Note: I just found out you can see the fountain on the web site: www.canaaninthedesert.com! Just click around to find the info on the fountain, and there's a picture of it with running water on the front page!

A week in the desert—sounds lonely, but it's not bad when it's in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was beset with cold/allergy symptoms when I got there, and then realized that everything was in the height of its blooming season. So I got to SEE a lot, but I also sneezed a lot. (-=

I grew up in the Midwest, so Saguaro cacti only existed in cartoons for me. I guess it takes about 100 years for one of those puppies just to grow an arm, as my AZ friends informed me. And where's the grass? There just isn't much, and it takes precious water to keep it alive. But the rock gardens are gorgeous!

We visited a place called "Canaan in the Desert" that's a prayer garden cared for by a group of nuns. Beautiful, fascinating place under Camelback Mountain. Blooming prickly pears and other kind of spiky things I can't name, some of them bigger than I've ever seen. And then the walk through the stations of the cross, the story of the death of Christ. Little quail running everywhere. (Have you ever seen a quail with that funny little question mark feather sticking up off the top of its head? They're so funny and interesting!)

But the coolest thing was a fountain in the garden, a large bubbling fountain in the middle of the desert. The pool beneath the fountain had seven sides, and each named a quality of God the Father: Father of Comfort, Father of Mercy, Father of Faithfulness, etc. That was meaningful enough, but then we realized that each side had a spigot, and there was a little cup dispenser out there and a little instruction book that offered the experience of drinking from each spigot as you walked around the fountain, meditating upon that quality of God as you drank.

The picture of Him as Living Water and the only Source in the desert of our lives was poignant, meaningful, and joyful. It really made an impression upon me, especially with my physical ailments during the trip. Wow!

I spoke to three MOPS groups (mothers of preschoolers) at the church, La Casa de Cristo, a beautiful mission-style Lutheran Church of about 1200. We taught on the five doors of the heart and introduced a new booklet with six scripted lessons on the subject for moms to use with little ones. It should be available on the web site soon. The moms were delighted!

Come to find out that this church has the biggest presence  of all at the National MOPS convention! I didn't know that when we booked this event. God is obviously in the business of networking. So many other contacts have pointed me in this direction that I feel pretty sure I'll be headed there in time. There also seems to be a great chance of returning to Scottsdale for a full conference, so it was a very productive time.

On the flight home, we hit a thunderstorm on our way to Memphis. Some of you know how terrified of flying I've been in the past. Well, I am here to tell you that I bumped around in that little plane like a cork in the water and almost fell asleep. I'm not kidding! Walking through that fear has released me from it almost completely. I'm so grateful for that, and for the Source that pressed me to face the fear.

He's the only place to get life. He's the only place to get water. When you've suffering or struggling, picture yourself sitting next to that fountain I described, and a breeze blowing a mist of water over you, right over the wall that says "Father of Mercy." Ask for His help, and He will be there, watering your heart and giving you strength for the journey. He sure came through for us this week, and I'm so grateful!

Egad! What a rollercoaster lately. A sick child, a restless husband, a stubborn teenager, a picky editor (jk, Robin). AND my own issues, of course, up, down, all around. Too much in the schedule, not enough to keep me busy. When will I ever learn to be content?

At the same time, I knew getting into the issue of purity was stepping onto the front line of a battlefield. At times we are definitely under fire. The chinks in our armor are exposed. We snap. Someone acts thoughtlessly, and I get a burr under my saddle. I want to give up. I can't understand why everyone else is so … whatever they are. One by one, little bad things happen, until I'm sure that, if I turned around, I'd see red horns and a forked tail.

Is he real? Of course he is. But he isn't as big as my Boss. I should know that, no matter what happens.

But then there's a day like today, when a friend calls a friend in another state whose daughter has been pulled into deep trouble on the Internet. The daughter is getting counseling and the technology has been removed from her life, but the family is still looking for help and support. And so a person from Florida calls a friend in Kansas and mentions this friend who has been talking to her lately and has this purity thing. The friend in Kansas looks up the web site, and his wife writes. 

The friend who has the purity thing calls some friends who are great encouragers in Kansas, who happen to live about 20 minutes away from this family. In fact, the dad of the daughter in trouble even knows someone from their church! The encourager friends are delighted to help, and so the purity gal calls the dad who is now receiving help and support from others who have attended purity conferences and can help get the family exactly what they need.

Is God real? Gosh, yes. And what an A-class Networker He is. And He's bigger. Don't ever doubt it.

In trekking to an new area of Orlando, we found another great opportunity to share the message of Planned Purity. Foundation Academy in Winter Garden hosted us for a conference with a group of parents of elementary children—exactly the demographic we look for—and it was great! Not only was the hospitality team amazing, taking care of our every need, but the parents responded very enthusiastically to the material. I know we left them with tools that are going to make huge differences in their family lives and in their children's successful pursuit of purity of heart and body.

There are days when I kind of get in God's face and say, "I didn't choose this!"—but every time we do a conference we get better, and every time we come away affirmed in the fact that this is what we are supposed to be doing—and I really do love it—the writing and speaking, that is. The business end seems like a necessary evil, and the ever-unpredictable amount of funds available—well, I'm getting used to it because I've committed in my heart that this is what I'm going to do and nothing is going to change that.

You know, so much of life we spend worrying and trying to keep up with human systems that in the end won't make a hill of beans of difference anyway—when the real value is in the relationships we nurture and the lives we affect and change. Not that we shouldn't be responsible, but what kind of "responsible"? I believe the most responsible way to live is in the palm of God's hand, trusting Him for everything. I haven't gotten it down yet, but I do believe it with all my heart. I am moving forward into those places He wants me to go, no matter what …

The other day we met with a national group that looked at our work and said, "You're exactly what we're looking for." Huh? Half the time I wonder what I'm doing, and then I hear comments like this that assure us we're doing something very important. Please keep praying that we will continue to believe that and not give up. And you keep believing, too - for whatever God has given you to do.

Arkansas! I love it there. Not only because of the beautiful countryside, but because there are some folks in Fayetteville that I dearly love. They are passionate about parenting and purity, and we're watching the incredible effects of their efforts to bring Planned Purity to life in their congregation.

Steve Alberts, the youth pastor I work with, loves to do drama. Last year they did The Princess and the Kiss in a dinner theater format, and had such a great turnout that this year they did a version of The Garden Wall. 

I really don't have words to say how much the play meant to me. If you've read the book, you know about Seth and Petra and the garden they're building for Petra's future husband. But Steve wrote in a modern element of Grandmother Petra telling her granddaughter (who is in a risky Facebook relationship) about her relationship with Seth. There were strokes of genius in the way Steve related the story and built on the few words I could cram into a 32-page children's format. But the most wonderful part was how the play affected me personally.

I have an almost 15-year-old in a relationship right now, and it's rocky going. Daily we are struggling to set boundaries, to talk, talk, talk (without driving any of us crazy) and to navigate the bizarre waters of young relationship. But the play reminded me of the important things—why a young woman must tend her garden and why a young man must decide that he will protect that garden at all costs. And all that was accomplished in the context of FRIENDSHIP.

As my daughter gets older, I get more and more flack about "why she doesn't date," "what's the big deal about holding hands," etc. I'm amazed at how casual we are about relationships in which our teens participate. It's so easy to just do things a certain way because "everyone is doing it." It's so hard to set a new standard. And it's hard to explain boundaries to a teenager when they've never felt "these feelings" before—even when they're a committed to purity as my daughter is. But I'm not giving up—and you shouldn't, either.

In the drama in Arkansas, the couple who played Petra and Seth were 17 and 18, and they were in a relationship, also with very clear boundaries. I was delighted to see the chemistry between them in the roles, which was portrayed with honor and innocence. Absolutely beautiful. I also told Steven (Seth) that I had fallen in love with him and didn't know what to do! (-= We had a good laugh about that.

Everyone served Robin and I as though we were queens. This congregation knew how to serve and how to work hard. They love their families, and I saw some beautiful marriages. I also met some new and old friends like Shannon, Brook, Holly, Susan, Sherri, Lolly (who gave us a tour of the amazing city library where they donated some of my books) and Mary Lynn, our intrepid chauffeur who ran us all over kingdom come with her ridiculously well-behaved, Irish-dancing daughters.

