Disney World (Finally!)

So we went to Disney over Easter. Yes, I am aware that was over 6 months ago, but with nonstop school ever since then, this is my first chance to update the blog. I am not actually on my laptop, so this post will be without pictures, but I wanted to give my take on Disney, what I found worked really well, rides we loved, rides we hated, etc.

Some background: JK and I went to Disney with his Dad, stepmom, half-sister (12 years old), 2 20-something brother, and step-nephew (6 years old). So we had a pretty varied crew. JK and I also stayed a day and a half by ourselves. So we had the "family" experience and the couple experience.

I had been to Disney before, but never as an adult. I was excited to go, no doubt, but I totally didn't anticipate how much fun we actually had.

Now, I am of the school of thought that if you spend as much money as Disney costs, you must absolutely go hard-core with it. Now, I know there is another school of thought that the idea of a vacation running around like a crazy person doesn't sound fun. But I really, really believe that our pre-planning helped curb a lot of frustration and eliminated a lot of wasted time. Here I am going to give a brief run-down of how we approached Disney. It made for a really awesome time. :-)

First, my wonderful husband bought me The Unofficial Guide to Disney. Can I tell you how amazing the book is? It is incredible!!! I want to read it again just for the fun of it. It gives a summary of every attraction in the parks and every restaurant, which was really helpful in determining what we wanted to do. They also have these amazing touring plans in the back. I modified them to meet our needs, cut them out the night before, and stowed them in my purse. It was a game plan, and although we deviated somewhat, it helped get us off on a quick start instead of standing around asking each other where we wanted to go once we got in the park!

We drove to Disney World with the entire family using two vehicles. It wasn't a bad trip and the kids did great. Because of the size of our party, we chose to stay off the Disney property at these condos. Although I love staying in the parks (more on that later), this did work out really well. Everybody had a bedroom, and we were so close to the parks. We did end up paying for parking for both vehicles, but after the fact I found out we could have parked at Downtown Disney or one of the water parks (free parking) and ridden the Disney bus to the parks. Regardless of whether you stay in the Disney resort, you are able to use all of Disney's transportation once you enter the park. We actually needed a break from Magic Kingdom one day, so we all loaded up on the bus and went to Downtown Disney. It was really great.

Since we did not stay on the Disney campus, we took the strategy of avoiding the parks that had Extra Magic Hours on that day. This seemed to work really well, because we did avoid some of the resort guests that were taking advantage of extra Magic Hours. So the first day, we went to Hollywood Studios.



We went to the newest ride, Toy Story Mania, first. This was DEFINITELY our smartest move of the day! We were able to practically walk on to this ride, and later in the day, the wait was over an hour. Fastpasses were gone before 11:00. This is Disney at its very best. The theming in the que was AMAZING. Giant toys everywhere, a talking Mr. potato head, etc. There were some points I was wishing the line WASN'T moving so fast. This ride was a blast for everybody in our group. From the six year old to the fifty year oold, we had the best time. It is basically a 3-D interactive, arcade game. You move through different games along the ride as your car spins.

After this, we headed to another portion of the park for the Rock N' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. At this point, we used another WONDERFUL Disney feature- the kid switch. We had a six year old who wasn't quite ready for the Rock N' Roller Coaster, so we just went right up to the attendant and asked to do a Kid Swap. They promptly gave us two fast-pass like tickets. What this allows you to do is for one group to go onto the ride while the other adult stays with the child. Then, the other adult AND another member of your party get the fastpass like tickets and get to go through the fastpass line. This is really awesome because not only do you not have to wait in the regular line the second time, one member of your group gets to ride twice! I think this is one of the "little known" things Disney does (It isn't advertised), but it was really great for us on this particular ride. Because we were able to get to this ride so quickly, we had no need for a fast pass. We were able to pretty much walk right on. JK and I got on the first car on the Rock N' Roller Coaster, and it was AMAZING. The second time I rode (on the Kid Swap) I didn't get on the front car and there is a definite difference. The front car is FAR less jerky and gives you a much better ride. I will be trying to get the front seat from now on!

