Cyber-Stalking, Compassion Friends & A Giveaway

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As soon as I was asked to go to Guatemala with Compassion International last fall, I began cyber-stalking the other bloggers have a better grasp of who would be on the trip. I’m no dummy, I understood that the other bloggers could make or break this experience.

Thankfully I already knew, or kind of knew, or virtually knew, Lisa-Jo. We had several mutual friends and had interacted online dozens of times. And I genuinely looked forward to meeting her in person. (I was not the slightest bit disappointed. Lisa-Jo is fantastic.)

So my real intensive research started with Amanda Jones. One peek at her family tree and I started worrying. Yes, the fact that she was raised by Beth Moore was more than a little intimidating. But I knew we had a Texas connection. And a Texas connection is a pretty powerful thing. I knew if she started throwing down some mad Bible study skills I could slip in a Mexican food reference and we’d be back to an area where both of us could exist comfortably. (Side note: Amanda Jones might just be one of the kindest, most welcoming people on the planet. I quickly learned we had a lot more than Texas in common.)

As soon as I convinced myself to get comfortable with the idea of Amanda,  I made my way to Ann Voskamp’s blog. And discovered this beautiful concoction of prose, pictures and music. (I know, I usually hate music on blogs too, but trust me, Ann’s music is oddly soothing.) As I delved into the content I began getting more and more concerned, “What could I possibly have in common with the wife of a Canadian farmer who home-schools her six kids and writes like a poet?”

“Dang. I’m in trouble. I am in so far over my head. What in the world was Shaun Groves thinking when he put me on this trip?”

I still am not sure.

But I can tell you this.

Ann Voskamp oozes Jesus. I am not the type of person who says things like, “So-and-so oozes Jesus” but every time I hear Ann Voskamp’s name I can’t help myself from awkwardly blurting it out. Because she simply oozes Jesus. I have never met someone who loves as fully, and vulnerably. I have never met someone who so purely desired to employ their talents (and boy does Ann Voskamp have talents) to glorify God. I have never met someone who could make an email of encouragement feel like a cherished Word from an angel among us. And I have never met someone who lived with such a intense posture of thankfulness.

I am pretty sure I could spend days following Ann Voskamp around and learning about what being Christlike looks like in the midst of opportunity, busyness, and struggle. But since I don’t have the luxury, I will simply have to soak Ann up by reading her book, One Thousand Gifts. I have started it two times and each time have felt nudged to share it with a friend or family member before I could finish it. (Seriously, it is that good.) But not this time, this copy is staying with me, forever.

Oh, and these 3 women and my friends at Compassion were the perfect traveling companions. But you knew that already.

I do have some copies to  share with you though, 15, in fact. If you would like to enter to win a copy of One Thousand Gifts, just leave a comment below about a person you know that just oozes Jesus. I will pick 15 random winners on Friday and notify them via email. UPDATE: ALL THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN SELECTED AND NOTIFIED. THANK YOU FOR THE TREMENDOUS RESPONSE.

PS – Compassion just announced their May trip to the Philippines. Be sure to be praying for and encouraging this amazing group of bloggers. I can’t wait to follow them to the Far East. So cool.


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Lindsey has a sincere love for her precious dogs Molly and Maisy, a good red wine and the Delta Sky Club.

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Categories: Compassion Guatemala, The Life I Live
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242 thoughts on “Cyber-Stalking, Compassion Friends & A Giveaway”

  1. I would have to say my friend Ursa oozes Jesus. We worked together years ago, while I was a twentysomething wife and mom, and I used to say, “I want to be like Ursa when I grow up!” because she was just so comfortable sharing her Jesus with anyone and everyone. It was inspiring to be around her all those years.

    Thanks, Ursa for being such a godly role model!!

  2. My friend Amanda always points me to Christ. I have only known her for a little while but when I see her I want to serve Christ more.

  3. Our friend is a wife of a martyr. Every time, she shares her testimony, she speaks what the Spirit gives her and it is powerful. Her heart burns with the gospel and wanting to share it with others for God’s glory. She wants to lift up the name of Jesus. She abides in Jesus and His word and it’s very visible, intentional and real.

  4. My friend Sally! Just loves Jesus … spends so much time in the word … and so uplifting! Just talking about her puts a smile on my face and in my heart! {I think it’s time to have coffee soon!}

  8. My friend, Mary, who has suffered more loss that I can even fathom, like Ann Voskamp, has allowed God to move in her life in a way that overwhelms me. For years now, I have seen her looking for God-Beauty instead of focusing on the pain and sorrow and loss. She asks the hard questions and finds abundant joy in living out this life until she sees Jesus face-to-face.

