Countdown to Ghana: Building My Balance Beam Routine

My life group is reading a great book (Crazy Love, by Francis Chan) that is challenging me in many ways in my relationship with Jesus. You can learn more about the book and author at www.crazylovebook.com.  As I have spent some time learning from Francis Chan, I have found myself digging more into some of his other sermons and messages.  My brother recommended the video below as he himself is teaching a class on Crazy Love and thought it would tie in well with a particular chapter within the study.

This analogy really spoke to me as I consider how I am living my life.  I understand and believe that it is by God's grace that I am saved, not by any works that I do, but I think Chan's message speaks to the decisions that I make regarding how I use God's gift.  I have used phrases like "Go Big Or Stay Home" to try and encourage others, but when I apply this advice to my own life, I have to ask myself if I can truly say that I go big in the aspects of my life that really matter in the end.  The short answer is that I think I can do better.   I can, however, point to decisions and choices I have made that were following God's prompting despite pushing me outside my comfort/safety zone.

Making the decision to go to Ghana would certainly be one of those decisions pushing me outside my comfort zone to follow Christ, and as I am only ten days away from leaving for Ghana I am getting equally nervous and excited for the experience.  My prayer is that this would be another experience to help strengthen my own faith so that I may confidently walk the balance beam of life trusting not in my own abilities, but in God's grace and love to guide me across in a routine the Judge will someday say "Well done" to.

Countdown to Ghana: How YOU can get involved

I have been asked on several occasions how people can support my Ghana trip in a few weeks.  There are three primary ways to get involved and be a part of this mission trip with me:

1) Pray for me and the team.  
I can't express how important and powerful this is.  The entire team would appreciate your prayers that we would be able to humble ourselves and serve the people we meet with our  heart.

2) Financial Support.  
The cost of the trip is $2700 per person.  If you feel led, your financial support would be greatly appreciated.  A gift of any size would help. To contribute, you can do so online at http://www.northviewchurch.us/goteams and follow the 'GO Teams Support' link.  You'll be able to pick my name (or any other team member) from the list when giving your gift.

3) Donate supplies.
The GO team will be taking lots of supplies and donations for Manna Mission on our trip.  For more details on supplies we are collecting, please click here.

Thank you to everyone for the support. I can't believe it's less than 3 weeks away!

Countdown to Ghana: The First Ripple

As I mentioned in my 'Why Ghana?' post, one of my prayers for this experience is that my own willingness to follow God outside my comfort zone on a mission trip would serve as an example to follow for my own children.

As an answer to prayer, the ripple effect from my Call is starting to show itself.  Over the course of the past month or so, as Ghana has become a regular topic of conversation around the house, the older kids have really been talking more about what they can do themselves in the area of serving.

Caleb took notice of a summer mission trip announced for the junior high group at church a few weeks ago and brought it to our attention as something he was interested in. Every year the junior high group at Northview goes on a week long trip to Memphis, TN to work with a group called S.O.S. (Service Over Self).  We went with him to the information meeting last week to learn more ourselves and came away excited at the prospect of him being able to participate in this trip.  It was shocking and a little stressful, however, to learn that last year's trip filled up 6 minutes after registration opened.  6 minutes after 6am!

So, it was with a little stress and anxiety that we woke up very early the next morning to register Caleb for the trip. Good news! Caleb is confirmed for his first ever mission trip!  I am equally excited for his upcoming experience this summer as I am for my own in 24 days.

The first ripple has shown itself.  I can't wait to see what is next, although I am aware and admittedly anxious that as exciting as this first one is, others may be exciting but also require more sacrifice that pushes me and my family outside our comfort zone.  Please pray that we can continue to act obediently and courageously as we move forward in this journey.

Why Ghana? (Part 1)

As promised in a previous post....


My decision to apply to be part of the GO (Global Outreach) Trip to Ghana with my church began about a year ago.  Sitting in a Starbucks with my good friend, Bill, he told me he had decided to go on a mission trip and that he had always felt a calling to Africa.  The opportunity had presented itself for Ghana, and he had stepped up.  He was just weeks away from the experience.  My interest was piqued and we continued to discuss his planning in the weeks leading up to the trip.  While he was away, the whole family consistently prayed for him and the team.  During this time, I fielded lots of questions from the kids, especially the younger boys about where Bill was and why he was there.  The mission seed had been planted.

