I am really excited about something I feel God has laid on my heart. I’ve been thinking and praying about this for two months now and have finally decided to put action to my thoughts and prayers—it’s definitely a step of faith and I’m just going to see what God does through it. Here’s a little context to what I’m talking about…

About two years ago God began burdening my heart for the victims of sex trafficking and other forms of modern-day slavery. Over these years, my eyes have been opened more and more to the horrific realities of violent oppression that’s taking place all over the world—things like 5 years olds being bought and sold for sex, families forced to work 6 days a week, 16 hours a day for no wages, and teenagers getting kidnapped in foreign countries and brought to the U.S. to feed the sexual appetites of men here in the states.

Becoming aware of these realities has awakened a huge desire in me to help. I’m not exactly sure how God wants to use me, so I’ve been “getting my feet wet” in hopes to narrow the focus. One of the things I’ve recently done is volunteered with the Human Trafficking Ministry at the Rock Church (http://www.therocksandiego.org/ministries/trafficking/). We’ve gone out on El Cajon Blvd to outreach to women being forced to sell their bodies for sex. In the last three months, this ministry has helped four women get off the streets and start a life of recovery—amazing!

So, the big thing that I've been praying about and have decided to take a step of faith in: I'm hosting/leading 4 “Summer of Justice Meetings.” These meetings have 3 purposes: 1) spread awareness on the issue of sex trafficking and other forms of modern-day slavery, 2) educate people on how they can help, and 3) pray together for the victims, the perpetrators and organizations that are devoted to helping the oppressed. I'm so excited about this!!

So, I have a question for YOU! :O) Would you consider doing one or all of the following…

1. Attend one “Summer of Justice Meeting” (http://sites.google.com/site/summerofjustice/). The first meeting is this Monday, June 29 (see the link for the other 3 dates).

2. Share this link (http://sites.google.com/site/summerofjustice/) with anyone you feel might be interested in attending a meeting.

3. Say a prayer for me as I prepare for these meetings and wait to see what God does. :O)

Again, here's the link with details: http://sites.google.com/site/summerofjustice/

Thanks so much for your time and consideration!!! I really appreciate any support you can give!!!

As I read Matthew 23:23 today, I was spurred on to dive a bit deeper into the definitions of justice, mercy and faith. How am I to live out those things better if I don't understand them fully. So, here is what I found...

Matthew 23:23 says: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."

JUSTICE

• Dictionary.com describes justice as the quality of being just (guided by truth, reason and fairness) and being righteous (being upright, moral, and virtuous)
• Blue Letter Bible defines this entry of justice as having an opinion or making a decision concerning right or wrong; sentence of condemnation and punishment
• There are 285 verses on justice! Woah! Here is one I recently read and love: Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. Isaiah 1:17

• Dictionary.com defines mercy as compassion towards an offender or enemy; to pardon or mitigate (lessen) punishment; an act of kindness, compassion or favor
• Blue Letter Bible adds to the above definition to have compassion towards the afflicted or miserable joined with a desire to help (love it!!!)
• I also looked up compassion and here's what I found: feeling of deep sympathetic or sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering - WOW!
• Mercy is used 27 times in the NT; here is just one other one: But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It show favoritism and is always sincere. James 3:17

• Blue Letter Bible defines faith as the conviction of the truth especially the relationship between God and man: relating to God the Creator, ruler of all things and bestower of salvation thru Jesus; relating to Christ, a strong conviction that Jesus is the Messiah through whom we obtain eternal salvation; the beliefs of Christians; and and finally, the ability to be relied on
• Faith is mentioned in the Bible 228 times in the NT. Here is just one other: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22

Hey friends & family,

Some of you may know that I’m going on a week mission trip up to Salinas (central Cali). I’ll be there from Sunday, July 26 to Saturday, August 1 with a team of about 30 from my church. Every year, migrant workers travel from camp to camp located throughout central California and the surrounding states to work on the crops.

