The winds of change are blowing...

And they're blowing straight across Muskegon!

Awesome things are coming for the deep. Most of it is still in the works, the ironing out stage, the figuring out and the adjusting. It's amazing and exciting - and you'll be the first to hear when things are more official and can be confirmed.

Moving beyond that, Jeff and I have taken some steps into some great new ministry opportunities - and we'll be launching more in the next month or two. We have the great chance to work with a great team of leaders! We'll be heading up a team of people who will help everyone who is part of our community discover how God wired them to be connected to each other and to our community. It's a huge and daunting task, but we're very excited to see how it's forming. Please keep us in your prayers as we're organizing and prepping.

If you're not joining us for Sunday gatherings, I'm going to encourage you to check out the deep's podcasts from the last few weeks. Rob talked about the Clash of Kingdoms: The Invisible v. The Visible! on Sunday. The week before, Wally (our family pastor) shared an awesome message called There's A Rhino In My Happy Meal!

If you're in the area, we're having a great shared gathering on Sunday AM at the Old Moose Lodge on Barclay just north of Sherman Ave. 10:30 AM is the gathering, and afterwards there's a Pig Roast, blow up games for the kids and a great time for all!

Wait.

wait:

1.	to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens

2.	(of things) to be available or in readiness:

3.	to remain neglected for a time: a matter that can wait.

(according to dictionary.com)

I've heard a lot of 'wait' in my life.

"Wait half an hour before you can go swimming."
"Wait until your father comes home."
"Wait until you graduate from high school."
"Wait until you graduate from college."

wait
wait
wait

I've never been a patient person. I'd rather be busy then still, silent, waiting.

God's had me waiting too. I'm really not sure why or for how long - but I'm growing antsy. Like a child told to sit patiently at church or at a wedding, I'm getting fidgety. I thought I knew where God was taking me, but I've been sitting here waiting for so long that I'm beginning to wonder if I even had a clue where I'm going.

Waiting is scary. You don't know how long you have to wait. You often don't know why you are waiting. Every step you take while waiting is a step into a morning fog, where God alone can see where he's taking you.

There's this anticipation so strong, you can almost taste it. You know that any day, any minute, you could be rocketing towards something amazing. Something even bigger than you had ever been able to dream of.

So what does one do while waiting? What if the waiting is what one's meant for? I know I do not know any of the answers. For the time being, I'm waiting.

Fried Ham, Fried Ham... and we're mixing the purple stew...

Ah Camp. Just the name conjures up memories of silly campfire songs, long days and short nights, plastic lanyards and probably the best week of your entire summer.

Beechwood Hills is a camp operated by a denomination called the Church of Christ. I’m going to preface this whole post with a disclaimer, for those of all different denominational persuasions. There are basic beliefs of Christianity that you must believe in order to consider yourself as such (such as believing Jesus is the Son of God, he died and came to life on the third day, and so on). Everything else peripheral is matter of opinion and how you draw close to God. What works for one does not work for another (if it did, we’d all be the same and that’d be a very very very boring world.)

I first heard about camp back in March when one of my dear friends sent me an email – she was directing a week at camp, and would I please come be part of it? I hadn’t been to Beechwood Hills in 12 years… since she and I had been to camp as kids. I had some fond memories of our time there, and so when we met in April and I heard more about what the week was going to look like – I jumped on board.

The theme for the week was “Higher Ground”. You can take that in many directions, but it was based off the Sermon on the Mount – and we looked at how we could focus our life to reflect more of Christ’s love. You could also take it as moving beyond the little ‘opinion’ issues and loving each other instead of pointing out differences.

My friends had an awesome approach to camp, and really allowed me as a Bible Teacher (or ‘discussion facilitator’ as I preferred to called it) to be flexible with the lessons and really connect with the girls where I could the best. I had thirty girls once a day – teenaged girls. Anyone who’s ever worked in youth ministry or had a teenager of their own knows the challenge I was up against. We spent a lot of time talking about an outward focus towards our community versus the inward focus our culture promotes. We also spent a day exploring spiritual gifts and the way we connect to God individually.

There were also the obligatory campfire songs and camp pranks. I ate the most excellent camp food ever, and spent my early mornings with a group of lovely ladies and great conversations before the campers got up.

God showed up in a way I’m not sure had ever been seen before. One camper was baptized, and one staff member re-dedicated his life to Christ and was re-baptized. I had several of my girls chat with me about issues regarding their lives, their priorities and their relationships to Christ. It’s very humbling to have kids look up to you and respect your opinion.

At the end of the week, I asked all my girls to write down either what they had learned about Higher Ground or what they were going to change in their life. Some of their answers blew me away. One said she was going to change her views on her possessions, knowing that her only true treasure was Jesus. Another said she was going to be a better Christian example for her family, and ask them to church. And still another asked for prayers as she explored new ways to connect with God each day. This ain’t your typical bible class!