You know, not everyone can call themselves "Razorbacks" and be proud of it. (Mary Lynn actually has a red boar-shaped sink in her guest bath - no kidding!) When I saw the Italian Russian boar sculpture on campus, we all hooted, but I thought, "Now here are some folks who really are comfortable with themselves. And now I am, too. I have a genuine red "WOO PIG—SOOOO-EEEEE" pin to prove it!

I could go on, but suffice it to say that as I talked to the parents, the teens and the church as a whole, I was blessed, privileged, and felt very much at home. I'm trying to find an excuse to get our family there for a vacation (don't tell my metropolitan area-loving husband—ha!) just so they can be friends with the wonderful friends I already know so well.

Purity is alive in Arkansas, and with the help of all of us, will keep spreading to the far corners of the world. SOOOOO-EEEEE! GO PIG!

Please be praying for the upcoming conference here in Winter Garden, March 7, as well as people to accompany us to Namibia and Ukraine this year. I'll try t keep my end and write on this ol' blog whenever I can —

Love, Jennie

Have you thought lately about how every day of life is a gift?

With some ups and downs emotionally for me lately (anxiety issues, raising a teen and a preteen, financial pressures, ya da, ya da …) I find that I need constant reminders of this. Sometimes it's as simple as watching a comical squirrel peek out from behind a tree, hanging by one arm, as I'm being a good girl and taking my morning walk.

Sometimes it's sitting with my nearly-92-year-old aunt and making her smile with a bunch of posies and a couple of crossword puzzle books. 

Sometimes it's being surprised by questions about the "birds and bees" in my own home that have me cracking up downstairs in a room downstairs later on.

Whatever it is, the reminders are always there. I just have to notice them.

We saw August Rush, the movie, last night, and Evan Taylor made a similar statement: "The music's always there … if you're listening."

My music today is the sound of the washer. It reminds me that I have a husband who needs clean clothes … and that I don't have to use a bucket like in Nigeria! 

My music today is the sound of a teenager coughing upstairs. I get to serve her today because she is off school sick, but she is looking up her homework online because she hates being behind.

My music today is the clouds and the blue sky and a practically perfect Florida day. Though I'm indoors typing, I have a great view.

What's your music today? Can you find it? Take the time to listen and find the rest and peace you need. It's always there, waiting …

Blessings,

Jennie

Well, I'm in Florida again after a month back home on the farm in Ohio. It was a packed trip, with lots of time with new and old friends, a couple of conferences (one rural, one in-city), and a number of speaking engagements, interviews, events, etc. There's a lot of interest in purity no matter where we go, and because this was my home setting, there a number of people interested in coming to see what we were doing.

One particular event was very moving and meaningful to me. At the Fort Wayne conference, I had friends offer to help out who were college friends, old band members, fellow missionaries and small group members from way back, a radio host, an editor, house mates and new Florida friends - what a diverse group of people! I was not only blessed by their help, but by seeing the amazing people we have become, and having the privilege of being a part of that group.

Secondarily, these great friends taught me an important lesson.

We learned as we approached conference time that numbers were very low, and I was sitting in that place where I had to decide whether to go forward or cancel. I thought that God had opened a number of doors that no one else could have and wanted to go forward, but didn't want to tank financially, so I called my friends and said, "What do you think?" They all pooh-poohed my doubts and said, "This is what you're supposed to do. We're doing it!" (One friend wasn't there when I called - I left a message and called her back later. When I mentioned the message, she actually said, "Oh, that silly message!" Can you believe the nerve?? (-=)

So we did the conference for a group of about 30. But my friends backed me entirely, because they were not putting their faith in me. Instead, we were all putting our faith in God. No one was counting on me to fail or succeed. They were counting on God to be faithful as we were obedient to whatever he asked of us.

This was a very great freedom - to be loved so dearly and to know that no one was putting pressure on me to perform. Everyone should have friends like that.

Going back to the farm is always healing for me. Only farm kids understand how connected you become to the land that your family grows up on and works together on. And the grass is so much nicer to walk on. (Our whole family goes on about "pointy" Florida "grass.")

If you saw the news about the plane crash in Sanford, that awful accident was in the subdivision just next door to the one we used to live in. I just ache for those families. What must it be like? And I remember Vashti being so nervous because of the flight path overhead - was she sensing something ahead? Who knows? But please be praying for those folks. We were actually looking at houses in that division, and now I'm so grateful to live here - to be safe - to have been safe in Ohio -

But you know, there isn't anywhere safe, except the hand of God. We have to make Him our dwelling place. Anything can happen anytime, but we are safe under His wings.

I'm glad to be home, and aware that nowhere is really home until I move on from this earth. May we all live each moment in that knowledge and hope. Have a wonderful summer!

Thanks to all of you who have asked about our recovery from international travel and moving into the new house. We're happy to report that we're back with very few problems, despite the difficulty of reentry into American life. The girls did great (thanks to Mary and Tom!), our daughter's ballet performance was wonderful, and birthdays have been celebrated. Last night we hosted a dinner for all the movers who took our stuff from one house to another during our trip. It's hard to express our gratitude for the kindness they showed, kindness that made coming back so much easier.

Our trip to Nigeria was very productive for us personally and for our purity efforts. I don't think you can go into any new culture and not be changed, unless you're really hard-hearted. When you look at the problems of other nations and recognize the fact that God chose to plop you in the USA, you wonder why you were so lucky. The answer is that God is expecting you to responsibly share your liberty and material goods with others. I want to challenge every American reading this letter to pursue that with your whole heart. If this country would return to a definition of liberty as "the freedom to do what's right" instead of "the freedom to do whatever I want," what a different world this would be.

In Nigeria, we saw a government too corrupt with money and power to care for its people, much like in the Ukraine. Modern conveniences exist in the cities, but they aren't managed well and so fall into disrepair, like the boulevard we traveled full of streetlights without bulbs. Dishonest groups of men set up checkpoints along roads between cities to ask for nonexistent papers and to demand money or goods. Registration to vote is difficult and groups actually invite others from outside the country to come in and vote for their candidates! Nigeria is trying to model a democracy after our nation, but it's tough going.

And of course AIDS is rampant. Everywhere we traveled we had individuals come and literally beg us to send purity materials and to return to teach purity. We're looking for money and information right now to provide those opportunities - we'd like to return early next year.

But on a personal basis - besides being constantly aware of the poverty, the overcrowding, the risks and the dangers and the heat - it was very healing for us to return to the African continent. In this culture, people always have time to spend. The mundane tasks of life, here necessary for survival, take on new meaning. Even washing clothes in a bucket becomes an enjoyable task.

Yes, I was away from the responsbilities of home and children, and that can be very freeing for a few weeks. But I was also drawn back to the importance of simple things - to the fact that God, family and people are the only things that make life worthwhile. That the day-to-day tasks of housekeeping and business in America are my offerings to that family and to God. That the things that stress me out aren't as important as I make them.

I'm sitting in my own office now in a beautiful home of our own (thanks to God!) in central Orlando, and they're about to open the community pool right across the street. But on my computer, I'm corresponding with friends in the Ukraine and in Nigeria who are waiting for me to help. What will I do about this? The vacuuming can wait another day. I can put off furniture for books sent overseas. And I can remember that all this comes from God and is mine to steward and not to hoard.

I want so much to transfer aspects of life lived in Africa to my life here in the US, but I know I won't be able to do it as thouroughly as I would like. May God help us all to remember what's really important in the process, and to be productive to him, not becoming well-traveled and numb, but becoming more willing to trust Him with all because of the faithfulness He's shown us.

Here's to Nigeria, Ukraine and the world celebrating liberty in the same way we can, through purity and truth. May it come to be!

Hello, folks … and see you later! We're on our way out of the country on Wednesday to Nigeria and will be counting on all of your prayers as we separate for a time as a family to do what God's asked us to.

In the meantime, a great group of friends is moving us completely out of our rental and into our new house - exciting and VERY chaotic! But I think the peace of mind I feel in general is proof positive of God's work in my life—a couple of years ago I couldn't have handled so much upheaval.

