Love Brightly

Every evening my 2-year-old has been asking me to read a little paper back illustrated version of the Gospel that was given to us by our church in Louisiana for our first Christmas as parents. We have multiple children's versions of the Gospel, and this one is not my favorite of them all, but we want them to hear God's word as many times and in as many different ways as possible, so this one remains in the girls' bookcase. Our eldest ("4-and-a-half, almost 5" she will tell you) never chooses this Jesus story--I think mostly because it shows a picture of the crown of thorns up close and says how it made Him bleed. She is very sensitive, and doesn't like to think of Jesus hurting. Usually she is taking her pre-bedtime trip to the potty when her sister brings the book for me to read. But on Wed. Aug. 11, she unusually finished quickly and plopped herself on the couch beside me and said, "Can I listen too?" "Of course," I answered. When ...

"90% of kids who grow up in church turn their backs on God by the time they graduate college." It is a statistic that is staggering, hard to believe, but we see it everyday. People think, "That won't be my kid. My kid will be the one who stays faithful." (That's what I think about my kids). But for 9 out of 10 college students, that won't be the case. This article helps pinpoint why that is while calling teenagers "fake Christians": http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/27/almost.christian/index.html?hpt=C1

We left The Peter Pan Motel and Santa Cruz in early July, but our students remained there, carrying out the mission until today. That is the most unique and impacting aspect of the Project--we spend 6 intensive weeks training them and preparing them to perform all the functions of the ministry on their own. It stretches them, helps them rely on the Lord and not themselves or others, and gives them the experience of true Christian community as they learn to work together, sharpening each other with their different strengths and gifts. Before we, the staff, leave, we carefully and PRAYERFULLY select leaders. There are leaders for each Action Group (small group Bible study and accountability), leaders for the committees of activities (like Outreach, Prayer, etc,) and 4 Leaders called "The Foursome", 2 gals, 2 guys who are put in charge over all the others. These students are exceptional in that they are mature, humble, and are not concerned with their own ambition, but with...

The Peter Pan motel (affectionately called "The Pan" by the students) is like a light for Christ near the Santa Cruz, CA Beach and Boardwalk. Our "Campus Crusade for Christ" sign stays up year round, and we have a display of free books (The Case for Faith) for people as they walk to the beach. Santa Cruz is one of the most unchurched areas of the U.S. Less than 6% are churched and that includes all faiths--there are prominent Jewish and Buddhist temples as well as a Christian Science church in town. We tried to make the girls' room cozy for them. Their cute and colorful sleeping bags along with pictures from home and wall stickers helped their space be more fun. The Kitchen, Dining Room, Home Office, and Living Room. (Also known as "Mommy and Daddy's Bedroom"). Living in these tight quarters was definitely one of the most challenging parts of our summer. The girls ate breakfast on placemats on the floor in a 4 ft squared space between the...

A few days before leaving for Santa Cruz, I decided to buy some sun hats for the family (except for Karl, he wears a ball cap). I thought, "We probably won't make it to the beach that many times since Titus is still so little, but I'll be thankful to have them for those few times." I am so glad I bought them, because we wear them every day all day long! There is no shade at The Peter Pan. The weather is amazing and pleasant every day--cool in the morning, mid-70's in the day. (We had a record-breaking high temp on Wed = 78 degrees). So we are outside all day, every day. The girls are loving it--but the sun is still intense. Every day I am so thankful for these good sun hats. Here are a few favorite pics.

I've been thinking about the finale of LOST for the past week or so. I loved watching that show, and I'm a little sad that it has ended. I love how there was a whole culture surrounding the mystery of it--how people would talk each week about the hidden messages and how each story was intertwined with each other. One critic called it the "best dramatic TV series of all time." Another said that {paraphrase:}"no other show in the history of television has had viewers researching history, literature, religion, mythology, etc." People are more knowledgeable because LOST was on TV for 6 years. Towards the end, all of us Christian viewers were hoping that the unveiling of the Big Picture would have Christian themes. (Or maybe since that is our view, we kept finding the Christian themes in it). Certainly, Jack sacrificing himself to save the world is reflective of the main idea of Christianity. But did you catch the stain-glass window as Jack is about to p...

Boy, were we all glad to be out of the car!! After 3 long days of driving and 2 in-and-out hotel stays with the little ones, everyone was so glad to be not-confined and able to move around! We arrived at the beach on the 22nd, caught the finale of LOST with our new friends and teammates on the 23rd, spent 5 days planning for the Project and prepping The Peter Pan motel for move-in, and finally made it to the sand for a few minutes yesterday. These are a few of my favorite pictures.