Culture of Community

I am reading a book by Andy Stanley on Creating Community and I really felt I should share a portion and a snippet of my perspective:

Genesis 2:18
"God said - it is not good for man to be alone …"

We always look at this verse in the context of marriage; but have you ever thought of it in the context of community? Think about this …

What is striking is that the Fall has not yet occurred. There is no sin, no disobedience, nothing to mar the relationship between God and man. The human being (Adam) is in a state of perfect intimacy with God. He is known and loved to the core of his being by the omniscient, love filled Creator. Yet the word God uses to describe him is "alone." And God said this alone-ness is "not good."

Sometimes in Church circles when people feel alone, we tell them not to expect much from human relationships, that there is inside every human being a God-shaped void that no other person can fill. That is true. But apparently, according to the author of Genesis, God creates inside this man a kind of "human-shaped-void" that God himself WILL not fill.

No substitute will fill this need in you for human relationship. Not money. Not achievement. Not busyness. Not books. Not even God himself. Even though man was in a state of sinless perfection, he as "alone." And it was "not good."
(Andy Stanley)

A couple of quick points that stand out to me:

First, man was in a perfect relationship with God, yet it was still "not good" (enough) that God created a partner = community. God realized the importance of community from the start of creation. God knees man needed others; man alone was not good. Isolation breeds selfishness; isolation blurs perspective.

Second, God WILL not fill this void. God can, but He choose not to. He is a relational being, and we are created in His image; we are relational beings. Get the comparison?

Lastly, being "alone" is not good because it is not how God created us to live.  We were created with a desire for God; and the community He created us to reside in helps fulfill this desire.  Corporate worship? Corporate prayer? Congregational services? There are key words here: each revolves around COMMUNITY. "The soul cannot prosper without being connected to others" (Henry Cloud). 

My encouragement to you is this: don't take the community God has created for you for granted. Church is not just a place you attend to grow closer to God, it is a place where you grow in relationship with God's people; a place where community is created.

I hope this encouraged you like it encouraged me. God is so good! He has given us such amazing people in our lives to fellowship with! Don't let good fellowship pass you by! 


(Majority of this post was taken from the book Creating Community by Andy Stanley)

Let's Talk Change.

A lot of changes have taken place. I am not just talking on this blog site - I am talking about my life too. First, about the blog. The name, layout, pictures and overall purpose has changed. It's a good thing :) I will keep old blogs posted but I am so excited to start to share new ones! As far as the changes in my life - the only think I can say is the CAPTIVATING GRACE of God is good. The last several months have been some of the toughest months yet in this journey called life. Most of the events, I put upon myself and I have taken full responsibility. Moving forward, I am humbled when I say God's grace has covered me. I always KNEW about His grace and experienced His grace when I said "Jesus I accept you" at age 11 but never have I EXPERIENCED His grace like this. It truly is captivating. 

I want to make this a public apology to those who may read this and have felt wronged by me this past year. I am truly sorry and I can only pray forgiveness over the situation. Friendships and relationship have crumbled but that is honestly the least of my worries. Personally, I am more concerned with my actions from here on out and making sure I hold no bitterness, anger or any other negative emotion in my heart. You guys know who you are - so I am sorry. Truly sorry. 

God's grace not only has covered the situations of the last several months, but also He has graced me to move onto the next chapter in my life. It's a chapter full of fresh pages waiting for ink to spill words. I am blessed to say I was sent out of my hometown by an amazing church and have entered into a new one, Victory Family Church in Cranberry, PA. Currently I am interning at the church 3 days during the week and am seeking employment in the area so I can begin the process of my first BIG move! It is exciting and nerve-wrecking at the same time. But I know that God's voice is leading me and His grace continues to captivate every step of my life. 

So here is to a new chapter, a revamped blog and a restored me. Thanks guys for checking out the blog. I hope you come back soon! I am excited to share my journey with you and can not wait to see/hear about YOUR journey as you walking in HIS captivating grace!

Being ... as you were created.

Have you ever sat and thought about what it truly means to be a human being?

As beings, we are composed of tiny cells, stuffed with organs and muscle, and carry this heavy garment called skin. Yet what makes us “be?” If you think about it our body is constantly “doing.” Blood is constantly traveling, skin is shedding, hair is growing, and the body moves up and down as air fills our lungs. The human body is never just “being,” but “doing” for the body is something natural, not forced … just a food for thought moment J

Recently, I have found myself discovering the difference between a “human being” and a “human doing.” We were created as human beings, but I found myself stuck in a series of unfortunate events where I got caught up in doing rather than being. It’s crazy to think that even though we are naturally created to just be, we get so caught up in doing.

