Standing in Awe

A few weeks ago our pastor Steve Hayes posted this simple quote in his Facebook status: "This is the wonderful thing about reality; in the end, it wins." -Charles Krauthammer I had a great conversation with a good friend last night and we were talking about struggles in our lives and how sometimes our experience tells us different than what is actually true.  If you have been rejected by family and friends for what you believe or choices you have made it can seem hard to believe that there is a God that has never and will never reject you .  Personally I have been struggling lately to believe that God is faithful and that he does fulfill His promises.  I was meditating on this earlier this week and trying to figure out what or where specifically this is most difficult for me to believe and suddenly a thought struck me: it doesn't matter how much I do or do not believe that God is faithful.  It doesn't change the fact that He is faithful and always has been and...

The sermon at New Life on Sunday was about Joseph, the son of Jacob (not the father of Jesus).  Kyle talked about pain and what we use to defend ourselves and ultimately our limited perspective.  As I re-listened to the sermon I was forced to think and reflect upon my own tendencies.  One of the questions Kyle posed was "What is your go to for self protection and self promotion?"  Like many others, as I thought about this questions, I realized that my primary go to is to just shut down.  Don't let anyone in, don't talk about what is going on, just act happy.  I will say that I have grown a lot in this in the last year, but it is definitely still my go to.  How often are we told to do that?  Just be normal, don't disturb anyone, whatever is going on is YOUR problem so deal with it yourself.  Then when we do hear these messages, rather than actually deal with it, it often seems easier to just stuff it down. For Joseph this looked like him fo...

Announcement:  Baptism Service THIS Sunday, November 3rd at 1:30pm at New Life Church I want to really encourage you to consider coming to this, even if you don't live in Ann Arbor.  It is such a beautiful display of God's redemptive power and love for His children. Reflection: Alright I'm going to be really honest: the last few weeks have been pretty hard.  Between going through some of my own emotional turmoil as well as a lot of conflict with a lot of different people lets just say my anxiety levels were running a bit high.  I had gotten to the point where I was sick to my stomach, not really eating, not really sleeping and had a headache for almost 5 days.  Yup.  Anxiety.  Much of it has since subsided, but today I was thinking about anxiety and how it is not of God.  I looked up some versus and read a devotional about anxiety.  In James 1: 5-6 it says "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting , for he who doubts is like a w...

Announcements: This Friday is Campus United: A good friend of mine organizes this event which is a worship concert on the University of Michigan Diag that unites all the Christian groups on campus to come together and worship God! This Saturday is the New Life Church homecoming tailgate: I would love for you to join us in cheering on the Wolverines and for a great fun way to see ministry in action! November 3rd New Life Church will be having a baptism service.  If you have wanted to visit NLC and have not had the motivation to do so, I would highly encourage you to make a point to make it to this.  I cry every time at the testimonies people give of how God has redeemed their lives. In other news, I don't have a ton to share this week or anything super deep, but do have a lot to be thankful for.  Today I gained my 30th supporter!  It is amazing to see how God has led me to people I never imagined I would talk to let alone would join my ministry support tea...

Alright people get ready, this is rich.   I had the best quiet time I have had in probably months the other morning and I am about to share it with you.   So as I have mentioned I am doing a bible reading plan to read the entire bible in a year.   I started on January first so I’m getting close!   You may not think if Chronicles as a book of great revelation, but on this particular morning it was for me. So to give you a bit of back-story basically the Israelites go through a seemingly endless cycle of having God’s favor, turning away from him and worshipping other gods, God smiting them so they will turn back to Him, repeat.   It is in 2 Chronicles 20 where we pick up.   Jehoshaphat is the current king ruling over Israel and he has turned the nation back to God.   All is going well until the Moabites Ammonites and Meunites decide that they want to attack the Isrealites.   Jehoshaphat receives the message that a vast army i...

Firstly I have an announcement: We will be hosting a New Life Tailgate for UM's Homecoming weekend on Saturday, October 5th (tailgate starts at 11:30am ) .  I want to invite you to come and see our ministry in action!  Football game days can be a time of great fun but also great temptation for students.  Please come join me at the Tailgate for some food and a chance to meet some of the students I minister to.  There will be a $5 suggested donation for the food that will go toward helping me and my co-workers stay fully funded and working on campus this school year.  Secondly, what I have been thinking about lately how God really can use every situation for good.  I was talking with a friend last night and we were discussing how we have had a lot of friends go through rough situations in the last year.  Being in a season of support raising is not something a lot of people see as a blessing at first glance.  However, I have been thinkin...

