sundays // things are changing

happy monday, friends! i hope you all had a happy weekend, and for us southern californians, that you survived the heat (yet, again - seriously, we're ready for fall). 

yesterday was one of those special sundays - some of it good, some of it just different. about once a month, i get a chance to lead worship during our main service and i absolutely LOVE it - especially when i get to lead with my sweet friend Rachel! it is such a blessing to lead others in music, and it is my heart that God would be glorified through those times and that i would simply become an instrument He uses. we sang the most amazing song yesterday - have you heard David Crowder's new song "After All (Holy)"? oh man, go look it up and listen. i was humming it for the rest of the day. 

church had a sense of anticipation over it yesterday, because just this past week, we received a letter announcing our senior pastor's resignation. after serving as the senior pastor for 20 years and attending Bethany for 31 years, this is a huge change; but, i have a certain peace that God is in control. my heart just grieves along with them as they leave the family they love and know so well and step into new things. but God is good, and He has mighty things in store, i'm sure. my respect for our pastor and his family increased yesterday. he and his wife both showed so much grace and wisdom as they communicated with us and explained their situation. we are so lucky to have served under them for such a long time.

but for the next 6 weeks, we have a few last chances to hear from our pastor, and i am so looking forward to the wisdom and reminders he will impart on us in his last few sundays! yesterday, we continued walking through James and were challenged not to show favoritism - that was convicting. it is easy and feels so comfortable to spend time with people you know. but Jesus was all about loving the unloved. i pray we would all have eyes to see those He would love, and not only those that are easy to love.

i am also grateful to be a part of a church that is so sensitive to God's will and constantly seeks growth. we aren't afraid of change and are led by a team that never makes decisions selfishly, but always in accordance with God's heart. this year has been full of many blows, but we are stronger. if our goal is to love God more deeply and know Him more fully, we cannot be shaken. 

yesterday was not one of those restful sundays, but instead included a lot of church work - continuing to organize the women's retreat and plan this semester was the college leadership team as well. but still, it was so good. i am so thankful to be a part of such a vibrant community and for all of the opportunities God has given me to serve. i can't wait to see what He has in store.

God is good, and i feel good. but there are things in life that really aren't good right now. heavy, tough things. spiritual attack. strained friendships. honesty that needs to happen. i am praying firmly for wisdom and discernment, and for moments of rest in these next few weeks - quiet moments that i will wisely spend with my Jesus. 

xoxo,

deb

sundays

i've decided to start a little mini-series about my absolute favorite day of the week. the idea came to my while i was in church, listening to our pastor deliver, and i realized that we often hear the Word, and by the time we go to sleep on sunday night, we've forgotten everything we learned that morning. sometimes, writing things down and revisiting them later on in the day or week help me cement everything in my heart and mind. so this mini-series is a little bit for your enjoyment, hopefully, but also for me. 

yesterday was one of those sundays - you know, the kind of sunday sundays were made to be. T and i realized that we haven't had a quiet moment in God's Word together in quite a while, so we woke up bright and early and met at a local coffee shop to drink coffee, eat a bagel, and read together. it was the absolute perfect start to the day, even if we only had 30 quick minutes. 

after leading worship in the college group (i love singing and praising Jesus with him), we headed to our main service. yesterday's message was on the end of James 1 (p.s. i feel like i should re-cap last sunday, too, because it was so deeply moving - maybe in another post). we were challenged to quiet our hearts and quiet our lives down, to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. this theme of quiet-ing down has resurfaced time and time again in the last few months. in case you didn't know, i've been asked to speak at our upcoming women's retreat, and the theme for the weekend is rest - a word us women especially tend to scoff at. but as i've moved into preparing the message and preparing for the week, the Lord keeps sending me little reminders and teaching me lessons - is my heart quiet enough to hear Him, am i resting in His grace, His provision? it's a never-ending lesson. 

the second part of the message was probably where this idea came from. are we only hearers of the word, or are we also doers? how is our fruit? are we like the man, who looks at himself in the mirror and then turns away and quickly forgets his reflection?

lastly, we were challenged to live out our faith. sometimes our faith becomes so much about head knowledge, and we forget to meet the needs of those around us. James says that true religion is looking out for the widows and the orphans in their distress. as the daughter of a widow, and a half-orphan, this verse has always stuck out to me. do i pass on the love my family was shown during our time of loss to others around me? or am i keeping all those blessings to myself? 

after church, i went back into the buzzing lobby to help out with women's registration - and you guys! it's blowing up! i'm so excited. about 70 women are coming, and i am so excited to get to know each of them better, learn from them, and enjoy a weekend away with God and community. only 3 little weeks to go - which is also scary, because i still have a lot of work to do on my message. which, by the way, is also absurd - me? speaking to all kinds of women of all ages? to all of you who have been so encouraging, thank you! 

our afternoon was spent loving on sweet baby Claire and helping her parents out. she screamed, she cried, she smiled, she coo-ed, she played with us, my goodness, she's just so adorable. oh, and bless T's heart, i've officially dubbed him the Baby Whisperer. there's something to say about a man when a baby just instantly stills in his arms. i think Claire has a little crush - everyone needs a little T in their life, if you ask me ;]

on top of encouraging conversations, a spontaneous movie night, home cooked meals, smoothies to cool us down on another hot day, and a tiny bit of homework, yesterday was filled with beauty and joy, endless smiles and much-needed rest. i couldn't have asked for a better day off. 