I am going to be 100% transparent in this post, so I hope you take what I have to say and really hear my heart on the matter...

Over the course of my life, I have been heavily involved in serving at the church in various areas of ministry. It started when I was a kid, serving on the worship team in kids church. Continuing to youth group, I served on the worship team, was a student leader and later an adult leader, a mentor to girls, and part of the dance team. I was also a Junior Bible Quiz coach and was involved in a lot of behind the scenes work for conferences. As you can gather, I was very “doing” and rarely “being.” I would go to church, but never fully just be in a service where I was JUST receiving, I was always serving. Throughout time, my desire and heart to serve became clouded with doing serving instead of being a servant. Purely, my heart is to first serve God and then serve His people. However, serving became more about personal gain, when it was created to bring glory to God. I didn’t realize I was so lost in doing until this past summer...

Looking back over the last few years of my life, I am so thankful to God for the many opportunities He has blessed me with in ministry. I was fortunate to travel to Nashville and preach on purity and the single season, was offered a great opportunity at World Harvest Church and was able to serve in many ways at Victory Christian Center…but what was my TRUE motive? I do believe I was bringing glory to God in serving His people, but was I secretly seeking personal glory or advancement? Yes. I will admit it. In the back of my mind I was constantly thinking “if I serve here, I will go there” or “if this person sees me serving, maybe they will notice me and we will form a divine relationship.”

After realizing and admitting my true motives, with the help of Spirit filled leaders, I am in a place where I am JUST receiving and BEING. Instead of going to church and finding a place to serve, I walk in and find a place to sit, just sit and BE. It’s a weird place for me to be in since my being was so focused on doing. But to be honest, I find I am content and actually happy with where I am right now… I didn’t think I would be. (This is just another sign that I need to be in this season!)

For me “doing” wasn’t just focused around ministry, but also in my personal relationships. I found I was swimming in a pool of serving others and doing things to gain the eye of my peers… and boy is that a rough place. I became so confused on the difference of “being” and “doing” that, for me, my being became doing what was appealing to others. Through it I altered my identity, became broken, confused and tangled in a mess.

It’s now October, and since realizing all this, I am nowhere near the place I need to be, but I am getting there. I know God has called me into ministry, but I cannot fulfill the call without BEING first. I am growing and getting back to the place of being. Later, doing will come naturally with a pure heart and pure intentions. But for now, I choose to just be…

Psalms 51:10 -"Create in my a pure heart, O God, and renew Your right spirit within me."

Consecrated True Love

Last night at Arise youth movement, I was re-inspired to become like Esther. What a woman of God! Let me tell you a little bit about her:

The King of Persia, King Xeres, was seeking a wife. He had his servants sent out into the Kingdom to search for women who were beautiful virgins. The servants went out and brought in tons of women for the King to choose from! (It reminds me of a beauty pageant!) Among the chosen women, Esther was selected. Esther (also named Hadassah) was a young, beautiful Jewish girl who not only had beauty on the outside, but also had a captivating beauty within her heart. Esther was chosen by the King in the "final running's" to become Queen of Persia. Once she was selected, it was required of her to go through 12 months of "beauty school." She had to go 6 months of being soaked in oil of myrrh and 6 months of perfume and cosmetic treatments. Within these 12 months, she had to completely consecrate herself from the world. Even though there were several women in the running for Queen, something about Esther stood out to King Xeres - Esther 1:11 "Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem (where Esther was staying) to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her." When it came her turn, after the long 12 months of preparation, she went before the King. He found great favor and beauty with her, he selected HER as his Queen!!! He noticed something different about Esther. He saw her outside beauty but was more drawn to the beauty in her heart! What a story!!

Recently, in the year 2010, I kinda did what Esther did! I took the year 2010 to consecrate myself to God alone. Many know my story ... for 10 years I dated more guys than my own age, searching for the perfect one. I was in and out of relationships, left in confusion, and hopeless to ever finding true love. Dating became my lifestyle, searching for "the one" was my goal, and allowing nothing to stand in my way was my motto. Throughout those relationships, I made my mistakes. I believed the lie that to be loved was to GIVE love, in the worldy way. What a lie! There is a quote I once heard and it goes like this "Men play at love for sex and women play at sex for love." There are men out there that will say "If you love me, you will do this for me.." and there are women out there that believe "If I give him what he wants, he will love me forever.." I was one of those girls. I would date guys for love. I never knew what TRUE LOVE was. In 2010, I decided to let go of my dating habits and take the year off with God. I started my year off rough, made my mistakes, and learned from them, but the realness of God's love hit me when I became consecrated like Esther. I took 12 months of completely setting myself apart from the world and getting away with God. I stayed tucked away and safe in his arms, spending countless midnight hours on my face weeping before the throne of God. It became a lifestyle to me, one that I never want to give up.

