Thank You for today

Holy stinking cow, it's been since April since my last post. Woah. I never could have guessed that it was that long ago. So much has changed since then. I moved. I started on leadership at Shawmut. I became a chaplain at Northeastern. So, so much different stuff. My life is moving really fast but it's ridiculously exciting to be in the middle of God's plan that I never expected. Thank you Father for bringing me this far. Thank you for all the good and bad, for all the poor choices and obedience, for all the stepping out in faith when everything within me screamed NO. It's only through You that I am where I am today. Thank You for today.


"I Will Rise"--Chris Tomlin

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"

Praise You

Today was the longest day of work I've had in a really long time. I was in work-mode from 9:30am to 8:30pm, with about a 30 min break in there for lunch. It was a tiring day, but it was so cool too spend part of my commuting time praying thankfulness over what God has done with this house so far. I can see how He's working so many details together. I'd write more now but I think I'm going to pass out any minute....

New Horizons and Prayers

I've been knee-deep in planning...so much so that I neglected to blog about God's next major leading in my life.

For the last couple years I've been dreaming about a place where I can offer up my home in hospitality to people who need a place to live or just a place to stay. That hasn't been a possibility in my life circumstances at the time. But things have changed. God has planted a huge blessing in the lap of my friend Stacey and I--he's given us an amazing apartment to rent and share. It's literally down the street from where we meet for Sunday nights. It's owned and recently built by a local pastor and his family. That's a huge thing in and of itself since the Christian community in this city is so small. Throughout the process of the last month it's been a privilege to pray with Stacey, pray alone, pray with their family, and know that they are also praying too. They speak our language and can understand the heart of desire that propels us into this house. This is truly an amazing blessing in so many ways!

Though we are getting into this house with no security deposit, no last month's, rent and no realtor fee (all those conditions are typical of renting in Boston), the rent still is $4200 per month. That's a lot of money and right now there's just Stacey and I. We need 3 or 4 more women to live in the house with us. Even more than that, Stacey and I want this to be an affordable place to live. We are beginning to raise support from people who want to join in on this monthly journey of faith and trusting that God will provide for this as-yet undefined ministry of hospitality, love, and discipleship among young women. Our desire is that our home would function as a family, living as a community of women who desire to grow deeper together in our understand of who God is, who we are in His eyes, and how relying on one another is the manifestation of God's Kingdom on earth.

I don't know who reads this blog, but there are a few of you out there. Please pray for Stacey and I. If you're called to give on behalf of this ministry, please email me for more information about how to do that. If you know or are a woman interested in this type of community living situation, don't hesitate to contact me.

Below is a slideshow of the house. If you link over to the photos on Picasa, there are detailed descriptions of the pictures.

Sunrise

Awake My Soul

The image of God invisible, the first born of all life
Before and within, He holds it all in
One name, one faith, one Christ

No one is good enough, to save himself
Awake my soul tonight, to boast nothing else

I trust no other source or name, nowhere else can I hide
This grace gives me fear, and this grace draws me near
And all that it asks it provides

No seam in this garment, all my rags to hide
No less than your love, for Jesus is mine

When I stand on the edges of Jordan
With the saints and the angels beside
When my body is healed, and the glory revealed
Still I can boast only Christ

To boast nothing else
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I watched the sun rise over the Atlantic this morning, singing halting praises with my Boston family. God, thank you for filling that parking lot with worshippers. Thank you for giving us that massive ball of fire that warms us and rises each and every day. As sure as the sun rises, so faithful is Your love for us. Thank you for faithfully providing your Son who made the way for us through suffering and death...then resurrection. We celebrate in pure joy today for You are no longer in the grave--it is FINISHED!

Changes

Since it's officially spring (but still stinking cold outside) and I changed the living room over to the spring-summer color motif, I thought I'd redecorate the blog too. Enjoy.

Madness

I'm breaking my blog slackerness to say...

March Madness is one of my favorite times of year. The Western Kentucky-Drake OT game was just a thing of beauty. A three-pointer at the buzzer marking the end of OT was just perfect. It also helped that WKY is one of my Cinderella teams...

OK, back to the games!

New Life

Since the last time I wrote, the Republican contest became no contest at all and Barack Obama rolled over Hillary Clinton in state after state. Whoda thunk it?

