Lately I have noticed that we (yes, me too) sure tweet a lot of lies. We tweet a lot of untruths, falsehoods, fibs, fabrications, deceptions, inventions, pieces of fiction, falsifications, half-truths, exaggerations, and tall tales. Plainly, we tweet lot of crap.

Call me a skeptic BUT was that sandwich REALLY the best thing you have ever put in your mouth or did it not taste nearly as good as it looked in the picture? Was that 2.5 mile run REALLY exhilarating or would you have rather have been loafing around on the couch? Was that conference REALLY so overwhelming with goodness and inspiration or did it make you feel a little defeated and a lot insecure?

I fear we have gotten so used to making everything sound simply superb in 140 characters that we wouldn’t know the truth if it jumped up and bit us.

Today I am going to try to be different and tweet only that which is 100% true. It might not be pretty but it will be real.

Will you admit to exaggerating, falsifying, telling a tall tale, or lying on twitter?

Of course it’s not that you meant to lie you just wanted to make sure @soandso saw you giving their #randomthing some love.

A couple of weeks ago I started talking to Kyle Reed about a blog redesign. Our conversation went something like this.

Kyle: When are you going to customize Standard Theme on your blog?

Me: When are YOU going to customize Standard Theme on my blog? Seriously. I know it looks boring. Feel free to spice it up. I’ll pay you.

And so he did. And I love what he came up with. It still is simple but it doesn’t look like every other Standard Themer out there. (For what it is worth, Standard Theme is the best theme out there. And yes, this is an affiliate link. Which I would feel bad about if you weren’t going to LOVE using it.)

But I have had several friends say, “I like the design, but blue and orange ARE NOT your colors.” To which I have smiled and responded, “well, what do you think my colors are?”

I have heard I am a green and purple girl. I have heard I need something more earthy. I have heard I need something less Denver Broncos and more Dallas Cowboys. (Yes, I tend to attract opinionated friends.)

Unfortunately I still have no clue what my color(s) are. So I thought I’d open it up to you, my readers, since you are the ones who have to look at them on occasion.

What do you think my colors are? (And if you say pink, I will slug you. )

What are your colors?

I hate saying “no”. I hate disappointing people. I hate not being able to give people exactly what they want.

Too often my inbox, my voicemail, and all the other spots where I can get incoming messages (of which there are TOO MANY), are clogged with people I need to get back with and share some inevitable, but less than desirable, news.

But you know what I realized this morning when a kind woman who I said “no” to recognized me for my responsiveness?

I realized that I am lame. I realized that I just need to buck up, get over myself, and come to terms with the fact that I can’t be everything to everybody. I realized that I need to be honest…honesty is my word of the year after all.

It is not fair to leave others waiting because of my selfish desire to be a perfect little people pleaser. Most people would appreciate any answer, even if it is not the one they originally hoped for.

Anyone else have trouble delivering “bad” news?

There is something funny (weird, not haha) about having a blog where you claim to be “candid”, “authentic”, even “transparent”…

Because no matter how hard you try you inevitably encounter things that you can’t write about, things that are not appropriate to be hashed out in this space, things that are too intimate, too unresolved, too raw for public consumption.

I’m curious. What do you do with the things you can’t write about?

How do you keep them from robbing you of your voice?

How do you reconcile transparency and an appropriate level of confidentiality?

For the last few years, I have started each year training for the Country Music Marathon. You see I am the type of exerciser who needs a good reason get myself off the couch and to the gym during the cold winter months. This year as soon as I realized I have a conflict the weekend of the Country Music Half Marathon, I began looking for another race to run. A little google search and I stumbled upon the Rock N’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon on June 5. It took me about 10 minutes to realize that this was the perfect race for me. San Diego in June shouldn’t be too hot, too cold, or too wet. And a half marathon is quite the “sporty” excuse to get to Southern California.

So I had my race.

Now I just needed a cause to run for. Thankfully Compassion International (the organization that I traveled to Guatemala with last September and that I LOVE because of the work they do around the world to free children from poverty in Jesus’ name) has just launched Team Compassion. Team Compassion is an easy way to raise money and visibility for Compassion leading up to our race.

