Twitter Tuesday and a Video!

Ooops...we missed one. Only 5 days in and we missed one. Does is help that we spend our Mondays volunteering?! ;)

So tonight we have a Twitter Tuesday to share and a newly released video!


Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our minds today.

@livingwater: Love all. Spend less. Give more. This is how the story gets told: http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

It seems like stores start marketing Christmas earlier and earlier every year... so Advent Conspiracy is at it, too! They work to advocate on behalf of the real celebration of Christmas - our Savior born in a stable, who came to Earth out of love for sinners. And for His birthday we usually buy a bunch of pretty meaningless gifts. AC tells the story of what Jesus might really want for his birthday. Watch the video to get a hint! :)

Introducing, Advent Conspiracy's all new (err...updated...) Promo 2011!

[AC] Promo 2011 from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

Time to start thinking about how we can Spend less. Give more. Love all. Worship fully. this Christmas season.

Twitter Tuesday

Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our mind today.

@ihategluten: Wait. What? I'm supposed to be a grown up? 

Ok, now I'm really confused!

This seems to sum up our summer days, as we stay up late, sleep in, have Nerf wars, get in trouble for playing ball in the house and knocking over a glass of milk...


Things sure are different today than they were last month.  No jobs, no income, no meetings, no school... we haven't even unpacked the alarm clock.  Finding work is slow but hopeful, but the longer it takes the harder it is to remember that we are adults and still have bills to pay.  


We are so thankful to have a place to stay and that we don't have to worry about where the food is going to come from.  (Thanks Mom and Dad!)  But this is still just a transition... we have plans and goals that depend on us getting a place closer to our church and funds to continue to minister like we love to do.  So hopefully this week we will get some good news involving employment and resume growing up. :)  But until then...

;)

Twitter Tuesday - Max On Life

Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our mind today.

@MaxLucado: Marriage is God's idea. He created it because most of us are better God-followers with a partner than we are alone #maxonlife

I have been dwelling on this tweet for a few weeks now... Taylor assigned it to me after I said the same thing to her when she had come back from a week in SA for Spring Break. Mine wasn't phrased as nicely as Max's, it was more like-

"I don't like it when you are gone..."

but the idea behind it is the same. :)

But really. I become a slacker when left alone to do my own thing. Not on purpose but I don't have the reinforcement that Taylor gives me. All my life I have had ideas and have started projects but I've always second guessed myself and didn't really finish anything. When I married Taylor she was someone I could talk to, someone that would listen, she encouraged me, focused me, loved me. She made me make sense.

I have always known that the Food Pak ® project that we did was never the result of either of us as individuals. I had the idea but Taylor had the ear to hear me and the love to talk, grow, and plan the idea into a doable challenge. This is how our marriage works. We each bring what we know and who we are to the table and then we can prepare ourselves as a whole for Him. That is what the goal is, to live life to please him. And without my wife I don't even come close.

"We are one but not the same, we get to carry each other". U2

Just to put some facts to what I am saying I copied at few lines from the book "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris-

"A study of horses revealed that a single horse could pull an average of 2,500 pounds. The test was repeated with two horses. You'd expect the weight pulled to double--to about 5,000 pounds. Not so. Two horses working together pulled 12,500 pounds! That's five times the amount one could pull alone. There's something inside a living being that rises to accomplish exponentially greater things when part of a team."

So you see, what I said was just what Max tweeted... I just needed my wife's help to explain it. ;)

Your Kingdom Come

Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our mind today.

@advntconspiracy: Kingdom change always begins with loving those who never thought they were worth the kingdom.

Even though Advent Conspiracy is about changing the world through Christmas, they still speak out throughout the year to encourage us to continue what begins each year at Christmastime. It makes sense rather than just showing up again next year without living it daily and it's a helpful reminder of why we make the changes we make.

This tweet came in this morning and just struck my fancy. It's different than what's been being said lately and I actually had to read it a few times through before I could start thinking about it. But once you begin to understand it, it's pretty self-explanatory. In order for His kingdom to come and His will be done, we must love those He loves aka "those who never thought they were worth the kingdom". Those who feel so certain that they are not worth God's love are the ones who need His love the most.

I'm going to keep reading this throughout the day in order to really understand it. But here's a music video that I think helps. And we can all take comfort in the chorus.

But don't you know who you are, What's been done for you? Yeah don't you know who you are?
You are more than the choices that you've made, You are more than the sum of your past mistakes, You are more than the problems you create, You've been remade.

Tenth Avenue North

Lenten Journey

Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our mind today.

@PastorChrisSeay: During Lent I'll be giving up foods other than the staple foods that make up the diet of the @compassion children we sponsor. Wanna join me?

Chris tweeted this on Sunday as we were making breakfast and as soon as we read it we began to think about how we could participate. We immediately remembered our similar Food Pak experience and how that changed us. We then wondered what Chris would be eating and about participating by eating rice and beans since that is a staple food in many places. And as if he was in conversation with us, with out skipping a beat, he twittered again...

