Some news… July 28, 2009

…we’re pregnant!  We just found out last week and the baby is due sometime in the middle of March.  So far, I’m feeling just fine and am praying for a safe, healthy pregnancy!  I’m also adjusting my diet a bit and that has helped a lot with my overall energy and wellness.  Please pray for us; being pregnant with a little baby to already care for is a totally new ballgame for us.  Phin is a good baby so we aren’t feeling overwhelmed- just a little challenged.

Children are such a gift from the Lord- so we are feeling so blessed to be expecting another baby!  We are also still going through the adoption process and if a little one comes our way in the midst of all this- the more the better!  Our home is large, our hearts open, and our minds have said yes to the Lord’s call on our lives to raise the next generation.

Not your typical Sunday Morning July 20, 2009

Yesterday in church, Benji Nolot shared his heart for rescuing those trapped in human trafficking.  I have heard him share before, so I was about to tune out and think “been there, done that,” when the genuineness of his heart was so real that I just had to listen.  The situation around the world is desperate, and terrifying.  Little girls  have  been kidnapped from their own driveways, around the world and right in our neighborhood.

This message made me want to do one thing: get on my face and cry out for the weak.

Benji has started an organization called Exodus Cry.  Check out these links for more info.

http://www.exoduscry.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Exodus-Cry/10683277758

And to see Benji’s notes from his message yesterday, go to this link: www.ihop.org/free

His sermon is called, “Embracing God’s Heart for Human Trafficking”

2 years of marriage! July 15, 2009

Celebrate with us!  On July 14, 2007, Kyle and I made vows before God and people stating that we would be together through thick and thin…and here we are!  Two years felt like a very short moment even though a lot has happened…a little recap for those who might be interested.

July 14 2007- We’re married!

July 28- We move to Overland Park, Kansas (Kyle from Philly and me from LA)

Fall, 2007- Kyle gets a long-term auditing assignment in the Chicago area, I go with him.

January 2008- We are pregnant!

February 2008- We  move into a beautiful home in Kansas City- walking distance from the prayer room.

March 2008- Kyle leaves his original job to join full time staff at IHOP.

April 2008- We lose our baby to miscarriage.

May 2008- We are pregnant again!

July 2008- We celebrate our 1st anniversary by going to the Melting Pot and spending the night at the Plaza.

December 2008- We travel to California to be with family and talk about IHOP.

December 30, 2008, 10:22am- Little Phinehas is born!

22 days later…we take Phinehas home from the hospital!

January- April 2009- Kyle has his first “real” tax season, with more than 80 clients coming into our home.

April- June 2009- I, along with Phinehas, do an internship with IHOP so that I can join full-time staff.

May, 2009- We travel to Philly so that everybody can meet the baby and we also talk with some people about IHOP.

July 14, 2009- Two years and still counting!

Why should the church adopt? July 9, 2009

Did you know…..

90% of children in the foster care systems end up on the streets and often in human trafficking?

If every Bible-believing church in America adopted only 3 children, that the need for a government-run foster care system would be almost completely wiped out?

Something must be done.  Kyle and I have been hearing the Holy Spirit whisper adoption for a while now, but after we heard these numbers, the whisper grew to a scream and we are currently preparing our home to receive a little one.  A child’s case has not been brought to us at this time, but we are in the season of getting through all of the paperwork and we hope to be able to take in an infant as soon as the fall.  It’s exciting.  It’s terrifying.  It’s probably one of the most adventurous things Kyle and I have done- but our hearts are too broken to just sit by and watch the next generation be fatherless.

Deuteronomy 10:18, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.”

Isaiah 1:17 ,” Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Romans 8: 15- 17, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

Malachi 4: 5-6, “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.  He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

***important note*** Not everybody will be called to physically adopt a child, but we must pray for a church that will welcome in the fatherless.  Even if you are not specifically called to adopt, I want to encourage you to support those families who are, by lots of prayer, practical support, and finances when needed.

