winding down

wow. well i know, i've not been as good at this blog the last few weeks. sorry. thanks for your patience.

Christmas was last week and i must say it was fantastic! yes, the gifts were awesome, but it was great to celebrate Christ's birth with my family. i loved getting to be able to worship as a family Christmas eve and again the day after at Church.

This year as a whole has been a huge transition. New: state, church, roommates, friends, car, office, cell phone, bed, camera and house slippers.

It truly has been a unique and challenging. The greatest lesson that i have learned intimately is that God is overwhelmingly faithful for the daily things. I have been living on 100% faith financially since being in MN and as awesome as it is to walk through times of growth, it has had moments of great difficulty. I am excited to report that over the last month or so, God has pushed more and more people to partner with me financially and i am MUCH closer to my financial support goals.

What are some of the new things you've had this year?

SNOW!!!

One of the interesting things about driving on unplowed roads after about 6 inches of snow has fallen is that you get to make up your own lanes. It's strange really, but in NW Indiana, it snows that much and people just kind of stay inside, or slide into the ditch.Not here! I drove to visit my friend Christie last night to catch up on life and watch the Bears CLINCH (!) and it was almost funny to me, there was not ONE person in the ditch, I was shocked. And while some of the drive was a little slow, I just cranked the worship music and enjoyed my time in the car.
Getting to see the Bears clinch the NFC north and secure a spot in the playoffs was a satisfying moment after watching them go into almost every game as the underdog :) But as AMAZING as that was (and it was) I really enjoyed hanging out with my long lost friend Christie. Ok, so she's not really a long lost one, but when we met in Africa we became fast friends. It was fun for me to meet a friend who is in a similar life situation, single female missionary seeking God's will for daily life. It got me thinking a lot about community and the importance of it and the different stages of it that I've been in. Authentic community is something that I desperately long for, something I need as I move through life in ministry. Sometimes I've had it close by, and other times I've had it far away over the phone or skype. I prefer to have it close by but sometimes that's just not the season God has me in. I am blessed to have several friends who I consider true community, a few close by and several around the world. Thanks God for good friends.

Ode to my Co-Workers.

I have a curtain that I put over my cube opening some days when I really need to hunker down and get work done. I do take some flack for it, and not everyone likes it because its kind of crazy colors. So I came into my office today to find my Cube Curtain moved over to the bathroom along with my name plate and the Bathroom door put on my cube. It was a fantastic moment. Apparently they did it yesterday while I was out of the office and they had grand plans to do more, like move things from the inside of my cube to the bathroom. Everyone had a pretty fantastic laugh, but I'm sure they're all glad to have the bathroom door back now so they don't have to go downstairs if they need to actually use it. Thanks people I work with. I love you all a lot.

I called it...

Now listen, just cause I called it, doesn't mean I'm happy about his injury. Bret Favre went down on the third play of the game on Sunday... the THIRD play. In his three plays he was able to attempt one pass which was picked off making it 18 throw aways on the season thus far. He is three games away from his 300th start so I'm pretty sure the "interim" head coach will start him for the next three games, which I think is kind of dumb, cause any other QB in the league with 18 throw aways in 12 games leading his team to a 5-7 record would be benched especially after their backup shines so brightly... but I mean hey, its all about football politics right? My prediction when the Vikings started going downhill was that Bret Favre would get some sort of big hit on him, causing a "season ending" injury... aka injured pride and regret over coming back this season. After his 300th career start, my guess is that he'll be done. Of course with the excuse of his latest injury....

Speaking of people I love...

Life is funny. Some days, as a single woman of 26 (wow when did i get to be 26?!) I find myself feeling a little lonely. It doesn't happen that often, but it's normally when self pity and those sorts of things are battling their way in. THAT is why I have my cubicle at work decorated the way I do, namely a TON of pictures of some of my favorite people on the planet.

They say people are lucky if they have 5 REALLY good friends in their entire lifetime... in my lifetime? I've probably had a hundred. no exaggeration.

I am beyond blessed to have friends in my life that I can call at the drop of a hat and share my heart with. People that even if it's been six hours, days, weeks, months or years, I can talk and share on a level of understanding and authentic community.

