Community

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” 

- Psalm 133:1

Life with 14 girls...so much fun, laughter, tears, honesty, truth, and hot tea. I am learning what it looks like to live with in Christian community and to spur each other on, coming to one another as bringers of salvation.

An Anvil

An anvil...

It has never been an image that I have thought much about until being in the Forge. For almost three months now, I have been learning what it looks like to have a Blacksmith mold and refine you until you are the piece that He intended you to be. Through the joys and trials, I am seeing how faithful the Lord has been in me taking eight months to slow down, learn more about who He is and in that process learn more about who He has created me to be and how I can walk in that to glorify and serve him the rest of my life.

Life Together

Life Together

by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” 

- Psalm 133:1

Life Together is a book describing and explaining authentic and true Christian community. Bonhoeffer describes the fellowship that takes place under the Word and the benefits, hardships, and joy that comes from experiencing true community. “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” - Psalm 133:1 This is foundational statement that Bonhoeffer explains through outlining the community, a day together, a day alone, ministry, and the act of confession and communion.

Reading this book was so enlightening, as I was made aware of the authentic and true Christian community that can comes from being under the Word, being of one mind, and of giving thanks for the community that you are so graciously able to be a part of. I agree with Bonhoeffer as he gave new perspectives and shed light on several different parts of fellowship in our daily life.

Three huge takeaways are community is a gift, we must not think of others or ourselves greater, and we must be intentional with the ministries we live out.

• “Let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his hear. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.” (p. 20) Community is a gift, and we should thank God for the times when we have been able to dwell together in unity.

• “There arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be the greatest.” – Luke 9:46 “It is vitally necessary that every Christian community from the very outset face this dangerous enemy squarely, and eradicate it.” (p. 90) “Strong and weak, wise and foolish, gifted or ungifted, pious or impious, the diverse individuals in the community, are no longer incentives for talking and judging and condemning, and thus excuses for self-justification. They are rather cause for rejoicing in one another and serving one another.” (p. 93)

• “The Ministry of holding one’s tongue, the ministry of meekness, the ministry of listening, of helpfulness, of bearing, of proclaiming, and of authority.” (ch. 4) It is a progression that one must do in order to achieve the full benefit of the ministries.

iTunes Service Agreement

"Some of you read your Bibles like your iTunes service agreement -- you just click accept." 

What makes one Bible student better than the other? ...What they can see.

Over the past few months, I have learned a lot about seeing. We are reading five chapters of the Bible every day from different sections of the Bible. We started in Genesis, 1 Samuel, Job, Isaiah and Matthew... Five different perspectives every day and the coolest thing is when they overlap and you get to see that as you read. We also are taking an Israel Prep class, where we are studying the Bible through the eyes of Israel and preparing ourselves for our journey in March. We have an Inductive Bible Study class, where we are learning how to study a book of the Bible and walking through how to Survey, Analyze, and Synthesize what we are studying. We are memorizing the whole book of 1 Peter, along with picking a passage that we want to study in the book and preparing a lesson on it to teach in the Spring. All of these things are helping us see...helping us understand what we so easily and often just "click accept" and base our life off of.

I love having a deeper understanding and a love for God's Word that is helping create a foundation and belief that the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God, which is true and sufficient, more precious than gold and sweeter than honey.

Serving on the Weekends

During the Forge, we are able to apply what we are learning and get to serve on the weekends for different retreat groups that come in and conferences that Pine Cove hosts. My first weekend at the Forge, my roommate, Anne, and I were able to serve a retreat group coming to the Shores. I was the Work Crew Director and had the the privilege of leading our Work Crew that came in to serve for the weekend. We helped get out all the meals and helped behind the scenes, so that the retreat group could spend the weekend learning and growing more in their faith. It was such a fun weekend leading and serving.

One of the chefs at the Shores gave us a knife skills lesson and taught us how to cut and chop...felt like I was on the Food Channel!

This is the Work Crew that I got to work with for the weekend...they were so eager and willing to serve. They truly lived out being joyful servants, and they were such a big blessing to the staff and to the retreat group. It was a joy to spend the weekend with this youth group.


 “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.” 2 Corinthians 2:15

Ropes Training

Three days of intense ropes training...tying knots, harnessing harnesses, setting up courses, sending people off the zip line, coaching them through walking across wires and climbing ropes and passing a written and skills test.

It was a more intense training than I ever thought...but we are now certified to run the ropes course for retreat groups and conferences on the weekends.

Climbed these 50ft telephone poles twice in order to set-up and take-down the high-ropes course...

Bowline on a Bight knot...took me a few times to master. 

This is my hub for Shores and Bluffs. We will be working together on most weekends, and I couldn't have made it through Ropes Training without these guys.

A New Adventure

Moving into the Forge...

What a whirlwind it has been moving 13 hours away from home and trusting that this is where I am supposed to be. Calling this place home for the next 8 months and living and learning in the little town of Tyler, Texas.

As 28 of us sat and watched the sun set over the lake our second day at the Forge, I gave these next eight months to Lord, as I am trusting that this is where I am supposed to be right now and walking in that faith. Watching the Lord's glory proclaimed in the sky and praising Him that His will is not fragile and He is ever-sovereign.