God showed up... a look at my year... 2010-11

i have more Christmas shopping to do. my creative juices aren't flowing yet. they will. oh yes they will. i have time, in between doggy walks and uconn games, to get er done.

as i begin to reflect on the season.. god's love for sinners through Jesus.. i have looked back a bit at the year. its been a year like no other... a ton of the highest highs and lowest lows.. miracles.. deep joy and hurt...new adventures.. a lot of steps of faith... sin.. repent...believe the gospel..step out in faith..

the waltz of the christian life eh? (thank you dancing with the stars for the visual)

yet the lord's faithfulness and care have blown me away yet again. so here we go looking back at the lord's handy work. god showed up kids..

Jan: Great time with the family and shiner in CT. Road trip baby- Memphis & Harrisonburg.. and a night on a highway in Lexington.. so much snow!! Uconn games, more snow, & family time!! a new hire at the church and great hope and excitement for the year!! Amelia off to Peru! road trip training begins!! bring on the verge! poor colt :(. hang outs! hang outs! hang outs!

Feb: verge.. Haiti.. holy spirit.. rocking my world... spark group encouragement & kerby lane... road trips full and gaining steam.. intern connection team fun.. hang outs ! hang outs! hang outs! loving me some renovate ut! trivia Tuesday nights at the saucer! Special Olympics volunteering too.

March: spring break road trips!! fort myers, memphis, omaha, sherman, gonzales, piedras, beruit, D.R. oh my!!! over 120 folks trained and sent! florida or bust! then to CT for family birthday fun! then i took the long way back to TX and stopped and saw the huskies in VA! followed by an amazing and refreshing time at uw head coaches training in colorado! a lot of traveling.. but the lord is speaking as I'm on the go!

April: final four in san antonio with the family!!! huskies huskies huskies!!!!! intern recruitment and road trip follow up. SENT training begins, acts reading with the staff, the lord moving and speaking.. hang outs! hang outs! ... and a then god says enough.. my time with hill country ut ends.

May: a blur of shock, confusion, hurt, and Jesus having the wheel the entire time- emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion. Jesus speaking so clearly its incredible.. my condo sells in a day- I've never felt the lords love more then that day in he tooleys backyard... hotel tooley saves the day (and fill my stomach) . trips to vegas w' my sis and wisconsin to see melee kick ass... the packing begins. no idea what's next.. but feeling such amazing peace and freedom.. his voice was so clear... i feel so free...

June: uw training in oklahoma.. a soothing balm to a weary soul. then finishing packing & a few goodbyes as shiner & I leave austin for awhile for a road trip to the beach, and then to memphis and virginia to be with old friends who speak truth.

July: shiner and I make it to connecticut! rest, naps on the deck and family time help me recover my strength for 3 weeks of UW sports camp in VA, CT and MA . so great to be with a UW team partnering with churches to use sports to share the love of Christ. CA CAW! birthday questions at 5 guys too! then return to CT, and reach out to a few campus ministries and church plants about the fall.. but not feeling settled in that direction at all... read 'the shack' and 'a tale of three kings'..

Aug: mental battle still tough..a week in cape cod enjoying 'eat, pray, love'. head and heart decide to stay in CT for awhile.. not sure what to do now.. but feeling rested and excited.. make contact with the master's school.. and over drinks at chili's a new business venture is pondered.

Sept: jv volleyball and varsity basketball coaching jobs! lods of love ct pet services is launched! loving your pets well while you're away!!! young explorers class begins! trip to austin to say goodbyes, watch the yankees get spanked and grab a few boxes... god is moving and healing.. and we got season tickets to uconn basketball games! also saw jennifer knapp live and chatted with her.. kansas cd plays really loud with the top down! i am home.. after 14 years away, I've moved back home!!

