8 months in waiting

It’s been 8 months since being in Texas yet it still seems like I arrived just yesterday, time definitely seems to go fast (I graduated college almost a year ago and this year is my high school 5 year reunion… where has the time gone?)

In the 8 months since I have been in Texas, things have been up and down yet there has always been 1 thing missing and that is connection with others, especially my age. I have been attending 2 churches yet both of them hasn’t quiet had what I was looking for but I still enjoyed attending the 2 different churches but had still been in search of a group to connect with. 

Over the last 8 months I have visited and attempted to get connected with various young adult groups and ministries yet none of them ever seemed right or the days they were on just didn’t work out with my schedule. One of the groups I had attempted to attend was Highland Park UMC young adult group that meets on Thursday night and is located on the SMU college campus however, when I tried to go I got absolutely lost trying to figure out where to park that I got very much frustrated that I ended up leaving and not going back.

However, there was still one issue and that was that I still wasn’t connected with a group of young adults my age and honestly, I got to a point where I was somewhat content and okay with not being connected but after doing a work day with one of my 2 churches, I started to realize the importance and need for the connection to be made somewhere but where?

So, today the conversation somehow came up about getting connected with a group of young adult and Highland Park was meeting tonight so after virtually figuring out how to get to parking and much conversation and persuasion, I was talked into giving Highland Park UMC group another chance in hopes that I would find the way to parking and not get frustrated this time so I left the office at 5pm and the group started at 7pm so I had essentially 2 hours to figure out the way and parking to a place that only takes about 10-15minutes to get to. So, I ventured out and made my way to Highland Park UMC and arrived super early but that was the first step. Now I had to find the way to where the meeting was going to take place (before leaving the office, I had emailed the person in charge of the group but had not received a response before arriving) however, I ended up finding the way to the meeting spot with no problem.

After talking with the person that I had been emailing back and forth with and telling them about how the young adult program works since they had never heard of it, the meeting was about to start. I had thought that the group was going to be a lot of SMU students yet to my surprise, I quickly realized that most everyone were young adult professionals (the exact place that I am at and the exact type of group that I have been in need of). So, we had the Bible study (read my previous blog on Romans 12 since that’s what we went over, and then we went out to dinner where we continued to engage in conversation.

So, here’s what’s going on now and my thoughts now…

1. My supervisor was correct and glad I was “challenged” to give Highland Park UMC another chance and plenty of time to figure out parking since I seem to always get lost but not this time (YAY!)

2. I am horrible with names but had good conversation with at least half of the group that is a part of the Highland Park young adult group

3. I now have a huge but good dilemma in regards to, do I stop going to one of the churches I have been going to and get connected with Highland Park and the young adult group since I was told by 2-4 of them that I should check out the Sunday school group which majority consists of the same people I met tonight or do I stay with the churches I have been attending and only attend Highland Park on Thursday’s? (http://www.hpumc.org/about-us/stories/meet-fireside/)

4. 8 months of waiting yet finally I feel like this is the perfect group to get connected with and get to know!

5. I absolutely enjoyed tonight and being around others my age, attending the Bible study, and hanging out afterwards! And it’s not a huge group, which I’m glad about. It reminded me a lot of InterVarsity and my college experience with InterVarsity.

The facilitator who is finishing up seminary currently

Most of the group that attended

Part of the basement where the meeting is held (youth center)

Marks of a true Christian/ Rules of Christian living

Read Roman 12:1-21 before starting to read this post…

After reading all of Roman 12, I realized that a lot of it speaks to me and at the same time a lot of it is very hard to comprehend and live out. Roman 12 starts out by telling us that we should allow our bodies to be living sacrifices for Christ and we should understand what the will of God is. Living sacrificially is hard to do, even for the most faithful and strongest Christian and follower of Christ that you may know. We all mess up at times and we all slip into the temptations of this world yet, we are clearly told to live sacrificially, to do things that are pleasing to God, and to discern what His will is for us. That’s hard to do.

