Yea, Pulling The Vacay Card

So, I didn't forget about you guys. The Lord is doing so many things. However, I am still in the ATL enjoying the last couple days here with my family. I'll be back on the blog next week, not that you are waiting on pins and needles for me to post; I realize that :) I'm out homies . . .

Love Deeply

Merry Christmas

Hey, I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. I pray this holiday season would be filled with much love, laughter, and joy to you and yours. May we all live in praise to our King. Amen.

What God Has Reminded Me of This Last Week ...

. . . When we are weak, He is strong. He loves when we just sit with Him. He meets the desperate right where they are. He adores when His children come running to Him with everything they have. When people get to the point of crying out praises to Him, I think that makes His heart melt. His arms are wide open waiting for us to step toward Him. His number one desire is to seek, to stay in pursuit of, and to save the lost. The way He reveals Himself to all is mysterious; sometimes its through an "earthquake" and other times it through a "gentle whisper." He is so very big, yet at the same time loves being so intimate with us. Teaching His children is a passion of His. Madly in love with His creation.

These are just to name a few...my week has been humbling to say the least.

Love Deeply

Claim It

I made a real interesting observation today. It is so easy to claim truths and scriptures over other people's lives, but so much harder to claim it over our own lives. I have really been led to pray Phil. 4:5-7 over a friend's life right now, which states, "The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. But in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." As I said, it is so easy to pray this for my friend. To be honest, when this came to my heart, I never even thought twice about praying it for myself. This afternoon, however, one of my other friends said she had a scripture to share with me. Wouldn't you know it was the same exact scripture. She said I am going to claim that over your life. Funny how our God works, right?

All this being said, and as I have previously stated before in blogs (I actually think I talked about this last week), we have to claim the promises and truths of God over our lives, as well as others of course. We have to hold those promises to our Lord, trusting Him that He will wholeheartedly answer the very words He has spoken in His Love Story.


Love Deeply

Who Are You In Christ?

One thing the Lord has been teaching me about lately is my identity in Him. Crazy right? Some of you may be thinking, "Haven't you been walking with the Lord for a while now? Shouldn't you know who you are in Christ?" Interesting question. I can answer that basically by saying, yes, I do know what the Lord says about me in the Word; I know He has called me His child, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the apple of his eye, a friend, a co-heir ect. However, I believe there is an enormous difference between knowing what the Bible says about us and claiming that over our lives. Truly believing it and walking in it. I know people in my life who can quote scripture back and forth, but don't live out the life God has called us to according to the Word. I think this is basically the same thing.

In the last couple of weeks I have had a deep yearning to get into the Word. This has come straight through prayer. There are seasons that I go through where I feel as though I am just reading the Bible because I know I should, there are seasons where quite honestly it is difficult to even pick up the Bible, and there are seasons, where I find myself now, that all I want to do is read the Bible. During this time, truths of my identity and life have just screamed out to me. I have been claiming these truths over myself and it has been amazing to see and feel God's love through such powerful words.

I just want to encourage everyone to claim the truths of God's love story over your lives; to walk in them, with confidence and boldness. Let us all raise up and be the men, women, and children our God has called us to be.

Love Deeply

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you make the Most High your dwelling-
even the Lord, who is my refuge-
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

"Because he loves me," says the Lord,
"I will rescue him; I will protect him,
for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Our God Is Healer . . .

I can't help but post about this today. A couple weeks ago one of my friends' 22 month old child was diagnosed with a rare disease. Basically, he had abnormal cells lining his esophogus and stomach. The individual with the worst recorded case of this diseaese in the world now lives in Europe and is incompacitated. The count of his abnormal cells was at '70.' As of two weeks ago, my friend's child had a count of '130' abnormal cells in his body. Along with his abnormal cells, he was unable to swallow any type of food or liquid. The attempts to do so were denied and regurgitation occured. Through surgery a couple days ago, it was found that there was a cleft in his esophogus. There is much more to this story, but basically the family was looking at reconstructive throat surgery.

All this to say, my friend and her 22 month old baby boy are coming home today with a count of '0' abnormal cells in his body, in addition to full ability to swallow. God is Healer. I type those words in complete humbleness knowing that our King, our Savior healed this baby boy completely. Needless to say, the doctors involved in this whole process were dumbfounded. One day this little boy was diagnosed with the worst case in the world for a specific disease, now there is no trace of that disease. Another day, he was not even close to having the ability to swallow, today he is going home having passed a swallowing test. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO EXPLAIN THIS THAN JESUS CHRIST.

God has taugth me once again, along with I could only imagine hundreds of others across the world, how very powerful prayer is. I know for a fact that individuals across the world were burdened and praying for this child and his family; different nations, different tribes, different tongues all crying out for healing in the name of Jesus Christ. I encourage all that are reading this to lock in to the power of our Lord. Our King is wanting and waiting for us to trust Him enough to allow Him to unleash supernatural powers in different situations. Though God can glorify Himself in all kinds of ways, in this situation, He chose healing . . . AND FOR THAT I AM EVER SO THANKFUL.


Love Deeply

Deuteronomy 4:7

"What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to Him." One of my friends shared this verse to us before we started our Monday prayer time yesterday. There is such power behind knowing the One who created the universe and all that is in it dwells amongst us when we gather to pray.

As you have probably heard me say before our primary work here in Aliquippa is prayer. I can't help but blog about it and talk about it because we have seen God work in so very many ways through our crying out. Please understand that I do not say any of this to bring credit to ourselves, but to God and God alone.

Through prayer God has given a couple of our friends a vision to start missional communities. What are missional communities you might ask? The purpose of a missional community is to intentionally live out God's mission together. Life on Life! Worshipping together, serving together, learning together, outreaching together, failing together, and rejoicing together. I know some of you may think, "how is this different from what you do now?" The difference is we are providing an atmosphere for believers and unbelievers to be discipled whether they choose to attend an institutional church or not. I am so excited about this! I know God is going to do incredible things through our two groups and cannot wait to see the power of Christ transform people. Please pray for us as we begin this new journey. Your prayers are coveted!

Love Deeply

A Beautiful Mess

I am re-reading a book my best friend gave me called A Beautiful Mess. I love it. Basically, it is about our Kingdom signifying those exact words. The book talks a lot about the art of "beauty pushing through brokenness." I think this phrase itself represents Aliquippa to the utmost. Within all the brokenness that men, women, and children have in this community, beauty is slowly but surely making its appearance . . . to stay.

When I say beauty is pushing through brokenness, I think of the three individuals who just came to faith in the last couple months; I think about how God is providing a group of people from Aliquippa the opportunity to go and serve the individuals of Africa this Spring; I think about a once homeless, addicted, prostitute transforming into a beautiful, confident woman; I think about our youth fighting the temptations of the street in order to serve the Lord; I think about men in the drug dealing business being restored as men who fear a Perfect King; I think about a community that sees itself as hopeless, seeking, finding, and experiencing the hope of Christ.

My trust is in a King, which reigns over a Kingdom that cannot be shaken. May we all expect and be oh so thankful for the Power that is able to revolutionize a life. Amen and Amen.

Love Deeply

Homecoming . . .