Oct: settling in and finding a rhythm. my home church away from home becomes home :): valley community baptist church and its saturday night service. volleyball is much more then bump, set, spike. shiner loves my parents and their comfy couch. are time with griff, gianna and ellafanfreakingtastic! feeling blessed to serve so many clients and their pups!!! and it's not that cold :)

Nov: ellie, shiner and I have fun while family is in aruba.. uconn men and women begin their awesomeness.. a very thankful holiday with the family.. and a lot of pets to love on! and the Connecticut Whale are back!!! hometown paper interview too! busy busy busy but jesus has taken the wheel. so blessed! and it's not that cold (with a few layers)

Dec: wow it's december. where did the semester go? (yes i still see life in semesters) in awe at what the lord has done to bring me to this point. his voice was so clear in the spring and his love and leading has been incredible. family. the masters school. valley. lods of love ct. and 89-0. nicole and amelia are visiting! and keith tooley is a pastor once again.. all is right with the world. happy birthday jesus! (and supposedly its cold.. but a Christmas miracle has me adjusted fine to the elements!)

yes god showed up. he spoke. i listened, obeyed, stepped out in faith.. and my goodness, his love, care and provision have been truly amazing.. i am still a stumbling, bumbling, big fat sinning ragamuffin.. but a very loved one as well.

a thrill of hope! the weary world rejoices! for yonder brings.. a new and glorious morn!!

i can't thank sarah, the tooleys, trish, jimmy & christine( go road trip!!) lisa, susan at cfrc, md, todd, justin, sam and the uw staff, susan & britton, sharon & jane, jordan, bradford & aubry, nicole, the masters school, my family & the college students enough.. they prayed for, cared for, and loved me very, very, well. may you know the love of christ more this year..


i hang out with my family. i care for and love on cats and dogs. i coach high school sports. i pick up poop. i watch uconn sports. i do px90. i teach kindergartners about jesus.

and all is right with the world... God continues to show up!

88-0

yes my huskies are about to (god willing) make history. the uconn women's basketball team will play florida state tomorrow night, and if they win, will hold the record for most consecutive wins by a men's or women's collegiate basketball team..

giddee up. i will be there yelling my head off and hopefully drinking in celebration afterwards.

but it got me thinking.. what would it be like to be 88-0 . to find a way to win every night you faced an opponent. no matter the talent against you.. no matter the opposing coaches game plan.. no matter the injuries or illnesses.. no matter the team you have assembled.. or changes to that team.. no matter the leadership.. or changes in that leadership.. no matter the venue.. the time.. the crowd you play before...

you find a way to win.. over seasons.. over years...

to give your all every game.. in front of 1000's of witnesses.. and to not stop until victory is attained..

and this is about basketball... a game.. a hobby for some.. a job for some..

and these are women.. the weaker, sensitive ones..

not one coach.. not one team.. has solved the uconn women's basketball mystery...

well yes heather.. since leaving austin you've gone coocoo for uconn cocoa puffs..

nah.. I've always been this nutty. (see tattoo on right calf)

but as I've cheered on my huskies from my couch and in the stands, its begun to hit me what it must be like to be 88-0..

the pressure and expectations..

but also.. why don't we all give it our all each and every day.. when witnesses are watching.. or not..

do we have an inner drive and passion that makes us stop at nothing until the goal is accomplished..

i have felt that.. most of my time in austin was like that.. when I'm coaching now i feel glimpses of it.. but i look around and don't see many with that look.. that drive.. that passion..

to go 88-0.. or strive for anything close to it..

church.. what the hell are you doing most of the time?

right right.. its women's basketball heather.. well then, where the hell is Tennessee? Stanford? unc? duke? lsu? and all the other women's basketball powerhouses?? not every all american goes to uconn. what is it about this land of storrs that has produced this streak?


freakin tree..

88-0. in basketball.. in life..

giddee up huskies...

Titles of books I haven't written yet...

1- For the Love
2- The Art of Sarcasm
3- How to Be a Passionate Sports Fan
4- What Really Happened (and other conspiracy theories put to rest)
5- How to Survive in the South
6- How to Survive in New England
7- Sweet Nectar of the Gods- The History of Diet Coke
8- Singleness- It doesn't have to be Akward (or suck)
9- Holy Spirit on 3 (co-written by MD)
10-How Christians have screwed up Christianity
11- Why God should hit the re start button
12- Why People Hate Christians
13- Why Jesus Hates most Christians
14- Thank God my Father Raised me a NY Yankee Fan
15- Weddings- How the World has set the cost and stolen the image of the Gospel
16- Authentic Community: The story of a Longhorn band member, Ultimate Frisbee Player, Church Staffer, Nurse, 2 dogs, 2 cats & a llama

# 84

Top ten's lists are everywhere.. of course they are best on Sportscenter.. Letterman is just too weird for me.. but the city of austin seems to major in top ten lists. the city seems to be on every list!

