skyLIFT

Conversations with the Almighty...

~ Philippians 4:6

·        Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (NASB)

 

·        Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  (The Message)

 

·        Be careful about nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (Darby Translation)

 

Prayer…it is more than “Now I lay me down to do sleep” or “God is great, God is good…let us Thank Him for our food”.  I am very familiar with those prayers because, as most of you, that is how my prayer life began as a child.  That was our introduction to having a conversation with the Almighty.  But as we mature in the Lord, our conversations mature – or at least they should.

Why is prayer essential?

1.     It is how we communicate with our Father

For those of us who are parents, we know how wonderful it is to talk to our children.  When I pick Alex up from school we spend the most of the trip home discussing his day.  I want to know everything – did he enjoy his lunch, what Ms. Varn taught, how he did on his spelling test, everything…  He, in turn, tells me the events of the PE, recess and music (his favorite classes).  I love hearing his descriptions, perceptions and thoughts about his day.  His color commentary is delightful and his story telling is completely entertaining.  (Side Bar: For those of you who are not parents yet honor your parents by listening and responding when they want to hear about what is going on in your life.  They will always be your parents, no matter how hold you are.)  When I listen to Alex I am reminded how much our Heavenly Father must love hearing from us.  I am sure He loves hearing our commentary, thoughts and perceptions about a variety of subjects. 

 

2.     It gives us an opportunity make our requests known

Two types of prayer I want to bring to your attention are petitions and intercessions.  Petitions are the prayers we make on our own behalf and intercessions are the prayers we make on behalf of others.  Both types of prayer should be an essential part of our prayer lives.

a)   Petitions

Over time I have often heard people say “Why should I tell God what I want or need?  He already knows.”  Although that is true, He still longs to have the type of relationship with us where we feel comfortable enough telling Him specifically what we want and/or need.  It doesn’t matter how big or small your request is He wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives.  If our Heavenly Father is detailed enough to know how many hairs we have on our head we can rest assured nothing is to insignificant for us to share with Him.

b)   Intercessions

How seriously do we really take prayer requests?  How committed are we to praying for the needs of others?  When you make a prayer request, do you believe others will pray for it?  We have such an amazing honor to bombard the throne on behalf of those we love and, in some cases, ones we don’t even know.  From personal experience, this last year has been the most trying in our lives.  There were days when discouragement and frustration ruled the roost.  It always seemed, in those times, a boost of God’s Spirit would swoop in as the wind, pick us up and carry us forward.  I am sure the boost of God’s Spirit came from the prayers of the faithful on our behalf.  How about you?  Do you remember a time    when you may have been out of words to pray but you felt a peace, assurance and comfort come over you?  The saints were lifting you up, pressing the throne

on your behalf.  Awesome, isn’t it?

3.     It decreases our anxieties, worry and apprehensions

There is nothing like getting on your knees when you are filled with a myriad of negative emotions, placing your face on the floor and crying out to your Father.  You may be there five minutes or you may be there an hour and five minutes.  The miracle comes when you stand to your feet.  You stand re-assured and confident He is in control and with a peace that is beyond descript!  Now, the situation may still be present, but your response and feeling will be radically different.  1 Peter 5:17 says to ”Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”  Although I like this translation I happen to like the NKJV version a little better.  It states “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”  Focus on the word “casting” for a moment.  When you go fishing (so I have heard), you cast your lure out into the deep with the hope something will bite.  The farther you cast the better your results will be.  We can apply this principle to the worries, anxieties and apprehensions we carry.  If we cast those cares, hurl them far away from us and into His capable hands, the better chance we will have of being relieved from them. 

As we begin the home stretch toward LIFT 2009 ~ iLIFT~, I will be starting a Facebook note tomorrow allowing us to post prayer requests for the summer.  You may be a youth worker who has a heavy burden for a student coming to camp.  Without being to revealing, I would ask that you make a post concerning this student so we can pray for them and your concern. You may be a parent who is sending a student and you want God to manifest Himself as never before to him or her ~ post it.  You may be a follower of Jesus Christ who just wants to pray for the upcoming summer ~ post it.  Those of us who follow will know your request and bombard the throne on your behalf.  Isn’t that what it is all about? 

In Him,

Stefanie

Great Expectations...