After the Rockin' Roller Coaster, the boys (JK and his brothers) braved the Tower of Terror. This is another ride that has great theming and has a fun pre-show. However, I do not do dropping rides that well. I have done ToT before, and had no desire to feel my stomach drop again. By this point, the lines I had increased a good deal, so this took a while, but myself and the little kids hung out, people watched, and waited.

Welp, this is going to be like a novel, before I finish, so I will break here. I will continue our first day soon! We love Disney!

Satan Loves Cynics; God Loves Dreamers: On Christians hiding behind Revelations

*Disclaimer: This post talks about weighty subjects that I am not even going to pretend that I am smart enough to have figured out. I am simply sharing my journey. I hope it blesses and encourages you.*

"At the end of forty days they [the Israelite spies] came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the cogregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, 'We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendents of Anak there....'

But Caleb quieted the people before moses and said ' Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.'" Numbers 13:26-30

"Then the Lord said..'But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit, and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendents will possess it." Numbers 14:24

What was the difference between the cynical other spies and Caleb? I think the "different spirit" that God was talking about was faith. Faith makes us sort of a dreamer, doesn't it? I bet Caleb seems like a real yahoo to all those "realistic" Israelites out there. "Yeah, us short Jewish folk are going to be able to fight against the MILLIONS of Cannanites and some are GIANTS...yeah right." they must have thought. Caleb was labeled a dreamer, a "head in the clouds", "lost touch with reality" kind of guy. But guess what? God LOVED it. It was what he desired. It was what he commanded. And all through scripture, I find other dreamers that God seemed to be big fans of. Like David (killing Goliath), or Esther (saving her people), or Noah (how bout that ark?). These people had big goals. They were laughed at. They weren't realists. They were scoffed at by cynics, dismissed by the general population. But God honored them and thought that their faith stories were important enough to be put in His word.

God called us to be faith-filled dreamers, not stick in the mud cynics. In fact, Satan loves stick in the mud cynics because they don't do nothin'! So why is it that we as believers think it is okay to stop dreaming for our world, just because "we know it's all going to end anyhow"? I confess that I have had that mentality for far too many months and years. I am reading a book by Paul Rogat Loeb called the Soul of a Citizen. This book, in combination with my work on my masters degree and my work here in New Orleans has reignited by soul to dream again- to have faith that God CAN do amazing things and change people and situations and is calling us to join him.

Now, let's stop right here. Do I believe that the world as we know it will end? YES!

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more." Revelation 21:1

Do I think our world will continually degenerate until Christ comes again? YES!

"And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdome. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains." Mark 13:7-8

Do I think our response should be to throw up our hands in surrender and say, "Oh well, it won't get better til' Jesus comes back?" NO!

Let me explain my position on this a bit. For me, I always try to make my attitudes and beliefs line up with Jesus'. Let's look at his response. By the way, It is Christ that said the above verse, so Jesus fully acknowledged the degeneration of the world. But, did he give up on impacting it? Let's see.

Jesus foretold the destruction of Jerusalem. This was his response, "How often would I have gathered you children togather as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.." Matthew 23:37. What a beautiful picture of Christ's compassion on the city. He wants to wrap them up in a bear hug and save em'.

Jesus' mission was described in Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.." Isaiah 61:1

You see, Jesus got the eternal physical plan without missing the spiritual plan. God is calling us to go to the PEOPLE. Yeah, we can acknowledge Revelations all day long, but Jesus spent most of his time helping people spiritually and physically. He was a dreamer. He spent his time

Granting social justice to prostitutes

Encouraging that children should be taught and acknowledged

Loving on tax-collectors and other outcasts

Giving out bread to hungry people

AND IN ALL THIS giving them hope that lasts forever. The Living Water, Salvation in Jesus.