Back home again in Indiana

I have enjoyed being home so much! I love getting to spend time with my family and my church. I have met with several of our small groups and I get to talk to our teenagers tonight! I'm excited to talk about all of our call to share Jesus with others.
I'm enjoying home.
I'm excited about Thanksgiving.
I hope you are too.

I'm a passionate person about THIS!

Take a look at the video I finished this week about what I do. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it!



ps. if pushing play doesn't work, try hitting your space bar :) Or CLICK HERE for a link to the youtube site.

Veterans Day!

Thank you men and women who are daily out there on the front lines of our freedom. We don't live in the country we do without sacrifice and today we stop to remember that.
For those who gave their lives, we are grateful to the family you left behind for their sacrifice. For those serving on the front lines or behind the scenes, thank you for your diligence. And for those who previously served, Thank you for protecting us well and for passing the baton to the next generation.
I'm proud to know several military men and women and proud of my Grandfather who fought with pride and conviction in WWII.

I had a hard time sleeping last night.

As I was laying in bed last night I got to thinking about the kids at the JCC orphanage in Bo, Sierra Leone. I was in my fantastic apartment, laying in my soft bed with several blankets and the window cracked. I thought about the kids who at JCC were in a concrete room inside a razor wire compound sleeping in home made bunk beds covered with mosquito nets to try to fend off malaria. No glass or screens on their windows and no air conditioning because there's no electricity. Getting up for a glass of water in the middle of the night would require a flashlight and using the noisy well pump, unless they had thought ahead and pre-pumped some water before bedtime.
The kids are beautiful. I thought about Patrick, how adorable he is and how he seems to think he's one of the "big boys" at 4. I also thought of Junior, that little stinker at 2 running around playing shy with all our students to get attention. Nancy, Mabel, Christiana and some of the other older girls who are trying to navigate teen years. And of course Betty, my "Piqueing" or small child. I want so much to go wrap her up in my arms with a hug.
Laying there last night, there was nothing I could physically do for them but continue to lay there and pray for them. Pray that as they sleep they are safe, that God continues to call the 85 or so kids to himself, that they would know that they are loved and that they would be able to grow into men and women of Christ who makes an impact of the world around them. Pray for them with me would you?

Ever Wonder...

... why i do what i do? Answer.

Picture This!

My Amazing Brother Bryan Buchelt took this picture of Chicago while flying with my dad to Wisconsin for an airshow this summer. It's such an amazing picture that after messing with the color, it is now a 16x20 over our couch in the living room.

Thanks Bry :)

Missions Festival

It is missions festival week this week at Grace Church! This morning's service kicked it all off and I must say, it was great!
I walked in a few minutes late (so what else is new) and when I did they were in the middle of a few updates from missionaries who weren't able to be at the festival. OF COURSE, the first one on when i was in was the Gebel family! only one of my favorites ever! small world that one of my girls' families is being supported by my church. i love it.
The worship this morning was filled with "send me" and "I'm willing to go" type of songs which got me choked up. THEN they paraded in flags from a ton of countries, many of which I've been to or Royal Servants does ministry in. Again... eyes got pretty darn misty. and i won't even lie to you, i cried when the final flag that came in was the Christian flag followed by 28 of the Grace Church's 85 missionary families! it was awesome to see them take the stage, what they represent is beautiful. So then many missionaries and sister churches presented how God was working and the importance of what we are doing here on this side of the pond to make what they are doing happen. i basically had a smile on my face and tears in my eyes through the whole service and kind of felt like a nerd. I feel soooo blessed to be a part of a church that is so on mission that it is built within the very dna of the place.
Praise God for what he is doing around the world, and praise God that he is using Grace Church in the process!

