Just a quick mass communication that Corey and I have new phone numbers... if you need to update our info just click "Contact the Jacobs" on the left and we'll email you with the new digits...
To persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.
James and Carol were both on the leadership team with me back when I was a part of 20/20, a young adults group in Abilene, TX. Those were really great days... my first experience in Biblical community. I had been in community before... but theatre community is often about being exclusive and partying... not exactly Biblical. I had also been a part of things that were very Biblical... but without close knit community. 20/20 was the first time in my life that the two merged. We were close, authentic, welcoming, and intentional about growing together. James and I co-led a small group that Carol was a member of and Carol later became a small group leader after I left on the World Race.
As often happens in a group of unmarried young folks... attraction showed up. One day, James approaches Carol with all of the courage he can muster: "Carol... I would like to ask you on a date." Carol, with all the love and authenticity in her heart looks back into his eyes: "No." Carol thought James was a great friend and really appreciated his friendship, but there was no attraction on her part. Eventually, to try and protect James, she even tells him that they can no longer be friends. She doesn't want casual friendship to lead him to thinking that there's ever a shot for more. So boundary lines are drawn and James picks up pieces of his heart and walks away.
But community is community... when true community happens you never walk too far away. So eventually Carol and James found themselves in the same circles again. And like a perennial flower, all of James' love for Carol bloomed again. Once again, James approaches Carol with all of his courage. And once again, Carol sends him away. I talked with Carol I-don't-even-know how many times over the past two years as this process continued. I always thought they would be a cute couple, but not if Carol didn't love James back. How do you maintain a friendship on one end while the other end wants more? After a few cycles of this, Carol drew clear boundary lines... not only with James but with those of us who thought they would be a cute couple as well. Friendship welcomed... nothing more... don't even ask.
Last January when Corey and I were in Texas we were eating at Texas Roadhouse with some of our supporters. Eventually, we see Carol and James come in. Corey looks over at me and whispers, "Oooo... I wonder what's going on there?!" at which point... being the good friend that I am... I adamantly proclaimed, "No! Absolutely not! Don't even mention anything of the sort! There is nothing and never will be anything more than friendship there. They are probably meeting some 20/20 leadership here."
Two days later we find out they are dating... and have been for a month! Turns out, in the midst of their strict friendship, Carol found something else in her heart. Love. Amidst the cheers of victory from all those who have watched their story, on Saturday, May 9, Carol and James were married.
In the midst of the ceremony, the pastor reminded us that a wedding ceremony is not only a celebration of the love of this couple, but is a reflection of God's character. While he mentioned none of their story, I felt God began to replace Carol and James with me and Him. God reminded me that He is my Lover who has persevered through much more than James has with Carol.
The first time I talked with James after they were engaged, he said something profound. While those two years were far from fun, he adamantly maintained that, "She's worth it." As I watched these two friends enter into covenant with each other, I heard God whisper "You were worth the wait, too."
I have a story filled with parties and addictions, turning to God for forgiveness every Sunday, but always holding Him at arms' length when it came to a relationship. "Sure God... we can be friends... but let's keep our boundaries here. You can only have so much." God always stuck with me... and respected my boundaries too. He never pushed Himself into my life, but He stuck around as close as I would let Him. A few times He would remind me how much more He wanted from me, but every time I pushed Him away. Then one day... while God remained "that friend over there" I found something in my heart... or maybe I should say I found that there was something missing from my heart. I was tired, addicted, broken, and hurt and here He was offering me life, freedom, healing, and wholeness. Finally, I turned and said, "Okay... we can try this out..." And then... amidst the cheers of victory from all those who watched my story, in May of 2002, I said "I do."
Congratulations James and Carol! May your story continue to show God's amazing, patient love!
One half of our life exists inside the world of the AIM office... the other half is with Lanier Hills Church and the Lake Lanier Club Apartment Complex. We have jumped in, head first, to event planning and chaplaincy! We're definitely up against a steep learning curve, but we're climbing steadily!
The biggest challenge we face is that we are pioneering new territory. The apartment complex has had great events in the past, but not for the purpose of building relationships that lead toward Christ. The leadership at church has great experience in building relationships that lead toward Christ, but not in an apartment complex setting. So here we are... blazing new territory... learning bits and pieces and trying to see where they fit in our puzzle.
