Tuesday, September 30, 2008

A Berry Special Wedding

This past weekend, I had great fun trying out a new role: wedding photographer!

Our friends Matt & Bethany tied the knot one year ago in a civil ceremony, and for their one year anniversary decided to put on a 'renewal of the vows' ceremony at the church for all their family and friends.

Though I've never done anything like this, Bethany likes my photography enough to trust me with all the pictures of her special day. And who ended up doing the videography except my very own G-Dub - together, we composed the Weston Media Package.

It surprised me how intense the day was - I didn't want to risk missing a single moment! I ended up with about 600 pictures, and though I'm certainly not close to professional, I came out with a lot of pictures I'm sure they'll be happy with.

Here are some of my favorite pics:







Monday, September 29, 2008

Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee


A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, 'Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

ht: GW Sr.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Atypically Transparent on Revelife


I submitted one of my recent posts, "Atypically Transparent" to Revelife (an online community about God, Love and the Christian Lifestyle), and I am pleased to announce they've included my piece on their site here.

Here's a snippet of what I originally wrote:

The more I've tried to devote myself to serving Him, the less I've experienced this 'feeling' of abundance, or even contentment, in my life. My theology says that God should be enough. That He IS enough. Yet, I'm having a lot of trouble reconciling that knowledge with the struggles that I'm facing. Despite my efforts to seek God and spiritual maturity, I feel like I'm missing something, and I don't even know what that thing is!

To solicit discussion, the Revelife folks added a question to the end of my post:

On a scale of 1 to 10, where do you feel like you're now in your faith- 1 being the weakest point and 10 being the strongest point?

Amazingly, the post has already been viewed 879 times and received 21 comments. I feel overwhelmingly blessed to see how many people have jumped in to encourage me and offer their prayers.

Here are some samples of comments by the Revelife readers:

"Peace isn't a reward for doing everything right and giving up possessions and being a martyr for God. It's about having a vulnerable heart and saying, "God, here's ugly old me. Let me hear you speak." And then just letting God take you through the fire."

"You don't have to be good for God to love you. Outward devotion doesn't equal peace. Ideally, our actions for God are meant to flow out of our love relationship with Him. He's your dad. If you want to, you can sit in His lap, get a hug from Him, talk to Him, feel His approval, or anything else you need. Ask Him and wait for His reply!"

"Sometimes we do so much ministry stuff, that we forget to spend time with God. We forget that God doesn't need us as if he was served by human hands. but that he is the giver and we are the receiver. We forget to acknowledge him before all things. We forget to include him in our daily activities. We forget that because of Christ our relationship has been restored, not because of anything that we have done, but because of who he is. He wants our love. He desires mercy, not sacrifice. Without him, darkness creeps in."

"God loves you. Never forget that. Even if you feel you are far from where you want to be...everything happens in its own season. Peace comes when you learn to accept yourself and your mistakes and trust God...it's a process, an ongoing one...be encouraged!"

"This is oddly the exact same thing that happened to me about a year before I left the church and no longer consider myself a christian. For years I suffered from depression and I would pray and ask god to fill me with the joy the bible says he gives to christians, and no matter who I asked they said things like god is using it to make me stronger and that sometimes he says no. I just didn't see how I could actually be a good christian, but have no way of showing that god was working in my life." (This one broke my heart)

"Go back to the basics. Just worship the Lord, in song, in the truth, in the Word, in His arms. Stop. Get in the presence of the Lord, be as Mary was... just sit at His feet. Don't get caught up in works or feelings, but get caught up in Him, because that's where the peace is from, that's where love, fullness, breakthrough, and all the good stuff comes from. We love because He first loved us. Rediscover that love, then the desire to do all the other stuff will follow."

Many thanks to my all my new friends over at Revelife; I've got some great thoughts to ponder here. God bless.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Friends of Jesus


"Friends of Jesus" is the name of a ministry in Nairobi, Kenya, that Gary and I worked with during the World Race in 2006. This is an organization headed up by Pastor Mike, a Kenyan with a great drive to share God's love with the hurting around him, especially in the slum areas of Kibera.

Pastor Mike applies his boundless energy to pastoring a church, running a nursery school, taking in street children, and traveling across the country to preach at conferences for youth. He and I have stayed in contact since my time in Kenya, and it is one of my prayers to someday make a return visit to Kenya and work alongside Pastor Mike in his ministry on a short term basis.