When Bill returned he described the experience as ‘life changing’ and told me I should really consider going on my own trip.  Although I was admittedly interested, I wasn’t sure how serious to take him because I don't have any skills I had stereotypically associated with mission work - I'm not trained in medicine and "handy' may be one of the last adjectives used to describe me.  Bill encouraged me to consider it and the seed was watered.  

Over the course of the following months the watering continued.  God kept placing outreach opportunities and messages in front of me.  Our church, Northview Church, is very externally focused and promotes serving others as part of our church’s DNA.  This really connects with me because Marcy and I have long talked about wanting to make sure our kids grow up with the value of serving others and try to involve them in community service activities several times a year.  I’m not certain if my ears were more tuned to the message or there was indeed an increase in the number of sermons emphasizing outreach, but it began to feel as though God was emphasizing the importance of this part of my Walk much more. 

As some of those outreach doors opened, I recognized them and walked through in obedience.  In conversations with family, digesting sermons, and talks with friends I began to realize that as Christians we are not called into missions, it is an expectation of ALL who follow Christ – that’s what the great commission is.  The call will come with specific location and time. 

Through this discovery and over time, God began to work in my heart to accept the reality that I could be used on a mission trip.  At the same time he continued to place the topic in front of me in various ways:  Co-workers I had never spoken with about my faith and relationship with Christ began to approach me and ‘out-of-the-blue’ share details about their personal walk and their personal explorations into mission work; My boss and good friend resigned his prominent position to pursue opportunities more focused on mission and outreach through his church; my new boss encouraged me to find ways we could do more service oriented activities with our employees,; other friends and family went on their own short term mission trips; and my own brother announced that he is actively working to enter the mission field fulltime – he’s just praying and waiting for his call!  In addition to Bill, there were now others talking to me about the potential of specifically a Ghana trip in my future. Crazy ‘coincidence’ but I still wasn’t entirely convinced that a Ghana Trip was for me – I’ve never even traveled outside the country before! Surely there was some place closer to Hamilton County (my bubble) God wanted me to use me!

In the early fall, my friend Bill returned to Ghana for a second trip and we talked even more about the second experience and his own growing commitment to the outreach efforts by the church.  Once again, our family regularly prayed for Bill and the others on the team, which resulted in more conversations about our family serving others and reaching ‘beyond our bubble.’  The kids were really starting to connect and embrace this!

Then came a mountaintop experience for me, The Discipleship Walk – a spiritual retreat through our church.  I went into the weekend with no expectations and just prayed that God would speak to me through the weekend and that the Walk would enrich my relationship with Him.  So, I began listening and processing what I heard.  Without going into real detail, the weekend felt like it was built specifically for me and to help me accept that God wants to use me in Ghana.  It also became clearer to me the connection between a mission trip I would go on and the impact it could potentially have in the lives of my children. I began to see that God could use my own experiences in serving others to impact my family in a way that may have a lasting impact on my kids as they grow and become young adults with their own growing relationships with Jesus.  If they saw their dad taking a bold step to follow Christ wherever he would have me go – that would be a powerful example for them!  I also thought back to those bedtime prayers for Bill and the conversations I had with the kids in those moments.  I was moved to think that if a friend’s step in faith to follow a calling could have that impact on my kids, how much greater could my own example be?

As I listened and participated in the retreat weekend, my conviction that God was calling me to Ghana continued to grow.  I lost all doubt when one of the speakers shared about his faith journey and how serving in Ghana on a mission trip had been a defining experience!  My mind and heart was immediately drawn to the conclusion that I needed to take action and respond to the calling God was placing on my heart. 

Eight months ago, I could barely tell you where Ghana was.  Today, the seed that was planted a year ago is in full growth mode.  I am 26 days away from one of the most exciting personal and spiritual adventures of my life – I am certain of this.  I also am certain that I don’t yet have the complete answer to the question, ‘Why Ghana?’ This story has been my experience on the front end of this journey - Part 1 of the complete answer.  I look forward to writing Part 2 in a few weeks, but am also open to the likely possibility that even then I will not have the complete answer, as God will certainly continue to use this experience to impact my life well beyond the actual trip. 

Please join me in praying that God uses the work I am part of, and the relationships that develop as a result, to have an equally (if not greater) positive impact on those we go to serve.

Peace.