I Will Run

There are some folks out there that consider themselves runners. In fact, Eric Liddell, an Olympic winner from 1924 and more importantly, the reason for the movie Chariots of Fire, once quoted, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure."

I am here to admit I am not a runner. When I run, although I somewhat (on a very minuscule level) understand the “runners high”, I’m not sure I feel the pleasure of God. I sure wish I did, because if that was the case, I don’t think putting on my running shoes would be such a mountain of a task for me.

However, for the past two months I’ve been training to run a half-marathon in Dallas in six days. But before you label me completely insane, let me explain why I’ve been training to run 13.1 miles.

As Our Own is a “Christ-based, community-driven movement in India that rescues vulnerable children from certain enslavement and exploitation, caring for them as our own.” (I ripped that definition off their website.)

Recently, I feel like I can safely say, the awareness of human trafficking has gone from just a buzz, to a true cry. Through different ministries and stories we have become very aware and educated on all that is going on around us, even in our own backyard. I actually want to use the term “all” lightly because we don’t know all, we know pieces of the issues; But God does know all and He sees it all. However, being aware of it is one thing, acting on it is another.

That’s where As Our Own comes in. They have the ministry and people in place to do the work to free these girls, but they need our resources. God isn’t calling everyone to pick up and move to Nepal or India to open up an orphanage for kids who have been exploited, but He’s called us all to be a part of the solution by either going, giving or praying. The least we can do is give and pray.

As Our Own is doing a campaign called I Will Run. They’ve chosen 10 girls, 10 stories and 10 cities and are asking people to run for the freedom of these girls.

That alone is why I signed up to run the race. I want to be a part of the solution.

To be completely honest, training hasn’t been much of a joy for me this go around. It’s been slightly inconvenient and tiresome. Numerous times I’ve almost talked myself out of running for this excuse or that one. How embarrassing is that? I don’t tend to be the most competitive person, but I want to do things well and since I haven’t been able to do this well, I’ve wanted to duck out of the race. But the question isn’t really can I run, it’s will I?

No, I may not run all 13.1 miles. In fact, I can almost guarantee I will stop and walk a few times. Is that okay? Absolutely. I just keep reminding myself that whether it’s an eight minute mile or a 15 minute mile, it’s still a mile, and I’ll still cross that finish line to the glory of God and for the freedom and awareness of sweet Parul, the girl we’re running for.

I was telling my co-worker the other day that my Monday runs are always awful. I mean, really, just so bad. The reason for that is because I have no fuel for my run. If you spend a day fasting, then try and run four miles, it’s just going to be painful and pitiful. The same is true spiritually. How can we serve on an empty tank? The only way I can serve the Lord with excellence and love Him with my heart, soul, mind and strength is by giving my soul food, which is His Word. Otherwise I’ll come up dry and empty.

I want these girls to grow up loving and serving Jesus Christ with everything in them, but that can only happen if they’re being fed and taught the Word of God; As Our Own is doing just that, and then some.

My church, Bayou City Fellowship, has a team of runners and we have a goal to raise $15,000 for this race. We have six days left and we still have half of our goal left to raise. I need you to know that I hate asking for money. It's just not my thing and I don't want anyone to feel any pressure, but I also don't want this run to be in vain because I couldn't humble myself to ask for your support. The goal of this race isn't just for me to cross the finish line, it's both to make people aware of what As Our Own is currently doing and to support them financially to free to some girls.

With that said, I also want you to know that you can be a part of the story, friends. If you feel the Lord pressing upon you to give to our team (and please know As Our Own gets every last penny), you can go here to donate to our team, or click on my page to donate to my portion of the run. Either way, the team, myself and As Our Own appreciates and is thankful you might even consider giving.

The other day on Pinterest I saw a quote about not always seeing eye to eye with running, I laughed because I get that, we don’t always see eye to eye. It said, “Not everything that is good for you always feels good for you.” Amen. Running doesn’t always feel good, but it is good. Being challenged doesn’t always feel good, but it is good. Spending time alone with the Lord doesn’t always feel good, but it is good. Sacrifice doesn’t always feel good, but it is good.

Freedom, however, does feel good, and it is good, so let’s put or resources, bodies and minds (I say minds because half the battle is mental) to work and free some girls in Jesus’ name. Your support, whether through prayer or financially means the world to us! Thank you so much.

A portion of our group running from Bayou City Fellowship.

If I Were on Twitter...