These are some people who are currently walking out an adoption calling:

http://www.randyandkelsey.com

http://randybohlender.wordpress.com

http://louxfamilyblog.com

A day in the life… July 9, 2009

What does the life of an intercessory missionary look like?  It’s probably not too much different from yours other than the fact that we are daily desiring to center our life around the prayer room.

7am- Phinehas gets up.  He eats breakfast while Kyle and I slowly wake up and see how the other one is doing.

8am- Nagys are up and getting ready for the day.

9am- Kyle is off to another day in the Business Office at IHOP and Michelle is getting the baby ready to go to the prayer room.

9:30-12:30- Michelle and Phinehas in the prayer room

12:30-1pm- Nagys all have lunch together.  This is our only family meal at the moment, and it’s very important to us!

1pm- Phinehas is down for his afternoon nap

1-4pm- Michelle does “missionary housewifey things,” clean, cook, laundry, support raising, blogging,…and if it’s been a tiring week, she sneaks in a nap, too!

4:15pm- Phinehas awakens from his nap and needs a snack.  Michelle gets ready for an evening at Starbucks.

4:30pm- Michelle drops off Phinehas at Kyle’s office for a bit.  Phinehas usually looks around or gets to play a little bit with the many ladies in the office that are enamored with him.  This is often their favorite part of the day.  We are grateful for a kid-friendly office!

4:40pm- Michelle drives to work and eats dinner as she goes.

5pm- Kyle is done with work and heads home with baby for dinner.  Meanwhile, Michelle is at work and is clocking in for another evening of making lattes.

6-8pm- Kyle works on various things: cleaning the house, meeting with clients, working on bookkeeping.

8pm- Kyle heads to the prayer room with the baby.

10pm- Kyle is home from the prayer room, the baby goes down for the night and Kyle relaxes.

11pm- Michelle is home from work and she and Kyle recount the day.

12am- To bed we go; the next day is only 7 hours away!

A new breed of Americans July 5, 2009

Yesterday was the 4th of July…

…and unlike most Americans, instead of grilling, going to a fireworks show, or parade, I spent most of my day working at good ol’ Starbucks.  And last year, I also spent my day working, as did Kyle.

Although the nature of any food service job is to work on holidays, I was glad to work.  Working is healthy and I believe that if the church in the United States is ever going to move in the books of Acts type of power, (healing the sick, raising the dead, powerful preaching that causes revival, etc..) we need to shake ourselves of this “9-5, Monday through Friday, and then chill out to the tube or a movie” lifestyle.

Additionally, because I chose to do a 12-week internship with the International House of Prayer from the beginning of April to the end of June, we had a full day on Sunday that included service hours, three teachings, and prayer room time.  So that means that for Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day,  the only way I was able to spend time with my family for these holidays is by taking one of five personal days.

Towards the end of the internship, I was out of personal days.  I realized how much value I placed into holidays and relaxing when I felt the cry of my flesh saying, “but I’m a mom!  I want to be pampered and relax on Mother’s Day!  I deserve this!“  But in all honesty, I signed up for this internship, and I needed to stay true to my commitment.  It wasn’t about me, and I needed to die to myself.  Was it hard?  Absolutely!  But IHOP is wanting me (and everybody on the base) to change their paradigm from a 40 hour work week and then rest is play (the rest being 128 hours!) The overall church in America feeds right into this mindset, and it must be broken.

It is killing us, really.  Instead of feeding our spirit on the Word, and working with our hands, we settle for a life in God that is mediocre so that we can have an excellent leisurely lifestyle.  While our flesh thrives and gets every need that it demands, our spirit that dwells on the inside is faint for lack of living water.  Do you see the dilmea?

