3 Point Take-Away from OC13

Orange Conference 2013, Gwinnet Center

1. We are all posers.

Extreme, intense energy and passion for Jesus Christ. That is Bob Goff. He is infectiously animated. His enthusiasm is more contagious than the most fatal epidemic of bubonic plague. Bob Goff clearly loves God and loves people. My defenses instantly perked when Bob said, “We are all posers.”

But he is right. 

I do not live up to the potential God has put in us because I waste time worrying about what people think of me. We are afraid of becoming who God has created us to be and, as a result, we don’t see people because we are so distracted by our attempt to cover up our true selves. We lack love. We lack acceptance.

Jesus not only healed, he held. His ministry is characterized by his exquisite ability to love people well; touching the leper, grasping him, healing him, and showing the world that he has value.

Are you allowing your fear of 'who you really are' to suffocate the potential God has purposely and intricately woven into you?

Be who you are. Stop posing, start loving.

2. Leadership starts and ends with glorifying God.  

Have you ever heard of Catalyst? After the 60 minute breakout session by Brad Lomenick, President of Catalyst, I had to investigate this leadership training and figure out how to get there! (Catalyst West coming to Irvine, CA April 2014 http://www.catalystwestcoast.com/post_event)

Building leaders in their 20s and 30s is different than the generation before us (I am 26, so that would be 40 year olds). We approach life as a portfolio of projects, a series of career tracks. We desire meaningful work, offering the potential for personal and professional growth.

“Act like you don't belong, but always work your guts out like you do,” Brad said as he explained the meaning of Hungry, Humble, Hustle. 

Get up early. Stay up late.

Be the hungry 2^nd, not the arrogant 1^st.

Volunteer for the tough assignments no one else wants.

And in all things, be the best. God’s glory is at stake!

3. Children and youth are not our future. We must invest and build leaders now.

Our kids go to children’s church from pre-k through elementary, graduate to middle school youth group, and eventually make it to high school youth group. They may hear cool messages, loud worship, and get their flirt on. But what happens when our children graduate high school and leave for college or vocational training?

Nothing.

A lot kids have not built a solid foundation as a Christ follower and leave the church. They have little buy in. They don’t know they can make a difference. What gives?

Why not give young people an opportunity to serve and grow as a leader? When a person is given a significant role, they will make a significant difference. When youth are entrusted with a position of leadership, not only do they step up to the challenge, but they also find value and importance in serving. They come to believe their contribution matters.

Perry Noble drove this point home: If we really want to reach the next generation, we have got to understand that they are not interested in our ability, but in our availability.

I cannot remember one message from my high school youth group years, but I do remember Hester, our youth pastor’s wife, going on a walk with me around our church campus and talking about life and, of course, boys. I remember being baptized with my mom and sister in the Newaukum River a few miles out of town. The youth in your church do not care how ‘churchy’ you sound or where you earned your theology degree. They want to be loved on, cared about and invested in. If we are following the most important command, love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:36-40), loving these kids will be…easy! 

***If you have considered attending the Orange Conference in Atlanta, I highly recommend prayerfully seeking God’s direction for your ministry and checking out the Orange Tour at http://orangetour.org/orangeconference/2013, coming to Seattle on September 17. ***

Pursuing Perfection No More

The 'pursuit of perfection' is a catchy phrase in which I have written several little blurbs and blog postings. Clearly, it is an area of struggle in my life and I thank God it is steadily becoming an area of transformation, redemption and victory. I have consistently struggled to look perfect, act perfect, be perfect.

Until recently, I did not fully understand why I so eagerly yearned to be perfect. Why was my driving force one of such self-centered destruction?

Just yesterday, I met my dad's cousin, Gary, for the first time as an adult. He is one anointed man of God. 'Blessed' does not even remotely describe or explain my day hanging out with Gary, touring downtown Atlanta, lunch with he and JohnMark, and visiting Brenda's third grade classroom. Meeting family in Georgia was so wonderful! Driving from destination to destination may not seem like a very impactful experience, but the presence of God was so clear; He used my distant relative to speak truth into my life. Truth that led to freedom from that pursuit of perfection.

"You don't have to earn God's approval."
"You're accepted."

