"Hope for Haiti" 24 hours at Lake Hefner!

There are several young people who are my new heros! One specific young lady, Brielle, whom God spoke to in a vision to help raise money for Mission of Hope in Haiti to feed thousands of people. Haiti is already a very poor country, but they were recently devastated by 4 hurricanes. You can see more by going to http://www.missionofhopehaiti.org/ to see what they are doing to help the people of Haiti and also how you can give to this worthy cause. Or see Brielle about giving.

This past Wednesday night, we began riding bikes (and some walking and roller blading), for 24 hours on the 9+ mile trails around Lake Hefner. The event went from 6 pm Wednesday to 6 pm Thursday! And trust me, the night hours were in extremely bitter cold temps with the wind coming off the water. Brrrrr!!! We froze! Brielle accomplished riding her bike over 100 miles during this 24 hour time period! What an awesome experience. There were many others who came for various times to ride and some who endured thru the night as well. We kept the hot chocolate and coffee going...um, there is no heat and no running water out there! So, yeh, stinky nasty portapotties....nuf said....lots of hand sanitizer! It was an experience none of us will ever forget and plans are already being made for next year....this might become an annual event! (but I don't think we'll do it thru the night again...just go for maybe 12 hours). Regardless to say, it was a huge success and an amazing 24 hour ride!!!

I Never Lost My Praise!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ioDkHjXtbg

"I Never Lost My Praise"

I've lost some good friends along life's way
Some loved ones departed in heaven to stay
But thank God I didn't lose everything

I've lost faith in people who said they cared
In time of my crisis they were never there
But in my disappointment, in my season of pain
One thing never wavered, one thing never changed

I never lost my hope, I never lost my joy
I never lost my faith
But most of all, I never lost my praise

My praise still here,
My praise still here

I've let some blessings slip away
When I lost my focus and went astray
But thank God I didn't lose everything

I lost possessions that were so dear
I lost some battles walking in fear
But in the midst of my struggles, in my season of pain
One thing never wavered, one thing never changed

I never lost my hope, I never lost my joy
I never lost my faith
But most of all, I never lost my praise

Praise, Praise, Praise, Praise, Praise

Most of all, I never lost my praise
My praise still here,
My praise still here

***********
The enemy can try and has tried to take a lot of things from me. He's tried to destroy everything in my life, but he will never, never, never take my praise.

Remembering my beautiful mom today....

Today I am celebrating the life of my mom, Eiko Miyayama Petrausch. Yes, she was Japanese and married a German man. He was in the Army and met her when he was stationed in Japan. Anyway, 10 years ago today, she went home to be with Jesus after a year long battle with cancer. I don't want to dwell on the sadness or the tragedy, but I want to remember all the incredible things that made up who she was. First of all, she was an incredible woman of God that had such strong, unwavering faith. Her foremost prayers were that her family would give their hearts to Christ and live an abundant life in Him. I remember sitting with her in the hospital room when she could no longer communicate and we didn't know if she was really there or not....but I would read the Word of God out loud to her and all of a sudden her eyes would become clear, she would focus her gaze on me and you could tell that she was hanging on every word. The same thing would happen whenever the Christian TV station was on and we would listen to worship music. Also, she was an amazing cook! She was known for it everywhere she went and people would actually call her and pay her to make stuff for them. No matter how hard anyone tried to duplicate anything she made, it was never ever as good. Yummmm. She was also so talented and an incredible seamstress. She was perfection in everything she put her hands to do. She was the first one to fix anything that was broken or needed repair...if she didn't know how, she figured it out! I don't think there was anything she couldn't do!! When I am told that I'm like my mom, I consider it the highest compliment I could ever receive...she inspires me. She had such a servant's heart. Our love languages are the same....we both thrive on doing things for others, serving them, acts of service, but it is hard to accept it from others in return even though its nice once in awhile. Our love language in return is quality of time...that people, family and friends, would want to just spend time with us and let us serve them! Anyway, I could go on and on....bottom line...my mom was incredible and I miss her terribly. She was the glue that held everyone together. My comfort lies in knowing that one day I will see her again in heaven....she's probably helping get things ready and cooking for the big banquet feast!!! My mom....my hero.