Off to the ends of the world...

Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. After his death, he presented himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days. In face-to-face meetings, he talked to them about things concerning the kingdom of God. As they
met and ate meals together, he told them that they were on no account to leave Jerusalem but "must wait for what the Father promised: the promise you heard
from me. John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And
soon."

When they were together for the last time they asked, "Master, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? Is this the time?"

He told them, "You don't get to know the time. Timing is the Father's business. What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the
world."

These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared—in white robes! They said, "You Galileans!—why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly—and mysteriously—as he left." (Acts 1:1-11)

I absolutely love reading these words and relishing in the urgency, adrenaline and excitement that is the backbone of the early church. Men who had given up everything for something more, promised by a man who was leaving, were being sent out in love and chaos to take on the world. You can so clearly see the line, that crucial point, where they have to just rise up, because life, humanity, hope...it's all been trusted into their hands. There's such a strong sense of expectancy, of raw emotion--every emotion, and passion to live for this new reason, the salvation of the world brought by their friend, their God. Certain that they had encountered and been loved by the one person that could save our broken world, they were going out into constant uncertainty and facing up against fear, doubt, apathy, rejection. But they were not alone! They had each other, a community based on love and action with bonds stronger than anything the world could throw at them, because they had lived in epically.

I really think that this is the moment were a revolution took off, and it is beautiful! The realization that the kingdom wasn't just coming, that it is here, and it is now -- it changed us forever.

We are no longer of this world, but instead we are for it. And so we just go...everything else falls along with us. What a battle cry...

Rend Collective Experiment - Worship on iPhone

I'm pretty sure this is proof that the iPhone is the only phone worth using!

Life happens. Let there be light.

WORDS from Everynone on Vimeo.

Life happens. Let there be light.

In the beginning, there were words...and then there was more.

I think it's kind of funny that I have had this blog set up and ready to go for almost 10 months, but every time I try to write something, just a few words, I'm at a loss. I wish that would happen more often in my daily life, but somehow that blessing (or curse) only shows up on its own schedule. Tonight is not necessarily any different. It's not like I have recently had some kind of amazing adventure or huge thing happen, but I almost feel like it's even more poetically appropriate to start sharing my life now, in the midst of it's average glory. It's been a long time coming and not nearly finished, but I'm starting to realize that I live my life in anticipation of what's next. I'm always waiting for that shining, golden moment that puts everything I've been juggling into the right place, for the stars to align, birds chirp, rainbows arch...you know, that moment. The moment that never really happens, because life is too messy, too big and too beautiful to be put into a fairy tale box.

So this is where I'm going to start. It's a fairly average Wednesday -- middle of the week, quiet, uneventful. It's perfect. Because it's real. It's life. It's what happens sometimes...well, most of the time. And it is good. It's where I'm learning the most.

I say I'm average, that I'm in a funk like most people searching for their dream job, that I'm 25 years old, unmarried, and still don't know quite what I'm supposed to do with my life because what I thought I wanted turned out to be right for only a season. But, in my head, I laugh at those words when they come out of my mouth. I know better. My self declared hodgepodge of disappointing averageness is luckily broken by a comforting and familiar voice telling me, once again, that I'm so much more than that, that I was made for so much more than that. And that voice is anything but average!

Stay with me here, I promise I'm getting at something bigger than my babbling words.

God wants me, us, to know that we are not average, forgotten or turned away. It's in these moments, when I don't feel special, deserved, or remembered that I'm hit upside the head with the power of promises like Exodus 14:14...

"The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still."

I have someone on my side. Someone who loves me so deeply that He fights for me even when I am still and not moving. Someone that knows that I am worth everything, always, and is patient enough for the both of us. And I can't believe that I need to be reminded of that. It seems so simple, average if you will. And if a love like that can be powerful enough to pay attention to me, how can I be average?

I met someone a few weeks ago that was sharing about a moment she experienced on a beach retreat. It started off like every other God + beach + sunrise story...you know, all of the common components like walking down the coast marveling at the colors of the sun, watching the water glisten like diamonds, thinking about how blessed we are to be a part of this beautiful world that God created, blah, blah blah. Being from Florida, I know the beach is powerful and a great place to meet with God. I'm not trying to discount it at all, I'm just saying that I've done it before, and I've definitely heard people use that analogy. Even while typing those words I can clearly hear the emphasis a pastor would place on certain words to really drive home how important it is to know just how awesome is our God. So, it's pretty safe to say that I wasn't expecting her to say anything I didn't already know. I had brought God's love and beauty down to my average expectations and, lovingly, patiently, He was about to reminded me, again, just how powerful and extraordinary He really is.

While standing ankle deep on the shoreline, looking out into the ocean, God began to speak beautiful words to my friend and continued speaking them to me days later as I listened to her share. He was rejoicing over her and singing of how powerful, how big, and wonderful He is; that as far as she could see, He was farther. As deep as she could imagine the ocean to be, His love for us was deeper. Everything, every color, every smell, every sound, is only a glimpse of His tremendous beauty. And, in the midst of a glory that is more powerful than our world could ever understand, He still bends down to us to wash our feet.

Is there anything in that moment that is average? I think not. And days later, when I heard my friend's story, there was still nothing average. Tonight as I'm sharing it again, average is the last word I would use. God wants me to know that my life is designed for more, that even in the moments and places that I live out as common, silent, or stalled, He is moving, living, loving, and fighting for me. And that is what I'm made for...better yet, it's who I'm made for.