Life in the Moments

Moved......

2009-09-24T10:14:00.002-05:00

Hey all! This blog is no longer going to be used.

Please check my new blog out at

http://lifeinthemoments.wordpress.com

Look forward to seeing you there!

If you've added this blog to your blogroll - pls change it to the new one if you're so inclined to. If not, no worries..

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Has Knocked: Let The Son Shine

2009-09-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

Today I write this from our new to us house in a new town. Austin is in the family room reading. Travis & Parker are a couple of blocks away at their new school. Hubby is literally across the street at the physical church building. And as I sit here in the dining room with the sunlight beaming in, I cannot help but smile deeply and give praise to God.

The move to Claude, Texas went much better than expected on Friday thanks to the incredible help of some dear friends on Thursday (cue in Brook H, Phil S, Don & Fran S). Brook knows how to make the most out of every single inch of space! Even hubby had to admit - Brook knew better than he did on how to pack that puppy out! We had only been here a few minutes when about 20 people or so from our new church body showed up. The moving truck that had taken hours to load thanks to the generosity of many individuals took no time at all really to unload.

In the midst of unloading, Dick was trying to bring our 2nd refrigerator down the ramp by himself. Needless to say, the frig decided to take over and hubby ended up with a twisted ankle. He walked away saying, "Man! That really hurt!" Funny enough? Dick and a sweet man named Chester (who also happens to be a relative of our buddy Clint) used that on Sunday morning during the service to talk about how one cannot do certain things by themselves and how you never know who is paying attention. Laughter was had as was a great lesson. Hubby's ankle is still a bit tender but otherwise mending well.

Speaking of Sunday... funny how individuals can feel like they've known each other forever so quickly. The boys and I had to laugh when we were eating dinner after the evening service & "the pastor" was still across the street eating brownies & chatting it up with some of the guys. Notice.. that means he was the last one of the G's to leave due to talking. And he says I talk more than he does. (Just a little rib there Man!) Sunday was beyond tender. God was glorified. Jesus was worshipped. People were encouraged and challenged by their/our new pastor. And boy, were there hugs galore! I/we got even better than I/we gave.

I will confess.. it is taking us a bit of time to get used to how we are being loved on here already. The food hasn't stopped coming.. we're even having to purchase a freezer for the garage as it is apparent in beef country - it is not uncommon to be given sides of beef, hamburger meat and/or steaks! The fresh veggies are going over big time too with bags of green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and etc showing up. I have a feeling the community food pantry our church body helps with may just see some of it too.

Today I'm waiting for the Dish network guys to come. Funny how we've been able to do without tvs the last few days and up until Monday night - even internet. This afternoon, after school, those inside the physical church building will be welcoming little children. Then later on, adults and teens will come too. We are looking forward to tonight with great anticipation! But, up until then - each moment still counts as just as important.

That's just a bit of an update on what's been going on with us since the big move! Not written about but definitely in the mix are all the new individuals we've talked with outside the walls of the physical church building. Opportunities to share and show God's love that is more than the sum of ourselves or any thing we are capable of on our own.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

And thank you for all the prayers, support and love that has come our way from many of you too!

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: Celebrating Moments Gone By & Look Forward

2009-09-02T08:19:00.000-05:00

Well, today is Wednesday. It seems like a whirlwind & yet also just like yesterday. By the time this day is over - the Gravley family will have had our last time with church body we've called our family the last 4 plus years. But just because we move away from G-town on Friday morning (Sept 4th) does not mean we are any less family than today. Just because we will join another on Sunday (Sept 6th) does not mean we are any less family then. It will just mean a part of God's larger family - as it always does.

Today/tonight/tomorrow... will hold many emotions. They are to experienced & seen for what they are.. gifts from God. Learning experiences... more opportunities to grow! And I am thankful beyond any words for how God does not let us stay the same! Not for those who truly seek Him & His Kingdom first.

Tomorrow - Thursday... the moving truck will be in the driveway & will load up many gifts that have been given to this silly woman and her family. We are still blown away & yet it is in line with God's character.

Friday - Sept 4th... we will pull out of this driveway, leave this highly secure gated community and head toward to our new normal in another town with another church body. But all you who remain here in G-town & surrounding areas will not be forgotten. And after all... I will still have my mother here.. Again.. Praise God for all the ways we clearly see Him these days.

Sunday - Sept 6th... The Gravley family will worship & praise God just like we do every single Sunday. Hubby will preach his first sermon as the "official" Pastor of First Baptist Church of Claude, Texas. Yet, we all know who the Real Voice of that church body is & will be. There is No Voice like God/Jesus/HolySpirit. We will, as a family become a part of that church body/family. And in the midst of all that - we will celebrate the 18 years that Austin has been on this earth. Talk about one of my favorite gifts of all times!

We are celebrating moments gone by & looking forward. Only with God is that truly possible.

Jesus is the Only Way to God. He is the Only Road, Path.. whatever one wishes to call it. Only One.

Do you know Jesus? God? His Holy Spirit?

If you do.... Are you truly living life's moments in such ways that show He is your Lord? Or are you merely giving Him lip service when in times of crisis or any time you walk in to a physical church building?

Tonight my computer will be packed up. I do not know when I will be back on it again. And that is a good thing as I concentrate on the family I've been so incredibly blessed with. And it will no doubt make the heart grow fonder... They have given me permission to update facebook via cell phone. I'll pass. I've always said that is a line for me I'm not willing to cross.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for! God has noticed you today. I pray you notice Him.

And thank you for walking through life's moments with this silly woman.

Much love,
Camey

Best Dishes!

2009-08-31T17:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning after the close of the 2nd worship service... a woman came up to me & said, "We have gifts for you & your family in our car. Please do not leave here without them." I had to smile & laugh at the very thought of what those gifts might be based on a conversation I had with her & her husband on Friday afternoon. Not the gifts themselves mind you.. just the very thought of them.

There were 3 gifts wrapped up so bright & beautiful for us to unwrap. Inside were 2 boxes of dishes - enough for 8 people & 1 box of glasses. Funny enough? I had talked myself out of buying these very ones Friday night. I simply could not allow my mind to go there. Since being here, I've become rather used to not being "the woman" of the house & therefore, not having my own things about. (Cue in "The Quiet Man" here.)

I have long since stopped being a thing person. God has done such a work in that area. So... when this couple came in to the pcb on Friday afternoon and asked me what did we need or want for our new house - I really had a hard time coming up with any thing.. except perhaps every day dishes. I had given away all but one saucer away when we moved out of our last house. It was the saucer that Austin had always used for his hot sauce. Our china has been up in the attic all this time. The woman encouraged me to really think about it. So, again..all I could come up with was every day dishes.

Then she did it.. She had to ask what colors did I want to use in our kitchen. My answer frankly surprised me.. browns & greens. Why? I use these 2 particular plates we were given the last 2 Christmases all the time. They are from gift baskets my mother's soon-to-be husband had given us. Browns & greens. The every day dishes I had given away had fruits and veggies on them and weren't the slightest bit masculine really. (read: remember - I was the only female then & will be soon again)

The woman then told me about a set of very expensive dishes she had made & that I could have if I wanted them. Her husband looked at her with the biggest of eyes & said, "Why would you give those to her when you don't really like them yourself? Aren't you suppose to offer her the best? Your best - first fruits?" (yes.. they are those kind of friends!) She looked at him.. and then at me.. She then said, "Well, I don't think they're really you & your family any way Camey." They walked out the door soon after that.

I saw her last night for a brief moment. I hugged her tight & thanked her for the dishes/glasses. I also shared with her about the fact that I had almost bought them on Friday night. Funny enough? This woman had called her recently married daughter while standing in Wal-Mart on Saturday to make sure she was picking out just the right ones for me & my family. Her daughter is in Branson! Dick & I used to be her Bible Study teachers before she got married. I also had her in another group several years ago. She knows me/us oh so well. The dishes were spot on.

And now.. every day when those dishes are used.. there will be a love attached that is greater than the sum of ourselves. Only God could have put us all together when He did. Only God serves up the best dishes!

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: The Love Story For All Times

2009-08-25T07:14:00.000-05:00

As I sit here thinking back over the last few days, weeks and months... I cannot help but give praise to God. Sunday, August 23rd, my husband became the Pastor of First Baptist Church of Claude, Texas. As I've said in previous posts it is a love story. And I can sharing more of the details of the story that paint a clear picture.

Back in January, one of the closest couple friends we have ever had called us. We've known them for 17 years since Austin and their daughter, Sally, was 1. Clint & Marsha Cope are the true definition of real friends. We have been together through thick and thin. We have shared joys and the depths of sorrow. We have laughed and cried. We have raised babies, toddlers, children and in the process of teens encouraging each other a long the way! And through it all - God has been glorified. They are incredible servants of God.

They called wanting to know if they could submit Dick's resume for a church they knew was pastorless. Not just any church either. First Baptist Claude is the church where Clint's family was at during his growing up years. His mother, Sharon, is still there. Claude is the hometown we've been hearing about since having the privilege of meeting Clint and Marsha all those years ago. This was just the way that Dick had wanted his first pastorate to happen in his heart of hearts - someone who knew him and our family believing we belonged with that church body. And do they know us and that church body. We still cannot express how humbled we are/were of their desire for Dick and our family going to Claude.

Since January, other doors have opened. We had given them over to God through prayer and knew they were not where He was calling us. So, on Sunday, August 9th, when Dick and I met with Lesile, Jack, Dianne, Martha, Gerald and the one whose name I have a hard time remembering.. the pastor search team, and the question was asked of us, "Do you see your family being called here?" - we had no hesitation in answering yes. The ball went rolling fast from there. Please keep in mind... this conversation was had before they heard Dick preach in person that night at a sister church in Amarillo. They had heard/seen him on DVD & CD, but not in person until after that.

After he preached that Sunday night, the team, their spouses, Lesile's two daughters and the five of us went to Abuellos in Amarillo for dinner. As I watched, listened and answered whatever questions were asked, I knew this was not just any dinner. I saw how my hubby talked, laughed, was relaxed, and it is more than say to say... I smiled deeply inside and out. The boys were just as much with family as any blood could ever provide. Hugs were given all around. Jack said to me, "Camey, I cannot wait for Dick, you and those boys to come to Claude." Of course, he was also wanting to play the boys at Guitar Hero. Another one of those funny details. Gerald has known Clint since before he was born. His wife, Melba, as we were walking through the house that goes with being the pastor's family - told me it was okay for the boys to picture themselves living there because they were going to be. More details only God could orchestrate.

Detail after detail, question after question we have had has been answered in ways there is no mistaking it is God directing our path. We were prepared to leave G-town with what we came here with... furniture that could be counted on less than 2 hands, 1 vehicle and other items we fit inside the smallest UHaul trailer. Who knew that in answering God's call back in 2005 to G-town and to give away or sell almost everything on the cheap - He would see to it that we lack nothing in leaving here in 2009? Only One knew for sure His plan. What a plan too - a house, 3 cars for that 3 car garage, so much furniture we're having to say no to some of it, my mother getting married and so much more.

This was the town that I once told God I would not go to. I knew in doing so it would mean the deepest of sorrows and yet sheer joy in saying "See ya later" to my daddy - who was also one of mine and Dick's closest friends. And yet, I would not trade one single moment here. Not the ones that hurt like heck, are/were tender as a steak cooked just so, the love that has been shown and given... not one. For in answering God's call to come here - we've all grown closer to Him than we ever have been before. That is priceless to this woman and her husband. We've shared God's love and hopefully individuals have come to see glimpses of Him. We are so incredibly thankful for how God has allowed us to be a part of His work here. He did not need us and yet He allowed us. No words can ever do that justice..

Dick became the Pastor of First Baptist Claude on Sunday, August 23rd. I know I can say with all certainty - he knows who the Real Voice of that church body is and belongs to. I have never been more thankful to be his wife and partner in serving God and others. That would be just as true had he not become their pastor.

As we draw near to the end of our time here, Friday, September 4th, I cannot help but think of what a love story this is. Please do not miss it... God so loved us that He sent His Only Son - Jesus - to earth to live, die, and rise again on the 3rd day because He loves like that. He loved us first.. and it out of the overflow of His love that we live life's moments. It is only for the Famous One do we become all things to all so that in doing so - we win the race. The prize is and has always been - God and His Love. There is nothing that we can do to earn His love. What we can do is fall on our knees, admit our need for Him, praise His name and then rise to live life remembering it is all about Him.

For those whom have been praying for our family, being of such encouragement and support in this process... we thank you. You have no clue how much your friendships are valued and treasured. Hopefully in some detail only God can provide - you know that. We ask you continue to pray as we're in the throws of once again going through what is a need and want. There are tears wrapped in packages of friendships, life's moments as we've known them changing in ways we could not have imagined, and excitement for the future. Thank you again for walking through life's moments with us.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for. Don't miss the Real Picture. The Only Love Story Worth Any and All Awards. It is worth seeing every color painted and each stroke of the brush.

Much love,
Camey

PS: And yes.. this was the short version! lol Did I mention that both Austin and Sally have surrendered as well to full time ministry? They both are seniors in high school this year. And when she goes to her dad's hometown - we will be there.

Celebrating Life's Moments!

2009-08-19T07:34:00.001-05:00

Celebrating 20 years of marriage! Humbled by how different our lives are now as opposed to that day. Thankful for a man who loves God most!

The way you, Dick, love God, me, our sons, and others is the best anniversary gift. I'm proud to be your ...wife and mother of your sons. And when I said you had potential all those years ago - I was being prophetic!

Preparing to head to the pcb for one of my last days there as a staff member. Worth leaving to follow God & my husband where He is sending us. Not getting Parker's schedule today either. He won't need it.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Thank you for coming along on this journey with us.

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: The State of the I Address

2009-08-18T08:30:00.002-05:00

I've tried a couple of different times to start this note. The words were there, but the fingers weren't moving. My hubby just walked in the room, we talked, and out he went again heading out the front door to take care of one of his properties. It is his largest property, and therefore, takes the most time. The owners are hardly ever there as they live mostly in Florida these days instead of Texas. It is with laughter, a deep smile, a few tears shed and conviction that I write this. Funny how that can happen.

Back in May, my hubby was in Illinois for a few days - preaching, ministering, and such.. Before he left I knew that trip was going to be different for him, myself, and our family. During his time there, the potential to plant a new church was laid at our feet. My hubby was encouraged in ways that neither of us were expecting. Again, I'm smiling deeply at the thought of it all. I am thankful beyond words for his time there.

In July, we went on a mission trip together as a family with our current church. While there, our hearts were stirred for the people. The faces are still etched on our hearts and no doubt will remain in some form or fashion over the years. As I've shared before, I knew God was going to speak to my husband while in the mountains. What I wasn't expecting was for Him to speak so clearly to me while in the water on a Thursday. I heard clearly to get out of the boat and get in the water. I did. And while in the midst of being freezing cold, I heard, "You'll go to IL or ID, but what about ?, Texas?" The very place where hubby had received a phone call from on a mountain in Utah while heading to Idaho.

Upon returning from Idaho, I have talked with a few friends from all over the world about the "in 'I' states" that were showing themselves as the possible next place for our family to go and serve. I knew we were staying in the USA physically.. but truthfully - I thought we were leaving Texas. There are close friends also in other states where I could easily see our family going. Funny how God used a couple of them in particular to speak to me directly without them even realizing they were. Oh, sure.. they were saying my name in correlation to what they were saying, but their intent to some degree was different. I am ever so thankful for their friendships and life's moments. I am also grateful for how they recognize God's love is most important and pour it freely in return to this silly woman.

Music is something that is close to my heart. As weird as it may sound to some, there are few groups out there in various genres that my sons and I both like. Austin posted a status the other day on facebook that was a reference to a song by one such group. I haven't been able to get that song out of my head for long. In fact, I'm listening to it now. I am always grateful when God uses one of my sons to help teach me a lesson. Funny enough? All three of them have been great teachers here lately in ways they may not even realize.

When we were visiting hubby's sister and her family a few weeks ago, I studied my hubby even harder than normal.. which is saying a lot.. (insert laughter here pls?). We went to my sister-in-love's church to worship with her and her family. Afterwards, we went to his parents' home in another city close by. They weren't there as they were in Colorado.. again with the mountains. I listened intently as my hubby relayed a story about a pastor he heard speak one day. Again, I heard God whispering to me. "Keep listening as I am preparing your heart & mind, Camey. You will go where you are being sent."

Yesterday, we started the daunting task of cleaning, throwing away, giving away, and organizing in anticipation of moving. Between what is going on with the five of us - there is also my mother getting married. This house which my parents built in 1998 will be put on the market shortly after that. Last night when her and Hoover returned from being out for a few hours, we discussed openly about all that is taking place these days. Again, clearly heard Him whisper to me. I'll let that one stay between my Real Father and I.

As I've shared more openly in face to face situations about where we are going in Texas - each time my heart has been more and more tendered. As hubby and I have prayed over these last few months especially... the last few days even... my heart is more tendered. For I say that I follow Jesus.. and I will... wherever He sends us. It is not just about believing I do.. it is also about doing.. Actions/words..

So, I've realized that while it was incredibly flattering to have the other opportunities presented to us.. I don't want to be any where God does not intend for us to be. Whether that is in G-town or in a state that starts with an "I" or a "C" or an "F".. While there is grief to be had and gone through in leaving here... there is also sheer joy that comes from Him and His love alone. It is worth leaving those you have taken in your heart and life's moments to go love and serve others. Not because of what we do.. but because of who He is, what He has done and will do.

I can say without reservation or any doubt that I look forward to the future come whatever may. For in life's moments are just glimpses of who He is and the amazing love and grace He has to offer and gives to even such a silly woman as I. I was born in a city and lived in various ones until 2005. That does not mean it is always best for me to live in a city.

How is your state of "I"??

Does it need to be address?

How is God addressing you in ways you may not want to hear but know are right?

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for. And it was more dangerous than ever.

Much love,
Camey

PS: I write first and then edit... so if you read this more than once.. you may notice a difference here or there..

PSS: My desk which I am currently sitting at is about to be tackled.. Apparently, I've let it go for some time. (read: that's an understatement.)

When Faith Knocks: "Hello. This is God."

2009-08-15T08:47:00.002-05:00

Back in July we were on a mountain in Utah heading to Idaho on a mission trip with our current church. Hubby's cell phone rang and he immediately recognized the area code. In some ways it has seemed like a whirlwind since that moment. And yet, last weekend it was clear to us that this love story has been being knitted in our hearts for years. Funny how that happens.

Last night I listened as two men discussed the passing of the baton between an interim pastor and the potential new pastor. Granted I could only hear hubby's part of the conversation as "the potential new pastor" - but in his answers and questions - there was no mistaking what the interim pastor was saying either. Each one of them wanting the best for the other and the church body that they both love. There is no denying it - my husband has a deep love for this new body already as I do. That's what happens when you pray for that body you do not yet know for years like we have been doing.

Next Saturday - we will be going out of town again. This time will be officially "In View of a Call"... There is a meet/greet and question time Saturday evening. Then, on Sunday morning - hubby will stand before that body and share what God has laid upon his heart for them/us and the future. By the time, Sunday - August 23rd is over - we will know for sure if Dick is the new pastor of that body. The search team voted 100% to bring hubby before the church. As hubby says, "Then, it will be up to the body to vote. Whatever they decide, we will have our answer." He also told me to start packing in anticipation for moving Labor Day weekend.

This is a love story that is undeniable. Just in the last couple of days alone - there is no mistaking God's voice as He is speaking all over this. Speaking in ways that we know it is Him - incredibly precise and with such detail. We ask that you pray for them as their interim pastor prepares to preach tomorrow on "What's Next" as they continue to prepare their hearts for us and ours for them. We also ask that you pray for all three of our sons (Austin, Travis, and Parker) as they wrap their minds and hearts around leaving a place and people they too have come to love. Of course, pray for my mother and her fiancee. They decided to not set a wedding date until we knew for sure when/if we are moving.

For those of you here locally, your love and encouragement have been more tender than we can possibly say. For those of you not here locally but just as much a part of our life's moments - thank you as well for yours. We are blessed beyond any and all measure. That statement is just as true even if we were not engaged to another church at this moment.

So, dear reader, let me ask you this moment...

In what ways are God speaking to you today?

Make no mistake about it... He is speaking to you..

No matter who you are.

No matter where you are.

No matter what you've done.

No matter what you haven't done.

He is speaking to you.

Are you listening?

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: The Beckoning Call

2009-08-13T07:03:00.001-05:00

Okay... let me get this is out of the way... no call last night. But I am grateful to say the least. WHAT? Read on.

Dick and I have a time of sharing and then praying almost each night before going to sleep. Pretty close to 98% of the time. Last night was no exception although it did make a difference. As he was praying, he was thanking God for allowing us to be at His "beckon call".. to be servants - used however and whenever for His Kingdom and glory. I could not help but smile deeply.

When most of think of "beckon call" - it does not bring out positive thoughts. It might bring about the sound of snapping fingers expecting a person to jump at an other's person voice and command. It might make one think of being a doormat for another individual. Or flip it around, perhaps you're the one who has others at your beckon call. It might make you feel powerful. You can fill it in for yourself... What do you think of when you hear the term beckon call?

Were we anticipating a phone call last night from the pastor search team? Yes. But the more I got to thinking about it after we prayed and Dick had already started snoring.. (yep, just went there) I was grateful that they did not call. The way my husband prayed was more tender than any phone call could have been. As I've said time and time again, we're so incredibly thankful for these moments. The ying and yang of them. But more than that, we know where our Real Hope comes from. It is not in a phone call. It is not in hubby becoming the pastor of a church one day. It is not in any thing we do or do not do. Our hope is Jesus.

In Jesus there is a beckoning call to follow Him no matter the cost. To trust in Him when the world says to do so means we're fools. To even remotely grasp how much God loves each of us. Just as we are without having to clean up first. After all - we are all messed up and under construction. Each and every single one of us.

Do we look forward to a call whenever it comes from the pastor search team? Yes. But no matter what happens .... we have The Beckoning Call in each of life's moments. And it is beyond words and leads to actions out of the overflow of God's love.

So, dear reader, do you hear His Beckoning Call this moment? "Come. Follow Me?"

If so, how will you answer the call?

As always, you've been prayed for...

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: The Music Is Playing

2009-08-12T07:21:00.000-05:00

Monday when we were at the physical church buildings of another church, Austin sat down at a piano in the sanctuary. He did not realize I was watching him. As he put his fingers on the keys and stroked them gently, the look on his face was moving. Keep in mind here - there is a piano at the house in which we currently live. Given where it is - it is hardly ever played. I am the only one in the house who has ever taken any formal lessons. The piano was a gift when I was much younger although it has never moved with me. I play from time to time when no one is around. The piano is coming with us whenever we move.

A man named Lesile told Austin he had a couple of pianos he is not using if Austin wanted one of them. It was obvious that Lesile knew if Austin had true access to one - he would be able to play and would. Austin has taken guitar lessons over the years and is still teaching himself as well. Within the past year, he has taught a few others how to play as well. Part of their time together has also included Devotional time... not just a jam session.

Last week, Travis started Marching Band Camp. He started with the understanding that he may or may not ever step foot on the field here during an actual game. We did not want him to miss the opportunity of at least experiencing the camp. Dick played in the band in high school. He has very fond memories of his time spent playing in the band. He played the tuba. Travis plays the trumpet. And he is a mean trumpet player too. One of the sweet things about Travis going to camp are the other individuals he is around. Some of them are seniors in high school and are a part of our current church. They have taken him under their wings and are truly being there for him in ways he may not ever fully realize.

Today is Wednesday. As has been the norm now for a few weeks - the phone rings some time after 9:00 p.m. It has been Lesile calling on behalf of the other church. We are expecting a phone call tonight. While we think we know what the individual on the other end will have to say and ask.. we may or may not.

The music is playing. The tune is one that has a very familiar beat. We look forward to each note that is to come. We're thankful for the sounds it is creating and how our hearts are being stirred. There's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called "We Will Dance."

"When the music plays, I'll take your hand and hold you close to me and we will dance." I am thankful for my husband who holds me close as we dance life's moments.. Even more so for my Real Father who is teaching me to not look at my feet. Toes were meant to be stepped on from time to time.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

And if you're praying for us... thank you.

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: Enjoying The Dance

2009-08-11T14:44:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was like nothing the G family had ever experienced. And while there is so much more to this story than can be shared yet... what I can share is this..

We are enjoying the dance with the other church in another area of Texas. Whether or not it turns out to be marriage between our family and their church body remains to be seen. I do know that this wife and mother is grateful beyond any and all words. My husband and sons were themselves and shared God's love with ease. And they were greatly loved on. It was as if we were family. And frankly, as brothers and sisters in Christ - we are.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending some time with a woman named Melba. She and I talked about my being so open about sharing what is going on with us these days. Melba looked me in the eyes and said, "You should be sharing and asking for prayers. There is nothing wrong with it." Then, she told me word was out that we were there.. We just had to laugh. We did. And no, I'm still not telling directly here.

There are other pictures from this weekend that I will share later on down the road. Pictures of our time at a hotel, out at restaurants, of a possible house, of physical church buildings, and of individuals. There are stories that will be shared when more of them have been read as God continues to show us how the chapters unfold and as the characters continue to develop and grow. Make no mistake about it the leading role belongs to One. The Only Famous One in the group.

As I sit here this afternoon thinking back over the course of the last few days, I cannot help but being reminded of a song.. a country one at that.. "I'll Still Be Loving You."

This song has been sung to me numerous times over the years. Funny enough? On our wedding day (August 19th, 1989), Restless Heart had to sing it. Why? The man whom I'll go any where with had tears in his eyes and was all choked up. I saw that man very clearly this weekend no matter what he might say. And I've never been more thankful to be his partner for life's moments no matter the dance floor, size or the songs being sung.

While there is no doubt that my husband and I love each other more today than yesterday... it in no way compares to how much God loves us. Talk about a Real Reason to put on them dancing shoes!

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Much love,
Camey

Conversations On Life's Highways: Encounter With The Trucker

2009-08-07T07:39:00.001-05:00

Last night I was heading to the Big City to meet Karen. I was having a grand time driving 75.. (hey! The speed limit is 70!) I was singing away and talking with my Real Father - God. It is safe to say - I was enjoying the time spent on the road - the highway. I still get a big kick out of driving even after all these years of being physically healed and legally being able to drive. I was looking forward to spending time with Karen. A woman who is such a dear friend and yet we had never met face to face before.

