Stories & Voices

Short Hair Because She Cares: Katie's Hair Adventure

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:47:20 -0400

This post was written by Katie Chapman.

Hello RISE community, it’s me again, Katie Chapman. Many of you might not know me yet but I am so glad to be a part of what this community is all about and share a little bit about how I’ve been living it out in my own way.
God has blessed each of us with something special, to be more accurate — many many something specials. One of mine has always been my hair. While I’ve had my battles with trying to get the comb through it in middle school or keeping it stick straight as was the trend in high school, it has always been something that I’ve been proud of. When I was younger my mom would always tell me that she loved my hair and that people (her, sometimes one of them) would always try to dye it my color, but nothing could come close to the real thing. From that day on I always wanted to donate it. The problem was just that I didn’t take care of it long enough to get it very long.

Eventually college came around and I saw this fresh start as the perfect time to try to grow it out. Who wants to pay for a haircut in college, right? I hit a couple bumps trying to get started (lice are some nasty creatures and dorms don’t help) but I cut it super short freshmen year and started from there. Lots of change happened over those next few years, changing schools, changing majors, changing relationships, but that hair just kept growing. Finally it’s senior year, what a journey. This is the year I found RISE :) I don’t know how I finally came to the conclusion but at some point I knew this year would be time to donate my hair. At first I bought a Costco sized two-in-one shampoo and said when I finished that I’d do it, but God had something bigger planned.

Now, especially since coming to JMU, I’ve been interested in getting involved with Relay for Life, but I have this tendency of talking myself out of things that I think I would really enjoy. This year I decided this would be different. Then this idea hits me! I asked a few people in my Occupational Therapy class if they would be interested in donating money if I would get a pixie cut (super short hair). I figured donating my hair is such a great thing to do and will help a few people very deeply … but why not try to do more?!? I’ve never been one to just settle on doing one thing at a time! I chose the number $2500 and decided that if I could reach that number, something that seemed logically unattainable but not completely impossible, then I would get this pixie cut and donate it all to make wigs. So this idea begins to form that pulls together this idea and my goal to be involved with Relay for Life. I started legitimately researching places to give my hair that would simultaneously raise awareness for people working to make a difference that may not get as much recognition as Locks of Love or Pantene and found Wigs for Kids and also created my own team for Relay for Life which I had never done before and had no idea what I was really doing, but I knew they had a reliable widely trusted online donation method that would in some way promote itself.

The wheels were spinning and I put every spare minute I could find into promoting this fundraiser on any social media I could get my hands on as well as talking about it to EVERYONE I knew…or didn’t really know. So, I had chosen who I was donating to, what my goal was, and methods to get there. Every moment I could I spent thinking of who I hadn’t talked to yet or other ways to get the word out. Finally, to wrap it all up, I did a clothing drive because another thing I had way too much of at this point, besides my hair, was clothes. I decided to continue this theme of promoting those less heard of and chose to use this drive as a way for people to drop off clothes they didn’t want anymore, but also for people to buy clothes for themselves, like a thrift shop where all the money would benefit Relay or Wigs for Kids. The fun part though was that all of the clothes remaining at the end all went to our own local Refugee Resettlement center, something that I haven’t been involved with here but has a close place to my heart.

All of this longer-than-it-probably-had-to-be story leads to this. By God’s grace I was able to raise $2577 for both Relay for Life and Wigs for Kids combined, at the Relay event we made 50 handmade cards for the children, I donated 18 inches of my hair, AND we gave 5 giant trash bags full of clothes to Harrisonburg Refugee Resettlement. I don’t say any of this to toot my own horn or talk about all the great things I did, but I want each of you reading this to know that you CAN make a difference, a HUGE difference, by using what you already have. Use your talents that God gave you, use your connections to make something big, and create ideas bigger than what you think you can achieve because God is even bigger than that.

Permission granted: everyone means everyone...even when across the world

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:30:54 -0400

This post was submitted by Abbey Carr.

