A Purposeful Peek

There's nothing quite like a new baby in the family to bring a whole new dimension of pure joy, laughter, and love…there's something so special about that first born that is so unique and can never be duplicated by anyone else... ok, stop! You thought I was about to make an announcement, didn't you?! Admit it. ; )   Well, the baby I'm talking about is my first nephew, Levi Blaze.  He literally came blazing into this world 3 years ago today and hasn't slowed down since!  He stole my heart when he made me an aunt and had me wrapped around his finger since the second I Skyped with my sister from her hospital bed only hours after he was born.  I had been up all night, waiting for news of his arrival, and cried when I met him (on camera) and learned his name.  I was blessed to fly out to visit him only 2 weeks later, and I got to help give one of his first baths, take him to get his first immunizations, and rock him all night so that his parents could try to get ...

For the significance of this story to be fully understood, it is best told in 3 seperate parts…especially since it's the way this story unfolded. Part I: JJ came to me one Saturday morning with a swollen, red, irritated eye.  He was pretty sure he'd simply scratched his eye while removing his contact, but over the course of the day, it became extremely painful and sensitive to light.  Against his strong-willed insistence that he would be "fine," I looked up the nearest Urgent Care clinic and all but dragged him into that waiting room.  While sitting among the crowded waiting room of people -- snotty-nosed children, old men with hacking coughs, and crying babies -- we happened to notice several framed book covers on the wall.  They appeared to be children's books, and the author's name matched a name we had seen on the window of the clinic.  When we finally got into a patient room, we asked the nurse what the story was behind those children's books on di...

"We won't be getting Christmas gifts this year. Mom can't afford them," she said very matter of factly...not in the way you might expect a child to say, with an expectation of sympathy from others. She was just stating the facts.  She and her siblings, always very humble, usually blended into the group of inner city youth that congregates every Thursday night for a program at our church called The Landing. It's a group for those with "hurts, habits, and hangups" (don't all of us fit that category?!) and a place where meals are shared and real life is lived out, discussed, and challenged. Truth is spoken into these young lives about their capability to overcome their circumstances through learning to trust, having hope, and realizing their self worth as a child of the King. This young girl's mother was an exotic dancer. Her children, ashamed of her lifestyle, prayed and pleaded with her to find a new job. Their prayer was answered when their mot...

One thing that I've prayed for since living in North Carolina is a true sense of community.  I'm not talking about learning to appreciate our city/community - that was easy to do - I'm talking about  PEOPLE who build community and do life together.  It's something I had while living in Oklahoma with my family and friends, but since moving to North Carolina, I was immediately immersed in my work (which, don't get me wrong here - I work with some incredible people who I consider dear friends!), but that was the only community I knew.  It was long hours with busy people, many of whom had family nearby to visit on holidays and weekends.  Being "transplants" from the Midwest, JJ and I were truly all each other had. While this served us well in building a strong foundation for our marriage, we began to wish for a community of people with whom we could share life, grow in our faith together, and be challenged by. After visiting many churches over our first year...