  9. My friend Krystal was such a person. In fact, she was the person who made Jesus reachable to me for the first time. She went to celebrate her wedding with Him as she walked through the door of an earthly wedding. I miss her.

  10. My friend Krystal was such a person. In fact, she was the person who made Jesus reachable to me for the first time. She went to celebrate her wedding with Him as she walked through the door of an earthly wedding. I miss her.

  11. My Aunt Marni. A blessing to have her in my life. She loves the Word and knows how to help ones that are searching. Loving, caring, a true believer.

  12. Besides Ann, the two administrators of my homeschool group ooze Jesus…they are sisters…Patricia MacIntosh and Pam Hukins. I’d LOVE Ann’s book…thanks for offering!

  13. My wonderful Husband. He devotes his life to spreading the gospel. He is a humble servant and I am luck to have in my life.
    Danielle

  14. I am blessed to have a sister who oozes Jesus. She gives of herself completely, always. Makes me want to give everything for her to share, love, be a part of all that makes life.

  15. My new friend, Leigh. She is an amazing wife! She is also a joyful mother of 7 children! I can just sit and soak in her words each time I am with her. I hope to become more Christ-like as she is! Thanks for the chance to win this book!

  16. My friend Jan – she never hesitates to offer help and put her interests aside to do something for someone in need. She is a great listener and has a wonderful way of making people feel like their thoughts are important and they are understood.

  17. My son’s godmother oozes Jesus. She is full of joy while being beautifully real. Just imagining her hugs from thousands of miles away reminds me how loved I am by Him (and her). This fellow mother is not afraid to charitably correct another and can do so in such a way that makes you excited to want to be a better person. Yet she shares her struggles openly with a confidence in God’s will that is edifying to anyone who knows her. I just bought a copy of this book, but I can tell that I need to (immediately?) share copies with many others. Thank you for this generous giveaway!

  18. My friend Robyn, whom I haven’t seen in several years, oozed her Jesus on me, a Christian pretender, until I found Him irristiable. I will forever be grateful.

  19. My friend Jane is an amazing woman of God who oozes Jesus and shares His love with thousands of college students over the years. She demonstrates His unconditional love, and it stems from her passion with Him. I’m so blessed to know her.

  20. A friend of mine and of so many other people, is one of the wisest women I know. She seems to always have the right words to say when you need it, always giving and I wonder sometimes who is encouraging her, who has her back (besides God). Having someone with skin on makes the difference, thats how our Lord works isnt it? Moving the heart of someone else to help others. Anyway I go on but she is one who oozes Jesus for me.

  21. Maribeth VanderWoude oozes Jesus, though she wouldn’t ever claim to. She has influensed me from my teen years, through lonely single days, into my marriage and motherhood. Her quiet but excited way of reaching out to people and reaching up to God has been an inspiration to me to do the same, and SHE is the one who told me about Ann Voskamp’s book and blog! I have been reading the blog as an addition to my daily devotions, and would LOVE to read the book. I’ve started my list, thanks to Mari for urging me on. Thank God for women like her who teach me that there is grace for each new day…

  22. Talk about oozing. My twin sister, Janet. She is my hero. In the midst of difficulties, she continually and bravely searches for Jesus in it all.
    Love to have this book for her, after I read it, of course.

  23. My grandmother Helen, who openly lives out the gospel message, even now as she resides in a nursing home. She now awaits release to her Savior.

  24. I am right there with you in thinking that Ann oozes. I love to be inspired by her writings. I have so many friends that totally inspire me to become closer to Jesus. God has blessed me richly in so many ways. Most of all, I thank my husband, Joe. He is always encouraging me and can always find a Bible verse that helps me out at just the right times. He is the love of my life and I consider myself blessed to be his wife.

  25. I have a very dear friend, Juanita. She is an Angel, God has sent to me! I was at the lowest point of my life, I am still working on difficulties every day. But, I have learned I am not alone, I will never be alone. We have shared so much and I am so thankful for that. We go to church daily, belong to a group called “reflection” and recently started an Adult catechism study group. We make prayer blankets for those who are having difficulties in their life. Myself included.
    I was in 2 bad car accident and have had several major surgeries. My back is metal on both sides of my spine. 4 rods, 9 screws, 2 falso discs and lots of hooks and wires. I broke so many bones, tore my intestines apart, fractured my scapula and had s collapsed lung. I was an avid athletic woman and two drivers took that away. One was an accident with my boss speeding in the snowy NH mountains. The second was a head on drunk driver.
    I had lost hope for my life. Given up on everything. Then I met this warm wonderful woman at our church. She saved my life and she doesn’t realize how much.
    She has your book and I would love to have a copy. She loves it very much. I wish their was something I could do for her. I would love to find some peaceful, quiet, loving CD’s. God Bless and Thank you for this moment to write.

