Choose J.O.Y. -------Always!

Choose Joy.

So easy to say to someone, not easy for anyone to do in actual, full on, real life. Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending the Choose Joy women's retreat put on by our Ankeny Free Church W.E.L.L. (women encouraged to love the Lord) group.  It was just what I needed.  24 hours away from all the busyness of being a wife and mother (as well as preparing to move to a different continent) to be with my sisters in Christ and have time fully devoted to knowing my Savior better and worshipping Him.  Yep. Good stuff. (All though not nearly enough sleep, right girls?)
But what was interesting about the weekend was that many of the things discussed at this retreat were the farthest thing from being joyful.  Painful events from the past, stressful situations that are happening right now, as well as serious concerns about the future were the focus.  Yet, as our amazing speaker reminded us-believers are to choose joy ALWAYS.  And let me just tell you, I am totally guilty of having preconceived notions about Christian authors and speakers....they must have it all together, they can't really teach me anything about choosing joy in the difficulties of life because look at them, they have a published book and a speaking career.  As I read her bio in our program, I thought yep, she is a model Christian!  Then she spoke and told her story and I was BLOWN AWAY.  Not that I am glad she has been through some truly horrific things and is going through something really difficult right now, but I was impressed with her raw emotions and realness.  I don't know if I could be speaking about choosing Joy if I was going through what she is right now, yet, she is...and God used her story to activate joy in my life and in many others. It reminded me that in the end, there are no excuses and we need to be obedient to God.

Here are some key verses and lessons I took away from the retreat:

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, again, I will say, rejoice.

God doesn't tell believers to only rejoice when all the good things are happening, when everything is going our way.  He says always.  And this is for one major reason: to reflect Him.  To point people to Him. To show others that we believe our God is good no matter what. To demonstrate the joy only He can give.

Philippians 1:12 says, "Now I want you to know brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel."  

Trials in our lives serve as a special time to turn people towards God.  It is soooooo hard to see that when you are in the thick of it all, but oh so powerful when you can demonstrate to others the joy only God can give during the hard times.  It will bring others to God, no doubt about it.

Philippians 3:10 "I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participate in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."

I love how our speaker brought up this verse because I wouldn't have even thought of it having to do with joy.  Think about the words in it, sufferings and death???  But the point she brought up was because of the power of Jesus dying for us on the cross-joy is possible.  If we are going to really know Him, we have to also suffer just like He did. And He is worth every bit of pain we will go through in this life.  He is true joy.  She mentioned this song called "Worth It All"... (totally my new favorite song) Click below to listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP_tNd-Di4g

Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, for the Joy set before Him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne.

There wasn't joy in actually dying on the cross and God is not saying to have joy because we are going through something awful.  It says he endured the cross, like, he suffered through it and struggled!  But why did he do that?  For the end result, JOY!  We are not promised only joyful events here on earth, but when we meet our Savior, there is nothing but JOY!

Now, I know what you are thinking, there is no way I can have joy right now because _______________. You fill in the blank.  You could be struggling in your marriage, you could have a very sick child, or in a job you really hate.  And these things, these trials and tribulations, are not fun-they are not designed to bring you joy.  But God is designed to bring you JOY.  He wants us to grab hold of the JOY He has for us, so take it...

No matter what is going on in your life---we always have a choice.  So....

