"Carrying the Cross Around the World"

"The cross is a reminder of God's love for all people. It is at the foot of the cross where the best of God meets the worst of mankind." -- Keith Wheeler

Keith Wheeler felt God's call in 1985 to carry a 12-foot wooden cross through the streets in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Good Friday. Sounds crazy? Keith Wheeler thought so too. But these words kept burning in his heart:

"Anyone can carry a cross--think about Simon of Cyrene; he carried Jesus' cross. Anyone can die on a cross--think about the two thieves on either side of Jesus. Only One, however, could die for the sins of the world ... and that was because of love. I want you to take the cross and identify that message of love along the roadsides of this world."

Since carrying the cross in Tulsa that Good Friday, Wheeler carried the cross to Oklahoma City and then to Arkansas, then eventually overseas. He has now walked with the cross for 25 years, nearly 20,000 miles, and through more than 185 countries on all seven continents.

Keith has carried the cross through Rwanda, Bosnia, Chechnya, Nicaragua, El Salvador, all throughout the Middle East - Iraq, Iran, even Antarctica!!! Though most counties welcome him, he has been arrested many times and jailed (none for crimes). He has also been held at gunpoint, beaten and left for dead, accused of being a spy for the CIA, run over and stabbed.

Keith obeys God no matter the cost, and God has continually provided for and protected him. In Kieth's own words, "When God called me to the mission of taking the cross to the nations of the world I felt His instruction was to "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness …" (Matthew 6:33). I felt that He said that if I pursued His Kingdom, His righteousness, and His purposes that He would meet all the necessary needs. I have been amazed at God's grace and mercy as He has provided for and watched over me as I have gone with the cross, and the message of God's love into the world. I can truly say Jesus has done it all!!"

Mark 8:34: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."






This video is about 20 minutes, but please watch it. This is one of the most inspirational videos I have ever seen. You have to see it! Keith shows what it really means to follow Christ.




For more information about Keith Wheeler, visit his website at http://www.kw.org/index.htm, or see these articles:


http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100403_18_A1_KeithW827779&archive=yes


http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=12249438

Miss Personality

Don't Forget....

As you go throughout your day today, remember that today is the National Day of Prayer. I would encourage you to set aside some time to pray along with fellow believers around the nation. But let's not pray just because this is the NDP, but because Christ commands it and because it is a privilege! We all say that prayer is powerful...let's live it out!

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Poaching, Contacts, and Other Various Contemplations

After many months of continual matches, the tennis season is finally over. For those of you who don't know, I joined a home school tennis team this year. My dad and my brothers have played for years, so I figured this would be a good year to join in (not to mention that my dad is the coach)! It has been so much fun playing all the schools around the area--our team has a winning record!

I have learned so much this year and have improved a bunch (if I do say so myself) =D. It definitely has been a challenge learning to play with one hand, but I've learned not to let that stop me from trying anything new! I'm so glad I decided to play this year!

So, as the tennis season is coming to an end, I thought I'd leave you with some of my "profound" thoughts about this tennis season:


~Whoever came up with the scoring for tennis was a complete wacko!
~Don't judge a player by their "cover"
~Poaching does not refer to illegally killing animals or cooking eggs (and is totally legal in tennis!!!)
~Always have an extra pair of contacts with you in case one falls out while you're in the middle of a match
~And if you think your contact fell out while you were playing, make sure it's not stuck somewhere in your eye
~Half of the battle is footwork
~Put sunscreen on before you play
~The wind is a great excuse for a bad shot =)
~"Hit the strings" means the middle of your racket
~Don't call a shot out until it hits the ground (oops!)
~Overheads are awesome!
~It's not uncommon to get pegged in the face
~Tennis matches can go on for a LONG time (my teammate had a 3-hour match!)
~Keeping your eye on the ball doesn't guarantee you'll hit it


Now I'm still planning on playing tennis through the summer, but it will be mostly practice an tournaments. What about you guys? Do you play any sports? If not, let me recommend tennis. =)

Check out this court! I would totally play on this one (just be sure to bring plenty of balls)!!!