We have had a few events tank. Movie night... game night... no good. We've learned that if someone can stay in the comfort of their own home and do the same thing... they aren't going to come out to play with us. On the other hand... free food and kids' stuff has had great turnouts! Not only have a lot of people come, but we've gotten to actually sit down and have conversations... building relationships!
One of the great moments actually came from an event that we would have considered a failure. 15 minutes after Movie Night was supposed to start, a mom and two small kids come in. Dad wanted to take a nap in peace and quiet and it was too dark for the playground, so Ta Da! We have Movie Night guests! The kids were really too young... even for Wall-E... so we mostly just played. By the end of the evening the mom was super comfortable with us and the kids had become our new best friends.
The next day was the Kids Easter party... this time Mom, Kids, and Dad all came to play. Turns out Dad's name is also Corey! We had tons of fun running around the playground and then a thought occurred to me... We're having Easter Dinner tomorrow...
I argued with myself for a while... Why would this family come over to our house when they've only met us twice? Why would they spend Easter dinner with strangers? ... not only us but we were having some AIM friends over too! Then... from somewhere deep inside... a bit of courage came from somewhere. "The worst they could say is no!" And I invited them...
They said yes!! We spent the whole next afternoon together, playing with kids, eating great food, and just having fun. Since then they have been regulars at our events and we've even exchanged phone numbers.
This is why we do what we do. There's been no Gospel presentation... there's been no altar call... but there is a friendship there. And God has promised that He is living inside of us and flowing out of us. So when there's a connection... it's a bridge for God to easily walk across. The more our friendship develops, the deeper the bridge can reach. It's not our job to "save" our new friends... it's not our job to get them to pray a prayer... it's our job to move them one step closer to Jesus. The best place for that to happen is inside of our unconditional friendship.
As we have moved in to our new life in Georgia, everyone's favorite question is "Are you settled in?" I appreciate this question a lot... especially because when the answer is "no", what follows is often God providing what we need. Now the answer is most commonly "yes" ... simply because we don't currently need any more stuff. However, I think we need a new word rather than "settled" because life doesn't seem very settled to me.
When I think of settled, I imagine feathers being tossed up and "settling" back to the ground. It's a calm, peaceful picture that ends in stillness. Of all the words to describe life right now, "still" just doesn't fit!
Our ministry here at AIM is going great. We have 134 participants on the field and another 217 in some state of preparing to go. My favorite moment in this "business" is seeing all of these starry-eyed faith-walkers come through the doors for training camp. We just finished a camp at the beginning of April and have another at the end of May. More often than not, camp becomes a defining moment in the lives of these 20- and 30-somethings. I am overwhelmed with the privilege of being part of God changing their lives.
I work mainly with those in the preparation stage; making sure that this is the time and place God has called them to and getting all the ducks in a row for them to make it out there. God has completely changed my perspective so that every piece of paperwork, every interview, every phone call, is no longer another item on a task list, but is a person who could radically bring the Kingdom of God to the lost and hurting of the world. That's paperwork worth doing!
In addition, I have become the resident finances guru. It's funny to me that I... who hated math with every ounce of my being... now take care of money. While solving bank account problems internationally comes with its share of headaches... I actually enjoy this part!
All of the participants... all of the training camps... all of the hours... Life doesn't seem very settled to me. But you know what? That's not all in our world! Stay tuned for all the happenings outside my little office space!
This is an old blog, from November2006, that I wrote while in the D.R. I want to share this with you because it is a reminder that most of the kids I knew in San Juan are still walking its streets yelling out "Limpo zapatos, limpo botas" (I clean shoes) everyday.
I used to have an atitude of poor people as lazy and stupid. Why else would they be poor? If you have any ammount of work ethic and brains you could make an honest living. In the D.R. God ripped that out of me as I saw these little boys walking miles in one day to earn a few bucks for thier families. Wilkin, Santos, Torku, and Arial are four that hung around us most but I'd guess that in the city there were about 20-35 kids who would walk around with the iconic shoe cleaners box.
Most of them would prefer to go to school but can't because their families are to poor to pay for the uniform. Parents aren't left with many options so they make their kids go and try to make enough money for their families to get by (and when I say "get by" I mean this; to eat, buy clean water, and be able to stay in their 10' by 14' house). Shoe shinners make 1 to 5 US dollars a day, 5 dollars if you can find a house that has a bunch of shoes that need to be polished and cleaned. 5 US dollars a day is enough to feed a family of four for that day but the lack of education will keep that family in poverty.