Z.a.M.b.I.a Update

Over the river and through the woods to ZAMBIA we go!  Well, not really a river, more like the Atlantic Ocean, and through a few more places than just the woods! But you get the idea... In a little less than 5 months, our family of 4 will be hopping on a jet to live and serve in Chongwe, Zambia for 1 year.  I have to tell you all, it is becoming SUPER REAL!  Our adventure that God dreamt up and placed in our hearts is going to be here before we know it.    So much has been going on lately so I thought I would fill you in on the latest:
-Adoption homestudy is complete.  We are just waiting on our adoption lady to complete the paperwork and for me to have my physical(which is tomorrow). After those two things are done, we can send in the approved homestudy to the U.S. government.  They will then (hopefully) clear us to be eligible to adopt internationally.  When we arrive in Zambia, one of our first tasks will be to go register this information with the Zambian government.  This will expedite the process of us finding our child over there.  I was so blessed to be able to talk to a fellow adopter from Zambia recently and it was soooo helpful!  She and her husband got home a few months ago with their baby girl.  They are just up in Minneapolis so we are looking forward to talking to them again and meeting them someday!  There aren't too many U.S. families that have adopted from Zambia so this could be a great connection.  I love how God provides, even when we didn't even think to pray for this!  Finally, we have really been praying lately about God making it clear to us who we are to adopt and for His provision in all the details-the more we learn about Zambian adoption, the crazier and more difficult it seems...so please pray that God will prevail above all rules and regulations.
-Our house is on the market...yes, you read that correctly.  We prayed and prayed over this decision and in the end, felt this was a better decision than renting.  We are SAD to let go our house and leave our AMAZING neighbors-words can't begin to describe-can't quite talk about that yet.  But being halfway across the world and worrying and wondering about what is happening back at our house and if the mortgage was getting paid was not our idea of "leaving it all behind to serve God".  We are doing it for sale by owner and trusting that if it is God's will to be sold, it will sell.  3 showings in and 1 more scheduled tomorrow, so thankful for God's provision already in bringing in potential buyers.   And...if you know of anyone looking for a great 4 bedroom house with finished basement in Ankeny, let me know!  wink-wink...:)  I couldn't be a sales person if I tried-but this is my valiant effort!
-The container that we were able to put some needed household items on(things that are way too expensive or even impossible to get in Zambia) is making the trek across the ocean as we speak.  Can't even begin to explain how weird that our stuff is just floating along right now!  Please pray it arrives before we do-it should, but you never know...
-Getting kids passports this week, meant to do this a while ago, but SOMETHING always came up!  I think it only takes about 6 weeks after you apply for one so we should be good though.
-Mickey just got signed up for the Farming God's Way conference in Livingstone, Zambia in September-so right after we arrive, we will head up there so he can learn all about this program and then implement it into the village we will be living in!
-I am currently trying to figure out how I can help the teachers in the school Give Life has opened-there are about 90 kids right now and 2 teachers and not very many materials-not at all like where I taught here in Ankeny!  Lots of thinking and praying about this going on...
-Support is coming in and we couldn't be more in awe of God's goodness through the giving of many generous people.  Thank you-it is more appreciated than you will ever know and we pray God is blessing you because of your gift.  And for those of you who are still thinking about supporting us, we ask that you take that step.  This year will not be possible without the help of all of you.  If you would like to hear more about what we are doing or how the whole donation to Gospelink works, please call us, shoot us a text or email.  We would be more than happy to share with you vision God has given us for our year in Zambia.

Well, that is it for now, I am probably forgetting some major things but it is Sunday night, the hubs is working, and after a ladies retreat this weekend where I got NO sleep (post coming about that next!), my brain is fried.  So, until next time!  God Bless!

The Beauty of Zambia

Kirkwood Alumni of the Year goes to.... my hubs!

Yes, the hubby got another wonderful award.  He is now the Des Moines Firefighter of the Year and a Kirkwood Alumni of the year award winner.  You must think I am married to a saint!  Well, I will tell you, he is not!  haha!  And I am not being mean, he would tell you the same thing.  And that's what I love about my husband. He knows it is nothing HE has done or is doing to earn these awards-it is having Jesus Christ as His personal Savior working in his heart helping him be honorable in his actions and loving others.  He also knows he doesn't even do these things perfectly!  We are all filthy, rotten, sinners with no chance at righteousness. 
Check out this passage in Romans 3:

⁹ Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles,^[c] are under the power of sin. ¹⁰ As the Scriptures say,

“No one is righteous—
    not even one.
¹¹ No one is truly wise;
    no one is seeking God.
¹² All have turned away;
    all have become useless.
No one does good,
    not a single one.”^[d]
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
    Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”^[e]
14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”^[f]
15 “They rush to commit murder.
¹⁶     Destruction and misery always follow them.
¹⁷ They don’t know where to find peace.”^[g]
18     “They have no fear of God at all.”^[h]

¹⁹ Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. ²⁰ For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

These awards are NOT going to earn him a spot in Heaven-no one is capable of entering the glory of the Lord on their own accomplishments.  It would be exhausting and depressing because it is IMPOSSIBLE.  Thankfully, God says all we need to do is confess that we are sinners and believe that God is who He says He is.  

Romans 10:9-10 "If you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

If he had chosen to ignore God calling him to truly believe in Him and change his life around 7 years ago, there would not be this blog post about getting awards.  IT IS ALL GOD!   He is the author and perfecter of our faith.  We want to give Him all the praise.

Ok...just wanted to make sure everyone knew he is not getting a big head or anything. ;)  He is truly humbled and grateful for the awards and all the kind words.  Thank you!  