I don't want you think that I am preaching a Social Gospel. But I DO think that we (I) should stop using God's word as an excuse not to get our hands dirty and start dreaming a little. Jesus knew all the facts. He knew the prophesy. That didn't stop him from going to those groups in need and ministering to that need. I want to do that. Dreaming hurts..it opens you up to rejection, scoffing, and worse- failure. But God's measures aren't our own. I think that when I stop shaking my head about how "sad" a situation is and start doing something, I look a little more like Jesus. What do you think?

Hornets and Elephants

We had another fabulous weekend here in New Orleans. I have to say, we love being married and childless in this city. If you have read all of my entries, you know that this has not always been the case, but God has brought contentment, peace, and even happiness here. There are so many fun things to do outside of Bourbon Street, and we enjoy getting the chance to do them. Also, I feel like as Christians, we should be out supporting these things. The NBA's New Orleans Hornets are at risk of leaving because of lack of support. Honestly, I hate to see this because that is one less family-friendly thing to do in New Orleans. Unfortunately, we cannot be season ticket holders (it's like 500 dollars!!!) but we can sneak in a game or two every season and we hope to continue doing that, as long as they are here in NOLA. Crossing our fingers they raise enough support to be back next year. I so badly want business people that set up shop in the city to begin having the mindset that they will make MORE money if they bring something other than a bar or club. And as Christians, we can be part of that change by investing in those places that do bring positive events to our city. So anyway, off my soapbox! This weekend, JK surprised me with tickets to see a NBA Hornets game. It was really a lot of fun. They have a "BUZZ Fest" beforehand with a band, facepainting, and inflatables. JK shocked me by saying we could have all the stadium food we want, which was such a fun treat! He really spoils me. I have got to admit that I highly prefer college (MSU) basketball, but it was still a great time. Saturday we put to use our ZOO MEMBERSHIP and spent about 2 hours at the zoo. We LOVE the zoo for several reasons. One reason is that now that we are members we can go to that or the aquarium anytime for free. The second reason is that the staff does an incredible job doing educational programs, feedings, and other fun activities. We always get a schedule and try to go to the feedings and zookeeper chats. They are so neat! So here are some pictures of the weekend.

Feeding the pelicans. They are HUGE in person.

Date Night! This guy was on stilts at Buzz Fest..how cool!

Baby Jayden and Avery Island

We got two treats this weekend- seeing Baby Jayden Shroyer and visiting with our good friends Kendal and Richie! We had so much fun catching up with the Bookers, oohing and ahhing over Jayden, and visiting Avery Island with Richie and Kendal. I totally forgot to get a picture with me and Jayden :-( But here is what the cutie looks like!

She was soo good while we were there. She slept pretty much the entire time except when mommy was feeding her and was wearing her first bow! She was so pretty. :-)

After we ate some crawfish with the Bookers, Kendal and Richie and Justin and I decided to Avery Island. This is the Island that manufactors all the Tabasco sauce in the world, and also houses a beautiful garden (with alligators!) and bird refuge. We had such a good time catching up briefly with Kendal and Richie and going on a spur of the moment date!

Beautiful flowers blooming ALL over the island!

Look at this guy! You could walk right up to them. No fences!

This is the barallels that they store the tabasco peppers in for up to 3 years to age them. They put a layer of salt on the top to preserve the peppers as they age.

We had a great weekend!

A House Guest!

This weekend was SUCH a fun weekend for us! We had Katie, a friend of mine from high school come and stay with us while she went to the American Counseling Association conference. We had a good time showing her around!

We took her to Drago's. Love that Corn and Shrimp Bisque!

Lobster, Justin's fave!

We ended the night with Sucre. The best ice cream in New Orleans!

That's Important to Me

My Uncle Carl is producing a band in Nashville called Joey+Rory (cool right!). They are such a sweet Godly couple, and he gave us a cd over Christmas. Well I fell in love with this song, because it so describes our home and marriage and what we stand for. Call me a grandma, but I firmly believe that life today is so frenetic that we've lost track of the small moments that make relationships precious. I hope you enjoy this song and maybe it resonates with you as well.

