Remember.

Remember.

This week marks one year since God dramatically redirected my steps from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh.  With a seemingly God-ordained plan in place, I was surprised and confused at this change of course.

One week later, I got connected with my roommate-to-be through my would-be church.  Unbelievably, one week after that, we signed the lease on our house here in Pittsburgh.  It's overwhelming to consider how God orchestrated the whirlwind change in plans last July!

Remember.

According to Scripture, we are to remember who God is, what He has done, and how He wants us to live (Isaiah 46:9, Psalm 119:55).  God Himself is the perfect example of remembering, for He faithfully and flawlessly remains true to His covenantal promises (Psalm 105:8, 2 Tim. 2:13).

We remember that we were hopelessly "separated from Christ," but now His blood reconciles us to God (Eph 2:12-13).  We intentionally remember Jesus' sacrifice when we take communion (1 Cor. 11:24-26) and remember with joyful gratitude that He has "risen from the dead" (2 Tim. 2:8)!

The Spirit is our Helper to remind us of Jesus' teaching (John 14:26).

As the Israelites were instructed to remember their captivity and the Lord's rescue (Deut. 5:15, 8:2), so we acknowledge His daily provision and free gift of salvation (Eph. 2:8).

Remember.

Of course, the purpose of remembering is never to live in the past or longingly wish for days-gone-by!  In fact, sometimes looking back unearths pain, hurt, or disappointment.  Nonetheless, remembering the truths of God's character (James 1:17) and evidence of His past provision inspires us to live with great hope and anticipation for the future (Psalm 5:3).

Remembering God's faithfulness is what fuels my deep love of meaningful conversations and celebrations!  Through conversations with friends, I hear evidence of His work in their lives and share what He has been teaching me.  I love that birthdays and anniversaries and holidays are milestone opportunities for remembering what He has done and choosing to entrust the future into His hands.

Remember.

One year ago, there was no way of knowing that the email exchanges with my roommate, my landlord, and my church would lead to finding my place in Pittsburgh.  Over time, my house and my church have become places of rest and community.  As the coming months usher in a parade of one-year anniversaries, I remember God's miraculous provision with thanksgiving.  May our reminiscing and recollecting continue to lead us to wholehearted gratitude and deeper surrender!

What milestones do you remember and celebrate?

How does remembering fuel your faith?

"Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me."  Isaiah 46:9

"In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning, I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly."  Psalm 5:3

Orientation 2016!

I stood at the registration table with the TeachBeyond Mobilization Team, untangling name tag lanyards and assigning meal cards for the week.  After months of emailing with candidates, I could hardly wait for them come through the registration line to finally meet them in person!

Last week was the annual TeachBeyond Pre-Field Orientation, a week of training to equip TeachBeyond candidates for overseas service.  Content includes spiritual preparation, professional development, and cultural awareness, among other topics.  It can be an overwhelming week for participants as they absorb a lot of information and anticipate life overseas, not to mention using their free time to develop relationships with future team members and make support raising phone calls!

During some of the sessions, I had the opportunity to help out with the youth program!  This wasn't my primary role as in past years, but it was fun to blow bubbles, play pretend, and do a photo scavenger hunt with this group of soon-to-be missionary kids!

I was also privileged to present a session for the adult candidates on the importance of mentorship on the mission field.  Together we brainstormed the significance of mentors in our own lives thus far, and I shared about some of the specific challenges with mentorship on the mission field.  I challenged them to pray about what it looks like to live intentionally as mentors and seek out others to mentor them in their new contexts.

The week ended with a meaningful Dedication Ceremony to formally commission 81 adults for service in 23 different countries!  It was exciting to celebrate this milestone with the new members.

Eight of the candidates I processed, representing five different partner schools!

Please continue to pray for the new members as they trust God's provision in support raising, transition, and assimilation into a new culture.  The countdown is on... but this is only the beginning!