So I had my cause.

The last few weeks I have been enlisting (and in some cases administering a good dose of peer pressure) a handful of friends to run the San Diego Half Marathon with me on behalf of Compassion. My friend, Sarah, quickly got on board and offered to help organize this thing.  Sarah’s husband Chad, and our friends Bianca, Jenni, and Spence have also decided to run with us.

So we had the beginnings of our team.

We hope together, with your help, we can raise $20,000 for Compassion. Yes, it’s an ambitious  goal but know that we, with your support, can do this.

Here’s some different ways you can get involved.

1. Consider running with us. Joining our team. Helping raise money. I know this sounds crazy but it will be fun. More importantly, it will be challenging, character building, and life altering for some very special kids around the world.

Here is how to sign up for Team San Diego.

1.  Register for the Rock N’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon on June 5. Click here and follow directions. (Please note: you will have to pay for the race yourself and any travel or accommodation arrangements.)

2.  Once you’ve registered, click here to go to the Team Compassion site. Click JOIN TEAM and in the search field type in “Team San Diego”.  Once you’ve found our team, click JOIN and follow the directions. It will ask for your contact information {only the captains will see it} and will ask you to set a personal fundraising goal. It also will set up your personal page that you will be able to share with friends and relatives and that you will be able to share as a link on Facebook and twitter.

It’s that easy! Once you’ve entered your information under our team we will begin to send out team emails giving more information.

REMEMBER, register for the race soon. It will sell out and the registration fee will increase as the race nears.

2.  Consider supporting me or one of the Team San Diego members with a financial donation. Your entire donation will go to Compassion International. All participants are covering their own travel fees and race registrations.

3. Consider helping us spread the word about “Team San Diego” by grabbing this beautiful “Team San Diego” banner by the creative genius who is responsible for my new blog design, Kyle Reed, putting on your blog, and linking to http://team.compassion.com/site/TR/Events/General/1200180326?pg=team&fr_id=1030&team_id=1030.

4. Most importantly, consider praying for us as we train and prepare for our race.

If you have questions, PLEASE email me or Sarah and put “TEAM SAN DIEGO” in the subject field. One of us will get back to you right away.

So often what we want is not really what we need. We want a cheeseburger, but we need a salad. We want to ride off into the sunset bad boy, but we need to grow old with a solid, dependable best friend. We want to run kicking and screaming at the first sign of trouble, but we need to learn how to stick it out.

Too often, we, the church, want a pastor who is eloquent, a pastor who has it all together, a pastor who makes it look easy, a pastor who tells us that if we just have enough faith our life will be full of blessings, and a pastor who is faultless, blameless, and, of course, sinless. But what we need is a pastor who is honest and open about his brokenness, a pastor who allows his friends and congregants to see his humanity, a pastor who is trying to close the gap between who he is and who God created him to be, and a pastor who fosters a community of grace by boldly going first.

On Sunday morning, Pete Wilson, by authentically and emotionally sharing a recent struggle, reminded me what I love most about Cross Point, a church has transformed my perspective, my faith, and my life. He reminded me that while we all strive to holy, we remain human, broken, and hurting. And we will not fully experience life, redemption, or healing if we hide that truth from ourselves and those around us.

What do you want from your pastor? And more importantly, what do you need from him/her?

Oh, and you can listen to Pete’s message here.

Last week while in Southern California, I went to Disneyland (if you follow me on twitter, this is no surprise. Sorry I got a little carried away with the pictures and commentary) with a big ‘ol crew of friends. All together we had 9 kids and 10 adults. It very easily could have been mass chaos but instead it was one of the best days I can remember.

I have been fighting “the grumps” a little bit lately and wanted to cast aside cynicism and distraction and truly soak up a rare day of childlike fun. As we ventured onto the park grounds, I prayed. “Lord, please help me be fully present today. Please help me reconnect with the child in me. Please help me be childlike and not childish.”

