adjusting back into the t-town groove....& loving it
These first two weeks at Alabama have been an absolute WHIRLWIND! I am overwhelmed. I am elated. You couldn’t put me in a bad mood if you tried.
It’s funny. For 7 months I thought about Bama Cru. Almost obsessively I prayed for them, etched a picture of our ministry in my mind, begged friends and neighbors to partner with us in the Great Commission. I held tightly to all I’ve seen the LORD do over this past year and strived to communicate this vision to anyone who would listen. This picture in my head is what has kept me sane when days were hard. This picture in my head… is what I was dying to return to…. My friends, my fellow laborers…. And when God provided last week… I was able to return.
And when I did… it was all so different than I expected. The prayers… the prayers of HUNDREDS of people, both on my team and those connected with my fellow staff, were met not only fully but exceedingly. The picture of our ministry which sustained me throughout support raising pales in comparison to what I have experienced in returning to campus.
Bama Cru is thriving. Yes, our weekly meeting has grown from 200 to 450 in a year – we’re meeting in a gorgeous new sanctuary packed wall-to-wall with students, but not even THAT is the point. Numbers are not the point.
An increase from 8 to 24 weekly community groups, intimacy, is the point.
The rise from 40 to 66 students on leadership is the point.
Seeing the LORD at work, raising up desire in collegiates...
using students to lead students to Christ…is the point.
Last night as we held a Christmas party for the leadership in our ministry, we asked them to share what they have seen God do this semester. Not one person mentioned the weekly meeting. Not one mentioned numbers. They all talked about relationships, about how God is using them in unique places in unique ways. They talked about international students, their classes, their sororities… it wasn’t about the growing reputation of our ministry but about the growing awareness of what a REAL walk with Christ looks like.
Guys, God’s provision (the completion of my financial support) has allowed me to step in, to tune in, to the remainder of what has been an incredible semester at Alabama. I am able to jump into the vision that that we can run full force in the spring. I have no idea what this next season will bring but I do know that our students are focused on the LORD… and that focus is only intensifying. Students are coming to know Jesus… and are telling their friends.
This December, we rest. Come January, it’s on. Fasten your seatbelts. The Kingdom is crashing in & no power of Hell can stop it’s momentum. Look out.
What I’ve been up to since I’ve returned:
- 2 staff meetings –planning events for the rest of the semester
- 2 prayer sessions- praying for our staff, students, future & ministry
- 2 Staff Development Times – reading articles, studying Scripture and engaging in application in areas in which Cru wants staff to grow
- International Christmas Party – Justin and Alana hosted our East Asian foreign exchange students at their house on Monday
- Kitchen Christmas Party – A time to hang out with and thank leadership
- Cru Christmas Party – Food & hang out after weekly meeting for all students
- IMPACT weekly meeting- attended this African American branch of Cru last week. I’m discipling the leader, Kendra & hoping to help their ministry grow.
- 2 Weekly Meetings – Jeff spoke last week on 2 Timothy (Look up BamaCrusade on itunes) & seniors spoke this week
- Met up to catch up with several students
- Moved into my new house – Living off campus with Christina(who works for another ministry on campus, RUF) and Lanie (who is taking a year off to volunteer with Habitat in Tuscaloosa). This house is a MAJOR blessing. Haven’t had to pay rent on it all semester until I reported (cheap rent, I might add). My landlord is director of another campus ministry.
- Tornado Relief work: cleaning up tons of debris from Tornado with students all day.
- Coffee with Rachel – fellow staff, our director Jeff’s wife. Having a baby in late January!
- SEC Championship Game – no comment.
- Three full days, 9-5 of planning and evaluation for Spring
- Staff Christmas party
- And now… preparing for next semester until Passion Conference on January 1st.