I really want to encourage all of you out there to live the life of Esther. Consecrate yourself from the world. Whether it be in the area of dating, TV, internet, certain friends, activities, whatever! It is when you completely set yourself apart that you find out who GOD is and ultimately discover who YOU are through God. In this season on consecration, you will find your true passions and desires in life. God will stir your heart in the direction of your destiny and will equip you with the proper equipment to fight through your destiny! Look at Esther, He set her up as QUEEN of Persia to ultimately save the NATION! I don't know about you, but living a season consecrated to God to reap a reward for HIM like that one, is beyond worth it!

I am not going to sit here and say it is the easiest season you will go through, cause it is one of the hardest seasons. It is the season in your life where you will probably most feel Satan attacking your spiritual life and walk with God, cause we all know he HATES when we get away with God. But you serve a God who will protect you and lead you through! He will never EVER leave you!

Return to your First Love, God, and surrender all you are to Him, becoming a consecrated and submitted vessel to Him! My year of singleness and consecration may be over, but I will forever live the consecrated lifestyle, being set apart and always submitting to my First Love! Consecration my lifestyle, submission my goal, and allowing NOTHING to stand in the way of seeking the heartbeat of my First Love!

You DO Matter!

Why is it as humans we fear if we matter? We base our "matter" on our position in life. I want you to read this poem with that in mind. (It's long but please read it all ... you will love it!)




The Villagers of Stiltsville

Perhaps you don't know,
then maybe you do,
about Stiltsville, the village,
(so strange but so true)

where people like we,
some tiny, some tall,
with jobs and kids
and clocks on the wall

keep an eye on the time.
For each evening at six,
they meet in the square
for the purpose of sticks,
tall stilts upon which

Stiltvillians can strut
and be lifted above
those down in the rut;

the less and the least,
the Tribe of Too Smalls,
the not cools and have-nots
who want to be tall

but can't, because
in the giving of sticks,
their name wasn't called.
They didn't get picked.

Yet still they come
when villagers gather;
they press to the front
to see if they matter

to the clique of the cool,
the court of high clout,
that decides who is special
and declares with a shout,

"You're classy!" "You're pretty!"
"You're clever" or "Funny!"
And bequeath at a prize,
not of medals or money,

not a freshly baked pie,
or a house someone built,
but the oddest of gifts -
a gift of some stilts.

Moving up is their mission
going higher their aim,
"elevate your position"
is the name of their game.

The higher-ups of Stiltsville
(you know if you've been there)
make the biggest to-do
of the sweetest of thin air.

They relish the chance
on their high apparatus
to strut on their stilts,
the ultimate status.

For isn't life best
when viewed from the top?
Unless you stumble
and suddenly are not

so sure of your footing.
You tilt and you sway.
"Look out bel-0-0-0w!"
and you fall straightaway

into the Too Smalls,
hoi polloi of the earth.
You land on your pride -
oh boy, how it hurts.

When the chic police,
in the jilt of all jilts,
don't offer to help
but instead take your stilts.

"Who made you king?"
you start to complain
but then notice the hour
and forget your refrain.

It's almost six!
No time for chatter.
It's back to the crowd,
to see if you matter.

This is the not where it ends, don't worry! This is just the part I want to embrace first! Think about the story for a second. These people base who they are on the standards of their village; being higher up on stilts makes you more important. Same goes for us! We base who we are on the "stilts" of the world.

The worlds "stilts" are clothes, cars, house, jobs, body image .... and the list goes on. We go out and we make sure we have the best of the best and look the best of the best... and for what? Cause in a month or so, a new trend arises. We spend so much time, energy and even money trying to be what the WORLD wants us to be. For what? A moment of "matter."

Like trends change, matter too changes in the worlds eyes. Today, being a nurse matters. Tomorrow, having the best business matters. Today, having a cobalt is elite, but tomorrow make sure you get that mustang if you want to keep your title!

Here's where the story gets good!

Stiltvillians still cluster,
and crowds still clamor,
but more stay away.
They seem less enamored

since the Carpenter came
and refused to be stilted.
He chose low over high,
left the system tip-tilted.

"You matter already,"
he explained to the town,
"Trust me on this one.
Keep your feet on the ground."

