Tune In

Scratching. Screeching. Squealing. Eyebrow raising. Head tilting. Radio static. You know-that place between the two channels where you hear more than one broadcast or maybe you just hear the white noise that is nothing at all or is it everything at once? However distracting and irritating static can be, it can easily be stabilized by the small yet precise movement of a tuning knob. All you have to do is tune in.
So here is my goal and my challenge:

• Tune in  - focus on the definite mark that I am trying to reach. Don't let something to the right or left distract me from the clear vision or confirming voice. When the days activities feel chaotic and disjointed, roll to the desired station that offers clarity. When my thoughts are scattered yet also intertwined, adjust my antennae to find that place that brings the melody and harmony to the forefront. I want to tune my ear to hear THE Voice above all static and above all other voices. 

Short and sweet today.

Tori

A Prayer for my School and Staff This Year

I haven't had good deep sleep in a couple of weeks now. It is always like this leading up to school. I haven't had my official back to school dream of my teeth falling out, but I have had some doozies! Last night I was dreaming that I was having a scary dream (how weird is that - a dream within a dream!) and in the process of wringing my hands on the blanket, realized it was a tiny kitten and almost smothered him. Luckily I awoke from my dreaming dream just in time. 😹 I'll have to look that up later because I love dream interpretation. See what back to school does to me?! 😂 So early this morning as I began to pray, I wanted to be sure to remember the words and thoughts that were coming to me so I decided to write them down. This was definitely a two way conversation and I felt God was really confirming my requests as well as showing me how he wants me to pray for me, my school, and my staff this year. 

• Thank you, God, for new beginnings! Thank you for giving us a do-over where we may have been weak in practice, in attitude , and in integrity in the past. May we take full advantage of this school year to be strong in those areas. Thank you for new opportunities to invest in children, families, and each other. The seeds we plant in the upcoming months will harvest in our schools, our great town, and even our nation one day. Let us make a commitment to plant seeds of destiny in our students, fortitude in our families, and compassion in our teams.
• Equip us with unconditional love, unspeakable joy, and unbelievable strength to be your representative each and every day. Show us what that love looks like. Set our soul to look for the joy in every situation. Guard our mind and body against despair so that we can walk in your contentment. You have given us a strong, sound mind!
• Engage us in a vision.  Help to realize our corporate purpose as well as our individual purpose.  Let us see beneath the surface and beyond the horizon as we move our focus from ourselves to those around us. 
• Endear us to one another. Let our relationships be stronger and more honest than they have ever been before. Let our friendships be steadfast. Let our partnerships be enthusiastic. 

As I turned to my Bible, the scripture for today is Psalm 130 and of course I wanted to include it! 

Help, God-the bottom has fallen out of my life!

Master, hear my cry for help!

Listen hard! Open your ears!

Listen to my cries for mercy.

If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, 

who would stand a chance?

As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,

and that's why you're worshiped. 

I pray to God -my life a prayer-

and wait for what he'll say and do.

My life's on the line before God, my Lord,

waiting and watching till morning, 

waiting and watching till morning. 

Looking forward to an indescribable year!

I'm a Survival Show Junkie!

It's true. I'm a survival show junkie! I love them all - Naked and Afraid, Bear Grylls, Dual Survival, Alaskan Bush People, etc...  You just never know when you are going to need to know how to make a fire with a twig and a chunk of your hair, or how to properly cook your Argentine grasshopper to avoid severe stomach cramps. I saw an episode the other day where they were trying to survive in Texas. I had to laugh. They made our state sound so ominous with the "Diamondback Rattlesnake and extreme temperatures." Now why couldn't I get on that episode? I mean, we live that one everyday! But really, I watch those shows and think "Hey, I could do that," and then they show a snake and I would be calling for the medical team because I would certainly be feeling extremely ill. And the dark - it is so  dark! I can't do that much dark. All those critters creeping around that I can't see, ugh. I am truly amazed at how some of them make it the 21 days in some of the conditions and facing the adversaries they encounter. They persevere on sheer willpower. Determination!
I love how Bear always finds a 'battered' canoe washed up at the edge of the most ferocious river. And what do you know, it is right beneath a huge tree that is just dripping with sap to make a little paste to plug that tiny whole in the bottom of the boat. But I have learned how to get drinkable water from the condensation of your - umm 'bodily fluids.' I still don't know what berries are safe to eat, but I am sure if I keep watching, I will find out. He is a walking survival guide. He knows his craft and is excited to share it. Knowledge!
And the Browns are so creative and engineering. They can make anything out of anything! Reminds me of my dad. I mean, a house out of plastic wrap? And I actually do love the door to the treehouse is an old car door. They see every item they touch as part of a bigger picture. Vision!
As I watch them not only survive, but thrive in their situations, I have to wonder what they key is. I don't know. But I do know they have three characteristics in common - determination, knowledge, and vision. Do I have what it takes to thrive in my 'environment?' My spiritual walk, my family, my occupation, my relationships? Maybe I can start here:

• Seek out, at all costs, whatever I need to survive/thrive. Sustenance, protection, a map to my final destination. Determine to make it!
• Learn as much as I can about what I am passionate about and then share it with others. Just get smarter!
• See every situation as an opportunity to make something bigger and greater. See further!