These past 3 months I’ve been studying abroad with the cross-cultural program of EMU (Eastern Mennonite University) in Guatemala and Colombia with 23 other students and 2 professors. We have just returned from this incredible trip and I had arrived back in Harrisonburg at 4:30am this past Sunday when I realized I might not be able to go to RISE the next week because of graduation. Therefore I felt compelled to go to RISE on 5 hours of sleep after coming home from Colombia and being away from my community for so long. Imagine my surprise to encounter a guest speaker, none other than the wonderful Margot Starbuck that I had heard so much about. She chose to launch her new book using RISE and as I was listening to her words I was suddenly struck by a connection/realization from my time away. Reintegrating into my own culture even for a few hours has been hard. Today (Tuesday, April 23) is day 2 of being home and I still am fatigued and overwhelmed. I don’t know what to think or how to interact around some people.

What I truly came to realize in the service however was this (written on a RISE Report during service):

“It’s hard to hear the speaking this morning because I’m relating it all back to people I saw walking the streets of Guatemala and Colombia—it stirs up so many emotions right at the surface. There is an immense tension. ‘The other is an individual who the group sees as different.’
I’ve been in the presence of the most beautiful ‘others’ this semester and I can’t even begin to comprehend how these beautiful encounters have changed me. I’ve visited and worked with people and children in 2 slums in 2 different countries and lived for a week in one. I’ve seen and loved those identified as sub-human by their society and I don’t know where to hold my heart—I’m between two worlds yet I’ve found that Christ bridges these places for me, just as He has between Heaven and earth. In fact, when I think about it, just as I’ve been in cross-cultural for these past months, the spirit of Christ was in a cross-cultural moment for years! HOW RADICAL the love of God to take our excluded hearts that are ‘other’ from Heaven to pull us in close and make us family—bonded by His own blood.”

Something that one of the speakers we had this past semester has said to us was that it would be essential when we return to take our experience and apply it to our own communities—to keep our feelings and experiences with each other alive. With this thought I know that it was a real moment of acceptance for me that I am here, no longer there, but I’ve branched out. I’ve felt uprooted, but I’ve grown. And most importantly I’ve done this within a Christ-like context of unconditional love. This semester has been unforgettable and truly changed me. I still don’t know what my future will hold as I reacquaint myself with my own culture. In that unknown though is a place where God knows, and reaches through everything to help us reach out and connect with the others.

If you would like to know more about my experiences and those of the students in my group feel free to read our blog and see the pictures on EMU’s crosscultural page: http://emu.edu/now/crosscultural/

If you listen closely to your radio the next few days, you might...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:04:12 -0400

If you listen closely to your radio the next few days, you might hear a familiar voice …

Here are a few 15-second radio spots we’re running to invite people to join us on Easter Sunday. (Hey … you should invite some friends, too!)

Which one is your favorite? Vote in the comments!

new comer

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 22:03:22 -0400

My fiance and I are new comers to Rise. I just want you all to know how amazing your church is and all the people who go there!!!

We have been to a few other churches but always found it difficult to make a real commitment, partly because we never felt like a part of the church. We have NEVER felt so welcome anywhere else. Everyone is so very kind and open with us and I cant tell you how wonderful it is.

We feel so comfortable. =) Your teachings are so interesting and we are so eager to learn now! We look forward to Sundays like I could have never imagined! It feels so good to be children of God!!! I’m so glad this is the place my daughter will learn of the Lord!

I just wanted to let you know you have accomplished what you say you are trying to achieve in your church, and then some! Such acceptance!

Receive Love.

Give Love.

Repeat.

Thank you!!

The Ellipsis Experiment

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:23:00 -0400

If Jesus died on Good Friday and was raised on Easter Sunday … what happened on Saturday?

On Friday, followers of Jesus watched their friend and teacher beaten, tortured, nailed to a cross and die an excruciating death. Their entire world was turned upside down. Everything they were clinging to and hoping for was gone.

What must it have been like to watch Jesus die not knowing what was to come? What must it have felt like to be living in that kind of fear? In that kind of darkness? We can’t know for sure. But for Jesus’s closest friends, that Saturday – full of tension and pain – was likely spent praying. Hoping. Dreaming. Waiting …

…

So RISE wants to know … What are you waiting for? What’s next in your story?

From Palm Sunday (3/24) until Holy Saturday (3/30), you are invited to participate in the Ellipsis Experiment — a grassroots movement of tension, waiting and hope.

There are two ways to participate:

…

1. On Palm Sunday, we will change our profile picture to an ellipsis (…) and ask the community to respond to this question:

What are you waiting for?

You are then invited to change your Facebook profile picture to the ellipsis and for the caption, write: “I’m waiting for … ____________.” and also include a link to this post explaining about the Ellipsis Experiment.

