Creativity Makes a Difference!

Some days I ask myself what on earth I got myself into when I answered the call to start a new fellowship in the Middle East with my husband.  In fact, I might have said no if I’d known ahead of time what a long, challenging road it would be. I’m not sure if it was love for God or plain ignorance that made me say yes!

God's Power Through Our Ordinary Lives

Do you ever feel like you’re out of resources? Like you don’t have enough time, enough money, enough inspiration or creativity?

Last Sunday evening after a weekend conference, I looked at the calendar and panicked.

Holding on to God-Sized Dreams

What are you dreaming about or hoping for?  

I love the challenge of God-sized dreams, dreams God puts in our hearts that we cannot possibly bring about in our own strength.  They require God’s miraculous intervention.  God seems to specialize in calling us to do things that are beyond our own capabilities.

The Power of a Baby Step

You know the saying, “It never rains; it pours.”  The last few weeks life has been one thing on top of another.  My husband returned from two weeks of doctoral study abroad, and we needed time to reconnect.  Both of my children had extra-curricular activities that required my involvement: debate and ice skating! My Turkish sister had an important life event, and I wanted to support her.  Two friends had birthdays. I’ve had lots of family business to attend to besides the daily responsibilities of home school and putting food on the table.

Add to the equation an out of town guest whom we were privileged to host for a week, a pastor’s group in for two days from Latin America, and a couple who was in town for one day, and you have one basket case woman! Is your life ever like this?

Of course caring for my family and friends is an important part of my ministry, but I began to feel frustrated about having little time for my other calling: reaching out to share God’s love with M. friends. So I complained, “God, I’m so busy with family.  How can you expect me to reach out to others?  I keep thinking I’ll have more time soon, but that convenient time never comes!”

But God reminded me of the power of small steps. Instead of waiting for my schedule to magically clear up, so I’ll have time to reach out to people, I’d better ask the Lord, “What baby steps can I take to fulfill my vision now?”

So I prayed and God showed me three baby steps for the first week:  

1. I called a few friends. 
2. I made two cards with scripture I wanted to share with non-Christian friends. 
3. I stopped by a friend’s workplace for ten minutes.

The second week I took another baby step. I stopped to see my friend Nalan, whose son was dying of a rare genetic disease. I read John 11 (I am the resurrection and the life.) to her.  We sat together at her son’s bedside,  and I prayed for her, not knowing Emre would die a few days later.

My husband and I are discovering the power of a brief visit. Last Sunday we made three:

• We took a birthday cake to Ali and Damla, Christian friends who are in a busy season at their dry cleaning business and must work on Sundays.  They were busy ironing shirts when we arrived, but Damla's face broke into a smile when she saw her candle lit cake.  We pulled plastic plates and napkins out of a bag and spent a half hour talking, laughing, and eating cake.

• Next we visited Nalan and Ahmet.  Knowing that they’ve been inundated with visitors after Emre’s funeral, we didn’t stay long. Just long enough to talk quietly and let them know we care about their grief.

• Last we visited Ibrahim and Neriman, whose son is leaving this week for his 1 year military service.  This is a significant event for Turkish families, who worry about their young men being sent out East, where there are constant skirmishes between separatist Kurds and the army.  We drank coffee with them, and before leaving, we read Joshua 1:9 (Be strong and courageous!) to the young man and prayed for him.  The whole family expressly thanked us for our prayer as we left.

How does God work through these baby steps?  I'll leave that to Him.  My part is to be faithful to complete the small tasks He gives me.

What baby steps can you take right now towards fulfilling your vision?

Can God Really Use Me?

Do you ever doubt that God can really use you?  Sometimes I ask myself, “Who am I?”  Can God really use me?” 

 Last weekend my 11 year old daughter taught me a lesson. Camille came bounding in the door.  Her face was beaming and her eyes were shining.

Camille (on the left) with a local friend.

 “Mom, I got to share the gospel with the kids downstairs!”

 “Wow, that’s great,” I said.  “How did that happen?”

