For such a time as this...

In this season of absolute chaos there are few things that bring me peace and calm.  My time reading and praying has been something I have sought in new ways to fill me up each day.  I praise God for the things that he allows me to go through to push me to my knees and realize the inadequacy of...me.  

(1st Row: Lucka, Amy, Me, Kim 2nd Row: Rebekah, Katka, Daniela and Jitka)

One of the other great things is my Monday night Bible study with my friends.  We get together each Monday and study the book of Esther with Beth Moore.  It's a great time to sit down and take a deep breath together and learn more about God and what he has purposed us for.  

I am so thankful for these women.  I have grown up with deep and dear relationships with my sisters and friends and God knew that I would need other deep and sincere relationships to make my life here in Czech work. Half Czech and Half American we are all brought together by Jesus - so rad!  He is so faithful and good to me to provide these women!

Singin in the Choir!

Funny story...
y'know how last week when I was in Katowice I was totally walkin down memory lane with the choir concert? Well this last week in Opava we attended the Tensing Choir practice. The choir was preparing to join the Dizmas guys at the end of their concert, I was sitting in the back of the room during the rehearsal, enjoying being a spectator.
The director came up to me and told me to join, because the kids wanted us to participate. It was hilarious. I was mouthing the words the whole time because I couldn't hear the alto part. My face was red, I was nervously laughing the whole time. Hilarious!
Thereza the girl next to me said that she would only sing if I did. Ha, yeah right! I'm all about ministry, but I do it on my terms. But after I confided the story to the choir director he was so surprised that she was actually at the practice and wanted to sing that I felt a pressure to sing in the concert. I saw her a few more times this last week and each time she reminded me that I had promised. I was in disbelief that I was actually considering singing. But...I did, here is the proof.
What can I say? A promise is a promise. Here I am in the middle of the choir and Thereza standing in front of me.

First Week of Tour: Opava

First week of Exit Tour is done...(exhale long deep breath!) We spent 5 full days in schools putting on preview concerts, playing "American Reality Show Challenge" and connecting with kids during the afternoon activities. It was exhausting. Up early - going all day - and ending each night way past my bedtime. But on Friday night...it was all worth it!

Dizmas played to a crowd that was packed into the seats and was three deep in the aisles. All I kept thinking was..."they are going to hear the gospel!!!" The crowd was having a blast, the guys were rocking their butts off, it was a great night!

Zach sharing the gospel to the crowd! After he finished the crowd erupted in applause ?!?! Crazy stuff in an atheistic country eh?!

Polish Fieldtrip: Cheap Therapy!

This morning I drove north into Poland to Bialsko-Biala to watch the local Katowice Orchestra accompany my friend Kelsey Carlson's school choir. It was such a great occasion to watch 'normal' Polish life and community. Kelsey did such a great job and looked so sharp in her choir outfit with the pink scarf - I almost signed up to get the free scarf!

It made me chuckle to myself as I remembered Mr. Gerards (jr. high choir teacher) telling my parents that I was tone deaf in my 8th grade choir. Ha ha! That scarred me for a good long time! I remember sitting in the back row at Azusa Pacific University during chapel and mouthing the words because I was so intimidated by all the amazing singers at APU. Or when I was in Ireland and sitting in a time of worship and prayer and I desperately wanted to sing a particular song, but self imploded before I ever got the song out. I was crying and blubbering on because I didn't want to sing the first note wrong!

Cracking me up! Everyone around me thought that I was getting rocked by the Holy Spirit, instead I was totally bound up in this narcissistic bubble!

Funny how a beautiful choir/orchestra concert this morning brought on all those memories. At least I just laughed about it today (on the inside of course:)

It was a great day to be with the Carlson for a couple hours and to see Kelsey's world! Thanks guys for the invite!

10 Days in Portland

Man, I don't know what it was- but saying goodbye to my family has been something that I have been crying about all week long. And yesterday morning as I sat in Tiff and Tony's kitchen enjoying warm Pumpkin Spice Pancakes with all my sisters and brother in law and precious nephews, I cried the whole time. I guess I am an emotional person...never would have guessed that:)
I flew back into Krakow, Poland yesterday afternoon. Met Rebekah, the new Exit Tour intern and roommate at the airport (she waited for 7+ hours - brutal!), drove 2 hours to Cesky Tesin, unloaded all of my American treats all over my living room floor, watched Rebekah organize all of the treats into neat little piles, baked cookies for Bible study (we're gonna call them Jet Lag cookies because we were both so out of it that we would mix up ingredients and forget to count how many portions we added) showered, took some Tylenol PM, slept, woke up this morning for Bible study (we are doing the Beth Moore Esther study, so good to be back with the group in the word!) went back to the apartment and packed and came to Malenovice Hotel for the first day of EXIT Tour with all the guys! It has begun. Life is going to be super full for the next 3 months, more on that later but I wanted to reflect quickly on the last 10 days of my life and how God showered me with blessing:

10: Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Mom bought be a Starbucks card for all my coffee dates and I savored the sweet taste of Fall in a cup!

9: LA - The City of Angels. My angel Jodi (Mugavero) Young met me at LAX for my 4 hour layover on the way to Portland. She had a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Blueberry Pomegranate tea latte in hand and we got to spend 4 uninterrupted hours together chatting, celebrating pregnancy (hers) and life and friendship. We also did In and Out for dinner, which was a fun treat too!

8: Dr. Cliff & Joan Brock. They are such a generous couple and have taken such great care of me. Let me be clear, I HATE going to the dentist, something about it makes me nauseous. But each time I go to Dr. Brock he eases me away from the fear. I am SO thankful for them! If you need a new dentist, check them out!