• top 10 up and coming cities
• top ten place to live if your single
• top ten greenest city
• top ten film making city
• top ten place to live in ten years
• top ten place to meet your mate (ok might have made that up)..

but everyone seems to know how cool austin is.. and over the past 5 years when i told people i lived they, their response was always, "what a cool city" or 'i've heard great things" or "that's right by san antonio and the riverwalk right?" :) . yes my coolness factor increased while living there.

But i've decided to leave austin, the #1 live music city capitol of the world.. and move home.. to the #84 best places to live :).

ok bristol.. or connecticut, actually, doesn't have any cool slogans... or the ones we do.. need a little work:

• bristol- home of the oldest wooden roller coaster
• connecticut- the nutmeg state!
• hartford- we're in the middle (of boston and new york!)
• hartford- the insurance capitol of the world
• bristol- home of espn!! (ok that does make us really cool.. and i have seen sportscenter live!)
• hartford- we used to have the hartford whalers
• connecticut- home of the University of Connecticut Huskies!!!
• hartford- part time home of some UCONN games :)

so yeah.. its no austin.. and i think you can fit like 10 Connecticut's or more into the state of texas.. but i've decided to come back anyway..

why? well leaving my job at hill country ut didn't mean i was leaving austin... and in the months following my resignation I did a lot of resting and traveling, but it was always in the back on my mind to return to austin eventually, jump in with another church and continue to hit the ground running in my burnt orange tee yelling hook em (as i secretly checked the UCONN , NY football Giants and Yankee's score :).

but then, after a month of sports camps in new england, much prayer, godly counsel, reading a small book that was recommended to me (ask me and i'll tell you), and family time ... i've decided to leave the city of austin... and move home..

god gave me 3 reasons.. although there are a few more... but the big 3 are:

1- to preserve unity

2- to spend more time with my family

3- to bring the gospel to new england and the ridiculous amount of college students and other folks up this way who think people that are way into jesus are nut jobs.. along with other things i'll tell you later..

do i love the college students at the University of Texas and do i miss them? YES! I also miss dear friends that knew my heart well.. I miss mama fu's and trivia nights.. I miss renevate ut meetings and partnering with other ministries to get all of our students on mission. i miss the village and walking shiner in hyde park...

but #84 was calling. God has been calling me 'home' for a long time. so here am! not sure for how long.. awhile i think.. will i return to austin ? yes! my stuff is still there ! but also dear people i love.. so keep your ears open for a 'heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy' really soon..

will i return for good some day? you never know.. jesus is silly that way.. but for now i have a uconn football game and ny yankee game to watch...

:)

What I'm jamming to..

JOHN'S FIELD
Melissa Ferrick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1aOSqA479g

Time seems slow when I'm sittin' around at home,
Waitin' for this winter to lift,
So I feel my way around my half-lit house
At dawn, 'cause I haven't gone to bed yet,
And then, oh, no! Here comes a song again,
And what's this? I think I might be cryin'.

And I know this is not about fear or fault;
It's just my need to be clear.
So would you make way, everybody?
It finally looks like I'm movin' out of here.
In my dreams, I'm flyin' over still-life scenes.
I've been eatin' strawberries in John's field,
And I wake up wearin' brand-new shoes,
And then, oh, no! Here it comes, the song again,
And what's this? I think I might be cryin'.
I might be cryin'.

If life is just a series of fallin' down and gettin' back up,
Don't forget, everybody, to wear your seat belts,
'Cause I've been speedin' around this unknown known
And sometimes I forget, too:
Life is just a metronome.
With or without me, it would all go on.
With or without you, this would all go on,
And without you, I'm gonna go on.
I'm gonna go on.
And then, oh, yes! here it comes: a song again.
And what's this? I think I'm finally, finally cryin'.
Thank all the gods for cryin'.

Mr.Gray
Jennifer Knapp

It’s as bad as it has been
For over 20 years but then
I haven’t been here all my life
And all the wells are going dry
All the bankers saying “bye-bye, Mr. Gray,
We’re glad we met
But no money yet.”