A few more photos from Orientation:

Erin was in the Velvet Ashes Connection Group I led in the fall, and then I got to be her Mobilization Coach when she joined TeachBeyond this spring!

Some of the Mobilization Team - we each live in a different state/province, so it was fun to be together for the week!

Ice cream in downtown Wheaton with some of the new TeachBeyond members!

Meet Laura

I met Laura at my very first recruiting event in September.  I had greatly anticipated my visit to Grove City College's Career Fair, as it was my first time recruiting on campus at my alma mater!  Over the course of the day, I connected with over thirty students interested in serving in educational ministry, including Laura.

Through emails and conversations, Laura and I discovered that we had several overlapping Grove City experiences, including studying elementary education and leading the campus women's ministry.  It was so fun to get to know Laura throughout her process of discerning God's leading and working through the TeachBeyond application.

Laura graduated from Grove City on Saturday and is now preparing to go with TeachBeyond to a brand new school project in Mexico City, Mexico.  There are many exciting, yet daunting, days ahead!

Will you join me in praying for Laura and other new TeachBeyond candidates?
- Pray for courage and supernatural provision as they invite people to partner with them financially (Phil. 4:19).
- Pray for an overwhelming sense of peace and purpose as they prepare to move overseas (Phil. 4:7).
- Pray that God would be glorified in their testimonies of trust and obedience (1 Sam. 15:22).

Thank you for your support - through financial gifts and faithful prayers - so that I can invest in future TeachBeyond members like Laura!

Considering Serving Overseas?

Are you interested in possibly, maybe, perhaps-one-day serving overseas?  Or do you know someone who might be?  Here are eight suggestions when considering the question: What do I do in the mean time?  

1.  Pray.  This may seem like the obvious answer, but this needs to be the precedent before any other suggestion of something to do.  Rather than just praying for God to show you the specifics of where and what and when (He will do that in His timing!), ask Him to open your eyes to ways you can use your gifts for His glory right now in your current context.  (And read this post.)  Additionally, pray for missionaries and the people of the world.  Perhaps God will lead you to focus your prayers on one particular people group or nation.  Learn as much as you can, and pray specifically.  Whether or not God eventually leads you to work in this place, He will have expanded your vision for a needy world.

2.  Serve where you are.  As God reveals opportunities to reach out to others (see #1), follow His leading with enthusiastic obedience.  There is a common misconception that you have to raise support and go overseas to have Kingdom impact.  Not true!  (Here's another good read.  This one, too.)  Be a servant right now, right where you are.  This is not only great preparation for cross-cultural ministry, but also a blessing to your community and an invaluable opportunity for personal growth.

3.  Get involved in a missions-minded church.  Plug into the ministries of a church so that you continue to grow spiritually and become connected to others who are also seeking to follow Christ.  Join the missions committee, participate in short-term trips, and volunteer in ministries related to your vocational calling.  These varied experiences will help confirm your cross-cultural gifting and give you a better awareness of global opportunities.  Also, personally investing in a church develops a connection that could lead into a more meaningful sending partnership if you end up going overseas.  Ask if there is a specific process for being "sent" by the church so that you will be prepared to take the next steps at the appropriate point in time.

4.  Invite the input of others.  Ask family members, mentors, church leaders, and close friends (note: not just anyone) to speak into your process of discerning whether God is leading you to go overseas.  Can they affirm that your skills, passions, and personality align with the type of ministry you're considering?  Do they agree that you are ready to go overseas?  Seek wise counsel, and ask God to reveal truth to you through others' words.

5.  Seek out missions mentors.  Do you know anyone who has served overseas?  Ask them about their experiences, how they decided to go, what made them stay, what made them leave (if they have returned to their passport country), why they got involved in the work they did... all the while keeping in mind that people have drastically different life and ministry experiences overseas.  Depending on how well they know you, invite their input, too (see #4).  If you aren't connected with any cross-cultural workers, ask your church or campus ministry to connect you with someone who has served overseas in the past.