I am helping him get a website / blog up and running for his ministry, to share stories, pictures, and ministry updates. If you'd like to check it out, please visit the Friends of Jesus Ministries blog here.

Please leave him a comment of greetings and encouragement!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Get Blocked

Are you interested in a new game for your iPhone or iPod Touch?

My friend Joy's son has written an application for a fun game called Blocked. You can check it out or purchase it for $0.99 by clicking here.


Sometimes a quick puzzle is just what the doctor ordered. Blocked is a puzzle game you can pick up and play immediately. Let the good times roll with 100 levels of touch and drag action. Slide blocks around the playing field; sometimes a block is an obstacle, but sometimes it's your only hope for escape. Satisfaction is at your fingertips with Blocked.

Beware, Blocked is addictive, so it's the perfect game to return to again and again. Blocked conveniently keeps track of all the levels you've conquered. When you have to catch your breath it's easy to leave a puzzle and return with everything exactly the way you left it.

Your objective is to slide the blue block off the board, pushing blocks back and forth as you inch towards the goal. Clearing the path to freedom may require all your wits, and some planning! Start play on easy mode, then move up to medium and hard. Just when you think you possess the biggest Blocked brain the heat gets cranked up; because blocked doesn't stop at hard, you can also play in "harder" mode. And stake your claim as king of the castle in "hardest" mode!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Miracle in Guatemala



Read this amazing post from the blog of Brian Alonzo, a current World Racer . His squad happened to work in San Pablo, Guatemala (the same community that we worked in last July on our mission trip), and they spent some time with our very own Pastor Antonio. Here's his story about what happens when we let go of our pride and listen to God:

We all leaned in with sincere faith and waited at the feet of this woman. Our eyes fixed on escaping our own thoughts, pleading with God to help her. What happened next was a first for me. What happened next, about half of my blog subscribers will write off as something unreal. I promise to never lead my readers, friends or family astray with my own agenda and will give my truest account. I will rewind in the story a few minutes...

Pastor Antonio led our team through the streets of San Pablo, Guatemala to visit homes of people who needed prayer. We walked through a wooden entryway into the back yard of a one-room house. We were greeted by a man and quickly escorted inside. I would love to be able to say I was intent on listening to God as we entered the house, but I was not. I was distracted by an incoming text message from another contact that needed an urgent reply. As we sat around the room a woman in her late fifties began talking to us. The only one able to understand was our translator Emma. I finished sending my text around the same time the woman stopped talking. That's when Emma began explaining to the group what this woman had been talking about.

It turns out she has been having issues with her right leg. For some time now she has been having severe shooting pains that have made it difficult to walk short distances. Over time the pain has increased in intensity. The group immediately gathered around her and began praying. Three minutes into prayer I lost contact with the present. Wide-awake with my eyes closed I began having a dream. Within seconds I was in another place. Surrounded by darkness I could see this lady sitting in her bed. She was talking with two individuals, who at first glance looked very American. They were warning her of a darkness coming after her. I turned my head and behind me was a dark figure with yellow eyes coming toward the bed. In a blink of an eye I was awake. Back on the floor kneeling at the foot of this woman, my teammates still engaged in prayer. It appeared as if time had not moved forward. Then the struggle began.

What did I just see? Did I just fall asleep? Did I really see this or did I just imagine it?

Then it happened. Within my own thoughts emerged a thought not my own.

"Ask her if she has been having dreams."

My first reaction to this foreign request was doubt. I made this whole thing up. This must be my own thought. Then I began feeling very uncomfortable at the thought of asking this woman is she had been having dreams.

The request began intensifying.

"ASK HER IF SHE HAS BEEN HAVING DREAMS."

My next reaction was based solely out of pride. What if I look stupid? If I'm just making this up and ask this woman about her dreams, how would that make me look? Then another thought emerged separate and foreign from my own, "So what if you look stupid. If that's all you have to lose then it's probably something you should lose anyway. Ask her if she's been having dreams." At this point I was a flood of mixed pride, doubt, fear, and confusion. The only clear thing I could grab hold of was the voice not my own. The steady request for something outside of myself. In a moment of self-absorption I was still hearing the voice of God. So I did what any other pride driven, doubt casting, fear feeling person would do when God speaks... I listened.

I quickly stopped the prayers of my team and look straight ahead to our translator.

"Can you ask her if she has been having dreams?"

