One Way!!

Tonight we are having our first One Way of 2007 and I am fired up! I can't wait to come together with all the campuses to worship. It's always such an awesome time! This service begins a 40 day countdown to Easter. Over the next 40 days we will reach out to the inner-city through WOW Jam, have tremendous services with Christine Caine (including Chick Nite March 5), watch the HPC Arena begin to progress and host many other events. This is a crucial time for HPC and we need to be in prayer throughout these 40 days. I believe it will be a season like no other. God is blessing and people are being reached!

Also, from tonight til Friday, the our staff will be hosting the "HPC Experience". 28 pastors and staff from churches all over the country are coming here to learn how we do what we do. What an honor that people would travel so far to learn from a church that's only 14 years old!! We are so humbled that God has chosen to use us in this way.

P.S. Today is Chris' first day at his new job! Everyone pray, pray, pray!!!!

Finished book, new opportunities!

So I finished The Barbarian Way less than a week after I started it. I really think it changed my life... I will not settle for domesticated Christianity anymore! Just call me "Barbarian"!!!!

Also, after months of struggling financially and wondering about Chris' job future, God totally hooked him up with a job with a huge future. Chris will be working for AppOne, Lee Domingue's company. What an opportunity! They are really sticking their neck out for Chris, and I know he is going to step up and get the job done with excellence and humility. Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness!

Remembering an amazing man....

I just left the funeral for Warriner Siddle, an incredible man of God. He was never satisfied- He always wanted more out of life and wanted to give everything inside Him to Jesus. He lived the way I hope to live- the barbarian way. Warriner received a new liver seven years ago and he thought of it as a second chance at life. He went to Africa on a mission trip and almost died because of complications between the transplant and a necessary shot he had to get. His wife, Ms. Trudy, says he had 9 lives. Warriner was a world record setting, gold medal winning power lifter. He sang in the choir, was involved in Pioneers, and helped head up Cooking for Christ. Whatever he did- he did it for Jesus and to further his Kingdom. He lived a very abundant life. He was praying for healing this year, and God gave it to him. He took him home to be with Jesus and party in Heaven. His funeral was truly a celebration of life filled with people who loved him.

Thanks for inspiring us all, Warriner. You are missed.

Being a Barbarian for Jesus

So this weekend we were able to go see my Grammy in Lake Charles. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! I have never played so many games of Crazy Eights in my life! We laughed so hard that we cried. I got some clothes, some vintage jewelry, and a new book. In the last month or so, I have read The Freedom Writers Diary and Tuesdays With Morrie. I loved both, but I have really felt that this year was my year to become a radical, bold, raw follower of Christ. I have heard great things about a book that helps to "unleash the untamed faith within", so I picked it up this weekend. I started it this morning, and right now I am a third of the way through. It's called The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus and it is INCREDIBLE!

I wanted to share a couple lines that really struck me from the pages I have read. "Jesus understood His purpose was to save us not from pain and suffering, but from meaninglessness." Can we say "STRONG"? This life isn't supposed to be peaches and cream. Amazing Christians go through intense hardships. I mean look at Paul, Stephen, and so many others. The best people on earth go through some of the most difficult trials, and sometimes God's plan is not to save us from it, but to use us through it. So many pastors preach prosperity, like it's just something that comes along with loving Jesus. Meanwhile, there are missionaries in third world countries being killed by witch doctors. Jesus called us to live a dangerous life- I mean do we really think he died for us so we could be constantly comfy?

The second line was this:"Have we become so refined and so civilized that the benefits of our faith have become more precious and more valuable to us than the Benefactor of our faith?... Rather than living a long life, are you willing to live a life worth living?" Thank you, Jesus, for forgiving me when I put my life, my routine, my schedule, my comfort above You. Though I want to live a long life and have had many years of ministry when I die, my life will have been worth nothing if I ignore the calling God has placed on me because it is uncomfortable! Leaving my family and friends to go to Africa scares the daylights out of me, but what scares me more is not living the destiny God has placed in me...

God, make me raw, uncivilized, passionate, bold, hungry, and barbaric for You!!!

Linking

So, I have added several links on my sidebar. I highly recommend all the blogs that I have links to. You should check 'em out. They are such a blessing to me. And thanks to Dan "the blog man" Ohlerking, who finally got my sitemeter fixed on here. I never could keep track of whether people were actually reading or not (since NO ONE leaves me any comments!!)

Also, don't forget about Late Nite tomorrow night. Mike is talking about the man on the mat. No, not Chris Matt... another mat guy.

Sunday we are going to see my Grammy!!! I am SO excited. Chris got a day off (praise Him), so we are taking Sunday and Monday to go see her. Mom is coming, too, which is great since she's been in the Bahamas for a week. I have been going CRAZY without her! I guess I need to get used to it if I really wanna spend time in Africa in a couple years.

Ok, see you tomorrow night!

Cool Valentine's Day Facts

FUN FACTS:

-According to American Greetings, Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s (um...even though America didn't exist until 1776, so maybe they mean the Americas?). In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.
-An estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)
-Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

HISTORY: WHO WAS VALENTINE?

-One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
-Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

New hair :)

So, I just chopped off all my hair and I love it! Check out the pictures... hope you like it, too!

Let's talk about faith... faith...faith!

You remember that song? It's says let's talk about faith faith faith, or gotta have faith faith faith, or something. Anyway, this weekend at Late Nite Pastor Mike will deliver a strong message on faith. You won't wanna miss it- it's something we all could use a bigger dose of in life. Apparently he informed the congregation at Life U last night that you're not a dangerous Christian until you've been to Late Nite on Saturday night at 7:30. So, I send out the same challenge to you! Be hardcore for Jesus and come see us this weekend!

P.S. Tomorrow is K-lo's (aka Kristin Rentz, aka future Mrs. Thibodeaux) 25th birthday! Make sure you tell her happy birthday and remind her how much you love her :)

The word of the day is.....

FAITHFUL! That word has just been sticking out like crazy! This week Pastor Dino and Pastor Mike have both told Chris how faithful he is to the House. Today, someone told me the same thing. And as always, God has been so faithful to us. We have a little extra cash this month again and we are able to bless others. He's just been hookin' us up bigtime.

Also, I wanted to share something from staff meeting yesterday. Lance LeBlanc (Annex Campus Pastor, Creative Team Director and HPC Goofball) taught and all of his fourteen points hit hard! We all got rolled up. One thing that hit me hard was the connection between the tithe and my paycheck. He was telling us to be grateful for what we make and not complain... he brought up the point that there's thousands of people who work their buns off and then give their money to the church so that we can do what we all LOVE to do. It doesn't seem fair... so many work blue collar jobs, labor all day, some work 60 hours a week- then they come to church on Sunday and give God His 10% and part of that goes to us. I am so grateful that I get to do this everyday. Plus, God has given us such a special calling. I pray that I never ever take it for granted, and if I do- someone roll me up again!