Friends & Family,
As always, we thank you for your continued prayers and support as we figure out how to be Jesus to the people of Pittsburgh. The spiritual, emotional, moral, and financial support you so generously and kindly provide always humbles us; we know it is Christ working in and through you, and we praise him for that! Thank you for being faithful to us just as Christ is; be sure that we always see him in you.
Over the past month or so, we have experienced some changes in ourselves that were neither expected nor exactly pleasant at the time (what transformation is?). I think it mostly started on the 4th of July when I had an emotional breakdown at my parents' house in Kentucky. Emotional breakdown is actually too kind a term to use... I had a full-blown pity-party. While Nicholas tried to console me (yet still breathe hard truths into me and ask me challenging questions about the deep-rooted issues that were causing me to feel this way), my mother simply looked at me and said, "You just need to get over it and stop feeling sorry for yourself." Oh, the dear Lord knew that in that moment I just needed a smack in the face from my beautiful Kentucky mother. Until she looked my pain in the face with the warmest, most clarifying apathy I've ever experienced, I didn't even know that the root problem of my heart was self-pity, and a self-pity brought on by the cloud of expectation that I had allowed to loom over my head for far too long.
You see, where I come from (the South), being a wife means that you stay at home, clean the house every day, have a million babies, and live to serve the every whim of your husband and give up every dream you ever had. That's all. Now, I am not saying that I do not keep a clean house, hope to be a mother some day, or do not lovingly submit to my husband in all things, but I have always known I have been gifted with more talent to use for Christ's kingdom than just my reproductive system and ability to scrub a floor. However, instead of letting Christ show me exactly the kind of wife he wanted me to be over the past year, I just tried to shove myself into the role of a typical Southern house-wife, and I failed HARD (and I am not bashing women who are stay-at-home mothers... y'all deserve to get paid millions of dollars every year and you're saints and the best people alive). Yet, because of my inability to be like this kind of woman, I constantly felt like a failure. What's worse, though, is that over the past year, I haven't just become a wife, but a pastor's wife. So, not only have I been killing myself trying to be a sexy-flawless-apron-wearing-cleaning-baking-always-smiling wife; I have also been killing myself trying to be the kind of woman that always has fresh coffee and homemade biscotti waiting for the five thousand women I'm supposed to "mentor," who never EVER misses a Sunday at church, bakes something for every occasion, volunteers for every position available, and who only goes by the name of "Nic's-wife." And, once again, I have failed HORRIBLY at being this kind of woman (and thank JESUS I go to a church that does not expect me to be a nameless robot, but a human being with her own set of skills and interests who doesn't get persecuted for missing a Sunday and not knowing everyone's name - AND I AM NOT BASHING PASTOR'S WIVES WHO LIVE TO BE MOTHER'S OF THE CHURCH AND BAKE AND BABYSIT AND NURTURE BECAUSE YOU ALL ARE INCREDIBLE AND BEAUTIFUL AND I LOOK UP TO YOU). I just don't 100% fit this mold, even though I do like talking to women at the church, going to church (duh), baking on occasion, and even volunteering! These are all lovely things.
I guess the gist of what I'm saying here is that for a lot of the past year, I've been dominated by what I thought I should be and not what I actually am. No one was holding me to these vague expectations except for myself, and it took a little to long for me to realize that. After a wake-up call from my mother, a few dozen painful/hopeful conversations with my husband, a lot of time to think, and a lot of time to pray, I am finally seeing how I can be a wife and pastor's wife and still be me. When I got married, Jesus did not stop caring about me as the woman he designed me to be; he is showing me how me and Nic are fully ourselves when we love Christ first, submit to one another second, and encourage each other in our hopes and dreams. The healthiest thing I can do for our marriage is love the Lord and make sure I being who he created me to be. This means that, yes, I do support my husband in ministry, but it also means that I do the ministry that I am called to as well - the ministry to culture. I am an artist (third to wife and CHILD OF GOD); when you ask me what I am, that's what I'm saying from now on because it's pretty all-encompassing. Me doing my ministry and being fully who the Lord has made me means more to Nic than me keeping the house spotless, and that is a relief. He cares more about me spending eight hours a day on a painting than making him the fanciest dinner or even showering (my husband is the most gracious, incredible, loving, supportive man on the face of the earth). So, needless to say, looking forward looks like this:
1. I will love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.
2. I will love, honor, serve, and support Nicholas in whatever he does and follow him wherever he feels Jesus calling us.
