A different type of post...

Normally my posts are silly and funny with cute pictures, but you see I have this amazing friend who is a missionary in Mexico and she wrote something the other day that completely rocked my "little Christian world". I wanted to share this with you (I hope you don't mind Britt) and I pray that it challenges you even half as much as it did me. You see, it is so easy for us as Christians to "talk the talk" and forget that we are supposed to "walk the walk". Brittany has been a missionary since she graduated from college, 5 years ago, and has never looked back on her life, never wondered why God has called her to do what she is doing. She left her family, friends, and life here to follow Christ's will for her. Now I don't believe God is calling all of us to be missionaries in Mexico, but I know he is calling us to be his missionaries right where we are, here and now. I pray that one day I can be so bold and make such an amazing impact for Christ like my friend is doing.

today, as i drove through juarez and heard a song come on my radio that i've sung a million times in church, i realized something.

i realized the realness of telling God that we're willing to go and do for Him, to give us "one pure and holy passion" or to "take my life..."

i realized that in a church service, thinking and meaning these things may mean standing and worshipping God, surrounded by others, being in God's presence, maybe with tears pouring down your face and having a heart ready to serve.

i realized today what this looks like in action. and how it's the exact same thing, yet it looks completely different.

these words put to action, for me, mean spending a week with people i don't know. they mean being dirty, hungry, and exhausted. it's driving down a street in Mexico alone to drop off tools, so tired that i'm falling asleep as i drive. it's laying on top of a mixer as i dig through a million tools trying to find the one i need that is under everything, and getting covered in dirt and concrete in my clean clothes as the trailer door slam into me as the wind blows it shut. it's not being able to get a huge metal door shut as the sand and wind blows at me and the metal door throws me back and comes inches from slamming into my truck.

"here i am; send me" (isaiah 6) is being God's hands and feet when the tears have dried, the pounding heart and the safe church building is gone. its pouring out your life as you cry out and struggle through it. it's being exhausted, alone and dirty as i sit in a foreign country with a bunch of people i just met. it's Jesus dying after He carried His own cross on His bloodied body and then cried out to God.

"here i am; send me" costs everything.

being Jesus' hands and feet hurts, and is the hardest thing i've ever done. but it is the only purpose for my life.

the beauty of being His hands and feet changes from nice clothes and everyone on their best behavior and worshipping God together, to a different kind of beautiful. to a beautiful of dirty, calloused, blistered and worn hands, a sunburned face and an exhausted prayer as you fall asleep in the middle of it, in a dirty sleeping bag on a cot in a church in Mexico.

worship changes from songs in your Sunday best as you go out to lunch with friends and family afterwards; to a conversation in broken Spanish as you sit in the dirt eating lunch and talking with the family whose home your building that you just met. worship becomes pulling up trash from the landfill that we're building on top of, so we can level and build a solid foundation for this family's new home.

God's love is changed from words from a pulpit, to sitting on a roof in a poverty stricken colonia and watching an amazing sunset over cardboard and pallet houses as soccer games are played in the streets.

for me, this is faith lived out. what is seen and done beyond the words. for me this is Christ.

this is the life He intended for me.
giving, till i have nothing left to give.

"here i am; send me" is the most powerful and life altering sentence i've ever spoken

BL's Results

Okay, so this is my very first post.

So Kim and I are totally opposite! I thought it would be appropriate to post a personal ad to find the "right one".

Male Clog/Comma seeking Female Clog/Question Mark
Must be willing to move to Europe and support myself and 2 children.
Likes the outdoors and sports. Serious inquiries only!

So Kim is a barefooted knocked-up explanation point! If my personal ad doesn't work, I guess I will talk her into moving to Europe.

Okay, so I really love my wife and I am truely happy :) But inquiries are always welcomed! Ha, Ha!

You Are Clogs

You are a solid and down to earth person. You seek – and almost always achieve – a really sound balance in your life. You are stylish yet comfortable. Mellow but driven. Excited yet calm. You are the perfect mesh of contradictions. No matter what happens, you have the ability to stay well grounded in your life. People know that they can truly depend on you. You should live: In Europe You should work: At a company dedicated to helping the world

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

You Are a Comma

You are open minded and extremely optimistic. You enjoy almost all facets of life. You can find the good in almost anything. You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests. You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time. Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to. (But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.) You excel in: Inspiring people You get along best with: The Question Mark

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Quizzes

I jumped onto the bandwagon again and just took some quizzes... in the event you care here are my results...