It was a beautiful evening and made Mickey and I so proud to have graduated from Kirkwood Community College...some people may knock junior colleges but this is a top-notch place and we couldn't have been more impressed with how we were taken care of from a free, amazing hotel room to a delicious dinner, and an impressive, well put together awards program.  

His sister Cari was so sweet to nominate him and arrange for his former Kirkwood baseball coach to present the award.  Thanks so much!  

And my favorite moment of the night was when Mickey says on his video they showed that his best accomplishment at Kirkwood was meeting me!  Coach Lewis said the same thing in his speech and I couldn't agree more.  I may have won a national championship at Kwood, but meeting Mickey was the GREATEST thing about Kirkwood, hands down.  It is a special place indeed to both of us.  

Here are some pics of the event!

Family pic in the room before we headed out!

Of course, Alea loved dressing up, Ev not so much

Our table included: our family of 4, Mickey's parents, sister Cari/brother in law Casey, his grandmother, and my folks!

Coach Lewis

Acceptance speech was short-he was pretty shocked and choked up after Coach Lewis left the stage

The Original 4 Kinzenbaws

Kirkwood President, foundation leader, and other award winners

It was 11 years ago in April that we both knew we were head over heels for each other-
great to be back where it all started!

Easter: More than just a holiday

Easter, the Resurrection and Doubt
"The Resurrection is not merely important to the historic Christian faith — without it there would be no Christianity" Hank Hannegraff

After a stellar Easter Sunday service at Ankeny Free Church, I wanted to take some time to share some things that our pastor stirred in my heart during his message.  Central to the Christian faith is the resurrection.  The glory of God, the wonder of His earthly story and the power of salvation hinge on Christ's defeat of death.  
Salvation lies in faith in Christ alone (John 3:16, Eph. 2:8-9).  But what if you sat through church all your life listening to this Gospel but still harbored some doubt?  You are not alone.  I spent years sitting in church wondering if the entire account of Christ is true.  I came to a faith in Christ not through a desperate search for purpose or meaning but a logical pursuit of truth.  Nothing I learned in church was ever relevant until I had confidence in God's word.   

I wanted to encourage those of you who may harbor doubt in your mind by talking about a couple of objections to Christianity that I had before I made a commitment to Christ.  



Christians are hypocrites and I don't want anything to do with them.
Newsflash, you are right.  Christians are bad people.  They do stupid and sinful things.  The difference between Christians and the rest of the world isn't perfection but an acknowledgement of fact that they are bad and in need of a savior. Christ himself said,  "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)  The resurrection happened for all to be reconciled with God. 

Here is the thing.  We have all probably had a negative experience with a Christian at some point in our lives.  Or maybe it is the actions of pastors or priests that we can't get over.  The fact of the matter is that whenever people do wrong, regardless of their position or title or faith, it is a sin and not what God wants.  If you are really searching for the truth, don't look at God through the lens of actions of his followers (or claim to follow).  The world is full of posers who will derail your quest for truth.  Seek God, not people, and you will find the truth a lot easier.

Popular culture is also typically bent on exposing scandals or hypocrisy within Christianity.  For whatever reason, things like the sex abuse scandals, non-profit CEO pay or even the Crusades seem to be entertaining in the minds of the masses and on display in the news or even the History Channel.  The vast majority of great contributions Christianity has given the world goes largely unnoticed or unrealized.  Health care, poverty alleviation, morality, eradicating slavery and caring for orphans are all social justice issues championed by Christianity.  There are a number of Christians in the world today doing great things.  It was a love of God that persuaded an 18 year old homecoming queen from Nashville to move to Uganda and essentially adopt a small village (read Kisses from Katie).  Missionaries Shane and Erin Latham shared their story of an affair in their marriage and the redemption that followed on Youtube to encourage other struggling couples.  Christ's love compelled people like James Barnett and Matt Follman to become homeless and live with the poor while serving them. One can think of many more examples of Christians selling out completely for Christ to help other people. 

Despite what you might hear or see on TV, real Christians are out there radically serving God and others.  It may not be popular to give Christians their props, but when you see examples like these it is tough to ignore.  Authenticity exists.

The Bible was just a book written by men and there are errors in it.
It is true that the Bible was written by men.  This has never been an objection.  Christians believe the Bible was the inspired word of God however. This means that each of the authors of the Bible wrote under the inspiration of God in a manner that each of their words was exactly what God wanted to communicate.  It doesn't have to be a blind leap of faith to assume that God inspired the BIble.  There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to show that this is really God's word.