“I just felt maybe the Holy Spirit was showing me to take my Bible downstairs and talk to my friends in the park,” she explained, “so I put my Bible in my book bag, but for some reason I sat down to use the computer instead. Then in a little while Dad came and said, ‘Camille, all of your friends are downstairs,’ and I knew it was God speaking to me.  So I turned off the computer, and before I went downstairs I read my Bible a bit and prayed and asked God to help me. 

“I went downstairs and got out my Bible and just started reading it in the park. Pretty soon the kids came up, and they started telling scary stories, so when it was my turn, I told them the story of the end times from the book of Revelation.

“They asked to see my Bible, and they read from it a little bit. They asked me what Christians believe, so I told them how Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead.

“They said, ‘That can’t be true.  That’s just a made up story. We all know that the Bible’s been changed.’

“But I asked them to show me where the Bible was changed. When was the Bible changed?  How was it changed?  They couldn’t answer.”

“Oh Mom, I’m so happy,” she said, and she hugged me, jumping with excitement.  “Just think.  None of my friends had ever even heard about Jesus, and I got to share with them.”

Camille didn’t care if her friends believed her or not; she was happy to have the chance to share the good news.  I was surprised that she was able to respond to the Muslim claim that the Bible has been changed.  She remembered this from a DVD about sharing the gospel with our friends that she watched when she was 9.

Seeing my daughter’s joy brought a smile to my face, and the following thoughts came to mind:

1. No one’s too young or too inexperienced to be used by God
2. No earth shaking strategies are needed. Just willing hearts.
3. God will work even through small steps we take.
4. Serving the Lord brings joy, regardless of people’s response to our ministry.
5. If God can use my 11 year old daughter, He will certainly use me.

Isn't it great that God teaches us things through our own children?

Planting Seeds in Turkish Soil

Seeds are a mystery. When a farmer plants a seed, he cannot see what is happening underground, and he doesn’t know when it will rain. We cannot know what God will do through the seeds we plant when we share His love with our friends. Nothing happens without the Holy Spirit watering those seeds. God is the one who makes things grow.

Do you ever feel discouraged when people don’t seem to respond to God’s word? I’m learning to rejoice in planting seeds, not worrying about the results, just trusting that God is at work, even when we cannot see. Here are a few seed stories:


God Uses a 10 Year Old Catholic Bible

I was surprised when our Muslim friend Ali got a Bible down from the bookcase 5 minutes after our family walked into his living room. It was our first visit, and he showed us his Bible before we even had the chance to bring up spiritual things.

“I read the whole thing,” his wife Miyase said. “It’s a wonderful book.”

Leafing through his Bible, we were able to share the gospel at different points through the evening, and we learned that Miyase had just discovered she has heart problem. She was understandably upset, so I offered to pray for her. She immediately called the children into the living room, and everyone sat around with hands turned upward as I prayed. I closed my eyes, and tried to focus on the Lord instead of on how I sounded to these Muslims.

The seed for our conversation was planted when a Catholic priest gave Ali this Bible over 10 years ago.


God Uses Movies

My friend Janet just told me a great story. Last Friday at 9:30 pm her neighbor came over to ask her about the passage she was reading in the Bible Janet had given her. It was John 3, so after they talked about it, Janet gave her neighbor a movie version of the gospel of John. The woman was excited to get the movie. She came back a few days later and said she loved it so much that she watched it twice and read John again. Now she wants to memorize the book of John.

Janet says, “After 3 years of loving on them, her heart seems open and receptive for the Word and Jesus. God never stops working!”



God Uses a Tract

Last week at the little salon down the street, I felt God prompting me to give a tract that I had in my purse to the hairdresser. I like this tract, which is titled “You are Special,” because it’s about God’s love, but I wasn’t sure I was brave enough to give it to the hairdresser I’d just met. She was attractive and friendly, chatting happily while she cut my hair.

“You’ll see how nice your hair is going to look,” she said. “I always try to find out exactly what my customers want; that’s how I keep them happy, and they come back.” She kept talking, and I started praying. Suddenly I was struck by how comfortable she was selling herself to me as a hairdresser while I had something even more valuable to give her.

