Brokenness

During the past month, I focused a lot on my second core value, brokenness. For many of the girls in Beautifully Abandoned, this was the one thing they didn’t want to hear about. Most of the girls came from very hard lives and have learned to be very defensive and independent so as not to deal with issues or be hurt again. The idea of being broken before the Lord scared many of them, yet they knew that’s what they needed. After core one evening, I gave each girl a jar to carry around for the following two weeks. The jars were to represent everything they had stuffed away, not given to the Lord, and tried to hold on to themselves. At the end of the two weeks, we had a core meeting in which I allowed God to minister to them. I told them the story of the woman who poured out her tears at Jesus’ feet and then gave them the opportunity to do the same. I had set up a cross which they could come to, pour out the “tears” in their jars, and give everything to Lord. It was incredible. As they poured out the jars and came for prayer, I felt in my spirit a release of so many things they had been holding on to. Many of them came to the feet of Jesus that night and were touched by the Lord.

A Quick Update...

During this internship, God has taught me more than I thought I could have learned in such a short period of time. One of the many ways that God has spoken to me is through what we call LTEs or Life Transforming Events. There have been several that have taken place since being here. One of the first LTEs was the Fall Fasting LTE. For this retreat everyone on campus fasted food, music, and all communication for three days. It was a weekend set aside completely for God and myself. Never have I felt so close to the Lord. During that time, God showed me how much I have kept back from Him in order to be in control of my life. He asked me to lay everything at His feet and to trust completely in Him. It was one of the hardest and best decisions I have ever made. The LTEs that I have taken part in while here have changed my life.
God has also placed in my life an amazing net of accountability and leaders in my life to help me grow in Him. I am placed in what we call a core which is very similar to a weekly small group except that we live together. Each core has a name and vision. My core is called Radiant Reflections and it is our vision to become clear reflections of Christ. The leader of my core, my CA, or Core Advisor, spends time leading small group times as well as personally meeting with me and pouring into my life. Several cores live together in the same dorm hallway and we have in charge of us a RD, Resident Director. This person meets with all of us and pours into our lives while challenging us and pushing us to the Lord. Both my CA and RD have made a huge impact on me as they have pulled issues out of my life I did not realize were there while also helping me to discover who I am in the Lord. I also have an accountability partner who I meet with weekly. We challenge one another and keep each other accountable on the areas of weakness in our life. I am so thankful for all the leadership and wisdom that God has placed before me.
While I have been hear at the Honor Academy, I have had the opportunity to be a part of different classes taught by amazing men and women of God. One of my teachers who many of you know of is Ron Luce. He teaches a weekly Character Development class that has shaped my life while being here. There is also a women’s class that I attend each week. This class has helped me develop my life as a woman of God. Another teacher is Dave Hasz, the director of the Honor Academy. He is an amazing man of God who is full of wisdom and understanding. There have been different modules that we have gone through as an internship thus far. Some of which are units on leadership, missions, and worldview. During each of these units, God has opened my eyes to a greater understanding of what is being taught. In the leadership module I learned so much more about what it means to be a leader and how to apply that in my life. As Christians we are leaders and we must live our lives as such. The internship is currently going through the worldview module and I am being constantly challenged about what I believe and why. I am so thankful and blessed to have taken part in these classes.
One of the main parts of the internship is what we call Ministry Placements. Because Teen Mania is a student run ministry, each intern is required to put in 31 hours of work each week. My job is to call youth pastors across the country and promote the Acquire the Fire youth events. This has been an amazing part of ministry during my year as an intern. God has given me several opportunities to pour into the lives of those youth pastors. It has been amazing to call these youth leaders who have a heart and passion for young people and instill in them hope and encouragement to continue their ministry. There are also those that have lost the vision for their ministry whom I have had the chance to relight the fire that God started in them and push them to do more. During the year, I have been calling specifically for the Acquire the Fire event in Muncie, Indiana. This event recently took place and it was one of the most memorable times of my life. I had the opportunity to talk with youth pastors that I had been encouraging over the phone for the past several months and have the opportunity to see and minister to the thousands of youth that attended the event and were touched by the Lord. God gave me several chances of ministry during this year in which I was able to share what he has been doing in my life.

The Tyler 10K

Well, my most recent LTE was the Tyler 10K. Every year a small city near the Honor Academy, Tyler holds a 10K race. It is 6.2 miles. For the last several weeks, the internship has been training for us to run the race. We finally had it last Saturday. I always told myself that I would never do something like that, but now look where I am! It was actually a lot cooler than I thought it would be. My main goal was to run the entire race without stopping. I did it! It was really exciting. I ran with my friend Maria the whole way. The route that we ran was really cool, because it was a historical neighborhood full of really nice houses and sceneray. That defintely made the run a bit more entertaining. Well, I was proud that I finished the race and without stopping. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do it because during the previous two weeks, I had not been able to join in coporate exericise becuase I was sick. However, God gave me strength to run the race and I did. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to do it.

