Lantern and Compass Project

Clarity and Direction

Testimonies

Fueling the Mission

How Speed the Light Helped Fuel the Mission (and My Subaru)

They say you can’t put a price on a good adventure—but if you’ve ever driven a Subaru packed with photobooth props, adaptive equipment, and a suspicious number of Hershey chocolate bars, you know ministry on the move takes more than a full tank of gas.

Because of STL support, my Subaru has crisscrossed counties delivering supplies to camps for kids and adults with special needs—where 12 campers made first-time decisions to follow Jesus and 7 publicly declared their faith through baptism. Eternal impact… with cupholders full of glitter.

But the mission hasn’t stopped at camp. This hardworking Subaru has also
• picked up donations from local businesses,
• transported teams for food and clothing distributions,
• carried me to multiple meetings with team members,
• driven miles to meet and coach a PSOM student every month,
• and shown up faithfully at fundraiser after fundraiser with promotional materials and supplies.

There’s still graham crackers crushed in the backseat and probably a marshmallow stuck under the seat—but more importantly, this vehicle became a vessel for eternity.

Thank you, Speed the Light, for fueling far more than miles. You’re fueling ministry that lasts forever.

Strength Beyond the Gym

When I first walked into Crucible Performance and met Ryan, the owner and my trainer, I expected nothing more than a physical challenge. I thought it would be about lifting weights, building endurance, and maybe regaining some mobility so I could better keep up with my children and grandchildren. What I didn’t expect was how deeply God would use this journey to reshape me—not just physically, but spiritually.

Through Ryan’s encouragement and the discipline of training, my workouts became more than exercise. They became moments where God reminded me of His strength in my weakness. Every rep and every stretch beyond my comfort zone mirrored the spiritual growth He was calling me to embrace. Just as my body was being pushed and renewed, so was my faith.

But what has impacted me most is how Ryan has poured into me spiritually. His deep relationship with Jesus flows naturally into every conversation, turning ordinary workouts into opportunities for discipleship. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.” That has been my experience with Ryan. Week after week, he has sharpened me—challenging me not only to grow stronger in body but to grow deeper in Christ.

This is the heart behind Crucible Performance: “We exist to become an inflection point in our community’s lives. That means transforming the way people in Frederick live—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—so they can become who God designed them to be.” My story is living proof of that mission. This program is about more than workouts—it’s about transformation, inflection points, both now and for eternity.

Ryan has not only helped me strengthen my body but has also helped me see how God is shaping my spirit. He is impacting lives far beyond the gym walls—helping people discover who they are in Christ and how they can live for His glory. My life is forever changed because of the crucibles I’ve faced, the encouragement I’ve received, and the God who continues to use it all for His eternal purposes.

As the Apostle Paul reminds us, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8, NLT). At Crucible, I’ve discovered both—and for that, I am deeply grateful.

What Would HE say?

Have you ever entered into the Holy of Holies? Have you ever stood on Holy ground and been in the very presence of God? Have you really thought about sitting next to Jesus in your most favorite place? What did the conversation with Jesus sound like as you sat and talked with Him? Did you feel the warmth of His presence as you sat there with Him, saying nothing?

I wish I could adequately share the experiences that a group of PK/MK students were having at a weekend retreat; experiences that potentially changed the direction of their faith walk with Jesus.

But that’s exactly what happened for a group of elementary students. Each chapel Jesus wanted to meet with them and spend time with each one individually. What happened looked different for each student. To give you a glimpse of the time spent with Jesus take a look at what one student wrote in their journal.

I had just finished sharing the story of Moses giving his attention to and going to see the burning bush and how God told Moses to take off his sandals because he was on Holy ground. I further shared the conversation that God had with Moses there.

As each student was led into their own Holy of Holies and the very presence of Jesus they were encouraged to share their thoughts and ask Jesus some simple questions.

The first was, “Jesus, what do you want to tell me today?”, to which one student wrote this.
Then the students were prompted to ask Jesus what they were to do with what was just shared and this was the answer.

The final question was simple, “What else do you want me to know?” Very simply said was the following response.

So went the entire weekend. Going into the Holy of Holies and spending time with God himself. The students began to realize that their time with Jesus could be more interactive and more intimate. They recognized that Jesus wants to spend quality time with them and desires to have a two way conversation. 

