it was like a mini-amplified!

!!!!!

this was certainly an unforgettable three days! God did some awesome things in our hearts.

friday, God really had His hand on the showing of the invisible children movie. we had probably forty people!!! i was amazed.

i really believe that this movie opened people's eyes and stirred their hearts. it's so unbelievable- all that these little kids go through! and i pray that we will be able to stay focused on God so that He can use us to reach out to people like that.

saturday morning we had soooo many people show up for the justice project! yet again, God had His hand over the whole thing. we painted bleachers and locker rooms and re-did the teacher's lounge at prescott middle. it was great.

one thing that pastor jason shared friday night, after the movie, is that if we want to go to the world- to other nations and reach people- we have to begin with where God has us now. we have to be faithful here before we can expect Him to entrust us with any other places. that is so true!

after the justice project, we all headed home to get cleaned up and packed for displace me. at 4:30 we all met up at the annex- and for the third time this weekend, God sent an abundance of people to participate! seriously- we filled up the shuttle bus and we had to ask like four other people to drive, too! how awesome is that?!! it took us a little while to get loaded up and to get everything in order, but we made it!

when we got to tulane (where displace me was held), we all got to set up our own little cardboard huts and decorate them. ashlyn and i put our sleeping bags together and set up a very simple headboard type thing...without a covering so that we could look at the stars when it got dark. the only problem was that the dew made some serious puddles on our sleeping bags. (but God really took care of me- i didn't see any bugs whatsoever!! plus- there was not one cloud in the sky or any sign of rain!)

so after we set up our houses, we got to be a part of their filming...and we watched some videos from the people of uganda...telling us how they live their lives everyday. what their homes are like, how they get food and water...
we had to get our food and water in a similar way to their's, but really nothing even near to what they have to go through...

then we had 21 minutes of silence and prayer (each minute counted for each year that they have been at civil war). this was such a cool experience. i loved how there were hundreds of people- and yet (pretty much) total silence. the feeling was so peaceful- being under the stars...just reflecting and crying out to God for these beautiful people- His treasures! (isaiah 61:6 nlt) during this time of silence, i began to read psalm 91...and that chapter always brings me comfort..no matter what i'm going through... but this time i began to read it and i let it become my prayer for the people of uganda- that they would be able to feel this type of assured peace and comfort. they need it so desperately.

well...after that, everyone wrote letters to the government of america and to the president of uganda asking for aid in helping end this war.

then our group of refugees all sat together and sang some worship songs while paul and ryan played the guitar. it was so awesome. just to sit in God's peace.

then tyler barry stood up and shared something that God put on his heart. he said that someone asked him why we would displace ourselves for the kids in uganda- it's not like they care.

he said that this hit Him pretty hard...but God spoke to Him and said that it doesn't matter- even if nothing changes in uganda or if these kids never know what you are doing for them...it's not about that. it's about you representing Me. you're here not for recognition, but to worship Me.

i was like...WOW! that really hit me. i know that i've said before that sometimes i feel like "why bother? what i'm doing won't possibly make a difference."

and other times, honestly, i do things wanting to be recognized for it. i get so prideful and so caught up in who sees me doing what.

and i tend to be really quick to want to take credit for my actions when they're good, but when i am being sinful, i have no problem with just letting Jesus take it from me and moving on. it's terrible.

pride and self-centeredness get you nowhere. somewhere in proverbs it talks about praise being one of the easiest ways to become full of pride- and it's sooooo true.

anyway, God smoked me when tyler said that. it's all God- and if i want to be a part of reaching the beautiful people of this world- i've got to stop seeking recognition and credit. it's all God's.

so, displace me turned out to be AWESOME!!

and by the way...
i've decided that i want to be a (modified version) hippie! there really were hippies everywhere and it was soooo cool. except for all the smoking and weirdness. but i am somewhat fascinated by this lifestyle. i would love to be able to make my own version of a hippie. i'd be a vegetarian who eats caine's. i'd sleep outside but kill bugs and snakes. i'd be a tree hugger who writes almost a whole notebook in a week! and i'd be all for peace- but by standing for justice rather than just having a go-with-the-flow attitude.

i'm a freak! but it would be fun!

anyway...
this weekend was an incredible experience! thanks to everyone who came and helped get it together- especially tweezy and jennifer, leah, miss carole, and miss lori. you guys are AWESOME! and thanks to everyone who helped promote it and who was praying for us.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


AND!!!!!

check out tyler barry's blog. he's got some awesome stuff up about this weekend...and please be praying- he and ryan fontenot and johnny nguyen are going to ask their principle if they can show the invisible children movie at dutchtown!!

click here and read all of his posts (starting at friday's).

