Looking Towards the Future, but Being Encouraged for the Now.

Today I was given the opportunity to travel to Cincinnati, Ohio to promote URBN to a group of college seniors. Yes, I know the current URBN group is only two months into their (our) program, but is it ever really TOO soon to be looking towards the future? Anyways, working as an admin. assistant for URBN I have been a bit discouraged by the amount of interest and feedback (or lack there of)that I have received from people who have previously shown an interest in the program. It can be disheartening at times to see the behind the scenes stuff that goes on. However, this weekend God reminded me of just how great He is and that our worries are sometimes...well, most of the time spurred by our attempt to do things ourselves.

After sharing about URBN, myself and a few other URBN participants were given a chance to sit down and talk with those college seniors who may be interested in the ministry for next year. As we sat and answered questions it was good to hear firsthand...maybe for the first time...how living in the neighborhood has already affected us and vice versa. Along with hearing encouraging words from fellow URBN team members it was good to hear the questions that the students had; many of which where extremely intentional. I am so very thankful for the opportunity that God has given me to be a part of seeing this ministry grow, even at such a young age. He is already doing so much! How good is it to be reminded that His plans are just and that His will is sovereign?

Making your Presence Known

It's almost been two months since I first moved to Shelby Park and I think with each passing day God grants me the ability to see something new or someone new. Tonight I took part in the biweekly potluck that Sojourn SEED puts on. This isn't a new experience for me seeing as I've taken in part in each one since arriving, but tonight I experienced the gift of love and service in a whole new way and the impact that the two can have on a community.

As each week went by and I continued to take part in the potlucks I saw few familiar faces and several new ones. It brings me huge amounts of joy to be able to say that within the past 4 weeks of potlucks in Shelby Park I have began to see several familiar faces! Many of these familiar faces belong to neighborhood kids and the homeless and I can tell you now that nothing beats the joy of seeing a familiar face whether it be at a potluck, a grocery store, or some off the wall place where you never expected to see anyone you know.

It is encouraging to know that relationships and friendships are being built and fostered at the biweekly potlucks. It is just proof that something as simple as making your presence known can make a difference. To God be the glory!

The Poor Deserve to be Poor, Right?

Poor people here, poor people there, poor people everywhere...and each of them deserve to be poor because they are bad stewards of their money, have a drug and/or alcohol problem, they have endless amounts of careless sex and never use protection, and they probably chose to live way above their means.

Now, I'm going to stop myself right here and say that these are all thoughts that I personally have had or comments that I have heard from other people. Some of the above statements may be true, but chances are there is a lot more to their story than I have even cared to think about. In fact, many people who find themselves to be poor did nothing to "deserve" it.

So, let's break the mold in our thinking. Tim Keller, in his book "Ministries of Mercy," states that there are at least three causes of poverty: 1) Oppression or injustice...someone sinned against them 2) Calamity or natural disaster 3)Personal sin (the one most people assume to be the sole cause).

The above three reasons alone can change how we view the poor, if we keep them in mind. I'm sure almost everyone that will read this blog knows someone or has themselves experienced oppression, injustice, calamity, or natural disaster. How many people reading this blog no of someone who randomly fell sick to cancer and now has a ton of medical bills they must pay for and on top of that they are out of work because of the condition of their body? Do they deserve to be poor? Is it their fault that they suddenly became ill and hadn't been keeping a "just in case I get cancer" fund? Personally, I would answer those questions with a "no."

Having read through this part of Tim Keller's "Ministries of Mercy" I found myself thinking "well, I know not every person got themselves into poverty..." but I also found myself thinking that "many of them don't even try to get out of their current situation..." That too can be a lie in which we believe and categorize the poor as "lazy." I challenge those of you reading this to join me in rethinking through what it is that may have been the cause of someone's poverty rather than assuming that they deserve it and that they put themselves there. We each have a story and you don't necessarily know theirs anymore than they know yours.

When times get tough...

When times get though what do you do? Who do you run to? Where do you go?

I know for me, many times I go straight for comfort whether that be in a friend, a family member, or my journal....but WHY?!?! Why don't I run to God? Rather I find myself trying to figure things out on my own or hardening my heart because I somehow talk myself into believing that whatever is going on is a personal attack on myself. I thought about this throughout this past week as I read through Exodus. God sent Moses and Aaron several times to warn Pharaoh of what plague(s) was/were to come and how to avoid them yet he chose not to. Most of these plagues ended with Pharaoh calling Moses and Aaron into his home and asking them to plead with God on his behalf swearing that this time he would do as God had commanded. Pharaoh never followed through with his promise(s) to change and on top of that he hardened his heart.

How many times do we have the answers right in front of us and choose not to use them or are commanded to do something and outwardly disobey then harden our hearts? I am challenging myself to take everything to the Lord first, to pray and fight against my habit of running to comfort rather than God, and to not harden my heart but to let it be open to the Lord.

Becoming Part of the Community

I have been beyond blessed to be a part of the Shelby Park community. The more I am here the more people I meet and the more my relationships with those individuals grow. I am excited to see how these relationships grow and what they will looks like by the end of this year....shoot by the end of this month! God has been so gracious in what He has already shown me. I have now completed two books of the Bible completely (Genesis and Job). It has not been easy to keep up with the reading each day but I have already seen my desire and my excitement for the readings increase. I pray and ask that this year through the Bible reading would not just become me reading through as though it were just another book but that I would continue to meditate on what I read and dig deeper, ask questions, and seek answers. I pray that through this I will not only gain wisdom but will be able to glorify God more fully and more intentionally with everything that I do! Lord, do with me what you will. To God be the Glory!

