discontinuing le blog.

the things that originally motivated me to create this tumblr and keep it just… don’t really capture my attention anymore - or at least have been eclipsed by more pressing issues. it was a nice aside while it lasted. sorry if this seems rather sudden lol? thank you for reading and following, and caring, for those who did that too. and really - good luck. (: keep fighting your battles, everyone.

my friend asked me the other day if i could come up with a thesis statement for my college academics. i’m not sure if this really counts, it’s just me musing a bit about a kingdom perspective on what i study. 

usually i love that i study city planning and urban design. my curriculum lets me explore and discover the basic principles of creating great communities. regardless of technology, topography, geography, economy, religion or culture – most, if not all, great places successfully connect people to people. think about your experience in a place you loved. it felt so alive, full of energy, it had that great café, the amazing park, it was beautiful, it pulled you in, you walked for blocks and blocks. from small towns to big cities, the places we love connect us.

we love community and God loves community. He made us to love Him and others and nowhere is this more possible than in the community of abundant connections. God desires us to be connected and the design of your community makes this either really easy or painfully difficult. therefore, as members of community we must champion anything that connects us and root out whatever separates us.

oftentimes the barriers to connections are obvious. every element of our built environment can be designed in a way that either facilitates connections or hinders them. the places in which we live, work, play or worship can and should be designed to maximize connectivity, but God’s desire for connections goes far beyond just the physical arrangement of things. 

Isaiah 58 reveals God’s deeper perspective on the disconnections that matter most. injustice is a barrier. exploitation is a wound. oppression is a pit. debt is an anchor. these keep us apart and have the power to disrupt the love of God and others. these are the symptoms of the broken city and the remedy is love in action.

“this is the kind of fast day i’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. what I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.” (MSG)

the broken city is repaired not by removing needs but by meeting them. restoration comes not from pushing others out but by lifting others up. redemption won’t be prayed away but must be broken, ridden, freed, canceled, shared, invited and given away. could the call to action be any clearer? and for those that put these words into action?

“You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.” (MSG)

Isaiah 58 is God’s blueprint for what could and should be in our communities. there isn’t an organization in this world with greater potential for putting these words into action than the church. You may have never thought of the church as a placemaker or a community builder but if Isaiah 58 is true then could there be any greater champion for community than the local church? 

in a time of unspeakable need and pain this could not be any more relevant for the communities of this nation and world. Imagine a church at the center of it all – meetings needs, building community, rebuilding broken walls and living out a love for God and others with unavoidable radiance. and i thank God for the chance at some small part in all this. 

As one who follows Jesus, this is now my history too. My ancestors are not those whose blood line I share. The Spirit trumps that. And by the Spirit I’ve been grafted into a new family. Those who share the same Spirit. Those are my people. I stand on the rich foundation laid by the faithful before me and travel this journey today with those who share the same Spirit.

Why does this matter? Well, when life kicks me in the pants and beats my head into a bloody pulp, and God seems to be doing nothing about it… I can borrow hope for a season. I can borrow the hope of those who have walked before me over centuries with a God who is not silent and who has broken into the course of human history. They have recorded his deeds. He has proven faithful. And when I’m hanging on by a thread, I join with Peter in declaring…Lord, to who else could I go? You alone have words of eternal life.. In the darkness, I’m banking on this faith community who has gone before me. I’m not standing alone.

some very special insights from a woman who is on staff with Cru and who led our Bible study during the first half of Chicago summer project ‘12. Laura blesses everyone with her authenticity when talking about her struggles, and her words have definitely cut to my heart when it seemed like everybody else around me could only offer true-but-hackneyed statements about trusting God…

Lord, in a sea of uncertainty, i’ve turned to trusting myself - that is, a fool - thinking myself clever and resilient enough to venture out with only my own merits to guide me. i’ve trusted in myself, enchanted by my own so-called “wisdom,” reaping a fool’s empty harvest. there are times where i’ve felt certain, and yet i was most certainly wrong. in a sea of uncertainty, there is only you. too many times i thought i’d let you down, but i was never holding you up in the first place. you uphold me with your righteous right hand, and you have all along.

soften my heart again.