Strip Club Outreach

We had another outreach on Saturday to the strip club. It was an awesome night; I'm so glad I got involved in this ministry.

The outreach team meets at Denny's to eat and pray. Then we head into the club with fresh flowers, gifts and food. Because of the long-standing relationship, we are always welcomed with open arms. This time, however, we received an even warmer welcome than normal. First we saw Beverly in the gift shop (you have no idea what you can buy there...holy cow!). We've been praying for her husband who has had some health issues. She told us that he is doing well and she thanked us for praying. Then we headed into the dressing room where we set out the food, flowers and gifts.

Every strip club has a House Mom. She's basically in charge of the girls and helps them with various things, like fixing their stiletto heels and G-strings. She also encourages them and disciplines them. Everyone calls her "Mom" or "Mommy." I read an article this week about strip club Moms and the Mom in the article once received a phone call after a stripper had died. She was listed as "Mom" on the strippers' phone and they called because they thought it was her actual Mom.

A lot of these girls don't have good relationships with their families. It's interesting to see the dynamics between them and their "Mommy" in the dressing room. Just like any mother and daughter relationship there are lots of ups and downs. The main difference is that unlike a lot of their real moms, the House Moms are dependable and can be trusted to care for their needs.

One of the strippers was so touched that she took a picture of the present we gave her. She said that she's going to post the picture on her blog. The card attached to the gift was the focal point of her picture and pretty much summed it all up: "We love you just the way you are."

If you want more information on the role of the House Mom check out this article from our local newspaper.

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Inconsistency

Things are going well. I'm still wearing the heart monitor and have an MRI on Friday. In June I have to do a 24-hour EEG; basically I have to wear a helmet that has electrodes that connects to my head. There will be no pictures!!!! I have to be "episode-free" for 3 months before I can drive again. This is the hardest part for me; I am an on-the-go woman and it's killing me! Vince has been driving me around town; I know he hates it, but he's been a trooper through all the errands!

We're still not sure what's going on with me, but the doctors think that whatever it is that it's stress-based. Because of this I've really cut back on my commitments at work and church. So what am I doing with all my extra time? Honestly, the first thing I'm doing is getting back into the habit of spending time with God. I was living life at such a high speed that I allowed my priorities to get all screwed up. I barely had time to breathe, let alone read my Bible and spend time talking to God. I knew the importance of it, but kept putting it off. "Inconsistent" would be the best word to describe my relationship with God.

Because of my lack of commitment to God, other areas of my life started deteriorating. I'm really thankful that God allowed these fainting episodes to happen; it really forced me to take a hard look at my life and see where I was failing. The sad part is that I'm not sure I would have made the changes on my own; without God putting this huge boulder in my way I would probably still be living my life at a dangerous pace.

So how are you? How is your relationship with God? Are you setting aside time to read the Bible and pray? What could you change to make it your main priority of each day?

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Little Girls

I went to the Neurologist today and he wants me to do a 24-hour EEG and another MRI, this time with contrast. He told me that I can't drive until I'm "episode" free for 90 days. Given the fact that I had an "episode" yesterday, I don't see driving anywhere in the near future.

On days like this I beg my daughter to perform for me. She and I are huge fans of the musical, "Annie" and she does a hysterical version of Ms. Hannigan singing, "Little Girls." I finally got her to agree to let me video it. Click here to watch it; hopefully this will brighten your day!

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Walking

As I told you in my last post, my life has pretty much fallen apart. It's been so encouraging to read all your comments; thanks for leaving them! The thing I've figured out is that all of us feel the same way at some point in our lives, no matter who we are. Our lives spin out of control, we hit a wall, and hopefully get back up. Some get up faster than others and unfortunately some never get back up. I feel like I'm on the road to getting back up.

I'm not able to drive anymore which is KILLING me. I've had to change my whole life. It's a truly humbling experience for me. I've been spending a lot of time alone, walking or riding my bike. My 60 mph life has become a 10mph life. I've cut my hours in half at work (so I went from part-time to super part-time), given most of my Verve responsibilities to Vince's new assistant (Can I tell you how awesome God is?! One of our supporting churches is paying Vince's assistant's salary for the first year. We were desperate for help and God provided in a huge way), and am quitting Pampered Chef.

After just one week as the new "me" I already feel better. The key for me is going to be continuing to walk this way and not getting jacked up again.

Beth Moore says, "God desires to change us from the inside out-renewing our minds, starving our self-destructive tendencies, and teaching us to form new habits. These results come only to those who learn to walk all over again, this time with their Deliverer."

My plan is to bring you along on my journey. Hopefully I can keep some of you from making a mess of yourselves!

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Uh-Oh!

It all started on Easter weekend. I was eating dinner and fainted in my pizza. Everyone had a good laugh and I was fine. Then it happened again...and again, until last Friday when it happened at work. My co-workers freaked out and called 911. Apparently I was unconscious for a while and kept convulsing. I ended up spending last weekend in the hospital. Not exactly a spa weekend!

After tons of tests they couldn't find anything wrong with me. They put me on a 30-day heart monitor and told me to see a Neurologist. I am so frustrated that they can't find anything wrong with me. They have ideas of what it could be: either a heart arrhythmia or panic attacks or something else, but no definite ideas yet. Everyone keeps telling me that no matter what the problem is it is stress-based.

I'm going to be honest and tell you that it really irritates me that it's stressed-based. I'm one of those incredibly busy people who likes to believe that she can handle it all; a modern day Wonder Woman. The thought that my life is out of control totally annoys me.

Vince and I have been having countless conversations about it. The thing that finally opened my eyes to the insanity of my life was comparing "Virginia Beach Jen" to "Las Vegas Jen". They are two totally different people and "Las Vegas Jen" is out of control. My to-do list is probably four times longer than it was in Virginia Beach. It was a really good kick in the pants.

I've decided to make some changes in my life; to re prioritize my to-do list. Basically I'm cleaning house and getting back to the basics of what's important: God and my family. Would you please pray for me as I figure out and implement these changes? It's really hard for me and quite depressing. I know the end result will be a much better life, but getting to that point is difficult and uncomfortable at times.

I know your life is overwhelming at times, if not most of the time. Would you leave a comment and tell us how you cope, and what advice you would give someone in my position? Thanks!

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