NEWSBREAK

I have some exciting news...

...I am incredibly pleased to announce that you have helped me raise ALL of my money for Haiti!

And the best part is,

it wasn't just barely enough, or even enough, 

it was MORE than enough! 

So I just want to take a minute to praise the Lord for providing so abundantly!

He is SO good!

His provision astounds me. 

I also want to thank all of you! 

Thank you for helping me do this! 

It's so humbling,

 and has been such a blessing to see all of you support me in this.

It means so much to me to know that I have such a large and generous support team behind me through this.

Thank You.

But I do have another request, 

raising the money is only a small part of your role,

I still need your prayers more than anything!

Our team is going to some very remote and underdeveloped places in Haiti.

This is NOT going to be a simple, easy or comfortable trip.

It's going to be hard and very uncomfortable. 

We are going to need your support.

We need your prayers. 

We need your encouragement. 

We need you to be a part of this with us. 

You are a member of our team as much as anyone of us actually going. 

As a team, we appreciate each and everyone of you. 

And we thank you for being a part of this. 

PS-I'm going to try and keep up the blog as much as I can while I'm there...but I have a feeling internet will be scarce. 

That's Not Logical.

Tonight, I went to community group, like I do most every Thursday night.

And as usual it was absolutely WONDERFUL.

I have the best community group.

And yes, I am bragging. 

There are a few things that make our group so great!

Allow me to share them with you:

There aren't many of us. 

There's only 6 of us total.

That allows us to get into some juicy debates.

And we've gotten comfortable enough with each other, 

that we aren't afraid to challenge each other's opinions. 

We aren't doing a "bible study" per-say. 

Yes, we are studying the Bible.

But, we aren't following someone else's curriculum. 

We have decided to let the Holy Spirit lead us as we read through the Gospels. 

And it's REALLY cool.

We like to talk.

Okay, it's a group of 6 girls, so that's not TOO surprising.

But, it's what we're talking about that's so exciting. 

We're asking questions,

giving personal examples,

sharing ideas,

etc. 

It's pretty dang awesome. 

There was one phrase that I found myself repeating a lot tonight, 

"That's not logical."

I must have said it 10 times.

(I'm sure it got old.)

But I just was faced with the reality that sometimes God just ISN'T logical.

And that just baffles me.

I mean, I'm logical so shouldn't God be too?

Well, I'm overly logical at times, 

it has shown itself to be a problem on a few previous occasions. 

While it is something that I enjoy and do find very helpful, 

it might not always be appropriate. 

God is not always logical.

At least to my puny human brain. 

It made me wonder if I hadn't been raised the way I was, 

would I be a Christian?

I find, that I don't think I would be.

Because think about it, 

if someone told you that some "big spirit being" spoke and everything came to exist, 

I don't know if I would believe that. 

Or that some random man was born of a VIRGIN???

And he later went on to DIE ON A CROSS, 

and then was RAISED FROM THE DEAD???

That is the complete opposite of logical.

 I'm always somewhat shocked or surprised when I hear stories of those people who have never heard of the Gospel, or Jesus, or anything of the sort, and come to believe after someone has JUST told them about it.

Perhaps, I am just someone of little faith. 

I don't know. 

I do know that I am so so grateful that I was raised by MY parents,

and not someone else, 

because to be honest, 

if I had learned about all of this later in life, 

I don't know if I would believe it.

But you know, 

maybe God is logical,

because didn't He know that all along?

Eerie isn't it?

KONY 2012

So, I just recently watched a video that someone had posted on Facebook.

I almost didn't take the time to watch it, 

because it's late, 

I'm tired,

and

it's 29:59 minutes long. 

(that's a long video)

Yes, it was quite long. 

But it was worth it. 

Here's what it was about, 

this was a video about Joseph Kony. 

Any idea who that is?

Yeah, I didn't either. 

Turns out he's this super nasty war criminal in Africa.

He is the leader of the LRA, 

the Lord's Resistance Army, 

The LRA is, as I understand it, a bunch of

 murders, 

kidnappers,

rapists, 

etc, 

who use the Lord as a their reasoning to why they are doing what they do. 

Kony, claims that God sent His spirits to communicate this mission to him, 

and that He must, under fulfillment of the Ten Commandments, see it through. 

And what are they doing you may ask?

They are kidnapping young boys to enlist as soldiers, 

kidnapping young girls to use as sex slaves, and rewards, 

murdering innocent people, 

etc

(typically using the kidnapped boys to kill their own families).

And he's been doing this for TWENTY-SIX years. 

You may be wondering (as am I) how on earth this could be going on for so long?

Because no one knew. 

All this was happening in Uganda, the Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan. 

That's all the way in Africa. 

They don't have toilets, 

or floors,

or clean water,

all they have is AIDS, 

Malaria,

and a whole host of other life threatening diseases. 

Life is just hard there, right?

That's just the way it is, right?

There's really nothing I can do about it, right?

WRONG.

Yes, life is difficult in Africa. 

It is a continent, full of many countries that lack many of the luxuries that we have in our country. 

And yes, they are luxuries. 

Very few of the things we "need" are actually needed to sustain our lives. 

Don't get me wrong, 

I love my IPhone, 

Facebook, 

Wendy's, 

Wal-Mart,

and everything else that is available to me in this country.

The United States is an INCREDIBLE country. 

Not only for what we have, 

but also for who we are. 

The citizens of the USA have proven over the years to be people who stand up for what is RIGHT.

Who believe in FREEDOM. 

And who FIGHT to protect it. 

So now, how does all of this come together?

Well, allow me to share. 

This year, 2012, Joseph Kony WILL be arrested for his crimes.

He WILL be brought to JUSTICE.

And he WILL have to answer for his ACTIONS. 

This year, 2012. 

Great, that's awesome, but how does that affect me?

He will only be brought to justice if the people DEMAND it. 

The US government has sent troops to aid in the capture of Kony,

but if the end isn't in sight, 

it's no longer in the country's "best interest" to stay.

So it is our job to MAKE it the country's best interest. 

We have to DEMAND IT. 

It's our turn to make this real.

It's our turn to stop him.

It's our turn to save lives.

We can do it.

We have to do it.

This video explains it far better than I can,

I only learned about all of this just recently, 

and it sort of makes me sick knowing how happily I've lived in ignorance. 

Ignorance is no longer an option.

The Big City.

Well guys, 

tomorrow morning, 

bright and EARLY, 

(5:20am to be exact)

I am off the the big city.

That's right I'm going to LA yall!! 

I'm off to visit the BFF. 

Krista Doyle. 

Isn't she just precious?

I'm not entirely sure what this weekend has in store for me.

Hopefully it includes ice cream and celebrities. 

I know there was talk of Roller Derby, 

gumbo, 

the beach,

 the cast of The Hunger Games...

...so who knows what sort of shenanigans we'll get ourselves into. 

All I hope is that by the time I come home Monday, 

I have played in the Fantasy Factory. 

So Krista Doyle, make it happen!

Don't worry I'll keep you guys posted.