About 25 minutes in to being on the highway, the truck in front of me started having problems. I noticed a big long tube on the right side of the truck was coming lose. As it continued to be ripped from the side of the truck and barely hanging on by a thread as it was being dragged on the highway - two long black tubes came out of it and were flying in the air towards the vehicle I was in. I swerved to miss it and they landed on the side of the road to the right of me. They barely missed hitting me due to the vehicles in the left lane that were passing me. Notice... they were passing me and the truck...

Up a little ways from where the trucker lost the two black tubes out of the larger tube - he finally realized he was having problems. He signaled and started pulling over on the right shoulder of the highway. I pulled over behind him and got out. He jumped out of the truck and looked me at with such surprise. He motioned for me to go to the right side of the truck away from the cars on the highway. We met by where the longest tube was still barely hanging on. The look on his face was confusion at what had happened and worried about why I had pulled over too.

I shared with him about where the two long black tubes came out at and when I first notice the longer tube coming lose from the side of the truck. He apologized profusely and then proceeded to ask where had I been hit. The look on his face changed dramatically when I told him I had not been hit. I pulled over to share with him what I had seen so he would know what had happened and where to find the two black tubes. He just stared at me for a moment or two in utter surprise. He asked again, "Are you SURE you weren't hit?" I assured him I had not been. He just stood there dumbfounded.

I share this with you this moment to say... We shouldn't have to be hit directly in order to want to get involved when we see another person in trouble. We should reach out of our comfort zones and be willing to lend a hand to another. Yes, I had plans to meet Karen at a certain time. I was looking forward to our time together. But, that didn't change the fact that while driving to meet her - someone else was in need of help that I could provide. The trucker was shocked that I stopped even though I wasn't hit. He ended up smiling and thanking me. And I was thankful to have been able to drive, on that highway to meet Karen and be able to help him. It didn't take more than just a couple of minutes.

On up the road a little ways, there was an accident. 3 vehicles were involved. I cannot help but think for a moment that had I not stopped to help the trucker - the trucker or this silly woman might have been in that accident too. It is entirely possible that the encounter with the trucker helped me just as much as it helped him. Funny how that works like that..

So, let me ask you this moment...

Are you willing to get involved today?

Who will you see along life's highway that needs a helping hand?

I didn't stop because I'm that great of a person. I stopped because of God's love first.

Who will you help today because of God's love for you? and for them?

Just because they are a human being.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Life is a highway.. but remember - you're never driving all alone.

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: How Do You Know That?

2009-08-05T06:27:00.000-05:00

"How do you know that?" If I had a dollar for every time my dad said that to Dick or someone asks me that... it is from that perspective I share this morning.

Growing up I was taught and experienced many things as the daughter of my dad - especially as it related to God, Jesus, Spirit... people, teaching, giving, sharing and the local church. In some circles, I've shared more openly about it than I have others. That has been very intentional on my part. My dad was not a pastor. But no question he was a servant and a minister. He was a deacon, intense about outreach, a Bible Study teacher, on more committees than he forgot, but I can still vividly remember. I know... I just showed my Baptistic card. It's all good.

I'll never forget riding with my dad to the airport to pick up a man our church at the time was considering as their next pastor. Nor have I forgotten the conversations as that man came to our house for lunches and dinners.. to break bread together, to share, and most importantly - to spend time praying together. Most of the time - only the B family and those on the pastor search team knew he was even in town. That's just a tad of my experiences as my dad's daughter. And when I say, "just a tad"... several books from that alone could be written.

Now, the tables have turned.. I am the wife of man a pastor search team is considering for their next pastor. And while there is so much more to this story that I will not share until after a yes or no is heard from God..... my having been my dad's daughter is wrapped in to this story just as much as whose wife I am. More importantly though than that... it is the time spent listening to my Real Father, studying His Word and our family (the G family) - my husband in particular... Did I mention before we will be celebrating 20 years of marriage on August 19th? I kind of like that guy you know.. So much so that I know when his heart is glowing and overflowing as his face is showing and his actions are. No matter what happens with this other church - the evidence speaks for itself.

For clarification purposes... my husband is an intern with our current church. Intern.. not to be confused with interim. While many know my husband as a pastor already... whenever that call comes to another church it will be for him to be their pastor. Yes, I am a woman minister as well, but I follow my husband.. not the other way around. And I wouldn't have it any other way. If I never receive another blessing before drawing my last breath on this earth... I am blessed beyond any and all measure to live the moments in life that I do. And I am thankful to have had a dad that included me at the table when others might have said, "Kids should not be a part of this."

So, dear reader, let me ask you....

How do you know what you know??

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: When You Love Someone

2009-08-04T07:11:00.000-05:00

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had a few people express their desire for us to not leave G-town. It is from those conversations and with those faces etched on my heart that I share today.

We are not leaving here, whenever that happens, because there is any less love here. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The G family has a deep deep love for this town and the individuals who walk, ride or drive her roads or who are scared to because of her traffic. For those that can be seen easily and those that are painted as our paths intersect - the unseen.

In 2004, our family surrendered to God and to the work He was doing in our lives and out of them. In May of 2005, when we were sent here... it was never our intent to stay more than a few years unless so otherwise directed by God. Those few years have at times have seemed like forever and yet just yesterday. There is no doubt the place I said I would never go became the very place I would cry over leaving. Tears of sheer gratitude. For those of you here... you'll never fully know or can I say...

I know there are some who say I shouldn't talk about what is going with us regarding another church. I also know though that is some of why I was set out on the adventure of writing "Life in the Moments"... To share what might not be shared if I truly had my own way. I've never fully understood the responses to my writing about our life's moments and can only say... if you've ever received one ounce of encouragement or have seen a glimpse even of God... Jesus.. Spirit... then I am thankful beyond words. I am complete because of God's love and Jesus' expression of that on the cross, in the tomb, and defeating death... not by what I do.

As I said yesterday, my mother is engaged. Her and Hoover are planning a September 5th wedding. Dick will have the privilege of marrying them. We are grateful for this taking place. We can see God all over it. For one of our struggles has been, "What about Mom/Grandma?" She is always welcome wherever we are. But God has seen fit to provide her with a man who is willing to be there for better or worse and in sickness or in health. And given he has already proven that over the last 2 plus years with her.... I am looking forward to them becoming husband and wife. He has stood up against her, beside her and with our family. I love that man. No question I love my mother either.

This coming weekend, the G family will be out of town again.. but still in Texas. And no, this is not officially "In View of a Call"... yet.... as far as we know... The particulars of exactly where I won't share publicly here except to say.....

It is part of when you love someone...

You are willing to go any where.

There is no place on this earth I'd rather be than wherever the Lord sends my husband and the G family.

Wherever... Whenever.

When you love someone - you're also willing to let them go. You share in their excitement.

You might even dance....

And if there's an internet connection to be had... you stay connected through facebook too! lol

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

And thank you for taking me in. The bump on my nose and all.

If we are to stay a few more weeks or shorter... or longer...

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: 24 Hours Can Make Life Changing Moments

2009-08-03T09:49:00.001-05:00

This is a Monday that will not be forgotten. Sent Travis off to Marching Band Camp this morning. He was positively excited even with the understanding that he may never step foot on the field during a game or might only be a few times. Dick came back to the house and made a fabulous breakfast. A soon-to-be bride joined us looking positively glowing in her pjs having just announced to us her engagement. Wild times to say the least. Can you figure out who the bride is? And hubby has been asked to perform their wedding. His first wedding no less.

As I sit here thinking over the past weekend, it is obvious yet again what a difference 24 hours can make in the lives of individuals. Things may come in to play that one may have never thought they would want - let alone be excited about. I understand that better today than I did yesterday. There are so many possible changes happening with our family that if you had told me even 6 months ago I would be as excited about them as I am - I probably would not have believed you. Funny how that happens.

I ask that you continue to pray for not only the 5 of us as we continue to listen to God about the direction He is moving us, but for all connected to the possible changes. They are huge changes.

I remain thankful beyond words for the conversations that my dad and I had. More importantly than that..... I am grateful that my husband and I spend time together each night in prayer. I am thankful for how my Real Father continues to speak to us.... to me... Priceless.

So, let me ask you this moment....

Can you hear Him now?

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Much love,
Camey

It Was A Flip Flopping Sunday!

2009-08-02T07:25:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday morning we were with hubby's baby (and only) sister, Angela, her hubby and their 2 daughters down in Katy, Texas. This was our first time away on a weekend for personal time in years. There had been a bit of misunderstanding on Dick's part. He thought Cody had to work on Sunday. So, he thought we weren't going to be visiting their church with them. Cody had planned for us to all go to their pcb and worship together, The MET - also known as The Metropolitan Baptist Church. It's a tiny church of about 8,000 or so. Give or take...

The boys and I had discussed whether or not we thought we were going. So, just in case - we each packed a pair of blue jeans. Since I had been teaching the college/single group and then before that had the group for pregnant teens and single moms - blue jeans had been quite natural for me to wear.The boys normally wear blue jeans or shorts.

As for Dick, well.... all he had were his cargo shorts, t-shirts and his flip flops. For those who know him - let that sink in. He purposefully wears blue jeans some times, but not every Sunday. He certainly does not wear shorts and flip flops on Sunday morning. (Nothing here against those that do... please keep reading! lol) That's what he wears on Wednesday evenings to teach his Bible study group that meets then.

So, it was decided that we indeed we're all going to The MET. It was also a given that Dick would have to wear his cargo shorts, his "Love God. Love People" t-shirt and his flip flops. Angela who is 15 years younger than Dick had never worn blue jeans to church. Ever.... So, she decided she would since the boys and I were. Silly me had forgot to pack any other shoes. I wore a pair of Ang's shoes.

As we were walking up to the pcb (physical church building), 3-year-old Kaitlyn said to me, "I'm so glad you get to come to my church today. First we see Jesus. Then later we will eat lunch and go swimming." Couldn't help but smile deeply and get a little teary on that one. We were quite the group all walking in together.

It was the first time that all five of us had been together in the same room and on the same section of any pew or chairs in a long time. Then to be there also with Ang and Cody was beyond words. It was without a doubt one of the most worshipful times of our lives. And I can say that for each one of us without any hesitation too.

The MET's main campus had a guest pastor named Bruce. Pastor Sal was at their other temporary location for their second site. Pastor Bruce gave a message on how we're each "Messed up and Under Construction!" He even had us each turn to those beside us and tell them that. "You are messed up and under construction!" We also had a time where individuals stood up and we went to them, laid hands on them and prayed outloud for them. The G family didn't just sit there like guests. We were just as much with our church family that morning - in that service as we are with our local church body.

It didn't matter how we were dressed. What mattered most of all was each of our hearts. What type of condition were they in with coming there, while there, and upon leaving there. The sky didn't fall because hubby was in flip flops and cargo shorts - nor because Ang was in blue jeans too.

So, dear reader, let me ask you this moment.....

What's the condition of your heart?

If you're going to a corporate service this morning - meaning at a place known as a church to be with others, does it matter how you are dressed?

Will you use not having the "right" clothes to keep you from going?

If I can just share a tad from my past with you...

I used to let it stop me.

I had a clear sin issue with it.

And has God done a real work in my life's moments in regards to that.

Even if I go back to wearing dresses or pants on a regularly basis... which I might be sooner rather than later. Or if hubby goes back to wearing suits each Sunday. Or if we don't.

What God cares about most of all is our hearts and lives. Not the brands. Not the suits or blue jeans or shorts.

Only Jesus was perfect.

So, the rest of us are truly MESSED UP & UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Do you know The Real Builder and Foundation of life's moments?

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for. And yes, I have on my hard hat!

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks: What A Difference 24 Hours Can Make

2009-08-01T06:53:00.001-05:00

One of our favorite shows (hubby and this silly woman) is 24. Keep in mind here - I don't watch much TV. And the shows that I do watch would surprise most. Okay.. not the cooking and house hunting type shows. It's the other ones. One of the things I've realized is that most of the shows I do enjoy watching have a main thing in common - what a difference time can make. This morning, even the difference 24 hours can make is going by quicker than a commercial and yet like waiting for the new season to start. Exactly like that. Funny how that works.

If you would have told me yesterday morning that this morning would like it does, I might have asked you if you had too much sweet tea, Diet Coke or coffee. Yet, as I was awakened to pray at 5:15 this morning, there was no mistaking it. It is beyond safe and yet dangerous to say that I had one of the most tender times with the Lord that I have ever had. I listened more than I talked which is normally the case, but there was no denying what He said. Remember - God's Word is clear that those who are His know His Voice.

There are things in our life's moments currently that helped prompt a conversation last night between my mother and I. We had one of the most in-depth talks while sitting on her bed that we have ever had. I'm sure even if our conversation had been recorded in some way - there would have been no doubt that you could hear Holy Spirit all over it. It poured. It flowed out. It was liquid and yet as solid as a steak cooked just right. And I am thankful beyond words. Truly thankful.

Big changes are in store for all 6 of us. And no, I cannot share at the moment what those are in such a public forum. I can continue to ask for prayer because it not only affects us six. Nothing really does only affect a single person either. No one is an island unto themselves no matter how at times it might feel or seem like it. God's Word is clear about that as well..

So, let me ask you this moment... What kind of difference can 24 hours make in your life's moments?

What if you heard God so clearly that there was no denying His Voice?

What would you do? How would you respond?

If you don't know the sound of His Voice - have you really asked yourself why? What's the interference?

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for. And it was more dangerous than Jack in 24 hours.

Much love,
Camey

When Faith Knocks

2009-07-31T07:17:00.000-05:00

This has without question been our wildest summer ever. Just last night, we sent Austin (our oldest son, soon to be 18) off on another mission trip. This makes his 4th mission trip this year alone. 3 of them taking place during the summer. As I sit here this morning having spent time in prayer, I cannot help but think about the conversation he and I had yesterday. First a little background in order to understand it better.

Austin is heading in to his senior year of high school. We had discussed him graduating in December instead of May/June due to all the things happening in our life's moments. He does high school differently than most of his friends. He is a part of a homeschool co-op that meets at our physical church building. We had talked of him finishing with the school part and returning in May/June to officially walk across the stage and receive his diploma. Yes, I said "returning"... we haven't planned on being here then for months now. That's where the conversation from yesterday really comes in.

Austin and I have a really close relationship as I do with all three of our sons. It is intentional. Make no mistake about that. One of the things that has helped this tremendously is keeping them in the loop about what is going on. Not just surface type stuff - the real low down. The whole enchilada. This was truly made evident to me during the years I was ill and then again as caregivers. So, yesterday, I shared some thing with Austin. His response I won't forget any time soon.

"I will go any where God sends us no matter when He does. This life is nothing compared to what is ahead of us."

Not nothing in the - "it doesn't matter" sense.. but hopefully you get his intent. Austin is sold out to God. He understands that his life's moments are not his. Sure there are times he wrestles with it just like his dad and I do. But, he always comes back around to - he belongs to God. Therefore, his life does too. Even as he starts his senior year of high school.

Austin is currently serving others in conditions that most would never want to entertain let alone be in on purpose. And yet, because of God's love for Austin and then, Austin's for God.... he is there more than willingly. What a picture that paints.

Currently, we are truly seeking God on where we are to serve as a family next. And there is no mistaking, Faith is knocking. As I've said numerous times before... "I'm already at where I said I would never go." So, when I now say, "I'll go wherever You want, Lord." I truly mean it. Oh my..... Oh my...

Even if it means.....

Stay tuned.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for. And if you are praying for us, we thank you and ask that you continue! Please also pray for Austin and the group he is serving with until Sunday evening. May others see God/Jesus alone in them. May they come to know His love, mercy and grace. May lives be forever changed.

Much love,
Camey

Crashing Waves: In and Out of the Boat

2009-07-24T08:39:00.000-05:00

This morning I've been asked to share a bit about white water rafting. An expert in that - I am not. But what I can share about is my experience with it and about hearing from God while on the water and in it.

It was a gorgeous afternoon as we headed down to the river. There was excitement in the air. And there was also a bit of fear. I had a couple of individuals with us and back in G-town that were not excited that I had decided to go white water rafting with some of our group. They didn't think that white water rafting was some thing that I should do because of my past major health issues. When one has been paralyzed from the neck down, even after being completely healed... it is natural for some fear to remain that it might happen again. For the record here, I do not live life's moments in fear of that.

As Dick, Travis, Parker, Jan, Ed, Katy, Will, and this silly woman were in the boat, I knew it would be an experience unlike any thing I had before. And that was spot on. From the first moment of getting in the boat until we docked and got out, I heard clearly from God. Some I can share... the rest will have to wait for now.

There were parts of the water that were classified as 3's. Meaning they were stronger waves and required more paddling. If the people inside the boat didn't listen to the guide - real trouble could be had. The guide was there to say, "Three forward strokes all together now!" or to say, "The water here is calm. You can get out of the boat and float or swim if you want." Will was a wonderful guide. He knew the water well because he had spent a good amount of time on it, in it, and studying about it. It was also obvious - he knew how to listen to it.

In the moments of calm water, I was able to take in the scenery as we were passing by it. Some of the sights were rocks, trees, grassy spots, people fishing or just standing by the edge trying to figure out if they should put their toes in the water or not. I could not also help but take in the mountains that could be seen from the water as well. The sky was the picture perfect blue and the temperature out of the water was just right. In the water was freezing cold until ones body got adjusted to it. And when the time was right, I got out of the boat.

As I was in the water, that's when I heard God speaking to me more than when I was inside the boat. During the many years I was ill, Psalm 118:8, was truly laid upon my heart - "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." Yes, I trust in Jesus who was a man. But don't miss the fact here that Jesus was and is Lord. He is just as much that today in my life as ever before. Man may say, "Don't get out of the boat!" But my Lord's Word is also very clear.... whom do you say I am? And in whom are you going to trust? He can see what I cannot. He knows all things. I only know what I think I know... just like what I say about any and all doctors too. Only God is God. And wow... talk about being thankful for that.

I could have decided to not get out of the boat. I could have said that Will didn't know what he was talking about and that the water there might not be safe. But I heard clearly, "Get out of the boat Camey!" And so, I did.

So, dear reader, let me ask you this moment....

Whom are you taking refuge in?

Who do you trust in?

And if you were to hear, "Get out of the boat!" - what would you do?

Life's moments are to be lived during the stormy waves as well as in the calm clear water. And worship can take place during each one of them.

There is no Guide like God.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Much love,
Camey

Here I Am To Worship

2009-07-21T07:13:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that we've been back in Texas for a week already. It seems in many ways like just yesterday we were in Idaho. As I was awakened again Monday morning at 5:00 a.m. to pray - I immediately thought about & prayed for 3 guys whom will always remain a part of me. Let me share with you just a tad about Bryan, Tyler and Patrick.

Tyler's sister, Kayla, showed up that first morning in the park. Within the first couple of minutes - it was like the two of us had known each other forever. Tyler started popping in and out upon watching his sister and some woman in the park. Tyler is thirteen. At first glance I thought perhaps he thought he was too cool for what we were doing to join us. I was wrong.

Tyler not only joined us... he told Bryan (14) about what was going on at the park. About the fun we were having & about talking about God/Jesus. Then Bryan told his cousin Patrick (14), who also lives with him, about it. They could not help but want to come to the park to see what was going on each day. It was as if they were being drawn there. And they were.

The picture is of them is saying, "JESUS!" at the top of their lungs at the end of a song we had been singing. They flung up their hands right there in the park knowing full well that at any time some of their friends and neighbors might walk or drive past or see them from out of their windows. They didn't care about it. They were worshipping right there in the park. And it did not matter who saw them.

On Friday night, when we had our closing big event in the city park... they all showed up early to spend a bit of time with me. Knowing how crazy things might become, we went ahead & said our "See ya's" and got in more hugs. As I put my arms around each one... I told them to not forget how much God loves them and keep seeking after Him each day and that I loved them too. I also promised to write and send pictures of our time together. (Yes, I have tons more pictures of Idaho left to download.) After I was done with what I whispered in their ears, they each said almost word for word the same thing to me - not knowing what the one before them had said.. That I'll let stay between us and God.

What I can say is this.... Cool does not mean the same thing to all teenagers. And I'll never be in a park again without being reminded of time spent worshipping God with them or their hugs.

Nor how they yelled out "JESUS!"

They were also just some of the ways I heard God speak clearly during our time in Idaho. Talk about being incredibly thankful.

How long has it been since you truly worshipped God?

Does it matter who might be around & what they might say?

Worship can take place any where at any time.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for. And it was dangerous!

Much love,
Camey

PS: May your faith in God be willing to yell out loud even when being quiet.

More Than Breath II - Gravesite Mission

2009-07-16T07:32:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning I headed to the pcb (physical church building) for the first time in 12 days. Heavy on my mind was Sue and her request which would take me to Ft Worth. I was working through my/our calendar and trying to determine when I could go. Then, I received a comment from one of my dearest friends, Sheri Hammond on the note, "More Than Breath".

"Always on mission, whether on a mission trip or night. It's all in your attitude and willingness. You were put there on purpose :-)"

Funny enough? By those very words I knew somehow that Sheri was going to become even more a part of the story and mission. She was a part of the prayer support team for us in Idaho. She is a part of the G family prayer support team. That's one of the ways we have become such dear friends in the last few months. I wasn't sure what God was up to. Just knew Sheri was going to be used. That she was going to offer herself in some way.

A little bit later, I received a facebook message from Sheri. She was heading in to Ft Worth and offered to go to Mount Olivet Cemetery. I could help but get all teary and was moved beyond words. Most people want nothing to do with cemeteries - especially when they do not personally know the individuals involved. And little did we both know what an adventure her just even getting there would be. Can you say a blowout on one of her tires? Two individuals stopping to help her? And of course, no one that works at a cemetery is usually in a hurry. ;-)

Sue had given me the death certificate and I had written down the exact location. Her daughter's body is buried in the Rose Garden. Soon enough, Sheri had found the spot. She didn't just check on the date of birth on the tombstone... she even took pictures to share with Sue back in Idaho. Sue hasn't been to her daughter's graveside since the funeral due to her own health and living so far away. Did you catch that? Sheri even took pictures for Sue.

Amongst all the hats/titles that Sheri wears, one of them is a Nurse. Her compassion and mercy for individuals who are physically hurting is great. What is even stronger is her love for God and therefore for people. It was out of that and not knowing how much longer Sue is going to be physically alive that she was willing to go to what some would call a stranger's gravesite.

When an individual has come to even taste a tad of God's love for them, strangers are not seen the same way. They simply cannot be. It was not necessary for me to be the one to go the gravesite. Just for me to be willing. Sheri did not go to Idaho in the physical sense. Make no mistake about it though, she was there because of prayer. And it is no coincidence that she offered some of what might seem like her Wednesday afternoon even. Funny how God works when we say, "Here am I, Lord. Send me."

Sheri... Love you beyond words dear sister in Christ. Thank you for answering God's tug on your heartstrings and walking in the overflow of His love.

Today, I will call Sue and give her the news that her daughter's date of birth has indeed been changed. We will then determine how she will see the pictures.

The moments in the dash matter. How are you going to use what may seem like your moments today?

Are you willing to offer yourself to reach out to those who may seem like strangers?

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Much love,
Camey

UPDATE: Sue has been called. The sound of her voice as she heard the news will not leave me for a long time. To hear that Sheri even took pictures for her to see, priceless.

More Than Breath

2009-07-14T17:46:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday night we arrived in Kuna, ID. We got there a couple of hours later than we had originally planned, so plans had changed some. After dinner, time of fellowshipping with those that had gathered at Ray and Arie's home and getting organized for the day ahead, the G fam prepared to head off to our host home. Little did we know... little did I know...

We pulled into the driveway and were greeted outside the front door by a woman. She told us that Sue was still awake and wanted to meet us. I was taken aback I must confess. I also immediately knew that this host home was going to be different than I had imagined or would have thought I wanted. The woman lives with Sue. She is her dear friend but is also her night caregiver. Yes, you heard me right. Sue is on hospice care.

I was a little upset at first. Here was the first time since 2005 that I had been outside of Texas and actually even away from G-town for more than 3 days other than to my in-laws or to minister to family members as the result of someone in the family passing away. We've lived life's moments as caregivers since moving here in 2005. I thought I was beyond ready to not be in that type of environment for a week. Funny how God works and moves.

Each night, Sue and I would visit for an hour or more. We shared from the depths of two individuals who know what it is like to depend upon others for the most basic needs to be met. She rejoiced with me in my physical healing. The one thing that Sue and I had in common that spoke the most was our undeniable faith in God. No matter what has been thrown our ways - God is good. There is no love like His. Spiritual healing we've come to understand as most important. And we both also spend much time praying. Praying is to Sue as it is to me.... as breathing.

I had to ask for forgiveness from God for my lousy attitude at first hearing Sue was on hospice. For being in an "UGGGH!" state upon seeing and hearing her breathing machine. I ended up being so incredibly thankful for each moment she and I had the pleasure of spending together. Sue was given 6 months to live 15 years ago. Did you catch that?? 15 years ago. Now she is really not well these days but her smiles lights up the room and her encouragement was beyond words.

One night, Sue shared with me about her daughter, Madeleine. She also requested my help with some thing that has been on her mind. You see... Madeleine is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Ft Worth. The tombstone makers had put the wrong date of birth on her headstone. It has supposedly been fixed. Sue asked me if I would visit her daughter's grave and make sure it had been. The moments in-between the dash comes to mind yet again. A few days makes a difference.

I can honestly say if my/our life's moments had not been what they had... I might not have agreed to Sue's request. I do not believe in coincidences. It is my privilege to check on this for Sue. And as strange as it may sound, my pleasure as well. That is not me... that is God's love flowing out of me. His compassion... His tender mercy. Talk about sheer joy and more than breath! And what a generous woman opening up her home to what may have seemed like complete strangers in a time when others would have advised not to. Only God can make that type of impact in a person's life. Sustaining life.

Just a tad of what happened on the "Mission Trip".... More to come. Much more.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.. by me & Sue. ;-)

Much love,
Camey

Have Jesus. Will Travel.

2009-07-03T09:40:00.000-05:00

Back years ago there was a TV show called "Have Gun. Will Travel". The premise of the show was that the lead character had a gun and wasn't afraid to use it. He would travel wherever there was an enemy that needed to be taken care of. Some times he used his gun. Other times, there was no real need.

Each of the G family believes in God and His Son, Jesus. We know the power of the Holy Spirit and have seen first-hand how mountains can be moved or danced on top of. We also know the value of the valleys and the deserts. We know the power of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and especially of God's love for each one of us.

