Introducing Amanda....

Hey Ya'll,


I just wanted to say that the "BCSM" beauty writing this post (below) "Just Another Day" is the lovely Amanda Metcalf.  Most of you will know her right away but if you don't, she is a young mom of 2 darling little blonde haired beauties, wife of Student Minister Brent Metcalf and just an all around neat (and very fun) person.   She ministers so sweetly to many of our youth and others in countless ways.  I have asked her to post here when she can as I know her day to day life experiences will speak to so many of us.  Sort of like this one just did for me.  

Thanks Amanda!

Check out her profile under Contributers "BCSM" to know more about her.

Just Another Day?

The words were all in my head. Words that I thought would encourage and enlighten you. Oh, but God had other plans. We know this truth all too well (or should by now).  Friday I sat in the Doctor’s office for a total of three hours waiting on flu test results.  It’s not exactly my picture of what it means to “Go out and make disciples” (Matt. 28:19-19).  I WANT TO SHARE CHRIST WITH OTHERS AND MAKE DISCIPLES!  Um, but I’m sitting in the doctor’s office holding a very hot baby and a fidgety 4 year old who asks repeatedly, “When can we leave mom?”.  I don’t know about you, but telling other people (especially teenage girls, whom I love) about Jesus is far more appealing than sitting in a box of a room for three hours.

<I would like to inject that I am blessed w/ AMAZING pediatricians! >

It’s getting close to dinner time and I have not had a moment to think about preparing for it. Two sick little gals need to eat, but being sick makes them even more picky than usual. I ask what they would like to eat. Of course! Macaroni and Cheese!  Unfortunately, mom and dad didn’t think and gave the Tami flu before the Mac & Cheese. I tell you ladies right now…. I NEVER want to see Mac & Cheese after the events that took place Friday night. I’ll spare you the details. 

I’ve been reading in Acts and Colossians about making disciples. As the evening continued all I could think was, “God? How am I being of any use to your kingdom? I’m cleaning up after the flu!” Then, He hit me with a verse that was so simple and shared by another sister in Christ the night before:

“Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3

She shared in Bible study the night before how this verse just smacked her in the face one day. THERE IT WAS! Smacking me in the face the very next day! God used her so I could have this reminder. I am making disciples. Right here, in my little white house while cleaning up the flu. My little gals need God’s love. As far as I know;) my two year old and 4 year old do not know Christ. Instead of being frustrated about the screaming, crying, fussing, fevers, etc. my actions need to be committed to Him. If the Holy Spirit lives in me (and He does!) then I need to move out of the way and allow His fruit to grow in me and do the work! MAKE DISCIPLES. If I continue to yield to Him, my children will see Him. I used to think it was my job to raise Godly children. It’s not. It’s His job. He asks me to give my plans over to Him. He will make them succeed. Going about life, committing the ordinary to the EXTRAORDINARY! The flu is ordinary, but even it can be given over to the One who can make it extraordinary!

Soul Food

I love family dinner time.

I don’t necessarily cherish the work involved in preparing a meal and I’m definitely no outstanding cook, but I treasure the pause in the day when this fast-paced crazy world shrinks down to just the six of us seated around our well worn oak table. In that small space of time we laugh, talk about faith and things we’ve learned, dialogue over how mistakes could have been handled differently, and pray. It has become such a cherished time of reconnecting that I guard it like a hungry hound showing her teeth when something threatens her bone.

It hasn’t always been like that. When our first son was born, my husband was in school in the Netherlands and we lived in an apartment so tiny you could flush the toilet and stir the beans at the same time. (Not that I did...not that I did)

It wasn’t all that hard to stay connected in that small space but when the next 3 years brought two more sons and 3 house moves, somehow the "sit down connection" time got lost in the chaos of juggling bottles and spooning mush into wide open mouths while catching tossed bowls of toddler foods. 

It wasn't this table but I didn't bother to photograph the original event.


One day I stared at our lonely dining room table and it was almost like a little voice whispered....so who are you waiting for? Martha Stewart to show up and lay a spread on that table? This is your job! You can do this...in this age of ready made rotisseries and fresh baguettes (baked by someone else)  it can’t be that hard to drag high chairs to a table and actually sit down together.