If I show my hands
Would you watch them bleed?
Long enough to prove they are indeed in need of mercy
In need of mercy

Dawn always breaks the noonday high
Shade rarely offers alibi
Or decent rest for such a man. If I think, I can
Try harder some might say that I’m smarter
But only God knows
Only God knows who I am

Chorus

I try to laugh about it
I try not to cry about it
Mamma always hates it when I cry
What will it take to convince
This is just the road to excellence
Faith before the skeptic’s eye

I need your mercy me I need your mercy, mercy me.

Both are touring in New England too.. Lucky me!

What I've been doing...

• Visiting dear friends in Virginia
• Trip to Yankee Stadium
  
• Family picnics/ birthdays
  
• Enjoying 85 degree weather
  
• Walks against fatness with Shiner
  
• Grilling out
• Drinking a lot of Diet Coke
  
• Enjoying 5 Guys Burgers & Fries
• Watching The NY Yankees with my Dad
• UW Sports Camps in New England & Virginia
  
• Chatting with Church Planters braving it in New England
• Researching health insurance & new cell phone services
  
• Thinking of starting my own business
• Drinking McDonald's Diet Coke
• Driving with Griffin in the jeep with the top down singing and doing the hand motions while the "Go The Distance" CD is blasting..
  
• Reading "The Tale of 3 Kings" and "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years"
• Talking to Jesus
  

I'm heading to Cape Cod tomorrow.. Then hopefully Virginia again, then to Mohegan Sun and Yankee Stadium... :), while reading "Eat, Pray, Love", "The Prodigal God", and "People Can Change".

There is no where else I could imagine being, then here. Then is nothing else I could imagine myself doing, then this.

Jesus has taken the wheel. He is good. I feel/ am so free.

:)

I'm home...

I am home. My family is here, my dog is here, and my team of interns are here. Sports camp at my church in Avon, CT begins tomorrow and I am excited. I hope my nephew has a blast and I hope my little cousins come and watch. Were expecting over 100 kids at camp!!

Please be praying for energy, a strong loud voice, for people to feel loved, and for God to move. We will also be doing a camp for inner city kids in Hartford every afternoon!! Giddee up!

Also pray on Weds. at 1:30pm!! That's when my closing is!! Come on Jesus!!

One week in Conn. Then off to Massachusetts. Please be praying!

I also finished the book, A tale of 3 kings. It was really, really good. Thank you John Herrington, for the recommendation.

I feel good. Satan is still trying to mess with my head. Please pray that I can fight him with the truth of scripture, and stay in the now, focusing on what god is now calling me to do each and every day..

Birthday week baby!! Jesus take the wheel!

I am home.

... if we ever leave a legacy, let it be that we loved each other well... I.G.

...some say that I am much to demanding to want a better place than here... J.K.

my summer vacation :)... so far

I've been drinking.. lots of diet coke :); been doing lots of traveling; visiting old friends; hanging with the family; playing bananagrams; watching the yankees win; playing with my nephew and cousins; taking walks against fatness with shiner; laughing a lot; and preparing for camp!! it has been a great summer vacation.. so far!!! but giddee up.. sports camps are here!!!

for the 6th summer in a row, I am blessed to serve as a head coach with uw sports ministry. I will be training churches in virginia, connecticut, and massachusetts (east coast baby!!) on how to use sports as a vehicle to love on and share the gospel. i will be with a team of college students putting on 2 sports camps a day, seeing hundreds of children each week learn new sports skills and hearing more about jesus.. and having lots of fun!!

uw sports ministry is awesome!! god has used this ministry to heal and transform me, as well as 1000's of children over the years! it allows me to use my gifts and combines my love of discipling college students, teaching and coaching children, equipping the church, and connecting people to christ, his people, and his calling on their lives!!

uw sports ministry trains and equips churches in the US and overseas! The hope is to see 1 million people come to christ by 2014!! please check out http://uwsportsministry.org to see where the ministry is serving this summer and how you can pray!

I would like to ask you to pray for my team ! Here's a few suggestions:

• energy
• good weather
• lots of campers!
• holy spirit to do his thing!
• safety traveling
• excited and energetic church volunteers
• that the good news of jesus to be proclaimed boldly and clearly
• that the children will fill loved

i am still raising funds to support the ministry. my goal is to raise $1800 and the deadline has been extended until july 31st!!

if you would like to support me you can do it online!! just go to http://uwsportsministry.org and click on the giving link! then just follow the prompts and put my name in the memo! or you can email me and i'll send you my address to where you can send checks. all donations are tax deductible!

