Light Up Night Pics!

 

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post South Side Speaks recently helped organize a major community event in the South Side- Light Up Night!

Since we began meeting months ago we have been praying that God would grant us favor with our community- which obviously includes community officials- this event was definitely an answer to our prayers.

A few weeks ago we were approached by the South Side Chamber of Commerce to help organize the very 1st ever South Side Light Up Night and of course we were all in! They had gotten word of how well the Fall Festival had turned out that we did on Halloween and invited us to not only play a major role at this light up night, but in the future as well!

It’s great to know that we are being seen as a positive influence in the community and that these business owners and govt officials are recognizing that we genuinly care about the South Side and are in it for the long haul.

Thanks Jesus!  And now some pics from the night for your enjoyment…

Gretchen and Ron working the ornament decorating station!

Photo op with my girl Lori and the cutest baby ever (Aiden!)

The line to see Santa!

The Big Man himself w/ Josefina!

Allison, Jaime, and Julie looking beautiful (and cold!)

The kids decorating Xmas cookies which didn’t exactly look like anything “Christmasey”- my bad….

You KNOW I had to get in on the festivities!

And of course we needed some carolers!

 

I would just like to give a shout out to our SSS team- you guys are amazing to serve with! <3

Weekend Recap/Random Thoughts

This past week/end was packed full of amazing things! Such as…

Thursday:

This past Thursday South Side Speaks participated in the very 1st South Side Light up Night! More to come on this later this week but just know- it is amazing the doors that God is opening up for LifeStone Church in our community. (The above pic is of the illustrious Nick Poole taking pictures of the neighborhood kids with Mr. and Mrs. Clause)

Friday:

I can’t believe it actually took me this long but I finally saw New Moon Friday night! I actually used to think the whole Twilight hoopla was completely ridiculous and completely refused to even watch the movie. Well…one Saturday this past summer while interning I vowed to do nothing but chill at home and I found myself at Red Box (which I <3!!) checking out Twilight. Needless to say a little over a month later I had read all 4 books and had fallen in love with them like the rest of the world (which I wholeheartedly blame on Mel btw) Anyways, I took some of the youth group girls (perhaps further proof that I shouldn’t be into Twilight- haha) to see New Moon this past Friday and it was…amazing. (BTW- as I’m sure inquiring minds really don’t care totally want to know: Team Edward )

 

 Saturday:

I met some great friends (Kelly & Julie w/ kids in towe) at Reilly’s SommerSeat Farm to meet Santa (a very interesting one at that), go on a hay ride, roast marshmallows, and feed the animals at the live nativity scene. And, it was SNOWING! In case you don’t know- this was actually the very 1st snowfall that I’ve ever experienced! I was just a little excited

 

Here is a shot from our backyard!

Sunday:

Currently Jack (the lead pastor of LifeStone Church) is doing a vision tour to raise support to help plant LifeStone- this Sunday Fernando and I traveled to Ford City where Jack was speaking to fellowship witht the people at the church as well as run our table. Personally- I love doing this! It is so great to get to share all that God has done and is doing through SSS/LSC in the South Side and it continually reminds me of how humbled and blessed I am to be a part of God’s plan for this community.

After the service we headed to a nursing home where Fernando was scheduled to speak to the residents for their Christmas service. I didn’t know this at the time but it was actually a nursing home for people who suffer from dimentia which definitely made for some interesting conversation! I sat and talked with a resident named Henrietta for quite a while and she told me all about her life as a singer on the radio and about her friend named Jeanie Baxter who was a famous soloist from Squirrel hill- so Jeanie, whoever you are, you should be proud knowing that even though Henrietta can’t remember where she lives or when her birthday is- she asked me if I knew you at least 6 times.

There was something else  pretty great that happened while we were there that I’ll share soon enough!

So that was my weekend- I really am so thankful to be surrounded by such amazing friends, to have my health, and to be loved unconditionally by my heavenly Father.

See I told you a lighter post was on its way!

No more prayer…?

Earlier this week I found myself unable to move past the very first sentence in a book I’ve begun to read. In fact- I didn’t move past it because it messed me up that bad.

