a new kind of worship

Kyle and I were in the car the other day when he wanted to listen to music. He said he didn't care what we listened to, so I put on a Czech worship CD (to see how he would react). He now has a new favorite worship song, and asks me to play it every time we're driving. I liked the song before...and now I appreciate it in a different way. Plus, I love the lyrics!

Here's the song:

Ke Slávě Tvé

Ježíš Kristus On je Král
Ježíš Kristus On je Král
On žije, On z mrtvých vstal

Před ním se jednou pokloní
Celé nebe a celá zem
Vždyt všechno, co On učinil
Stvořil ke chvále své
Ke chvále své jmenou

(Thank you Katka Vlnova for translating this...you probably don't even remember doing it.)

Jesus Christ He is King
Jesus Christ He is King
He’s alive, He rose from the dead

In front of Him, I will one day bow
The whole sky and the whole ground
And so everything He’s made
Was created for His glory
To praise His name

funny videos

My family keeps telling me I find the funniest videos on YouTube. I keep telling them, my friends find them, and I pass them along. So I thought I would pass along some of my favorite YouTube videos.

Kyle and Blake showed me these two videos...they're a couple of their favorites.

Blood (Don't be confused by the title, it's not gory in any way.)

Charlie Bit My Finger

Lady goes back to work after many years...
(Thanks to Judy Brack)


The Translator (even though it should be called 'The Interpreter')
I hope no one gets offended by this. It just shows how important it is to have a good interpreter...in a funny way.

And last, but not least...

Confessions of a Tooth Fairy (Thank you Ryan Schultz)
By the way, this entire video has been quoted many many times at our house.

my status

This time of waiting is finally coming to an end! (At least, I hope so!)

Praise God, I'm at 95% with my monthly support! This means, I'll probably be heading back to Czech in February!

I'm a little hesitant to post this, since I'm not at 100% and don't know for sure that I'll be leaving in February, but I also want to ask you to pray with me! Please pray that God will provide the last little bit of support so I can get back to Czech soon. Also pray that He will continue to draw me closer to Him in the process. It's so easy for me to feel like I'm at 95%, so I'm already there, instead of remembering that the last 5% won't come in without Him. He has continually provided and shown His faithfulness and I pray that I'll continue to seek Him with this last little bit. I also want to keep seeking Him in other areas, as well. I don't want the support to be the only thing drawing me to my knees.

This Psalm has been one of my favorites lately.

"Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol Him, all peoples!
For great is His steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!"
-Psalm 117

Hopefully my next post will include my departure date!

food logs

Kyle and Blake (11 & 9) have to log what they're eating for school. Blake was helping Kyle what he's eaten this week (of course, he's doing his daily reading log on Sunday), and here's part of the conversation that was going on:

Blake: What kind of Pepsi, diet or regular?

Kyle: Diet?!? I'm not on a diet!

Me: You know, some people drink diet pop because they like the taste.

Blake: HOW?!?

13 Ways to Bless Missionaries Without Paying for Postage

I came across this blog post, and thought I'd share it with you:

13 Ways to Bless Missionaries Without Paying for Postage

Since I'm not overseas right now, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to encourage you to pray for and encourage the missionaries you know. A couple of my favorites from this list are: pray for the missionary and email it to them, and make them a video. It's amazing how much it means when you hear a familiar voice or see a familiar face...even if it's through a video. The other ideas are great as well, those are the two that stood out to me the most.

So if you know of any missionaries (besides me), I would encourage you to pray for them, and consider encouraging them in a different way. And if you don't know any missionaries, and want to be praying for one (or more)...let me know and I can get you connected. I'm often amazed when I hear of people who are praying for me who I've never even met. It's truly a blessing to have people on their knees praying for the ministry.

1 Thessalonians 5:11, "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."

a conversation with Blake

Me: Hey Blake...?
Blake: Yeah?
Me: I love you.
Blake: I love you too.
Me: I love you more.
Blake: Uh-uh, I love you more than the universe!
Me: I love you more than infinity!
Blake: Well, God loves me more!
Me: Hmm...
*pause*
Blake: Haha. I win!
Me: Yeah.

Taekwondo and God's faithfulness

This morning, I had the opportunity to watch some dear friends of the family test for their next belts in Taekwondo. Allison, Bethany, AND their dad, Gary all tested and moved on to their next belt. Way to go you guys!