The Bible is actually a collection of books and letters, 66 of them, written by 40 different authors over a period of 1600 years.  The authors varied in background from Kings (David) to fishermen (Peter), doctors (Luke) to tax collectors (Matthew), shepherds (Amos) to generals (Joshua).  It was written in three different languages (Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek) on three different continents (Europe, Asia, Africa) during wartime, peacetime, famine and feasts.  The strange thing about the BIble is the fact that though many different circumstances existed, the Bible has one congruent message which is non-contradictory and flows perfectly in a storyline.  The New Testament Gospel writers were eyewitnesses of Christ's life. They wrote about the extraordinary events that they saw from their different perspectives with amazing harmony.  Logically speaking, it would be impossible to forge 4 separate accounts of Christ's life, death and resurrection that are that similar.  If it were a lie, it most certainly would have been exposed at the time.  It would also be stupid to do so as speaking or writing about Christ at the time was almost always a death sentence.  


As ancient literature, the Bible is in a field of its own.  Through painstakingly stringent guidelines, copies of manuscripts were preserved by scribes.  Check out how it compares to other ancient books or writers.         

Outside the Bible, Josephus and Tacitus, both non-Christian historians, wrote about the life of Christ in their writings.  These are two men with no vested interest in Christianity as a religion that mentioned Jesus as a historical person whose teachings created an uproar with the establishment of society. 















There is a lot of other evidence to prove that the Bible is accurate.  The choice to believe or not is the biggest decision you will make in your life.  Real faith in God has the power to completely wreck your life in the best way.

Believing in God is uncomfortable.  You may not like all the people in your church.  You may lose friends over it.  There are a thousand earthly reasons to deny God.  Denying God doesn't mean He doesn't exist.  Denying the resurrection doesn't change history.  Is your interest perked? Your decision (or indecision) matters!  Eternity awaits.

Seek out the truth.  Search for the answers yourself.  There are several good books or websites to answer the difficult questions you may have.  


For more information see:
www.rzim.org
www.reasonablefaith.org
www.normgeisler.com
www.godspeaks.com
www.gotquestions.org


Check out this link: Good video once you get past the bow tie!
Resurrection: Fact or Fiction?


Written by Mickey 

Melt this momma's heart

So....I just have to share what happened at bedtime tonight-too precious to forget as time charges on.  Every night for bed time, I read a book and Bible story to Evan.  Right now, we are working our way through The Story for Pre-schoolers.  It is a Biblical narrative that covers all major sections of Scripture always weaving in how it all relates to what Jesus is coming to do on the cross.  We had just finished our story, which was the famous David and Goliath battle.  A favorite of my son's of course!  But as always, I previewed what would be coming up tomorrow.  The next story was to be about how David is going to choose to sin...which if you don't know, David decides to fall in love with someone else's wife and he even goes as far as to secretly have the husband killed in battle just so he can have her.  Pretty scandalous, huh?  I was explaining part of this to Ev, about how it is wrong for David to love someone else's wife.  I pointed to my wedding rings and told him about how when I put these on and when Daddy put his on, we promised to only love each other for the rest of our lives.  Here comes the truly sweet part, a moment I will treasure forever.  I told him that someday he would ask a girl to marry him and that he would need to only love her the rest of his life.  He says, "Mommy?"  "Yes?" I say.  And in the softest, most sincere voice, "Can I still love you though?"  (Pause while I choke up again) "Yes, buddy, you can still love your mommy, that is a different kind of love."

Here are some pictures of my little boy who melts my heart with his sweet words.

Goodbye 20's, Hello 30's!

Wowza...30 certainly snuck up on me.  I've been walking around all 29-like, and now today I enter a new decade.  Some sure signs this is really happening?  I had my first gray hair.  What???  You better believe I plucked that thing out no matter what they say about how you aren't supposed to do that.  I also have noticed some tiny fine lines forming around my eyes that I had never noticed before.  And my body seriously hurts all the time and it's not like I am doing killer workouts like I used to do in college ball.
Oh well...as much as it is a little strange to feel and watch yourself getting older, I am seriously A-Ok with it.  There was good and bad about my 20's and there will be good and bad about my 30's, but I serve a great God who loves me UNCONDITIONALLY!

