I think I’ve told you before about Square Peg Ministries. It’s a ministry to at-risk kids started by my mom, one of my bffs and my brother/sil. They do after-school programming, Bible clubs, summer camp, special events and more for Hispanic kids in low-income apartment complexes around metro Atlanta.

A few weeks ago, they had a big silent auction. Several wonderful people donated some great items and luckily for you, they weren’t all snatched up. So, we’ve put them up on ebay to offer to the general public. Well, almost all of it’s up. (I’m still working on it! *whew*) Right now, there’s some Mary Kay products (lots and lots of Mary Kay). Pretty soon, I’m going to put some Starbucks giftbaskets, memorbilia sportswear, some touristy-event tickets in the southeast and more. ***just listed 4 tickets to Ruby Falls in Chattanooga AND an NBA All-Star jacket!***

All the proceeds from these auctions will go straight to Square Peg. I’ve got a button up in my sidebar or you can click here! Please look around and bid!

Square Peg Auctions ***updated*** is a post from: ohamanda.com

…God spoke to me. He did. I know I’ve mentioned if a few times, but my husband and I are very uncertain of our future. We’ve been out of full-time vocational ministry for over a year. We’ve always always always known that’s what we were supposed to do with our life. But after two very hard ministry positions, we’re just at home in Atlanta being “normal” people.

And I struggle with it sometimes. I don’t feel like I’m doing “what God wants”. In fact, I don’t even know what God wants. So, today, after too many days of not spending time in my Bible, I picked up my nouveau devo, Take Flight and began to read. This book is written by one of my favorite authors, Robin Jones Gunn. I know I’ve blogged about her several times, her books gave my friends and I the great title of “sisterchicks”. But I really started reading Robin Jones Gunn’s teen series about Christy Miller when I was in 6th or 7th grade. I identified so much with Christy that I wrote Robin Jones Gunn a letter that said, “I think your books should be called the Amanda series!” Even today, there are things I think about that come from those books.

Anyway, here’s what I read today from one of my far away mentors, Robin Jones Gunn…

“I was convinced that the best–and probably only–way I could honor God with my life was by devoting myself to full-time ministry.” And so Robin applied to be a laundry supervisor at a mission in Nairobi, Kenya. But was rejected because she lacked “sufficient experience and abilities for this position”. She says, “I never expected such a response. Apparently I was too ungifted and untalented to wash clothes for Jesus in Kenya. What then, could I possibly do for Him?”

That Sunday she went to the junior high girls’ Sunday school class she taught to tell them she wouldn’t be going to Nairobi. The girls suggested, “You should tell stories…Your stories make us think about God in a new way.” Robin was devastated. She “needed to do something tangible for the Lord. Something solid. Not something airy and capricious, like spinning fanciful tales.” So, she stayed at home, got married, had kids and continued to teach junior high Sunday school but “in a concealed part of my spirit, I felt as if I had turned out to be a big disappointment. Yes, I was serving God with my husband in full-time ministry, but I wasn’t like…a missionary in Peru doing great work for God.”

Robin continues, “Then, on a camping trip with our youth group, a tent full of thirteen-year-old girls challenged me to write the kind of stories they wanted to read. They even volunteered to help me by telling me everything I did wrong. It took two years and weekly critique sessions with those teens before my first novel was published in what became the Christy Miller series. That book, Summer Promise, has been translated into five languages, and mail has come in from girls around the world saying that they gave their hearts to Christ after reading that story.”

(I was in tears at this point…)

One of the girls that read Summer Promise was a girl named Wambura. Robin met her at a writer’s conference. Wambura was a young author who wanted to write similar stories for the girls of her home in…wait for it…Nairobi, Kenya. Robin told Wambura that she had wanted to go to Kenya but never got to go. Wambura replied, “Ah, but your story did come to Africa. Perhaps you were never supposed to come. Only your stories. You sent your stories, and they have washed the hearts of many young girls just like me. In Nairobi and around the world. Do you see? God’s will has been accomplished. You have been a supervisor of laundry.”

Did you see that? Did you hear it? God’s will was accomplished! Robin thought it was in this big, hard ministry to Kenya. She even felt rejected and disappointed that she wasn’t doing what God wanted. When in fact, he had been leading her step by step into his perfect and amazing will.

It’s hard to imagine that God is at work in us when we are waiting. It doesn’t seem possible that the places and things I think I should have accomplished by now are not the things I should have accomplished. You remember the story of Joseph, right? The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat guy? Well, his brothers hated him and his big dreams. They said, “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams!” And I picture God just shaking His head saying, “As if that would throw off my plan! Joseph’s dreams will come true because I gave them to him.” God had to lead Joseph through several terrible situations. I’m sure there were times when Joseph wrestled with disappointments and rejection. But through it all God was leading him step by step. God’s will was being accomplished.