I will blog more in the upcoming weeks and share all that god is doing! thank you for partnering with me in life and ministry! thanks for loving me well!

-heather 'lods'

a sabbaths rest..

so as i sit at the lake watching pti after a nap, it dawns on me how tired i am. I can't remember the last time i napped.. i'm not that guy... a napper.. college students nap! older, more mature adults nap! :). not heather lods!

so either the prescription meds i was put on today for my cough knocked me out, or i was really tired.. or both. :)

i am tired. and so i rested. but i also completed my list of to do's this week and came out to the lake to rest. i came to the lake for a sabbath.

god took a sabbath. and then he commanded us to take a sabbath. yeah its one of the big 10. its that important to god. jesus had no trouble restuing... i on the other hand, have a hard time resting. i, as many of you know, run and run and run and run.. til my feet fall off (shout out to mouse tales baby!) resting.. even though i have tried harder this year then any, is still very hard for heather lods...

but now i'm entering a season of rest. a sabbath season to rest, and then prepare, for a new work. recently the lord told me that my work at hill country ut was completed. i didn't believe him. no way! I hadn't helped them reach the entire campus yet! I hadn't help them connect every student to christ, his community and his calling on their lives to be missionaries yet! i had more hang outs to be had! right lord?? right???

no.

he told me that i had finished my work. he told me that it was time to leave and rest, and that it was ok to leave and rest. 4 years and 11 months after i had moved to austin to partner with some amazing people to plant a church specifically to reach the university of texas, he told me that my '6 days' of work had been completed, and now it was time to rest.

jesus.. really? really? golly... but.. ok. holy spirit on 3...

to rest, to be, to drink lots more diet coke :) to spend more time with my family, to take a sabbath. he has freed me from my work for a sabbaths rest...

this christian life is nutty. following jesus, trusting him, obeying him is nutty... most of the time i suck at it. i am faithful and loyal to people, sports teams, restaurants, walks against fatness, but stumble and bumble at this christ following spiritual faithfulness thing big time.

jesus always has to take the wheel.. he has to completely take over. and that is a good good thing. the best thing..

i want to thank hill country ut for allowing me this amazing opportunity to serve along side of them. it has been such a great joy.. golly so great. i was humbled and amazed at these folks great faith and love toward the students at UT. and they let a sarcastic ny yankees fan from new england in on their fun. they inspired me with their faith and belief that jesus would reach the city, and the campus. i have no doubt that they will! i will miss this community of believers!

i have so many memories...and my heart bursts when i think of students, dodgeballs, spring break trips. entrepreneurs, einsteins hang outs, walks, milkshakes, :) texts, the joy of emails and facebook chats, spidey sense, magical powers, renevate ut, missional communities, and just spending time with hundreds of students every semester, sharing my life and the gospel with them, and seeing jesus transforming their lives right before my eyes...

thank you jesus.

thank you for this season. to be used in your work was a humbling, incredible, joyful time. fanfreakingtastic.. amazing.. life changing..

thank you denny and bridget, for inviting me to come to austin to join the dream of hill country ut. thank you josh and erica for teaching me to worship. thank you sarah and candace for being my voice and knowing my heart. thank you adults for pouring into students and into me. thank you students for answering my emails :), for the hangouts, for not settling for less than all of jesus.

i pray that if i did leave any type of legacy at all, it was that i tried, i really really tried, to love people well... thank you for putting up with my attempt..

Thoughts from the verge....

So I've had a few days to ponder anew, what the verge conference can do.. or has done in my head and heart. I haven't had much time to process, but here are a few things I'm chewing on:

• The 'church' is a collection of Christ-followers who gather on a regular basis to worship, pray, take communion, baptize new (and I emphasize NEW) believers & learn the scriptures... not a building.. so I'm not sure we should even have our own buildings.. it confuses Christ followers. They forget they are the 'church'.
  

• I'm moving to Haiti. Well not really, but the focus on the poor, the orphans, widows and the least of these was moving and convicting. But you don't need to go to Haiti to love and serve these folks. The Western 'church' must do more. I must do more.
  