Our hope is that others will see your Facebook picture changed, get curious and change theirs, too.

You could be waiting for something as general as peace or reconciliation, or as specific as an end to sex trafficking in the Shenandoah Valley. Think about it. What are your deepest longings for yourself? For your community? For the world? Where do your longings intersect with the darkness you see around you? Let whatever you write be your prayer and let the world know.

…

2. After worship on Palm Sunday, we will change the prompt on the chalk wall (right outside the Artful Dodger in Court Square) to the ellipsis and ask the same question: What are you waiting for? Throughout the week, the community will then be invited to respond as they walk by and share in the longings of their community.

On Holy Saturday at 7:30 pm, a group from RISE will meet at the chalk wall to live into the tension, continue the conversation and pray for the longings listed.

We hope you’ll join us in participating in the Ellipsis Experiment – whether you’re in Harrisonburg or not. All are welcome and invited to participate.

… we wait together and hope together …

"When the story of these times gets written, we want it to say that we did all we could, and it was..."

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:12:06 -0500

““When the story of these times gets written, we want it to say that we did all we could, and it was more than anyone could have imagined.””

- Bono

This post was submitted by Natalie Lester – another one of the amazing RISE interns. Click here to...

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 11:01:07 -0500

This post was submitted by Natalie Lester – another one of the amazing RISE interns. Click here to check out Natalie’s blog!

Monday I got the amazing opportunity to work with HARTS (Harrisonburg and Rockingham Thermal Shelter). HARTS is a yearly program through which various faith communities in the area open up their doors to the homeless one week at a time, offering beds and meals to those who may have no where else to go. During nights as cold as those the area has been experiencing recently, I can’t imagine having to remain outside for extended amounts of time.

This year RISE is hosting HARTS at Faith Community Church from February 18th to February 25th.

I arrived at Faith Community Church with a few friends of mine that comprise a group whose meeting time is on Monday nights, but who determined this Monday night should be put to especially good use. We showed up with homemade desserts in hand(cookie and cream iced brownies), most of us not knowing what to expect. What I found was a beautiful time of connection and fellowship, enhanced by a few competitive rounds of rummy. When we arrived the doors were not officially open, (according to policy the church is only open from 6pm to 7am), so when we went inside it was simply volunteers hustling about setting up for dinner. Eventually we came together in a circle, were briefed on what we could expect that night as well as safety precautions, and then the doors were opened to those who had been waiting outside them. Smiles and greetings were simple enough but I truly wanted to connect with these individuals, and eventually I did with much more ease then expected. What I found were people just like you and me, telling stories and making jokes, but also pushing to defend themselves and their situations. I personally had no assumptions about these people, no preceding judgments about why they might be there, because I fully acknowledge the fact that I could easily fall into the same circumstances. I truly believe that no person is above homelessness or poverty, and that anyone can be struck by a series of events leading them to such conditions. Yet over and over again I heard explanations of what led up to them being there, personal efforts to escape these circumstances, and demonstrations of values contrasting those commonly believed to be held by the homeless population. It broke my heart that these people felt the need to defend themselves to me, going so far as to believe I thought myself better than them in some cases. Needless to say it was a powerful night, and I enjoyed it so much that I returned on Thursday for both the dinner and overnight shifts.

On Thursday I spoke for hours with a Vietnam veteran who told me incredible stories of how he escaped death over and over again, as well as more current accounts of friends being arrested in laundromats because they had retreated there in order to escape the cold. I had conversations with others about music and food, one man telling me he’d done a number of drugs but it was I who had lost my mind for enjoying Bob Dylan’s music. In the morning a man came into the kitchen while a fellow volunteer and I were preparing for breakfast, giving us a trash bag that contained 4 boxes of Strite’s donuts he had been given that he wanted us to put out with the usual cereal, oatmeal, and granola bars. Over and over again I heard words of thanks and expressions of gratefulness, but I’m not sure that I can accept them. It is my personal philosophy that each person that was served is my fellow man or woman and the fact that I am there in that moment doesn’t deserve acknowledgement or praise, rather in a greater plan I serve so that I might later be served in return. In fact, what greater purpose is there than to ease the suffering of your brothers and sisters?

In conclusion, I can’t know if I really helped these people by washing their dishes and participating in conversations, but I know for a fact that those were nights I fully enjoyed.

