Real Fusion

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the host of Real Fusion, Devin Delozier and that interview aired yesterday Oct. 17. If you have a chance, check it out at Real Fusion and go to show archive for Oct. 17 if it doesn't come up on the main page.

Meet "Rebekah"

On Sept. 1, 2007 I had the honor of meeting my "namesake" Rebekah. It all goes back 4 months ago when I met Rebekah's mom, Kumba, while sidewalk counseling. I volunteer at an abortion clinic to speak to young women about alternatives to aborting their babies. Knowing that there was one other person out there in the world that cared enough to help was what Kumba needed to make the decision to keep her baby...so for the past several months of her pregnancy we developed a friendship and I was able to help her get back on her feet and meet others who helped her in a variety of ways. Finally, the day arrived and I received the call from Kumba at @ 10:45 pm..."Your baby's here"...it made my heart so incredibly happy to actually know I played a role in this baby girl's arrival into the world. Over the weekend that she was in labor, Greg and I played Auntie & Uncle to Kumba's other daughter, three year old Ruthie...she kept us on our toes, needless to say :-) We brought Kumba and the baby home from the hospital to my parents where my mom, former nurse practitioner, helped with the baby so Kumba could get some much needed rest. As we gave Rebekah her first bath I couldn't help but be amazed at the whole process I witnessed the past few months. From a broken girl I met on a sidewalk in front of a clinic, to a beaming new mom with a beautiful baby girl she decided to name after me...God is good!

Halogen Hamburger/Hotdog Hangout

Not to show you up Devin, but our house not only had the hamburgers but the hotdogs too...and should I mention five different types of ice cream treats...For the month of June, Halogen church decided to have two different locations people could hang out at after church. Of course there was our house and the Deloziers opened up theirs too. The announcement Devin gave at church said we were "simply" having hamburgers while his house was going to have a "hot dog bar"... my neighbors came over with a whole box of hot dogs and buns from a BBQ previous that day and donated them to our cookout. Greg was the master BBQ front man while I served potato salad, BBQ baked beans, chips, cherries & grapes, washed down with some soda's and an ice cream to boot. As always it was a good time of fellowship and friends although we did miss seeing some of the usual faces that were enjoying the evening at the other house church. It was exciting to hear that over 50 people attended the Delozier's home and we had close to thirty! I think that was more than the head count at church :-)

Greg...my superstar!

Greg has a debut on Real Fusion. For those of you who never got to see him back in his baseball days this will give you a small taste...he should have gone pro I tell you...and I'm not being biased ;-) To see him in action, go to the archive of shows for Wed. May 23rd. "Turfburn". Enjoy!

Crossroads Community Purity Conference

This past week I had the opportunity to speak at Crossroads Community Church in Michigan. Angela (who used to be our youth pastor here in Cali) is the youth pastor at this church and invited me out to be the keynote speaker at their first annual purity conference. I had the most amazing time while I was there. I flew in thurs. evening and had all day fri to prepare my notes and my mind on what I felt God wanted me to convey to these young girls. It was interesting b/c most of what I had planned to say was scrapped that day. I really felt God was leading me to a whole different direction. The conference was all day Sat. It started out with a fashion show titled "Modest is Hottest" and showed the different ways young women can still be fashionable and God honoring. That was followed up by an all girl worship band and then I had a one hour session based on the theme verse I Tim. 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity". We shared lunch in a beautifully decorated room of the church complete with a chocolate fountain. After lunch the girl's broke up into different "breakout" groups led by different people in the church. One was for the moms and mentors on helping their young ladies guard their hearts, one was lead by Angela's husband Jared on a guys perspective, one by Sharon (owner of several fitness centers) on positive self image, and Angela led one on creating/setting boundaries. We met back up in the sanctuary for more worship and I finished the day with another hour long session focusing on emotional/sexual purity. Each lady was invited to the stage to pick out a china plate that had the verse II Tim. 2:20 which talks about some dishes in the master's house are used for noble purposes some for for ignoble. We are like china plates in the master's house, set apart for his most noble purposes. The plates were to be a reminder to each young lady that she is a precious treasure set apart from the things of this world and when times get difficult in remembering that truth I encouraged them with the plate and verse to be ready for God's most noble purposes by remaining set apart. It was a powerful day, I had a wonderful time meeting the ladies, sharing my testimony and more importantly God's truths for their (and my) lives. It's funny, but whenever I prepare for these events I find I'm trying to seek out the right "stuff" that will encourage/convict my "audience" but in the process God does such a work in my own life through the process of preparation. Thank you Angela for allowing me to share with your church and to spend time with you and your family! It was a blessing.