The chaos and pressure that God allows in our lives is so clearly for our growth and productivity. I have known this in theory, but this year I am learning it with my life. It actually may have begun when we lost our mom to cancer and my "charmed" sort of life went out the window. I am growing in the awareness that I am simply human and therefore a mess, and that this allows me to experience God's truly amazing grace. (Have you seen the movie? It's very good!)

Instead of worrying about all the disorder around me, I guess I have resigned myself to it. I'm not yet thrilled about it, but I can coexist with it, at least for periods of time. And I'm not defined by it. I am a woman who is strong and capable, fragile and messed up, broken and mended, a mass of contradictions. But God is strong, and can be strong in me when I let Him. He can also be strong in my children and husband and others, and we can grow together in our messiness.

Nigeria is bound to be messy. We will not be sleeping in fancy hotels, we will be washing clothes by hand, we will be sweating profusely in 100 degree weather. We will be painting buildings and bouncing along in Jeeps and in regional airplanes (yikes! God is in control!), being stopped by real guards and fake guards who might take our money and cameras.

But God will be there. And in Psalm 91, He tells us all we need to know. HE is our dwelling place, no matter where we are. And when we live in Him, we are safe.

We're so looking forward to telling our stories when we return (maybe after we put a few dishes away). Know this: every one of your prayers are appreciated for us and for our children and for the people of Nigeria, who so desperately need the friendship and help of those who are able.

I will try to write a blog if we can get to an internet connection. If not, I will report after Easter sometime. We love you and appreciate you all. (-=

I have an acquaintance who says she gets stir crazy when she has to visit family in Ohio, but for me, it's just what the doctor ordered. I was with my dad for a week, visiting friends and updating them on our lives and what's going on at PurityWorks, shopping with my sister (finding cute shoes for $10 a pair!), and generally "hanging out with the folks." Can't say I wasn't glad to get back to Florida weather, though. It was about 21 degrees when I left and 77 when I got home - whew!

You know, I just haven't thought enough about how important it is to stay connected to my "roots." Moving to Florida really isolated us, coming to a place with no friends, having to explain our life story over and over, wondering how to "break ground" in new relationships. It was so nice to be able to sit with people who already knew me, who celebrated success with me and cried with me over heartaches. Life is all about relationships—so why is it I get so caught up in tasking?

Today our DSL connection was down for awhile, and I immediately started to consider the possibility that I wasn't meant to do work online for a spell for good reason. I just got four more letters from orphan friends in the Ukraine, and spent some time writing back to these precious girls. Four letters off to the translator again, a teenage Ukrainian who makes $5 apiece for getting my letters into a condition where they can be read by the kids. Time well spent.

My head is divided in so many pieces right now. While I'm writing to Ukrainians, I'm considering the wardrobe items I still need for Nigeria in a few weeks. I called the hospital this AM to figure out how to get my malaria meds. I have a little girls' ministry event next Saturday and am organizing (with my ten-year-old, who is sometimes enthusiastic, sometimes more interested in XBox) supplies, schedule, and help.

AND we just bought a house! Can you say "finally"? It's down the street from our main church family and in a new community right across from the pool (not to mention it's a "Steinbeck" model—how can a writer beat that?). Yea! Hello, equity, goodbye, money-down-the-pipes! Now, if I can just get over the fact that we have to move right after we get home from Africa, when I have jet lag, a major ballet production and two girls' birthdays. (Aaaaah! Make it stop!)

Truly, we're blessed. God continues to teach me to "walk on the waters of my chaos" and look at Him, always at Him. All this will pass, but when we look back we will remember the incredible richness of our lives (OK, not financially, but it's not all about money, is it??).

Keep praying for us. Obviously there is a lot going on, and there are always more surprises when you wake up in the morning and say, "What today, God?" But we know it's all good, and part of accomplishing His purposes in our generation.

And a great big "hello" along with big hugs for all the friends from Ohio and Indiana. You are truly precious to us. May God watch between us until next time! Much love -

OK, so this week I learned a good lesson about the dangers of packing my schedule too tightly. I had been tracking some mood changes that seem to be appearing in connection with certain changes of life, and recognized that I was going to be in my "vulnerable time" (that's a nice way of saying it) during a week fully loaded with women's events, appointments with doctors, editors and business people, a birthday party for my 91-year-old aunt and all the lessons and details that are simply part of day-to-day life with the Bishops.

For five days, in between and during these events, I was foggy, tired, emotional, angry, on edge, overwhelmed, depressed and uptight (I know, because I wrote all these words down as I was feeling them just to remember that they had actually happened).

Good advice from a friend comes back to me: "All these symptoms are a natural part of getting older. Your best defense is to track them if you can and prepare for them by keeping your schedule easier during those days."

But doing this makes me so mad. I used to be able to do so many things at once—now I can forget the smallest, or most obvious details. I feel betrayed and rebellious. I don't want to have to slow down!

This all feeds into my lack of understanding when it omes to what rest is and why I need it. Rest? Why? There is so much to do and I just don't have time for it! But at this stage of life, my body is telling me, "Rest, or you're going to be in bad shape before long!"

So I am learning. My next "vulnerable time" is during a trip home to Dad's, and I'll have plenty of space there to avoid over-scheduling. But in another month, I'll be in Nigeria while I'm experiencing symptoms. Great fun! Hopefully just the "knowing" that the moods and restless anxiety will pass will help as I muddle through whatever speaking or travellng or sleeping (or lack thereof) I'll be doing at the time.

Last night my oldest daughter and I came home from dance class to find Dad and Sis ready with a beautiful meal and classical music playing on the Internet. We sat around the table, talked and laughed, and had a wonderful time that made me once again aware of the great family life I enjoy. After supper, I did some dishes and listened to my husband strum a new dulcimer (the latest addition to his instrument collection) while my daughter got cleaned up fom dance class. I put on a kettle of water, and got out the tea set. It was time to initiate that Ukrainian tradition again of sitting around in the evening drinking tea.

A pot of tea (the tea a gift from a Ukrainian friend)and many Oreos and tea cookies later, it was bedtime, and all four of us bundled into our bed for the last chapter of Wind in the Willows, which we've been picking up at bedtime lately. We work crossword and sudoku puzzles afterward, reading the Bible, saying good-night prayers, mom drifting off first and ordering children to bed. What a wonderful evening of rest and true contentment. (Before you start thinking we're the perfect family, I must interject that nights like this are, for us, rare. Many more nights have been spent in front of a screen or running around Orlando like chickens, and collapsing, exhausted, into our beds.)

If you're familiar with Wind in the Willows, you'll know that Toad is quite a character, pompus, impulsive, greedy and unwise (and thus so much fun to read about!). But in the final chapter, Toad makes a change. He begins to turn over a new leaf and really think of others first after years of selfishness. But he had been as he was for so long, that the reader still feels suspicious of his new attitude. Change is desperately hard to accomplish, for Toad … and for us.

But if there's hope for Mr. Toad, maybe there is hope for me. Maybe I can rest. Maybe I can put up with the changes of life and even be able to be thankful for the new perspective. Maybe today I can take one more step towards contentment and away from the rat race. May it be so, for me and for you, with God's help.

Well, back from Arkansas and into the laundry - whew! God was so good to us in that our flights were fairly smooth, even with the bad weather heading to the east and the terrible storms that hit about 50 miles north of us here in Florida. Please pray for those who lost family members - about 19 are dead.

We spent a wonderful few days with a church family in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The youth pastor had read The Princess and the Kiss and was inspired to write an expanded version for the stage. With next to no theatrical experience, his little troupe pulled off a full-scale production, including a dinner theater - amazing! People contributed to costuming efforts, handmade arrows, a huge set and plenty of prayer. A lady donated funds to have the author flown out, and my younger daughter and I came. We were served and gifted to death, a meet-and-greet was held in a beautiful home, and I was able to share the Planned Purity concept after the performance and sign books following. We're looking forward to planning a conference with these folks in the future, and they're planning to do the Princess play every year.

I have a another new story to tell since I got home, too - another amazing orchestration of God. You know that we're headed to Nigeria in March with Campus Crusade. Lonna, the woman who is heading this effort, called me the other day. She had just talked with the head of the Mashiah organization, which sponsors an AIDS home for women that we'll be visiting during our time in Africa.