Tittled: "Este es el amor de Jesus"
Everyone was standing on the gravel road outside the houses a waiting the rest of our group. Gym-shorts were on everyone and spirits within were high for some exercise that was slightly overdue. Saturday nights are family stadium nights.
Walking along the narrow streets that I am beginning to become very familiar with is a comfort of sorts. The crazy traffic and vibrant house colors strike images of the Dominican culture (loud and proud). In contrast, the mountains in the background constantly radiate an aura of humble beauty and peace that is as old and unchanging as the mountains themselves. Becoming used to this city is like seeing a painting so many times you forget that it's a masterpiece.
As we continued to make our way to our destination, I looked back at the other half of the group and saw that we had gained two new friends. Santos (age 10), and Arial (age 12) carry boxes under their arms, a reminder of what they do to survive. Along with the over-sized, torn, and dirty clothes the boxes give away their lowly identity in this society. These boys are just two of the many shoe shiners that I have personally met and made friends with here.
I slowed down so that I could walk alongside these boys and learn their names. After asking their names they in turn asked me a question "can you buy me some food?" AIM's policy for hand-outs is that it shouldn't be in money form but in food. So we stopped at a corner shop and got some food to go.
The boys were having a hard time eating and carrying their boxes at the same time so I asked to carry Santo's (picture on right) box. As I asked for it, Arial told me that I should not carry it. Puzzled, I asked. "But why shouldn't I carry it?", "Because its shameful. Those who carry it are shamed." I understood his reply, I had seen people speak down to and yell at these boys in public before but yet I never thought about how these boys viewed themselves. They clean the crap that others step in, how would you view yourself if you did that all day. If the DR has a cast system, these boys are the bottom. They are shoe cleaners.
His reply made me even more determined to carry his box. So I looked into Santos eyes and asked him again "puedo cargar este?". He nodded and gave it up with a smile. As I took it I wondered how long it had been carried that day, but this thought was cut short as Arial reminded me again how I was bringing shame upon myself. "You shouldn't do that. Its bad for you"
We came to a group of men sitting on the side of the road playing dominos. They were all laughing and talking loudly...until we walked up, then everyone got dead silent. I said hello and the oldest of them, probably in his 40's, replied with a grunt. I took it as "what do you want?" but as we continued walking two teens came up and started to talk to Arial. As I watched and listened one turned and said to me in a cocky way, "Are you going to clean my shoes?" I just smiled and said "Of course!" His mouth shut and he looked puzzled at my willingness. I knew he was just trying to embaress me so I smiled, turned and kept walking. Both Arial and Santos laughed, Santos grabbed my hand and smiled at me. I could only hope that he felt better about himself and knew that he wasn't someone that was shamed.
I'm reading a great book right now by Mark Batterson. What I read today is all about how living as a radical Christ-follower is not just about doing crazy ministry. It's a life of letting the Holy Spirit lead you into uncomfortable circumstances. I'm challenged once again to examine the comfort level of my life.
"Jesus called him (Holy Spirit) the Counselor. He comforts the afflicted. But like a good counselor, He also afflicts the comfortable."
This amazing truth is going deep with me today. I live, work, and breathe an environment that many people look at and it causes them to become uncomfortable. Sell everything and travel the world living out of a backpack? Then sell everything again to move to Ireland? I can't count the number of times that people have said something to the effect of "Wow... I could never do that."
Not only do the circumstances of our life often amaze people... but the stories we get to tell about ministry are amazing as well. People are experiencing the Holy Spirit for the first time and are changing from timid church-pew-sitters into bold missionaries preaching the gospel. People are recognizing the voice and leading of God and obediently following Him in things that don't make sense, only to see down the road that it was the perfect orchestration of a God-encounter. It's a great life with great stories.
But the truth is, this lifestyle has become comfortable to me. My comfort zone IS the environment that makes people go, "wow." But that doesn't mean I have arrived and have it all together... I am now Radical. Check.
Actually, it means I've grown comfortable. So today, God is challenging me to move beyond my comfort zone. God is convicting me about simply living a complacent comfortable life without challenge because everyone else thinks it's challenging. And the funny thing is, moving outside my comfort zone looks a lot like moving into an old comfort zone.
