new blog idea

In this new year, I'm challenging myself to take more pictures.  I've always been horrible at it... I figure everyone else will take the pics and I'll just make copies.  I don't think I'm creative at all... I don't "see" great scenes, or views, or angles, or whatever you need to be a great picture-taker.  So I started a 'photo-a-day' challenge.  It's been really fun and definitely challenging.  A lot of times I feel my life and the world around me is boring BUT this picture challenge has been helping me see the beauty in the everyday things!  Woohoo!

To take things a step further... because why not?!?!  I decided to start a picture blog (of sorts).  I plan on studying a book of the Bible each month.  Then each week take a picture that is inspired by what I've been reading/studying/learning/etc!  January was Titus... that proved to kick my butt!  I only did 1 picture... drum roll please... and here it is!

Titus to me is all about how we live and how we show/teach others to live!  My favorite (and probably most known) chapter in Titus is chapter 2. Paul is explaining to Titus that the church should be teaching each other.  Older men and women should be instructing the younger ones in how to live a godly life.  Every church member should be leading by example!

Every 3rd  Sunday, my church serves a meal to the needy at Fiesta Domingo (church/soup kitchen/food pantry/clothing closet).  We serve, chat, laugh, and comfort every person we come in contact with.  Every church member is welcome to come, young or old!  This is a great way for older members to lead the younger in godliness!  I love that my church doesn't just give lip service to God but actually lives out biblical truths.

I will try to do better in February!  I will get a picture blog out every week!  February's book is 1 Corinthians!

No place to lay my head...

I’ve been in the States and back home for about 7 weeks now.  I traveled to Lubbock, Texas a couple weeks ago to return to my previous job for a little bit before I head to Australia again.  Once again I am not in a place I call “home”.  The only stuff here I have that’s “mine” is what I could fit in a suitcase and small carry-on bag.  Oh yeah, and my car… that’s still mine!  It got me thinking more about Jesus’ life.  He had no house, no duplex, or apartment.  He didn’t have those comfy suede couches to lounge on wrapped up in his Texas Tech Snuggie.  (That’s right, I went there).  It reminds me of the verse in Luke 9:58:

 “And Jesus said to him ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’”

 The heading of this section in my ESV Bible is “The Cost of Following Jesus”.  Wow.  Is having no physical house and no comforts to call “my own” really one of the costs of following Jesus wholeheartedly??  Am I ready for this??  The last 7 weeks of my time in Australia, my team and I traveled to a different town each week, which means a new bed every week.  (And the term “bed” is used loosely… we praised God when we got an actual bed but many times we slept on the floor with sleeping bags.)  I have been living out of my suitcase since July 17^th and will continue to until I return to Australia in April.  Not to mention I lived, ate, slept, EVERYTHING with the same 8 people for 21 weeks.  I’m assuming Jesus had some “invasion of privacy” issues also.  At least that’s what I like to tell myself! 

My first Sunday back, the pastor’s message mentioned Mark 6.  The beginning of this chapter has Jesus sending out the 12 disciples.  Verse 8 says “He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff- no bread, no bag, no money in their belts.”  Oh wait… so I’m thinking about my lack of my own house, my own bed, this, that BUT Jesus tells the disciples to have NOTHING with them??  That makes me feel incredibly blessed!  Who cares about what I don’t have when I have God and His provision!  Here in Lubbock I have brothers and sisters in Christ, I have “second” parents and grandparents, I have support and encouragement, I have accountability, I have prayer warriors, I have a roof over my head (even though I don’t own it), I’m part of a church body… the list is endless. 

 So, I count it an honor and privilege to live my life in some way similar to Christ’s.  Isn’t that what we as Christians strive for? To live like Christ? To model His life in ours as much as we can?

Help Moms and Babies!

