It's that time of year again. The first week of classes is halfway through and Pittsburgh is buzzing with activity. Things really get crowded around here once the students move back. Traffic is awful, lines are long, buses are crowded, and the gym is full (at least for the first week).
We had our first meeting of the student leaders for Pittsburgh Metro last Friday. It was amazing to see all of the students so excited about the upcoming year. Some of the students shared stories from their summer and it was obvious that God was working in their lives even while they weren't in Pittsburgh. We took time to worship during the meeting and it was incredible to hear voices, accompanied by a single guitar, praising with excitement and conviction.
The annual welcome back BBQ happened Saturday. Despite some hang ups in location and food prep, we had a great turnout. It was encouraging to see the returning students being so intentional in welcoming new students. And finally prayers needed for our first Cru meeting tonight! Pray that God would raise up more students to be involved and for more leaders from other campuses to emerge.
Also be praying for me as I continue to work on making the transition from college student to the adult world. As the students started class this past Monday, I felt the desire for routine creeping back. I love structure and that isn't necessarily one of the luxuries of working in ministry.
In other news - I am excited to make an appearance at my first Pitt football game as an Alum this weekend! GO PANTHERS!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A Great Work
Today I sit here amazed by the work of my God. These past few months have been some of the most difficult yet rewarding months of my entire life. I have climbed the toughest mountain that has ever stood in front of me with the Lord walking next to me the whole way.
When I made the decision to intern with CRU 4 months ago, I knew that it was an act of obedience. I passed up the chance to work at the church I grew up in, with a youth ministry that I LOVED. But I felt like God had something bigger for me and wanted me to step out of my comfort zone to follow the path He had planned for me. This journey has been amazing. I could never have imagined how it would all come together or how I would be able to raise my support. But the funny thing is...I wasn't supposed to know, or try to figure it out and I didn't do a single bit of the real work, God did.
As Christians, we know that we are supposed to let the Lord take control. But we wonder; what exactly is that supposed to feel like? What does it mean to let God take over? I still don't have a good answer, but I can attest that indeed when we give up control, the Lord will take over and show up in BIG ways.
I had overwhelming doubts, fears, and anxieties. Only a few weeks before my deadline I had barely scraped past 50% of my goal. I remember thinking, "Lord where are you? Why haven't you shown up yet?" In The Message version of the New Testament Paul writes in Philippians 1:6 - "There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears." Well, while I had doubts about God's ability to come through, he was as confident as ever. God knew all along how this would end, he was just waiting for me to let go and trust him. I had to learn patience, and force myself to search God's heart to better understand his character.
God worked miracles and brought in the majority of my remaining support in just 4 short days. Today I am in awe of the mighty power of our creator. I have learned that while we are anxious and worried, God is patience and confident. While we are angry and hateful, God is loving and sincere. When we cry out in frustration, questioning God's presence, He is right there. God speaks to us in loud, obvious ways, but also in quiet whispers. I have also learned that God has a sense of humor and, is probably laughing at me as I write this, for doubting him all this time.
Although raising support has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done, I have been so excited to see God's hand at work. I get excited when I see the Holy Spirit moving and working in the lives of ministry partners. I love that so many people have a heart and desire to be a part of God's kingdom. God did such big things in such a short time. Just think about what He has planned this next year for the students of Pittsburgh. I am so excited to start the journey.
As the adventure begins, I will head to Valley Forge on Monday for training. Then next Friday, I travel back to Pittsburgh to start the real work! I have no doubts that God has started a good work in Pittsburgh and will bring it to completion.
When I made the decision to intern with CRU 4 months ago, I knew that it was an act of obedience. I passed up the chance to work at the church I grew up in, with a youth ministry that I LOVED. But I felt like God had something bigger for me and wanted me to step out of my comfort zone to follow the path He had planned for me. This journey has been amazing. I could never have imagined how it would all come together or how I would be able to raise my support. But the funny thing is...I wasn't supposed to know, or try to figure it out and I didn't do a single bit of the real work, God did.
As Christians, we know that we are supposed to let the Lord take control. But we wonder; what exactly is that supposed to feel like? What does it mean to let God take over? I still don't have a good answer, but I can attest that indeed when we give up control, the Lord will take over and show up in BIG ways.
I had overwhelming doubts, fears, and anxieties. Only a few weeks before my deadline I had barely scraped past 50% of my goal. I remember thinking, "Lord where are you? Why haven't you shown up yet?" In The Message version of the New Testament Paul writes in Philippians 1:6 - "There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears." Well, while I had doubts about God's ability to come through, he was as confident as ever. God knew all along how this would end, he was just waiting for me to let go and trust him. I had to learn patience, and force myself to search God's heart to better understand his character.
