Addiction and Idolatry Talk

A couple months ago I had a huge privilege of speaking at our weekly CRU meeting. I talked about addiction and idolatry and I want to share with you the mp3. Click on the link below and please enjoy!

Addiction and Idolatry

Jumping Into the Unknown

For those of you who do not know, I am officially working with YouthWorks this summer as a Program Staff. YouthWorks is a non-denominational Christian missing organization that creates week long mission trips for junior high and high school students. YouthWorks partners with many communities and people in those communities so that students that come on trips will experience service in the community showing the love of Christ and serving God by being present to worship who He is. This past week has been crazy with training and learning so much information to pull off a successful summer....with the help of God, obviously.

To be honest, I had no idea what I was getting myself into this summer and I am still a little clueless. There have been many times even being here at training that I have thought, 'why am I here? God, what is the purpose of you bringing this trip into my life?' I fully believe in God's promises of His perfect plan and I am excited for Him to reveal the purpose of why I am going to West Virginia this summer and when I will be sharing His ultimate purpose with others.

I am excited to be stretched in so many different ways that are already happening. I have grown so used to being involved with CRU that I haven't really ever experienced another ministry organization before and I have even gotten used to CRU language and just the similar people that I have grown close to. I have now left that bubble for the summer and it has been challenging but refreshing at the same time to get to know new people with completely different backgrounds involved in completely different ministries and churches back from where they live and grew up. Hearing people's testimonies and life stories is one of my favorite things because I love getting to know the heart within someone and understand the ways God has blessed and challenged them. This week has been incredibly eye opening of continually learning how skewd my view on life can be and how narrow my focus on certain circumstances and ideas has been. My comfort zone has been stretched tremendously being so used to evangelism and laying out the gospel for people. This summer we are focusing so much more on just loving others and building deeper relationships to show Christ to others. Don't read this the wrong way, I still think sharing the gospel is the most important purpose of our lives but learning how to better have strangers feel cared for in deep relationships to build trust is also important.

The team that I will be working with this summer is different but we do share a lot of things in common. I have been laughing non-stop since getting to know them because they are HILARIOUS. I haven't been laughing this hard and often in a long time so I am very blessed to constantly be surrounded by humor and laughter. We have many differences on thoughts and how to go about life and it will be a stretch to work on communicating with types of people I haven't really worked with before, especially in ministry. The more I am processing, though, the more I realize how comfortable I have been getting with routine and ministry and being confident in knowing how to do the ministry I am used to doing. I am excited for God to break me in many ways and to break my expectations, my pride, my stereotypes, my weaknesses, and ultimately any disbelief that I have developed in God's character. I know learning and processing these things will not be easy but I am ready to be stretched and learn new things, work on my own character, and be challenged by people around me.

This is a very short and vague explanation of my week but lastly I want you to know that you are loved so much. I love you and more importantly God loves you. Know you are appreciated and I am really going to miss my close friends while I am away. Please let me know how I can be praying for you at any time!

A Letter from the Men

 UWSP CRU had a women's time this past weekend. Women were shown a video about men's thoughts on different subjects and how we as women can better serve them. As a gesture of appreciation, one of our CRU interns bought each woman a rose and handed this letter out to read. I am very thankful for the men on our campus because they seek the role God has given them and lead. I thought this letter was awesome so I wanted to share it with you all! Enjoy.

Dear Sisters,

I want to confess the sin of men against you as women. We are not aware enough of the pain that we have caused you as we have dishonored you and shamed you as women. We are sorry that we have abandoned you as Adam abandoned Eve before the serpent. As the God-appointed head of the family, it was Adam’s responsibility to safeguard Eve and to assure that she remained in submission to the command of God. But Adam failed in his God-given responsibility and permitted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. We confess that we have failed to lead you as God has ordained. We confess that we have failed to love you as Christ loves the Church. We confess that we have embraced passivity rather than obedient leadership. We are sorry that you have had to play a role in God’s kingdom that you were not meant to play. We have backed out of our place of spiritual leadership and you have been forced to fill the void. We have not led you. We have not protected you. We have not honored you. As men we have been called to be first to our knees, first to the cross, and first to wield the sword of the Word. It is a pattern that we have repeated since the Fall. From the earliest instance of sin, we men have tended toward passivity in the midst of spiritual battle and then, in the wake of our failures, blamed women to soften our anxiety and shame.

Today, just as Nehemiah confessed on the behalf of others, we want to confess on behalf of the men in your lives.

We are sorry for the ways that we lead you on and encourage you to believe things that are not true. We have not done our job to guard your beautiful hearts. We are sorry for the ways we encourage you to dress in certain ways to please us rather than to protect us and keep us from sexual immorality. We are sorry that we have focused on your outer appearance when God has called us to look on your hearts. We apologize for the daddy who was too busy at work to play with you at home or come to your game or recital. We apologize for the dad who did not hug you and hold you close and affirm you as his precious daughter because his dad was distant and cold. We confess for the dad who didn’t take the time to explain relationships to you, but let you find out the hard way from boys whose fathers also failed them. We are sorry for the little girl whose daddy abandoned her for a bottle of alcohol. We are sorry for the dads who left you and never came back. We are sorry for the emotional, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse that men have brought onto you. You did not deserve it. We men have failed to cherish you as God intended.

But, may I tell you today – if we could be honest with ourselves, with God, and with you – how most men really feel? We marvel at who you are. You have discernment that we don’t have. You notice tiny subtle details when we see nothing at all. We marvel at the way you make relationships, and we secretly long to be able to find friends the way you do. We’re amazed at the way you pray, the way you sing, the way you smile, the way you laugh, the way you cry. We’re amazed at how deeply you feel things and how easily you express those feelings. We are amazed at how multidimensional you are – interweaving softness and strength; how you have endured so much, persevered through so much, and celebrated so much.

Every woman is a rose. Lovely, mysterious, fragrant, and meant to be handled with care. Its piercing thorns greet only those who recklessly grab the stem without taking time to appreciate its total beauty. The most beautiful of flowers, the sweetest of fragrances, and the costliest in the florist’s shop. You are beautiful from the moment of the first bud, but your beauty unfolds a petal at a time as you blossom and grow. Today, we honor you. We do not seek to own you, use you, sell you, or control you – but to admire you.

Sincerely,
Your Brothers in Christ