That Time I Met Francis Chan

Finally sitting down to write the post I've been meaning to write for 2 weeks now, hooray! Before I get to the part about meeting Francis Chan, I just have to take a moment to start at the beginning. Aka, I get to gush about my friendship with this one:

God is so intentional with our friendships. They come into our lives at just the perfect times, with so much purpose. I met Heidi through an equally God-ordained friendship, with my at-the-time coworker, Kali. 

It was almost 2 years ago that we all met, and it's crazy to think of the ways we've all changed since then. Heidi and I were mere acquaintances until our friendship really deepened towards the end of last year. 

It was one of those things where every sentence resulted in a "me, too!" Such a sweet blessing to meet someone with such similar struggles, yet similar convictions as well. An understanding that allows for honest confession, that is always met with a push closer to Jesus. 

God has used her friendship in my life in so many ways, it's such a fruitful and blessed thing. And among our many, many things in common, we both became huge Francis Chan fans after hearing him speak at Catalyst. When we found out he was doing a free {yes, free} conference in LA, we just had to jump on that opportunity. 

We stalked googled, and found out he was speaking on Friday night. So what else are two Francis fans to do, but spontaneously road trip it LA for the night to listen to what was sure to be an amazing, impactful message. 

We were not disappointed!

Just walking up, everyone was so incredibly friendly. We felt welcomed as though we knew everyone already, even though we knew no one. Walking up, many of the close seats were already taken. Though neither of us were intentionally seeking it out, we happened to find some open front row seats. 

Seats that a mere ten or fifteen minutes later, were just a handful over from Francis himself! {!!!}

{insert fan girl moment}

Of course we had to say hello, and ask for a picture. He was so kind and humble, even as we gushed over how much we loved his Catalyst message just the month before. 

It was truly a blessing from God, getting to meet the man who has encouraged both of us so much in our walk with the Lord. 

The rest of the evening can only be described as an overwhelming encounter with the Spirit. The opening worship: so good. The message: so good. The closing worship: off. the. hook. 

Francis poured out the truth that "when you are secure in your relationship with God, and about how He feels about you, the little things don't bother you anymore." And with that profound statement, he invited us to pray over one another. He invited those of us feeling secure in the understanding of God's love for us to pray over those who craved that security for themselves. 

The Holy Spirit said "go." And so I did. People flooded that carpet for prayer, for an encounter with the Lord. I was reminded of the numerous times that I myself have begged the Lord for more understanding of His vast love for me, and I laid hands on my brothers and sisters, and asked for just that. 

Guys, I can't put into words what happened in that room. 

All I can say is I want more of it. 

I hope that today, you are feeling secure in God's love for you. Like Francis said, it changes

everything. 

If you're not, and you'd like to, please let me know. I would love to pray for you in that. Shoot me an e-mail if you'd like {sweethomesbblog@gmail.com}, because my dear friends, there is serious power in prayer. 

"And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is."

Ephesians 3:18

Happy Tuesday, loves. <3

Lady Friends

Here come's another Monday! Hope your weekend was a great one. Mine definitely was. One of the ones that I walk out of just simply praising the Lord for this beautiful life He's blessed me with. 

I was always a girl who wanted a boyfriend, who didn't feel complete without a second half. Or rather, who didn't feel complete without a second half to fill her mind with reassurance and affirmation. 

I'm so thankful for how things played out in my life. I'm so thankful that I'm 24 years old and still 100% single. I never would have imagined feeling so happy, fulfilled, and complete without a relationship. 

You know why that is, though? I'm about to gush on the seriously amazing lady friends in my life. But as amazing as they are, they aren't the reason that my life is fulfilled. I went through a season of looking to my friends for that, and it wasn't any different than turning to a relationship. Just put a heck of a lot more pressure on my friendships. 

The reason is because that's just who our God is. He truly, truly is all-sufficient. He truly can satisfy every single craving or need in our little human hearts. He really does fulfill our ever desire. Sometimes, we just can't realize that because our hands are busy grasping things we can find down here. Like relationships. Or friendships. 

Having always been a girl who was terrified of being alone, I am so thankful that the Lord radically restored my heart to see that no relationship can fill me like He can. It allows me to truly enjoy singleness, and all of the blessings that come with it. 

Like these seriously amazing lady friends that I was talking about. 

Saturday was filled with time with these incredible women that I am blessed to call friends. A group of us took a morning hike, trekked up to the top of a workout-of-a-mountain, and enjoyed the gorgeous view of Inspiration Point. 

After a good shower and some party prepping, we opened our doors to a dozen+ of our gorgeous lady pals to enjoy a "We Love You Too Much To Only Celebrate Once" Post-Valentine's Party. 

