Wycliffe's vision is to see God's Word accessible to all people in a language that speaks to their heart.

This is a vision that God has also given me. But, as I've worked alongside others towards this vision I have at times admittedly lost sight of "WHY?" It becomes too easy to get so focused on the tiny piece that I can do and I can forget the big picture.

I don't believe the heart of this vision is so that we can go down a checklist and say the languages have all been done. I don't believe the vision is just to package up the Bible in another language in a new bound book.

The heart of the vision, is the heart of God. It is to see lives changed. It is to see lives hear His Words speak to them. It is to know and experience forgiveness in a world of bitterness and hatred. It is to declare the true victory in moments of despair. It is to bring peace despite conflict. It is to offer Words of hope in the midst of pain and suffering.

This past year friends of mine who work in Orlando were able to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo. While there, they met men and women whose lives are a testimony of God moving in and through lives and the power of His everlasting Word in the heart language... in the midst of great suffering.

The following is a video produced from that trip.
Sometimes we need reminders of "WHY?" ... reminders like this.



(NOTE: This video may not be suitable for all ages.)

Learn more about the Trauma Healing Workshops.

Don't worry...this isn't going to become a regular Friday feature, but I forgot one of my favorites last week. So, here it is!


Vicks Early Defense Foaming Hand Sanitizer:
I used to not be overly concerned about germs so much. For example, when I'm with friends and family and someone passes around the hand sanitizer before eating out, unless I was shaking lots of strangers' hands or something like that... I pass. I don't know, I'd prefer to go to the restroom and wash my hands then have sticky, chemically hand sanitizer all over my hands when I'm eating.

But, since my mom has been going through her chemo treatments, I've been more concerned about germs and making sure I'm not passing any on to her. We now have all kinds of hand sanitizers in our house, our cars and our purses.

This is the best hand sanitizer in our collection! It's a FOAMING hand sanitizer so it doesn't leave my hands all sticky. AND, it's got a great scent ... cucumber-mint. It's a nice, light, clean and refreshing smell.

I've been thinking in the last few days that there are a lot of things that I really enjoy -- things that make things easier for me, things that make me smile, things that I just really, really like. These are a few of my favorites. Nothing deep, nothing truly meaningful... just things I've been enjoying lately.


V8 Fusion: Available in a variety of yummy flavors, a serving of V8 Fusion gives you one serving of fruits and vegetables. I really like the Pomegranate Blueberry flavor and the Peach Mango one. It's pretty high in sugar so I usually dilute it in water and lots of ice.

In addition to getting my daily nutritional value of fruits and veggies from a bottle, there's always eating the real thing...



Fresh Fruits and Vegetables:
I realize that I hardly ever bought fruits and vegetables when I lived alone. I tended to not eat them all in time and wasted a lot. It's been nice being with my family and loading up on lots of yummy fresh fruits and veggies. This summer I've been especially enjoying cantaloupes, cherries and crunchy gala apples.

Now, don't get me wrong... I also love junk food a lot too. A good cup of ice cream, anything with cool whip (which -- do you know they now sell it in a can??), chips, chocolate and this...


Rita's Water Ice - Gelati: One of my favorite summertime treats. I can't believe that I've only had it twice since I've been back in PA. My preferred Gelati is mango water ice with vanilla gelati OR cherry water ice with vanilla gelati. If you've not been to Rita's before... GO AND ENJOY!!

When I lived in Florida they didn't have too many Rita's around there. But, they've been spreading and there are a bunch that have popped up in the Sunshine State. Find a Rita's near you!

The Library: The library I go to is in a nearby town, Langhorne. In the last several months they have made some major renovations to this branch. I can borrow movies, books and CDs all with my little key tag library card. They have even outfitted the checkout desk with a "self-checkout" computer. Nice.
During my latest trip there I picked up an Alfred Hitchcock movie, X-Men 2, and some books by Henri Nouwen, Nicholas Sparks, Jane Austen and one book about the translated English Bible.

For my friends who live in Orange County, Florida... did you know that you can check out library materials online and have them deliver it to your home? That is a library service I miss.

Burt's Bees lip products: I always make sure I have a Burt's Bees Lip Balm on me. I love the way it leaves my lips nice and refreshingly cool and smooth.