This past weekend our church here in Aliquippa had a homecoming to celebrate 93 years of existence. When I first heard about this homecoming celebration I honestly thought to myself, "what church has a homecoming celebration?!?!" I had never heard of something like that before. But then again, I have never been a part of a church that has 93 years of history. It started Friday night with a traditional style hymn singing service. Saturday night, there was a dinner banquet, where I won an award for answering a question about the history of the church! Actually, I cheated and the secretary gave me the answer. I am justifying it by giving away my fall gift basket to one of the ladies we have Bible Study with :)

Then came Sunday. As the previous days, there were people from all generations represented at the service. The oldest member who returned for the weekend was 90 years old. Throughout the service, there were testimonies from the respected older generation speaking of their youth group days. They spoke of how his youth group leaders at the time would drive them all around and pick them up for meetings and such. Looking back on the days, he said he was confident that his leaders prayed a hedge of protection around him and the rest of the youth at the time. It was encouraging to hear, knowing 1) that some of our youth were sitting listening to this man and 2) it was again confirmation that our Lord does indeed water the seeds that are planted in His perfect timing.

The most powerful part of the service, however, was at the end. There was an invitation by our leadership for everyone to come to the front and pray life into our community. At the alter, there were elderly men and women, young men and women, youth, and children. We started out praying individually and silent, but was then challenged to pray out loud. The voices and tears of many were spoken in boldness to the Lord. Aaron Schust led us in a time of worship following prayer. I took time to look up and see the body of Christ worshipping as one; crying together and singing together. It was a beautiful display of the Kingdom and His Majesty. To Him be the glory! Amen and Amen.


Love Deeply

Remain In My Love . . .

I was reminded this morning in Scripture that the Lord is madly in love with us. He calls us to remain in His love as He says in John 15. Not that I forgot this fact, but it is so very good to read the truths of His Kingdom and how our God yearns for us to be in His arms. It is indeed a love relationship!

I want to encourage everyone including myself to spend time with the Lord daily. I don't know what that may look like for you, whether it is just sitting there in silence, taking a walk, listening to music, reading the Word, or praying. "Remain in me and I will remain in you." As we draw close to the Lord, He will draw close to us. One of my favorite pictures is that of Jesus holding a lamb close to His chest. It gives me such peace and joy knowing the Lord desires to hold us so close to His heart. That is precisely where He wants us.

May we all seek, find, and live out the love our King has for us.

"Gut Don"

So, one of the areas of ministry I have found myself in these last couple of weeks, is serving in the Kidz Club. This is our church's ministry for children ranging from 2 years old to children in 6th grade. As crazy at it may seem, this is a time of some sort of therapeutic relaxation for me!?!? Wait, what? Does that even make sense? Anyways, what I am trying to say is that it is so very different from what we usually do here, that it takes my mind and heart off of the heaviness of ministry in Aliquippa for at least an hour :) Basically, my friend Diz and I play games with the kids and act a complete fool; the kids have a blast annnnd so do we.

You might have noticed the title of the blog though, "Gut Don." We realized and observed the first night that having kids, gives you a straight gift of understanding and translating what the heck other kids are saying. My other friend Sarah, who is married and has 2 kids of her own was also helping us this night; she is hilarious. The last group we had that night were the 2 and 3 year olds. They came in so shy and quiet; they sat down exactly how we asked them to. One by one we asked the kids their names..."Gut Don, Icksy, and Eyyaw" were all names Diz and I heard. Thank God though Sarah was there. Needless to say after each child said their names we stared at Sarah for the translation and just cracked up hysterically waiting for the real names. "Justin, Ricky, and Lydia" were the names of our wonderful kids. In saying this, I came to a conclusion, I need to either have kids quick or never work with 2 and 3 year olds again because when I am thinking they are saying "I have an outty," what they're really saying is that they have "to go potty." Yiiiiiikkkkkkkeeeeessss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh the humor of ministry at times . . .

Love Deeply

A Couple Highlights of the Week

It's too hard to decide what to blog about this week, so I just want to share a couple of highlights with you. I was able to visit my friend Angel on Saturday. It was a very humbling conversation, as I was able to see how God had and continues to completely answer our prayers for her. This was the most coherent I have ever seen Angel. She is a very wise woman, but when she is in the midst of struggle you can't see that. Throughout our conversation Angel spoke truth over her life and spoke against the life she once lived on the streets. I see change in her. I see God at work. My prayer for Angel is that she will continue to see how the Lord is transforming her life.

The second highlight I want to share with you is regarding a breakthrough at one of our small group Bible studies. Beginning last year, we started meeting with a woman who is in her 70's I would guess. Hmm . . . I'll call her Patience! She is beautiful. We meet with her every week and needless to say she has been through tons and tons. If I could describe Patience to you besides the obvious, I would say she is full of an enormous amount of love. She actually marched in the Civil Rights movement when she was a young girl. Oh she has stories! I love meeting with her, because she poors out wisdom when she talks. She reminds me of a Maya Angelou of sorts. When we pray at the end to close down our time together my friend and I usually pray and that's it. Patience has just never felt comfortable enough to pray out loud I guess. She always says, "na na I don't like to pray out loud" (waving her hands in the air). Well, yesterday I was supposed to be the last one to pray. There were two other people who had prayed before me, so when I finished praying my friend and I quickly said Amen, so Patience wouldn't feel uncomfortable. But before you knew it, our dear friend Patience, so softly spoken, started praying out loud. My other friend and I just looked at each other with huge smiles and bowed our heads quickly. It was hilarious, but at the same time so beautiful.

Hopefully, these stories gave you a little encouragement as they did me. It is no secret at all that our King is working in the hearts of those around us!

Love Deeply

Finally . . .

Let me first start off by saying I hope everyone had a great Labor day. I know I am a couple days late on this, but days here come and go, and before I know it a week has passed by. We spent our Labor day going to the Pirates/Braves game! I thought baseball games in Atlanta were boring . . . dang, Pittsburgh tops it off. We were able to have a little fun though and we also stopped by to see our friends Timmy and Kathleen, so that is always great. Please pray for them, as they had a meeting yesterday to see if they could get some housing. I do not know how it turned out.

We are finally back in the swing of things this week; making house visits, going to our kids' sporting events, street time, meeting people for small group Bible studies, ect. It is great! I also have some other wonderful news; those of you who keep up with my blogs are familiar with my friend Angel. I lost touch with Angel last Spring because she had gone and served time in jail. However, I had not seen her and didn't know where she was following her time in jail. I made a few phone calls this week and found out Angel is in a long term rehabilitation center not far from where I live. If you recall, I blogged last Spring about our staff praying for Angel to go to jail. I know that sounds funny and strange, but unfortunately this is the place we knew for a fact she would be safe and hopefully get some help. It is an answered prayer to hear that Angel will hopefully be in this long term facility for about a year. I plan on going to see her this weekend!

Be encouraged my friends that our Lord and Savior's hand is never to short to reach down into a situation that calls for a King.

Love Deeply

Hmmm . . .

"Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." -- Ps. 106:1

I just wanted to encourage you with this scripture today. It is so very basic, but so very rich! There are honestly some times in my walk with Christ, where I do not know what to say to him. I may be going through a dry season, facing some challenges, or just plain going through it. However, the little that I can muster out becomes praises of thanksgiving. It's funny though, because I have found through those breath prayers, my attitude turns into that of worshipping the Lord.

If you find yourself in a rough spot right now, I just encourage you to start with praising the Lord. There is so very much we have to be thankful for. When we realize that all of our blessings give us reason alone to keep our eyes focused on Christ, our hearts become softened and opened to the One who shows us unfailing love.

