Missions Trip

Houston, We Are Go...

So a really neat thing happened to me a few weeks ago. I get to my office after the show and on my desk is a folder loaded with information about a mission trip headed to the Dominican Republic (from here on out simply called "The DR"). My first thought was that they wanted me to interview them about going to the DR and how they would be bringing down medical aid to that country. Attached to the folder I see a number, a name and a church: Jennifer Wright, 813--------, South Tampa Fellowship. Intrigued and thinking it might make a good interview I called the number hoping for voicemail, but Jennifer picked up, I didn't really know what to say so I just asked the dumb question, "So....why did I get this packet?" Jennifer goes on to tell me all about the trip and what they were going to be doing and how her team was praying one day for more men to go on this trip when my name came up. So she then threw this questions my way, "What do you think about going on a missions trip?"

STOP THE PRESSES! Me go to the DR with Doctors and Nurses who are treating people for God knows what, when I can barely handle needles and blood and other random bodily functions! No way, I don't do trips to the Caribbean unless they involve me sitting beach side in board shorts working on my tan lines. I know...a very sad first thought.

But the more I spoke with Jennifer the more I felt like I was meant to go on this trip. I kept thinking about the verse in Matthew, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Thankfully I'm not one to make rash decisions so I told Jennifer I would pray about it and see how I felt.

Now, two solid weeks later I have my answer....

I'm headed on my first real missions trip. I'm not really sure how I'm going to fund the trip, God is going to have to open up some doors for me, but I truly feel like God is calling me to go on this trip. I'm looking forward to some alone time with Him AND really putting my money where my mouth is for once.

It's really easy for me to sit in a comfy studio behind a mic and talk about what God is calling us to go and do and how we should strive to say yes to His calling in our life. But if God calls me and I say No, after I've been preaching about how you should say Yes, then I'm a hypocrite. And that's not me.

So please pray for me and the team I will be traveling with October 10 - 17 as we embark on a Medical Mission Trip to the DR. I will have more details coming as we prepare to go and a complete recap once I get back. Also, whatever calling it is that God lays upon your heart I pray that you would say Yes. Maybe it's not the missions field. Maybe it's something a whole lot easier or maybe a whole lot harder. Just know that if God brings you to it, He'll get you through it.

Carlos

Fatherly Advice

Thank You Dad

I've been truly blessed to have a great father. My dad and I are really nothing alike and yet whenever I have any questions or doubts or fears or whatever, the first person I think about going to is him. It's really weird too, for being his son I don't know how I ended up so polar opposite. I love sports, my dad not so much. He loves computers, the programming and technological side of it all, I love the video games you can play on them. I love to travel and be outside, he loves his house and the computer in his office. But through all of our differences in personality and life, he has found a way to reach me and help me become the man I am today. He has always been there for me and I pray he always will be. My mom gave me all the nurturing and comfort, but it was my dad who gave me my foundation and guidance.

Best advice he ever gave me, "When in doubt, don't". Simple, yet so profound. That one line has kept me out of so much trouble. My dad always told me to think before I acted, have a plan and a strategy for all I did in life and when I had any doubt or a feeling in my gut, to follow it. I always have and it's almost always been the right thing to do.

Many thanks to my dad for always being the one I can count on and for never letting our very different styles get in the way of a friendship I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Here is something that I was emailed Friday morning, a poem for fathers. I don't know who wrote it, but it was nice. Enjoy and have a blessed fathers day weekend.

A Father Is:

There in every memory

See his love and care

Strength and hands to count on

Freely he does share

Provider, toil so faithfully

To make our dreams come true

Give strong and tender discipline

Though it is hard to do

A Father is God's chosen one

To lead the family

And point it to

His will for life

Of love and harmony...