In the Name of Jesus

So I'm re-reading this book by Henri Nouwen which was hugely impactful in my understanding of Christian Leadership back when I was taking my first steps into the role.
I recently found a study guide by a man named Troy Cady (I have no clue who that is, but he writes killer study guides!) and I'm thinking about how I can use this book along with this study guide as I disciple and mentor the next generation of Christian leaders. But of course I need to go through the study guide myself in order to see if its something worth using (so far so good) and wouldn't it beat all, I'm once again being challenged by this book as if I'm reading it for the first time (although my copy is quite marred).
In one of the first chapters of the book, Nouwen talks about the temptation to be relevant. He went from a big time professor, author and priest, to work for a home for disabled people. All of his skills and acclaim he had amassed meant little if anything to the people he was called to minister to. He was so used to being able to ride on his accomplishments that he was "suddenly faced with my naked self, open for affirmations and rejections, hugs and punches, smiles and tears, all dependent simply on how i was perceived in the moment." He goes on to explain, "I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self."
I am so challenged by this. How often do I find my identity in what I can do or have done or in what God has done in and through me in the past. Its easy to hide that way. In Christian leadership, the external may not change much we have mastered the art of making our facade of relevance look an awful lot like authenticity. But when we're riding on that, we cannot last long. My thoughts the other day were this, "Relevance is a facade. When we hide behind it we don't have to show people that we too are human and have struggles and temptations and hurts and vulnerabilities. if we avoid being relevant, we are honest about who we are because there's no cultural stigma of perfection that weighs down on us. We don't need to hide behind our past successes or accomplishments, I want my love of Christ to be what shows first!"
I don't want to worry about LOOKING like God is doing something in and through me and flaunting all the ways he has in the past, I want to worry about if he actually is..... right now.

My Church

i love my church.
www.atgrace.com.
it's pretty great.

SKYPE!

I have decided once again that I love Skype. I used to use it from time to time and now I'm back using it regularly. Its fun to not only get to talk to my friends and my girls, but I get to see them!! It does get kind of funny when I have my headphones in and other people are around, it looks like I'm talking to my laptop haha. No. I'm not crazy. I'm social.... and I like to talk to my laptop.

Clifford

 

Martin Short is genius. look up the movie, you won't regret it, it has nothing to do with the big red dog.

Todd MacDonell

A great man of God went to worship at the feet of Christ on streets of gold yesterday.

Praise God that all of Todd's earthly pain is gone.

Please be in prayer for the beautiful ladies in his life and his new son-in-law.


http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/toddmacdonell

Too cute to be Two.

These little ones are some of the cutest kids in the world. They live at Jonathan's House Orphanage in Bo, Sierra Leone and are only TWO YEARS OLD!!!  How do two year old babies know how to pose this perfectly?!

Break My Heart... a dangerous prayer

When you ask God to break your heart for the things that break his, be prepared for pain.
And be ready to take it all back to his feet, where it belongs.
(don't be suprised if you don't get much sleep in this process)

Interesting comments...

"Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings -- that we're sinful and we're flawed and we make mistakes and that we achieve salvation through the grace of God. But what we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. And so that's what I strive to do. That's what I pray to do every day. I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith," the president said.

Though he made clear he is a Christian, the president emphasized his appreciation for tolerance of all religious beliefs.

"I'm also somebody who deeply believes that part of the bedrock strength of this country is that it embraces people of many faiths and of no faith," he said. "This is a country that is still predominantly Christian. But we have Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, Buddhists and that their own path to grace is one that we have to revere and respect as much as our own."

I won't lie. I'm not so sure all religions having "their own path to grace" is ever something that Jesus taught Mr. President. wait... let me check... nope. He covered that one in John 14.
I'm not trying to make a political statement. I'm just saying that Jesus is the ONLY way to God and while the call to love people different than us is one of the greatest commands in the Bible, revereing other faiths is NOT a part of that. I don't want to be a part of culture that strips my faith of its truth so it doesn't offend people.


http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/28/obama-christian-choice?test=latestnews

thanks Jesus.

every once in a while i like to sit and take stock of the present reality of my life. today, its quite optimistic. living situation? fantastic. i live with some of my best friends in a fantastic apartment in a fantastic location. church situation? i'm going to grace in eden prarrie and its amazing. i love the church, i'm not sure what else to say about that. job situation? while i'm still trying to raise support and that's hard, i love what i do. i. love. what. i do.
good stuff.

