Falk School!

Check out this wonderful school that I had the opportunity to visit and interview this morning! (:
http://www.falkschool.pitt.edu/

Trusting the Lord!

10 Truths in Trusting the Lord!

1. He knows my name.
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." -Isaiah 43:1

2. He sees my every move.
"Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence?" -Psalm 139:7

3. He is with me."Have I not commanded you?  Be strong & courageous.  Do not be frightened, & do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

4. He will fight for me."The Lord will fight for me; you need only to be silent." -Exodus 14:14

5. He made me in His own image.
"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male & female." -Genesis 1:27

6. He is my safe place.
"He only is my rock & my salvation; my fortress I shall not be shaken; on God rests my salvation & my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.  Trust in Him at all times, oh you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." -Psalm 62:6-8

7. He has a plan for me.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you, plans to give you a future & hope'". -Jeremiah 29:11

8. He is GOOD!
"You are good & do good; teach me Your statutes." -Psalm 119:68

9. He is FREEDOM!
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, & where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom." -2 Corinthians 3:17

10. He is ALWAYS with me.
"'& surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.'" -Matthew 28:20

22 Reasons to Celebrate!

This is a list of 22 Reasons to give God glory in what He has done in the past year of my life-- the best one yet!  Thank you to all of you who were a part of my life in the past year!  In no particular order...
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1.  Learned to love community & worship with brothers & sisters in Christ on Living Room Worship nights.

2.  Heard a calling to ministry through Hillsong’s “Awake My Soul”, with the sunrise on the Atacama Desert, Chile.—Danika Foster & Ruthy Lopez

3.  Head-coached the Romans, sailed around the Que, jumped off the Screamer, among other awesome things at Summer’s Best Two Weeks, Heaven on Earth.—Meggy Carey, Rachel Montavon, Sarah Asher, Bradon Carey, Rachey Prong, Keely Reichel, Ash Han, Metz, Dev, Grace, TB, Mama T, & Jeunnette

4.  Launched a church in the East End of Pittsburgh.—Freedom Blackwell, Bryan McCabe, Luke Zappa, Christina Shaffer, Corrie Passavant, Dana Hunter, Sherman Leeper, Luke Cypher, Sandy Weiss, & Doug Melder

5.  Taught orphans at a Chilean Girls’ Home about Jesus!—Ariana Cook

6.  Woke up with the Sun with my roomies to pray together, play guitar, & train for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon.—Bethie, Holls, Kate, & Meg!

7.  Lost my wallet in Argentina & had to trust the Lord for provision until my family arrived in Chile.—Amy & Becca Miller, Chris Swift, Danika Foster, Mom, Dad, Megs, & Samantha!

8.  Celebrated with my parents in selling my childhood home of 206 Delano after less than 24 hours of being on the market!—Mom, Dad, Meggy, & Samantha!

9.  Led a white-water rafting trip with Legend high-school Seniors down the Youghigheny River.—Ashton Songer, Rachey Prong, & Sarah Asher

10.              Was able to pick up where we always leave off!—Alicia Timmins, Sarah Nitchkey, Rachel Tobias, Emilie Liadis, Alina Meden, Kimmy Palmer, Jenna Fallert, & Morgan Byrne

11.              Hung out with my LAMP mentee, Emary.

12.              Graduated from the University of Pittsburgh to pursue the MAT Elementary Ed program at Pitt.

13.              Battled homesickness and celebrated with angels in heaven about little ones receiving Christ into their hearts in the youngest Cabin 1.—Sarah Bowman, Metz, J-Utz!

14.              Became a member of Fresh Fruit more widely known as SWAG for Blitz/Extreme East End—Snoop Strawb, Wakka-Flaka Watermelon, Apple in the APL, & LeGrape!—Chelsea Henderson, Alec Hawley, Jordan Ferrero & the awesome Student Ministry Leaders of the East End!

15.              Saw some awesome live music!  Needtobreathe, Good Old War, Steve Moakler, Anthony Mossburg, Ben Rector, JUBILEE with Cornerstone, North Way (in general…), William Fitzsimmons, Living Room Worship

16.              Led a Bible Study for the first time!—Trishelle Duke, Virginia Lee, Hannah Baker, Abby Fair, Chelsea Davis, Lauren Dodds!

17.              Launched an inner-city Student Ministry for kids of the East End with a bunch of my friends & church family!

18.              Found beloved Pittsburgh community with new & forever brothers & sisters in Christ!—Luke Zappa, Kate Blumberg, Anne Neuhaus, Stefan Brooks, Ellie Wiesel, Jeff DeWalt, Jake Shure, Jaden Studeny, Britt Behr, Hannah Bashor, Kayla Hess, Malissa Seman, Brittany & Tiffany Dawson, Brittany Brock, Dylan Smith, Steph Mangold, Justin Cooper, Swaney, Scotty Moore, Rheena Ware, Jon Luchansky, Meg Magee, Andy Armstrong, Dylan & Justine, Dan Andrews, Luke Cypher, Sarah Musial, Price Kinney, Cookie & Cory Miller, Chelsea Henderson, Jordan Ferrero, Kristen McMullan, Brendan Cavanaugh, Kent Poole, Jon Jorgenson, Amanda Adametz, Meggy Carey, Bethanie Donovan, Kate Jacobs, Holly Asher

19.              Coffee dates with some beautiful mentors in Christ!—Sandy Weiss, Dana Hunter, Kassi Hemerka, Corrie Passavant, Katie Smith, Ellen Johnston!