Emma gave me a funny look and then began asking this woman my silly little question. The woman responded in Spanish for what seemed to be ten minutes. All of us were waiting to hear the translation. My pride, doubt, and fear had purchased front row tickets to my matinee of humiliation and the curtain was about to draw. The lady finished and then it started. Emma began translating and in moments I was in tears.

The answer to the question was, "Yes, I had a dream a few months ago, right before my leg started to hurt."

Emma then began describing the dream.

"In her dream she was visited by two Americans. They spoke with her at great length and warned her of someone who was coming to hurt her."

I was amazed!!! After she finished translating I noticed that the only difference between her dream and the vision I saw was the dark figure with yellow eyes. I told the group and Emma what I saw and immediately began piecing things together. This leg injury had more to do with a spiritual attack than just a physical ailment. At that instance we began praying again. This time all focused on praying against the darkness that was causing this pain. During this prayer a sudden peace began filling the room. I looked up and saw a smile on the woman's face. Everything was changing right before our eyes. We ended our prayers and stood in a room overtaken by joy. The pain in her leg was gone, but more important the smile on her face had returned.

I walked away from the house that afternoon humbled and confident all in the same moment. God took me to a place so completely out side of my comfort zone. I was so focused on my own outcome, I was unaware of God's little concern for my ego's well being and even less aware of his constant concern for this woman's life.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Circle of Care

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

For those of you who know me, you may be aware that the past couple weeks have been somewhat of a rollercoaster. We've had to contend with a sick husband, the sudden departure of one of our core volunteers in the youth ministry, and the hospitalization of one of our students, all coinciding with the kickoff of fall programming.

I'm not complaining, because I know that in the grand scheme of things, my challenges are not all that great. I just find myself extraordinarily emotionally tired.

In the midst of this, I've enjoyed some really good connections with others. A birthday party. Reconnecting with friends for the first time since we left China. Great discussions on long car trips.

Additionally, there's been a high level of care, flowing both in and out. Moms from the church offering us dinner on nights I just couldn't cook (thank you!!!!). Gary and I sitting with parents, loving them through hard times. Crashing on our new neighbor(the worship minister)'s couch, sipping decaf and chatting till 2:30 in the morning.

I feel totally stretched, yet pleased with where I am right now. I'm not in a place of just giving, being strong for others. I'm not in a place of total need, sucking everything I need from those around me. There's a connection, a flow, a balance as others give me the strength to continue on, so I can love others even more.

I think this is what Jesus was talking about when He instructed the religious experts of His day to "love your neighbor". I think this kind of community is a way to live out the fellowship described in 1 John. In the slog of daily life, the radiant beauty of the body of Christ has broken through, and I can't help but celebrate.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Book Review: a Generous Orthodoxy


So, I've been curious to read this book since it came out four years ago. In various reviews, I've read a lot of backlash, and had mentally placed this book in the 'books I SHOULD read but am putting off until I've read everything else on my bookshelf first' category.

Well, I finally got around to reading the book and was amazed at how much I enjoyed it! I just couldn't put it down. For a girl from a mostly non-denominational Christian background, I found McLaren's descriptions of various streams of faith to be fascinating.

Critics accuse him of attempting to piece-meal a post-modern version of Christianity "with an eccentric mix of theological elements pieced together from main denominations and even many different religions", or that "he embraces relativism at the cost of clarity in matters of truth and intends to redefine Christianity for this new age, largely in terms of an eccentric mixture of elements he would take from virtually every theological position and variant."

Yet, I didn't come away feeling that McLaren was trying to impose a new, mish-mashed form of Christianity upon the rest of us. Rather, he holds to light the pearls of truth that were the impetus for each of many different Christian traditions (even while acknowledging how many have since lost sight of their honorable beginnings).

To better understand how other traditions are attempting to sincerely live out their faith, and to learn and draw from other's strengths can only help us be more loving and unified as the worldwide body of Christ, regardless of denomination. McLaren addresses the unity of the church this way, in my favorite passage of the book:

"We believe in one... church," the [Nicene] creed says, and that's no easy to swallow statement because we're surrounded by denominations, divisions, arguments, grand polemics, and petty squabbles. That's where the "we believe" part comes in: you can only know the unity of the church by believing it, not by seeing it. When you believe it, you can see through the surface dirt and cracks to the beauty and unity shining beneath. Generous orthodoxy presumes that the divisions, though tragic, are superficial compared to Christianity's deep, though often unappreciated, unity. Perhaps the more we believe in and perceive that unity, the easier it will be to grow beyond the disunity." p. 250


The church, not the building, but the family of God's adopted children, should indeed be radiantly beautiful. Let's spend a little less time taking sides and articulating our differences, and focus more on how amazing and merciful our loving God is to each of us. Sounds pretty generous to me.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Seek the Welfare of this City

“Seek the Welfare of the City”, the video Eric Schumacher and Gary produced for the Fair Oaks Church anniversary service this past Sunday, is now viewable on YouTube!