I had heard those words several times. This time, those words sparked something deep in my heart. The lens in which I view myself dictates my interpretation of and reaction to the world around me.
My expectations for myself are seriously unattainable. I unfairly appraoch the world in the same manner. The more grace I receive from God, the more grace I can extend to others and even myself. Perfectoin is not the goal. Honoring and glorifying God is the goal.

I don't have to try. I don't have to be someone or something I'm not. I can come as I am, brokenness and all. Jesus is enough. He chose death to save me...the real me. And he did so for you.

Flashback to '08

I found myself reminiscing this morning. Reminiscing on good and tough times, fond and not-so-lovely memories, joys and blessings, victories and failures. In it all, was the reminder that through the grace of Christ, the refining of God Almighty, I am becoming a new person.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

The Word of God is alive and true, penetrating the innermost places of my being (Hebrews 4:12).

Frequently, I forget just how lonely and desolate life was before I was following Jesus. I was absorbed in my own issues and selfishness. I could not trust or forgive. The pursuit of thinness consumed every thought and action. I just wanted to be beautiful and loved and cherished by someone. Anyone.

Below, is an excerpt from my journal. It is dated May 12, 2008, the day after I turned 21.

 "Rays of sun touch down on the ground, gently kissing the new greens of springtime and all is wonderfully still. I look out the window right now and am filled with a peace I have not felt in awhile. It's a peace I have not been quiet enough to hear or patient enough to wait for. 
I've been praying that Jesus would show me He is pursuing me, show me I am so beautiful to Him. I know that this morning is my morning, it's the day he has decided to romance me. I can see this by the millions of fresh dots of dew on the grass, glistening more radiantly than the finest diamond. And, still, our Lord thinks I am more beautiful. I feel so secure, so treasured, so wanted."

While reading this, I remembered the promise of Philippians 1:6, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

I am no longer that girl, the girl who so earnestly sought approval from everyone, the girl who could not see her beauty was in Christ. Today, I am thankful that I know I am His girl and my security is in The Lord.

"A man's steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand." 
Psalm 37:23-24 

Today, I praise God for the good work he has accomplished in me. I praise Him for his good story. And, today, I pray you see the glory of the Lord and come to know you are secure in and treasured by The Lord Almighty.

Grace and peace,
KC

Downsizing for a Statement

Can you imagine owning only one shirt and wearing it days without a washing? 
What if you were from one of the poorest regions of the world, having only a few hundred dollars to live on for an entire year. 
Imagine never hearing the name of Jesus Christ and his message of freedom, grace, life. 

The people of the 10/40 window,  the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia between 10 degrees and 40 degrees north latitude, do not only imagine what life would be like under such conditions, they do not know any different. 

The "10/40" Window

The poorest of the poor hopelessly wander the streets. In fact, 85% of the world's poorest people live within the 10/40 window. Without suitable resources, hope is lost. 
Few have heard the Good News-the Kingdom of Heaven is here! Of the 3.6 billion unreached people in the world, 88% live in or near the 10/40 window. It is not a matter of being unreachable, just yet unreached. 

I am burdened by the mere thought of poverty and hopelessness. Being blessed to know the comfort of a warm, cozy bed, any food I feel like eating and an abundance of clothes, shoes, electronics and other extravagant comforts that give my life ease, I am challenged to make a change. For one week, I will wear one shirt. Tomorrow begins the epic attire re-run that I pray will remind me to 1) Fervently pray for missionaries and Christians in the 10/40 window, 2) Allow God room to ground me again, and 3) Put my focus on Him instead of the luxuries of my life.

As much as I would like to, I cannot take the credit. My dear friend, Cassie, is a member of an amazing church of huge-hearted Christ followers. Students, pastors, and leaders are committing to wear one shirt everyday for a month. This shirt literally says, "My One Shirt," and is a fundraiser for the Galbreath family so they can purchase a van to get around and do ministry in Hachinohe, Japan. Their ministry involves church planting and ministering to the people of Japan. The deadline to order a shirt has passed, so we will need to get creative on how we can make a difference too!

How can you be involved?

