Passion World Tour - the book

This is really cool...

And no matter how many times I watch it, I see something new...and it blows me away!!!

And my stars even made it in...so, THERE!, MALAINE! :O)

tonight I was reminded.

Tonight, God very clearly said, "Michele, do not get so caught up in your life that you miss MY story."

It is easy for me to get weighed down with all the details of this life I am living, figuring out the next steps, looking for the road ahead. I forget that I am ON the journey and God is showing me the Good Life...if only I would pause and remember...and then walk with Him.

Tonight, we remembered the Passion World Tour. Seeing the faces from all over the world...I was reminded, again, of what an incredible journey I have been a part of....and still continue to be. Why do I let my world get so small? Why do I assume I know what is best...that I have all of my best interests at heart? I need these reminders to ground me in Christ and His unfailing love, His unfailing strength, His unending mercy and grace, and His timeless truth and heart for His people.

Tonight, I was reminded. And that is a very good thing.

the glory of God...and then me.

I've been reading Francis Chan's new book, Crazy Love, as of late. I picked up a copy after getting to spend a little bit of time with Francis and Lisa (his wife) in Kampala on the Passion World Tour. Talk about a seriously interesting couple. I wish I could have spent days with them. They have a heart for Uganda (among everything else they are passionate about) and are just two of the coolest people I have ever met. In the brief moments I was able to talk to them, they both made an impression on me that will have a lasting effect. And so, when I got back to Atlanta, I went and bought Francis' book that had just come out. And yep...it does a pretty good job of expressing the passion I saw and felt in the time I was with them. So, that's my plug for Crazy Love. Go get it. It's not a big book, so don't be intimidated. :O)

Something that I have been learning about lately is the glory of God. (And, that's why I referenced the book...just so it doesn't seem like a random intro...read the book, you will get it.) During the few months that I was working at Buckhead Church and working for Passion (those long, crazy weeks....), it sometimes felt that I was just working to work. That everything I was doing was just meaningless. But then there would be these moments when God would gently (or not so gently) remind me/show me that what I was doing was not for my benefit. It was a part of His story, something He was working out for His glory. And then I actually went on the Passion World Tour and those moments just became amplified and in my face. To be honest, those moments are sometimes not easy to take...you realize how ridiculous your doubt was/is in the face of God's glory, mercy, grace, and love. And at the same time, you just take it all in and let it wash over you....freeing you from that doubt. Crazy. What an amazing journey it was...and continues to be.

Now, the moments are much quieter. Not so large. But they are still there. The glory of God is still so evident. I see more and more of His story and less and less of mine. That is my desire and prayer. That MY life be less and HIS story be all the more clear. No matter what that means.

What a long journey...

...from Africa to the USA. This time two weeks ago, I was actually in a taxi in Zanzibar frantically driving to the ATM trying to get money out to pay our taxi driver. Wow. Hard to believe what can happen in two weeks time. Let me recap since I've been a slacker:

- Zanzibar Island (which was amazing...make sure you check out my pictures)
- Back to Uganda for 2 days to pack up and say goodbye (miss you Renee, Jeff & Christine...amazing how you can make such great connections with people in such a short time)
- Back to Atlanta via Amsterdam (Big Mac for breakfast in Amsterdam)
- Spent some GREAT time with the Duke House roomies for 5 days. They loved on me and spoiled me rotten. I managed to play Rock Band every day for ridiculous amounts of time. Also got to visit a lot of friends from my "old job" at Buckhead/North Point. (That's weird to say!!!) Kicked it with the Passion peeps for a bit, too. I guess it doesn't really seem like former anything when those people are like family to you.
- Made the long drive to Maryland to spend an extended time with the family in Aberdeen. Which is where I am right now.

So, I'll stop bullet-pointing everything now. :O) I'm currently sitting on the bed in my room at my parents' house. It is one of 2 air-conditioned rooms in the house. Comes in handy for the days and nights when the heat index soars into the 100's. Delightful. Midi (Schmoo Bear) is passed out on the bed next to me, pretty much taking up the whole bed....she will get booted to the side here in a bit when I go to sleep.

I guess I wanted to blog because I hadn't in a while and this is one of the first times I've been able to actually blog from the site and not the old blackberry. Yes, I went and stood in line for 4 hours and bought the new iPhone 3G. Everyone knew I would, so I'm sure no one is really surprised. I'm just BUMMED SERIOUSLY to find out AT&T didn't update their international plan. So, I STILL can't use the stupid thing in Uganda. Freakin A, AT&T. We are going to have a go-around about this!!!!

