Caught in the Act

Baby Steve has been smiling more and more lately and today I got proof! :)

"Overflowing with Joy"

2 Corinthians 7:4 "Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf, I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy"

I think I feel a little bit of what Paul was feeling when he wrote this to the Christians in Corinth. I have had similar feelings this week. Let me explain:

As many of you know, I spent almost 2 years (2002 and 2003) in Poland after college through the International Mission Board. But what some of you may not know is that the summer after my sophomore year I went on a summer mission trip to Czestochowa, Poland. That summer was the most amazing summer of my life. There was a team there that I was with from various Baptist Student Unions, and there was a YWAM team from Montana. Together we saw God's Spirit move and God change the lives of students. It was over 8 years ago now, and when I think back on that summer I can look back and see fruit that is still continuing to this day.

Just one example was a young woman we met that summer. (I am not going to use her real name just in case this would embarrass her). I will call her Katie. She started coming to the events we had that summer. After we left she, gave her heart to the Lord through the ministry that the remaining missionaries had in Czestochowa. She became very involved and helped the next summer with the YWAM team that came back to Czestochowa.

The next Spring I returned for my 2 year term and really got to know her well. We spent many hours talking, and seeking God through the different ups and downs of being a new Christian, particularly being a Protestant one. In Poland, if you are not Catholic, you are in a small minority. One thing about Katie is that she loved to worship through music. Even in the hard times this would be something that would be her comfort. She also struggled through situations using God's word. We would have so much fun just living life together. I consider her a very close friend.

Now I want to tell you about a guy named Paul (not his real name) with long hair and a free spirit. I met him in the Fall of 2002 after I have been living in Poland about 6 months. He came to one of our English classes with a bunch of his friends. But there was something different about this guy. He had a sweet and curious spirit. When he found out that we were connected with a church he asked where we met. We told him it was in the same building the English class was in. He couldn't believe it. The only building he has known church to be in was a huge ornate sanctuary. He said he wanted to come but he was going to "Polish Woodstock" the next week but then would come after he returned. I didn't know if he would really come but sure enough the next week he came to a service. He just sat there wide eyed the whole time. Afterward he asked me "Why do you guys sing so much?" I told him how God tells us to worship him and sing praises to him. He paused for a second, then smiled and said "That's great!" From there he started coming to a small group. He asked tons of questions about the bible. He read the bible all the time. But he still had not given his heart to the Lord. He was struggling through various issues. But he still kept coming and getting more and more involved. Finally it was like he was at a cross road. I remember seeing the battle going on in his eyes one day. That caused us to pray hard for his soul. I remember feeling like my prayers were warfare for him. One weekend another missionary and I were on a training coming back from Prague when we got a text, "Paul got saved!" What?! We called as soon as we could to get the details. At church there had been a guest preacher. At the end he said " I feel like someone here wants to give their heart to the Lord but is holding back." Paul stood up and said "that is me" and he surrendered. He said he felt like a weight was lifted off of him. The next day I was back in town and I saw him for the first time. I remember his eyes, that had looked so tormented before were full of peace and joy! It made me cry. It was awesome.

Throughout the next year and a half other missionaries, Polish christians, and I walked with him through his ups and downs of the new faith. We saw him grow. He started learning to play the guitar and then started to help lead worship. He always had tons of questions about the Bible.

After I came home from Poland, a year later I returned for a short term trip with North Greenville students. To my surprise Katie and Paul had become good friends.

To make a long story short: They started dating and got married. They now live in New York city. I got to see them this past January when they came through Greenville. But this is why I have been so excited recently.

They are really growing in the Lord. The other night I was in the other room listening to my husband talk to Paul on the phone about church planting, ministry, and the Bible. My heart swelled with joy. They are doing ministry reaching out to Polish people in New York. And recently they have joined our ministry support team for our church plant in Asheville. This all blows my mind. There is nothing in the whole world more fulfilling than seeing someone come to know the Lord but then start really walking with him and growing in their faith. I pray that in my lifetime I will know this feeling more and more and especially that I will see this with our son. I want to take my job of pouring into his heart seriously. I want to see him be a warrior for the Kingdom of God.

