MAKING THE MOVE

I have been contemplating how to write this for quite some time now - mulling over when I should make it public. Making sure I have certain personal conversations first. Writing and rewriting. So, here it is. Raw and real. Not quite fully formed but full of potential. 

I am moving to Portland, Oregon!

Faith, as I have discovered, is full of taking risks. 

Full of trust. Full of vulnerability and uncovering new depths that could not be discovered without discomfort. Full of obedience and adventure. 

Last year, I felt a few questions stirring up within me..

“What am I willing to fight for?” 

As in - what is it that my heart burns for so strongly, that I would be willing to give my whole life to it - even if I had to do it alone at first? I want to live in constant, daily, surrender to God - laying down all things for Him. All expectations. All desires. All of it. And I know as we grow in relationship with God, our hearts shift to desire what He desires. We shift towards people with a unexplainable, unconditional love. We shift from “I can’t” to “You can”.

“Where can I be the answer and bring the Kingdom?” 

The Great Commission that He’s given every believer is clear and simple. And if we don’t know the “call” on our lives - we actually do. It’s right in His word and it’s out of choice and revelation that we accept it. We’re called to make disciples of all nations - all people. Teaching them about Jesus and His character. We’re discipled - not to sit in the glory of it - but to disciple in return. It’s an active lifestyle - whether it’s in our hometowns or in remote villages. The call is clear and we start by saying “yes”. 

In this I have part of my answer - love and fight for people, always, to know Him. 

Whenever, wherever. 

Another piece of the puzzle, the one I knew has been simmering on my heart for years, began to be very clearly confirmed by the Lord this summer. 

I feel a massive part of His call on my life is to disciple the younger generation of men and women (pre-teens!), carrying a message of restoration of identity through Christ. Deeply embedded in my heart is the desire to see young women walking out their identity as daughters who know their Father - walking in honor, respect, and discovering their full freedom through Jesus.

Why Portland?

This is a decision I have been quietly processing for most of this year now, letting the Lord either form it into something bigger or shut the door completely. Slowly I began to share with friends, family and mentors - and this Fall it really began to take shape into something tangible. As I explore and contemplate other opportunities, it’s this one that I keep going back to and feel the tug towards. 

A few friends, who have served with YWAM Kona for 5+ years, have made the move to Portland first with the genuine desire to see this city come to know Jesus and establish Kingdom cultured community. I will be joining them in said community home with similar vision as well as a burning heart for everything I shared above. 

Honestly, I’m not sure how it will look quite yet.

I have a lot of big dreams, hopes and ideas.

This looks like everything from conference planning to plugging into youth groups, leading outreaches or joining active ministries. The possibilities are endless and I'm confident doors will open as I move forward. 

Phew. So there it is. 

One step at a time. 

I will be moving from Germany mid-December.  

My tentative plan is to be in Michigan for a few months before the big move to Portland in April 2015.

If you would like to financially support making this move possible - you can do so here.

Feel free to sign up for my more official newsletters here. 

Loving Others.

A few weeks ago, a friend reminded me of something I said just over three years ago in a tense, emotional moment.  “I don’t even really care about people!” I exclaimed. “If I’m being really honest, I care more about animals!” 

When she reminded me of this, I burst into laughter, shocked by my own ignorance. But this statement sent me into a spiral of reflection on how much the Lord has radically shifted my heart since that moment. 

As I’ve fallen in love with the most passionionatly loving man there is, I’ve learned a lot from Him when it comes to how I react to others. What it means to honor and respect others, with my words, actions and my thoughts. More importantly - what it means to see and love others as He does! He's been teaching and growing in this for years now, but in India it hit a whole new level. 

He opened my eyes - and it ripped open my heart. 

I have never felt the love of God for a nation like I did while I was there. It was like - every single person I looked at, I felt an intense desire for them to know who they were. That they were created by God, fearfully and wonderfully, and that there was a purpose on their life. That they are loved so intensely that if they grasped on to even an ounce of it - it would flip their world upside down as it did mine. And no matter if they were a Hindu priest or a beggar on the street - they are loved and He is in passionate pursuit of their heart. No body has gone too far. No body is outside of His sight. He desires every single one to know Him - which brings freedom, hope, and purpose! (Phew, c’mon, the list is endless on what happens when you encounter the love of God!) 