In verse 3, it says, “ think of yourself with sober judgment” and I want to focus on the word sober since many times we instantly think of sober in regards to drinking however that may not always be the case. Being sober means not being excessive and over doing things, with that being said, I honestly have to say that many times I am not sober and I can almost guarantee that you, as the reader, aren’t either. I’m not saying that I get “drunk” but I am saying that I allow other things in my life to keep me from being sober. I allow other things to keep me busy and over doing it at times that I may not always have the best judgment and thinking. I love the work I do and being in ministry but even in ministry, there comes a time where we need to retreat away from our daily activity in order to become sober and refreshed. What prevents you from being sober? What might God be asking you to retreat from in order to become sober again?

After that, it goes on to tell us about some of the various gifts that God has given us, however not every gift is given to everyone. Each person is different and God has carefully given each person gifts for a reason. This has been something that I have tried to shy away from at times since at times, I get tired of hearing people telling me what my gift is since sometimes I wonder why God gave me one of the predominant gifts that I have rather than allowing me to be more predominantly gifted in other areas. I mean have you ever felt like or wanted to be gifted in another are or tried to downgrade the gift that stood out the most in you? When looking at yourself and evaluating yourself, do you overlook what others see in you or do you allow God to use you by the gift that He has given you? I personally know what one of my predominant gifts is however, I also believe that there is some quantity of each gift in us, some just might need to be worked on to be seen and some may never be realized and looked at in our own eyes, but what do others see as your gifts and what is God wanting to do through you and through your gifting?

After telling us about living sacrificially and then telling us about the gifts that God has given us, it then goes into telling us what the marks of a true Christian are and honestly, if you read carefully and process what is being said, it’s hard to grasp and you realize that a lot of the characteristics are not always true in today’s society and the church. I’m not going to go into detail about every characteristic talked about since you should have read them before reading this post, but as Christians, do we exemplify these characteristics or are we failing at living by the “rules”? There are two that I want to explore more with you.

The first is, live in harmony. If you have ever played an instrument or been to a concert, then you know that harmony is important and what makes the concert enjoyable. Yes, you could go to an orchestra concert and listen to only the violins but that’s only part of the orchestra and you are missing out if that’s all you are able to hear. The same is true in the Christian life, we may be Christians but we are missing out if we are not living in community and sharing our lives, experiences, stories, etc with others. Just like God gave each person specific gifts, we are all needed in the body of Christ, we can’t do it all on our own. We may be good and can do a lot but think about what would happen if we all worked together and truly joined together as the body of Christ. Live in harmony with one another!

And the second rule I want to expand on is, mourn with those who mourn (or be sad when they are sad). Many times I feel like we forget this “rule” and are joyful at times when we should be saddened by an instance because there are others mourning. When something evil happens to someone and the person being mean/ inflicting evil on another person or situation ends up having the same thing happen to them or worse, do you find yourself glad that they were facing what they were? (For example, after 9/11, when Osama Ben Laden was killed, did you rejoice or were you saddened?) If you said that you rejoiced then you weren’t exemplifying Christian living. I am guilty of not always exemplifying Christian living and not mourning with others when they mourn but see things as revenge or what people deserved but that’s not what Christ called us to do. “Revenge keeps evil in circulation.” No matter how bad we think someone is, we shouldn’t wish bad upon them or revenge but we should pray for them and hope that they find peace with themselves and with God and if something bad does happen, then we should mourn and be saddened, maybe not for what happened but for the fact that we or someone else no longer has the opportunity to exemplify Christ’s love to them and help them to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, that’s what we should be mourning about since God doesn’t want to see people end up in eternal condemnation but to accept Him as their Lord and Savior. It grieves God to see people live in sin and never accept Him or get to know Him so it should sadden and grieve us, as Christ followers, also.

So, which of the Christian living rules is hard for you, what do you see the body of Christ collectively doing well and doing poorly, and what might God be asking you to work on? 

Faith and a 5K

For the past few months I have had an unexplainable want to do a 5K race even though this is something that I have never done before. However, I realized that I would not follow through with this if I had to start on my own so I got a couple of other people on board with doing a 5K and training so, for the past 3 days I have started the self training for a 5K and with that has come some realizations of how doing a 5K is much like our Christian walk with Christ.