Cash 4 Books

Do you need a little extra cash for Christmas? Cash 4 Books buys used books from you. You have to put the ISBN in so see if it is a book they want to buy. They will tell you what they will pay you for it. Next you will print out a prepaid label and ship your books to them. Once they get them they will mail you a check or put money in your paypal account after 3 business days. Here is a link to their website if you want to try.

Amazon Black Friday Deals

Amazon is starting it's Black Friday deals early. If you want some bargins but want to skip the lines, you can go here and see what deals they have.

50 Free Prints From CVS

This year for Christmas I will be doing a lot of presents involving pictures. The main reason for this is because our son was born and as the first grandchild on both sides of the family, you just can't go wrong with picture presents! :)

Today I saw a link for 50 free prints at CVS. Here is how it works. Go to this link http://cvs.pnimedia.com/ and sign up for a new account. This gets you 30 free prints. Then go to the section called "My account" and add your CVS card number and get 20 more prints. You upload your pictures, order them, and the discount is applied at the checkout. Then you go to your local CVS and pick them up. I am in the process of doing this now. I will let you know if I have any problems with it. Just thought I would pass along a good deal.

Thanksgiving on a Budget - And Thankfulness

Check out www.moneysavingmom.com for lots of great ideas for Thanksgiving on a budget. She has put together lots of ideas from different people on her blog.

We really have so much to be thankful for this season. Here are a few things I am thankful for today:

1. My husband
2. My new son who brings me so much joy
3. The holiday season. I love it!
4. Homemade banana bread I made today
5. A good cup of coffee this morning
6. A good doctor's visit with Stephen yesterday. He now weighs 9 lbs 2 oz! And is 21.5 inches.
7. Good friends
8. The colder weather. (and my heat) I like having a change of seasons.
9. I boxed up all maternity clothes today :)
10. All of the people who have blessed us so much since our son has been born. I have been humbled again and again by people's thoughtfulness. What a blessing the body of Christ is.
11. Finally starting this journey to Asheville after so much thought, planning, and prayer.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Time of Transition

Stephen and I are in a time of transition. Times like this can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time.

The most obvious transition is that we are parents! We praise the Lord for our son. Along with that, I have transitioned to staying at home with our son. I might do a little work from home, but mostly I will be a stay-at-home wife and mom. Financially, this is a step of faith. But something that is important to us.

Additionally, Stephen has started raising support part time through a ministry called "Great Commission Ministries" to do church planting in Asheville, NC.

Let me back up as some of you may not know anything about our journey in this direction.

The first year Stephen was a Christian (about 8 years ago) the LORD really spoke to Stephen through that verse in Romans about not building on another man’s foundation, which in many ways is what is done in Church Planting. But he did not know how this would all pan out. Throughout these last 8 years God has also given him a desire to work with hurting and "down and out" people and has given him opportunities to do this.

As a new believer he also developed a strong thirst for the Word of God and for teaching the Word. He devoured the Word, listened to numerous sermons, and sat under men that could teach and mentor him. He went back to school and finished his degree at North Greenville University in Christian Studies.

On top of his heart for reaching people, and his love for knowing and teaching the Bible, he also developed a love for worshiping in Spirit and Truth. All of these things have shaped his vision for the kind of church he desires to plant.

After Stephen graduated, we began praying regarding this vision Stephen had in his heart. For a while we were connected with an inner city ministry in New York. But after a few months God closed the door for that direction. But, we observed from that process things that could help us in future ministry.

So, Stephen kept praying, built up his Pressure Washing Business here in Greenville and got plugged into the "Miracle Hill Rescue Mission" downtown in the "Overcomers" program by teaching twice a week and pouring into men.

Then about a year and a half ago through a series of events and times with God, Stephen started having a stirring in his heart for the city of Asheville, NC. At first he did not want to plant in Asheville, but the sense that this was GOD’s leading persisted. Asheville has a lot of needs as many of you may know. He had this desire but didn't know by what means all this would be accomplished.