Garnier Nutritioniste Nutri-Pure Daily Exfoliating Gel Cleanser: This is a new find. One of my favorite things in the day is brushing my teeth. I love the way cool, minty toothpaste makes me feel so clean and freshened up.

This face wash basically makes my face feel the way toothpaste makes me teeth feel. It has these tiny little exfoliating scrubbers that makes me feel like my face is getting a good deep cleaning. And, it leaves my face feel tingly cool when I'm all done. So far, I love it.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Mop: I tried out the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser sponge when I was moving out of my apartment a couple of years ago. The ads boast about how it erases marks from walls and all kinds of surfaces. So, I tried it -- and it worked. They now have the Magic Eraser Mo p. I usually have cleaned floors with a bucket and rags while on my hands and knees. This has been a nice, quick, and easy way for me to clean the floor.





iTunes, Pandora Radio, iPod: Did you ever make "Mixed Tapes?" I loved making mix tapes. I remember keeping a cassette tape in my radio in hopes that I'd catch the song I've been wanting to record. I remember laboring over making my mixed tapes. Thinking of the perfect songs, trying hard to cue up the songs perfectly on the cassette deck and hoping that there'd be enough space on the tape to fit in that last song.

Oh how those days are long gone.

With iTunes I can create all kinds of "mixed tapes." With a couple of drags and clicks, I could create a handful of playlists in minutes with perfectly timed fade ins and fade outs. If I wanted a particular song for my "mixed tape" there is no need to wait and record anymore. I can find it online and purchase that ONE song if I wanted.

Back in the day if I wanted to bring along a few "mixed tapes" I'd end up dragging along a zippered cassette tape holder with the tapes all snug in their plastic cases. Now, I can download a number of playlists on my iPod -- pretty much a number of "mixed tapes" all in the palm of my hand.


Google Reader: There are a lot of blogs that I like to follow. By using Google Reader I can put all them in one convenient place and it tells me when someone has posted something new.

No more clicking on site after site and being disappointed when there's nothing new to read.

Facebook: Okay, yes Facebook can easily become an addiction... but, I think I have managed well. I think I have. It's been a fun online tool to reconnect with friends and get glimpses into their lives through photos, status updates and notes on things that are going on with them. Sometimes though i think it has made me a lazy communicator... but, I enjoy it.

Okay, I could end up going on and on and on and on... there are lots of things I enjoy I guess!!

I recently read the book "The Shack," by William P. Young. As I read it I appreciated the way that through the story I was being challenged in my understanding of God, my view of my relationship with Him and my perspective of life's situations.

Something that I tend to do is have a desire for everyone I know and care about to be "happy" and for everything that they experience to be "good." It's difficult for me when I look around me right now and find so many people I care about going through terribly hard times.

... a father dealing with brain cancer

...the loss of a close family member and a mother who had a stroke

...dealing with leukemia and the harsh side effects of treatment

...a father courageously living with prostate cancer and sharing hard and precious moments with one another

...a grandfather missed

... and so on and so on and so on.

I look at these things and my initial reaction and the tendency I have to fight within myself is to think... "Why God?? It's not fair. All of this is BAD... so bad."

There was a part in the book where the main character is challenged -- "What is good?" In my mind good may include happy fuzzy feelings, ease in going through a situation, ... you know, good.

But as I allow my understanding of God, His goodness... and as God works His truth into my heart ... I can begin to see these things with new eyes.

Yes, these things are hard. Yes, these things are challenging. Yes, these things bring a great deal of sadness and hurt. But, I find that God's definition and perspective of what is "good" likely has greater depth and purpose than my heart and mind can always fully understand.

God is good. His works are good. God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. When I choose to believe that and remember that truth then my eyes are opened a bit wider and my heart opened a bit deeper to receive God's grace in these situations.

During the past few months I've had to purposefully take some time and ask the question, "God, what are some of the "good" things you can show in me in what's been going on? How are YOU being glorified?"

Goodness has been God's presence in the midst of pain. Goodness has been seeing and experiencing God in ways I've never been able to before. Goodness is God revealing Himself to His children. Goodness is God drawing us into His arms. Goodness has been God being glorified.

