Perseverance, and a little timing :-)

For many a summer I've been back home, I passed by the construction and now thriving congregation that is Lakeshore Community Church on Latta Rd, on my way to work. As i stepped into the worship area for the first time this past Sunday, it felt a lot like a mini-Journey Church back in Norman... I was hopeful.

Speaking of Journey, I'll probably reference them a lot in my posts... simply the most amazing place to grow and truly be transformed through Christ that I've ever been in. If someday I have the chance, I may find myself in OKC for a career strictly on the fact that I can be a part of that community... so much potential. If you have the time... I HIGHLY SUGGEST just sitting down and listening to some of Pastor Clark's messages @ their ==> website <== Click on "I want to watch messages"... and start with the "Our House" series if anything. Give him some time to warm up and a few sessions to see where he's going. Maybe this is just what I need and everyone's different... but their mission to truly transform a city, one life at a time, is far from impossible. They're no mega church... but they average 400 new members a year. That in itself should say something about what's being done. You won't get what makes the community so special from just their website, but at least a glimpse into how the Lord is truly working through the messages being given. So what about Lakeshore CC? I began with that earlier in this post's life. God speaks to us in funny ways sometimes. The first time I walked into Journey, the worship began with Todd Agnew's Grace Like Rain... the song had been playing through me constantly in the weeks before, without much in the way of significance, or so it seemed. So the very first message given at Lakeshore this past sunday was the scripture you see in Italian on my header pic above.... Proverbs 3:5-6. These lines alone have hit me hard in the past weeks, but I'll leave it at telling you that this has been the one message of immense truth in shaping the direction of my thinking... and in the ways I've fallen short. So I think God was trying to tell me that I had walked in at the right time.

Any doubt about this was put to rest with the message given that service. It was honestly hard not to compare things to Journey and be doubtful that it's what I need, but the message was part of the "Finishing Well" series (appropriately timed in my life :P) titled "Perseverance Pays". I'm not here to give cliff notes on the services I attend, but there's some powerful messages given when I need them most. I don't remember how Pastor DiPaola put it, but basically the mark of the most admirable of people are those who persevere through all doubt and hindrance, with the resolve to still trust in God and be joyful no matter what. Attitude is not about circumstance. It's easy to be joyous when everything's peachy. Joy, my friends... is not happiness... I guess I should tell you to go listen to Journey's series titled "if..." now, "if" you could make the time ;-)

I realize that people in many different walks of life may read this, so I understand putting all your trust in God just might not be your thing. I'm not pushing anything here, far from it. Hey, I can't stand the way some "religious" people choose to spread the word of God to others either... bait and switch, fearmongering, standing out in the middle of Purdue's campus with a megaphone preaching how everyone's going to Hell unless they repent... yeah that was funny back in the day. I'm just personally excited about how the Lord is trying to work his way into my life, and should you want to listen, I appreciate it :) I'll probably have a post soon enough on one very important thing that many people just don't seem to get... the best way to get a message across is to LIVE IT, and let others follow if they wish. Jesus didn't say one thing and do another, or force people to follow him... the best way to convince someone of something is to demonstrate it in your own life.

Perseverance. While I haven't spoken much about it here, I'll just say I'm being tested right now in many ways, and I intend to be single-minded in my determination. I need to see the tests as a blessing, in that they're helping me grow. I may suffer, but I will not waver from my course.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
-James 1:5-8

EDIT: Added below!

So I barely finished with this one when i realized I had left out the whole second half of my exciting sunday. Well, I spent a lot of time @ Nonno and Nonna's that afternoon with my relatives from Buffalo, before I came home to get ready for Soccer that night.

I had been praying for the chance to find a place here at home where I could grow with others my age, and really connect in ways I hadn't throughout college. Most of my friends have booked out of town for their careers- not surprising given the lack of opportunities around here. I have a variety of reasons that I want to start now... one simply being that after all this time putting it off... why any longer?

When I returned from Oklahoma, I luckily ran into a soccer coach/father of a teammate back in HS. After mentioning that I hadn't been able to find a place soccer to play at home, he just so happened to have a spot on his Rec team open.... good timing eh? Well I didn't realize I would also run into others that I knew when I got to our first game yesterday. (fyi I came back extremely sore, but uninjured... whew :) It seems that there's still a group of guys among them who are very active in their faith, and I'm more than welcome to join them in their bible study and worship in Brockport :D. I knew they were strong Christians back in HS, but I hadn't made the connections yet. Now is a good a time as any... and this may or may not be an awesome start :D

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
-Matthew 18:20