The Friday Five

The first time I saw Cece Owens was at a women's retreat our church sponsored about 5 year ago. She was speaking on the topic of home schooling. I remember learning a lot from her and being easily drawn in by her warm and gentle words. The second half of the talk was given by her teenage daughter, Molly. I was completely captivated by Molly and her maturity. She stood in front of about 50 or so adult women and spoke from her heart. And I thought to myself, "This is the girl I want my children to be like!" I knew two things for sure: her mother was very proud and that she had to be an amazing woman to raise such a well poised girl.

Cece and her husband, Dutch, have 4 lovely children - 3 of which are college age and beyond. She has home schooled her children for 21 years and is finishing well with her blessed caboose Anna. You can see a picture of her beautiful family below.

Part of Cece's story that truly amazes me is that she and Dutch were married for 3 1/2 years without children, divorced, and separated for 2 years and then remarried for 27 years. Cece is real, transparent and the perfect person for our Friday Five Woman of Inspiration! I am honored that she would take the time to answer a few questions for us!


WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

I am third generation born in Orlando, Florida. I was born in Orange Memorial Hospital, now known as Orlando Regional Medical Center. I have lived in three houses my entire life and they are all within a one and a half mile radius of each other. To say Orlando is home sweet home would be an understatement.


WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO?

I am reading Chip Ingram's book, Good to Great in God's Eyes. He speaks of ten practices that all great Christians have in common. With three of our four children either in college, married or living away, my sights are now set on the days God gives me and finishing well. For starters, I want to dream great dreams, pursue great people and take great risks. Some years ago I heard the statement, "The value of anything is the price it pays in eternity". My next "looking forward to" is just beginning to unfold but my desire is that it have the idelible mark of eternity.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BIBLE VERSE OR PASSAGE?

Isaiah 43:18-19
"Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth,
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert."

I believe we all have something in our lives that we need to leave behind. God's desire is that we no longer call it to mind or ponder the past. He longs to do something new as we ask! The last sentence of this scripture blows me away, "I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert". When is the last time you have seen rivers in the desert? Only God!

WHAT IS THE ONE BOOK THAT HAS IMPACTED YOU MOST OTHER THAN THE BIBLE?

I would have to say Oswald Chamber's devotional My Utmost for His Highest. I have devoured these daily devotions for years and without fail, God meets me in a new way, imparts a new thought or allows a new appropriation of scripture on any given day. One of my favorites is found on August 18th where it reads, "Discouragement is disenchanted self love and self love may be love of my devotion to Jesus--not love for Jesus Himself". When I feel discouraged I now ask myself if it is related to my love of self or God? Just a sampling of Oswald's words worth pondering.


WHO INSPIRES ME?
Transparent people inspire me! The older I get, the deeper my understanding of the truth that God is sovereign over my whole life. God is writing a story about each of us, a story to be read and told. Most books have many chapters, some encouraging and easy to read, others more difficult. Our journeys are full of mountains and valleys, successes and failures. Why are we more reluctant to speak of our failures as readily as we speak of our successes? Over 25 years ago, God impressed upon me the value of being transparent about a failure in my life. He taught me that it makes me real to people and gives other people permission to be real in return. As much as I resisted speaking about it, I now believe it to be the turning point in my Christian walk, It has been a process but I try to live my life caring more about God's reputation than my own. We are all insecure, afraid of letting people know who we fully are. I don't always win the battle with transparency but the masks I mastered many years ago are slowly being removed, allowing a life of authenticity and being real.

The Owens Family

Looking Forward,
Stacey

The Friday Five

I loved reading the answers to the Friday Five with Beth! She is truly a woman of faith that inspires me! One of the things that she said that really made me think was that "You should have more dreams than memories." I was so struck by that statement. I think I have more worries than memories, but dreams? Really? I am also reading Good To Great In God's Eyes and Chip Ingram is stretching me to ask myself, "Do I have a God sized dream? Something only He can accomplish?"

So, as we ponder this and wait for our next Friday Five interview, I thought I'd ask you this question from The Five:

What are you looking forward to? Or in other words, what are you dreaming about?
Leave us a comment and if you have a link to a blog post that applies to this question, go ahead and put it in the comment!

Looking Forward,
Stacey

P.S. Our next Friday Five woman is such a blessing! She is one of the wisest women I know. I can't wait to hear who inspires her!

The Friday Five

I am honored to introduce you to my friend Beth Guckenberger. I first met Beth at Indiana University at a meeting with Campus Crusade for Christ. I was immediately struck by her passion for Christ and her maturity at such a young age. Recently, I read her first book called Reckless Faith: Let Go and Be Led. In it, Beth tells the amazing story of how she and her husband, Todd, embraced reckless faith and moved to Monterrey, Mexico. With limited Spanish and huge hearts for orphans Beth and Todd moved “without much guidance other than a vague sense of the rightness of the decision.” Beth was not sure she even wanted to write this book because she didn’t know if her written words could live up to their experiences, but I can assure you, she delivers a powerful narrative of what happens when you let everything go to follow God. I am thrilled that Beth is our first official Friday Five Woman!


1. Where are you from?

I was born in Indianapolis, then lived in Cincinnati (minus 4 years at Indiana University) until age 25, since then I have been in Monterrey, Mexico.

2.What are you looking forward to or dreaming about?

I was just asked this in a couples Bible study last week and I made such a long list, I embarrassed myself. I am writing some more books,I dream about falling into a better pace with that. I am doing and hope to do more speaking. We are opening a new ministry site internationally in a place that has a lot of human trafficking, so I am hoping to have an impact on that, especially as it pertains to orphans. I have been dreaming about owning a jeep lately:) I am dreaming about another adoption. I am dreaming about owning a restaurant, I actually have lots of dreams... I just heard a quote about how we should have more dreams than memories.

