It’s amazing how as a young girl you think about and pray for your future husband and then the Lord moves and gives you someone who is better then you could ever hope, dream or imagine….

http://www.markandkristinwedding.com/

Healing Place Church’s Women’s Conference was a little over a week ago but I’m still Living the Dream because it’s a BIG, fUn and beautiful dReAm!!! 

Here’s the FUN opener!!

http://vimeo.com/2102878?pg=share_email&sec=2102878 

Check out this site for a video clip–

http://www.healingplacechurch.org/livethedream/08/

Here are some lessons and quotes that shook, encouraged and strengthened me.

Be A Warrior

A survivor is someone who remains alive or in existence.  We need to be more then that and to do so we need to BELIEVE, FIGHT, STAND and CONQUER whatever it is (marriage, health, career, friend or family’s salvation…).

Going For The God Dream

• The Lord will anoint you for the task.  God does not call the qualified but He qualifies those who He calls. Can I get an “Amen”?
• Don’t compare your dream.
• Make someone else’s dream come true.
• Filter the voices in your mind and of the people around you.
• Protect your dream!

Breaking The Cycle

1. A complaining parent produces a complaining child.
2. An alcoholic parent produces an alcoholic child. 

Take inventory of your life and ask the Lord to reveal to you what you need to do.                           Recognize the Reposition

Preparation!

• If you are not prepared then your time will come and you will be confused.
• Don’t fall asleep during the waiting time.

It was an ordinary day when Abraham was called!  Selah

It was an ordinary day when David brought food to his brothers then fought Goliath.

• You won’t know when the extraordinary will come.  Imagine if you missed the opportunity.

STAY AWAKE—KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS—HE IS THE ALPHA AND OMEGA OF YOUR LIFE—HE IS THE BEGINNING AND END

Last weekend, I was running errands and got a little distracted and missed the 1st exit to get on the Interstate.  There was probably a good song on the radio or maybe I was filing my nails who knows….but I got to the light on Siegen and realized I couldn’t go straight to get on the Interstate BUT I looked over to the left and there was a guy holding a cardboard sign who looked homeless.  My heart sort of melted because I love homeless people.  So, I made a U-turn to get on the interstate which put me right next to my new friend.  I’m thinking the sign says “Homeless…Hungry…Need Money…”, but I was WRONG the sign simply said “SMILE” then he flipped it over and there was a big face!!!!  He was just speninding his Saturday wanting people to SMILE!!! 

I started to smile so big I got a crick in my jaw….I’m still smiling today.  I passed by yesterday and he wasn’t there

Moral of the story: You can’t judge a person from a distance.

It’s the little things in life I pray I never get too busy to enjoy.

I just finished an AMAZING book called “The Shack.”  It was hard….REALLY HARD…getting past the beginning and that’s a whole other post, but with the encouragement of friends who were actually speechless about the book I kept reading it. 

On the plane this past Sunday, I had to pause (Selah) to control the tears.  It’s basically about a guy who deals with TRAGEDY then hangs out with God aka “Papa”, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  It’s “God as you’ve never seen Him before.”   Actually, the author depicts God just as I picture Him…with a sense of humor because we crack each other up all day every day.  Here are some points I loved–

1.  We demand our independence, but then complain when that the Lord LOVES us enough to give it to us.  We blame Him when it doesn’t go right when the whole time He didn’t want us to go there.

2.  The Lord has NEVER placed any expectations on us.  Humans try to control behavior through expectations.  Then we get our feelings hurt by people because they didn’t live up to our expectations.  Who are we to judge and put expectations on others?

3.  Even in the darkness EVERYTHING has clarity.  What’s unseen to us He sees. EISH!!

4. Each relationship between 2 persons is absolutely unique.  That is why you cannot love 2 people the same.  It simply is not possible.  You love each person differently because of who they are and the uniqueness that they draw out of you.  And the more you know another, the richer the colors of that relationship.

The book also arranged my daily schedule

• DIE daily (to my selfish ways)
• SERVE daily
• LOVE daily
• LAUGH daily

An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children.  He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.   ~A. W. Tozer

For food, fellowship and fun you have to spend the evening with Aley and Elizabeth Demarest.  The two of them are so real and encourage Mark and me to live the life God intended.  Not only are they AMAZING but their kids are too!!  Nathanael and Benjamin are the happiest boys and are so stinkin adorable I could eat them…literally, I tried!  If my kids turn out like them I may have 16.

