Debrief: a series of questions about a completed mission or undertaking

This week I have the opportunity to type up the notes from my debriefing appointments with Emily, Mallory, and Jamie.  Each debriefing took a good chunk of time but in all honesty, it should have.  These young ladies didn't just give up one week of their lives to serve with ReachGlobal Crisis Response; they gave up two to 2.5 months (not to mention the time they put into the application process and support raising prior to arrival). I can only imagine how long their debriefing would've been if they had stayed for longer! 

Each debriefing is geared to allow time to reflect on the internship.  We ask questions like what did God teach you, what would you want us to change, what should we continue to do, etc.  Then we take time to prepare them for their transition to the next phase of their lives.  We talk about what a Biblical re-entry looks like and the potential roadblocks that will arise when they return home.  We want to prepare them as best we can so they take a defensive stance and are ready for whatever could be thrown at them.

I would hope and pray that the interns return home excited and willing to share everything about their time with us.  If you are near someone who just returned home from a mission experience, please take the time to ask them about their experience.  They want to share and they want someone to listen!  I would also hope they would share how they grew in their walk with the Lord and where they saw God at work this summer. 

I pray the interns return home and experience:
-seeking God's will for their life with new intensity
-excited about finding new ways (or recommitting themselves) to reach out and/or use newly discovered abilities
-assessing their gifts and passions
-excited about new spiritual disciplines - prayer, Bible reading, fasting, new worship styles...

Lord, please be with the interns who just returned home from serving you in ministry this summer.  Lord please continue to fan into flame their love for you and their love for others.  Give them a hunger and thirst for you and your Word.  Keep them safe from the enemy who wants to pull them back into their old routines that didn't glorify you and who wants to take the lessons you taught them this summer.  Keep their eyes fixed on You Lord and how they can be the light to those around them.  Please provide Godly friendships and a local body of believers for them to learn, serve and grow with.  I know I can't be there in person but Lord you are with them always!  You have their backs!  As much as I want to be with them in this next phase of their life journeys, I cannot, but I can always trust You with them.  Lord, give them wisdom about decisions they need to make, give them peace about whatever uncertainties lie ahead, give them your comfort during hard times, and give them a desire to set the example for the next generation of Christ followers.  In Jesus's name I pray, AMEN!    

The Best Thing For Me

Well that's it. Last week ended and it's now a new week.   Jamie and Mallory are off to school and Emily leaves tomorrow for Staten Island. How is it that the summers go faster every year? 

I praise God for how He has moved in the lives of these young ladies. Through them, I was reminded that if you're willing to step out in faith, God can do things, move things, reveal things, and give you things you were never expecting.  I have to stop looking at circumstances with my two little eyes and start trusting God that He knows what He's doing even when I don't know what the outcome will be.  

I was reminded of DIVINE ENERGY! Too often I rely too much on myself (wow if that's not the understatement of the century).  The girls and I had to persevere through some hard, long, tiring days and we knew it was only because of energy supplied from God that we made it through.  I don't want to rely on myself but there's definitely the battle to try.  

I like how these two reminders are connected.  Stepping out in faith means you are doing something that isn't completely visible to you. So you have no idea what to expect and in order to stay faithful til the end, you need His divine energy.  Praise God that He wants to supply us with energy!  Praise God that He gives us opportunities to step out in faith.  He doesn't reveal the whole plan, but He does want to lead us and guide us.

I prayed at the beginning of this summer that God "reminds me every day that the most important thing I can do as a leader today is to keep seeking God in depths of my own soul - no matter what it costs."  Granted I can't say it happened everyday but most days I knew the best thing for me and the girls was for me to keep seeking the Lord. He met me in ways I didn't expect that spoke straight to my soul and for that I thank God for this summer. Thank you Jamie, Mallory, and Emily for pushing me closer to Christ! Love y'all and praying y'all rely on His divine energy as you step out in faith! 

One More Week

This week is the "One More Week" week.

It's one more week of volunteer teams in New Orleans for the summer.  I praise God for the volunteers that have come to serve here this summer.  It's been 9 years since Katrina so I know it's because of God's provision and answer to prayers that we still have teams coming.  I'm excited to serve alongside Grace Community Church who I've known since 2008! 

On the flipside, please pray for the homeowners whose homes will still sit unfinished because this is indeed, the last week of teams for a while.  Please pray God's peace over them and they continue to trust God with His perfect timing.  I ask you to join us in praying for more workers for this harvest field and consider coming down to help!