In the very 1st sentence of the book the author asks this question: “What if you were told you no longer had or needed to pray.”

That somehow through divine revelation the entire body of Christ discovered that we no longer needed to pray to receive blessing, protection, provision, or healing- that God, in His infinite wisdom, would just make sure everything in our lives works out according to His will- and that of course, this was all ok with God. You tracking w/me so far?

How would you react to such news? I could be wrong, but I would bet that many believers if told that they were no longer expected to do their devotions or spend time in prayer would experience- dare I say it…relief? I know I can’t/don’t speak for every believer but it’s my guess that many would feel relieved that they will no longer have to feel disappointed in themselves for not spending the amount of time in prayer that they feel they should. And as a person who at times has struggled with guilt and condemnation in regards to spiritual disciples I can’t say that I wouldn’t relate in some way to this.

And this leads me to 2 conclusions: If relief is even a hint of what would be experienced if told that prayer no longer had to be apart of the believer’s life-then…

1. The person does not believe that prayer is practial or powerful- and even worse- that the word of God is true.  1 John 5:14 says: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God-that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” How can we read this verse and conclude that having the ear of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe isn’t something beneficial to us? So what is it that we (I) miss? Do we not think that prayer is effective? Do we think the word isn’t true?

2. This is the one that hurts a bit…why would we experience relief when told that we don’t have to talk to a God that chose to create us, loves us unconditionally, and even put His own self/son to death so that a relationship with us would be possible?  Perhaps we have begun to chase the wrong thing…instead of pursuing God in prayer and getting to know Him for the sake of getting to know Him we have settled and substituted it for doing His work and knowing about Him.

 But the TRUTH of the situation is this:

We have an access to God that even His chosen people Israel did not have for thousands of years; furthermore, as believers we know we have an access that many other denominations who claim to follow God do not believe they have even today.

Let the following reshape your views on prayer:

• John 14:14 [NIV] “You can ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.” It’s tempting to read verses like these and think, “Surely, Jesus doesn’t mean EVERYTHING- there’s no way…”. And then I realize that I’m thinking that simply because I’m afraid that I may have to try and come up with a way to answer for God if He doesn’t come through. God doesn’t need anyone to clean up His messes or tell Him that He wasn’t sincere or practical enough when He spoke these words.

• Hebrews 4:16 [Message]: “Now that we know what we have- Jesus this great high priest with ready access to God- let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all-all but sin. So let’s walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give. Take the mercy- accept the help.”

Father- forgive us for not realizing what a priviledge it is to know you and be known by you.

 

Lighter posts to come I promise!

Are We Listening?

Ok- does anyone else ever do this…lately I’ve noticed that when I’m reading a book (and sometimes even my Bible) or listening to a sermon and I find or hear a quote that I really like and find super inspiring or challenging, I’ll underline it or think to myself, “wow, that is good!” and then… I forget about it. Of course, I have every intention in that moment to write this quote or scripture down on a index card and meditate on it later but most of the time (*coughs*or all of the time*coughs*) I get caught up in whatever I’m doing next and it is really as if I never heard it/read it in the first place. 

So…needless to say, I’ve made it a goal of mine to really take time and digest the words from God that I hear whether it be through His word, a book, a sermon, or just His Spirit and not just rush past them as if having thought about it for a second is equal to me actually changing anything.

What spurred all of this on is this: “The man who knows the good thing he ought to do and does not do it- sins” (James 4:17).

It is easy to just that this verse applies to Biblical truth alone; meaning that when we read something in the Bible and then are deliberately disobedient then we sin- well duh. But this verse encompases much more than that…

My generation of believers loves having deep conversations about justice and helping the homeless and how we want to bring so much change to the Church- but often the conversation is left at the coffee table as nothing more than good intentions. And that is sin. And that is scary.

When God speaks to us through a sermon and we simply walk out of the service never remembering a single word that was spoken, let alone actually putting any of it into action, the Bible says that it’s not okay (aka- it’s sinning).

When we have a really great small group discussion and we are convicted about our apathy toward the hurting and our loved ones who don’t know that their Savior loves them and we walk away and do nothing- it’s sin.