So I took a deep breath and said, “I’ve really enjoyed talking to you. You’re such a special, friendly person. May I give you this? It’s about how much God loves you.” She smilled as she took the tract.

This happened two weeks ago, and I don’t know how God is going to water that seed, but I pray for her every time I walk by her shop.



You never know what God will do through the small seeds you plant. Have you planted a seed of kindness or shared God’s love with anyone this week? Leave a comment and tell me about it.

One Woman Making a Difference

Nalan looks like an average Turkish housewife at first glance. When I went to visit her, she chatted about her children, recipes, and learning English. She left the room several times to bring more of her delicious carrot cake and tea from the kitchen. I didn’t realize that she was also walking down the hall to look in on her 17 year old son and make sure he was still breathing.

Nalan is not an average housewife. She is the mother of a boy with MPS and the founder of Turkey’s MPS Society. MPS is a rare disease, a genetic lysosomal storage disorder which leads to cellular damage, mental retardation, loss of organ functioning and ultimately death.

I started praying for Nalan when I learned that her son Emre could now die any day. I went with a friend to visit her so we could offer to pray with her as an expression of love and compassion. I wanted her to somehow know that God loves her.

Would it be all right if we go and see Emre in his room and pray together there?” I asked.

“Of course,” she said. As we walked down the hall, I felt nervous. I didn’t know what to expect, and I hoped I would react appropriately. I felt undone when I saw Emre’s tiny form on the bed. He lay on his side under a blanket with a feeding tube attached to his nose. His ashen face lay expressionless on the pillow with closed eyes and a swollen tongue protruding out of his open mouth. His hair was shaved short, and when I saw a faint trace of moustache above his lips, I was moved to tears as I thought of my own robust 13 year old son who is also sprouting a moustache. Nalan smiled over Emre and bent down to kiss his head.

“This is my boy,” she said smiling with shining eyes. “I’m so grateful that he has lived 17 years, much longer than the doctors said he would. I want him with us as long as possible.”

It struck me then that although my plan was to share God’s love with Nalan, He could teach me a lot through her. I had never seen such a vivid example of a mother’s love.

Although caring for her son is a full-time job with a certain ending, Nalan is not bitter. She does not sit around feeling sorry for herself. First she started an internet network of MPS families, and in May of 2009 she founded Turkey’s MPS LH Society together with five other women.

Working from her living room with her computer and telephone, Nalan is making a difference. Her goal is to reach MPS families with information about the disease, to help them get access to treatment, and to give counseling and support. There are 35 families in the Aegean region alone who are members of the society, but Nalan talks to people from all over Turkey, counselling them as they struggle with the challenges of living with MPS and putting them in contact with doctors who can help them.

“What makes you do this,” I asked her. “Don’t you have enough to do just taking care of Emre around the clock?”

“I don’t want other families to have to go through what we did,” she answers. “When I learned Emre was sick, I said, ‘Where are others. Are we alone? There must be other families going through this.’ We couldn’t find them. We were alone.”

My son didn’t have access to early treatments that would have improved his quality of life. It is too late for my son, but I want to help others.”

I prayed for Nalan and Emre that day, but when I left her house I felt more inspired than sad. Nalan’s example touches me. One woman can reach many lives. One woman can make a difference.

Big Dreams and Small Beginnings

Do you have any secret dreams that look so out of reach that you don’t even consider pursuing them because it would be too scary and impossible to try?


Last week I told you about my brother’s craft beer brewery. It’s an unlikely comparison, but his brewery encourages me as I think about our impossible dream of a church plant in a Muslim city.

My brother is starting his beer brewery out small. He bought the equipment, and is now looking for a warehouse to rent. He will start making and selling what he can by himself. “It’s what I can afford to do on my own,” he says. It’s a small beginning.

We are starting our new church plant small, too. We are reconnecting with old friends, praying for and reaching out to new people, seeking to share God’s love. Right now our church planting team consists of two families. We meet together on Sundays in our homes.

