Friday, October 10, 2008

East Bound, Middle East That Is...






































Recently, I have been asking the Lord a number of questions such as, "God, if I were to go overseas for an extended period of time, what would I be able to do about my job? Would I be able to come back? How long could I go? Where would you want to send me?" Then a few days ago, Darren in staff meeting was telling us how he met this minister in a particular Middle Eastern nation. He is also laboring with our dear friends, Josh and Julie, some of our missionaries with LIGHT International. Darren testified of all the amazing things Jesus was doing in this Muslim nation.


The story about the previous Muslim man was one of the most amazing stories of a Muslim coming to salvation that I had ever heard. As Darren was talking, I was daydreaming of this nation, the Muslim people, my head being covered, the beauty of that land, and the supernatural stories occurring there. The few countries that have been burning on my heart have been Israel and this specific nation which has to remain anonymous for the sake of protection.


I have been longing for years to go to Israel to help with the House of Prayer there and my other dream was to help Josh and Julie with their efforts to spread the Gospel and plant a church in this nation. Many plans have been contrived in the past for many destinations and some of them have been thwarted due to unfortunate circumstances in other countries such as India. Yet the dreams regarding the Middle East have remained in my heart always.


Ironically enough, today, Darren presented an amazing chance for me to help with the efforts in this Middle Eastern country. He asked me if I would like to go for not just two weeks, but for one month. Since this has been on my heart for such a long time, I, of course, said "Yes." He said, "When could you go?" I responded with, "Whenever you are ready to send me, I will go." LIGHT Internationals' mission is to plant churches in many unreached nations in the world who have never heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Josh and Julie were our first missionaries to be a part of this vision.


This opportunity for me to go to this country would be one of the dreams I have had in my heart for a loooooong time. I would be under the covering of LIGHT International as I would help to encourage Josh and Julie in serving wherever they have a need and possibly helping with their music ministry.


They also have two young children and I have a heart to help support Julie with them as well while Josh is away. This is an exciting opportunity and I haven't felt this excited about going to another country since I left for Brazil. The nations have always been and always will be in the depths of my heart since the first time God called me to move here to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to be equipped and prepared to go to the nations.


Would you please pray for me as I embark on this exciting adventure? I will be leaving January of 2009 and I may be returning February of 2009, which is not that far away! I am also asking if you would like to help me financially on this journey as I need to raise $2500.00 to cover my expenses. Would you be willing to help? If you are interested, you can write a tax-deductible check to LIGHT International and send it to the address listed below:

LIGHT International
Attn: Mary Kat Conolley
PO Box 39267
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. 33339



You all have been such an encouragement to me in my life and I would be amazed if you could join with me in spreading the LIGHT in this nation that needs to see the revelation of Jesus Christ more than ever before. In our day and in our time, the nations are waiting. Thank you and blessings to you all! Below are some pictures of Josh, Julie, and their beautiful children.













Monday, October 6, 2008

Choose Life...




















5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. (Gen. 9:5-6)

Where there is shedding of innocent blood, there is no atonement for the land. There is a blood pollution problem on America’s soil. The most “dangerous terrorist” is not Islam, but God. One of God’s names is “the Avenger of Blood.” Have you worshiped that God yet? He loves babies. Nothing can wash away our defilement except the blood of Jesus

33 So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. (Num. 35:33)

Abortion Worldwide

Annually, 46 million babies die from abortion worldwide. That’s approximately one baby being aborted every two seconds.

Abortion in the United States

An estimated 48 million babies have been aborted since 1973. Approximately 24% of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness (The Declaration of Independence). These words, written over two hundred years ago, became the very foundation of what the United States of America stands for. Yet in the past hundred years, millions of American citizens have been denied the rights and truths encompassed in this statement.

Note: statistics from Bound4life.com, sermon excerpts from Lou Engle.



Audra Elizabeth McKenzie-The First Character of "The Girls of Laurel Lane"

Audra Elizabeth McKenzie was a young girl almost thirty, but full of life. Woes and hurts, of course, she had endured, but many would call her an over comer. She was a remarkable young woman who wore her heart on a sleeve, yet was never afraid to speak her mind even at the cost of offense. However, a battle always raged within her.

She knew right from wrong, but self-control was a weakness and somehow, she often found it quite difficult to restrain her words. Justice was of most importance and if one didn’t feel the same conviction, he or she would become the unfortunate victim of her most untactful criticism. She would best be described as a passionate woman of deep convictions. Most of the time, this would cause her great trouble in relationships. Yet, by the grace of God He had provided for her a sincere group of friends who loved her despite her shortcomings.

She was also a woman of great imagination. Of course, starting at the early age of ten, she began to create story after story as she viewed life through her fantasies, which were quite intriguing and dramatic. Depending on one’s perspective, she could have been considered a compulsive liar, however, others might have described her as an incredibly creative writer in the making.

One of her many stories caught the attention of a whole town, a city in fact. The whole city of Houston, Texas was led to believe through her own words that she was almost kidnapped. In her description to the police, she “barely escaped” from the brutal hands of a dangerous man. The story was that she almost reached his grasp, but yet was saved by her quick reflexes and running abilities.

Many of her other stories might have included her convincing her brother that she was the Anti-Christ and if he did not wear sunglasses during the eclipse, he was going to die and go to hell. She was a devious child at times motivated by drama and would sometimes make members of her own family the main characters of her top stories of the week...(more to come for the novel is in the making as we speak).