It’s crazy to think that this would happen in a situation like this, but God revealed something to me about His faithfulness while I was watching different people test for their belts. See, in Taekwondo, in order to move up to the next belt, you have to break a board with either your hand or foot (maybe head too, I just didn’t see that one). There are other things you need to do in the testing, but the final part is breaking the board.

As I watched people break the wood, it looked easy for some and more difficult for others. During the testing of one of the levels, all the students started breaking their boards. One by one they started receiving their belts and moving off the mats, until there were only a few left. One lady was having a particularly hard time breaking her board. She gets ready…kicks…and nothing. At this point, people are starting to cheer her on. She prepares herself again…kicks…and again, nothing. I’m sure the pressure is building by this time, but so is the encouragement. People all around her are getting louder and encouraging more and more. She kicks! And the board cracks in two! Cheers erupt from all around!! I didn’t even know this lady, but I was excited for her!

That was when it hit me. Sometimes it seems like this is what God does with us. The anticipation building up made it even more exciting when she was finally able to break her board. Those who broke their boards on the first try hardly received any applause, but when it was harder for someone, people seemed happier for them when they were able to break their boards. I think there are times when God does this with us. Often times we pray and wonder why God doesn’t answer us right away. But when we pray continually about something for a long period of time, we’re that much more thankful for it when He answers those prayers. I think that when God withholds something from us for a while, it builds our faith so that when He answers our prayers, we know it’s from Him!

God IS faithful! He will provide all we need according to His glorious riches!

Answered Prayers...Yay God!!

My dear friend Ellie has been going through the process of applying for her Missionary visa in order to get to Brazil. Last April, she submitted her paperwork for the first time and has prayed for good news ever since. She was told she didn't have all the paperwork, then she needed copies of something else...then they said she needed her certificate of ordination...it's been quite the process. Many people have been praying for her and her visa, and we've been amazed at God's work in her life in the process.

After many trips back and forth to the consulate, in some ways it felt as if it was never going to happen. I mean, deep down I believed it would...but I started to wonder how long it was going to take, or when we'd ever hear good news. But...

Today, we received the news that Ellie's visa is approved!! Yaay! What a blessing!

I want to shout from the rooftops that GOD IS GOOD!! As long and often as I've pleaded with Him for this to happen, I want to praise Him that HE is the one who made this happen!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!

a random fact (have I used this title before?)

For those of you who don't know, my aunt is the pilot of the Energizer Bunny hot air balloon. It's funny, because she's been a hot air balloon pilot since before I was born, so this isn't new information for me. What I find funny, is the reactions I get when I tell people. See, this is normal for my family. And while it's always fun to crew for her and get that time with her...it's still normal. But apparently it isn't normal for everyone. I'm reminded of this every time I mention it. For some reason, I always think I'm going to get the same reaction as if I just told them my aunt is a realitor...but the reactions always catch me off guard.

Anyway, all this to say...because she's the pilot of the Energizer balloon, she also gets the opportunity to be in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (in New York) every year. So it's becoming a family tradition to watch the parade for Aunt Glo. This year, I was telling the boys that some people actually watch the parade just for the parade...they didn't believe me.

What are some of your Thanksgiving traditions?

advent conspiracy

I was reading my friend Nate's blog and decided to use his idea and post the same video he posted. So thanks Nate...I agree, THIS is a much better way to spend our money this Christmas.

how the digital world has changed the way kids look at things

Remember when your mom would take pictures of you? She'd take a picture and you'd see it in a few weeks after all the pictures were taken on the roll and finally brought in to get developed. If you were picture 1 or 2 of 24...you might even have to wait MONTHS in order to see them. And forget it if your mom found a deal on 36 exposure film. I remember getting pictures back such a long time after they were taken that I hardly remembered the event they were taken at. Okay, maybe you guys were faster on us at this, but you MUST remember the waiting. Oh, and then the times when you couldn't wait to get a certain picture back, just to find that you blinked and don't really want to frame that picture anymore.

It's amazing how much the digital world has changed things. We can take hundreds, even thousands of pictures, and it doesn't change anything. And we can see them right away! (This would have blown my mind 15 years ago!) Take my nephew for example:

Hayden is two years old. I took a picture of him and his cousin (Blake), and right after the flash went off, Hayden said, "(let) me see!" I turned the camera around to show him and he said, "AWW!"

I love how a two-year-old understands the concept of digital cameras. He knows that as soon as a picture is taken, he can see it. Imagine him trying to wrap his mind around sitting still for a portrait!

even now...

