8.31.2005

The Matthew 25 Child

I just got a phone call from my mom. She, my daughter and some friends are headed down to Ford Park in Beaumont where about 500 hurricane evacuee families are being housed. My mom is bringing a bunch of homemade chocolate chip cookies to hand out, and Mack emptied her toybox of things to bring to the children. "It was all her idea," my mom informed me. "Plus she pulled a book about Jesus off her bookshelf, and asked me, 'Grandma, can we bring this book down there and tell those kids about Jesus?'"

So, here I am, all choked up and wishing I didn't have to work today so I could go with them. I am so proud of the both of them!

Your Turn
If you live in this area and would like to volunteer your time and/or money to help, see this article for ways you can do that.

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 12:26 PM  

8.30.2005

Updates

Hurricane Katrina
Please continue to keep the evacuees from Lousiana and Mississippi in your prayers. I understand that the death toll continues to rise, that the destruction could be as much as 25 billion dollars, and that people could be homeless for months. What's even more disturbing is that scientists are predicting Katrina could be the first of many huge hurricanes. Eek! I live near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico too, so you could say a prayer for my area while you're at it!

If you live in the Houston area, you can donate gift cards to gas stations, grocery stores and other stores to the evacuees to help meet their needs. Check out the local Christian radio station to find out more.

New Bloggers
Please note I've updated my blogroll to reflect two new A/P bloggers that have recently come to my attention:

Liz Fierge of My Corner of the World and Brian Leport of Living by Imagination. Go give them some love!

New 90&9 Blogger
As our new blogger is a Lousiana resident and currently without power, we will be postponing her first entry until Monday. So keep clicking by 'cuz I'm not done blogging quite yet!

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 8:33 PM  

8.25.2005

The End of the Blog as We Know It

The primary contributing factor as to why I’m leaving my blog is time. As those who blog or have blogged know, producing a blog with any degree of quality on a weekly basis is very time-consuming. There are a lot of other, higher-priority activities that are demanding more of my time these days, leaving me less and less time to blog. As a result, I feel distanced from my blog and from you, and I feel guilty that you aren’t getting the meaty entries out of me that you’re used to.

A New Avenue of Ministry
As I enter my last year of college, my classes are the most advanced I’ve taken so far as well as the most demanding and labor intensive. In addition, God is opening many doors of opportunity for me to use the skills I’m learning for the furtherance of His kingdom. As you know, I’ve been involved with a ministry to the homeless down in Galveston, TX, a city about two hours away from where I live. I travel down there every other weekend, and recently put together a short informational video about it for their website.

Darren Smith, the guy who coordinates the homeless outreach, is planning to start up several more in various cities across Texas and in Mexico, as well. And guess who he wants to put together videos about each one to be distributed for fundraising purposes? Yes, you got it, and it doesn’t take a fortune-teller to foresee a lot of traveling in my future, as well as even more time spent glued to my computer chair editing movie clips. I envision a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm taking comfort in the parable of the talents, where the obedient servants doubled their investment. I ought to be a designer worthy of my hire by the time I’m done!

In addition to that, the church I attend now – more about that next week – is currently praying about what sort of outreach God would have us do in our own community. So, I’m very excited about the ways God has seen fit to use me, and I consider it quite a privilege. Therefore, please don’t view my leaving this blog as a bad thing at all. Although you will be missed -- and dare I hope I will be too? -- I hope you can see how God is calling me away from one thing into a different, deeper calling and deeper obedience to His will.

Which Brings Us to Your Question . . .
Everyone who has so kindly written to express their regrets about my leaving and wish me well in the future has wondered if I plan to blog elsewhere. The answer is . . . I don’t know. My mentor -- and I have to stop right here and say that finding my mentor – or rather, him finding me, via this blog -- was a unexpected benefit of blogging and blessing God saw fit to bestow on me. He couldn’t have given me a better one, and I thank God everyday for my mentor's wisdom and generosity to me.

Anyway, what I was saying before my digression was that my mentor says I should forget graphic design and become a professional writer. Much to his dismay, I must admit that I get more of a thrill from a blank PhotoShop or Flash screen than I do a blank Microsoft Word screen!

However, writing is in my blood, and despite the fact that I really don’t want to start a new blog, I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I won’t be able to stay away from writing forever. (Although Kent's probably hoping I'll translate that urge to write into a few articles for 90&9!) And as much as I really don’t have the time anymore, a great name for a solo blog (Confessions of an Oddball (!) keeps floating around in my head. So I’m definitely not ruling out the possibility, and we’ll see what the future holds. Perhaps God will have me blog again one day.