NFL Red Zone

I have found a new love. Since I now live in Minnesota and am in Vikings country, we unfortunatly don't have Bears games on television (my glorious 52 inches of high def goodness). So I have been resigned to NFL Red Zone which is on an NFL Network. I love it, no time outs, no commercials, only strait football. I'm literally channel surfing between the best moments of nine games without even touching the remote. It's like good drugs... so I'm told....
ANYWAY. though they aren't quite showing enough of the Bears whopin on Dallas, I have several other observations today.
First: Best catch of today was Hester's one handed grab in the back corner of the endzone, touchdown Bears.
Second: Shouldn't the Bengals be better? TO, Chad Ochocinco, Cedric Benson.... should be a killer offense. They are winning with 2 minutes left, but not by much. they should be KILLING Baltimore.
Third: Pitsburg only has their logo on one side of their helmet, not sure why, but that's kind of annoying.
Fourth: I love the Bill's Jerseys. They're strait retro, they look cool, I'd wear it.
Fifth: Clevland Browns are lame. I know I don't really need to explain, but I will. They're the "Browns" and their logo is a picture of their helmet... an all orange helmet with a white stripe down the middle.... and their jerseys look like a Tootsie Roll.
Sixth: Yes, Vick has done dumb things off the field. but I personally felt that he was under-rated in Atlanta and am glad that he got the start today for the Eagles. I like that they'll beat the Lions.
Seventh: Minnesota LOST today. woot. Best quote of the game: "This is where Favre's head is 30, but arm is 40. Thrown just too short for his 3rd interception" hahahahahahahaha shoulda hung up the pads grandpa.
Lastly and most importantly: Dallas was slated to win by 7 against the Bears.... They are also supposed to win the Superbowl at home this year.... BUT NO! Bears soundly beat the Cowboys by 7 with no controversial call in the final seconds. We are now 2-0, best start since 2006, and I'LL TAKE IT!
GO BEARS!

Hot to mostly cool in about 3.5 hours...

My Grandma's Sunday School Class supports me and so they were eager to hear about how my summer was, and I really wanted to reconnect with their youth group, so I couldn't pass up mom's offer to let me use some of her United $$ she had gotten from her trip to China this summer! (THANKS MOM!!!!) Mom and I headed down for about a week and had an amazing time with family and old friends. When I left Minnesota it was about 65 degrees and overcast... almost the whole time in Florida it was in the 90's and sunny : ) it was perfect for laying by the pool or hitting the beach. When I left Florida it was about 93... when I landed in Minnesota a few hours later... 58. hmm... well I guess its jeans and long sleeves for me for a while. But it was nice to brush off my non-Royal Servants Summer time cloths for a week. And besides, I LOVE Minnesota, so it's really alright.
For the first time all three of us are finally in the apartment together!! Halbleib, Julie and I make up a fun group of girls to live with. : )

My September Newsletter!

Hi friends.
I'm in Florida with my Mamma and my Grandparents getting some quality family time! (and a few rays of sun) Just wanted to make sure everyone interested was able to get their eyes on a copy of the latest happenings. Hope you like it!
Newsletter:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/2233225/lb-newsletter-1-3-meg?da=y 
Support Update:
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/2233461/support-update-9-3-pdf-september-11-2010-3-26-pm-84k?da=y

I'm BAAAAACK!!!

I know I seemed to fall off the face of the earth, I promise I did not. : ) While I was in Sierra Leone, I had almost no internet connection and the few times I tried to update, the computers didn't have the software needed.

The trip was amazing and I'll be getting out my newsletter and latest update asap.

Hopefully I'll be able to do a better job of updating this fall.
Thanks for your prayers while I was gone friends.

Staff are HERE!!

Our staff disciplers have arrived and we are excited about what we see! They love eachother, they love the Lord and they are thrilled about the opportunity to pour into the students who get to the field in just a few short days! We have been busy in teaching and team building times. Our Staff put together a rather impressive marshmallow/spaghetti tower, done a lot of memorization and worked on their expectations for the summer. They worked together to write out their mission and vision for our team and displayed it on an apron so that when we're cooking this summer we can be reminded of what we're working towards. Our small but mighty staff are rearing and ready for our students to come in on Friday and Saturday!!!

T-minus 10 Days....

