So long America...

(Front Row: Andrew, Bob, Diana, Myself; Top Row: Stephen, Dustin, Kyndell, PaToya)

Tuesday morning at 5:30 am I have to be at the church parking lot. From there we begin our trek to a foreign land for our Emerging Leader mission trip. Most of you already know this and for even more reasons I am not going to talk about any specifics. We will be back on U.S. soil on the 13th of February.

It would be an honor to have your prayers as we embark on our trip. The group in the photo is pretty much our team, with the exception of Diana remaining in Austin and the Global Outreach Pastor, Chris, being the 8th member.

I am so excited to see what God teaches me and my team through this trip. I am also so excited to see what God is doing with the people we will be with. I love the distinctiveness and specificity of our God to love people in a way that is unique to them. This translates into unique worship and expression, and to see brothers and sisters all across the world worship our Creator is such a gift. Sometimes on Sunday mornings (and really at all times) I think of all the people I know all over the world gathering together to worship the same God and how beautiful that is! And to think, that Heaven will be that plus all the people through all the ages worshipping and praising our Creator and Lord! How magnificent that will be!

So if you think of me, pray for strength, wisdom, discernment, health and courage. It is an honor to be a part of such an incredible Body and to be supported by so many wonderful people. So til we meet again...

to God alone be the glory.

Reading List 2011

After reading my dear friend Becca's blog, I decided to put a 2011 reading list into technological stone. So here it goes...

The Lord of the Rings series : J.R.R. Tolkien

Generous Justice : Timothy Keller

A Heart for the City : John Fuder

The Chronicles of Narnia : C.S. Lewis

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy : Eric Metaxas

The Mark of the Lion series : Francine Rivers

The Brothers Karamazov : Fyoder Dostoyevsky

John Adams : David McCullough

Radical : David Platt

I know there are more I'd like to read, but here is a running list of books I am trying to read. So if you see me, ask how it's going. Or if you are reading one or all... let's discuss!

Here's to a year of learning and reading!

Lean into it...

This is a phrase that has become almost a mantra for me lately... just "lean into it." Someone said it when we first got here in Austin and it is weird how it has stuck and applied to so many different areas of my life. So many of the things I am personally learning right now fit in the same category with this now oh-so-common phrase.

What does it mean you ask? Well, exactly what it sounds like, leaning into [blank]. Leaning into conflict resolution and honesty. Leaning into awkward conversations with people that are necessary for growth. Leaning into areas of my life that I need to work on. Leaning into relationships that need to go to the next level. Leaning into [whatever]. You fill in the blank and I am learning how to just push through the "wall" that is holding me back from being at the next step and just going for it.

Something you may or may not know about me is that I am competitive. It's true, I am. And the way that translates into my everyday life is that almost anything can become a competition. If you have ever been my roommate, you know that I time myself in the shower sometimes to see how fast I can go. I compete at dumb little things that have no reason to become a competition, I just think it's fun to challenge myself. Now... as crazy as you may already think I am... it can prove to be a bad habit of mine. You see, competitive people don't like to lose and when everything in life is a competition, I just choose not to compete in the things that have a high probability of loss. Translation: I don't put myself out there if there is a chance of failure.

This can mean many things, like I don't play sports I'm not good at. But I will play you any day in speed scrabble. I won't say I want a dream job because I don't have control over the outcome, so I may not even apply. Such a horrible thing because I am realizing there could be a list of things I've just opted out of doing simply because I'm afraid to lose (as if it is even a competition...). Refusing to put myself out there is actually the loss. Refusals to try is failure, not the outcome of the attempt. My new mantra is becoming (slowly but surely): "Success is putting yourself out there."

So Austin watch out because I am just gonna "lean into it"...

Prayer Cafe

After Thanksgiving-ish time I started to think a lot through how this year was going as an Emerging Leader. Over the course of doing some thinking/praying/talking with some of my mentors and leaders, we decided I should switch up what I was doing with some of my time in the community...

Which more or less means a lot of really random things were condensed into one thing and now I am currently overseeing a Prayer Cafe at a non-profit in East Austin called Mission Possible. Mission Possible is located at an intersection in Austin known for drugs and prostitution. And the Prayer Cafe is meant to be a place of rest and peace for people from the street to come in and get coffee, a pastry and prayer if they would like. So... needless to say, I see people from all walks of life pretty consistently.

Just getting to Mission Possible was such an answer to prayer... It is a crazy story about how the guy who had been running the cafe consistently since it opened a few months ago, had a stroke the weekend before I came in. So as he has been on leave and recovering, we've been able to continue ministry in the cafe.

I figure most people who read this know some about this experience as I've told quite a few people, but for those who haven't... I wanted to just put it out there. It's been such a growing experience for me even over the last few weeks. There are so many things that ministry in this way forces me to deal with... I know I will share some of those soon...

But for now, something that really encouraged me recently was a verse I've known for so long and yet had never really felt the impact of the end... Matthew 28:19-20... Some days you wonder how God is going to work things out for His glory, at least I do. Especially when you see things that just seem so impossible to change (and yet I work at Mission Possible). But this really encouraged me and just made me realize that He is working and He is in the process of redeeming people....

"and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."