More About Your Next Blogger
Rest assured that, just as I mentioned in my last entry, ninetyandnine.com does have a new blogger lined up to begin September 1, and I’ve been given permission to drop some hints about who she is. So here’s another: in her exposure to ninetyandnine.com, she has been quite popular. In fact, I recommended her to Kent before I even knew he was considering her as well. She has been one of my biggest cheerleaders on this blog, and I couldn’t have picked better hands in which to leave you.

So stick around; I hear her identity will be revealed soon in true Just a Little Bit Odd style . . .

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 8:19 PM  

Reminiscing

Looking back over this past year of blogging, I can sum up my experiences in one word:
CRAZY

And of course, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Crazy in a good way . . .
If you’ve been with me from the beginning, you’ll know that I got voted into this position after a little healthy competition, which in itself is crazy enough right there. You can read more about that experience here, but what’s really funny is the last line of that blog entry: “[Kent] was quick to announce the happy news, and the rest, for better or worse but probably worse, is history . . .”

I was a wildcard when Kent "hired" me, a relative unknown from the deep South nobody really knew, so 90&9 was really taking a chancey plunge by bringing me on board. There've been times since that I'm sure Kent wondered, "Uh-oh, what I have gotten my e-zine into?" Nevertheless, he's always believed in me, and even seemed to be sorry rather than relieved when I told him it was time for me to go!

Crazy in a fun way . . .
Probably the best part about blogging is how many people I've met over the Internet and how many friends I've made that way, even getting the chance to meet some of them. Blogging for Apostolics has really opened my eyes not only to the diversity we have out there, but also the quality.

There's nothing quite like the feeling I got when someone e-mailed me to tell me that something I wrote affected in them in some way, helped them make a decision, or inspired them to do something. I loved reading everyone's thoughts and comments, and I enjoyed the conversations that ensued as a result. I've gotten e-mails from as far away as Europe, Japan and Australia, proving that the blogging community has shrunk the globe even smaller.

Crazy in a weird way . . .
Blogging can be, at times, pretty weird. Here I was, baring my soul to a computer screen on a weekly basis, for people I knew nothing about. Meanwhile, my critics -- and I had a disappointingly low number of them -- seemed to feel free to judge me from the safety of their utter anonymonity. I have to say it wasn't easy for this people-pleaser and approval-seeker to face disagreement, but I tried to see Christ in everyone's words and take them to heart rather than dismiss them out of hand. I also tried to develop thicker skin, which Kent advised from the beginning was "necessary in this business!"

Crazy in a life-changing way . . .
I'm finding that whenever I set out to minister to people, I find myself being ministered to by those people even more! I'm learning that a ministry is as much for the spiritual growth of the minister as it is those being ministered to. So, I'd like to thank everyone of you who wrote me, sent me cards, sent me presents, invited me into your homes, and yes -- even verbally disagreed with me at times! -- for touching my life in a way that I'll never forget. I'm sorry if that sounds sappy, but sometimes a little mush is necessary to really convey how you feel, you know?

And by the way . . .
I found out who the next primary blogger will be. You've had some exposure to him/her before, and I really think you're in for a treat!

Tomorrow: Why it's time to go and the question you all seem to want to know: will I be blogging somewhere else?

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 9:14 AM  

8.23.2005

An Article and a Memory

Argh! I’m going out of town this weekend, so I’m trying to get all my homework for this week done before I leave. However, my schedule was thrown way off whack when our electricity went out Sunday afternoon, and I couldn’t finish the last of my homework! So I haven’t even started this week’s homework because last night I was frantically trying to finish last week’s. Argh!

Which should explain why I haven’t blogged of late. Life has been crazy, but through it all I have not forgotten about you, and I certainly have missed you. However, before I dive into some comtemplative reminiscing about blogging over the past year, I want to tell you how delighted I was to click onto ninetyandnine.com this morning and find a cover entitled Do Me a Favor – Tell Jesus I Love Him written by my dear friend John Lambeth (whom I know as “John-John”).

John-John is somewhat of a celebrity figure among the indie A/P circles I was born and raised in. His dad was -- and still is -- everybody's favorite missionary. We’d know we were always in for a treat when Bro. Lambeth came to our church with his good-looking son in tow! I became friends with John-John in my twenties at a church conference in Indiana when we hung out with the same group of friends.

