Destination: Honduras (from Eli and Linz)

Family and friends,

As a Youth Pastor… I have gotten to lead and experience many short-term mission trips over the years.  Other cultures have always felt warm and welcome to me…like going home to a childhood place or a familiar memory.

As a dad…I have always returned to a smiling wife who wraps me in hugs and loud little voices and running feet as my kids throw themselves upon me and demand to hear all about the world across the seas.

So I have described my time away.  The colors.  The people. The smells.  The food.   The way God was there long before any of us.  The way life unfolded in the world far from theirs.

But we all know that the best description is only a glimpse…and I have waited for the day that my closest can be a closer part of a trip into a different land.  I have wished for the day that my family would join with me in some of these travels.

In just over a month… Lindsay, Riley, and I have the opportunity to be part of life and work and mission in Honduras but we need your help to get there.  We will be leaving on October 10th and return on the 18th.

We are partnering with a family who has lived and done ministry in Honduras for years.  The majority of our time will go towards a daily breakfast program.  This is an all day deal that feeds, mentors, teaches, plays with, and just shows love to local kids from the city.   For most of the kids there, it will be the only meal of the day.

We will also be doing everything that we can to build and support the local church of Los Pinos.  We believe that Gods heart is to grow, equip, and send the local church and we are excited about being a part of that in any way that we can.

We need your help…  We have to raise $5,400 in less than a month in order for all three of us to go and are asking that friends and supporters would help make this a reality.  Would you consider supporting us financially?

The area that we are going to is spiritually needy and physically dangerous and we feel that we really need your prayers during this time.  Would you pray that the gospel goes with us and that God would be near at all times?

If you choose to contribute to our trip please send your donation to:
K2 The Church
Attn: Honduras Mission
PO Box 521138
Salt Lake City, UT 84152-1138

All checks should be make payable to K2 the Church

Please write Shackelford Honduras Trip on the memo line.

Thank-you for your prayers and support.

From Lindsay:

As we thought and prayed about this trip, we were a bit daunted by the amount of money we would have to raise in such a short amount of time. But the thought and hope of the three of us going wouldn't leave my mind. I know HE is faithful and will provide for us.

Riley is 11 now, and as I see signs of young adulthood happening within him, I have a great desire to have him start off his teen years with a new perspective and love for other people prominent in his mind. For years, I have watched youth come home from trips like this "all in" for Christ. And that is what my hope and prayer for this trip is. I have already seen his heart begin to soften towards others as we begin to plan. He has started working to learn Spanish with me and has begun to make Lego sets with his toys to pass out to the kids. And what an amazing springboard for important conversations for Eli and I, as his main influence, to have with him for the next couple of years.

We need your support, but I know even more than that, we need your prayers. Not only for saftey, but for teachable hearts, for boldness in sharing love with those who don't speak the same language, and for compassion and grace for others. Thank-you!

The Shack Pack

landon is 5.

today is special.

5 years ago.

you came to join us in our lives.

a breath of fresh air. with your quick wit, easy smile, and love of humor.

you are so special.

a tiny soul-mate.

my constant buddy.

may you learn to temper your words with grace. 

may those with whom you interact receive a better understanding of love.

and hope be your constant theme.

love you, landon.

happy birthday

relationship with my kiddos--week #2

we're making progress here as the shackspack.

we still fight, yell, and are rude, but the tone is beginning to change a bit.

and

there ARE good character traits that my kids possess!

so...i kind of want to poo on my idea for week number two.

this is something that teachers are told to do in the classroom and seriously is so super duper annoying.

but, friends, it's in the curriculum, so i'm doing it.

the 5 to 1 ratio.

give 5 praises before giving 1 criticism.

i admit, i'm not that great at this in my classroom either...i just got a cueing report on myself back that was less than stellar.

what does that 5 to 1 ratio look like?

here's the scene.
a four year old (child #6) is practicing her donkey kicks that she learned in gymnastics class last night in the middle of the rug at circle time.

her good teacher says,
"child #1, i like how you're sitting on the rug."
"child #2, you have such a good listening body."
"child #3, look how your legs are criss-cross applesauce. you're doing a great job."
"child #4, i know you must be listening by the way you are sitting. perfect!"
"wow, look at that everyone, look how child #5 is sitting! isn't she doing a great job?!"

now her good teacher can say in her sing-song voice,
"please sit down with a good listening body, child #6!"