I was standing in the check out line at Target this week and a soldier was in front of me.  We started talking about sushi, traveling….  I asked what his next plans were and he responded “Hopefully, Iraq.”  I replied, “Hopefully, HOPEFULLY Iraq….like HOPEFULLY!!!”  He said, “Yes, hopefully they’ll send me there soon.”  I could only reply, “Wow! ThankYou!”

To put icing on the cake, I’m looking for a clip of this song to show all of you and the first one that pops up is Chris Tomlin (who I saw in Africa), Steven Curtis Chapman sho has ROCKED my world a few weeks ago (that’s a whole other post I will share soon) and Sarah Kelly who I met in Africa (see past blogs-she’ll rock your world).  I’m like alright Lord, I get it…you are talking to me-Kristin Ann Stutes-I’m listening.

 The hurricane grouch quotient can be calculated by adding the number of
children and pets in a home without power, multiplied by the number of days quoted on the Entergy telephone recording, divided by the number of fans or portable air conditioners powered by your home generator (however if you were last in line at Home Depot and have no generator then multiply by the daily high for that day reported by either Pat Shingleton or Jay Grymes), then add the number of trips to the washateria and the days left until school opens. Discount by the percentage of time spent at neighbors who have power. Recalculate as often as necessary.
 
No matter how many times you flick the switch, lights don’t work without
electricity.
 
Vienna sausages only appear on the food pyramid during hurricane season.
 
Gas mileage is recalculated based on miles per fume.
  
Lovebugs>>:) do not disappear in 80mph wind gusts.
  
Disasters can cancel one LSU football game but there will be even bigger
casualties if two games are canceled.
  
Despite protests, kids can re-live their parents’ youth when there were
only 3 TV channels!

Baton Rouge without traffic lights resembles Mexico City, Rome, Los
Angeles and New York City all rolled into a single snarl.
 
There are/were a lot of really big trees around here!
 
Just because you’re 18 doesn’t mean you can stay out as late as you
want.  Mayor Holden meant business when he said curfew. (Isn’t that right Mollie!)

People will get into a line that has already formed without having any
idea what the line is for.
  
Calories consumed during a hurricane or power outage do not count.

Dirty clothes in an unsupervised hamper multiply at an exponential rate.
 
Coffee, spaghetti and frozen pizzas can be made on a grill.
  
He who has the biggest generator wins!!

Tree service companies are under-appreciated, except after hurricanes.

Our Lady of the Lake never closes. Really.

Water will fill the Acadian Thruway underpass, even sometimes when it is
not raining.

There are a lot more stars in the sky than most people thought.If you owned a store that sold only ice, chain saws, gas and generators,
you would be rich.

With only a small amount of guilt South Louisiana can collectively pray
a second hurricane to landfall in another state or country.
 
And so to our friends and families, some who are still without power and
others who have endured great personal loss, you are in our prayers.
Hang in there, we are making progress.

Thank you to all our first responders, healthcare professionals, service technicians, teachers, police officers, small business owners, and more who join with the thousands of
individuals sharing their time and talent to help restore our community to
wholeness.

The most important lesson of all learned from Gustav in the last week is
that the human spirit has an amazing resilience that even a hurricane
cannot bend. Through God’s love and amazing grace we can endure all
things. 

That’s what if felt like we were playing last week, but we definitely got tagged.

FRIDAY - Emergency crews began to move in to The Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center! Eish!

SATURDAY - The hotel was completely full of “First Responders,” and we had over 2,500 calls for a hotel room within 48 hours! By this time I was ready for the storm…I kept asking “What is taking so long?”  I started to be a follower and did what everyone else in the city was doing.

     1.  Filled my car up with gas. (I didn’t really know why at the time; now I do as I hear of people waiting 3 hours in line to get gas and noticing that only 1 out of every 7 gas stations are open.)

     2.  Bought a few bottles of water.  (I didn’t understand why because there was a HUGE storm…which includes rain aka water…heading straight towards us.

     3.  Purchased a pair of goggles & arm floaties.  Now these are NECESSITIES!

SUNDAY - I moved in to the hotel with the expectation to stay 2 days…3 days maximum.  I requested a high floor facing the Mississippi River because with all of the hype I wanted to see this storm!  I bought goggles remember!

MONDAY- The winds and rain started and that afternoon the power went out and the generator started.  We were blessed with elevator access and emergency lighting (which isn’t much lighting).  Several hours later the phones went out so people turned to my cell phone and my boss Tina’s phone for the entire hotel. That’s A LOT of phone calls!!  My thoughts were that we’d be out of power for 24 hours maximumum.  Who better to stay with then 100 Entergy workers?

