what has the Lord done today?

i've been encouraged over & over again to write what the Lord's doing on this journey, but i'm having a major dilemma: i don't know how to put this glory into words. God's love is coming in such unique ways -- he's knit hearts together in the strange situation of not having luggage for 4 days. everybody's "cool" fell off and people just started pressing in. (of course, these are radical worshippers. their hearts were stirred long before they came together for this summer of love tour, but the beauty of the last few days can not be expressed.) you get past a lot of issues when you rough it out with someone. you learn to laugh alot and grow in grace when you know you're stinky and there's nothing to be done about it. i have watched one hundred people CHOOSE to praise God in every circumstance.

and the people i am meeting are gold. too numerous to mention in the short time i have, i hope to have some time to tell a story or two on these sweet friends who have become instant family.

just a little update before i go: last night our group joined up with an interdenominational gathering -- a candle light vigil held at one of the largest abortion clinics in the world. misnamed "Women's Health" clinic, George Tiller has overseen over 65,000 abortions. it is said that he has prided himself in performing late term abortions. many statistics were shared last night. some came with large banners & raised voices. our group only raised our voices for one thing -- to pray. i mentioned George's name so that you would know to pray for his salvation. that the love of Jesus Christ would so radically change his life that he would see the effects that his life work has had on families everywhere.

tomorrow the cause will hold what is called a "silent siege" in front of this abortion clinic. we will come in love. we will not speak. we will in fact, place red tape over our mouths with the word LIFE written on it. and we will stand. most likely we will kneel as well. our purpose is to make a statement without using words or bringing condemnation. we will pray for the love of God to envelope every doctor, nurse, worker, mother, father & child who would be involved in the process of an abortion. and we will stand for life.


it really is this simple. we will give our time to share the love of God and stand for justice. be in prayer for our group if you have a chance.

our worship will also continue. i'll try to bring a synopsis of that later as well. both tonight & tomorrow night we will worship & intercede from 7pm until midnight.

bless you my friends.
love,
deborah

just a moment. . .

i'm sitting at a borrowed computer as we take a rest stop outside of kansas city. this trip has already proven a testimony in the provision of the Lord. sleeping in warehouses of ministries or on the borrowed floor of a church building, we're pouring our hearts out to the Lord -- praying for revival, worshiping with all that we have, and just plain getting to know each other at the beginning of our Summer of Love Tour. who is we? almost 200 people -- the youngest on our journey is 5 weeks old. the oldest, well, it probably wouldn't be polite to ask the grandmothers among us their age. the bulk of the travelers are from 15 to 30. and we're all here to fulfill our purposes in Jesus.

what can i tell you quickly? the body of Christ is alive and well! we've had delays getting buses to us on time and most of us have been without luggage (or showers!) for 3 days. and somehow, there's no complaining. we seem to be experiencing a bit of the "hippie" culture that none of us expected.

last night we were greeted by Christians who lived outside of St. Louis, Missouri. They had donned tie-dyed shirts and were waving big banners to welcome us to one of their churches where they fed us grilled burgers & home made salads & goodies. the women (and some of the men) who were in our convoy - myself included - simply wept as we pulled into the parking lot. after such a long day of travelling & cleaning & even preparing meals on the fly the last few days, the welcome was so sweet. the love of Jesus was evident among the people gathered from different fellowships.

maybe it's true my friends. . . . all we need is love? :-)

Today's the day. The day The Cause Tour begins. Yesterday was my birthday - a most memorable turning into this 3rd decade of living by spending the day at The Call where Christians from every walk of life cried out for God to bring revival to America. We did this in fasting & weeping, repentance & prayer, acts of worship including singing & dance. Thousands and thousands cried out together. And it was amazing. It was the beginning not the end.

Today is the day to prove (or shall I say "walk out"?) our deep, deep love for Jesus in action and my day will be spent just doing that. (May it be every day!) But for this season, I head out mostly into the unknown. I've put the blow dryer and high heels away, thanked the Lord with all sincerity for a wonderful shower in a home this morning and now I'm off to meet up with the community I'll be spending the summer with. I've been told that almost 200 will be joining The Cause Tour for the whole summer. Others will come and go and bring their piece to the work we have to do: worship & evangelism. Today we meet up at 2pm and will worship until 10pm - a good 8 hours will get us started. And the next few days we'll worship & pray some more & spend some specific time getting to know one another. This is all I know! (& that I'll be buying some more sunscreen today!)

If the Lord provides I'll share a story or two this summer on the blog, otherwise they'll have to wait for good cups of coffee & late nights with friends to retell. My heart is so full right now that the tears are coming easy. I am so thankful to be setting out on this adventure. 30 is definitely going to be the best year I've ever had!

All my love to my sweet friends who read this little blog.

the Lord is good.

wow.
how do you stop your mind long enough to catch a thought and put it down for another to read?

the last few days have been a whirlwind. i am overwhelmed at God's provision and the amazing way he orders my steps. (this is the truth -- he orders each of our steps -- sometimes we just can't recognize it.)

yesterday morning i was unpacking my car from my various travels (camping/visiting friends over parts of Texas) to load almost all of my belongings into my storage unit. then, i re-packed the trunk chock-full of items i will need for the rest of my summer: tent, sleeping bag, pad, clothes, toiletries. . . the simple things. the non-perishable food items went in the cardboard box in the back seat and i was off. . .

the night of the 4th found me celebrating freedom -- not with fireworks & a barbecue but with friends and strangers at a special worship gathering called "The Burn" (more on that can be found at burn24-7.com) my sweet friend mary, her friend b.j. and i took our turning worshipping through the night from 10pm to midnight. it was so wonderful. new song after new song came out of our mouths and we sang of God's great love over & over & over & over again.

we made it to bed about 2 to wake up 4 hours later. we headed from fort worth to nashville today. 6 women together in 2 cars. it was a good trip. and now after the 12 hour journey, i find myself sitting in a stranger's home, getting a chance to reflect on the day & feel extremely overwhelmed at the blessing of having a beautiful place to stay tonight. some of mary's friends opened up their home to us -- complete strangers.

it's these simple things that overwhelm me most days. travelling with two 18 year olds that love Jesus deeply. having a great lunch on a covered patio in little rock. laughing a lot with my old & new friends. staying in a home with the most beautiful tiled tub i've ever seen. (this seems especially significant as i head into a summer of infrequent showers & no baths!)

tomorrow will be a day to rest. i have a few errands to run & we'll head to bed early so that we can wake early on the 7th for The Call. it will be that day that i also meet members of The Cause who i will spend the rest of the summer with. it's all happening right before my eyes! this great amazement & fear of the Lord is in my spirit. the Lord is so good -- i have nothing else to say.