They have many needs and to help meet those needs, our team of volunteers will partner with the local churches in the Salinas area. We are going to put on a “Vacation Bible School” for the kids of the migrant workers—singing fun songs, doing neat crafts, and teaching them about Jesus. We will also be delivering donated items such as clothes, food, and toiletries that are much needed. I will be taking part specifically in the teaching of the younger kids about God—very exciting—along with handing out bags of toiletry items that the ministry I work for at my church helped put together!

I just wanted to let you know about the trip because you’re important to me and I was hoping you could pray for me and the team. Any prayer would be appreciated. Thanks! I’ll keep you updated…

Here's a picture of the team I'm on.

I attended the "Gifted to Lead" leadership forum a couple of weeks ago and I've had it on my "task list" to go back through my notes. I'm finally going to do just that! So, this post is definitely more about me just sifting through my notes, pulling out the things that stood out to me, and "digesting" it.

Here goes...

--Captivated by God's Love: Nancy Beech noted that what influenced her the most as she attended her youth group growing up was that the Pastor was 'captivated by the love of God.'

--Name the Gifts we see: Nancy Ortberg encouraged us that as we see gifts and abilities of those around us we need to tell that person what we see. Isn't it eye-opening when others tell you the things they see in you? It's so easy to not see myself clearly (the positives and negatives)

--Leaders must be resilient and humble; obstacles are inevitable.

--"Intersect your gifts with this broken and wounded world."

--Listen well and love deeply.

--Let go of your weaknesses; hold on to the strengths. Recognize how God has uniquely made me and partner with Him in that. I've had a tendency to want certain gifts, rather than ask God, "How have you made me? How would you like me to use those strengths, gifts, and abilities for you, Lord?" The ability to see myself clearly is very important.

--Something that Nancy Ortberg did over and over again as she answered questions from the audience was have this keen ability to see clearly the true nature of the question and then speak boldly and truthfully where most people would give the "nice answer" or sugar-coated one. She still spoke with tact and love, but was able to "cut to the chase." This is an area I'd like to grow in for sure!!

--"Activate all gifts, elevate none." I loved hearing this!!

--Default to genuine, authentic you. Don't feel the pressure to be someone you're not.

Es todo!

There was so much to take in at the Catalyst West Coast Conference, and I don't want it to be just another conference experience where I attend, take a bunch of notes, and not do anything with the content or experience. So, by blogging about it, my hope is that I can digest things a bit more and that those things become a part of me, rather than a bunch of great ideas. I know I won't be able to put into practice all that I heard about, but I trust that God's Spirit will help me grasp the most important things as it pertains to me.

So, here goes...

--"Make Meaning, Change the World" - Guy Kawasaki talked about the businesses that go into it with the motivation of making lots of money and gaining high social status---he notes that these businesses fail many times because the motivation is in the wrong place. Hearing him talk about this made think of my motivations... that I must keep them in check! Do I desire to simply please the Lord and genuinely helps others? Or could there be a part of me that desires personal gratification, praise from people, acceptance, recognition. And the ugly truth to that question at times has any ugly answer. Yes, I do struggle with the desire to people please, be recognized by others, etc. ICK! I MUST fight this motivation and bring it back to one more genuine - to love God and love others! That's when I know God will bless my endeavors.

--"Don't Worry, Be Crappy." Guy Kawasaki's message here was to not worry about having things PERFECT---waiting until you're "positive" that everything will be perfect will keep you unnecessarily stuck. For instance, I have been thinking and praying about starting up a monthly prayer and awareness meeting regarding sex trafficking. There's a part of me that says if I don't have it all planned out and know exactly what it will look like, who's going to come, what we're going to do every meeting, than I just won't start it up. And I know that's just silly! Yes, God desires me to pray about it; yes, He wants me to seek His direction, and, yes, planning is a good thing, but there comes a point when I need to trust God in the unknowns and walk forward. And as I walk forward into something unexpected ("crappy"), I'll deal with it then, with God's help. No amount of planning will keep away problems or challenges--there will always be something that comes up. This brings me to another thing Kawasaki said...

