Ash & Evergreens

 I am fast approaching the 6 month mark of the two year program I am in, in Wisconsin. I wanted to give you all a little glimpse into what my life here has looked like -- kind of like those family newsletters you used to receive before social media was a bigger thing. I am a resident at Alliance Church in Appleton and I specifically work with the Young Adults ministry (18-26ish), Alliance PM. I spend about 20 hours a week preparing for a given Thursday night by being in meetings, working on my own, and learning from others. On top of that, I am also working towards my masters degree online through the University of Northwestern St. Paul. I've completed one class so far and there is a long road ahead in sight. At the end of it, I will have earned an MA in Ministry Leadership with an emphasis in Counseling (human services).  There are so many times thus far where I have said "wow" as I spend time recapping with the Lord. He's just so clearly made this a place for me. I ...

I am not sure how I want to start this post. There are so many things I could say! I guess I will start with, I have been apart of and/or overheard some interesting conversations about singleness amongst my circles. I have been encouraged by a lot of it because honestly, the groups I run with are largely single young adults (shocking, I am sure). A couple months ago someone posed the question to someone else "What do you think about arranged marriages?" And the response was so quickly "I am for them". I was like "say what?" But the person went on to explain that if you have family and friends that know you really well and then He has family or friends that know him really well then a "set up" might not be so bad. That got my gears turning. I just stood there like "oh, well I guess that's a fair point". Fast forward a bit, I was sitting around with some friends a couple weeks ago and we were talking about our "types". You k...

Have you wondered how to care and love better when people are suffering? Hopefully the post below will give you some helpful tools to do so. What I have to say below is not perfect but hopefully beneficial.    Suffering . A word that is living and breathing and is often times uncomfortable because it means that there is brokenness and emotions... dare I say... feelings. Emotions and feelings are often things that have been deemed bad or things to be hidden because they bring shame or dishonor or "show" weakness. But can I tell you something, emotions and feelings aren't bad things. We do need to know the time and place for them and they need redeemed just like anything else but they aren't bad. We don't need to shy away from them or call people crazy for having them. If you are human, you emote. If you don't, you might want to check your pulse.    Suffering is a part of life. Cancer. Miscarriages. Loss of a loved one. Job loss. Abuse. Words that bring death. P...

 I put a post up on facebook the other day that expressed my faults, the reality of sin, and some of my short-comings. It wasn't to be puffed up or to get pity but rather be raw and real. You see, I've been in a place lately where I have been trying to figure myself out again. I have this thing where I can get lost in other people's lives and forget to totally be my Authentic Self. It starts from a good and "wanting to be helpful" place and then plummets. I don't play the comparison game with people as much as I just over-bearingly care about them to the point where I don't even remember what truly brings me joy, who I have been created to be, and I just feel like I am in quicksand waist deep; sinking sinking slowly. The good part in all of this is that I learn a lot of lessons and then desire to implement the change and the "learned lessons" quickly and permanently. So I don't take those past short-comings into future relationships.    Life ...

     Have you ever been between a rock and a hard place? I feel as though many have been. Have you ever been between a rock and a hard place with a decision you had to make that alters the course of your life? yeah.. that's where I find myself today. Let's unpack this a little.    I am at, what I would like to call, a crossroads in my life (again). I have the opportunity to say yes to something that I have been selected for even though I haven't been placed exactly where I wanted to be placed. Accepting this offer would mean that what I thought was going to happen/how I have set up my future probably won't happen. Now you could be sitting there reading this like "well Alex, sounds like the Lord is directing you in His ways and not your own...so...." And that may very well be true, I have definitely thought about that because for the past forever but especially the past 3-4 months, I have been praying that I would take the most obedient step He would have me ta...