I may not play the guitar well, or speak Hebrew yet...But I am an official "blogger"

I'm serious about this one. Today, after a meeting I had this afternoon, I decided I should start a BLOG!
Now, anyone who knows me, knows I learning and taking on new projects.
Seriously....I am notorious for taking up guitar playing, deciding to learn to speak Hebrew (and I'm not Jewish, BTW), while stripping and refurbishing the marble in my house- all while I'm on a deadline for a book proposal.

And you can verify this with my husband, Keith. This is a few of my "newest and latest projects" from just one week...so there's a good chance this "blog thing" is just my project for the moment.
Therefore, please don't put any unreal expectations on me. However, I will make you a few promises.

Number One. I'll blog when I have something I think I'm suppose to say. The last thing I will do is waste your time talking about stuff that has absolutely no value two weeks from now.

Number Two. Understand it will be a waste of time to make any negative comments. The saying if you don't have anything nice to say- applys here. And while I LOVE constructive criticism and a good debate every now and then (I was the state debate champ in High school), my blog is just that...MINE. Please be respectful and pray before you hit send.

Number Three. Most Importantly. It is my desire more than anything else in the world that you are living a passion-filled life. If you are in a rut in your marriage, with your kids, with your finances or with your relationship with God (or perhaps ALL of them) ....I WANT to pray for you. What I know for certain is this: There is a REAL God. Who REALLY loves us ALL. And He wants to be your friend.
So please, feel free to send me a message from time to time if you are feeling all alone and don't believe anyone is listening.

So Seriously....

Today I had a humbling experience. I spent some of my afternoon doing a interview for a book I'm working on about Haiti. The man I talked, Mike Henry with was there working in the Cross International office when his desk began to shake. Mike is a project coordinator with this organization. What struck me the most as I got in my car after our chat wasn't the "insanity" of all the circumstances surrounding his story. While the fact he is even alive is amazing. What moved me the most was the awesomeness of God to stir the heart of a man, even when he has no clue as to why it's happening. Mike told me he left college with a degree in economics, and felt called to join the peace corp. He ended up assigned to Haiti and had to go find a map to locate his new "home town"...
The story goes on...He serves two years, and finds a serious love for the country and it's people. He comes back to the United States, and has a yearning to get back there. Why? He doesn't entirely understand. But he knows he must. He gets a job there working with a relief group, the jobs ends due to funding- eventually, he ends up back in Ohio, falls in love with a girl, and takes another job in Haiti...eventually due to his desire to marry the young lady and still work with Haiti, he gets a job working with Cross Inernational in South Florida. He travels to Haiti monthly. In fact, he happens to have arrived the morning of January 12th- the day of the Earthquake. And he was all alone in the Cross office when as I said before, his desks begins to shake. After looking out the window into a cloud of dust, he ends up walking the streets, assessing the damage and trying to help people lift pieces of what was once a home off of parents and their children.
Seriously, I can't even imagine.

But here's what moved me today. God stirred Mike's heart to Haiti many years before the Earthquake. God even stirred Mike's schedule to have him there and let him live through it.
Why? Here's what I think. Because Mike is willing to love his neighbor as himself. And now he has been given a story to share, and a platform.

Here's what I want you to try to consider with me...

Are you paying attention to what God is stirring in your heart to do?
Are you willing to do it? Are you willing to risk the heat, and let your Creator season and simmer you for His unique purpose?
Check out Luke 10:25-37...
Check out HaitiMike.blogspot.com

Staying the Course,
Chantel