We also did an amazing activity called a Faith Walk. Summing it up, it was a blindfolded obstacle course that the kids went through while holding a rope. The staff was walking along side them if they needed help. It’s a great exercise, and one that each student came away with their own object lesson out of. Some appreciated the fact that the staff were right along side them. Others recognized that it was like life – We can’t see what’s out ahead of us, we have to have faith that God will be there for us.

Well, back to the staff meeting. This should be interesting – there’s some ninja moves, and someone’s whirling a chair about…

The Summer of Breakthroughs

This post has been floating around my computer, notebooks and head for a few weeks - just hasn't made its way to the actual internets yet. Bear with me, I have to blog this before I can move on to camp.

It's been quite a summer. God's been moving in lots of ways, and it's been so exciting to see what's happened.

First off, the deep has been meeting in a park all month. What an awesome experience to to get out into the community. Our very first Sunday out there, a man heard our music and stumbled over. I mean that quite literally, as he was drunk at 9am. The music was great, he said - and stuck around while the band warmed up, then into the service. For a church about community, this was a huge test to see how people would react. I saw nothing but pure love from everyone that morning. This gentleman was brought right into the circle of people, and we prayed over him, hugged him, cared for him. Not one person turned away, acted rudely, ignored him. At one point he broke down crying, saying he couldn't understand why we cared so much for someone so worthless and drunk as he was.

He's been back every week since... sober. That, my friends, is a breakthrough. It tells me that the deep is really committed to the cry of our community. It shows that we have the heart of Christ. We're making an impact on Muskegon.

We've also been offered some amazing space to work in - if we can come up with the funds for it. It's in an awesome community, a block from a school and just a few blocks from Heritage Landing. Visit our website, and check out the video called "Project Deep Space" to see the awesome opportunities we have - and how you can be involved.

A more personal breakthrough happened this summer too. I had a very unfortunate experience in high school with some church leadership. It wasn't anything intentional, just a misjudgment and mistake on their part - but for many years, I couldn't even think of this person without feeling the hurt in my heart. I struggled with letting the experience go, and although I could see how God's transformed me through it - I refused to move on past it. The last six months have been very impacting for me, and when I ran into this person at a church conference last month after not seeing them for a very long time - there was no grudge, no hurt. I could truly talk to them with love. It was my own stubbornness that refused to let me move past something that happened almost eight years ago. Thank God for what he's done in my heart.

I just got back from a week at camp - and I'm still processing through that experience. I expect to post something soon though - God moved in a great way that week!

sometimes it's the little things in life...

I wish, I wish....

for a coffeeshop that's open later than 5pm.
for places to hang out that are cooler than the gas station or the local ice cream stand
for friends who live close enough to do spontaneous things

TV! TV! TV!

I've been down for the last few days recuperating from oral surgery (four wisdom teeth pulled - not necessarily fun.) so I've had plenty of time to catch up on some good television and movies. I haven't been out of bed for more than ten minutes since I came back from the surgeon's office.

Wire In The Blood: I finished the final disc of this show. It's a great British psychological crime thriller series, about a profiler that works with the police. Almost as good as "Prime Suspect" with Helen Mirren. I think American crime drama has resorted to glitz and drama, where the British dramas are a little more gritty and dirty. Anyways, both are excellent series and worth watching.

Doctor Who: Another British telly series - this one sci-fi. I've got a college friend who is enthralled with this series and the hubby picked up the first season and enjoyed it - so I've been watching it on the Netflix Watch-It-Now feature. That's rather nice. It's a quirky little sci-fi show, and you've got to get through the first couple of episodes to develop the concept.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: I know this has been out quite a few years, but it's taken me until now to watch it. Pain meds + coming out of anesthesia + Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind = weird. Summing it up, the last fifteen minutes are rather extraordinary... but you've got to slog through the first hour and a half to get there. Creative writing, it won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay... but quite a struggle to watch.

Dan In Real Life: siblings rented this one, and since I'm not moving around much - I watched it too. I caught this one in the theatre, and enjoyed it just as much now as I did then. An impressive performance from Steve Carell - he demonstrates he has quite a range, being endearing and funny at the same time. Worth the rental, and probably even a great gift for the enduring parents/family members in our lives.

Off to a little more fuzzy television watching.

Sunshine and blue skies...

It's amazing what five degrees and some sunshine can do.

The snow has melted, the flowers are attempting to poke their heads out of the debris and leaves blown down during the winter storms.

People are coming out of their houses, just like bears coming out of hibernation, to work in their yards and gardens.

We're all discovering the productivity the sun encourages.

In just two weeks, I leave for Disney with my best friend. It's the first girl's getaway in a very long time, and we're just thrilled to go! we'll spend a week in 80 degree weather, being princesses and enjoying the heck out of what Disney has to offer.

A drive to Tampa is in the schedule, so I can visit with my grandmother and aunt and uncle who live there. It's hard for them to get up our way - and they graciously open up their home when I come.

I'll also get to see a childhood friend who's working at Disney with her husband. It'll be delightful!

Obviously, I have to keep this post short. As a very famous father once said, "We have to make hay while the sun shines." Chores call me, and that doesn't happen very often - so when they call, I'd better answer!