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?

Conversation in Jail - Can Jesus fix murder?

I wish you could meet my juvies and see the things I see.

A couple weeks ago this happened:

'Miss, can Jesus fix murder?'

I was blown away by this question because it was so raw and honest. So much depended on the answer. There was so much fear in it. So many 'what if's'. It was one of the best questions I've ever been asked.

I love that I serve a God who said 'YES' to all of our sin.

What happened next was that I explained again what Jesus has done for us and how it is available to us. And then I saw it...

I saw the guy who had asked the question out of the blue quietly close his eyes and murmur a prayer. He accepted Christ that day.

Thank you Lord for saying YES to us.

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! 

Thankful

Last night I had a bit of a crisis and tweeted 'Officially freaking out about the Germany trip'. After a bit of back and forth, where I explained a little as to why and what it boils down to (It's really a trust in God issue), I got this tweet back:

@jackie_doyle: Maybe time to remember how many times He's come through for you in times past. That's   what I do when faced with something big...

Sometimes I have the best friends ever, even though I haven't met them.
Since I am QUITE aware that I could be working on a list of ALL God has done and provided for me for months, I figured I would just limit myself to this year: 2012
In no particular order:

Had my car fixed in January ($400+)
Still very thankful for said car, which was a complete gift of God
Paid my taxes. On time.
Got my gas tank filled in April THREE times for free. (I have one supporter who fills it twice a month, which is SO awesome. But the third time was a HUGE blessing and bonus)
I got to go to kINdSOMNIA. Love that my church is able to offer going to those kind of events for free for leaders. It's really nice.
Finally used my Christmas Groupon bucks and booked a yoga experience I really liked. Not enough to become a member, but at least it wasn't scary.
Right now I love my Groupon place where I can swim and lounge at the pool. Although their sales technique sucked.
I finished my blanket. (I crocheted it and it took almost 6 months to finish and many, many skeins of yarn. An estimate in cost is about $75 for the blanket... It's REALLY big. And I couldn't tell you how many skeins I used, because I buy them one by one.)
My phone is completely 100% sponsored which is HUGE!!! (Not the phone - the blessing!)
More than a month ago I started going into the youth unit at the jail and I LOVE it.
LOVE my friends and all the crazy stuff we do together

Looking at this list definitely helps me see how much God is for me and not against me. And this is just a 5 minute brainstorm of what God has done in the last 4 months.

Thankful....

Youth in Jail

Every Saturday I get to share with youth in jail. These guys are amazing. And yet, they are bad. Very bad. But so amazing. 
Here are some of my favourite moments from just this last week:

Miss? Who's Hosanna? (while watching the worship DVD) 

Me: How do you make friends?Them: We beat them up, check if they have money in their wallets and then usually we become friends. (totally serious about that. Now I'm thinking I might try this method at church this weekend!?) 

Miss, why doesn't God want to look at us? (question while I'm trying to explain that God is holy and the need for Jesus. Apparently I am not doing a good job at that)

I usually walk out of there puzzled.  And then I look back through the glass door, see them smiling and waving at me and they seem so happy when I smile and wave back. Totally love what I do. Totally worth every weird and awkward moment. You know... The ones that I can't publish here! :)

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