So we did and I will never forget the first time the 5 of us sat around that tiny table together. The memory of it is permanently etched in my mind. Odd as it sounds, there was something very sacred about it. I scanned the faces of my husband and our 3 little man-cubs all 3 years old and under seated at the table and just felt a deep sense of family unity - something I had missed in the fragmented "stand between the high chairs and hurry up and chow down before you have to change the next dirty diaper" days. I had a profound sense that God had specifically put us together and how much we needed each other. No deep truths were pondered in those early days (unless you count 3 year old dialogue that revolves around matters like whether Jesus loves Power Rangers or Rescue Heros more) but a foundation was being laid.

And I felt like God was blessing this feeble effort to create family unity.

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.  ~Psalms 133:1-3 (NIV)

More than 10 years have passed and I have since come to view the labor that goes into creating family dinners as a ministry to my family. An honored service to them, just as important as any other service the Lord has called me into. It’s not a perfect feat. Some nights still have to be "eat on the run nights" and others may find us in the grumpy silent mood, but for the most part many happy family memories and traditions have been birthed from the simple act of sitting down together for a meal.

Here are a few of the traditions and fun things that we’ve done along the way...

"Gold Plate". Whoever gets the gold plate gets to lead the pray and then hear words of encouragement from every other family member.

"Pick a nut to pray for" (My 5 year old is most fond of this one) We all decorated nuts to resemble ourselves and then we pick one to pray specifically for that night.  (Most have lost their heads now...take that however you want)

Draw and share something special about your day. Put a plastic table cloth on the table and hand out sharpies. You’ll discover who the artist are in the family along with lots of other info. Be sure to line your table with something "sharpie proof" first or it will boast the memories permanently.



I didn't paint any false pictures about meal time always being
civilized did I?  This should keep it real....

 And then on some special occasions we have "wear your favorite hat" night. 


It is also time we remember and pray for the various children, missionaries, the Khmer of Northern Thailand, and other loved ones God has put in our lives.

One of those others is Rick Morris. Since two of the African boys we pray for are named "Rick" and "Morris" prayer for our own local "Rick Morris" just follows naturally. He is probably the most prayed for church member by our boys. (Don’t know if it’s the name connection or his fine taste in football teams).

A prayer reminder near our table

How about you? What are some ways you connect with your family (present or past)? Any ideas you’d be willing to share here for others to glean from? Any encouragement from the more seasoned moms to the younger moms out there?

Talk to us.....

And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.  ~Philemon 1:6 (NLT)



Living Within the Winepress

I confess it’s not the grapes that came to my mind. I confess it wasn’t even the wine. It was the winepress – that incredible device used to extract juice from the crushed grapes during the wine making process.

My small attempt at what most would not even call research uncovered the fact that although there are many styles of presses used by winemakers, their functionality is the same. Each press exerts controlled pressure in order to free the juice from the crushed grape. If the pressure is not controlled, the seeds within the grape will be crushed, releasing an undesirable, bitter thing known as tannin.

I have recently felt I was living within the winepress.

I was pressed down.

I was discouraged in my soul.

I longed for the Word of God to rush over me, to come forth from within me, but my mind would recall nothing.

I felt trapped within my own despair and fear, longing to come out of the gloom, but unable to fight the fight I knew was before me.

So I cried out for intercessors. I cried out for encouragement, and I was reminded that David encouraged himself in the Lord.

How, Lord? How, when my mind is thinking on everything except Your living, active word?
I prayed that God would raise up intercessors, and someone to speak the Word over me.

I prayed that God would bring to my mind all that had ever been spoken to me, as Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would do.

I believed it would be as I asked.

And the day took a turn of events at that moment that I long to remember in order to feed on God’s faithfulness when I am again in a place of despair…

My husband called – just to tell me he loved me – and then to pray over me – over our marriage and family. The tears flowed, as I recalled my own prayer just minutes before.

The first client in the door called his wife to have her talk to me about something I was facing – surgery – that had my mind in turmoil. She was one week out from having had the same surgery for the second time. While we talked, he sat on the couch in my office and prayed. And at the end of the conversation, she assured me she would be praying for me, and I believed her words were true.

