My first week as a campus missionary...

 

The first week of classes was topped off with a great pool party. We had lots of fun in the pool with the football, finding challenges to complete. And by "we" I mean the students and Dan :-)

If you would like to see what they tried for an hour to accomplish and finally did click here!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10101420068094160
and if you would like to see a few of the failures click here...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201479014364963

We also played ultimate Frisbee, well, they did, I took pictures and cheered them all on.

And of course there was lots of just plain visiting.......

 

I am continually impressed with how much Anna and Dan love the students and how much the students love them. As the new person I am doing a lot of watching and learning. This week during worship we had a wild party going on on the other side of a false wall and Dan handled it SO well, he had us all laughing as he challenged us to step out and share the gospel with people on campus.

Wes Blood also was there and many students signed up to be conversation partners with one of the hundreds of international students.....Im telling you, WE LIVE ON A GREAT BIG, HUGE, AMAZING MISSION FIELD! people from all over the world right here in Toledo! No plane ticket needed!

international students from UT at my friends house.

I am learning to be willing to change gears, re-vamp, put kids in front of plans and just hang out without an agenda. I am also learning that this is going to take time, and lots of it!

Huge praise, we were given a couch and a chair for the lounge area in the basement! this is a huge blessing since the one down there has no legs and is very small :-) We are still in need of folding chairs.

We fed 15 students on Friday and I am looking forward to feeding many more as the year progresses. If you are willing to underwrite a meal ($20-$40) I would be VERY grateful.

In September we will be doing training and getting ready to serve in the 04 with some of the poorest kids in the country, I am so excited to introduce the students to the amazing kids down there.

what a blessing to do ministry with my big kids!!!

Please pray for me as I

• seek open doors to show students how much Jesus loves them.
•  I learn how to juggle 5 children, a husband, a house and this ministry.
•  I try to cultivate close relationships with the students.
• continue to find people who will support this ministry.

our youngest 3 in school for the first time! SO thankful for the amazing people at Emmanuel.

Paul has shown himself to be an amazing home work helper, take the kids to school, save my butt when I am running late, run to the store for lunch supplies, supportive husband! I am so very thankful for him!

to support me please send a check to 4923 Cranston , Toledo OH 43615 made out to ACT or go to the www.actoday.org site and click on donate.

AND WE ARE OFF.....

Sunday night freshman cook-out

First night of worship for ACT

Today we will have our first Sandwiches and Service night, we will watch Andy Stanley's Christian, eat together and learn about the 04.....starting the last week of Sept. we will be serving at TNC with the Childrens ministry. Friday will be our kickoff  for Lifeskills Lunch.

I would love to have some people come along side me on Fridays and sponser a lunch.
I also have a need for folding chairs, 8 would be great.

ActiveChristiansToday

I debated for a long time whether or not I would start a new blog for my missionary position at UT or stick with the old one.

 

 

Since I love the title "Captivated by Grace" and I Think it works with campus ministry as well as with parenting I decided to just keep the old one.
 

SO I will be transitioning my old blog into one that will keep all my ministry partners updated on what GOD is doing at UT.Believing that God is going to provide where HE has called I would like to share with my friends the needs of ACT and our family :-)

HOW CAN YOU HELP????  SO GLAD YOU ASKED!

---underwrite a meal, about $25 will feed 30-40 students Lunch

---donate you gently used furniture, we are in need of seating in the campus house.

---I would REALLY like 4 card table sets, this way I could set them up for meals and take them down for added space and use the folding chairs for added seating for Bible studies.

---be a guest speaker at "life skills Fridays" this is a time when I will be teaching cooking, budgeting, grocery shopping, laundry etc. to the students.

---Be a prayer partner! BE A PRAYER PARTNER!!....BE A PRAYER PARTNER!!!

---support ACT in my name so that they can continue to pay my salary.

Thank you for reading this blog and for supporting ACT in any way God leads you to.

In HIM who loved us first
Cyndi

Life is just to Busy! we ALL need a week in the mountains!

We are SO busy, I mean there are no words for how busy we are as a family! We didnt even realize how busy we were (well Paul did)....then we took a weeks vacation in the mountains and we realized just how fast our lives are!

I home school and yet there are days that I don't spend an hour with my older kids, my college age son lives with me and WEEKS go by when I only see him in passing.