3. I will love the girls in our ministry and live my life in such a way that inspires them to draw closer to the Lord.
4. I will paint so much that it seems like I have a problem.
5. I will host a ton of art shows that inspire people and make them want to create things themselves.
6. I will study as if my life depended on it; this means theology and aesthetics.
7. I will be a faithful steward of everything the Lord has given me: my mind, body, spouse, home, ministry, talents, past, present, and future.
8. I will love the Church and serve Her, even though she can be a mess at times.
As for Nicholas, well, he would describe his inward transformations and realizations in far less words and emotions than me. I think that the most important thing that Nicholas has realized is pretty similar to what I have realized: he is created in a unique way and Jesus has a way to use him, exactly how he is, right now. Nicholas doesn't have to be the biggest personality in the room to gain respect and be a pastor, nor does he have to feel bad about spending time watching Breakfast at Tiffany's with me and eating gelato instead of reading a deep theological book (like he did last night because he is rad). For him, being a faithful pastor, husband, and person means:
1. Loving the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.
2. Loving, supporting, and leading me in all things.
3. Loving the place we are called to by leading Word & Prayer groups, writing music for our local congregation, studying his bum off, going back to seminary this Fall, and working at a local bookstore where he can talk to people who are seeking answers.
4. And everything else I already said that obviously applies to him as well.
[My name is Nicholas Chambers, and I approve this message.]
Pray that we would constantly allow Christ to throw off the chains we have placed on ourselves and show us who he actually wants us to be here in this place. Right now, we feel more free, joyful, loved, valuable, and at peace than I think we have in a long time. God is so good to have opened our eyes through the harsh, yet loving, twangy words of my mother (she is wonderful). Also pray that we would always have wisdom and discernment in all we do, and that every aspect of our lives would always reflect the hope we have in Christ.
Once again and always, we are thankful for your love and support.
N & K
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
It's Already May
Friends and family,
Life is good in the burgh. Married life is good; work is good; church is good; the
macaroni I just made for dinner was good; God is good. As always, we thank you for your
continued support in prayer, kind words, finances, and sometimes goodies. Here are the main things going on with
us right now:
1. Summer is
approaching and we couldn’t be happier!
Nic will be continuing his work at the home Depot (indefinitely), and I
will be a “lifeguard” for the YMCA’s summer program two days a week. So, come August, I’ll have the most
hideous tan lines ever and Nicholas will still be pasty white.
2. Summer also
means the kick-off for Bible Adventure in the Park – a weekly event for children
held at Bayne Park where we will play games and learn about Jesus. Vogue Bryant and Julie Gohn will be
working alongside The Shepherd’s Door to make sure everything runs smoothly and
everyone has a good time.
3. Word &
Prayer is starting back up in June!
We are more than ready to continue reading and praying with our
community at the Vue. Nicholas and
I are honored to say that we will be in charge of Word & Prayer from now
on, and we are very excited to start training leaders, writing up a handbook, and
making sure everyone gets to know what it’s like to study the Word of God in
community.
4. The Around
the Bend Art Exhibition is just around the corner! We have had an incredible response from the community
concerning this event. I thought
finding artists to participate would be hard, but they’ve been crawling out of
the woodwork! I think I may actually have too many artists participating… it’s
fine. Nicholas and some other
local musicians will grace everyone with their talents as everyone else checks
out some incredible art while snacking on homemade food donated by people from
the church and community.
5. Nicholas has
been writing songs faster than I can keep up with laundry. He is hoping to get some solid
recordings out soon so he can share them with you all. I married such a beautiful man.
6. Shadowfax
just tore into the bag of cheese I used in my homemade cheese sauce… if you haven’t encountered a cat after
their consumption of dairy, count yourself blessed, and pray for us
tonight.
Thanks for caring about us and reading our blog. We love you all; if there’s anything we
can ever do for you, never hesitate to ask.