Right now, the challenge before us is to settle down. To sign a yearlong lease. To commit to a place, a people, and a ministry and not look to leave on the next great adventure that comes along. The challenge is to have furniture and kitchen appliances, but not become materialistic. The challenge is to save up for a second car, but be willing to give that savings away if God directs. The challenge is to wake up, Monday through Friday, have a cup of coffee and go to the office, and come home at five, cook dinner, sleep, rinse and repeat. But to do so radically.
It's easy to live as a radical Christ-follower in the middle of an African slum where you are confronted with the need for Jesus around every corner. It's hard to live as a radical Christ-follower in a nice apartment complex with friendly neighbors.
But the good news is that the same Holy Spirit that leads us on the Great Adventures, is the Holy Spirit who leads us to make Normal Life the next Great Adventure. I might work every day in an office, but every day I have the chance to obediently follow the voice of God in things that may not make sense, only to see that it was the perfect orchestration of a God-encounter... right there with me in an office. We might live in a great apartment complex with nice neighbors, but every day I have the chance to enter into relationships where I'm challenged to remember that Jesus is needed around every corner... right here in normal life.
It's not easy. I'm finding the demons of complacency and materialism around every corner. But I'm ready for the challenge... I'm ready to pursue the life of a radical Christ-follower right here, right now.
On our last episode we took you on a tour of our new house, sans furniture. Since then, I embarked on The Great Furniture Search with two great friends. Heather Goode is the most adept bargain finder I have ever met. And Casey Wells has the ability to find the most ridiculous junk and turn it into the coolest decoration. So a few Saturdays ago, we planned to take on Gainesville armed with a meager budget, empty house, and a passion for negotiation.
The morning started with a phone call from Heather. We hadn't planned on going out until later (due to rain and a daughter's basketball game), but like a true amazing bargain finder, Heather set out on her own in the morning anyway. She called, having found some good porch chairs and a couple smaller items we might want. As she went to pay for the items, the man asked her if that was all she was interested in, and then directed her to a room in the house to pay for the things. Inside the room, he explained that everything was free. They wanted to explain the free gift of salvation to people. What a great idea! Heather thought, but there are people who really need this and I can afford it. But God interrupted her... Whether you think you have earned enough to pay for your salvation, or whether you think that someone else needs it more than you do... We're all in the same boat. We desperately need God to pay for what we can't. And now we have two great chairs on our porch to remind us of that incredible truth!!!
... but that was only stop number one.
After Heather shared this great story with us, she told me about a place called the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. It's a retail shop where Habitat sells the unused the building supplies, furniture, and random items that they didn't need for their houses. But the store is only open until 1 on Saturdays, so Corey and I would have to go before us girls got together. Heather warned us, sometimes you find amazing things... sometimes there's nothing there. But it wouldn't hurt to try, right?
As soon as we walked in the finds began! Right there at the door was an oversized armchair/loveseat with ottoman. Cheap. Behind that was an amazing bookcase. Towards the back was a coffee table with two matching end tables. There were tools Corey needed. We walked out under a $100 with most of the things that we really wanted!!
As we were driving home... oh so excited... I said to Corey, "The great news is that we just got so much stuff for such a little price, that now if we need to spend some extra money on a dresser (my #1 must have item to find that day) then we can afford it!" Corey stopped me, "No honey, we need to wait for a really good deal. Just suffer a little longer and then we'll get to put our clothes away." NOT what I wanted to hear... but he was right.
I'm on the phone with Casey telling her about our amazing finds as I walk upstairs and there, sitting outside our apartment was a dresser! Our sweet neighbor was moving out and didn't want it. There was the number one thing I wanted and it was free!
Reminder... at this point we have spent only $100, and our house is almost furnished.
Thinking the day couldn't get any better, I met up with Heather and Casey. Stop number 1? The side of the road where someone had put these great Adirondack porch chairs by the trash can... Perfect condition! (except for the REALLY bright spray paint... but what's a little paint?) So now we have a total of 5 porch chairs!
Stop number two was a local thrift store. Corey and I had been the day before and he found a couch... if you can call it that... that he decided was the perfect level of comfort for him. It was hideous, but he liked it. I took Heather and Casey to it and Heather proclaimed, "In the name of Jesus we will find something better than THAT!" And we moved on...