God worked miracles and brought in the majority of my remaining support in just 4 short days. Today I am in awe of the mighty power of our creator. I have learned that while we are anxious and worried, God is patience and confident. While we are angry and hateful, God is loving and sincere. When we cry out in frustration, questioning God's presence, He is right there. God speaks to us in loud, obvious ways, but also in quiet whispers. I have also learned that God has a sense of humor and, is probably laughing at me as I write this, for doubting him all this time.
Although raising support has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done, I have been so excited to see God's hand at work. I get excited when I see the Holy Spirit moving and working in the lives of ministry partners. I love that so many people have a heart and desire to be a part of God's kingdom. God did such big things in such a short time. Just think about what He has planned this next year for the students of Pittsburgh. I am so excited to start the journey.
As the adventure begins, I will head to Valley Forge on Monday for training. Then next Friday, I travel back to Pittsburgh to start the real work! I have no doubts that God has started a good work in Pittsburgh and will bring it to completion.
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow"
Monday, July 25, 2011
Finish Line
"The Lord is faithful to all of His promises and loving towards all He has made" Psalm 145:13
This verse is one I've been repeating to myself daily these past few weeks. It is also one that I have struggled to understand. Does God really always come through on His promises? Has he really not forgotten about me? I heard a woman speaking this past weekend who said "God wants us to pray for the supernatural." So that is what I've been doing.
I'm heading into the last 7 days before my support deadline (August 1st) and I still have what I deem to be a significant amount of money to raise. I am nervous and anxious to finish this process. I am worn out in every possible way. Good and bad things have happened and some days I still ask myself, "what the heck are you doing?"
Well, I'm praying for the supernatural. Right now I need approximately 10 people to support me at $100/month average. Where they will come from, I don't know. How God will do that, I don't know. But for now I am learning to trust and to pray for the big things, to pray for the impossible, and to pray for my mind to be blown.
This verse is one I've been repeating to myself daily these past few weeks. It is also one that I have struggled to understand. Does God really always come through on His promises? Has he really not forgotten about me? I heard a woman speaking this past weekend who said "God wants us to pray for the supernatural." So that is what I've been doing.
I'm heading into the last 7 days before my support deadline (August 1st) and I still have what I deem to be a significant amount of money to raise. I am nervous and anxious to finish this process. I am worn out in every possible way. Good and bad things have happened and some days I still ask myself, "what the heck are you doing?"
Well, I'm praying for the supernatural. Right now I need approximately 10 people to support me at $100/month average. Where they will come from, I don't know. How God will do that, I don't know. But for now I am learning to trust and to pray for the big things, to pray for the impossible, and to pray for my mind to be blown.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sweet Summertime
So it's been pretty busy around here...
2 weeks ago there was a road trip to Virginia. 18 hours in a car was totally worth it to be able to spend time with family, go to lots of picnics, and take a ride on this beauty...
We experienced a 2-hour tour on The Alliance sail boat, thanks to a friendly church group who had extra tickets!
Next it was a trip to Lancaster to visit the Leaman Family for Ben's birthday festivities! It was a much needed break and as always lots of fun.
So while I've been busy with all of these adventures, meeting with people, and making phone calls, God has been pretty busy too. Through this process I've really been learning to trust that the Lord will provide. He'll provide me with ministry partners, with people to pray for me, with appointments. I've also been learning that there is only so much I can do and then I have to let God take over. I only have the ability and the power to do so much and I have to trust that God will do the rest.
As we have reached the halfway point it is scary to think that we only have a little over a month left. There are still lots of people I have yet to hear back from and lots of people still to meet with. However it has been incredibly exhilarating to think about making it to the finish line, because if and when I do, it will truly be a miracle only God will have accomplished. I have also been incredibly blessed by the people who have already joined my team. How cool to see the names and realize that way before they even came into my life, God had a plan to create these friendships that have been simply a blessing.
2 weeks ago there was a road trip to Virginia. 18 hours in a car was totally worth it to be able to spend time with family, go to lots of picnics, and take a ride on this beauty...
Next it was a trip to Lancaster to visit the Leaman Family for Ben's birthday festivities! It was a much needed break and as always lots of fun.
So while I've been busy with all of these adventures, meeting with people, and making phone calls, God has been pretty busy too. Through this process I've really been learning to trust that the Lord will provide. He'll provide me with ministry partners, with people to pray for me, with appointments. I've also been learning that there is only so much I can do and then I have to let God take over. I only have the ability and the power to do so much and I have to trust that God will do the rest.