Check it out, and feel free to share with others!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

It's a Small World After All


This past Thursday, Gary and I had the great honor of hosting Brother Eugene and his family in our home. They were just passing through California, on their way from China to their family back in Oklahoma, where they will have their third baby and spend the next few months on furlough.

It was great to catch up with them, to see how big their kids have grown, and to hear about their ministry and what God has been doing in China since we were there in 2006.

Well, I got a call yesterday from Brother Eugene, telling me that their family had completed their travels and had made it safely out to Oklahoma.

He then proceeded to relate to me that as his wife went in for her pre-natal checkup, they mentioned just coming from China, where they are missionaries.

"Oh, really?" the nurse responded, "I have a cousin who went on a mission trip all the way around the world, including China".

"Was it the World Race?" "As a matter of fact, it was!"

"What are their names?" "Gary & Katherine Weston"

"We were just at their home, four days ago!"

That's right - Gary's cousin Gayle, whose family are the only people we know in Oklahoma, just happened to be Cindi's nurse - caring for her just days after they left our home on the other side of the country! I couldn't help but laugh out loud to realize what a small world we truly live in. Thank you, God, for this unexpected bit of sunshine for my day!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

"The Heart of Repentance"


Click here for the Fair Oaks Church sermon archives.

To hear Pastor Gary's sermon on Psalm 51, click on "The Heart of Repentance" (September 7, 2008).

Friday, September 12, 2008

Atypically Transparent


I'm at a weird place in my faith.

I've gone to church and loved God as long as I can remember, and as an adult have chosen to actively pursue a deeper faith and a closer, more personal relationship with Him. As part of this process, I've made sincere efforts to cut things out of my life that would get in the way of that, stemming from a desire for simplicity, good stewardship, and a clear focus on things that truly matter.

I've determined not to look for satisfaction in possessions or hobbies, but to enjoy the abundant "life to the full" that Jesus talks about in John 10:10. There's an indescribably sweet sense of purpose and fulfillment that comes with the experience of God working through you. And I learned, while living out of a backpack for a year as a traveling missionary on the World Race, that no creature comfort can compare with that.

There's just one problem. The more I've tried to devote myself to serving Him, the less I've experienced this 'feeling' of abundance, or even contentment, in my life.

My theology says that God should be enough. That He IS enough. Yet, I'm having a lot of trouble reconciling that knowledge with the struggles that I'm facing. Despite my efforts to seek God and spiritual maturity, I feel like I'm missing something, and I don't even know what that thing is!

I have so many thoughts elbowing one another:

- How selfish is it to want to feel content (at peace)? Can I / should I expect that?

- Is this experience right or normal, or, where have I gone wrong?

- Why isn't God answering my questions?

- What if I AM missing something, and in my attempts to find that, make things worse?

- How can I separate loving God from loving to serve God from loving serving God? (that question made sense to me... I hope it does to you too)


Obviously, somewhere among my assumptions, expectations, and choices, I've made a wrong turn. And, like a little girl who's hit a dead end in a maze, I must now backtrack until I encounter a new path to explore.

Ultimately, I trust that God will work through this for some kind of breakthrough. And I will be oh, so much better for it. But in the meantime, I shall continue to lean on Him for strength and patience, and believe that He will fulfill Paul's prayer for the Romans in my life as well:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Food for Thought

From Pilgrimage of the Heart, a blog by Jeff Goins:

Bart Campolo: Why Churches Shouldn't Care for the Poor

I got to talk with Bart Campolo on the phone the other day, regarding a project about poverty that I'm doing with Neue, a Relevant Media Group website. I thought you might enjoy a brief excerpt from the interview - a teaser, if you will, dealing with a topic I broach on this blog quite often - church.