Our first church meeting was definitely a small beginning. We prayed for weeks and invited friends, but on the first Sunday morning no one came! There we were: two couples and 4 children, an unlikely church! I was so discouraged. “Lord,” I said. “This is not the great start I had in mind. Aren’t you supporting this? Aren’t you behind us?” Then I heard a voice whisper in my ear, reminding me of Zechariah 4:10. “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”(NLT) I knew God was speaking to me.

Small beginnings can lead to great things. The Wright Brothers first plane flight lasted only 12 seconds, but they didn’t give up. The first automobiles travelled at 2 to 4 miles per hour and broke down frequently, but developers didn’t give up.

We’re not giving up on our church plant either. We’re taking small steps, doing what we can and trusting that God will breathe His life and power into our small efforts. Last Monday night I shared the gospel with a girl I gave a ride home to from dance class. Yesterday I visited a friend and talked openly with her about my relationship with God. I prayed for her before I left. This afternoon my husband went to visit a man he gave a New Testament to last week. We’re sowing seeds and trusting that God will water them and bring growth.

Sometimes our dreams and goals are so overwhelming that they seem out of our league. We’re paralyzed because we think we have to do something big. When my husband started to talk about planting a church in Turkey, I thought, “Who, us? Are you kidding? Who are we to think we can plant a church?”

But here we are, taking small steps, doing what we can now to walk towards the dream God gave us and trusting that His power in us will accomplish more than we could ask for or imagine.

Mark Twain said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. “What about you? Do you have any dreams or aspirations? Is there some small beginning step you can take this week towards your goal?

Walking on Water

What do a craft beer brewery in Dallas, Texas and a pioneer church plant in Izmir, Turkey have in common?


They both involve walking on water. Remember the story about Jesus’ disciples on a boat in the middle of a terrifying storm? They see Jesus walking toward them on the lake. Jesus calls out to Peter, so Peter gets out of the boat, and for a few glorious seconds, walks on water. In his book If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get out of the Boat, John Ortberg defines water walking as taking risks for God and believing He will accomplish through you what you cannot possibly do on your own.

My younger brother Michael is setting aside a successful law practice to get out of the boat and open a craft beer brewery at age 40. After two years of careful planning, he is taking the plunge to pursue his dream: becoming a master beer brewer. It’s a scary, risky business. After all he could go bankrupt, and he has a wife and three children to support. But then again he might succeed! And that would be glorious. I admire him for going after his dream rather than spending a lifetime wishing he had.

My husband and I are also taking our first tiny steps on water to pursue a dream God gave us. Our dream is probably statistically more impossible than opening a beer brewery: we’re starting a new Christian fellowship in a city of 3 million Muslims.

First we had to get out of the boat. That meant leaving a fulfilling but comfortable ministry with people we loved in an established local church. The church was a safe place, but last year while we were home in the United States, God began to call us to get out of our boat and try the impossible: plant a new church from zero. At first I said, “Lord, are you kidding me? Isn’t it enough that we left our home eight years ago to serve you in the Middle East?” But as I prayed, I began to understand that God’s dreams for us were bigger than my own. He was calling us to a higher level of engagement with Him, to believe Him for more.

We decided to go for it.

Some days our dream looks too big. I invite a non-believing friend to our Bible study and she doesn’t come, or I explain the gospel to someone and they say, “Yes, all religions are the same.” I get discouraged, and I ask, “God, are you going to come through for us?”

Other days I’m excited and filled with hope and faith. Water walking is an adventure towards knowing God and experiencing His power. Every day has new possibilities. I pray, “Who can I reach out and show your love to today, Lord?” And I go visit a friend who is sick and take her flowers and a Jesus film. Or I offer to pray for my neighbor.

This dream God gave us is too big to accomplish by ourselves. Without his power, nothing will happen. It’s a dangerous place to be, but I’d rather take risks and believe God for the impossible than play it safe and always wonder what if? He’s calling me to trust Him like never before, and I’m going for it!

What about you? Do you have any dreams? Maybe your aspiration is to add color and fun to your life by taking on a new hobby. Maybe you are considering a risky career change or dreaming of starting a new ministry. What is God calling you to? Are you willing to get out of the boat to try some water walking?

Happy New Year!