Not planning our day around the TV set..
Paying our bills and staying out of debt..
That's important to me..
That's important to me..

Openin' the windows and lettin' in air..
Holding hands when we're saying a prayer..
That's important to me..
That's important to me...

Having somebody to share my life..
Loving my husband, being a wife..
And the very best mother I can be (someday!)
That's important to me.

Telling the truth and being real..
Feeding my family a homecooked meal..
That's important to me..
That's important to me..

Always having you to hold,
And being beside you when we grow old
And they plant us neath that big oak tree.
That's important to me.
That's important to me.

Slavery still Exists..in America.

Today Justin and I attended this event.

We heard from multiple organizations that are passionate about freeing victims of the sex industry. I am blown away by these individuals. They are rock stars! These people are on the streets loving on victims and doing life with those who are rescued. Let me tell you a little about how this issue came to be such a pressing one on my heart. When we came to the campus, one of Justin's classmates told him about this ministry called Inward that reaches out to dancers on Bourbon, shows love, builds relationships, and works to provide freedom both physically and spiritually. I began praying about this, and my heart seemed drawn to it, but I waited until January to jump in. These ladies have blown me away! They are so in love with Jesus and God is blessing the ministry and showing us his miraculous power it seems like on a weekly basis. As I have had the priviledge to pray for these girls working on Bourbon, my heart just breaks for them. I am literally broken hearted for the thousands of victims in the sex industry. So here I am. Right now I am praying earnestly for freedom from the captives. I am not sure how God will ultimately use me here, but I figure a good start is sharing with you some facts as I learned today. I pray the Holy Spirit will stir in your heart compassion for these women and children who have no voice.

*27 million people are in slavery worldwide

* In America, approximately 17,000 people are in slavery

* 12 is the average age of entry into prostitution and pornography in the United States.

* Within 48 hours of being on the street in America, a runaway child is approached by a pimp.

* 70% of street youth are victims of commerical sexual exxploitation.

*77% of strippers and prostitutes were victimized as children

* America is the LARGEST producer of porn IN THE WORLD. Not all of these "actors" are performing under their own free will.

* 1 in 4 women will be victimized in their lifetime.

These is a HUGE issue, and the Christian community has got to step up. Satan is having a heyday wrecking lives and putting women and children in captivity that all too often steals their life. The darkness is deep and persvasive. BUT our God is greater. He is so MIGHTY to save. You would be amazed at how he is mobilizing people, from little old ladies to ex CIA to help rescue these people. God is active in this area. The Women's Missionary Union has even made human exploitation their focus until 2013.

So what can you and I do? Well, I think the best thing is to be aware. I know that when I lived in Brandon, the darkness seemed so far away from me. It was so easy to ignore. Now it is in my backyard. So I hope my reader's will realize that no matter how safe your environment feels, this is an issue you need to be praying for. Also, the church needs to step up and face the fact that many of our MEN have been taken captive. Our church men are feeding this industry. Porn and Sexual addiction is the MOST PREVALENT addiction within the church. So instead of wasting time judging, maybe we need to start helping these men find freedom.

If God has pricked your heart at all, here are some resources that might help you understand more. I want to warn you that some of these resources are extremely graphic. They are not for children and I would also encourage you to guard what you share with your husband. This level of darkness requires intense spiritual warfare. So, without further ado:

Here are some books:

Somebody's Daughter

The Slave Across the Street

Renting Lacy

The Shame Vault

Movies:

Taken- accurate as far as how they took her but not accurate in the sense that it can happen in the United States, not just overseas

Human Trafficking

Trade

In closing:

"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom from the captives, and to release from darkness for the prisoners." Isaiah 61:1- That verse is enough for me to KNOW Jesus would be all over this.