6.  Befriend internationals.  Building relationships across cultures is a key component of missions.  Spend time with people from other countries - international students, refugees, immigrants - and maintain a posture of listening and learning as you expand these friendships.  Hosting people of many cultures and backgrounds is a great way to not only develop cross-cultural relationships, but also practice hospitality, which is central to many cultures and a Biblical principle (Romans 12:13).

7.  Give sacrificially to missions.  Broaden your global perspective and understanding of missions by financially supporting someone currently serving overseas.  You may also learn about support raising and staying connected to ministry partners in the process.

8.  Attend a missions conference or class.  Joining a local Perspectives class or traveling to a missions conference (like Urbana) are excellent ways to learn about God's heart for the nations and the many ways to use your gifts and passions to serve globally.  Perhaps your university or church, or one nearby, has an annual missions conference.  Attend the sessions, interact with missions representatives, and

9.  Read, listen, and learn!   Read the book Mission Smart by David Frazier, and if possible, discuss its contents with a mentor (see #5) or small group of people who are considering overseas missions.  Listen to missions-related podcasts, such as the Global Missions Podcast.  Immerse yourself in the insights of others on web sites like alifeoverseas.com or velvetashes.com.  If you are interested in a specific mission organization or field of service, see if you can find blogs of people who serve there to get a better idea of what life is like.

Do you sense the Spirit stirring you to consider going?  Are you interested in exploring what it would look like to serve Him internationally?  I would love to hear your story and how God's leading you to be a part of His work around the world.

By the way, this is not an exhaustive list!  What would you add?

Write your thoughts in the comments below.

"I Shall Not Want"

This post was featured in my March monthly update email.  Click here if you'd like to receive these updates in the future!


Over the past few weeks, I've found freedom in naming fears and acknowledging insecurities- and then meditating on God's promises.  Recently, a friend sent me an Audrey Assad song called "I Shall Not Want," and I have been meditating on its powerful lyrics ever since.

Where we are filled with worry or doubt or confusion, Christ shines His light to illuminate the truth (Psalm 25:5).  Jesus invites us to lay down our daily frustrations, upcoming decisions, and anticipated changes - whatever the challenges of our present circumstances - to take up His yoke and experience His rest (Matthew 11:28-30).

What is He asking you to surrender today?  May we pause to taste His goodness, sense His leading, and know His peace.

From the love of my own comfort
From the fear of having nothing
From a life of worldly passions
Deliver me, oh God

From the need to be understood
From the need to be accepted
From the fear of being lonely
Deliver me, oh God

And I shall not want, I shall not want
When I taste Your goodness, I shall not want

From the fear of serving others
From the fear of death or trial
From the fear of humility
Deliver me, oh God

Friendship: A High Calling [Part 4: Being a Friend]

This is the fourth and final post of a four-part series based on the message about friendships that I shared in chapel at Grove City College on February 9, part of the college's Focus Week on relationships.  To listen to the complete message, click here.  If you've missed the other three posts in this series, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

There are lots of great tips out there for how to be a friend!  As I was preparing to share with the students of Grove City College, the Lord brought these three things to mind.  They certainly aren't a magical formula or an exhaustive list, but they are a starting point for developing genuine friendship and modeling Christ in our relationships.

1.  Allow God to use you as a "wounded healer."

This idea comes from Henri Nouwen, who writes, "The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there."  This can apply to friendship, too, as we allow God to use our past challenges for His redemptive purposes.  The idea is not to impose our experiences on others as if we can somehow fix them, but rather to "mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15).

Last April, one of my college friends died in a tragic car accident.  I can attest to the fact that grief strengthens bonds in inexpressible ways.  In a sacred moment amidst the tragedy, God miraculously provided for the other nine of us to gather on Skype from Cameroon to Seattle, Washington, to sit in shock, to remind each other of truth, and to pray together.