These have been blissful days of late mornings, long naps, big breakfast and suppers together at the same table, hours of card games, good books, quiet beaches, tubing down a river, and beautiful long walks in the woods. We have had adventures TOGETHER instead of our own separate adventures and it has been so good.

I want to bring this home with me, I don't want to start going in so many different directions, But life is life and ours includes 4 different jobs, 12 hours of dance lessons, 2 different college schedules and many different church events.

Life IS crazy, but I will do my best to slow down where I can, to not fill every unspoken for min. and to PLAN time together every day, not just wait for it to happen!

Peace does not come naturally in our culture, it has to be worked for.... fought for!

I will fight a little harder this year, now that I have seen what I have been missing!

And may the Peace of God that  transends all understanding guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I was looking at his picture of my big girls in front of lady liberty and it dawned on me that my little girls are immigrants....I know, I'm slow!

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of you teamming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

lets be honest, America does not want the tired the poor or the huddled masses anymore.

But I know someone who does. My sweet God wants all of us, just as we are. He always has open arms and a light on for us to follow!

I pray that our country never becomes a place where the name of Jesus is outlawed, but even if it does I know a place where I will always be free to worship Him and where we are all welcome!   HIS kingdom.

All my girls are Americans and thats wonderful, but all my girls belong to Jesus' and that is even more wonderful!

Being a Mom is not for the faint of heart. If your a mom you know this. Not only do we get to clean up every kind of bodily fluid on a daily basis we also have to listen as our babies learn to go to sleep on their own.....much harder on us then it is on them!

We have to let them climb when we want to protect them from falling......

If we love our kids we will make sure that their life is not pain free, for pain is a very good teacher.

the other day I had an issue with one of my daughters, she was disrespectful and I called her on it and told her she needed to BE sorry, not SAY she was sorry. ANGER was all I got, not repentance at all. she was supposed to go to a friends house and I really wanted her to go, but after 4 chances and nothing but anger and rebellion I had to cancel the visit.....even more anger.

 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.

This is SO hard to do, we WANT our kids to be happy, its easier to ignore one unkind word or smart remark.....but one turns into 10 very quickly.

To often I take the lazy way out and ignore a sin in my life or in the life of my child, its just a little one, its not that big of a deal. Do I love my child enough to watch her struggle? do I love her enough to hold out for 20 hours as she stonewalls me....do I love her enough to let her not like me???

Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death

I challenge you this week, call sin sin, confront it and do battle with IT not your child. Don't let Satan have a piece of your child's heart because its easier to ignore that LITTLE sin.

I am lazy, so often I fail at this, I know what I SHOULD do I just do not do it. I want to be the fun, cool mom so bad! but that is not loving them they way God has called me to love them.

Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.

We as moms CAN NOT let the sins that so easily entangle get a strangle hold on our kids. sin has to be called sin every time, dealt with in a firm but loving manner, trained with direction and grace but never with apathy or anger.

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

Gods strength + our weekness = MIRACLES

When I am in the Shadows, the sun seems to be most beautiful!

The soul of the wounded calls for help and God does not regard it as foolish

Job 24:12

Do you ever have days where you are out of strength? Where you are sure if one more person needs something from you you may just explode?

I do!

I used to feel very guilty for those days, I used to feel guilty that I just am not strong enough to handle all the needs and wants around me, I used to feel like I was failing God and that He was disappointed in me....

Now I know better

I can not do this life on my own, in my own strength, I can't, I need HIS strength to fill me up, I need to empty myself giving HIM space to fill me. Oh but admitting my weakness is so hard for me!

letting go of my need to be right had to start with me believing that God loves my ugly, that all HE wants is ALL my heart, not perfect Jesus girl. the problem is i really like being perfect Jesus girl, it makes me feel lovable, strong, powerful and “better”! If I could put my stinkin pride in a box and throw it into the deepest ocean….I would become a scuba diver!! *sigh*

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Isaiah 40:11

I'm so very  grateful that God does not expect me to be strong all the time....that He is ready and willing to carry me on those hard days....

HE gently leads me!!!

HE is there, waiting for us

ready to break through the darkness of our self reliance, and pride, ready to fill us up with HIS strength and HIS power.