What is your "junkie" fix?  Maybe I'll write about my favorite cooking shows or Say Yes to the Dress some other time 😄

Tori

Behind the Wall - Haiti 2017

Everywhere you look in Haiti, there are walls. Walls of concrete, walls of cactus, walls of corrugated tin. This past week while on our mission trip to Mission of Hope, Haiti, one of our team members was asking, "What is behind the wall?" Is it a business? Is it a house? Are people behind the wall? What are they doing there? What if I could see behind the wall? The beauty of this question is that each time we asked to come behind the wall, we were welcomed with open arms.  We saw the operations of a vision to change every man, woman, and child in Haiti behind the Mission walls. We heard the dreams of future entrepreneurs and experts behind village walls. We felt gratitude and genuineness behind human walls. 

• Our mornings were filled with children - laughing, loving, and yes - even being stinkers :)  Through VBS and Sports Camp, the Mission is able to reach hundreds of children from surrounding villages. They are given tools and training to ensure their health and wellness such as bar soap, toothbrushes, and a hot meal each day of  VBS. They dance and sing, and hear the story of Jesus Christ and have the opportunity to accept him as their Lord and Savior. Our team carried kids on their shoulders - sometimes 2 or 3 at one time, served them food and water, washed their dishes and prayed with the future leaders of Haiti. The Mission walls are housing a generation of Haiti changers!
• Afternoon village visits are sometimes an emotional roller coaster. Talking to strangers, telling them your story, teaching them about Jesus can be scary, exhilarating, and self reflecting all at the same time. I love to hear the stories and dreams of the villagers. We talked to young students who are working hard to become engineers and doctors and teachers. We talked to moms and dads who wanted to take care of their families and offer them a bright future. And we talked to Christians who wanted to remain strong and grow deeper in their knowledge and love of God. We often asked if they had any questions for us. The most common question was if we had a relationship with Jesus because they were ready to tell us about him. Probably the most provoking question was, "Why don't you do this where you live?" That's a very good question. The relationships among the villagers is deep, loyal, accepting, and welcoming. The village walls may look menacing from the outside but behind them, we found a love that knows no boundaries. 
• Our projects this year were to deliver solar lights to 5 families, 2 pair of goats to 2 families, and paint a house. That's right. A solar lantern and radio is the only source of light that these families have to allow students to study or do homework after dark. The source of light to travel the rocky roads on a dark night. The source of music to bring joy and a smile to a home. Delivering goats is always one of our favorites. I mean who doesn't love goats? Families use these goats for milk, cheese, breeding, and such. The beauty of this project is the ability to pass on the blessing to another family after they have baby goats. The gift keeps on giving:) Painting a 2 room house in a couple of hours can be such a blessing to a family. I love climbing on sketchy ladders, standing on paint buckets and listening to spontaneous worship while we work. To color someones world both physically and spiritually is something you have to experience while in Haiti! They were never hesitant to lower their human walls to accept our service. The reality is that WE were the ones who were truly blessed by the experience of meeting them. 

We all have walls. Walls that hide. Walls that protect. Walls that divide. Our team has seen what can happen when you allow others behind the wall. I feel like we as a team allowed each other behind some of our walls and I pray we will be able to continue to welcome people behind our walls to see our passions, our dreams, our abilities. You just never know what you will find if you just ask to be let in! 

I hope you enjoyed a little highlight of our trip. You can view some of our pictures on my Facebook page. Thank you all so much for your support and your prayers. We could feel them in our strength and health. 

Tori

Welcome! Thank You for Joining Us!

Welcome! Thank you for joining us! How many times have I said this to someone? How many times have I read this in some form? Yesterday, I read this statement over and over and those simple words would not leave me. Between rehearsal and service, we were taking time to pray in the sanctuary and our 'Welcome' greetings were being broadcast on the screen. There are several visual announcements that loop to a soothing selection of melodies. I looked up and read, "Welcome! Thank you for joining us!" I felt so giddy as I read it and said to myself, "Yes, thank you, God, for joining us!" I continued to pray for the service and once again looked to the screen to see the same greeting. This time I thought, "OK, I know this is for the church to welcome the people so move on, Tori." But no, I just couldn't stop saying, "Yes, thank you, God, for joining us!" So for the next several minutes, each time that I viewed the broadcast, it was on the same greeting. And God certainly did join us in yesterdays service.
Today, I woke early, and I was thinking, "Thank you, God, for joining me!" As I was reading scripture today, I was reminded that He truly has joined me in every situation - my triumphs and my defeats; my laughter and my tears; my best and my worst. I don't know how I would have made it through some circumstances without him joining me - and I don't want to find out! 
So Welcome, thank you, God, for joining me and Welcome, thank you for joining my blog!

Tori