-Author Unknown

Carlos

I'm Not a Huge Fan of Sweating

On Friday I told Carlos that my big plans for the weekend were to sleep. This was true, but I also had plans for a small challenge for myself, a 5K, specifically the "Race for Red Cross" at Al Lopez Park. That distance is equal to about 3.1 miles, not a cross-country feat by any means, but I've never been a runner and honestly, I'm not one of those people who can say "I love running! It makes me feel alive!" I'm the person who says, "It makes my lungs hurt and my knees ache." Oh, and when I run, I sweat, which I'm not a huge fan of.

So why did I sign up? Well, I wanted to give myself a fitness goal and I figured signing up for a race would get me to train for said race. I was talking with a friend who said she runs one 5K a month. That way she always has one on the calendar. It keeps her on track. I'm totally stealing her idea.

So race #1 was this morning. I went by myself and out of the couple hundred people there, I didn't recognize a soul (but I did see a mini-van with a Spirit FM sticker!). My goal was to run the entire distance. I told myself the finishing time didn't matter. I could try to improve on it for my next race. I just wanted to keep running.

Even though a 5K is a novice runner's distance, I was still very intimidated. It was a pretty small group, so I was fearful of coming in dead last. There were a lot of different types of people there, but all I could see were the people who looked like runners. One woman had an iron-girl t-shirt on. Others had rock-hard abs. There were two ladies that couldn't have been under 60 and as they walked by me I thought to myself, "Those ladies are going to smoke me." I could just tell. One girl in particular that kept catching my eye was blond, with a great tan, pink shorts and really cool ear buds for her iPod. I'll call her "Miss Pink Shorts." She looked to be about 21. She arrived with a guy who looked about the same age. From a distance, I watched them do a little warm up together and as I stretched alone, I thought, "They look like they belonge out here." Miss Pink Shorts was going to be good. We all lined up and I headed for the back of the pack.

The horn blew and we started running. The first song on my iPod was The Benjamin Gate, "Lift Me Up," a great song for running. This is going to sound silly, but as the pack moved along the first few yards, I almost started crying. Partly because I was really proud of myself, but mostly it was because as I looked around I saw things differently and I noticed that I totally fit in. The man right in front of me was probably about 70. A girl who had a really cute hair band on was right next to me and running a pretty slow pace. I didn't feel so bad anymore.

There was a group of about 50 guys and girls doing some Army workouts before the race started. As we ran along the path they were at the sidelines cheering. To have a group of guys with high & tight haircuts sporting Army shirts clapping for you, that's a good feeling.

So, as A Flock of Seagulls said, "I Ran." I did a pretty good job too. I don't know my finishing time because what I saw on the clock at the finish line didn't match up to the timer on my iPod. I'll have to check the website that is going to post our times. I don't really care though, because I ran the whole way, all 3.1 miles (or 5 kilometers if you're anywhere other than the U.S.). I actually passed people during the run and afterwards a girl came up to me to ask me if I knew my time because she noticed that I was in front of her. I was in front of someone! I was actually in front of a lot of someones. When I finished the race I went towards the food and grabbed an apple and a little protein bar. I milled around a bit and then went back towards the finish line. I saw people still crossing. One of those people was Miss Pink Shorts. Hmm.

I really had a good time this morning. I am proud that I didn't listen to the voice inside of me that said, "It was only $20 to enter. Consider it a donation to the Red Cross and go back to sleep!" I'm even more proud that I learned a valuable lesson today. I've always known not to judge a book by it's cover. I shouldn't have made assumptions about the people I saw today. But I also came to realize we shouldn't put labels or limits on ourselves. We could be robbing ourselves of a good time, a valuable friendship, a life changing experience, or a new challenge. You'll never know what obstacles you can overcome if you don't try. If anyone knows of a good 5K in July (I like it where there are bagels at the end - or hot dogs!), let me know. I'm in!