Lonna had not told this woman the names of speakers for the trip besides herself. She started to talk about me, and the woman immediately responded with enthusiasm because they are already using The Princess to teach women there - in fact, they are acting out the story because there aren't enough books for all the women to see the pictures!

Now, what are the odds that I would commit to an African trip, to a place I've never been before, and a single AIDS house of about 60 women where I happen to be going would be using my book? God is so incredible.

So much is happening here that's good. Now if I can just dig out from under this laundry and hold onto that strong, calm sanity that only the Lord can provide -

Thank you all for your prayers. I know that is a great part of what's pulling us through.

All I want to know is WHY it is as cold in Florida as it was in Atlanta this weekend! We headed up to the land of peaches and pecans to see a videotaping of our good friend, comedienne Anita Renfro (check out her web site - she's a hoot and a half), and froze to death!

But it was a good girl trip. Our girls are big fans of Anita's - they met her at the Christian Booksellers Convention and have some of her estrogen-laden material from her videos memorized. Anita and her husband John have become some of those "CBA buddies" that we look forward to seeing every year. So we bought the girls tickets to this taping for Christmas and went with our friend Dawn (who is comfortable with Atlanta traffic, bless her) to take it in, along with a couple other friends from Atlanta (who have a new baby - we switched therapies, mom taking the day off to see Anita and us goo-gooing over the new baby the rest of the time!).

We all dressed up in our best duds (we might be taped, after all!) and went over to the Dozier Center, a beautiful new performing arts center, to take it all in. And we laughed our heads off! Anita as a way of telling it like it is that makes one think, "Omigosh, that's SO TRUE" while at the same time you're wondering, "Is she REALLY going to talk about this??" She's incredibly bold and irreverent at times, which is good for all of us women who come to these events just to hear someone finally tell the truth about the difficulties and triumphs of womanhood.

Why do we gals get so darned uptight, feeling like we have to perform, like we have to have it all together, like we have to be perfect parents and wives and workers and … whatever! Anita's good medicine for that disease.

I fall into it as well. Today I've been trying to pack for a trip to Arkansas where a group of lovely people are doing a play they developed based on The Princess and the Kiss. They have bent over backwards to get me out there just because they're so delighted about the book and the production, but I'm here stressing because I can't find the suitcase I need (where in tarnation can a suitcase hide??) and because I have to pack some books at the last minute because a communication breakdown in our young company kept them from being drop-shipped, and I have a ten-year-old accompanying me who needs quite a bit of packing assistance - she wants to dress like a Floridian (imagine) to run around in a state with snowfall. Egad! I just want to have some fun and enjoy these folks who are ready to treat me like a queen!

OK, so that's why I'm writing this blog today - to get it off my mind and do something different before I lose my cool (some of this is pre-menopausal, I do have a good excuse). An older woman who advises me told me the other day how much better I'm doing at resting, balancing, transitioning to life in Orlando … it makes me laugh as I look at myself today! Have I really improved??

Maybe that's why we need each other as women, even if we only write a general blog to get it off our chests. Sometimes life is just so incredibly ridiculous! And if you're like me, it's an ongoing battle to overcome the chaos, laugh, and move on.

That's why I need my friend Anita, and that's why I need whoever is reading today. If I can laugh, or call, or write it down and see how funny it is, it really helps.

So thanks for being my outlet today, y'all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go hunt up a suitcase. Pray for me! (-=

What an amazing weekend - we actually had a Mrs. America contestant at our home! If she's reading this she'll probably kill me because she hates me bringing up the pageant thing - but listen, this woman is worth knowing and she's not your regular every-day "Barbie" girl.

Lonna is the person who's heading our upcoming trip to Nigeria. She has a story you wouldn't believe - of abuse, abandonment, adoption, alcoholism, drug abuse, abortions - you name it, she endured it as she lived through the pain of her awful growing up years.

With a gun to her head, Lonna was ready to end it all - and then she felt God standing behind her, His hand on her shoulder. She says that she actually felt God hold her that day, and life for her changed forever as she gave herself to Him.

Lonna found a wonderful husband, had some great kids, and worked with a ministry that helped homeless kids. Then a friend said she ought to run for Mrs. Idaho to get a platform to speak about the ministry. Can you imagine? Lonna just laughed. She says, "I was not a pageant contestant type." But over time, she began to see that her friend's suggestion might make sense.

So she took the plunge. But she had no pie-in-the-sky notions about it. She was not going to win. She was going to enter to pray for other women and care for them as she sought opportunities to share her faith and her passion for serving. She tripped during the swimsuit competition. She ripped her hem out during the evening gown segment. And she won.

Can you imagine when they put the crown on her head, how she must have felt? She didn't even plan to win. She went out of a desire to serve a ministry. And yet God saw fit to crown her queen.

Isn't that like God? There isn't any one of us He can't restore. And when we're at even our clunkiest, our filthiest, our dorkiest, He sets a crown on our head and calls us "daughter" and "princess." There is nothing He can't do.

Lonna spoke at our church Sunday, and it was powerful. Here is this poised, well-spoken, bold and direct woman, presenting the Gospel in such a way as to crowd the altar with seekers, telling us who she used to be and who she is now. Amazing!

I knew in that moment that God had made me new, too. New today, new from yesterday, new from years ago. I became a princess at the altar with all the rest.

May you know you're princess today, too, no matter where you've come from. There is grace enough for EVERYONE, and He wants only YOU.

If you'd like more info on our trip or on Lonna, visit her web site at in-his-grace or Google Lonna Vopat. As I said, she's well worth knowing.

Tonight's a big fundraising bash, and we're all up in arms about what to wear. Does anyone else feel that dressing up gets to be a whole lot more work as you get older? I sure do.

My husband is deciding whether his suit will do or whether he ought to rent a tuxedo. I have two dresses I'm waffling between. The invitation says "black tie optional." I haven't been to enough frou-frou events to know what that actually means!

A good friend of ours, a lawyer who has been consulting with us about how to grow PurityWorks, invited us to sit at his table tonight. Sitting with lawyers is intimidating enough in itself! (-= But John wants us to have this opportunity to see how a fundraising event goes so that we can do one ourselves someday. Oh, boy. I hate asking for money and I hate planning big events. I have some growing to do.

What is it about me that makes me so shy to ask for monetary help when we are providing such great services? Parents love The Princess and the Kiss, they do studies with the Life Lessons books, they go on about how effective they feel these materials are, they ooze with compliments at speaking engagements and pray for us and ask to be involved … still, something inside me makes me nervous - afraid of rejection - shy and awkward.

Well, we're a not-for-profit and we need the money - so I have to get over it!

I've been thinking a lot lately about the verse about overcoming fear and trying to get into the other side of it - the part about the power and love and sound mind that I already HAVE. I'm still trying to tap into that. A lot of self-talk about courage, and that's new for me. I don't think I ever thought much about being courageous before.

When we moved to Orlando, I remember playing Nicole Nordman's song "Brave" all the way here (thanks to my good friend Robin, who built me up by making a new cover for the CD that included the quote: "Lara Croft, stand down - there's a new gal in town"- I'll bever forget that, buddy!). But I don't think I was brave then. I think I was exhilarated by the newness of the adventure. As the days went on and the pressure grew and the challenges mounted, I became very much a coward. I gave in to anxiety. I let the enormity of this gift God has given to us crush me.

Well, it's a new day. It won't be easy, but I'm going to intentionally choose to be brave instead of just singing about it. And that includes the matter of fundraising (gulp).

Yesterday my youngest daughter had her first lesson with a Ukrainian piano teacher. Folks from Kiev are well-known as world-class musicians, and this gal is no exception. But Ukrainians are tough as nails, too, and they don't put up with whining in the least. When this lady told sis in no uncertain terms that she was going to have to sit differently and start playing with the tips of her fingers instead of keeping them flat, it was hard. And she said "no" a lot during this first meeting, though she wasn't cruel.