_______________________________________________________

oh and my daddy gets home wednesday! oh yeah! i've been reading katherine and barton and all of the elevator's blogs. crazy and awesome stuff. God is really using them and speaking to them. He's changing them. and He is REALLY protecting them.
__________________________________________________________________________

that's it for now.
thanks for reading (well, rather skimming probably.:)

-tori

stories!!! everyone has them- and they will blow you away. you just have to take the time to see them and to see your opportunities to make a difference.

like tweezy's said last night...be the solution! if we can't open our eyes to all of the beautiful people whose lives have been entrusted to us...then why are we here?

"I began scanning the room, looking at all of the children there and wondering their stories."

check out the rest of this awesome post from kristen young.

kristen is a living example of what happens when you take the time to look and SEEK out people's stories.

i pray that i will begin to do the same.

moved

okay...this is like my thousandth post about the invisible children movie night...lol.


we will be showing the movie at the HIGHLAND campus and not the annex.

don't forget...
:)

me and the best duck ever!!!!...


they put me in charge of the submerge table saturday- and brittany told me to find someone to be the duck...

so...i got one of my very best friends, HEATHER LEBLANC to do it. i didn't even have to ask twice or beg at all...
she just hopped right into the costume!


you're the best, girl!
love you!!!!

so...i talked to tweezy...and the invisible children movie night is going to start at 7pm at the annex!

anyone can come- so tell all of yo people! help spread the word...


p.s. my daddy left for africa today- i miss him already!! (and my ipod, which he jacked. jk.) please continue to pray for them!!! ...

here's the continuation of my last post...

the second thing:


showing of the invisible children movie:

friday, april 27th at annex 1
time tba
bring a white tee shirt

(if you want to be a part of "displace me"...then this movie will show you more about what you're going to be supporting...and if you are unable to participate in that event- still come see the movie. it will shake you and may change your entire perspective of life.)

hey...

it's late, so if this sounds weird or grammatically inept- it's the delirium talking.

i have tons to write about (refuge!, the fca meeting at french settlement tonight!!,...the list continues forever)

but i have two majorly important things that i have to write about right now.

first,

my dad is leaving for mozambique, africa in a matter of hours. i am so jealous!! plus he gets to go with like a dozen of my favorite people ever- the elevators...

but seriously, i truly am excited that they are going on this trip. they are all so ready to do this and God's going to use them deeply.

so please be praying for them...
they need prayer for safety, health, and God's anointing on every encounter they have with people...

it's so cool that they're getting to do this- i can't wait til' it's me. haha.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

the second thing i wanted to post about is.....

wait, maybe i should just make it into another post.
(long blogs don't seem to be very popular and you are less inclined to read it if it's all scrunched together- right?)

what's up?

yeah...so i got a little bored and just started browsing. here's some more old pics i found...


my grandad:)

the wee little babies!

look how little jd was!!

lincoln and kayla! they were tiny, too!!!

? boredom leads to strange things...

little man and his grandad

quite a few children heh?


i swear- he's not flipping anyone off...just picking his nose in a very strange way...

me and my grandaddy in natchitoches(?)

long one...

dude!! pastor dino's message(s) (5:00 and late nite) were absolutely incredible. it hit me from like a million different angles.

the series we are in at hpc is "why?"..."real answers for life's tough questions".
so this week the question was "why is life not fair?".

i honestly did not expect to get as much as i did from this message.

pastor dino preached from the book of ecclesiastes- which not only is that like one of my favorite books, but it's also the book that i just randomly flipped to today thinking it was ephesians... and i ended up reading most of the verses he used tonight!

that was crzy!!

pastor dino also talked about justice. "why does God allow so much hurting, sickness, and war to take place in the world?"

which is something that i had just wondered about last night after watching blood diamond. why does God allow so much pain to take place? why does He seem so close to me yet so distant from people- like the rebels in sierra leonne and from the kids who are being abducted? why does He seem so far away from that woman who was high at the baton rouge dream center? why?

but in this message i was reminded that God gave us the freedom to choose to love Him. He didn't force us- that wouldn't be true love.

and because we have the freedom to make our own choices- some people (really all people) make bad choices. and those choices affect others. when someone makes and unjust decision- unjust consequences follow...not only to that person- but to the people around.

and when someone makes a just decision- just consequences follow...and affect the people around!

that hit me...
at closer thursday i got to speak on temptation and one of the things i said was that giving into temptation not only affects you- but it affects others.