Guys, it was intense. It messed me up in these best way. 

As I continued on to the States and Germany - it didn’t stop. Oh no - I felt it. Every single person I saw might as well had a bright red stamp on their forehead saying LOVED or BLOOD BOUGHT. I couldn’t look at anyone any differently. As soon as one tiny sliver of a judgement (subconscious or not) started to come into my mind it was like I would get shaken back into reality by Holy Spirit - reminding me that I am called to look at each person as He does. 

Unfortunately, that’s an upside down reality to the world. 

The world says it’s all about us. 

The world says we have a right to put others in boxes. That it’s okay to label others by their sin. The world says we are entitled to speak ill of others if they have wronged, inconvenienced or are just plain different from us. It’s the enemy whispering those lies saying “Thats right, you ARE better than them” or “If they don’t hear you, what does it matter?” And as a result, we often become calloused, judgmental and prideful. 

I know because I was.

And we have to ask ourselves, are we followers of of this world and the popular culture we’re surrounded by, 

or are we followers of Jesus?

Because we can’t be both. 

For years Jesus has been stripping me of wrong ideals about people. 

Stripping off judgements, boxes, labels, and the big one - pride. It’s by the renewing of our minds and the shedding of our flesh that we begin to see. It’s by falling in love with Him. The only reason we can love is because He loved first - and He teaches us what that should look like.  

If we are followers and disciples of Christ - then we must realize that He loves people, no matter how far they have strayed from Him - fiercely. His love never condemns, but it brings honor to all people. He speaks straight forward truth that ultimately brings freedom, hope and life to all those who take His words to heart. And so can we when are hearts are in alignment with His.

Jesus did not get on his high horse, ignore, or tolerate people because of their sin. He welcomed them, dined with them, prayed for them, healed them, and died for them (all of us) - and it was His love that made the difference.

Judging is a weakness - a bad habit.

The world needs believers and disciples to step out of our comfort zones. 

Sharing the gospel, sharing about how Jesus has transformed our own lives - now that's bold.

Because Love looks like something. It sounds like something. 

Love brings restoration, dignity, hope and freedom. 

Love is not poured out for the sake of gain, expecting no return. 

Love honors. 

Love is intentional. Active.

Love sounds like something. How do we speak of others? 

What sound are we making with our lives? Is it a reflection of Him or of the world? 

Love CELEBRATES all people, and I believe we are called to befriend people from all walks of life, backgrounds and races. Celebrating individuals. 

Calling out the gold within them, and proclaiming over and over again - that they are loved, passionately and unconditionally, by the King of Kings! 

So that man that cut you off on the highway earlier today - LOVED. BLOOD BOUGHT.

The girl who stands in front of you in the check out line tomorrow - LOVED. BLOOD BOUGHT.

The woman who insults you in front of your co-workers - LOVED. BLOOD BOUGHT.

The boy who looks like He’s given up on life, with needle marks on his arms - LOVED. BLOOD BOUGHT.

Every day, fresh and new, we get to partner with Jesus and ask:

"Who can I celebrate today? 

Who can I honor today? 

Who needs you Jesus, open my eyes to them!"

He’ll lead us to the most broken.
The ones living on a 2x5 ft piece of cardboard and the ones with corner offices overlooking the river. He’ll lead us to the tired momma’s who need some encouragement. To the man who’s wife left him 20 years ago and hides his pain in drugs and alcohol. 

He’ll lead us to each other. 

Into our backyards and half way across the world. 

He is in the business of calling every individual back to Himself - and we have the chance, if we choose to take it, to be apart of the greatest restoration of life.

Let’s intentionally look like Love today.

Let’s intentionally sound like Love today.

Let’s be authentic lovers of Him.

Let us rise up and allow Him open our eyes anew to people. 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

John 13: 34-35