"I love everything about the way I look."  How many times have you said that to yourself in the last week? Year? Ever??  To be completely honest I don't know if I have ever said to myself.  Body image is something I have struggled with most of my life like a lot of other men and women.  I could always lose a few pounds here or be firmer there, or if I could just look like her I would be happy.  Lies. A few weeks ago I had the privileged to go on the New Life staff bonding trip to Cleveland with 43 of my co-laborers in Christ.  We didn't do much of anything besides relax, get to know each other, and worship the Lord.  One particular night however has stuck with me.  I was sitting out by the fire with some guys on the staff team and we were discussing how truly awesome (in the real sense of the word) God's is.  As we saw the power of the waves on the lake crashing onto the rocks we remarked how mighty and strong God is and then we looked up...

Confession: I have a reading problem.  I cannot just read one book.  For a while I was reading two books while listening to a third on audio all in addition to my Bible reading plan.  I finished one book and the audio book and thought I had become a rational human being again, but I have since started reading three more!  However, God has strangely used this madness to speak to me.  In one book about prayer, there are questions at the end of each chapter and this last set really made me think.  One question in particular struck me: " What seems 'off limits' in your prayer life? "  In one of the other books that I am reading, Radical Together by David Platt, he challenges the reader to consider what good things we have in our lives that are preventing great things from happening. In both of these questions I think it all boils down to how much we trust God.  In my life I have had a lot of flaky friends and often felt abandoned and alone....

Well, I am a little embarrassed that it has been so long since I have posted.  This is very telling of the last month of my life.  First things first: Announcements. Address Change!! GCM in Orlando is moving its offices to a new larger facility and the mailing address for your gift is changing! Before August 1: P.O. Box 7101 Winter Park, FL 32793 As of August 1: 11002 Lake Hart Drive, Ste 100 Orlando, FL 32832 GCM will automatically change the address on its giving envelope, but please double check! We wouldn't want a gift to go missing. Your support means so much to us. ps - many of our donors use automatic LifeLink giving instead of mailing a check each month. This may be a good time to switch to LifeLink! We really do prefer it if it works for you. It's secure and it makes sure our ministry funds are never accidentally interrupted. Visit www.mygcm.org My address is changing as well! Please leave a comment and I can email you with my ne...

Right now I am writing from the peony garden in the Arboretum.  It is such a beautiful place that boasts God's majesty in thousands of blooms.  Each day I am finding myself in search of something beautiful to remind me of God's goodness, and a place to just be ; to enjoy this very moment and embrace it for what it is and who I am in it.  In a way I think it calms my inner waters that are so easily disturbed.  It gives me a quiet confidence as if the Spirit is whispering, " It is ok to e you, to have a deeper sense of who the Father has made you to be.  You are loved, you are valuable."  Do you allow yourself quiet moments of beauty to just be ? I went home last week nad spent a lot of quality time with my family.  We went to Traverse City to run the Bayshore Half-Marathon, and then back to Eight Point Lake for the duration of the holiday weekend.  I have been doing a lot of reflection about where I was a year ago because I ran the full...

I am blessed .  How often do you say that to yourself?  I can say that I don't say it enough!  I am often bogged down by my own stress and worry to take a step back and remember how blessed I am.  This week was a bit out of the ordinary for me in so many wonderful ways. If you have read my blog from last summer when I was traveling in Europe (if you haven't that's ok too) you might remember me talking about how alive I felt.  I relished in waking up each day with no idea what the day held for me or what new exciting thing I was going to see, do, or taste.  Well being home has proven difficult to feel that way.  However, on Wednesday I felt it again.  I made an appointment in Muskegon on Wednesday and decided to head to the west side for the day and visit the Tulip Festival in Holland, something I have wanted to do for years.  It was absolutely amazing.  I arrived pretty early and so I found parking close by and just wandered around ...