As women we have clearly defined roles and expectations.  We may be a wife, a daughter or mother.  In addition, some of us have welcomed other roles into our lives: student, business owner, Sunday school teacher, youth leader, pastor’s wife, etc… With our expanding lives, it is very easy for us to lose sight of who we are in light of the expectations placed upon us through our various roles. For example, instead of hearing “This is Stefanie Brown”, I found myself hearing “This is Dan Brown’s wife”.  Now please don’t get me wrong, I love being Dan’s wife (ya’ll know I waited long enough to claim that title); however I am still “Stefanie Brown” the person.  What we need to find is balance.  I want to suggest some ideas to help maintain balance in your life.

1.  Identify your top three priority roles

Right now, for my life, my priority is threefold…

a)  Wife – With Dan traveling as much as he does during this time of raising support, I must make sure that our home under control, in order and functioning smoothly.  Now, this may not have high importance in your life and that is OK, but for my husband and family, this has high importance.  I must make sure when he comes home off the road he comes home to a peaceful environment.  He must re-charge and hit it again.

b)  Mother – Like many of my peer group, I take being a mother very seriously.  God blessed us with Alex and when we dedicated Him to the Lord we told Him we would to whatever was necessary to raise him in the love and reverence of the Lord and point him daily to the cross. Of course, this is in addition to feeding him, clothing him, making sure he has a bath, doing homework, practicing AWANA and school Bible Verses, doing laundry, playing games, having conversation, etc…

c)  Employer/Worker – I have always worked, sometimes under protest, but I have worked. I have been blessed to work from home since before Alex was born. This gave me the opportunity to be at home, have flexibility and still contribute financially. This role has changed ranking in the last few years.  It used to be #2 but was bumped when Alex came along.  Why?  Because he become more of a priority for me than working. I still needed to work, but my role as mother took precedence over it.

Although your priorities may be a little different than mine, I still encourage you to identify your top three and work from there.  You will be amazed how things fall into place once you begin writing things down and really prioritizing them.

2.  Learn to streamline your life

The sign of a good wife, mother, etc… is not how much they do but how much of that they do well. 

 

One of the most difficult decisions I recently had to make was stepping away from our praise team at church.  For those of you who know me, I love music, especially ministering through music.  I began to realize that my life was in a different place than it was a year ago, causing me to truly re-evaluate what my commitments were and should now be.  Because Alex and I try to travel as much as we can with Dan I found myself missing a lot of Sundays.  When I was gone, I would find someone to fill in for me on praise team.  Although everyone was always willing and understanding, I had to come to the realization that, for this moment in time, I had to step away.  Difficult – a resounding yes!  Necessary – a resounding yes. 

 

Where can you streamline your life?  I encourage you to sit down and write out all the commitments and responsibilities you currently have.  What can you eliminate?  You may only begin with one thing, but that is a start.  We are looking for balance and emotional health.  You do not have to be on every school committee to be a great mom!  You don’t have to be involved in every church ministry to be a good follower!

 

3.  Learn to take time for yourself

I take a “Maintenance Day” every so often to pause and re-charge my battery.  Since I am a SPA addict, the time I take for myself typically revolves around a mani/pedi.  I find this time extremely relaxing and it gives me an hour or so to relax.  I turn my phone down or off and kick back.  This may not be an appealing idea for you and that’s OK.  Find what works for you.  You may enjoy taking a book on the back porch and reading, uninterrupted, for an hour – do it.  You may enjoy taking a long walk all by yourself – then do it.  This is an important concept for us to grab onto – we need some time re-charge, rest, and relax – to help us to keep pressing forward.

4.  Organize or agonize

 

I have to admit this is not one of my strong suits, but it works when worked.  If we don’t have some type of foresight, preparation and organization, we will be like a dog chasing its tail.  I encourage you to choose a time, and take it, to either prepare for the next day or the next week.  If deciding on what to have for dinner is an issue, make a meal schedule.  If your child has trouble choosing what they are going to wear for school, have them pick out outfits for the entire week or at least the night before so not to have an issue in the morning.  If you know you have a paper due in 2 months, do a little along the way so not to find yourself up against the wall with a paper due in a few days.  For me, the one of the most pressure filled times is in the morning as we prepare to go to school.  So to help alleviate some of that pressure, I prepare Alex’s lunch and snack the night before (all but the PB&J) and pack them.  I have our devotion out and ready for the morning (we do these during breakfast).  I also have his spelling words and Bible verse out and ready to work on over breakfast.  I make sure clothes are ready to go and are laid out so as soon as his feet hit the floor he can get dressed.  This little bit of foresight/organization has help our mornings run so much more smoothly and starts our day off great!