--"Let 100 Flowers Blossom" - We need to pay attention to the unexpected "fruit" or results and let it ride. So, maybe some results occur that I was not expecting or planning to happen, but don't fight it. Rather, ride the wave by watching what God is doing and partnering with those unexpected blossoms. Definitely easier said than done, especially for someone who resists change and anything unexpected!!! But hearing these things again will hopefully help me the next time something like this happens. :)

Okay, that's it for now. Part 3 to come soon--there's still so much more to digest!

"The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love." -Psalm 103:8

"May you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully." -Ephesians 3:18, 19

You're invited to join me to a fun and exciting Book Release Party for a friend of mine, Lindsey N. Isham. She just published her first book titled: "NO SEX IN THE CITY: One Virgin's Confession of Love, Lust, Dating and Waiting."

This is will be formal event where the women are to come in one of their old bridesmaid's dresses and men are to wear a tux or suit. So, if you don't get to dress up often and like to, this is your opportunity.

The night will include prizes for the best and worst dressed, a scavenger hunt, book signing, a raffle and more.

If you'd like to join me, let me know! It's Saturday, July 10, 6:00 PM in La Jolla. I know this is way early planning, but just want you to save the date if you're interested. And it will help Lindsey plan for the big event!!

Click HERE for the evite.

Click HERE to check out the book on Amazon.

What a great last two days!!! At the last minute, I decided to attend the Catalyst West Conference and I'm so thankful I did! Here are some of the highlights & take-aways...

Highlights:

--Meeting up with "old-school" Rock Church peeps...exchanging hugs, getting updates on life and ministry, talking about old times, and making new memories...priceless!

--Talking with Bethany Hoang, the Director of International Justice Mission Institute. She gave me some ideas on next steps in furthering my involvement against sex trafficking. I also talked with Jeannie Mai who traveled with NightLight, an organization in Thailand that goes into brothels and ministers to the women and children being bought and sold into sex slavery.

--Laughing so hard my stomach hurt as one of the comedians poked fun at things we Christians do.

--Hanging out in front of Sprinkles Cupcakes with friends, disappointed we got there after-hours, but then being surprised with 3 dozen cupcakes for FREE from the manager! The excitement and applause from our group could be heard blocks away. :)

--Connecting with God through the worship music.

--And, of course, listening to gifted speakers like Francis Chan, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeshel, and Rick Warren, who have a deep love for God, years of ministry experience to glean from, and a desire to help other ministry leaders grow closer to God and continue making a deep impact for Jesus.

Take-Aways
--Andy Stanley's Talk: Being in a position of leadership has many uncertainties. Not having all the answers or not being able to "see the future" is to be expected. Uncertainty does not mean failure! God moves mightily through the uncertaintly. During times like these and when I feel like giving up because I don't understand all the complexity, I must get CLEAR on what God has asked of me, be flexible in my "plans," and move forward with faith.

--Erwin McMannus' Talk: I must strive to live my "heroic life." We must unleash the hero in each other. We're not all going to be Ghandi, not one person can change the whole world, but if we each make those "small" decisions to live a Christ-like life, we will tilt with world in the direction it needs to go and that is a life of love, hope, service, sacrifice, compassion, etc.

--Rick Warren's Talk: "Divert daily, withdrawal weekly, retreat annually." A sabbath day cannot include the "honey-do" / to-do lists, email or phone. Forget time management and focus on energy management. Keep learning, remain humble--teachable. Purpose doesn't change, but terminology does. Keep things simple. During Jesus' ministry on earth, He kept "turning up the heat" with His disciples... as a church, we must have a desire to move people from "come and see" to "come and die" because that's what Jesus did...

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? Luke 9:24-25