That darn red button

So the transmission of my car finally gave up and I have been car-less. It's one of those opportunities for God to show up like crazy! And that He did:

• Car broke down
• I cried, then realised this is not helping
• Texted a bunch of people and asked for prayer
• Got offered about 7 rides within 10 minutes
• Took the one that included a free tow!
• Cried again (Still NOT helping)
• Prayed some more
• Peace
• Friends gave me A BUNCH of money towards repair or 'new' car - my choice
• Still without car and lots of places to go.. (Prison and mentoring appointment!!)
• Walked into a meeting and told 2 people that I didn't quite know how to make those appointments
• Both offered me their car.

And thus comes the story of that darn red button...
I was driving my friend's car (a Mercedes - got some brownie points with some of the officers at prison) and was talking to her about the red SOS button. And she said I should totally push the button! She said it wasn't quite what you'd expected.
But in the background her son was yelling that I should wait until I am back at their place, so he can be there.
So I was like, cool... I'll wait!
I got to their house, got him to sit in the car with me and in awe I push that button.... A little flap opened just like on a rocket ship or something to reveal another red button underneath! It was magical... And not quite what I expected.

And the red button... Well, it looked intriguing. So I asked her (13 year old son): 'Should I push the red button?' And he said (what every 13 year old would say): YES!!

So I did! (I don't need much encouragement)

At first nothing much happened. But then we heard some faint noise that was coming closer. Within minutes we were engulfed in bright white light from above, as a helicopter was hovering over us.
A rope ladder fell out and and what seemed to be a Navy Seal climbed down to us. I was slightly panicked, but tried to remain calm.
The 13 year old was laughing hysterically and my friend was still on the phone. I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen, but I started saying my good bye's to my friends in my head.










OK, so I basically just managed to start the call with the Mercedes Onstar equivalent... Oops!



In other news... I would still appreciate any prayer for this situation. I probably still need another $1,000 to get my old car going again and have it safe. And if I go for a 'new' car, then I need the deal of the century... it's decision time! :)

Heilig Abend aka Christmas Eve

When I was growing up Christmas for me was always Christmas Eve. Christmas Day (and Boxing Day) were just days off to play with your toys you just got.

But Christmas Eve was THE day. We would get up in the morning, decorate the Christmas tree, listen to Christmas music, split off and wrap presents and then in the afternoon or early evening we would go to church.

There were 2 churches we could go to... The more modern, but small one with heating! (You were at least warm, but if you didn't come an hour before, you'd have to stand!) Or the 800 year old church: more seats, but NO heat. So I still associate church at Christmas with sitting in a freezing cold old building.

After church we'd go home and have dinner. Something easy, since my Mum is a firm believer in hanging out with the family instead of with the pots and pans. So sometimes we just had potato salad and bratwurst. But that's Christmas.

After dinner we'd wash up and then all go upstairs. Except for Mum, but I never questioned that. It was amazing to have some Dad time. He would totally play with us some crazy games.

And then the bell sounded. Our cue to come downstairs. So we'd grab the presents we had for the parents and siblings and ran down. The door opened and we would see the Christmas tree lit up for the first time (with real candles... It's not just that I'm old. Nowadays I still know a lot of people who put real candles on their tree for Christmas Eve. And lights for the rest of the time)

There was a little pile of presents for each one of us (we weren't into huge piles) and we would wish each other Merry Christmas and then open our presents. It was quite the magical time. :)

Let's fast forward to now... I've had quite a few Christmases without my family and that's fine. It's a choice I made. Oh, and let's face it... In my little story there I left out all the frustrations and tears that happened as well.. Family is no picnic and you know it.

Anyway, to this day Christmas Eve can be a little shaky for me. There might or might not have been some times when I ended up being a blabbering mess on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve I like having people around, eating together and having a good time. It helps keep me sane and happy. And it's fun as well.