I had the opportunity to attend two of the eleven vision nights, Minneapolis and Chicago. I was excited to see so many people and meet new people in Minneapolis, then I was blown away by the huge family reunion that happened in Chicago!

I want to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the JV Vision nights! For those of you who put things together, came to set up or tear down, people who were praying, and those of you who were able to come to share the vision...thank you! Katka and Lauree...you're awesome! I don't know what we would have done without you! On Thursday night, I stayed until midnight talking to people, and I still didn't get enough time to talk with everyone. You guys amazed me by your support and excitement. I'm so thankful for all of you!

a quick prayer request

As some of you might remember, I posted recently about the JV Vision Nights. I'm in Minneapolis now for the Vision Night that will be on Monday here, and I'll head back to Chicago in time for the one in Oak Brook on Thursday.

Please pray for us during these vision nights.

Also, it's not too late to sign up! If you're interested in coming, you can RSVP here: http://www.2x3campaign.com/rsvp. It would be great to have you there!

~Autumn~

i love it!

the fam

My cousin Laura got married this last weekend and it was a beautiful wedding! It was also really nice to see so many relatives. All of my moms siblings were there, as well as all of their spouses, and nine out of the sixteen cousins made it. It seemed like we were only missing a couple cousins because it was all but two of the girl cousins. It was also nice because my whole (immediate) family was there, too. I think the last time we got a family picture, Dawn had a mullet (it's been THAT long)! Gretchen came up for the wedding and is visiting for the week, so I'm sure I'll be posting more pictures of the kids sometime soon.

being an aunt is the best!

Exit 316 - "The Mission"

The Exit team has been busy preparing for the launch of a new season of broadcast. Last weekend they trained 430 small group leaders in four locations in how to use the small group materials to start "Exit Clubs" - evangelistic small groups that discuss the exit episodes. Several students have trusted Christ through the last series of Exit and are now leading groups themselves!

"Exit 316 - The Mission" is broadcast every Sunday morning at 8:30 and Thursday afternoon at 15:00. The entire season centers around the life of a 17-year old girl in Prague who is studying at a dance school. After a near death experience, she is sent on a series of "missions" by an angel named Krystof, who is challenged at every step by a dark angel named Desmon. Testimonies, interviews, and video clips fill in the big picture for the topic of the week.

This is a unique opportunity to share the gospel at a national level in an extremely atheistic country. Pray that God uses this broadcast for His glory and draws many to Him.

good times with good friends

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to my friend Dan's wedding in Virginia. The four of us (Ellie, Dan, Ryan & I) met at MTI in February where we built an incredible bond between the four of us! A few weeks later, we were able to meet the infamous "Mary" who we had already heard so much about (and even talked with on the phone). Not long after MTI, Dan was filling us in on his trip to get the ring from Mary’s parents, then his surprise trip to propose to Mary…we were so filled in that when Mary called that day...we knew why she was calling! Who would have thought that we would have all been able to be there for the wedding? Ellie took the bus down from Minneapolis and it took us 13 hours to get there, and it took Ryan 14 hours to get there from Oklahoma. And it was SO worth it to be there for our good friends, Dan & Mary!

JV Capital Campaign

In just a short time, ALL of JV will be in the states for a HUGE event...the Capital Campaign. Between October 26th and November 13th, JV will be visiting 11 different locations, having a "vision night" in each one. These nights are designed for people who are connected to someone in JV, through prayer, or support, or they met them at the grocery store.... We're making a big push for big projects like Exit 316, and we're doing what we can to help our nationals get up to 100%. The Campaign is just around the corner! Please be praying for everyone involved, as we're building up to something big. And let's also pray that God will do something big through this.

Here's a list of locations and dates. Let me know if you would like to go to one of these, and I'll make sure you get an invitation and all of the details you need!

10/26 - Seattle - TBD
10/28 - Portland - Marriott Waterfront Downtown Hotel
10/30 - Phoenix - Westin Keirland Resort
11/1 - San Jose - Marriott Downtown Hotel
11/3 - Pasadena - Westin Hotel
11/6 - Atlanta - Grand Hyatt Downtown Hotel
11/7 - Hamilton*, ONTARIO - Crowne Plaza Hotel
11/8 - Peoria - The Waterhouse
11/10 - Minneapolis - Marriott Downtown Hotel
11/11 - Denver - Hyatt Regency Hotel
11/13 - Chicago - TBD