I recently came across a guy's blog that I thought was hilarious. Its titled "Stuff Christians Like" and it basically he just updates it with more and more things that Christians like, and puts a humorous spin on it. A few of his blog entry titles are: "Dating God instead of me", "Greeting the people around you", "Unspoken prayer requests", and "Getting tattoos for God". He has a ton of blog entries, so these are just a few, I just thought I would share his blog and see if you enjoy it as much as I have.
You can read his blog at: http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Book Review: "The Noticer"
Hey guys, I recently became an official book reviewer for Thomas Nelson. How it works, is they send me free books, and all I need to do is post a review of the book on my blog as well as on a public consumer retail site. I will be doing this regularly. The first book that I received from them was "The Noticer."
The Noticer is an interesting book about a man named Jones. Jones is an older man who has a remarkable gift, the gift of perception. He is able to perceive things that most others are not able to see. He is a homeless drifter who has an uncanny ability to meet people in their most desperate of times. The author of the book, Andy Andrews, tells of when he was a homeless teenager living under a pier, with both parents dead and with no family or friends. One night, an old man named Jones finds him under the pier and gives him the best talk of his life, one that encourages Andy to live life to the fullest.
The book also goes through several accounts of the members of a town that were at one point in a desperate state of mind. They were suddenly met by Jones, who offered simply a bit of perspective, changing their lives forever.
The Noticer is a very touching book that encourages everyone to plant seeds in the people around them. It is important to remember that everyone has a purpose in life, and we are all here for a reason. I recommend this book to everyone who is looking for just a little perspective in life.
The Noticer is an interesting book about a man named Jones. Jones is an older man who has a remarkable gift, the gift of perception. He is able to perceive things that most others are not able to see. He is a homeless drifter who has an uncanny ability to meet people in their most desperate of times. The author of the book, Andy Andrews, tells of when he was a homeless teenager living under a pier, with both parents dead and with no family or friends. One night, an old man named Jones finds him under the pier and gives him the best talk of his life, one that encourages Andy to live life to the fullest.
The book also goes through several accounts of the members of a town that were at one point in a desperate state of mind. They were suddenly met by Jones, who offered simply a bit of perspective, changing their lives forever.
The Noticer is a very touching book that encourages everyone to plant seeds in the people around them. It is important to remember that everyone has a purpose in life, and we are all here for a reason. I recommend this book to everyone who is looking for just a little perspective in life.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Beginning and The End
I recently went to Mars Hill Church in Michigan to see Pastor Rob Bell speak. Let me tell you, it was a really great experience! He has such a command for the scripture and has such a unique and gifted way of phrasing it. He might have given the best sermon that I have ever heard, it was about how if you skip over the first two chapters of the Bible, as well as the last two, then you completely miss what the Bible is all about!
If you start in Genesis Ch. 1, the Bible is all about you being God's beautiful creation and being created with a purpose - to rule the land and it's creatures side-by-side with God in a beautiful garden. He created you to create things, to be artistic, creative and imaginative. However, if you start in Genesis Chapter 3, you completely miss out on what your purpose in life is all about. Genesis Ch 3 is all about the fall of mankind into a life of sin and being removed from Eden. You see, Chapter 3 is all about what you're not, while chapter 1 is all about what you ARE.
But there is hope. When Jesus came in the flesh to Earth, he set in motion a series of events which would eventually bring a new heaven back to earth. Starting in Revelations Ch 21, a new Eden is described, where it will once again be heaven on earth. It gives us all something to be living for. We know that this life of sin is not how the story started, and it is NOT how the story will end! We know that we are not perfect, but we are all beautiful Godly creations who are walking side-by-side with our Creator to take care of the land, until once again Christ returns to take His proper throne on Earth. He is the Beginning (Gen. 1-2) and he is the End (Rev. 21-22)!
To me, this message was incredibly encouraging and inspiring! I hope you find it just as encouraging. Always remember what you were created for, and never let satan lead you to believe that your story begins at Genesis Chapter 3!
