following Jesus leads to outsiders

We often don't think of having a relationship with complete strangers. But the truth of the matter is, we do. Someone may look different than us, have a different style, and we may have never said a word to them, but we have one thing in common: our Creator.

Today, I'm reflecting on some hard words. Yesterday at Church of Hope, we talked about "outsiders"—those who haven't experienced this incredible Hope we have in Christ. The conversation got me thinking about those who perhaps step into a church environment for the first time or the first time in a long time.

What are they thinking? Are they worried about what to expect? What to wear?

What are they expecting? A friend? Hope? Answers? Judgement?

I've been the new girl, the outsider, in plenty of situations ranging from schools to churches to work environments. The first time stepping foot in a new place in tough. Environments where people's eyes stare at you and don't offer a friendly smile is discouraging. On the flip-side, the environments I've stepped into where a friendly word has been extended and smile offered my way, I've felt welcomed and accepted...like I belong.

Church is a polarizing environment in our culture. While some experience the incredible community that the church was designed to be, others experience deep hurt, pain, rejection, and judgement. And I know this from personal experience. I've lived on both ends of that spectrum.

Hear my heart: let us never be a people who look at someone who comes to church for the very first time or the first time in a long time and say, "It's your responsibility to let me know you're new here." Ouch. Too often—and not just on Sundays—we walk past people sitting at cafe tables, standing off to the side alone, or sitting in a lone aisle, rushing quickly to grab coffee or say a quick hello to a friend before the worship gathering starts. Little do we know what that person is going through...or perhaps, what they have experienced in a church environment in the past. It's not their responsibility to announce the fact that they're a stranger. If we are followers of Christ, it's our responsibility to be aware. Following Jesus leads to outsiders.

We—and I'm speaking to myself here too!—get stuck in routines far too easily. I know that I walk past people searching desperately for Hope...people who are outsiders that could be insiders and experience the life-giving Hope we have in Christ...but these people will only experience it if I slow down enough to see.

Let's slow down. This week, keep your eyes open to those who are different than you...than me. Be flexible. Talk to people. Smile.

And if you're part of a church community, when you gather on Sunday, don't walk past people so quickly...especially people you don't know. Say hello. Stop for a minute. You just might be the difference in them moving from being an outsider to being an insider...discovering that they have Hope in Christ.

If you consider yourself an outsider to this thing called church, hear me clearly: I don't know your story and I don't know what you've experienced inside the walls of a church. I understand the pain, the heartache, the feeling of hopelessness. But I've found Hope. Church has hurt me too. But Jesus hasn't. Jesus Christ fills me in a way that people never can. Lasting Hope, fulfilling Hope, comes from Christ alone. I'm sorry for the pain you've experienced and if I could wipe it away, I would. But know that you're not alone. Risk stepping into that environment again. Risk being vulnerable and if you have to take that first step and say hello, do it. But in the midst of the sea of faces, keep your eyes on the true source of Hope—Jesus Christ.

Following Jesus leads to outsiders. If you're not meeting and embracing them, you're not following Jesus. Hard, but true words.

conversation starters

I've often wondered why it seems like the church is a late bloomer when it comes to social media. Oh, don't get me wrong, the church is on social media, but too often, I'm finding that she just doesn't know what to do with it.

Throughout my junior and senior year of college, this unexplainable passion for social media began bubbling up from inside of me. I see the incredible potential social media has for one important thing: creating conversations...perhaps, the one thing that church has been afraid to do.

This brings up another question though: why would the church be afraid of asking questions and sparking conversations? I think it boils down to the fact that we're afraid to be real. We have this view of church that it's supposed to be the place where everything is just right, every question is answered, and perfection rises to the top. The church is supposed to have it all figured out, right? That's not what the church was designed for though! In Matthew 11, God calls those who are weary and burdened. As Christ walked the earth, he invested in the broken, the wounded, the weak. The church isn't for the perfect...or those who have the answer to every question, because let's face it, who does? The church is for me...for you...the broken.