I encourage everyone to participate in HARTS any way that you can as it continues throughout this winter season!

It All Starts with Why

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:01:10 -0500

This post was submitted by Ashley Jacquette who is currently serving as a RISE intern.

If I could use one word to describe the Intern retreat to Washington DC, I would use the word community. This weekend was a beautiful reminder that we need each other, not only in our smaller communities but also in the world. We need each other to laugh with, cry with, and to help better understand ourselves. Without community, there would be no life. And our weekend in DC was an awesome way to come together as a community of leaders all working towards the same goal, which is to better know God and how best to serve him.

So our weekend itinerary was full of awesome things. We went to the DC Central Kitchen to volunteer, we then went to Wesley Theological Seminary to hear a talk on leadership in the church. We also went to the National Cathedral and a few of us got to sit in on a Catholic service. Over and over again I was reminded of our call as followers of Christ to serve others and to love one another. In our talk at Wesley, we learned about what it means to be a church that functions as a group of people working towards “God’s Preferred Kingdom” (which in RISE language means God’s Dream). I thought about what that meant to me, and what it means for me now to be a part of such a dedicated group of people working on restoring God’s Dream. I couldn’t help but think how incredibly blessed I was to know and understand this idea of leadership based on my experience!

I believe God uses everyone for some purpose and that we all have a little leader inside of us waiting to come out. One thing I know is that without this community, I would not have nearly the passion that I have today. I know we work together, towards a common goal. And while it is so so easy to forget that goal and get caught up in the logistics of it all, we as interns are always going back to the “Why?” of things.

So why do we strive as leaders for those who have no voice, for those who are broken, and for those who seem hopeless? Because it matters. Because they matter. Our lives are a gift from God. My personal “why” is so that everyone may know and understand that simple, yet hard to believe, truth that we are infinitely loved and cared for by our Creator.
So, with all that being said, this past weekend was an amazing time of reflection on the communities that we have built at RISE. It was a beautiful way to get to know some of the interns better, to form relationships that matter, and to go back to our “why.”

Doodle courtesy of April Sedeen, founder of Doodle Du Jour!

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 11:01:15 -0500

Doodle courtesy of April Sedeen, founder of Doodle Du Jour!

Amanda's Ash Wednesday Reflections

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 08:20:27 -0500

Every year, at the end of Ash Wednesday, I think the same basic thing. ”Well that was weird.” But, I appreciate it more every year. Every year, it’s tense, awkward, and I get really sullen right before the service, primarily because I don’t want to stand up there and tell people they’re gonna die. Why? It kills the mood. And, I don’t like to deal with that news myself.

Why is the church so odd? Why do we pick one day of the year to get up in each other’s faces, smudge foreheads with dirt, and speak bluntly of our shared mortality? “You, my friend, are gonna be worm food ….” So strange.

I’ve been to countless funerals as a family member and in the pastor-ish role, and I’m always fascinated by the ways we try to soft-pedal death. The phrases “passed away” or “passed on” have always interested me. As I kid, I used to wonder about that language.

No, she didn’t “pass away.” No, he didn’t “pass on.” He’s dead. She’s dead. Boom. Let’s tell the truth here.

I appreciate the fact that on Ash Wednesday, I don’t hear, “Hey there, friend … just want to gently remind you that someday you are gonna ‘pass away.’”

I need to be reminded that I’m not a big deal (it’s hard to hear, but oh so true). I need to be told to get over myself. I need to get perspective.

(And the truth is, I need to hear that more than just one day of the year …)

And nothing helps me get perspective faster than hearing the news that at the end of the day, I am a speck. A speck in time, a speck of dust, a part of creation and its life cycle.Soon-to-be compost. You get the picture …

I hear that news and realize that the petty stuff I cling to is pretty trivial. I realize that what I think really matters … well … most of it doesn’t all that much.

I realize that for someone who detests whining, I have my own ways of whining and feeling sorry for myself way too much. I realize that I need to focus more on being and less on doing. I realize that I find my worth primarily in things that also are fleeting and temporary. I realize that I need to see a bigger picture.

I realize that I only get one wild and precious life.

Nostalgia

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:01:00 -0500

This post was submitted by Lindsay Davis, a member of the RISE Core Team.

Rediscovering prayer and Bible study is bringing about major nostalgia.