Love Deeply

ATL BOUND YO!!!

Hey guys, just wanted to let ya'll know I am headed home tomorrow for a week. I will have more to update next Tuesday. Please pray for much needed rest and relaxation. Thank you and can't wait to see some of you in the Dirty Dirty!!!

Closing Program - SUCCESS!

Sunday night we had our closing program for AFA. We went out in Aliquippa Impact style not having food until about 5 minutes before guests were supposed to be arriving, in addition to running around like chickens with our heads cut off. All that to say, the closing program went great. It's funny how the presence of the Lord shows up even in times like these. It was wonderful to see our kids in an atmosphere where they were celebrated for positive accomplishments. Unfortunately, so much of the press here in Aliquippa is about what is going on negatively in this community. One of our goals at Aliquippa Impact is to celebrate the youth in this community for who they are and what they can become. While doing so, it is a beautiful reflection of what the Kingdom looks like.

It is hard to believe the summer is coming to a close. Our Day Camp's closing program is tonight, paperwork and such tomorrow, staff fun day on Friday, and then the staff leaves. I am sure I will need some time to adjust, considering the year round staff has been surrounded by 15 + people this summer. So it might feel a little "lonely" at first - but trust me, it won't take me that long to adjust :) I think it's at these times where we are oh so thankful for what people did and how people served our community this summer, but at the same time the summer needs to come to an end.

I'm excited to head back to Georgia next week for some R&R. I miss my people down there! SHOUT OUT!!! Anyways, hope this blog update finds you doing well and enjoying life!

Love Deeply

Under The Overpass

Last Friday, our camp was on the way back from a field trip at the zoo. When returning we had to go through Pittsburgh. As we pulled up to a red light, we noticed two overpasses on each side of the bus. What was under the overpass was to our amazement. It basically looked like a typical bedroom. However, this was a bedroom that a couple had created out of their homelessness. There was a bed, "shelves" as in a ledge from the overpass, shopping carts that surrounded them to form a boundary line, a little storage area for their food, and anything and everything they had picked up along their journey. My friend Diz and I said immediately, "we have to meet those kats!"

Saturday, a group of us went down to the Strip District; this is a strip of street vendors and fresh produce, along with some really cool shops. When we were leaving I asked them if they would mind if we went to look for these specific people we saw under the overpass. So our journey began. Next thing I knew, we were walking up to the couple praying they would find favor over us. That they did! We had about a 15 minute conversation with them, prayed with them, and then arranged a dinner date with them for Monday.

Monday night rolled around; we packed up some ribs, green beans, corn, and brownies, and headed toward the city. Tim was a little taken back it seemed, that we actually followed through with our word. Kathleen was super excited to see us. Tim and Kathleen have been together for 20+ years and have been on the streets for 6 months. They are awaiting government funding next month to get off the streets. We sat there, ate, talked, sang, and danced for a majority of the night. Tim and Kathleen are very special people who seem to know that Jesus loves them and cares for them. They find themselves in the midst of sleeping under a bridge, fighting off unwanted rodents and intruders, going to the bathroom about 2 feet away from where they sleep, but making the best of what they have.

I am excited to see where God takes this relationship. We believe strongly this was a divine meeting. We left saying, "we'll be back, if we don't see you here, we'll miss you, but we'll know you are in a safe place." God brings hope. Hope to those who are struggling. Hope to those who are content. I am thankful to the Lord that He continues to put us in situations that brings glory to His Kingdom!


Love Deeply

Blast from the Past

This past weekend I took a group of girls to see one of my college teammates, Trena Peel, play in a pro softball game. It's always so good to see people you went through the fire with; the challenging times in life, the laughs, the cries, the hillarious times! That girl has not changed at all :) Same attitude, same Tre :)

During the game, this young boy, who I would say was about 10 or so came running up the bleachers with tears in his eyes. We couldn't figure out what he was doing, because no one was sitting behind us. We were at the very top. He was just balling looking over the railing. I decided to go see if he was ok. "What's wrong man? I asked." "I lost my Daddy and I can't find him." Zach's little lips were quivering, as alligator tears rolled down his face. I took him to the press box, where they made an announcement for his Dad to report to the specific area. I still have a lump in my throat to what I saw next. After about five minutes or so, Zach pointed and yelled, "THERE HE IS!" He bolted off running down the bleachers, weaving in and out of people. His Dad in the meantime, was doing the exact same thing. When they embraced each other, his Dad held him oh so tightly, as if he would never let go. Zach sunk his head in to his Daddy's chest and just wept and wept.

Needless to say, no one in the group I brought had a set of dry eyes either. It was interesting though, because I think we were all crying for different reasons. I immediately thought about Jesus. I thought about how we get lost at times, how we may stray away unintentionally, yet Jesus is there with His arms wide open ready to embrace His child. However, I also noticed our girls in the group whose father's aren't present in their life. I couldn't imagine what was going through their heads. Abandonment, maybe? I wish my father would care that much, perhaps. I don't know, but my prayers at that specific moment was for each of them to come to know a Father who never fails. A Father who stays in pursuit. A Father whose love is perfect. A Father who wants them to come . . .

Love Deeply

2 1/2 More Weeks . . .

I cannot believe the summer has flown by so fast! It seemed like just yesterday we were welcoming in the staff and going through training. Now, we find ourselves preparing for the ending program a couple weeks in advance.

Being real with ya'll, I must say even though the summer has flown, that's not such a bad thing for me. I have really struggled this summer and I will be glad when it's over. Real glad! My personal opinion to anyone out there is this: if you are involved with full-time ministry throughout the school year, don't work any camps during the summer. It plays a toll on you physically, mentally, emotionally, and more importantly spiritually.

I'm looking forward to a trip back home in August. And feel free any of you out there who have connections and skymile points to fly me on an all-inclusive trip to a resort, on a beach, in the middle of nowhere :) :) :) oh, and can you add some wave runners to that too please! God is good as always my friends.

Love Deeply

Receiving Love

Some people can outright admit they do not know how to receive love, others can voice that loudly through their actions. Wherein lies the question, why do people struggle with receiving love? Is it the way they were raised? Is it because of situations that have happened in peoples lives? Is it because they have never been loved? Pride? Fear? Hurt?

In a way, I can relate. At times, I find myself struggling with receiving Christ's love. And maybe, when it comes down to it - that is the problem we face here in Aliquippa as well. I will say though, the Lord continues to speak to me in whispers, "receive my Love my Child." A lot of people we come in contact with don't necessarily know how to receive help, or love from our staff. Many times we are told "no" in situations where we know the need is extremely high. We face some individuals who will continually show anger and frustrations toward us, while we make it a point to reflect nothing but love back to them. Christ's love.

Christ's love is pure, forgiving, true, compassionate, kind, gentle, and perfect, to say the very, very least. When individuals do not know how to receive the love of Christ, in which ever way that may look, the heart of God itself is not received either. Our prayer for our kids and families here is to learn how to receive a Living God. To learn how to receive true Love, Christ's love.
We are confident in time, this will indeed happen.

Love Deeply.