So now I celebrate Christmas Eve with church and then food and friends. It works amazingly well for me and I have these great friends who invite me over to their family Christmas Eve dinner (me being the only one who's not related to anyone) and they even let me come late and un-showered from a gig and they feed me.

I get to sit there and enjoy all the good things about families and have a smile about the not so fun things in families (believe me, the not so fun things in family can make for pretty good entertainment when you're not related!)

Well, that is my Christmas Eve. How do you celebrate?

If you know me and like me...

Last week I was hanging out with a couple friends and some dude walked in. Now, I knew that dude and had spent some time together with that dude. Which meant I knew that he's really fun to hang out with, but that's about it. 

After said dude left both my friends got all weird and talked about 'sparks flying' and that 'he likes me'. 

I was ready to rip their heads off! (for realz)

I guess I get it! These friends are super happy with their significant others and want that same deal for me. 

BUT....

Just because some dude in the right age group walks in who appears to be single is NO reason to go all gaga over this.

And I am serious in this matter. 

I LOVE JESUS! And I don't want to be together with a dud who doesn't. So the next time you're around me and some dude walks in, would you PLEASE ask the most important question:

Does he like Jesus? Will that dude lead you closer to Jesus? 

And if I go 'Uhm, yeah, well... I think so' please do something! Because that is a crappy response. And I probably know deep inside that he's a dud. So do something! Get me out of there! 

And please know that I am actually happy in my current state of being. I'm totally ok with it. Jesus and me have talked about this. Extensively. We are cool! 

Thanks! Now keep being an awesome friend. 

It's not your fault...

It's not your fault. 

But it is your problem. 

Let me explain:
You are booked on a flight. The flight gets cancelled due to mechanical issues with the plane.

It's not your fault. But it's still your problem. 

Now translate that into the life of an 'average' student here in Las Vegas. Let's just look at ONE aspect of their life. Are you ready?

Parents are split up. 

What's the big deal? Well, let's look at that situation (which is NOT AT ALL their fault, and yet it is still their problem.

These students often have to deal with moving twice every week to a different house and neighborhood.  

They have to deal with 2 completely different set of rules in each house. Most likely one is more relaxed than the other. 

They also have to pretend that these aspects of their lives are fine. If they don't, they run the chance of losing whatever contact they had with one parent.  

They have to deal with the fact that most likely the parents are not able to hide their anger and disgust with each other well. 

I reckon that these students have to deal with a lot. And yet, none of this is actually their fault. 

So it comes with no surprise to me that some students are not that good at dealing with all those issues.

While we can't fix all the problems in the world, we could do well in helping students understand that there are things in their lives that are not their fault and then help them navigate through their problems.

It just means we are there for them. 

We do life together. 

We encourage them when things are hard 

and cheer for them when things go well. 

In the words of a famous show manufacturer: Just do it!

Voice mail to Text - not quite there yet!

When I left a VM for my friend LINDSEY (not Lenny) the other day, here are some excerpts of what she received as a text. My comments are in big!

Hello hi lenny (it's LINDSEY!)

 @#$% hello happy for you (I DID NOT SWEAR!!) 

...black oh my gosh that's like wow (I sound like a 13 year old girl here)... of course I also miss ... little skin you know when you guys do and I just need you announcement of my it's ready and dave anywhere (say whaaaat? I don't even know what I'm talking about!)

 tomorrow hi my name is in ... (new name coming, apparently! Surprise, surprise!)

 time for you because I really it's ricky ... that is absolutely amazing ... sorry I'm cool yang ... noel but it's it's like wow . (I am definitely cool 'yang')

 rock up there with the top (I said TUB! stupid thing can't get the accent right!)

(Oh, this following bit certainly sounds like me...) you should pick like it was amazing and I not the person you probably still remember that I'm not the person I can pick up right virtual after here or anything I usually have people ... (WHAAAAT?)