Do you ever feel like your life is work?  Well I do.  Recently I have been feeling like every part of my life is something that requires work.  Even my day off requires me to work to intentionally relax and not work.  Relationships, budgeting, processing my own emotions, traveling, planning for the summer...the list goes on and on.  I often feel like a dog chasing its tale; running so hard toward something and never actually going anywhere or getting any closer.  I have been realizing a lot about myself and digging deep into my own issues and fears that live deep down.  I feel as though I am starting to shine a bit of light in that corner where all the yucky things you are afraid of are.  However, God has been gracious. I have felt so many glimpses of joy and can feel God slowly transforming the dark corner into another area for Him to fill me up and pull me closer to Himself.  I would not even say that I am really in a healing process, bu...

I am now 23 years old.  This past weekend so many people made sure that I had such a wonderful day and I am so grateful for such great friends!  In light of my birthday I have been thinking a lot about where I was one year ago, and even took some time to look back at the past year via facebook.  I have had such a great year and probably some of the greatest changes.  Here is a list of 23 wonderful things God has blessed me with in the past year: 1.  I finished my first marathon. 2.  I visited 8 new countries. 3.  I built relationships with a new family in Spain. 4.  I got to visit my German "sister". 5.  I stood on top of the world in the Swiss Alps. 6.  I met my new niece and nephew. 7.  I swam in the Medditerranian 8.  I graduated from the University of Michigan. 9.  I got accepted to staff at New Life Church. 10.  I had the opportunity to see my sister finish her first marathon. 11.  I felt the ...

Firstly,  I wanted to make you all aware of the ability to subscribe to this blog by email.  On the right side bar you will find a box that allows you to put in your email and you will then receive an email version of blog posts as I post them.  One thing to note is that if you do choose this option and you want to leave a comment you can not just reply in your email, it will not come to me.  I hope this is helpful. In the past few weeks God has blessed me in ways I could not have imagined.  He brought a few new partners to the ministry support team and I am now nearing the 25% mark of the funds necessary for me to be released back into field ministry.  I am absolutely blown away by God's provision.  This past week felt like I was finally getting my feet under me and feeling like this job is more routine now.  I also finally took a day off.  I was caught in a cycle for a while of feeling like I was never working enough and as a result I w...

As promised, a post just for the El Salvador trip.  I was in La Libertad, El Salvador last week, and many of you helped to make that possible.  I owe you the deepest thanks, and sincerely hope that this letter encourages you.  If you have read any of my older blog posts, or even just talked to me, you may know that I absolutely love the sunrise.  I find them so renewing and love the promise of a new day.  The picture above is just that: a promise of a new day, and particularly special because it was in La Libertad, a place so near to my heart.  I woke early each morning to exercise on the beach as well as just sit and take in the first warm rays of the morning.  I meditated a lot on God's power and his ability to make everything new as I watched each wave washing up onto the shore. This past week was so good for my life and for my spirit.  I was able to reconnect with many of my friends there that I have grown close to over the past 4 years a...

I know I talked in a previous post about graduating and things changing, but I would like to explain a bit more about where I am at in life right now and what God is doing.  Praise to God, I was accepted to go on staff with Great Commission Ministries at New Life Church, and at the start of February I headed down to Orlando for new staff training.  I learned all about how to share with others about the ministry I am involved in and how they can be involved.  I have since been working full time doing Ministry Team Development (MTD) and have also done a bit of traveling. Not really work related, I had the opportunity to travel to Arizona in mid February as well to run the Ragnar relay with my sister and her family.  We ran 202 miles in 30 hours.  It was a lot of fun and great sibling bonding.  Even though running through the desert is probably not my favorite thing to do, spending time with people is.  In a way I think God used the trip to show me how...

I realize that it has been many months since I have last posted.  I think what I found is that my life back home is not anything I thought anyone would care to read.  Then I realized that God does absolutely amazing things regardless of where I am and what I am doing at the current moment in my life.  A lot of big things have happened since I last posted: I got to witness my big sister cross the finish line of her first marathon, I became an aunt to a set of beautiful twins, I graduated from college, and the whole family was in the same place for the first time in two years.  It has been a lot of accomplishments and endings, but as the title suggests, rather than feeling like the beginning of the end, it has all felt like the end of a beginning. When I returned to Ann Arbor at the beginning of the month I assumed it would feel weird to walk around campus and not be going to classes.  I was weirdly surprised that it did not feel strange or out of place at all....