“How did passing out candy become my job?”  “Surely God brought me to Panama to be more than a candy supplier.” “I’m not sure we should be handing out candy anyway!” The afternoon before, all these thoughts ran through my head when I received a minor rebuke for not bringing out our bag of candy soon enough. Someone had given us a giant sackful of miniature Tootsie Pops®, and Dr. Walker Moore wanted us to use the treats in ministry. I knew we could use them. But this former dental hygienist didn’t want to be the one to do it. Still, I’ve spent years teaching my children the value of proper authority, which God places in our lives to provide both protection and direction. And as not only Awe Star’s president but also our trip leader, Walker’s words mattered. I confessed my inner grumbling and promised God I’d become the Candy Girl, joyful in sharing the treats He supplied. He didn’t wait long to bless my new attitude. The next day found the team rising early to eat, have a quick Bible study, and head out to a school at the edge of the Panama Canal. A previous Awe Star team had visited the same school  to minister to older students. This morning, our team had the privilege of sharing “Freedom” with a younger group. The Panama heat radiated up from the concrete as we set up to begin our ministry. Dozens of curious children milled around us, pointing and asking questions. We engaged them with a quick line dance. Soon, performers and audience were good to go. Once again, I felt blessed to pray through the drama and ask for the winds of salvation to blow through tender hearts. Awe Star never presses children—or anyone—for decisions, but we understand our responsibility to share God’s truth. As the team poured out their hearts in the drama, I poured out mine in prayer. But I didn’t anticipate what happened next. When the drama concluded, the students hurried out in their ministry teams, and I pulled out my big bag of candy. I still felt a bit concerned because I knew the students would follow the sweet treasures. Would this keep them from responding to the gospel? But I remembered Walker’s direction, and lifted the giant sack. Before I could decide where to take it, a cluster of children surrounded me—so many, in fact, that I feared I might stumble. Amid the clamor, I held the bag high. Then suddenly, God gave me an idea. Perhaps I could use the candy to share my story! I sat down, holding the treats close as my new best friends surrounded me. I pulled...

French Embassy, Panama City, Panama Am I really in Panama? As I followed the line of students down the sidewalk beside the narrow brick street, this question kept returning to my mind. We’d spent the morning in ministry at two different schools. Now, in the early afternoon, our bus delivered us to a new and (for us) unexplored area of the city. I gazed upward at columns and arches. I peered through wrought-iron gates into tiny courtyard gardens. Charleston? Perhaps. New Orleans? Maybe. Panama City, Panama? Surely not. I learned we had entered the area of Panama City commonly known as the French Quarter. In truth, it is Casca Viejo (“old part”), a section rebuilt in the 17th century after pirates destroyed the city. It boasts a curious blend of French colonial and Spanish architecture that made me feel as though we’d traveled through time. We moved to a small plaza overlooking the ocean, flanked by more beautiful colonial buildings that included the French Embassy. Our now-familiar routine allowed for a sooth setup. Students, not Awe Star Ministries staff, introduced the drama and shared their testimonies. And once again, I stepped back from the presentation to pray. A guard on the embassy steps caught my eye and heart. He couldn’t hear the drama from where he stood, but I could tell he was watching. “Move him closer,” I prayed. My gaze traveled to other onlookers, but when it returned to him only seconds later, his spot at the embassy doors was vacant. He had already come closer—and kept doing so throughout the next few minutes. At one point, a man in a business suit appeared at the embassy door, and the guard hurried back to his post. After a brief conversation, the other man moved to the parking lot, then turned to walk away. Our guard stepped back to a spot where he could see and hear the drama once again.. Next, two more men in uniform (complete with berets) appeared. Soldiers? Policemen? I wasn’t sure. I added them to my prayers as the eighteen-minute drama unfolded. After the presentation, I saw one ministry team move straight toward the security guard, a second to the two other men in uniform. My prayers intensified. As the teams came back together a short time later, they brought joyful news that all three—along with several other onlookers—had prayed to receive Christ. I thought back to the Bible stories of guards and soldiers who encountered Jesus. Today, God had moved these protective servants to the right place at exactly the right time. Familiar with authority, they now served a new one. And His kingdom endures forever. As we climbed back into the bus to...

Students share the gospel along Cinco de Mayo. Imagine a flea market, a discount strip mall, and a busy downtown street crammed together. Hear the bursts of Latin music, loudspeakers promoting various businesses, children crying, gears grinding, and vendors pitching their wares. What do you have? Cinco de Mayo—not the Mexican holiday, but a pedestrian mall that forms the end of Avenida Central in Panama City. What else do you have? A constant stream of spectators. Back in May, the team I came to serve had learned Awe Star’s pantomime drama, “Freedom,” which shares the gospel from creation through resurrection to the accompaniment of a musical and (in this case) Spanish-language track. The evening they arrived in Panama, the team spent time refreshing their parts. And now, after a morning of worship at La Communidad Church, the group ate the first of many PB & J lunches and headed out for the first afternoon of official ministry. On my last Awe Star trip, I’d played a part in the drama. This time, I had the privilege of watching and serving the team. Heat radiated from the concrete as we set up the first drama site in front of a busy market. Fingers fumbled as masks, streamers, and other basic equipment traveled down the line of missionaries. Before each presentation, one person introduces “Freedom” and another one or two share a personal testimony. At the drama’s close, the introducer also explains the drama and how it relates to the gospel. Students then head out in teams of three to share the message of Christ with those who want to hear more. Today, Awe Star leadership did most of the speaking. Tomorrow, all that would change. We knew team members were nervous about their ability to remember their parts and perform well. But we also knew they had to push past their fear so the message could go forth. What a privilege to watch that come to pass! Of course, the day’s performances weren’t polished or perfect. But I loved watching the students and adults give their best efforts. I loved seeing them walk up to people who didn’t speak their language and attempt to share what God could do in their lives. And I loved the unseen part of my assignment as well. Yes, I folded streamers, passed out ministry packs, and did other tasks that helped the team move smoothly through the streets. But my special task that day—and every other day—was praying for the team as God moved in and through them. I had the quiet joy of looking out at audience members and asking God to touch their hearts. I had the privilege of standing against the...