All of Mars Hill's sermons are on their website as well as on iTunes. If you would like to listen to the sermon, head over to their website and check out the sermon dated 8/16/09. Or click here.
If you start in Genesis Ch. 1, the Bible is all about you being God's beautiful creation and being created with a purpose - to rule the land and it's creatures side-by-side with God in a beautiful garden. He created you to create things, to be artistic, creative and imaginative. However, if you start in Genesis Chapter 3, you completely miss out on what your purpose in life is all about. Genesis Ch 3 is all about the fall of mankind into a life of sin and being removed from Eden. You see, Chapter 3 is all about what you're not, while chapter 1 is all about what you ARE.
But there is hope. When Jesus came in the flesh to Earth, he set in motion a series of events which would eventually bring a new heaven back to earth. Starting in Revelations Ch 21, a new Eden is described, where it will once again be heaven on earth. It gives us all something to be living for. We know that this life of sin is not how the story started, and it is NOT how the story will end! We know that we are not perfect, but we are all beautiful Godly creations who are walking side-by-side with our Creator to take care of the land, until once again Christ returns to take His proper throne on Earth. He is the Beginning (Gen. 1-2) and he is the End (Rev. 21-22)!
To me, this message was incredibly encouraging and inspiring! I hope you find it just as encouraging. Always remember what you were created for, and never let satan lead you to believe that your story begins at Genesis Chapter 3!
All of Mars Hill's sermons are on their website as well as on iTunes. If you would like to listen to the sermon, head over to their website and check out the sermon dated 8/16/09. Or click here.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Laundry Love
So I was reading my friend Becca's blog today and she was blogging about a certain project that she was involved in with a church in her area. I really like the idea and I thought that I would share it with the readers of my blog. Its a project called "Laundry Love" that the church puts on in order to interact with the people of their community and to serve them at the laundry mat. I thought it was something that really hits home as one of the Epic Church plant's biggest emphasis, and that is to simply "Do life with people." We want to build relationships with our community, rather than simply trying to convert them to some religion. We want to share Christ's love with them in an unconditional manner by helping them out with whatever they need in life. Here are two videos that show what Laundry Love is all about.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A Tale of Two Churches
So I just got back from a Chicago trip with the Epic launch team where we went to two different churches. If you don't know already, the Epic team has been going around to various churches in the area to check them out, in order to see what they do good or bad, and how we can learn from our experiences at the churches. On Saturday night we went to Willow Creek and on Sunday we went to Lawndale Community Church. They are two very different churches, but both made a huge impact on me.
Willow Creek is what you would call a "Mega Church." We went to the Saturday night service, at 5:30 PM. The place was enormous, as we drove up I thought we were coming to a mall or college campus or something. I used to think Nappanee Missionary was big, but Willow Creek was bigger than I ever would have expected a church to be. The inside was huge and had a mall feel to it as well, with multiple levels, multiple sanctuaries, a dining court, a library, and probably much more that I didn't take the time to look around for. As the rest of the Epic team was checking in their kids, I decided to go check out the library, and this is where my experience changed in a way that I never would have expected. I came in with the idea that in such a huge church, there was no way that one-on-one occurrences could really happen. Apparently I was wrong.
I made my way through the busy food court and up the stairs to the library. As I was looking through the books, a guy next to me picked off an audio cd from the shelf and mentioned to me how good of a book it was. We continued to make small talk, he told me his name was Randy and I told him my name and how I was here with a church planting team and such. He told me that it was really awesome and he told me he'd be praying for me. We then parted ways and continued to browse the books. As I was leaving the library, we saw each other again and we started our conversation back up again. He then told me that he felt the need to take me aside and pray with me. So we did, we walked over to some couches that were nearby, and I told him what all I am going through. From quitting my job, to coming on staff with Epic, to raising support. He then took my hands and he prayed for me right then and there! This was all completely shocking to me, because I didn't expect a one-on-one spiritual connection at such a huge church. We ended up exchanging contact information and parted ways, but the fact that he took the time out of his day to pray for me meant the world to me!
