Coming At Ya From The DIrty South . . .

So, I find myself typing this in the ATL; no snow on the ground, able to wear just a hoodie, and enjoying the fam. I feel as though I have so much to write about, but just haven't had the time to sit down and blog about things as of late.

Back in the Quip the Lord continues to teach me and challenge me daily about His character. I mentioned in my last blog about asking myself the simple question, "What would Jesus do" in this particular situation or that particular situation. On a much, much deeper level than ever before, Jesus has taught me about His compassion, His love, His patience, His Holiness, His forgiveness, His pursuit, His heart . . . I could go on and on. My friend and I were talking the other day how living in the Quip opens your eyes more than you could ever imagine in regards to literally seeing the difference between our Savior and us. Immediate conviction. Now, I know you're probably saying, "Steph, I don't need to move to the Quip to see the difference between God and me." I understand that. I am just trying to make the point that I am so very thankful for the vast and obvious difference between Jesus and myself.

Last Thursday during our youth group, we found ourselves in small groups worshipping God. One by one you would hear the voices of our youth speak aloud who God was to them; "provider, healer, perfect, forgiving, holy, loving . . . " This time of worship without a doubt pierced my soul. Too often we forget to take the time to sit and worship God for who He is to us.

During this Christmas season and beyond I encourage you to sit at the foot of the cross and worship the Lord. That may look different for everyone; writing a letter, singing, speaking, journaling, ect. We often say in the Quip that worshipping the Lord is the very beginning of coming back into the arms of our Savior.

Love deeply.

Unconditional Love, Forgiveness, Wisdom

The pursuit of Jesus after His children is the exact reflection of unconditional love; not to mention the crucifixion. There have been numerous situations that have arisen here and afar lately that have taught me, or at least made me think more and more about unconditional love and what Jesus means by that. Are children or adults supposed to love or forgive a father or mother "figure" in their lives if they left them to fend for themselves? Are they supposed to continue to attempt to make amends with authority figures who have crossed them over and over again, bringing deep scars and wounds that will last a lifetime? Are children supposed to stay in pursuit of these individuals as Christ did for us and continues to do for those who don't know Him or have fallen away from Him? Forgiveness and unconditional love, or wisdom? I don't know the answer.

I see firsthand the effects of children's lives when again, their mother or father "figure" have failed in their life. Emotional scars, trust issues, a lack of communication skills, depression, questions, deep rooted pain, fronts, anger, unfortunately I could go on and on. What do these children and young adults do? Though cliche, I truly wonder what Jesus would do? I find myself at times giving guidance, that quite honestly seems unrealistic. It is so much easier said than done; forgive, love. How do you go about forgiving someone who made a conscious decision to leave your life the second they found out you were conceived (not to mention, them trying to jump back in your life 16 years later)? How do you forgive someone in your life who has chosen to love crack, alcohol, or any addiction more than they love you? Do you forgive everyone who has purposefully crossed you? I know Jesus did. Do you love everyone who has purposefully crossed you? I know Jesus did. Or, do you seek out wisdom in dealing with the situation at hand, knowing every circumstance is different.

I think there is a magnitude of power behind these words: unconditional love, forgiveness, and wisdom. I think these specific words reflect the difference between our Savior, Jesus Christ and His people. Where we are afraid to put our heart out there and hurt, Jesus loves; where we want to hold a grudge, Jesus forgives; where we want to take everything on ourselves, Jesus provides wisdom. God, I pray that you will intercede for your people; that through the cross, we will find the strength to live as you lived.

Love deeply.

Randomness Yo!

I know a lot of the times my blogs are a little heavy, so I'm going to throw a little remix here and go a little light. Hopefully! :) This weekend I got to spend some time with my crazy Aunt from Maine. (That's a shout out Aunt Donna!). She came in to visit a long time friend and decided to head to the Quip for a little but. I showed her around the community and then we headed to the Strip District downtown with the rest of the crew here. Don't worry guys we didn't strip, though I was tempted to. I love the Strip; it's just a bunch of kind of cheap stores and street vendors. I had me a good ole pulled pork sandwich to bring me back to the dirty south, while it was snowing mind you! We had a lot of fun though!

And then there is Sunday; church. So those of you who know me pretty well (K & H I know you're laughing because I just said that), know that I'm not real good, AT ALL, in formal, serious settings. Well wouldn't you know that I had to read and light an advent candle in church, with one of our youth. I was doing pretty good until we had to read together as a congregation. All I could hear was Joel (co-pastor and director of A.I.) reading either faster or slower than I was. Basically, I lost it and couldn't get it back together. Imagine that! HaHa. So, I kind of just had to stop reading, turn around and laugh while I am lighting a candle. You know, laughing while lighting a candle to signify the preparation of Jesus' birth probably isn't a good thing in a traditional church. BUT, for me and Jesus - that's our relationship! We got jokes on each other!

Alright, prayer requests: Please pray for my sister and the fam as she prepares to bring baby Cole home later this week. Cole needs to come, because I have had 2 dreams the last 2 nights that he has already arrived. Also, please pray for Angela. We have not seen her in about a month. Unfortunately, we think she is in jail. We have, as ridiculous as it sounds, "Mugshot Monday" in our local paper. It was a very dark picture, but we thing her mugshot was in there. However, I am praying that if it is God's will for me to keep in contact with her, that He will somehow get me on the visitation list to see Angela.

All that being said, I am bracing for the cold weather. Actually, I prepared for it last night by running down the street with a bikini on. It was 10 degrees last night, and didn't phase me at all. I'M A SOLDIER!

Love deeply folks, love deeply!

True Love

So I found myself sitting in a prison today with a heavy heart. Let me explain. I took two kids, ages 18 and 19, with one of their children, 3 months old, to see their mother in jail. The mom was incarcerated in September. God crossed this family and Aliquippa Impact's paths a couple of years ago. I met the 19 yearn old girl and her son for the first time the week of Thanksgiving. As I sat in her living room listening to the conversation between her and another AI staff member, I had to hold back tears. They were talking about her mom; how she was doing in jail and so forth. The second I met this girl, God burdened my heart for her. I could feel a sense of God crossing our paths for a reason. It will be interesting to see how God builds the relationship between me and not only the young lady, but her family as well.

While I was sitting in the waiting room at the prison all I could do was pray; pray for the children, pray for the grandchild, and pray for the mother in prison. It was definitely one of those surreal moments; I am expecting more and more of these moments to rise up during my time here in the Quip. The crazy thing about all of this, is that I have a sense of peace over this family. I feel that even though they may not know God yet, God is starting to soften their hearts in preparation for an encounter that cannot be denied. Though I am sure it will be a process, I am looking forward to seeing what God does in the heart of this family.

Let me just remind everyone that God is in the business of redeeming His people. His number one desire is to draw people to Him. Though some people may take a different road than others in coming into a relationship with Christ, He invites us to come as we are . . . whether that be a crack addict, a prostitute, a lover of money, a house wife, a businessman, one of high economic status, one of low economic status, a heterosexual, a homosexual, an adult, or a child. Christ yearns to love us just as we are. He is madly in love with us, and in this I find true peace.

Love deeply.