Scouts honor I’m really not trying to be a Debbie Downer- but I am sickened to think of the amount of sermons that I have listened to (literally hundreds and maybe even thousands) that I have enjoyed, was convicted by, yet remain unchaged by because I simply chose not to discipline myself to take any course of action.

Here’s what I suggest (and what I’m putting into practice myself):

- When I hear something from God (through His word/a book/a sermon/etc) I’m going to write it down in a notepad that I’ll bring everywhere with me so I don’t forget about it.

- Pray through the things written down and see what the Spirit would like to teach me about it.

Let us do more than ask God to speak to us and then ignore Him when He does; let’s listen and obey.

Blessed.

Clearly- I haven’t been blogging lately.

Sometimes when we learn things about ourselves or receive revelation from God about something or even just about Himself we are quick to tell everyone about it. I know I am- lately there aren’t many days that go by where I discover some treasure in scripture or in a circumstance and I can’t wait to blog about it or call my best friends and tell each of them the story. But there are times that it is good to take a pause after God has shown you something and really just let it sit with you for awhile. That is how the last few weeks have been for me; God is speaking, convicting, loving, and making me more like Him and it has been wonderful. Truly wonderful. He is wonderful. And faithful. Even though so often I am not.

The word I would use to describe this past month would be…rich. I feel more rich right now than I ever have at any other point in my life. By rich I mean blessed- I could go on and on about the great new relationships that have come my way recently or the fact that there really isn’t a better feeling in all of the world than knowing that you are exactly where God wants you but this is what I am most grateful for…

God’s love. His love toward me expressed in the sacrifice of His Son. Believe me- I know this sounds cheesy and cliche, but it is true. Their is no greater debt that I will ever owe (and believe me SEU wasn’t cheap!) than the one that I owe to Jesus- the fact that my sins are eternally forgiven and that the punishment that I fully deserve was taken on by someone else is something that is almost inconveivable-what love!

This Thanksgiving I am most thankful for the unfailing love and faithful of my Heavenly Father.

Check It!

Below is the link to the NEW Community Focus video for LifeStone Church!

This video will tell you all about our community, LifeStone Church, as well as the vision that God has given us for the South Side!

(FYI- Brian Lippert is the man!)

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7382908&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1

1st Annual South Side Kids Fall Festival

This past Saturday (Halloween) we had our very first South Side Kids Fall Festival! This was held in the back lot of a local coffee shop, Big Dog Coffee; the owners of Big Dog have been so gracious and allowed us to use their space to put on this event for the families of the South Side.

When we surveyed the community a few months ago, we heard over and over again that South Side has been overtaken with bars, clubs, and tattoo shops that that places for kids are basically non-existant; I’m guessing most people don’t even know that there are kids who actually live there- but clearly they do because this Saturday we had 259 people show up! No joke- and that is NOT what we were expecting!

In the few months that South Side Speaks has mobilized to start the planting process of LifeStone Church God has opened up door after door for us. In fact, this week we are moving from the bagel shop that we have been meeting in (and at times almost filling) into a facility that can hold 100 people and we are able to use it to meet in for free!

As this stuff happens, 2 things become clear to me:

1. God cannot wait to plant this church. If you come to any of our meetings you will see that we are just a bunch of young people that love God and are responding to His heart’s cry for the people in the South Side. Things are happening that are so far beyond our ability or creativity and it all boils down to the fact that God is moving because He is ready to pour His Spirit out upon the South Side.
2. The people in the South Side are ready for this. It’s to look at a city and believe that they really want nothing to do with God, and believe me this would appear to definitely be the case in the South Side, but I don’t believe it for a second. These people are ready for something more than what they have experienced, they are ready for real love, real community, and to discover why in the world they were ever put on this Earth- they are ready for Him.

Here are some pics from this weekend- enjoy!

 

Perfect Love.

Track with me…

If you are a Christ follower then you serve a God who is:

- All Powerful (Omnipotent): there is absolutely nothing that can happen to us that is out of his control. There is no force on heaven, earth, or in hell that can match his power.

- All Knowing (Omniscient): He is aware of every detail of our lives, even the ones we are unaware of. He also knows every portion of our past and even more important, EVERYTHING that will happen for the rest of our time here on Earth.  