N&K
Friday, January 3, 2014
Threads and Dirt
Brothers and sisters,
I know that the Lord allows for us to have a fresh start the moment we ask for it, but there is something about a new year that always takes a weight off of my chest. It's like getting a new journal; there is an infinite amount of potential for what could be written. Some years I write a lot, and some years I just end up spilling coffee on the journal and throwing it away. I like the idea that the new year offers to our culture because of the way I tend to see my life. I hear people talk about going through "seasons of life" all the time, but I haven't really ever met anyone who weirdly obsesses over analyzing every chapter of life like me. My favorite thing about reflecting on a season that has passed is finding the unifying thread, or theme, that played through the whole thing. There always is a thread, and it always applies to almost everything that I happened to experience in that season of life. I like to believe this is intentional on God's part, because I believe he is the most brilliant orchestrator of life and wants us to pay close attention to the ways he is moving. So I guess I see the "seasons" of my life more as orchestral, tapestry movements? Anyway... I'll just keep saying season to weird everyone out less. SO... sometimes the common thread ties off right when I would expect it to, like at the end of a school year; sometimes it ties off at a tragic event, like the death of a loved one; sometimes it ties off at a completely unexpected end, and sometimes that end falls on a completely cliche date when everyone else in America is feeling the same sense of finality and closure in their lives. And that is exactly what I feel has happened with me and Nic this past year.
2013 marks the hardest year of my life thus far, mostly because it was a year of God's silence. Now, for those of you who know me and Nic and everything we have been through this year, it would seem that this would be THE WORST POSSIBLE YEAR FOR GOD TO DECIDE TO STOP EXPLICITLY TELLING US WHAT TO DO. And it felt like that 99% of the time. Over the course of 2013 we experienced the following (not necessarily in chronological order): starting to plan a wedding, finishing a year of seminary work (Nic), making a really hard decision to leave a church because of a lot of complicated things, graduating from undergrad (me), deciding what to do for an internship (me), finding out I had manic depression (twice) due to a horrible reaction to birth control (me, obviously) on top of being sick for the greater portion of my last semester of college, trying to figure out where we should go after we got married, spending a summer jobless (Nic), getting married, moving to a new part of the country a week after getting married, jumping into a ministry that is still a baby with two friends, trying to find jobs in the worst job market ever, hosting two art shows without really knowing what I was doing, learning how to be married, raising support to come live where we are, raising a kitten, trying to make new friends, and all the while, holding our spiritual/emotional/mental health together. NEEDLES TO SAY, it was a taxing year for both of us. For most of it, I felt drained and helpless, like I was barely hanging on to my faith, my relationship with Nic, and my stability. However, I believe that this past year was the best thing that could have ever happened to me and Nicholas.
The Lord gave me this vision one time when I was praying, and he told me how he sees me (he told me this last winter, before the whirlwind of 2013 came pounding on my door). He brought me to the backyard of my childhood home in Kentucky. I was maybe 3 years old, and I was wearing a pink, poofy dress, running and playing in the backyard. Jesus was sitting in a lawn chair, reading a book and smoking a pipe, watching after me - the perfect father figure. He let me romp around the yard, doing as I pleased, and I knew that I was safe in this yard. I also knew that if I tried to run around the side of the house out of his sight, he'd immediately chase after me, yet there was no fence stopping me from doing so. For the most part, I stayed out of trouble playing. I would slide down the slide, play on the swings, kick my soccer ball, but then I would get myself into trouble. In this vision, I specifically got myself into trouble by eating dirt. I picked up my plastic, green gardening shovel and started going crazy on the lawn with it. I would arbitrarily make huge holes, shove my hands in the dirt and mash piles of wormy, wet soil into my mouth and all over my face. All the while, my father would read his book, but I knew he could see me. Right before I made myself really sick with all the dirt I was eating, he quietly got up, and I was ashamed. I looked up at him with big, sorrowful eyes... dirt all over my face and my pretty dress. He stooped down, took the shovel out of my hands, and showed me how to garden.
That analogy pretty much sums up our past year. The Lord stayed quiet in our lives to see what we would do, and I think we did alright. He never left us - he was always right within our reach. When we would mess up, he would stoop down to us and intervene, but as for the rest of the time, he acted as a quiet observer, just waiting for us to act.
A few weeks ago, I had a breakdown because I felt worthless. I was mad at God because he remained quiet in my life and I wanted him to just tell me what to do already. After having a huge meltdown on Nicholas one Saturday morning, I resolved to get off my butt and do something. The week following that was probably the most productive week of my year, and I saw the Lord come behind me and support me in all my efforts. I knew he would make things grow in my life, he was just waiting for me to pick up my shovel and start digging holes. He has shown me how to garden a thousand times... now he wants me to take the initiative.
The theme of 2013 was silence, but not silence that leaves an absence, but that propels forward. Now, looking toward 2014, I know that the Lord is looking for me and Nic to start stepping out and doing things in faith. If we are doing the wrong thing then we know the Lord will stoop down and take the shovel out of our hands, but in the mean time, we are going to plant like crazy. We refuse to remain idle this year, though, and we feel refreshed by a new year and a new wind of the Spirit in our lives.