One thing I noticed is that people get stupid when the power goes off.  A lady came up to the desk and said she was having problems with her TV.  I told the people I was working with that the next person who came up to the desk and said something dumb I was going to send them to their room and make them think about what they just said.  Be careful what you say because when you get tired and work a lot you may say something stupid.  That evening I picked up a radio (aka a “walkie talkie” per Kristan Bailey) and said “Front Desk to Kristin.”  Kesha went to the back office and fell on the floor laughing…after about 10 seconds it hit me what I said…or maybe when no one responded I realized who I called.

What do you say when a Cox worker asks when the cable will be back on, or when an Entergy worker asks us when the power will be turned on?  Hmmm…  

TUESDAY - I was in a deep sleep when I heard my fiancee’s voice over the loud speaker say “ATTENTION GUESTS…” (At first I thought is was God speaking to me in a dream)…”WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE OUR GENERATOR COULD POSSIBLY GO OUT.  PLEASE DO NOT USE THE ELEVATORS…I REPEAT DO NOT USE THE ELEVATORS.”  After catching my breath and realizing where I was I headed down to the lobby via the stairwell.  Needless to say the generator went out 5 minutes later leaving elderly and handicapped guests in their room.  Our amazing bellman headed strait up to the rooms and began carrying them…yes carrying them down the pitch black stairwell that felt like a sauna.  

I didn’t carry anyone but I escorted this adorable, old, old lady down from the 4th floor.  She was so scared and would not let me carry her lantern or breathing tank. She was like a toddler who took one step at a time but eventually we made it and she was a good sport!

All of the guests at the hotel were really amazing and it felt like a family.  I got to know them, listen to their stories…  I kept asking about this elderly lady and wanted to make sure she was ok so I asked the bellman “Have you seen the old lady with white hair?”  I was serious and they just looked at me and said, “Kristin, they all have white hair.”  I said “Oh..but you know that one…”  I found out later that she was fine.

A few hours later the generator came back one!!! GLORY!

WEDNESDAY - My days are running together…everyDAY seemed like a month it was soooo long.  By this day we were ready for power, and I was ready for my phone to stop ringing.  

I left the hotel around 6:30pm to check on my house but only had 1 1/2 hrs to get back before curfew.  I was on the phone with my mom and she said let me pray…I said Please!  As I was about to hang up the phone when the hotel beeped in and said “We have POWER!”  I was like that was some POWERFUL prayer!!!

When situations like this arise, Healing Place Church is on overload, and my friend Mollie had HPC’s phone forwarded to her cellphone.  By the time she answered 1 call there were 3 calls coming in.  I knew what she was going through. EISH!! 

I was so excited about getting power but what made the night even better was 2 of my girlfriends (Kristan Bailey and Mollie White) came over for a slumber party…and I LOVE slumber parties.  Check out our video. (excuse our appearance this is several days with out a hot shower, curling iron, blow dryer and in 100 degree weather…actually it’s cooler outside then inside).

I just received this email from my friend Blair whose is from Chalmette (right outside of New Orleans)-

“Hey guys, this is blair. I’m sitting here watching the weather channel, waiting like most of you to see what’s going to happen with this hurricane. And to be honest, up until now, i’ve really been concerned about ME, MY family, MY business, MY house, MY well-being. But i just got off the phone with my dad and he told me that they were preparing never to see home again. This storm will likely take everything from them that Katrina didn’t, and they are being told to make plans never to return. But i was thinking, they’re not the only ones in that position. Thousands of people right now are staying up watching the weather just like me, except they’re not wondering WHEN they’ll be able to go back to their homes; they’re wondering IF they’ll be able to go back home. Questions like “Will i still have a job”, “Will i have a home for my family to sleep in”, “Will i be able to provide for my family”, “Will my children be ok through this” are all being asked by many tonight. I’m sharing this with you b/c i really believe that we as believers in this area have a unique opportunity to be a light to those who are soon to be without. Try to put yourselves in their position; what would it feel like to know that in 2 days, your life will be forever changed and your future is uncertain? This life has a way of causing us to only look at consequences that could affect US. Rarely am i really concerned about what happens to OTHERS. This is a time when that can’t happen. I want to encourage you guys to begin to ask God what you can do to ease the burden some of these people may be experiencing. It may as simple as a prayer; when we see that big ball of fire on the TV, we won’t only think “Wow, i can’t believe it’s coming here”, we’ll instead pray “Father please protect those that are to suffer from this storm and let them know that they can always trust in You”. It may be a phone call that you can make to someone you know is probably one of those up at night worrying about what will happen. Let them know you’re praying for them and you’re there to help…it could make all the difference in the world. You may have family staying with you, or you may be staying with family; be a light in that environment. Be the one who encourages, who prays, who serves. Regardless, in whatever manner you choose, i hope we all spend a little more time concerned about others than ourselves. We love you guys and i pray the peace and protection of the Father over you and your families. “

