We Used To Play Church

In the summer, we played outside from sun up to sun down. We made houses in the gravel driveway with brooms. We slept in tents clipped over the wash line. We held weddings and played church. We played circus and the tickets where the whirly-gigs from the maple tree.  We played store with small yellow buttonweed for $.

My kids did the same. With a twist. They played Star Wars in the woods, using the backyard firepit as Armageddon. They talked Barbie down from a suicide jump. They made rivers, towns and bridges in the sandbox. They read on blankets in the soft grass and ran holes in their hotwheel tires on the driveway. They wrote the script and  played their own version of circus and church.


What Does It Mean When It Says ...

So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around you ... Christ--that's where the action is. See things from his perspective." Colossians 3:1-2

My classes at the bible school I attended included "The Book of Acts." Twice. Some of you will appreciate that tidbit of information more than others, the point being; I want an "A" this time around.

Sometimes it takes some of us a bit longer to catch on ...

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:6-10

Sunday morning in Missouri

Watch the clouds!

If we call ourselves new testament believers we should be seeing, at the least, 365 new believers a year in our living rooms, on our facebook walls, in our neighborhoods and in our churches.

Then they went from town to town, instructing the believers to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day. Acts 16:4-6

Religion is manmade. Church is Godmade.



Church is who we are.  Church is what we do.

I used to play church.

Missionaries In A Foreign Field

I'm not sure of all the meanings behind Coldplay's Viva La Vida's song, but the refrain goes like this: 

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

The preacher scared the daylights out of her. He spoke of the good and evil in the world, particularly overseas. He talked, no, he preached, about piano's playing themselves in the middle of the night, and how the witch doctor is alive and well. Her innocent mind could not comprehend a whole group of people in a far off land who had never heard of Jesus.  Her little heart broke when she watched the pictures slide across the white screen, of children her age with shoulder bones proturding and flies crawling alongside sad eyes.

The invitation was given; who feels the call of God on their hearts? She did. Who will say yes to giving or going? Was she too young to respond? What would standing up signify in her young life? She stood.

Many other times in her life, missionary stories would move her to action. A Child Evangelism Camp in Northwest Indiana, in the octagan house where she knew no one and met The Only One who could save her. There she learned how to lead a child to Christ and fell in love with story. 

Heading off to the big city to bible college where plaque after plaque lined row after row in Torrey-Grey Auditorium listing full-time harvest workers. The annual missions conference pricked her 20-something heart.

Reading the book "Mission Possible"  Marilyn Laszlo became her hero.

Another book, "School In The Clouds" about The Rift Valley Academy, planted a house parent seed. Someday may come sooner than she thinks.

Her own missions trip to the heart of Mexico City a long long time ago.

Then she became entangled in the things of this earth. Not all bad things, but tangled, nonetheless.

God still moves.

Her daughters rekindled a fire in her, as their hearts became sold out to Africa in March 2008.

And there "it" was again yesterday, when her friend prayed over her before following her own heart to Mexico.  Stirring.  Poking.  Jabbing.  Stabbing.

Heads up. Moving forward.  Give or go. 

Refreshed. Revived. Resolved. 

Take these shakles off my feet so I can dance.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Grey Barn Farm Girls

Heralding the launch of Grey Barn Farm dot com on Monday 4.1.13

On 9.7.13 we'll kick open the timber and tin shed doors for the grand opening of Grey Barn Farm Occasions.

Save the dates! 

We haven't been this excited in a long time!

You can wait until next Monday or you can go here to sign-up for "Farm Journal" the official newsletter from the Grey Barn Farm Girls
e-mail addresses kept private, we promise.

We are passionate about telling stories, especially love stories, and more specifically wedding day stories.

We're fixin' to start telling a couple rustic wedding day stories and/or happy family occasion(s) in 2014, hopefully yours.

It's A Spirit Thing

"Where is your year end video?"  said no one.

"It's ok, really it is," said the little red hen.

Henceforth, my  fiscal  emotional year may commence and culminate in March. But I will now play for you 2012's video trailer, for your week-end viewing pleasure.

And she did.

 

Before And Africa

... and so we end this reverie with a blessed and Happy 30th birthday to Jennifer Grace!

Thanks for following along, you can read about Season 2 and following at Jennifer's blog Before And Africa. 