Lebron James

I apologize ahead of time. Why in the world is this nation waiting on pins and needles for one man to make a decision about where he is going to play basketball in the future! Is this really what this world is coming to. Considering that not only Lebron James, but a majority of professional sports athletes could fund small nations with their respective salaries, I'm not too fond of any of the crap going on. :) The end. I'm done venting. It's ridiculous! But before I'm for real done, I will give credit and say that there are professional athletes who do take care of and give back in a way which truly reflects their character. Alright, now I'm really done! I just got mad. Enough.

As far as camp goes, we are finishing up week 3. This week we our providing our kids with criminalization and sex education. We had an individual who spent 13 years in prison come in and speak to our group, in addition to a local police officer. Both individuals offered empowering information on the consequences of decision making throughout their teen years. We pray that seeds were sown in our youth who are being pulled more and more to the streets.
As far as the sex education goes, I had a first. With parental consent, we were able to show our students pictures of sexually transmitted days. That wasn't the "first;" the "first" was the fact that one of our girls got so sick from looking at the STD's she had to go home. When I called her mom and told her, she laughed hysterically at me. It was great :)

God continues to show me how in pursuit of me He is. That He loves me, and He cares about me. He is my King. He is my everything. I pray that I am reflecting His Kingdom to our kids and our staff daily.

Love Deeply.

What A Weekend!

This past weekend I went to Washington, D.C. with my two little sisters to watch a WNBA game. We had a blast! We were able to spend 2 nights in the city, because of donation given to us through Honor Points. I WANT TO SAY A HUGE THANK YOU TO DALE "THE TRUMP" RECTOR for providing us with that hotel. It was a huge blessing! Unfortunately, the team we went to go see lost. HaHa. The girls had a blast though, and that's all that matters!

Tonight I had 5 visitors that brought a big smile to my face! My parents, my grandma, my sweet Aunt, and my beautiful nephew traveled from Philly to come spend the night. My parents and Bubba came up from Georgia and decided to take a trip from Philly to the Quip to see me. My Aunt is staring at me right now and is about to get her butt whooped! :) Even though it is going to be a short visit I am so very glad to see all of them! I have the best family in the world!

Week 2 has started for camp. I ask for prayers of energy and endurance as the summer goes along. It's just a completely different schedule and I find myself tired a lot of the time. But, God is good and continues to restore me daily. I hope everyone out there reading this is doing well! Count your blessings my friends! I love ya'll!

Love Deeply!!!

CAMP!!!!!!!

So, we started our camp this week. Today was day 2! We have 10 boys in our program and 3 girls. These last couple of days, well actually weeks, have been exhausting. But, ready or not, camp is here and we are excited to finally have started it. This week's theme is "We In Dis Togetha!" We have been and will continue to focus on team building skills throughout the remainder of the week. Overall our kids are doing a great job. I will also say though, there are many challenges ahead in which our kids will have to face in regards to the program and the expectations we have for them! Keep you updated!

During the summer my schedule is completely different. From 12 to 5 is camp; however, before and after is planning, planning, planning and debriefing. Our days are extremely long! If I can be honest with you, I miss my schedule throughout the year. Actually, it's not even my schedule, IT'S MY PEOPLE!!! I miss making visits, talking to people, sharing in their victories and listening to their brokenness. God again continues to remind me about the passion I have for people and their stories. This will be a very challenging summer for me. As my heart yearns to be with the people I have built relationships with over the last year, I know God has me working this camp for a reason. God's a tricky kat! We'll see what He has in store for me.

Love Deeply

10 Hours of Sleep!

As you can tell, I am definitely late on my post this week! Myself, as well as the rest of the staff are exhausted. Hold up, that's not good, considering we haven't even started camp yet! YIKES! So, in my attempt to rejuvenate this weekend and take in "the calm before the storm," I slept for 10 hours last night. I don't have a clue of when the last time I did that was. My plans for the weekend ARE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! And that's how I want it. (Hmm...I wonder if it will really go that way.)

For the past two weeks we have been in staff training. Though educational, thank God it's over with. This summer I will be helping lead a program called A.F.A., which stands for A Future Anticipated. Our program is focused on at risk youth who are being pulled to the streets. We will provide different life skill units throughout our 10 week program. There will be 12 students in our program which we will building relationships with, in hopes of sewing seeds for a harvest of transformation. Please pray for God to provide incredible opportunities throughout the summer to speak truth and love into the lives of our kids.

Our staff is a really amazing group this year. Even though we haven't really hit camp yet (this brings many challenges and obstacles) our staff has shown great maturity. There is definitely a spirit of unity amongst the individuals which God has brought to the Quip this summer. Praise Him! In saying all of this, we are excited for Tuesday to come. We are committing our summer to the Lord and expecting Him to do great thing! TO HIM BE ALL THE GLORY! Amen and Amen!

Love Deeply

I HAVE A.D.D. - Fo Shizzy!

So, we started staff training for our summer programs yesterday. I was once again reminded that I have some major issues concentrating and focusing on what I am supposed to be focusing on. Instead, I find myself trying to call people in training, seeing if they have their phones on silent or not, texting, distracting those around me, getting up pretending to go get some snacks, or just straight thinking about everything else other than what I am supposed to be thinking about. :) I mean, Mom, why didn't you get me tested when I was younger or something?

I also was reminded that I can't have serious conversations with people. I tried to bust out a heart to heart with one of my friends in training today, and I just started laughing. I caught myself while others were laughing at me and I said, "wo wo wo this conversation is getting too serious, so I'm going to stop now!" So, I did and people called me ridiculous! :) :) :)

Basically, I just wanted to confirm to everyone out there what you already new . . . I'm as crazy as ever, struggle when I am supposed to be focusing, and don't like serious conversations! This is how Jesus made me, take it up with Him. :)

Love Deeply!

THE CHAOS BEGINS!

Alright, so I made the mistake of thinking it would be a nice, smooth, relaxing transition back to the Quip after a short week in AZ. WRONG! I stepped straight back into CHAOS! Applications, applications, eat, applications, applications, eat, applications, sleep. That is what my life was like all last week and up until this point. We have been running around crazy from house to house trying to get some of our applications in for our students this summer. One might think that would be easy! WRONG, AGAIN!

This is also our last week of preparation before our summer staff comes in. Sunday will be our staff welcome dinner. We open up the summer with a time of eating together and worship. I remember last summer when I was in the position of coming in not knowing anyone. Now, I am on the other side of things. HaHa. Different perspective, from a different view! Our camps do not actually start until June 21st. Our staff will be in intense training for the next two weeks.

All that being said, we're ready for God to transform lives this summer. We're ready for Him to reveal Himself in major ways. We are trusting that BIG THINGS WILL HAPPEN! Amen and Amen. Please be in prayer about this upcoming summer for our program and our staff. Thank you so much!

Blah, Blah, Blah

Well, I'm back from AZ. I had a blast. I would type a real deep blog today, but quite honestly I don't feel up to it :) I think I have jet lag :) and am still trying to adjust back to Eastern time! So, I'm going to leave you with this: I love each of you and covet all of your prayers being thrown up for me and our community throughout this call that God has on my life. God is without a doubt working . . . .

Love Deeply

Will pick back up next week :)

"What do you want me to do for you?"

Hello from the state of AZ! I am here with my best friends awaiting Saturday, where Kathryn Jean Stevens will be getting married! We have already had some great times and many more to come throughout the week.