So here are some things you can look forward to hearing about this year from us:
1. I am going to petition the local government to turn an empty lot into a community garden here in Bellevue.
2. Nic is going to continue writing worship music for the church and we are going to try to get him better equipment to record on so he can better share that music with others.
3. We will continue working at our jobs, and I actually picked up a morning care position at the YMCA as well!
4. I will be hosting art shows in Pittsburgh, and I am particularly excited about the one I am trying to get going in Bellevue for the Spring!
5. We are hosting a Bible study called "Word & Prayer" at our house starting next week.
6. We are continuing to minister to the people the Lord has entrusted us at the Vue and praying that he gives us wisdom and guidance as we move forward into this year.
7. I am going to start writing more of my dreams/visions/metaphors down and publishing them. Nic convicted me that they can really help people understand themselves and their spirituality and relationship to God... so even though they make me feel like I am crazy, I am going to try sharing them for the church's sake. You can be looking for my analogy of the caverns coming soon.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. We pray that in 2014 you would allow the Lord to govern your hearts to do things you'd never imagine you could do for the kingdom and his glory.
N&K
I know that the Lord allows for us to have a fresh start the moment we ask for it, but there is something about a new year that always takes a weight off of my chest. It's like getting a new journal; there is an infinite amount of potential for what could be written. Some years I write a lot, and some years I just end up spilling coffee on the journal and throwing it away. I like the idea that the new year offers to our culture because of the way I tend to see my life. I hear people talk about going through "seasons of life" all the time, but I haven't really ever met anyone who weirdly obsesses over analyzing every chapter of life like me. My favorite thing about reflecting on a season that has passed is finding the unifying thread, or theme, that played through the whole thing. There always is a thread, and it always applies to almost everything that I happened to experience in that season of life. I like to believe this is intentional on God's part, because I believe he is the most brilliant orchestrator of life and wants us to pay close attention to the ways he is moving. So I guess I see the "seasons" of my life more as orchestral, tapestry movements? Anyway... I'll just keep saying season to weird everyone out less. SO... sometimes the common thread ties off right when I would expect it to, like at the end of a school year; sometimes it ties off at a tragic event, like the death of a loved one; sometimes it ties off at a completely unexpected end, and sometimes that end falls on a completely cliche date when everyone else in America is feeling the same sense of finality and closure in their lives. And that is exactly what I feel has happened with me and Nic this past year.
2013 marks the hardest year of my life thus far, mostly because it was a year of God's silence. Now, for those of you who know me and Nic and everything we have been through this year, it would seem that this would be THE WORST POSSIBLE YEAR FOR GOD TO DECIDE TO STOP EXPLICITLY TELLING US WHAT TO DO. And it felt like that 99% of the time. Over the course of 2013 we experienced the following (not necessarily in chronological order): starting to plan a wedding, finishing a year of seminary work (Nic), making a really hard decision to leave a church because of a lot of complicated things, graduating from undergrad (me), deciding what to do for an internship (me), finding out I had manic depression (twice) due to a horrible reaction to birth control (me, obviously) on top of being sick for the greater portion of my last semester of college, trying to figure out where we should go after we got married, spending a summer jobless (Nic), getting married, moving to a new part of the country a week after getting married, jumping into a ministry that is still a baby with two friends, trying to find jobs in the worst job market ever, hosting two art shows without really knowing what I was doing, learning how to be married, raising support to come live where we are, raising a kitten, trying to make new friends, and all the while, holding our spiritual/emotional/mental health together. NEEDLES TO SAY, it was a taxing year for both of us. For most of it, I felt drained and helpless, like I was barely hanging on to my faith, my relationship with Nic, and my stability. However, I believe that this past year was the best thing that could have ever happened to me and Nicholas.
The Lord gave me this vision one time when I was praying, and he told me how he sees me (he told me this last winter, before the whirlwind of 2013 came pounding on my door). He brought me to the backyard of my childhood home in Kentucky. I was maybe 3 years old, and I was wearing a pink, poofy dress, running and playing in the backyard. Jesus was sitting in a lawn chair, reading a book and smoking a pipe, watching after me - the perfect father figure. He let me romp around the yard, doing as I pleased, and I knew that I was safe in this yard. I also knew that if I tried to run around the side of the house out of his sight, he'd immediately chase after me, yet there was no fence stopping me from doing so. For the most part, I stayed out of trouble playing. I would slide down the slide, play on the swings, kick my soccer ball, but then I would get myself into trouble. In this vision, I specifically got myself into trouble by eating dirt. I picked up my plastic, green gardening shovel and started going crazy on the lawn with it. I would arbitrarily make huge holes, shove my hands in the dirt and mash piles of wormy, wet soil into my mouth and all over my face. All the while, my father would read his book, but I knew he could see me. Right before I made myself really sick with all the dirt I was eating, he quietly got up, and I was ashamed. I looked up at him with big, sorrowful eyes... dirt all over my face and my pretty dress. He stooped down, took the shovel out of my hands, and showed me how to garden.