 

When we don’t prepare and plan well, we will begin to agonize and it will spill over into every aspect of our lives.

Great Expectations…

Great Purpose…

Great God!

Philippians 4:13 ~

v  Christ gives me the strength to face anything. (CEV)

v  For all things I have strength, in Christ's strengthening me; (YLT)

v  I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (ESV)

 

In Him,

Stefanie

LIFTing off in Livonia, MI...

Dan, Alex and I are in Livonia, MI with Bethel of Livonia.  When we arrived we had the pleasure of going to Isaac Duncan's 6th birthday party.  Isaac is the son of Jordan and Dusty Duncan and has become one of Alex's dearest friends.  In fact, they are so much alike it is unbelievable.  Alex loves Isaac dearly and so enjoys their times together.  Dusty works alongside Rob Rosenbalm, out of Fairfield West in Fairfield, OH, planning and running LIFT's largest camp, LIFT Central, at Cedarville University in Cedarville, OH.  We are so thankful that, in addition to working for Kingdom results through LIFT, we have been given the opportunity to forge wonderful friendships that are now filtering down to Alex.  What a blessing.

Last night Dan spoke at a youth rally at Bethel.  Best we can count, there were around 15 churches represented with near to over 200 students in attendance.  We had an incredible praise band from a local ministry that set the stage perfectly for the presentation of God's word.  They led us right to the throne through praise and worship.  It was electric!  The theme was "Life: It's More Than a Game".

Dan was welcomed to the platform and brought a dead-on message dealing with "life".  He spoke about three choices we ALL make in life.  The first choice we all make is "Who is going to be our MASTER?"  Are we going to follow the way of the cross or not?  Secondly, the next choice we will all make is "Who is going to be our MATE?"  Physical attraction is important but not everything.  If it was, plastic surgeons would be out of business.  Emotional compatibility is a high consideration, as well.  But even more important than physical attraction and emotional compatibility is having a spiritual connection.  We must be in synch spiritually with our mate.  Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 "Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what communion hath light with darkness?" (ASV).  If you have ever seen oxen in a yoke you know that they must work together to accomplish the goal.  If one decides or chooses to go a different way, dissention will enter the camp.  The same is true with spiritual compatibility.  You want a mate who walks alongside you, pressing toward the same goal.  With two different "walks" dissention, difficulty and disappointment will abound. 

At the end of the evening, we would like to report 2 young people accepted Christ, with 1 re-dedication.  The alters were full with young people submitting, seeking and loving on Father God.  What an amazing thing to witness!  On a personal note, Dusty volunteered to take Alex, along with her 2 sons, one of which is the infamous Isaac, to Jungle Java for the evening.  She did so to free me up to help where I was needed.  Her husband, Jordan and his dad were bringing the youth group to the rally.  As she ministered to me and my son, I had the opportunity to lead 2 of her young ladies to Christ at the rally.  Isn't God just like that! 

Sometimes, in our quiet time together, Dan and I will reflect on how good God has been to LIFT Student Ministries.  Up until June 8, 2008, LIFT was our "on the side" ministry.  Dan's full time and attention was was given to our local church ministry where he served for 26 years.  What a JOY to see the fruit of this ministry!  Bethel's youth pastor, Brian, surrendered to full-time service at LIFT in 2000.  Now we have the honor of partnering with him and his wife, Jennie, at LIFT Central. 

Welcome, Bethel of Livonia, to the LIFT network!

Thank you, Bethel, for supporting the Brown's in our endeavor to reach the largest mission field in the world - people under the age of 24...

In Him,

Stefanie

 

A Sure Thing...

~ Isaiah 43:1, 2

·       But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
         And He who formed you, O Israel,
         "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
         I have called you by name; you are Mine!

        When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
         And through the rivers, they will not overflow you
         When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
         Nor will the flame burn you. (NASB)

·       But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
      O Israel, the one who formed you says,
   “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
      I have called you by name; you are mine.

       When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up.”(NLT)            

·       The LORD, created you and formed your nation.