It's one more week for all three interns to be all together in one place.  Jamie and Mallory leave this weekend.  Emily will leave next Wednesday for Staten Island to finish out her internship.  I praise God for bringing these ladies here this summer.  My heart is happy to see how much God has grown them and how they have strived to serve each other and love each other as Christ does.  God is doing an amazing work in their lives.  I can't wait to watch their interviews again just to remind myself of why it is I do what I do.  I got to hear phrases like: "I grew in my relationship with Christ," "the staff became like family," and "ministering to others actually ministered to me."  

Please pray for the interns as they finish out their internship and pray for them as they transition to what God has in store for them next.

It's also one more week until I see my BFF Allie B!! I can't wait to see her!

And last but not least, it's one more week until Mark and I celebrate our SIX MONTHIVERSARY!!! I praise God for six months of marriage!  I'm so thankful to have such an amazing husband who loves the Lord and loves me too.

Praising God for this "one more week."  I hope you enjoy this week too!

Marrying a Manning Means...

I was thinking the other day about how marriage has changed my life.  I was your typical single gal who led by the LORD went throughout her day doing whatever was on her list of things for that day.  Have coffee with this person, go for a run, send out that email, return those phone calls, schedule that meeting, travel to this state this week, another country another week, and so on.  I didn't have to think about another person and his schedule.

I think one of the biggest things that has changed for me is that when Mark gets home from work at the end of the day, I stop working.  If you don't know, I have the luxury of working from home when I'm not traveling and when I was single, I could keep working through my take-out dinner and into the wee hours of the night (okay or 10pm because I'm old and can't stay up late anymore).  And when interns are around, I can hang out with them all day and all night!

Mark for me has been my physical presence of putting aside my work and focusing on something else, my husband!  I'm not at all upset about this just so you know.  I LOVE when Mark gets home! Yes we are still in the newlywed stage, celebrating 5 months today of married bliss.

For me, marrying a Manning means I now have better boundaries.  Whatever doesn't get done before he gets home can wait until tomorrow.  It's really okay to stop.  I'm not saying that working long hours is wrong, but for me, I could see how if I'm not careful with putting aside work, I could neglect my husband which would NOT be good.  I'm even seeing that now with having interns here.  I'm asking God for wisdom on how to have a healthy balance between spending time with interns and spending time with my husband.

Marrying Mark has shown me that my life doesn't revolve around my work anyway.  My life should and always revolve around Christ.  The verse in Colossians says: "When Christ, who is your life appears..." So yes, Christ is my life and He has given me Mark to remind me that work is not what defines me, Christ is EVERYTHING and I need to keep Christ at the center of my life, my work, and my marriage!

So if you're reading this and your single, thinking that someday when you're married you'll put boundaries on work, just be careful. Creating the habit now to put work aside, focus on the people around you, and find your identity in your relationship with Christ will help you 1000000x to keep Christ the priority and prepare you for marriage.

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4

I don't want to be the same when I leave...

Jamie, Emily, and Mallory working at Ms. Dorothy's

One of the many blessings of my role with the ministry is getting to walk alongside and mentor the interns who give up their time, move to Louisiana, and serve with us!

This summer I have the privilege of being surrounded by three young women who are seeking the LORD and desiring to serve Him.  Their names are Emily, Mallory, and Jamie. 

When I asked them the question "Where do you see yourself at the end of the summer?" The general consensus was: "I don't want to be the same when I leave..."  What did they mean by that?  They want to strengthen their personal walk with the LORD, they want to be stretched out of their comfort zone, they want to experience God in new ways, and they want to show the love of Christ to those in need.  They want to be forever changed by this summer experience that when they go back home, people see a noticeable difference.

Please join me in praying for them.  We have taken time to get to know each other, explore our strengths and wiring so we understand each other better, and served as a team on Ms. Dorothy's home.   We were able to move Ms. Dorothy into her bedroom after sleeping on a couch for a year and a half.  Praise the LORD.  They have been able to meet two of the local church planters and hear how God called them into ministry.

Me, Mallory, Jamie, and Emily experiencing a Louisiana swamp tour

Another God praise: The girls have found a weekly church sand volleyball league where they have made friends with other young adults.  This week we have volunteers so they will be immersed in meeting volunteers and seeing how the ministry focuses on transforming volunteers while they serve.  God is doing great things and we have to give Him all the glory, honor, and praise for what He will do this summer!

Our memory verse:

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..." Isaiah 61:1