That analogy pretty much sums up our past year. The Lord stayed quiet in our lives to see what we would do, and I think we did alright. He never left us - he was always right within our reach. When we would mess up, he would stoop down to us and intervene, but as for the rest of the time, he acted as a quiet observer, just waiting for us to act.
A few weeks ago, I had a breakdown because I felt worthless. I was mad at God because he remained quiet in my life and I wanted him to just tell me what to do already. After having a huge meltdown on Nicholas one Saturday morning, I resolved to get off my butt and do something. The week following that was probably the most productive week of my year, and I saw the Lord come behind me and support me in all my efforts. I knew he would make things grow in my life, he was just waiting for me to pick up my shovel and start digging holes. He has shown me how to garden a thousand times... now he wants me to take the initiative.
The theme of 2013 was silence, but not silence that leaves an absence, but that propels forward. Now, looking toward 2014, I know that the Lord is looking for me and Nic to start stepping out and doing things in faith. If we are doing the wrong thing then we know the Lord will stoop down and take the shovel out of our hands, but in the mean time, we are going to plant like crazy. We refuse to remain idle this year, though, and we feel refreshed by a new year and a new wind of the Spirit in our lives.
So here are some things you can look forward to hearing about this year from us:
1. I am going to petition the local government to turn an empty lot into a community garden here in Bellevue.
2. Nic is going to continue writing worship music for the church and we are going to try to get him better equipment to record on so he can better share that music with others.
3. We will continue working at our jobs, and I actually picked up a morning care position at the YMCA as well!
4. I will be hosting art shows in Pittsburgh, and I am particularly excited about the one I am trying to get going in Bellevue for the Spring!
5. We are hosting a Bible study called "Word & Prayer" at our house starting next week.
6. We are continuing to minister to the people the Lord has entrusted us at the Vue and praying that he gives us wisdom and guidance as we move forward into this year.
7. I am going to start writing more of my dreams/visions/metaphors down and publishing them. Nic convicted me that they can really help people understand themselves and their spirituality and relationship to God... so even though they make me feel like I am crazy, I am going to try sharing them for the church's sake. You can be looking for my analogy of the caverns coming soon.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. We pray that in 2014 you would allow the Lord to govern your hearts to do things you'd never imagine you could do for the kingdom and his glory.
N&K
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Orange Apron
Brothers and sisters,
Nic got a job at the Home Depot. He starts tomorrow. Praise the Lamb!
Other than that, I do not have a lot to update y'all on. As always, the Lord has been faithful to us here in Pittsburgh; our bills are always paid on time, we have not gone hungry, and we are constantly amazed at what Christ is doing through our efforts with the ministry he has entrusted to us.
As always, we ask that you would continue to keep us in your prayers; we cannot do anything without prayer. Please, keep the Vue in your prayers as well, and the people that the Lord has entrusted to our care. We love them a lot and are blessed tremendously by seeing them grow in their faith and love of our Lord Jesus Christ!
I would like to share with you all a prayer from Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. It has been a comfort and encouragement to me, and I pray it for all of you as well:
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
Thank you all for your love, support and prayer. It means more than you know.
Grace and peace,
N&K
Nic got a job at the Home Depot. He starts tomorrow. Praise the Lamb!
Other than that, I do not have a lot to update y'all on. As always, the Lord has been faithful to us here in Pittsburgh; our bills are always paid on time, we have not gone hungry, and we are constantly amazed at what Christ is doing through our efforts with the ministry he has entrusted to us.
As always, we ask that you would continue to keep us in your prayers; we cannot do anything without prayer. Please, keep the Vue in your prayers as well, and the people that the Lord has entrusted to our care. We love them a lot and are blessed tremendously by seeing them grow in their faith and love of our Lord Jesus Christ!
I would like to share with you all a prayer from Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. It has been a comfort and encouragement to me, and I pray it for all of you as well:
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
Thank you all for your love, support and prayer. It means more than you know.