Just a few weeks ago, one of those friends had the opportunity to be a wounded healer.  The husband of her mentor died suddenly of a heart attack.  She expressed to me that, in the midst of the grief and pain of this time, she was able to connect with her mentor in a new way because of her own mourning and loss last spring.  I believe that this is not only part of Erica's legacy, but even more, God's redemption.  He says, "Yes, I can use even this.  I know your loss, and I have been your Comforter.  Now, show My comfort and love to your friend."

When others are struggling and we're tempted to take a few steps back, to give them their space and let them "get back to normal," let's choose instead to take steps forward and see how the Spirit wants to use our brokenness as a blessing.

2.  Enter into their world.

Physically going to the places that are important to our friends can be incredibly meaningful!  It was a huge gift to have several friends come to Germany while I was teaching there.  They got to see some touristy European sites, but they also joined my English class and went grocery shopping with me - they entered into my daily life.  Hospitality is a mutual blessing; give each other opportunities to extend this gift, and it will be an eye-opening encounter for you both.  You will be able to understand your friend's fears, frustrations, and priorities in a whole new way.

And if you can't physically go to their world, you can still enter in by listening to their stories and learning about what's important to them!  Telling stories about our hometowns and growing-up experiences can help us to understand each other better even if we have not lived those years together.

One Christmas break, my roommate and I traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, for a few days.  Before we had even arrived at our hotel, we both were feeling sick with a stomach bug.  As we attempted to redeem the day, I remembered that I had loaded all of my childhood home videos onto my computer.  Needless to say, Brittany entered into my world in a whole new way on that trip!  No, not everyone has to be the friend who watches your home videos with you!  But, I invite you to lean into knowing your friends on a new level by asking good questions and caring about the answers.

And along with this, can I encourage you to let others into your world?  If we build up walls of protection against vulnerability, we are really shielding ourselves from the potential of deep relationships.

3.  Keep your eyes open for opportunities to be a friend.

As I was preparing to share in Grove City College's chapel, I asked my grandma about her experiences with friendships over the years.  She told me that her daily prayer is this: "Lord, open my eyes to see who You would give me today to befriend."  He's asking us to look up, look around, and listen for His prompting.  Let's not miss whom He is putting in our paths: Will we have eyes to see?  

"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."  (Ephesians 4:1-3)

How have you been impacted by friends who have taken these tips to heart?

What advice would you add to this list?

Game Changers

game changer (n.)  //  a newly introduced element or factor that changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way

As I consider how the Lord has been growing me since I returned to the States last summer, I can point to several "game changers"...

My Coloring Book

Coloring books aren't just for kids anymore!  Okay, how does this relate to my faith journey?  The book I have is full of verses and designs.  As I fill in the spaces with color, I repeat the words over and over in my head, allowing God to cement these truths into my heart.

Simply coloring has been a great stress reliever and has caused me to take time to pause.  I've never been very good at sitting still and just reflecting.  I have found that coloring God's promises has created a margin for meditating on His Word in a new way.

"I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways.  I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word."  Psalm 119:15-16

My Small Group Bible Study

A few weeks after I started attending North Way Christian Community Church in Oakland (back in September), I got connected with a small group of young professionals.  I'm so grateful for the way we can share openly and challenge each other in our faith!

Even more, the workbook that we selected has kept me accountable to reading Scripture daily and digging deeper into God's Word.  The study on 1 and 2 Samuel that we just completed was a reminder to me of the holiness and sovereignty of God, as well as an opportunity to recommit to obey His leading in the big and the small moments.


My Mom's Guitar

When I lived in Germany, I was spoiled to have a piano in my apartment.  Although it was challenging to find a time to play that didn't interfere with Germany's "quiet hours," I enjoyed having it for times of worship with my roommate, my small group, or gatherings of friends.

Since I don't have a piano right now, I'm attempting to tackle an item on my bucket list: learning to play the guitar!  My mom generously allowed me to bring her guitar to Pittsburgh with me, and Brittany has taught me new chords and playing tips each time she has visited from Toronto.  I'm still very much a beginner, but being able to sing worship songs each day has been a huge blessing this year!

