Celebrations

Ask me where I'm at Spiritually and I'll tell you that I feel as though I've been treading through murky water these past couple of weeks. I've been blessed with a time of empowerment, revelation and enlightenment but with it has come a cloudiness that is filled with questions, over-whelming responsibilities to my convictions and my own shame that follows close behind me from things that I just haven't been able to let go of yet, despite the encouragement to just ever-so simply "lay it down at the Cross" (letting go has always been a process for me). Through all of the fogginess and questions though, comes a call to Celebrate. To savor the things that bring me much hope, much joy and encouragement. So here is an unorganized list of those nouns, passions and activities that God has welcomed me into. 

Christ and His love:

What I want to celebrate most about Christ here is His constant welcoming of us into a new reality, a new way of life where the unexpected, impossible things are ordinary and the ordinary activities, people, places and objects turn into places and acts of worship and signs of Divine Presence. Where painting a picture, participating in a slow clap, living intentionally and simply, cooking a meal and talking to a neighbor are all acts of worship. Where writing a letter, knitting a scarf, smiling at a stranger and singing on a bus are all ways in which this new way of life is ushered into the world. I'm celebrating that Christ is full of warmth and peace and is constantly surprising me and holding me dear, despite the things that I find most dark and repulsive about myself. 

Creation:

The beauty and complexity of Creation is a reflection of who the Divine is. It is God's art work, God's creativity displayed to God's creation. Every part of Creation, the dirt, the smell of freshly cut grass, a horse's gallop, a lilie's hues, the sparrow's flight and the human's compassion are all reflections of Who God is reflecting at creation and back out towards God. We live in a beautiful place where there are soft little purple and red and yellow petals that are found in a variety of shapes and are attached to bright (or duller) green stems that are rooted to the ground that we give life to and in return, life to us. We can eat Creation, enjoy it, make things out of it, converse with it, pet it, laugh with it. Creation is beautiful and I am happy to participate in it. 

My mother and grandmother:

My mother has the most laid-back and simple sense of humor out of anyone I know. My grandmother has a Hawaiian accent and laughs really hard at her own jokes. I grew up with women who were always proud of their womanhood and who taught me how to be honest and generous in giving myself to others. I've grown into a much deeper appreciation for my small family of strong women now that I've arrived at twenty. Being so far away from home will give you a deeper sense of love for your mother's comfort and your grandmother's very loud but powerful wisdom. 

My dogs, Maggie and Jade:

Two soft and sweet bundles of heavenly joy and friendship. I'm an animal lover, a dog lover to be more specific and the ten years of best friendship that I've shared with my little beagle has taught me more about the Creator of this world than many sermons ever did. The loyalty, the joy and delight in their wagging tails and reaching paws when you come back from work or from a long time away from home. The sadness in their whimpers when they know you're leaving and not coming back for a long time. The way they lay with you in silence and comfort you when your heart is broken. They are there for you in the simplest of ways. 

My housemates:

We are all so very different, but my community's presence has been a gift to me. Sharing life with six other people has been one of my most formative and beautiful experiences. I'm thankful for their vulnerability, their courage, endurance and love for God, for life and for one another.

More briefly:

-My chaplain in college who was such an inspiration and who was with me through my wrestling with tough questions and situations.

-Stray animals and their courage, strength and intelligence that helps them to survive on the streets. I'm encouraged by the care God shows for them. 

-Feminism and the empowerment that God has given to me through it. It is truly transforming the way that I view people and a myriad of social issues. 

-Theology and the things I discover in it about the Divine One, humanity, justice, love and myself. 

-Cooking and the creative world we live in when we make something to eat.

-Books and the amount of other people's shoes that I have walked miles in through them. 

Falling in love with six people.

Intentional community has its own sort of beauty. Sharing life with six other people certainly, certainly has its challenges and tough days, but being changed into a woman who is more kind, who is more thoughtful, who is more gentle and loving and who is more filled with the Light of God's Spirit while also watching all of my housemates being more filled with this Light is where I am beginning to find gratitude and joy. 

Sharing our meals, sharing our tough moments, sharing our joys and also our pains, giving our honesty, giving ourselves generously to one another, sharing our laughter and the healing powers that come with it have all been things that have led me to a deeper love for my community lately.

God has been answering many prayers and the gift of being aware of His presence and Spirit inside of me has been blessing me more and more lately. I am being healed. I am being made new every day. I am loved by a Good God who is here. Who has never left and who never will. 

One of the challenges I’ve been facing as of late is being obedient to the moment and being present in the things that are happening in the “here and now”. There is no hope for a better past and there is no sense in living in the future, as it isn’t here yet.

I’m praying to be healed of a heart full of want. I’m praying that the Holy Spirit would breathe on the coals in my Spirit. I'm thankful for six incredible people who will be with me through this year. Through the changes, through the trials, the hurt, the celebrations and the kinder, more lovable moments. 

Growth through the smaller things.

Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 

Matthew 10:39

I don't have any profound words. I have very little to say, very few words that I want to share. Most of what I have are these photographs. We've been on a technology fast for the past six weeks, so I haven't gotten to use my camera much, but what I have here are some small moments that I've gotten to share with my housemates. 

