Live Out Loud

One of the hardest things about deciding to leave Ann Arbor was all the rich relationships I would have to leave behind. I think the practical part of me couldn't think that such deep and gospel-centered relationships could form in short periods of time in my coming year in Philly, and yet a completely new relationship with a sister in my new LIFEgroup this spring shattered that cynical preconception. We got close so quick that it gave me hope for what was to come in my impending move. Last night I got to spend several hours conversing and worshipping with one of the new sisters I met here in Philly, less than a week ago. It was such a sweet time of being honest with one another, testifying to God's faithfulness, speaking truth amidst our fears, and worshipping together. I can't believe how quickly and graciously God has answered my prayer for sisters to run the race with, and hope we can mutually encourage each other to fight the good fight, for the year(s) to come.

One of the best decisions I made this past school year was participating in the freedom class that our church offers as a way to break through strongholds in our lives. Coming into the class, I hesitated with feelings of "I don't need this" vs. "I have so many insecurities I want to be set from." God used the class to help me with several things I am so grateful for, even months later. Through the freedom class, God.. Helped me to identify distortions in my thinking I never verbalized it until the class, but in my mind, I had this underlying fear and idea that I should be thrown out as a useless piece of clay. Instead of believing this wickedly distorted idea, God told me that I am his masterpiece and his workmanship, created in Christ to do good works, which he prepared in advance for me to do. Taught me how to overcome fear  I never knew I should pray to HATE the sin of fear, to renounce the fear in the name of Jesus (faith > fear), and to move

"Blessed is the man who TRUSTS in the Lord, whose CONFIDENCE is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not FEAR when HEAT comes; its leaves are always green. It has NO WORRIES in a year of drought and NEVER FAILS to bear fruit."  - Jeremiah 17:8 I sense that this upcoming year will be a particularly hard year where I will have to confront my fears. My hope is that I would trust in the Lord and find my full confidence in him, not just for the crazy stuff but even for the practical things. God, would you provide me with: A new church to love and serve Sisters to help me continue to grow The ability to speed-read and write awesome papers!

The law is like a warning sign you find at the beach. The sign of sharks is there to help us, to protect us, to guide us--and we have the choice to ignore it or follow it. The sign doesn't kill the shark or prevent it from being present at the beach, just like how following the law doesn't correspond to a sin-free life. Warning sign: Law Sharks: Sin Beach: Life Sometimes I get so upset about not being able to swim in the water that I start despising the sign and the one who put it there. This illustration came up last night as our LIFEgroup was discussing Romans 7. Will you spend your life wallowing in sin and bitterness, or will you devote it to warning others about the sign? I hope I will always choose the latter.

Yesterday I had a chance to visit my friend at the school she teaches in Detroit. Though my time there was brief, I couldn't help but smile as I saw her live out her calling as a teacher, which she discovered while serving on several ministries in our church . A great question to think about if you're not sure what your calling is: What are the activities you're involved with right now that you don't mind doing, no matter the cost? This is the question that helped me identify my desire to devote my life to college students--excited to pursue this new chapter in  my life!

I should have posted this a couple weeks ago--but here it is, my thoughts closing out this year's LIFEgroup. Freefall, it has been an immense privilege to be invited into your lives, to be entrusted to lead and shepherd this group despite my lack of innate shepherding abilities. I'm thankful for the undeserving patience and grace many of you have shown to me in my cowardly moments of fear or awkwardness or lack of emotion :P  Thanks for loving me just as I am, with my fears, flaws, and failures, not only as a leader but as an individual. It's hard to find communities like this where we can be free to be ourselves, and loved (not just tolerated) for who we are.  Our church has a strong culture of discipleship and mentoring, so take advantage of it--GET DISCIPLED, and start making disciples! I didn't really know what I was doing either but all you gotta do is follow Christ, and invite others to follow you (1 Cor. 11:1). If you're not sure what that means, let

Four years ago, Jesus gave me a vision for a long-term career in higher education, which I never even knew existed. It came unexpected after a struggle to surrender my career as an undergraduate business student, and for four years God used my time at Deloitte and the college ministry at HMCC to grow my skillsets, character, and passions. Why the career change? I entered the University of Michigan as an undergraduate business student focused solely on excelling in my studies to secure a prestigious full-time job. To my surprise, I received so much more than just an enriching intellectual experience as Christ found me and gave me a new identity, purpose, and passions. As I began to follow my newfound lord and savior, I was challenged to let go of my plans to trust instead. The experience that changed it all Right before my senior year in college, I participated in a community summer missions project with my church instead of taking a corporate internship. Even though I had a hard

Receiving this surprise cake was one of the most thoughtful gestures I have received in a long time. Praise God for his direction and provision in my life!

“Dear diary, My head is spinning.  I hardly know where to start.  This day started out so perfectly – like every other day we’ve ever had.  As we always do, Adam and I got up early to take a walk with God.  Those walks have always been the highlight of our day. This morning, no one said anything for a while.  We just enjoyed being together.  Then God started singing.  It was a love song.  When He got to the chorus, we started to sing with Him – first, Adam’s deep voice, then I joined in.  We sang and sang and sang – songs about love and stars and joy and God.  Finally, we all sat down under a big shade tree near the middle of the Garden.  We thanked God for being so good; we told Him all we wanted to do was to make Him happy and to find our happiness in Him.  It was such a sweet time – it always was when the three of us were together. I don’t know how to explain what happened next.  All of a sudden, we heard a voice we’d never heard before.  I turned and there, looking right at