Dear Friends and Family,
                       Where to even begin this letter, I don't know.  What we have experienced in a month, is so much more than we will ever be able to express in a letter, but we will try.  Our time was blessed with the prayers that all of you sent our way.  The money given was used in the lives of the people who need it most.  Let me tell you a little bit about what your donations have done.  We were able to bring suitcases full of baby clothes and supplies for the orphanage.  When we arrived, we realized how far these things would go.  Hope House Babies Home, is home to approximately 20 babies, depending on adoptions and new arrivals at any given time.  Imagine how much laundry one baby goes through in a day, now imagine 19 more.  The clothes are constantly getting washed and worn, so it's hard to keep things nice for very long.  Just the bibs alone, that these babies go through in an hour, is incredible.  We were also able to bring a huge suitcase full of stuffed toys, which gave them something new and clean to play with.  Many of the babies have coughs constantly because they are all sharing old, germ ridden toys.  The looks on their little faces when we dumped a suitcase full of new toys on the floor, I will never forget.  One little man named Moses, decided he needed to make a pile in a corner just for him so he went around and collected all the new toys and just stared at them. 
            At the end of our stay, on Easter Sunday, we were able to bring some of the old clothes from the orphanage to the slum to the families of a church there.  Because of your donations, not only were we able to give to the orphanage but we were able to give again to this church family.  The Pastor, Amos Okolo, told us to send greetings to our families, friends and churches at home, and let all of you know that something good can come out of the slums.  He has dedicated his life to serving an area where people are starving and sick, but he wants everyone to know, there is hope in desperation, because they have the hope of Jesus.  It was a powerful thing to see people who, in all respects, should have no hope, possessing more hope than I will ever have. 
            We fell in love with the Kenyans, and we fell in love with the twenty little babies that we fed, changed, held, and played with for four weeks.  At Hope House, the babies are usually adopted before the age of 3, so this is a place that is doing their part to help these innocent victims of disease.  They don't often have regular volunteers, and they struggle to pay their staff most months.  The staff is so busy with laundry, cleaning, cooking, changing, and feeding, that the babies don't often get the one on one time they desperately need for their mental and physical development.  For four weeks, we were able to give them a little bit of the love that they need. Some of them even called us "Mom".  They wanted to be in our arms at all times, and when it was time for us to leave in the evenings, watching them hold out their arms and cry for us, was a pain I won't soon get over.  So we want to say a huge THANK YOU, for what you have done in the lives of these babies!!!  You will be blessed for not turning a blind eye to the hurt in our world, and doing something to help stop it. We were blessed by your generous hearts and prayerful minds. We will never forget the generosity of the ones we love and we pray we can give to you what you have given to us.
 With all that said, there is so much more we can do!!!    God bless you all for your hearts and your beautiful example of what it means to be human.

Thank YOU, Jen and God bless you as you continue on the journey.

Spring Break '08

MELISSA 
The best thing about Africa was...The kids.


The hardest part of the trip was...Leaving them.


The scariest time was when...I thought Tim was choking on his food....but then he just threw it up.


What kind of culture shock did you experience...Being stared at everywhere you go, and the hole in the ground that was our toilet


The people I will remember forever are...Amos, Laizer, and the hope house babies.


The biggest lesson God taught me...We can't help what we're born into....but no matter where that may be, He is present. 


What I will never forget is...worship with the Masai tribe.


The funniest moment...One night we stayed up for half the night trying to think of the name of the mom in the lion king.....Sarabi.


The saddest moment...Leaving


If you could go back tomorrow...I would? lol


Africa will forever...be apart of me


How can we help the orphanage/Amos/Lazier...Prayer. That Amos will raise support to finish his church. and that the Hope House will be blessed and that the children will be put in good homes.


What one thing do you want people to know about...Um...see above.


The food was...blan.


How did you celebrate your trip in Amsterdam...I don't know what you're talking about....


How were your prayers answered...The leaders of Kenya came to a peace agreement while we were flying over the ocean.


Next time I will...stay longer.


What kind of culture shock did you experience upon your return...Target is big.


I will never again complain of...bad roads.


I will always...remember.

JEN 

The best thing about Africa was...the people


The hardest part of the trip was...wondering if these babies would have homes someday


The scariest time was when...I almost got hit by a truck


What kind of culture shock did you experience...I wasn't really shocked by any of it...except maybe the music on the public transportation.


The people I will remember forever are...Lazier, Amos, Simon (the interpreter at the Masai tribe) , the babies
 and why I will remember them... Because they love Jesus and have hearts that are too big for their bodies


The biggest lesson God taught me...to not judge Americans for not giving enough, because a lot of people haven't seen what we've seen. Also that beautiful things can come from desperate situations.