Israel, don't be afraid.  I have rescued you.

I have called you by name; now you belong to me.

When you cross deep rivers, I will be with you, and you won't drown.

              When you walk through fire, you won't be burned or scorched by the       flames. (CEV)

Many of us have heard that the only 2 sure things in life are “death and taxes”.  I have heard that since I was a little girl.  As I have matured (OK, laugh a little), I have found there are a few other “sure things” in life.  Let’s break it down…

Sure Thing #1:  We were created in the image of God.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Alex and I have been studying the days of creation.  Genesis 1:27; 2:7, 21,22 tells us that we were made in His image.  He gives details on how he gently scooped the dust, formed a mirror image of Himself with His almighty hands and breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils. Then, because Adam needed a helper (oh, don’t we know that to be true, girls…), God created Eve by taking one of Adam’s ribs and forming a female version of Himself. 

Sure Thing #2:  God rescued us.

Think back with me, if you will.  When did you first realize you needed Jesus? I can remember as a child burying a kitten that had died. As I turned to walk from the gravesite, I vividly remember asking myself “Is this all there is to life? You live and die?”  I am sure that if someone had present me with a clear presentation of the Gospel at that age I would have accepted Him and been rescued from a torturous hell.  Instead it wasn’t until I was 24 that I first heard a clear presentation of the Gospel.  At that moment, God rescued me!  We refer to what happens at salvation as “being saved” – which is true – but I like to think God “rescued” me. From what did He rescue me? 

v  A life without hope

v  A life without peace

v  Eternal separation from Him

v  Eternal suffering, torment and darkness

Go back and read Romans 6:23 ~

Sure Thing #3:  God calls us by our name

One of the most difficult things Dan and I faced as we became parents was what to name our little bundle of joy.  We did what all parents do, look through baby name books.  With a boy, you have to be really careful when you try to choose a name.  You don’t want to give your child a name that would cause him to get beat up on the playground (according to my husband).  Well, we settled on Alex Daniel.  Daniel is a family name and we just liked Alex. I was adamant, as we chose a name, that I did not want a name that could or would be shortened.  So if we chose Joseph, I didn’t want him called Joe. If I wanted him called Joe, I would have named him Joe.   Hence the name ALEX, not Alexander ~ simply ALEX.  (I know, I know…it is just a Stef thang...we all have a “thang”…)  A couple years ago, to my surprise, Dan referred to Alex as Alexander Daniel.  Thinking he was joking, I laughed.  To my surprise he says he thought Alex’s name was Alexander, not just Alex.  By then I was like “Say, whaaa” as my friend Hannah Montana would say.  I reminded him he was there when I completed the paperwork and gave to the hospital.  Anyway, there is one thing we can count on…God knows us by name.  Throughout scripture, God calls people by their name.  Although we may not hear Him audibly now, I feel as though I can almost hear Him as He comforts me…”Stefanie, my daughter, I am here…”

Sure Thing #4:  We WILL go through trials.

In the aforementioned scripture all three versions say “when you go through…” or “when you walk…”  Some people are under the impression that walking the way of the cross is all peaches and cream.   It is NOT.  Yes, there are some incredible times when God intervenes or moves in such a supernatural way all you can do is sit back and marvel.  Yet, there are other times, the “when you go through…” times that stop on the stoop for coffee and a donut.  We must realize a time will come when the waves of life will be so big we feel our emotional boat is going to capsize.  Remember ~ Peace be still…  There will be other times when the heat from a situation will be so hot that you feel your life is being scorched and burned out.  Remember ~ I have overcome the world…

Are you sure?

In Him,

Stefanie

  

The Lord is My...

~ Psalm 18:2

      The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
 my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
 He is my shield, the power that saves me,
 and my place of safety. (NLT)

      You are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, my shield, my powerful weapon, and my place of shelter. (CEV)

      The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my     deliverer;
 My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; 
 My shield and the horn of my salvation, my   stronghold. (NKJV)

Who is God to you? What does it mean to have Him as the center of your life?  Are you fully tapping into who He is and all He has for you?  As I “surfed” the scriptures tonight, Psalm 18:2 jumped off the page at me.  As David penned these words he did so with such outstanding confidence.  When I read his words it really makes me believe David knew God as his rock, fortress, protector, shield, powerful weapon and shelter.  What about you?  Let’s break it down and see…