7: Rachelle Ellis at Urban Colorz! Girl can hook a sista up. My beautiful friend keeps my hair looking fabulous all year long.

6: FRIENDS!!! I got to see so many friends while I was home. Even though time was always limited and sometimes it was just a hug, I felt refreshed and cuddly* to be reminded of what amazing friends I have.
*Don't ask - it was just the word that first flashed in my head

5: Canoeing around Ross Island with my Dad and family. It was such a beautiful day I actually got sunburned last Saturday. We packed up the Canoe, went down to the dock by OMSI and put into the water for the 2.5 hour trip. Canoeing through downtown Portland is so fun and it was great to spend some chill time with Dad and Nikki and my two uncles, cousin and friend! It's the best of the country and city in a boat!

4. Henry's 1st Birthday! I got to be there for his party! It was such a treat to see how much he has grown in the past year and all the little personality that is coming out of him. Curtis was a bit more into the cake then Henry was. He'll learn!












3. Curtis. My little boo.
This little man showed up at the airport at 3am when I flew into Portland and ran out from behind a post to surprise me. He was a bit shy at first, since usually I'm just a face on a computer screen but he was giving me sweet hugs within seconds and making up for all of those months away. I did have to correct him and tell him that I don't live at the airport, but the Czech Republic. He's hoping to fly over soon!












2. FAMILY. I got to see aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmas, sisters, parents from Portland and LA. After the past year and a half after my cousin Rebekahs death, there has been a deep desire to be close to my family. To laugh with them, grieve with them and live life closer together. It's been hard to be so removed from my family. So it refreshed my heart to spend time. It meant a lot to go up to Rebekahs graveside with my Aunt Lauree and Nikki and Annie. I love my family and feel extremely loved and cared for by each of them!
All of us girls went out for a special night in Portland. We went to dinner at Noble Rot and then hit the latest hotspot Departure Lounge and Urban Farmer (or Farm, crap I forgot.) It was a great night together, perfect company!







1. Lavish blessings of God. This trip was a last minute deal. Within 4 days I had to coordinate all of my trip and try to fill up every last minute. God worked it out and more. I felt so richly blessed by the time that I got to spend with my friends. All the worries that I had about the timing of the trip, the finances for the trip and during the trip, support raising, blah blah blah. All just worries. God lead me,covered me and supported me the whole time. It's a humbling and rewarding place to watch God work for you. I try to earn it - doesn't work like that. God loved me really well through a lot of people and I am so thankful.

Thank you all for all of your time, I know you were super busy with life too. I totally appreciate it! I don't know when the next trip back to Portland is going to happen. No plans for a long time. So I guess you will just have to come to Czech to visit me!

I'm going back on tour!

This tour is going to be stinkin amazing! The tour team is 5 band guys, 2 tech guys, road manager, interns, translators, speakers and a late 90's model Volkswagen van! Bring it!

We will be driving across the Czech Republic spending a week at a time in 5 different cities. A whole bunch of names you won't recognize except one...Prague! Yeah baby - getting a free ride back to my city!

Taking over schools for an entire school day, leading lectures on Relationships, Sex, Holocaust Survivors, Drugs, and giving a preview concert. Each afternoon there are sessions hosted by the local churches and finally at the end of the week we give a FREE concert for the community and share the gospel in between sets! I have never been part of a concert and tour that had this much purpose and amazing opportunity for God to be glorified. I am stepping into this role with a lot of excitement and feel confident that the past 7 years of my life in concerts and events will be an asset.

Will you pray for:

• Humility. In a position where you have screaming fans and autograph seekers (even for my signature!) it can play tricks on your head. Our head and heart need not be solely focused on God. He gives us worth and he is the only reason we are doing this!
• Service. We are going to be a lot of people in a small space for the next 3 months. We need to be serving each other and looking to others needs above our own.
• Alone Time. We need to be wise to protect the moments and time that we can pull away to be with God and settle ourselves. It gets crazy on the road and you get tired and this time can take a back seat.
• Hearts. People are going to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ!! Please pray that God would begin to prepare hearts and minds to receive this news and are ready to make some important decisions in their lives!

My Visit to the Foreign Police...(bum bum buuummmm)

A little bit ago Lucka and I took a little adventure to the Czech Foreign Police for a new residency visa. I don't know what I would do without Lucka! She is amazing and remembers the details that I don't even know about. Getting paperwork sent from the states to be signed here in Czech and then sent to a translator for translation, then sending to a notary...blah blah blah.

When we got to the Foreign Police station my file was pulled from a drawer at the bottom of the wall of filing cabinets. I think it was the 'trouble' file. You see I have made some mistakes which I can list for you:
1) I had 3 days to report my visa from Bratislava to the Foreign Police in Karvina...didn't do it
2) I had to report my new address to the Foreign Police when I moved into my apartment...didn't do it
3) I needed at least one page in my passport for them to put the visa...didn't have it
4) I was supposed to have an existing address...the address that I insisted I lived at apparently didn't exist in their system
So when I walked into their doors and requested another visa to continue to live in Czech you can imagine that they looked at me and thought, "Shady Bidnez!" (my fav new phrase:)

But I got the visa! God opened the doors and allowed this wonderful Foreign Police woman to show me great grace in this entire process and I'm now legal for the next year!

My picture taken for the visa only proves how well I've assimilated into Czech culture, I knew right away that I couldn't smile and show any teeth and that my hair had to be pulled back to show my ears. It's a skill ladies and gentleman, a skill!