i also said that what you do really influences where people spend eternity...if we make a bad decision it could have terrible consequences. (not to say that you have to freak out if you mess up...but just to keep your eyes open to see that you are not living only for your own life...keep an eternal mindset.)

when Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness He had the power at His fingertips to make bread...but He didn't because He knew that our eternity depended on His decisions!


pastor dino also said that one of the reasons God allows all of this injustice to take place is to show us our great need for a Savior. in a perfect world we would never have to call on Jesus.

plus, one day, everything will be perfect. there is hope.

and the last thing that pastor dino said was that this life is like one inch out of the yardstick of eternity. we can't get so caught up in this earthly life that we lose our mentality of what's coming next. we must live for eternity!

one of my favorite verses ever- 2 tim. 2:4 "and do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the One who has enlisted you in His army".

i love that. we are called to fight in an army. soldiers are called to bring justice to the oppressed- and we can't do that when we are caught up in our own affairs.

when pastor dino started the altar call, He said some things- in both services that hit me. one thing He said was to just get your focus on God- just trust Him. He will pull you through the storm. (sounds like the standard stuff, but it went deeper for me this time.)

sometimes i really do ask question after question and i drive myself insane trying to perfect my mantality and trying to convince myself that God is who He says He is and that everything is under control...trying to make myself become perfectly passionate for God...trying to be more on fire than ever...trying to understand Him- His ways. but i can't. i just can't. i have to simply trust God.

several weeks ago i had been talking to my dad about some of these questions...and a few days later i found a note in my room from him that said...

"be still and know that I Am God."

"and I will clear the confusion, calm the waves, and quiet the storm. I'll move those things out of the way that are blocking your vision- your line of sight to Me. and I'll open doors to paths you never even knew were there. I'll help you see them-
you just be still and know that I'm God. I Am. and i love you."

every time i feel discouraged or overwhelmed with questions or doubt or anything at all... i read that and i feel God's peace wash over me. and every day different parts of that note stick out to me... i'll probably keep it forever and keep getting more from it everytime i read it.

i don't know- it just speaks to me and gives me assurance in my God. i know He has everything in His control.

and one more thing that i've been learning a lot lately- along with how truly important people are and how much value i need to place on them (still working on walking the talk) i'm also starting to realize that i am privileged to know God the way i do- not for my own sake. God hasn't given me the chance to go to things like amplified and summer camp and to hear from Him so strongly...and to feel Him so close to me...only for my own spiritual well being. there is something more to it than that. people! they are the reason. i am to be a sponge that soaks up God's presence as much as possible so that i can let it flow from me onto others.

in the most recent our life magazine- my favorite page- says "like Jesus, we belong to the world, living not for ourselves but for others."

strong!!

like all i can think about is how much i want to have a greater passion for people...

so many things are speaking to me...

-hosea 4:6
-jason laird
-tears of the saints song- by leeland
-gabby rehmeyer
-invisible children
-john 21:15-19
-rosa loves
-children's cup
-the people at the baton rouge dream center
-isaiah 61:6

...
i could keep going forever.

it's like so obvious- yet so many things and so many people just spark something in me and i'm awed and i start to crave to do something big to reach people.

i just have to keep my trust and focus on my God.

so yeah..

you're a nerd if you actually read all that! jk!

but seriously...
big shout out to pastor dino for letting God use him so strongly tonight- and always...and to my dad- and mom, for speaking into my life and for using their God-given wisdom to guide me and my little 4 little munchkin bros, and to tweezy and jen and miss alliece and charity and and paul and jp and miss donna and mr. craig...to all the elevators...and all of you people whom i love! thanks for investing so much into me... i pray that i can glorify God by putting all of your influences to good use by ministering to others. thanks for being awesome examples for me.

and thank you, God. i love You. thank You for Your amazing love...for the gentle yet strong embrace You've placed me in. for Your constance and stillness in my life. in you i won't be swayed by the wind. thank you, Father.



yes...i'm done now!!!
i got laundry to fold.
:) my favorite thing to do!!

love you guys!
-tori

more info on "displace me"...

so...i didn't give details on this yet

but basically...

on april 28th an event called "displace me" is going to be held by invisible children. there will be locations all across america where people will come together to live on the streets for 24
hours. the point is to raise awareness of the war in uganda.

the kids in uganda have to leave their homes and travel many miles to seek a place to sleep...otherwise rebels will try to take them and turn them into child warriors.

this is a serious thing.

can you imagine...
i think about my little brother lincoln..he's seven...
his whole picture of life is based on laughing and playing and just being a kid. but in uganda these kids are being forced to kill...to do horrible things...

they should be free to laugh and run and play.
it's wrong for kids to be robbed of their childhood.

so...
we are always talking about how we're gonna change the world.
here's our chance.
by participating in "displace me" we have a chance to end a war!

we have a chance to do justice... so let's do it!!

are you in?