A N N O Y I N G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

seriously. but...worth a try.

i'm scary

i'm frustrated
i'm crabby
i'm mean
i'm ugly
i'm scary

how can the people i love the most turn me in my very worst? how can the littles that i am more protective of than anything in this world, turn me into a crazy hulk version of lindsay?

i don't know. i just really don't know.

and it has to change. and it starts with me.

anywho, i need some accountability in this.

you probably didn't know, and probably wouldn't have cared if you did, that i am constantly writing curriculums in my head. curriculums for new mothers of babies. curriculums for girls going into adulthood. curriculums for studying certain books of the bible. curriculums for teaching preschoolers their ABC's...(ironically, that's one i actually don't think about) these curriculums are developed off of things that i read or am dealing with and researching. typically. don't get hung up this curriculum writing. i am just an ideas person with no follow through and curriculums in my head are a part of organizing my ideas.

so

i am in process of writing a curriculum, in my head, of course, on sibling rivalry in the home. but, here's the thing with my curriculums; they never change the course of history.
because they never get written down.

i don't have time at this point in my life to actually write it down, but i do have time to outline it and implement it. and hold myself accountable to an audience, even if there's only like 2 of you left.

here it goes:

week 1: learn to love the character of my kids and not their actions. and FOCUS on good characters

instead of spewing, "you're so selfish, all you care about is yourself!" which is not, in fact, a true statement; i need to be quick to praise their positive character traits when they are being used and be generous in pointing out the characters that i love in each of them.

so, that's it so far. week 1. simple. let's do this, lindsay. help me, GOD!

reflections on the year

relationships

as i gaze into the next year, i definitely feel a year older. a little stiffer from battle scars. walk more gingerly into relationships. my tongue moves a bit slower, and my judgement of others recedes in light of my own shortcomings and failures.

my hearts still breaks over relationships that must span half a continent, and sorrows over relationships set aside in my own city. yet hope springs, for i have found joy in fellowship with some i would have never met, had not some been lost.

dreams

dreams that once dominated my thought life, sit as though they are a plant on my kitchen window sill. wilting slowly until one of my mundane daily rituals brings them into focus. they gently receive a enough sustenance to keep them alive. within hours they perk up, bright and green and glowing. and ever so slowly, they again begin to wilt and the cycle begins all over. i don't have enough energy to do much more than that. perhaps one day, i'll repot those little plants into a big open field where they can grow and spread as far and wide as they can. i will fertilize them and water them and make sure they enjoy time in the warm sun and they will thrive with the care. but for now, they need to sit and survive the winter.

growth

the word "understanding" comes to mind. empathy and compassion are hard to muster up when you have never walked the path of those who are needy of it. pain that can't be spoken, can only be experienced, and solely be eradicated by the HEALER, bears scars that beg to give comfort and encouragement to those in the midst of hurt and suffering.

identity

i have spent lots of time thinking about identity in the last two years as i have experienced so many shifts that i can hardly relate some of the past with the present. i have claimed identity in CHRIST, but in truth, my flesh feels like it need something else. i struggle with this constantly. part of me begs to identify myself AS something, and part of me says, it's all a costume you put on...know your true identity.

kiddos

its probably not a good night to write about those guys. they were sent to bed in frustration and i prayed AT them. i'm sure many of you can relate. "help baylee be nice....etc"

trying to set that aside, here are beautiful things i have noticed developing in them this year.
riley-self motivated and responsible. ever wish you had a kid that you never had to ask, "did you do your homework?" well, i've got one.
rae-hospitable. this girl can out-plan me on a party (including doing all her own baking) and would do it every night if i let her. she makes sure everyone is included and serves for all she's worth until only family members are left in the house.
for lack of time and creativity, let's just say the other two are so sweet...when theyre sleeping.

i know this post probably sounds vague and cryptic and maybe even cynical , but there is still a lot of scabs on my heart that aren't quite done healing. theyre itchy and im not ready to talk about them, not because i don't want to be open, but because i want to say things that build up and not tear down. experience has taught me that there is a time to share and a time keep your mouth shut.

i thank those of you who have loved us unconditionally this year. a good friend once gave me this little thing...and i love it because it's so true. good friends bring great joy.

love, hugs, peace, and bed bugs

Time-management calls

I have recently begun my new job. Having a new job is a little like having a baby. Not nearly as exciting, of course, but after being a stay at home mom for the last 10+ years, I am having to figure out lots of new time management routines. Tasks that are not top priority are put on the back burner for the time being until they become urgent. One of those things that is being laid aside is this blog. I don't want to get rid of it altogether because it is a link to about 250 of you that I don't get to talk to often. I still want to share my life and share in yours, but out of necessity it has to become a lesser priority for the time. Thanks for being interested in the Shackelford family and for your love, support, and prayers during our recent journeys.