  26. My daughter Jamie oozes Jesus and she has since she was in the womb…a prayed for baby that took 8 years for us to get, at age 5 she wrapped up her new bicycle in newspaper to send to children in South America, at age 9 she sensed God calling her to go to Russia and Ukraine on a mission trip (finally wore her dad & I down at age 15), at age 12 surrendered to God’s call to bring a preschool boy with autism to our home every Sunday so his parents could attend Church together, did so until she left for college to answer God’s call on her life as a special education teacher (is in her 8th year teaching special education), and 3 years ago God blessed her and her husband with the gift of an adopted son. She is oozing Jesus into the life of our grandson and promoting adoption wherever she goes. Oozing Jesus is all about being adopted into a personal relationship with Him!

  27. In every state, on every continent where we have lived the Lord has blessed me with one or two friends that ooze with Jesus! Each with their own gift, but the greatest is their love for Him. I thank God for the gift of like minded women to grow with!

  28. My youth pastors wife from my high school days in youth group oozes Jesus. She was pivotal in bringing me through my early days as a Christian, and I think of her as an angel… She is an amazing woman!

  30. My daughters’ Sunday School teacher Monika , radiates the love of Jesus.She has spent years in therapy to regain her speech and some mobility (she is confined to a wheelchair ) since she was paralyzed at age 3.She loves Jesus ,lives to serve Him in anyway she can and loves to give His love to all she meets.She dances to praise and worship Jesus in her wheelchair.

  31. I would LOVE a copy of a Thousand Gifts! Thank you for blessing others by giving them away. Ann is so thought provoking and encouraging.

    Kim in NH

  33. Ann V. absolutely oozes Jesus and I’m anxious to get my hands on as many copies of her book as I can to share with others. I’m a little selfish, I guess, ’cause I can’t seem to give up my copy. 🙂 Another wonderful young lady who lives it out “no holds bar” is Katie at the blog “On earth as it is in heaven” http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/. She is from Brentwood, TN, so you may have heard of her, but lives in Africa with 13 adopted daughters. The kicker? She’s single and in her early twenties. I’m certain you would love her blog if you don’t already read it. And yes, hers is the only other blog on the planet besides Ann’s that I don’t mind the music while I’m reading. 🙂

    Glad to meet a fellow Nashvillian via a precious Canadian’s blog … funny how that works!

  34. My friend Robyn just oozes Jesus. She is one of those clear-eyed friends we all need more than we can possibly know.

  35. My two friends: Denise and Alexis. Through many difficulties Denise has remained tender hearted and forgiving, she is an inspiration. Alexis clings to Him and sets an example of devotion to Christ.

  37. My boss at the Crisis Pregnancy Center. She always focuses on the person in front of her, asks how you are, not the kind of question that you can just answer “fine” to. She asks “how are you…really”. She gives and gives to the clients and her staff.

  39. The dear person in my life that oozes Jesus would by my best friend Angela. There was a season in particular, where she was lovingly supportive and a sweet spot of protective compassion when my life looked hurtful and ugly. Nobody else during that “valley time” loved me and my family better than she did!

  40. All through my life I’ve met many people who just ooze Jesus. Most recently, the love I have received from our pastor Bob & his wife Dorothy… Bob has just this week gone to Glory… but through the past 10 years I’ve seen Christ’s love, gentleness & peace through tough times. It is a beautiful story of lives surrendered to a Great God.

  43. Have been following Ann’s blog ever since you all went to Guatemala with Compassion International. I found all of you through Amanda Jones. I would love to have Ann’s book. I’d even post a review on my blog and amazon.com.

  44. My sister Martha is probably the sweetest person I know…she is just like my Mom. She is light in every relationship…she oozes the light of Christ to everyone she meets, and to those of us who have known her all our lives.

  45. Sarah Wetzel…i met her on the missionfield. I was 13 and babysitting her little girls. now we are all “grown” up and she is STILL oozing Jesus (now in Ethiopia). would l♥ve to read/share Anne’s book!

  47. Blessed by my 4 adult children who ooze Jesus. Baby boy grown missionary to Thailand. Supported by oldest boy grown wise with giving. Youngest girl compassionate giver to many. Firstborn poor as a church mouse caring for invalid husband while leading 4 babes in the Lord. Such sacrifice! Such blessing!

  48. I’m gonna have to say my husband– he is just the most patient, kind man I have ever known. I am so thankful for him!

  50. My friend Shawn. She is very kind and giving. Always sending kind notes to anyone in need no matter what is going on her life

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