Nothing Can Separate Us

written by Stacey Greene

It’s surreal to realize I can no longer say, “In the next 9 months I hope to …” Time seems to be flying by faster than I’d like to admit. At the beginning of this year, somewhere along the epic 11-mile hike, Tripp said to us, “The end will come faster than you think. Time is really going to fly by.”

In the middle of traveling hundreds of miles I have come to realize how important it is to hold onto the present. So many times in life I have focused too much on the future. Where will I be, how will I get there and what will I have in my possession to show for where I am? Nowhere in that statement did I mention, God. More times than I’d like to admit I have focused entirely too much on myself, and have fallen privy to the idea I can amount to more without our heavenly Creator. 

This past weekend Drew Hill, Youth Pastor and Worship leader of Church of the Redeemer, gave a beautiful sermon on discontentment. His words were convicting, powerful and put a real magnifying glass to how I am living life.

I have come to realize more than ever, I simply cannot do everything on my own. Life experiences forced me to become independent and unconsciously put a barrier between every aspect of my life. Attachments, vulnerability and candid expression have been lost in this sea of self-doubt and separation. Am I so arrogant to believe I have a better plan than the God who loved me, saved me, and allows me to live this beautiful life?

One of my very first YL talks I referenced the gospel of Luke, and the story of a sinful woman. The woman comes up behind Jesus and the partygoers see the emotion that’s on her face. They see how she is filled with tears and as she gets down on her knees she begins weeping and weeping to the point where she is able to wash Jesus’ dirty feet with her tears. She dries them with her hair and she pours perfume on His feet. I think all of us can relate to this woman in some way. Many of us can relate to her because we have a reputation that haunts us just as this woman did. But maybe some of us, myself included, can relate to this place where she couldn’t even look Jesus in the face because of the sins she carried. And that’s why she came up behind Jesus. And some of us sometimes feel so unworthy to come into His presence because of our past. Just as I told my high school friends that day, I have to remind myself, there is no sin, past, present or future that separates us from the love of God.

Bringing Hope in a Dying World

written by Sean Geldner

In these last 8 weeks I have been in fellowship with the other fellows, I have experienced just about every emotion possible. Regardless of the times life gets us down we have to realize that as we stand here, in our flesh, in our humanity, we bring life and hope to a dying world through Christ. Two weekends ago, we went to the Storyline conference in Chicago. My initial thought was, “What has this tree hugging writers conference really got for me?” But I was quickly proven wrong. God used that conference to open my eyes to the beauty of literature, to family and to the grace and love that he provides in that. I wrote a spoken word, with a lot of help from my heart on this one:

Am I really searching? Am I truly searching for the answers to questions that beg for clarity? Am I on the steady path that leads to eternity? Am I a poet, am I a canvas that God has painted perfectly? Can I ever find my dreams, or am I just stuck here wandering? Through the heartache, through the sorrow, am I a being that can find joy consistently? Or will the jagged edges of my past overtake me? Can I take myself seriously when I search for love tangibly or try and take on ...the burdens that could break me? It's then that I realize I am redeemed, saved by grace, bought with a price... My HISTORY. I've heard it all before "you're blessed" "you're special" but why do I feel distant from your glory? But the truth is I can go on, I can fight this fight! I can bring about change and turn dark to light! I can burn as bright as a star and take on the day simply because I'm saved! I'm redeemed! I'm set free from my chains!

Every so often I get these really inspirational moments that I just can't hold back. But that’s the beauty of Christ. He doesn’t expect us to hold back. He wants us to proclaim his name with almost, I believe, a militant authority. In love and in peace, but at the same time with the roar of a lion to spread it to the four winds.

Thanks guys for this opportunity to share.

Love y'all

Sean AKA “Lionheart”

What We Learned In Chicago

"I learned the importance of stepping back every now and then to evaluate your dreams and goals, and if your life reflects those goals. It think it was a call to action for us - we've been soaking in so much learning and discipleship, and now it's time to put it into practice and move forward with who we want to become and how we want our lives to look" - Hannah Boning

Last week, the Fellows went to Chicago, IL to participate in the Storyline Conference. They heard from people like Donald Miller, Shauna Niequist, Bob Goff and others. The theme was learning how God fits into the storyline of our lives, and learning to invite Him to be a part of all of it.

"I just remember this one quote sticking out to me: 'In the greatest stories of all time, the main character knows what he/she wants. What do you want?'" - Graham Monroe

"Shauna Niequest's sentence that she kept repeating throughout the conference was 'Do your thing with great love right now'. Ever since the conference that's been on my heart and trying to figure out what my thing is, how I can do it with great love, and how I can do it right now, right here, where I'm at and with what I've been given." - Sarah Moubray

"I learned that pain and suffering can be the fuel and power in how we live and express ourselves in the future. God redeems and uses these pains." - Kyle Gassaway

"I learned that open vulnerability is a way to connect and build fruitful community." - Stacey Greene

"I learned how to love - love bigger, love courageously, and love enthusiastically." - Sean Geldner