Not long after this, Stephen went to a church planting conference in Raleigh, NC and came into contact with a ministry called "Great Commission Ministries" (GCM). This was how they described themselves:

Great Commission Ministries (GCM) mobilizes missionaries to work in their local churches for the purpose of evangelism, discipleship and church planting. We train, employ and serve missionaries as they raise a team of supporters for their ministry.

This seemed to be a piece to the puzzle. GCM could provide financial accountability for fund raising, coaching, administration, and support. They were well organized and were in good standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Also around this time he met a man named John who has been involved in 6 church plants and is planting a church right now in Downtown Greenville called "Radius". He agreed to coach Stephen in church planting and be his supervisor with GCM. Also, 2 other men agreed to be on an advisory panel. One of these men is a senior pastor in Greenville and the other man was the former senior pastor at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church.

From there he started meeting and networking with some people, applied through GCM, went to training in Florida, got accepted after a somewhat long process.

Things were starting to move but then 2 things happened: I found out I was pregnant and Stephen landed a big contract with AP Midwest: the contractor working for 3M who was building a plant and the Donaldson Center. This contract was a complete miracle, and God used it to pay for medical expenses for the baby as well as pay for some other needs we had.

So, about nine weeks ago Stephen thought it was finally time to take the step of faith and start raising support. He will continue to do tent making (self supporting) for perhaps 1/5 to 2/5 of our income and will work for GCM 25 hours a week developing a ministry team. In this process, he is looking for 4 things: People to get involved either in front line ministry or behind the scenes, prayer support, people who can put us in contact with other people who would want to hear about what we are doing, and generous financial support.

This has been a time of faith building for us. The baby has come, the economy has slowed, but God has taken care of us each step of the way. We know HIS care will continue.

Please pray for us during this time. We really need it. And if you would like to know more about what Stephen is doing or would like to help just let me know. Tara’s cell is 864-918-0418. We are excited as we are following the Lord's leading in ministry.

Camera Happy

How can I not be? :)

And now for your enjoyment, Stephen the rapping baby.

Urgent Prayer for India

I got this email from my pastor today. This needs urgent prayer.

(Here is an article on this on Christianity Today) http://www.christiantoday.com/article/securing.peace.and.justice.in.orissa/21904.htm

For those who do not know (YWAM is an abbreviation for "Youth With AMission")
This is is a request for prayer for YWAM missionaries and their churchesin Orissa, India. The request came from Mable Hurst, an associate of HCJBGlobal. Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.

Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India.
We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the mostresistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. Andwe brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we wentabout His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see thiskind of carnage..... And it seems to be totally under the radar of theWestern Media .
Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, whowere zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' peopleback to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissalast weekend.

Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!'And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness tohundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens ofChristian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bearthe name of Christ.

Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directorsspread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle ofall this chaos.
In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. Theywere not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our DreamCenter by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They havepromised to come back and 'finish the job.' Our kids and staff are lockedinside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. Ithas been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer.

More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police andsome local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kidsabout 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change ofclothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob cameto kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there,but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homesand missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away bysaying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We hadfavor. The same thing happened in Balasore.

All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddledinside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for achance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholicorphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and acomputer teacher in the house and burned them to death. Many believershave been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even womenand children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when thisbegan, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled,leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directorsthat I have s poken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together ordie together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.' Morethan 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. Theyhave fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for theauthorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen.

This will continue for another 10 days..... supposedly the 14 day mourningperiod for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and theirhouses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federalgovernment is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. Weask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of usknow the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what thatmeans. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused andtotally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of theirguardians have fled into the jungles and ar e unable to come and get themduring these trying times. Through all this, I am more determined thanever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community bytransforming its children.. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart'scry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them tobecome disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is along term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the GreatCommission.

What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second,pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word outand increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its mostbasic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for HisKingdom. The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm topervade across Orissa.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help usto get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort tofulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations....Prayer works!

Blessings, Chip & Sandy Wanner Col 2:2 MBITeam Facilitators to YWAM frontlines

Hey It's Free

My husband saw this site on the news a few days ago: http://www.heyitsfree.net/

There are all kinds of goodies you can sign up for on there to get for free.

Speaking of free I got my free sample of Dunkin' Donuts coffee in the mail yesterday. (See earlier post). Yum.