These are pictures of Maria and I after the race. We ran together and then went and ate good food. yum....

My Little "Road Trip"

Well, on the way back from my ATF event in Muncie, a group of us had decided to take a little trip on our way back to Texas! Instead of riding the extremely uncomfortable school bus (all the charter buses had broken down the week before) we rode in our own car and took two days to drive back to Teen Mania. On the way down, we stopped in Memphis to do a little touring. It was quite interesting. The first part was us arriving at the hotel. It was a really weird hotel. It seemed like it was going to be really nice on the outside and in the lobby, but it wasn't. This was the fanciest ghetto hotel ever. It was so weird. The service was not the best, we had the strangest sink in the world, the mirrors were screwed on crooked.... it was an adventure. Anyway, the next day we stopped to visit Graceland! Yes, we went to see good old Elvis. Actually, we never did get to see his actual house because it cost $25 and as interns, we don't have that kind of money. We looked around at some other things though, so that was fun. After that, we went to the National Civil Rights Museum. I got to see the place where Martin Luther King Jr. died. It was a really cool museum. It was really interesting seeing the history as well as all the different ideas and evidence of King Jr.'s death. I felt like I was in the movie Elizabethtown. I don't know if ya'll have seen it, but I have now been to two of the places that are in that movie. It's exciting... After the museum, we got back in the car and headed back to campus. The trip was really fun and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to do it.

There were a lot of mirriors at Graceland, and ya'll know how I love mirrors...


I'm as cool as Elvis was!


That is where Martin Luther King Jr. was assisnated. We couldn't take our cameras into the builiding, so these were the only pictures I got.

ATF in Muncie, Indiana

As ya'll should know, I have been calling for the Acquire the Fire youth event in Muncie, Indiana, since I have arrived. I have talked with several youth pastors numerous times and have had a chance to develop relationships with them. It has been amazing to encourage them, pray for them and their ministry, instill hope, give new ideas, and wisdom as we have talked over the phones. Well, last weekend all of my hard work finally paid off. At the beginning of the year it was expected that this event would pull about 5,000 people. During the year my call team has had to face one person leaving because of a dismissal, another leaving because of finances, another have to take an extended break because of a death in the family, and the other two having to carry the brunt of the work while dealing with their own issues here and at home. Some of our work days have been long and grueling. However, God blessed our team immensely for our work. On nearly every registration deadline, we had about 800 people register for an event in one day. The Lord also blessed our team in other various ways. Then at the ATF event, we brought in about 6,000 young people; 1,000 more than expected!! It was an amazing event! God moved in the lives of the people there. I was able to meet some of the youth pastors that I have been speaking to for so long. It was a blessing to do so. The thee of us that were left on the team at the event had the chance to go into the arena and see it begin. It was one of the happiest and most life changing moments for me. I was able to see the fruit of my labor as well as the goodness of the Lord. Thousands of young people began pouring out their hearts to God in worship as His presence fell upon the arena. During the event, I also had the chance of being a part of the alter calls. It was amazing to kneel at the front of the arena and then seend thousands of young people jump from their seats and run down to seek the face of God. I was able to pray over them and for them and witness first hand young people crying, praying, and pouring our their hearts to the Lord. There was a group of 4 young girls I saw crying during the alter call. After seeking the Lord for a moment, I went over to them and asked if I could pray for them. I laid hands on them and prayed over them what I felt the Lord was laying on my heart. As I was praying they began to weep before the Lord. It was an amazing time of ministry. Thousands of lives were changed at this event. I still cannot believe the goodness and power of God. It is because of what all of you have done for me over the past months that this happened. Your prayers and support have changed and sowed seeds into the lives of 6,000 people. Thank you.

This is my team. We call ourselves the Muncie Monkeys which I think you can see why...


This is a picture of the actual event.


I even got to have some my family come and visit me at the event!!

The Ring

The Ring! The Line!
The Fellowship! The Plan!
The Ring! The Line!
Always honorable! For life!!