John-John (and I hope he doesn’t mind me telling off on him) is not only one of the most spiritually gifted and deeply committed guys I know, but also possesses one of the sharpest wits of any guy my age that I know. Back when we hung out, he was an unfailingly happy-go-lucky guy somewhat inclined to practical jokes. (I’m sure he’s matured past that now, however!) At the last conference in Indiana I attended, at a surprise bithday party my friend Little Black Glasses threw me, John-John told me to come outside because he had a birthday present for me. When I did, he squirted me with the water hose!

That sort of kicked off a water fight in the early hours of the morning in the dead of Indiana winter. We were young and dumb back then, and there was quite a few people there that night. A lot of water was flying and things got somewhat out of hand. Finally, around four a.m. the guys left and we girls dozed off. I’ll never forget Little Black Glasses’ long-suffering mother getting up in the morning around eight and screeching, “Little Black Glasses! Why is there water all over the floor of my house???”

Oops. Did I mention we were really young and dumb back then?

Anyway, that was the memory brought to my mind this morning when I saw John’s name on the byline of the cover article, which you should definitely go read. It’s a beautiful article and one that is reflective of the sweet spirit John-John has. I wish him and his lovely wife Jessica all the best!

And we'll get to my blog reminiscing shortly.

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 1:47 PM  

8.19.2005

Book Review - Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity

[Editor's Note: Wendy wrote this entry when she was dead tired. We hope it doesn't show too badly.]

Before I get started thanking you all for the sweet good-byes and explain why I’m leaving, I promised Chantell of Where You Can Find Me that I’d take her up on her recommendation to read Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity from Lauren F. Winner and write a review of it for this blog.

I’m not finished with it yet, since I don’t have much free time to read nowadays, but I figure I’ve read enough to give it a decent review. Winner wrote this book after reading just about every book on the topic of sexuality from a Christian point of view and found them all lacking in one way or another. She set out to write a book she felt would do the topic justice from both a Biblical and realistic standpoint and did an outstanding job.

Today, while reading the things sinful sexual behaviors such as pornography teach us and mold our thinking in ways that are harmful, it occurred to me that this book should be required reading for every new convert seeking to transform his or her mind to a scriptural perspective. Winner really cuts to the heart of the matter showing how our thinking is flawed before we come to Christ, and how we should see ourselves, our bodies and our desires after we come to Christ.

Winner sees the concept of chastity as a discipline that plays out against the backdrop of an intentional community of believers who “make it their business” to keep couples accountable and on the right track. Such accountability stems not from nosiness or self-righteousness or the desire to control through the making of special rules to govern relationships, but from love and a close relationship. This is probably the most refreshing premise of the book, and much needed in the age we live in today. I really do think the church could do more and needs to do more to protect and support the chastity of its single sons and daughters, rather than expecting them to bare such burdens silently and alone. I have a few ideas for the practical application of that, and perhaps the book does as well. However, I haven’t made it far enough to find out, and besides such a discussion is secondary to this review, so I won’t go there at this time!

The only criticism I have of this book so far is the chapter where Winner makes it clear that sexual intercourse cannot lawfully be practiced outside the boundary of a marriage, but never really says why. So if you’re one of those people who don’t really care why we must be chaste, but are more concerned with how we must be chaste, then this an excellent book for you. If you are, like me, concerned equally with the why and how, then read this book for the how, but as for the why you’ll have to go elsewhere.

One thing that's great about Winner's how, however, is that she doesn't give any hard and fast rules -- she outlines the context of what healthy relationship should be about, then allows you to come to your own conclusions from there. For instance, she suggests that since a healthy relationship is based on love for God and love for one another, a person shouldn't ask "How far can I go with my boyfriend," but rather ask, "How can I show the love of God to my boyfriend? How can I respect and honor both God and my boyfriend?"

This book is written for Christians only; a secular audience wouldn’t agree with Winner’s basic premise. For a more secular, but no less logical persuasion of the virtue of chastity, I’d still recommend Wendy Shalit’s A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue. Reading and discussing this book with your worldly friends would be a good way to find common ground on which to approach them with the goodness of the gospel.

All in all, Real Sex is a slim, easy read and well worth the fifteen bucks I paid for it on Amazon, especially the chapters where Winner exposes the lies told by both the world and the church about sex. It’s also a definite encouragement for those of us who have moved past the chastity pledges of our teens and are dealing with the temptations the unmarried 20s, 30s, and 40s bring. I would really encourage both singles and leaders to get this book, read it, and begin an honest discussion.