You Are Bare Feet

You are a true free spirit, and you can't be tied down. Even wearing shoes can be a little too constraining for you at times! You are very comfortable in your own skin. You are one of the most real people around. You don't have anything to hide. Open and accepting, you are willing to discuss or entertain almost any topic. You are a very tolerant person. You are accepting and not judgmental. You should live: Somewhere warm You should work: At your own business, where you can set the rules

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

And finally, I took the punctuation quiz. Check it out...

You Are An Exclamation Point

You are a bundle of... well, something. You're often a bundle of joy, passion, or drama. You're loud, brash, and outgoing. If you think it, you say it. Definitely not the quiet type, you really don't keep a lot to yourself. You're lively and inspiring. People love to be around your energy. (But they do secretly worry that you'll spill their secrets without even realizing it.) You excel in: Public speaking You get along best with: the Dash

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Easter, Eggs, and Drama

This was Q's first Easter in which she could really participate in all the festivities that go along with the day. We started off by going to our church's Easter festival. Let me just say, who would have thought 13,000 eggs would only have lasted about 3.2 seconds. Regardless of the shortness of the "egg hunt" (check out the picture below) I truly believe that the community got the chance to experience God's unconditional love through the volunteers, food, and activities provided for all, free of charge. According to a friend B represented everything bad about the egg hunt because he was the parent who took off running with his kid to get the most eggs, unfortunately she only managed a bakers dozen!
And the after shot... 13.000 eggs about 1,000 people, you do the math. Oh yeah, Q is wearing a backpack that doubles as a leash and its wonderful. Someone actually offered B $100 for it, but when B agreed he said he didn't have the money, dang!

Easter was a great day with family, Q actually wore a dress, and we got to experience some incredible time in worship at church. After church we rushed to Grandmama's for more food and another egg hunt (much harder than the first due to the fact G, B, and C-note hid the eggs)! Finally we tried to get family pictures, but alas Q had another plan and this was the result. At least we got a cute one of the kids! Can you tell she's saying "cheese"?

Yup, Q wasn't having any of this (go figure) and as a result I took a pink mary jane to the eye. Look at her face, it's as red as a tomato!
And the kiddo's! What a great Easter!

Welcome Hadley

So, this is my attempt to blog for Heather and James because Hadley was born yesterday and boy oh boy is she precious! Harris was a bit more interested in the cell phone than his new sister, but that will all change!
I didn't know how Q was going to react to me holding her, but it all turned out really well in the end! Here she is
Yup, Q is wearing a backpack that doubles as a leash, and it is wonderful! Look at all that hair!
Check out Harris' shirt. He had a slight issue with Hadley when he first met her, but quickly warmed up to her. He really liked counting her fingers. The family is doing very well and are enjoying spending time with their new little girl and visitors. Here's one more of the big girl, all 9 pounds 9 ounces of her, to make you smile!

Proof

I have always wondered why Q loves B more than me, now I have pictorial proof. Yup, last night B put on his swim trunks and "swam" with Q in the bath tub. Tonight it was difficult explaining to her why she had to take a bath alone.

This is the reason for another bath tonight! Luckily acrylic paint comes off little hands easily!

A Good Day...

So, I am trying to be more disciplined about blog postings, since I don't keep up with a baby book or journal or anything lke that, so here is one for this week. I think I'm out of the woods with being really sick (thank you Jesus!) so I have been able to get out of the house and do more with Q. Here are some pictures of our day yesterday. We went to the park with Mandy, Kallie, and Cole, and then wrapped up with stuffing a bunch of Easter eggs for our church's Easter Festival. Shameless plug, it's March 22nd at Simonton Elementary and there will be tons of food, games, and eggs for all. I do have to brag, from our 11 member Life Group we were able to manage 1,228 eggs! Here are the pictures!Don't worry, her shirt says Fa-bu-lo-us!
This is her new way of smiling! Yup, she still is way short of a mouthful of teeth, but still adorable!

And the Life Group egg pictures!

That's a whole lot of candy!
It was like a sweat shop working with those eggs, at least we laughed about it!
Hippity Hoppity Easter's On It's Way!
All in all it was a great day!

Lockhart, Party of Four

Yup, and two of the four will be in high chairs! So, that's the big announcement here at the Lockhart household. Kim is pregnant again and we are so excited! Quinn talks about being a big sister and I'm sure she will be a big help when the baby comes. Here is our ultrasound picture. That's the baby, right now it just looks like a little circus peanut to me (fits well into our family!) Kim's due date is October 2nd (yes, right in the middle of football season), so we have lots to look forward to until then. Britton has already started on designing a "Big Girl Room" for Quinn and she is all about helping! We will share updates with you as they come. All we ask from you is prayers for health and happiness for our growing family!Yeah, the paint was supposed to go on the trim, but Q had other plans!