Plane Tickets, Paper Chains and Prayers, OH MY

There's a date. There's a time. There's a TICKET!

I'm excited, anxious, elated, nervous, delighted and so, so pleased to announce that I will be leaving for South Africa in 43 days!

January 12, 2010 at 6:25pm from IAH? Who wants to have a party?

Thank you to those of you who have supported me financially and prayerfully this far. The ticket (one-way) was purchased today, and now it's all about the paper-chain countdown.

I LOVE making paper-chains. It's something to celebrate everyday, something to remind you to pray every night, and something to remind you to cherish every moment instead of letting them sneak by. Check out Macie and the paper chain below!

I had a wonderful week of vacation and now am looking at my last two weeks of work, orchestrating fundraising events and speaking at life groups. Everything in sight is good, but sometimes it seems there is sooooo much in sight. I've been overcome this week with "to-do's" and stressors, anxious about fundraising, and feeling like there was too much going on all the way around me.

Then Jesus whispered.

"Stop managing and start worshipping."

So I sat down with Him today and gave it all back. The details. The concerns. The projects. And I worshipped.

He is good. He is a Sovereign and Mighty Provider and Protector. More than enough. More than I could ever fathom.

Please join me this week in prayer for financial support for my travels to South Africa.

I'm praying for $1,000 a week from here on out. I BELIEVE.

Will you pray expectantly?

Say Cheeeeeeeeeese!

Ladies and Gentleman, Step Right Up...Get 'Em While They're HOT!

One Day and One Day Only!

There is a great opportunity for me, for you, and for the orphans I'll be traveling to serve THIS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5th in League City!

An incredibly loving and servant-hearted friend and photographer, Loryn, is coming in from San Antonio to offer her gift of photography to you as a fundraiser toward bringing homes and hope to HIV/AIDS orphans.

Go  to Loryn's blog at http://www.lnwgallery.blogspot.com/ and comment on her recent post, "5 More Spots" to sign up for a 30-min time slot.

Loryn is offering a 30-min photo session at Helen's Garden in League City, TX on Saturday, Dec 5th. Family Christmas cards, engagement pics, senior portraits, you name it, she will rock it! For a minimum $50 donation, Loryn will provide a 30-min photo session and provide you with a CD that day of all images and full printing rights.

It's a great deal for a great cause!

Thank you for helping us spread the word!

Please continue to join me in prayer for fundraising. God Will Provide! Pray that we are obedient stewards of the resources He's given us to make His will be done.  Thank you!

Talking With My Mouth Full

I'm right smack in the middle of what I like to call the "Thankful Tour 2009". I'm on the West Coast this week visiting my mom, Lily and my friends from Fuller. I've been overwhelmed with GREAT hugs, deep down laughs, dance parties out the wazoo, and so many reminders of how big and sovereign God is.

Amidst all the travels and encouragement, I've been in conversation with God about thankfulness and giving. He's used some really special moments through my friends at Fuller to encourage and teach me... as usual. :)

Friday, at lunch with Amanda in Pasadena at the School Cafe (Chinese Chicken Salads... mmhmmm), I was telling her about feeling overwhelmed by every last detail of selfless giving I'd experienced - tablecloth text messages, photoshoot sign-ups, etc. I shared with her that I have never felt more known or more loved as I do now that I'm sharing promptings with others to bring homes and hope to orphans. She reminded me that, big or small, we can never repay God for his sacrifice. We can never be thankful enough in that make-it-even kind of way.

The pslamists felt the same way...

"How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord." -Psalm 116:12-13

Maybe it's more about recieving His goodness so that we can give it back to God to make His glory known. As I've been sharing with others about the trip, I find myself repeating, "You cannot give what you haven't received," as I talk about bringing homes to the homeless.

Then there was breakfast with Helen... best omlette and blueberry pancakes I've ever encountered, by the way. Helen is on staff at YWAM in Kona and she was filling me in on what DTS is like, preparing me to receive, receive, receive...

It was making my skin crawl! It is so difficult for me to think of going on missions to receive. It made me feel afraid that I would lose my identity as someone who gives. It made me afraid that I would become all-about-Kacy. Or maybe I'm using "giving" as a coat of armor of sorts. Giving is good, so if I'm giving, I must be good. Right? It's better to give than to receive, right? Right... but an empty cup cannot overflow. Without receiving from the Lord, we are giving from ourselves. There's no good in that.

Maybe I'm learning how to recieve God's glory so that I can give it back and He can make it bigger and better. I'm a vessel.

Helen's wisdom, love, and encouragement, topped with homeade whip cream and blueberry syrup, helped me to shape a new prayer. 
 