@PastorChrisSeay: Rice & Beans are primary staple foods. In many regions this could also include mixed veg/salad, potato, chicken, tortillas, & bananas

This started another conversation about how people in different parts of the world season food and if we would allow ourselves to use our seasonings. In the heat of things we wondered what Teddi (Taylor's sister) ate when living in the orphanage in China- mostly a rice cereal type of dish. From there, we decided to take on this challenge and journey along with Chris while engaging in the diet of Chinese orphans. (Update on what exactly that turns out to be, later...)

Chris also posted a note to Facebook where he shares some thoughts and reasons for why he is doing this. Below are some of those thoughts. (To read the entire note click here.)

Our hearts, minds, and yes, even our bodies need a time of preparation and molding that lead us joyously to the feast, reluctantly to the garden, solemnly to the cross, and rejoicing at the empty tomb. If you chose to join me on this journey that begins in self-examination and focuses unmistakably on Jesus, we will be changed forever.

So I invite you to set out on this journey with me to rediscover what the bible says about food, life, love, and grace and to connect with the poor in hopes that I might become a different man—a grateful man.

The primary change in my life will be the time and energy gained as I lay down the vain pursuit of constantly asking myself: What do I want to eat today?

As we change our eating patterns we will also have the chance to identify with the thirsty. I plan to drink water, tea, coffee and natural juices during my fast. I am also very aware that I take for granted the fact that clean water flows directly into my house and at no time in my life have I ever had to search and travel to find it as most of the world does. During these 40 days I challenge you to join me on a one mile prayer walk each day when we can join the plight of the thirsty, pray for the water crisis, and seek ways to respond to bring clean water to so many in need.

Knowledge is Power

Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our mind today.
Another beauty of Twitter is the wonderful "RT" (re-tweet). This allows us not only to connect with our friends but with their friends as well. Occasionally, those we follow will share a significant tweet, by retweeting it to their followers.

@ihategluten: RT @BeautyFrmAshes In the #UnitedStates alone, 15,000 to 18,000 people are #trafficked into the country each year http://fb.me/IjqjHKBu

Our friend Rhonda (who is allergic to gluten, hence the user name "ihategluten") is a passionate anti-Human Trafficking advocate! Although we don't talk about this issue much on our blog, we are glad to have friends who keep the issue real and relevant to us. We get to hear about statistics, news stories, and success stories via Rhonda from her friends at Beauty from Ashes and other advocates and organizations.

The statistic within this tweet can be quite a shocker for some. It's amazing the number of slaves we have in our very own nation, and around the world. People think slavery was abolished long ago, but it is truly alive, even in our own neighborhoods - it just has a new face.

The article within the tweet is a quick read. Take a look at some eye-opening numbers and break the unawareness pattern that it speaks of. We are failing our brothers and sisters by not being aware of their light.

Thank you for reading this. We hope you realize now that you are one more person who knows this much more about human trafficking, and knowledge is power. To find out more, click on any of the links within this post. :)

Speak Out

Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our mind today.

@robbieseay: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We have a list of things that we feel that God put on our hearts, some of them being the hungry, the thirsty, the trafficked, and the orphans. We use this blog so that we will not become silent. What are some things that matter to you? How do you speak out?

Imagine Heaven

Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our mind today.

@PastorChrisSeay: Heaven is not a place on earth, and never taking the time to imagine it would be a very sad thing.

Chris has been preaching on Heaven for the past few weeks, and what the Bible says we can expect. He has been emphasizing the fact that we are not people of Earth, but should look forward to our final destination.The church collectively created a play list of great songs that also help us think about what Heaven might be like. We put a few on the playlist below.

Get Your Own Free Hypster.com Playlist.

What do you think of when you think of Heaven? Have any songs that you would add to the list?

If you would like to hear any of the sermons on Heaven, the links from Ecclesia Houston are below.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Optimus Prime Saves African Orphans

Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are at least many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our mind today. Here is what is on our mind today.

Superheroes are always saving the world, but from what? Batman vs Joker. Spiderman vs Venom. What if Superheroes really did save the world from things that are real issues? Things that we try to bring attention to here on our blog- hungry children, clean water, cures for diseases. Can you imagine Superman drilling wells in Africa? Or the kids from Captain Planet actually cleaning our world up? How great would that be?! @scottthepainter recently posted this image titled Optimus Prime Saves Africa Orphans. Now that would really be cool. I guess until these superheros show up we will have to take their places.

You can find this image here and even buy a print of it.

Not Everything... But Something!

Twitter is a constant encouragement to us. We follow writers, pastors, friends, and organizations. There are at least many tweets weekly that really inspire us. Here is what is on our mind today.

@MaxLucado: No one can do everything about the suffering and unfairness in our world, but everyone can do something.

This idea is one not unfamiliar to our readers, but one that is good to be reminded of time and again. What a relief to know that we are not responsible for all the changes that need to take place in this world. We are not responsible for feeding every child, providing clean water in every country, or adopting every orphan. But we are all responsible for part of it. We alone as individuals are not called to heal every hurt and right every wrong but when we do the things each of us are called to do then together we can do everything. The things that God puts on your heart to take care of, you are responsible for. Do the things that you can do and know that you are making a difference.