Ash & Evergreens

Have you ever wondered why the Lord brings you into or through a particular season? Is it to learn something? Is it to face something? Is it to rest? I'm sure these are just a few of the many questions that may capture our thoughts when we enter into new seasons. Questions I have often asked in this first year of living in Wisconsin are: What am I doing here? What am I supposed to learn? How are you going to use me in this time, Lord? There are 2 buckets I want to talk about in this post today: Residency and Residency... what? Let me explain... Residency I came into residency bright eyed and bushy tailed with high hopes and no expectations (or so I thought). I had every intention of coming in to learn and be taught and yet somewhere along the way, I missed my own pep-talk in some ways. I started out by saying no to extra things and areas to serve in because I knew I needed to get my ducks in a row before overwhelming myself with extra things. Success. Check, I felt good about that....

     We often express how important community is or that we want community. Yet, we seem to struggle to do what it takes to actually build it. You see, community isn't just formed over night, it is a long and sometimes grueling process. As kids, our community was formed because of common interests or placements (school, church, etc). But as an adult, it seems to be a bit more of a challenge because of time, distance, or season of life. So, how is community re-built as an adult? Below are 3 ways that I think might help but are still being workshopped ;)  1. Community takes time . Some routes happen to be easier than others and I don't know why. But if you want good, solid community, then it's going to take some time. You might have to be willing to live in the discomfort of loneliness for a season (easier said than done). But don't give up. We often times expect that we are going to show up to one thing, one time, and magically feel at home or find long-lasting friend...

What is leadership? What does it mean to champion other people? Leadership has always been defined in a "command the room, be well-respected, serve humbly, care genuinely, take charge" kind of way for me. And don't get me wrong, there are multiple good things within that list that are necessary but as I have developed as a person and learned more in life and ministry, it's become more than that. I feel that it is those things but it's also knowing your people and loving them well so as to set them up for success. This is where the idea of championing others has come into play.   "Championing" is a word that I have used more in this season of life than I ever have before. In my mind when someone champions someone else, they advocate for them, encourage them, and help them strive to be the best they can be. They want to see people win and accomplish their goals no matter how insignificant or magnanimous they might be.      I wish I would have learned how t...