The Carpenter is Jesus! He always saves the day! Just like He said to the town "You already matter," He is saying this to us! To Him we matter! Inside and out! We don't have to go out and fight to be the best or look the best, we are already at HIS best! He knows everything about us, and to Him we are "worth more than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:31)

Society only cares about the size of your body and the amount in your bank. They don't care about the amount of hairs on your head or your deepest dreams. God takes the time to really KNOW us. He MADE us. Don't be like the "Stiltvillians." Live the way God created you, with the image He gave you, with the dreams He gave you and with the blessings He's pouring on you!

Don't fear if you "matter" to the world, rest in knowing you matter to God!

I hope this poem did a better job at explaining my point because it is really hard to grasp the concept that God made me, therefore society can't shape me!

When life gives you destiny, just danc

Recently, I have been loaned the book "Dancing with Destiny" and I have yet to crack the pages but just looking at the title gets my spirit jumping and my mind rolling. I love to dance. I grew up dancing! It is such a beautiful outward expression of an inward emotion. (Well if the dance is appropriate that is!)


When people think about destiny they often think about destination; the place they need to get in life. Well hate to break it to you, but that's wrong. Destiny is the JOURNEY to the destination, not the destination itself. You are living your destiny daily as you walk this long road called life. On this road you run into speed bumps and twists and turns. Sometimes, it becomes too much of a ride and you end up stopping your journey. I want to challenge you to dance with you destiny!


Dance has various forms right? There is ballet, hip hop, jazz, tango, samba, waltz, and many more! Think of it this way: every bump or turn in the road is a shift in your dance step. If might start out with something beautiful like ballet, but then a bump comes and you find the music getting intense and harder to do ballet to. What do you do? You change your style of dance!


Whatever happens in life the best thing you can do is learn to dance with it! Life is going to be a road that gets tough to travel on sometimes. But your Creator already knows you and planned what will happen to you. He will always guide you. Just trust and dance with Him through life!


Lets look at one of the famous dancers in history: King David.
If you read throughout Psalms you see David's thoughts on paper. He had his bumps and turns in life just like everyone else but he chose to "dance" with it. He was a worshiper who loved to express his love to God through dance.


2 Samuel 6:14 - "And David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod."


We must become like David as we live our destiny. Dance with every turn of the music! Satan doesn't want you to dance because not only is dance an expression of love and faith to God, but it is a sign of strength and victory to come. The devil wants you to be crawling along the road, not dancing. Prove to him he is weak and God is strong! So get up and dance!

Don't look back ...

Genesis 19:26
"But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt."

Lately, I have been studying the women of the bible and when I came across Lot's wife I was blown away at what one verse could carry. Lets recap the story of Lot: Lot and his family lived in Sodom and the city was so wicked that God told Abraham He was going to destroy the city with fire. Abraham tried to bargain with God by saying "What about all the innocent lives?" So God told him "If you find 50 people who are good, I will not destroy the city." However, that was not enough for Abraham. He tried negotiating again and again until he got to 10 people. So God said "Ok I will send my angels and if they find 10 good people, I will save the city." Unfortunately when the angels arrived at the city they only found good in Lot and his family. The angels told them to flee for their lives and when the fire fell they were not to look back. When they left the city, the temptation became too strong for Lot's wife to handle that she looked back at her city and she became a pile of salt.

There are 2 parts I want to discuss:

1. The city - It really irritates me when people say that God causes destruction ... no He doesn't. We do, by sinning! It is initially our faults. Sin is what we do instead of what God wants. When we sin, we cause destruction. Sin causes bad things to happen, not God.

2. Lot's wife - She was warned by the angels not to look back ... but she couldn't resist. The sin of her own city destroyed her. Same goes with us. When we sin, we repent and flee before destruction occurs, just like Lot's family. However, when we look back on our sin it destroys us. When you look back on your sin, without realizing it, you allow that sin to have a window back in your life.

Have you ever sinned and for some reason you can't help but continue to look back on your sin? Do you ever realize how much it affects you? I know for me it is very hard to not look back and live in the regret of what I have once done. Daily, I have to remind myself that I do not live that lifestyle anymore. If you think about it, it is kind of a slap in the face to God when we constantly remind Him of our old selves.

Micah 7:19 "You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."

Psalms 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

From these 2 verses we can infer that God casts our sins so far from Him, that He doesn't even remember them. How amazing is He! He has such grace and mercy! If the God of all creation casts our sins, why shouldn't we? We should repent and not look back. Don't be like Lot's wife and fall into the temptation of returning to your sin.

Philippians 3:13
"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead."

Looking back is a sure end to going back!

Right now take a moment and think of your past ... let this be the last time you look back in regret. Don't think long enough to let it consume you and affect your life! Just look back and think ... you may not be where you need to be, but thank God you aren't where you used to be!