Tomorrow morning, we leave out on a 9 day Mission Trip to Idaho with a group of peeps from our local church body. We will be going to serve with another church in another state all because of God's love first. We will be loving on that community there with far more than we alone are capable of in our own strength. Sharing Jesus

Also during this time, I will be taking a sabby (unplugged) from facebook. One of the "safeguards" I have in place is not utilizing facebook via my cell phone. No facebook. This time away is necessary in order to be fully engaged where I will be and whom I will be with. What an incredible opportunity it is to go with Parker's age group on a Mission Trip as a family! Yes, I said "Parker's age group!" We're talking 10, 11 and 12-year-olds. And while facebook is a part of ministry for me.... I will be with 4 of my favorite individuals in the whole wide world (Dick, Austin, Travis and Parker). We haven't been away together for longer than 3 days since 2005. Facebook will carry on just fine without me as well the pcb and G-town, Texas.

We are lifestyle missionaries. Some times that means sharing God's love here locally.. other times it means traveling to places we might not go on our own. Why? Because God loved first. We have the Best News there is! There is no one or no thing better! No voice as precious and priceless as His.

We have Jesus. We will travel wherever He leads us. Tomorrow it is at every place we stop at to use the potty, get some thing to eat, where we stop to sleep in Wyoming... and then the same on Sunday as we end up in Idaho. The Mission Trip doesn't start on Monday. It has actually already started. And we believe as Christ-followers - every single day there are opportunities to engage the Holy Spirit already at work in the lives of those we encounter.

We greatly appreciate all the individuals whom have been praying for us and we know will continue to while we're gone. We ask that you also pray for my mom during this time as well. We serve God first and foremost even if that means leaving her here. No one is more trustworthy than God no matter what happens in life's moments.

So..... Do you have Jesus? If so, are you willing to travel? Across the street, on the other side of town, across the Country in which you live and/or across the world?

If you don't know Jesus.. He is right there just waiting for you to meet Him. He will meet you right where you are no matter where that might be.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for! Dangerous indeed. And thank you for the privilege of being in your life's moments however that may be.

Much love,
Camey

PS: The Only Real Freedom in life's moments come from knowing God through His Son, Jesus.

PSS: Yes, I'm fully aware that Spiritual Warfare is going to increase - not decrease! ;-)

On the Front Lines - Part II

2009-06-24T07:41:00.002-05:00

This is the latest update from our missionary son, Austin.

"Several kids came to Christ at Rob & Carolin's site. Spiritual victory was achieved at that place. Ryan has returned with his whole family being healed. My sites are running well and both groups of teenagers have been incredible. I have been significantly re hydrated and feeling much better. Trav's sunburn has not gotten worse. We are entering the exhaustion phase of the trip and already I'm seeing irritability with students. Pray that we would not succumb to sleepy sillies - that we would remain attentive and alert as these last days continue."

Thank you to those whom are praying! Please keep it up! Their days there are non-stop once they are awake until they hit the hay.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for too.

Much love,
Camey

On the Front Lines - Mission Trip Update

2009-06-23T06:53:00.002-05:00

Austin, Travis, and several other individuals from our local church body are on a Middle School Mission Trip this week. After the two text messages I received from Austin last night, I decided to bring it to those of you who pray for prayer.

"My two VBS sites are easy. Ran the best VBS day ever in the morning for me. Afternoon for me is slightly more challenging but still easy. Focus your prayers on Rob and Carolin's group. Rob said he had the hardest group in his life and the reps there say it is their number 1 hardest site. 40+ kids, fights, drug deals - Travis is on the front lines with a bright red face. Also every single person on this trip is experiencing some form of dehydration at the moment. Nobody is dangerously dehydrated but with the heat - it was 103 today - we are very hard pressed for water. Pray that God presses us to drink water!"

For clarification purposes... Austin and Carolin are the 2 high school student leaders on this mission trip. Rob is one of the adults. Travis just finished middle school.

As I said in my last note, this is one of Austin and Trav's favorite places to serve at. They go any time they are able. You might be asking, "Camey? After those types of updates, aren't you tempted to go get your sons and bring them home since they're not an hour or so more away. Aren't you scared for your sons?" Let me answer that straight from the heart.... No. They are there because of God's love first and then because they were sent there this week. They belong to God far more than to me/us.

This is not just an update for prayer for Austin, Travis and those they are with. This is call to prayer for where they are at. For the individuals there who do not know God's love intimately. May lives be touched and real transformation start through the power of Jesus' name and Holy Spirit.

Yes, I realize that calling people to prayer over this puts even more of a bull eyes on our sons and those they are with. And they wouldn't have it any other way. Life's moments are not meant to be lived on the balancing beam holding on for dear life.

So, dear reader, if you claim to be a Christ-follower, let me ask you this....

How long has it been since you've been on the front lines?

In order to be so, you have to move beyond your self and your own comfort zones.

You do not have to go to a big city or even to another Country..

Some times all you have to do is walk across the room.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

More updates to come.

Much love,
Camey

PS: And yes for those that asked. This is the same place the G family went on the Monday before Christmas as part of our gifts to each other. The gift of serving others side by side

That's Crazy Love For Ya!

2009-06-20T16:47:00.000-05:00

One of the G family's favorite communicators is Francis Chan. Austin, Travis, and some silly woman they claim as "Mom" had the privilege of hearing him live back a couple of months ago at an all day event called Ignite with a few peeps we love and hundreds of others we love through Jesus. I purposefully haven't spoken much about that day online until now because it was hard to put in to words. I know.. hard to imagine for a writer right? Indeed it was, but not now.

Today is Austin's last day at the little store here in the highly secure gated community. He has been there since September of 2007. It was his very first paying job at sixteen. Tomorrow he and Travis leave on yet another mission trip until Thursday evening. They are going to one of their favorite places to serve. They will sweat like dogs, love on whomever is willing to be so, and literally be the hands and feet of Jesus with the others serving there. You could be wondering, "Camey? Silly woman.. what do those things have to do with hearing Francis Chan and Ignite?" Simple.

As we were listening to Francis, the weather was exceedingly stormy. It was raining. We had taken cover numerous times throughout the day and evening. There were times when we were tempted to leave, but knew in the long run - it would be worth staying until the very end. Francis spoke passionately about the fire being ignited inside of us for God's glory. About not playing it safe! When some thing is ignited it can be very dangerous! ;-) There were candles lit as well. Some lost their flame. Others - the flame wouldn't be snuffed out. The light was unstoppable!

When Francis was done, Kari Jobe and Chris Tomlin led us in an incredible time of sheer worship. When time came for the last song, "Sing. Sing. Sing." - we were asked to turn around and look up in the sky. And with all those hundreds of individuals who had chosen to stay, and those whom we had come with... I worshipped my Real Father with two of my brothers who also happened to be my sons. In the sky, there was the most fantastic firework display we've ever seen! Ever! It remains some of the most powerful moments of worship for me. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this summer was going to be different. Not that they haven't done the mission trip thing during other summers, but not like this summer. And I also knew that between that time and now, our lives would be changing in ways I'm not at liberty to fully talk about just yet.

I mentioned in another post not long ago that Austin has also been praying about other mission trips. Today, we received an answer to that prayer. Austin will be heading back out of the Country in a few months for his 18th birthday present to share the love of Jesus. And of course, there's the mission trip all five of us are going on from July 4th to 12th to Idaho.

As Travis has been helping me with the laundry needed for their trip and as Austin is finishing his last day at the little store, their dad is about to punch out from his last Saturday at Wal-Mart. His last official day is this Thursday.

Parker said to me earlier today, "Mom? Our family is being moved in ways that are obvious it has to be God!" Tomorrow as we celebrate Father's Day.... our family can say without hesitation it is a Crazy Love that moves us beyond ourselves. And while Dick is a wonderful dad.. he in no way can compare to God, our Father. Neither can Arthur, nor could Larry.

Life's moments can be lived on the balancing beam holding on for dear life in fear of falling off!

We've jumped down knowing that we are in His hands.

For that's where Real Life is found... Trusting in Him instead of ourselves.

And as always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

Thank you to those whom have been praying and will continue to.

Much love,
Camey

For the Glory of the Lord - We Will Never Be the Same Part II

2009-06-13T09:02:00.001-05:00

This morning I cannot help but praise God for this past week! Here's just a tad:

1) People came to Jesus! Individuals like Matthew..... Dylan also came to Jesus. Dylan has played softball with us on Tuesday nights. Praise God!!

2) Lives were ruined for Him! Absolutely.. totally... ruined! Yep, I could write a book on this alone.

3) On the same day hubby gave notice at Wal-Mart, Austin was officially going to Idaho with us in July. We are going there on a mission trip to share and show God's love. And all 5 of our ways there are already paid for as of last night!

4) This morning, Austin has given his 2 week notice at the little store here in the highly secure gated community he has worked at since turning 16. He will be 18 in September.

5) Travis.... well... this goes back to #2. I won't go into much detail here on purpose but to say that we are NOT surprised in the slightest by what happened with him and through him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it is exactly an answer to dangerous prayers his mama has been praying for him. Yes, I know my sons that well. And I have never been more thankful and grateful to be his mama, but more importantly, his sister-in-Christ. There is no relationship more important than with God/Jesus. None.

6) Last night as we were hanging out as a family - we experienced the wildest weather we ever have. Yep... even Austin and Travis said it was more intense than Wednesday night when they were in Denton. As it was happening, Austin got out his guitar and the two of us started singing. After it was over.. and given that our electricity was off... we went to check on neighbors and to determine what damage could be seen. This is where knowing your neighbors BEFORE the storm hits that makes a huge difference. The electricity came back on at 11:30 p.m. and in the light of day this morning... there is more to clean up as expected. Austin was talking with Shirley who lives across the street 2 doors down. He said, "This is what Jesus would have done." Shirley replied, "He went about helping those in need." Shirley is a widow along with being our neighbor.

7) Our local church body is part of a group of individuals feeding children this summer. It is the 3rd summer we've done so 5 days a week. The group has already served more in the 1st week than in 3 weeks last summer! Did you catch that? More in the 1st week than in 3 weeks? I could tell you story after story... in fact, be watching for stories! Lives are being impacted. And it's not just those who are being fed either. Funny how that happens.

8) And like a flood, His mercy rains. It is Amazing Grace. And this morning, I am praising God for how we will never be the same. We have not arrived... life's moments are the journey as well as the classroom.

And dear reader, thank you for being a part of life's moments here through this blog and however else you may be now or have been in the past as well.

You have been prayed for. Thank you to all whom have been praying... don't stop!

Much love,
Camey

For the Glory of the Lord - We Will Never Be the Same

2009-06-09T10:23:00.001-05:00

This note is in response to the numerous questions I've been receiving lately about what's going on with us these days. Some things I can answer in this note today... others are still going to have to wait.

The last couple of months have been some of our most intense ones yet. The last two weeks in particular have been moving to say the least. Moving? Yes, moving! This is going to be written in a different fashion than most of my notes on purpose. And yes, some of the questions people ask me make me think twice about my being called, "The Questionator!" ;-)

"Why have you and Parker been going down and laying stones at the foot of the cross the last two weeks?

Answer: We are intentionally laying stones as a Spiritual Marker of what is happening in our own lives and for what is happening in G-town, what is going to happen in Idaho in July, and for Illinois. The stones also represented each one of the three boys and every one connected to them already and yet to be! Here locally, in this Country, and around the world - Revival and Spiritual Awakening!

"Why is Austin on the fast track to graduate high school in December instead of May?"

Answer: December is when his dad will be finished with his schooling. Since Austin "does" high school like he does - after much prayer and discussion, it is clear... he needs to be freed up come January.

"Where is Austin going after graduating high school?"

Answer: That remains to be seen. Austin surrendered to God and full-time ministry well over a year ago now. While there is a call upon his life to go to Japan at some point as a lifestyle missionary... It's safe to say, where we go next will help direct where he does.

"Where are you guys going?"

Answer: We're still praying about that one. Doors more than appear to be opening. I'll be bold enough to say we're asking God to smack us up side of the head. In His love, smacks are well worth it. So are gentle whispers that come through listening during the early hours of the morning or before going to bed at night. As a wife, mother, and sister-in-Christ.... I am so incredibly grateful for the time that hubby and I spend in prayer together. Funny how that happens.

"Where is Austin this week?"

Austin is at Student Camp. He is a part of the Student Ministry Leadership Team. Travis will be joining him today as well as 120 something other peeps. Please pray for all there this week! That they will hear directly from God and they will be ruined because of it.

As for Austin, he is currently praying about more travel in the next few months as the missionary that he already is. Pray he hears clearly about that too.

"What's up with 'quitting' or 'giving notice' about things?"

Hubby will be leaving Wal-Mart here in the next couple of weeks. This is an effort to not keep a job that someone else needs more than he does. It is also to free him up as well in different ways. As for giving notice about not teaching the "18 to 25 somethings".... still teaching until newbies are found. This is an effort for this group to expand and grow in ways that we are not able to at this point in things. It is also to free us up when the time does come to leave here.

Okay... That's just a tad of what's happening with us these days. Thank you to those whom are praying and will continue to do so. For those behind the scenes - we pray you have some clue how much your friendships mean to us. We are beyond grateful.....

For the glory of the Lord, we will never be the same! Talk about being beyond thankful...

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for... dangerous indeed.

Much love,
Tis better to serve than be served

Love God. Love People. Praise God!

Revealing Gifts!

2009-06-01T08:33:00.001-05:00

It started off like most of my Sunday mornings here lately especially with an incredible time of personal worship and studying God's Word before leaving the house. Parker, Travis and I headed to the physical church building full of excitement over what the day had in store! Anticipation was in the air!

Our 18 to 25-yr-old Bible study group meets at our 9:00 a.m. hour. In the hallway outside of the room where we gather, one of our "Greeters" introduced me to a new friend for the group. The next few minutes are sort of a blur as I ditched what I planned on teaching to go for what Spirit directed me to instead. Intense time as I heard, "That was what I need to hear!" by the new friend. Did I mention I taught on recognizing and listening to The Spirit?

As she and I were standing in the main entrance of the physical church building after group time was over, I decided to make a trip to the women's restroom. There is no bath... therefore, not a bathroom. :-) I had taken care of my "everybody potties" (cue the Elmo song please) moment and was heading back to the new friend when one of my most embarrassing moments happen. From what seemed like out of the blue to me, I was tackled from behind by a woman I did not know. Apparently, I was revealing far more of myself than I should have been. And people wonder why I don't wear skirts often. No mystery there now.

I proceeded to walk a bit farther when she tackled me again. Apparently, my first attempt to rectify the issue wasn't enough. And in the corner of my eye, I saw one of the servant men of our church trying really hard to keep his composure. In a funny and yet tender couple of moments, he shared with me how he was preparing to come to my aid before the woman did. He also told me a hilarious story about his granny in an effort to make me not feel as embarrassed.

The new friend and I walked in to what is known as our “Worship Center”. I saw the woman and what I assumed to be her husband walk in ahead of us and sit down. I told the new friend to hang on a moment so that I could thank the woman again for her kindness to an apparent stranger. I knew I did not recognize the woman.

I walked up behind the woman and her husband and leaned in. I told her how much I appreciated her being willing to help me even though she didn’t know me. I told her my name again and asked her last name. She had only introduced herself as Martha before – the 1st time I thanked her. Needless to say, she was no real stranger as she and I had had an in-depth conversation on the phone on Friday. I took the time to tell her that I prayed for her about our conversation upon hanging up the phone. She and her husband both got all teary-eyed and thanked me for my kindness in doing so. She proceeded to share with me a bit of what had transpired since our conversation. And I was thankful yet again.

Was what happened to me in the main entrance of the physical church building one of my most embarrassing moments? Yes, without question. But honestly, it was worth it. For in it was revealing gifts to be treasured. It also reminded of how thankful I am to be able to walk and use the restroom seemingly all by myself again. Even though I know I’m never alone. And it told some grandparents they aren’t either.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for! And it was dangerously revealing!

Much love,
Camey

Taught Backwards; Living Forward

2009-05-23T08:32:00.002-05:00

That quote was used last night at a graduation ceremony my family was at. I frankly do not remember who said it as I was struck by it so intensely at the moment. And this morning, as I sat down to write... it fit as the title! Funny how that happens.

This past week, we received a letter that we are needing to have a meeting about Parker's absences. And while it got this "Mama Bear" in a roar for a brief period of time... I am not at all concerned about it. I stand by not being a "fan" of the public school system. But I remain grateful and thankful for it as well. Again, funny how that can happen.

It did make me think about the past. Especially our decision to take Austin out of public school back when he was in the 7th grade. I remember so clearly walking into the school office and saying, "I'm here to withdraw Austin. He is going to be homeschooled." I remember the looks on the faces of the women I had come to know by first names and voices as well as by faces. I was told, "From what we've known about your family over the years, we would have been disappointed if you had NOT made this decision. Austin is too smart of a kid to be held back because of absences. If we can help you in any way - we are here for you!" We started homeschooling the very next day. The very next one...

Funny thing about homeschooling Austin? That was my plan all along. I never had any intentions of him or any of our sons (3 total - Travis and Parker too) going to public school. Fortunately, I was so incredibly wrong. WHAT??? Did I just say I was "incredibly wrong"??? Yes, I did and with a deep smile on my face too! For homeschooling our sons was not God's plan. His plan is always better than mine. Any single day.

Homeschooling all 3 sons would not have been possible during the years I was ill. Notice - it was after being healed in 03 that I was allowed to homeschool him. And in him being homeschooled - he has had opportunities that would not have been possible otherwise! Especially after moving to where we live currently and then becoming a part of a "homeschooling co-op" at our physical church building. God's paint brush strokes are so evident on that. The picture is filled with bright colors and immense details. After much prayer & discussion, Austin will be finishing high school at the end of this December. Not possible if he had remained in public school. Make no mistake about it though.. not all who attend the "homeschooling co-op" are Christ-followers or have any real local church association other than they come to a building known as one 3 days a week.

Travis and Parker at one time had been asked if they wanted to be homeschooled too after I was completely healed physically in 03. They did not want to be. Why? As lifestyle missionaries - they wanted to remain a light in public schools. And they are! I could share story after story... but God knows all those. And that's enough for me/us.

Austin surrendered to full-time ministry and God well over a year ago now. He has had the opportunities to develop skills in sound, lighting, video, and etc. during our years with our current church. He has taught Bible classes, gone on trips to share God's love, shared God's love here locally, and has discipled and mentored younger guys as well. Just to name a portion. And yes, I am saying, "current church" on purpose.

Life's moments are the classroom. Each and every single one of them. As Christ-followers we were never told to turn over the education of one or all of our children to someone else completely... God is The Foremost Teacher as in/through Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit and of course His Living Word - The Bible. Parents are next - whether good or bad or in-between. The church should be next. And then any other ones. It is not up to the public school system, a homeschool co-op, a private school or the church alone to educate our sons. That is not God's plan.

I am so thankful for the lessons I've learned as a result of three sons that God entrusted to this silly woman and my goofy hubby. For He knew how much we would have to rely on Him and get on our knees! And put band aids on knees too. He knew the tears, the laughter, and etc. Priceless education!

So, as the G family is "living forward" and is in prayer about it.... we remain grateful for what we have been taught backwards. For those who are praying with us and for us... thank you for investing in our family and God's kingdom!

As always, dear reader, dangerous prayers have been said on your behalf!

Much love,
Camey

Dangerous Prayers!

2009-05-16T10:04:00.001-05:00

Over the course of the last few weeks, I've had several individuals inquire about "dangerous prayers". I thought I would take a bit of time today to explain and to share a tad of what is going on these days in our life's moments.

Some time ago, God really convicted me about my praying life. Notice - I did not say my prayer time? Praying cannot help but draw one closer to God. And praying should never be just about ones own life. Praying for other individuals is a privilege and a pleasure even if what is going on in their life's moments are wrecked with pain or the happiest of times or in-between. Just like it should be with our own.

In praying dangerous prayers - I ask God to make Himself known to my self and others in ways that there can be no doubt that it is Him. That wherever one is at, whatever doing or have done - to know God's presence and His love personally. Dangerous prayers involves risk. It involves not staying the same but being moved beyond ones own self. To see those around them as God does. To go where they themselves might not ever want to go on their own.

Over the last few months - I've had some of the most intense moments spent in prayer. Some praising God, thanking Him. Others - listening and not talking. And of course, conversing with my Father. The One who is in first place in my life. In truth, some of most intense ones have happen the last two weeks - especially while hubby was in Illinois.

I have not been called to the wisdom of this world. I have been called to love God and love people. To minister to the seen and unseen wherever they may be. To make the Gospel known and alive and breathing. And my husband has been called to the same. Our family has. When we walked away from the life we had known Memorial Day weekend back in 2005 - make no mistake about it... we were sent to where we are currently. I would have never come here on my own as so many of you know. For in coming here - it meant my parents were no longer able to live on their own. It would mean at some point my daddy going to Heaven as he did in Nov of 06. It would mean being back in the daily grind of living with my mom who suffers with mental illness. Again, I would have never come here on my own. I came... we came because we were sent. We live sent. That's what I mean by lifestyle missionary. And it is dangerous. It caused us to give away and/or sell almost every single thing we had the pleasure of being entrusted to us... a house, one of two vehicles, a dog, a church body we had loved for 15 years and had served with and seen our sons come to know Jesus personally, being baptized, and etc. Not to mention saying goodbye to dear friends who had been such a part of our life's moments on a daily basis as well as hubby's job with the same company for 17 years. And yes, to insurance even.

My husband left last Saturday for Illinois to preach, teach, minister and etc. to another church body and community there. This was the 3rd time he has been sent there since we've been here. I knew before he left - this time was different through praying. And it was.... and is... Our hearts have been stirred again. We have clearly known God's presence more than ever before and have heard Him speaking in our lives and out of them. And God has used others in ways that are beyond words. To all those whom have been praying - thank you... and please do not stop now.

So, dear reader, I ask you.... if you claim to be a Christ-follower or a Christian, how is your praying life?

If God asked you to give up and leave the life you know currently - would you be willing to do so?

When others hear your name do they think of how you show God's love or do they wonder if you even know Him at all?

What do you need to pray dangerous prayers about? For it is not some thing only a woman named Camey can do.

And remember - any time you think I'm pointing fingers at you... I've got some pointing right back at me.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for. And it IS dangerous indeed.

Much love,
Camey

Speaking His Language

2009-04-30T19:24:00.003-05:00

The sun is setting through the window as I write.

On my mind are the little boy & girl I held in my arms today.

We had never met before & yet were not strangers.

I had prayed for them earlier in the day - long before I knew we were going to meet.

It's called being in the here/now and yet in the there/then.

Only possible with Holy Spirt.

I alone am incapable.

Safety vs Dangerous!

2009-04-20T09:08:00.007-05:00

This morning I was praying about what to post. I knew it was to be on "Safety vs Dangerous"... Funny enough? A dear friend of ours (Bill - aka cycleguy) posted a video on his blog that his daughter (Tami) had sent him.

You can check it out by clicking on the title of this post.

While you're there.. drop Bill a comment and tell him I sent you if you have a moment.

Why is it funny that our dear friend Bill posted this video on a morning when I was going to post on "safety vs dangerous"???? We've never met face to face. YET! We only know each other through blogging and emails and PRAYERS. And yet, the connection is that of Real Family. Why? Because of God. How? God's love.

I'm often asked about why I pray dangerous prayers and why I talk about our sons being "brothers in Christ" being more important than our children. Not long ago I had a few people upset with me that I said I would have been disappointed in Austin if he had not gone in to that liquor store in Belize. He knew God wanted him to go in to that liquor store. To not go would have been "playing it safe!"

This past weekend - we had our annual "Kindness Explosion" where we showed God's love all over this town and surrounding communities most of which are "highly secure gated communities"... (read: people live inside the gates just like outside.)I could share tons of stories with you about how we saw God move because of individuals willing to not play it safe! I could also share about a wreck that happened.. (Tip: When using signs to advertise "Free Car Washes!" watch where drivers might be needing to stop and/or turn.) Fortunately, no one was hurt!

If you're a Christ-follower...

God didn't call us to live a life of safety!

He didn't call us to stay locked up in our homes.

He called us to be lifestyle missionaries - each and every single one of us.

Wherever life takes you - share God's love! Use words if necessary!

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

Much love,
Camey

PS: And if you're reading this and you are not a Christ-follower... I hope you notice God today no matter your circumstances!

April 15, 2009 - Dead Wrong Part II

2009-04-16T07:29:00.000-05:00

In the last post, I wrote about being "Dead Wrong" and how I wanted to leave this town almost a year ago now. I shared about being hurt then and wanting to retreat. Yesterday, is proof positive yet again, that I would have missed out on the best year thus far and the first few months of 09.

I was told that I was silly for wanting a milkshake from the Braum's that was having its Opening Day. "A milkshake for your birthday? Wow, Camey! You're cheap!" Oh, but in order to have that milkshake - my incredible hubby, Dick, had to do something he normally does not want to. Let's just say he's not a fan of going somewhere on its Grand Opening! Out of his love for me, and given the fact that we didn't go to a Braum's like we normally do when celebrating the anniversary of the day we met (April 10th, 1988), he was more than willing to go. Best milkshake I've had since the one a friend held for me to drinkI in a hospital years ago when I could not hold it on my own. Okay.. call me silly.

I was also asked why I did not take off. I'm at the pcb for 11 to 12 hours normally on Wednesdays. Simply put.. to have taken off and been any where else would not have been celebrating the life that I am so blessed with. I spent time with individuals that this time last year - I did not even know or was just meeting. I also spent time with many whom are dear friends and have taught me more than they could ever realize. I had encounters with individuals that were coming to the pcb that normally do not. Again, feel free to call me silly.

There are other things about the day I could share with you.. like how I am so thankful for all the friends that I have all over the world. How you've each shown me God in ways that you might not ever understand. Or if you did.. you might agree and call us both silly.

Like I said yesterday, the best gift of all is God's love. And even though there might be a lot of "I" in this post.... please realize - there is far more of Him than silly o' me. The evidence speaks for itself....

And again, I'm so thankful to have been dead wrong. W-R-O-N-G can end up being more than right.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Much love,
Camey

PS: there's also a free concert the G family is going to on Saturday, 26th for my birthday... Silly again.. free, one of our favorite singers, and worshipping God with my hubby and three sons. Somethings one simply cannot put a price tag on!

Dead Wrong

2009-04-14T05:50:00.000-05:00

This morning I received a phone call from someone who has become a dear friend. He was checking in to see when the G family would be arriving at a place he arranged for us due to the septic system being replaced. The septic guys haven't even showed up yet..looking like it won't be until tomorrow at the earliest at this point. And I am thankful. Why? It serves as a great reminder of a lesson involving this same dear friend and the year of 2008 as a whole.

