passion to change the world

So my dear friend Megan and I are having coffee right now. We've decided to change the world. Now, we just need to figure out how.

Here are our passions defined, our strengths listed in painstaking detail, and our desires explained for world change. Let us know of any opportunities you hear of that seem to match.

Megan Sheppard:
Passion- Love the people of the world through the medium of graphic design, communication, and hands-on service

Strengths- Graphic design experience
Direct communication skills, networking
International travel experience

Desire:  Begin as soon as possible!! ;)
Go (or stay) exactly where God wants, helping people with practical needs and building up the Kingdom.

Laura Rarig:
Passion: Speak of God's faithfulness and salvation, train future leaders of the Church

Strengths- Teaching adolescents
Boldly communicate Gospel truths
Clear written communication skills
Active listener

Desire:  Watch the Gospel transform lives in the farthest corners of the world.

If you know of any opportunities that match these passions, desires, or strengths, please post a comment below. Thanks!

Ecclesiastes 11:1 NAS
"Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it [fn] after many days."

deep joy

Just got back from a beautiful wedding. Kyle and Beth are so in love with each other. Their joy is contagious. So much excitement in their eyes! Such keen acknowledgement of their relationship reflecting Christ and the church. Beautiful.

Pastor Caesar Paul shared a "sermonette" during the ceremony from Judges 2. (By far the weirdest passage of scripture I've ever heard read at a wedding.) But the point he drew from the passage of Israel's history was: "Rejoice. Remember. Then, rejoice again." His admonition to Kyle and Beth was to spend today in rejoicing, and return to that same rejoicing every time they remember today.

It was so good to see old friends today at the wedding. Childhood friends. High school friends. Parents of friends. College friends. Church friends. The joy was so thick you could feel it, taste it, smell it. And just in case you're wondering...joy smells GOOD.

It was harder to see some old friends than others. My heart broke all over again for friends in broken relationship. I realized some wounds aren't as healed as I'd hoped they would be by now.

Already weakened by spending last night vomiting bad nachos from Applebee's, it hurt to see my own sin nature come out on such a blessed, happy day. Why was my heart so focused on myself? Sometimes I still feel guilty for crying over wounds that I think should be healed. Dad gave me some godly counsel, though, to help me see my life in healthy perspective.

Finally driving home to my apartment tonight, a song played at the wedding was stuck in my head:

1. O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

2. O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

3. O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

4. O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Verse 3 in particular tugs at my heart. I walked in the front door of my apartment to see this beautiful promise of joy:

According to the internet (http://www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/hymns/o08.html) the song was written by a man whose fiancee left him after he discovered he was going blind. The hymn was written for his sister's wedding.

Joy is made beautiful by suffering. The rainbow stands out against the dark storm clouds as a covenant of God's faithfulness. That's the joy I saw in Kyle's eyes, in Beth's eyes today. This is the God of hope I can cling to.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you face trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith leads to steadfastness." James 1:2-3 ESV


Father, I'm counting it joy. All of it. Counting it joy.

meeting God in places

Late June 2003, I spent two weeks living in the house on the right.

Not just me, but twenty-some high school students who wanted to learn more about God. (And the eight college students who were there as chaperones.)We were part of Credo, a youth theology camp put on by Multnomah Bible College. We listened to hours of lectures each day from Multnomah professors, enjoyed sweet times of solitude at the house or down at Cannon beach, and prayed and sang A LOT.

This place is special to my heart.

That summer, God showed me the deep importance of loving others. He made it so clear through His word that I am to love Him by loving others. My life changed in this place.

There are many other places that God has changed my life. And the lives of others.

The last few weeks, I've heard people talk about needing to go to certain places to meet God. Seems backwards, at least in my theology. Doesn't God meet us where we are? He's everywhere. That's how I read the Bible, right?

The two time shares in Cannon Beach have a special place in my story. But there's nothing special about the place. God's Spirit is just as real in Cannon Beach as in Kitsap county. Just as real in Barahona, or Pullman, or anywhere.

Galatians 5:25 reads, "Since we live in the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." If we are truly connected to the Spirit of God, we'll keep in step. We will listen. Obey. Change and grow. And we'll go to the places the Spirit leads. Those places will be special because God has led us there.

I praise God for chasing me down on Earth. If I had to chase Him, the story wouldn't end so well.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6


Praise the God who chases us, who meets us where we are.

the next leg of the adventure

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
lean not on your own understanding,
in all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will make your paths straight." -Proverbs 3:5 & 6

There are going to be a LOT of opportunities for me to trust God in the next few months. And it will be tempting to lean on my own understanding, instead.  Yesterday, I lost my job. My school district doesn't have enough $$ to offer me a job for next year. So, I got a formal letter explaining why my contract is being terminated, a hand-written card from the superintendent, a Starbucks gift card from our teacher association, and condolences from co-workers. Then, I took 16 students on a 4-mile run to the high school.  It was a pretty intense day.

The way I see it, this is the next leg of the adventure. Another opportunity to trust God. He's brought me this far. Why would the next new twist be any different?

So, if you hear of any great opportunities, let me know.

I've enjoyed teaching science at Ridgetop the last two years. I'll savor the next six weeks of showing Christ to my students and co-workers. I'll keep giving my time to track practices, parent meetings, youth events, and grading parties. And I'll trust God for whatever comes next.

Exciting times.