So we parted ways again and I went and found a seat apart from my group in the biggest sanctuary I've ever seen in my life. Btw, the reason I chose to sit apart from the rest of the Epic group was because I wanted to see if people would approach me or talk to me as if I was here alone, which I usually am with every church that I go to anyway. Nobody did by the way, other than Randy earlier. The service was very polished, with polished music and a speaker that you would expect from such a huge church. The message itself didn't overly move me too much, but I really felt the spirit moving in me during the service, mainly because of all I'm going through right now, and how gracious and caring Randy seemed to be. At the end of the service, as everyone was leaving, I sat down and prayed. I'm not gonna lie, I may have cried a little bit. I really don't know why, I just felt so humbled at that moment in time that the only thing I could think of to do was cry. As I was leaving, I ran into Randy yet again (which is strange, because there was probably close to 4-5000 people there), and we talked about the service. We then shared a hug and then parted ways for good. Quite an experience I'd say!
On Sunday we went to Lawndale Community Church, and that is exactly what it was... a community! If you haven't heard of Lawndale, they are located in a low-income area of Chicago. Lawndale is more than just a church though, most of the surrounding buildings in the area are also owned by Lawndale. They have a doctor's/dentist's buildings for people to get medical attention that can't afford health care, they own stores and restaurants which provide jobs for people that are just out of prison and back into the real world, along with other things. They are a church that took basically the opposite approach as Willow Creek. The service was held in a really old gymnasium, with chairs set up in a circle around a stage in the middle of the court. The thing about Lawndale that I feel is amazing, is that I think they really get what worship and Sunday church is all about: community. So many people think that Sunday worship is a time for you and God to have personal praise time. They think that you shouldn't pay attention to the people around you, because worship is between you and God. I completely disagree with that idea, and I think Lawndale nails it on the head. You can have personal time with God all week long, Sunday worship is a time where you come TOGETHER as a body of believers and worship TOGETHER! There were people clapping, dancing, raising their hands in the air... I even saw a lady go up to the choir director at the end of a song and give her a high-five! I couldn't fathom someone doing that at a church around here! These people lived in a poor neighborhood and come from rough backgrounds, yet as broken as they were, they came and put on maybe the best worship service I've ever been a part of. The speaker spoke with fire and intensity, and gave a good message about having trust and strength in the Lord, and was really inspiring. I walked away from that church really amazed and inspired!
Both churches were vastly different, and I walked away inspired after both services, yet in very different ways. From a man named Randy having the compassion to picking me out of the huge crowd at the Willow Creek mega-church to the humble community at Lawndale, it always amazes me how you can go to so many different churches and experience something different at each one of them. I am definitely learning a ton of things that I will definitely keep in mind as we launch Epic Church!
Willow Creek is what you would call a "Mega Church." We went to the Saturday night service, at 5:30 PM. The place was enormous, as we drove up I thought we were coming to a mall or college campus or something. I used to think Nappanee Missionary was big, but Willow Creek was bigger than I ever would have expected a church to be. The inside was huge and had a mall feel to it as well, with multiple levels, multiple sanctuaries, a dining court, a library, and probably much more that I didn't take the time to look around for. As the rest of the Epic team was checking in their kids, I decided to go check out the library, and this is where my experience changed in a way that I never would have expected. I came in with the idea that in such a huge church, there was no way that one-on-one occurrences could really happen. Apparently I was wrong.
I made my way through the busy food court and up the stairs to the library. As I was looking through the books, a guy next to me picked off an audio cd from the shelf and mentioned to me how good of a book it was. We continued to make small talk, he told me his name was Randy and I told him my name and how I was here with a church planting team and such. He told me that it was really awesome and he told me he'd be praying for me. We then parted ways and continued to browse the books. As I was leaving the library, we saw each other again and we started our conversation back up again. He then told me that he felt the need to take me aside and pray with me. So we did, we walked over to some couches that were nearby, and I told him what all I am going through. From quitting my job, to coming on staff with Epic, to raising support. He then took my hands and he prayed for me right then and there! This was all completely shocking to me, because I didn't expect a one-on-one spiritual connection at such a huge church. We ended up exchanging contact information and parted ways, but the fact that he took the time out of his day to pray for me meant the world to me!