Here is a quick look back at some happenings in my 20's and a look ahead to what I see in my 30's!
-played college basketball at D2 Winona State
-Somehow completed my last semester of college taking 22 credit hours while still in basketball season part of the semester and planning a wedding
-Got married
-Student taught in Rochester, MN
-Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a double major in Early Childhood and Elementary Education
-Moved to Ankeny and bought a town home
-Worked at Tournament Club of Iowa and substitute taught for 1/2 a year
-Started attending Ankeny Free Church
-Got hired to teach 5th grade at Terrace Elementary in Ankeny
-Got hired to coach freshman girls basketball in Ankeny
-Mickey's grandfather passed away
-Traveled to Paris, London, Italy, Dominican Republic
-Sold our townhome and bought a house
-Was blessed to welcome Evan into our family as our first child
-Attended and graduated Viterbo University with my Masters in Elementary Education
-Traveled to Arizona, Colorado, Mexico, Seattle, and Ireland
-Was (surprisingly) blessed with another pregnancy and the birth of our little girl Alea
-My gramps passed away
-Decided to become a stay at home mom/wife and leave my beloved teaching job at Terrace
-Tried my hand at coaching high school girls basketball for Kingdom Hoops then decided it was too much to do with young children at home
-Traveled to Puerto Rico
-Got involved with MOPS
-Started home-schooling my son for pre-school with the Raising Rock Stars curriculum
-Started helping out at a our homeschool co-op teaching the preschoolers art and P.E.
-Started co-leading a community group
-Started co-leading our amazing Titus Bible Study
-Felt God tugging at my heart to adopt and I actually listened and obeyed Him!
-Made the decision with my husband to leave our home in Ankeny for a year and go to the mission field in Zambia, Africa to adopt, minister to the poor, help in the schools, and just do whatever God wants me to do while I am there.
-Traveled to Hawaii and Disneyland for the first time

I am probably missing some major things but these are definitely the things that stick out to me-quite a bit huh?  And these were just the big items!  This doesn't account for a million little amazing moments, new friendships made, weddings, holidays, and so much more...And it certainly doesn't even begin to tell the story of how God has completely changed me from when I turned 20 until now...so glad God never gave up on me and continues to pry open my heart so that He can live through me.

So, what will happen in my 30's?  Well, only God knows for sure, but here are some of my hopes and dreams.
-We will add to our family by way of adoption.
-We will add to our family with another biological child.
-God will use my teaching knowledge and experience to help the teachers in Zambia.
-God will break us and change us to love like Him as we experience life in Zambia.
-My marriage will continue to improve and be strengthened and God will grow us closer and to a better understanding and deeper love for each other.
-Continue co-leading Titus and helping women develop a personal relationship with Jesus and help them actively be a light for Him.
-My 2 current children (and possible other children) will accept Jesus as their Savior and choose to follow Him in all they do.
-I will write a book.
-Become more active in Ankeny as far as reaching the lost and helping the poor.
-I will do what God wants as far as schooling my children...my prayer is that He will make it clear to us what is best for our family.
-Take many missions trips as a family, helping others and seeing the world.
-Relationships that need healing will be healed.
-Be an encouragement and source of strength and joy to family, friends, and beyond.
-I will become involved in Kingdom Hoops again-really loved it and what it is all about-just had to put my family first right now.
-God will give my husband clarity on what to about his career.
-We will sell our current house and build a house together (my hubby's dream since he was little!).
-Finally, I hope I will learn to love...that is what Jesus gives to me everyday and I certainly don't deserve it.  I know I am doing nothing for His kingdom if I don't love others.  Because like the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:1, "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I am a nosy gong or a clanging cymbal."  All of the hopes, dreams, accomplishments, successes, and failures mentioned above mean nothing if I do not love.

So, here is to "love" in the next decade!  And two pictures below of the people I love most in this world! :)

My whole family at my house to celebrate all the March birthdays

The Original 5!

Our Zambia Support Letter and Form

Hi all!  As promised, I am posting our letter about Zambia as well as our support form.  We hope you enjoy reading-it was a true labor of love.  And if you have any desire to support us, it is pretty self-explanatory, but if you have any questions, please let us know.  We are under the missions organization Gospelink and any giving is tax-deductible.  Every little bit counts and we are so appreciative of any support that comes in and makes this possible.  We can't do it without your help.  Thanks and God Bless!

Click here to view our letter!


Zambia Support Letter


Click here to view our support form!

Zambia Financial and Prayer Support Form

The links worked for me but this was my first time linking to Word documents!  :)  Let me know if they don't work for you!

Just love this picture of Victoria Falls!  Can't wait to see it for real soon!