All Things In Common!

This is an excerpt from the article "5 Churchy Phrases that are Scaring Off Millennials" by Addie Zierman. Below is one of the phrases and an explanation of it that I resonated with.

(You can read the whole article here.)

"“God is in control . . . has a plan . . . works in mysterious ways”

Chances are we believe this is true. But it’s the last thing we want to hear when something goes horribly wrong in our life. We are drawn to the Jesus who sits down with the down-and-out woman at the well. Who touches the leper, the sick, the hurting. Who cries when Lazarus is found dead…even though he is in control and has a plan to bring Lazarus back to life.

You’ve heard us say that we like Jesus but not the church, and it’s not because we’re trying to be difficult. It’s because the Jesus we read about enters into the pain of humanity where so often the church people seem to want to float above it."

And she draws everything together in conclusion...

 "In the end, it’s not really about what churches say or don’t say. What millennials want is to be seen. Understood. Loved. It’s what everyone wants, really. And for this generation of journeyers? Choosing honesty over cliché is a really great place to start."

I'm not really sure I need to elaborate. But this tugs at my heart. There's something so beautiful and raw about embracing the pain instead of pretending it's not there. Sometimes we don't want an answer--we just want to be held, and we want someone to cry with us. Jesus did that... Jesus does that! I would love to see churches crying, laughing, praising...together.

"Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and [i]sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding [j]to their number day by day those who were being saved." -Acts 2:43-47

I've Been Inside Too Long

                           

Never Forsake

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling like a conqueror today. This entire week has consisted of me continuously lifting my hands to the heavens, in defeat, frustration, prayer, all turning into praise. Oh, God is so good! Every time I put something in God's hands this week, He immediately took my gift and did something with it. Worries were replaced with peace. My empty mind replaced with knowledge. My worn body replaced with the energy of a 6 year old. 

So I personalized Romans 8:35-37 today: 

What can separate me from the love of Christ?

Will homework?

Will midterms?

Will sickness?

Will career choices?

Will discouragement?

Will exhaustion?

Will my human-ness?

But in all these things I overwhelmingly conquered because of Him--He loves me. 

The soul that is trusting in Jesus as Lord

Will press on enduring the darkest of storm

And though even hell should endeavor to shake

He'll never

No, never

No, never forsake! 

How firm our foundation!

How sure our salvation!

And we won't be shaken.

How firm our foundation! 

I'm overwhelmed. 

It's Fall Now

I think the calendar actually said that it's already fall
but the air smells like fall tonight
and that is more convincing to me.

Indeed the Savior of the World

I'm packing again. After barely four weeks of being at home, it's time again. Time to go back to school, back to work, back to Washington.

Almost every morning for the past few weeks I've been able to sit down at the bar in mom's kitchen with a hot cup of tea. I've claimed the bar as my own since I've been home. My Bible, computer, phone, headphones, journal, and numerous dirty mugs cover the area. Oh, and pens. Lots of pens. I need to use a different color everyday, even if it's just switching back and forth from blue to black. 

Today was black. 

"It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world." -John 4:42

When I first read this, my heart jumped in my chest. There's something so incredibly amazing about what these people were saying. The Samaritan woman had been telling the people of her town about Jesus: who he was, what he looked like, what he did. But something happened. Something changed. They met him for themselves and everything was different. Their concept of Jesus no longer went through the eyes of the Samaritan, but they saw with their own wide-open eyes. He wasn't just a story they heard on the street. He was there, in front of them, and real. 

Thrive

I've been working at a summer camp in western Washington for the past few weeks, and I'll be here for most of the summer. It's been an amazing experience so far. I traveled by myself to start a job where I didn't know any of my coworkers, and had only met my boss once (and I had forgotten what he looked like in the process). But being here, by myself essentially, has been one of the most fulfilling things I've done. And camp has just started.

Today is my first 'day off' in about 2 weeks. I promised myself that I'd go running this morning. However, in my hurry to leave camp and find some form of coffee, I forgot. I'm learning to forgive myself for things like that. I'm learning to find balance between social time and 'me' time. I'm learning to take advantage of the opportunities I have, even if I don't feel like it. I'm learning to listen to myself more, and I'm learning what I actually want in my life.

But mostly, I'm learning to believe. Over the past couple months, God's been teaching me about something I've heard called the 'ugly-beautiful (from Ann Voskamp?). It seems like my eyes have always seen, and maybe even have looked for, the ugly. The sin. The bad. But I'm learning--learning to look for the beautiful.

It's so hard.

It's hard to find beauty when a little one tells me she hasn't seen her daddy in 6 years. When a scared teenage girl is forced to get an abortion by an insistent mother. When most of the earth is starving. When our so-called wonderful world is in shambles.

But I'm learning. Because when I see these same people who have had their being ripped out from under them survive, I see the beauty. I listen to the man who's teenage daughter drowned while swimming proclaim the love and mercy of his savior, and I can see. I watch as a woman who has been plagued for years with numerous health problems place her family first. I see the struggling couple smile at the simple enjoyment of their dogs. And I can see.

I'm not alright with the pain and injustice in the world. My life will be a constant fight against the pain that I see.

But I will struggle. I will struggle to find the beauty, to open my eyes to the good. I will find the heaven on earth, because I know Jesus is here in the midst of this chaos. I will learn to appreciate the ugly because of the beauty that emerges from it.

"I want to thrive, not just survive." -Switchfoot

Too Many Crunchy Apples

I ate an apple tonight. I knew that Mumford and Sons was playing in the background, but I couldn't hear the music above the fruit I was crunching on. This elementary realization stopped me. A whisper. "Sometimes you crunch so loud that you forget to be still and listen to what I'm saying."

Love Today

Sometimes I don't want to look out of the window in the morning because I'm afraid that the sun won't be shining. After what seems like an eternity of dreary clouds, my skin is itching to feel warm rays blasting 'happy vitamins' into my skin. This morning I was brave, and I threw back the curtains. The heavens were a light grey. I watched the deathly bare branches jutting harshly against the pale sky, and I decided to try to love today anyway.