In the midst of a severe tornado watch all around us...I hung out in Birmingham with a dear friend! Got caught up at Starbucks, hit some malls, lunch at Johnny Rockets, drives in the rain...yup, it was fun!

Me and Elaine

Runnin' with the natives of Birmingham

Definitely candidate models for any store window...or not!!

Yeah, we're goofy together! )

Oops, facebook has begun to dominate where my pictures go! Sorry, homies! Here's a quick picture update of what's been goin' on with me. More pics of facebook, but since facebook is member exclusive, you have to have an account and permission from me to see them! Since my homies are xangans, and my "Life-ies" are facebookers, it's hard to juggle both of them! But here's some pictures to see what I've been up to:

Me and Bethany at the Louisiana Boardwalk

Sleeping in 20 degree temperature house!! *shiver* *headache*

Planning for lessons that night (Batesville, MS)

Ghetto Girls! (Hartsville, SC)

Last night, my team experienced a droplet of revival. Broken, crying, humbled, and needy, we came before the Lord on behalf of a situation that humanly seems impossible. But for God, nothing is impossible. On our knees and faces, we sought God and begged for His miracle to happen. As we knelt before the Lord, I experienced in one of the most powerful ways what the Body of Christ really is, and what it means.

We're just your average looking college-age young people. None of us would particularly stand out in a crowd, or be a candidate for presidency or American Idol...but God doesn't call the able and the "most likely to succeed." But God chose me and my team-mates -- Shanna, Matt, Christine, Jordan, James, Beth, Bethany, Austin, Crystal, Steve, Steven, Anna, Jared, Daniel -- to this ministry. To be God's instrument in bringing revival, but even more, to experience and live revival in our own lives, as well. It's a high calling.

"For God has allowed us to be trusted with the spreading of the gospel...." 2 Thessalonians

"Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people..." 2 Chronicles

My first experience with South Carolina has been a cold one, unfortunately! BUT...the coldness has proven to provide some "fun," or at least us girls thought it was. Friday night while en route from FL to SC, we stayed over night in a hotel...a hotel, mind you, with an outdoor hottub and pool! Shanna, Anna, Crystal, and myself discovered the said attraction, and went for a dip that night. It originated as just a relaxing time in the hottub..but soon progressed into something akin to the Polar-bear Club. Out in the 30 degree weather, we warmed up in the hottub, then ran and jumped into the freezing cold pool. Talk about shock! After repeating this several times and nearly developing hypothermia, we finally settled on spending the remainder of our time in the hottub, that was steaming like a firecracker (or was that the guys shooting off fireworks in the parking lot?).

Yeah, so adventures happen every day, and there is always something new to discover and be challenged by. And last week at the church in Florida was indeed a challenge. Sunday morning there was probably 75 kids, and throughout the week, 35-40 kids. Now Shanna and I love big groups, but this crowd was ridiculous! By Monday night, we were discouraged and outraged at the horrible behavior of the kids, and the lack of respect and  obedience among the children. We had to yell to even be heard half the time, and to say the very least, our patience and that of our band helpers, Matt, Steven, and Anna, were sorely tried and at the end of our ropes. I found myself thinking that this was a hopelessly impossible place for God to be able to speak to any kids heart, and frankly, I was so tired and upset at the kids, that there were moments when I confess that I almost didn't care!

BUT God used this place with these out-of-control kids to show me that it is GOD who does the work. Even when I can't keep control of the class, it's God who ultimately speaks to the kids. And on Wednesday night, there was some major spiritual warfare going on in that room. I have never felt it like that before. But an amazing thing happened before our very eyes!! God and His peace and calm settled over those kids, and as Shanna spoke our most fundamental principle and the most potentially life-changing message we teach in Dynamite Club, I saw God move among the kids in a powerful way, beyond what I can explain or take any credit for. One "too cool" 6th grader who I had been specifically been burdened for and had been praying for I could see that God was doing a work, and really speaking to his heart and transforming him. Praise God! After the last kid had left, me and Shanna just got down and praised God for what He had done that night. It was beyond what we could have done, and it was done by the hand of God himself.

God showed me that even in the rough, and most unlikely clubs, He still chooses to work! There is a battle going on in these guys and girls lives, spiritually and physically! And God just used this place to open my eyes even further to that, and to increase once again the burden for these children that He has been giving me.

So, here I am, at a new church, with new kids...but all of them facing the same pressures and battles. And I pray that God will do another great work in this club, as I know He can. And that He will also continue to teach me, even as I strive to teach these kids.

Today in Florida was our day off! And boy, was it a day off to remember! Our original plans were to hit the beaches, but the day dawned gray and sunless. But the alternative turned out to be just as much fun! My friend/team manager is a pilot, and so this afternoon Daniel took myself and a few of us team members up into the clouds! It was SO much fun! The little 4 seater was pleasantly cozy, and it was so crazy to be able to fly over the water and see Florida from the air!

Me and Beth hyped up for take-off

"And the waves they don't seem so high, when you're on top of them lookin' down..."

Daniel, our trustworthy pilot, and "copilot" Matthew

Sky-view of our church in Port Charlotte, Florida!

Me and Daniel outside our sweet ride!

And then, Japenese Steakhouse for dinner with our host parents!

So, ya'll, today was a thrill! I could handle the being in the sky more often, fo' sho'!

Well, here I am in Florida! *happy sigh* I believe, folks, that I have found that I am a Floridian at heart! Despite the fact that it is February and a blanket of snow covers half the US, I am in capris, short-sleeves, and sandals every day! AND...picking up a tan, or at least as much as I can in a week! But, ah, this is the life!

And yes, God continues to do a life-changing work in my life every day. Whether it's in the deepening of my prayer life, or my relationship with team-members, or my victory over sin in my life, God is faithfully weeding and pruning the undesirable branches of my life. Praise the Lord!