(Extra: Read an article of the book here.)

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 10:09 AM  

8.17.2005

V.I.A (Very Important Announcements)

We'll be getting to the not-so-sappy reminiscing when I get a chance. In the meantime, I'm happy to announce that the BenchWarmer is about to be part of a dynamic duo. He is bringing his brother-in-law, David Bunch, on board and together the two of them ought to be funnier than the cheesy DJs on the radio morning show you like to listen to.

And here's something interesting: a bunch of your favorite authors are holding an auction to benefit the First Amendment Project. And the prize you're bidding on? One of the characters in their next book will be named after you. How cool is that? Check it out here.

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 10:01 AM  

8.16.2005

One-Year Anniversary

In case you haven’t noticed, my one-year anniversary is approaching . . . Yes, it’s been almost a year since August 31, 2004, the day I first entered the blogosphere – and I have to say it’s been the quickest, craziest and best year of my life so far!

However . . . all good things must come to an end sooner or later. That’s right – I’ve decided not to “renew my contract,” which means that the last day of this month will be my last day of blogging for ninetyandnine.com. I’m honestly getting teary-eyed just thinking about it.

There are lots of reasons why I feel it’s time to go, but they’re easier to explain within the context of my life right now. So, for the next few days, I’d like to take some time to reminisce over the past year, tell you about the exciting direction my life has taken spiritually and perhaps shed some light on what lies ahead of me in my life's next chapter. And I promise to do it without getting all mushy and sentimental on you! (Although you'll forgive me if I can't help but leave the ocassional tear stain on your computer screen, won't you?)

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 9:09 AM  

8.11.2005

Breaking News

This news is two days old, but since I am always the last to find out about the latest news, it has just recently been brought to my attention that excavators have recently discovered the Biblical Pool of Siloam. Says the article, "'Scholars have said that there wasn't a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit to illustrate a point,' said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. 'Now we have found the Pool of Siloam … exactly where John said it was.'"

Mmm . . . so gratifying.

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 12:12 PM  

Happy Birthday, Nita!

Happy Birthday, dear Nita!
Happy Birthday, dear Nita!
Happy Biiiiiiiirthday, dear Nitaaaaaaaaa
Happy Birthday to you!

For those among us who dwell under rocks, Nita Curry is the wife of Kent, the guy who runs that cute little (in a big sort of way) web magazine most of you know me from. Since they are both blogging over at Youth Congress Live, why don't you drop over there and send best wishes to Nita (via the comments section) for her birthday today? We definitely owe her our infinite gratitude for loaning her husband out to us on a weekly basis so that he can get the 'zine out, and we can be informed, enlightened, and encouraged.

Happy Birthday, Nita! You rock!

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 9:08 AM  

8.09.2005

Just a Little Bit Odd Jr.

Today, my four-year-old lifted up the shirt of a pregnant woman and announced, “I want to see that baby in there!” Luckily, the lady in question had a four-year-old of her own and completely understood.

Whatta kid my little Mack-Mack is. She may be weird, but at least she gets it honest. Right now, she’s standing in front of the mirror, making up choreography to Josh Turner’s Long Black Train while wearing one of my pink piggie socks tied around her ankle. Her choreography is surprisingly good; she may have a talent for it. I can just see it now: my daughter introducing praise dancing to the Apostolic assemblies. That oughta go over really well.

A few days ago, she related a rather catastrophic incident (for my mother, anyway) to me like this: “Me and Madalyn were having a great time painting the backyard when CRASH! There was grandma.”

We are still getting paint out of her hair. And the neither the picnic table nor the swing set will ever be the same again.

Whatta kid. I don’t know whether I should be proud or scared.

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 11:18 PM  

On Kent

Well, Kent is officially blogging on the web. Guess I can shut up now.

Honestly, he had the audacity to send me this snarky e-mail today:

BTW, don't be jealous if I out-blog you w/my rapier wit & swirling verve over the next few days. Remember: you've been doing it longer than I have so I've just got the excitement of the new going for me.

You haven't lost your touch. Really.

Really.

Best, k

P.S. Really.

I suppose this is the sort of behavior typical of executive editors that have gotten a little too big for their Men’s Warehouse britches. Let a guy have a little success running a webzine, and he thinks he’s the hottest thing to ever hit the WWW since Google search bars with pop-up blockers.

And, of course, I would be harassing him like this now that he’s too busy hawking WAP ware and witty commentary to defend himself!