Grace and peace,
N&K
Thursday, October 10, 2013
"He who waters will himself be watered..."
Brothers and sisters,
This past month has been a whirlwind for us. On top of our normal weekly duties, we have traveled to Kentucky twice to see two of my closest friends get married, Nic got a job as a guitar instructor and he also preached his first sermon, and we got the cutest kitten in the whole entire world. His name is Shadowfax.
We are still getting used to living in a new city. Every day Pittsburgh feels more and more like home to us, and we are very grateful that the Lord has called us here. We've been blessed to have wonderful neighbors who warn us when a cop is outside and about to give us a ticket for being parked in the street during street cleaning hours, and who go out of their way to say hello to us when they see us out in public. They've made us feel very welcomed and cared for here. I am blessed to be able to say that I see my coworkers as friends and not just people who I happen to work with, and I'm really excited to see where those friendships go! Nic and I continue to make new friends through our ministry all the time... we just seriously feel blessed by the people we have been surrounded by during our time here thus far.
Christ has been continuously teaching us about trust and generosity. It seems that every month we hit a point where we don't really know how ends are going to quite meet up, but Jesus is faithful all the time and we have never been in want. When we have no idea where our means will come from, we have learned that surrendering our worry to him is far better than trying to figure out our situation by ourselves. Thus far, there have been uncountable occasions where we were in want and he provided us with a ridiculous gift of provision just out of the blue! And he continues to astound us by giving us things we don't even need, like tons of fresh vegetables from my grandparents garden or free Pirates tickets. We serve a God who is not only loves a cheerful giver, but is one himself! And he has been teaching us how to cheerfully give of what we have as well. Generosity has been one of the most important practices that we have been learning during our marriage so far. When we get frantic over how the bills will be paid or whether or not will be able to go to the grocery store for the week, we are learning to respond to that worry by giving of ourselves even more, knowing that "he who waters will himself be watered." Instead of letting anxiety build in our hearts during times of struggle, we encourage growth, in ourselves and others, by continuing to pour out, knowing our Father will take care of what we need in turn. Sure enough, he always does. We serve an incredible God.
The Vue is doing well! Nic has taken over the worship and order of the gathering; he enjoys his work quite a lot. I am still praying about what the Lord wants me to do as far as that ministry is concerned. So far, I've seen him answer me by giving me opportunities to get out in the community to meet people in the form of art shows. I am participating in one next week and I'm really excited about it! I'm hoping that this trend will continue, and that I can really form a network of friends in the art community of Pittsburgh. Also, the Lord has shown me and Nic that we should lead a Bible study out of our home. Within the next month or so we hope to get that started, and we are ecstatic to have a reason to bring people into our home and share the things we have blessed to have been taught about the Word in our undergraduate years and life experience (and we are excited to learn from other people in return).
We ask that you continue to keep us and our ministry in your prayers. We have definitely faced a lot of spiritual opposition in our work; we take that as a good sign! But we need people praying with and for us for what the Lord wants to do here in Pittsburgh. Nic and I appreciate your support and love more than you know. God is good.
Grace and peace,
N&K
This past month has been a whirlwind for us. On top of our normal weekly duties, we have traveled to Kentucky twice to see two of my closest friends get married, Nic got a job as a guitar instructor and he also preached his first sermon, and we got the cutest kitten in the whole entire world. His name is Shadowfax.
We are still getting used to living in a new city. Every day Pittsburgh feels more and more like home to us, and we are very grateful that the Lord has called us here. We've been blessed to have wonderful neighbors who warn us when a cop is outside and about to give us a ticket for being parked in the street during street cleaning hours, and who go out of their way to say hello to us when they see us out in public. They've made us feel very welcomed and cared for here. I am blessed to be able to say that I see my coworkers as friends and not just people who I happen to work with, and I'm really excited to see where those friendships go! Nic and I continue to make new friends through our ministry all the time... we just seriously feel blessed by the people we have been surrounded by during our time here thus far.