So we parted ways again and I went and found a seat apart from my group in the biggest sanctuary I've ever seen in my life. Btw, the reason I chose to sit apart from the rest of the Epic group was because I wanted to see if people would approach me or talk to me as if I was here alone, which I usually am with every church that I go to anyway. Nobody did by the way, other than Randy earlier. The service was very polished, with polished music and a speaker that you would expect from such a huge church. The message itself didn't overly move me too much, but I really felt the spirit moving in me during the service, mainly because of all I'm going through right now, and how gracious and caring Randy seemed to be. At the end of the service, as everyone was leaving, I sat down and prayed. I'm not gonna lie, I may have cried a little bit. I really don't know why, I just felt so humbled at that moment in time that the only thing I could think of to do was cry. As I was leaving, I ran into Randy yet again (which is strange, because there was probably close to 4-5000 people there), and we talked about the service. We then shared a hug and then parted ways for good. Quite an experience I'd say!
On Sunday we went to Lawndale Community Church, and that is exactly what it was... a community! If you haven't heard of Lawndale, they are located in a low-income area of Chicago. Lawndale is more than just a church though, most of the surrounding buildings in the area are also owned by Lawndale. They have a doctor's/dentist's buildings for people to get medical attention that can't afford health care, they own stores and restaurants which provide jobs for people that are just out of prison and back into the real world, along with other things. They are a church that took basically the opposite approach as Willow Creek. The service was held in a really old gymnasium, with chairs set up in a circle around a stage in the middle of the court. The thing about Lawndale that I feel is amazing, is that I think they really get what worship and Sunday church is all about: community. So many people think that Sunday worship is a time for you and God to have personal praise time. They think that you shouldn't pay attention to the people around you, because worship is between you and God. I completely disagree with that idea, and I think Lawndale nails it on the head. You can have personal time with God all week long, Sunday worship is a time where you come TOGETHER as a body of believers and worship TOGETHER! There were people clapping, dancing, raising their hands in the air... I even saw a lady go up to the choir director at the end of a song and give her a high-five! I couldn't fathom someone doing that at a church around here! These people lived in a poor neighborhood and come from rough backgrounds, yet as broken as they were, they came and put on maybe the best worship service I've ever been a part of. The speaker spoke with fire and intensity, and gave a good message about having trust and strength in the Lord, and was really inspiring. I walked away from that church really amazed and inspired!
Both churches were vastly different, and I walked away inspired after both services, yet in very different ways. From a man named Randy having the compassion to picking me out of the huge crowd at the Willow Creek mega-church to the humble community at Lawndale, it always amazes me how you can go to so many different churches and experience something different at each one of them. I am definitely learning a ton of things that I will definitely keep in mind as we launch Epic Church!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
A higher plan
So I've gotten a lot of questions about why I left Kmart and also why I decided to come on staff with the Epic team. These are questions that don't really have a simple answer, but they are questions that require a lot of background information. I have my own idea as to how/why I have come to this point in my life, so what I'm about to write is mostly speculation of God's higher plan for me. His plans are definitely not finished, but here is what has brought me to this point in my life. This is probably going to be long, I've summed it up in the last paragraph if you don't want to read it all.
As most of you know, I just graduated from Purdue University in May of 2009. I think the road I'm on now started back in May of 2008. In May of 2008, school was out for the summer, and I managed to find a job in Lafayette working retail for Ace Hardware. You're probably wondering how in the world working for Ace Hardware could possibly lead to working on a church launch team. Don't worry, I'll explain!
At Ace, I learned the ins and outs of the retail industry. Ace's main focus is on customer service, and I learned about customer service from the best of the best (Ace is ranked #1 in overall customer satisfaction in the home improvement industry)! When it came time during the school year to start applying for interviews with prospective companies, I prayed that God would give me plenty of opportunities for interviews. God rewarded me with around 7 or 8 different job interviews within the span of about 2 weeks! Its funny, because the only real business experience that I had outside of actual classroom work, was from good ol' Ace Hardware. So I really attributed my interviews to my experience at Ace (And God doing work as well, of course)!