Hypothetically speaking, if I hadn't of given up twitter for lent and was currently communicating on a more regular basis through social media, you may or may not have seen some of these tweets recently. But, you know, that's just hypothetical.

In no particular order...

@Lindsee_Lou I apparently have an easier time forming sentences in 140 character than I do forming an entire blog post. It's an art, y'all.

@Lindsee_Lou It’s really unfortunate when all you want is cereal and your refrigerator is milk-less.

@Lindsee_Lou (Regarding the Passion 2012 CD release day.) Today would be a really good day to purchase the new Passion CD: White Flag. It’s been on repeat since 9:30 last night. Seriously. I'm obsessed.

@Lindsee_ Lou Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman. Yes, yes it is. It’s also a really good Bible study. Enjoying every minute of digging into the life of Queen Esther.

@Lindsee_Lou Spring Break is really only spring break if you actually get a break. If not, it’s just another spring week. I miss spring break.

@Lindsee_Lou Dear Monday run, you are not my favorite. So today I will skip you and take a nap instead.

@Lindsee_Lou The countdown has begun: T-minus 10 days until my half-marathon for As Our Own. #IWillRun

@Lindsee_Lou Does anybody know what happened to winter in Houston? You know, the cold season? It skipped us.

@Lindsee_Lou The Houston Rodeo can’t be beat. Nor can Mutton Bustin’. I have no great joy than watching children hang on for dear life to a sheep.

@Lindsee_Lou Rain boots make my heart so happy. It’s the little things.

@Lindsee_Lou It is not in my best interest to stay up until 2:00 AM when I need to be fully functioning the next day. I’m just not in college anymore. But the college girls are worth it.

@Lindsee_Lou Australia is on my mind. And so is the Colour Conference. How neat would it be to be there? Ah! One day I will see a kangaroo live and in person.

@Lindsee_Lou My sweet neighbor just called and we had the most hilarious, awkward and slightly inappropriate conversation. I’m still laughing. #loveyourneighbors

@Lindsee_Lou Nick at Night has been airing “Friends” this week 24/7. I love it so much. Some might call that a “Friends” marathon.

@Lindsee_Lou I just bought a pair of wedding shoes for $13. Score! (Bridesmaids shoes that is.)

@Lindsee_Lou A Saturday that I never left my apartment is a good Saturday indeed. (Ten years ago I would have thought that was so lame.)

@Lindsee_Lou Sometimes I can’t wrap my mind around all the Lord has done in my little life since this time last year. God is good.

Happy Friday, y'all.

A Weekend in Nashville

A week ago I took a flight from Houston to Nashville along with my friends Kelsey and Megan, both juniors in high school, to the LifeWay Girls Conference. Here are a few reasons I was excited for the trip:

1) It was my first visit to Nashville ever. Not sure why it took me so long to get there but after hearing so much about it, I loved it.

2) I got to spend the weekend with some super fun high school girls.

3) My job at LPM is two-fold. Although I do media, my other focus, and for sure more important, is young girls. I've been learning all things media lately, so the other half has taken a back seat. To be neck deep in girls ministry all weekend was not only good for my heart, but has my mind spinning in all things girls ministry. Which is a very good thing.

LPM and LifeWay have a good relationship already so to hear from their staff and other girl's ministers was a total bonus. Why re-invent the wheel when we're all reaching for the same goal?

LifeWay has hosted this conference for three years now and I am so thankful to LPM for sending me. By the way, LifeWay was a wonderful host. Each and every staff member and the way they loved on the guests was so inviting and loving. It came at just the perfect time as I'm praying through and seeking what young girls ministry looks like at LPM. Young girls are a different in respect to the issues they deal with, but we all need the same Jesus.

Girls, just like women, need authentic relationships, vulnerability, honesty and some good, solid Bible teaching. They can smell a fake a mile away. But at the same time, they're so self-aware it's hard to sometimes crack the shell, but certainly not impossible.

My favorite aspect about the conference was the breakout sessions. They had separate sessions you were able to choose from for the leaders and the girls. I attended one called “The Secret Addiction”, which dealt with the issues on girls and pornography, which is another post for another day, but it was very powerful. Another one that really spoke to me was about pressing in and pressing on in ministry, which was all about taking care of yourself and your relationships in ministry. Can you say relevant? How often do people in ministry pour themselves out to the point of exhaustion or worse, burn-out, but never attend to their own soul? I walked away very encouraged, built up and much wiser.