What I will never forget is...


The funniest moment...Trying to figure out the name of the mom lion on lion king at 1 a.m.


The saddest moment...when I finally admitted that I was in love with the kids and realized I had to leave them


If you could go back tomorrow...I would


Africa will forever...have a part of me


How can we help the orphanage/Moses/Lazier...e-mail me and I will tell you! Jgracephoto(at)gmaildotcom
  Also you can now go here:  BEFORE AND AFRICA

What one thing do you want people to know about...money is something that comes easily to us. It takes them years to raise money to finish churches or put up toilets...things that would take us days or hours. I want people to know that there are so many things they can do, and do we really need all the things that we buy? 


The food was...tasteless


How did you celebrate your trip in Amsterdam...Beers for breakfast


How were your prayers answered...I prayed that God change my heart and he did
 ... plus there were many more ... too many to write in a little comment box.

Next time I will...Bring more things to give away


What kind of culture shock did you experience upon your return...I just noticed all of the things I have been taking for granted...even my "small" house seems huge to me now
I will never again complain of..."being broke" or "being sick"


I will always...feel completely and totally blessed to have had this experience. I missed one



What I will never forget is...the three different worship services we attended...I will never worship the same again

Two Letters And A Poem

3.1.13 Post Script

Scrolling through these                           
"5 Years Ago Posts" 
is lighting a soul fire ... Seriously, maybe God gave us words and pictures as Time Travel.  The machine has already been invented!
  It does surprise me though, 5 years later and you still can't  drag and drop blogger photos.

From Julee Ann's Journey Apr '08

Winds of change are blowin'

‘Cross the desert of my soul.

Things that used to taunt me

I surrender my control.

Gentle rain of healing

Bitter tears are swept away,

Truth reveals a wasted life

Too long if just a day!

Substantial snow now melting

Cannot hide my moldy blight.

Felt like someone came to,

                                       Help me shovel in the night.

The storm was my own making

Selfish plans I now subdue.

My head believed the truth

My heart took longer, to.

Transgressions oozed throughout

My self-built feeble maze.

There were sunny days, no doubt,

But I took all the praise.

Life’s seasons slowly turning

Old soul begins to crack.

Heart’s operation has begun

My crusty core attack.

Branches strong, fruit galore

I bow down you reign supreme.

Make me like the robust tree

Along the quiet stream.

Embers glowing burst to flame

Wade into the living water

Breath like wind from heaven

Gone the Prodigal daughter.

I choose to repent and turn

His will, I'll do my part

He calls me from the cold, and

Writes His story on my heart.

HEY MOMMA!
We're HERE!  It's still not real.  We walked down the stairs to baggage claim and saw a crowd of people with signs on the other side of the glass. We saw one red sign bouncing around in a sea of white ones that read: hh Babies home! Laizer saw us and was jumping around and blowing kisses! We got our stuff and ran out to greet her. The first thing she told us was that this was all God's plan and timing because the peace agreement has been signed while we were on our way over, Praise HIM! Then we arrived at hh and took a little tour...most of the babies were sleeping (tucked away in their cribs covered with mosquito nets) But a few mischevious ones were awake and excited. We walked down a little hall where we saw a door cracked open and a tiny little face staring back at us from his crib. We peeked in the room and met a few of the toddlers who didn't want to sleep. One of them (my favorite already) name is Steven and he's a little spitfire! he was running around his crib like it was on fire! We left the hh and met our  family and got situated at our homestay. The first thing we did when we got to our home was circle around the living room and thanked God for our safe arrival, and prayed for our stay here. They are incredible.
Today we were picked up by Wally and he took us to the market. Then we headed back to the valley and stoped to take pictures of the view.......they will NEVER do it justice.......you'll just have to come here sometime and see it with your own eyes! We just got back from a tour around the campus and tonight we will eat  in the village and have a "real" African meal.
We will try to call you on amy's card tonight but if you get this before that could you email us back with the phone numbers for both Mars Hill or that new church we go to and Crossroads. And we're wondering if you signed amy up with the embassy and if not, could you still do it?
We love you and we are so Happy to finally be in AFRICA ! Tell dad we love him and EVERYONE else!