A trip to the Post Office put me in touch with a security guard who had lost his father to death the night before, and the tears flowed again, as I knew that I was not the only one facing situations that called for encouragement and prayer. . .situations that dared to crush more than a hope.

A couple from church entered the PO during our conversation, ushering in laughter – enough to lighten my heart momentarily.

And then I was left alone with the postmaster…a believer and sister in the faith. She spoke of all God had done for her, and of how she was encouraged by His faithfulness, and then she began to quote the word over her own life, and I was standing and listening, receiving it into my own. Strength was returning, and the tears flowed. She stopped, cupped her hands over mine, and told me she would be praying for me. I was speechless.

Six divine appointments within a few hours of my request. God faithfully, tenderly, lovingly applied salve to my weary and fretful heart.

God, You are so faithful, and so good.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed – 2 Corn. 4:8

Controlled pressure from the winepress . . . enough to release the juice but not spoil the flavor of the wine.

Tell me that God does not care about the smallest of details.

Tell me He is not directing our steps.

TELL ME!

I won’t believe you.

In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul. Psalm 138:3

Just a Reminder....

Hope to see you at

"The Exchange"  this

Saturday morning, 9am ~ 12 noon.

Feb.19 at Brevard Community Church

Food, Fellowship and Fun with a

"Swap, not Shop" store open.

It's not necessary to contribute an item just come and enjoy some girl time.

If you need childcare please sign up in the Welcome Center or post here.

The "Fear Beast"

I have a confession to make. I have imagined you to be a beast. Fear does funny things to a person, doesn’t it?

It all started when I felt the Lord nudging me to start a women’s ministry blog last December. A place where we could connect and learn from the Word and each other. Not a replacement for Bible Studies but sort of an extension of them. So many of you are in seasons of your life that make getting to a Bible Study challenging ~ the mom of young children, the working woman who barely has a spare moment, the woman with a health issue that keeps her home bound. I thought maybe a blog would be a place we could connect and encourage one another even if we aren’t all in the same Bible study group.

So I announced my intention at a ladies leadership meeting, got started constructing the site and that’s when the monster began to emerge in my thoughts. When you are a fairly private person the social networking scene can be frightening. Something about the permanence of what you put out there can be daunting. Seems like life was a little more forgiving back when all your "goofs" were not retrievable with one push of a search button. Wishing something didn’t come out of my mouth quite the way it did in a room full of ladies is one thing, having it permanently "shared" out there in cyber space is another altogether. The prospect of it was enough to silence me.

Would I be misunderstood? Judged? Rejected? Criticized? Would I offend someone? Would I offend God?  Would I fail to honor Him?

Familiar questions. Taunting questions. Truth is these aren’t exclusive to just social networking. The same ones lurk on the edges of my brain and try to drown out the quiet whispers of His Spirit nudging me to speak His love to someone unfamiliar or to take an unpopular stand in a situation when the majority is against me.

Choosing suffering and rejection is such an unnatural choice yet we know that we live in such a world where it is unavoidable. I have aimed to teach my children that they will suffer and therefore how vital it is to know how to suffer well...yet here I am cowering myself.  Ugh.  I have been staring at an empty blog site for 2 months trying to muster up the courage to hit 'publish' for a potential audience of sweet sweet ladies for crying out loud. Clearly this fear beast had gotten out of hand.  I needed help...some Holy Spirit kind of help that works from the inside out and accomplishes what I can not muster on my own.

And He has faithfully spoken to me over these months in places like

1 John 4:18 " There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,...."

and Acts 5:41 "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."

My love is so far from perfect Lord, but yours is complete....complete your love in me too. Let me stand so amazed at you that I care more about the person who needs you than any threat of rejection. Help me to rejoice when I am counted worthy to suffer any kind of disgrace, big or small for your Name’s Sake. Help me to live that first and teach it second.

By the way, my much loved sisters, you are no beast....you are the beautiful body of Christ. In all your different ways, styles and colors you have encouraged me beyond measure and have challenged me to abandon all for Him. I feel so privileged to know you and walk this journey of faith beside you. I look forward to getting to know you better here. Please come back and visit often and hear the many voices that I hope will rise up and trumpet His goodness for all to know.