Lord, peel away my defenses... the parts of me protecting my identity in this world. Rewrite my identity to be wholly in You. Help me to maintain a humble, learning posture in every encounter. Help me to receive with thanksgiving and to give each blessing back to Your glory. Fill my cup to overflow, and let the overflow extend to the ends of the earth. Amen.

P.S.: If you live near League City, there is an AWESOME opportunity to get beautiful portraits taken for a good cause. My great friend, Loryn is coming to town Sat, Dec 5 to offer 30 min photo sessions for a minimum $50 donation toward our joint effort at bringing Homes with Hope at Ten Thousand Homes. There are still a few spots left! She'll give you the CD the day you take the pics. To sign up, comment on her blogpost at http://www.lnwgallery.blogspot.com/

Dance Party Exhibit A: Lily learns to break-dance.

The "Chang Girls"... Fuller friends who taught me how to grow deeper with God in community

omlettes and blueberry pancakes... this is no joke, people.

The BACC Youth - my Home Team

Sunday night I went to talk to an incredible group of students - the Bay Area Community Church Youth Group. I knew it was going to be special when I was greeted instantly with a hug from Richie and the love and support they extended to Taylor after she sang for them.

The students are talking about giving. I've spent some time praying lately - and there's probably a post to come - in understanding what it means to Give Thanks rather than just say thanks. Almost daily, as I prepare to leave for Africa, I've felt completely overwhelmed and absolutely consumed by love. You know, that kind of love that's so big the word "thank you" just doesn't do it justice.

So God is nudging at me to give thanks. Some sort of reciprocal act of service - a way to worship in action. This is only a thought in process... but the process was certainly churning when I was with the students. I think it's because their hearts were churning too. And they were so receptive to it.

We did a really fun activity together - Ashley, one of their leaders, broke them into two groups and gave them a stack of moving supplies: A box, a roll of tape and newspaper. She told them they had 5 minutes to create a home.

It was hilarious! And awesome. Our discussion afterward helped us to understand that we all understood the instructions and could at least come up with some of the basic components of home - shelter, space, comfort and protection - because we've experienced these things before in our own lives.

In a time of giving thanks, it's helpful to remember that we cannot give what we haven't received. Almost all of us have experienced home in the tangible, lay-your-head-to-rest sense of the word. It's always a wondeful gift to share your home - one I've particularly appreciated in moving into my cousins' home.

But some of us have also experienced Home in Christ. Believing in the love of a God SO big and SO deeply in love with you that He sent a perfect son to a broken earth to sacrifice himself so that you can be called righteous... so that you can be adopted into the perfect and eternal Kingdom of God. Now THAT is what we should really be giving this season.

Thank you, BACC Youth, for making me feel so welcome and taking on this trip as your own. I believe that you will rise up as leaders in our church - giving the body a lesson in giving out of the purity and passion of your hearts. I was definitely inspired by you and can't wait to see the difference you make for the Kingdom - one brick at a time!

Goodbyes, see you laters and all the things in between...

A new season has begun - not the kind of season that comes packaged nicely with a title and traditions like the holiday season. This is a time for changes and transitions in which I can't see ahead to the end.

This week has been an absolute upheaval. I said goodbye to my neighbors and, with the help of some amazing family and friends, moved out of my apartment and in with my cousins, Carli, Brooks and Baby Ella. My belongings are scattered amongst several houses and a corner of a storage unit, where they will remain until post-African adventures back in the states.

I've also begun saying goodbye to the clients I work with as a Hurricane Ike Crisis Counselor. Since I've come back to Texas (just in time for Hurricane Ike), I've spent over a year investing in a community of incredible survivors and walking through recovery of others trying to figure out what "home" means when everything they know has been washed away. I've learned so much and have been thankful for every moment.

Saying goodbyes as a counselor is a lot different from most goodbyes. When I leave for Africa, I'll tell you, "See you on Skype!" "I can't wait to share with you when I get home." "See you in July when you come visit!" or just a plain ole "I love you and will see you when I return."

Saying goodbye to clients is a goodbye that doesn't come attached with an "I'll see you later." Most of us don't really know what to do with the thought of a permanent absence, so we just don't think about it. I've been amazed, however, in what I've learned from goodbye.

Goodbye gives us time to reflect on where we started and where we've come. Time to think about the ways we are impacted by others. Time to think about what we've learned together. Time to be thankful for one another and express it genuinely. Time to begin to accept life's inevitable changes with the grace and love that comes with them.

I'm thankful to have been influenced and have learned from so many people. And I'm thankful to take a moment now for reflection and to decide that, even as I prepare for the "see you laters", I will be more intentional in expressing love, gratitude and sharing experiences with people.