In response to my question, "Why should the Church care for the poor?" Bart gave this informal answer:

"You know, I'm going to be honest with you: I don't understand the fixation that most of the people I know that follow Jesus have with the institutional church. I don't really see buildings, denominational structures, and doctrinal statements reflected very much in the life and teaching of Jesus."

He didn't speak with scorn or contempt for institutional church; he just seemed to have a much simpler definition of church than that, a definition many of us are longing to live out. "While lots of really cool things have come from the church, I've also seen so much pain come out of people involved in church and organized stuff. I don't necessarily feel that the church... is the basic unit of our Christian 'society.'"

He thought for a moment, stumbled over himself for a second as his mouth caught up with what his brain wanted to communicate, and then redefined church: "I don't know - maybe a bunch of people hanging out with each other... So, if you mean by 'the church' a collective group of Christians, they should care about the poor for the same reason that I care about the poor, the same reason that God cares about the poor. Because we're human beings; we're made in the image of God. It is our nature to love, to respond."

He thought again for a moment, possibly considering what he had just said and took the challenge a bit deeper: "Why should organized church care for the poor? I don't know," he admitted rather bluntly. "Actually, if you came to my neighborhood, I could give you several reasons why the organized church shouldn't care for the poor. Especially, economically it's not in their interest to care for the poor. It doesn't advance organized religion to care for the poor."

Even though Bart and I were hundreds of miles apart, talking to one another over not-the-greatest cell phone connection, his words moved me. They stung a little, but I knew that it was a good kind of sting. I silently wondered if I was contributing to a Church that didn't have it in its best interest to care for the poor. He continued, comparing the two "churches" he had been talking about - one being the institutional "church" with buildings, structures, and systems, and the other being the true Body of Christ:

"So, why should people who follow Jesus care for the poor? Easy. Why should an organization trying to get a thicker chunk of the American cultural landscape care for the poor? Gosh, I don't know. They probably shouldn't. You don't see the Democratic or Republican parties bending over backwards to give to the poor, because it's not really going to help their movement very much. Those people don't have anything to give, [and] they'll suck a lot of your resources. Organizationally, it's not really a good move."

The interview continued, and Bart went on to talk about how he got started caring for the poor, but the thoughts that he opened the interview with continue to haunt me as I seek to follow a Jesus whose way doesn't always seem safe or comfortable. I asked him if he had any advice for young believers wanting to "do justice," and he said to get together with a group of your friends, move to the inner city, live together, and begin to include the hurting, the broken, and the poor in your circle. He admitted that there wasn't anything too glorious about it, but he said that it was a life full of tremendous reward.

Check out Bart Campolo's website, and visit his blog to read more about him.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Cardinal and GOLD (School Pride)

Besides boasting the #1 ranked football team in the country, USC sent 40 athletes to Beijing this summer to amass an impressive collection of medals.

Here's an exerpt from an article at USC times:

Rebecca Soni led a group of Trojan athletes past and present that continued USC’s Olympics success with 21 medals in Beijing.

USC athletes added nine gold, 10 silver and two bronze medals – more medals than at Athens in 2004 or Sydney in 2000 – to its impressive Olympics resume, bringing the university’s all-time tally to 121 gold, 76 silver and 60 bronze. It was Troy's second highest overall medal count, behind only the 24 medals it won at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

If USC athletes had competed as a country this year, they would have placed 13th in the overall medal standing in the Beijing Games (and tied for eighth in golds). USC athletes have taken home at least one gold medal from every Summer Olympics since 1912.

In all, 40 Trojan athletes competed at the Olympics, extending USC’s record total of all-time Olympians to 384.

For a complete list of USC's 2008 Olympic results, past stories and photos of this year's gold medal winners, visit http://www.usc.edu/olympians

“The entire Trojan Family is extremely proud of the performance of our current and former athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” USC athletic director Mike Garrett said.

USC athletes excelled in team sports, led by gold medals from Lisa Leslie ’94 and Tina Thompson ’97 on the U.S. women’s basketball team. Leslie and Thompson both started for the U.S., which dominated opponents by an average of 38 points. It’s the fourth gold medal for Leslie.

“In my fourth Olympics, to have four gold medals, it obviously shows a level of dominance that I’ve been able to participate in with so many great players,” Leslie said. “It would be shameful to try to take all the credit for myself when I’ve had so many awesome teammates. So, for me, I just pass that on to my teammates that will go on in the future to represent our country.”