xoxo,

deb

serve the city

this morning, our church participated in 'serve the city.' it's a day where local churches take on a variety of projects to bless our community. this year, the college group did something a little different. the project was called 'suds & serve.' our pastor's goal was simply to go to a laundromat with rolls of quarters and bless people by paying for their laundry. it sounds totally different from your usual church outreach, right? when he first told our group about the project, i'll admit that i was definitely a little hesitant. who's really going to accept our money? won't we look silly just asking people to pay for their laundry? thoughts and doubts like that raced through my mind, and i instinctively wanted to serve in a different way - maybe a beach clean-up, or helping at the rescue mission, or something else task-oriented. nope, T put his foot down and said we'd be serving with the college group.

so, this morning i dragged myself out of bed, rolled up to church, and had no idea what to expect. we prayed for boldness and opportunities, and then carpooled out to 2 laundromats. still, i had no idea what to do. it's moments like these that i am extremely grateful for T and the ways he challenges me. our group of 5 college students went to the coin laundry, with quarters in our pockets and our bags. almost immediately, T started marching up to people asking them if they wanted change - some accepted, the first few refused, telling us to give it to someone more...(they didn't finish their sentences). we sat down in front, and after a while, we started intercepting anyone headed toward the change machine. i think people thought we were just giving them change, but when we started refusing the $5, $10, and $20 bills they were handing us, they were shocked. no, we said, we want to bless you today by paying for your laundry. please, just take it. and they did, with faces in shock. after an hour, we started feeling pretty comfortable, and readily approached people saying hi, we're from a local church and we were wondering if we could bless you by paying for your laundry today? the responses were amazing.

some people shouted for joy, some hugged us, others just came over and started chatting with us while their loads were washing. a few people stopped and looked up, searching for cameras. no, we're not punking you, we said. the idea that people were just giving away quarters was absolutely dumbfounding to them. what a great idea! some said. we encouraged those who reluctantly accepted the change to pay it forward and to give the bills they saved to someone else they thought may need it. the last family we ran into just moved and was looking for a church. 10:45 on sunday morning! i said. even inviting someone to church is something i rarely do, but i wish i would more often. people left the coin laundry with either a God bless  or a thank you. no, thank YOU i wanted to say back. once again, i was reminded of how awesome it is to serve people and to give, without expecting anything in return.

maybe that's why God places such importance on living out our faith, not just talking about it. yes, it's uncomfortable and different, but it has always been so rewarding to me in the end.

easter

this easter was one of my favorites - or maybe they just get better every year...the truth that Jesus conquered death is so triumphant, so powerful. and every year, i'm more overjoyed and more thankful.

our easter this year started bright and early at the sunrise service. it was the first time i'd been at a sunrise service, and i loved it! singing outside in the courtyard, coffee in hand, and watching the sunrise, was so refreshing and an absolute perfect start to the day.

after the service it was time to get ready for tempo, and it was also my first time singing with the worship team - oh man i was SO excited. T was the best and went on a starbucks run and took pictures and was so absolutely supportive. i got to sing with a dear friend of mine, and the whole morning was such a blast (minus the shaky knees and the nerves!). it was such an honor to lead the congregation in song and praise God for the most important celebration in Christianity.

and we matched! totally unplanned, totally perfect.

after church, T thought he was scheduled to work, which i was a little bit bummed about. but really, we had already had the best morning ever - him serving in the sunrise service, me serving in Tempo, both of us spending time with our friends and our Jesus - that i was absolutely content with how happy our Easter had already been. we snatched a quick lunch with Jamanda (after realizing that everything is closed on Easter Sunday - which i fully support, unless i'm the hungry person who wants lunch ;]). and we took lots & lots of pictures - duh.

all spiffed up for Easter!

my favorite, ever.

surprise of all surprises though, T didn't have to work after all and called me 2 hours after his "shift" started saying he was off! what an extra blessing! a quiet day in, getting things done, doing homework, making dinner, and eating chocolate chip cookies was the perfect ending to such a wonderful day...what a happy happy Easter!

catching up - small group night out

with today marking the end of class this semester, i think my brain is in catch up mode! a few months ago, my fabulous small group spent our 'night out' baking cupcakes and cookies for our local firemen. when we went and delivered our goodies at the end of our baking feast, the 2 fire departments we visited were so surprised to see us, with yummies in hand. we hope we were able to bless their evenings a little - these people are truly heroes!

instagramming

 

i am so blessed by these ladies - every week!

reinspired

every year, at the beginning of the school year, my church dedicates the teachers and staff of our K-8 school. just last night, i was talking to T and mentioned how uninspired i was about my career as a teacher. evaluating that now, i attribute most of that to the fact that in my last few semesters, my focus has been on 'history,' not on teaching. earning my BA in history is just a gateway to becoming a high school teacher, and this morning, i was reminded to keep my eye on the prize.

teachers are so. in. spiring. i've always known that i wanted to choose a career where i could interact with people, build into their lives, and hopefully, just maybe, make some kind of impact. as a teacher, i can't wait for opportunities to build relationships with my students, be an example and inspiration like my teachers were to me, & make some kind of eternal impression.

all that to say, this morning provided the inspiration i needed to push ahead in school. i have SO many other interests, and many of them don't require a degree, but the opportunity to teach is a privilege (as much teachers struggle financially). i can't wait to start working in the educational field a little more, and one day having a class of my own. i just have to get through the 11 historical novels i've been assigned this semester first...eesh.