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 11:07 PM  

8.08.2005

In the News

Three juicy tidbits for you today . . .

King David’s Temple Found?
“An Israeli archaeologist says she has uncovered in East Jerusalem what may be the fabled palace of the biblical King David. Her work has been sponsored by a conservative Israeli research institute and financed by an American Jewish investment banker who would like to prove that Jerusalem was indeed the capital of the Jewish kingdom described in the Bible.” Check it out here.

George Barna Gives Up?
George Barna, the guy who does all the great research about American Christianity, has decided that nobody is really listening to him, and is taking his ministry in a whole different direction. You can read all about it here.

Didn't Go to NAYC?
The next best thing you can do is check out Youth Congress Live for up-to-the-minute news and updates on the UPCI's North American Youth Congress going on in Columbus, OH. YCL is temporarily taking over the A Month in My Life blog, so keep checking it 'cuz the updates will begin any minute now.

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 11:49 AM  

8.04.2005

Porn Stars and Pharisees

I came across quite a gritty link today (via the blog of van s) and after reading it, I’m sitting here crying on my keyboard. I think everyone who wants to learn to love sinners as Jesus does needs to read this story of a friendship between a Christian and a porn star.

And while it’s on my heart . . . I wonder if we don’t find our hearts breaking over the things that break Jesus’s heart, if we don’t find ourselves angered by the things that anger Him, if we don’t finding ourselves loving the unlovable people the way He did . . . I wonder if we can even consider ourselves one of His? And I wonder if we don’t live every day with all those conflicting emotions raging inside of us, if we are even living the abundant life He intended us to live?

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 6:24 PM  

Score! Natasha Bedingfield and Unwritten

Well, I pounded the pavement all over town and hunted through every Internet music site, but I finally scored the CD of my latest music obsession, Natasha Bedingfield's album, Unwritten. (If the last name sounds familiar, that’s because her brother Daniel made it famous several years ago with the toe-tapping Gotta Get Thru This and swoon-worthy If You’re Not the One.)

The bad thing about Britney, Christina, Gwen and other pop tarts dominating the female pop music scene is that so much real talent passes under the radar. Joss Stone wound up getting the recognition she deserved, but I suppose it remains to be seen if the rising European talent that is Natasha will get her due as well. However, she gets top props from me with hot, thumpin’ bass lines, unique rhythms and her savvy, soul baring lyrics.

Natasha could be this century’s poster child for positive pop, which some people might find cheesy, but I find refreshing. Her songs about embracing life and love in all the right ways offers messages you won’t hear from “Let’s-hop-in-bed-together” Britney or “We’re-gonna-be-togetha-fo-evah-even-though-we’re-only-thirteen” Jojo. Consider, for instance, the song Size Matters which offers ‘Tasha’s take on how she views men she’s interested in:

I’ve been checkin’ nice things you do / Standin’ in the Starbucks queue
You buy coffee for a stranger / Who’s down on their luck
Random acts of kindness flow / Compassion from a hand I’d like to hold

The album’s first release, Single, Natasha’s own personal Declaration of Independence, oughtta make every single girl stand up and cheer:

I’m not waiting around for a man to save me / (‘Cos I’m happy where I am)
Don’t depend on a guy to validate me / I don’t need to be anybody’s baby

A view she balances with:

I’m not saying I don’t wanna fall in love ‘cos I would / But I’m not gonna get hooked up just ‘cos you say I should

This isn’t an overtly Christian album, although some of the songs, such as Peace of Me, sound quite spiritual. And from the way she thanks God in the “thank-yous” section of the slipcover, you have to wonder if perhaps she knows Him personally. Either way, this is a CD that’s gonna earn top billing in my collection.

(To buy this album or listen to song clips, click here.)

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 9:28 AM  

8.02.2005

Important Announcements (To Me, Anyway)

August's new blogger is up over at A Month in My Life, so be sure you go over there and read what our resident New Yawkah, Denelle Burns, has to say. It ought to be interesting to get commentary from an inhabitant of one of the most exciting cities on the planet. Meanwhile, I will miss Lee Ann, so I'm thinking about starting a petition to try to convince her to get her own blog. A once-a-month column just isn't enough, you know?

Also, the word on the street is that during the North American Youth Congress beginning in just a few days, several attendees will be blogging from there for ninetyandnine, offering up-to-the-minute news, views and insights almost as they happen. Stay tuned for that as well!

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.

posted by Wendy @ 9:54 AM