We visited a few more places... and at each turn found a few things that were decent for decent prices... but each time Heather and Casey held me back, "No... let's keep looking." That's when we entered Little Mexico.
Gainesville has a large Mexican immigrant population and with that comes a large section of town that feels like you crossed the border. It's GREAT! Heather took us to a large yellow building that just says "Thrift Store" outside and we walked into the Jerusalem of Thrift stores. There's an entire ROOM of appliances, a ginormous room of clothes, and then in the back is more housewares than you could dream of. We got bags worth of kitchen utensils, a microwave, and wicker chest. And because everything is Mexico-style... there's no prices. We just took it all to the front, prepared to negotiate. But her offers were SO low there was no need!
Uber-excited with all my new housewares, I didn't know if I could take more. Heather suggested a furniture-liquidator store to look for a couch. Usually the prices are too high for our budget, but it couldn't hurt to stop, right? We walked in to see plush leather furniture and, though the prices were INCREDIBLY low for the quality, it definitely wasn't our budget. We walked toward the back (the place where all good deals live) and stopped at a couch and loveseat set with no price on it. The arms were a little worn, but why not ask? As I stood with a guy who was looking up the price, Heather and Casey kept walking. Suddenly, from the back I hear gasps and sighs.
I turn around and Casey and Heather have plopped into the most perfect couch I have ever seen. It's the color we wanted in our living room. It's the size we wanted. And from their gasps, it was apparently the comfort we wanted too! Of course there's no way we could afford it, right? I sat and fell in love... and then saw the price. Wow... that's really cheap! But it's exactly $29 more than I have. So I continue walking around the store, finding things that just don't live up to that couch. In the back there's a sleeper sofa that's a similar color and pretty comfy... but Heather, Casey, and the guy helping us convince me that it would just be mean to have Corey move a sleeper sofa to the third floor apartment.
Finally we move back to The Couch. I look at our helper, with the most pained look, and meekly ask, "Would you come down on the price at all?" "Sure!" he says. My mind races... "Okay Laura, here's your chance. You can't blow this. Pull out all the negotiator stops you know... Remember South Africa... guatemala...." But before I can begin he starts with $15 off!! I bite my lip... and he goes to $20 off!!!
I look up at him... "Sir, I can only give you this much in cash right now." and without a hesitation he says "Okay!" and we have the best couch in the world!!!
wow... Life can't get better, right? With my wallet emptied out, we decide to stop by one store on the way home. I wanted to see if it was any good, anyway. Inside I find a wooden salad bowl set. We received a very similar set for a wedding gift and VERY begrudgingly let it go when we moved. Corey has reminded me often of those bowls and how much he misses them. And here was a set so similar! Sad that I didn't have just $6 more, I shoved my hands in my pocket to walk away. Oh wait! What is this in my pocket? Out comes exactly $6. I have no idea when I put change in my pocket... but I nearly cried. (I know it's a salad bowl, but still!)
And so The Great Furniture Hunters headed back home... overwhelmingly excited about all the ways God provided for each amazing item.
A few days later our sweet friends The Pitts brought over a second dresser, a tv, and a complete dining room set for us as well. Really? Our house is absolutely filled with amazing furniture and we haven't put a dime on credit!
And as if I wasn't overwhelmed enough that day... We got a phone call from our pastor here letting us know that everything was worked out and we are officially the new pastors of Lake Lanier Club apartments!!! We now have a comfortable house, filled with reminders of God's provision, and the job we've dreamed of doing. I'll write more about our job soon...
I think Casey summed the day up well, "Think you're where you're supposed to be?"
As we have moved in to our new life in Georgia, everyone's favorite question is "Are you settled in?" I appreciate this question a lot... especially because when the answer is "no", what follows is often God providing what we need. Now the answer is most commonly "yes" ... simply because we don't currently need any more stuff. However, I think we need a new word rather than "settled" because life doesn't seem very settled to me. 
I'm reading a great 
Right now, the challenge before us is to settle down. To sign a yearlong lease. To commit to a place, a people, and a ministry and not look to leave on the next great adventure that comes along. The challenge is to have furniture and kitchen appliances, but not become materialistic. The challenge is to save up for a second car, but be willing to give that savings away if God directs. The challenge is to wake up, Monday through Friday, have a cup of coffee and go to the office, and come home at five, cook dinner, sleep, rinse and repeat. But to do so radically. 
