Life Unexpected

Sometimes God graciously allows you to see glimpses of His Kingdom unfolding right before your eyes.  Tonight He was incredibly gracious. As I gathered together with my new church family to walk around our neighborhood, praying for the people that surround our college campus, I couldn't help but notice His Kingdom unfolding.  I saw it in the faces of 8-10 teens that showed up to pray for their community because they love Jesus and want others to love him too.  I saw it as a 4 year old offered to be the first one to pray over a house of a neighbor whose name was unknown.  I saw it as one of our senior high boys prayed over our house thanking God that we were here.   I saw it as a mother prayed for our neighbor who is soon to be a new mom in just a few weeks who I am not even sure knows who Jesus is.  I saw it as our groups that had scattered, gathered back together and shared stories of how God had used a short 40 minutes to enlarge our perspective of ...

Last weekend my Dad decided to do something we probably should all do.  He decided to be present.  Let me back up.  For the past 8 years of my life, my Dad and I have had the opportunity to sing in the Ordained Ministers Choir at our District Assembly, since we were serving on the same district for our denomination.  It's not been something my Dad is dying to do each year, but he has done it because it's been important to me. So this year, when I moved 8 hours away to a brand new District, just two weeks before our Assembly, the reality sank in that our "run together," was officially over.  We had been given the privilege to serve as Pastors on the same District for more time than most Father/Daughter Pastor duos are given, and I knew that I should be grateful, but change was still really hard. About a month ago, my Dad called me up on the phone to tell me he had booked tickets to come to Boston to sing with me in the Ordination Choir on my new District. ...