What have been some faith "game changers" for you?

Friendship: A High Calling [Part 3: Mentorship]

This post is the third of a four-part series based on the message about friendships that I shared in chapel at Grove City College on February 9, part of the college's Focus Week on relationships.  To listen to the complete message, click here.

Many of you already know about my passion for a third type of friendship: mentorship.  During my college years, I realized the importance of having someone pouring into me while I was pouring into others.  This natural flow is represented here in this image.  The pitcher on the left represents a person who uses his or her unique passions and gifts to pour into the lives of others (the cup on the right).

It's easy to see that continuing like this will lead to an empty pitcher.  Thus, it is essential that this pitcher is also poured into by another pitcher, another person faithfully serving Christ by investing in people.  While we can certainly be filled by peer friendships, I believe there is something uniquely empowering when it's an older mentor.  

Ideally, this "cascade of mentorship" continues through whole communities, as believers faithfully live out their callings in relationship with one another, "one generation commend[ing] [God's] works to another" (Psalm 145:4).

This image stayed with me as I entered the "real world" and moved to Germany.  I welcomed the opportunity to lead a small group of high school girls, and many of you have prayed with me for these girls over the past 5+ years!

However, in that first year as their small group leader, I realized that, in order to maintain balance in my life, I needed to also have someone pouring into me.  At the end of my first year in Germany, I asked a woman in the community to be my mentor, and she became a voice of truth and wisdom for me during my years overseas.  This grew into a desire to spread the vision for connection in intentional relationships, and so began Walking Together. 

Mentorship is seen in the example of Paul and Timothy, whom Paul refers to as his "son in the faith" (1 Tim. 1:2).  Paul instructs Timothy to "fight the good fight" (1 Tim. 6:12), to "train [himself] to be godly" (1 Tim. 4:7), and not to let anyone look down on him (1 Tim. 4:12).  

Clearly both Paul and Timothy were very busy men.  They were spreading the Gospel all over the known world and equipping the first century church to flourish and grow into a global movement.  They certainly faced obstacles in figuring out a time to meet - imprisonment, shipwreck, dependence on long-distance communication - and all without the Internet!  But Paul intentionally invested in Timothy as a rising leader by inviting him to serve alongside him and affirming his faith.

Do you have someone helping you process life and speaking words of truth into your present circumstances?  Consider if there is someone in your community whom you can ask to meet with you periodically and walk alongside you in this season of life.

It could be that you are in a new place or one with very few believers or surrounded mostly by peers.  Perhaps you've looked around and prayed for someone to invest in you, but you're coming up empty-handed.  It may sound cliche, but I believe that Jesus will provide exactly what we need in His timing.  Perhaps right now He is asking you to listen to His voice and allow Him to mentor you through a dry season.

Proverbs 18:24 says that there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother - that is Jesus, who desires our friendship for life and who was willing to die to make that intimate relationship possible.  In seasons of transition, this has silenced my worrying and abated my attempts to try to make my community look like what I think it should look like.  As we seek Him, Jesus will provide exactly what we need in His timing.

Whether we are sitting in the ashes of loneliness or celebrating in the company of many, we can continue to trust that Jesus will provide exactly the people we need in His timing.  

And more than that, He is always enough.  God's promise to Isaiah is true for us, too: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

How can you acknowledge God's sovereignty in your current season?

How will you choose to lean into sharing life with others as part of the "cascade of mentorship"?

Friendship: A High Calling [Part 2: Deep Friendship]

This post is the second of a four-part series based on the message about friendships that I shared in chapel at Grove City College on February 9, part of the college's Focus Week on relationships.  To listen to the complete message, click here.

When I was young, I distinctly remember my mom encouraging me not to use the term "best friend." So, although I have had many wonderful friends over the years, I've never given any of them the label "best friend."  I love this idea that we can have lots of friends at the same time, and we don't have to label them with superlatives.  Of course, we may be closer to some than others, but this mentality allows many people to play different roles in our lives.