-Always Present (Omnipresent): There is not a single place on this earth or beyond that He is not. He is always with us.

-Unchanging: He is the SAME yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). When he says that He loves us or that He is merciful, that doesn’t change based on His mood or on anything that we do or don’t do. He is God and He is always the same.

-Fully Committed: God has shown all of his cards; He is fully 100% committed to the redemption of his people and to have an intimate and eternal relationship with me and with you.

And what does all of this mean???

That we should live without fear.

THINK ABOUT IT: If our whole lives are held in the palm of an all-powerful, all-knowing, ever present, unchanging God who is passionately in love with us- WHAT DO WE POSSIBLY HAVE TO FEAR?

And that is why this verse makes so much sense to me now:

“Perfect love casts out all fear” – John 14:8

If we are in a relationship with Jesus Christ then we have experienced the perfect love that John is talking about.

We are loved by the God of the universe that THAT is why we having NOTHING to fear.

Mark Batterson says: Few things are as liberating as what you fear actually happening. You realize that God is still there and life goes on.

If the things/people/situations of this world are causing your heart to be gripped with fear- check what it is that truly holds your heart(love). Because if having a relationship with God is where our heart truly resides and if He is who we love the most, then we won’t fear when other things or people are taken away or change.

What a good, mighty, and faithful God I serve.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

I want to live a life that honors God- this is something I am beginning to do that will help me do that.

Before I go to sleep each night I am asking myself the following questions, perhaps they would be of help to you as well:

Today Did I…?

1) Love Jesus above all else? *Make spending time with Him and His word a priority. *Seek His approval more than the approval of others.

2) Love People more than ministry, tasks, or my own ego? *Seek to serve, not be served. *Was I kind, just, pure, truthful, and intentional about the words I spoke to others?

3) Obey God’s word and the promptings of His Spirit? *Was I listening for His voice? *Act in instant obedience. *Trust in God and refuse to worry or fear about my life.

4) Spend my resources in a way that honors God? *Utilize my time, money, and body in a way that brings God glory.

5) Become more or less like Christ? *Did I draw nearer? *Represent Him accurately to the people around me?

 

Luke 4:18

Last Saturday night was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

We (our South Side Speaks team) went out for our our second outreach to the homeless- this was the 3rd outreach out of 16 that will be happening up until the launch of LifeStone Church.

Now I’ve got to be honest, as I got in my car last Saturday there wasn’t a whole lot in me that was feeling like doing anything. It had been a long day, it was getting late, it seemed like hardly anyone was going to be there due to the good ol’ flu, it was raining, and it was the coldest temperature outside that I have ever experienced (32 degrees). But on the drive down to the South Side I began to get a strong feeling like God was going to do some great things- He brought to my mind Luke 4:18-19, which is the verse that I had tattooed on my ankle last summer when I was interning here in Pittsburgh. It says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me and has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” That night our group did just that.

It would take too long to tell you all of the stories that came from the outreach but that night we encountered some people are hurting but at least when to sleep that night a little warmer and knowning that there is someone in the world that still cares about them.  I wish that I could introduce every one of you to Vincent- he is my man. He has basically become South Side Speak’s public relations representative to the homeless community- no joke. He has been attending our weekly meetings and even remembers to ask me about prayer requests that were mentioned in our meetings. Amazing.

Below is a picture of a girl that we met that night speaking at our debriefing meeting after the outreach (this was before we got kicked out by a security guard She was from a town about 2 hours away and her “friends” had brought her down to the South Side to party- they sent her into the the store for something and when she came out that had left her there- by herself with no cell phone, no purse, and no jacket. One of our groups found her walking down the street and as they began talking with her found out about her story and also that her pastor had told her just the week before that she needed to stop hanging out with that crowd because God had bigger plans for her. At our meeting she shared about how she now knows that her pastor was right and was overwhelmed by how much God cared about her that even after she turned her back on him that he would send us to meet her- after our meeting one of our members drove her back home.

That night as I laid down in my bed I couldn’t stop thinking about how these are the things that life is really all about.

 

 

My tat