Talk to you soon! Yours girls

Dear Mom and Dad, Tone Balogne, Ben, Annie, Friends, Family, and Random Blog Readers,

Yesterday, Dad you would have crapped your pants. We videoed some stuff and can't wait to show you when we get back. Wally took us to Crescent Island to "walk with the animals" They haven't had much business since all the violence so they were happy to have some people around. We were the only people on the WHOLE Island. We saw Hippos, and impala, and wildebeast, and zebras and gazelles, and GIRAFFES! Even a baby giraffe. Melissa got the closest to the giraffe...about 8 feet! We got sun burned even with sunscreen :) But it was worth it. The Island is gorgeous...just what you think Africa would look like. Big Acacia trees and everything.

Today was even better than yesterday. We got up this morning to go to the Maasai tribe where Wally preaches every first Sunday of the month. This is the most primal living I have ever seen! When we pulled up the little children ran up to the car and were so excited to see us (Melissa convinced me to leave the bag of beanies at hh and I was a little ticked!) They held our hands and asked us to take pictures of them (which I gladly did!!!!) They were already worshipping when we got there and the worship service continued for another 3 hours! They had all the age groups sing a song and dance. Then Melissa and Amy sang Amazing Grace and at the end, the rest of the people sang alleluia to the tune of Amazing Grace. I videoed that so don't worry!! Melissa forgot the extra tape so we had to tape over some of our airport shannanigans (I am about to hurt her!) Not really....Then some women got up and gave testimonies in their own language then the pastor spoke for a little bit and then Wally spoke. Oh yeah we had to get up and greet them and give them greetings from our families and churches. They said to send our families and churches love and prayers and they asked us not to forget about them! I about died. 

Then after the service (it was frickin hot by the way) we had hot rice and potatoes in Simon (the pastors) mother's hut. His wife served us. It was so hot and so filling that we could barely shove it in. Then they served us steaming hot chai. Just what you want when you are sweating to death! They laughed at us for wanting cold things. Simon (the translator..there were two Simon's) said he hated ice cream when Wally had them over once. He said "how can you people eat cold things?" And we were wondering how they could eat hot things on a day like today! 

Then it was time to say goodbye but we had to cram about 6 more people in the car to drive them places so they didn't have to walk 10 miles! The roads are crazy here! Wally said he's had to change his tires ten times! We road up the mountain like a chevy commercial...only he said American cars barely last a week here! 

Ok I hope that was a good update. I miss you guys so much. I love you Tone and hope you are having a good week! It feels like it's been 3 weeks already not three days! Wally and Donna have a dog named Buckeye (yeah Dad Wally keeps ragging on you by the way!) and she makes me miss Franklin a lot! Love you all Melissa is asleep so I will say hi from her! 

Love Jen

Imani

Back when I used to write ... (sigh) 

Inspirational Nonfiction

Imani

890 Words

Darkness blanketed the ground outside her window of the 747. Runway lights soon came into view at Jomo Kenyatta Airport. One bounce and the pressure of jetliner brakes told Melissa she had finally arrived in the land of red dirt and dreams.

Not many years before, she dreamed of this night; recurring dreams.

 “I had the most beautiful dream last night,” she told me while filling her cereal bowl.  It was the first day of school, and she was entering sixth grade.

“Tell me about it.” I tried to use the same phrase every time she mentioned her dreams.

“You ‘member Mr. Tanis’ from 5th grade, well I was in his classroom ... but it didn’t look like my school at all ... then I was floating in the air and everyone was like---whoa, Melissa you can float ... then the moon came out ... but it looked like a globe and it just kept spinning and stopping ... and everything was so beautiful ... and then it stopped spinning and guess where it stopped?” Melissa grasped for air and the milk carton.

“Africa,” I said, knowing for certain it was the right answer.

Every so often I try to recall a time when her heart did not beat for Africa.  Her elementary Paper Mache project was shaped like Mt Kilimanjaro. When it was time for country reports she had to wait through the whole alphabet, fearful someone else would choose Kenya. Her worries were unfounded.

 “Why can’t God just send down food from the sky to feed the starving children?” Her questions came out of nowhere and always as her older sister was drifting off to sleep.

“I know, Lissy,” Jen would whisper. “Maybe we can go to Africa someday and help them.”

It was the fall of 2007, when I knew for certain, she would make her dream a reality.  She was touring the country with a cast of young Americans. Their group held 3-day workshops for 3rd-12th graders, with intentions to keep the arts at the forefront in public schools.

 “Maybe I’ll try to take a sabbatical and travel to Africa next spring," she told her Australian born director.