First of all, to train for a 5K and eventually participate in a 5K or any race, you need to have the right equipment. In the case of a race it’s having the right shoes and clothing. If you don’t have this right then you will find yourself facing the consequences and not doing the best that you could possibly do if you had the right equipment. When it comes to faith, we also need the right equipment; we need the Scripture and a community of believers around us, which goes into point 2.

When training, it’s more encouraging to do so with others so that you have the accountability of others to keep on going and not give up. The same goes with our faith, we need to be connected with a community of people that also believe and can hold us accountable to keep our faith and grow in our walk with Christ. Without the community then we loose motivation and find ourselves at a point where sometimes we just want to give up but when others are involved then we have someone to lean on, learn from, and keep going and not give up.

When training, there comes a point where you need to push yourself to keep going and not give up even when you find yourself hurting and wanting to give up. In the Christian walk, there are times where we feel beat up and to a point where we don’t see how we can continue moving forward. We find ourselves hurting and not sure how much more we can handle but God promises to not give us more than we can handle and we need to continue to push ourselves and see the finish line. We need to finish the race strong and not give up even when things get hard.

We need to set goals when training and getting ready for a race, we need to see what’s ahead of us and strive to get better as time goes on. Just as we need to continue growing in our Spiritual walks with Christ as time goes on. We can’t just stop after reading scripture once, going to church once, having one devotion, praying once, etc but we need to set goals and grow stronger and gain experience.

Also when training for a race, there comes a time where you need to rest to give your muscles a break and a chance to recuperate from the run or exercise. You need to rest so that you can come back stronger and ready for the next run. When it comes to our spiritual walk with God, there comes a time where we just need to rest and be still. We need to be refreshed and come back stronger than we were when we first began and ready for the next assignment, job, day, etc. You can’t go every day training or being busy, there comes a time where we are called to just rest and be still so that we don’t find ourselves burned out and at a point where we can’t go any further.

With that all being said, I wonder, how in tact is our spiritual health? Are we focused on our physical health and training for a race and forgetting about the ultimate race, which is the race, God has called us to? How can we be better prepared for the ultimate race and finish that race strong? What stage of training are you at right now and what is God wanting you to do to be better-equipped and ready to finish the race strong and not get burned out and at a point of wanting to give up?

It may seem easy to give up and like that is the easy thing to do but I want to say, keep pushing forward and don’t allow the pain or the spiritual battle to stop you from winning the race and ending in victory! There is hope for everyone but the journey of getting to the end of the race isn’t going to be easy but it’s then that you just need to rely on God and be kept accountable for what you have set out to accomplish and what God has called you to do!

Eyes of an accomplisher

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." ~John 10:10

This past week I often found myself thinking about what I used to have and how it would be absolutely easy to just give up. I found myself looking back at the time that I have had here in Texas so far and asking myself the questions, “am I making any difference here?” and “am I accomplishing anything?”

With those questions, later came the realization that it is easier for us to see the faults, insecurities, etc in our lives than it is to see the accomplishments and how we are making a difference. I know for me, it’s easier for me to see how things could have gone better and be improved rather than giving credit to what has been done and that at least some things are steps in the right direction and improvement.

I guess for someone who’s strength is “accomplisher” which is my top strength according to the strength finders inventory, it’s hard to slow down and take a look at what has been accomplished and what difference is being made when there are times that I feel like more could have been done and could be further along in some circumstances. It’s a weakness that I need to continually ask for God’s grace on and try to see things from His perspective even though it’s not easy to do.

The above questions came up when I was asked, “what has been accomplished since January and what are you most proud of?” These are 2 questions that I honestly can’t seem to find an answer to since in my mind, I am asking myself the very same thing, “what have I accomplished?” “Have I accomplished anything?” and “is a difference being made?”

Normally, I am able to see the “details” and well maybe that’s the issue, I see the details when it comes to what’s missing and how things could have been better but when it comes to evaluating myself and what has been accomplished, it’s hard.

It’s in this instance that I am reminded and grateful that God is able to see those details and He not only sees how things could have been done better but He chooses to look past those details, extend grace and looks at what has been accomplished. God sees it all when we can’t, and if you’re like me then you know that it’s easier to see how things could have been better and what was missing but it’s hard to allow yourself to always see the accomplishments for the moment.