In 4 days I go back to Indiana to get my vaccinations, pack and spend some time with my family. In 10 days I report to what Royal Servants alumni lovingly refer to as "The Hay Field"..... mostly because that is exactly what it is. For one month I will be living in a tent on a hay field. Time on the field is amazingly special. Week one will be a time when the Reign Staff all come together and finalize plans and prepare for the summer. Week two is our Senior Staff week, our summer senior assistants will all be in where we do more preparation as well as training for specific staff rolls. Week three is our Staff Discipler week, the college age Disciplers come in and get to go through training and get a glimps of what their students will go through.... Week 4 is officially "Training Camp" or Student week. The students come in and we spend 7 intense days preparing them for the ministry to come. We do memorization, teachings, worship, time with the Lord, they learn their street ministry. We laugh, we cry, we sweat. It is an amazing amazing time of fellowship and team unity and growth. And then we head to our respective mission fields. Mine happens to be Sierra Leone, others will be Nepal, China, Israel, Costa Rica, Ireland, Eastern Europe and India.

Honoring the Honorable....

So i made the mistake last night of watching the last 15 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan"... fantastic movie... but it makes me cry (a lot). It wasn't so much tears over the horrible things that the young men saw and experienced in WWII, but more because it reminded me about what an honorable man my grandfather was. He parachuted in behind enemy lines as a medic, why? because it paid better and he could support my grandma back home.
By the time i knew my Papaw, his war days were a distant memory that he rarely (if ever) talked about, and even then it was only with my brother or my cousin. But he was so much more than just a soldier, he was a father, grandfather, friend, a mentor and a husband. To me, he was a hero. He was basically superman who could do no wrong. He was the healthiest sick man I've known, and when he died, our world lost an amazing man. He was a great man of faith, a humble leader by example. He loved his family, though often showed it in his own ways. I saw him shortly before he died and he looked at me with tears in his eyes and told me how proud he was of me, I'll never forget that moment.
The greatest comfort i have is that i won't have to live for eternity without him and Mamaw. One day, i will see them again and what a joyous reunion that will be (Mamaw will probably have some sort of prank ready for us)

Celebrating 26 full rotations around the sun.....

Today I have officially completed my trip around the sun 26 times, seeing the light of day 9497 times. It's interesting to look back and see just how much can be done in that time. I can't decide to feel young or old. Over a quarter of a century yet, God willing, plenty of years left to live. If you were to ask me 20 years ago where I thought I would be at the age of 26, I would have probably laughed at you, cause who asks that specific of a question to a six year old... but my answer would have probably been plain and simple... one word... RICH! I had a strange obsession with money, I liked hiding it around the house so that no one could find it, and I NEVER liked to spend it. I'm not sure what I thought it would get me to have money sitting around that I would never use.... but over the years as I grew I cared less and less about hiding change around the house, and more and more about people. Somewhere in the last 9497 days, I knew I would end up in a job where I could interact a lot with people... some time later, I realized it would be with younger people, then I realized it would be with teenagers, then on July 17,2002 I realized it would be in full time ministry. Finally, it was not just full time ministry, but full time missions. I couldn't be more happy with the direction in my life that God has taken me. I haven't always understood (and I won't pretend to understand now) what God is up to in my life.
But I know this now: I moved to Minneapolis to join a missions organization that I not only believe passionately in, but am a product of. I came here not knowing exactly how it would work out and finding each month that trusting God is how the bills get paid and how food shows up at meal times. I have found that my housing situation was unsure at best, only to now be set up with an amazing apartment, with an amazing sister in Christ, in an amazing location at a price that is completely do-able. You can't sit and tell me God has had nothing to do with it.
25 has been an amazing year. a HUGE time of growth, stretching, trust and faith. A time of tremendous victories and some painful failures. I don't pretend to be perfect, but I can honestly say that today, I am more like Jesus Christ than I was one year ago today, and that's the goal: to look more and more like him with each passing day.
Genesis 22:14b "On the mountain of the LORD, it will be provided." not just financially, not just pragmatically, but spiritually, emotionally, physically. God, the great provider, Jehovah-jireh.

Lessons along the way.

