Thankful

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!
Mine was nothing short of eventful...
I did go home to Arkansas to see family, but my visit did not go *exactly* as planned.

The night I arrived to my dad's house, he had just left to go the ER with chest pains!
He was admitted to the hospital with full-blown pneumonia which is pretty scary since he is almost 71 years old! The weird thing is, he wasn't even coughing. My dad NEVER gets sick and his fever went very high. The doctor finally agreed to let him go home (after 4 days) just before Thanksgiving.
I am happy -- and Thankful! -- to report that he is doing much better. I appreciate all of your prayers for him.

Unfortunately, with all of the craziness surrounding my dad, I did not get to see any of my friends this trip. I sincerely apologize to all of you who I told I would contact over Thanksgiving! Things just didn't go as planned and even after Daddy came home, I felt that this Thanksgiving was meant just for family.
I know you understand, but I am sorry that we were not able to connect this time. I hope to return to Arkansas in the next 2 months; I promise to keep you posted!

Having such a scare has made me that much more aware of how truly blessed I really am. This holiday season, I am thinking of all of my family and friends, and giving thanks for each and every one of you. Love, family, and friendship are amazing gifts from God & I don't ever want to take them for granted.

Something Besides the Ordinary

Three friends of mine just returned last week from STORY Conference (a conference for writers & Christian leaders). Next year, I hope to go, too
[if I'm not on a book tour ;) ].

I was talking with two of them a couple of days ago and Donna shared one of the most profound messages she heard:
"Are you living a good story?"
Wow.
And then, my new friend, Valerie, wrote this on her facebook page:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

See a theme here?

This is the way I have been feeling about my own life, of late... When I look back on my years at age 80 or 90 (or God willing, 100), will I have a story to tell? If not, then why?

I think so many of us are about "getting through the day, the week, the end of the month," that we miss a lot of opportunities to make our lives count. We sleep away the hours or spend inordinate amounts of time on the computer (ahem), or simply piddle around doing nothing but watching TV or reading a good book... and there's nothing wrong with any of that. But when you get to the end of your life, will you wish you had done more?

Don't get me wrong; I'm not on that whole, "bucket list" kick and I am definitely not a reckless daredevil. I don't plan on taking up skydiving or bungee jumping (not that there's anything wrong with that).
However, I have learned, in the past three years, that stepping outside of my comfort zone is usually rewarding. And I now have an intense desire to make my life count for something besides the ordinary.

When people caution me about my involvement in fighting human trafficking, I think to myself,
"You just don't get it."
I am careful and we don't do anything rash or stupid, but ultimately, we entrust our safety to God and His Word states that
"no weapon formed against (us) will prosper..."[Isaiah 54:17] as long as we are acting within His will.
And I do believe that this is God's will... I believe His heart is breaking for the thousands upon thousands of women and children who are being so cruelly exploited by the sex-trade industry.

So I step out... WAY outside of my comfort zone.
I had never been in a strip club before my first Midnight Outreach and I had never knowingly talked to a prostitute before that first night on the streets of Baton Rouge. I had to get really uncomfortable in order to find relevance. I thank God that I belong to a church which helps us to do just that!

But when I get old, I want to be able to tell my children that I LIVED my life -- I didn't sleep it away or let it pass me by. I want to be eternity-minded and reach out to those who think they are forgotten.

This holiday season, why don't you try it, too?
Adopt a widow, participate in an outreach, commit to a cause, volunteer at a homeless shelter...
Wake up and DO something.
Reach out to runaway youth, adopt a child, become a "Big Brother or Big Sister..."
If you live in Baton Rouge, check this out: BRDC

And if you have a story, then tell it.
I am, and I want it to be GOOD.

Are You Kidding Me???

Seriously? It's NOVEMBER!!!

National Hurricane Center

This Little Piggy... Went Straight to Bed!

I have Swine Flu.

Ok, we don't know for *sure* that it's H1N1 because nobody's testing around here anymore. They diagnose based on symptoms.
I guess if you feel like yesterday's leftover cat vomit, that's enough to diagnose you.

Oh, and the fact that I've been sick for 9 straight days.
My symptoms:
*100 degree fever -- my friend in nursing school told me that, contrary to popular belief, they are seeing cases of H1N1 without the super-high fevers.
*Headache
*Body aches
*Sneezing/sniffly nose
*And a cough that just won't quit. It's now turned into bronchitis as well.
Yeah, fun.