20.              Had the opportunity to invest in some awesome youth!—Maddy, Rach & Jake, Sophia, Ariyonia, the Blackwells, Scotty, Laurelville with Wexford, Summer’s Best!

21.              Saw the best & worst, tears of joy & tears of pain, strength & godliness in my housemates of 354 Atwood—Beth, Hollys, Megs, & Cool-Girl Kate.

22.              Fell in love with the city!—Pitsburgh, Somerset, & Valparaíso!

"Joy is the echo of God's life in us." -Ionus

Ascend the Hill

This excellent band, Ascend the Hill, released their newest album, "O Ransomed Son", a few days ago!  They believe "that the gifts, talents, energy, resources, & songs entrusted to them, serve a purpose that bears far more eternal significance than the temporary,  fleeting joys of record sales & sold-out shows."  Aka you can download this beautiful work free of charge at their website!

www.ascendthehill.com

Happy Listening!

The Book of Judges, Community, & LRW

I found myself in the Book of Judges this morning.  Not gonna lie, every time I'm in the historical part of Scripture, I sometimes read it to just get through it.  There are heritage lines, battles, and a bunch of kings that fail, turn away from God, turn to idols, and pay for their sins.  It sometimes makes for a dense, intense, heavy read!

This morning, however, God wanted to teach me using such richness in history!  In Chapter 18, entitled, "Danites Take the Levite & the Idol", this story is about the religious corruption of a tribe, where a band of treacherous men from the tribe of Dan decide to ambush the country of Laish.  This is what happens:

"But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, & the priest who belonged to him, & they came to Laish, to a people quiet & unsuspecting, & struck them with the edge of the sword & burned the city with fire.  & there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, & they had no dealings with anyone." It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob.  Then they rebuilt the city & lived in it. -Judges 18:27-28

Three things jumped out at me as I read:
1. The ambushed city of Laish were a people quiet & unsuspecting.
2. They had no deliverer because it was far.
3. They had no dealings with anyone.

These three things were their downfall.  It sounds like they were just carrying on everyday life in their normal routines.  They lived in a land spacious, "a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth" (v. 10).  They were comfortable, pursuing their own wealth, with their guard down.  They secluded themselves, shut themselves far away from others, neglecting trade & relations with anyone else.

Community is so important!  Without it, we'll be ambushed.  We are created to have fellowship with each other, it's an innate need.  We are to firstly have fellowship with our Maker, and secondly, fellowship with brothers & sisters.  WE NEED IT.  I need it.  I've had to break the yoke of pride I've been carrying to admit that, because I believed that through my own independent strength I could do everything on my own, without God and without others.  But, I need it.

"& let us consider how to stir up one another to love & good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, & all the more as you see the Day drawing near." -Heb 10:24 (ESV)

So, Living Room Worship.  It's a gathering of friends that meet in a Living Room, where we praise God all night with music, the Word, prayer for each other, and a collective act, like washing feet, breaking fasts, & encouraging each other.  It basically started with a bunch of us recognizing our need to be meeting together and building each other up.  There's one this Friday.  Please join.  You need it.  We would LOVE to have you.

& Strive:
1. To be ready!
2. To be near to God & others
3. To invest in time and space for God & others

Taking Heart

Waiting for Tomorrow,

Morning is Coming!

We had the opportunity to sing these words, yesterday, at North Way's Good Friday services.

Below is a moment captured by our Production Director, Jonathan Cooper.

See you at one of our services on Sunday morning!



The Founder of Salvation

We have the opportunity to remember what Jesus conquered on the hill of Calvary many years ago that remains and presides today.  He stretched his arms out upon the cross and conquered death for us!  I have heard, year after year, the greatest story ever told.  I was reminded, yesterday, of how necessary it is to ever and always be in awe of the cross, no matter how many times I've heard the Story.  Myself, my pastor, and a few others climbed up on the rooftop of our church, in the heart of the city, under the hot Sun, to pray for this holy weekend of celebration and also for our city. 

Pittsburgh, particularly, the University of Pittsburgh, has been under attack with lots of bomb threats in university classrooms and dorms.  As I sat down for a 10am Recitation in the Cathedral of Learning yesterday, a bell resounded the halls, indicating yet another threat had been received to the building (#23 to be exact).  I looked around at the other students as we walked down the steps and out the doors.  Frustration and fear were in the eyes and conversations as we all exited.  My class resumed our discussion on the lawn of Schenley Plaza, yet my peers and I couldn't help but look up anxiously as sirens rang and groups of people passed near our gathering of chairs.

There was definitely temptation to give in to fear at these times.  But we have already gained victory under the providence of the cross.  Death has been defeated by love!

This morning was a wonderful gathering in Homewood called Prayer for Peace, where community members walked side by side on the streets of Homewood in prayer and unity.  Many violences and insurrections have crossed the very streets we tread upon.  As we finished our walk, Franchise reminded the walkers, that Homewood is the city of God.  Under Him, all things are reconciled.

Hebrews 2 reminds us Who has already saved us.  Speaking about Jesus,
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.  But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (v. 8-9).

Because of the work finished by Christ, we can remain fearless in any circumstance.  He's got us.  We just need to claim what he is already offering us.  Saved from fear; founded by the Savior Himself.  Happy Good Friday!