It is interesting to me as I look back at life so far and think about the things I’ve learned and the times that I see growth in my life. My greatest times of learning were never in the classroom (although I learned a ton in school and value my degree and encourage all who are able to graduate college). The times that I have learned and grown the most have been when I’m in the thick of something, seeing things happen around me. My experiences, more than anything, have made me who I am. Be it traveling abroad to learn patience and flexibility, leading to learn dependence on God, waiting on finances to learn faith and trust, or pain in my life to learn the value of true friends.


I feel like when we learn this way, we not only gain valuable knowledge, we also gain wisdom. I’m grateful for the lessons of life that God has taught me along the way, and I hope I don’t miss any of them.

True Beauty

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE!
1 John 3:1a

whew. chew on that one for a few minutes.

Tag Team WOO.

You may have never heard of the book "StrengthsFinder". I had never heard of it before i joined Reign staff... but basically its yet another "gifts inventory" type of test, but better! the reason is that it doesn't look at "gifts" persay, but more at what your strengths are... My top one is WOO which stands for Winning Others Over... mostly the love of meeting people and networking and being generally outgoing and personable.

So i went to this "Short Term Mission Leaders Conference" with my friend and co-worker Margaret Fischer this weekend and just had an amazing time of learning and encouragement! Margaret also enjoys her fair share of WOO and together we networked like crazy! We had soo much fun meeting new people and exchanging buisness cards. We also loved the sessions we went to and picked up a lot of fantastic information that we can use in the future to helpe keep our ministry strong and in line with our vision.

its the little things....

I'm pretty excited today, let me tell you why. I have a facebook group called "Laura is a missionary and we are friends" it is a way for me to get out updates to people who are interested via facebook and as of today I am two shy of hitting 400 members of that group!!! 400 people care about what i'm doing in ministry. Beyond that, the second victory is that i keep track of the hits i recieve on this blog. I am happy to report that as of yesterday's count, i have recieved 1,010 hits on my blog in the last year! Over half of those hits are from people who look at the blog at least semi-regularly! I'm SO excited to know that people are interested. I hope that these numbers will only increase!!!
Thanks Jesus for putting me in an effective ministry position!!

fighting worker.

I'm doing Beth Moore's Bible study called "Believing God". Note to self, when you're trying to hold onto something and not let it go, don't start a Bible study called Believing God unless you're ready to. Well, acctually, Do start a Bible study called Believing God, because its awesome.
One of the things that Beth Moore encourages participants to do is to keep 3x5 cards handy to write verses God is using in your life. last week Nehemiah 17b-18a really struck me. "Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked." The reason this hit me so hard was the discussion that came along. Sometimes we can be right inside of the will of God and yet still be battling with the enemy. In fact, we can expect it! I want to be the type of laborer who works with one hand and is ready for battle with the other.

...finally

So I sent out a newsletter and now I'm putting it online. I felt bad for the people who got it online first and THEN hard copy, so this time I did it the otherway around. It should be a pretty quick read. Please enjoy it.
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=1543055&da=y

Also, WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ROYAL SERVANTS!!!! SIGN UP AND JOIN US!!!

Back in the office

I know I speak regularly about my love of the office, and its true. Having been out of town for a few weeks, I feel like I've got a little catching up to do with some of my administrative duties. Little by little its all getting done. With every letter, email and phone call, I am more and more excited about what God is doing.

SO Cal... SO Good.

So I've been out here in California with the Yim family these last few days and it has been SUCH A TREAT. (seriously i can't thank them enough for this) I went to Disneyland for the first time since i was 4! we had a blast. Our legs are pretty tired, but two full days strait of Disney/California Adventure will do that to you. Weather's been perfect and the company fantastic. check out my pictures in my facbook photoalbum!
I also got to hang out with Meli and her fam for a little bit (woot!) AND Sarah Etter came over to our hotel and hung out in the hot tub with me for a few HOURS! we were pretty warm by the end but it was SO good.
I fly home bright and early tomorrow and then I get to celebrate Easter and my sister's birthday with my whole family!!!
Thank you Jesus for amazing people in my life.

a week in Indiana

SO.

Its been a good week. I spent the week in Indiana where i was officially comissioned to serve with Reign Ministries on Sunday Morning. Following that, I've spent the week meeting with people to share my vision and invite them to join, as well as touch base wtih many people who already support me. It has truly been a blessed week.