After the lesson, sis had a good cry and asked if she really had to have a teacher, if she could't have an American teacher, anything to not repeat the experience. But I saw that this was a matter of courage for her. Yes, someone who speaks Russian as a first language is hard to understand. Yes, old habits are hard to break. But when you are gifted as sis is, it's worth the sacrifices to really excel and to grow and to grow up.

Sis is now sitting at the piano with her new chair and her feet on phone books so that her weight is in her feet, not her seat. She sits back far enough so her fingertips can't go past the tops of the keys. And her fingers look just like she took a curling iron to them. (Of course, all of us are allowed to tickle her if we catch her practicing otherwise.) But she is attempting to play with a great deal of courage.

Again, my child's example is for my own benefit. Whether it's fundraising, attending a frou-frou event, rubbing elbows with lawyers or any other of a million transitions from midwest farm community to metropolitan area, I have to be brave. It's God's intent for me to be a strong leader and not turn back or whine.

You know, as I watch sis play this way, I can see a kind of new confidence on her. She looks good with her back so straight. Hopefully, I do, too. (-= Pray for me to keep it up, ok?

Last night we did a presentation at a large Baptist church here locally. It was a great turnout, about 60 people. It's amazing how the Planned Purity message just catches like fire in a dry field. The people who came left so energized and excited that it was hard to get them to calm down and retrieve their kids from the nursery!

The staff volunteers at the book table really worked themselves silly as the book flew everywhere. The combination of The Princess and the Kiss or The Squire and the Scroll with their accompanying Life Lessons books is a lifeline to so many parents who see their kids approaching subjects related to purity and relationships in the kindergarten and first grade years. And I still can't believe the wide appeal that these books seem to hold - others told me the books were purchased for a person in college to encourage them to keep the faith and hold onto their purity.

Folks get really excited when we start sharing strategies for purity training in the young years, and they're so affirmed by seeing that other parents are feeling the same way. A kind of electricity fills the room as they begin to nod heads and agree and share questions and listen to each other. As they left, we just heard "Thank you … thank you … thank you for coming." And already we have those who are ready to attend a Saturday three-session seminar.

One lady last night really touched my heart (well, more than one, but I'll tell you about this one). She was a single mom whose husband had passed away a year and a half ago. She was concerned about her two little boys and finding mentors for them. She wondered how they would see models of healthy affection between spouses when there was no father in the home.

We hear a lot of these kinds of comments from single parents. I'm always so glad to encourage them. I can't imagine what it's like to raise a child by yourself - it'a hard enough with the two of us constantly working at it! But, in some ways, a single parent learns better the need to depend on God. They don't have a choice. God will HAVE to be the father or mother in that situation for awhile. And He is so faithful, and there is no doubt that He has that single parent in position because they are the RIGHT parent for the job, no matter how difficult it may seem.

Friday I have another of these presentations for a homeschool group, moms and kids all together. Should be an interesting morning. Pray for us, that we'll have the right words at the right time to encourage these parents and inspire the children.

Also, please pray about our coming trip to Nigeria. We have a load of planning and fundraising to do before that time. In fact, we have an entire PurityWorks budget to get in order, and there are a lot of needs that only God can provide. We are setting our minds to be faithful day by day, but often have no idea how things will be accomplished. It is a real walk of faith. We need the same strength and wisdom that we try to share, a constant cycle of being renewed and prepared to pour out.

But the cause of purity in this world is worth it - to stem the tide of AIDS, to see more happy families, to see children growing up understanding healthy sexuality and knowing how to guard their hearts and bodies, to see adults finally embracing the freedom in which a lifestyle of purity results … that's the rush. That's why we do what we do. Thanks for reading today.

Merry Christmas to all - our board members, our staff, our donors, our readers, our friends from all walks of life and all over the world. What an amazing year this has been!

Before we moved from Michigan to Orlando, we had a dear friend and prayer partner share with us a picture that had come to her mind for us: it was a huge gift box with a big ribbon, and my husband and I being squashed underneath the package!

That picture truly sums up our experience since we have moved here. What a gift - but the pressure that accompanies such huge opportunities can be very great, sometimes so much so that we want to chuck the whole thing!

But our friend told us about this picture with one sentence of requirement: "You must remember that it's a GIFT."

This has been the struggle of our last year-and-a-half.

Maybe your year has been similar. Maybe you have moved through some heavy stuff, some daunting requirements, some pain or fear or loss that has threatened to steal away your knowledge … that life is a GIFT.

I know in my heart that there is no better time of the year than Christmas to remedy such things … and also, that Christmas can be extremely difficult for many of us emotionally.

I am there with you. Let's pray for each other as the holiday arrives, shed the tears we need to, share the laughter we need to, and allow the imperfect planning to be as it is and not hinder the joy of the holiday. If you are alone, reach out. If you can't help being alone, reflect upon your blessings (there are always some). And remember, above all, that being alive is a GIFT to be shared.

If you saw The Nativity movie this week, you'll remember that Mary mentioned that we all have gifts to share. Share yourself, as you are, small as your gift may seem, with someone else - not out of obligation, but because YOU are such a joy and will bring joy to another. And let the peace of the Baby and His willingness to endure what He did for our sakes be your inspiration.

Merry Christmas to all!

The Bishops

Well, we've entered FutureWorld - today we became the proud owners of a hybrid vehicle, a Toyota Prius, to be exact. The girls think it is the coolest because you don't need a key to start it, and the little gadget (um, not a key, but something like a key) you need to open the car simply has to be in your pocket and the car opens as you draw near. A spy car! Not to mention it's black!

Pair this with the fact that we bought the car from a humongous Toyota dealership that seems to be modeled after Disney World (isn't everything in Florida??). After the hours of torture spent in listening to details, re-figuring figures and signing papers, we were escorted to a lady who handed over all our final instruction manuals and then asked if we would like our picture taken with our new car! I burst out laughing. Only in Orlando!

It's a little out there for mom, especially since she thought dad would go for a convertible for the second car (our faithful little Neon finally bit the dust - in fact, it ran miraculously for the past few years according to the fellow who took a look at its internals and found most everything inside the dash melted together). I made every effort to convince him to buy a used Sebring (they're easy to buy and sell here in Florida, it's his mid-life crisis car, etc., etc.), and he went for the techno-cool, enviro-friendly car instead. It looks very intellectual to me and very suitable for a musical genius husband. The writer wife will be very happy with her mini van, thank you.

Of course, at the same time I am thinking it's amazing that we live in a country where having two cars is even possible, let alone picking the exact car you want. Many of our Ukrainian friends have no cars at all - they ride the metro. But life in Orlando demands that two working parents have methods of transportation - no metro yet. (At least we're going to save big on gas this year — the Prius can get 50-70 miles per gallon!)

A good friend of mine who was also recently in Ukraine spoke to me about an incident where she was feeling self-conscious about her $300 camera, trying to hide it from her Ukrainian friends. These friends reprimanded her by saying, "God allowed you to have that camera and you are using it for His glory! You have no reason to be ashamed! Take pictures!" Can we allow ourselves to be humbly blessed?

Every American should be thanking God Almighty this season for the great riches we all enjoy. Maybe we have a new car, or maybe we have one that barely runs. Maybe we have a fridge full of food, and maybe we have a granola bar. But the fact is that in America there are very few who starve and very few in need, in comparison to many countries around us. And thus we should always be ready to share, to give, and to use what we have in service according to our opportunities which are present each day.

It is a very great blessing to be living in America, and no shame. But our day-to-day lives will tell whether we are worshipping the gifts or the Giver. May Christmas this year cause us all to lay all we have at the feet of the Manger Child (spy cars included). Though every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Light, no gift will ever be as great as He is Himself. Fashionable cars come and go, but He is the only Gift that truly satisfies.

Merry Christmas! Enjoy the ride, whatever you're riding in!

After a couple of weeks of engagements and Christmasing up north, I awakened in my Florida bed missing the"cozy" that can only come from cold weather.

A friend and I had a discussion about this while I was visiting. We decided that you can't really use the word "cozy" unless a fireplace and a cold winter wind (and preferably, snow) are involved. Floridians have fireplaces (which I still find weird), and the temperature can approach freezing at extreme points, but it just isn't the same. You need the true passage of seasons to make "cozy."