This is all so amazing. Thank you for allowing me to be here. &…it’s just beginning…
speechless
Today my support came in. All of it. ::What is impossible with man, is possible with God :: - Luke 18:27 I am speechless. This process takes the average person in my position 6 months to a year to complete. After just four months of prayer, growth, & casting vision, God has responded by fully meeting my every need....Praise the Lord. Praise. The. Lord.
from textbooks to ttown
All that stands between me & Alabama are a few minor details : a hand full of new supporters to finish off my team & a final exam in in seminary coursework. Because our ministry values continued education for all employees, New Staff are required to complete New Testament Survey before reporting to our assignment. As I progress in my career with Crusade, I will take more seminary classes. So! As I wrap up my time living in Duluth, I'm focusing the majority of my time on completing this class. (Hence the picture above) My head hurts from studying but I'm LOVING this new knowledge! And! The end is near!! It won't be long until I see you again, Bama baby!!
glee & joy event
As you're thinking through Christmas gifts this year, I HIGHLY encourage you to order a FREE Compassion International Gift Catalog. This is one of my FAVORITE things to do at Christmas; substitute the things I regularly receive at Christmas for life changing gifts for those in need. (BAMA girls, this means YOU! I've always DREAMED of giving a family a goat at Christmas & so this year I'm going to recruit you guys into the vision. This season we are striving to give MORE than we receive. Let's do it! A GOAT! Can you imagine how cool that is??)
Wherever you give, I encourage you to give this season & to a cause that not only feeds & clothes, but advances the Gospel. More important than just feeding hungry bellies, we need to be feeding hungry souls. Love you guys! Thanks!
one republic: marching on
3I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Seaa on the west. 5No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”- Joshua 1
I am SUPER into music this week, apparently. But this song...MAN! Go full screen on this one...it pumps me up for raising support and working on my New Testament Survey coursework!Be strong and courageous, folks. This battle is worth fighting.
captivated
My soul intertwined between your fingers
You have me
All of me
My GOD... I am so in love with you.
Revelation 21:3-7 And I heard a great voice out of the heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." And He that sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said unto me, "Write: for these words are true and faithful." And He said unto me, "It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that thirsts of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son."
the answer? not enough
This girl does a pretty good cover of Addison Road's "What Do I Know of Holy." I've been singing this all morning.
a second samuel twenty two season
There is a tingling in my hands, a peaceful excitement, that I can’t seem to shake. Perhaps it derives from the fluttering of my heart or maybe from the unexpected lightness in my head. Something is different in me. I think they call this gratitude.
I’m short on words but certainly not short on emotion. I cannot help but to feel overwhelmed. Twice this month I’ve been called confident, eight times ‘passionate,’ but no... it’s something bigger. I think they call this security. Possibly this is true ‘thanksgiving’…
Regardless, it’s far more than I deserve.
How the LORD has been Working in Others: The stories of how God is working at Bama are unending: The Tri-Delt house is busting with girls eager to hear about Jesus. Our new weekly meeting location may already be too small for our growing ministry. Students are taking initiative with tornado victims, the impoverished & their peers. 50 students continue to attend Justin’s Gospel Class. Beyond Bama, I’ve been able to regularly meet with & challenge several unexpected people throughout Georgia. I see him working in my family & providing for those I see in need.
How the Lord Has Worked In Me: Although an emotional roller coaster, the Lord has been sweet & wise during this time of fund raising. He continues to provide new supporters & has transformed my hours of frustration, boredom & often loneliness into sacred time of growth. I still wrestle through impatience & am MORE than eager to return to campus. However, Scripture has challenged me to increase my giving to others, heightened intimacy with the Holy Spirit, rejuvenated my passion for the ‘untouchables,’ & humbled me more each day. I’ve been able to study God’s concept of ‘calling,’ feel more affirmed in my position than ever, & have really grown in my ability to listen. The LORD has revealed SO much about my personality, skills, weaknesses & heart during this time.
How the LORD has Provided for Me: Living at home these past 3 months has allowed me to really savor relationships with immediate & extended family, an INVALUABLE blessing. I’ve been able to save thousands of dollars, re-connect with long lost friends, soak in the gorgeous Georgia fall, & foster my relationship with Qualtina & Dunterrious in Athens. I was able to drive my car to Virginia & back (Praise God!), be encouraged by dear, dear (new staff) friends in Michigan, & regain vision at a staff conference. I finally have stable health insurance & a fantastic budget plan. I am constantly reminded of my unique position working for an employer who genuinely cares about me. Additionally, my landlord at Alabama remains patient and is not making me pay rent until my support is complete. I felt extremely loved this month &, to top it all off, God used a few faithful believers to cover an incredible financial need! I am in awe.