Not only did I benefit from the conference, but the girls did as well. I know for a fact they enjoyed the different breakouts they got to choose from.

I'm not saying I have answers, but I have ideas. I'm asking the Lord to press in and reveal what the next step is. Where do we start? I'm so ready. Have I mentioned before that I dearly love me some young girls? Oh, I do.

The conference ended Saturday evening, so before taking off Sunday morning, we had Saturday night to explore Nashville's hot spots. After eating some authentic Tennessee BBQ, my friend Heather who lives in Nashville chauffeured us to visit the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. It was beautiful and we loved getting to walk around, explore and eat gelato. Plus, the fact that I got to lay my eyes on Heather and give her a hug made my weekend. I haven't seen her since she moved back to Nashville last summer, so that was a huge highlight. I'm so thankful for her sweet friendship!

It was an excellent weekend. It you're a girl’s minister, high school girl, or have a high school girl, I'd say it's worth sending her next year. Let's get these girls immersed in some Bible study and life-giving, life-saving truths.

One thing I know is true; this generation of girls certainly has my heart and my attention.

Friday night session with the girls!

Good morning!

It was a chilly, but beautiful weekend. And we walked everywhere!

Getting sleepy...

Tennessee BBQ! Can I gen an amen?

It looks like Heather and I are taking portraits with the white background, but I love it. Love her!

Kelsey, me and Megan at the Gaylord Opryland. I wanted to be sleeping there! Gorgeous!

I just need y'all to notice the photo-bomb in this picture. Ah! Love those girls.

Is this not the most appropriate ending to a great weekend? She was out!

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Monday night I went to dinner with my friend Brittany. Sometime during our conversation she asked if I had seen the video of Ben Rector covering Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". Brittany had seen him perform it live a few weeks ago and found the video afterwards and has since then been obsessed.

I totally get it, because after watching it one time, I too became quickly obsessed. Homedude is legit. The craziest part is that they recorded this only a few days before Whitney Houston died.

What Brittany might not have known is that this was by far my favorite Whitney song. In fact, it was the only song I owned of hers. So thank you, Ben Rector, for making me love it even more.

If you have three minutes, and you love this song, or even if you don't, you won't be disappointed. Let him entertain you.

May I Direct Your Attention Elsewhere?

Although I'm on a social media fast, I decided blogging was here to stay. The truth is, I don't spend near as much time blogging and it is such a wonderful outlet for me. Plus, these next few months are filled with a lot of fun things, and if I have time, I hope to blog about them so it is well documented. Things like half-marathons, wedding showers and baby showers, oh my!

However, I have to admit, being off twitter and facebook has been quite the stretch for me. It has been hard. Period. All of the sudden, I'm not connected to the social world. And that is straight up weird. But at the same time, very good. I am already seeing fruit from it, which has been really sweet. That alone encourages me to keep on keepin' on. (And don't worry, I've replaced that time spent doing something else, but that's another post for another day.)

Being off twitter was hardest this weekend when I was at a Girls Conference in Nashville. You and I both know twitter was going crazy and I missed out on all the fun! Bummer. But I lived! I hope to blog about that as well this week. It was greatness.

Anyway, I really hopped on here to point your attention to another blog.

My friend Becky, whom I've only met a few times in real life, but have known virtually for a few years, asked if I would consider writing a guest post on her blog. This month she's highlighting dating, relationships, marriage and all things love. Since we all know I'm not an expert on dating or marriage, she asked if I would consider writing an honest letter to my married friends from a singles perspective. After a little hesitation, I agreed and finally, this past Thursday, towards the end of February, bless my heart, sent my letter to her and she posted it today.

Since I'm not on twitter or facebook, I thought I'd share the link here. I am honored she asked me to write on her little corner. It really made me think. Feel free to hop over, or feel free to ignore it, the choice is yours. I pray it encourages somebody! I honestly think the world of my friends, married or single.

And with that, I'm out. Happy Monday, peeps.

Unnecessary Noise

I have typed and re-typed the first sentence of this post a billion times. Ridiculous if you ask me, because I'm getting on here to say one simple thing.

As of tomorrow, I am putting myself in time-out as far as social media is concerned.

It's time.

It's beyond time.

I know I don't owe this post to anybody, because who really cares that I'm about to unplug, but I'm writing it for myself. And more than that, I'm writing it for accountability.

Social media is a big umbrella, but I am specifically unplugging from twitter and facebook.