It was also good to get to spend some time with my family. I miss them when I'm in Minnesota, but being home also gives me a reflection perspective that is very positive. I fly out tomorrow for a few days in sunny California! I'm excited to spend time with the Yim family and have a little fun!!!

my logo...

This is my logo.... only with a white background. i was looking for something for the back of my business card, this is what i came up with.  any thoughts?

Love?

Love, not in a romantic form, but in a relational form, both with God and others.

1 Corinthians 14:1a

ESV: “Pursue love”

ASV: “Follow after love”

CEV: “Love should be your guide”

NCV: “You should seek after love”

NLT: “Let love be your highest goal!”

NIV: “Follow the way of love”

The Message: “Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it”

Church hunting

Finding the right church is not an easy task. I had a wise professor once tell our 400 level theology class, "If you find a Perfect Church... whatever you do DON'T JOIN IT!!!! You’ll ruin it." His point was obviously that churches are made up of people and people are not perfect and so if that's what we're looking for in a congregation, we'll be sorely disappointed.

So now I'm trying to find a church. I'm not looking for perfection; I'm looking for a Christ following community of people where I can be challenged in my faith through Biblically sound, relevant teaching and relationships that will spur me on towards growth.
There are hundreds and hundreds of churches in the Twin Cities; I'm just trying to find one.

100...

I wanted something special for my 100th post. so I found a decent globally minded graphic. I know what you're thinking... epic.

Even amidst this glorious occasion, I figured you'd like an update.... since that's the point generally.

Minnesota is GREAT. I love it here. my goal this week is to be more social than I was last week. So I'm working on it. :) But I love being in the office daily. I love my friends here. AND I LOVE SUNSHINE! it has been sunny...litterally... everyday.
Thank you Jesus for sunshine.

I still need a dresser.... boxes are working for now :)

Minnesota Girl...

It's now official: I LIVE IN MINNESOTA!

I cannot even begin to express my excitement in getting here. It was hard to say goodbye and leave NW Indiana, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that THIS here is where I belong.
My friends and family threw me an AMAZING party on friday night, it was the best possible thing to complete the season. We had a blast and of course pulled out electronic guestures for the occasion. It was huge for me to get to see the friends i've had the opportunity to make over the last 2.5 years.
Sunday Jennie and I sang 'Enraptured' (one of my all time favorite worship songs... ever) Becca and Ava killed it on the piano and violin. the whole thing came together amazingly. It wasn't really fair to dad though, seeing as he had to preach right after crying :) I then spent the day with my family and got my car all packed down. Monday morning was a good morning, calm, collected. I slept a little bit longer than my alarm would have liked, but the extra sleep was good in the long run.
I was on the road by noon and after saying my final good byes to April and Bethany, the miles started falling behind me. I stopped in Rockford for Starbucks with Chelsea and then enjoyed the rest of my drive. At one point it was snowing and a little bit icy so i had to turn off the cruise control.... and for anyone who knows highway driving in Wisconsin, you can't speed.... at all. so i was VERY aware of my speed. I enjoyed several conversations with friends, including singing "i'm all alone" to Kaila and her mom. I finally made it into Minnesota and Home to Minnetonka by about 9:30pm where Marge and Darla were there with Michele :) we all unloaded the car and i settled in! (whooohooo!!)
I spent yesterday unpacking all of my stuff, setting up my room/bathroom and getting my bearings of the area, went to Aldi and Cub.
I'm in the office today and I must say, Marge and Darla did a GREAT job of decorating my room and helping me get acclimated to the beauty of Minnesota haha. I'll post a picture soon :)
I'm excited about this transition, (and feeling financially better after this tax return). But I'm still in the support raising mode and now more than ever. I also need a dresser and night stand... have one i can use?

I gave up....

Mark Hoober has been at it for months... He wants all Reign Staff on Twitter so that he can communicate quickly if necessary with all of us. I don't see it as a horrible idea, but I've stood tall against Twitter until now. See this summer camp evacuated due to severe thunderstorms... no one told me... i stayed in my tent all night. SO, a quick tweet would have gotten me out of bed and up to shelter. SO I NOW HAVE TWITTER. And i figure i might as well go all out with it. (you're welcome Brian Meaden) Go to : www.twitter.com/laurabuchelt if you wanna see what all the fuss is about and find out random information about me at random moments of my life. 