Here's some pictures from the past few weeks!

At the Life Action "reunion" in Alabama

Me and Katheryn, representing the RC and Red team

The RC team at Don Pueblo's in Grapevine, TX

Zac, Matt, Jordan, Steven, and Steve

Me and Bethany and our new friend at the mall

One Californian and two Floridians standing by our beloved palm...en route to FL!

Yes, in Florida, I found my dream-car...it must be a sign!

At the beach *happy sigh*

Me and Beth, basking in the sunshine!

It feels like every where I turn, I see God doing something amazing, either in my life or someone's life around me! I almost wonder what God is doing, because He's doing SO much, where is He going to take me? It's an adventure!

We are in Mississippi now, at an absolutely gorgeous church that was recently built after having burned to the ground two years ago. My partner Shanna is sitting through the services, so Crystal is teaching with me, and so far it's been a total blast! God has faithfully been giving me a heavy burden for every church we've gone into so far this half of the year, and a special burden for Dynamite Club. I KNOW that God can and will do great things in these children's live, as well as in the teens and the adults here! God has continued to develop my prayer life through this, as He keeps calling me into deeper and more passionate times of intersession for the people around me, as well as strengthening my faith in believing that God not only CAN do big things, but that He WILL, and IS doing them. What an amazing promise from the Lord!

I was reading last week in 1 Corinthians, where Paul is admonishing the church in Corinth to not claim their salvation through him, or Apollos, or any other. And the passage "I planted, Apollos watered, but GOD gave the growth." It's easy to think how good "Life Action" is, and how WE are bringing revival. But God has been showing me alot about infestation of pride, and that brief passage was a good reminder to me that no matter what we do, no matter how well we teach or sing our songs...nothing will come of it, unless God does something. And so, that passage is continually popping up in my mind throughout the day, and has been a good reminder for to be faithful in prayer, not only for my own spiritual growth, but also in praying specifics for the people around me, including my team-members.

Wow, folks, I wish you could see a window into my life! There is so much that I would love to share with you, so many lessons, miracles, and answered prayers saturating my life, but I will just say in the words of Mary...

 "My soul doth magnify the Lord, for He that is mighty has done GREAT things in my life, and worthy is HIS name!"

The first conference is over and done. 1 down....17 to go! For all of us getting back onto the road after having been on break for two months, we all snapped back into the routine extremely quickly! It almost feels like there was no break at all!

God did neat things here. Not necessarily for the response of the church itself, altho that was pretty positive, for what I hear. But for what God did in MY life in regards to my ministry here. As you know, I teach Dynamite Club, 2-6th grade. I love kids. And I've prayed for the kids that I teach and interact with. But for the first time, God gave me an actual burden for the kids here at this church. A burden so great, that at night before I went to bed, God was lay His hand on me, and call me to the side of my bed on my knees in heart-heavy prayer and intercession for them. A burden to intense that one night instead of staying in worship time until the kids were dismissed, I went to the Dynamite room, and alone on my knees before the Lord, interceded at the throne of God on their behalf. I can't explain it. They were just your typical group of kids. A little noisy, but full of life, fun, and laughter. Yet, God opened up a window of my soul to their need. It's a struggle to not let what I teach and do in clubs become a routine, and the kids I teach to just become a mass of faces. It's discouraging, because you don't really see results. You don't see "revival" break out. You don't hear radical testimonies from a 3rd grader on how his life was changed because of the Cracked Pot story, or the Obedience Skit. And so, as time goes on, it IS easy to lose heart. And also to become immune to the need that is there before me.

But God opened me to that here. There was one 6th grader named Derek, who God especially smote my heart for. Some kids minds can't wrap around the intensity of what it is to walk with God yet. But somehow, God showed me that for Derek, who has had a rough past couple of years, the moment of "understanding" had come, and that he had reached the mental and spiritual capacity for being able to really understand what it is we were teaching. And so, I prayed for him like I have never prayed before.

And you know what? I didn't see any results. I didn't see a radical change in Derek's life. But I do know something. That God called me to pray and intercede on his behalf, and I did. And I know and have faith like I've never had faith before, that God heard. And that God moved. And that God did a work in his life, that he will remember forever. I have that assurance from the Lord. And I am confident in it.

And I praise God for that. For what I know He did here, but also, for what God taught me about prayer and it's power. And also, about the faith to believe in what our God can do.

There are few people who one can honestly say that it was "friends at first sight," but while with the Blue Team, I found one. And so, my tribute to Maria.

Me and Maria in the bus, somewhere en route from Michigan to Alabama. Guitar buddies, all the way!

Dinner at Steak-N-Shake, where upon a dare.....

...We dared each other to eat one of the peppes inside the bottles marked "CAUTION! Contents HOT!" And...ahem, there WAS a reason for that label...I think my tongue is permanently singed.

Decked out in team clothes for the night...after we were requested not to wear jeans in the service anymore...bad girls together!

The guitars were constantly being pulled out, and some others joined in on accasion...

"Pink Day" or so it seemed! Maria, myself, and Mandy....

And one last guitar picture...

Maria, you're a forever-friend! Fun times!

Let the year officially begin! After two days of travelling, I and my recently reunited team are at our first church in Texas. Sun-shiney days, right? Think again. Rain and coldness is the current forcast, and it's definitely all of that and more!

Tomorrow is our first Sunday, and so everyone has been working hard to get everything up and running! Me and Shanna had a major brainstorm yesterday, and are totally revamping our entire lessons for Dynamite Club. It's exciting, but since we start tomorrow, it's slightly intimidating and mind-bogling getting it all ready to present to a rather large group of kids, so I hear. But I'm pumped and ready to go!

Well, my free time's running out, so I'm back to work!