Why? Because I'm ashamed at how many hours I waste browsing each of those websites.

I could take or leave Pinterest. And my blog? Well, apparently it's not been a distraction lately as you can see by my lack of posting, but facebook and twitter? They monopolize my time more than anything. Someone asked if that meant email, but email is a must. I had to ask myself what brought me the most distraction and stole most of my time, and what really was entertainment. Email is far from entertaining to me. Recently I've been so thankful for the fact that these things didn't exist in high school, and really, until later in college, because if I would have had facebook as a high school student, I'm not sure I would have graduated.

This has been a long time coming and I've fought the conviction, but I told somebody today that if I really didn't want to give it up, it was probably a sure sign that I needed to.

Why am I so attached to it anyway? Am I that afraid I am going to miss something? Disappoint my "followers" or friends? Are my only connections happening online? What am I trying to promote or secure? These are just a few questions I've had to ask myself. Because let's face it, twitter is flat out fun sometimes.

The truth is, there is a lot on my plate right now and I feel like I can't focus on one thing well. And when I can't focus, I resort to the most mindless things like facebook and twitter.

However, I was most convicted about it last night when I was writing in my personal journal. There are a few things I'm asking the Lord to give me clarity on and immediately after writing them out I thought to myself, how can I hear the Lord clearly when there is so much noise in my world? So much unnecessary noise that I used to not even have to fight against. Somethings gotta give. Something has to be eliminated, at least for a little bit.

It just so happens that tomorrow begins this Lent season and no other time than now seems appropriate.

So beginning tomorrow morning, I will deactivate my facebook and delete my twitter app.

Although I'm really fighting it, I already have a sense of peace. Will it be hard? No doubt. I'm a very social girl who loves social media. But the exchange will be so much sweeter.

I'm already looking forward to the books I plan on reading, the face-to-face dates I plan on having, the fun texts and the phone calls to friends. You see, when you're not consistently hooked up to the social world, you have to do those things to keep up with your friends, just like the old days. Doesn't that sound lovely?

I've made up every excuse in the book to keep these two outlets going, but I've run out of clever excuses. In fact, I happen to run the facebook page at work and even that made me second guess my decision, but thankfully, the Lord made me smarter than I am and I've got that all worked out, too.

Who knows, maybe this here blog will see a little more action since I won't be wasting my random thoughts elsewhere.

I know for a fact I will see the goodness of the Lord. When it's all said and done, He really is better.

Why I Loved Today

Mondays used to be one of my favorite days. I know the word Monday and the word favorite are not typically found in the same sentence, but it happened to be my day off. For three years, Mondays were a day of solitude, rest, and sabbath. Although I often felt guilty, it was beyond necessary because my Sundays were labeled insane.

One of the hardest parts about transitioning from working at my former church to working at LPM was not having my Monday.

Granted, there is something to be said about having two days off back to back, and quite frankly, I love that my Sundays are the exact opposite of insane now, but it took some getting used to. Let’s be honest, more often than not, Mondays live up to their stereotype.

Although I find myself at my desk come Monday morning these days, I have to admit it isn’t half bad. Instead of looking forward to a day off, I look forward to our staff prayer and devotional time. Being in the Word for that hour is just as refreshing.

Today, however, happened to be a very good Monday.

Here is why I loved today.

For starters, I had a great, refreshing weekend. I spent Friday night with some of my favorite people celebrating an amazing friend. Saturday I had the entire day to do whatever. Can I get an amen? I ended up checking off a lot on my to-do list and it felt so good. On Sunday, not only was church so wonderful, but then I spent the evening at a friends house socializing. I realize we all gathered in the first place to watch the Super Bowl, but not one minute was wasted on that T.V. Instead we sat in the dining room and laughed our heads off. It was so good for my soul. Having a good weekend like that made my attitude returning to work on Monday pleasant.

Secondly, the first thing I received at work today was some snail mail. You can just go ahead and add snail mail to my list of favorite things. I forget how much I love the written word until I receive it. It made me realize that I need to get back into sending cards to friends, I used to do that all the time and these past few years have gotten away from it. There’s just something about a tangible card as opposed to an email or text. It’s special.