2008 was a hard year in many ways. At one point, I was beyond ready to leave this town. I had been hurt by a couple of people and was ready to retreat. Utterly ready to leave the town I had once said I would never come to. I am so thankful that Dick kept listening to God and knew it would be the wrong thing for us to do. He knew it. I had to accept it. We weren't leaving then. I couldn't fathom why at the time. Remember... I was hurt. That should have been reason enough right? Nope.

Over the course of the last year, I have sought God more so than I ever have before in my life. And when given the chance to really work through things with one of the people involved, I decided to put myself to the test. What do I mean? I was willing to be hurt even more if that was what it took. Talk about staying on my knees.

A couple of months ago, this now dear friend and I really started talking again. Not surface talk... really talking. He admitted to me that he was taking his anger out on me because of what I represented to him at the time. Once he realized he needed to start working on his anger and why he was angry to begin with - he realized how much he had hurt me in the process. And talk about being sorry. No doubt I have forgiven him as has he forgiven me for my no longer wanting to be around him then. I judged what I did not understand. Dang...

Honesty need not be feared. Had this one particular dear friend and I not been totally honest with each other, we both would have been dead wrong. And we would have missed out on the sheer blessings we now know. And to top that off, I would have missed out on one of the best years and the first few months of 09!

Who are you dead wrong about?

And if you think there's no one... Perhaps you need to check your pulse.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

Much love,
Camey

They Can't Teach That At Seminary

2009-04-13T06:48:00.004-05:00

This was actually written last Thursday. Watch for new posts this week!
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This morning I wrote a new post with the same title. Before I had finished and saved it, I hit a wrong button and "Poof" it was gone. This afternoon, I had to laugh at that. This morning.. well, I was a little bummed. Funny what a few hours can do for you.

Some time ago, a man asked me to pray for his grandson. He took off his mask for a bit and shared with me the hurts and pains his grandson was experiencing. Some by his grandson's own choices and others -not. Most who know us both would never realize the deep relationship we have with each other. A relationship that was truly birthed through prayer. Once upon a time this same man had prayed for my physical healing. We did not even know each other face to face at that time. He knew of and about me through my dad, Larry. I was greatly touched he would share with me about his grandson and ask me to pray. Little did we both know then....

Jeremy got to the point where he was living with his grandparents off and on. I met him one night and introduced myself. I also shared with him that I had been praying for him at his grandfather's request. He told me he knew my relationship with his grandfather must be special for him to do that. I invited him to come to the Sunday small group I (hubby too when available) teach for 18 to 25 yr olds. He smiled and said he would think about it.

Jeremy started coming to the group off and on. There are many things about him I could share with you.. some might even make this more exciting of a story. What I can share for sure is this... Jeremy used to sell drugs, did drugs, and had just joined the Army in an effort to try to get his life on a different course. The first Sunday morning he came to the small group, I knew I was going to have to start listening to the Spirit even more so than normal. (For those who have been in any of my classes/groups before can laugh now.) His life's moments had been so incredibly different than any other person I had ever taught or been a leader or really even ministered to before. No, not because of the drugs. That is very common. We ended that first group time with him standing in the middle of the room, laying hands on him, and praying. Spirit was ever so present... it still gives me chills.

The last time Jeremy was in the group.... I shared with him and the others there how much I had come to love and appreciate him. I sat down beside him, looked him in the eyes, and thanked him for sharing his life's moments with us. The look on his face - I won't forget any time soon. He actually asked for prayer about his life and I could not help but take him in my heart even more.

Last night, hubby called me on my cell and asked me to come to the welcome desk down in the foyer of the physical church building. I didn't ask why which is sort of unusual for me at that time of the evening. I was hanging out with a bunch of funny looking people that I also love beyond words - also known as some middle school and high school students. I didn't hesitate in going to see what the call was about though.

When I got to the welcome desk, there was Jeremy. His grandparents were there too. As it turns out, Jeremy had to go to his aunt's this past Sunday. He had missed what he had told me would be his last Sunday in the group. He asked hubby to get me there so he could thank me and tell me goodbye. I hugged him... I know, what a surprise, and got all teary-eyed. I asked him if I could pray for him. I was going to put my hand on his shoulder when he reached out his arms to hug me. We stood there hugging each other as I whispered the prayer in his ear. What I said will stay between me, Jeremy, God, and perhaps hubby if his ears were able to hear with all the other sounds around us. His grandparents were standing off behind us.

Jeremy promised to stay in touch. His grandmother hugged me and thanked me for loving their grandson. It is safe to say that our relationship is even stronger now than before. Funny how that happens. His grandfather couldn't come close to me. He knew he would cry. I knew he would cry. And given the fact that he hugs me too, we all would have been crying. Sometimes - it is okay to watch from a distance that really isn't distant at all.

The title of this might sound strange to some. I don't talk very much about seminary on purpose. While I am thankful for my time there, I have come to learn many valuable lessons just as much outside the halls, walls, and grounds. I would go so far as to say, even more important ones. For when Jeremy showed up, I knew I had to rely on God more than I could myself. The details of that... again I'll let stay.

Will Jeremy ever come to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior? I don't know. What I do know is this... what happened between us is something that they can't teach at seminary. God's love is alive. It is breathing. It did not die on that cross and stay dead. And who am I to say, "I can't love you until you believe as I do."

Please pray for Jeremy.. he has a long road ahead of him. And I remain thankful that Jeremy's grandfather prayed for me when I was paralyzed from the neck down all those years ago... long before we were sent to a place I said I would never go.

God loved first. And that is more than enough for me. In fact, that's where abundant living truly is found.... in His love. And He loved enough to send His Only Son...

Talk about making me all teary-eyed.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

Much love,
Camey

It's This Simple.

2009-04-05T07:49:00.000-05:00

There is Only 1 Way to Heaven. Jesus Christ.

There is Only 1 God worthy of praise & worship.

May Spirit move mightily 2day across the world.

May His Church realize it's not a building.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

"Killing Cockroaches" - One Foot At A Time

2009-03-24T09:57:00.004-05:00

As I sit here listening to "How To Save A Life" by The Fray - I cannot help but think of a book I've recently had the pleasure of reading for the opportunity to review. "Killing Cockroaches" by Tony Morgan the chief strategic officer (pastor) at NewSpring Church is one book I've looked forward to since I first heard the author, Tony, talking about it.

As someone who has read Tony's blog, http://tonymorganlive.com/ for quite some time, this book has a familiar feeling to it. It honestly reads like a hug from Tony. Sorry, Tony. I know you're not a hugger. ;) Some people give "side hugs"... others give hugs that literally feel as if you're having the you-know-what squeezed out of you. That's the type of hug this would be from Tony. Kind of like when a cockroach is stomped with a foot and out comes all that stuff that has to be cleaned up.

The following are just a few reasons why I connect with this book and its author, and hope you will as well or at least it will make you think:

"If we're just teaching people a foreign language, what have we really accomplished?" (pg 21)

- This past Sunday as I was teaching a small group, one of the 20-something guys said, "What is envy?" Now, I was reading directly from Scripture and this guy was completely unfamiliar with it. This comment from Tony was brought to my mind immediately. The individuals in the group who were more familiar with envy actually took the time to explain it to him and give personal examples. Could I have just said, "Envy means to covet an other's possessions or life." Absolutely. But would he have really understood that? Nope. Nada. Not gonna happen.

"Churchiness Is Easy" - the whole chapter! If I didn't know that Tony lived in South Carolina, I might be tempted to think he was a fly on my wall or on the inside windshield of my car or in text messages on my cell or however via facebook, myspace, twitter or etc. I definitely agree that Real Faith is Dangerous! It's no coincidence that I have been praying for Tony while he was writing this book and since its release either.

"I think we're making a huge mistake if we assume young adults will continue to come to our buildings to experience community." (pg 25)

TONY????? (Okay.. he didn't answer.) Again - this struck me as the chapter on "Churchiness Is Easy" did. As one who has come to use social media tools such as facebook, myspace, and twitter - I have come to see this alive and in living color. I can be found at the pcb (physical church building) on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. to teach/lead our 18 to 25-year-old small group. And while there are times when they interact and really get into the discussion - what they will communicate with me through the social media tools is always greater. Shocking? To some perhaps. It is the way they know life and live it. As I was told not long ago by an 18-year-old female, "Camey, you can speak into my life because you are a part of it more than just 1 hour every Sunday. Someone who just acts like they care on Sunday but then I never hear from them again until the next does not." (Yes, I can hear the 'OUCH' that bites. Don't we all need to be bitten from time to time so we don't become immune?)

"Whatever you choose to do, encourage folks to serve others either inside or outside the walls of your church. I'm convinced that one of the primary ways we worship God with our lives is by serving others." (pg 31)

I think over the years there has become a great confusion inside the walls of the physical church buildings. Worshipping God is a way of life - not just a few minutes on Sunday morning, Saturday night, or whenever one might be at a "worship service" or "worship experience"... We were created to worship God, serve Him, and therefore, serve others. It's a daily thing. Not a "when I feel like it."

"It's sad, but I wonder if we've inadvertently designed our ministries to isolate Christians from the places where God really wants them to be." (pg 61)

Let that one sink in. Chew on it. And then, please spit it out. This past week, our oldest son - Austin (17), went to Belize. As a lifestyle missionary - he knows and understands that he is to be inside the liquor store just as much as the orphanage, physical church building, and etc wherever he may be whether in Belize or in the good ole USA. I've had some individuals tell me it's wrong to encourage him to go into such places without me or his dad there. Hello? His Real Father (God) had already gone before him. He belongs to God. He's only on loan to us. What ministries can your body be a part of that is outside the walls? I'm not talking mission trips here. If you are a Christ-follower - you too should be a lifestyle missionary - not just a sitting in the seat/pew saying, "It's good to be in God's house today." Then, leave without giving Him a second thought until next Sunday. I know.. I've been there and done that. If you think I'm pointing a figure at you.. remember - I have more pointing at me.

"We serve a God who called us to go to the lost. Care for the sick. Touch the untouchables. But too often we fail to see the painful stories that hide behind seemingly normal lives. Are you prepared to listen and help?" (pg 195)

This is what I mean by I was called to minister to the seen and unseen. So? Are you called? Are you prepared? (If you know me at all - you know how I would answer that for you.)

I could share more of my thoughts on "Killing Cockroaches" by Tony Morgan. But, honestly? I'm curious to hear yours. What strikes me as even more interesting however, is if you can merely read it and not let it impact the way you too kill cockroaches one foot at a time.

For what good does it do to read a book, web site, or whatever if you just keep it on a bookshelf, rss feed or pdf file?

Thanks Tony!

http://tonymorganlive.com/
http://tonymorganlive.com/book
http://twitter.com/tonymorganlive

And of course, you can find him (Tony Morgan) via facebook. He might even be willing to be your friend too.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed dangerous prayers for! RISK!

When Love Hurts: Changing Roles

2009-03-24T09:50:00.003-05:00

So..... Today is March 23rd. In a couple of hours, I will be having "the talk" with my mom about the fact that she has a doctor's appointment today at 11:15 a.m. I will be sharing with her that I made the appointment for her. Yes, the daughter made the appointment for her mom. Definitely a change of roles. Just one of many since our time here. Not my strength but God's!

Yesterday I was told that if my hubby, myself, Austin, Travis, and Parker would stop being so bold for Jesus - what is going on with Mom would stop. As I've stated time and time before - we are not going to apologize for serving the One & Only Savior - Jesus Christ. After all, there is None like our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Will she go willingly to the doctor today? That remains to be seen. I will be sharing with her that I made the appointment not just on behalf of her, but hundreds of people who love and care about her. Family, friends, the boyfriend, and etc. The guys (hubby, sons, brother - Kelly, and boyfriend) & I have decided that I will be alone when I talk with her. And yet, we know that I will not be alone. For God has gone before me/us on this.... no matter what she decides.

The boyfriend is set to pick us up and go with us as a sign of his love, support, and etc if she is willing to go. If she decides to not go or is unwilling to get back on the meds... we will take the next step for the G family and move out. The next step for her after that... well, we will all continue to seek God's guidance.

We remain grateful for all the prayers lifted up on her behalf and ours. Some times loving another person can hurt. It can bite big time. But yet, we remain thankful for her life's moments even in the ones that are painful. Why? Because of God's love first.

I will update this note when possible. Until then, let me/us know how we can pray for you! Dangerous prayers are being taken up a notch as this is written!

Signed,
His Daughter then hers

PS: And yes... as always, dear reader, you've been prayed for! And thank you for any and all prayers you lift up as well.

UPDATE: My mom is in fact bi-polar. She is starting on some new meds tonight. Let me rephrase that - we hope she will start them. She's not very happy with anyone right now. That is to be expected of course. Thank you all for your prayers already prayed and the ones we know will continue on her behalf and ours.

In Response to: When Love Hurts & General Update

2009-03-12T07:06:00.002-05:00

Thank you to all whom have commented, messaged, called, caught me in person or however to respond to "When Love Hurts." Your friendships, love, and prayers have been quite touching.

For those who shared personal stories with me... thank you for entrusting me with your own hurts. I am thankful that we have the type of connections with each other through Jesus that we can share the hard times of life's moments as well as the good. Please know that I continue to pray for you/yours. Thank you again for sharing your own trials with me whether it is/was you or family.

My mom as of yet has not gone back on the meds. I have taken a couple of more steps in our intervention on her behalf. If you would please pray in regards to her nuclear stress test today & then the appointment she has on the 23rd. We've decided to not tell her about that appointment yet. I'm not concerned about sharing that information here obviously.

In the midst of all this with her... Hubby is leaving on Saturday for IL to preach 5 times and serve the community there. Austin is leaving on Saturday for Belize for a week to share God's love in prisons, schools, orphanages, and etc. Travis and Parker will be on Spring Break as well. And the septic system is in need of an overhaul. Yes, I will still be found at the pcb at my regular scheduled times unless plans change! Travis and Parker will be with me no doubt. Oh... and Travis still needs to see a speciality dentist!

I was asked yesterday point blank about where do I stand in my relationship with God in light of all that is going on with my mom. To the person who asked me - thank you for being that kind of friend! We all need individuals in our lives who are willing to ask those kind of questions & truly want to hear the real answer... not the "churchy" answer. I have found in these types of trials that I draw nearer to God and not farther away. He is my Hope, my Rock, and my Foundation. Doesn't mean that this time in life with my mom doesn't hurt. It still bites big time. What it also means is that I am being stretched beyond where I could go on my own as Dick, Austin, Travis, and Parker are too.

We were created for God.. by God... Why should we think we could live life's moments without Him? Why would we want to? The G family serves The Risen Savior. And that we will not apologize for.

Love hurts... Jesus' blood on the cross is proof positive of that.

Do you know Jesus?

If so, how's your relationship with Him in light of your circumstances?And yes, I really do want to know...

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

And thanks for the prayers on our behalf too!

When Love Hurts

2009-03-03T16:38:00.002-06:00

One of the things I've (we've) been convicted about since surrendering to God and ministry back in 04 is not being "happy plastic Christians." You know the type... nothing is ever wrong. The sun is always shining. They seemingly have no problems. Their family is perfect because they are. Appearances...

We, the G family, know that is not how God has told us to live life's moments. There are times when love hurts. We are experiencing that these days. And after much prayer on it... it's time to share a bit about what we're going through in an effort to let someone else out there know - you're not alone. And to also shed some light on a messy subject.

I've shared before about the fact that my mother suffers from severe depression among other things. It is one of the things that I also teach, speak, and counsel on. For far too long, I/we believe that "the church" has swept this under the rug. That it is still taboo in many circles. And I know there are those who disagree with me as a pastor's wife & woman minister for being outspoken on it. I'd (we'd) rather be right with God than to be popular in any one's else book. Any church body that would consider my husband for their pastor would have to accept this about us as well.

My mother decided to take herself off her meds a few months ago in an effort to see if she could do without them. Keep in mind here - she did so without telling anyone - not her doctor, not any one else in our household (daughter, son-in-law & 3 grandsons)... and not her boyfriend of almost two years now. Needless to say... it didn't take too long for those who know her, love her, and spend any real amount of time with her to say, "She's gone off her meds!" Then, sure enough... she started confirming it verbally for all of us.

I'd like to say that the last few months we've noticed a dramatic change in her mental/emotional health. That she no longer has a need for the meds she was on. That is not the reality we are living in. And frankly, these have been moments when love hurts. It bites big time. The five of us have never been closer to each other. It continues to draw us together and not separate us. The same is true with Dick and I as husband and wife. There are times when being caregivers can overtake a family if boundaries are not put in place. At no time did God say, "Go ye therefore and forsake your spouse & children for your parent(s).

"There is no question that we love her beyond words. There is also no doubt that if she decides to not go back on her meds after having been confronted the last couple of days by the five of us and her boyfriend separately, and then he (boyfriend) and I together, we will be moving out. Does this mean that we will stop loving her and offering support to her in other ways - not necessarily.

There is a lot of talk about how much depression hurts those who suffer from it. What is not always talked about is how it affects those who love them. When we moved in with my parents in May of 05 to become a new family unit, we thought it would be for the rest of my mom's life.. we knew it would be for dad's. We planned on her going with us wherever else God called us to. That is how deep our commitment level is/was.

One thing that God has taught us over and over again especially in regards to my mother is this.... while we do not understand why some people suffer in certain ways - the relationship with Him is always the most important. His blood is truly the thickest. And there are times when love hurts... it bites... There are times when staying is the right thing to do. Then there are other times when leaving is what is called for. Will we stay? Will we leave? That remains to be seen. Honestly, we've stayed longer than I thought we would.

As I've been known to say.... this was the place I once upon a time told God I would not go. Goes to show - how things can change when you give God control of your life's moments.

My mother is doing better as far as the pneumonia goes. She is having her stress test on Monday, March 9th. We'll take each day as they come. Isn't that all we can ever really do? There is no guarantee of a tomorrow on earth. Please continue to pray for her, us and yes... even her boyfriend. No, they will not be getting married unless other miracles were to take place.

And even though there are moments when it hurts like hell.... I am thankful that it continues to draw me closer to my Real Father. I am in no way, shape or form close to having things all together. Fortunately, Father does not turn His back on me either... nor has He with my mother who is also His child. These are areas where we may never understand the why... but we must continue to keep our eyes focused on Him.

I cannot begin to imagine how much love hurt when Jesus was on the cross dying. Who am I to expect love to be easy? There is Only One who makes us complete as a person. Mental, emotional, and physical health are important... but the reality is, has always been, and will always be Spiritual health is the most important.

Have you had a Spiritual health check up lately?

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

"Larry Brown" - On hearing from my Father.

2009-02-27T07:25:00.002-06:00

The last few months, we've been experiencing a rather weird thing with our answering machine on the land line. When going to check the messages - there shows 1 new one. Upon listening, there is one of our all time favorite voices - that of Larry Brown. There does not show a number on the Caller ID connected with the message. All that is said is, "Larry Brown."

I must confess to being a little crept out the first couple of times I heard his voice on the answering machine. For those not in know here - Larry Brown was my daddy. I say was because he went to be with Jesus on November 1, 2006. And while my daddy has actually never been more alive - by all earthly standards - he is dead. His body is buried in a cemetery we pass by when going through the town connected with the front gate of our highly secure gated community.

If you've known me for any length of time - or have read my notes or blog or articles that have been published in various places or heard me speak in person... you'll know that my daddy and I were exceedingly close. He wasn't just my daddy... he was one of my dearest friends later in life as an adult. He was/is most importantly - my brother in Christ. His voice - even when mad at me - always brought me comfort. It was as familiar to me as any voice could possibly be.

You might be thinking - "How great to hear his voice again then!" Or about how weird it is that I am hearing from daddy... We know it has some thing to do with when my mother uses what was his cell phone to check for messages on the land line. Like I said earlier - it did creep me out the first couple of times. Now I laugh and have to smile deeply. Why?

My daddy always taught me and showed me by how he/we lived life's moments that the most important relationship I could ever have was with my real father. Oh sure... Larry Brown was my biological father.. my earthly dad.. but he is/was not my real father. Larry could not save me all the times he tried.

While I will always remember with such tenderness and fondness the sound of my daddy's voice.... it in no way compares to that of knowing and hearing and recognizing that of my Real Father's. The love that my Real Father has for me is the most precious. It is priceless. It is beyond measure.

So, dear reader..... let me ask you...

Do you know intimately the sound of His voice?

Would you recognize it above all others?

Do you walk toward the sound of His voice or run in the other direction?

And if you are a parent - are you intentionally teaching the child(ren) you've been blessed with to want to know the sound of His voice?

There is no voice worth hearing more so than that of God's.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

Hope Secure!

2009-02-26T07:08:00.001-06:00

Today is the day for Trav's root canal. The lovely procedure will take place at 9:00 a.m. (CST). Fortunately for him - there is no public school tomorrow so he can stay in and rest. It's a given he is staying home the rest of today. Travis is not a good patient. He won the award for "groaning" after his appendectomy in 05. His hair is so cool though - it's hard to take that seriously.. Of course his mean trumpet playing will be put on hold for a few weeks. That's not like killing him softly - it's more like stabbing him with a knife in his scar!

As I said yesterday afternoon - mom is still to sick to have her stress test made. This is not good considering the fact that she is also in pain. She had spiked a temperature yesterday, but it appears to be going back down now. Did I mention I'm still unclear as to why she wasn't put in the hospital almost 2 weeks ago now? Then again, the doctor didn't ask me and there is so much junk going around this town that the hospital has been packed. A couple of weeks ago the public school system was looking at needing to close her doors even. There's a theory going around that it has some thing to do with the water. Please note - I did not say I buy into that theory.

My uncle is back home from being in the hospital. Home health care is coming to visit with him every day. This is a positive thing as he was looking at being put in a nursing home. While that may, on one hand, have been better for my aunt - it would not have been so for him. We greatly appreciate all the prayers, concern, hugs, and love that have been shown.

Please keep the prayers going! And while you're at them you can add the following.....

1) Austin is going to Belize during Spring Break. Friday he is getting the required shots necessary. This is just the first of his trips out of the US as a missionary.

2) Dick is teaching/speaking at a different venue on Saturday night. If you are a college student or a 20 something - you're invited. Send me a message saying you're interested and I'll send you the information on when, where, and etc.

3) Dick is also going to be out of town during Spring Break. He is going to be preaching Sunday morning, Sunday night, Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and serving in the community where he will be at during the day. It is safe to say that the man is really pumped. He will be in IL.

4) I'm writing new Bible studies for the month of March for our 18 to 25 year old group. They've already be forewarned that "The Questionator" will definitely be there! I'm not the type of teacher/leader that talks the whole time. I require interaction! If you're a part of this group - consider yourself loved enough for me to go there with you! Know God loves you even more than I(we) do!

Thanks again! And remember - my (our) Hope is found only in and through God! For the woman who said to me last night, "Well at least you're still standing!" That statement has never been more true! I serve a Risen Savior and it is sheer joy even when dealing with the unpleasant - tough stuff of life's moments.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

Life in the Moments Update!

2009-02-25T06:45:00.002-06:00

Thanks to all whom have checked in with me on being quiet lately. There has been so much going on that I've needed some RQMs (really quiet moments).

My mother has been ill for the last couple of weeks with pneumonia. Tomorrow she is having a stress test made. Just a bit ago - she informed me that I needed to contact a man I've not seen or talked with since 06. It seems my mother is going to be having heart surgery if the stress test confirms what was seen during her recent physical. I opted to not go that day to the doctor with her since her boyfriend was taking her and I was scheduled to be at the physical church building. Being my mom's caregiver is always interesting to say the least. Yes, please pray! Darren couldn't look me in the eyes the last time I saw him. He just cried at the mere thought of my daddy dying. Darren was my dad's Cardio doctor. There is no question he will be my mom's as well if he is available. We came to love him dearly as a member of the family. My daddy passing on didn't change that for one moment.

Travis went to the dentist today. On Thursday, that mean jazz player will be having a root canal. The dentist informed him that his soft drink and candy days are over! As his mother - I could see this coming a mile away. Choices come back to bite us if we're not careful. And according to Travis - this bites big time! Yes, please pray! I told Trav this is definitely a part of his "PK's story." If you don't understand that one... well, let's just say that not everyone can afford insurance. Fortunately, there is a discount when paying cash. God is good! All the time.. God is good. Being debt free came at just the right time too!

Parker is going to the doctor in just a little while. This is his second day of school to miss this week alone. I'm sure it's connected to his allergies. That's one thing we get for being surrounded by all these trees! When you have a dream.. there might be more you get than meets the eye! Yes, again... please pray.

On being debt free... I announced on Saturday (through facebook & twitter & in person with others) that the G family had reached this unbelievable feat! Once upon a time "experts" said it could not be accomplished. That's what happens when one has faced catastrophic illnesses for years like I did. Our being able to attain such is proof positive that "experts" truly don't know every single thing. It also goes hand in hand with dangerous prayers that have been prayed. "What can the people of God do if they were debt free?" Uh.... pay for a root canal with cash for one.. a doctor's visit for another.. just to name a couple! (Laugh.. really.. it does a body good!)

For those who have been praying for my uncle.. please continue to do so. The man does not want to walk. As I stood by his bedside last night, he and I had a bit of a heart to heart. Needless to say, I will be putting on my "other hat" with him if he doesn't get his butt in gear soon! Yes, please keep praying. This is the uncle I've always been closest to. He can be gruff.. he can be rude... but he is who he is and I accepted his weird form of love a long time ago now. (Laugh... he would find that rather funny!)

Is there news on a church for hubby/us? That one will have to wait. See? I can be quiet when I need to be. (Laugh..... there are moments when I can't shut up! If you've ever heard me teach/speak in person - you can say "Amen" now!)

So? What's happening in your life's moments these days?

As always, you dear reader, have been prayed for!

Note: This was written yesterday, Tuesday, 24th. My mom's stress test is today. Parker is indeed suffering from being highly allergic to certain trees.

Lester.

2009-02-07T17:41:00.002-06:00

This was written on Friday..

This morning we received word that one of the dearest individuals we've ever had the privilege & pleasure of knowing had taken his final breath. It is in memory of him that I share the following.

Lester was 89-years young. Almost every week, he would be at the physical church building to volunteer his time doing whatever needed to be done. Whether it was stuffing worship guides or doing mass mail-outs - he could be counted on. Given the size of our local church body - we could be talking 1,000 plus here.