Quite frankly, I'm somewhat relieved.
It's always better to get the fear out of the way quickly and replace it with reality.
And I would much rather gain immunity this way than through a shot which may, or may not, work.
In any event, I will be spending the next few days rolling in the mud and rooting for truffles in bed playing on my new laptop. =)

Turning 40 ---{-@

Forty years ago tomorrow... I was (finally) born.
I say "finally" because my mother had the joy of carrying me 11 months.

Yeah, you read that right.
ELEVEN MONTHS.

No, I'm not joking and that's no lie.

At first, the doctors thought they had made a terrible mistake in calculating her due date, but when I was only hours old, I was lifting my head (while on my stomach!) and looking around the room. I was definitely "late," of that, they were sure. But could I really be 2 whole months late??
Back then, they did not induce like they do now.
But my original due date was for the end of August and I was born the day before Halloween!

My grandmother came half-way around the world to be present at my birth.
She patiently waited for 2 months and then her visa ran out and she had to fly back home.
And so, my mother waited... and waited... and waited.
I'm sure she was wondering if I was EVER going to make an appearance!

When my mother became pregnant with my younger sister, her due date was for late September. Her doctor, still not fully convinced my due date was in error, jokingly gave my mom a 2nd due date... for late November.
My sister was born on November 29th.

As for turning 40, I only have one thing to say: Ptttthhhh!
And: At least I'm not as old as the Internet.
It turned 40 today.
Happy Birthday Al Gore. (Ha)

Never In a Million Years...

Everybody dreams -- as a child -- what they would like to be when they grow up. Years go by and those dreams shift and mature, and with time, the potential starts to fade. Our focus becomes narrower -- more confined -- to the things we feel are suitable for our quality of life.
We may think, "Well, this is it. This is my purpose in life, my infinitesimal mark on history..."

But then you hand God your life.

You entrust to Him everything you've ever wished for, dreamed of, or imagined.
It's not an act of desperation so much as a decision.
This decision could be made in a moment of sheer frustration -- when you think your life couldn't get any worse... or any more mundane.
Or it may simply be a longing deep within which keeps tugging at your conscience, letting you know there is SO much more to life than this.

Never in a million years would I have pictured myself where I am today.
The married with 3 children part is fairly typical, and something for which I feel profoundly blessed, but nothing else has turned out like I planned.

And that's a good thing.

--> Never in a million years would I have believed I would be writing a book about my very personal and shame-filled struggle with my weight.
--> Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be leading a group of ladies who have spent years battling food addiction and feelings of self-loathing and utter futility.
--> Never in a million years would I have thought I would be spending my Friday nights going into strip clubs and into the darkest parts of the inner city to reach out to workers of the sex trade industry, letting them know that they are not forgotten.
--> And never once did I dream that my fire and passion for human justice, civil rights, and child protection would evolve into a war against human trafficking.

But that's what God does.
We offer Him the ordinary, the mundane existence we live each day, and He turns our world upside down. He shows us the extent of His power and compassion. He opens our eyes to all that has evaded our glance. And He breaks our heart for those who are crying out to be rescued.

These weren't the dreams of my childhood.
These are eternal aspirations.
And I have no regrets.

If you would like more information re: the anti-human trafficking movement, I highly recommend two movies, in particular:
Human Trafficking starring Mira Sorvino &
Trade starring Kevin Klein

You can also learn more by visiting our website: www.traffickinghope.org

Have You Seen This?

HOPE

That's the theme of this year's LIVE THE DREAM Conference and I can't think of a more timely topic. Lately, it seems like so many people are lacking just that:
Hope.

It's such a small word, but it holds huge connotations.
Without hope, it's hard to see past your current circumstances.
Without hope, the present economy seems like a never-ending nightmare.
Without hope, a child can't dream and a mother can't rest.
And without hope, the darkness of this world will threaten to overshadow all the good that we are trying to do in the name of Christ.

But despair does not have the final word.
We DO have hope -- even when all else fails.
God is faithful even when our world is crumbling around us.

You were born for this moment -- this place in time.
God doesn't make mistakes.
What are you doing to bring hope into the life of someone who has lost it?

If you, or someone you know, are in need of hope, please register today for Live the Dream. Or, if you are registered, consider sponsoring someone who cannot afford the registration fees... it only takes a moment, but it could impact a lifetime.

What I'm Listening To Right Now...

Tenth Avenue North




Toby Mac feat. Kirk Franklin & Mandisa



Stellar Kart



Tell me what you're listening to!

WHY

So many people don't get what we do... staying out 'til 2 AM (like last night), handing out roses and chocolates to men and women of the night.

My friend, Carole, wrote an excellent blog post about Midnight Outreach and you can (and should!) read it HERE.
This really happened.
And it's WHY we do it.