A lesson in faithfulness

This summer I've been reminded of God's faithfulness. After a hiatus from this blog, I'm back to discuss remaining constant and the irony is not lost on me.

Faithful defined is loyal, constant, and steadfast.

These words have shown up in my life and heart in a few ways in the last couple of months. As you know from my previous post - June included a retreat in the woods for some soul food, if you will. During that time I praised God for being faithful in His character and felt the conviction that He gently asks the same of me and gives me SO many opportunities to practice faithfulness back to Him.

Faithfulness from God's perspective is more than simply not cheating. Faithfulness is the active choice to remain. Jesus said so Himself when he said, "Remain in me, as I also remain in you.No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4

Through the month of July I was traveling a lot and seeing some great people from different parts of my life. This reminded me of God's faithfulness in a few ways.

1. I had an awesome mini-vacation with my sweet and loyal friend Rachel. She and I have been friends since 2005 when we studied abroad in Europe one summer. That experience provided the groundwork for us to be travel buddies years later. She was willing to use some of her coveted vacation days to explore a new city with me. We had an awesome time and I saw first hand the fruits of lasting, steadfast friendships. 

God's faithfulness - free class of tea in the hottest part of Boston

Faithfulness seen in the revolutionaries that participated in the Boston Tea Party

2. I then traveled to Colorado where many of my worlds collided reminding me of how God is the constant in my life. I mean how crazy is it to be staying with a roommate I knew in NC while visiting former coworkers who live in Orlando and seeing a girl I discipled in KY all in Ft. Collins CO? God has been so faithful in His love for me through His people. The friends I reconnected with in Colorado are from different seasons of my life and yet all blend beautifully together as my Great Colorado Adventure. I got to cross of a trip from my 30 before 30 list to see my lovely friend Katie and hang out with her family. I got to see my roommate Kate's summer home at YL camp at 9,000 ft with a view of Mt. Princeton. I got to vacation with my mom for the 2nd time and created lots of new memories with my cousins. And to top it off (and not related to faithfulness) I won $60 at a casino playing black jack :)

Faithfulness in still knowing and feeling loved by these great people from Cru circa 2006

Faithfulness in Amy letting me crash in her dorm room to visit so many great people

Faithfulness in Kate's friendship and joy during her time in CO

Faithfulness in picking up conversation and talking nonstop in my visit to Katie.

Faithfulness in a friendship with my mom, in addition to being her daughter.

3. And to end my summer I went home to see my nephew be baptized. This was an example of God's faithfulness in family togetherness and loyalty. My family likes being with each other and we show up to the stuff that's important. I had to move things around and we had to change the date for this event several times to make it work, but we persevered because that's what we do as a faithful family. And faithfully, we always have great food and parties when I'm there.

Faithfulness in this sweet couple and my Grandma turning 80!

Faithfulness in Mrs. Manuel being one of our family after all these years

Lamentations 3:22-23

Passion 2013

Passion as defined by Dictionary.com - any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate 

 Passion as defined by the 268 Generation - "for your name and renown are the desire of our souls" from Isaiah 26:8

This New Year's I went to Passion at the Georgia Dome with 60,000 other people, 90% who are between the ages of 18-25.  I attended along with students from my local church's college ministry. There we gathered together in worship and heard teaching from authors and pastors including Francis Chan, John Piper and Beth Moore. It was Biblical training with some of the leaders in this nation. 

We worshiped with Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, and Kristian Stanfill. It was candy to the ears for all worship leaders, a glimpse of heaven (albeit a white, college-aged heaven), and a time to boldly declare the truths of God. The first night we were requested to yell as loud as possible in order to get those in neighboring Atlanta to wonder what's going on and listen in. Then we continued praising God and declaring his Truths for anyone who could hear. The worship was a sweet gift to God's people and I pray God smiled as he heard it. 

In addition to the worship and teaching Passion presented an opportunity for students to get involved in fighting injustice. This was my favorite part of the conference. I was older than the target audience, and tired quickly of being herded like cattle everywhere I went. But I was a sponge when they spoke of justice. As I've grown and experienced more in my Christian life I am convinced that we are compelled to fight injustice. So as we heard from the president of International Justice Mission, a girl rescued from a life of forced prostitution and  a man who requested we demand products not made by slaves, indentured servants or child laborers - I was all ears! 

All 60,000 of us were challenged with raising money to help established social justice organizations to further what they do and to bring an end to slavery worldwide. According to the State Department there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today. See what CNN said about this conference here. See tweet below to see how we did :)

 
As I attended, absorbed and contemplated all that happened at Passion I felt the need to pray. As someone who has been in multiple ministries, churches, etc. and seen conferences (I did help plan them for a year) of many kinds, I felt several times at Passion a criticism and judgement sneaking into my attitude. Do we need laser lights? Do we have to scream every time a song ends? Do I have to keep standing? Does it mean I love God less because I want to sit? I don't think so, but I do think I've aged out of the target audience and that I need to do a heart-check on my pride in having "been there and done that." It happens often that a mountain-top awe-inspiring kind of atmosphere like Passion causes people to come back and make changes to their lives, but it fades soon after the excitement and feelings they experienced are buffered with everyday life. So my prayer is that Passion really be the movement it calls itself (rather than a conference), and that the Dictionary.com definition not be what it was to these students - a fleeting emotion but rather a new positioning for their lives.

Dear Father,

Thank you for the students' energy and youthful excitement. Let it be a reminder to all of us. Jesus, thank you for igniting them ablaze in a desire to pursue justice and love mercy. Thank you for their passion. Now Jesus, as Passion (the conference) ends,

Take their energy and excitement >>>> Give them endurance

Take the spark of unity and the flame of worship >>>>Give them an all-consuming fire that leads to worship as a lifestyle

Take the 4 days of intense and in-your-face reminders of Jesus >>>> Give them a lifetime of worship in their decisions, actions and words

 give them endurance, turn that small flame into a sustaining all-consuming fire. 

Take their glimpse into the united church >>>> Give them a deep desire to seek unity in all believers and a hope deferred to heaven.  

God pour out your spirit on those students, all 60,000 of them and give them dedication to the causes that break your heart. Give them motivation from Your perfect love for them to change this world for the better. Let their enthusiasm and passion raise the bar for the rest of us as "adult" life can steal our joy.

In Jesus holy and precious name, Amen.

Places I've been :)

visited 28 states (56%)
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visited 20 states (8.88%)
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Corinth - the place Paul wrote to twice.

I took a Biblical tour of Corinth at the beginning of my trip in Greece and wanted to share a couple of the insights our knowledgeable tour guide shared with us. 

First the canal - it was impressive and super helpful to transportation in Greece. It now connects the Aegean and Ionian Seas, a major feat. And like I said, it really was pretty :) 

Ok, on to Biblical times -  

1. The Agora is more than what we translate as marketplace. It includes the places people congregated and where Paul taught.
2. The place Paul stood to share the Gospel is the same kind of location people like Plato and Socrates would teach and debate. 
3. The largest temple in Corinth is to Aphrodite, goddess of love and passion. In ancient times people would walk 2 hours up a steep mountain to the temple and fornicate with the prostitutes (priestesses) as an act of worship to the goddess. This realization gave me a new appreciation for - "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20" Paul really knew who he was talking to! 
4.  I got to see the harbor where Paul would have left Corinth after his 1.5 year stay. There was still a marble pillar in the water.