When I opened my Bible to read this morning, I remember my early morning readings of old. I remember being immersed in darkness as my roommate slept with only my desk lamp giving enough light for me to read the verses. I remember taking notes in so many journals, pondering on what these stories meant to me and my life as it was and how it would be. I remember the feel of the worn leather of the Bible I received just before I graduated high school, with the little rough patch on the spine that I would rub absent-mindedly as if it were my own little safety blanket. I remember reading over the notes my youth volunteers wrote to me behind the front and back covers, full of love and hope as I prepared for the journey through my collegiate years. I remember how years later, their loving words could brighten up my darkest days.

When I begin to pray, I remember how many old rituals I tried. I remember sitting on the old, uncomfortable couches in the basement of my dorm, praying out loud until someone walked in and glanced awkwardly at me, at which point I would either pause and wait until I was alone again, or turn the other way and continue to pray silently. I remember holding hands with others and praying “popcorn prayers” until our voices blended together into one giant petition. I remember writing the name of every person that came to my mind, from dear friends and family members to someone I heard about on the news, in a prayer journal, and praying over each name so that they would know God’s love and peace for them.

I remember the devotionals that had little snippets of Scripture and a small reading to go with it. I remember words that inspired me, convicted me, challenged me, and gave me hope. I remember wanting to carry the little light around within me forever, only to be disappointed when a moment of chaos, pain, or my own darkness sprung up and snuffed it out.

This is why I’ve been skeptical about prayer for so long. It’s not God’s strength I doubt anymore; it’s my own.

Why pray when my own darkness takes me down so quickly? Why pray when I know I’m just going to let myself be torn down by what others say and do? Why be filled with hope, joy, peace, and love, when it will be gone before the end of the day?

And why read this crazy collection of stories known as the Bible? Why bother trying to unearth the mysteries of these Scriptures? Why spend so much mental energy trying to figure out what I want it to say, or what I think it needs to say? Why do this, when all other people seem to do with it is harm others with their newfound “biblical wisdom”, which was a not-so subtle way to demonize those who disagreed with them? Why should I bother others with my own contributions to the story, when all their contributions seemed to do was hinder others?

And why am I going back to this now? I’ve been afraid of prayer and the Bible for a bit over a year now. What is making me go back after all of this time?

To be honest, I simply missed it.

I missed the peace and affirmation that came from prayer. I missed connecting with God. I missed getting outside of my own head every once in a while to engage with someone else’s pain. I missed the connection to how I used to be, the people that were part of my life, my own steadfastness (or at least its façade). I missed knowing that God was looking out for me, that there was something out there bigger than me that I could tap in to, that the One who created everything, seen and unseen, had my back.

And I missed the old stories. I missed the Creation accounts, the flood narrative, the stories of people like Ruth, David, Mary, Esther, Moses, Jacob, Jesus, and Paul. I missed reading the stories of how the early churches struggled, and how they gave me hope in the midst of our struggles as a Church today.

I missed discussing these stories in small groups. I missed praying out loud together as a community.

I miss the way things used to be.

I do not miss the anti-intellectualism. I do not miss the strict legalism on purity. I do not miss the political agendas, selling Jesus as an “easy button,” drawing lines in the sand, blindness to the suffering of those around us in exchange for the Prosperity Gospel, and all those things that still make me cringe when I think about my faith background.

But I do miss the feeling that I wasn’t alone. I do miss certainty and steadfast faith and hope, even in the darkest of times. I miss the mysticism, the beauty of deep spirituality, and the joy in connecting with God in a deeper way that makes some people think you’re “not with it.”

So I’m coming back. Or I’m dipping my feet back in again. I haven’t quite dived fully in yet, but my toes are in the water, and it is cool and refreshing in the middle of this long journey.

2012 Year in Review | Looking Ahead to 2013

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 08:17:44 -0500

The Mac and Cheese-Off

In 2012 …

34 scrumptious entries of mac and cheese and countless students and community members packed the RISE Mission House to sample the goodness.

Coming soon in 2013 …

It’s already shaping up to be a record-breaking event! Get there early … You won’t want to miss this! Click here to learn more about the 3rd Annual Mac and Cheese-Off on January 27!

The Chocolate Walk

In 2012 …

Over 250 participants raised $3,000 for the Collins Center!