A couple of things I want to share before I disappear for a time.

2 little lives have recently been placed on our hearts and minds. Their story is not one of convention and I am unsure where our story will connect with theirs. However, we are taking action steps to help ensure that they will grow up in the best environment possible for them. We will not being using an adoption agency while we work on it, although we are still on hold with America World and their Ethiopia program until we sort through this. The money that had been given to us to do a home study during the spring was used up for living expenses this summer when we didn't have an income, so we will begin fundraising again very soon and will begin a homestudy as soon as we have raised the $1,200 necessary to pay for it. I have a million ideas for fundraising, just not so much time to make them happen anymore.

Kids started school last week. Girls LOVE it. Riley doesn't. Slow to embrace change, he often comes home with a sour face and a list of all the things he didn't like about his day.

Landon will be watched by a close friend this year. Everyone's fine with it except momma. I am having a hard time letting go of my baby. We are best buds and have done everything together the last 4 years. Landon is the most like me of all the kids. Plain and simple, I just enjoy his company and will miss him. We all have undergone alot of change yet again this summer, and are all ready to settle down into a routine long enough to throw a couple of things in an attic. Please continue to pray for us in it all!

Love you all!!!! TTYL!

the grass is always greener under the trampoline

so, shackspack's back.

i recently shared Christ with some friends using rob bell's illustration of the trampoline from velvet elvis.

i feel like that's where i'm at right now.

a gentle but strong arm is reaching out inviting me to join back in the fun, adventure, and mission of following Christ.
a gentle but strong voice saying, "stop beating your head against the brick wall! come, jump!"

the grass is always greener under the trampoline.

remember when thumper's mom said, 'if you don't have somethin' nice to say, don't say nothin' at all.'? i sort of felt like that all summer.

it started out hard, but got a lot stinkin worse than i imagined it could or would.

a couple of things that GOD really used to speak to me this summer. these are truths that i clung desperately to:

james 1:2-4 (the message) consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. you know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. SO DON'T TRY TO GET OUT OF ANYTHING PREMATURELY. let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

(haley, a dear friend from our youth group in three lakes, spent the summer with us)

exodus 33:15 if your presence does not go with us, DO NOT send us up from here.

(i painted my entire kitchen in chalkboard paint)

deuteronomy 6:23 but he BROUGHT US OUT FROM THERE TO BRING US IN and give us the land that he promised.

some true friends walked along beside us in this difficult journey. you know who you are, and i thank-you. and i love you.
true friendship is a way of life that i really want to instill in my children, and you, my friends, are my instructors.
you confirmed what i thought God was speaking to me.
you encouraged us to stick with the vision.
you taught me to give when i am able.
you taught me to receive when help is offered.
you showed that david/johnathan relationships are strengthened through difficulty.

though we were without an income for two months, our bank statement never wavered. although our little jar of oil was being poured out, God made sure we were never without. 

that brings me to now, here on the other side. the story is incredible, something neither eli or i could have come up with on our own. i'll share it with you personally if you ask.

a couple of highlights of jumping on this trampoline.

as we were able to visit the body of Christ all over salt lake this summer, we noticed something.
the Spirit is moving.
in towns.
in churches.
in individuals.
and complacency is being set aside.
the time is near.
salt lake is groaning with birthing pains.
THIS is an exciting time to be on mission.
THIS is an exciting time to be called by God to a place that is READY.

                                                 (original artwork painted and edited by riley)

eli is working with K2 as the youth director and director of fusion, the high school ministry. we are loving the people and ministry of k2 and feel refreshed and enthusiastic every time we experience how God is working there. the first time i walked into k2, i turned to eli and said, "this feels like home."

i got a job with granite school district as a preschool teacher. this is the perfect job for me as landon can be in my classroom and i will be working the same hours that the kids are in school.

we are beginning the adoption process again. it is looking a little different than the direction that we first began with and if it continues to go that way, i will share more.

we are working toward the launch of 'the living room' summer of '14. there will be lots more on that in following posts as 'the living room' is the result of the passion God has put in our hearts for salt lake.

(that's for my foodie friends, a somoa from one sweet slice, winner of tlc's cupcake wars. yes, i am trying to entice you to come visit, wisconsin friends)

liberty park, salt lake city

                                                                        butterfield canyon

eli teaching at big canyon camp

GREEN GRASS