sorry about all these posts about new bloggers…but i HAVE to post about this one!
my >MOM<!!!!!
i never thought she’d get a blog…but i guess being married to my dad she was bound to crack eventually.
it’s gonna be pretty awesome! so be sure to read it!!!
hey hey…
check out this kid!…
>ZOE<
she’s pretty awesome! (you may remember her as the winner of the amplified 2006 talent show…singing superchick’s “beauty from pain”!!!)
she’s in navigate at pathfinders this summer and is about to move up to refuge in august…!!! and i can’t wait!!!!!!!
she’s pretty much the coolest ever!!! and is most definitely a world changer…
i have the coolest story to share!!..
a few months ago i posted this:
The craziest thing happened to me at refuge this week…
Well, last week I was praying and I started thinking about this girl that used to go to pathfinders a long time ago. I wasn’t really friends with her or anything…but for some reason she popped into my head. So I started thinking about how she was doing and I said a short prayer for her. Didn’t really think much of it…
But Wednesday guess who showed up out of nowhere!!!…it was her!!! So I went up and told her that I remembered her and had just recently been thinking about her and that I had prayed for her. She didn’t remember me…but…after worship she came up to me with tears in her eyes and said “I just want to thank you for thinking about me. I just got out of drug rehab. I totally f****** my life up.” She went on to say that she hadn’t thought about God in forever, but last week she said she could feel God speaking to her!!!
Her friend invited her to refuge this week…and she decided to come. TO’s message was about how we are supposed to honor God with out bodies! (the message was originally directed to “sex and dating”, but it also applied to drug abuse).
This girl came to the altar!! And I was able to pray with her.
I tried to talk to her afterwards, but she couldn’t hear me because the music was too loud…
But it doesn’t matter.
That was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. It reminded me of how amazing my God is!! And it showed me how much God truly cares about people…He truly sought after this girl!! And it showed me how much God can and will use me when I lay everything down before Him and stay focused on Him. And it prompted me to pray like crazy for people- because you may never know how much it is truly needed and how much of a difference prayer really makes!
I serve such an incredible God!!
so that story in itself was awesome…but i saw her again wednesday (the first time she’s been back to refuge) and she told me that ever since that night that i talked to her she has gotten off of drugs and has started going to a church that her grandfather pastors…and that her life has been completely turned around since then!!! (and the people that she came with seemed to be really cool and on fire for God, too!!)
i was so blown away!! it was just so amazing to know that God did that in her life…and that He chose to use me to help her. (very humbeling!)
you may never know what praying for someone can do!!!
yet another cool pic i found…
this one was taken in mozambique by the elevate team…
it seems to show the true meaning of >4.
they are what it’s all about.
i just found this pic on the displace me website!!
check tweezy on his phone…and if you look closely you can see jp’s fro sticking out from behind the cardboard hut!!
summer is officially in full swing!!
for me that means getting up early and going to morning prayer for l.a., going up to the annex to help get ready for summer camp, making millions of collage notebooks, going to a billion refuge meetings (oh yeah!!), having 24 thousand life groups to attend, lead, and co-lead, going to the baton rouge dream center, eating watermelon, buying new clothes!, texting my friends like crazy, gearing up for elevate in august, and trying to focus on God and seek Him through all of the chaos.
honestly, i love chaos. but solitude is essential when it comes to being intimate with God. (carlos talked about that at our life group leader’s meeting yesterday) tweezy also talked about a dream that he had about these chefs that were serving him food. they were so skinny and malnutritioned that you could see through their bodies. and tweezy’s revelation from this was that sometimes we can get so caught up in doing the ministry and serving that we forget to feed ourselves. so we have to be FAT CHEFS!!
that challenged me so much!
i’ve had so much going on lately…
last week i was five star for refuge. and everything was pretty stressful… but i actually thought to myself that i do pretty well during chaos. but God laughed at me! two seconds after thinking that i missed a cue from brandon and tweezy had to get my attention..along with a few other mishaps.
so i took that as God reminding me of how much i depend on Him. i also had been worrying a little about transitioning to elevate so soon and all that stuff…and i could just feel God telling me that i can’t do it alone, i can only depend on Him.
i am not the one in control- just a little person who God wants to use. and God can use me whether i mess up or not..”i can’t qualify the message by the vessel”.
sometimes i feel like God can’t use me to lead others when i’m having a bad day. i feel like i’ve got to be almost perfect for Him to be able to use me. but He humbles me by using me even though i mess up. it reminds me that it’s not me at all- only Him.
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l.a. money…
i only have $50 left to raise!!!
seriously- thank you so much for all of your support. (so many of you have given financially…and i know that a lot of you will be and have been supporting through prayer)
here’s a shout out to paul and charity trahan!
if you haven’t met these two, you’re missing out! they volunteer at the baton rouge dream center- pretty much 24/7. and they just show God’s love to everyone they encounter. i look up to them both a whole lot. and i almost cried when they decided to help send me to l.a.
thanks for supporting me!
you guys truly are amazing!!!! (p.s. thanks for all the rides.
also thanks to..
heather leblanc- you’re amazing!!
mickey martin- thanks friend..even though the bills were soaking wet. lol.
jason guidry- thank you soooo much!!
jd, my brother!!- i love you!
lincoln, my other brother!!- i love you, too!!!
mimi and grandad- y’all are the best!
meemaw and pop- y’all are the best, too!
to the anonymous one- thank you so much. i think anonymous things are the best to give, but gosh they’re hard receive. i’m so nosy and it’s bugging me to death. lol. but seriously thank you soooo much. and the note that you put with it is hanging on my wall…i see it everyday! it means so much.
and to everyone else who gave! or bought jewelry!!
thank you!!!
God has used you all to minister to me.
i’ll keep you all posted on how things are going as we get ready for our trip.
i’m so excited!! 
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and one more thing…
refugees:
make sure to come to the justice project this saturday! here’s the info:
New Donaldsonville Dream Center
Saturday, June 16
Meet at the Annex ( in front of Refuge ) – 8:30 a.m.
We will take the shuttle to Donaldsonville and return back at 3:30.
Wear old clothes and bring $5.00 for lunch.
ALSO BRING ANY CLEANING SUPPLIES THAT YOU MAY HAVE. Broom, Mop, buckets, old rags, Clorox, glass cleaner, paint brushes etc
see you then.
-tori