This morning I was reading Matthew 20. Verses 29-34 really stuck out to me. To give you a little summary, Jesus and His followers were leaving Jericho. Two blind men sitting down on the side of the road yelled out to Jesus, "have mercy on us." The crowd that was following Jesus rebuked the men and told them to be quiet. The two men then yelled even louder in their persistence. "Jesus stopped and called them. 'What do you want me to do for you?' he asked." They replied, "we want our sight to be restored." Jesus healed the two blind men.

I feel that so many times we are afraid to ask Jesus what we really want. Whether it is out of fear, or we think it doesn't matter to Christ, or other circumstances; we hesitate, we don't ask. My friend Gao and I were visiting another friend in the community last week. As our friend expressed her hurt and frustrations concerning her life and her family, we asked her a simple question; "What is it that you want Jesus to do for you and your family." She responded and we prayed in boldness for her request. I was reminded of this story while reading the passage out of Matthew this morning.

God turns his ear to the cries of His children. He wants us to seek Him. He wants us to ask Him. He wants to have compassion. He does have compassion for us. I just want to encourage those who are reading this to ask...to not be fearful, but to ask. Whatever it may be, ask our King exactly what you want Him to do for you. May the peace that surpasses all understanding be upon each of us as we wait for the answer.

Love Deeply

Tough Times

This last week and a half or so has been pretty difficult. Myself personally, and our staff as a whole have hit some pretty tough times. Some of you have heard me mention the "2 month mark." This mark is where I feel around every 2 months or so, I need a break; for restoration and quite honestly to just get away. It's as if once that 2 month mark comes around things become so heavy and so intense, I need to take a step back. And wouldn't you know, it's been about 2 months since I took my last break and went home. Thankfully, I am headed to Arizona on Saturday for my best friend's wedding. I am spending a week there and expect many good times, some tears, and tons of laughing that brings you to the floor!

I know some of you are wanting an update on Layla. Unfortunately, after a week of being at the hospital undergoing rehab Layla is back on the streets. We went to visit her every other day, and our visits were always so good. We would play cards, we would talk, we would watch tv, we would pray. I was very honest with Layla and the steps she needed to take in order to get long term help. The problem was that Layla did not want that help. She would say respectively, "Steph, I understand what you are saying and I really do listen to you, I do, but I don't want to go through with that." The first time I saw her out on the street again, she was on the corner. As you could imagine, this shattered my heart. What do I do now Lord? "Love her. Love her as I love her."

Some of the people we really pour into here have taken big steps backwards this past week. This obviously brings much burden to our hearts. As my friends and I were doing street time yesterday we talked about how hard it is to take a step back, and let God be God. When the Lord has placed a specific burden on your heart for specific people, it is natural to want to reach out and meet needs they have. I think what a couple of us here are learning is that God wants us to fight the battle first and foremost through prayer.

Though difficult weeks have come and gone our Savior still reigns. He is our King of Kings, our Lord of Lords. He is my Provider. My Shelter. My Protector. My Healer. My Redeemer. My Everything. My Encourager. HE IS VICTORIOUS! Amen.

Love Deeply.

He Meets Us on The Hospital Floor

I found myself in a movie type atmosphere last week that I will try and put into words. My friend Layla, who has finally been reaching out for help decided to make a huge step this past Wednesday. As a reminder, she is a crack addict, homeless, and lives a life of prostitution. From an outsiders point of view, people would probably identify her as "hopeless." I beg to differ. My friend Diz and I found ourselves taking Layla to her sisters house. Layla believes her sister is there for her always and will allow her to stay in her home. This is not the case. However, I decided to agree to take her there, because the second part of the deal with Layla, was that if her sister wasn't home, she would be taken to a hospital for rehabilitation. (Please understand that our relationship is strong enough now where I speak very, very boldly to Layla - without apology). We arrived at her sisters house. She wasn't home.

Layla wanted me to write a letter to her sister. She was saying everything, and I was just documenting it. "I want to come home. I am sorry. Please forgive me." She started to cry. Even though Layla has many, many issues - she feels an enormous amount of pain that she cannot hide at times. I held her hand and asked her if she was ok. "I am never ok, she tearfully replied back." We proceeded to go to the local hospital. As Layla was going through the initial process of being admitted, I sat and prayed. My heart broke for the amount of emotional pain Layla felt inside, along with her addiction. I was in a private waiting room as the time went on; she wanted me to wait until she was completely admitted.

The nurse came in and said I could go see her. I walked into what seemed to look like a holding cell with one cot. We were on the Psychiatric Unit, so you could imagine why. However, Layla had taken her one sheet with her pillow and laid it on the ground. I saw a frail, sick body laying on the hospital floor. I couldn't help, but envision our Lord and Savior huddled over her, the Healer of all Healers. I will never forget that image. I believe Jesus met Layla right there, in here brokenness, in her despair.

I have since then, gone and visited Layla a couple of times. It is evident that God is at work. He has not brought her this far, to just leave her out to dry. I will have more of an update next week. Please be in prayer for Layla.

God Is Love

A Little Push . . .

It has always amazed me here how much a little encouragement can do for someone. Now don't get me wrong, I know that is the case all over the world. However, for people who may not necessarily always hear encouragement, I find such empowerment in it.

Today I was working along side "Hope" who was suspended from school for a certain incident. I knew scrubbing the walls of a nasty old house was not at all what she had in mind when I asked her if she would be interested in helping me work on a house for our summer staff. Quite honestly, I was shocked that Hope agreed to help when I asked. I knew this would be a challenge though for her, because 1) she doesn't like to get dirty and 2) she's never done anything like this before. She complained for the first 3 walls out of 4. The truth of the matter is that she didn't know what she was capable of doing. "We're never going to finish this. My back hurts. I want to quit. I'm not doing this anymore. I'm leaving. I'm never saying yes to anything else again." To each statement she voiced, I came back with encouragement. "Hope, you're doing such a good job. Look at the difference you are making. I am so proud of you. You're doing great. Almost finished. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU." I just don't know if Hope hears that enough.

By the third wall, Hope realized what she had done. There was pride. There was joy. There was empowerment. For a job so little, I learned that encouragement to Hope was everything. In the midst of scrubbing and more scrubbing I told Hope, "I know I tell you this all the time, but Jesus loves you. He really, really does. Do you know that?" "Yes, I do know that Steph." My prayer is that Hope will one day come into the presence of and join in a life with the Almighty Encourager. He hears our cries.

Love Deeply.

Search & Rescue

I wanted to wait and blog today, because I had a specific story to share with you guys. If you have read my blogs in the past you know about my friend "Layla," who I met on the streets over the summer. It has been a journey in itself building our relationship. Unfortunately, she lives a lifestyle of prostitution and is a crack addict. It has been a beautiful thing to see how the Lord has worked in our friendship. From someone who used to turn and walk away from me during the summer, "Layla" will now engage in conversation with me. It's quite interesting actually. The corner she sometimes works is across the street from our office. We will at times just sit and pray for her. I actually walked into the bar the other day looking for her. She was sippin on a cold one through a straw! It was a great picture.

All this being said, I went to speak to a parent yesterday at a local church. She was serving food to local people in need. The first person I saw when I walked in the door was "Layla." She looked at me and said hello. She was almost a little standoffish though, so I continued on to the parent. After speaking to the parent, I wanted to say goodbye to "Layla." As I walked up to her I saw tears and tears just rolling down her face; she was all alone. I sat down and began talking to her. Our conversations always get back to her bringing up her lifestyle of addiction and prostitution. For the next hour or so, "Layla" really opened up to me and shared some information about herself that she has never shared before. We ended up driving around looking for some good fried chicken! On "Layla's" request she wanted to meet today to sit down and talk about rehab and getting professional help. We were to meet at 1:00.