During that time, we also experienced Valentine's Day, where Stacey, Sarah, and I enjoyed sharing Snoopy valentines and peppermint patties with lovely patrons at our favorite watering hole. It got so slow in there later into the night that we numbered among the 15 faithful at the bar. It was fun, however, since the band played whatever we wanted to hear. We stayed later than ever, partly because it was enjoyable, and partly out of guilt over removing 20% of the pub's occupants at one time. A major blow. :)

ALSO...I drove to Buffalo for the first time in ages to be there while Gabby delivered her sweet little boy. I played helper for a few days to keep the house and dogs in decent order until she and Elijah Jacob made their way home. He came into the world at 20 inches & 8lbs 2oz at 6:36am on February 17th. I was sleeping then. Figures.

My godson is a rock star. Can't you tell already?

Vote

I was voter #145 at the Beechwood Knoll School. Go vote.

The Battle is Real

An evening out with a believing friend to read and study the Bible with a Guinness on the table was never meant to turn into anything more than that. But it has.

Over the last 3 weeks, a partner in ministry and I have been spending Thursday evenings at an unassuming Irish pub in the city. The energy of studying the Word in that place has been electric and that vibe seems to have primed the pump of some faith-focused conversations with "random" people. We are building a relationship with our waiter Zach, who only works at the place on Thursday nights. We are getting to know the great cover band that plays there as a regular gig--they want us to sing with them!

This past week, my friend met a girl at the retail store where she works, and they bonded over a shared area code from a former state. She just moved to Boston after Thanksgiving and doesn't really know many people yet. They began talking about faith and my friend invited her to come to study/hang/talk with us on Thursday at the usual locale. When my friend and I arrived there last night, Zach told us he received an email that day from a friend that he met at training for his day job. Apparently his friend's girlfriend was planning on meeting up with 2 girls at that very pub. It didn't take much of a leap to figure out that we were those girls. WOW! I was really floored by that 'coincidence'...God was confirming His call for us to be at this place.

The girl was never able to make it last night, but it was the first time my friend and I prayed outloud in the bar. We both had the sense that we needed to do that. I'm really glad that we had since a couple of things happened to show us that the enemy isn't really pleased about our mission. My friend went outside to chat with the aforementioned girl on the phone since it was too loud in there. She was accosted by some inebriated guys outside the place. Then, I got asked to dance (which also happened last week)...but this time it was different. I felt weird about it because the guy was an obviously big-money master of the universe. A devil dressed in a well-tailored suit, complete with initials embroidered on his sleeve. Definitely good looking and as it turned out, definitely married. I didn't realize this right away, but when I did I wanted to vomit. I couldn't wait for the song to end and to get the heck out of there. I was pretty shaken...enough to pray with my friend when we got to the T stop.

After I repeatedly called on the Lord for truth to overcome lies, I realized these direct attacks were not an accident. It's not a mistake that I never get a second glance from guys (especially when I am not giving a rip about my appearance) until we're in a place specifically to bring Light there. I am so much more aware now of the battle at hand...and that my friend and I need more prayer covering than we can provide on our own. There's something big beginning to shift that we just seemed to stumble over. Lord, provide us believers to be in faithful in interceding on our behalf every week on Thursday nights. It's just not an option to be without it anymore.

Placating the Rage

Today was a really long day. I was up MUCH earlier than I've been in a while, didn't eat anything substantive until noon, had 3 times the amount of caffeine I usually ingest, and saw clients for 7 hours of direct service. I came home angry. I wanted to eat everything I really shouldn't have. Everything inside me was impatient and rebelling. I felt like a 4 year old with my self-focused crabbiness, attempting to control any little thing I could. I wanted to decide what we watched on tv, what lighting was on in the living room, where we sat on the couch, what we talked about. It was sick. I tried to placate it with comfort food and entertain it away with mindless tv. It's still here though, clenching my jaw and occupying my mind. I'm gripped.

I'm praying that the challenge of James 4:7-10 would be something I even have the strength to reach up and grab despite fear.

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.

Beauty

The snow that fell on Monday morning was just gorgeous. Big, fluffy white flakes that stuck to everything. They lay in piles on tops of tree limbs and telephone wires for at least a day after the storm was over. It was amazing to walk around in the winter wonderland during a blessed day off due to that snow. Davis Square was a picture postcard. It was the perfect time to see a movie, breathe in scripture and a book, and just sit to write. Lately, it seems like I have to get out of the house to do that properly. Home is just too distracting.

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Tonight I had movie and dinner with a friend. After pulling into the driveway late, I stopped to notice the stars. To some, that's not a big deal, but I live in the city. Seeing stars requires a crystal-clear and cold night sky. It was there tonight. I couldn't see anywhere near the points of light that I once glimpsed lying in the dewy grass of my childhood, but they were there--still and quiet, alongside a moon reflecting the sun back at me with all its might.