About
I've had this cork board hanging on my wall(s) since I moved to Orlando
in Fall 2004. I've moved about seven times since then; still there are
certain papers, photographs, lists, and notes that have stayed with me
and weathered all these years!
One of them is a small slip that reads:
prayer movement!
LOVE
I always kept that little slip of paper because the words on it, though written back in 2006, always seemed to carry so much weight. I knew they would periodically remind me of something God might desire for my life, something I might have an important role in. I could not have imagined then what S/he had in store for me.
Five years later I am living in NYC. I moved here in September 2009 to get involved with Trinity Grace Church and learn the ropes of church-planting. I wanted to eventually utilize my own knowledge, skills, resources, support, and team to plant a church in the great city of Chicago. But I learned early on that my primary challenge would be simply surviving in NYC. I was told that if I could make it here, I could make it anywhere.
In many ways, I've flipped the notion around and have even become (occasionally) the face of surviving simply: working full time as a writer, busker, performance artist, volunteer, activist, and freegan spokesperson. I live so simply, in fact, that I doubt I'll have the means to follow God to the Windy City any time soon. I don't really mind this, since I know that God is not leading me there yet anyway. There is still much for me to learn and experience in NYC (and elsewhere?) before that happens. Thankfully, God's work in and through me is ever-evident as I live missionally in NYC: molding my life, my story, the places I visit, the people I meet; teaching, leading, using me in ways that reflect and renew who I am, what I am good at, and what I am passionate about.
In September 2010, about one year after my move to the city, I received a vision from God like a 10-second old polaroid picture of my own kitchen sink, a place in Chicago where I could do the dishes:
The vision has since developed a bit and I just continue shaking it (in more ways than one) as I do the dishes here in NYC. I anticipate that my years here will help me to further develop my vision and prepare me to materialize and plant it in Chicago. In all its facets. At some point in the not-too-distant future. In the mean time, you can read about the lessons I'm learning and any progress being made. Enjoy!
One of them is a small slip that reads:
prayer movement!
LOVE
I always kept that little slip of paper because the words on it, though written back in 2006, always seemed to carry so much weight. I knew they would periodically remind me of something God might desire for my life, something I might have an important role in. I could not have imagined then what S/he had in store for me.
Five years later I am living in NYC. I moved here in September 2009 to get involved with Trinity Grace Church and learn the ropes of church-planting. I wanted to eventually utilize my own knowledge, skills, resources, support, and team to plant a church in the great city of Chicago. But I learned early on that my primary challenge would be simply surviving in NYC. I was told that if I could make it here, I could make it anywhere.
In many ways, I've flipped the notion around and have even become (occasionally) the face of surviving simply: working full time as a writer, busker, performance artist, volunteer, activist, and freegan spokesperson. I live so simply, in fact, that I doubt I'll have the means to follow God to the Windy City any time soon. I don't really mind this, since I know that God is not leading me there yet anyway. There is still much for me to learn and experience in NYC (and elsewhere?) before that happens. Thankfully, God's work in and through me is ever-evident as I live missionally in NYC: molding my life, my story, the places I visit, the people I meet; teaching, leading, using me in ways that reflect and renew who I am, what I am good at, and what I am passionate about.
In September 2010, about one year after my move to the city, I received a vision from God like a 10-second old polaroid picture of my own kitchen sink, a place in Chicago where I could do the dishes:
- 24/7 house of prayer and worship
- Homeless kitchen and resource center
- Art community center and DIY showspace
The vision has since developed a bit and I just continue shaking it (in more ways than one) as I do the dishes here in NYC. I anticipate that my years here will help me to further develop my vision and prepare me to materialize and plant it in Chicago. In all its facets. At some point in the not-too-distant future. In the mean time, you can read about the lessons I'm learning and any progress being made. Enjoy!