Thirdly, like I mentioned before, every Monday we have staff prayer and devotional time. Every Monday never ceases to amaze and encourage me. However, today I truly wish I could have recorded our prayer time. I would like to put it in my pocket and take it with me everywhere I go. Without going into detail, the Lord knew exactly what prayers needed to be prayed, and I not-so-selfishly received every prayer and word spoken over me during that hour. Sweet prayers were prayed without my prompting or asking. I’m claiming every single one of them and believing God to do what only He can do. Quite honestly, I went from really distracted to refocused. Can I get an amen?

Finally, last week through a series of events and circumstances, I had to un-install and re-install Microsoft Office on my computer. I may be Media Assistant, but I’m not a genius when it comes to technical things, I’m more so technologically challenged. Anyway, I thought I did everything right until Thursday afternoon when I realized I completely wiped out my entire work email history and every contact. I had a knot in my stomach. I called a few of our folks that do things like this for a living and I was told I was out of luck. Honestly, my email inbox looked like the first day of work. That is until today when my BFF Randy whom I met for the first time face-to-face today saved the day! He recovered my entire email history all by the click of a few buttons while I stood and watched in amazement. MacBookPro extraordinaire. It was truly a Valentine’s miracle. Jesus does love me, this I know.

And just for good measure, meet Baby Maddox. My former college roommate, Megan, is the proud mama of said baby girl. She filled my baby love tank Saturday. So excited for she and Daniel and the new season ahead!

How can you not love this face?

I'm smitten.

Megan looks amazing!

Oh, and here’s a picture of my BFF and me Friday night. I’m abnormally tall. She’s abnormally short. It’s how we roll. (If you can't tell, she's on her tippy toes.) I love her.

Sometimes we get really tickled. Then this happens.


And that, folks, is what I consider to be a good Monday. I'm thankful.

I'm Killing My Blog

One of these days I'm going to start a normal post with a normal sentence and it won't say something like, "I'm killing my blog one day at a time."

Sweet mercy.

So, let's all just pretend I've been around lately and have posted more than three blogs in the past month and move on, shall we?

Deep breaths.

I feel better now.

With that out of the way, let's transition to a list of my favorite things currently. Because when I feel stressed about my lack of blogging coupled with my desire to continue writing, a list relieves some of the stress.

1) Bayou City Fellowship. Let it be said, I love my church so much. I honestly didn't think after leaving Cypress Bible that I'd fall so hard so quickly, but I have. And I think that's okay. There are most definitely relationships and people I miss dearly, but overall, the Lord has been so good in allowing me to really enjoy where He's planted me. Curtis Jones has a gift and to sit under his teaching weekly has been the biggest blessing. The only way I can explain the past couple of weeks is that the Holy Spirit has shown up and is working among the people. The fact that I've been given a front row seat to enjoy that is beyond me. It's been a while since I've left church every week feeling both extremely challenged and yet built up and it is a beautiful thing. If you don't have a home church, come visit us one Sunday at Houston Christian High School at 10:00 am. We'd love to have you! And if you don't live in Houston, don't miss the BCF podcasts on iTunes.

2) BCF worship. I grew up in an extremely musical household. My parents have always been a part of the worship team and I followed in their footsteps as soon as I was allowed. After growing up in choir and praise team, I honestly came to BCF with intentions of not getting involved in the worship team. True story. I didn't even know how to get involved. I decided after doing it at my previous church that I wanted a break. Then through a series of circumstances, I ended up getting the privilege to sing early on, and now I'm so thankful the Lord saw fit to make that happen when it did. It has been my greatest joy to serve in that way. Getting to be a part of that team and seeing how the worship has evolved, has been one of the neatest and most fun things I've been able to be a part of! It is different. For the better. I'm humbled and grateful.

3) Skinny jeans. Y'all, I'm addicted. I wear them ALL THE TIME. As much as I used to despise tapered jeans growing up, it amazes me how in love I am with them. I know I'll probably look back one day in utter disgust, so I'm currently soaking up my love for them by wearing them as often as possible. And really, church, worship then jeans? I'm so godly.

4) Loreal Telescopic Mascara. I get asked quite often what type of mascara I use, and there you have it, folks. Nothing fancy. But I'm not sure what I'll do when they discontinue it. I hope it stays as classic as the green and pink tube of Maybelline mascara.

5) My gray Toms. I adore them. The first pair of Toms I ever purchased were red, and don't get me wrong, I love them as well, but my gray pair is more versatile. Not to mention the comfort factor, in my little opinion, is quite fantastic.

6) New friends. Yes, they are becoming some of my very favorite things. I keep singing the girl scout song, "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold." All of my sweet friends are golden. And I am so thankful.