Unfortunately, "Layla" did not show up. My friend and I went on a "search and rescue" mission as we call it here; looking in every bar and ally, and hangout spot I have seen her before. We didn't find her. I was reminded today though of how God stays in pursuit of His children. I will see "Layla" again on the streets and I will love her just the same. "Layla" needs help, she needs Jesus. And if we as a body of Christ give up on people that God has directly put into our path, what hope do these people have? It is the pursuit of our Lord that encourages me; His love story that continues on and on. Please be praying for "Layla" to find her identity not in crack or prostitution, but in the true and pure love of Jesus Christ alone.

Love Deeply

A Day Late ... Sorry

So, this post is going to be all over the place, no real theme, sorry. This past week has been full of ups and downs. God has been softening hearts that we have been praying for, in addition to opening doors where we least expect it. Praise Him! Unfortunately though, I have also faced some real issues concerning injustice and racism. I wish I could go into detail about that situation, but I am going to pass. Quite honestly, it makes me sick to think about, much less type about, and I would just rather share it in person for anybody who is interested. With all that being said, God is always encouraging me with His goodness and faithfulness.

I am loving building solid relationships with the kids in our community. There are a handful of girls that I really try and pour into. Today I hung out with my future mentee (hopefully) and I also spent some time with another seventh grade girl. One of them has been working on her anger issues, but had a little fallback this week. We went to the track, walked around and threw the frisbee a little. It is always such a blessing to take kids out of the community, if you will, and spend quality time with them. I see different individuals when I do this. It's very interesting. We had a good talk. She always seems to talk through her anger and come to realize she is in the wrong. She is a great kid, just some heavy issues. Then there is my little mentee ... she is crazy! In a good way! I think we feed off of each other. I also think I was probably exactly like her when I was younger. We both love sports and just hanging out. We went to the park and played a little badminton and the frisbee version of P.I.G. It was tons of fun. I love seeing these kids grow!

I find myself loving what I am doing more and more. I love people. I cannot deny that. I love the challenge. I love being a servant of the Most High God. Nothing makes me happier than seeing God work in the lives of those around me when they don't even know it! We are so very blessed!

Love Deeply!

So, I Had A Question Asked to Me ....

Last night I met a couple through my friends here in Aliquippa. We were all hanging out watching the NCAA championship game. During commercial breaks we had small talk. The couple and I were getting to know each other by asking questions and so forth. They knew I was in Aliquippa, working under Aliquippa Impact, to serve the community in hopes of advancing the Kingdom. Then they asked a question that really caught me off guard. "Steph, so what do you ultimately want to do in your life?" I kind of laughed sarcastically under my breath, and then replied, "THIS." "This is what I want to ultimately do."

I have a passion to serve people; their physical needs, emotional needs, and most importantly their spiritual needs. I have a yearning desire to help people find and not only experience, but live out a life of freedom, joy, and true love. I have a burden for people who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. God willing, I want to be the bridge between those who are lost and Jesus. I find pure honor and privilege in having the opportunity to be Jesus' hands and feet. This is what I want to do with my life. Yes, THIS IS IT.

My goals and dreams used to consist of playing and winning state championships and national championships, and being the best I could be for my teammates and those who fought next to me in the battle. Now I find myself dreaming and praying for broken people to come to Christ. To see that the battle has already been conquered by the cross is a victory in itself. I am just a humble and broken servant, who has been redeemed by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. "What do you ultimately want to do with your life?" I want to serve . . . to serve all.

Love Deeply.

God's Timing

I have been encouraged this week with what God is doing here. We (our staff) have been having some divine conversations with people our staff has been praying for. It's funny how only during God's timing will He move. He is sovereign! My friend, who just got out of jail a couple weeks ago, has been walking the streets. This is someone who struggles with the life of prostitution and addiction. I wrote her in jail, but she never responded. We prayed for her while she was in and have committed her to the Lord. As you could imagine the first time I saw her back on the streets, I wanted to run up to her and give her a big hug and talk to her. This wasn't the case however. I felt the Lord saying, "wait." So I did. I saw her a couple more times, and it was still the same quiet voice, "wait." So I did. Then came Thursday Night Mic Night. I wasn't supposed to go to the cafe until later on that evening. For "some reason" I ended up going earlier. Wouldn't you know my friend was the very first person I saw sitting on one of the couches.

Without going into a various amount of details, my friend and I had a conversation for about 30 minutes. We talked about God, where she was in her life, that she was seeking help, and that instead of being on the streets, she was now living with a friend. Though there were still some very hard things to hear her say, and though I know she still has many, many issues to work through, I know God has His hand on her. All this being said, it makes me wonder if I would have talked to her those couple times on the streets, would she have opened up the same. I don't think she would have. I think God's precise timing and location in which I finally spoke to my friend was sovereign. Our God is faithful. He wants us to rely on Him fully! I am continuing to learn . . .

Love Deeply

Back In The Quip!

What up from a 90 degree, sunny day in the Quip! Oh hold up hold up hold up, alright that's not the case at all. I had a great time back home with family and friends! The ATL was good! I'm just getting back into the swing of things here; ready to see my people :)

I have been reading through Psalms lately and have been encouraged by the comfort and compassion of God. David continually talks about how the Lord hears our cries. In such a crazy and busy world I am so thankful that I will always have the Lord hear me out on things. It also hurts to know that some people do not have a relationship with Christ, therefore do not talk to Him. Just the other day one of the individuals here was going through a tough time. She is not one to share her feelings and talk about what is going on in her life. I asked her though, "Do you ever talk to God when you go through these rough times in your life?" Her reply was no. This kills me. If only she knew how very much God wants to hold her and help her through these trials. If only she knew the amount of true love the Savior has for her. I trust that God is revealing Himself to her day by day. I trust through God's authority and constant pursuit that she will come crawling to the foot of the cross. On this day, I will rejoice with tears of thanksgiving. Our God is good!

Love deeply.

ATL

Just wanted to give you a very short update. I have been home since Monday and am leaving on Tuesday. Great time with the family and friends. Headed to Hartwell tomorrow to spend Sunday and Monday at Matty and Kaitlyn's. Will be back in the Quip on Tuesday. I will catch back up with this when I get back towards the middle of the week.

Love Deeply

Excited for Spring

This week I had to reintroduce myself to 50 degree weather and it has been amazing! I will say though it's pretty funny when you think it's about 70 out, and you drive by a temperature sign reading 51 degrees. My mom said I have become a true northerner. I want to make it clear that I will never be a true northerner. I belong in the south :) We have been enjoying the warmer weather though for sure. This past weekend my friends and I went to the park and well, we first walked on a frozen lake, but then were able to play a little football in a warmer area. It was a blast.

With warmer weather, comes more people to the street. It's been great. With hopes of Spring around the corner, it is almost as if new life has come. We have enjoyed the last couple of days with some prayer walks and playing with the kids outside. It excites me knowing that the warmer the weather gets, the more people we will be in contact with on the streets. I want to go ahead and praise Him for the things that are to come.