Coming in 2013 …

Mark your calendar for the 3rd Annual Chocolate Walk on Friday May 10, 2013! There will be more chocolate stations and the much-requested hydration station … It’s going to be sweet.

Restore Love Month

In 2012 …

Our first ever Restore Love Month focused on the pain of child sex trafficking with a speaker from Love146 and also included the Restore Love RockOFF to raise money for this incredible organization.

Coming in 2013 …

Restore Love Month will feature the Stop it Now! Dialogue and the Restore Love Rock & Runway — a night of music and fashion to raise awareness of and promote healing for child victims of sexual abuse. Click here for more information about Restore Love Month and to buy tickets for the Rock & Runway event!

Summer Fun

Love Wednesdays once again included some silly yet love-filled random acts of kindness throughout our community including this surprise birthday party at the Dollar Tree!

Friends also met for Midnight and Sunset Prayer time throughout the community and made new friends along the way. See posts here and here.

The Alternative Gift Market

In 2012 …

“Sales” (i.e., contributions to community organizations) increased from $700 to $7,000! and Ruby’s Lounge generously hosted the event, creating a fun vibe for downtown shoppers.

Community Support

Love Packs continue to grow, now supporting 25 students at Spotswood Elementary School.

For our final Love Packing session in 2012, a group of volunteers from a local church added teddy bears to each backpack as a special Christmas surprise.

We’ve also partnered with the Rotary Club of Harrisonburg who help us to pack bags once every month.

RISE & Shine continues to grow. In a 7-week span, we shared love in the form of soap and toothpaste with 91 different guests.

More to look forward to in 2013 …

Justin is here! Our community has grown so much over the last two years that we are now in need of more support for our campus ministries. Justin is off and running. Look for him at JMU, Bridgewater and EMU!

2013 is already shaping up to be an exciting year as God continues to call our young and ambitious community to big things! As we seek to live into God’s dream in Harrisonburg and beyond, we hope that you will continue to support us. Your generosity has paved the way for so many incredible opportunities over the last two years. Please consider a gift that will provide hope for young adults and the young at heart in our community.

RISE swag at Student Org Night at JMU! Originally posted to...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:01:00 -0500

RISE swag at Student Org Night at JMU!

Originally posted to Instagram by Ashley Jacquette

Receiving vs. Serving

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:00:59 -0500

The following post was written by Emily C. Johnson for her blog. We’re reposting it here with her permission.

Communion is an interesting thing we do in the Christian church. We claim that simple items like juice and bread are our creator, humbling and breaking himself for us and our transgressions. We claim that this is a “meal” that changes us. And while communion is great, especially if the sermon is running long and you forgot breakfast, it often does not seem to make a lot of sense to me.

Today I got to serve communion which is something I like doing a lot because it’s always been easier for me to give than to receive (anything. ever.) I like to be able to see everyone and feel important. But today, I would say that giving was much more powerful for me than receiving. Today, several of my friends came with us to church which was awesome! And I got to serve communion to all of them. In a row. and I can’t explain it, but being the one to give them communion, being the one to hand them a small symbol of grace, was just overwhelmingly beautiful. Each one of those friends of mine are unique and at different points in their journey in life and in faith. It hit me today just how special it is to be a part of that journey.

I am honored to be a part of their journeys. And I am so grateful for those who have been (or will be) a part of mine.

Apple Gleaning with RISE

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:45:00 -0400

This post was submitted by Jordan Garrett.

In the midst of all the chaos that I call my life, sometimes it’s hard for me to slow down and listen to the quietness of God. Especially as a music major when everything’s a whirlwind of a to-do list, I just want to curl up and sleep forever by the end of the week. I guess you can say its been a stressful month! Much to my demise, I somehow got persuaded by my housemates to get up at 8 am on a Saturday morning to go gleaning with RISE. And much to my surprise, it was the most needed and memorable day from last week.

There are so many beautiful things on this Earth that I don’t notice. I’m either so immersed in myself or too tired to notice the constant reminders of a love that never forgets me even when I might forget about Him. I guess I realized that this story of mine is not just about that hand that picks up the apple, but the hands that MADE the apple and MADE that hand to pick up the apple and MADE the mouth less fortunate than mine that will eat the apple that was picked up. And that’s a beautiful thing to consider. All of this is His. The entire Earth is His, and he uses it to love us in a way I had never thought of before.

Get away from the to-do list my friends. There are beautiful things to be seen.

