Live Out Loud

I don't like saying things I don't mean, especially the term BLESSED, which is used very often in the church. I mentioned how cautious I am to use the word BLESSED in an entry back in April , and today I want to testify to how another promise has been fulfilled in my life. So.. what is a promise I banked on? [From a recent Creative Development exercise we did in Pubs] How was this promise fulfilled? Confession: I've heard this verse many times before and even memorized it--but despite knowing it in my head, I really doubted it in my heart. I knew Jesus said things like "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62) but I OFTEN looked back (and side to side) wondering if the way of following Christ was really the BEST LIFE I COULD LIVE.  If I had to describe this summer in one word, it would be affirming . I've been affirmed in my job, my ministry, my relationships and I truly FEEL that there ...

Of all the things in a typical week, my favorite meetings are hands down the times I have with my co-leaders. They are typically referred to as planning meetings in our church, but I'd rather avoid that term because that phrase is sometimes associated with :( emoticons or dreadful looks. After all, every lifegroup and leadership team (LT) handles planning meetings differently :P My first LT experience was with Eric and KT during Walk It Out--I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty upset when I found out they were the two I was stuck with for the entire year. I had contexts with both of them before I started serving with them and thought I knew them pretty well. Eric was the guy in my class who endlessly shared for 30 minutes whenever I asked a simple "How are you?", and KT was the ministry team leader that I had a distant relationship with, despite the fact that I had been a part of her team for 2+ years. I didn't see much hope for the future of our relationship, but God ...

A few weeks ago I mentioned how God has been answering my prayers for greater discernment in my life. Another one of those long-term prayer requests in my life has been to grow in compassion . And MAN I can't believe God has been answering! I mean, I must be really faithless to have doubted--after all, one of my fav verses right now is 1 John 5:14 which says "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." Jesus was full of compassion, so why wouldn't God want to grant me compassion if I asked for it, right? I noticed how much I lacked in compassion when I was with two particular people groups--children, and the poor. But over the past year and a half (since I started praying in November of 2009), God has thrown multiple opportunities to grow in an area of weakness. The first was in partaking in the social just!ce movement at our church last year where we brainstormed ways to raise awareness of social is...

On Sunday morning, I did something I thought I'd NEVER do. I completed a 10K at the 2011 Dexter-Ann Arbor Run. A lot of people assume I enjoy running because I love playing sports--but believe me on this, I never understood how anyone could run for fun . About a month ago when the "new year" began, I set a new personal goal to invest in my physical health just like I care for my spiritual, mental, or emotional health. When Julia told me about DXA2 at a Pubs meeting two weeks ago, I was intrigued. Running 6.2 miles seemed like just the right distance for me to be challenged without having months to train beforehand. Despite my interest, I didn't want to sign-up without having at least one buddy to run with me side-by-side and help me stick to the goal I had set. Without the A word (accountability), I knew how easy it would be for me to start walking halfway and not fulfill the commitment I had made. It brings me great excitement to share that I (along with two very s...

I used to think that doing God's will, or doing the "right thing", always involved making sacrifices, dying to myself, and ultimately--having no fun. For the first three years after accepting Christ, I felt restrained and limited in what I could/could not do and found little joy and freedom in following Christ. A lot of these misconceptions I had were results of me living in darkness and being dishonest/fake/a complete fluke with God. But slowly as I came into the light and admitted to how I genuinely felt, the transformation and renewing of my mind began. In the Bible, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life , and have it to the full " (John 10:10). AKA Jesus came so that I may experience life to the full. The best life I could ever imagine. The life I've always wanted. I always knew this truth in my head but couldn't confidently testify to it personally until very recently. Often times whe...

Even though I've been a Christian for four years now (!), there are still a handful of things I know theoretically but have yet to experience personally . One of those that bothered me for a good three years was the idea of what it means to be FREE IN CHRIST, which God let me experience through a serious of reoccuring dreams lol (just ask me about it in-person if I haven't told you). I know God loves me because He sent His one and only Son to die for me, but I don't know if I've ever experienced God's love in a personal way. Or perhaps I have, but I just haven't recognized it.. Two weeks ago, new LIFE groups began which meant I was given a fresh roster of fifteen girls to shepherd for the rest of the summer. My new LG is a merge of Global Access & Jwitter, with a few additional international students. Perhaps it's because I've had context with the GA community in years past and knew my Jwitter girls coming in, but something about my love for this L...

The first time I ever stepped into a church was in 10th grade. After the service (99% which I did not understand, and felt completely out of place about), my friend Patty went up to her youth pastor and asked, "Hey Pastor Steve, do you have any extra Bibles? My friend is new and doesn't have one." He went to his office to get one, but when he came back he said, "Sorry we don't have any more Bibles--but someone left their Bible behind and it's been sitting in the lost & found for months! Here, you can have it." I didn't like the idea of receiving a second-hand Bible at first, so when I received a *new* leather-bound study-Bible (the two-tone smooth leather kind with the gold page edges), I immediately put this first Bible away. Over the years, I received several other Bibles which was honestly frustrating--I was so disappointed when I received a Bible from my LG as a baptism gift (c'mon how many Bibles did I really need at that time?) I return...