Over the past several weeks, social media has lit up with matters surrounding justice. People have been searching, scouring, and begging for something to believe in...something to put their hope in when everything around them seems hopeless. Brands know how to step in, talk, and invite us to share what we're thinking. Where is the church in all of this?

I can't help but wonder what our news feeds would look like if glimmers of Hope were scattered everywhere. Rather than simply signing up for a social media channel and posting proverbial church bulletin-type information announcing when the next potluck is, what if the church asked hard questions? What if the church sparked conversation...a conversation that allowed people to come broken and battered, hopeless in search of Hope?

I'm done missing the mark. Communications is more than "announcements" or "advertising." That's not communication. That's talking at people. It's time to talk with people. It's time to be real, step into the mess, and offer the incredible, life-giving Hope we find in Christ.

stripping off the rags

I have clothed you with purpose.

Those words make my heart melt. Yesterday, I was reading Beth Moore's book, So Long, Insecurity, and in the particular chapter I was honing in on, Beth focused on Proverbs 31v25: "She is clothed with strength and dignity." Hang tight for a moment while I give some context to my opening statement. She. Is. Clothed. With. Strength. And. Dignity. Here, Beth reveals the fact that the majority of times we feel insecure come from when we feel overexposed...uncovered...at risk for someone to come along and see us for who we really are:

"I have come to a place where I'm willing to be transparent with my insecurity, but I find great relief that human eyes have to see it through the filter—the clothing—of my God-given strength and dignity. I don't have to stand before you or anybody else in total emotional nakedness. I have a scriptural covering that gives me the courage to expose my most personal self."

What I love about this truthful awakening is the fact that I am covered and I am clothed, made complete by God. He prepares me for the occasion before me.

This morning while taking communion at Church of Hope, I spent a few silent moments with God. What took my breath away was what I heard. No, I didn't hear a shout or an audible confirmation through a microphone. But I heard distinctly and clearly one sentence that's been on repeat in my brain since: I have clothed you with purpose.

In that moment, I felt God's future bursting into my present. Just minutes before, I was challenged with one question: what is it that I'm not trusting God in? Ouch. Here is where I usually try to justify my attempts at controlling a destination, when God has, in reality, called me to a direction. Living in the land between is a cocktail of adventure, opportunity, fun, and fear all mingled with emotions that make you feel like you're on a roller coaster. And sometimes that makes me feel overexposed, unprepared, and naked.

But trusting God and brokenness go hand-in-hand. It isn't until I come to the end of me, until I see my roller coaster mixture of fear as it is—a false attempt at control—and place that jumbled mess in the hands of my Creator, that the aroma of me is fully enjoyed. You see, I'm beginning to learn that the stuff to really be enjoyed in life...and I mean the stuff that life is truly made of—real, lasting, genuine joy, hope, love, confidence and strength—is found in brokenness, despair and hurt. I'm no Debbie-Downer and I'm not advocating living in self-degradation. I'm just saying it's time to stop trying to clothe ourselves with decaying, worn-out rags. It's time to strip the rags off and allow Christ to clothe us.

In the wandering of life and in the broken moments of despair, I come to the very end of me. I see me for who I really am and come to truly understand that if Jesus doesn't show up, it's game over. It's in that kind of trust that a joy I can't even explain comes pouring out.

This morning, in my own life, this simply looked like a girl opening up her hands to Jesus, asking Him to fill her. Stripping off my filthy, worn-out rags of fear and control, Jesus reached down, grabbed my hand and whispered, "I have clothed you with purpose." My story is headed somewhere and I'm going to be ok. Do I have the answers to what that somewhere looks like? Nope. The beautiful thing is I don't need them to thrive. I am clothed with purpose. My story is headed somewhere.

words that were meant for me.

Sometimes you hear words and know they were meant specifically for you. It's that gut-wrenching moment when you look a stranger in the eye and wonder if they've been reading your journal or have some sort of super power that enables them to see your innermost thoughts. This, my friends, is exactly what I experienced today.