Now don’t get me wrong, having time throughout the week to unwind and relax is healthy, I just think that the church in the U.S. has an unhealthy balance of work vs. leisure.  Think about it: Imagine the typical youth group.  If you have a free pizza night with games and a movie, everybody is there.  The pizza runs out quickly.  People stay out late and everybody enjoys themselves.  But if you call for a prayer meeting, outreach, missions trip…all of a sudden people are too busy, they need to study, they have other commitments.  Am I making any sense?

I encourage you all to take Matthew 5,6 and 7 and read it daily for a month.  This is Jesus’ plan for how the church needs to walk out being the church. A change needs to occur in this land, but first we must die to self.

What is an intercessory missionary??? July 2, 2009

Most of us have a grid for a “sent missionary.” Usually when this is the case, somebody sends you a letter and says that they are going to [insert country] for [length of time] to [insert task here] and would you like to fund their missionary lifestyle?  Example: Hi, it’s Jane!  I’m going to Thailand for five years to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and build orphanages.  However, us intercessory missionaries at IHOP-KC (or any place with intercessory missionaries) have a unique task: to communicate what it actually means to be doing what we are doing.

So let me explain…

Just like “sent” missionaries are sent by God to help fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) through preaching and mercy deeds, the Lord is also calling forth a new type of missionary that is essential in completing the Great Commission.  An intercessory missionary’s primary focus is changing the spiritual atmosphere over cities through “intercessory worship” (Psalm 149).  This ministry provides one of the scriptural requirements for God to release the fullness of revival.  God will not move in fullness apart from night and day prayer (this includes regular fasting and Sermon on the Mount living, Matthew 5,6 and 7).  The Scripture makes this abundantly clear (Joel 2) and history undoubtedly proves this.  Also, scripture declares that God will orchestrate a mighty “intercessory worship” movement covering the earth in the generation the Lord returns (Song of Songs 8:6, Revelation 22:17).

An intercessory missionary is expressed in five ways:

First- we collectively pray night and day for the release of the Great Harvest (Matthew 9:37-38)  IHOP is burdened with urgency to win the unreached peoples of the earth to Jesus.

Second- we provide vital prayer covering to missionaries currently on the field

Third- we train future intercessory missionaries to be sent out to other cities

Fourth- we go on short-term mission trips (2 weeks to 2 months) to help establish Houses of Prayer in other nations

Fifth- when called, we personally relocate to strategic places in the earth as long-term intercessory missionaries.

Looking for more answers? Another helpful web page is:  http://www.ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000036187

This page has a ton of FREE resources that I frequently use myself.

More questions?  Just ask!

Phinehas- a photo story July 2, 2009

A little background first: Phinehas’ story was a miracle from day one. We had lost our first baby due to miscarriage but felt the Lord encouraging us to pray for another life, and soon. So we did, and there ended up being only 5 weeks between the end of the first baby and the start of Phinehas’ journey in the womb. I developed high blood pressure towards the end of the pregnancy and eventually it became so bad, that my body went into labor 7 weeks early. But it was a natural, safe delivery and Phinehas was healthy from day #1 (breathing on his own, too!) He ended up staying in the hospital for three *very long* weeks so that the doctors could make sure that he was strong enough to live well outside of constant medical care. And now he is home, healthy and growing bigger everyday! Our journey into parenthood proved to be a difficult road, but we are glad we walked through it and love our little guy more every moment!

One of my first real memories holding him. His head was smaller than the palm of my hand. In this picture, I’m still very sick and couldn’t make it up and down stairs without feeling faint.

First family photo (taken by Amber!). Because Phinehas was born early, he had to be in the NICU. We didn’t know how long he would be in there, so our hearts were pretty nervous. Kyle was my faithful, cheerful rock the whole time.

This is where our little guy lived for the first three weeks of his life. He loved being wrapped up snug in a blanket. We soon nicknamed him, “burrito boy.”

He loved his binkie from day one. Look at how massive it is on his face!

Finally ready to go home! Look at how LITTLE he is!!!

Still our little burrito boy!

First family picture from home. He is about 2 months old in this one.

