seeing the bigger picture...

Just a short note here. I am now serving on a local Human Trafficking Task Force. We are simply a group of people from various churches that have a passion for ending human trafficking. While we are focusing on finding and filling the "gap" here in our county; I keep seeing a much bigger picture.
I'm talking a ginormous, big, hairy picture.
It's hard to completely define at this point but:
It includes creating a dance/performance arts group. And I don't dance (LOL)
Building a place of restoration for victims of trafficking and abuse. Called "La Casita" a little house making a big difference. This concept geared more towards a community center, has been on my heart for years.
Creating some sort of nation-wide coalition of believers to address the issue of modern day slavery.
Creating some way of getting the word out about trafficking. To engage people I meet on the street about the issue. Maybe t-shirts?
Don't know where this is going. I am being transformed. I see it, I don't get where it is going. But, that's o.k. I learned a long time ago, when God is speaking, I just wait, listen and don't ask a lot of questions.
Just letting it percolate...

right choices are always followed by right feelings...

This week was a personal testimony of restoration from a wonderful couple.

Testimony of Restoration

creativity is easy, implementation is hard work...

A lot of creative elements is work and some is just thinking & vapor…
Sometimes I imagine that some people think a stage design just shows up in my car and we put it together. Not so… Sadly it is hard to explain what the creative thinking entails. Looks so simple, when I look at the photos. And sadly I didn’t get pictures of the laver and brazen altar fire. Oh well…


Here goes: This is How to Create the Temple Elements in 60 Easy Steps:
1. Meeting one: by txt. Can we do temple set-up again. Think. Pray. O.k. Will need extra people.
2. Research previous temple set-up. What do I still have, what do I need. How am I going to do it?
3. Shopping at two different Walmarts and Michaels.
4. Draw out ideas and set-up
5. Meeting:
6. In between shopping at Ikea.
7. Think. Pray.
8. Type up general directions for set-up team and meeting. Posted on basecamp.
9. Search pictures on-line for team.
10. Think.
11. Found laver. And items for brazen altar.
12. Oh yes, in between all of this I read 2 Chronicles.
13. Took notes.
14. Painted laver gold. Wrong color. Ugh!
15. Research the Temple set-up. Think.
16. Looked at all the cloth in car. Need to find all the shiny cloth (bronze, gold and silver) and chiffon (at least 4-6 pieces)
17. Type up general directions for set-up team and meeting. Posted on basecamp.
18. Meeting. Work on details. Prep team. Explain how it will work.
19. Think: Decided not to do brazen altar.
20. E-mail reminder for 6:30 a.m. call at school for set-up.
21. Think about setting up crown and think about the nebulas idea of the “glory of the LORD”.
22. Went to CVS for power strip
23. Get bread mix.
24. Clean two folding tables.
25. Pulled out plug-ins. Get urn.
26. Make bread.
27. Take bronze plate down from wall (it hangs in my living room), get legs out of attic.
28. Study temple set up again (location of the elements in the temple) online and confirm various materials (gold vs. bronze, etc) each element was made of.
29. Make a list.
30. Type more detailed instructions for team. Printed out.
31. Never found incense bowl used before. Came up with alternative. An old salad bowl.
32. Painting incense bowl bronze.
33. Load half the things in my car.
34. Located and gathered safety pins.
35. Go to office. Found bronze cloth and 3 pieces of chiffon. And candelabras, left two because they did not fit in my car.
36. Ran some cloth thought the dryer to get wrinkles out. Rolled up.
37. Rolled up yet more cloth.
38. Txt to find other cloth.
39. Finish list. Bed.
40. Wake up at 5:00
41. Finish loading car.
42. Camera, coffee, Bible, bag, cleaning material..
43. Pray. Drive to school for 6:30 call.
44. Decided not to use crown.
45. Unload car and haul it in.
46. Bronze piece for laver didn’t dry. Ugh! Bronze paint everywhere.
47. Txt’s. Some people are running late.
48. Did the showbread set-up while waiting. Organized various pieces.
49. Lampstand done by producer.
50. Deploy team with instructions. One team on laver, one team on cloth on stage, one team on incense.
51. Will need ladder.
52. Set-up plug-ins for incense smell. Had to work with person.
53. Future note: need to label the various scents.
54. Need to raise level of certain pieces. Think. Move rolling cabinets all the way around to raise one piece. Cover in cloth.
55. O.k. I am going to do it. Create on the fly the “glory of the LORD”. It worked. Yippee!
56. Asked to raise a second element higher. Hmmm…get conductors platform from back stage and wrap in golden cloth.
57. Asked to add in fire (brazen altar) after all. Think.
58. Pastor happy. Go team! Said some thank you to people.
59. Break all of it down. Seems like that takes longer than setting up.
60. Help load trailer; then got help to load all the temple stuff back into my car.
Now all of it is still sitting in my car…

Since we do a lot of Old Testament Study, I can see the value and am seriously looking at taking the time and just making a nice set of temple elements to use in the future & box it up.