Lester was married to Erma. One day as they were preparing to leave the physical church building, Lester stopped to talk with me. That conversation has stayed with me since January of last year, as does his smile, arms around me, and the feel of his check as I would kiss it. Lester and his wife knew my daddy. They loved him deeply. No question, he loved them as well. Lester said to me, "You know Camey? Until your daddy came along, I do not think anyone but my wife knew what my name was. Your daddy made a point to call me by name every single time he saw me." Lester cried while standing there at my desk.

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name....

A couple of weeks ago, Lester was put in the hospital. It was arranged by his wife for me to spend some real time alone with him. Lester & I talked as in-depth as two like us could about the fact that Jesus was already talking with him about it being soon. He told me to be sure to tell everyone to be thankful whenever it happened. I have and will continue to. As I held his hand & rubbed his head with a washcloth, he would drift off and on asleep. What a privilege to be by his bedside during those moments too. Death & dying for the Christ-follower is not something that should be feared.

Today the phones at the physical church building rang off the hook due in part because of word spreading about his passing. I think it is safe - more than just a few of us know well the name - Lester. He also trained others like our three sons how to do what needed to be done after he was gone. I can also tell you that Lester loved Jesus. He was a good and faithful servant. And as he took his last breath - there was ONLY ONE whom he truly cared knew his name. I have no doubt he knew well the sound of his Master's Voice.

For locals:

Sunday evening - Visitation from 5 to 7 p.m. at Wiley's.

Monday morning - Celebration Service at 11:00 a.m. at Wiley's too. Yes, at Wiley's.

Of Dreams, Prayers, and Red Hair!

2009-02-02T09:47:00.001-06:00

There are individuals who come into our life's moments that simply teach us more than they will ever realize. One such individual made an unexpected to us arrival on February 2nd, 1998. I was only seven months pregnant at that the time. I had an infection that was causing danger to me & to Parker in the womb and I was in labor. He arrived via an emergency C-section at 3:51 p.m. By all accounts from the medical world, Parker should not be alive. Since he did live, he should, according to doctors, have all sorts of health issues. That redheaded son of ours is as healthy as can be!

As Parker & I were driving this morning, we were talking in-depth about things as we so often do. Frankly, his vocabulary keeps me on my toes! We were talking in particular about dreams. I recounted to him the dream announcing his life. It was in the dream that I learned I was even pregnant, that the baby was a boy, and that his name was Parker. Notice - I didn't say would be.. His name was Parker. He was already alive inside of me. Parker always finds it fascinating that I had the dream one night after coming out of the water having gone off the diving board at his Gmama's & Gdad's (Gravley) house. I came up out of the water & knew I shouldn't dive again. Just as I know I'm writing this now.

Parker & I were also discussing the prayer time the five of us had last night during half-time of the Super Bowl. We were praying for all that is going on here... but also specifically for the next place.... the next body of believers & those yet to come that we will be moving from G-town to serve as lifestyle missionaries and that hubby will pastor. He said, "You know I haven't had a dream about where just yet. But when I do - Mom, you'll be the first to know!" Parker & I have dreams. I know that makes some uncomfortable.. It is what it is. It was Parker who dreamed that the next place we lived would be surrounded by trees. That was long before we heard clearly from God about moving here. Thousands of trees! When the boys were sitting on the couch and I said, "We're moving.." Parker said, "To Grandpa's to take care of him and Grandma too. That's the right thing to do!"

And little did we all know - that it would be in connection with the life that we had at the time & where we are now that he would come to be the Christ-follower and lifestyle missionary that he is. Upon seeing me after having been with friends - he shares with me what is going on in their life's moments. It is not uncommon for him to say, "Mom... We need to pray for _________. They were hurting today. I told them we would be praying for them." It is not uncommon for Parker to give away small hand-size Bibles either. Oh, sure there are times when Parker likes to flick his brothers or other teens he knows on the head or give a light tug on their hair. But, it is also his way of saying to them, "You're being noticed right now!" Stop and think about that for a moment.

Parker & I dance together more often than most realize. We dance out of celebration for the lives that God has given us. We dance as a part of our worshipping the Only One who knows the number of hairs on our heads - mine brown/gray and his red. We dance as a way to remember where we've each been health wise in the past and where we each are today. It is no surprise to me that it was Parker that God used to start me/us noticing that I was being physically healed back in 2003. Or that some of our favorite conversations have taken place in trees whether sitting in them or under.

At noon today, I have a hot date planned with an 11-year-boy who knows who his Real Father is... God. And I am thankful even more so to be his sister-in-Christ than I am his mother.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for.

The Best Christmas Ever - 2008

2009-01-29T20:53:00.005-06:00

You might be saying to yourself, "Camey? Christmas has come & gone. The season has now changed to Valentine's with hearts & candy." I would simply have to agree to disagree with you of course.

The Gravley family of five (Dick - 42, Camey - 40, Austin - 17, Travis - 14, and Parker - 10), decided that we were simply tired of all the Christmases gone by. We ached for it reflect how we live our lifes' moments. We purposed to change our family's legacy. Not just our five mind you.. but to impact the current Brown's too as well as the extend Gravley family.

We prayed and discussed how we would go about our intentional actions. We came up with a plan. We each had a part. We knew what it would require of us. We all agreed. It was a family decision... a family's commitment... and individual ones as well.

One of our gift to our sons and theirs to us was spending time together serving others. There is a ministry in a big city that we simply enjoying being a part of from the moment we even think of going there to even months since we left there. We scheduled a day to go. We worked their Christmas Store from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Funny enough? Dick was the only one of us that had not been there.. We could not wait for him to come to know it as intimately as we already did. It took him all of a couple of minutes. No surprise there given that hubby of mine or their dad.

Hubby & I also purposed that we were not spending more than $200 tops on all gifts that we would buy. We didn't even spend that much. Instead of things, we gave time and ourselves. The boys picked out a few gifts to give to family members but the real gifts were the ones with much larger price tags as seen through other eyes.

Austin made his only girl cousin (Ms. Julia - the princess - my brother Kelly's daughter) an invitation to a tea party. She just beamed from ear to ear as he read it to her. Watching the two of them sipping out of the those cups with Austin listening to her every word and then answering her back in his funny British accent - Hallmark could not have written it any better. He also played football with his brother Travis, Uncle Kelly, Jordan (Kelly & Michelle's oldest son), and Joshua (their middle child). Austin is not a football player. He gave it up in 7th grade due to health issues at the time. They laughed... more than a ball was caught.

We spent much time playing board and card games with my brother's family. As a part of tradition - they spend Christmas Eve at the place we currently live - my mother's house. We were happy to serve the whole household for the time they were here. Cooking and sharing stories of days gone by when Daddy was with us too. We laughed and many tickles were given. By the time my brother and his family left - he said to me, "You know - you guys spent next to nothing and yet we could not have had a better Christmas!" Music to our hearts.

My in-laws came the next Sunday. We spent time together eating and sharing the latest in our lives. We hung out and laughed and really had such a sweet time being together even though it wasn't for long. My mother-in-law had been in the hospital just days before. Praise the Lord she didn't have the massive heart attack the doctors were expecting her to. What a gift for sure! Little did we know what else was to come...

It seems the extended Gravley family were being more touched by our lives than we had even come close to realizing. Needless to say - gifts were given to us that still make our eyes fill with tears at the thought of. Gifts that could have only been orchestrated by One. Our gifts to them apparently was/is how we live life's moments. Still leaves me dumbfounded frankly.

Christmas is continuing on. It is alive tonight just as much as on December 24th or 25th. For the Christmas I am talking about is not one that world says you must go in debt to obtain or that disappears as fast as those cookies on a plate for Santa that parents or grandparents eat.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for. And yes, they were dangerous!

When The Going Gets Tough!

2009-01-16T13:46:00.002-06:00

Today is one of my brother-in-laws 40th birthday. We are unable to be with him to celebrate in person. He and his wife live in Florida. We, of course, are in Texas. I write about him as a way to celebrate his birth and life's moments! To share a bit of his story with each of you.

I would like nothing more than for this day to be filled with laughter and a grand time for him! However, I know that may not be quite the case as it was in previous years. For while today is his birthday - on January 29th, he will be marking an anniversary that has changed his life and those who are connected to him. I share this from the viewpoint as a sister-in-law, friend, but more importantly sister-in-Christ.

It was a foggy Saturday morning as I was traveling to another town for a retreat in which I was being a guest speaker. On the way there - as I drove through the fog on the long stretch of a highway.... I knew I was going to be receiving word about something while speaking/teaching. I knew as clearly as I sit here writing this now. I arrived and shortly after eating breakfast - the group gathered and I began...

Then.......

My hubby started texting me. We have a rule - no texting in such situations unless an emergency. I knew it was bad news and yet was still good news too. As I read the text aloud to the group - I was sharing news that this brother-in-law had been in a bomb blast in Iraq. It was his 4th tour there. We were uncertain of his condition - just knew that he had been directly hit.

I shared with the women that knowingly him as I do - he would not want me to stop what I had come there for. I prayed one of the most dangerous prayers I've prayed to date and continued on. To say that the Spirit was moving and everso present would be a gross understatement! I was teaching/speaking on "Overcoming Depression: Time for the church to be the church and to stop sweeping it under the rug!" It is a subject we know all too well due to my mother and some of what brought us to G-town in 2005. It remains one of the most intense teaching/speaking/listening times to date!

My brother-in-law was greatly injured in the bomb blast. He and his wife were stationed in Japan at the time and have just recently moved back to the states. He is looking at having another surgery on his arm soon. He lost part of the bone in it. They are going to try replacing what was lost with a cadaver bone. There is no guarantee that it will work. He knows this and yet it is not stopping him from living life's moments although they are different than he ever dreamed they would be now.

He also lost hearing in one of his ears as a result of one of his eardrums brusting. He is looking at another surgery for that as well that may or may not help him to get the hearing back in that ear. And yet, it is not stopping him from living life's moments although they are different than he ever dreamed they would be now at the ripe old age of 40.

So, today... as I sit here in Texas thinking about that brother-in-law of mine in Florida - I remain thankful that he is still alive and for how God is working in his life. I am thankful for a man whom is willing to lay down his life for what he believes in. And to continue on with his life as well. The same thing is said and felt for his wife too.

I ask that if you're praying person... if you would please add him and his wife to yours? They have such a long road to go in more ways than one.

When the going gets tough - what do you do? Whom do you turn to? Trust in?

What about when times are smooth as silk pie?

And as always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

(Yes, there is far more to this story... stay tuned)

Beyond Rich!

2009-01-15T19:15:00.001-06:00

Her name is Marie. Today I had the opportunity to spend 15 minutes or so with her as she poured out her pain. As I wrapped my arms around her, hugged her tight, and prayed with her - I could feel the heavy burdens, regret, shame, and unforgiveness she was holding inside release if only for a few moments.

Marie lost her grown daughter and dad all within a 3 month time period 3 years ago. She explained that she was so busy working for a living that she wasn't living life's moments as she could have been. When her daughter needed her - she was too busy working. Since her daughter has been gone - she is finding it hard to work more than a part-time job. The pain from her dad passing is almost getting the best of her. To say she is carrying a load in her heart and on her shoulders would be an understatement.

Marie asked me how I was so soft & tender. I didn't understand her question at first. Then as I looked her in the eyes - I saw the tears starting to flow down - I knew exactly what she needed to hear from me. So I shared about knowing the depths of sorrow, heartache, loss, and pain. Her eyes stayed locked on mine as I continue to rub my hands on her arms.

As I told her about having been paralyzed, her eyes grew wide. When I shared about as far as the doctors are concerned I should be in Heaven already or at least paralyzed from the neck down and hooked up to an oxygen machine - she started to smile a bit. As I shared about being healed completely physically, her smile could have lit up a whole room. She said over and over, "You do know!" And yet….

It was when I shared about having been my dad's primary caregiver until he went to Heaven that she said, "You know Camey - that's it right there! That's why you're so soft & tender! I won't forget you! I will never forget you! May God bless you beyond whatever you could ever imagine?" Then, with another hug - Marie was gone.

We are both beyond rich because of our encounter today.

And with that, I'm off for Thursday night date night with my three sons!

Pure Water. Living Water. It Really IS That Simple.

2009-01-07T06:49:00.004-06:00

Since early Monday morning, Parker has had the stomach flu. This morning, as he had thrown up yet again, he said to me, "Mom? Can I have a little water?" I walked a mere few feet to the refrigerator door and got my son some water. But, that is not the case with every mother in the world - nor with every child.

Yesterday afternoon, I received the following link to a video from a buddy of mine by the name of Mark Hogg. If you know me at all - however you may know me, you know I do not post links lightly on this blog - nor do I promote individuals. My purpose in this life is to love God, love others, and help change the world. It is only through dangerous prayers do I do so.

I ask you.... Please watch this video http://is.gd/eGCt

Mark also shared the following with me: "We are also working on this big international water training in Northeast India. Impact could be HUGE. Here are some pics on a recent interntaional training in Louisville. http://is.gd/83Vi I will keep you posted."

Take action! Whatever type of action as the Spirit guides you!

May His compassion not be lost on those of us who claim to know Him.

May we give it freely.... may it be a ripple that turns into a stream that turns into an ocean.

As always, dear reader, you have been prayed for!

The Gift of A Scar: Hairy Compassion

2008-12-30T11:27:00.000-06:00

When I was 18 months old, it was discovered that I had Scoliosis. That's a fancy term for a curved spine. Instead of being straight - it looked like an "S"... It became worse over the years as I grew. When I was in 4th grade, it was determined that I had to wear a Milwaukee back brace. That's a brace that went from under my chin to my hips. It had one metal rod in front and two in back. It made me sweat! But I would not trade those moments for any thing.. Not even when I was stripped searched at the airport. That was long before 911 mind you. Not even for the jokes and endlessly teasing and stares.

The summer going in to 6th grade, it was determined that the brace was not working. I remember so vividly my daddy sitting on the floor with me weeping as he held me in his arms after praying about the next step the doctors said was necessary. So... while all the other kids my age were starting school - I was having back surgery. I became the proud owner of a 12 inch metal rod known as the Harrington Rod. And no, I do not make metal detectors go off funny enough.

What I do not talk about very often is that I almost did not make it off the operating table. They were getting ready to write my time of death down when I started breathing again on my own. Well, of course, it was not on my own. Hope wasn't finished with me here on earth yet.

I've always been known for my hair as crazy as that is to me. I spend very little time on it and always have. But, when my hair recently past my scar - I knew what I was to do with it! Of course, I have those in my life who do not understand my decision to cut 10 inches off today. That's okay.... I do not need their permission. I only seek to answer to One.

I look at my scar as a gift. As a reminder of God's love for me. I am thankful for the life He has given me - yes, even in having faced the depths of not being considered normal and loss. In suffering, the compassion of Jesus became more real to me than every single breath I take. Giving the 10 inches of hair to help someone else is one way I can serve Him... and share His compassion with another so that they too may know His love in the most intimate ways.

Hairy compassion! So, I ask you this moment - what can you give to another out of the story of the life you've been given?

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!

Hope Has A Name!

2008-12-27T17:59:00.001-06:00

This morning I had the pleasure of ministering at a memorial service of a dear family friend. Pleasure and a memorial service? They don't sound as if they should go together, but in this case they do without a doubt. That's what can happen when you're walking through life's moments together. While Marion and I never agreed 100% on every single thing - there was a bond that was undeniable. The bond - Jesus.

Marion also brought into my life a woman named Pauline. Pauline is married to Marion's oldest son. Today, I finally had the opportunity to meet her face to face. I sought her out amongst the crowd of other family members that were there. When I told her my name - she grabbed my hand and tears filled her eyes as they did mine. As she stood there with the aid of her trusty cane - we smiled and laughed as sisters can do.

Pauline has been ill for many years now. At times, she is unable to stand. She is in pain and doctors are unable to give her any real sense of hope of being cured. Her illness is not one that is easily explainable. Pauline and I have a bond that is deeper than deeper even though we've never been in the same room until today.

Pauline prayed for me from 1998 to 2003 while I was ill. And I have been praying for her all these years as well. She said to me this morning, "I remember hearing that you had been healed Camey! Here you stand now! Hope knows no end!"

For while I am thankful to have been physically healed, there is truly no comparison between it and Spiritual healing. That is another part of the bond that Marion, Pauline, and I have in common. The last time I saw Marion - he said to me, "You and I both know that I won't be healed this side of Heaven. Just like you knew with your dad. Hope is not found in the world, but only in Jesus."

I'm often asked if I'm afraid of becoming ill again. The answer is simple. No. For even in illness or the best health of my 40 years - my hope is the same. It is not based upon myself or what I can or cannot do. Jesus. My hope is Jesus..... it is in Jesus... it is through Jesus.

Now... back to pleasure and a memorial service.... When Jesus is there - the tears can be ones of joy and happiness!

Hope has a name..... Jesus.

As always - you dear reader have been prayed for...

Special Message: The Cross!

2008-12-16T13:20:00.003-06:00

For those who have asked.....

The cross is hanging on the main tree in front of the house. Brother G put it up this afternoon.

I can still remember when he made it with his own hands at daddy's request all those years ago now.

If you drive by.... please know you are welcome to stop and visit with us. The porch light will be on if we're here.

With all the talk about Christmas gifts... may we not forget that had Jesus not died on the cross and rose again on the 3rd day defeating death.... He would have been merely another babe...

Thank You Lord for the message of the Cross especially as we celebrate Christ's birth.

No one can ever take Christ out of Christmas!

Will you help others see Him in it through serving them?

By Request!

2008-12-16T08:43:00.006-06:00

Here are the links to the articles that I have had published through Serve! ezine with Steve Sjogren. Please make sure you read the other articles as well. Then - actually SERVE!

http://www.serve-others.com/issue19

Called "Deal of a Lifetime"

http://www.serve-others.com/issue21

Called "The Lawn Pastor"

http://www.serve-others.com/issue26

Called "Not Just A Day On The Calendar"

My door is always open to helping you/yours figure out how to live life in the outflow!

Jesus came to serve... not be served... His door is open too!

Opportunities to show His love and kindness to others are at an all-time high!

As always, dear reader, you were just prayed for!

How are you serving others this moment?

Real Oxygen Testimony - Some of the Homer Rains' Story.

2008-12-14T16:17:00.001-06:00

Real Oxygen Testimony! Date: June 21, 2007

One of the benefits of living in this highly secure gated community 15 miles plus away from town is the grocery store up the street. Well.... today... the benefit was that of Homer.

I noticed him when I first walked into the store. Frankly, I don't remember having seen him there before. Most of the time one of the boys is with me, if not two or all three. That's where a lot of lessons take place. When I was reading one of the labels on the pasta - there he came down the aisle. Low sodium has taken on new meaning.

Homer was pushing a cart full of items that needed shelving. Attached to this older man was a portable oxygen tank. He looked at me.... I smiled and walked on. When I had grabbed a few items - I proceeded on to the checkout line. The girl calls over the loud speaker, "Homer to carry out please." I had not noticed his name before.

He came and bagged each item with care and then placed it into my cart. He walked with me out to the van and started putting the groceries in the back end. He made a comment about the carrying case for the golf clubs and asked if I played. Remember: there's not a golfing bone in my body. Not a single one. Yet.. the door was open....

I told Homer about my dad and we talked some about what a horrible disease Parkinson's is. We then talked about how when one is a Christian - there is more to life than good physical health. I asked him about the additional oxygen he was requiring. He then told me his story up until today....... He recently had a PET scan made.... The doctor was baffled. It was clean. No cancer to be found. Homer goes to our church and yet we had never met. That happens when you have a church our size.

While the cancer is gone - his body still needs additional oxygen to help him not be so tired. We talked about how great God is. And standing there looking at this dear older man - there was no doubt what a real oxygen testimony he has.

Not long ago I sent a story about a testimony that took place at a laundry mat one day to a dear friend of ours.... She said, "I would love to be a part of something like that." The testimony actually included her by the way. Of how God had used her in a person's life...... She was a part of the testimony. Why? Because of her passion for sharing Christ's love with others. For getting into the pit and showing who could really get them out......

My challenge to those of you reading this is........ Don't put God into a box that can only be opened on a hill or wherever you call church. For He is alive in the parking lot among the trees as well as the laundry mat.

If you have a testimony you'd like to share..... You are free to post it
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The above was written on June 21, 2007. I have not seen Homer in a long time. Austin informed me last night that "Homer" had died. You see, Austin knew Homer from having worked together at little store here in the highly secure gated community. As employees, all their name badge has on it is their first name. I only knew him as Homer all this time.

One day this week I learned that a man named Homer Rains was in the hospital - near death... I learned this as a part of what I do at the pcb - physical church building. It wasn't until just a few minutes ago did I understand it was in fact the same Homer. The name "Homer" has been ringing in my heart and mind since hearing about Homer Rains and praying for him and his family. Homer and Austin ended up being a part of each other's testimonies as well since I first wrote about him. And we are thankful for Homer Rains and his "Real Oxygen Testimony".... He has never been more alive than he is now!

My challenge to those of you reading this now... whenever now may be.... remains the same. Don't put God into a box that can only be opened on a hill or wherever you call church. For He is alive in the parking lot among the trees as well as the laundry mat. He is just as alive on Monday - Saturday as He is on Sunday... May we who claim to know Him live as if we do no matter what day or time it is.

How Deep Is The Ocean?

2008-12-06T19:21:00.003-06:00

Tonight as I sit here not where I originally had planned... I can't help but think of how truly blessed my moments are. My calendar had me being gone each night Tuesday through Sunday. And yet, here this woman is... again... not where the calendar said. I've been needing to stay in due to a silly head cold. Funny how blessings come that way?

I was supposed to be one of the hostesses for a big event with our current church body. It was something I had been looking forward to for awhile. And yet, back in my mind - I had a feeling that it wouldn't turn out as I had planned. Funny how that worked out isn't it?

Instead of nights filled with hundreds of people, food, dancing, singing, and etc... my nights have instead been relatively quiet, but then again not. I've spent much time listening to others pain, praying dangerous prayers, studying, talking with friends catching up on life's moments, hanging out with my husband or the redhead known as Parker.

Last night I was trying so hard to cook Parker and myself a wonderful dinner. Well.... let's just say... utter disaster! We laughed ourselves silly over it and then dived into some delicious sugar cookies. Tonight, I had favor with the redhead as I scrambled up a few eggs just oh so right. We sat at the bar and talked much to my delight.

Tucked into the last two days has been Travis.. the dirty blond with spiked hair. He made the All Region Band for the trumpet - 4th chair! Out of 800 plus students who tried out.. only 200 or so made the cut. To say we're proud of Travis would be an understatement.. then again - we always are even when he forgets to the dishes. This afternoon was the big concert. I was up to going so the redhead and I jumped in the van and headed off an hour away. I was tempted to speed, but I didn't. Of course, I had to laugh at the mere thought of it. The concert was great! The mean 4th chair trumpet player out shined them all in my eyes!

So? My calendar may have ended up looking nothing like I had planned... and yet... there is a smile on my face and I've got my hug on which is a part of my groove... and I am reminded again how deep is the ocean of God's love for this silly woman!

Dear reader... I can assure you... His love for you is just as deep.

Dive in.

Thawed and Not Frozen

2008-11-26T19:14:00.000-06:00

There's this couple... I ran into them earlier while in the frozen food section of the little store here in the highly secure gated community. Upon seeing one another we always hug. Tonight was especially tender.

The man looked at me and said, "Kid... I was hoping to see you over the course of the next few days, but wasn't sure how that was going to happen unless we just dropped by where you live. And here you are with that hug to give."

The couple and I talked about the fact that the Lawn Pastor had been by for a visit yesterday. We discussed the fact the Wal-Mart Pastor was already serving others tonight. Then we talked about what's coming this weekend.

Brother G (aka hubby, Lawn Pastor, Wal-Mart Pastor) is preaching at a different place this Sunday morning and evening. The boys and I have been asked to come too. The question was asked of me, "So? Do you think you guys will end up there?" I looked at them and smiled. Only God knows that at this point. Although I do have my theories... and that dream.

While we were standing there in the frozen food section, I couldn't help but smile deeply inside. For whether or not hubby is called to this other place as their pastor is not necessarily the goal and they were perfect examples of it.

They were thawed and not frozen... How can you share God's love with others? It is as easy as mowing a lawn, stocking water or even giving a hug.

More Than Just A Good Time. Weekend Update.

2008-11-17T15:46:00.002-06:00

Thanks to all whom have sent me messages asking for an update... It truly is hard for me to find the words to describe what all transpired this weekend. Without a doubt - it was more than just a good time. It was more than answers to dangerous prayers prayed whether years ago or just even yesterday. It was a vision/dream painted in real-life colors with brushes and strokes that only can come from the Holy Spirit.

We saw individuals come to Christ... teens... We saw individuals come back to Christ who had been wandering away. We saw individuals even really notice God for the very first time. The students did projects that took them out of their comfort zones and then learned first hand about what it means to serve others without pay.. just because God loves them. I had the pleasure and sheer joy of seeing a college age young lady whom I had known as a child lead because her foundation is secure and steady. I also had the pleasure of being the chauffeur for some of the teenage girls and their leader. I'd drive them any time - Chinese fire drill and prayer request time included.

It is no secret that I take seriously prayer and having a praying life - not a prayer time. This weekend - I had the pleasure of praying with several different individuals. Some teens... others adults... And I can say without question - there is major Jesus work being done in and through so many lives. Prayer can take place any where and at any time.... Yes, even in the bathroom!

My husband was ordained last night. We had individuals come from hours away to be with us for such a special time for our family. That's really where I saw even more of the Spirit at work. And I am so incredibly thankful. Hubby was surprised to receive so many letters from individuals all over the USA. To those who wrote one who might read this - he will treasure those letters just as much as the certificates he rec'd if not more so. He laughed when he got to the bottom of a couple of them and there was the suggestion to come to whatever state they (or you) are in. There were individuals who spent countless hours preparing for not only last night but the weekend as a whole.

One of the questions I was asked was, "Did you stand behind your husband and hear what all was said to him as individuals laid hands on him?" No, I did not. I was where I could see his face clearly and who was speaking to him. I also got to experience numerous of those same individuals coming to hug me as they wept sharing with me about my husband, my daddy, the boys, and our family. Some of these very individuals I have known since being a little girl.... and some are individuals who prayed for a woman and her family during the years she was ill because of her parents. Talk about reaping what you sow.