Yesterday I spent several hours taking a deep, hard look at myself and who I've become. I'm learning that my decisions lead me somewhere and it's in the journey that the "somewhere" is revealed...and frankly, I didn't like the somewhere I was seeing. I did not like who I was becoming. Largely, I discovered (pretty obviously!) that I had exchanged joy for worry and the prison of perfection. Needless to say, I assessed my becoming journey and decided I needed to make some changes.

Fast-forward to today. I wake up, grab my standard cup of coffee, throw on my TOMS, and head to Church of Hope to run the 9:00 gathering's slides. During the month of December, different families are lighting candles in recognition of advent. As Scott and Holly Lanker walked up to their microphone, I clicked the correct slide and began to listen to their story (see below!). And it hit me like a ton of bricks. This couple, who I don't know personally, was speaking directly to me....I don't think that Scott & Holly sharing their story and understanding of what "joy" means was a coincidence today. In fact, I believe God stepped in, grabbed my hand, and whispered, "Baby girl, you're doing just fine. Breathe in my joy. Trust me regardless of the circumstances. Wait for me. I will show up. It's who I am."

And boy did He show up today. Thank you, Scott & Holly for reminding me what true joy is.

*****

Holly & Scott Lanker

As I started to pray and reflect on the topic of "joy" in preparation for this reading, my first thought was to talk about all the reasons I have to be joyful this season. A loving family, a great relationship with my beautiful wife, three delightful, healthy kids, a nice house to live in, a career that I love, good friends to share life with, a great church, a free country in which I can worship God freely...the list goes on and on. A lot of us in this room could come up with quite a long list if we really thought about it long enough.

Yet we have also experienced difficulties in the past year. The closing of our former church, which we loved. The busyness and stress of Scott's job and raising three children, ages four and younger. For me personally, the experience of joy does not always come easily, but it in the daily choices I make. Joy comes when I choose to let the focus of my heart not be on my circumstances, but on who Christ is and what He has done.

This Advent season, when I am faced with daily stresses and frustrations, I ask myself, "how should I experience joy in this moment? Am I allowing the joy of the Lord to be my strength?" And now, as a mother of young children, my heart breaks for the families in Connecticut that have experienced unspeakable tragedy this week. Where is the joy in that?

Even the Bible is filled with stories of people who had every reason in the world not to be happy. Look at John the Baptist: he spent his life wandering around in the desert telling people to repent, and then got thrown in prison and spent the last part of his life stuck there, questioning whether or not his entire life and ministry was in vain, until at last in finally ended and he got beheaded. What about Paul, and all his experiences? Why would he have the joy he claimed to have, when he said he "rejoiced in his sufferings"?

If Christmas is just about reflecting on the happy things in our lives, that's all well and good for those who happen to be going through a season of life that they enjoy...but what about everybody else? Can they all really be expected to be smiling during "the most wonderful time of the year"? Not to be a scrooge, but isn't it a little ridiculous to expect that all the "good people of the world" should be happy at the exact same time every year, singing songs about memories none of us ever actually had? I never met "Parson Brown." I never rode on a sleigh as a child, and although I have eaten roasted chestnuts, I didn't think they were anything to write home about: why should I expect songs about those things to make me and everyone else feed good about life? It occurs to me that joy is something totally different. Joy is not in circumstances. I am truly blessed, and thank God for all the things in my life today that I have to be thankful for. But if that all went away, I would still have reason to be joyful.

Joy is what Christ brought to us: it is having hope that this world is not our home. It is knowing that we have a loving Savior who gave his life for us, and that no matter what happens here in this life, we can know that this isn't all there is to it, and that we can spend eternity with Him, experiencing nothing but love, free from pain, loss, or unhappiness. Joy because He came. Joy because He is still here. Immanuel. God with us.

turning Christmas upside-down

I think we've celebrated Christmas all wrong.

Once a year, we focus on giving to those less fortunate, loving the people around us, and spreading holiday cheer. We're jolly and joyful, giving and receiving, fully aware of the needs around us and our ever-increasing personal wish lists.

But on December 26th, we stop. We countdown to Christmas day with the "25 days of Christmas," and  hear messages of giving to charities, however, the day after Christmas, like a light switch we stop caring whether the nonprofit down the street has enough funding to continue to function.