Rock/Protector

One of the basic needs our children have is the knowledge we will protect them.  They may run to our sides during a thunderstorm seeking our protection.  They may seek us out if the hallway is a little too dark to venture down alone.  For us Alex needed to be protected from a spider.  As we sat in the front room of our house we heard an all too familiar gasp, followed by “Daddy, there is a spider in my room and I am scared.”  Instead of fussing at Alex and telling him not to be a wimp, Dan easily walked into the room, paper towel in hand, and told Alex “It’s OK, don’t be scared, Daddy will protect you.”  With those words he took the paper towel, picked up the spider and flushed him (swim away…).  He then turned to Alex and said “See, Daddy will protect you.”  Father God is our “Daddy”.  That is what ABBA FATHER means.  When you come up against a situation in which you need protection, call on your Daddy - He will do what He does best.

With no disrespect to scripture, I want to adapt Psalm 18:2 just a little to drive home the point that God is and will be our protector.

“I am your mighty ROCK, your everlasting Protector…”

~Love, Daddy…

The Power that Saves Me

In our devotions at home Alex and I have been reviewing the days of creation.  As we walked through each day and what God did, Alex kept saying “God is so powerful…God is so powerful…” The same power that God demonstrated when He spoke the world into existence is the same power He uses to save us.  Not only does He have the power to save us, He has the power to keep us.  I love Ephesians 1:13,14:

It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life. (The Message)

When I read this particular version of scripture (The Message) I automatically want to sing the song “Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours…” We are His and NOTHING, let me say again, NOTHING can pluck us from His Almighty Hand! We are His!

“I am your savior…”

~ Love, Daddy…

The Horn of My Salvation

Recently Dan, Alex and I had the opportunity to be with Canyon Creek Baptist Church, Richardson, TX.  While there we were fortunate enough to spend time driving around the entire Dallas area.  As we went to visit our friends, the Gessaman’s, we drove through some “cattle country”.  I was familiar with the term “Texas Longhorn” but I never had the chance to see a REAL longhorn until then.  Oh, dear… The horns on these cattle were artistic, yet intimidating.  They could run anyone or anything through in a second if given the opportunity.  I can see how their enemies would think twice before taking them on head to head.  In Psalm 18:2 Jesus is referred to as the “The Horn of Salvation”.   He is the strong one who wins – always.  His presence alone will scare the enemy away, causing him to tuck his tail between his legs as he runs.

~ James 4:7

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”(NKJV)

“I will scare the mean one away…and he will go!”

~ Love, Daddy…

Now, can you say it?

He is MY Rock…

He is MY Protection…

He is MY Savior…

He is MY Daddy…

In Him,

Stefanie

Walking the Way of the Cross...

Matthew 16:24

Ø  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ~(KJV)

Ø  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ~ (NASB)

Ø  Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ~ (NIV)

Over the past few years the term “Christian” has taken on a negative connotation – one of intolerance, narrow-mindedness and ignorance.  We have been told we use our faith as a crutch because we lack the intellectual ability to “deal” with life and circumstances.  Anything could be farther from the truth.  To refer to ourselves as “Christians” or “Followers of Christ” means we are making a bold step, taking up our cross in a world waiting to pounce on anything even remotely God-honoring. 

What does it mean to “walk the way of the cross”? 

Expectations

~ Expect to lose, your life that is (Matthew 10:39)…

I don’t like to lose at anything. I don’t like it when the sports teams I pull for lose.  I don’t like to lose my train of thought (which happens from time to time).  With taking up our cross and following Him, we can expect great loss ~ the loss of our will, our desires and our goals.  Our lives are lost in His will, His desires and His goals for us.  It has to be this way.  We in LIFT-land refer to this as GIVING YOUR LIFE AWAY…

~ Expect to walk alone at times (Job 2:9)…

At the lowest, most devastating time in Job’s life, his wife tells him to curse God and die.  He lost his family, friends, fortune and fitness.  How alone must he have felt?  There will be times, and some of you may have already experienced them, where walking the way of the cross is lonely.  Maybe your family has forsaken you as you forsook all for Him.  Maybe you, unsaved at the time you married, found the Lord but your spouse has no interest at all in Christ Jesus and will not go with you to church.   Maybe you invested in a life, I mean really invested your time, energy, money and emotion by pouring into another person, growing and developing them only later to have them use you as stepping stone to “big and better”.  It doesn’t get lonelier than this.  My encouragement to you, claim His promise ~ Hebrews 13:5,” I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

At his lowest, Job gives us this nugget to tuck away…

~ Job 1:21

He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there.
    The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
         Blessed be the name of the LORD."