AND because pictures are the novels of our day, here's another oldy but a goody....

Good times, good friends.... RS 2001

Geez i was awkward at 17!

Packing,

Well with T Minus one week till my move my life is full of unpacking and repacking! I have a LARGE amount of stuff that has been sitting in boxes from my move home from college 2.5 years ago that has not been touched. So I'm trying to quickly wade through it all. It helps to be jamming out to good music, I made an amazing mix cd (mostly for amanda wann, but since I haven't sent it yet....) and also Zac Brown Band's Cd "The Foundation". Then when I need a break from that i've made some fantastic worship mixes that are second to none.
But digging through things that i haven't seen in a few years pulls up SO many emotions. mostly good. I came across a box of pictures, literally thousands of pictures in albums, frames, and loose. there were also a few notes from friends (Thanks Halbleib), the notes along with the pictures made me so excited and ready to get going. (after looking through many of them and crying for a few hours haha)
I'm still going to be hacking away at support raising. please please please keep that in the forefront of your prayers for me.

ya'll rock.



For your entertainment, I chose a picture from the College Football Archive for ya. Go Goldfish.

Minnesota Bound!!!!!!!!

Well thank you for the welcome Minnesota. It's funny, as I've emailed friends who live in the great state, many of them have said "welcome home" after I tell them about my plans to move back. On February 16, I will be moving to Minnetonka, Minnesota (just west of Minneapolis). I know that while I'm not finished with support raising, that moving up to work out of the office is the absolute best decision.
Your continued prayers are appreciated. I am still in Florida meeting with churches and individuals until Thursday morning, so when I get back, I will have a week and a half to pack and organize everything I own.
This is it, the big move, the dive into adult life as I'll come to know it. I'm so excited on so many levels and yet so torn up about leaving home. I have developed amazing heart friendships in NW Indiana and saying good bye to those will be so much harder than I am giving it credit right now. I know they're not gone forever, but that change is hard.
More to come, but PRAY!!

i recognize....

yes yes, i am fully aware that my readership is down the last week nearly 35% due to my inability to blog consistantly. i'm sorry. life's been rollin on forward, 24 hours have made up each day, and they've been full. things are still on the up and up and the latest on the quest to name my car is that there has been no verdict yet on her name. (did i mention she's a girl?). i want something that fits my cute sporty yet totally rockin awesome sassy car. we shall see i suppose.
i am getting ready to embark on another trip to florida on friday to go to a wedding and then to follow up on some significant support leads. i had a much stronger response when i was there in december than i had anticipated. i'm excited about what God is doing there and since the whole thing (including rental car) will be in the neighborhood of $350 i couldn't pass up the opportunity.
i have big news with regards to my move date, i promise to post that in the next few days... next time i'm feeling whitty and creative. please be in prayer as i am finalizing plans for this huge transition in my life.
yes, this has been written in all lowercase letters on purpose, except of course the name of the Most High. thanks for not letting my readership drop any lower.

Adios Squirrel Cage!!!

The Aspire sold this morning! I was am so excited! Praise God! Thanks for your prayers!!!!!

She's a good car

So far she holds up in snow pretty well, warms up quick, and the cd player works GREAT! I'm trying to sell the Squirrel Cage, we have someone looking at it tomorrow, pray they want it, and that they'll pay my asking price! It would be SOOOOO helpful to have the money from the Aspire to help cover some of the car costs.

Welcome to 2010. AND A CAR!

I am so excited about 2010. I'm not sure why, but it just seems exciting to me. Partially, I'm sure, because there's some life chanage in store for me this year including but not limited to a move to Minnesota. Christmas and New Years was SO great and I loved getting to spend time with my family and friends and celebrate the passing of one year and the beginning of the next.

God is SO good to me, I have a few steps left in order to move to Minnesota, finances... and a car. Well yesterday God cleared one of those two steps. I now own a Black Pontiac Sunfire! Praise God! I still havn't named her and I will be sure to post that when I do :) but what it means for me is that I have a reliable car and supports my mid-february plans to move!!!