Why is that? I believe we've settled into this unspoken rhythm, a state and cycle of giving when it's convenient to give...and when we're reminded to give; yet when it's not at the fore-front of our minds, we don't often think about words like partnership, giving, investing, and charity.

Jesus wasn't born for a single day. He was born to bring life for all 365 days of the year. I am thankful for that. He doesn't offer me life or hope one day out of the year...he offers it to me continually, day after day, moment after moment.

So, here's my thought: if the point of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, why do we just celebrate the act of birth? Why don't we celebrate and emulate His life?

If we truly celebrated Jesus' life, we would live it...and that would be a life 24/7/365...not just on 12/25.

Why don't we turn Christmas upside-down....or rather, right-side up?

Rather than focusing on partnering with people during the month of December, what if we partnered with people every day? There are people around us who need Hope, and as a follower of Christ, we have Hope continually with us....so why don't we offer it?

What would our world look like if we made Christmas about more than our wish lists? 800 million people in the world don't have access to safe, clean drinking water, yet we spend $3.4 billion on Christmas. Something is disturbingly wrong with this scenario. I don't know about you, but I don't need another pair of running shoes or another sweater I won't wear...but there are people who NEED water to live.

I want to not only celebrate Christ's birth this Christmas, but I want to live it 365. I want to offer Hope to those around me. I want to give something with my life that last longer than a day. That's why I want to turn Christmas upside-down. Rather than focusing on me, me, me, I want to partner with people and really learn to love and care about those around me.

If you've followed my blog in the past, you know that I gave up my 21st birthday to raise money for charity: water. For Christmas, I'm partnering with charity: water to fight the water crisis again. You can too. Click HERE to give a gift that lasts longer than a day, but literally gives life.

a story much larger than your average summer vacation

After my 21st birthday campaign with charity: water & visit to their NYC HQ last month, I knew I'd become immersed in a story that would leave me changed...and more passionate about investing my life in the story God is writing than ever before...

I've shared my passion for charity: water's mission with many of my friends in Central Florida and was so excited when I heard that a group of students in Hope Kidz (the kidz ministry at Church of Hope) was about to learn about charity: water & see how they too could partner with them in bringing clean drinking water to the 800 million people on this planet who desperately need it.

This past Sunday, over 27 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders saw a story much bigger than their summer vacation. They saw the reality that there are kids their age in the world who aren't worried about summer homework assignments and trying to fit in one last trip to the beach. Instead, they're worried they will have to watch their baby sister die of dehydration & disease and are crying, desperate for help. Unable to sit idly by, a group of kids in Central Florida decided to do something about it. They embraced what the word "partner" really means and began praying for charity: water, their team, and the kids who need a cup of hope.

That's a story worth immersing yourself in...a story worth living for...a story much larger than your average summer vacation.

Read More...
Why did I give up my 21st birthday for clean drinking water?
Why did Breanne give up her next tattoo for the sake of water?
Why am I partnering with charity: water & what does "partnership" mean?

friends are like chocolate

Last night I learned something pretty cool & so entirely true: friends are like chocolate--you can never have too many & they're food for the soul.

I'm learning that relationships are an extremely important part of LIVING...so important that we were designed

to do life with other people.

We are better together.

Life is sweeter together.

We need each other.

ReFRESH: Chocolate-Covered Conversations at Church of Hope was an absolute blast filled with loads of chocolate, fresh flowers, lots of laughter, the rekindling of many friendships as well as the budding of new ones.

Life surely is sweeter together.

Broken Shoes

This past Sunday at Church of Hope, we dove into God's Story in Exodus 3. God asked Moses to take off his shoes...to yield his authority, his pride, his hang-ups, his relationships, his dreams and failures. He asked Moses to yield to Him & what He wanted to do in and through Moses.

We then looked at the question, "What keeps you from yielding to God?" At the time, I made a little mental note & told myself I would dive into the question later in the week--you know in that perfectly pristine moment when you have a tall iced caramel machiato in hand, the sun on your face and a slight breeze blowing against your back...those good moments, when life feels easy and yielding to God seems like the obvious choice.

