Losing Life

Judy goes to INDIA - again!

This is my sister Judy with Tsunami orphans in Sri Lanka, August 2006.  This was her first trip to India and now she is going back in February!  Her VISA hasn't even expired...and here she goes again!  I am so proud of Judy for letting God capture her heart for the people of India.  She and a team of four others, including my oldest sister Lori will travel and do 3 women's conferences with India Gospel League.  The conferences are designed to inspire women to reach other women for Christ in their villages.  As Pradi Stephens (Director of IGL's Women with a Mission) says, "Women are God's secret weapon to grow the church in India." 

Most women do not have the resources to attend the conferences which involves travel.  It costs about $45 for a women to attend the 2 or 3 day conference.  Judy and her team would like to raise $20,000 to help thousands of women to attend these conferences that will train them to share Jesus with the other women in their villages. 

See Judy's new blog and follow her trip to India in February. 

Merry Christmas

Check me out...I am an Elf.  Oh,  so this is what I will be doing with my extra time.

DONE!

I am done.  I read the last page of the Bible last night at 7:50pm.  Woo Hoo...!!  I set a goal and I kept it.  I wish I could say the same for my exercise and eating habit goals...success seems to elude me.

Maybe if I blog about those goals, I will feel the same sense of accountability.  Hmmm....mayber AFTER Christmas.

90 day deadline

Today's the day.  Day 90 since I began my reading through the Bible in 90 days plan.  I have three more "days" to read - the Bible is divided into 12 pages of reading per day.  That means I have 36 more pages to read if I am going to make my goal of having read through the entire Bible in 90 days.  I think I will do it...yep all today.  That is about 2 hours and 15 minutes of reading.  Yep, I am gonna do it.

It's weird...like the last few weeks, I have been so excited about getting done, and now, I am kind of sad.  Like a good book that is coming to an end.  What am I going to do with all my extra time?

Bottom line, some days were just shear discipline, some days were like getting lost in a conversation with an old friend.  Mostly, I love God so much more 90 days later then I did when I began.  I LOVE GOD.  He is SO my hero.  And I love Jesus and I love the story of how Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice.  I am overflowing with LOVE for God, like never before in my 34 years of being a Christ follower.

The Bible is really just the best news ever.  I find myself singing in the shower because the good news is just so fresh in my mind all the time.  I am so so so glad that Jesus died for ME!  okay I will stop now....I am ready to cry and it is hard to read with tears in my eyes. 

ER and Church

Judiann and I spent a few hours in the Emergency Room tonight.  It got me thinking, what do emergency rooms and church have in common?  People.

• People there to serve
• People there to receive support
• People looking for solutions
• People who are scared
• Newcomers not sure where to go and what to expect

This is the best emergency room experience I have ever had.  Everyone was so helpful.  The signs were clear, the people walked me wherever I needed to go, everything was explained by people who seemed to have all the time in the world to help me and my daughter.  I actually walked out of there convinced that these people really cared about me and Judiann.  As we were leaving, the nurse who met us at the front desk was putting on her coat, apparently going off duty and getting ready to go home.  She stopped us and asked, "how did everything go?  Is everything okay?"  And she seemed relieved when we told her the test turned out fine.  Huh.  I think she really cared.

By the way, Judiann has a mild concussion.  Her brother ran over her on his sled and she hit her head on the icy hill.  She asked me over and over for an hour, "what happened?"  "How did I get hurt?"  "Why can't I remember anything?"  "Did I go to school today?"  So I called the doctor and she said she probably has a concussion and needs a CT scan of the brain to see if there is any swelling or bleeding.  The scan was fine and Judiann and I got some quality time together as I answered the same questions over and over again for about two hours.

Don't miss the conversation

Okay...here's my plan.  I really want to finish the Bible in 90 days and I am falling behind.  However, if I read 24 pages a day from today on...I WILL finish the Bible in 90 days on December 12th.  I really want to meet my goal, and I can do anything for 12 days right?  I will have to get up earlier and lay off the Tivo....oh wait, my tivo will store 12 days worth of programming...so no problem there.  No sense in getting CRAZY!

GUESS WHAT?  You too can read the Bible in 90 days!  Only you will have it easier then me, because you can get weekly support and encouragement along the way with video extras.  We are starting the 90 day Bible group on Monday night, January 15th right here at the yellow box.  It is a weekly group that meets for.... well....about 90 days.

My friend Patrick O'Connell is leading the group.  He is one of the brightest, most articulate, and fun people I have met lately.  He has a great story of how he found his way back to God.  Then he decided to read the Bible.  So he bought a 90 day Bible as a Christmas present for himself and his wife and they read the Bible at the beginning of 2006.  Now Patrick is ready to support others in their journey of the 90 day Bible.  Learn more about Patrick on his blog. 

God talked to me lots of times in the last 90 days...don't miss the conversation!