Speaking of Job and kind of changing the depth of this post...I have found that community is important. Job had community, even through his suffering. It may not be the kind of community we think about or even want to have around in a time of suffering but it's the kind we need...well, kind of. Job's friends came and sat in silence with him in his suffering for the first little while they were there.

11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job's friends also called him out on his sin. Now, they were not right about Job's sin but we need friends and Christian community that will hold us accountable to our sin and will encourage us to fight that sin, seeking to glorify God and not ourselves. I have recently joined a community group that meets within the neighborhood and I can say that it has already been such a blessing to be able to meet with fellow Christians, encourage one another, lovingly call out each others sin, and just live life together. For those of you that are not familiar with the term "community group" it is a group of people, from the same community, who get together at least once a week, and dive a little deeper into the Gospel that was preached on during the previous Sunday's sermon, bring forth sin, and encourage each other to seek God's face and live to glorify Him. For this I am extremely thankful!

As I Visit Egypt

No, I am not traveling to Egypt...at least not anytime soon. Egypt is a young girl that lives in the Shelby Park neighborhood. Egypt and I hang out most days I am at the park. We play tennis, soccer, throw the frisbee, and make each other friendship bracelets; Egypt is 8. It may not seem like much and many times I wondered "How is this my ministry within the park? Am I even really showing anyone God's love? Am I wasting my time and God's?" At least until the other day. Egypt and I hung out with her younger brother Rio and practiced our soccer skills. The YMCA just happened to be at the other end of the park giving out free hotdogs. YUM!

Now, Egypt and her siblings are not allowed to go to the opposite side of the park without their mom of their older brother. So, I asked if it would be okay for me to take them over there. This is where everything changed. I was given permission to take Rio and Egypt to the other side of the park. This is huge! The parents of these kids, who I still have not officially met yet are trusting me to take their children to the other side of the park and return them safely.

As we walked to the pavilion located on the opposite side of the park I began to ask Egypt and Rio how they liked their hotdogs and how school was going. They gave me the typical kids answer of "School is good and I like ketchup! LOTS OF KETCHUP!" However, out of the blue Egypt turns to me and says "You are like my older sister that I never had. Oh, but don't tell anyone! It's our secret." At this point God had answered all of my previous questions. I was some how impacting the lives of these children, especially Egypt. I pray that one day I will get to explain to them why I love them and want to show them love even though I do not know them personally. I am excited to see where this friendship goes and yes, I wear my friendship bracelet she made me (almost) everyday.

Job the Man...Not the One You Slave Over

At this point in our Year through the Bible reading we are in Job. This man is unique. How many of us would be near the brink of death and suffering...and I don't mean lightly suffering. This guy was in pain! His own friends didn't even recognize him.

"When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite

and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come

upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to

go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a

distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and

they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat

on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a

word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was." -Job 3:11-13

Through all of this Job chose to continually praise the Lord. What does it mean for us to praise God through everything; even our unbearable suffering? That is my prayer for today. That somehow some way I would gain a bit of wisdom on what it means to truly have faith, trust God with every aspect of my life, and to praise Him even in my suffering rather than cursing His name. I am thankful for the wisdom that I have obtained thus far through having only read all of Genesis and half of Job, and a few Psalms here and there. I can't believe I have never read through more of the Bible before. There have been failed attempts but none such as this.

What is Grace?

It's been a month and man is it starting to get real...as we all begin to get more comfortable with each other the more open we are to addressing each others strengths and weaknesses. I can't sit here and say that all of this is easy or that all of it is hard, but I can sit here and say that God is showing me and teaching me a lot about grace.

grace [greys] Show IPA noun, verb, graced, grac·ing.
noun
1.elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action: We watched her skate with effortless grace across the ice. Synonyms: attractiveness, charm, gracefulness, comeliness, ease, lissomeness, fluidity. Antonyms: stiffness, ugliness, awkwardness, clumsiness; klutziness.
2.a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment: He lacked the manly graces.
3.favor or goodwill. Synonyms: kindness, kindliness, love, benignity; condescension.
4.a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior: It was only through the dean's grace that I wasn't expelled from school. Synonyms: forgiveness, charity, mercifulness. Antonyms: animosity, enmity, disfavor.
5.mercy; clemency; pardon: He was saved by an act of grace from the governor. Synonyms: lenity, leniency, reprieve. Antonyms: harshness.

If I can get real for a minute or two....I've been struggling to show grace. Out of my own frustrations and quite frankly out of my own struggle with pride I have failed to be loving and kind. I have failed to show grace and I have failed at any attempt to be Christ-like. The good news is however, that while I have fallen to sin God has shown me grace and has allowed for me to learn from my sin rather than to be defeated by it. In this I know that there is truth.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,

so that Christ’s power may rest on me. -2 Corinthians 12:9

I am thankful for the times that life gets real and that it's not always easy. What I am most thankful for is that God's love is unending and that His grace is enough!