I'm crazier than you!!

This past weekend Michael and I went to New York...with no kids...just grown ups...to enjoy the New York kind of stuff. Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, double decker bus tours, Times Square, Broadway, Carmine's, China Town, Tribeca, Ground Zero...you get the picture.

The trip was for Mike's brother Ed's 40th birthday and close to his Mom's 65th so we were celebrating with a mini family reunion. Mike's sister Deb and her husband planned it all and we enjoyed the ride. We stayed in a great hotel in Tribeca, ate amazing food, saw the sights and enjoyed family time...all of us together...which doesn't happen very much.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Addam's Family on Broadway. I laughed until my sides hurt at the woman who played Grandma. Lurch was ginormous and hilarious with his grunts and groans. Nathan Lane was amazing as Gomez...as expected...and he didn't disappoint. Bebe Neuwirth (Frasier Crane's wife) was Morticia and wow...she looks great for 52. The show was an updated version based off the characters from the comic created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams. Wednesday Addams (the daughter) is growing up and she met a "normal" boy and they are in love. She is happy and no one in the family is pleased with her new found chipper attitude. One scene in particular struck me. It was the scene where she was arguing with Lucas, her soon to be husband and love interest causing all the chipperness, and she breaks out in song "I'm crazier than you!"

Well the word Crazy has come up a lot lately. Michael read Crazy Love by Francis Chan this summer. He was reading it for school. All the faculty and students in the high school were asked to read it as summer reading. Francis talks of having a crazy love for God and putting away the lukewarm ways of most Christians these days. Watch this video and get a glimpse of Chan and his book that is sure to change the Christian world as we know it...if you can even read the book. He calls us out and many don't like what he has to say. Well it came at a time when our family was on a mission trip in the Dominican Republic. Michael was there for the 3rd time. I had already said to myself that I could see us spending more time in the DR at some point. Maybe after we retired, when the kids were grown and on their own. While we were there Michael did go look at a facility that was a possible place for Fellowship of Christian Athletes to branch out in the Dominican. As I was there I imagined how it would be to live there. I loved the people. I loved their way of life. There wasn't so much STUFF. There weren't that many distractions. The kids who had nothing were thrilled to get a silly band and some candy. The girl's were excited to just get their toe nails painted.

This weekend in New York I observed 2 things. People (of all ages) are constantly in contact with something. They walk around with Blackberries and iPhones in their faces, texting and watching...barely watching the cars, taxis and buses that are whizzing by the busy streets. Talk about not texting and driving...well I think walking and texting can be just as dangerous! I know I love facebook and I am constantly on my computer researching something or editing photos. The people of the Dominican don't have that constant contact. They play baseball...a lot of baseball. They spend hours hitting bottle caps with sticks and using old milk cartons as gloves. They play in fields of sub-par conditions so no wonder they play like they do when they get to the US to play if they have played previously with poor replacements of equipment.

The other thing I noticed while watching planes take off...lots of planes, since we waited through 3 plane flights trying to get home.  As I watched the planes take off I thought there might just be more people that believe in flying in planes than believe in Jesus Christ.  They have more faith in the technology that flies a plane than having a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Although this is sad, what am I doing about it?  What can I do?  Anything?

Am I crazy?  Is it nuts for my husband to walk away from a wonderful job at a prestigious Christian school.  Is he a fool to leave after winning 3 state championships in the past 3 years?  Is it obsurd to take our son from that beautiful school and subject him to a possible inferior education in the Dominican?  Is it silly that I will give up my passion for photography and a budding photography career?  Is it crazy?  To give it all up, sell pretty much everything and walk blindly...well fly since you can't walk to the Dominican silly...and serve our Heavenly Father?  I think it is crazy to stay where I am.  I think it is crazy to have all this stuff.  To be in constant distraction.  To never know what would happen if you were brave enough to go.  Crazy to ignore the calling...to ignore the need of the people of the Dominican.  Call me crazy....because I am going!!


FCA Dominican Republic Baseball Ministry from Michael Mann (edgewarevideo.com) on Vimeo.

