something new every day. Now if you don't know what it is let me explain. If you have a Facebook or a Myspace, there is a space on those where you write your status... People typically write what they are doing or how they are feeling. Well Twitter is just that... it is a bunch of people that are writing "one liners" on how they are doing or what they are doing. But even that in and of itself seems a little boring to me, UNTIL today, when I realized that the majority of the people that use Twitter, use it from their mobile phone through text messaging. Once I turned on my phone in Twitter, I instantly was connected to the world with not only what I am doing, but what they are doing as well. And the cool part is that they can comment on what you wrote and you get it immediately through a text message. Anyway, I was a little slow hopping on the band wagon, but I really have enjoyed the day being able to connect with so many friends on such a different level. You should definitely check it out at Twitter.com. I even told my mom today to get one, so that will be fun. Well let me know what you think!!

there is only 1

this last week was Caleb Rogers 1st birthday. I was thinking a bit about this unique day in the fact that he has only 1 first birthday. It was so cool to watch how much this "little man" has grown. It seems as if it was only days ago when he was born and now here we sit watching him blow a single candle out on his birthday! Anyway, for his party we had to carve pumpkins. So Marie Hunt and I both worked together to make the #1 most creative pumpkin that I have ever seen. anyway, it was a great night for the first of many birthdays for little man.

the man we call McLovin

Today I had my small group at my house, and this week is one of the guy's birthdays, Brian Cox; aka McLovin. What can I say about this guy. He is one of the sweetest guys you will ever meet. I could tell you story after story about how much he has made all of us guys laugh. He has gone through a lot as a young man, but has so much life and color. Josh Kennedy and I can't even be in the room with him without laughing. He is a great guy that has such potential for great things. Anyway, today we celebrated his birthday with our small group. We surprised him by having a party for him. Half way through the night, about 10 girls from another small group came over and sang him happy birthday. After they left he looked at me and said, "this is the best birthday I have ever had... and I have never had this many girls at my party!" I about fell over with laughter. Anyway, it is moments like this when you are glad you have people around you that care more about others than they do themselves. Well here's to you Brian. Happy Birthday!

reading to learn...

It is so funny how our lives start out "learning to read", and then as we progress, we "read to learn." I am finally at that place in my life where I am reading to learn. Even in high school, it was more like reading because I had to. But now I am finally there. Anyway, I have been reading this book called 'Jesus wants to save Christians' that I highly suggest and I thought I would share with you just a glimpse of what it is about. Here is the excerpt from the back of the book...

There is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building.Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago about a study revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty.

This is a book about those two numbers.

It's a book about faith and fear,
wealth and war,
poverty, power, safety, terror,
Bibles, bombs, and homeland insecurity,
It's about empty empires and the truth that everybody's a priest, it's about oppression, occupation, and what happens when Christians support, animate and participate in the very things Jesus came to set people free from.

It's about what it means to be a part of the church of Jesus in a world where some people fly planes into buildings while others pick up groceries in Hummers.

the ripple effect

The ripple effect is that feeling you get over and over again as something moving continues to run over your heart, just like when a drop of water hits a pool of water and you watch the ripples continue out way farther than expected. Repossess was just that. The moment you think Repossess is fading, I hear another story or feel another ripple of God's presence in it all over again. I think all of us here in Washington were not only blown away at what God did, but are now amazed at how far the ripple of His presence has gone. Today I watched the recap video and am still captivated by what God did through undeserving but willing hearts. All I know is that when you can get out of the way, and let God move, He is then able to take the gospel way farther than you could ever preach, change hearts that you could never reach, and bring hope to those who seem lost. The ripple effect of Him moving is way more powerful than the ripple we try to create on our own. Let God lead and watch as He ripples through your life, and changes a world through you.