There is no question we will leave this place at some point - unless Jesus returns before then. There is no question that the very place I said I would never go to has had a lasting impact on not only my life, but that of my husband and sons. I remain dumbfounded by how God works in such mysterious ways.It is a love that can only be explained by God.

Thank you to those who are a part of this journey with us through prayers and/or however else you may be. Thank you to those who prayed for Brandon these last few days. While we are thrilled that my husband was ordained - it doesn't compare to seeing others come to know Christ or coming back to Him or even noticing Him for the first time.

More than just a good time............ Radical life-changing times!

Heart Burn. The Best Kind.

2008-11-12T22:55:00.011-06:00

The last few weeks have been crazy. We're seeing dangerous prayers answered in ways that we know, without a shadow of a doubt, that it can only be the handiwork of God.. of the Spirit.

The title of this may seem odd to some. Yet, if you were to closely examine the moments the G family have been having as of late... you'll come to understand what I mean. Our heart burns.... there is an aching there that cannot be described in any other way than God. Our heart burns to continue to draw closer to Him.. Our heart burns to see others notice Him for the first time. Our heart burns for those who have wandered away to come back.

As I wrote about in "Thanksgiving in our Novembers".... hubby has preached at our current church the last two Sundays. The comments are still coming in.. One lady told me today, "Camey? He nailed it. That hubby of yours nailed it." And while I was grateful for her sentiments - I couldn't help but be reminded that if Jesus had not "nailed it" - it would matter not what my hubby did. Talk about a love that surpasses all others!

I must confess - some of the clearest indication of heart burn happened last night. Hubby received a phone call. Needless to say - he is preaching this coming Sunday morning at another church.. I had to remind him that he could not preach at their Sunday evening service... this Sunday night is when he is being ordained as a pastor. But that's how much his heart burns for the gospel... for the Word.. to preach, teach, and let the Spirit guide him in the ways in which he should go.. to see lives transformed by the renewing of minds/hearts that can only take place with God and His Love.

Another indicator of it was my lunch date with Parker... which ended up being pretty much his whole class too. Parker invites 1 or 2 kids whom he knows does not know Jesus or perhaps is not connected to any church to eat with us. There wasn't room at the "guest table" for us to eat at. So? We did what we could.. sit where they normally do. The conversation flowed with ease between myself, Parker and the kids at the table. One boy kept being talked about. Apparently, he is known as "The Arm Wrestler." His name is Daniel. Daniel finally came to the table and we got to talking about his arm wrestling adventures with others in the school. Before long - I was telling the kid directly across from me to change places with Daniel. You should have heard the cheers from the kids, "Parker! Your mom is going to arm wrestle Daniel! COOL!" I held on pretty good but alas Daniel won.. that opened the door to my sharing with those listening about having been paralyzed and where my real strength comes from. It is certainly not from myself alone. Before the class all headed back off to their classroom - hugs or handshakes were given by almost each one of them. Yes, it is safe to say - another indicator of heart burn.. As I sat at that table, one of the boys shared with me about his home life. I told him our family would pray for his family. He smiled and said, "Thank you, Camey. I know you'll pray because you're Parker's mom." Burns just thinking about it again.

Today, I saw a dear friend named Stephanie. Every time I see her - I am reminded of another Stephanie. That Stephanie came into my hospital room back in November of 99. It was a time in-between family/friends "taking care of Camey." There I laid not even being able to push the button for a nurse should I need one given the fact that I was paralyzed from the neck down. The nurses had left my door opened and told me to SHOUT OUT if I needed them. In walked Stephanie.... and then quickly out again.. She returned with a chocolate candy bar and a Coke. Both had been off limits to me. Stephanie walked over to my bed and broke off some of the candy bar and rubbed it in-between her fingers to break it up into tiny pieces and put it on my tongue. A candy bar never tasted so good in my life! Honestly - no candy bar to this day compares to that one. She then got a straw and put it into the Coke can. She then dabbed some of the Coke on my tongue - just like she had done with candy bar. Some of the sweetest heart burn I've ever had.. Still to this day even. OHHHHH! The very next morning was when my fingers were able to move.. Oh my.... the heart burn! And even though the complete physical healing was still 4 years away - I am thankful beyond words.

This weekend - our church student body will be having what is called DNOW. 146 students are signed up to come. As I sit here and think about each one of them and their families - again - there is that heart burn. Yes, please pray for all involved. Amazing things are going to happen and already are as we only had around 60 last year! Austin and Travis are two of the students. One can never be too close to God... matters not how old one is or how long they've gone to a place called a church... nor if their parents and grandparents are/were Christians.

There are other things going on that I cannot talk about just yet. Come Monday, I will be able to share more! Our heart burns for those of you who continue on this journey with us as our brothers and sisters in Christ, friends, through prayers... or however you may be. So.... from our hearts to yours - thank you.

Heart burn... The Best Kind.

Have you ever had this kind of heart burn?

Shoes - Sharing God's Kindness Really Is Simple

2008-11-10T07:45:00.006-06:00

Today, I am thrilled to be a part of an internet blast to help raise $$ for 50,000 pairs of shoes to be given to individuals who have none.

Sharing God's kindness really is simple..

Go to http://www.50000shoes.com and donate $5.

$5 buys 2 pairs of shoes.

It takes less than 2 minutes.

Help take a stab at poverty today!

And as always... you've been prayed for dear readers!

More to come...

Thanksgiving in Our Novembers!

2008-11-01T16:44:00.003-05:00

Over the last few days, the boys and I have been talking about how November seems to be a significant month in our lives time and time again.

Today is the 2 year anniversary of daddy's passing. We remain thankful in the midst of grief. And for those who have asked... Yes, I do believe some of my accepting about his passing is directly related to having been at death's door before myself. And there was a dream as well. The dream came a week before he passed. I know that makes some uncomfortable... I don't always understand that myself. My daddy loved God. He rec'd the ultimate healing!

Tomorrow ( and the 9th) - hubby is preaching at our current church. While he has preached other places before - this will be his first time to do so here. We remain thankful for how we see God working here in G-town. (ohhhh to those in our group - you'll have a sub filling in for us tomorrow as I will be with hubby.)

Sunday, November 16th, hubby will be ordained as a pastor. And while we believe he has already been ordained by God long ago now... we are thankful for this next step.

November 1998 is when I came down with a rare form of pneumonia and our lives were changed forever. No question - we are thankful that our family did not remain the same.

November 1999, having been ill for a year... I became paralyzed from the neck down. I spent the whole month in-between two hospitals. Muscular Dystrophy wouldn't be diagnosed until later... I did receive a miracle in being able to move again. The battle would continue for 5 years. Again..... I cannot begin to tell you how thankful we remain for that time in our lives as hard as they were.

November 2000, we spent Thanksgiving with my folks in Galveston. I was able to get around some with a cane. I looked like an old woman standing there at the edge of the water having to be covered from head to toe.. Daddy wanted me to be able to spend some time with the boys on the beach... playing in the sand. He always thought I would die first. He had already been diagnosed with Parkinson's and Diabetes a few years before that.

This is just some of why I am thankful as I sit here..... For while we may not always understand why things happen the way they do - I am thankful for God's amazing love. For that's what life's moments are all about.

Take Our Lives. Here We Are.

2008-10-28T09:55:00.006-05:00

First things first... Thank you to those who have checked in about no blog posts. Your friendships and prayers mean more than words can say. My blogging fast is over as of today.

NOW! Having said that... Let me share what's going on in our moments.

The G family is so thrilled to see prayers answered.

Direct prayers.. Dangerous prayers...

Four years ago, Bro G and I surrendered to God. We surrendered to "Take our lives. Here we are." Actually - all five of us surrendered - the boys too. The past four years have been filled with some of the best times, some of the worst times and in-between. And yet, we can say without question... we wouldn't want it any other way! That has to be God - not the G family... We have grown, stretched, reached out, served, and etc.... We have not stayed the same. We simply could not have.

Sunday, November 2nd, and Sunday, November 9th - we are seeing prayers prayed long ago answered. It definitely goes to show how God is at work in our lives and through our lives and where we are at currently.

Bro G is preaching at our current church. We have two gatherings each Sunday - one at 9:00 and the other at 10:30. Will he be wearing his boots and blue jeans? Don't have a clue... He is preaching on Evangelism. The Wal-Mart Pastor and The Lawn Pastor will definitely be preaching/sharing too - no doubt.. We are to use our life's moments to be the hands, feet, eyes, ears, mouth, and etc of God - wherever those moments may take us. God's Word is clear - as you go...

Thank you to those of you who have been praying for him/us in regards to this. Please continue to do so. And while everyone knows we love the people where we are currently at... we are praying for those yet to come, yet to know Jesus, and for real transformation to take place in each individual on a daily basis. It's not just about Sundays folks.

We are also praying for that body/place that God is preparing the G family for and them for us. When/where - we haven't a clue yet.. Until that time - we will serve with joy where we are at. Yes, even through the internet..

We do know this - we will follow God no matter the cost. After all - No One could come close to what God did for us with Jesus on the cross.

Take our lives. Here we are.

Dangerous prayers continue to be prayed and answered!

Every day is a GREAT day to serve God... and therefore, others!

Blog Action Day - Poverty!

2008-10-15T14:02:00.003-05:00

Today is Blog Action Day on poverty!

Jesus said that the poor will always be amongst us. As Christ-followers, we have a distinct responsibility to help those in need. We must not turn a blind-eye to the faces and lives they represent.

While today is "blog action day".... I encourage any one who reads this to consider that every single day is action day if we are to be the hands, feet, eyes, ears, and arms of God!

What can you do? Take action today! Don't wait for someone else to help that individual in another country or even perhaps across the street from you. Poverty knows no address alone.

Since the summer of 2007, our local church body has joined together with other churches and organizations in feeding the children in our community/town a free meal 5 days a week. Almost half of the students in our public system here in G-town qualify for free or reduced meals. Summer means no school. We almost had a child die of starvation in 2006. One child is one too many! Yet, our town is known to many as a "retirement or resort area"... We must look with God's eyes and not merely our own!

Take action today! It's not about money.. It's about touching and changing lives!

Love God. Love People!

Camey

Today. Ordination Council Meeting

2008-10-14T14:11:00.003-05:00

4:00 p.m. central time....

Hubby is having a meeting with the Ordination Council at the local body we serve at currently.

He will be ordained as a pastor. The real ordaining of course we know and believe comes from God.

This is mere a formality... but most definitely an answer to specific prayers prayed by numerous individuals.

So... from us to each of you - Thank you. Keep praying!

More to come as the G family continues to follow God as and wherever He leads.

It's the Little Things.

2008-10-12T16:13:00.001-05:00

This afternoon - hubby, the boys, and I went to lunch with some of our group (18 to 25 year-olds). The manager of CiCi's (a pizza joint for those not in the know) is a bud of mine from various things in the community/town.. There was a long table in the back of the room that simply wasn't going to be big enough. I made my way to the counter and asked him if we could put some tables together. He said, "Yes. Really? Yes." I didn't think too much about his reply at the time other than his approval given.

As we were preparing to leave after totally stuffing ourselves.... I asked him if we needed to put the tables back or did he prefer to have them cleaned off first. He looked at me and said, "No. We'll do it." as we shook hands.. I thanked him for allowing us to put the tables together in the first place given their lunch crowd. He looked at me and said, "Thank you for even asking. No one ever does that. They just do it. That was cool." He took my hand again and squeezed it hard and yet tenderly.

It's the little things that can speak more often than not. Yes, there is something to be said for grand gestures... but really.... it's the little things that can make someone see God instead of just a silly woman.

Weekend Update!

2008-10-07T18:44:00.004-05:00

It's taken me a couple of days to process all that took place on Saturday. Thank you to those who have continued to pray! Your prayers have been felt without question. Thank you as well for the checks up however you've sent them.

Saturday morning, four of us headed out at 7:15 a.m..... my mother, her boyfriend, hubby, and myself. We decided it would be best to let the boys stay in G-town. That decision was not made lightly, but ended up being the right one without a doubt! We were gone a total of 12 hours...

Overall, I can say that the ride to and from went rather smoothly. Again, the prayers were greatly felt and known intimately. It was the in-between that I'm still working on.

My uncle Dale requested to be cremated. He also did not want any flowers. So, needless to say - it was rather different from most services I've attended or been part of. His wife, daughter, two sons, their spouses and children were there. I was greatly saddened by the lack of attendance by the majority of our extended family however - not even half showed up....

My uncle Joe was in rare form.. Hubby didn't have to fill in for him like we thought might happen. Uncle Joe told me as we were preparing to leave that he is done being the marrying and burying pastor for our family. He's officially passed the baton to hubby now. Uncle Joe has cancer too. He handled his brother's service with much dignity, grace, and never forgetting to take the opportunity to talk about Jesus and Heaven. And I was beyond thankful. Given that he has been told there's nothing else that doctors can do for him either - it came across with much concern for those he'll be leaving behind. He never got one name wrong either.. With such a large extended family as ours - that happens often!

My aunt Jane - Dale's wife and I spent some real in-depth time talking. It was my conversation with her and Dale's grown children that still has me processing things. She talked about my role in the family - especially in the last five years. Dale's grown children did too. And about hubby's as well. She specifically said to me, "Camey? I believe God healed you because our family couldn't have handled your dying. We need you to get us through these deaths. Your place in the family is known by all of us. It is greatly appreciated." What does a person do with that? I must confess - it made my heart heavy. No, not because of being physically healed.... I remain thankful for that.

My uncle had served the USA in the armed services years ago. Taps was played as was a flag unfolded, folded again, and given to his wife with the Country's thanks. One couldn't help but notice the memorial with all the names of individuals from that little country town who had or are currently serving. Yes, I stopped and prayed for all those families represented.

There was lots of talk about Dale being back home where he wanted to be - speaking here about the small country town we were in. As we stood at the site where he was to be buried - his children and grandchildren took turns digging the hole for the small box his ashes were in. Laughter erupted when the ground was much harder than anyone was expecting and muscle really had to be put into it. It was natural to laugh during those moments.

When the box had been covered... we all went back to the pavilion. Aunt Jane proposed a toast with champagne - one of his favorite things to drink. Some of us had Ginger Ale instead... More toasts were made - some serious and yet some funny.

When it came time for us to be heading back to the highly secure gated community, I made my rounds. As each one of his children were hugging me - they said the same thing, "I'll be calling you soon to talk!" When I told them people were praying for them and would continue - I got smiles and winks. And the one I would have least expected hugged me harder. Much harder.

So, keep praying!

A testimony from a dying world

2008-10-07T15:14:00.006-05:00

Hello peeps of da' blog

Today's post is going to be a little strange. I am not writing as Austin son of Camey but as Evangelancer Neo X, or {ELC}Neo X. I am about to explain why. It is long winded, but please bear with me.

One of my hobbies is playing the computer game Halo. Since the beginning of 2007 I have ran a online group of Halo gamers called a 'clan', but we were a "Christian" clan. We were active for the majority of the year. The name of our clan was the Evangelancers, and my screen name was Neo X. My clan never had more than 10 members, as compared to the other "Christian" clans have around anywhere from 50-200 members.

The name comes from the Greek world Evangelion, which is an improper form of the word "Evangelism", meaning "The Good News", and "Lancers" is a type of warrior; a spearman. Therefore, "Warriors of the Good News". This type of name was not uncommon. Some of the other names are Deadly Christians, Soldiers of Christ, God's Chosen Warriors, and Children of God.

The whole point of my clan-at the time-was ministry. Particularly, evangelism. Let me describe the typical "Christian" server (online location for playing the game)

1)No cussing, name calling, inappropriate words, cheating, foul play, ect
2)Keep talk about Jesus elsewhere

That pretty much sums it up. If you were shocked by the second example, you should be. The first example is a very Pharisee-esqe quality of these servers that I also have issues with (The problem is the how the people who act against those things act) .At the end of last year, God told me to stop my 'clan', that I was missing the point. Well, I've been playing on and off earlier this year, with the intent of presenting the Gospel at each server I play on. On these "Christian" servers, I get told to keep it elsewhere and to play- by the members of that "Christian" clan.

I'm just going to let it out. I just got through giving a Gospel presentation on a Christian server. I was told to stop. Having been on two mission trips this summer, and being away from the computer for about 4 months, I find that disgusting. Repulsive. And the sad fact is, that there are probably 10 well known "Christian" servers, and all of the members of those "Christian" clans are like that. I can count maybe 4 other individuals who are like me and agree with what I'm saying.

When I give these presentations, those who aren't Christians (the overwhelming majority) come down on me. I really don't care if I get called every name in the usable English language (some of it you wouldn't believe if I told you). I try to talk to people and explain things if they question (or condemn) my words. However, the thing that makes me sick is a "Christian" player telling me to take the Gospel to somewhere else, which pretty much happens every time I do it on a "Christian" server.

I'm just going to ask you: Is that being acting like a Christian?

NO!

If I counted on my mind the total number of professed Christian gamers, the number would be about 500-600. The Halo PC total population of online players is no more than 1500. The Christians are a strong majority. They may not be the largest, but they are a respectable size (keeping in mind it is an estimate). And they are so concerned about being able to play their game that they just slap "Christian" on themselves as a gamer and be good. What would happen if they all stood together and represented the Gospel, instead of committing Matthew 10:32-33 (which, I quoted to the member of the "Christian" clan after he told me to stop).

...I'm just frustrated. We all know of those who say they are Christians but act otherwise; at school, at our jobs, wherever. If you came to the online Halo gaming community, the "Christian" populace is like that. When I began playing Halo online, I was one of those people. Now I strive not to be. Do I seriously know that every presentation will be met with condemnation by those who don't believe? How can I know that my presentations- which aren't very long and I do it only once per server visit-, are the only time that someone could hear the Gospel?

What do I know? How can I know? Why should I keep silent?

I view myself as an online revolutionary. This is my revolution. I will NOT keep quiet. I WILL tell others about Jesus when I play online, REGARDLESS of the "Christian" (by the way, in case you didn't get it, when I put quotes around the word Christian when I'm talking about the clans, I say that with much intentional sarcasm). So what if Halo is bloody and violent? Like we can't find that in the Bible anyway. People question why on Halo? I say why not. Of course I strive to witness outside of Halo, but why can't I carry the Gospel to everything I do?

Read for yourself and judge my position.

And if anyone who knows that I'm talking about them on the Halo online "Christian" community - You have just been called out for your lukewarmness.

God bless everyone who reads this, and please pray for this community. You can ask me questions if you wish,
Evangelancer Neo X (Austin, son of Camey)

P.S.- If my post seems hate-bashing, it is not. Some of my best friends are the people I speak of. I love each of them. It is for that reason I make this post.
P.S.S- There is a song by the Christian artist/worship leader Charlie Hall called "Hookers and Robbers". Please listen to it.

Part II: Grief Comes Knocking Again.

2008-10-01T16:50:00.001-05:00

Thank you to all for the prayers, messages, and etc... concerning the passing of my uncle on Monday. I found myself staying in the house today/tonight due to still trying to get over this blasted head cold. Little did I know why I was really to be here...

I ask that you continue to pray for my extended family. I have spent much time with Dale's daughter today via cell phone. That would not have been possible had I been at the physical church building. Ah! I'll take a head cold any day then.

I believe we are take our experiences and use them to help others notice God. Please join with me in praying for all those connected to my Uncle Dale.

Signed,
His Servant

Grief Comes Knocking Again

2008-09-29T19:55:00.004-05:00

This evening the phone rang... upon looking at the caller id - I knew.... Yet another family member had passed on. His name was Dale. He was one of my mother's brothers. And he called this niece, "Dear Sweet Camey" for as long as I can remember. He had been ill for so very long with cancer. I am incredibly thankful that he is no longer in pain and suffering.

There is no question that grief was going to come with his passing.... Yet, it does sting a bit more given the timing. The last time I spent quality time face to face with Uncle Dale was a year ago..... we were together due to another family member's passing (cousin Dennis - he was 47).... and I was in charge of taking care of the family. Did I mention before how large our family is? At least on my mother's side...

Uncle Dale and I had really in-depth conversations over those few days. We talked about the time he called me from his hospital room while I was in the hospital in another city. And we laughed.... It was appropriate at the time - just like it makes me laugh still. Two people hooked up to oxygen tanks trying to talk on the phone... while the people around us were trying to insist we needed our rest.

We also talked about where he stood with God. I can still hear him saying, "Camey? That's the minister in you! Just for the record... we're good. Best we've ever been." And right now.... this moment - I am counting that as a sheer blessing.

Grief comes knocking again. And truthfully.... ministering to ones own family is so much harder.

Please pray....

Pictures Worth A Thousand Words

2008-09-23T06:54:00.013-05:00

Parker and I

went on a date last night.

This is the park taken by Park. On the other side is the river.

This is just a tad of what we saw.

This picture was taken upside down from behind me.

Trees... Trees... Trees. More trees. What else do you see?

Sometimes it's worth it to ride in the golf cart. Otherwise, we might drive by too fast and miss out on the beautiful scenery of life's moments.

Whose Eyes Do You See With?

2008-09-16T06:19:00.005-05:00

Sunday morning, one of the guys in our group told me my hair looked beautiful. He later went on to say that he noticed I had it going the opposite direction than normal. This touched me deeply. Let me explain why.....

I've written about him before. His eye sight is not good. He has had surgery on both of his eyes in recent months and years. He knows who I am by the sound of my voice most of the time - not because he clearly sees me with his own two eyes. Most of the time his own eyes are too cloudy and are partially closed. During the week, he lives and attends a school for the blind. He rides a bus back to town on the weekends.

So, let me ask you this moment.....

Whose eyes do you see with?

Experiencing God. Seeing Him Move.

2008-09-15T06:24:00.002-05:00

In the last post, I talked about prayer. It is safe to say that answers to some prayers have clearly been seen in the last couple of days. Thank you again to all who have been praying.

First up is Uncle Logan. He was certain he was going to die in Hurricane Ike. God spared his life. And while I do not claim to understand it all..... I do know this... only God knows.

Yesterday morning, Barbara and her family were at the physical church building. Barbara is a co-worker of Austin's at the little store here in the highly secure gated community. We've been praying for Barbara and her family for well over a year now. The smile on their faces, especially Barbara's..... priceless. Invite people to come..... All they can do is say no. It just might be the invitation they've been waiting for.

The response by individuals in regards to prayer - beyond words.

After I was done with the whole prayer thingy..... it was time for our Bible study group to meet. I walked into the room where Brother G was already sitting with them and had begun talking. As soon as I hit the inside of the room - IT was obvious still.... Brother G taught, there was discussion, and then he had to leave. Where I was sitting - I didn't have a clear view of each one - I knew I needed to move in order to make eye contact. I knew it.... I got up and moved.

Brett J. was sitting directly in front of me. His eyes were filling up with tears as I continued. A twenty-something year old guy - getting all teary. As I looked over to my left - so was Austin M. I talked about Uncle Logan. I talked about not knowing when our time may be up. I shared about when I was 11-years-old. I had surgery on my back and almost didn't make it off the operating table. I talked about the years I was ill - what the doctors had said.... about being in the best health ever at age 40 now. I talked about being lifestyle missionaries.... as we go about our daily lives being his hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouth. I challenge them to not wait until tomorrow or when they're finished with college. That if they are Christ-followers - they should want to be about sharing Him with others now. It flowed out of me..... I wasn't the one talking. I was merely the vessel.

Brett J. came up to me after the group was over... he said, "When you moved to where you were looking directly at me, I knew God was speaking to me." Brett and Austin M are praying about and will be discussing this week with our staff where they can get plugged in. It may mean they're not a part of our group on Sunday mornings..... and we are thankful. For while we enjoy having them - we'd rather them follow His prompting. Please pray for them.

Brother G and I came back to the house and took a nap. We slept for 3 hours.... 3 hours..... we had a wonderful rest of the evening with each other and our boys.

Experiencing God. Seeing Him move......

What about you?

Prayer - More Than A Chance Encounter.

2008-09-13T08:31:00.005-05:00

This morning at 2:00 a.m. I woke up. I had been sound sound asleep - in fact - dreaming. But at 2:00 a.m. - I was wide awake and praying..... Ike made landfall at 2:00 a.m. here in Texas.

Uncle Logan would not leave Texas City. He has Parkinson's like his oldest brother, Glen does, and like his youngest brother, who was also my daddy, did. Like that isn't enough - he also has cancer. He didn't see the need to leave in an effort to spare his life. I must confess to having rather mixed thoughts and emotions about his decision...

Hubby's sister and her family live in Katy... we spoke with them last night... she is suppose to call us this morning when they are able... No call yet..... Hubby's parents live in Magnolia. They decided to stay in Colorado where they had been on vacation.

This morning as the G family was eating breakfast together... we heard about Ike making landfall at 2:00 a.m. Hubby and I discussed the fact that's when I was woken up to pray. Truly believe it was a prompting of the Holy Spirit... of God. I don't discuss these things lightly. It tends to make some rather uncomfortable.... That's okay... Parker said to me, ""That's why you're speaking/teaching on prayer tomorrow."

During the years I was ill - I was often awake at 2:00 a.m. Some times I could move and would get up with the assistance of a walker or cane.. and others - I laid there. It was during that time that praying went to a whole new level. Looking back - I am beyond thankful. For while prayer had always been a part of my daily life.... it took me deeper than I might have gone otherwise.

I have had the opportunity to speak/teach on prayer numerous times since being ill and then having been healed.... and especially since daddy passed on. I am grateful. Yes, I believe in the importance as a Christ-follower of reading His Word.... But even more so than that - there is a level of communication that takes place through prayer. Some times it is me listening to what He has to say in the quiet of the moments... others.. well.... I could go on and on...

It is my prayer today.... wherever you are... that prayer will be more than some thing you do at meal time when ready to chow down. That you will stop..... get alone with The Father... and be still.. and listen.... and speak from your heart even if no audible words come out of your mouth.

It is not a chance encounter. It is an Absolute.... just as He is... even if we don't see our prayers answered immediately or in the way we thought best. It is about the relationship and drawing nearer and standing in the gap for others.

If you have a prayer request - please feel free to leave it.

As always.. you were just prayed for.

I will update on Ike and the status of family members and etc... when I know more.

UPDATE: Uncle is safe! No electricity.. not sure about damage.. but is safe. Sister-in-law and family are without electricity as well. They have downed trees, but are safe too. Still waiting to know more about damage and how best help is needed. Thanks all for your prayers!

Note: For those who have asked.... Yes, the latest Serve! ezine is up... This month's article is entitled, "The Lawn Pastor"... http://www.serve-others.com/issue21/

When the axe fell....

