Minivan Mayhem Myth #2

"Single Girl Mayhem"

My name is Jen. I am 24 years old and I drive a Ford Focus...no minivan...no car seats...no kids.

When I first heard about Minivan Mayhem, I thought it sounded like such a great group that I grabbed a stack of flyers and started handing them out to all of the moms I knew. When one of the leaders of the group asked me if I was going to join, I asked, "Am I allowed to?"

It turns out that acceptance into the Minivan Mayhem group doesn't require having kids or even a minivan. All it requires is a hunger to know more about God. As a recent Christian, I had so many questions about God, the Bible, and how to live life as a Christian. I knew reading and knowing God's word was important, but every time I opened my Bible, I felt so confused. Minivan Mayhem has changed my anxiety about the Bible into excitement. I can't wait to study this book for the rest of my life!

What is Minivan Mayhem? It is a place where I can ask any question and get answers from people who care about my spiritual walk and care about me. It is a place where I have friends and mentors whom I know I will spend time with outside of our weekly meet up. It is truly a place where the unity and love that Christ calls us to have for one another can be seen and felt.

So don't get hung up on the minivan part! Focus on the the mayhem...for that is something I am certain we all have in our lives, for which Jesus is the only cure.

Minivan Mayhem Myth Busted...............

Myth #1 "You have to be a biblical scolar in order to do Minivan Mayhem."


As I walked through the doors at Bethel Community Church in September, I was a nervous wreck! I was embarrassed and ashamed of what I didn’t know. I was scared that I was going to be judged about my past and lack of relationship with God. I have two beautiful boys and thought I was a pretty great mom, but I wanted to be the best mom I could be and Jesus was the one area I couldn’t give my children the answers. As I walked through those scary doors (as I thought) it wasn’t so scary after all. The church was filled with all sorts of women from beginners (just like ME) to very knowledgeable women who have followed Jesus from the time they were children. As we meet with our small groups each week, we not only discuss the Bible and what we have learned, we have also become friends. I LOVE my small group women. Each one of us has walked a different path that led us to Minivan Mayhem, but we all have a similar goal, to learn more about Jesus and discipleship. My small group not only meets on Tuesdays, but we have also met for coffee, lunch and to exercise. In just a few short months I have made 6 great new friends and I thank Jesus for them.

If you are a beginner, like me, we would love for you to take this journey with us. If you have something inside of you, telling you to sign up, that my friend is Jesus. He is speaking to you. 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

More Mayhem a Coming.....

Hey friends, it is your long lost blog author who is still snowed under with the Mayhem of the Minivans leaving little time to get on and chat. My biggest fear has been that my fam would be neglected as I am off discipling women. The good news is my blog and not my family has been neglected which as much as I miss you guys I am pretty sure this is what is best. I wanted to let everyone know that registration for the spring semester will be opening on the blog from December 1st-January 6th so please keep us in your prayers and if you are a local gal please pray and see if this is something for you for this upcoming spring. More details to come I assure, along with some awesome testimonies from some current Mayhemers. God is rocking our worlds each and every week and I am beyond humbled and honored to be a part of such an amazing group of crazy Jesus followers that are bound and determined to go into all the nations and make disciples. For any of you that miss the old style Kelly Blogs I PROMISE to blog again with lots and lots and lots of pics of our sweet babies. This is just a season where I am having to prep intensely each and every week and this season soon too will pass. I love you all and I thank you for any prayers and love that you offer!

K

I'm BACK!!!!!!!

Hello dear friends (a/k/a the 5 readers I have left after my blog sabbatical). I will say I have good excuse as Minivan Mayhem was more of a task to tackle that I ever expected but let me say too the fruit is worth every ounce of gardening that took place. These ladies are rocking and rolling for Jesus and it is contagious to witness. They are soaking up the Word, pouring out in community and building each other up in ways I never dreamed. It has hit me lately that every ounce of spiritual growth I have ever had has been from the Word and the encouragement of other believers. It is not complicated to grow spiritually, it is just work. It is work to make it each week, work to be open and not give a hoot what anyone thinks of you once you are. It is work to get your kids, house, and life organized yet all the while keeping Christ as number one. It is work to say no to things and to rework your schedule, it is work to feel sick and tired yet reach out and serve. BUT OH HOW IT IS WORTH IT!!!!!

On another note, I thought I would share with you guys some very deep and theological thoughts from our new family of four since I have been gone for so long, just to make sure we are digging into the intense depths of life. So here we go........

GIRLS "NEED" a LOT of Shoes....For the love of Jesus, boys need church shoes and tennis shoes (who cares what color they are). Girls need shoes, tights, bows and white underwear just in case you can see through. It has been a bit exhausting dressing a girl, but somehow I am managing.

I have had NO problems feeling attached to my adopted daughter. I know many people want to ask that question but don't know how so I just wanted to go ahead and throw that out there just in case. I can give you many examples but here is a recent one just to show you a visual. We were at the park and I was talking to someone and had one eye on my kiddos. I noticed this little boy really bullying Mercy. I withheld the first time and let her "hold her own" but the next time he put both hands on my daughter's arms she started crying........well you know how that goes. You walk over telling yourself not to do all the things you are visualizing (like ripping the 5 year old's arms right off at his shoulders). I was very polite and gave him the look like "you touch my daughter one more time and I'll take you down little kid" and said "honey let's play nicely with each other, come here Mercy girl, Mommy will handle it". I thought to myself that day, you may have been hurt numerous times in that orphanage and it went unnoticed but now you have a MOMMY and I will take down anyone that even thinks about hurting you dear one. It felt SO good to rescue her and it made me think about how our Sovereign Father feels the exact same way about us.