Here are some ideas:

• Take the One Shirt Challenge with me! 
• Donate to My One Shirt (see link for nlchurch below)
• Fast from social media 
• Reactivate your "dumb" phone and put your smart phone to rest for a month 
• Pray for Christians in the 10/40 window 
• Repost New Life Church's link (below) and tell your FB and Twitter friends about life in the 10/40 window (then go on your fast) 
• Eat the same thing for breakfast every day for a week 
• Don't use condiments for a week 
• Drink only water for a month 

Please follow my blog and leave comments on how you are getting involved and making a difference. Be a world changer. 

http://www.nlchurch.com/next-gen/myoneshirt.html
http://www.joshuaproject.net/10-40-window.php

A Call to Change

What does it mean to redefine beauty?

Simply put, to redefine is to reexamine or reevaluate especially with a view to change (Merriam-Webster).

Sometimes, I can hardly fathom the task at which I have been assigned by my Heavenly Father. To redefine the deeply engraved and unrealistic standards of beauty our culture so strongly adheres feels quite overwhelming. It is unlikely that one measly human being can accomplish such a daunting responsibility. 

That is the beauty of it all. I, alone, can advocate for change by blogging and picketing if I chose to do so, but my endless efforts would be but a wisp of breath carried away in the obnoxious roar of reality television, celebrity gossip, presidential debates and the like. It is by God's grace I am saved and by his provision and guiding hand that a single young woman will learn to cherish life as a personally planned adventure from God and cease to waste her days afraid to eat or hide away shamefully after binging. 

I am one person, ordinary by my own efforts, able to accomplish the extraordinary because of who Christ is. I will not be afraid to live against the grain. I will not hide behind a pretty smile, suppressing my passion to share Truth.

The more I intimately know the King of the Universe, the more certain I am that a life with Christ is the only life. Nothing can or will separate me from Him (Rom 8:38-39). I am his chosen, his beloved girl.

Now, let's start redefining beauty.

You. Are. Beautiful.
Believe. It.

Until next time, life fully, love wholly, rejoice daily.

The Outside Only Tells a Piece of the Story

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It's not what you look at that matters. 

It's what you see. 

Henry David Thoreau 

I see her leaning against the outside wall of the restaurant, not appearing at all affected by the darkness looming in the long, deserted alley. Her short, fitted skirt and wisp of a shirt reveal her thin, under nourished bones. 

Battered by the slanderous words of her peers, she no longer knows the truth. She succumbs to the lies.

Worthless. 
Never good enough.

If only she knew her real value. She is valued. She is wonderful. She was purposely made and God has a plan for her life. 

"For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well."

Psalm 139:13-14

So often we are quick to made judgements on those we see living compromised lives. It's a matter of perception, but who am I to judge? It matters not where she has come from or what she has done. I can look at brokenness and see God's beauty. 

We each have a story to tell. And it is a good story. Some come from happy, functional homes having suffered little. Others are descendents of abuse and neglect. Choose grace. Do not look at the brokenness and forget to see the creation.  

"...The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

1 Samuel 16:

Until next time, LIVE FULLY, LOVE WHOLLY, REJOICE DAILY!

You Are Worth Fighting For

You are God's sweet girl.
You are His gem.

So often I forget these truths.

A tough break up, uncomfortable confrontation at work, nosy people asking why I am yet to be married and the like--situations the enemy uses to tell me lies. His schemes are always the same. Satan tells us we are not good enough. Not good enough to be fought for. Not good enough to be used by God. Not good enough. Period.

I refuse to waste away my short life believing his lies. I text my good friend this morning, asking for prayer to combat those lies. My conclusion is that Satan is a stupid jerk. How else can I describe him? Recognizing his lies gives me perseverance to put up a good fight. I will not give in and let him bring me down.

Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ. (Romans 8:38-39)
I am God's chosen girl. (John 15:16)
He will continue the good work he has started in me. (Philippians 1:6)
God delights in me. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Every word of the Bible is alive and real. Every word of God is flawless (Proverbs 30:5). I choose to cling to His Word and forget the lies of the enemy. For God has chosen me to take part in his work, loving on His people, abiding in Him. He has forgotten my past and lays down the path for my future. My confidence is in Him alone.

Heavenly Father, Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for choosing my sisters as well. Please forgive us for idolizing things of this world and for finding our value in our appearance and performance. Lord, thank you for redeeming my past. I am honored to be your girl. You have carved your words on my heart. Thank you for your son and his sacrifice for my sins. I love you, Abba Daddy. Amen