And here’s Jack sharing the love in front of Old Rail...

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:48:29 -0400

And here’s Jack sharing the love in front of Old Rail Tunnel in Germany!

Here are Velleda and Rob — sharing the love in Honduras...

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 09:03:32 -0400

Here are Velleda and Rob — sharing the love in Honduras with Friends of Barnabas!

(I don't know if this counts, but Amanda asked us to share our thoughts about worship this morning. So, here goes...)

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 07:59:44 -0400

Sometimes we all need to be reminded that we are merely humans. Thank you, RISE, for the much-needed reminder this morning that we all need a break. Even God took a day to rest after creating the universe. So, what makes US think we can do it all? What stops us from taking a deep breath, from stepping outside and admiring a beautiful sunset, or from just taking a walk to clear our minds? On that note, I will be taking a break from Facebook and Twitter this week to clear my head. What can you do this week to give yourself a break?

Who do we let name us?

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:15:36 -0400

Small Things with Great Love Means Loving Yourself

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 18:52:46 -0400

This post was submitted by Phil Quagliariello.

Yesterday at RISE we had the incredible privilege of hosting Margot Starbuck, author of several books, including Small Things with Great Love. If you haven’t read the book yet (why haven’t you?), the basic premise is that in the quest to change the world, it’s often not the huge, attention seeking gestures that make a greatest impact, but it’s showing love in small practical ways in your everyday interactions. I won’t give you a book report, but I would encourage you to read the book, because if you are like me and find yourself often frustrated by the magnitude of the world’s problems, there is an incredible freedom in showing love in the little things. It can also, for however brief a moment, remind you that your life matters, and that to the person you are showing love to, that act of love is just as huge as an act of love that impacts a wider audience.

As part of the “Stories and Voices” series, we were asked to share practical applications to Margot’s talk and how we feel this applies to us on a personal level. For those of you who know me or have heard some of my story, you know that the past year or so has been a difficult one. Filled with life altering traumas, from the ending a marital relationship, close friends being tragically killed in car accidents, losing a job, transitioning into a leadership position at RISE, and the list seems endless. As a result of these many events, I have been forced (not literally) to do some serious self-evaluation and processing of not only these events, but the underlying themes that maybe have correlational (is that a word?) relevance, namely trying to figure out what my part is in all of these happenings.

What stood out to me in Margot’s sharing yesterday was this statement, “It’s often easy to believe that God loves the WHOLE world, it’s often more difficult to believe that God loves ME”. Ok, so mind, heart, and soul officially blown apart by that statement, which brings me to my realization, which I would like to share with you who are reading, and hopefully by my sharing, it may resonate with you.

For me, I have always been an “other-centric” person, which is not a bad thing. I try to dedicate my time and energy and passions to helping people in practical ways. Most often this presents itself in overachieving, overworking, and being generally overzealous about everything. I don’t think this is negative per se, but it could be, depending on the motivation. For me, it clicked when Margot made that statement, that maybe my super outward focus stems from a place of codependence and an inability to accept the fact that I am worth something to God, and that it’s ok to allow God to love me right where I am, right in my mess. My response to my mess has been to compartmentalize it, shove it down, pretend it’s not there, and focus instead on fixing everyone else’s messes. This brings up several questions. I will only present questions here for two reasons; one, that I don’t have the answers, and two, that offering an answer or solution totally negates the idea that I am trying to convey.

Could it be that I/we are not called to fix other people’s messes, but instead to allow God to fill us with his unfathomable Love, so that we can then give that Love to people who need it, from a place of wholeness, instead of a place of neediness?

Could it be that I/we are trying to solve the world’s problems to cover up some hidden need in our own hearts and souls to be loved ourselves?

Could it be that God is big enough to be aware of all the world’s messes, including mine, and that the best way to Love people is not to attempt to fix their messes or solve their problems, but instead to allow ourselves to be made whole by God’s love? This then frees us to sit with people in their struggles, and not necessarily offer solutions (which isn’t always bad), but to just allow them to be and to allow them to feel on the deepest level that we are saying “Me too!”.

So, to me, Small Things with Great Love means loving ourselves, not in a narcissistic manner, but in the way that we give ourselves permission to accept and receive God’s love without fear, shame, or guilt. This is exactly why we say “Receive Love. Give Love. Repeat.”

-Phil