When looking back at when I first arrived to Texas and before actually doing things with the Dallas Leadership Foundation, I most definitely see how things have changed and where accomplishments have been but for the here and now when asked “what have you accomplished” I find myself having a hard time answering and continue asking the questions, “am I making a difference?,” “What’s being accomplished?” etc.

It’s times like this that I honestly find myself in a position where I need to find solitude and be with God yet unfortunately, I have not been able to find that place of solitude and where I feel closest to God since being in Texas. In the past, that place has usually been in nature and near water and that’s what I need here in Texas since it’s that surrounding that I feel closest to God and can find the solitude and renewal that is needed. Ministry is not always easy and it can definitely come with it’s frustrations and hardship and when you add those two things in with the lies and attacks of the enemy then you are destined to find yourself in a state of feeling absolutely alone and that’s where I found myself at toward the end of last week and during the weekend. A sense of being alone that I could not find a way to get rid of it. Being at church on Sunday, I could feel God’s presence with me yet there was still the uneasy feeling of being absolutely alone.

I have found myself at times on edge and just having to pull back and ask God to be my strength. Like I said, this journey isn’t always easy, patience will be tested; etc yet thankfully God is always there to help us through it and be our strength that we need.

Even with what I believe to be the attacks of the enemy and the questions, I still wouldn’t trade where I am at or what I am doing. God has me here for a reason and I trust that He’s going to continue walking with me in this journey and be my strength when I am weak, on edge, and just feel like giving up. However, giving up would be the easy thing and the exact thing that the enemy is wanting. When you start to see progress and results, it’s then that the enemy is going to attack even more since he wants to see us break and pull away from those around us, and ultimately God as well but that’s not going to happen.

Some ending thoughts and prayer request if you’re reading this

1. I don’t quit nor do I give up, I know the tricks and lies of the enemy and I choose to put my complete faith and trust in God and His strength and plan (I choose to listen to the "Voice of Truth")

2. Pray that I find the place of solitude where I can go and feel close to God when I feel distant and just need to get away in nature

3. Thanks for reading my blog posts and following the journey that God has me on and please continue reading and following what God is doing in my life, in this journey, and in the areas and communities that I am helping in (it’s been 8 months already yet it seems like I just got here yesterday and I trust that God still had plenty to do while here in Texas)

Patience is a virtue

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love ~Ephesians 4:2

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. ~Romans 8:25 

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ~Romans 12:12

If there’s nothing else that God has been teaching me while working in Texas and doing what it is that I am doing, He is definitely teaching me and showing me that patience is a must as well as learning to slow down. (And there are other things He is showing/ teaching me but that's not for this post)

If you know me at all, then you know that there are times that I am not the most patient of people around and when it comes to getting things done, I would rather get it done the same day and quickly rather than wait and take a long time. While there are times where I am able to get things done at my own pace, which is usually as soon as I can, there are many times where that is not the case, particularly when it comes to meetings and working with the communities which those are the two things that I am involved with the most.

It seems to me that patience is a theme that I have tried to speed by most of my life. While there are times that I can be patience, there are other times that I need to remind myself to be patient and be in the moment. That takes me to slowing down. This is something that I am definitely not the best at. I would rather be doing something than nothing and I would rather get things done as soon as I can and not put it off rather than drag out the process of getting things done. Even when I was told that I had bronchitis and then pneumonia, I would still be “on the go” rather than slowing down like I should have since slowing down and being patient are hard for me to do.

This post title and content came about after being in one of the neighborhoods this past week helping out. While things did get accomplished, I realized that I had to keep reminding myself to be patient and go at their pace to get the stuff done and work along side them rather than doing it myself. That’s a lot of what the program is about, ministry with not for. However, I am realizing more so after last week that doing ministry with is hard and it is definitely harder than doing ministry for. However, when you do ministry with then you have created a longer impact than you would have if you just go in and do ministry for. But ministry with 100% requires patience and a need to slow down and we need to realize that even if we don’t see much progress, there is still an impact being made and trust being built. But if you go in and do ministry for and do things yourself, then you will have done damage and trust would not have been built.