To end the morning, we symbolically took off our shoes and yielded to God. We said "Amen" and went out resolved to yield. But then I left it there, in that worship center. And pushed that daunting question towards the back of my mind.

Then today came.

In the middle of my first class, my shoes broke! Instantly, Sunday's question flew to the surface of my mind: WHAT KEEPS ME FROM YIELDING TO GOD?

As the day progressed, with each barefoot step, I felt the reality of that question. As my feet were exposed to the ground and my clean, manicured toes started to collect dust and dirt, I was reminded of imperfection--my imperfection. I felt exposed, like a mask was suddenly ripped from my face, revealing scars from horrible acne or something related to my high school days. I felt seen and noticed as people quizzically looked at my naked feet. Embarrassment crept into the tips of my fingertips, but perhaps, slightly more steadily, a tingling sensation of freedom began to inch its way up my spine, vertebrae by vertebrae...the freedom to be me; the freedom to lay down my rights, failures, dreams, aspirations, desired perfection, to do lists, and false control.

Around noon, I looked down at the broken pair of shoes I had been carrying around all morning--the last thread of honor & sanity I was clinging to, trying to prove to the world I was not some crazy girl who woke up and decided to walk around the University of Florida barefoot today--and the truth of the question I had been shoving deep within me rose to the surface. I was carrying around my mask, my comfort...the very answer to the question.

I carry with me daily what keeps me from yielding to God.

As I slipped by broken shoes and control in the trash can, I whispered a promise--a plea--throwing away my masks and embracing a new posture of yielding.

lent.

Lent is traditionally known as the 40 days of preparation observed by Christians leading to the celebration of Christ's Resurrection. Over the years, different denominations have dominated the tradition, often adding extra biblical meaning to the season of lent, causing the original intent to be lost.

Lent focuses on the why behind the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The reason Jesus had to die is you and I are sinners. We violated God, and justice is required. Lent reminds us that it was our sinful actions that required Christ's death. We are responsible. We are guilty in our sin. Wrestling with this truth is weighty, dark, and depressing. However, the dark moments of lent will be over shadowed by the light of the RESURRECTION of JESUS CHRIST.

Lent isn't just about dying to habits, patterns, ways of thinking, living, and acting. Yes, that's a part of it. But lent is also about embracing new ways of life that replace those habits, patterns, and old ways of living.

If you’re in Ocala, I invite you to join me on this journey, beginning tomorrow--February 22nd for Ash Wednesday. There will be a personal time of prayer and communion with Pastor Mark & Linda at Church of Hope between the hours listed below:

7-9 AM

11 AM - 1 PM

5-7 PM

*For more on Lent, click HERE.

I'm Giving HOPE this Christmas

I am really excited about doing something very different this Christmas.

Usually, I give my parents ideas of different things I'm "wishing" for and have fun picking out fun gifts for my family & friends. But this year, I'm turning Christmas upside-down and making room under my Christmas tree.

At Church of Hope, we are partnering with local partners in Ocala & two global partners to give HOPE this Christmas, not stuff.

Below, you'll see a video from Advent Conspiracy that really outlines the WHY behind this whole idea. Imagine with me for a second...what would our world look like if we choose to truly give something that mattered, rather than stuff that doesn't even last?

How is God calling you to give HOPE this Christmas, not stuff? Check out two websites below to see some opportunities...

Samaritan's Purse

Living Water International

1st Christmas Eve Celebration

Our first Christmas Eve Experience at Church of Hope last night was AMAZING. Hundreds gathered for one reason--to celebrate the birth of Christ.

There are 2 opportunities today to EXPERIENCE the Christmas celebration of CHRIST!

4 PM @ Church of Hope Maricamp Campus

(Live-streaming at www.hopeinocala.com)

OR

6 PM @ Diamond A Farm

(outdoor organic/authentic 1st century experience; directions at www.hopeinocala.com)

Check out the pictures from last night's experience....