When we were looking for places back in the holiday season, we would simply dream of a perfect house. One of the main dreams we had was to have a place where we could entertain and host others. This has been the third big event we've hosted in less than 2 months of living here, and each time our living room and kitchen are packed to a brim, I can't help but praise the Lord for how perfectly He brought all this together. 

I looked around at all of those women in that house, and felt thankful for each one. Some I've known longer than others, and some I may know more about. Some I may see weekly, and others not as much. But I am thankful for each one. 

I'm walking into this new work week full from a weekend packed with friends, fellowship and fun. I hope your weekend was packed with all sorts of good stuff, too!

The Prayer Night

Two days before I left, I held a prayer night at our brand spankin' new house. Friends from all different areas of my life piled in, first divided into sub groups of who-knows-who, and eventually settling into one giant circle in our living room. I started setting the tone for prayer, when a dear friend politely interjected. She had heard a word from God as she walked up to our door, a word that led her to suggest that before we pray, the group took the opportunity to fill me up. To fill me up full of love and affirmation, so that I could take it with me to pour out all over Kisoro, Uganda. 

And so it began, each person took some time to share how I have impacted their lives. Some who I have known for years now, and others for just a few months. There were some of the kindest, most meaningful compliments ever given to me said in that circle. And some of the most beautiful, genuine tears shed. 

I can't quite explain the feeling that came over me. Not a single tear fell from this cry baby over here, and I think it was because a significant part of me was quite literally in shock. All I could do was praise God, because I knew that only He was responsible for everything that was taking place. 

I have never felt more full of love than on that night. And my friends, that is what life was made for. We were created to live in fellowship with God, and in fellowship with other people. It even says so in the Bible, "The Lord God said 'It is not good for the man to be alone.'" {Genesis 2:18}. 

We were made to fill each other up, to love each other, to support each other, to push each other closer to Christ. And on that Monday night, surrounded by some very dear friends, that is exactly what happened. They filled me up, they loved me, they supported me, and they pushed me closer to Christ. Oh, did they push me closer to Christ. I went to sleep that night praising Him so, so much. 

I am so grateful for that friend who spoke up and boldly proclaimed that she had word from God. Because of her and every single person in that room, my heart was exploding from love before I even set foot on a plane. 

And it's a good thing too, because boy, did He have work coming for that thing. 

My Faith in Jesus (part 2)

To find part 1, go here.

I mention January 1st a lot when I talk about my faith. It truly was the single most defining moment in my relationship with Jesus, even more so than when I first invited Him into my heart. 

Exactly 11 months ago, I wrote what I referred to as my first honest post. I wrote about the events that led me to the state that I was in that day. I won't delve too far into that right now, but since the original post is a fairly long one, I'll summarize to say that I was feeling broken. 

January 1st was the first day that I went to my now church, Reality. In the post mentioned above, I talked about what happened that day. But I want to go a little deeper right now. I never want to forget the things that I felt on that Sunday.

I never want to forget that initial worship set, reaching my arms out as far as they could extend, simply trying to get as close as I possibly could to God. 

I never want to forget the words "I'm desperate for you, Lord" playing over and over again through my mind. They weren't the lyrics to any songs that we sang that day, they were simply the words of my heart. 

I never want to forget the realization that I couldn't continue living the way that I had been living. Realizing that if I ever wanted to be happy the way that I so desperately wanted to be, I would need to live the Lord's way. 

I never want to forget the comfort that flooded my heart as I finally told God that I surrendered my entire life to Him. My relationships, friendships, Friday and Saturday nights. I begged Him to take them. To take them all, and do what He wanted with them. 

I felt comfort in finally relinquishing control over my life to the Lord, because I knew that He would make something beautiful of it. 

And no, it was not an overnight change. Changing my life to live according to the Bible has been and will continue to be an ongoing process. 

But what did change in a single instant was my heart. There was no denying that this heart was transformed. Although I may fall short each and every day, this heart no longer lives for itself. This heart lives for Jesus. And I know this by the convictions that I feel when I do fall short. The beautiful convictions that tell me that I no longer belong in this world, but in His. 

And so, where does community come into this? 

Through out all of college, I made one strong friendship with another Christian, Kristen. 

Just one, out of the many incredible friendships that I formed. 

That one friend is who led me to Reality that day. In my broken state, I sought comfort from the Lord worshipping Him with Kristen and her roommate, my now great friend, Corinne. 

Two people I knew in that room full of hundreds. 

If there is one thing that I've learned, it's that as a Christian, it is so important to have strong Christian friendships. 

As Christians, we are so privileged to be able to share God's love with one another. Any time we are brought together, it's an opportunity to feel Jesus' presence and His love. It's an opportunity to grow in our faith by just a short conversation on His word. 

We show His love by loving one another. We hold each other accountable to help us grow closer to Christ. We truly are brothers and sisters, and it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. 

I spent the majority of high school lacking in community. I spent all of college lacking in community. 