I am beginning to love all six of my housemates as I do my own family. We are becoming more and more united in each challenge, in each night of laughter, in each early devotional, in each piece of honesty, in each walk around our neighborhood. The Spirit of God is with us. I know it, I feel it too. (Yes, I did just quote The Soil and the Sun).

God is changing me most through the smaller moments.

God is patient. I am learning to be patient with His process as well. 

I'm thankful to be where I am. I'm thankful to be with the ones that I am with. 

I am being freed from:

The need to be right. 

The need to be heard. 

The need to be noticed and appreciated. 

Praise God. 

Creation, strays and the least of these.

This is Mama. She's one of the many strays that I've gotten to befriend and fall in love with.
Every morning when she sees my house mates and I, she comes running to us with her tail wagging
 and her ears perked up ready to be petted and fed.

My conviction is that animals are just as much apart of this wonderful creation as anything or anyone else. They have the capacity to love, to experience joy, to mourn, the be angry, to feel pain and to intentionally comfort. When I imagine God's new heaven and new earth, I believe that the lilies and the sparrows will be apart of that new creation, as God cares for them and declared them as good in the Beginning. 

There are many strays in our neighborhood and it's one of the saddest things that I've had to witness so far while living in Houston. Every day while walking to and from work, I see homeless animals. All sorts of dogs with mange, fleas, shrunken stomachs, bones peaking through the skin. It's a painful sight. While my heart deeply aches for the abandoned pets roaming my neighborhood, it also serves as a terrible, but great picture of the types of injustice that happens in many of our hearts. The voiceless, the helpless, the least, remaining hungry, lonely, unloved, unwanted, abused, scared and under appreciated. Pushed aside and ignored for fear of having to take action. Guarding our hearts from compassion because we often feed into the lie that there's nothing that we can do about it. That that drunk man, that prostitute, that "troubled youth", that stray dog isn't worth our care, our time, our money. It isn't worth investing in because they are less than, they are not valuable, and their suffering exists because of their poor decisions. These are lies. Do not believe them. 

"The least of these" have many things to teach us. In their presence we are humbled. In their sufferings we are silenced. In joining them, we find solidarity and unity. In their friendship we find sincerity and blessing. In their eyes, if we look close enough, we see Christ looking back at us. Do not be afraid to befriend, do not be afraid to invest, to touch, to pet. 

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels 

with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations 

will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from 

another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he 

will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then 

the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are 

blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from 

the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me 

food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a 

stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me 

clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and 

you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when 

was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and 

gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a 

stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And 

when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And 

the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one 

of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to 

me.'..."

If you would like to join me in feeding the strays in our neighborhood, please send nutritious dog treats to my Houston address! That would be greatly appreciated! 

If you'd also like ot donate financially to my Mission Year that would be especially helpful and appreciated! 

https://missionyear.thankyou4caring.org/taylorburch

Welcome!

What a busy week and a half I've had so far here in Houston! I feel like ever since I got here its been almost non-stop community, conversations about intense topics, team work and intentionality (yes, I know that intentionality isn't a real word). All of this can be especially exhausting if you aren't used to it, but I already feel so much growth and nourishment happening in my soul. 

I honestly don't have much to say. We've all been so stretched and challenged these past several days that I haven't been able to completely process my experience thus far. I do, however, want all of you to know that I'm thankful that I'm here. I wake up every morning knowing that I am in a place that God has called me to be. I'm thankful for all of my roommates and the unique blessings that they bring to our house, our adventures thus far and our community (that includes our house, as well as our neighbors, other Mission Year teams in Houston, the entire Mission Year family that is spread throughout the nation, and our friends and family at our original homes that are faithfully encouraging and supporting us). 

This morning I led a devotional where I shared about the alter that I've set up in my heart in remembrance of what the Lord has done for me thus far. It's incredible to look back and reflect on where I was compared to where I am now. I remember not too long ago, I was on my face in over-whelming sorrow before the Lord begging to be healed and brought back to life. I wanted true, intentional community, to be apart of a united body where I could seek the face of God while learning to love people. I can honestly say that God has come through. Praise be to God! 

Here are some photos of my experiences thus far. There's all sorts of pictures of our trip downtown to get to know the area, my new finds, my housemates and the most beautiful coffee mug that I've ever had the pleasure of sipping from (pictured right below!). 

I hope that these will bless you as much as they've blessed me! Enjoy! 

If you feel led to come alongside us and help out financially with our journey's please feel free to donate here. Whether you donate a dollar or one hundred dollars, every single one of your contributions count and are appreciated. Your prayers, encouragement, letters, etc are also incredibly welcomed and appreciated. We need you all as well! 

Donate here!

P.S. Just so it is known, we have all made the choice to commit to a six week technology fast. We will access the internet and use our phones only once a week (which will be Fridays). This is an intentional choice that we've made in order to not be distracted by technology while getting to know our surroundings and one another, to learn to lean on people rather than our phones and to learn some self-control! Technology seems to get in the way of our "real-life", face to face relationships and we are choosing to manage our phones and computers rather than them managing us. 

If you are seeking to get in touch with me, please know that the only days that I will be contactable for the next six weeks will be Fridays! Blessings and much love to you all.