National Day of Prayer - get involved!

On May 6th, 2010, believers around the nation will come before God in prayer. Even though it was ruled unconstitutional, The National Day of Prayer will still be observed this year. Our country is in need of prayer more than ever. We all know this, but does it change how we pray...how much we pray? This year, I want to specifically set aside time--extra time--to pray this Thursday...and I want you to get involved too! So what can we do?

From the Boundless website, here are a few things you can do:

• Attend a NDP event
• Read the NDP blog
• Sign up for weekly prayer tips
• Keep up with NDP on facebook
• Watch NDP videos on Youtube
• Follow their tweets

Will you join me in praying this Thursday?

"We stand tallest when we are on our knees."
--Billy Graham

"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?"
--Corrie ten Boom

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work."
--Oswald Chambers

FINALLY! (pictures)

I'm very blessed to have brothers with cameras (so when mine breaks, we can still take pictures in the beautiful spring weather at the park)!

The girls had dolls with matching dresses.

The boys weren't very photogenic that day, but they finally consented to a few group pictures!

(Left to right) Austin, me, Aaron, Mariah, Cierra

I just happened to bring some crackers. Cierra fed this squirrel a couple pieces!

Little "princess" became a little pout-y at the end of the day. She probably had one too many pictures taken.... =)

Summit 2010

Hi. My name is Chloe. You might remember me from a blog I used to write on called Blooming in Christ. You might even remember me commenting on one or more of your posts. But I don't know. That was a long time ago. I used to have a lot of awesome posts, but they have become a little infrequent now. However, I have returned, for now, with an important clarification:

Contrary to popular belief, Chloe has not abandoned you, but rather has become otherwise preoccupied.

Thank you for understanding. Now for the good stuff....



I have returned from Chicago and am now back into the full swing of things! This is going to be brief, but here is a recap of what I did in "the Windy City."

For those of you who are familiar with the AWANA Bible memory program, Summit is a national competition of Bible quizzing from material in the AWANA handbooks. But while you're at Summit, you also get a chance to participate in AWANA Games and Volleyball competitions. (I didn't play volleyball, but I want to congratulate two of my church's teams who got 1st and 2nd overall! Way to go you guys!!!)

In Bible Quiz my team made it to the "gold" round, the round before the final round. Only ten to twelve teams make it to the final round, so getting there is quite an accomplishment! I think there were about 100 teams total this year. It was so much fun!

And while we were there, my church took a double-Decker bus tour of Chicago. There is so much I could tell you, but I'll save you the bore. =) (Actually, it wasn't boring.)

Now for the sad news: my camera broke while I was there, and I unfortunately was not able to take any pictures of Chicago. If I get any from someone else I'll try to post them. In the meantime, I'll be looking for a new camera!

So...that's about it!

In closing, please bear with me, dearest friends, as I finish up this semester of school and ignore you for a while...but not on purpose! Trust me!!! =P

Hello Strangers!

Or is anyone still there? I hope I haven't lost any readers in my absence! I've missed blogging. Things have still been a little crazy for me. Trust me, I'll try to get some substantial posts up here soon! =)

For now, here's just a quick update of what's going on...


I had a tennis match every day this week except Friday. I was a pink Easter bunny for Easter.

I'm going to be in Chicago April 12-15 for Summit Bible Quiz (Ever heard of it? It's with the AWANA program at my church.)

I'm trying to get ahead in school so I don't have to catch up when I get back. (But that hasn't happened yet.)

I'm still working on my recital peice.


So, yes, I'm busy. I've told myself that I'm going to keep my summer a little more "open," but you know how summers can turn out! =D Easter was lovely...amazing sermon...I got way too much candy (Dad, you sure went all-out! At least it was mostly chocolate! =P)

What did you do for Easter? I'd love to hear about it!