I want to share with you an incredible ministry opportunity that God has put before me. Every year, my church sends hundreds of people around the world to help further gospel and bring hope to the hopeless.  This year is no exception!  I have the opportunity to go on a trip with over 60 others from Christ’s Church of the Valley to Nairobi, Kenya from June 10th through June 20th.

I’m extremely excited to be a part of this team!  This is a strategically planned trip to bring the light of Christ into the slums of Nairobi. There will be several different teams that will help to accomplish our mission, including construction, medical, sports, VBS and a technical team.  Not only will these teams be ministering directly to the people in Nairobi, but we will also be doing some hands on support for our missionaries, who are already on the ground in Kenya.

While God has opened up a door for me to be a part of this team that will bring hope and light to His people around the world, the exciting part is that you will be able to share in this process in two very specific ways. First, you can help pray for me and the rest of the Nairobi Team. We will need prayers that God will prepare us for our visit and bless our efforts as we minister to the people of Nairobi. We will also need prayers that our financial needs will be met. At this time we need to raise $3,000 each to attend this trip, and that is quite a challenge!

Another way you can be involved is to help provide that financial support. Would you consider supporting me with a small donation?

We have made it more convenient than ever to support this effort by setting up a secure location online for you to give.

To give online: please visit the following link – https://www.ccvonline.com/Arena/default.aspx?page=11233

Please make sure to specify that you would like to support the Nairobi Mission Trip and note my name in the appropriate box. In order to keep your information secure, you will have to register for an account.  This is a standard process in giving online and I hope it won’t deteryou from offering your support.

You can also give by check and send it to:
Christ’s Church of the Valley
Attn: Tina Law / Missions
7007 W. Happy Valley Rd.
Peoria, AZ 85383
* Please enclose a note with your check to make sure it goes toward the balance of my account.

Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to read this and offering your support with the resources that God has given you. I’m extremely excited to share this journey with you!

The Ten Commandments – motion (kinetic) typography from Vit Ryznar on Vimeo.

Will you make it yours?

Kudos to Derrick and the rest of the team at Palm Valley for thinking outside the box and trying something completely unexpected. I love it!!

I stumbled up on a blog post over at ChurchKreatives.  Usually… I’m not a big fan of the live drama thing, but.. this was done really well.  I’m not sure what this video was created for, but it feels like Granger and sounds like the voice of Kem Meyer.  It’s a long video, but.. well worth it. If you are an artist, especially one who works in the Church, you will resonate and relate with this video.

BEHOLD THE DREAMER COMETH from blaine hogan on Vimeo.

I particulary resonated with the part that talks about procrastination.  I’ve seen this happen time and time again in my creative cycle.  I lose inspiration and procrastinate on projects. Staying inspired and creative is probalby THE hardest part of being an artist. But there is hope!

We must recognize that God can, and will, work through us if we ask Him and let Him.

Here are a few examples of how I’m choosing to embrace some of my everyday circumstances as opportunities and not obligations:

• Obligation – 5 minute meetings at the beginning of the day that slow me down.
• Opportunity – A chance to start the day off on a positive note with achievable goals.

• Obligation – One on One meetings with my supervisor.
• Opportunity – Connect on a deeper level, dream on a bigger scale and detailed follow-up on specific projects.

I’m trying my best to be transparent here. These are two very small things that I’ve often looked at as mundane obligations.   I recognize that how I live my life is a choice.  I can choose to turn obligations into opportunities, or choose to feel opressed by my obligations.

This priniciple comes from the “You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader” book.  Thanks to Jon for throwing it my way.

There’s no getting around it… social networks are where it’s at today.  We can’t avoid it… we might as well embrace it.  As a church, we have decided to acknowledge and embrace the social networking phenomenon.  We’ve established a highly successful and interactive community on Facebook, and found our niche as a church on Twitter.  We have also found the need to establish a policy for our staff and volunteers in regards to social networking.  That’s what this post is about… take a look and feel free to give feedback.

Download the CCV social networking policy here.