• The 'church' spends too much time on focusing on Christians. By all means Yes for Sunday worship, teaching and communion. Yes to a small group or accountability. But that's it. You got the Holy Spirit. You got a Bible. Come on- self sustaining faith on 3!! The 'church' should then go out and redeem the culture. Sunday 9am-11am- focus on believers. The rest of the time we are sent out to serve, love, and share Jesus with the world.
  

• The definition of discipleship is not what you think. Over and over the speakers talked about discipleship in the context of people that don't know Jesus. Evangelism. I really thought they were speaking on the wrong topic. Nope. Just seems I had the wrong definition. Life on Life, investing your life and the gospel in someone... that doesn't know Jesus, that's discipleship!

• Missional means many things to many people.. same with missional communties...and this has led to a simple thought becoming a jumbled, mangled, mess that people think is to hard to accomplish. I mean what do you love to do? Find people who don't know Jesus that love to do it too. Hang out! Be intentional! Too complicated? Love God. Love your neighbor (or classmate, roommate, hall mate, workmate, family, friends, etc etc).
  

• Speakers like to wear black.

• Frances Chan is a great communicator. I hope he can move his 'church' missional. I really do.

• Ed Stetzer said it best. "The 'church' has made it acceptable to sit in the pews week and after week and do nothing, and call yourself a Christian." The American or western 'church' has said it's been born again, and knows the Living God, but lives pretty joyless, spiritless life.. Who wants that?
  

• Frances's, can I call him Frances? He said that when he tells his daughter to clean her room, she doesn't go pray about it. She doesn't go get some friends and do a study on it. She doesn't go memorize what he said. She goes and cleans her room! But when Jesus says do something, or don't do something, what does the 'church' do? Convicting as all get out...

• The 'church' should be the most generous folks in the world...and we should laugh the loudest & cry the hardest.

• Spiritual disciplines are needed yes, but can we rename them, or preach a lot of gospel around them? I mean whats cool about spiritual disciplines? That's gonna make someone want to give their life to Jesus? We can't reduce the faith to them.

• You shouldn't have to say missional disciples. Disciples should be missional. A Christ- follower is a missionary. We shouldn't have to beg Christ- followers to be missional.
  

• The biting sarcasm of Jesus is awesome. I knew he was from the Northeast! :)

• Are we for people or against them? Do we point out God's work in them? Can we find a little bit of truth & then just listen.. really listen?? I can list the people the 'church' is not for.. and so can the world.. sad :(

• Ordinary life + gospel intentionality = hanging out with less church people and instead focusing on folks that don't know Him yet

More to come.. A lot more is stirring in my head and heart.. How bout yours? What's going on in your head and heart?

a few thoughts...

So I went blog crazy over Christmas break, and then have been silent since.. My bad.. I had a lot of free time watching the snow fall in Connecticut with my family. But since I've been back in Austin.. Life has been nutty. That's typical in my world of college ministry. Mid Jan. until March it's crazy. Relaunching, motivating, tweaking, encouraging, gathering, connecting, praying, data collecting, spring break training, 35 day journeying, a new pastor acclimating, and then a conference... So I apologize being absent.

In the mean time I've been enjoying my dog and our daily 'walk against fatness' and my roommates- 'The Village", as we call it. I have enjoyed living in community.

However, there is a stirring inside my heart.. Been growing for awhile now.. It may just be excitement over my Uconn Lady Huskies, and the NY Yankees, but I think it's something more.

I'll be back with more thoughts.. Jesus take the wheel...

2009 was a very______________ year :)

2009 was a very freeing, revealing , unbelievable , eventful , love-filled , defining , very blessed/ at times challenging but full of grace and full of growth , surprising/ life changing , surprising , fantabulous , stretching , emotionally straining , slow , interesting , odd , challenging , crazy , adventure-filled , growing/ epiphany , ridiculous , emotional , learning , radical , trial & error , revealing, humbling truths , chaotic , amazing, breathtaking , unique , emotional , eventful , learning , interesting , crazy , humbling, excrcuciatingly great , jazzy , perspectivizing , long , crazy & eye opening , anxious , nonstop , faith invoking , glad its over , unbelievably intense , good & bad , satisfying , encouraging , emotional , blessed, golden , challenging , enlightening , humbling year (not my words.. yours)