Lastly, I want to give a little shout out to my beautiful friends Erin and Bethany. As I type this, they are on there way to Kenya. The Lord has called them to this beautiful land and I cannot wait to see what He is going to do through them. They have been in obedience over the last year+ praying and waiting for the Lord's sovereign timing in all of this. He has finally said, "Now is the time my beloved." Please pray for them as they begin this journey with the Lord.

Headed home on Monday. Looking forward to the restoration period. Until next time, love deeply.

Damascus Road

If you are not familiar with this road, this is the road where God revealed Himself to Saul, who would soon be transformed into Paul. Saul was a man who "breathed out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples." At one point Saul sought out his authority and asked permission to seize and imprison any men or women who claimed to be Christ's followers. Once fully transformed, Paul became one of the most influential men for the Kingdom. He was known for speaking boldly and fearlessly in the name of the Lord.

We find ourselves praying and begging God for Damascus Road transformations here in Aliquippa. I find a lot of similarities between "Saul" and the people here who don't quite know God is going to grab a hold of their heart yet. Back then people doubted Paul's transformation. "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" One of our men here in the Quip that has recently been restored, faces similar comments today. After so many years of addiction, how can someone drop their drugs and pick up Jesus? Can someone lose their identity as a prostitute, and gain such a name as "beloved?" Once a drug dealer, always a drug dealer. Once a prostitute, always a prostitute. THIS COULD NOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. The God I serve, Jesus Christ, has the power and compassion to turn people's life around from the pit of any sin. THIS IS HIS DESIRE! He transformed Paul back then, and He will transform men, women, and children alike today.

If you are not familiar with the story of Paul, you can find it in the 9th chapter of the book of Acts. I would encourage you to check it out. Once lost, now found is the story of our Lord's love. Praying and believing in Damascus Road transformations . . .


Love Deeply.

Back to Normal ...

So, the snow has started melting off and we have had a little warmer weather lately; warmer meaning in the 30's! I'll take it though, as long as the snow goes away. Even more importantly, we're back to seeing, visiting, and hanging out with people. That alone is a breath of fresh air.

Over the past week, I have cried with people due to suffering and I have also rejoiced with people due to victory. The Kingdom does indeed include both and it is a beautiful portrait. Through continual prayer and interceding we are seeing God move more and more here in the Quip. Hearts are being softened, men are being raised up, doors are being opened to share the gospel, and people are coming to the One who yearns to be in a relationship with His creation. There is a song by Toby Mac called "A City On Our Knees." The chorus says: "Tonight's the night, for the sinners and the saints. Two worlds collide, in a beautiful display. It's all up tonight, when we step across the line. We can sail across the sea, to a city with one King; A city on our knees." This song reminds me that we are all one family under one Savior, no one better than the other, all broken, seeking after One True Love.

As we see the Kingdom advancing daily here, we are encouraged that the Lord continues to hear our cries. He is faithful to His name and the promises He has left us with. While getting back on track with serving others here in the community, we see it as an incredible honor and privilege to join Christ in what He is doing in Aliquippa.


Love Deeply.

So I Asked My Friends . . .

"It's been slow here in the Quip due to some weather if you haven't heard. Can you give me something to blog about?" They pondered, and said, "Yes, you can blog about my love life. Well, maybe you can put our profiles up." I responded back, "Don't think that I won't." Well, as you can obviously tell . . . I am following through with my words. So here they are: (Oh, these are made up names, but if you can rhyme well - you should have it down -- and if you do not know these kats and are interested in getting to know them better boys, just contact me. I'll hook you up with the digits!)

Name: Sage Thin

Age: 26
Ht: 5'5"
Wt: I mean look at her last name!
Features: Blonde hair, blue eyes, body full of curves
About Her: Intelligent (just received her Masters degree in B.S.), funny, dependable, loves the Lord, loves the boys, successfully climbed Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, has a bopsy twin named Fee Fan, dedicated to her high school girls' small group, known for her athletic skills and her technique performing the Cupid Shuffle, keeps a good stash in the freezer, wants a Dominican baby, coming to the Quip soon


Name: Fee Fan Handress

Age: 29
Ht: 5'5"
Wt: Step Into A Slim Jim
Features: Blonde hair, blue eyes, loves her pointy cowgirl boots
About Her: Hotty totty (Teacher of the Year - enough said, YOU WANT HER), loves the Lord, Master's degree in B.S., genuine, trustworthy, known for her high pitched voice when she gets excited, famous for her performance in the '08 Olympics where she received a gold medal in volleyball, has a very soft heart due to her two horses getting stolen and slaughtered in her childhood, looking for a man with two tractors and 3 bales of hay, wants to open a horse farm in Cape Town, South Africa, keeps you laughing with smart A comments, coming to the Quip soon


I will have my phone on me. Call me boys if you are interested. These are my girls. I love them dearly. If I had a brother who still needed to be married, I would hook him up foo shhiiiizzzzzyyyy.

Thank you for dealing with my insanity. The weather has gotten to me. Love deeply.

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW

People who live up here in the North just for the fun of it are ABSOLUTELY insane! You people are insane! I realize I just called about 90% of my family crazy . . . hahahaha! I also now understand the reason my Grammy and Grampy came down South for the winter time.

Over the last 4 days we have had 24 inches of snow; and are expected to get 6-10 more inches the next 24 hours. Oh, how I have never missed the Dirty South so much before! Where I think all this snow is a natural disaster, this is a way of life for these crazies up here. I found myself on my porch the other morning with a snow shovel in hand staring a good 10 minutes at everything. I thought to myself, "I need to help," and then realized "where the heck would I put any of it." It's EVERYWHERE! Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed, went back inside, and took a nap :)

All this being said, God is still good! He is still the King of the city and the King of this world. This is kind of random to this post, but I was so encouraged by our youth group on Thursday. When I look around our YG I see kids of different races, kids of different ages, kids from broken families, and kids just wanting to be kids. We started off our time together with a little Cha Cha Slide! We got crazy, we acted a fool! Then we entered a time of worship. It's funny with our kids; if you walk into our youth group at one point during the night, one might think there is nothing getting accomplished, but chaos. If you walk into our youth group during another point in the night, one could tell how desperate these kids are in yearning to be loved by the Lord, in addition to wanting to be taught about Jesus. There is such spiritual growth happening. It is amazing to be a part of. Praise Him. Our prayer for our youth group is that we create an atmosphere where each and every student will be encountered by the Living God. He is hearing our cries, and being faithful to His Name.

Love Deeply.

Addiction

One of the toughest battles we face here in Aliquippa is addiction; addiction of drugs, addiction of alcohol, addiction to prostitution. The definition of addiction is the state of being ENSLAVED to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming. The word "enslaved" pierces my soul, knowing what that exactly represents. Let me go a little further and say that we see these addictions through believers and non-believers. Unfortunately, any type of addiction is a sick disease. A disease that the devil uses to hold men, women, and children in bondage.

Over the last week, we have seen one individual come to the realization that their addiction will lead to death if something is not done about it. We believe another individual has fallen back into their addiction after being sober for a long period of time. As you could imagine, walking side by side with anyone dealing with an addiction is hard to watch. Hard, because you want to help. Hard, because you want them to recognize their hurt. Hard, because you want them healed into freedom.