This morning, I leave for my short-term missions trip to Ecuador with SUSIE Magazine. I go as the writer charged with sharing the story of the trip; as a seminar leader; and above all as a missionary and servant to my fellow missionaries. My heart overflows with prayers for these more than 300 teens and what God intends to do through them as well as for Awe Star Ministries and my own teen daughters who begin their ministries in Peru and Latvia today. This summer, many others will travel to serve in short-term missions. Will you join me in praying for them today? Lord, I praise You because of Your great love—a love that extends to all nations, all peoples. What an honor we have to carry Your love to other countries. What an honor we have to serve You as we carry Your life within us, ready to spill out as we go. Today, Lord, I ask You to go before us and prepare the way. Prepare the soil in the countries we go that it may be soft for Your touch. Protect the people who listen and who speak from the evil one—fill the land with Your presence and banish him by the power of Your Word and Your shed blood. Open their hearts, open their lives to hear not from us but from You. Prepare my fellow missionaries and me as well, God. Prepare our hearts that we may be worthy vessels. Prepare our hands that we may be willing servants and our minds that we may be wise counselors. Prepare our feet that we may be sure travelers and our mouths that we may be sound proclaimers. Prepare us, revive us, restore us to follow You. I thank you, God, that You are the giver of all good gifts and have many in store for us this summer. Help us to receive everything as from Your hand, to trust You from moment to moment and step to step. Thank You for choosing us and using us as we go. In Your holy name I pray—AMEN. Are you praying for summer missionaries? Please tell us about them so we can lift them up as...

Today marks the start of a new Read. Write. Pray. feature. Since much of my work involves young adults (teens and above), I’ve decided to focus Friday posts on their needs and interests. I’ll go for “occasional” right now and work toward “regular” as we go. Extra shoutouts and hugs to my Awe Star and Never the Same/SUSIE Magazine friends! My inaugural post is a READ review of an amazing new book by two of my favorite authors: Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer. I chose to receive a free review copy of their latest title. Although I’d love to keep it, I want to share it. (See my note below to find out how.) Moms, dad, grandparents, and friends of either sex—this book makes a delightful graduation, engagement, birthday, or end-of-the-school-year gift. Check it out! Praying for Your Future Husband: Preparing Your Heart for His (Multnomah, 2011) presents a unique look at a crucial topic. Thousands of young women, including my four daughters, have grown up on Robin Jones Gunn’s novels. Imperfect-but-real characters like Todd and Christy, Sierra, and Katie have drawn many to relationships that reflect the purity of Christ. So why a nonfiction book with this subject? Because it’s needed. Because it’s necessary. And because Robin and Tricia present it in a way no one else could.  Both authors share their personal stories—including Tricia’s heartbreaking one of teen pregnancy—as a part of the prayer journey they travel alongside their readers. The adventure comes in short, reader-friendly bursts that explore the background for each of twelve prayer topics. Chapters such as “Pray He Will Be a God Lover” and “Pray for Protection” emphasize application to readers’ lives along with a sample prayer to match each topic.  I especially loved the book’s bonus features: chapter-ending questions suitable for journaling or small group discussion and a selection of Scriptures to pray for your future husband. Young friends, I believe in you. Your generation, surrendered to Christ, has the passion to change the world. This kind of transformation starts at home and in your heart. Buy and read this powerful book, but move beyond reading to prayer. You (and your future marriage) will never be the same. WIN  THE REVIEW COPY: Leave a comment on this review (or, if you have trouble commenting, via email through the “contact” link to the right) by midnight Sunday, May 15, and I’ll enter your name in a drawing to win the book. US addresses only,...

Sometimes life gets in the way. For the past couple of months, life in our family has included cancer surgery (my dad), ongoing treatment (Dad again), a fractured tibia (my son), and ongoing therapy (my dad and my son).  For me, it’s also included teaching at the Florida Christian Writers Conference; some small, regular deadlines; and a big book deadline. Add that to mission trip fundraising for my two youngest daughters (almost at the halfway point in raising the more than $8000 they need to serve in Latvia and Peru) and you have a recipe for either disaster or dependence. Each new day presents multiple opportunities for either one.  So no, the blog posts haven’t been as regular. But yes, God’s allowed me to escape disaster—spiritual and otherwise. I know I’m not alone in my position here in the eye of the storm. So, in honor of this and our upcoming hurricane season, I offer this prayer:  Father, as disaster swirls around me, keep me in the shadow of Your wing. Direct and unite my heart to fear and to honor only You. Your promise was not to keep me from storms or strife but to be with me. Thank You, my Master, for Your presence and power. Thank You for the gift of Your Son who lives inside me, strengthening and empowering me for the large and the little, the majestic and the mundane. Lord, I pray for my friends who are hurting today. The winds tear at their lives; the pummeling doesn’t seem to stop. Help these dear ones reach the center in You. In quietness and trust is their strength, O God. May they find a place of sure refuge. May they see these storms and these circumstances as Your instruments of trust.  Today, Lord Jesus, help us choose You. Help us to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness. Help us look beyond the storm to see Your peace that passes understanding. And help us hold fast to what is good—only You. In Your holy name I pray—AMEN.  I know many who read this are facing storms. Feel free to comment or e-mail me and I’ll hold you before...