And I could have spent the rest of my life lacking in community. 

But God said No. 

And this year, He has blessed me with the gift of the second best thing, compared to His love. 

The love of my brothers and sisters. 

Who build me up when I fall. See me for the person that I want to be and can be, not the person that I am today. 

And I am in no way saying that these friendships exceed my friendships with Non-Christians.

I am simply thankful for the gift of having friendships where I can share my love of Christ with someone who gets it, you know?  

And the best part is, I didn't find these people. 

God found them for me. 

When I can't understand or fathom how incredible His love is, I look to these people. And I think I have an inkling of understanding. 

Thank you Lord, that you did not design us to ever be alone. You designed us to embrace in the wonderful gift of community, and that in doing so, we can show the world Your love.

My Faith in Jesus (part 1)

Today, I want to share a little bit about my faith. What God has done in my life in the past year. Because it's been a lot. And it's been a beautiful process. 

I've written about this process a decent amount on the blog here. It's been a huge part of my life in the last year, so understandably so, it's a huge part of my inspiration to write. 

You can find some other posts on what God has been doing in my life here, here and here.

Today, I want to talk about community. 

I've mentioned that I was saved in High School. On a summer church retreat to Catalina, to be exact. 

I will never forget that weekend that I was first introduced to the Lord. To His love for me. 

I will never forget the hikes into the Catalina mountains where for the first time, I would sit alone with the Lord. And let His word guide my thoughts. Marvel on how wonderful He is.

I will never forget that for the first time, I felt a sense of confidence in who I was. I went on the trip with one friend, and ended up forming an entirely new group of friends instead of hanging out with her and hers. For the first time in my life, I could feel the Holy Spirit inside of me attracting others to become my friend. 

My freshman year had been a whirlwind. My closest friends were a group of girls where drama was a regular on our daily agenda (Bless their souls, those of us who are still friends laugh about it today). My house burned down in January of that year (I was home alone at the time, and very directly related to the cause of the accidental fire). While living in a temporary house, my mom found out she was pregnant with my much younger, beautiful blessing of a sister (But let's talk about adding stress to an already stressful household situation). I got in trouble at school (for the first and last time). I had my heart broken (for the first and not last time). And I developed an eating disorder (that I have struggled with ever since). 

Whirlwind, right? 

Jesus gave purpose to every part of that insanely stressful year. Jesus redeemed me, removed the shame from my life, and simply loved me. 

My sophomore year was spent completely consumed in Christ. I was involved with the High School youth group, going to events on around 5 days a week on the reg. 

It was wonderful. 

I will never forget what it felt to learn about Jesus, and to really learn and be interested, for the first time in my life. 

I will never forget what it felt like to have friendships based on Christ for the first time. 

To have role models to look up to, Godly role models. 

However, after getting a job at 16 that often conflicted with church on Sundays, my relationship with God started taking a back seat. 

When I was at church, my heart belonged to Christ. But Christ certainly did not lead all other areas of my life. When I transitioned from High School youth group to normal adult service, I began going to church alone. 

And to be honest, I think I liked it that way. When I would sit in service, I would see others my age in groups, and I could tell that I wanted a sense of community. But I did not actively seek it out. 

I think I was just comfortable with my relationship with Jesus being a personal thing for me. Sundays were my time to be alone with the Lord (even while surrounded by so many other Christians). And I grew content with that. 

So through college, that continued. Although my church attendance drastically dropped. 

I went to church on my schedule. And to be honest, I only sought out the Lord while going through difficult times. Funny how that happens, huh?

Again, I would see groups of college students going to church together, and I felt a longing for that. But I didn't know how to find it. I wasn't ready to change my lifestyle, I was afraid of what that would entail. 

So I went to church on the occasional Sunday, and I returned to my normal routine immediately after. My friends were not believers, so that was that. 

To be honest, there are of course times that I wish I clung to the Lord through out college. Because I realize now how incredible it is to live for Him. I recognize how there is absolutely a fine line between living in the world, and living for Jesus. And I never want to go back, not after tasting His goodness. So of course, a part of me wishes that I hadn't wasted my first 7 years of being a Christian. 

But, I would not change a thing. 

I love my friends from college. And who knows if we would be friends had I been walking in faith in every aspect of my life. 

I would not be the person I am today if I hadn't walked the walk that I did. I maybe would not appreciate the incredible gift of community that I have been blessed with. 

And now that I see how long this post is going to be, I'm going to split it into 2 parts. 

This is where I was. This is the life I lived until January 1st, 2012. I was a lover of Jesus, who had no idea what it looked like to walk with Him. 

I knew what I wanted out of life, but I thought it was unattainable. I thought there was no way that someone like me could be as Spirit-filled as the leaders that I saw in church. 

Well thank you Lord, for proving me very, very wrong.