simply me

We all open up differently to each person we interact with in our lives. Every time I return to my home town I run into friends and family. Inevitably people will ask "how have you been?" For those closer friends that I haven't talked to in a while my response typically looks a lot like this:  I take in a deep breath, sigh, and look painfully into their eyes while shaking my head and slumping my shoulders. My friends have come to understand this as "I've been so overwhelmed, I don't even know where to begin." Recently I've been adding "I'm so glad to be done with this academic year!"   One friend last week said "I feel like this is how you are every time." "This year has been the legitimate worst," I assured him and added a head nod to affirm his statement. We didn't discuss the mundane details but hit on one or two large things. I was sure not to dwell on those negatives though and it wasn't hard for us...

After Jubilee  this year I decided to ask a few friends if they would like to share their experiences at the conference. I particularly chose individuals whom I know enjoy writing and sharing through that medium. I am honored to introduce to you my dear friend and sister in Christ. Without further ado I give you the words and writing of Caleigh Sullivan: Jubilee of 2019. Where do I begin to express the love and hope of God I experienced? In these moments I sit back and pray “Lord, fill my mouth with Your words”. I would like to take you all back to a year ago. A year ago, going in to Jubilee 2018, I was not Caleigh. But if I had to introduce myself to you it would be this: broken, abused, sad, lost, unidentified, doubtful, needy, attention seeking. And so, I went to Jubilee with this high expectation that God would change all of that in one weekend. I was excited and anxious mixed together with a great anticipation of how much my life could flip upside down. But, as I wa...

Whenever I hear or am singing this song I apply the words "this is how I fight my battles" to the action of singing in worship. This is truthful, but it is not the point of the song. If you listen to the other lyrics they point to Jesus Christ, "it may look like I'm surrounded, but I'm surrounded by you" "my victory's in Jesus name." The song itself points to the love and power of Christ our Lord in any battle that we are in. But what does it mean to fight our battles? This year at the Jubilee Conference  I received a lesson in what it looks like to fight battles. Context: The main sessions at Jubilee are split up into these 4 main themes - which reflect the Biblical narrative - Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration. Friday night: Creation, Saturday morning: The Fall, Saturday night: Redemption, Sunday morning: Restoration. During the day on Saturday and before service on Sunday there are workshop sessions which pertain to vario...