12/8/10

Hello Blogland!

I'll start this post with a disclaimer...It's not my normal randomness of a post but rather just what's on my heart. Just thoughts that need to get out of my head and on to paper.

I was blessed to be raised in a home where my parents took us to church, taught us about God and lead lives that pointed us to Christ. I was brought up in the church and always had friends that were believers. Many of the people I attended church with are still friends and it's safe to say that they were a huge part of my faith community.

At the time in my life (up until high school) I doubt that I appreciated the roles that all those people took on and how they shaped me as a person. Once I reached college, I had a desire to find a similar community and was blessed like crazy to attend Beltway Baptist the entire time I was at ACU. I also had chapel daily at school and met with an friends who held me accountable in my life. It was a season where I took my faith as my own and grew a lot as a person.

Once I moved to Illinois, finding community was more difficult. I lived alone, went to a commuter school and was working and completing an internship. When Currey and I got married we were still longing for community. We became a part of a huge church and a small group that we enjoyed but we still felt like we were missing something. (To be fair, we lived 45 minutes from our church and small group and it's next to impossible to be in community with people when there is such a great physical distance.)

And then we found Life Church. We were hooked from the very first worship song. The people were warm and genuine. But the biggest draw was the honesty of everyone we met. People really wanted to do life with us. The good, the bad and the ugly. Even the really ugly. I didn't realize it immediately but we'd found community. That thing that I believe all believers long for. We got plugged into a small group and we began sharing life with those that were a part of our group. I could list all the reasons that our church is amazing and trust me I could easily come up with 100. But that's not the point. The point is we found community. A place were we are loved unconditionally, supported entirely in our gifts and talents and a place where we are accepted just as we are.

I'm in a season of appreciation that we have such a place but also a place of grieving for those that don't. I watch others, even believers, stumble blindly through life because they refuse to become vulnerable with those around them. Pride gets in the way of truly becoming a part of a community or sometimes its a fear of really being known by others. But that my friends is not what God intended. I believe that he longs for us to spend time with others, being encouraged and sharpened. I also believe that this is a greater support than just your family. Parents, siblings and spouses can all be sharpeners of our faith. But there is an even bigger community to belong to. Friends that become family and choose to love you in spite of yourself. So during this season of advent I urge you to find community. It's a sweet season of anticipating the birth of our savior. What better time to join with other believers to celebrate! May you joyously celebrate during this season of advent.