Here at the Honor Academy all interners receive the Ring to symbolize the comment that we have made to live honorbly before God and Man in word, thought, and deed for the rest of our lives. The January class of 2007 has recently arrived on campus. After their week of Gauntlet, we have what is called the Commencement Banquet. At this banquet, the January interns commit to being here for one full year. However, myself and the rest of the Augest class had the opportunity to make a commiment to become a part of the Fellowship and live out the rest of our lives honorable to God. I chose to make this commitment and am now able to wear the Ring. This is probably one of the most important commitments that I will ever make. I am now here at the internship wearing the Ring with honor and humility.
The Ring is in the picture that I have posted above. The Line is the line of interns that have gone before me and made the commitment to wear the Ring. I also have the privilege of being a part of the Fellowship of the Ring. (they came up with that name before the movie came out just so you know.) The Fellowship is the group of people across the world that proudly wear the Ring. We join together to help, serve, pray, challenge, and encourage one another across the globe. Even though we may not know one another, if someone you meet who is wearing the Ring is in trouble you help that person in his struggle. If someone wearing the Ring falls away from a life of honor, the others in the Fellowship will mentor and disciple him until his honor is returned. Actually, the rings given out to the interns to not belong to us. They belong to the Fellowship of the Ring. If you fall away from a life of honor while wearing the Ring, it is taken away until honor is returned. Those wearing the Ring have also made a commitment to serve in the Plan. Simply put, the Plan is a detailed way to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and make disciples of all nations.
This is the commitment that I have made. I will wear the Ring with pride and live my life honorbly "before God and man in word, thought, and deed."

My HA Family

Ok, so one thing that I was realizing is that I haven't introduced ya'll to my family at the intership. Here at the HA we have cores and with that we have family cores. My family core is made up of two woman cores and one guy core. We all call each other family and often refer to one another as brother and sister. Each individual core has a core name, but we also have a family core name. Our name is the OC, Organized Chaos. This is exactly what my family is! We are a bunch of crazy chaotic people that, thanks to certain individuals in the family, are organized. We have all sorts of types of people in our family too. It is quite the interesting mixture. Before Christmas break, we had a family core Christmas party and took some pictures. Now, some of these people are no longer with us becuase they graduated. We will be getting new family members at the beginning of the year. I wanted to show some of them to ya'll!

This is the entire family. Yes, we are rather large and we have our own ghettofied family sign.


These are my brothers. Their core name is The Others.


This is my sister core. Their name is Stand.


This is my core, Radient Reflections. Ya, we're a little crazy in a good sort of way.


Heather Bray! Just don't ask...

Kyle, David, and I.


Kat and Lauren. I really don't know why she is holding the chips...


Matt, Cale, and Mike.


Andrea, Hannah, Emily, and Sarah.


My brother Matt Downey.


JJ and Sarah! Yes, we are that cool.


Jaime and our adopted MA (Management Associate), Alica.


Ashley and Maria.

Januray Graduation Gala

Before Christmas break the HA had their annual Graduation Gala!! Hurrah! It is a gala that is honor of the graduating class. I've dsicovered that the HA is the best at putting on informal formal banquets. They have a buffet line with plastic forks, plates, cups, and paper napkins. I just thought that I would put some pictures here for you all to see!

These are the Januarys from my family that graduated.


This is Jaime. The old January in my room that graudated. She was my ACA before I became ACA of room 2201.


The CA and a new ACA of Radient Reflections!


In the middle is Tara, my RD (Resident Director) She is amazing! Then of course there is Maria, my best friend at the HA.


Heather Hall and Rachel Lantz. Weird huh? Two friends, each with one part of my name.


The one and only Holly Bailey!


My good friends Mike and Kyle.


This is Crystal. The adopted CCMer of my core.


This is one of my good friends, Caleb.

Another great testimony....

I just had to tell you all this great story of mine. Once again, it is about calling. Well, I have been trying to get a hold of this rather large list of people who went to the Battle Cry Leadership Summit (BCLS) that I called for. I have been calling these people EVERY DAY and I still haven't gotten a hold of about half of them. Well, I came in on Monday and I was feeling rather down and discouraged that day for various reasons. I started calling, but I didn't get a hold of anyone all morning and during the early afternoon. Finally, I started on this BCLS list in hopes that this time I would get a hold of somebody. Well, I call this lady and low and behold she actually picks up the phone!!!! Praise Jesus!! Well, I start asking her about the BCLS event and how it went and about Acquire the Fire (ATF). She didn't seem very interested at first, but I continued to ask her questions and give testimonies about ATF. Then she really starts opening up to me. We then go on talking FOREVER!! It was amazing!!! We just started sharing our hearts with each other, and she began telling me about how things were going, what she was struggling with, how she was discouraged, and different things she needed help in. This call was AMAZING!!! I got to encourage her, give her wisdom and new ideas, stir up a new passion and flame in her heart, and pray with her. This call was totally God. By the end of the call she was praising the Lord and crying and encouraging me! It was exactly what I needed to hear. It totally made my week. Before we said good bye, she was telling me how when I called she had been laying on her bed really discouraged. She had been praying to the Lord asking him to send her someone to encouage her, give her wisdom. She prayed for a sign from the Lord to show her that she was doing what He wanted and following His will for her life. That's when I called!!!! How cool is that!?!?!?! Oh my gosh!! This call was amazing ya'll. Anyway, I just had to let ya'll know 'cause I was super excited about it. Anyways, I'll see ya'll at Christmas!!! Peace out.