I might have actually picked up like a little bit of but wow  (I think I certainly picked up a little bit of WOW) something I've changed out but you and was amazing I'm just charging talking about they just told us 92 get take about 1040 right he it's you know it's that I made that 

Yeah, this made sense! Not sure how I even chose Voice Mail to text. But THIS text made their night! I think they might have even peed their pants a little reading this out loud. No wonder... I apparently swore at them in the greeting! :)

Write a parable ... I dare you!

I've been reading through Mark 4 lately and have been quite inspired by the different parables Jesus was speaking about. I mean, that guy was good at relating the point he wanted to make to where his audience was at.

So I thought, I should try and rewrite some of these parables to make the same point as Jesus, but to make me understand it better and write as if I am talking to someone right now. Here.

So here you go. This is my updated version of the parable of the sower in Mark 4.

The kingdom of God is like recording a song and putting it on itunes for sale. Many people will look at it and then move right on because they’ve never heard of the artist before.
Then there are those who click on it and listen to the preview of the song. They think it’s ok, but not good enough to spend $1.29 on it.
Then some other people will listen to the song and download it. But then something else catches their attention and the song gets buried on their ipod and is maybe played twice in the year.
Still others buy the song, put it on their ipod and play it repeatedly. They don’t just know the words to that song, but have fallen in love with the artist as well. 

What do you think?

And I would LOVE to read your parables as well! Pick one, write one, send one. (jackiegotmail (at) gmail (dot) com)

the truth about camp or how awesome is cottage cheese?

I went to camp:

• My feet smelled BAD once released from the confines of the sneakers.  
• I ate cottage cheese. every. single. day. 
• I met a bunch of new people (80% of them were junior high age. Seeing as this was a junior high camp with 450+ junior high students, this is ok!)
• I waved my amazing YELLOW blow up 'foam' finger.... (and consequently lost it. Note to self: Do not lend foam fingers to junior high boys)
• I had a mohawk for 'mohawk day'. 
• I spent half a day on the ground waiting for someone to rescue me, because someone had the great idea to have 'attack day' where everybody shoots (pretend) blow darts at you and I just plain out suck at that game and got hit a lot.
• I got wet while kayaking, coz I didn't want to sit in the back. Instead I sat in the middle and almost SUNK the freaking boat. Not a boost for self esteem, but funny nevertheless. 
• I slept in a cabin and was surrounded by lots of dirt, rocks and trees. Some would call it beautiful. I call it nature. 
• I was part of the yellow team. We didn't win. 

It sounds ok, doesn't it? Not great (apart from the cottage cheese) but just ok...

But then you add the God factor. The God factor happens when you present these 450+ junior high students with truth.
The truth about self esteem and what they might see in the mirror (ugly, fat, etc) and how God sees them (beautiful, created with love).
The truth about not having to do everything on your own. Giving up the struggle and trusting God to take it. Surrendering things like drug use or addiction, family problems, peer pressure, alcoholism and more completely to God. (yes, those are all real problems junior high kids struggle with. I suggest you start talking with your kid!)
And the truth about community. The answer to the question of what comes after camp? What happens when I fall back? What happens when I get abused again? 

When you add the God factor to camp it takes camp from ok to mind blowingly great. It makes cottage cheese fade into the background and helps me see the students for who they are. And it gives me hope for this next generation. They can change the world. They will tell others about Jesus. As long as I will tell them! 

Happenings over the past few months

RUSH—

 Rewriting Ur Story Here:

RUSH is the youth version of God Behind Bars and what I’ve worked on for the past few months.

It’s about introducing youth to Jesus through a weekend worship experience on the inside; helping them deal with life’s issues through Freedom (Celebrate Recovery for students) and then disciple them when they get out through our mentorship program (Project 22)

We provide mentors who walk with them, check up on them, do stuff together and care. The mentorship program includes things like sports camps, rap/dance studio and more. It’s amazing!

We are getting ready!!!