-Abby

Together We Can Do More

Yesterday I attended an organizational meeting for Feed the Bay. I'm really excited for Spirit FM to be a part of this project again this year. Feed the Bay is an inter-denominational outreach project for churches in Hillsborough County designed to stock the shelves of area food banks. It all started at one church back in 2007 then expanded to include several churches in eastern Hillsborough and now, the goal is to involve the entire county.

The long and short of it is that on September 27th, each participating church will send their members out with a grocery list to local Publix and Sweetbay stores between 8am and 2pm. The stores provide trucks (pretty cool) which get loaded up and the food gets delivered to the banks on that same day. It's a huge undertaking, but great things come of it. Here are last year's stats: 22 churches were involved. About 20,000 people shopped. 823 people volunteered as sorters at the grocery stores or the 12 food banks. 270,000 pounds of food were donated.

Another really uniting part about Feed the Bay is that the participating churches can order t-shirts for their members to wear that day. Now imagine this: 20,000 shoppers all in Feed the Bay t's, all visiting Publix and Sweetbay stores in one concentrated area, all within a 6 hour period. Volunteers will be outside the stores in their shirts, loading up the trucks. It's even in the plans for the Publix employees to wear a Feed the Bay t-shirt that day as well. I don't know about you, but I imagine it will be quite a sight.

I encourage you, if you're in Hillsborough County, especially the eastern part, to ask your priest or pastor if your church is signed up for Feed the Bay. The deadline to sign up and be listed on the t-shirt as a participating church is August 1st. That's also the deadline to order the shirts for your congregation to wear while they shop, so it's time to get a move on! I want to see all denominations on that shirt: Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal... Along with feeding the hungry, Feed the Bay can make a huge impact by sending a message to non-believers that we as Christians are united and we have something that is worth being a part of. Get all the details and check to see if your church is signed up at http://www.feedthebay.org/.

- Abby

When nobody around you seems to measure up, it’s time to check your yardstick.

Ever have one of those "ah-ha" moments? I had one yesterday. I've been told that I can be very critical of people. I am quick to point out people's mistakes, whether big or small. It can be a mistake in grammar or just a general misspeak. Yesterday it really sunk in. I know I'm not the only one who does this. I found this written about people like me: Many people feel that they need to tell everyone about every little fault that they find in every situation. They feel that they're doing people favors by pointing out what they see as flaws and problems, even though they may not be in a position in which people expect them to find mistakes.

I don't know why I do it. I admit that sometimes I am compelled to do it. I need to do it. For instance, when I hear incorrect grammar, I justify the correction in my head by thinking that I'm making the person sound more educated or I'm helping maintain the correct form of the English language. But it's got to be deeper than that. Is it because I have insecurities and pointing out that I know something another person doesn't makes me feel smarter? I think that's it, but the reason doesn't matter. It has to stop.

That same article that I quoted above said this about the danger in pointing out people's mistakes: If I know that someone is going to find fault with everything that I do, I will not share with that person unless I'm truly seeking criticism. As fewer people are willing to share with us, we lose much of the richness that comes from and through that sharing, and we become more isolated, less integrated. The loss of the sharing of others is one of the greatest losses we can cause ourselves, and it may even reach a point at which people just don't want to be around us at all. Fault-finding and criticizing, no matter what our intentions, tend to drive wedges between us and other people.

Ouch. I don't want to be that person. When I had this realization yesterday, I immediately sent my husband a text message. I should've called, but I knew he was on a conference call at work and I wanted to say what was on my mind at that moment. I apologized for being too critical of him. I know I point out mistakes a lot, and as much as I don't want to hurt my co-workers and friends, I don't want to drive a wedge between him and me even more.

Mother Theresa said "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." I am such a loving person, so I'm angry that my criticism is creating a unintentional barrier to that love. I think this is going to take some serious prayer and tongue-biting. If you find that you're critical of others, I encourage you to take this challenge with me. Let's try to look at ourselves and see how we can become better, more Christ-like people. Let's pray for the grace to see others as children of God who can enrich our lives, not people whose mistakes we can fix.

Abby