God is good.

At the end of March I was given the opportunity to step back from my work responsibilities to help my family during my mom's treatment for leukemia. These past few months have been a blessing to me - to be able to be with my family and help during this time.

My mom's treatment continues and I've asked my supervisor if I can stay in Newtown, PA to continue to help my parents. Based on her current treatment and recovery, and our day-to-day schedule, I think it's a good time for me to resume work with Wycliffe. I've asked if I could take on a new work assignment while I am at home. I am grateful that there is a need in the organization that I can meet from right here in Newtown, PA!

I will be working with Wycliffe International as a Web Project Coordinator. The Communications Team of Wycliffe International has been working on the development of two new web sites and has been in need of someone to help coordinate the efforts of the web team to bring these sites to completion.

The web team is comprised of about 7 people who are based in different locations around the world. Working with a completely "virtual" team will be a new and challenging experience for me! I will still be serving Monsoon and the Asia Pacific Area in this role! The resource of these international web sites will be serving the Bible translation movement in this area - and the other areas of the world as well.

Unfortunately, my computer recently crashed due to a defective hard drive. None of my files from my computer could be recovered. So, I'm having to rebuild my files one tiny bit at a time - salvaging what I can from miscellaneous emails and back up files that I have.

While it may take me a little time to be able to get started in my new assignment, I'm looking forward to joining this team and contributing in the ways that I can!

• Pray for patience as I get things up and running again on my computer.
• Pray that I would quickly get things in motion so that I can actively and effectively take on this new role.
• Pray that I would have great capacity to understand different aspects related to this project, have vision for what's being developed and the ability to communicate and work well with this ENTIRELY VIRTUAL team.
• Pray that I would be able to contribute much to this team.

the art of great story telling.

I have been enjoying watching So You Think You Can Dance and have found myself at times literally heart-ached or joy-filled watching these stories told in such amazing ways through dance. The stories are told so effectively that they pull emotions right out of me!

Whether the story is told through a dance, a photograph, a painting, film or words... the creative ability to not just unfold a story, but invite and draw others so powerfully into it, is just an amazing thing to me. I appreciate so much the gift that people have to do that... and the courage and generosity to use that gift to share it with others.

In watching these stories being told in dance, I'm reminded of joy that I have in being a part of telling the Bible translation story. I'm reminded of the creative struggle involved in finding the perfect words and the great image. And I'm reminded of the oh-so-cool feeling you experience when you see someone connect with the story that you get to help invite them into. Cool. Can't believe that I get to do what I get to do! :)

Well, here are some of my favorite dances from the show so far (tonight not included).

No Air
Choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha
Performed by Katee and Joshua



Bleeding Love
Choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha
Performed by Chelsie and Mark



Beautiful
Choreographed by Mia Michaels
Performed by Chelsie and Mark

Well, after my computer crashed I've finally gotten it back and I'm back up ... and slowly getting things back in shape. I'm in "crawl" mode right now.

Unfortunately, the computer folks were unable to retrieve anything from my hard drive (without me shelling out a whole lot of money to do it!). So I'm piecing my life back to together again. I'm trying to find whatever digital files I may have on random thumb drives, in my personal email account and on my external hard drive (that I obviously didn't use to its full capacity!!)

I pretty easily let this discourage me. I immediately had the feeling of "Why me??" I was upset at myself, upset at my computer and the entire technology industry ... and began to feel like everything in my life is UNFAIR.

But then perspective set in...
I lost computer files. That's it.
I lost some records of people who partner with me in ministry. I haven't lost those partners. I lost emails from friends with words of encouragement and affirmation. I haven't lost those friends... or the truths they have imparted to my mind and heart. I have lost a few photos from the last couple of months -- during my mom's leukemia journey. I haven't lost the memories, the lessons or the moments that we've been sharing together.

As I look around my circle of friends and think about the many struggles so many are facing, I begin to think... "Why, God?" "It's not fair..."

I was running those words through my mind the other night as I tried to fall asleep and the words that came to mind were these...
... you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Oh to have a greater perspective... to recognize the fullness of just being His and the trustworthiness of Him who has me.