And I did.

I ate churros and chicken fingers. (Okay, so eating junk food is not so out of the ordinary.)

I ran through the line of Splash Mountain like a wild banshee screaming “Let’s get WET!!!” and cast aside all my practical thoughts of how miserable the rest of the evening could be after a January soaking.

I rode California Screamin’ with “no hands” and a lot of screaming.

I  leaned forward and dangled my feet as I rode over the breathtaking California landscape on California Soarin’ (which might be the coolest “rides” I’ve ever experienced).

As the sun set and we made our way home, I was worn out. But it was the great worn-out because I knew I had played full out. I came. I saw. I soaked it in. I embraced childlike and resisted childish.

I am convinced the little prayer I prayed that day made all the difference during my day at Disneyland. Now, I just need to make it my prayer for every day.

Have you been to Disneyland or Disneyworld? What’s your favorite ride? Are you good at being a kid every now and again?

I rang in New Years with six friends who I love like family. Six friends who have invested time and energy into my life. Six friends who inspire me to dream big, love boldly, and live faithfully. Six friends who were not even on my radar this time last year.

Yep, that’s right. I wasn’t even aware of their existence this time last year. And now they are like family, my West coast family.

As I looked around the table and toasted the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, I was struck by something huge. (Or at least huge for me.)

As hard as I try, as creatively as dream, I can not even begin to imagine what God has in store for me tomorrow, next week, or next year.

I know that there will be strangers who become friends, and friends who will become strangers. I know that there will be sadness and joy, love and heartbreak, death and new life. But I can’t begin to imagine the possibility that is in store.

So, here’s to 2011 and to a God who is weaving together a beautiful story that is simply and wonderfully unfathomable!

Sarah, Chad, Bianca, Matt, Jeremiah, and Jacky…thank you for reminding me that God shows up in ways we can never predict. Love you much!

Are you like me, always trying to picture what’s next? How has God surprised you lately?

I am 34 years old. I left home at eighteen and never looked back. Yet still one of my greatest fears, one of the things that keeps me awake at night, is the thought of losing my parents. Their sheer presence on this planet offers me a strength and a confidence that I simply cannot fathom living without.

And when I think of one small helpless child out there who is going to sleep without a parent to care for their most basic needs or to assure them that everything is going to be alright KILLS me.

I remember when it first hit me. The fact that there is an orphan epidemic. The fact that I (single, unattached me) could do something to help. The fact that I was in no uncertain terms called to help. It was October 2009 and I was crowded into Gwinnett Center as Catalyst introduced the 143 Million Campaign.

Catalyst is recognizing our call to care for orphans and widows (James 1:27). As believers, we feel led and committed to respond to this call in the year ahead. If you do not know, there are 143 million orphans around the world. This statistic has gripped the Catalyst community and left a desire to be the hands and feet of Christ to those in need.

Catalyst introduced a problem and they offered a myriad of ways I could get activated to help. Ever since I have been doing what I can and trying to figure out what exactly my role is in solving this heart-breaking problem.

Am I supposed to adopt?

Am I supposed to bring one child into my family and love them like they are my own?

Am I supposed to extend my time and resources to help organizations that are bridging the gap between the haves and the have-nots?

Am I supposed to seek out the gaps in the faulty system and work to bridge them?

Am I supposed to go get my hands dirty working with orphans in a developing country?

Am I supposed to seek out ways to help the motherless and fatherless in my hometown?

As I seek answers to these questions, I am focused on learning more about the issues and opportunities surrounding orphan care. And trying to decipher where God has called me to step in and act. But I know this, He has called me to act.

If you are like me and interested in learning more about Orphan Care, check out the next Idea Camp, February 25th & 26th in Northwest Arkansas, which is focusing on Orphan Care and the Church.

The conference will facilitate fresh, honest and transformative conversations with leading thinkers and practitioners on topics including US & International care, community development, trafficking of orphans, adoption, foster care, child sponsorship, HIV/AIDS, special needs, cross-cultural & religious dynamics to care, and many more.