My prayers are for intimacy, authenticity and connection with family, friends and community as I prepare for a "goodbye for now".

Time and Treasures and Talents, Oh My!

It's a good thing I like talking.

I've had so many incredible and often surprising opportunities to share with people about going to Africa in the past week. I've stared visiting the life groups of my church, Bay Area Community Church, this week to invite my community to join with me. I have been encouraged and supported in unique ways by each group. Thank you!

In sharing about my heart for this trip, I often talk about my "God box" - how it's so easy for me to try to coneptualize God or try to understand Him from within the box or the compartment I keep Him in. When I traveled to Kenya in 2007, however, the bottom of that box fell out. I was taken back by how BIG God is. I know we sing about it in worship, high-five about it in youth group, and AMEN about it in church... but, I'm talking a BIG, BIG GOD. A God so big that all you can understand is that He is Good. He is Love. And He is SO BIG that all we can really wrap our heads around is He's too big for a box and much too big to wrap our heads around.

An unfathomable good, an unfathomable love, an immeasurable creator that is so completely captivated by the smallest details of your daily life and what makes you you.

While preparing to share with my church members about traveling to Africa, I met with Pastor Steven Yoes to share my heart for the church joining with me for this trip. He responded with a phrase that has resounded in me ever since. He passionately committed to walking with me in this calling and called the church to join with their "time, treasures and talents".

Hmm.

I automatically thought of prayer, blog-checking and such for time, and financial support and brick-buying for treasures... but talents?

Get ready for it. Because the talents are a-flowin'!

I have been awe-struck this week by the ways people have offered support by lending me their talents. God is pulling out all the stops here, people. And we have one creative Savior! I love the ways He has created His body.

A few examples: Bud and Ashley from church have suggested hosting a Mystery Dinner Theater as a fundraiser. (How cool is that?) And Loryn has offered her incredible gift of photography as a gift to families interested in taking Christmas pictures, offering all proceeds to go toward our Africa fund. (YAY!) And a co-worker, Carey, is creating a space for Ten Thousand Homes at her wedding (YES, her wedding!) by making a donation toward my trip in lieu of wedding favors and distributing my blog information.

As His works are coming to fruition, I feel my heart overflowing with gratitude. I was just thinking about the depth and breadth of how this process of sharing, fundraising, and praying together has been such a direct reflection of Christ in my life. I go around talking about bringing Home and Hope - loving, knowing and supporting God's children. And I have never felt more loved, known and supported.

Thank you just isn't big enough to communicate my gratitude. My prayer is that you experience ten-fold the love, support, care, encouragement and hope you have blessed me with.

To-Do or Not-To-Do...

What a busy week! I've been finding myself getting all swirly and lost in the details of how to raise support and share about Africa WHILE trying to figure out the details about moving out and moving on. What furniture goes where, when to meet with who, how to get this to there... You know the drill.

If I made a list, I think there would be at least 438 things to-do on it.

I also have felt a lull in what has been nothing but an exciting ride thus far. God has moved in so many incredible ways toward directing my path to South Africa that I've stayed on an adrenaline-powered spiritual roller coaster. The to-do's slowed me down, along with feeling the burden of a short amount of time and a lot of money to raise. This week I felt some discouragement by family members worried my fundraising being an inconvenience or a burden. I realized it was really starting to get to me and infiltrate my heart despite being so so so sure that God is my Provider.

I saw down with full intentions of pouting with Jesus this morning. And boy did I pout. I worried, wondered, and worshiped. (Thank you Fall Back for an extra hour to make all of these W's possible.)

I told Him I was completely overwhelmed. I was worried I had been reduced to being inconsiderate and childishin the eyes of the family members I look up to and care about the most. It was weighing so heavily on me.

He reminded me that, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." (Mark 6:4) Jesus understood. I was talking to the right guy.

I certainly don't belong on the same page as Jesus and don't necessarily command a lot of honor, but Jesus understands not being understood. And He went there anyway... all the way to the cross.

When I was coming out of church, I received a text message telling me someone was going to buy me a video camera... And then someone gave me 100 stamps for support letters and told me she'd provide all the stamps I need for support letters. I felt like God was meeting me in the overwhelmed and telling me He is SO GOOD and SO BIG, He's already working on the details.

I'm astounded in His presence.

I would still like to ask for your prayers for financial provision. I am raising $9000 for my trip in January. So far, I have $360. Please pray that there is ample time to get the word out, bless people by doing so, and raise an abundance in funds.

Thank you so much. God bless you.