We have been facedown in prayer for these specific individuals, in addition for claiming victory over addiction within this community. Though sometimes the addiction may win the battle, I am here to say and claim that the Lord will win the war. The Lord hears our cries and will free those in captivity. As a body of Christ we must learn and understand our role for interceding on others' behalf. God has opened my eyes to that while here in Aliquippa. May we all truly understand the importance of fighting the battle for one another.

Love Deeply.

He Is Enough ...

You provide the fire
And I'll provide the sacrifice
You provide the Spirit
And I will open up inside

Fill me up God
Fill me up God
Fill me up God
Fill me up God
Fill me up God

Love of God overflow
Permeate all my soul
Love of God overflow
Permeate all my soul

Fill me up God
Fill me up God

I know the lyrics to this song are pretty basic, but I lived them out last week. Unfortunately, but fortunately last week here in the Quip was the most challenging and heartbreaking week for me since I have been here. Due to some situations that happened, I found myself directly in the middle of "the fire." Even more so, I found myself having to "sacrifice" some things, that I admittingly so did not want to sacrifice. There were people I needed to confront, and people were confronting me. Though all of these confrontations were without a doubt out of love, concern, and protection - pain still happened. I have come to realize throughout my life that emotional pain hurts a lot more than physical pain. Physical pain sucks, but I can deal with it. I have a much harder time dealing with emotional pain. All of this being said, God is good. He Is Enough . . .

Though I was put through the fire this past week, God still revealed Himself to me. He did this through the love and prayers of others, and quite honestly the pain in which I felt. One of my friends here mentioned that people think being a believer is walking with Christ in the victories of others, serving one another, and being in prayer for individuals. Which it is. However, he made it real clear that true ministry is sacrificing things and people that you might not necessarily want to do in order for the Kingdom to advance. Feeling absolutely numb and weak, being heartbroken, wanting to hold on to something or someone, but letting go ... that's pain, but that is ministry. It is during these times where I have found Christ to pierce my soul the most, to draw me closer and closer to Him.

This is where I must learn that God Is Enough. This goes along with my last blog referencing that things are so much easier said than done. God loves us. He loves us more than you and I could ever, ever grasp our thoughts around. He wants the very best for us. We are His children. I am thankful to our Lord for putting His children in the middle of fire, in order to advance His almighty Kingdom.

Love deeply.

Easy to Say, Harder to Live

Well, here you go again with another blog that might be hard to swallow. Trust me, I am trying to swallow it as well. We all know that everything is easier said than done. I type this now admitting that saying you are a believer and walking out what Jesus walked out is harder than anyone could ever imagine. We're all so quick to take the good, to rejoice together with Christ and our victories; yet so very slow to join Him in the suffering. Why? We are weak. We can't stand the pain. I can't stand the pain. Though we know discipline, heartache, challenges, and difficult situations draw us closer to Christ, the process is overwhelming and quite honestly unbearable at times.

There have been certain situations in my life that have molded and shaped me into the person I am today. Some of these situations have been times of rejoicing, but a majority of them have been times of suffering. If I am who I claim to be, than I have no choice but to trust in the Lord during these times. It sure doesn't take away the pain that you or I may feel throughout the trial, but it is the only option you and I have. This too shall pass ...

Love Deeply

Speak, For Your Servant Is Listening ...

Over the last couple of days I feel like our group has heard some pretty tough, but gentle words from the Lord. Two things keep coming up; conviction of compassion towards people that are hard to love, in addition to allowing God to trust us "with very little, so that we can also be trusted with much" (Luke 16:10).


It's always hard to receive discipline from the Lord, but oh how sweet it is when He draws you into His arms! I read yesterday in Luke 16 about Lazarus. Though this is not the first time I have read his story, it seemed to hit me a little harder this time. Lazarus was a beggar, covered with soars, longing to eat what fell from a rich man's table. In vs. 21 of Chapter 16, Jesus tells of how even dogs licked the sores and wounds of Lazarus. So here you have it; a man, detestable to all those around him . . . Let's face it, there are people in our life, whether it be at our workplace, school, church (yes church), family, or even those we minister to, that are hard to love. It is a challenge to love as Christ loved. If I am being honest with you there are people here in the Quip that are hard to love; those who are ungrateful, those who think the world owes them something, those who are manipulative, those who take advantage. Let me make it very clear though, this is not only in the Quip where you find these particular people. This happens all over. Even more, I am probably guilty of falling under some of these categories at some points in my life.

Who is the Lazarus in your life? Who is the person in your life that is hard to love, yet God has called you directly to minister to? HE CALLED YOU TO LOVE. When that situation arises, when you see the ultimate reflection of God's love from one human being to another, IT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND PEACEFUL PICTURE EVER PAINTED.


Love God. Love your Lazarus. Love deeply.

Go Ahead Jesus, Do Your Thing

Last night, was our first open gym for basketball. IT WAS SO ENCOURAGING! Let me explain. A couple of months ago we started thinking and praying about a place where we could get a group of men together to play basketball. We really wanted to outreach to the men of our children from the summer camps. Here in Aliquippa there is really no place for people to play basketball during the winter time. There are gyms, but no one opens them up for the community; the organizations usually either charge too high of a price, or they do not want certain people in their gyms. So, we began praying specifically that a door would open for us in this vision. One day when we were prayer walking, we found ourselves standing outside one of the main churches here in the Quip. Basically, we all looked at each other and said why not? Why not go and ask? We prayed. We asked. God answered.

To make a long story short through different connections and God's favor we were promised the gym every Monday night, from 7-9. THIS WAS HUGE! It is amazing to see God's hand work through all of this. We didn't know how many guys would show up; we were in consistent contact with about 5 or 6 prior to last night. Over 25 guys showed up ranging from late highschoolers to guys who were in their early 30's. It was such an encouragement to see a bunch of guys together playing basketball, arguing about calls, and talking trash. I'M BEING FOR REAL!

When I watched and played last night, I saw God's Kingdom come! I saw what this open gym can turn into. I saw broken men. I saw redeemed men. I saw men who will on a weekly basis see God at work. This is our prayer. Our prayer screams and cries out for the men of this community, no matter what their past is nor where they are now, come to a saving and undeniable knowledge of Christ. Come Holy Spirit, come. Amen.

Love deeply.

Back In The Quip! WHAT! WHAT!

Happy New Year first of all to everyone! I started that celebration off by going to the movies and watching Alvin and the Chipmunks! Wait, what!?! Yea, you heard me. It was actually a cute and funny movie. You can make fun of me later, because we sure were the only older ones there! It's all good though! We had fun!

I had a great time at home; time went by a little too fast though. I basically got to spend time with my beautiful family and friends! My little new nephew is absolutely gorgeous. It will be interesting to see where his little personality fits in the spectrum :)

It was good coming back to the Quip though. I was missing my peeps here as well! So 2010, I'm not real big on New Years resolutions, but if I would have to pick one I would say I just yearn to draw closer and closer to God. I want to be challenged by Him, taught by Him, and restored by Him, so I can in turn help people try and grasp and understand His love and who He is. I have learned here more than anywhere else that "church" takes place outside the building and not confined to the area within 4 walls. As a body of believers we have got to understand that it does not matter what "church" you represent; it matters that the body of Christ is being represented in a way in which the Lord, Himself walked this earth. I am sure I might have just stepped on some toes with that comment, GOOD! We need to recognize!

Alright, off to keepin the party going on this first day of 2010! Love deeply!