Next in our deep theological discussion is cute things we are saying these days. Cross says "he ate it all" like when he is all done with his stickers. I told him today, "honey we say we used them all" but I kind of like it when they mess words up. He is turning 4 in a few short months and that is certainly a reality check that they DO grow up and that it IS sad. Onto Mercy girl, she L O V E S her preschool and her teachers. They (the teachers) have been in trouble for spoiling her rotten but who on earth could blame them. She says super cute things too like "Thomack the train" and "Mercy's birfday is all over". She is ALL caught up with her English and now knows 99 percent of her letters and their sounds. She is reaping the benefits of having an older brother.

Well, that about sums up our study for today. I promise to write more later but for now I am afraid if I don't hit "publish post" soon it may take another 4 months to write again. God has been and is being very good to the Bullock family. It is all grace, we don't deserve even the smallest of gifts. I pray that we never ever fix our eyes upon this earth, that somehow we always have our eyes on Heaven!

Because of Him,
K

A Quick Chat........

Hey gang, just a quick update and YES Minivan Mayhem really is starting THIS Tuesday so I will happily take about one million six hundred and thirty one thousand prayers! One foot in front of the other is where I am today and that is probably best. It will all be Jesus, no doubt about that. Also, my sweet Daddy had a pretty major surgery on Friday and his wife (my step-mother) is having some serious health issues as well so please keep them in your prayers. And then finally, MY MAN, oh good golly, there is no prouder wife on the face of this planet today than this gal. I am beside myself with his focus and bravery to go into all the nations and make disciples. If you would like to follow his journey you can do so at http://ordinaryheroblog.blogspot.com/. One of the team members will be blogging the entire trip so you can literally tag along. I honestly have about a hundred or so blogs rolling around in my head since Minivan Mayhem registration has taken over for such a long time but I have a few things on my plate that are demanding some attention this week so until I can have a writing party we will all watch closely to see some "ordinary" heroes hard at work. I feel a bit like I have NO IDEA what all Jesus is up to in the Bullock household but I'll tell ya this, it is MUCH more exciting than the life I beg to have! Have a glorious week friends!!!!!!!

K

Minivan Mayhem....

****Registration has closed for Minivan Mayhem****

Bullock Family UPdate......

Hey guys, we are certainly trying to leave MM at the top of the list for the next few weeks but I just had to get on and say hello. I am doing one of those posts where I have about 1,000 things I should be doing but I am overwhelmed so I shut down. When that happens I like to do something like blogging which can be tied in a nice publish post bow and all is well with the world for a bit. I feel caught up in at least one portion of life. I know this is an illusion but let's just enjoy it for now.

So, what are we up to these day and I promise pictures too because I read a blog the other day about a certain twin birthday party and there were NO pictures and I was so sad and thought I would try not to repeat such a sin. So here goes.....

J, good looking as ever and just about to hit the road to Ethiopia to serve a slew of people which in turn makes him just about the sexiest man on earth and I get to be married to the man. THAT is grace my friends. You will not waste one single prayer on this trip as we (I am trying to be his side kick on the planning of things) have literally what feels like a jillion things to do between now and then. God has graced the trip already so I have no reason on earth not to trust Him. It is just difficult to plan for a third world country where they will see more needs than they can ever remotely meet. Type A doesn't work well there either and we happen to be a family of them so just pray for us to "let go and let God". I always thought that was a bit of a dorky saying but it seems to fit here perfectly.

Ok, K (me), God currently has me out on a limb holding on for dear life and I am just praying (and begging) that He will come through and save my rear. I like to have my to-do list all nicely marked off at least once a month and until this ET trip is over and MM is up and running, that is not humanly possible. I have more to do and no hopes on earth of ever getting it all done unless God comes through and does an amazing miracle. I will say this, I am bound and determined not to keep any of this from me raising my sweet babies so that is one priority I have actually kept. We are hitting the road this week, just the three of us, to do one last summer hoo-rah before it comes to an end and I may have to say "no" to a lot of things but it ain't gonna be them! I mess up every single day in the littles but one of my greatest prayers is to not miss the bigs. I wanna date my man and love on these babies and spend time not just serving but loving my Jesus and the rest will all fall into place.

Now on to Cross, could the boy be any more handsome....I think not. We shaved his head again a few nights ago and he is now an 8 year old and more than I can bare. He needs about 8 hours of physical activity a day and I need about 1 so prayers there will be taken as well. We had an awesome time at the beach and I saw just how much he thrives when he can get ALL of that boy energy out. I will include those pics as well. He and M are both absolute fishes and had the best time ever.

And last but not least, Mercy girl. There are honestly no words and I could get choked up just trying to type. We are starting her immunizations this week and she got a perfect report from the doctor. She is an angel. She did amazing on vacation. Never really phased her that we were off-site and off schedule for an entire week and she thought the sand and the ocean were both amazing. I will take this moment to brag just a bit. She had never even seen a swimming pool 4 months ago and on vacation she swam 1/2 the length of the pool, under water, all by herself, no floaties. I was in shock and just about the proudest mama in the whole wide world. She is really a princess in every sort of way. She turned 3 this month so certainly pics and the girl opened presents for an hour and then looked for more. Americanized for certain.

So that in a nut (literally) shell is the Bullock Family. It will probably be after this crazy month comes and goes before I will get to say hi again but in the mean time please update your blogs (hint hint) and add pics (more hints) and pray for us and share Minivan Mayhem with all the local ladies that you know and keep in mind that you are the greatest friends a gal could have. We are BLESSED beyond measure!

K