~ Expect eternal rewards; resist the need for immediate rewards (Matthew 6:19-21)

In addition to the intermittent bouts of loneliness, we will, if we have not already, experience the feeling of being under-appreciated.  It is not that we think we are all that and a bag of chips but it is nice, from time to time, to be upLIFTED by a thoughtful word, a Facebook post, a card in the mail… To be honest, that is one of the main reasons I felt so compelled to develop this BLOG site.  Yes, the rewards in which we seek will not be destroyed, but sometimes a pat on the back will go a long way.  I want to encourage you to continue laying up your rewards in heaven where moth and rust will not destroy!  I want you to stand before Jesus with more crowns than you can imagine to place at His feet.  Not arrogantly, but thankfully.   

We are in this together…

In Him

Stefanie

C-PAC

C-PAC

(Our Father Chooses us, Pursues us, Adopts us and Celebrates with us)

~ Romans 8:15

¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons (and daughters) by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (NASB)

¹⁵ The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, "Father.” (NCV)

¹⁵For ye have not received a spirit of bondage again for fear, but ye have received a spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Darby Translation)                                        

By definition the word “adoption” means to take by choice into a relationship; especially: to take voluntarily (a child of other parents) as one's own child (Merriam-Webster, 2009).  The word has special meaning to me because I was adopted as a toddler.  Initially the plan for my young life was to adopt me out at birth.  Fortunately, no providentially, I was mistakenly placed in the viewing room of the hospital where I was delivered.  The only family member present at the time of my delivery was my maternal grandmother.  She spotted me when they pushed me out to view.  One reason this is so significant is because in the early 70s, at the particular hospital where I was born, the standard of practice was that any child being adopted did not go out for viewing.  You know what viewing is…all the family and friends stand around the glass window waiting in anticipation for the first glimpse of that little boy or girl as the nursing staff brings them out to show.  If you have been there, you can see in your mind’s eye the video cameras zooming in and around, see the flash of the multitude of cameras capturing the infant’s first glimpses of this world and hear family members say “Hey, baby, its grandma...” or “Hey darling, it’s your papaw…”  I am reliving some of Alex’s first moments as I write. He was surrounded by family and friends who were making all sorts of “baby faces”, some smiling, and some crying ~ everyone celebrating.

In Romans 8:15 we are told God adopts us into His family at the time of our salvation.  Remember what it is to be adopted…it “means to take by choice into a relationship…”  He chooses us.  He pursues us. He adopts us.  Then…He celebrates with us.

In Him,

Stefanie

In The Beginning...

Today I set up a blog on typepad.  I have wanted to establish a site for some time which would allow me the opportunity to be an encouragement to women in ministry, especially moms, who find themselves balancing life - a busy life. 

My blog name "skyLIFT" found its origin in the life I am leading now and the life I once knew.  Before marriage, my full name was "Stefanie Karalea Young".  I loved the fact my initials spelled "SKY".  If you know me at all you know that I LOVE monogramming.  When I was younger, I monogrammed everything with "SKY".  I was even more proud of my initials when Kenny "SKY" Walker came to play for the University of Kentucky basketball team in the 80's.  He was, and still remains, my favorite player of all time.  LIFT, of course, is the name of our ministry - Linking an International Fellowship of Teens (check us out at liftstudentministries.com).  I wanted to include the acronym "LIFT" in my blog name because I want this site to be used to connect and re-connect women in this ministry both currently and those from the past, hoping to find new wives, mothers and friends to join us on the ministry trail.

For the longest time I have had a desire to minister to those who minister to others.  Sometimes the ladies of ministry carry much more on their plate than anyone would ever know or believe.  I so want to come alongside and say "Hey, I relate..." or "How can I help...?" I want to encourage, comfort and upLIFT my fellow sojourners. 

I LOVE ministry!  I LOVE Ladies Ministry!  I LOVE LIFT Ladies!

Come along with me...

Share, pray, blog...

I am so looking forward to building this blog with you.

In Him,

Stefanie