3. What is your favorite Bible verse or passage and why?

Psalms 139. It is such an intimate passage between my Storyweaver and me. I could read it all day, it makes me feel known and loved.

4. What book have you read other than the Bible that has impacted you the most?

Whatever I have read last makes an impression on me and I talk about it for a while. I have recently read Love and War (Eldredge- great marriage book) Why I stayed (Gayle Haggard- great story of redemptive love) and I am always reading books in my field of ministering to the underprivileged internationally, there are scores of smart books on that subject.

5. Who inspires you?

I have several people who inspire me. My mother is one of the healthiest women I know. She works on being in the Spirit all day and that is a great conviction of mine. Also a woman in Mexico named Martha, who believes that every day is a divine appointment.

I could go on and on...

Thanks Beth for inspiring us today! If you would like to get a copy of Beth's awesome book, you can pick it up at Family Christian Store or click here. There is also a video clip at the website of Beth sharing a story from her book! Take 5 more minutes and watch it now. It will challenge you to live a life of Reckless Faith, too. You can find out more about the ministry Beth and Todd serve with @ back2backministries.




Looking Forward,
Stacey

The Friday Five

Howard Hendricks once said "After the Bible, the two things that will change your life the most are the people you meet and the books you read" (paraphrased). I have found this to be very true in my life. I thought it would be great to have a regular blog post featuring 5 questions and 5 minutes with a godly woman of influence. To kick off the series I'm going to introduce the 5 questions and answer them for you.


1. Where are you from?

Have you heard the song by John (used to be Cougar) Mellencamp, "I was born in a small town, my parents live in the same small town..." ? Well, I was born and raised in a small town right next to the town that song was written about in Southern Indiana. In fact, the name for my blog came from a house I lived in when I was a little girl. It was the kind of place where everyone knew you or your family. Life moved a bit slower. Often, I think of how differently my children are growing up. I am grateful for the abundant opportunities living in a larger city gives them, but there are times I miss the simplicity of life in a small town.

2. What are you looking forward to?

Let me start with telling you what looking forward actually means to me. I have been signing my name with this for about 9 years or so (it is also how I usually sign my blog). It began during an amazing study on the book of Hebrews with Kay Arthur. This study picked me up out of a pit and set me back on solid ground. I began to see my life in light of the bigger picture of eternity and Hebrews 12: 1 & 2. By saying looking forward I am reminding myself of what really matters. For me, it is to be faithful with what God has called me to today, and trust Him with what is going to happen tomorrow.

Looking forward also is about dreaming. Lately, my days are super packed with the business of daily life and there seems little time to dream. Still I do have a few! All of them involve teaching, encouraging, and a little bit of music. Right now, I am dreaming about sleeping all night because I have a four month old. I have a picture of a dream home that I would love to live in soon, before my kids are too big. I am also looking forward to where the Lord is going to take 29lincolnavenue as well. Some of these dreams are small, but isn't it neat to know that God cares about our dreams, no matter the size of them? I know that His plan is bigger than I can imagine. When I fix my eyes on Him then I can see more clearly the path He has laid before me.


3. What is your favorite Bible verse or passage?

I have just mentioned Hebrews...the book that changed my life! It is truly the one book of the Bible I would take with me to a deserted island. It is rich with Old Testament lessons as well as New Testament revelations. But, my life verse is actually in Colossians chapter 3 verse 16:

Let the word of God richly dwell within you, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

This verse is truly my heart and also who God made me to be. I am passionate about studying His word and letting it richly dwell in my life. Out of that comes wisdom and encouragement that God has called me to overflow to others. And singing is something that I love to do as well. That really is the sweet part of the verse. A promise that God gave me in a difficult time. I love when a verse like this intersects your life. It is like God takes this big heavenly flashlight and shines it on something that you have read a million times before. And then you see it and say, "Oh, is that for me? Wow, that is awesome." His Word is truly living and active and sharp!

4. What is one book you have read other than the Bible that has impacted you the most?

Picking one book is really hard! So let me give you three very different reads:

1. Hind's Feet In High Places - Hurnard - allegory about our journey with the Good Sheppard. I am so like the main character Much Afraid.
   
2. Pursuing God - Tozer - This will stretch you and you will never be the same.
3. Keep A Quiet Heart - Elliot - a collection of short reads from the best of her writings. I call it my pit book. When I am discouraged I read it. After about a week in it, I am set right again. I also give this book out to friends or anyone the Lord leads me to!
   

5. Who inspires you?

Well, I hope to have some of these women interviewed here, so stay tuned! I can't wait to introduce you to our first Friday Five Woman next week! Her love and passion for Jesus literally brings tears to my eyes. I am honored to know her. I am inspired by those people who know their God, hear His calling, and hold fast to Him! That is who I am striving to be in my own life. Knowing someone like that energizes me and encourages me to be all God created me to be!

Looking Forward,
Stacey

P.S. One lucky person will win one of my favorite books, Keep A quiet Heart. Just leave a comment and answer the question, "Who inspires you?" Winner will be chosen at random by Randomizer.org.

Looking Forward

I have a new regular blog post that I will begin next Friday called The Friday Five! Be sure to check it out!

Here is a great quote a friend of mine posted on Facebook by John Piper:

Service to children is a great litmus paper test of whether you are in the quest of true greatness or addicted to the praise of men. (Cf Mark 9:33-37)

Today, I will be serving my children by taking them to get new dresses for their first Father Daughter Dance. I have a very romantic picture of how this sweet affair should go...but I am preparing for the possibility of tears. (the shopping trip I mean!) Hoping for the best, preparing for the not so much!

Looking Forward,
Stacey

P.S. Vintage number five courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.