"Cozy" was sleeping in the bedroom I had as a child and hearing the wind whistling, seeing the Christmas lights twinkling outside on the front porch. "Cozy" was all our family opening presents together in a living room that used to be huge and now seems small. "Cozy" was my best friend and I ending up in a downtown Starbucks with our frozen ears and hot lattes after watching skaters on the Cincinnati downtown rink. "Cozy" was my husband and I in a restaurant on the Ohio river, watching the Cincinnati skyline and eating a special holiday meal, and snuggling in a taxi to head to a surprise (for him) Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert.

"Cozy" was enjoying homemade potato soup and a crackling fire after a speaking engagement in the house of a family full of stories about the mission trips that have changed their lives. "Cozy" was a Christmas tea with 300 moms and daughters from the American Heritage Girls, all dressed in their holiday best on what seemed like the coldest night of the year. "Cozy" was sitting at my in-laws's house in housecoat and slippers on a frosty morning and having traditional tea and toast with Grandma for breakfast. "Cozy" was meeting a friend I have't seen in years in a little restaurant in Lima, dashing to the car afterwards to avoid the bitter wind.

"Cozy" is what I'm trying to recreate in the Florida sunshine. Friends have told me that they turn up their AC on Chrstmas Day and put on sweaters to make it feel more like a northern Christmas - I don't know if that will really help in my case.

My thought is that I will continue to close my eyes and remember the "cozy" memories I just made up north as we head into the holiday. They will be more real than fake snow or blasting air conditioning. No matter where you live, "cozy" has to come frm people you love.

I wish you all a "cozy" Christmas season this year! May all the hustle and bustle be overshadowed by the love and joy of the presence of Jesus and the gifts of family and friends.

Sorry for the long wait between blogs! Life has been a blur with trips to North Carolina and then continuing north for holiday time with families. In the midst I took a much-needed break at home by myself. All the activity had me unravelling, and puttering around the house and catching up there was a great medicament.

So we're in Ohio at present. The family drove north and I flew into Cinci to keep up with them, then from a best frend's house north to Randy's parents in smalltown Ohio - I can't believe how much I've become accustomed to Florida life! The cold dreariness took me by surprise at first, and then, as we hung out with Mom and Dad, became more and more cozy and reminded me of why I love Ohio. (I had just told someone the other day how beautiful it was here - then to come home in the brown gloominess seemed really weird!)

So our pace slowed at the Bishops', and we took time to sit with Randy's mom (please pray for her - she can hardly walk and they are still trying to diagnose her), play games, eat food that will probably work itself out in strange mood swings (for me), etc. Randy and his dad had some good time together, too, and didn't have any fights (we always tease them about that because they're so alike in ways). We dropped off a few Christmas presents from Kiev and then had to go on.

I'm in Cinci again now to take care of some interviews and speaking stuff for PurityWorks. I get to be in a pulpit on Sunday, which will be fun, and have been given license by the pastor and hostess to say "anything it takes to get people to be sexually pure." Whoa! How can I possibly fail? (-=

Monday I have the American Heritage Girls Christmas Tea. If you're unfamiliar, AHG is the Christian version of the Girl Scouts that has been featured in Focus on the Family publications. They're actually giving us some guidance to help us make the same contacts, and partnering to see how AHG can use PW materials in their program to teach purity.

After time here I head north again to meet my family (who have been visiting with good friends in Michigan) at my dad's. Christmas with the family and friends will happen there, and then we will head south to go home again (I get dropped off in Cinci for a return flight).

Does this give you a picture of what our lives are like? God is certainly giving me opportunity to function in the midst of chaos with a peaceful spirit, to learn to fly on small planes without fear, and to see what is important and let the rest alone. But it is a DAILY struggle. The battle in my mind to overcome fearful and anxious thoughts is very real, and I am learning (via Joyce Meyer's Battlefield of the Mind - EVERYONE should read it - and some good counsel) that a good deal of my personal struggles are rooted in a lack of mental discipline. Taking thoughts captive is not my strong point, but I am learning.

I guess with a Bible college degree and a natural interest in Scripture, I've stuffed a lot into my brain, but not meditated on it specifically enough to let it truly transform me. As I learn to do that, I'm finding that much of my mental anguish is overcomeable.

And you really do have to walk through fears to nail them to the wall. It's a battle, because our enemy knows that on the other side of that fear there are individuals who need love and attention. But fear saps our power and love by making our minds unsound. So constantly "chewing" on the fact that "God has not given me a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" has made the truth of the matter trickle into my mind and spirit, changing my thoughts to good expectations instead of worrying about what "might" happen (and probably never will).

OK, enough sermonizing. I have much more Christmasing to do before we get back to Florida. My wish for you is that you can give yourself permission to dump any holiday "shoulds" that are making you anxious, and to return to the manger to look at the Baby as often as possible. To recognize that the holiday won't be any more perfect than the days that lead up to it or follow it - to walk in that knowledge with grace towards the stressed-out around you and maybe to give up a batch of cookies for a long talk with a daughter or husband or good friend - and to give yourself to the journey, allowing what comes to be sufficient.

Ooooh, that sounds good - now if I can just do that myself!!! Pray for me, won't you?

Well, we are back and recovering from jet lag. Today we have spent a good deal of time drinking tea and eating chocolate. The Ukrainian tradition of talking over tea is one we want to incorporate more often into our own family life, taking time to reflect, to talk, to rest. Our friend Helen sent some lovely tea home with instructions about exactly how to brew it, and we picked up some tea cloths at the airport, so we are ready to start a new habit. And we didn't fail to bring home a good bit of Ukrainian chocolate, which is soooooo good!

How can I put into words how wonderful the trip was and how very, very productive? The kids at the orphanage to which we returned were so happy to see us again. We took on the task this time of presenting very intimate information about their bodies and reproductive systems, speaking to them as parents since they have none to explain. Can you imagine growing up on your own with no one to tell you what a menstrual cycle is (if you're a girl) or why you wake up wet sometimes (boys)?

It sounds strange, but these children (8-16 in age) seemed truly grateful for our time spent on these subjects. We majored on the fact that God had created us with wonderful bodies and that these physical signs were part of an incredible physiology that He has given us. They seemed to be relieved by the understanding we could provide. The girls got the full talk on how feminine products worked and the boys got the skinny on why men's bodies are as they are. We noticed a definite change, a new warmth towards us, after we had these discussions.

The Ukrainian team who worked with us was great. Svyeta, our female team member and a translator, did a good bit of the teaching and really engaged the girls. Zhennya, the leader of the team, led the boys' discussion along with Randy and began with the words, "We are men and so there will be no laughing about this!" Of course, there was some humor (how could there NOT be?), but Randy said the discussion was respectful and included all sorts of topics. One of the men on the team gave his testimony - he was recently married and was a virgin until marriage. Wonderful stuff!

Some of these children did not realize what sex was and/or did not connect sex with pregnancy. In an orphanage situation like this, that information is vital. We are praying that this information, along with our lessons that reminded them about their personal value and the importance of purity, will protect them from interaction that could bring more tragedy into their lives.

Please, if you'd like to come to the orphan camp this summer and meet these kids, we would love to give you information. Our weakest point this trip was not having enough team members to give more kids attention. They were so hungry for hugs that they stood in line. These children need our love and not just our money. Leaving was very emotional for everyone and may tears were shed.

We went from not bathing for a week to an apartment in downtown Kiev near Independence Square - a bit of a whiplash there. We could walk in one direction to the main square where the Orange Revolution took place, and in the other to St. Michael's, St. Sophia and the Great Gate of Kiev. (And in Kiev, we walk everywhere, so we saw them a lot!) On Sunday, we partnered with the Almaz church to present a purity seminar.

The church planned for 50 and 85 showed up - hungry, excited and very interactive! We talked and discussed and Q and A'ed from 11 until 7 - I was exhausted, but it was wonderful! Right after the seminar, emails started flowing into the church, thanking us for coming. It was probably the single most rewarding experience of my speaking career, sharing purity, sharing faith, making new Ukrainian friends from all walks of life - awesome!