God Box

I recently made this box.  With so many decisions to make over the next few months, I wanted to give it all over to God.  This morning I am reading my Real Simple magazine and again I find myself sobbing.  Magazines, why do you do this to me?  Again I think I needed a good cry!  The article Inside the God Box is about the author's mother who kept not one, but about 10 God boxes and would write on anything she could find all the worries of her heart.  The sentiments were beautiful.  Always praying, for even the smallest things.  What a precious keepsake she left for her children as they found all 10 of them after she passed.  This morning I think yet again that I still have to make some boxes for my kids where I take a recipe box and with index cards write things and put them in the box.  Things like new words, funny things, milestones, wishes for them, memories, just stuff.  The perfectionist in me doesn't have the right box or enough index cards (because my husband has used all 2,000 of them to label everything in our home in Spanish).  Shame on me!  Thank you Mary Lou for reminding me that it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be.  I think the same about my photography.  It has gotten to the point that unless it is perfect it sits on my 1 Tera bite hard drive for no one to see because it is not perfect.  Thank you for the reminder that we aren't perfect, we are God's creations!  He made us just like we are!

What the HECK am I doing??!!

I have really been at peace about all of this "stuff" surrounding us leaving it all behind and moving to the Dominican Republic and saving young men. I have been extremely peaceful...almost too much! Well Friday 9.17.10 I broke.

I was in traffic and was glancing at a magazine article about a woman who had a child with down's syndrome, but she had no knowledge about it until she laid eyes on her and knew in an instant. I was bawling...and thank goodness I was in traffic, because I would not have been able to drive. So it was that article that got me started with the tears. Then I started to think...what.the.heck.are.you.doing???? Then I got mad! God why do I have to love you so much that I would give it all up because you called me to do something I KNOW is your divined will for my life?? I can see how you have orchestrated my life to this point and carefully prepared and equipped me to do this. Why do I have to be Christian, because to be honest it was easier when I didn't love you. How am I going to say goodbye to loved ones and family and be so far away. Why are you choosing ME to do this? Why. Why. Why??? I have had to tell some people lately that I knew would be difficult to tell...because they are the ones I am closest to. But I had to tell Beth this week...and we are just pretending we didn't have that conversation this week. And right now I have 2 messages into my mom...and I am TORN up!! I know it is what I need to do, but it is hard to tell those you love that you love someone more and you are following them to far away lands...for a long time, maybe forever. I can tell you this that I love the Dominican Republic. I love their simple life. I love being close to the ocean again. I love no distractions. I love your people, they are so kind! But they drive like maniacs!!

There are so many things that point to this being God's ordained plan for our life. The songs that I hear on the radio over an over just seem to be the words I need to hear. Most of those I tell are so excited (even jealous) for what we are about to do. I know it is a long way off, but June 2011 could be here before we know it and we have a lot to do before we get there. Do we rent our house or sell? How do we find homes for our older cats and our crazy dog who eats anything with stuffing? Who is going to cut and color my hair? What about getting my 6 month teeth cleanings? Lord, I don't feel called to home school my kids so how are they going to learn? I know You will give me the heart and the ability if it is needed. I have a lot of STUFF Lord for someday (ie. fabric, projects, etc) that I haven't gotten to yet, so I better get on it, or find someone who does what I do (buy a fabric with no idea what I am going to do with it just because I love it) and bless them with it. I know I will miss some things, but I know that the ones I love are a skype away or a facebook status update away from me and it is not forever.

Lord, I love you and I am willing to go where you call me, just be gentle with us because we have 2 great kids that we have to drag with us on this adventure. I know they will be fine, because they loved the DR too when we were there.

This is a song that I keep hearing and it rings true to what I am feeling right now.




rev·e·la·tion
   /ˌrɛvəˈleɪʃən/ Show Spelled[rev-uh-ley-shuhn] Show IPA
–noun
1. the act of revealing or disclosing; disclosure.
2. something revealed or disclosed, esp. a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized.
3. Theology.
a. God's disclosure of Himself and His will to His creatures.
b. an instance of such communication or disclosure.
c. something thus communicated or disclosed.
d. something that contains such disclosure, as the Bible.
4.(initial capital letter) Also called Revelations, The Revelation of St. John the Divine. the last book in the new testament; the Apocalypse. Abbreviation: Rev.