One of the great things about being in YWAM is becoming aware of the world's needs and getting the opportunity to fulfill those unmet needs.  During my first week in Australia, my team was "volunteered" to help assemble birthing kits.  We were all jetlagged, exhausted, confused because God was beginning to break our worldviews apart, and I know that I definitely didn't want to do more work after dinner.  "What the heck is a birthing kit?"  "I'm not even here for the medical ship!"  "This doesn't sound fun"  Those were a few of my COMPLETELY selfish thoughts at the time!  I was called to missions and specifically Australia and I'm already complaining in the first few days?   Nevertheless, that day I learned that God teaches in EVERY situation, that once again I'm so stinkin' prideful, and how important birthing kits are for developing nations!

Our medical ship (YWAM Medical Ships) travels to Papua New Guinea multiple times a year and delivers medical services during 1 week to 3 month stretches.  The volunteers that join are doctors, dentists, optometrists, ophthalmologists, nurses, midwives, educators, and other people, just like you and me, who want to address the needs of the poor in Papua New Guinea.  Women and their babies are at extreme risk for infection, hemorrhage, and even death in Papua New Guinea!  1 in 7 women die in childbirth! 

WE can help! WE can change the lives of countless moms and babies! A birthing kit is really easy and cheap to make!  Click here for the official Birthing Kit Foundation of Australia!  There you can read heaps of stories of how these simple kits made a big difference!

Here is what a birth kit has:

1 plastic sheet (approximately 1m x 1m or 1 yard x 1 yard) – for a clean birthing surface; to prevent mother and child from coming into contact with the floor or ground

1 bar of soap – for clean hands; to prevent the birth attendant from transmitting germs to mother and baby; for cleaning the stump to prevent infection

1 pair of plastic gloves – for clean hands; to prevent the birth attendant from transmitting germs to mother and baby

1 sterile scalpel blade – for a clean cut of the umbilical cord

3 cords/pieces of strong string (24cm or 10 inches long) – for clean ties for the umbilical cord (with an extra string included just-in-case); to prevent bleeding from the umbilical cord from mother and baby

5 gauze squares – to wipe secretions from the baby’s eyes and mothers perineum

 Here's how you can get involved!

Mail birthing kits to:
Bloggers for Birth Kits c/o Adriel Booker
YWAM Ships
PO Box 6221
Townsville, QLD 4810
Australia

Make a donation to YWAM Medical Ships (make the note "Bloggers for Birthing Kits" in the additional comments section) 100% of what is donated goes to supplies and distribution in rural Papua New Guinea!

Lastly, TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!!!

Christmas in Louisiana

This was the second Christmas I've spent in Lafayette, Louisiana.  The only family members that don't live in this town are my uncle and his wife BUT they came down this year so I've gotten to see every one of my relatives this year!  A big blessing knowing that I may not be able to visit for awhile!  The second best thing about Louisiana (and the South in general) is the food!  Cajun food is so flavorful and delicious! 

This is gumbo and potato salad.  The base of the liquid part is made with flour and oil.  Then you add water to it plus heaps of spices to make a delicious stock!  Then you add chicken, sausage, seafood, okra, whatever you love!  Lastly, add rice!  No gumbo would be complete without potato salad either!  My favorite meal!! Yum!


The weekend after I got back into the States, I went to a family Christmas party with my parents.  I was fortunate enough to reunite with a cousin of mine, Kylie, that I haven't seen in over 10 years!

Christmas Eve was spent at my brother and sister in law's house!  It was a great time to share about my time in Australia and my future vision and goals!  Of course, I got to play with my niece, Riley, ALL day! Loved it! 

 The whole kitchen was filled with little appetizers and desserts!

The children recieved presents of their own but the adults had a gift exchange!  My mom got a candle that smells like tropical fruit... I want to eat it!  I got Bath & Body Works body butter and hand soap.  It smells so good too!!!  I love things that smell wonderful!!

Overall, Christmas was a great, relaxing time spent with family!  Now, on to the new year!  I love setting goals (not resolutions!) for myself at this time of the year!  I'm so excited that most of my year will be in Australia with Youth with a Mission (YWAM) making a difference in the lives of countless youths!