So, what is God wanting you to be patient about or who do you need to be patient with? Where is your weak area when it comes to ministry with or how are you doing ministry with rather than for? It’s not easy but as scripture says, we will see the results if we don’t give up. So, don’t give up when you don’t see results like you wish or things are taking longer than you would like, be patient and trust God with the outcome and with the process. After all, patience is a virtue!

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ~Galatians 6:9

One year in discernment

It came to my attention that one year ago Thursday, I was on my way to Oklahoma City to begin the interview and discernment phase of determining if the young adult missionary program was right for me.  It was one year ago that I started to see God’s plan for me after graduating shaping and coming together. It was a year ago that I met other young adults that had the same passion and desire to enter into missions and work towards making a difference by doing “ministry with”.

One year ago today, Saturday, I was waiting to enter into an interview. An interview that I didn’t know if I was ready for but went in trusting God with the outcome and knowing that we all were going through the same thing and just wanted to know if we were accepted into the program. It’s a year that ultimately helped me get me to where I am at today in Texas.

The interview and discernment days were in my mind, my last option to enter into ministry since I had been turned down by 2 other ministries but everything for this opportunity came together. The interview and discernment days were over my Spring break so I didn’t have to miss class to go, everything was paid for, and it was ministry. God knew what He was doing all along and He placed me at the Interview and Discernment Days for a reason. A reason that would later take a couple of months of waiting to find out about but would eventually find out that I was accepted into the young adult program. If it weren’t for the days that I spent in Oklahoma and my experience there, then I wouldn’t be here in Texas as a US-2 young adult missionary.

Hard to believe that it has been a year but I definitely know that this is where God wanted me and He placed me in Oklahoma for Interview and Discernment day for a reason. If I hadn’t gone to Oklahoma, if I wasn’t turned down by the 2 ministries, and if it weren’t for being at Urbana and finding out about the US-2 program then I don’t know where I would be at but thankful for God directing my path and bringing me to where I am today.

Now when asked what it is that I will be doing after my 2 years is over, I honestly don't know but I do know that God knows and will place me where He wants me to be.

Young in missions

I was recently asked if I would be able to write a guest post on the topic of young people in mission, how to get them involved with mission, and what I see my generation being excited about.

Mission can be defined as “the vocation or calling of a religious organization, especially a Christian one, to go out into the world and spread its faith or to do humanitarian work.” I see my generation and the generation of young people passionate about making a difference, working together, and in general just doing something. With that being said, young people can get involved with missions by volunteering their time to serve others, whether it be at a soup kitchen, working with Habitat for Humanity, sorting food at a food bank, spending time at a nursing home, etc it is all mission. However, when it comes to sharing our faith, that can be a little tricky since I feel like many young people are hesitant on sharing their faith with others because we have the mind set that there is only one right way to share our faith or we are afraid that we won’t have all the answers or might mess up. Therefore, young people need to be shown or taught how to share their faith and what sharing your faith means (it can be as simple as sharing with someone how God has impacted your life and how He continues to work in your life) You may not have an extravagant life changing testimony however, everyone, including young people still have a testimony that should be shared, they just need to be encouraged to share what’s going on in their lives and how God is at work.

Young people also have passions and that’s a great way to get them involved in mission work. If they find their passion or find a cause they want to stand for then they can get involved and make a difference. I have seen young people dedicate their summer to working to raise money for a mission trip or to raising funds to go towards a cause that they are passionate about. Passion is somewhat the key in getting young people involved in mission and that’s how I got involved in mission. I wasn’t forced to be involved in missions but I had the passion to be involved in mission and making a difference.

I am currently a US-2 young adult missionary that just graduated college however; I would say that I have always been involved with missions. At a young age, I realized that I had a passion and desire to help others and would volunteer my time whenever possible. I have helped at food kitchens, food banks, building houses with Habitat for Humanity, building ramps with Rebuilding Together, going on mission trips, and so much more. You see, I found my passion and I found the gift that God had given me and that’s why I am now in full time ministry working in Dallas as a young adult missionary. It starts with finding your passion and what God has gifted you with and then it evolves from there. I believe that’s how you get young people involved in mission; by helping them find their passion, their God given gifts, and providing them with options. Not everyone is meant to do the same thing but missions is everywhere and there’s something for everyone to do, you just have to find what that something is and it may take time but starting at a young age is worth it and will carry on and evolve as you grow.