There were so many amazing moments in Africa that it will probably take years to tell you everything, but I am going to try because I don’t want you to miss out.  You know when you a hear a message and years later you can still remember it…well let me tell you about HPC Swazi on a Sunday morning with Sarah Kelly as the guest speaker. 

Sarah is a humble, pure American girl who is married to a “yummy, yummy Swedish man,” and has won a Grammy by using her talents by bring GLORY to God by singing all over the world, writing music and starting fires.  At dinner one night she says she starts fires…and it’s true.  After meeting her you want to conquer the WORLD.

First, let me back up to Thursday night–I met this lady named Dudu (stop it..I know what you are thinking but it is a common name in Africa and it doesn’t mean what you are thinking) who was asking us to pray for her because her husband was abusive (not physically…but emotionally).  I think I told you about her.  She has TB and was throwing up blood.  She and her kids go to bed hungry while her husband brings home food and eats it in front of them….Awful!

Well Sunday, Sarah Kelly tells her story about an abusive relationship she was in for several years, and you know what that can do to a girl.  (Lord, your timing is PERFECT…as always.) She wrote a song (which is my favorite) called  called ”About Midnight.” (Go to iTunes right now and download it-by the time you finish reading the blog it’ll be ready for you to enjoy.)  The song was derived from her past and Acts 16:25 & 26

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.

THAT IS SOME SERIOUS WORSHIPPING…an EARTHQUAKE!!  I don’t think I would be worshipping if I was chained in prison.  Well, Paul and Silas praised Him DURING the roughest of times and then the chains fell but it gets even better….the guard and his WHOLE family get saved.

I bet if we asked Paul and Silas if it was worth getting stripped, flogged and thrown in to prison…they would say “Yes…Yebo!” I bet if we were to ask Jesus were we worth getting beaten, abandoned, ridiculed, spit on, crucified…He would say “Without a doubt.”

While she was telling us her testimony I looked over at Dudu who had her hands raised and was looking up with tears in her eyes.  She decided to praise Him during her storm. I got to see Dudu before I left and she was OVERFLOWING with joy!  Her husband hadn’t changed but her chains were off.

On our way back from Moz we walked into heaven..I mean Lossalette’s house (that’s a whole other blog) and there were angels…I mean Sarah and Zinty…singing and writing a song.   Within like an hour they wrote this song! LISTEN TO THE WORDS! Enjoy!

If you’re asking “Why God?” listen to “About Midnight”

My friend, Kristan Bailey, and I have a great opportunity for YOU!!!  We are starting a business!!  If you are confused and don’t know what to do with your life then we have it all figured out.  If you are looking for something new, or you are in need of a change in your life, then you need to consider this AMAZING opportunity. We have already hired/recruited a few people which includes Samantha, Natalie and Marissa, but we are looking for more people.   Please read the job posting below and post your resume to this post if you are interested in this position. 

WORSHIPPERS NEEDED

Job Type: Full Time 24/7

Pay: Overflow of Blessings per Hour

Calling ALL people who are interested in WORSHIPPING Jesus!  There is no backgroud check because He cleared EVERYTHING. No creditation or qualifications necessary.  Please bring your unique gifts.  We enjoy singing, dancing, listening, reading and laughing a whole lot. Includes an amazing Life Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance and 401K but no retirement because you can NEVER quit.

 I did this in Africa, and I don’t want to stop! 

As a member of the Republic of Cubiconia (yes, it took me a while to understand our name, but it’s because we work in cubicles…get it) I am proud to announce that we won the GOLD! It was no easy task but after some stretching and no practice our bed making, toilet paper toss, bell cart relay, tray full of water glasses carrying skills while wearing goggles and flippers was put to the test and we came out on top.  I was out of town while this was announced and signed up I think for obstacles nobody else wanted to do….but I wasn’t scared.

Our theme song was from the show “The Office” but we dressed like gangster…still trying to figure that one out.  Housekeeping’s song was “So Fresh and so Clean, Clean,” and the front office was “Mission Impossible.” 

We have another 4 years to recooperate and prepare for next Hilton Olympics!