Christ has been continuously teaching us about trust and generosity. It seems that every month we hit a point where we don't really know how ends are going to quite meet up, but Jesus is faithful all the time and we have never been in want. When we have no idea where our means will come from, we have learned that surrendering our worry to him is far better than trying to figure out our situation by ourselves. Thus far, there have been uncountable occasions where we were in want and he provided us with a ridiculous gift of provision just out of the blue! And he continues to astound us by giving us things we don't even need, like tons of fresh vegetables from my grandparents garden or free Pirates tickets. We serve a God who is not only loves a cheerful giver, but is one himself! And he has been teaching us how to cheerfully give of what we have as well. Generosity has been one of the most important practices that we have been learning during our marriage so far. When we get frantic over how the bills will be paid or whether or not will be able to go to the grocery store for the week, we are learning to respond to that worry by giving of ourselves even more, knowing that "he who waters will himself be watered." Instead of letting anxiety build in our hearts during times of struggle, we encourage growth, in ourselves and others, by continuing to pour out, knowing our Father will take care of what we need in turn. Sure enough, he always does. We serve an incredible God.
The Vue is doing well! Nic has taken over the worship and order of the gathering; he enjoys his work quite a lot. I am still praying about what the Lord wants me to do as far as that ministry is concerned. So far, I've seen him answer me by giving me opportunities to get out in the community to meet people in the form of art shows. I am participating in one next week and I'm really excited about it! I'm hoping that this trend will continue, and that I can really form a network of friends in the art community of Pittsburgh. Also, the Lord has shown me and Nic that we should lead a Bible study out of our home. Within the next month or so we hope to get that started, and we are ecstatic to have a reason to bring people into our home and share the things we have blessed to have been taught about the Word in our undergraduate years and life experience (and we are excited to learn from other people in return).
We ask that you continue to keep us and our ministry in your prayers. We have definitely faced a lot of spiritual opposition in our work; we take that as a good sign! But we need people praying with and for us for what the Lord wants to do here in Pittsburgh. Nic and I appreciate your support and love more than you know. God is good.
Grace and peace,
N&K
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Fruits of Trust
Brothers and sisters,
If there is one thing Nic and I have been learning these past few weeks, it has been that the Lord is truly the giver of every good and perfect gift. We are provided for every day with the things that we need and even the things we want, which is hard for me to accept for whatever reason. Seriously, Jesus has been generous enough to not only pay our rent, but to even provide us with little things like money specifically for us to be able to have dates together (a fund given to us by one of the most wonderful and generous families on the face of the earth). We have continuously been blown away by the kindness he has shown to us and are trying to figure out what it means for us to respond faithfully to that generosity by making our gifts, resources, and lives accessible to others. We ask that you pray for our hearts to be open to trust, generosity, and praise more and more every day.
The Lord has also been faithful to provide me with employment! Thank you to everyone who has been praying about this with us. Starting on Monday, I will be working with the YMCA in their after school program at Bellevue Elementary School. I am very grateful to have an opportunity to influence the youth in my community for the glory of Jesus; intergenerational relationships and training are so crucial to the health of the kingdom. I am very much looking forward to teaching these kids what it means to be people of good character, and I am especially anticipating what they will teach me in return. If you could be praying for Nic to have clarity on where the Lord would have him work, that would be wonderful. We know there is a job out there for him, we just need to be patient and wait on the Lord to reveal it to us.
We have been meeting with Austin and Julie every Monday morning to talk about the direction that The Vue is headed in and what steps we need to take in order to achieve the goals of this ministry. We pray often that our ideas would not be our own, but the Lord's, and we hope that whatever fruits may come from this ministry would be rooted in and sustained by the vine that is Jesus Christ. We are hopeful that through this ministry, disciples will be made of 20-somethings who are empowered by the Holy Spirit to go out and disciple more people throughout the city of Pittsburgh. He is faithful and we are so excited to see what he is working in and through us and the people we are growing with. Some of the people we have met through The Vue are the most inspiring, motivated, and strange people we know. They are genuine in their lives and faith; we are so thankful for their friendship and encouragement.
On another note, I am already helping a friend coordinate and promote and art show this November. I am beyond excited! There will be more details on that at a later date.
The Lord is faithful in every way if you submit your ways to him. We are beyond blessed by his love and mercy for us, and pray the same for all of you. Please, keep this ministry and his kingdom in your prayers. We love you.
Grace and peace,
N&K
If there is one thing Nic and I have been learning these past few weeks, it has been that the Lord is truly the giver of every good and perfect gift. We are provided for every day with the things that we need and even the things we want, which is hard for me to accept for whatever reason. Seriously, Jesus has been generous enough to not only pay our rent, but to even provide us with little things like money specifically for us to be able to have dates together (a fund given to us by one of the most wonderful and generous families on the face of the earth). We have continuously been blown away by the kindness he has shown to us and are trying to figure out what it means for us to respond faithfully to that generosity by making our gifts, resources, and lives accessible to others. We ask that you pray for our hearts to be open to trust, generosity, and praise more and more every day.