While last week's focus was companionship, this week is deep friendship.  In his book The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis writes this:

"Friendship arises out of mere Companionship when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common some insight or interest [...]  The typical expression of opening friendship would be something like, 'What?  You too?  I thought I was the only one.'"

When I was a freshman at Grove City, my companions-turned-close-friends were my two roommates and two other triple rooms located right below ours.  We sent group emails and reply-all responses to figure out which cafeteria we were going to for dinner.  They waved to me distractingly when I was giving campus tours.  We had a lot of fun together - taking friendship seriously does not mean that it has to be all serious! - but our friendship was and continues to be centered around praying for one another, encouraging one another with Truth, and demonstrating Christ's sacrificial love.

Although we went in all different directions after graduation - literally across the country and around the world - we continued the reply-all emails, in which dinner plans were replaced with life updates.  We have had several reunions, not just to relive college memories, but to create new shared experiences and pray for one another in our current contexts.  These women are friends for life, even as we have made other new deep friendships.

One of my favorite aspects of life in Germany was the community.  There were certainly frustrations and complications of living and working and sharing life with the same people, but for me, this was a life-giving, refining season.  I was challenged to live authentically and was gifted with many companions and close friends.  

I believe that God crosses our paths with others so that He can grow each of us to become more like Himself.  However, it's our responsibility to lean into that calling to be friends.  We can remain as pass-in-the-night roommates, chit-chatting neighbors, or casual acquaintances - or, we can purpose to persevere in getting to know one another and appreciating one another's uniquenesses.

C. S. Lewis continues with this:

"In reality, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, posting to different regiments, the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting - any of these chances might have kept us apart.  But, for a Christian, there are strictly speaking, no chances [...]  Christ who said to the disciples, 'Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you,' can truly say to every group of Christian friends, 'You have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another.'  [Friendship] is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others."

In each season of life, there are opportunities to build new friendships and continue growing existing friendships.  God has placed you right where you are in a community of potential companions and friends.  

Are you allowing God to reveal to you the "beauties of all the others" around you?

Are you choosing to appreciate and connect with others around you in this season of life?  

Jesus said, "A new command I give to you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).  It's our calling to love our close friends in order to demonstrate the love of Christ to the world.

Friendship: A High Calling [Part 1: Companionship]

This post is the first of a four-part series based on the message about friendships that I shared in chapel at Grove City College on February 9, part of the college's Focus Week on relationships.  To listen to the complete message, click here.

We have been taught the art of friend-making since we were young: "If you want to have a friend, you have to be one first."  As toddlers, we learn how to share and play nicely together.  But, friendship goes deeper than that.  I believe we can best live out our calling as friends when we live out our calling as Christians.

Through the writings of Paul, we can get an idea of how we're called to live in relationship with others:

"Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love..."  Colossians 3:12-14

" Love must be sincere...  Be devoted to one another in love.  Honor one another above yourselves... Practice hospitality.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another."  Portions of Romans 12

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should not look only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."  Philippians 2:3

Being a friend and living in relationship with others is a high calling!

There are different types of friendships that have value throughout our lives, one of which is companionship.  Companions share the common ground of the same place, same time, and same purpose.  This could be your classmates, teammates, small group members, co-workers...  These friends are important!  They help us feel connected in a group and develop camaraderie while accomplishing a difficult task.

I really value meaningful conversations with people.  I developed an appreciation for an eventual enjoyment of coffee just so I could "meet for coffee" with people!  As someone who values intentional relationships, I might be tempted to overlook the importance of companionship.  But companions need not stick to surface-level conversations.  The Lord can speak through poignant conversations with people we wouldn't consider our closest friends or who are only in our lives for a season.

How is God speaking to you through the people around you?  How can you encourage others who are in the same place at the same time working toward the same purpose as you?