A Video and a Bath Picture

Some tidbits on being a mom

It is 11:34pm. I am supposed to feed the baby again in 10 minutes. While I am waiting I thought I would write a little posts on random things I have picked up or thought about while being a mom these past 5 1/2 weeks.

1. Snuggle time is priceless, no matter how tired I am.
2. Him smiling at me is also very awesome.
3. I am learning to do all kinds of things with one hand.
4. Having a baby that is a good sleeper is something I am VERY thankful for.
5. Why do my wedding rings fit one day and then don't the next day again? Does it have anything to do with breast feeding? Does this mean I am not hydrating enough?
6. How in the world will I get anything done when he starts crawling?
7. The first baby weight came off fast, the last part - not so much.
8. How does an 8 lb baby produce that much extra laundry?
9. Those feeding times come around fast.
10. Baby Stephen loves any kind of music or singing.
11. He loves to be outside.
12. My dad (who had 3 girls) brought home a truck for Stephen the other night that was bigger than he is.
13. Baby Stephen loves to hear my husband talk. Maybe because his voice is deep. He will just sit there and stare at him.
14. My son has very long fingers and toes. Especially for his size!

Well I am sure there is much more but it is feeding time again. By the time you read this it will be Friday. So Happy Friday everyone!

Shepherding a Child's heart

Tedd Tripp is an excellent author and speaker on biblically raising children. He recently did a conference at Mars Hill Church. Here is a video of the first session. The other 4 can be viewed here: http://theresurgence.com/shepherding_a_childs_heart_conference.

If you have a few moments I would highly recommend them and his book, "Shepherding a child's heart."

Layaway Makes a Comeback

I remember when I was little, my mom used to buy things for us on layaway. It is a good way to pay for things a little bit at a time without going into debt. But many stores stopped having layaway, partly because people just started charging everything. But with the economy being weaker now many stores are bringing it back this holiday season. Here is an article on it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27582079/

Would you use layaway as a way buy things?

Photo Shoot

Last week my friend Rhonda did a photo shoot of our family. She beginning a career in photography. If you would like to use her for any pictures let me know and I will give you her contact information.

Here is a link to a slideshow of the pictures:

Burch Family Pictures

Wake Up Daddy

Stephen cuddling with daddy after his morning feeding.

Election Freebies

Today Starbucks is giving our free cups of coffee, Krispy Kreme is giving away free star shaped doughnuts, and Ben and Jerry's is giving away free scopes of icecream. If you are near any of these places go and enjoy some free treats today after you vote! You may need to be wearing an "I voted" sticker. I also saw that the Chic-fil-A here on Haywood Road is giving away free chicken strips when you buy a milk shake. You do need an "I voted" sticker for this promotion.

Praying the Scriptures for your children

Someone gave me this book after Stephen was born. I had never heard of it or the author so I had no idea what to expect. But I have to say, I have really enjoyed it and it will be a great tool for years to come. Jodie Berndt takes scriptures and makes them into prayers that you can pray for your children. But she also starts each chapter sharing stories from her life and her friend's lives of how God has answered specific prayers for their children.

So far the chapters I have read are: Praying for your Child's Salvation, Praying for your child to love God's word, Praying for your Child's gifts, Praying for your child to promote the Kingdom of God, and Praying for your children to have wisdom and discernment. (There are 20 chapters all together.)

Once a day while Stephen is nursing I will read a chapter and pray these prayers over him. It builds my faith to look at this tiny baby and be praying for God to do these big things in his life. It helps me to remember that first and foremost he is the Lord's child. I am only a steward of him for a season of time to raise him and help mold him into the man God wants him to be.

I loved some stories she told of children leading others to the Lord, ways she recognized each of her children's gifts and encouraged them to use them for the Lord, and times when God answered the prayers for her children to have discernment to know what is right and wrong.

Anyway, I would highly recommend this book. Some of the other chapters are praying for self-control, health and safety, for their friends, their purpose in life, their spouse, and management of time and money. It has reminded me the power of praying scripture. This is something I used to do often but in recent years I haven't as much. I want to pray the scripture daily for my husband and son, and right now this book is helping me to do that.