Still loving the binkie

Fun with Dad outside! Often if he’s fussing, we take him outside and he calms down right away.

Phinehas loves his grandma gaffrey!

Three generations.

Adam and phinny playing together. He is about four months old in this one.

Gaffrey grandparents! They have waited many years for this day!

Such a happy boy!

Phin and mom love each other! He is a little distracted by the light of the camera…

“hum…what will I do next?”

and…still loving the binkie!

Such a big boy! Much bigger than the day we took him home! He is five months in this one; and weighs about 10 pounds more than they day we took him home from the hospital!

One day, he brought pot pie to Kyle and work. He has a strong little grip, and is holding the plate all by himself.

“whoa, you startled me, mom!”

“thanks for looking at these pictures of me! See you all later!”

What is the prayer room? And what goes on in there? July 1, 2009

As always, take a look at www.ihop.org for more details.

It is a challenge to explain something so unique as a 24/7 prayer room.  Before I visited the prayer room at IHOP-KC, I had a lot of questions about what it would be like.  Is it like a church worship service?  Is it like a really long prayer meeting?  Is it like a conference?  Is it like the prayer room I used to go to at college?  Well, hopefully this post will answer some of the questions that you have.

Can anybody go to the prayer room? There is always a lot going on at the IHOP–KC Missions Base, and central to everything is our 24/7 prayer room which is open to the public around the clock—day and night. The prayer room has been designed to reflect the tabernacle of David (1 Chr. 22–24), where we never cease worshiping the Lord and interceding for our world. There are twelve worship sets a day which transition every two hours, and each is guided by one of two prayer formats: intercession, and worship with the Word.

What should I be doing in the prayer room? We want you to feel comfortable, whether as a participant or an anonymous visitor. You are welcome to stay in the prayer room as long as you like. While in the prayer room, feel free to sing along with the worship teams, read your Bible, study a favorite commentary, write in your journal or just pray. You may sit, stand or even pace up and down the aisles. Whatever you do, we ask that you do it in a manner that honors and serves the other people in the room.

Wow, it seems so organized!  How do the people on stage know what to do and when? There are two basic worship and prayer formats that break up the twenty-four hour day: six two-hour intercession sets and six two-hour worship with the Word sets which are more devotional.

Intercession sets are usually energetic as the room is invited to engage in corporate prayer. These two-hour sets generally have a specific prayer focus, and individuals in the room are welcome to pray on the microphone for a corporate burden which may involve the Kansas City region or believers worldwide. There are also cycles of “rapid fire prayer” when, one by one, intercessors pray a succession of 15-second prayers on a specific theme.  There are also times of small group prayer for those who wish to participate.

Intercession sets are daily at midnight, 4AM, 6AM, 10AM, 4PM, and 8PM.

Worship with the Word is a prayer format in which we agree with God’s heart as we sing the biblical truths of who God is and what His promises are. Since these sets are more devotional in nature, the volume is brought down to make a more conducive environment for reading the Bible and entering into contemplative or devotional prayer.

Worship with the Word sets are daily at 2AM, 8AM, noon, 2PM, 6PM and 10PM.

About the International House of Prayer in KC- what is it all about? July 1, 2009

For more info, check out www.ihop.org  To be as accurate as possible, I got most of my descriptive language directly from this website.

What is this IHOP place?

Perpetual worship and intercession are at the heart of all we do. The International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOP–KC) is a missions base which embraces 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, four primary things:

1. live worship and prayer (Psalm 27:4, and many other psalms)

2. understanding that God loves me as a bridegroom loves a bride (Song of Songs, Rev 22:17)

3. preparing for the end times (Daniel, Revelation, Psalm 2)

4. doing acts of justice (James 1:27, Luke 18:7-8)

These four things stand as pillars for all that we do.  In future posts, I’ll explain each pillar a little further and how I personally walk out each one in my day to day life (and how you can, too!)