As we have reached the halfway point it is scary to think that we only have a little over a month left. There are still lots of people I have yet to hear back from and lots of people still to meet with. However it has been incredibly exhilarating to think about making it to the finish line, because if and when I do, it will truly be a miracle only God will have accomplished. I have also been incredibly blessed by the people who have already joined my team. How cool to see the names and realize that way before they even came into my life, God had a plan to create these friendships that have been simply a blessing.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
June Bug(s)
So it is officially summer in Pittsburgh and it is HOT! Not only have I been fighting off the invasion of stinkbugs (okay - Ben actually does this because I refuse to touch them) but I've also been putting off turning on the air conditioning. In an attempt to save $$ I am trying to get used to the heat since Laura and I won't have air in our new apartment!
I must say, Pittsburgh is also really growing on me. With less students and more sunshine I am really enjoying life in the city. One of my new favorite things is movie night! The Pittsburgh parks show free movies twice a week during the summer and last night was the first! With blanket and popcorn in hand we hiked up to Flagstaff Hill and watched the original Batman as the sun set over Oakland. We will definitely be doing more outdoor movie watching this summer!
Along with the summer heat coming into town God has really been present this week. I had a good amount of support come in and have been really encouraged by the responses from others. This process is a lot more difficult and trying of my faith than I expected - but August is when all the fun starts! This weekend I am off to Virginia to visit family and hopefully snag a few appointments while I'm there. Be praying for safe travels and that God would continue to send Ministry Partners my way!
I must say, Pittsburgh is also really growing on me. With less students and more sunshine I am really enjoying life in the city. One of my new favorite things is movie night! The Pittsburgh parks show free movies twice a week during the summer and last night was the first! With blanket and popcorn in hand we hiked up to Flagstaff Hill and watched the original Batman as the sun set over Oakland. We will definitely be doing more outdoor movie watching this summer!
Along with the summer heat coming into town God has really been present this week. I had a good amount of support come in and have been really encouraged by the responses from others. This process is a lot more difficult and trying of my faith than I expected - but August is when all the fun starts! This weekend I am off to Virginia to visit family and hopefully snag a few appointments while I'm there. Be praying for safe travels and that God would continue to send Ministry Partners my way!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Back Where I Belong
I've been reading Donald Miller's Book - Searching For God Knows What and while reading today, one particular passage stuck out. This idea of success and identity that Miller talks about perfectly describes something I've been learning through this support raising process.
"Some of us are athletes and others of us are physicists, and some of us are good-looking and some of us are rich, and we all are running around, in a way, trying to get a bunch of people to clap for us, trying to get a bunch of people to say we are normal, we are healthy, we are good. And there is nothing wrong with being beautiful or being athletic or being smart, but those are some of the pleasures of life, not life's redemption. In this sense, as harsh as some of Jesus' words are, they are also beautiful and comforting. No more worrying about what an audience thinks, no more trying to elbow our way to the top. We have Him instead, a God who redeems our identity for us, giving us His righteousness."
The day I graduated from college, I looked around at my peers - people going on to graduate school, future doctors, teachers, lawyers - and I said to myself "they are successful." I often compared myself to these people, allowing the competitive nature in me to surface.
Even today I still think about my friends who went on to be successful and brilliant and here I am asking people for money - how humbling.
How humbling it is to be completely dependent on God to provide for my needs. How scary it is to take a risk for the sake of glorifying the one who took a risk for me! How awesome it is to being doing something completely out of my comfort zone!
Miller reminds me that my success is not defined by a job or a status, but by living the life that God intended for me. Although I doubt it some days, I truly believe that this is the place that God wants me to be for now. I feel confident that He will not let go of me and that I cannot fail as long as I hold onto Him.
I am so excited to continue this adventure and cannot wait to see who God has to join me as ministry partners!
"Some of us are athletes and others of us are physicists, and some of us are good-looking and some of us are rich, and we all are running around, in a way, trying to get a bunch of people to clap for us, trying to get a bunch of people to say we are normal, we are healthy, we are good. And there is nothing wrong with being beautiful or being athletic or being smart, but those are some of the pleasures of life, not life's redemption. In this sense, as harsh as some of Jesus' words are, they are also beautiful and comforting. No more worrying about what an audience thinks, no more trying to elbow our way to the top. We have Him instead, a God who redeems our identity for us, giving us His righteousness."
The day I graduated from college, I looked around at my peers - people going on to graduate school, future doctors, teachers, lawyers - and I said to myself "they are successful." I often compared myself to these people, allowing the competitive nature in me to surface.
Even today I still think about my friends who went on to be successful and brilliant and here I am asking people for money - how humbling.
How humbling it is to be completely dependent on God to provide for my needs. How scary it is to take a risk for the sake of glorifying the one who took a risk for me! How awesome it is to being doing something completely out of my comfort zone!
Miller reminds me that my success is not defined by a job or a status, but by living the life that God intended for me. Although I doubt it some days, I truly believe that this is the place that God wants me to be for now. I feel confident that He will not let go of me and that I cannot fail as long as I hold onto Him.