The rest of the trip held all kinds of unexpected gifts - time with friends in beautiful downtown restaurants, simple and marvelous Ukrainian meals and tea in the homes of friends and a widow from MMK who brought us all to tears with her love for the Lord, time with conductors from the Ukrainian symphony and choir …

I am more and more convinced that all Americans who can should travel and make friends in as many foreign countries as possible. (Let me give just a short sermon here!) Yes, we have people who need help in America, but America has many ways for her own to get help. Other nations like Ukraine are in dire need and their governments and national systems are unable or unwilling to help. In these times when so much seems uncertain all over the world, we who have the bulk of money in this world should spend it to build relationships and strengthen global ties in individual ways that our governments can't or won't. Who knows but that we may make friends with someone who has the power to stop a war, or avoid nuclear conflict? It may be as simple as being willing to get out, make friends, and seek to understand.

Americans, we cannot afford the luxury of sitting at home with all our comfort and convenience, hoping that the trouble all around us will somehow disappear on its own. We have a global responsibility to our brothers and sisters, and it is easier than ever to make contact with them. If love is what the world really needs, then that love must come from us. Are we bringers of liberty that results in freedom, or just self-centered rich people?

Our good friend Helen, who is one of the conductors of the Kiev Chorus, is, in all manner of speaking, a beautiful, elegant, intelligent, talented lady. She is one of a very few Ukrainians who is beginning to be a middle class. Yet she lives in a three-room flat on the 6th floor of a run-down apartment building. Riding in the elevator is an act of faith in itself. These apartments buildings are fire traps. Whole families are crammed into these tiny places, and yet they do not complain. Some of them have visited us in America, and they do not judge us for having our roomy, plush homes.

But I do evaluate myself, and wonder what I can do to encourage these fine people who have been through war, and famine, nuclear fallout and tragedy. They continue to struggle with a corrupt government and a system left over from a Soviet regime that was cruel and selfish. Many other nations suffer similarly - good people caught in the crossfire of those hungry for power and money.

I hope you'll consider your part in these matters and listen for God's voice, directing you in how to respond. There is much many of us can do - if we just make ourselves available.

Well, I'll get off my soapbox for now. We are all looking forard to enjoying the holidays, and I hope you are, too. It is wonderful to be home. Please don't take for granted the great freedom we enjoy in this country. There really is nowhere else like it in the whole world. (-=

I had some reservations about having a Princess event a day before we flew to Ukraine (especially since this was my own daughter's purity ceremony as well), but now I'm so glad we did - what a sweet, memorable night it was! Now I can separate from the girls for awhile and feel very positive about how we left each other.

Some of you know about The Princess and the Kiss (a storybook about purity) and the accompanying Life Lessons book that goes with it. Many moms and young daughters have done the Life Lessons study together (as a bridge to deeper discussions on purity) and ended it with a purity/blessing ceremony. I've been to many of these events and my oldest daughter was actually involved in the very first one, a beautiful ceremony held in a mansion along the banks of a southern Michigan river. Magical!

I wondered if we could really repeat the magic for my younger daughter. Every time I write a book, I tend to kind of distance myself from it after it's published - I guess I've worked on it so much that I feel tired to death of it! So I wondered if the study would have the same impact after I'd been through it so many times myself. Both my daughters have been through the book twice, and I've gone through it another time with a foster daughter included.

This study was actually the most fun. We did it with three moms and daughters, a "crash course" in five weeks, since my international travel was squeezing us. (Thus the ceremony right before we fly out.) We used a copy of a journal that some other moms had prepared. (There have been a series of these Life Lessons studies here in Central FL since we moved - these ladies who did the journal actually took 21 full weeks to study the book - amazing!.) We put together questions, crafts, and etc. in the journal for a keepsake. One of our moms is so crafty and I am NOT, so I was so grateful for her gifted input.

My young daughter was pretty intense about the whole thing. She knew the answers to a lot of the questions because we talk about this stuff constantly with mom in purity ministry and all. We had good talks during the lesson time at home, but in my heart I was wondering, (as all moms do) "Is she really getting this?" But she was!

A side note: It's amazing how young girls immediately catch on to issues of modesty, friendship and the kiss when you relate them to the heart. They may not be ready for all the sexual purity details, but they GET what purity is, and that's the foundation for everything that follows. It's awesome to see girls this age(8-12) talk about what they know after they've been through a study. They know what they want in a husband, they recognize that dating games hurt people, and they understand why they need to cover their bodies, among other very important things. (And to think that boys are learning similar lessons through The Squire and the Scroll - how amazing is all this???)

Back to the subject at hand: The ceremony itself was SOOOO precious. We had a cake with a crown and scepter and the girls' names on it, and some heart-shaped cookies we had made the night before. Our girls had pretty dresses and tiaras, and I dressed in my "princess uniform" to read the storybook again and ask review questions.

Then every mom and dad sat with their daughter and told her how much they loved her, how they felt when she was born, how they would be praying as the daughter pursued purity. This wasn't comfortable for all of us, but it was so worthwhile (especially in a society where very few rites of passage are available to celebrate our children's growing up)! Moms and Dads ended up sniffling and red-eyed, and in our case, our little gal just sobbed and sobbed. It was too much for her to hear such expressions of love and care in such an intimate setting. She hugged us and said over and over how much she loved us. We could tell it was one of those life-changing moments for her.

After the blessing, we all gave the girls Princess prayer box necklaces (see theprincessandthekiss.com) and prayed with them in the center of our circled families. And of course, pictures, pictures, pictures! We had created a table where we all had framed pictures and arrangements of photos with the girls' journals and candles - great opportunity to brag. And of course all the dads were snapping away and running video cameras.

I don't think I will ever forget looking into our little girl's huge brown eyes and seeing them begin to fill with tears as her daddy was talking to her about keeping her heart pure and quoting the verse about her being "God's workmanship, created for good works in Christ." She is such a jewel, so gifted and talented and unique. This ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate the gift of her joy in our household again, and I wouldn't trade it.

So, even thought I'm the author of this stuff, permit me to say, "Do these studies with your kids!" You will make memories that will never be forgotten, and pave the path to purity for years to come!

Whew! I was only going to write a little because we're washing the last of the laundry and finishing packing to leave in the morning. But writing always seems to end up being more important! (-=

We love you all. Please continue to pray for us tomorrow through the 16th. We're so grateful for your support and will try to write from Kiev if we can!

Details are starting to pile up as we prepare to leave the country and then flow into a panoply of holiday gatherings, travel and all the accompanying arrangements. How to keep it all in pespective??

I personally am devoting myself to enjoying the chaos, no matter what happens. I recognize that there will probably be no way to keep my house in order as I like it, maybe no time to clean, except for the most basic basics, for the next month or two! That doesn't square very well with a woman who grew up in a house where you could eat off the floor!

BUT I don't think I serve a God who is going to grill me on housekeeping details when I stand before Him. He may, however, want to know which lives I reached out and touched. So maybe I oughta keep my mind on those who need me and off my own desires for order and peace as I understand them.

The first group I think of (because our trip is imminent) who could benefit from my involvement is our friends and partners in Ukraine. Orphans, widows, struggling people who have been oppressed for so long in unimaginable circumstances, who just deserve to live a normal life. I'vebeen reading more hstory on the Ukraine, and the stories of the unprecedented starvation, death, destruction and tragedy are just mind-boggling. How can a leader and a group of people be so completely cruel and heartless, preying on the innocent and destroying families who only wanted to mind their own business and be happy? For generations these people have suffered - not years, but generations! It's time somebody did something, and I'm so grateful that Music Mission Kiev and organizations like it are giving us the stepping stones to be in there helping.

It's a worthy sacrifice to give up my comfort for a couple of weeks to those who have never known peace or a childhood like mine. It's a worthy sacrifice for our family to experience separation for a couple of weeks when thousands of these people have lost family members for no good reason at all. When I look at what they've endured, I know I have no reason to whine about anything in my life.

The second group that needs me is my family. They'd really like me to be present in our holiday events instead of running around, stressed out, or constantly cleaning up. Therefore, I have given in to pleading friends who are inviting us to North Carolina over Thanksgiving. To me, it looks like one more opportunity for travel chaos, but at the same time, I won't be cooking! It's a camp kind of situation where the girls can ride horses or rappel (sp?) and be active. And I have secured permission to stay in our cabin and be a hermit if I like. We will have had just a few days to get over jet lag and I may just sleep!