As I just stated, I am a young adult missionary through the United Methodist church and I had the privileged of getting to know 28 other young adults and be commissioned with them as missionaries and sent to placement sites throughout the United States and over seas. Since being apart of the young adult program, I have had the chance to hear other young adults stories and why they are in missions and nobody has the same story, each of us got involved in missions for different reasons but we all have the same desire to see justice happen and to work with others to make a difference and share the light of God with those in need. I see my generation being excited about working toward justice and decreasing the injustice in the world. I see my generation excited about sharing our faith with others and serving others. I see my generation excited about being the light of God in the broken world and bringing hope to those that may feel hopeless. That’s what I see my generation being excited about and how I see young people in mission. We are a generation of young people making a change; it just takes finding our passion and purpose to take the step toward being involved in mission.  

Lent and fasting

“The penitential season of Lent is a season of the Church year which commemorates the forty days Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness before he began his public ministry.”

  

The season of Lent is soon approaching and with Lent comes the question, do I give up something or do I add something and if so what? Lent is meant to be a time to grow closer to God yet is that actually what happens or do we just end up giving up something and forget the reason behind it? I know that in the past few years, I had decided to give up FaceBook for Lent since if you know me, then I am on FaceBook quiet a lot yet it seems to me that once I gave up FaceBook, I soon filled up the time with something else. Yes for a week or so, I may have used the time to read scripture and grow closer to God yet I always found myself forgetting why it is that we give up something or add something during the season of Lent.

As the above quote states, Lent is a time where we are supposed to remember the 40 days that Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. That gets me to thinking, how often do we take time to fast and pray before we enter into ministry or start something new? How often do we take the time to seek God’s will and connect with Him before entering into ministry or even while we are in ministry? I know that before I entered into the ministry that I am apart of right now, I spent many days praying and seeking advice from others that had been my mentor or an influence and could help me discern what God has for me. I spent time regularly asking God what He wanted for me and where He was leading me and truly trying to connect and see what He saw. However, it seems to me that once we enter into ministry, we soon forget to take a step back and fast to connect with God. We see all the hurting, all the work that needs done, all the people that need help, our agendas, etc yet and we are non-stop.

We need to remember that Jesus fasted and prayed before publicly doing ministry and we need to follow His example. We need to learn to take a step back and fast and connect with God before we take the next step forward. The enemy wants us to be busy and only concentrated on what needs to be done rather than fasting and connecting with God but fasting is an important factor of the Christian walk. Typically, fasting is seen as going a certain amount of time without eating and only drinking water but fasting can be an act of taking a day without social media or something else but taking the time that we would typically be eating or being on social media to pray and to seek God and grow closer to Him.  

Fasting is something that I know that I need to work on and that when I do fast that I actually end up spending that time with God and in His word and praying rather than filling the time up with something else. Too often, I feel like we get too caught up in always doing things and being busy that we forget to slow down and connect with God. We forget what fasting is meant to be about and we can’t seem to quiet our minds. We have to be thinking about something all the time, we need to be busy, we need to be preparing for the next agenda item, etc but again, we need to realize that the enemy loves when we do that and it’s in times like that, that we need to fast and fast together so there is accountability. Scripture says, where 2 or more are gathered there He is also, so should we fast together and spend that time together in prayer and connecting with God, seeking His guidance and His plan for our lives, our next steps, the places we work, etc?

So again, I ask since it’s the Lent season, is there something that is consuming me that I need to fast from in order to connect with God and pray? Same for you, as the reader, is there something that you need to give up for 40 days during the Lent season? As Christians, we should be yearning to grow closer to God and to spend time with Him. So, do you have that yearning, do you spend time with God daily, and how can you change things so that you are fasting and praying during this Lent season? How would things be different, both in your personal life and in your work setting, if you started fasting this Lent season? How will you make sure that you keep on track with your fasting this Lent season and not fall back to old habits? Who will you tell?

Fasting should allow us to have total reliance on God, it should bring us closer to Him, it should be a time to be in prayer and seek His guidance and will, etc. It’s not about us, but it’s about God and becoming more Christ-like in the journey. What are you going to do?