7) Organic Horizon Chocolate Milk. I am not ashamed to buy the carton of milk at the store even though I have no child under the age of four living with me. That stuff is ridiculously good. I feel more justified when my roommate drinks it, too. Which she does. In fact, she bought the last carton.

Well, that list went from spiritual to materialistic really quick. I'm gonna take it as my cue to bid you goodbye and thank you for putting up with my random nonsense.

Passion 2012

Almost six months ago, this past July, I learned during a really special meeting that LPM was going to sponsor 1000 young women to attend Passion 2012 in Atlanta. During the middle of all of that chatter, I also learned that I would be heading that way as well with LPM. To say I was pumped would be a vast understatement.

For whatever reason, I have never personally been able to attend a Passion conference. I think a lot of that was due to the fact that during my college years they took some time off to travel around the world, but it just never worked out for me.

I’ve been a part of the conference every year in the smallest way possible in that I have owned every CD passion has ever released to the general public. And need I even say they are some of my favorite worship CD’s? It just doesn’t get much better. So, to have the opportunity to go, spend time with girls, and worship alongside 44,000 other people sounded good to me.

Last Monday morning, very early, six of us from LPM hopped on a plane together headed to Atlanta, I had very few expectations. I just wanted to hear from the Lord. I got to serve as a group leader while the rest of the crew all served as volunteers, mostly in the capacity of serving in a community group. Serving as a group leader just allowed me time to hang out and minister to the thousands of college girls attending. Could there be a better job? I submit that there cannot.

The sweetest thing was that I got spend most of my time with two groups of girls that I’ve known for quite some time and used to be their bible study leader. I loved that and loved my time with them.

When I say we didn’t stop from the time we touched base in Atlanta to the time we left, I am not exaggerating or lying one bit. We literally landed, dropped our stuff off at the hotel, and then the fun began.

Picture with me 44,000 people trying to register at one time. Yes, the line was out the door and wrapped around the convention center. I have literally never seen anything like it, little did we know, it was just a taste of what the rest of the week would look like. Lines, crowds, lines, crowds, a little more waiting, a little more patience and a little more crowds. People were EVERYWHERE. It was crazy town.

That night as Passion started, the dome was pumped up. Before anyone took one step on that platform, different folks read from the Word so we could acclimate. It was powerful. From that moment on, the Spirit of the Lord fell on that dome and His presence was felt. Louie Giglio welcomed us, welcomed the band, welcomed the choir (oh, the choir), and challenged us with a word to rise up!

One thing I have to add here is that if every choir in the world had as much passion and energy as the Passion choir, I can almost guarantee that every church would still have a choir. They were amazing! Of course, I’m a choir girl myself so they may have had a small impact on me, but I think they made the worship times all the richer.

Once the first session was over students and group leaders alike headed to community groups for the first time where we’d be placed with a family group that we’d come to know and love. The group leaders were really blessed in that we had some really special visitors everyday such as Louie Giglio, Francis Chan and John Piper. Can you say spoiled? It was really sweet.

The rest of the week went as follows:

Wake up before the sun, eat breakfast, head to morning community group, go straight from CG to the main session, go to lunch (yes, they fed all 44,000 of us. Whoa.), go to main session #2, try and find dinner with 44,000 other people in a matter of two hours, end your day with main session #3, meet with your community group, go to late night (late night was a concert each night by David Crowder Band or Hillsong), get to your hotel by 1:00 AM, fall in your bed and do it all over again. Exhausting? Yes, in every sense of the word. Worth it? Absolutely.

In the middle of all of that, we had the sweet pleasure of meeting with the 1000 girls LPM had the privilege of sponsoring. That may have been my favorite part of the week. They were the sweetest, most gracious group of girls ever. We got to hug and pray over them, which was really neat. For me, it was fun putting a lot of those names with faces.

I am still processing so much personally like, what does all of the truth I heard mean for me? My ministry? The girls I serve? There is a lot in my head, but it’s all wonderful.

There is one thing I know for sure, our God is a big God. If you’ve grown up in church like me, I know you know that and hear that all the time, but He really is so big. I have made Him so little in my mind for so long. I am a firm believer that we need to make sure our students understand that the same God they experienced at Passion is the same God they can experience in their own bedroom. His Word is living and active and will change your life. I love a good week at camp, but I never want it to be a spiritual high, I want life change. However, being at Passion is most definitely a wonderful kick-start that I wish every college student could experience. Yesterday somebody at lunch summed it up right when they said they feel like they’re on an IV of the Holy Spirit at Passion. That’s so true. The Lord has granted much favor upon those conferences and I watched lives be changed. It was incredible.