The Lord has also been faithful to provide me with employment! Thank you to everyone who has been praying about this with us. Starting on Monday, I will be working with the YMCA in their after school program at Bellevue Elementary School. I am very grateful to have an opportunity to influence the youth in my community for the glory of Jesus; intergenerational relationships and training are so crucial to the health of the kingdom. I am very much looking forward to teaching these kids what it means to be people of good character, and I am especially anticipating what they will teach me in return. If you could be praying for Nic to have clarity on where the Lord would have him work, that would be wonderful. We know there is a job out there for him, we just need to be patient and wait on the Lord to reveal it to us.
We have been meeting with Austin and Julie every Monday morning to talk about the direction that The Vue is headed in and what steps we need to take in order to achieve the goals of this ministry. We pray often that our ideas would not be our own, but the Lord's, and we hope that whatever fruits may come from this ministry would be rooted in and sustained by the vine that is Jesus Christ. We are hopeful that through this ministry, disciples will be made of 20-somethings who are empowered by the Holy Spirit to go out and disciple more people throughout the city of Pittsburgh. He is faithful and we are so excited to see what he is working in and through us and the people we are growing with. Some of the people we have met through The Vue are the most inspiring, motivated, and strange people we know. They are genuine in their lives and faith; we are so thankful for their friendship and encouragement.
On another note, I am already helping a friend coordinate and promote and art show this November. I am beyond excited! There will be more details on that at a later date.
The Lord is faithful in every way if you submit your ways to him. We are beyond blessed by his love and mercy for us, and pray the same for all of you. Please, keep this ministry and his kingdom in your prayers. We love you.
Grace and peace,
N&K
Monday, August 12, 2013
22 Days Later
Brothers and sisters,
We are blessed to share our lives with you. We would not be married and living in Pittsburgh if it were not for the community of believers (y'all) that have surrounded us and who continuously show us the love of Christ in the most ridiculous and humbling ways. Thank you for everything you do for the kingdom - we love you. Let us know if you ever need anything. Seriously.
Since we have not been able to communicate personally with most of your since the wedding, I want to catch all of you up on how marriage, moving, and ministry has been for us. If you don't mind, I will be very frank about everything. Our marriage belongs to the Lord and to the church, and I am not shy.
If I had to put into one word what Nic and I have experienced in our short time as a married couple, it would be this: trial. This is not the space for unnecessary details about our personal lives, but I am more than comfortable saying that we have had everything but a "honeymoon phase," and we are so thankful for that. Any sin we have hidden from ourselves and one another - known and unknown - crawled out of the depths of our heart the moment we said "I do." For real, though, I feel like the past few weeks have consisted of us fighting our monsters together, one at a time, and through hours of prayer and tears. This time of our life that everyone told us would be the easiest has been the most difficult, but, praise Yahweh! he knows what we need. In our weakness, Christ has been our strength. We love each other more than ever, and that love has been sharpened through our fiercest arguments, darkest moments of despair, disappointments in one another and ourselves, but mostly these: humility, repentance, forgiveness, and love. Nic and I are stubborn, selfish people, and it is fitting that our marriage began the way it did. Jesus knew what we needed, and we would not have made it without him. Hallelujah. We are excited to see how the Lord is going to continue to shape us and grow us together in and through our marriage. If you could pray for us, that'd be wonderful.
We are also hopeful of what Jesus is doing here in Pittsburgh. We love this city and the people here already (even though they honk at me a lot when I am driving). The culture here is so different from anything we have encountered, and even though we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into by moving here, we know that God has been forming us specifically for this place. It's beautiful. If you could pray that the hearts of the people here would be opened to the Gospel, that'd be fantastic.
This morning we met with Julie and Austin to discuss the mission, values, and heart of The Vue. We are reworking everything; it will take time. I do not have much to say about that currently, but I assure you that there will be much more to tell very soon. If you could pray that the Lord's desires would be our own, that'd be great.
Nic and I are in the process of looking for jobs. We do not know where to look, but we know the Lord has jobs for us here. If y'all could be in serious prayer about this for us, that'd be dope (Tom Haverford, anyone?).
And that's all I really have to say right now! Once again, thank you for your prayers and support and for loving us. We are blessed beyond belief and we don't deserve it at all. I hope to have this blog updated regularly, so look out for more updates weekly (or monthly... maybe).
Grace and peace... we love you.
N&K
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