“No more 'maybes' luv," her director-friend said in her lazy Aussie accent.  “Stop saying words like ‘maybe’ and ‘try’, the time is now.”

I spent the next few months scanning the Internet for tickets, while Melissa started, from scratch, to find a place to serve.

“I’m still worried about you going alone,” I said.

“You shouldn’t,” she said and then proceeded to quote back to me a slew of Psalms I had made her memorize.

“The safest place for me to be is in the center of God’s will and guess what?" She reassured me, "Jen is thinking of going with me."

Great! Now I would have to worry about both of them.

By the time the leaves had fallen, orphanages were chosen, references checked, and reasonable tickets were on hold. The leaves obeyed, why was it so hard for me to let go? On the eve of finalizing their journey, my weak faith stumbled, as my daughters’ grew stronger.  I wanted to let go.  Or did I? What if they got hurt? Or worse? But then a small still voice spoke to me. What if they did not want to live passionately? Or follow their dreams? What if I was the one to stand in their way of being abundantly blessed? What if their creator designed them to hold helpless, abandoned babies, and I tried to persuade them to stay safe and comfortable?

What kind of mother wants the status quo for her children?  I would take the leap.

Thanksgiving was bittersweet. The tickets, in hand, read Chicago to Nairobi January 30 through March 28, 2008. The prayer before turkey dinner was laced with tears and grateful hearts. The family pictures were taken and framed.

Two days after Christmas, the unexpected happened. The national presidential elections were held in Kenya, the most stable country in Africa. For the month of January the world, and my girls, watched as yet another African country descended into the depths of their man-made hell.

We hoped and prayed for the best, but for me, the 'not knowing' became almost unbearable. Melissa and Jen's faith never wavered.

By the middle of January, Northwest offered them a one-time 'civil unrest' change to their tickets.  With heavy hearts, they pushed their departure date to February 27, 2008. They would spend one month in Africa instead of two.

By the end of January, Kenya grew quiet. In fact, after January 30, the original departure date, not once was Kenya on the front page of the BBC. My fears started to seem manageable and the girls remained undaunted.  Prayers went up and the baby supplies rolled in.

I hugged them hard at Terminal 5 and promised not to cry. The simple Northwest text message came at 11:30am on that cold and gray Chicago morning.

Flight 8611: Departed.

My promise forgotten, I cried out to God.

On February 28, 2008, while their flight was in the air somewhere over North Africa, a peace agreement was signed by Kenya’s opposing political parties.

Just yesterday my cell phone rang and interrupted a quiet
summer reverie on the porch.

"Hi," Melissa said. “I dreamed of Africa again last night.”

5 Years Ago Today ... Episode 1

I’m not sure I can remember a time when Jen and Melissa’s heart did not pound for Africa.

Late Winter ’06 - Melissa was speaking with her YA director and mentioned that she might try to go to Africa the following spring.

Maybe February ’08.

Robin (the YA director), "Melissa, now is the time. No more maybes!”

Late Summer ’07 - After speaking for quite some time on the phone with each other, newlywed Jennifer hung up and told her husband of Melissa’s plans.

Tony (the husband), “You should go with her!”

Fall ‘07 - While sitting around in our living room after the YA’s had performed at their Alma Mater, Jordan M. suggested they hop on Kayak.com and look for some airplane tickets.

Christmas '07 - After many hours on the Internet, it was finally decided and the tickets were purchased for January 30 – March 30.

December 27, 2007 - Elections are held in Kenya and for the month of January ’08 the world, and my girls, watched as yet another African country descended into the depths of their manmade hell.

EVERYONE involved hopes and prays for the best, but the “not knowing” becomes almost unbearable.

Middle of January '08 - Northwest offers a one time in change to their tickets and with heavy hearts, itineraries are delayed until February 28 – March 27. They will spend one month in Africa instead of two.

End of January '08 - Kenya grows quiet. In fact, after Jan 30 (you’ll remember the original departure date), not once was Kenya on the front page of the BBC.

When God calls He will always provide. The plans proceed. Prayers go up while the baby supplies roll in.

February 27, 2008 - I hugged them hard at Terminal 5 and promised not to cry. The simple NW text message came at 1:20pm on that cold and gray Chicago afternoon.

Flight 8611: Departed.

I cried out to God.

February 28, 2008 - while in the air, somewhere over Northern Africa, a peace agreement was signed by Kenya’s opposing political parties.

And so their story begins…