Live Out Loud

I love unexpected blessings that result from a detour. The original plan: To dine at Zingerman's Roadhouse for the first time, with a dear friend whose days in town are counting down (going to the Roadhouse was one of the things on her bucket list). What actually ended up happening: Catching-up, worshiping, and praying OUTSIDE while enjoying God's gifts! Lisa and I had been planning this for a while now and I was super stoked about having this one-on-one time with her. The detour came when she began telling this long story about how the HS challenged her to fast for pre-christians in her life. I've never understood the hype about Zingerman's (gah whoever's reading this, please don't kill me) and frankly never thought it was worth the price tag or wait time. Despite me having communicated this, Lisa was SUPER apologetic about not being able to follow through on our original plan. We ended up picking up some drinks from Panera and heading over to the Diag to cat...

I've never read the entire bible. When I first made the decision to make Jesus my lord and savior, it was unsurprising that I had never read the entire bible before. In fact, my knowledge of the old testament was so abysmal that one summer when I was planning for bible story lessons for kids (csmp), I had to secretly read summaries of common stories taught to kids while my teammates who grew up going to Sunday school easily recalled characters from the ot. I was so embarrassed that I had no idea who these prominent characters from the ot were, such as Ruth/Naomi, Joseph & his brothers, Jonah, king David, and the like. But knowing I had only began my relationship with God two years prior, I had somewhat of a. "safety net" to excuse myself. Today, more than four years have passed and I have yet to know the entire history of God moving powerfully amongst people before Christ. Here I am trying to teach the fifteen college students in my lifegroup how to value the wor...

I will never forget the first day I walked into my soon-to-be workplace for my final round of interviews. Despite being located in one of the more prominent centers in Detroit, when I got off the elevator and opened the door, I was greeted by a dim and narrow atmosphere with high-walled cubicles. Half of the desks on the floors were unoccupied, and I couldn't imagine spending more than forty hours there every week. Having worked in an ad agency a few years prior where there was not a single item of furniture in grayscale colors and the fridges were stocked with beer, I could immediately sense how much more formal and professional the culture was than at Leo Burnett. ANYWAY, all of that changed a few months ago when I found out that we would be moving! Today our office leader invited us to an open house at the new tower, and presented details about the new facilities. The major change is that the new workplace emphasizes openness and collaboration, through the plentiful amounts of n...

One of my favorite parts about working at Deloitte is the ways we are involved in local communities. Similar to DP Day that the University of Michigan participates in once a year, Deloitte has IMPACT Day, where the entire firm puts our regular responsibilities on pause for one day to participate in skills-based volunteering. Throughout the year, we partner with a few select organizations like United Way, City Year, and College Summit to serve as mentors, teachers, and counselors (among other things). It's funny that I express such enthusiasm now because all throughout high school and college, I greatly undermined the value of community service. Maybe it's because I grew up in a rather homogeneous suburban neighborhood, but I didn't see the power of mentorship relationships until two summers ago when I got to interact with the underachieving youth at Cesar Chavez Academy in Southwest Detroit. Since then, I've been learning more about different social issues and how I ca...

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm gonna miss Wed night chapel times. Every Wed night, I meet with a couple people to pray for our lifegroup. Tonight as one of the members were closing out, he mentioned how thankful he was for the relationships that were built this year, and prayed that the accountability relationships would continue through the summer and beyond. It wasn't anything new, but that kind of specific prayer just didn't cross my mind for some reason. I couldn't help but giggle inside with excitement, as I thought about all the relationships that flourished AFTER a life group ended. Eight months is just too short of a time for a relationship to be built then ended. So many relationships flourished and went to deeper levels in the months and years following an "official" time period, which makes me feel a little less sad about this lifegroup coming to a close. The school year might be over, but the relationships last forever. Another reason w...

If you've been around me long enough, you probably know how much I love good deals. I've been an avid follower of Dealnews and Spoofee for years, and this year I started sharing the good news of Groupon and Livingsocial with more passion than I evangelize about Jesus. A few weeks ago I publicized on my facebook about a local skydiving deal, encouraging "anyone whose life bucket list includes skydiving to take this chance" and purchase the deal. I didn't understand the power of social media until a friend walked up to me the next day and told me that after seeing my "exhortation", he and fifteen of his friends purchased the deal together and will all be jumping out of a plane in September. I was in shock but also stunned--what if I shared about Jesus with such passion and enthusiasm?? Would fifteen others buy the product I'm selling with just as much excitement?? What if I shamelessly and convincingly "sold" Jesus on my facebook? Yesterda...

With the school year and season of church ministry coming to a close, I have been thinking about what to expect in the coming months. Not much will change in my own life as I will continue to work in Detroit and live in Ann Arbor, but for many of the people around me things WILL look drastically different, whether it be moving to another city or taking on different responsibilities where they currently are. While other people's decisions don't alter my desire to invest in college students lives, in complete frankness, I can foresee feelings of loneliness creeping in already. Yesterday the women in our church wrapped up our study on some common "lies women believe in (and the truths that set us free)". I didn't expect the three sessions to be a silver bullet (end-all-solution) to all my problems, but one thing I walked away with is the need for me to dispel every lie in my mind with a DIRECT, corresponding truth from the Bible. Recently whenever I give a personal u...