Light & Life 1st Annual Heart Gallery

I can hardly believe how fast time flies! It seems like only days ago that I suggested Halogen sponsor a Heart Gallery event and now it's already here and gone. The event was even more than I had expected. I had a wonderful troupe of friends that helped me set up the sat. before...thank you to my faithful friends, Jason & Traci, Izzy & Audrey, and my incredible husband Greg who supports me 100% in whatever I do. Fawnda, from DCFS (Dept. of children and family services) came that evening to help set up as well, thank you Fawnda for all your hard work too! Sunday morning Larry let me address the congregation on the importance of being involved in some capacity with the foster children in our own community. In the Lakewood/Long Beach area alone, there are at least 800 foster children waiting to be adopted! After speaking at both services I had a booth out front to answer questions and take sign ups for those interested in doing more. We had 47 names on that list by the end of the morning and several families were interested in specific children in the gallery. My next step is coordinating an informative class at the church where these interested families can come for more information and get signed up officially to start the paperwork in getting them approved to be host families, foster families, tutors & mentors, and some signed up to be a part of remembering the birthday's of foster children. The day continued with a special service at Halogen's evening service. Johnston Moore, a foster adoption advocate from His Children Inc., came as our special guest speaker and gave a compelling testimony of his own family (they have five children - three they adopted from foster care & two they are fostering that are in the process of being adopted) They were so inspirational and challenged the church on what they are doing to take care of the orphans. Devin followed up with a compelling message that also tied into the need for us to care for these children. During slow worship the church was asked to go around the sanctuary and read the children's biographies and look at their pictures and even more importantly, to pray for each one specifically that they would be placed in a loving family. I want to thank all of you who played a part in making LLCF Heart Gallery a hit, I can't wait to put it on again next year and bring even more attention to the need of our Foster children and what the church specifically can do to make a difference.

Mexicali 2007 Part I Pictures

Performing at the Faith Foundation

This morning I sang "Legacy" at the Faith Foundation "Creating a Balanced Life in 2007" seminar. It was a powerful morning with very dynamic speakers. One of the speakers was our very own Pastor Larry Walkemeyer from the church I attend, Light & Life Christian Fellowship. Throughout the course of the day approximately 500 people were in attendance. I followed up David Sarinana, a Century 21 owner and Pastor as he challenged the audience about their spiritual lives and what they were busy spending their time pursuing. I choose to sing "Legacy" because it follows along those same lines: For what will you be remembered? What will be your legacy? Will it be lasting or temporal? The day raised funds for helping children with disabilities. Some of the recent projects the Foundation has provided include wheel chairs for children in third world countries, and a new nusery at a local community center (see pic), which will provide respite care for families with children with disabilities. Joe & Gloria are the founders, their young daughter Faith passed away at 5 months old due to her disabilites. Even though her life was cut short it is continuing to make an impact on so many, and that is the goal of the Faith Foundation.

Faith Foundation

I am very honored to be a part of the Faith Foundation on Jan. 10th in the City of Carson. This wonderful ministry provides love and support to disabled children and their families, help to people with physical, mental and spiritual disabilities, equipment to disabled children
and adults who are in Financial need,no cost respite care to the caregivers of the disabled and hope found in Jesus Christ.