And one day when hindsight is 20/20, I’ll see those steps. And I’ll see that God’s will was accomplished. I’ll see my “laundry supervision” morph and develop into the big plan that God planted in my heart long ago.

Thank you God, for not seeing us as rejected. Thank you for not being disappointed in us. I pray we’d say with Mary, “I am the Lord’s servant…” Amen.

{ps–read the comments to see a special comment from Wambura!}

Something Beautiful Happened Today… is a post from: ohamanda.com

Does change make you quake in your boots? I’m not talking about pennies and quarters. I’m talking about that yank-you-out-of-your-comfort-zone change.

I kinda have a thing about change. I’ve had a lot in my life. I’ve lived in 5 states since I’ve been married. I’ve had two “real” jobs and a few other mini jobs. Last year, like I mentioned in one of my last posts, I experienced so much change, I could have been a psychological study! But the thing about change, for me, is that with each change, it somehow changes you for that next phase. blahdeblah. What I mean is, with each change in a certain area, I feel like it’s harder to change in that area. Hmmm…I can’t say this clearly, let me give you an example:

I’ve mentioned before that my hubby and I were children’s pastors at two different churches. And both of them ended badly. (The second one started badly, but that’s a different story.) When those BIG changes came–of us leaving our homes and churches, it was hard! We didn’t want to. And now that we’re on the other side of those changes, when I think about going into another church, another job, another change–it gets me nervous! I have insecurities that weren’t there before. I have doubts and baggage and (ahem!) unforgiveness that plagues me!

(Wow. We’re letting it all hang out today on Oh Amanda!)

My husband and I go up and down about these changes. Sometimes we talk about it a lot. Sometimes we go weeks without discussing the changes that we know will come in our future. I am in such a comfortable position now, I don’t like to think about change! I don’t want to feel out of control and unsure and vulnerable!

Which leads me to the whole purpose of this post…a book. Yes, a book, Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh. I received this book from the wonderful people at Multnomah. As soon as they asked me to read it I said YES, PLEASE! It was practically written for me–it’s about PK (pastor’s kid), involved in church and dreading the changes in her life and her church. The heroine, Harriet, is a reformed rebellious teenager who’s afraid to do anything fun because she thinks she might be tempted to sin again. This isn’t really me, but the whole “I want to be in control” and “I want to have a plan” is VERY me.

I just loved reading a book about someone who has REAL issues. Not like other chick-lit books which are mainly, “OMG! Should I marry the uber-hot missionary or the kinda hot pediatraician?” (hey, I still like those, I’m just sayin’.) I liked the…realness of it.

Harriet was freaked because everything she knew at her church was changing. They were moving out the organ and moving in guitars. They were moving in staff members and moving out others. The changes were wrecking her plans! And she has to come to grips with the difference between her plans and God’s plans!

Am I talking too much about this? Here, read the summary by Multnomah:

Preacher’s kid and prodigal Harriet Bisset returned to her church and her family in Franklin , Tennessee, seven years ago. Once the proud owner of two tattoos and a nose ring, Harri is now addicted to Jelly Bellys in lieu of hangovers and Bible verses in lieu of foul language. The good news is that she has everything under control: a part-time position as director of women’s ministry, a church family that adores her, a rent-free home in a senior mobile home park, and the possibility of owning the café where she waitresses. Nothing could tempt Harri to return to her old ways. Nothing but a 1298 cc, liquid-cooled, sixteen-valve, in-line four-cylinder motorcycle—and the church consultant riding it. Reformed rebel Maddox McCray’s arrival at First Grace spells C-H-A-N-G-E for the dying church. And it just might mean change for Harri when Maddox sets out to convince her that even Christians are allowed to have fun. The story of a prodigal daughter’s transformation, Splitting Harriet reminds readers of God’s delight in forgiving, loving, and enjoying the ride.

This book was just right up my alley–ministry jobs, church consultants, and Jelly Bellys. Not to mention a major theme in the book is judgment and forgiveness. Which is EXACTLY what our pastor has been speaking on the past four weeks. Hmmm…is God talking to me?!

ANYWAY, if you got through all that heart gush I just typed, you deserve a prize! How about a copy of Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh? Well, Multnomah sent me TWO to give away! Leave me a comment and I’ll pick a winner…uhm…on Friday! I’ll announce it the same day as my oh! ho! ho! giveaway, ok?

(oh, I just re-read this post and I didn’t mention so much about the book that I wanted to! There was just so much more that I identified with! I highly recommend it because I think Tamara hit a ton of stuff on the head! Please go pick it up–and if you’d like to read a great interview with Tamara Leigh, click over to Deena’s.)

Ch-ch-ch-change is a post from: ohamanda.com