Twelve volunteers came and got trained (a full day operation) and we were able to video the training to be shown in Vegas, as the center we are working with is 3 hours away.

Needs to be able to launch (please pray)

· Equipment such as projector, screen, sound system etc.

· Games such as Basketball hoop, balls etc

· About 20 more volunteers

My Day with God

At one point I realized I was quite worried about a number of things and to get some perspective I was able to take a day and spend it with God at Mt Charleston. (I’m really blessed that I can even do that kind of thing)

It was a great day filled with good talks with Jesus, new ideas, sorting out my head and gaining new insights and perspective.

Things I learned:

· Psalm 91 still blows my mind

· Things are not as bad as I sometimes think they are

· I came out of the day with a renewed passion for God and going deeper with Him.

Random exciting stuff in short:

· We just recently trained 30 volunteers (getting ready to reach more inmates)

· We also partnered up to put on a huge sports day for kids and youth

· We’re close to launching another adult campus in Colorado

· RUSH launched in the youth unit at the jail 3 weeks ago!!

Random stuff I do and love

· My church small group rocks

· My Junior High Small group has been challenging, but it’s been good. I get to hang out with JH girls… How much better can it get?

· Love going to Midnight Hockey games (game starts at midnight. Oh and I LOVE the mascot!)

· I’m part of the medical team at church again. Because I can and I love it

Random stuff I need or want:

· German Bread (it’s just THAT good)

· Learn Spanish for real

· $$$ for my flight to Germany ($1,500!!! Yikes!)

· Be more positive (that’s a need AND a want)

Website you should check out sometime:

www.godbehindbars.com and www.churchwithinmates.com

Cyber hang outs: 

twitter.com/jackie/doyle and facebook.com/jackie.doyle and jackieinvegas.tumblr.com 

________________________________________________

Yes, you can support me:

For  online giving go to: www.godbehindbars.com and find the ‘donate now’ button on the bottom.
 Make sure you put my name in the comments and questions box to ensure it goes towards me. You can set it up to be automatic and it sends you an email every time it gets taken out of your account.

For 'old school' giving send checks to:

God Behind Bars

c/o Jackie's support

129 W Lake Mead Parkway

Suite 22

Henderson NV 89015

USA

If sending a check please  make it out to God Behind Bars and  attach a note stating: For Jackie

If you have any questions about why, how or how much you can send an email to jackiegotmail (at) gmail (dot) com

Prank Time - It's April Fools!

Jeff and me were in the kitchen when Danielle walked in.. 
' Jeff is a dirty rotten dog!!'
I couldn't believe these words had really come out of Danielle's mouth. 


Now you should know that Jeff and me rent rooms from Danielle and her husband Steve. They are the sweetest and most generous couple ever and we both love living there. 


Danielle grew up in the South and today we have company coming. That means that for the past 2 weeks we have done nothing else but organising, tidying and cleaning the house from top to bottom. 
Today was the day... They would finally get here...


'Jeff is a dirty rotten dog!' 


I smiled. I figured this could be fun. But I wasn't sure what had happened. 


Well, apparently Danielle was in a (very important) meeting today when she received the following text message from Jeff:

Someone left the stove on and the kitchen caught on fire. Maria (the housekeeper) got here before it got out of hang and we're just waiting for them to finish I guess.. They just now gave me my phone that was in my room. They said there's probably going to be a lot of smoke damage and that we should probably stay somewhere else for a couple of days for health risks!!
....
Before you have a heart attack right now I should probably tell you that I'm just kidding....

Yeah, that was the text she got in the middle of a meeting. And that is also why she came into the office saying that Jeff is a dirty rotten dog. 
The world makes sense again. 


Now that I have stopped laughing I thought I'd post this so that you guys can enjoy a good laugh...


Slightly mean, but funny prank! 

My year in pictures

Have a look at all the things 

that made me happy in 2011. 

So thankful. And those are not even all

Christmas and New Years 2011