These friends who have invited us are a group of families that have grown up together and are making a place for us in their very secure, comforting circle. How much we need that in this new and strange big-city environment! So I have signed up in spite of my crammed calendar.

And when we get home, another friend comes to visit - from the other side of the country! She is another speaker who's asked us to partner with her in Nigeria next summer. We have never met in person and it will be a joy to have her here. And since she travels as well, she'll understand if there are suitcases and dirty clothes all over the floor.

Just after her departure, we head home to another priority in relationships - our grandparents and friends in the north. My speaking and our Christmas reunions will have to share a few days, but these times with the original families are few and far between. If there are still dirty clothes from Kiev in the laundry back home, they will have to wait.

And then home for Christmas - home to rest, home to breathe, home to begin to plan for more January speaking and a conference in February. The happy chaos goes on - and maybe the house will be put in order again.

If you pray for me, pray that I will keep my eyes on what is really important in all this. I myself will not be able to have the "ducks in a row" that I would like. But I will spend time with people all over the world that I love, cherish and value. And the best gift of Christmas will be to reflect on all of it.

But for now, just this day … just this week ahead … just enough light for the step I'm on …

Boy, have I enjoyed peace and quiet this week. It will be the calm before the storm, with preparations beginning to gear up for our next Ukraine trip.

The orphanage we're going to serve is four hours from Kiev in a remote northern village near the Russian border. Some of you know about it from our newsletter. Last visit we slept in a church in sleeping bags on inflatable mattresses. There was no snow, but it was still very cold and none of the team had actually dressed for it. So this time I'm going prepared with long johns from my good sister up north and enough layers to allow me to sleep at night and to keep me from being distracted by frostbitten appendages during the day!

From what I understand, we'll be sleeping in a big room that has gym mats on the floor and great big windows that probably don't hold heat. The bathroom that Music Mission Kiev built for the kids (their first indoor plumbing) has two showers and one toilet (thee are 300 kids here) and is right down the hall, although we hear it has been somewhat damaged since we were here last. Since last time we had so much trouble with hot water, I am planning as though there will be no showers from the time we fly out of Orlando until we leave the orphanage to go to Kiev - about 6 days. That way anything I DO get will be a pleasant surprise. (I was so appalled by my "addiction" to hot water and heat last trip - I'm hoping I'll be able to stand the "roughing it" a little bit better this time.)

This trip we also get to eat with the orphans. Last time we ate in the room we slept in, mostly ramen noodles but also some occasional treats from the villagers, who are glad we come to help the kids as they are all just barely able to survive themselves. (I need to pick up some potato peelers are gifts - I only wish I could bring some kind of a sun-powered tractor to help these people who work with a hoe all the time in this backbreaking farming.) The kids eat bread that almost always has a moldy smell (we ate it last time with no ill effects) and pretty much the same stew every day. We'll bring extras for both us and them.

This trip our goal is to spend one-on-one time with the 10-16 year old girls, who are in a great deal of danger in the orphanage. Some of their attendats are men, and they sleep right scross the hall from the boys. We know at this point there is no enforcement of law in this place, and that this is just part of the country getting on its feet … so abuse is part of life there right now. The kids may get a break from it when we are there, I think, but it goes on when we leave, so we continue to return to bring hope until the director discovers a conscience or until they allow more intervention from the outside world. At present, we have to bribe the director just to show up.

Our plans with the girls are to take them menstruation "care packages," since we're thinking no one is talking to them about their bodies and how to care for or protect them … and then to talk more about womanhood, modesty, etc. Their walls are plastered with posters of female pop stars with very few clothes, and this is such a heartbreaker. If only those people understood the effects of their irresponsibility on other cultures! Almost 70% of these girls wll probably end up in prostitution, and these performers definitely contribute to that effect. I'd love to bring some craft supplies in an effort to "cover up" some of the immodesty on those walls! (-=

I'm also thinking of taking a "princess" kind of dress to have each of them wear and be photographed in. None of these girls will be having a "coming out" party that I know of, and they loved it when my husband took photos of them last time. So much of their realty is bound up in what they see on TV. In that way, they face similar struggles to American children.

Anyhow, donations are coming in to support the trip, and if you have an interest in providing food, supplies or otherwise, we still have a laundry list of them to go. So let me know (you can contact me through my web site) if you'd like to help.

Kids need help all over the world. Whether you help someone next door or go into an impoverished country, kids need love and attention. And we forget that no amount of material stuff really makes a kid happy, American or Ukrainian. What the really need is a kind look, a hug, a listening ear, someone to walk with them. It's so easy to get caught in the "buying things" routine to express our love for our kids here in the US, but that can be a real trap. When I consider how happy many of the Ukrainian or African kids that I've met are with a ball or a simple toy, I recognize that with our material treasures our kids may be as impoverished as those children. If we're not engaging with them as parents, they're still starving.

We're constantly surprised at how paths open for us to do work overseas. We recognize that there are so many needs here and at home. But recognizing the global family is important in this modern world, and relationships between countries are built by individuals understanding and helping each other in spite of what their countries are doing or not doing. And we want to bring real liberty to individuals at home or abroad - liberty that brings life and hope and healing.

Thanks for reading this week! Be thinking of us as we prepare!

Wow. We are recovering from an amazing, overwhelming weekend (which was almost a week) of events! In between shuttling children and friends' children (glad to do it, Jim and Dawn!), attending a book signing (that was barely attended and actually just gave me a chance to do some much-needed SITTING STILL), and hosting, feeding and chauffeuring guests from the Ukraine, we could barely breathe. I'm so proud that our family made it through without any major emotional crashes - there certainly was opportunity for plenty of them!

First we thought we were having two females … then two males … no, two females … the girls cleaned their rooms and scrubbed their bathtub and moved their things into the guest room and bath so the girls (guys?) could have their Jack and Jill suite all to themselves. (Guests are a great excuse for deep cleaning!)

Our church was organizing homes to keep the 200+ guests that were arriving, and at the last minute discovered that there were too many homes and not enough guests, so after some shuffling and a call from our friend who is part of Music Mission Kiev's staff, we agreed to take one woman, Helen, who actually is a good friend of ours from our last trips overseas. Helen is one of the administrators and a choral conductor. We love her dearly and she speaks much good English.

We had so much fun with Helen! She was glad to be in a household by herself for awhile, and was very interested in our family. Her friend Valentyna spent a day with us at the beach and coached our eldest daughter (who is becoming quite good at Russian) in the language constantly while she was with us.

The Ukrainians love to shop (at discount clothing stores), eat (Chinese buffet - that was the biggest treat because they hardly ever get good seafood - we went TWICE to buffet and once for sushi), and give gifts. They have a childlike enthusiasm about our culture and all its conveniences, so different from the hardships they endure with government-controlled heat, water, and all the leftovers of the Soviet regime.

Many of those on the choir/symphony tour have been here before. They work very hard and travel constantly to earn $25 a day, which is very good money for them. So their main reason for coming is not to sightsee, but to make money for their families. Their schedule with us was grueling, because Northland (a church of about 10,000) has seven services a weekend. They performed in every one and also gave an extra hour on Monday night after being at the beach all day!

These services were absolutely AMAZING. If you've been to the symphony or opera, you know how much those tickets cost - ridiculous! But we went to the service (actually, two services including the extra concert on Monday) for FREE. And I can say it was one of the mst moving experiences of my life. They began with Rimsky Korsakov's March of the Nobles and then did A Mighty Fortress is Our God, and I wept through most of it.

It wasn't just the stellar talent (I've never seen such diversity), but the pride with which they performed and the emotion it drew out of us. In American a choir is not a big thing, but these folks have all trained in special schools since they were 5 years old. The commitment Ukrainians have to the arts give them a performing ability that is world-renowned.

Not to mention that we saw some incredible choreography from the Russian Ballet of Orlando. Especially their performance of Mozart's funeral piece … how do you describe such feeling and beauty?

The director of the ballet said the event changed his ideas about church. Mine, too. The beauty and majesty of this music in this setting created an overpowering sense of God's presence and power. If you