Anyway, that's not what I wanted to blog about. A lot of you know that I'm in this state of "what am I doing with my life?" Just so you know, that hasn't changed. If anything, I'm more than ever at the point where I feel like I should fall on my face and say, "Jesus, I need You right now." And, that's what I'm doing. But, to be honest, I don't even know what to pray for. I came to a realization tonight that I am at a really selfish point in my life. I am selfish in my desires to want to try and understand my life, understand where I'm supposed to be, what I'm supposed to do, and on and on and on. I know I'm not alone in this. I know we all go through this time in our lives...and probably more than once. So, I know I must turn to Scripture and turn to prayer.

I was listening to a favorite song...it's a song that became a favorite this past year and is very familiar in the Passion family. Part of it says,

"Heal my heart and make it clean.
Open up my eyes to the things unseen.
Show me how to love like You have loved me.
Break my heart for what breaks Yours.
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause,
As I walk from earth into eternity."

Everything I am...how I long to say that and yet how so far away I am. I feel broken, but not broken to the point where I feel like I can be molded. I feel completely useless and completely selfish, yet want to overcome so that my brokenness is no longer a selfish place of wanting, but a selfless place of complete hope in Jesus.

And so here I sit in Maryland. I am headed to Nashville this Friday for 6 days to reconnect with friends and do some potential job hunting. I'm also not closing any doors in Atlanta. Just trying to be open to whatever God might show me. My heart knows that I don't need to be "perfect" for God to use me. My head just needs to get back into the groove. I have a few books that I'm hoping will jump start my thinking. I'm such a thinker that is continually over-thinking, over-analyzing everything that it will be good to make my mind go through the paces. I could just use some prayer, though, as I struggle through this time.

Sorry for the long post...and for the stream of consciousness crap....if you even read this far, I should send you a blow-pop. :O)

sporadic internet, but check this out...

Hi friends!!! For once, I'm not posting from my blackberry...woo hoo! I happened to get sporadic internet at the Bible Institute...yipppppppeeeee!!!! :O)

I wanted to post this link from Passion Kampala, because the pictures are amazing (and I'm actually in one...the group shot...see if you can find me...)...so, go here to check them out!

K, that's it for this post...wanted to make sure it posted before I lost the connection. I'll post more in a bit when I know I have a solid thing happening here!

quick update

Hi everyone...just a brief update! I'm still at the hotel in Kampala, but am getting ready to leave to go to Ggaba.

I'm doing my best to get pictures and a video uploaded to my other blog, but in the meantime, make sure you check out the Passion blog...there are some incredible pictures posted!!!

Can't wait to update you from Lake Victoria!!!

silly slow internet connection

Hi friends! I've been trying to upload some more pics on my other blog, but the internet here at the hotel is a little wacky. We have wireless and everything, but it isn't the fastest in the world! :O) Actually pretty surprising since it's the nicest hotel in Uganda. Oh well, c'est la vie!

Everyone arrived earlier today and this evening, so we have a full house! It's always fun when the whole team is together. There are some crazy people out with us (in a good way, of course!)!!! It's always good to be in like-company.

It's about 12:21 in the morning and I probably need to go to bed. I had a few things to wrap up with Kyiv tonight, so am trying to get that taken care of. Looks like that will need to be finished up tomorrow, though. Not that you care to know that, but I'm basically just documenting what I'm doing at this point. Ha ha.

I have to say...I look forward to the day after.

Not sure what that day is, but it will be here soon...

And it will be interesting. Uganda is an amazing place filled with amazing people. I have made some good friends already and look forward to the next few months with them!!!

Ok, off to bed!

the day after Passion Kyiv

*copying this from my other blog*

So. I’m currently on a plane to Helsinki, Finland. VERY quick layover (hope we make it....if I post this soon, we did NOT!). Then, another flight to Stockholm, Sweden. Which basically means I have come and gone from Kyiv, Ukraine. And that is all that is ridiculously crazy to me. 60+ days of intense in-your-faceocity (yes, I made a new word, Webster) and all is said and done.

Passion Kyiv. Where do I start? Let’s see. Maybe I will start with my two Kyiv best friends, Christine & Jo. (I’ll have to get pictures from them and post later.) Christine and Jo are two fabulous women who basically did everything I could not have come close to doing by myself in Kyiv. Christine is an American that has been living in Kyiv for the past 3 years with her husband and children and Jo is an Aussie who has lived in Kyiv for the past year or so. (Hope I got that right, girls!!!). I LOVE THEM. It about killed me to say goodbye to them and I must confess that it brings tears to my eyes to even write this right now. If you can develop a deep and everlasting friendship within just a few days time, we did it! I guess that’s where God steps in and says, “Hey, it’s all good...your plans are pretty lame, so I’m going to go ahead and prepare the way for you. Just chill.” So...Jo and Christine, I WILL be coming back to visit and WILL be expecting some Gloria Jean’s time. :O) Love you and miss you already.