2008-09-08T12:57:00.007-05:00

Once upon a time a fat, sappy teenager stumbled across an addiction known as anime. Engrossed and obsessed, he worshiped this sinful collection of Japanese animation while playing the Church game. Over time, the fat sappy teenager (who eventually became slimmer and happier), became less obsessed, yet still held on to his little drug. He became more involved in Church and didn't play the game anymore, yet he still held on to the thing that held him from a true relationship with his Creator.

Case in point: The 16th of Wednesday in April of 2008. The Beginning of the End.

A wonderful devotional named "A Call to Die"entered my life during a stroll through the city. Coming from Bestbuy, I remember, holding the DVD set of this obsession in my hand, turned it down, went to Lifeway, and bought this book, and started a 40 day fast from anime and manga. That day was March 29th. On Day 18 of this intense devotional, a wonderful speaker named Brandi spoke on wednesday night, one of the best wednesday nights of the year. It was that night I chose to end my relationship with anime. I remember holding a piece of clay she had passed out while speaking, saying "Are you going to let God mold you into the person He wants you to be?". At that point, angel and demon Armageddon broke out in my mind. I knew why. He was asking my to give up the thing that had been in my life since childhood, which mutated into a unhealthy idolatry. I sat, as my buddy Linc led closing music, letting the battle rage. Finnally...i took my thumb and pressed it into the clay. It was finished. That was my decision. That night we didnt leave until 9pm ish, a large group who had been moved talking about what had happened. I then immeadiatly trashed the manga and stuck the DVDs in the garage.

Now re-read the last sentance of the last paragraph. "I stuck the DVDs in the garage." Hm. Why did that happen? Over time I died to it...yet something haunted me still. Maybe I still saw it...in the garage, getting out of the van...in a little green travel bag...the wretched DVDs, the majority of the sin materialized even still! While I went a whole summer of no anime, still in my mind, I couldnt quite get it out of there. Duh! The temptation was still there! What could be done to solve this, to finnaly break free from this obsession...?

This!

Yes, sometimes the way to truly put something to death is to literally kill it with an axe! The punishment for my delay to fully kill my old obsession was my hesitancy at first - I debated in my mind if this was the right thing to do. When you are going to do something radical for God, dont wait. Do it now, before Satan gets a chance to give you doubts about your actions. Even though I havnt watched any of those DVDs since the day I started the fast, the temptation was the fact they were a few doors away. Now that they are in ribbons, there is no more temptation, since they are dead! After a while, it got easier and easier to lift the axe and slice them up. It was fun too! Poor tree stump.

Celebrating A Servant!

2008-09-06T10:22:00.005-05:00

Today is our oldest son's birthday.... Austin is seventeen! Time has flown by....

As I write this, Austin is not here. My brother-in-Christ is out being God's servant at the little store here in the highly secure gated community. He is being the hands, feet, ears, eyes, and mouth of the Father he loves and adores. It is one of the ways he worships. He takes being a lifestyle missionary seriously as well as being in vocational ministry.

It is has been such an incredible blessing to watch how God has used Austin and continues to use him to show others His love and kindness. Austin is a generous young man. He has already adopted one child through Compassion International.

I could go on and on.... (no, I'm not the slightest bias am I?)

Today.... this moment... I am celebrating a servant....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUSTIN!

How can you serve others, today...... this moment?

As always, you were just prayed for....

God is moving.... are you?

Watch for the next edition of Serve! ezine... The Lawn Pastor!

On Grief: The Two Year Countdown

2008-08-30T08:00:00.008-05:00

We've officially entered the two year countdown with the end of August happening. I was asked to share where I am with the whole grieving process of saying goodbye to daddy and learning to live without him being here in the flesh. So, here I go....

Grief is one of the necessary emotions and processes of life. I do consider to have been incredibly blessed by starting the process before we ever moved in with my parents. For the man who had been my dad in my childhood and teenage years would have never needed his daughter and son-in-law and three grandsons to take care of him. The man in May of 2005 did without question even though he did numerous times - question it that is.... until he and God got it all straightened out and he was able to accept it and no longer be mad at me/us.

My daddy and I were exceedingly close. We shared the same passion for serving God and serving others. And even in his dealing with Parkinson's and Diabetes - that did not change. It just made it more interesting at times. There were times when we simply had to laugh even though others thought it might have been inappropriate to do so. That's what happens when you had one who was healed and one who was ill. Of course - he got the ultimate healing.

At the end of August of 2006 is when daddy had his heart attack and spent the next two months in such a battle before winning the race on November 1st. What we learned about God, ourselves, and life and living during those two months - I would not change for the world... not even with the pain that was involved. Funny how God can work like that if we allow Him to.

We're still getting phone calls for daddy even after all this time. And I must confess - that can be hard and hit me/us when we're least expecting it. Yesterday there were 2 of them. One of which we've repeatedly asked for his name to be taken off their list.... It gets a little frustrating as well. If he had just been out playing golf and missed their call - I could understand. But deceased is deceased. It is the ultimate change of addresses.

One of the things that I/we do deal with on a daily basis is the fact that because of how loved daddy was and how God used him to touch others right where they were.... we are not in the grieving process alone as a family. On any given day - he is talked about and remembered... and I'm often called or sought out in person to be a support for that individual - whether it's just listening, praying with or giving that hug I promised him I would give on his behalf and mine.

It is no secret that I loved my daddy dearly. He wasn't just my dad, father in law/friend/dad to my hubby, and amazing grandpa to our three sons...... he was a very dear friend... but more than that.... he was my brother in Christ... and still is. Taking care of daddy will always be remembered with fondness even with the many tears that were cried and still are at times. Tears are a necessary part of my grief and my joy in Christ and salvation that only comes through Him.

So, that's where I am today. And I am good with it. For like I said... grief is one of those necessary emotions and processes of life. It should not be swept under the rug, or put on a shelf, or ignored. And it can reap untold benefits such as helping others who are dealing with their own grief. We were not meant to walk through life's moments alone.

It does, however, go back to God.

It always goes back to God.

For that is the most important relationship any one can ever have.

I could still have my daddy here and not have that relationship with God.

And my daddy could not save me. That's not what dads are for or moms. (nor daughters their dads.)

That's why Jesus came, lived, died and rose again conquering death.

Jesus is the Only Savior....

And while I loved my daddy and he loved me.......

There is no love that compares to that of my Real Father - God.

His love is sufficient. It is complete.

He is the Only One worthy of Worship and Praise....

Even in grieving a man I knew as daddy.

Have a story about grief to share? Feel free to do so...

"The Questionator"

2008-08-28T06:33:00.003-05:00

One of my nicknames is "The Questionator"..... This is why:

SO....

If you're a Christ-follower.... how's your walk today? this moment?

Have you thanked God today for today?

Can you name people in your daily path that you are reaching out to with God's love?

Can you even see them for who they are? right where they are? or just where you want them to be?

Is it easier to trust God in the small things instead of the big? He's God... He can handle it all.

Where are you on your Spiritual map? Are you wanting to stay there? Are you wallowing in it? Or putting one foot in front of another? Or running? Or hiding?

If you were to lose every one in your life that you love and cherish - would you still know God loves you? Would God be enough for you to want to keep on living?

Where are you on faith? is it in yourself? in others? yourself and God? God alone?

Did you notice God yesterday?

Did you help someone else notice Him by acts of kindness? by loving them when loving wasn't easy?

Do you love generously? with a love that is not yours alone to keep? that requires the Holy Spirit?

Where is God found this moment in your life? is He in a building? on the street? kicked to the curb? on the back burner? in your hands and feet and with your eyes and mouth and ears?

The most important relationship any one can have is with God....

with Jesus...

with His Holy Spirit.

Where is that relationship today? this moment?

Listen to God's voice today.... and respond.

As always... praying!

Oh That Son. Those Sons. The Only Son.

2008-08-26T06:52:00.008-05:00

His name is Travis... and he is 14 today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRAVIS!

He's a Christ-follower.

He is a lifestyle missionary. He helps others to notice God in the every day.

He isn't afraid to share about Him either with words... actions....

How he is with little kids? Unbelievable!

He's also a mean trumpet player.. and golfer. And is a pro at pretty much any thing Wii sports.

Every single day even when being a moody teenager at times... he helps me notice God too.

Why is that?

The Great Physician showed the medical world to be wrong again with the birth of Travis.

The medical world only knows what they think they know...

Then there's the GOD Factor. The Real IT!

Talk about WOW!

Just as another little glimpse into Travis... if we said we were moving from the highly secure gated community with her two golf courses and plans for a third to go start up a ministry in a lower economic area.... he'd be all over that in a heartbeat! He went and worked at one earlier this summer and is still talking about it.

In fact.... that's where Austin wants to go for his 17th birthday... which is coming up on the 6th of September and Travis is right there with him on it... We're taking others with us too when we can arrange it.

No fancy presents are needed. They already have the Priceless Gift of the Only Son.... Jesus.

And they can't help but want to share Him with others.

What about you? Do you know Jesus?

If you do.... do you know that God isn't found in a building on Sunday mornings or whenever the doors may be open?

Austin and Travis are proof of that as well... They accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior in our own home back when they were each in 1st grade. Austin - up in a tree... Travis in the playroom after spending some time talking with his big brother Austin.

Oh... and they both became Christ-followers during the years that I was ill... 98 to 03.

Due in part to others showing God's love to a family in need.

That's part of the reason why it flows out of them with ease.

Thank You Lord for the gift of Your Son Jesus.. and Thank You for allowing me the pleasure of being a mom.

Shhhh. Since He's Already Read..

2008-08-19T11:25:00.003-05:00

Since I know Brother G has already read today.... I can get away with sharing this.

Shhhhhhhhh....

He uses more hair products on his really short hair than I do on my really long hair.

What's up with that?

Celebrating 19 years of marriage today!

It's the little things that add up. Like goatee hairs in the bathroom sink. (I'll take those over nose hairs any day!)

A vital part of our marriage? Laughter.

That man can make me snort.

Aren't ya glad you read this now? ;)

And you thought I was going to be all mushy.....

"You're Not Finished Here Yet."

2008-08-18T08:23:00.004-05:00

Remember: You were warned.

Do you ever get hurt so badly that you want to leave? You want to go anywhere else, but stay where you are at? That was me/us at the beginning of the summer. And yet, Brother G and I kept hearing, "You're not finished here yet. You're not released to leave this town." We were even told by another church in another place - "You're not finished there yet." Confirmation yet again... This is definitely where having a praying life and not a prayer time is crucial.

As God so often does.... He is using the hurt and the pain and is continuing the work here in G-town in ways that there is no denying it's Him. How do I know? It is totally beyond me/us...

One of the things that Brother G and I have the privilege of doing is teaching the late teens and twenty-somethings Bible study group on Sunday mornings. At first we said yes to doing it because there was an immediate need for teachers/leaders. We thought maybe we'd be "the substitutes" for a couple of weeks and then be gone. Little did we really know.....

I was walking up the stairs after having been moved greatly by the Holy Spirit... and I saw him.. and he saw me. And he walked into the room I was going to.... Then came the..."Camey? You're just going to have to trust me on this. You're going to be uncomfortable as hell, but I know what I'm doing even if you don't." Brother G was not going to be with us for today's group either.

We sit in a circle.. We were discussing "Spiritual Maps"... I had asked the question, "So? Where are you on your Spiritual Map this moment?" We were going around the room. When it came time for Tommy.... he said, "Well, this is my first time in a church in about a year. I live in Ft. Worth now. I came today because I knew I was supposed to. I used to live here and worked at ______ before changing jobs and moving." Then, Tommy and I looked at each other in the eyes. That's where we knew each other from. And he remembered... and so did I.

Brother G and I were on a double date with Smithee and his wife when we first met Tommy. He was our server that night. He already knew Ry and so the conversation flowed more as individuals who knew each other and not as that of complete strangers. As Brother G and I do... I asked Tommy how we could pray for him... he responded... and then Brother G prayed... He was treated with kindness our whole time there. God's kindness.... and received a generous tip. We had Tommy as our server several more times... whether Brother G and I together on a date or my being with others that I was meeting to minister to in a neutral place. Each time offering to pray, treating with God's kindness, and leaving a generous tip. At that time in his life - Tommy really didn't want any thing really to do with a place known as a church. Remember - Brother G and I (nor our sons) consider the church to be a building.... that is how we live life as lifestyle missionaries. That is where life in the moments come from... it's not just about those couple of hours on Sunday morning or whenever one might "do" church...

Had we treated Tommy like dirt - he would not have been as open to listening to the Holy Spirit talking to him about coming or through me and the others in the group. He also said he was in a cave right now and the light peeking in was really bright. Then he brought up "Hell" and we discussed it. It included me throwing my Bible down in the middle of the room. Talk about uncomfortable.... Talk about totally relying on the Holy Spirit...... I'll leave the rest of what was said between those there for now... except this part..

As they were walking out of the room - one by one - we hugged and "I love you" was said, meant and known. I almost did not hug Tommy. "I" had to get out of the way again... He hugged me hard and told me he was glad we were still here and that he came. He really hadn't wanted to but knew he wasn't finished here yet. That even though he didn't think there had been any way to reach him.... God was.

I'm quoted now as saying, "Included moving to a town I said I would never live in." That's because I knew I would truly have to die by living here...

There were other things going on this particular weekend that I will not write about here... except to say this... I would rather look like a fool and follow the Holy Spirit even when it does not make sense than to leave in an effort to become comfortable again and lick my wounds.

Where are you not finished yet?

Are you willing to die to self and let Him use you as HE wants?

It's not just about Sunday.

Warning! Don't Read If You Can't Be Moved.

2008-08-15T07:29:00.005-05:00

This post is merely to warn you about the next post from me.

Don't say I didn't warn you.....

Don't read the next post if you can't be moved. Or don't want to be....

I'm just sayin'....

And you are being prayed for!

More Than A Free Lunch.

2008-08-14T06:42:00.009-05:00

It's Thursday now... my mind keeps going back to Monday. To the Monday family.

Five days a week during the summer, our local church body feeds children free lunches. We take the sack lunches to four locations throughout our town. Designated spots where the children know they can come and get something to eat... The boys and I go out on Mondays with our Student Ministry... Sometimes the boys and I go to the same spot.. other times we split up. Just depends upon the Monday.

This Monday was different. It was cooler outside. Last Monday it was 105 degrees. This time there were even little sprinkles happening. This time - there was a man and his little granddaughter.... Her name is Tori. A beautiful little blond who loves to play in the park.

The grandfather and I spent a good amount of time talking while sitting at a picnic table while Tori went up and down the slide. He showed me picture after picture of his family..... a family that knows much heartache. And Tori kept playing.

Tori's mother is in jail. She is expected to get out in October. While there is no doubt that he loves his daughter - he is nervous about what is going to happen when she is no longer behind bars. When she comes to live with him, his wife (her mother), and Tori. Drugs... Oh, those drugs. He prays this time is different - especially for Tori's sake.

I walked over to Tori as she got on a swing. She started singing "Jesus Loves Me"... and I sung along with her while pushing her higher and higher. There is no doubt she held my attention... and took a piece of my heart. So did her grandfather.

When it looked as if the bottom was about the fall out of the sky.... Tori and her grandfather decided it was time to go. The three of us, Smithee, Austin, and the Michaels (there's two guys named Michael) all held hands and prayed for their family. And hugs were given. Tori whispered in my ear, "Camey? Thank you for being here today."

Five days a week during the summer free lunches are provided.

It's all in the name of Love..... God's Love.

For there is no love like His....

Please join us in praying for the Monday family. Thank you.

What ways can you share God's Love today.... this moment?

(And yes, Austin shared with her that her name "Tori" means bird in Japanese. She thought that was cool.)

Hearing and Responding: Public School (by Austin)

2008-08-11T08:29:00.006-05:00

Ohayo..."Good Morning" in Japanese...to the peeps of da' blog.

S0 the last few days have been rather interesting to say the least. Thursday evening I was working and I got this burden about the High School. As my momma-in-Christ Camey said, I had a major conviction about going to the High School of Granbury to be a lifestyle missionary. If you want the full story you can read a few posts back.

I'll get to the point.

GHS or LBA? *Drum roll please*

LBA

And now I explain.

At the wonderful Mission Arlington complex, there is a faithful volunteer named Matt. One of the points he repeatedly bashed into our heads during the Middle School Mission Trip earlier this summer was "We can get a group of students excited about going to a country like China, thinking 'Yeah lets go! We can get shot and killed, but who cares?', when we can't even get excited about going across the lunchroom table.". The high from Philly is still in my spiritual bloodstream, so being reckless...yeah. But that's not what God has in mind.

You see, I have only been spiritually sane since April, during the first time I did the devotional A Call to Die. April was the closing of the school year. Even though last year was a living soap opera episode, I grew close to several of my friends there that either aren't Christians or aren't plugged into church. I don't recall inviting any of them to any church events this year...well how can I go to a high school, and get risked getting shot for my faith, when I haven't even done that at my small, little Christian academy. Yes, it may be "Christian", but several of my friends there aren't or aren't in Church. As my Pastor Mark says, 'We get so caught up in hitting a home run that we forget how to do a routine ground ball'.

So there you have it...If several of you were thinking "Austin is going to the High School" - nope, I have my instructions from God- Step up in your own little school, before you tackle the big world.

Sayonara peeps! And thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Precious Resources

2008-08-09T15:33:00.004-05:00

*Note from Camey: Please watch the name of the author at the bottom of each post before commenting.

Last night, we had just sat down to dinner, when there was a knock at the front door. It was a guy from our local water company who was driving through the neighborhood looking for green grass...you heard right...green grass. And anywhere he saw green grass, he pulled up, stopped, and went up to the front door of that home and knocked. Which was why he was now knocking on our door...because we have green grass.

The man from our water company proceeded to explain to me that the reason he had stopped and interrupted my highly nutritious Pizza Hut dinner, was because he saw our green grass. Not trying to be a Mr. Smarty Pants, I said to the man, "thank you, I'm glad you like it." Unfortunately, the man was not there to bestow an award for the greenest lawn in our neighborhood. To the contrary, he launched into this somewhat probing interrogation relative to my watering habits...which I must confess caught me just a little off guard.

"How many days a week do you water? What days of the week do you water? Do you water on even numbered days or do you water on odd numbered days? Do you water between the hours of 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM on any day of the week regardless of whether it's an odd or even numbered day?

Now the Paul Harvey as to why this young man was now standing on my front door step has to do with more than the fact that I have some green grass in my front lawn. Several weeks ago the water company had sent out a letter telling all the residents of the neighborhood that the water well that provided water to our quaint little village was running dangerously low because of the hot temperatures and high demand for water. The letter had specifically instructed all residents not to water between the hours of 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. Furthermore (now I'm sounding like a lawyer, right?), according to the instructions contained in this letter, if your address ended in an even number, like mine, you could only water on even numbered days of the week...but only before 8:00 AM or after 8:00 PM. The letter contained a similar admonishment for those water mongering odd numbered residents.

Well it seems that the water level in the water well has not recovered, and in fact, has now reached a critical stage. If drastic conservation measures are not initiated immediately the neighborhood could temporarily be without water in a matter of days and until such time as the water company can drill an additional well. Which brings us back to my dinner time visit from the water company representative. The water company has apparently decided that if you have any green grass in your yard, you must somehow be in violation of the aforementioned water edict. So the pointed questioning as to the true nature of my aquatic habits continued unabated.

I must admit that at this point I was beginning to feel like I was back in the fifth grade at North Euless Elementary School being lectured by Ms. Morrison, my fifth grade teacher after someone ratted me out for stuffing papertowels in the drain of one of the sinks in the boy's bathroom and turning on the water. She kept me after school that day for what seemed like at least six hours...which I think it was only an hour, but to a ten year old wanting to get home and play, it was an eternity. Ms. Morrison went into great detail with me about why we should respect God's creation and the precious resources He gave to us to sustain life on this little blue planet. She read to me the Genesis account of creation from the big ol' family Bible she had on her bookshelf, and she told me horrifying stories of kids my same age in other parts of the world who were dying because they lacked enough clean water to drink. Then, she made me write on the blackboard 100 times that "I will respect God's creation and not waste water ever again." That's a long sentence for a 10 year old...especially when you're having to write it 100 times!

But you know what? I can promise you that after the lecture I received from Ms. Morrison that day some 36 years ago, I have never, ever, ever, knowingly wasted water. What's more, I have always been keenly aware of God's incredible creation and of the awesome responibility we all been charged with by God to care for it. Whether it's the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, or other resources he has blessed us with, we are God's stewards and caretakers of His creation. How sad that we so often take for granted the gifts we have have been given...many times until it's too late. One day, we are going to run out of something that God has given us, like water...and we won't be able to just drill another well...like they are planning to do in our neighborhood.

Oh yes, the nice young man at my door - where did I leave off? Oh yeah, I explained to the fellow that the reason I had greener grass than both my even and odd neighbors, was because I happened to have an anaerobic septic system. The kind that cleans the water to the point where its cleaner than our lake water, and then waters the yard with it. Our's is the newest house in our neighborhood, and by the time we built it seven years ago, all the building codes had changed and traditional septic systems were no longer allowed. No one else had a septic system like ours. Obviously this nice young man wasn't aware of that fact. After several minutes of explaining the finer nuiances of our septic system to the guy...while my highly nutritious yet somewhat cold pizza dinner awaited...he went away - I think still somewhat skeptical.

However, I appreciated the reminder of just how precious the things God has given us are. And that includes a lot more than just water!

Hearing and Responding. Public School.

2008-08-09T15:17:00.009-05:00

Thank you to those whom have commented on Austin's post below whether through here, via email or in-person. He has been beyond busy at the little store since he posted it. He will respond himself when time permits. In the meantime...

I ask that you continue to pray for Austin. He has a big decision to make that only he can. The ball, as they say, is in his court.

Austin has been home schooled/academy since the middle of seventh grade. His decision involves responding to how God is speaking to him these days. There's no doubt he is hearing from God because it would truly mean dying to self even more so than he already does. Austin so enjoys the way he has been doing school the last few years. For him - the most important person ever to walk the face of the earth was Jesus. Curriculum based off that is right up his alley. The academy also meets in our physical church building.

That's where the rub is..... He went to Philly.... the inner-city streets to follow God's call. What about the public high school here in G-town? It's ranked one of the worst in the nation? One reason being drugs. I know it's ugly... but it is the truth.

Brother G and I have never lived or believed that our children's education is totally up to the public school system and the government. If we had - Austin would not be a junior this year. He would be a sophomore. Austin took a test a couple of months ago at a college not far away from here..... he more than qualifies to take dual credit courses for a couple of subjects. (dual credit means they count for high school and college)

There's a lot of talk in certain circles about Christ-followers needing to home school their children these days. That, we believe, is for each individual family to decide after much prayer and seeking God's face... not His hand and not a way to separate ourselves from the world. Strong? Perhaps. We also believe in doing what is best for each child.. not what is easiest necessarily.

If you've spent any amount of time reading this blog - you'll know we see Austin as our brother-in-Christ first.... then our son. That's why I said...

He has a big decision to make that only he can. The ball truly is in his court. We'll support him either way. And for the record... he currently helps pay for his schooling... So, he really does have more than a vested interest in it.

As a note here: I never had any intentions for any of our children to attend public schools. Austin being enrolled in kindergarten at the public school was a response to being obedient to what Brother G heard clearly six weeks before school started. We had Parker - our third child that spring. Parker's story has been shared here before (okay: here's some about him written this year Dream. Prayers. Nineveh. Note.) Austin's first grade year was when I became ill. God clearly was protecting our family. Yes, even in public school.

Hearing and responding.....

Are you hearing God these days?

And what is it going to require of you?

Are you willing to look crazy?

(and you thought this was just about praying for Austin...)

Philadelphia '08!

2008-08-07T09:10:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone! This is Austin, Camey and Brother G's eldest son, coming to give you a hint of the Mission: Philadelphia trip!

So every now and then something comes along that just seems to make you say 'Wow'. That 'Wow' was Philadelphia. To quote my good mentor Lincoln, 'there's something about [Philadelphia] that brings me to my knees.' Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!

I must get the first two days out of the way. Let me rack my brain to see if there is an appropriate adjective that describes the first two days of the trip... other than the fragment 'Never Again'... I can't think of anything else to say about it. 48 hours, 4 of them asleep. Everyone. By air, land, train, and sea...all in one day. I never want to go back to NYC again...aaahhh!!! 3 minutes to catch trains....lost subway rides....3 hours in a train station...yeah...I could go on.

Before we finally got to our hotel, which was actually in New Jersey, we had experienced an incredible worship service at Open Door Baptist Church. That was my first time in an African-American church, and I gotta say, how they worship makes us white boys look bored. Dancing, Clapping, Shouting...man, it was contagious! We all caught 'Praise the Lord!' syndrome, and Pastor Mark, who was only gonna preach 20 minutes he said at first, turned into an hour of pure Word-reading. Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!

3 Churches, 2 Vacation Bible Schools, 1 Mission: To bring the love of Jesus to a community thirsting for one. The street I was on happened to be Cocaine Alley, where the most cocaine is dealt in the United States. I saw quite a few drug deals go down...thankfully we weren't approached by any dealers. My street was one of the most dangerous of all Philadelphia, but I never felt intimidated. We received quite a few death threats (one of them I will tell later in this post), but God defiantly put a hedge of protection around us this week. Our Vacation Bible School was interesting. The first day, only 2 kids showed up. We know why though : when we were starting, kids were getting out of bed. So we pushed it back an hour later, and guess what? The next day, we saw like 14-15 kids, and they kept coming every day later in the week. We saw 2 of the kids accept Christ, a major blessing. This all happened in the morning.