___________________________________________________________________________________




When Hurricane Katrina hit this country, we saw for the first time what a displaced American looks like. Now we’re asking you to voluntarily become displaced, leaving the comforts of your homes, to imagine for 24 hours what it’s like for the millions of people in Northern Uganda who have been displaced for more than ten years.


What is a displaced camp?

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has abducted thousands of children, subjected them to torture or sexual violence and forced them to fight in a violent guerilla army for 21 years—making it the longest running war in Africa. In hopes of providing protection from this rebel militia, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted its Northern citizens from their homes—giving them 48 hours to relocate into camps. Today, more than 1.5 million Northern Ugandans remain far from secure, suffering nearly 1,000 deaths per week due to inhumane living conditions in the camps.

Alcoholism, sexual abuse, HIV/AIDS, inadequate sanitation and lack of education have caused immeasurable damage to two generations and the near-total destruction of Acholi culture. Water is scarce and people are reliant on food to be delivered by foreign aid. If the food isn’t delivered, the people starve. This April, the already meager rations delivered by the World Food Program to the camps will be cut in half due to lack of funding—with school feeding programs and support for HIV/aids victims soon to follow. This will indisputably increase the number of deaths among those already suffering from severe malnutrition—mostly among women, children and the elderly. That is why the timing of this event, and your participation are so crucial.

“Displace Me” is the nationwide event giving Americans the chance to respond.

By traveling to one of our 15 camps and gathering together, the strength of our size will make a visible statement to our government and media that the citizens of the U.S. demand action in ending the war in Northern Uganda, in order to send the Acholi people suffering in the camps and the abducted children back home. The point is to travel; the point is to become displaced yourself.


Saturday, April 28, 2007 say “Displace Me” and leave your homes to bring them home.

let's start something!!

how awesome was the delirious concert tonight?!!!

passion for people

like i said, i've been asking God to give me a deeper passion for people...

and this girl blows me away. she is torn up when she sees people who refuse to know Jesus. i want to be like that...


"I need to just trust God and pray, but I just don’t want my friends to go to Hell. I want everyone to be in heaven with us. Someone asked me, 'why do you even care so much?? If you know where you’re going , why worry about where everyone else is going?' For some reason, I just cannot think like that."

-gabby rehmeyer


(read the whole post here)

move

be a part of this movement...

sign up here

check out mrs. carole turner's blog too!

comatose

i've been blasting this song by skillet for about an hour now. the lyrics are incredible...

I hate feeling like this
I'm so tired of trying to fight this
I'm asleep and all I dream of
Is waking to You
Tell me that You will listen
You're touch is what i'm missing
And the more I hide I realize I'm slowly losing You
Comatose
I'll never wake up without and overdose of You
I don't wanna live, I dont wanna breathe
'Les I feel you next to me
You take the pain I feel
Waking up to You never felt so real
I don't wanna sleep, I don't wanna dream
'Cause my dreams don't comfort me
The way You make me feel
Waking up to You never felt so real
I hate living without You
Dead wrong to ever doubt You
But my demons lay in waiting
Tempting me away
Oh how I adore You
Oh how I thirst for You
Oh how I need You
Comatose
I'll never wake up without and overdose of You
I don't wanna live, I dont wanna breathe
'Les I feel You next to me
You take the pain I feel
Waking up to You never felt so real
I don't wanna sleep, I don't wanna dream
'Cause my dreams don't comfort me
The way you make me feel
Waking up to You never felt so real
Breathing life
Waking up
My eyes open up
Comatose
I'll never wake up without and overdose of You
I don't wanna live, I dont wanna breathe
'Les I feel You next to me
You take the pain I feel
Waking up to You never felt so real
I don't wanna sleep, I don't wanna dream
'Cause my dreams don't comfort me
The way You make me feel
Waking up to You never felt so real
Oh how I adore You
Waking up to You never felt so real
Oh how I thirst for You
Waking up to You never felt so real
Oh how I adore You
The way You make me feel
Waking up to You never felt so real

so...how do you guys like the new layout?

i (and when i say "i", i really mean "we" or rather "he"...my dad) am still workin on a few more details.

but i think dad did a pretty great job on the look.

t.y.!!


so updates are gonna be coming soon along with lots of pics.


:)

oh and ...

HAPPY EASTER!!!

i love Jesus!

TOMORROW NIGHT!!

details >here<

it's gonna be slammin'!