Ok, so the actual event itself! You HAVE to check out the 268 blog. Jeremy Cowart has been taking some *ok* pictures. (pause) I mean, seriously? Ridiculous. He even did a quick “shoot” of my star tattoos the other day. I don’t know if it will make the Passion World Tour book, but who knows. Maybe one day when I’m famous, he will put it on his website. Ha ha. So, go check out the blog...there are some great stories and AMAZINGGGGGG with a capital RIDICULOUS pictures posted there.

To give you the quick background on Kyiv...when we started planning, we had NO IDEA how many people we could expect to show up. We would get mixed reactions from people. Some would say thousands would come, some would say we would be fortunate if 1000 showed up. Because it was a free event, we had no idea of knowing until the doors opened and people came in. SO...5:00 rolls around and a few hundred people are hanging outside. Praying. Preparing. Wow. 6:00, doors open and they start pouring in. By the hundreds. Still not sure what to expect, though. At 6:30, we enter into a time of prayer. Louie, the bands, our wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Kyiv leadership team, our team....an outpouring of the Spirit...just crying out to God to be THE God of Kyiv. Such a dark city, such a closed city. 6:55, we walk out to the backstage area and through the curtain. THOUSANDS have shown up. WOW. Truly, WOW. Louie posted a blog that said, “How do you say WOW in Russian?” That was literally how we felt. And they kept coming in. All in all, we had over 4,000 at Passion Kyiv last night. MORE than we could have ever expected, ever asked for, but truly what only God is capable of doing. Certainly nothing four human beings are capable of planning for, that’s for sure.

The night was a typical Passion event for those of you that have ever attended, volunteered, or just know what Passion is all about. But, it was so much more than that, too! We sang some in Russian...kudos to the guys for learning that in such a short time. You guys have my respect. Louie was translated the entire night by our friend, Oleg. What a cool guy Oleg is. I wish you all could meet him! We also took up an offering for Stockholm (the next city on the tour). Kyiv is a city that is hit hard by poverty, yet the students believed in what we were doing, what GOD is doing, the message of GRACE....they believed in that so much that they gave what they had so that another city could hear like they had. I am TRULY humbled. Truly. I know that God specifically placed me on the Kyiv team for this moment. Kyiv feels like a second home around the world and I am honored to have been a part of such an amazing journey.

So...I sit on a plane. I can’t believe it’s over. But, it is for me. For those still in Kyiv, there is much to do, much to come still. I look forward to seeing what God has brewing in such an incredible place! And I look forward to returning one day....soon!

Now, it’s on to Stockholm, Sweden, where I will be more of a staff person. I get to help with media and just be a generally helpful person. Hope I do well with the task assigned!

So...skipping ahead a few hours...I am now at the hotel in Stockholm. This is a pretty cool city, at least what I’ve seen of it. I think I might try and grab a dinner with the guys later. I had the pleasure of traveling with the “Brits” today. They are a fun bunch. :O) So, I may go eat some good food with them and then hit the ground running. By that time, the rest of the gang should be at the hotel.

Anyway, sorry to spill so much in my first update! So much to share! Hope you are along for the ride!!!!

so, maybe it's time for an update...

I feel like I've been so busy lately that I haven't taken any time to really keep up with anybody, which is a dumb move on my part. So, at least I can do a quick update on my blog for those of you that I haven't actually gotten the chance to connect with lately!

Where to start? Let's just jump right in...

As of May 12, I will no longer be employed at Buckhead Church. After a little over a year of being here (and what an amazing year it has been!), I am moving on to pursue other opportunities. For the past couple of months, I've been working with the Passion World Tour team to help prepare for the upcoming tour which is set to kick off in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 16th. In addition to all the logistics I've been helping with, I'm also on the Ukraine team and helping with the Uganda team. So, on May 12, I jump on a plane for Kyiv.

From there, I will be headed to....Stockholm, London, Uganda...and then probably Kenya.

I have the opportunity to potentially spend some extended time in Kenya helping an organization called BrightPoint for Children. Details of what I will be doing are still in the works and the whole trip, itself, is subject to change based on their needs. But, what an amazing opportunity it is...I am anxiously awaiting and praying through everything that is ahead on the road before me. God has astounded me with dreams and desires that I did not know I could have!

So, I know that is such a "big picture" of what lies ahead...but, that's where I am right now. I'll keep you posted as I find out more of what is to come. A lot of other big changes are going on right now, too, so if you would "say a little prayer for me", I'd SO appreciate it. I'm ok with the not knowing...I just want to be sure I'm walking the path I'm supposed to be walking!

Oh, and thanks for all the compliments on the haircut...I'm still getting used to it. :O)

passion :: DC

These were just some of the images from an incredible weekend...



And this has to be one of my favs...