I am so excited to continue this adventure and cannot wait to see who God has to join me as ministry partners!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Faithful Provision
Welcome to my first (hopefully first of many) blog entries! I can't wait to share with you all what God is doing in my life and in the city of Pittsburgh! I would love for you to look around and read about what I'm doing with this next year of my life while I take a step of faith in following God's call!
My Junior year in college I began attending Campus Crusade for Christ (or CRU) meetings. Through CRU I began to develop friendships that challenged me in my faith. I began to learn what it meant to personalize my faith and take it seriously. Through my involvement in CRU I was asked to lead bible studies and disciple younger girls and although I did not feel qualified, I learned to let God take charge. My excitement for seeing others come to know Christ grew and my discernment of God’s calling in my life became clearer. As a college student I saw the need for Christ on my campus. Every day, students on college campuses across the country seek to find fulfillment in their intelligence, social status, or drugs and alcohol, instead of finding fulfillment in Jesus. It is my desire and, I believe, God’s calling for the next year of my life, to work to help college students know Jesus. Because God has cultivated this passion for students in my life, I believe He is calling me to participate in a one-year internship with Campus Crusade for Christ.
In the fall I will begin my work with CRU in the Pittsburgh Metro area. Currently Pittsburgh Metro CRU is present on 6 campuses in Pittsburgh and will eventually expand the movement to the over 12 colleges in the area. The city of Pittsburgh is home to over 100,000 college students who are the future leaders of our country. Wouldn’t it be incredible if all of these students understood what it meant to know Christ? The heart of CRUs ministry is that every student on campus would know someone who knows Jesus. As an intern I will be training and raising up student leaders, through one-on-one discipleship, retreats, and conferences, so that they can be sent out to reach their campus for Christ. My hope is that through this experience I would build meaningful relationships with students in Pittsburgh and invest in their spiritual growth. Also, my hope is that I would begin to live out the call that I feel God has for my life.
Like many mission organizations, Campus Crusade for Christ staff members must raise their support. I am spending the summer building a team of ministry partners (both in prayer and financially). My desire is that others would want to invest financially in the work God is doing not only in Pittsburgh, but around the world. It is also my hope that my ministry partner team would know that they are giving back to God what He has given to us in order to expand His kingdom.
In Phillipians 4:14-19 we see Paul talking about churches in Thessalonica and Epaphroditus that supported his ministry - "I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." Paul also had to trust that God would provide all that he needed in order to do His work. This is my hope for the next year; that I would learn to trust God to provide for my needs and that others would desire to partner with me in ministry.
My Junior year in college I began attending Campus Crusade for Christ (or CRU) meetings. Through CRU I began to develop friendships that challenged me in my faith. I began to learn what it meant to personalize my faith and take it seriously. Through my involvement in CRU I was asked to lead bible studies and disciple younger girls and although I did not feel qualified, I learned to let God take charge. My excitement for seeing others come to know Christ grew and my discernment of God’s calling in my life became clearer. As a college student I saw the need for Christ on my campus. Every day, students on college campuses across the country seek to find fulfillment in their intelligence, social status, or drugs and alcohol, instead of finding fulfillment in Jesus. It is my desire and, I believe, God’s calling for the next year of my life, to work to help college students know Jesus. Because God has cultivated this passion for students in my life, I believe He is calling me to participate in a one-year internship with Campus Crusade for Christ.
In the fall I will begin my work with CRU in the Pittsburgh Metro area. Currently Pittsburgh Metro CRU is present on 6 campuses in Pittsburgh and will eventually expand the movement to the over 12 colleges in the area. The city of Pittsburgh is home to over 100,000 college students who are the future leaders of our country. Wouldn’t it be incredible if all of these students understood what it meant to know Christ? The heart of CRUs ministry is that every student on campus would know someone who knows Jesus. As an intern I will be training and raising up student leaders, through one-on-one discipleship, retreats, and conferences, so that they can be sent out to reach their campus for Christ. My hope is that through this experience I would build meaningful relationships with students in Pittsburgh and invest in their spiritual growth. Also, my hope is that I would begin to live out the call that I feel God has for my life.
Like many mission organizations, Campus Crusade for Christ staff members must raise their support. I am spending the summer building a team of ministry partners (both in prayer and financially). My desire is that others would want to invest financially in the work God is doing not only in Pittsburgh, but around the world. It is also my hope that my ministry partner team would know that they are giving back to God what He has given to us in order to expand His kingdom.
In Phillipians 4:14-19 we see Paul talking about churches in Thessalonica and Epaphroditus that supported his ministry - "I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." Paul also had to trust that God would provide all that he needed in order to do His work. This is my hope for the next year; that I would learn to trust God to provide for my needs and that others would desire to partner with me in ministry.
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