To get your focus off of circumstances and on a big God that loves you dearly and invites you to know Him intimately is one of the best things anyone can experience. All of the sudden, your worries seem small and your God astounding. He can take it all and deal with all of it, even when you feel like you’re spinning out of control.

One thing I absolutely cannot get over is the sacrifice the students made to help free slaves all over the world. At the beginning of the week Louie challenged to the students to raise one million dollars to help free captives, at the end of the week, not only did the students raise one million dollars, they far surpassed the goal and raised over THREE MILLION dollars. Tell me that’s not amazing! Do not count this generation out, y’all. They’re here to fight for freedom. They’re going to fight to know God personally despite what this world is throwing at them. There is nothing greater than seeing Jesus in them. It is sweet.

God’s name and renown is the desire of their hearts. Oh Lord, may they live boldly for you. In Jesus’ name.

This is how they spelled my name at Starbucks the morning we left. Hello, my name is Linzze.

Sabrina, KMac, Kimberley and me about to head out!

We met some sweet girls headed that way as well. So fun!

Kelli and I on the plane!

A sea of students registering.

Welcome to The Dome.

We are here for you, Jesus!

Beth bringing us a word on Tuesday morning.

Later that day we got to meet with the 1000 sponsored girls. Here they are! Precious.

Mary and I. : )

A sweet group of girls I know from A&M. I've known Taylor, on the very far left, her entire life!

The girls I spent the majority of my time with. And also my old Bible study girls. I love them to bits!

Sara and I on the last morning.

My sweet friend Raven was their as a group leader with her church so it was super fun getting to be with her and Nick all week. The last morning we were twinkies on accident!

One last TIRED picture before we headed out! We were exhausted! Love her.

Louie Giglio sending us out on a strong word. So thankful for that man and his vision.


Thank you, LPM and Passion, for letting me experience an incredible week. I am forever grateful.

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Ephesians 6:19-20

A Little Blog Love

My poor little blog has been severely neglected this past (almost) month. Looking back at 2011, I wrote less than I have any other year that this blog has existed. I think a lot of that was due to the fact that I was 1) very busy and 2) there was a lot going on that I couldn’t really reveal on the blog, and when big things are happening, little mundane things to blog about are harder to come by. I know I am making this way more dramatic than it is, but those are my only excuses for the neglect. Blogging most definitely took a back seat in 2011. I am hoping to revive it in 2012, but I can make no promises. Only time will tell!

ALL of that to say, I have about four posts written in drafts that all have about one line and then are a blank slate. Needless to say, I’m going to let those posts die in my drafts and start with a clean slate (ten days later) in 2012.

So, what have I been up to?

In case you were on the edge of your seat dying to know, it has been BUSY around my parts of the world.

First, there was Christmas. Christmas was actually very calm. We had a small, nice, peaceful Christmas at my parents’ house with our little family that morning, then that evening headed to celebrate the day with some dear friends of ours, the Snow’s. I enjoyed it so much.

However, it was after Christmas when all the action happened. Two days later, my family from Colorado arrived, I took a few days off work, and from there I think we took them to every legit restaurant in Houston. Not really, but I feel like all we did was eat. It was magical.

My time with them was shorter because before they left to head back home, I left with a few of my co-workers to head to Passion 2012 in Atlanta. That is an entire different post for a different day, and I am really hoping I get that written. I process things by writing them out, so I know it would be so beneficial, if for no one else but me. We had an amazing time there last week, then came home on Thursday evening and jumped straight into work on Friday. Of course, I dragged my feet to the office, but it was a surprisingly productive day.

This weekend I managed to take down Christmas décor, finally, slept in, took a nap, surprised a 14 year old with a Justin Bieber life size cut out for her birthday, went to church, had a meeting, then went to a surprise party. It was a full, but fun weekend!

Now, two days later, I’ve finally completed one training run for my half-marathon in March and been full on at work. In case you are curious, I am far from bored.

I’m not sure if this post can actually be deemed as a revival for the blog, but for now, it will have to do. I sure have missed blog world!

Happy Tuesday, y’all.

Oh, and Happy New Year! Better late than never, right?