The afternoon dawned pretty fast every day that week. We each had our own project to help. Several rebuilt a basement, picked up trash in a neighborhood, painted rooms...I had me and 3 other guys working on computers. I was going to wait until the end to talk about what God taught me, but in order to continue with this story, I must say now: God will reward you for saying 'Yes' to wherever He puts you. I now have a very keen concept of the term 'Flexibility' now. Our "plan" wasn't what God had in mind for us. I was so excited about working on rebuilding the basement, but God had a different plan for me. I got the chance to try to get some computers set up. The pastor of the church gives me 4 computers to work with, and he wants Office 2007 Professional installed on each of them. At first I was okay with that, but It wasn't until I plugged one in and turned it on did I realize the true scope of the situation. These computers were 20 years old. Each of them were different in specifications. Each had a different hard drive. One of them had Windows XP installed already - on a 2 gig hard drive. Yes, I said 2 gig. And it was an internal hard drive. We didn't get to use much CD-ROM; we got to see countless Floppy disks - including all 28 floppies for Windows 95'. I can't tell you how horribly messed up these poor computers were. One other thing that I learned is this: Whenever you can do a project, when it comes to computers, never, ever say 'I can do it, no problem' without looking under the hood. We worked with MS-DOS pretty much the whole week, and thank God Ryan S. knew his server commands, because none of us had a clue what to do. By the end of the week, we had officially deemed one of the computers 'Dead', and even though we couldn't get a single computer working enough, we got the one with Windows XP cleaned up...and it had easily the worse disk defragmentation report I've ever seen. I can't describe the frustration and annoyance the 4 of us had working with these old pieces of technological archeology (Seriously, we saw a HP Vectra!), but at the same time, the rewards I got for getting several days of hands-on training with old computers was definitely invaluable. So when you say "Yes" to God, He will reward you. I firmly believe that now, as it has happened to me. On a side note: One of the funniest things we saw was when we were driving down the road one day, in front of us was a van that said : Cyberhood: Bringing the Cyber to the Hood. Priceless.

Now for the story of a death threat. We were passing out fliers for Vacation Bible School, and this guy walks up to me and asks for a flier. I hand him one, and he starts asking about why we're here, what we're doing, when my friend Caidon comes and joins the conversation. We couldn't tell what his mood was at first, but we thought he was interested. Ah...no. This guy then starts yelling and cussing at Caidon, who is 5 feet away from me, and I seriously thought something bad was going to happen. I thought he was going to hurt her, when he just shoves the flier back at her. He starts walking away, and in the corner of my eye, I saw these 3 big guys coming our way, thinking 'Not good...This could get bad'. Before I could say a prayer , these 3 guys start shouting at this guy "Hey fool, leave the girl alone. What she do to you?" Then they start shouting back in forth, between us, and we thought a fight was going to break out. Then the amazing John comes and peacefully breaks the fight up. Me and Caidon were shaken, but we then thought, 'We must be doing something right for Satan to attack us like this". That experience also taught me to rely on God in times of trouble and not human strength. My backpack weighed probably 25 lbs, and was the pretty big. When I saw the guy getting aggressive to Caidon, I un-slung one of the straps, with the full intention of using it to protect, a sign of my pride saying 'I can handle this', when my response should have been, 'God, protect her'. I have yet to learn the difference from being brave to protect someone and being an idiot. I was the latter.

I must tell you about a lady named Mrs. Yates. She worked at the church we did Vacation Bible School at. She has the incredible ability to call people out of their sins when they walk down the street. It was incredible. She got that way by studying the word. When she was telling us this, after we had saw in action, God slapped me and said "You pour your time into these other books, but not into my Word". For the trip I brought my Bible, a 400 page book I was about halfway finished with, another 400 page book I hadn't even started yet, and on top of all that, the massive Lord of the Rings. A little overkill, huh? As a result, I am going though the devotional A Call to Die for the second time this year, fasting from all books except the Bible and books for school. I've found that if you say something on a spiritual high, when you get to the trenches, if you don't do it right away, chances are you wont do it. So I did it right away. For me, what will make this trip a success or not is found months afterwards, how we are doing applying the things God taught us in our spiritual high. We can remember the trip for the great memories, but I'd rather remember the trip knowing it was the trip that led me on the start of a greater relationship with God in my everyday life. That is my hope and prayer for my fellow students who went on this trip, that we don't grow out of the way we lived that week, we grow into it.
Several of us told in front of others what God was teaching us, so now is the test. This was round one.

I could talk all day long about the trip, but I would probably kill the bandwidth of blogger. In all this, God really worked in our lives, and in the lives of others this week, both in our church and in the community. I would go back there in a heartbeat. I hope we go back next year, because the construction project couldn't finish the whole basement, and I would come up with a credit card and get whatever we need for those computers. By the way, I want to organize a fundraiser for the church I worked for, money where we could purchase computers and supplies they would need to have a computer lab. If any of you are interested in donating, please contact us. I want to leave you with an exert from my journal.

"I hope that [the trip] is the chapter that begins a story that doesn't end, one that continues for our lives...Like from camp, we are on a mountaintop, and on the mountain things do not grow. They grow at the bottom, in the trenches of life...We took the fight to Satan - but in the fog of war we can't see the damage done to his dominion. We may not in this life. I am about to get off the plane and head from Atlanta for DFW - and for home. You're the God of that city, you're the King of those people..."

The River. Undeniable Encounters.

2008-08-06T22:14:00.004-05:00

The River:

Saturday evening, Austin, Travis, Parker and I headed down to the river. This was the first time that Austin had been back from Philly since we started going to the river again. Actually, it dawned me on while we were there.... I never had gone down to this particular river with the boys until a week plus ago - my dad had always been the one. Most of the time it was because the boys were staying with my parents because I was in the hospital. As I sat there watching the boys throw rocks - I thanked God for the pain of illnesses. For even though I would have preferred for none of us to have gone down that path - I wouldn't trade that time they spent with their grandpa. And even after being healed... and all that took place with daddy before his passing... again... wouldn't trade one single moment.

The boys skipped rocks and we were laughing ourselves silly. All the sudden we heard airplanes above us. In the midst of the gentle sway of the water - we had forgotten how close we were to the private airfield in the highly secure gated community. Up above us were two small private planes. One I'm sure was coming in for a landing... the other - it kept circling above us as if it were keeping watch of the river and those in it. As the sun continued to set - the plane would get harder to see - and yet we could still hear it. It's presence was clearly known.

At one point - Travis got a little mad at Parker. He walked off for a bit..... Parker followed him. Then, Austin..... then me.... After a bit - he came back to where we had been in the river. This time was different. They didn't just get a little wet.... they actually swam in the river. I think it is more than safe to say - had Travis not gotten mad - they would have been content with only being in the water up to their knees. Funny how that works like that..... Their smiles were simply contagious and their laughter was even more infectious. And I thanked God yet again for three boys who the world said I would never have. Yes, that's another part of my/our story..

As we were starting to talk about how dark it was getting outside... we all stood in the river and held hands and Austin prayed out loud. For even though I am their mother - it is not always necessary for me to do so. The music could be heard as we were linked together hand and hand... age to age... 40, 16, 13, and 10. I must confess - it was hard to leave the river. I wanted to capture the moment and savour it. I did take pictures and video. They will stay as just ours for now.

Parker took my hand as we started back to the van. He kept looking at me and smiling deeply with that red hair of his looking more like an apple than a pumpkin pie like it does at times. He'd tell you it's auburn.... We sang as we headed back to where I am now. We worshipped our Real Father. And even after I had pulled in to the garage...... we sat in the van and kept worshipping. Austin and I had tears in our eyes. A moment even Kodak could not capture fully and no Visa card could carry an amount so great.

Undeniable Encounters:

Without question, there have been numerous undeniable encounters the last few months. Some if I were to share with you..... you'd call me absolutely crazy. And that would be more than okay with me. For one thing my Real Father has shown me time and time again.... all I have to do is be available to be used. Sharing His love is easier than baking cookies or giving away free water. It also can include how one answers a phone or greets that visitor walking in to the door of a place they never thought they would venture. Or the person standing in line behind them getting coffee or a Happy Meal. I pray, you, dear reader, hear that with an open heart.

Tonight was the sharing time for those who went on the trip to Philly at our physical church building. That's why I've been waiting to post testimonies here since their return....

So, first up is Austin. Warning... he can be long-winded like his dad and mother. But I pray you'll see our Real Father in his every word.

And you have been prayed for wherever you are found this very moment.

What Are You Willing To Risk?

2008-08-02T10:25:00.002-05:00

"You shouldn't be here. You could get shot." This was said to our son, Austin, in the inner-city of Philly this week.

Are you willing to get shot?

How safe are you this moment?

What are you willing to risk?

Note: When asked about going back to either New York and/or Philly.... he said he'd go back to Philly in a heartbeat.

More to come!

What's Happening?

2008-08-01T09:48:00.005-05:00

There is something in the air.... well, soon any way...

Peeps are coming back to G-town, Texas from Philly tonight!

Watch for testimonies from those in the know about what all has happened there this week. Seeds that were planted through Servant Evangelism... Sharing God's love through acts of kindness. Being the Word Alive... the hands and feet....

Keep praying! It's not over because the trip is ending.

Question:

Why do you have Serve! with Steve Sjogren on your new blog list? (still working on blogs to put on blog list.... lol)

Answer:

Yes, it is true that I do have an article in the current edition of Serve!

Question:

Why is your article not linked on your blog?

Answer:

It is.... Check out Serve! with Steve Sjogren

Just read the rest while you're there!

May you be inspired, encouraged, and challenged to SERVE! We are praying for you..

Question:

Did you really say that your son Austin could stay in Philly?

Answer:

Why, yes. Yes, I did... Note: I did not mean he would not have to finish high school. He's a junior this year. He is totally surrendered to God. He is 'in the ministry' just as much - if not more so than his dad, younger bros and I. Who are we to say "Don't follow Your Real Father?" Remember... we also see him as our brother-in-Christ. We are lifestyle missionaries.. not just in vocational ministry.

Ohhh.... but last I heard he is coming back to G-town. Who knows for how long though?

Question:

When are you going to post the story about you being ill and then healed? Or is it already linked on your blog?

Answer:

It's all over the blog in various posts. That will change... Thank you, Bill (cycleguy).

Question:

Let me get this straight? You were ill and then healed. Your dad was ill and then died?

Answer:

Yep. He got the ultimate healing. Physical healing is only temporary!

Question:

Why do you call it "the physical church building" and not "the church"???????

Answer:

Individuals are the church... not the building.

So where are YOU this moment? Who can you share God's kindness to/with this moment?

Something is in the air! It's moving... It's growing...

And may we never be the same today as we were yesterday and will be tomorrow!

Oh... and by "we" - I'm not just talking about local peeps.

Pain. Free. The River.

2008-07-31T21:51:00.005-05:00

Pain:

A good amount of the day was spent listening to other's pain. Pain so thick you could squeeze it out like toothpaste and not reach the end of the tube. They needed my ears, shoulders, and for me to just listen. So, I did. And prayed.... prayed...... prayed.....

One thing that kept coming back time and time again with the individuals whom I've known for some time now, "Camey? You know this pain. I don't have to tell you how I feel." And while I have known and do know pain beyond deep.... there is much to be said for getting it all out. For saying, "This is how I feel." For how one handles pain, sorrow, grief, and etc..... is not necessarily the same as others... although the stages may be similar.

As I hugged one particular individual goodbye.... he said to me, "You would have to be here today. I didn't stand a chance of acting like I wasn't hurting with you looking me in the eyes." And we laughed. It was appropriate at that moment.

Free:

While I was talking with various individuals who had come into the physical church building by way of walking or phone.... Parker and Travis were with some good friends of ours giving out free water all over G-town... at the jail, the admin building, at construction sites.... all over. Sure, it was 100 degrees today. All the more reason to show God's love in such a refreshing way. Ice cold free water..... It does more than the body good.

The River:

RQM's (really quiet moments) were on tap for the evening. So, Parker and I headed down to the river... just the two of us.... We took a towel with us and sat on the edge of the water with more than just our toes in the water.... We would dig around in the water and pick up rocks. Parker would say, "Time to go deeper with the digging." And we did. Gorgeous rocks that had been hidden under the surface. He would look over at me and smile deeply. I would look over at him and think about how thankful I am to be his sister-in-Christ and his mom.

At one point he decided to get up and venture in more. With his back turned toward me - I started throwing rocks to purposefully splash him. He turned around and followed suit... And you could hear it..... the echoes of laughter in unison. We were not alone. Make no mistake about it. From the little fishes nipping at our toes.... to the sun setting on the moments of the day and night... worship was taking place just like it is now.

On the way back to where I am at this moment - it struck me.... it was just last week when Parker and I headed down to the river after I can not tell you how long ago. Funny how that happens..... All this time we've been here - it's been less than a couple of miles away tops! We can get there by car, foot, bike, golf cart, and etc....

And it is free.

Thank You, Lord.... Thank You.

The River. People in Life.

2008-07-30T20:31:00.003-05:00

The River:

Last night Brother G, Trav, Park, and I headed down to the river. Off came the shoes and in the water we ventured. The water was crisp... It was cool. It was refreshing. It was the ticket for a great hangout amongst individuals who are nutty about each other.

After awhile of being in the water, I sat down on the bank. I smiled deeply watching Brother G teaching the boys how to skip rocks. Apparently there is a real technique to it. And pretty soon - they were making the rocks skip across to the other side. They kept watching him. He kept watching them. And I could not help but give thanks yet again for the guys in my life.

We danced and prayed..... We got wet. Then we went to the park and swung on swings. As I was laying back in the swing - looking up in the sky through the trees...... we giggled at how incredibly silly I looked. Life is so precious. Each moment to be taken in... Worship is breathing. It is inhaling God and exhaling Him back out. The song that was playing had a rhythm that only Holy Spirit can orchestrate. And it was Holy indeed especially with how bad we smelled.

People in Life:

I never know what to expect on Wednesdays. I arrive at the physical church building at 8:30 a.m. and do not leave again until 8:30 p.m. What a glorious day it turned out to be!

As I sit here thinking about how prayers were so clearly answered..... I am beyond thankful.

Cases in point:

1) There was concern that a dear friend had breast cancer. She does not!

2) A co-worker decided today to not leave. We have so much fun talking trash. She still has a hard time letting me empty my own can even after all this time. Tonight, she hugged me like never before. When I told her I love her like I always do when leaving for the night - she said, "Camey? I have never doubted your love for me. Never. Not once. You make me see God in ways that I would have never thought possible." Funny enough? I was thinking the same exact thing about her.... and without question she is just as much a dear friend as the woman without cancer. I'm thankful she decided to stay at the physical church building instead of coming here to the highly secure gated community. She is as much a part of the church as any one else. I challenge any one who thinks she is just a custodian.

3) As I was closing down the computer at the main desk in the foyer.... there he came.... running through the halls. Laughing.... and running..... and I could not for the life of me tell him to stop.

His running was a sight to see.... Literally. For not long ago - he had to use a cane to help guide him. His eyes would not. And when he realized I had tears streaming down my face from watching him - he said to me, "You understand this freedom."

And I was taken back to the river.... and to the swing...

Thank You, Lord. May I always come back to say....... thank you.

And as much as I value the physical health I have now....

It in no way compares to Jesus and to Spiritual Health....

Talk about The Real Healing.

Thank You, Lord..... Thank You.

Real Transformation.

2008-07-30T07:20:00.005-05:00

For those who are looking for updates from Philly......

They can be found on the church's website.

They can also be found through Micky's personal blog - click on his name.

Lives are being touched. Individuals are coming to Jesus.

And while this is all great and worthy of dancing.....

Join with me in praying that real transformation will take place.

Not just fire insurance.

Not just we went on a mission trip and all we got was this lousy t-shirt and worked our tails off.

Real Transformation....

Where are you today?

Are you being transformed?

Or are you simply stuck?

As always, you've been prayed for wherever you are this moment.

On a mountaintop.. or in the ditch face down.

Wherever......

Where are you this moment?

Changes Coming..

2008-07-28T16:41:00.004-05:00

Changes are coming to Life in the Moments blog.

Just wanted to give a heads up!

I've been challenged to stretch even more and will accept it.

So, when you least expect it....

Don't say I did not warn you.

And as always... you've been prayed for wherever you are this very moment.

On Prayer. Those Lifeguards.

2008-07-26T14:03:00.005-05:00

On Prayer:

Last night we had a prayer gathering. What an incredibly powerful time of blending hearts/minds for the Kingdom. It is safe to say that we worshipped. Young, old, in-between - what a beautiful sight!

Heard from our oldest missionary earlier today. He is enjoying his first airplane flight. He called from Hotlanta during a stop. Must confess - for a brief moment I was jealous as all get out. And it got out soon enough.... thank you very much. Talk about someone on fire... He is one passionate young man. Frankly? I would venture to say it has to do with his prayer life - not prayer time.

Please continue to pray for our missionaries as they serve this week in Philly. Updates to come.

Those Lifeguards:

This is another one of those ways we're said to live a funky life. The younger boys and I went to the pool here inside the highly secure gated community at the clubhouse this morning. As soon as we walked in - the Youngest Lifeguard waved to get my attention. Funny enough? I've known his older brother since we first moved here back in 2005. Don't tell the Older Lifeguard, but the Younger one is growing on me big time. I'm trying hard not to play favorites.

The water was simply fabulous. It's been quite awhile since I've gone in. It wasn't too hot. It wasn't too cold. It was right for napping even. The younger boys and I enjoyed just hanging out, talking, catching some rays, and being. Simply being...... All the while... that Younger Lifeguard keeping watch over us.

One of the Lifeguards was missing today. Well, at least from the pool scene. He is on the plane with our oldest missionary heading to Philly. And while he was missed by the younger boys and I - we would not want him to be any where other than where he is at. So totally cool watching how passionate he is about serving others.

We decided to eat lunch while at the pool. As I was walking past the Youngest Lifeguard who had since changed places - I asked if he wanted a french fry. Of course, he took one... or two.. or three... lol I asked the female Lifeguard next to him if she wanted one... and with those puppy dog eyes of hers said no while thanking me for even asking. It wrecks me up how they are treated by club members. My heart truly goes out to them.

As I was sitting reading The Word and writing as I so often do while at the pool, the Youngest Lifeguard kept looking over to check on me. He would smile big when he realized I was looking back at him. Funny enough? We actually know his whole family. Just took us all awhile to figure that part out. We've already had some great in-depth conversations. Who says that teens do not want adults to ask questions and hold them accountable? To take a vested interest in their lives?

One thing about those Lifeguards - while they are trained to save lives.... they know who really does the saving. But they still keep watch anyway - ready to dive in at a moment's notice. And it is our privilege to know them.

A move is coming soon although we know not to where just yet.

And only the Real Lifeguard knows what it is going to cost.

We'd rather trust Him than the world.

"THAT'S IT!!! NOW!"

2008-07-24T19:02:00.006-05:00

Today is taking a cake (note: not the cake, but a cake) on wild conversations/days. The following I share with permission.

Austin is roaming the house - the entire house. He is climbing the walls. He is smiling from ear to ear. He is pacing..... Going into his room, checking his stuff, checking it twice, and even has a game plan for making said cake tomorrow.

"THAT'S IT!!! NOW!" - Austin G.

He is having a hard time with patience. He's been this way since 5:30 p.m. tonight. He said, "At this time tomorrow night, people will be gathering for prayer. I'm SO EXCITED!"

WHAT? Prayer gathering and being that excited? Yep. That's Austin. And really? It is an understatement.

That's what he knew he was suppose to do from a few posts ago now.

Call peeps to prayer.

The cake is being baked for the individuals who are helping pay his way to Philly... which includes his youngest brother Parker. (That story is coming another time/way.)

And is it any wonder that the Spiritual Warfare has totally kicked up?

Nope. Nada. Zipola.

I'm often asked about being lifestyle missionaries. That question crops even more when trips are involved.

And while there is much to be said for going to another place far from where one is normally found to be the Gospel Alive and Living to those they come in contact with and serve.....

If we are not guilty of a living a lifestyle that speaks the same....

Then, it's like have frosting without a cake.

Are you still sitting on a shelf in a box collecting dust just waiting to be put together?

"THAT'S IT!!!! NOW!"

Time to RISE....

There's hungry people in the moments of life wherever you or I may be found....

Near or far.... in-between - even on the plane. (Wal-Mart, restaurant, mall, movies, etc.)

There's Only One who truly satisfies the real hunger, need, and desire.

Now.

2008-07-23T21:34:00.005-05:00

The moments have been rather intense lately. The Spiritual Warfare has picked back up again. And while I am not at liberty to share fully.... I can share this:

It does not happen often, but last night - I was in a sour mood. I'm not talking a little sour. Spit it out of your mouth because it tastes so gross - sour. As Austin and I were sitting in the car talking - he said to me, "Mom? Do you really want to have that attitude?" Ouch. He was right. I was wanting to be sour. Sting.........

After examining my attitude - it was clear - the problem was not the other individuals involved or even the situations themselves. It was me. Serious OUCH!

This morning, Brother G's car had a flat. Much to my surprise, he wanted me to drive instead of him to the physical church building. His motive? He wanted to read to me. And as I drove - he read aloud to his bride. It was Alive. It breathed. Talk about just what I needed to hear. He was convinced that my sour attitude from last night was still there to some degree this morning. And dang it, he was right.

As I got out of the car and started walking up to the building... Scriptures started flooding my mind.... and heart. I just had to laugh when asked if I had a word... from The Word.. I could share for our Wednesday staff meeting. Tears came down my face as I shared just a bit of what's been going on lately. And as usual when I let Holy Spirit have free reign - I do not remember one word I said other than Scriptures I read aloud. The very same ones that had come flooding my mind and heart earlier. (And yes, to those who have asked - I miss teaching the Tuesday class. Some of the most freeing times. Still cracks me up there's a teacher inside. Oh, that's soooo God! Those poor college/career students now on Sunday mornings.)

Ministry can be a beast at times as can just life in general. One thing I've found time and time again - you can choose to let it be hairy and run wild... or you can tame it... even if you might have a few split ends like my hair does now. And given how long it is.... what should I expect? Haven't decided yet on the shoulder length or just a couple of inches. The jury is still out.

The testing has been two fold:

1) To see if I could hold my tongue.

2) If I could hold firm and not be moved.

Brother G did have to buy a new tire. And.......

Funny enough? The Spiritual Warfare is still thick and yet, the joy totally outweighs it.

Still....

2008-07-23T07:20:00.000-05:00

Testing...

Testing. Testing. Testing.

2008-07-21T18:29:00.001-05:00

The Gift of Quietness

2008-07-19T17:01:00.002-05:00

Quiet is definitely a gift from God. Sometimes when we speak of the state of something, we put the adverb "perfectly" in front of it...as in "perfectly" beautiful, or "perfectly" delicious...or "perfectly" quiet. It's perfectly quiet in our home for the moment...and it is perfect. Oddity of oddities that I somehow find myself at home alone this beautiful Saturday afternoon, and it's quiet - it's perfectly quiet.

There's not a TV going, no stereos or IPod's playing, and none of the phones have rang for at least an hour. The only sound that breaks the nearly total silence is the quiet hum of the ceiling fan over my head. It's so quiet that even the pressing of the keys on my laptop seem to be almost intrusive. Cooper the very spoiled dog is sound asleep in the chair, and Alli the supreme ruler of any space she's occupying at the moment cat, is in a near comatose state on the couch. It is q-u-i-e-t, and it is perfect.

It's never like this around the Shearon mothership. There's always something going on around here that creates noise of some type. I'm sure it's like that in your abode as well. We just live in a very loud, busy, world. Not saying that's right or wrong - bad or good - but quiet is definitely good.

But this day has brought about some sort of great harmonic convergence in the solar system...and there is not a soul at home save me...and it is quiet. It's amazing how easy it is to think once your brain has been exposed to quietness for just a little while...when there's nothing else audibly competing for your attention. And your hearing? Wow! Your hearing is so keen when it's this quiet. Every little sound makes itself known. It's been a long time since I've heard things this loud and clear! All because it's quiet...perfectly quiet.

Makes me think - no wonder I sometimes feel like I have a hard time hearing God. By way of confession, sometimes...okay, okay...often times, it's because I'm just not listening like I should. But often times, even when I'm trying to listen, God's voice gets drowned out by the cornucopia of sounds and noise that bombard me almost every moment of every day. God's spirit is always a gentleman, and He never screams, so it's up to me to listen...even if it means I have to do some very intentional noise reduction in my life to hear Him. It brings to mind that I have spent so much time preaching to my kids over the years about their "quiet-time" with God - all the while acting like because I'm an adult, and I'm busy, and I have a lot of "stuff" to do, it's somehow okay that I often times neglect that spiritual discipline myself.

God re-teach me the importance of being still and getting quiet before you every single day. Help me purposely tune out all the other "noise" of my day, if only for a few minutes, so that I can hear you speak.

Yes indeed, this has been nice...this quietness...this perfect quietness.

But hey, gotta run, someone just knocked on the door and the phone is ringing!

A Date - Time Well Spent.

2008-07-18T22:21:00.007-05:00

One of my favorite guys and I went on a date tonight before my hubby came home. The vehicle we were in does not go real fast - about 20 mph - give or take. The wind was blowing ever so right and the sun was shining. Familiar faces kept passing us by and waving.

There's a particular path this guy and I enjoy going on when spending time together. I could probably drive it with my eyes closed.... perhaps maybe I actually have, but I am not saying and the guy ain't telling. Kinda like a Bush's baked beans family secret recipe.

This guy and I laugh ourselves silly as we go around the bends and curves. Some times we go as fast as we can. Others we go real slow or somewhere in-between depending upon how much public access there really is to that stretch of the road.

As we came to a fork in the road, we decided to venture somewhere the wheels have not gone in a long time. We pulled into the parking lot, got out and started to walk. Underneath our feet the rocks were wiggling as we took each step. He even teased me about going over the railing to keep on our adventure.

Slowly, but surely, the rocks started having sand mixed in as we inched nearer and nearer. The water looking rather inviting - off went the sandals.... and in went the toes.... then feet. Soon enough - I was standing in the river almost up to my knees. The guy kept telling me to watch what I was doing - thinking I was determined to get all wet.

Then, it happened. We both were absolutely silent and listened to the sounds of nature in some of her finest. At times in the craziness of life's moments - we forget the river even exist and that it is so close by. We forget the beauty that waits to be held in our eyes, heart, and is meant to be taken in.... absorbed through our very skin and breath.

The guy and I crinkled up rocks in-between our toes and swayed back and forth as the river flowed gently to the tune we were helping to create with our very movement. The breeze blowing like whispers through the strings of pure oxygen. How peaceful and relaxing the moments were. Time seemed to tick by more slowly. The rhythm like a new song.

As we ventured back, we held hands and shared our thoughts on the whole experience. Before arriving back to the parking lot, we realized that a grassy spot is a place normally filled with bluebonnets at certain times of the year. Once upon a time we sat amongst them and had our picture taken. Sweet memories that had been stowed away until just the right time to pop out.

The drive back to where we had started off was filled with stops and starts and rich laughter along each roll of the tires. The sun setting as a backdrop on time well spent. As we pulled into the driveway - hubby's car was there.... The guy could not wait to get inside to see him and tell him all about the time we had spent together.

One of these days, this guy is going to be taller than me just like his older brothers.

But for today, he is my favorite ten-year-old. And I am beyond blessed to be his mommy.