Although I realize every month will not appear so revolutionary, I’m growing in my appreciation of the Father’s timing. If I had already reported back to Alabama, I wouldn’t have been able to help my mom after her shoulder surgery & our students may not have felt as much pressure to take charge in our ministry. He is good & I… well, I am speechless.
Thank you, Lord.
solider in the pouring rain
On the 24th day of the 1st month as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up before me and there stood a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like crysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like gleam of burnished bronze.
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And this only
an angel who fights for me,
how much more
the King of Kings?
When "no's" and "maybe next years"
drive my hope down down down
that the Lord,my love, that He is listening
this is the hope on which I stand.
Have you heard me, Lord?
Have you heard?
I've been willing to be a fool for you
to claim September 1st when all said it impossible
because you are a big God
capable of big prayers
Why are you being so stubborn??
And yet you answer,
just in ways not what I want...
...a contradiction of faith;
to hate picking up the phone
when I've seen all you've done
time and time and time again.
Lord I'm so tired already
Begging for refreshment
for a week anew,
I begged for gratitude
to exchange business for intimacy.
Oh Lord I've missed the feel of your touch.....
And as summer sky broke loose
in passion falling rain
my mama looked me in the eye
and said "let's go dance."
Oh Lord, I needed those mud-deep toes
soaking wet, fabrics heavier by the drop
to feel you bigger than me
beating down on my tainted flesh in violent breath
How I've missed you.
How I've missed you.
Thank you for the rain
and a mama who will dance
Thank you for fighting for me
when I'm weary of fighting for myself.
Thank you for powerwashing flesh whiter, whiter yet
and turning eyes skyward when all I've been seeing is myself.
a soldier by my side
clothes growing cold
while words warm inside me
Colossians 1:15-23
Lord your Word is gasoline to my soul. It soaks me, burns me, dripping wet; I can feel it in my bones. Father set me ablaze & make me disappear in the flames.You are holy beyond comprehension, your character mighty & brilliant. My words are but mere words, inadequate & unglamorous. But you... you are more than adequate. You are more than I can imagine. May we know you more today than we did yesterday. In support raising and 9-5s, in growing our children & our gardens, in our finances, in our follies, in our futures & our distractions, in our comings & goings, wishings & wanderings, in our day-to-day grind, laughter & frustrations, In all ... I beg that we know you more today than we did yesterday. Amen. 
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I've had this friend since sixth grade... you may have heard me mention him before... I call him sweet nate moore. Nate Moore is really his name, but you probably already guessed that. Regardless, He is my friend and, more importantly, the boy LOVES Jesus. A little over a year ago Nathan recorded a 5 song worship album. (Hear some of his music on itunes! : http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-sending/id371185126?i=371185173). I cry every time I hear him sing... maybe it's because I get teary eyed most any time someone I care about does something they love (cheesy but true) but, regardless, I cry. & when I hear that album, I feel like I walk smack dab into the Holy Spirit. It has SERIOUSLY been a blessing in my time with the Lord. Like I said, the boy LOVES Jesus.
Just tonight I received an email from Nate, something he sent out to a few close friends and family, announcing that he's been writing some of his own songs for the past year & now has the incredible opportunity to record an album with Josh Fisher, the drummer from Jesus Culture. Long story short, He needs our prayers, $7000 (cheap for recording an album!) & as much encouragement as he can get. He DESPERATELY wants to see the world reached for Christ and, quite honestly, I think the LORD has given him incredible talent to help make that happen.
I humbly ask you to stop what you're doing for a second, say a prayer on his behalf, ask if the LORD is calling you to partner in any way, and then visit his Kickstarter site [http://www.kickstarter.com/
As I told him in an email tonight, it is a PLEASURE to labor alongside him for the Kingdom. I can't wait to see where God takes this.
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| sweet nate and me at college graduation. what great buddies. |
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