I know that Jesus spoke to students that weekend as evidenced by feedback, comments and testimony. Here is just one from the camp director. “We’ve gotten such good feedback about the kids time at PKMK Retreat. The kids had a blast but the best part has been hearing how they’ve talked with their parents about listening for God in prayer and endeavoring to continue the practice at home. One parent said that her son “took a leap forward in praying.”

Another testimony was from a student that shared, “Jesus told me that I am blessed and I need to share that with others”

A chaperone shared, “Jesus told me that I am loved as much as anyone else and that I need to tell the world.”

Pray that more War Rooms (Prayer rooms for students) will be established, giving our younger believers the experience they need to carry their relationship with Jesus to a whole different level of intimacy.

Fishing Changes Things

You have to know up front that I am NOT into fishing but every summer our team gets to be up and ready by 6:30 a.m. to give campers a fishing experience. Every year I hunt for worms before going to camp and every year I am the one that baits every hook that is dropped in the water. I have even lovingly been nicknamed “Bait Lady” and was known by that name before my real name. So what does this have to do with ministry? Stay with me and you’ll be absolutely amazed at the way God works.

This particular year we were helping Ability Tree launch a special needs camp for adults in Oklahoma and finding a suitable location along the lake was a challenge. Now, I may not look forward to the act of fishing but I do value the time with the campers and the relationships that are built in those early morning hours. This year it was HOT HOT HOT and honestly I was looking for any reason to cancel fishing; it was too far away, not the right bait, campers would get tangled in the debris along the shore, the rods had the wrong reel, it was too hot and the fish wouldn’t bite.

As hard as I tried, Eric, our newest team member, wouldn’t let me “off the hook”. His positive attitude was relentless until we were on the dock at 6:15 a.m. the following day, rods and bait in tow, getting ready for the campers.

Yes, I was still mumbling about the things that weren’t going to work as I prepared to bait each of the hooks . Here’s where God enters the picture. As I baited each hook I laid the rod on the deck so that the hook dangled over the edge. As I went to the second rod, the first one began to move. Not wanting it to fall in to the water I grabbed the rod and pulled it up and to my surprise there was a fish on the hook. What was up with that? I wasn’t fishing. I wasn’t even trying but that fish changed my entire attitude.

God had caused a fish to literally JUMP onto that hook so that I would realize that fishing wasn’t about whether or not I enjoyed the act of fishing, it wasn’t about how hard it was to get up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready or even about the disgusting smell on my hands. It was about building relationships and giving the campers an experience that they would remember. Every morning we had 8 out of 10 campers show up to fish and each morning we caught several fish. Over the week, every camper experienced the joy of catching at least one fish, many for the first time.

God was orchestrating much more than I realized and it took God causing that fish to JUMP onto that hook to change everything. We are fishing for men and we need to be as excited about catching one person for Jesus as those campers were about catching each of their fish.

And Jesus said to them, Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Tragedy Humanized

For the past 48 hours I have been praying for six Afghan Christians as they made efforts to leave the country to escape the violence, persecution and certain death for following Jesus if caught at any of the checkpoints as they made their way to the airport. I am ashamed that it took a prayer request from a friend, that had direct connections to this group of people, to humanize the tragedy that is taking place in Afghanistan. As events unfolded, I received updates of their progress, their setbacks, and their uncertainties. As more people joined together and prayed for them to make it safely through airport gates and onto a departing plane, God provided. After two days we received report that they had boarded a plane in Kabul to begin their journey to the states where a community of believers are waiting to receive them into their family.

Photo represents the urgency to leave the country and not a picture of the six described in this post. It does represent many others that need our prayers.

How must God have felt during this tumultuous journey? How sad must He have felt that His children had to endure such suffering? How disappointed must He have felt that there were christians around the world that saw the news of what was happening and didn’t cry out for God’s intervention. What will it take to humanize the stories that we are hearing in the news media?

We have freedom in our lives and in our faith but are we taking it for granted? Are we looking at our freedom as an unconstrained opportunity to share the gospel with as many people as humanly possible or are we wasting the blessing that God has given us through this freedom?

“Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom.” 1 Cor 7:13

As we continue to journey through this year together, let’s not allow distractions to keep us from learning, growing, sharing and delivering the word of God to those around us. We must move forward, making Jesus the priority and urgently sharing His word with others. We don’t know the hour or the day that Jesus will return but we do have the good news of Jesus and how to guarantee eternal life with Him. How many will you reach with that good news?