I started out completely nervous in my initial job interviews, but gradually got better with practice. Kmart's initial interview was one of my final interviews during the 2 week period, and I nailed it, mainly because of all the practice that I had from my other interviews. So then I prayed that God would open up a clear path for me to follow. I asked for him to give me just one company that he wanted me to pursue. Low and behold, Kmart was the only company to call me back for a 2nd round of interviews! So they paid for me (and around 20 other students from various schools) to come to their company headquarters in Illinois for a full day of interviews.
I then prayed that God would be with me during the process, that if Kmart was where He wanted me to be, then He would just open the doors for it to happen. Well, needless to say, my 2nd round interview process was one of the proudest days of my life. It was a day where I actually felt like anything I did was 100% successful. I had a morning interview and afternoon one, which were both the best interviews of my entire life. One of my interviewers at lunch even went so far as to tell me that I was a "natural leader". Needless to say, a few days later, I got the official job offer in the mail from Kmart, with a great salary and full benefits (I later found out that they exaggerated my offer in order to get me to sign, but I won't get into that). So there I was, set on working for Kmart for the coming years. They located me in Warsaw, IN, which was close enough to home so that it allowed me to live with my parents to save some money.
Meanwhile, I joined the Epic launch team in May of 2009, right after I graduated. I really fell in love with the idea of planting a church and how much of a difference we could make in the community. I started working for Kmart on June 15th, 2009 with no doubt in my mind that I was working at Kmart because of God's work. From the very first day, I was getting the idea that God had a new plan in store for me, one that I didn't expect at all. Nevertheless, I decided to stick it out for a few weeks and pray about what path God wanted me to do. About my fourth week into employment and after weeks of prayer, I was sitting at my desk reading more company training documents, when I felt God urging me to leave and to get more involved with the Epic church plant. Some of you may be skeptical, but I can honestly tell you I have never felt God's presence more than that single day while sitting at my desk working at Kmart. When I told my manager that I was quitting, it took everything I had to not break down in tears right then and there in front of her. She was completely understanding and wished me the best! It was a huge relief, and it was easily the biggest step of faith that I have ever taken in my life! I was leaving the security of my well paying job to find God's true calling for my life, which at the time I had no idea what that might be.
A few weeks later the pastor of Epic, Jeremy LeVan, suggested that I come on staff with Epic as a director of administration. The only hitch is that I would need to raise my own support, which terrified me (and still does to be honest). So I prayed about it, and God assured me that everything would be fine, and that He would provide. So I decided to take yet another giant step of faith and pursue this opportunity. So here I am now, starting a one-year internship as the Administrative Director of Epic church!
So here is my take on the situation. I had plenty of interviews that first semester of the school year, and I could have gotten a job and gone anywhere in the country, where I would probably be lonely and know nobody. Yet God lead me to Kmart and to Northern Indiana, not because he wanted me to work for Kmart, but because he wanted me to have a conversation with Jeremy about a certain Epic Church plant. If I had gone anywhere other than Northern Indiana, I would have been completely content with working at Kmart and having no problem in working weekends and Sundays. Sure I'd be super lonely and spiritually dead, but at least those $80,000 worth of student loans would be getting paid off! But instead He lead me to join this church plant and lead me to fully commit myself to it by joining the staff. Sure, I got plenty of jabs from people about quitting Kmart, but I know this is where God wants me to be. So this is where I am now, seeking support, both prayerfully and financially. I need all of your help if I am to succeed in this situation. If you are spiritually moved by this situation, I would love for you to consider partnering with me to provide prayer or financial support! I'd love to talk to you more about it, and if you'd like to get in contact with me about this opportunity, feel free to contact me through any of the means listed below! Thanks!
Email: jyoder21@hotmail.com
Phone: 574-536-4078
Facebook (a private message would work best)
As most of you know, I just graduated from Purdue University in May of 2009. I think the road I'm on now started back in May of 2008. In May of 2008, school was out for the summer, and I managed to find a job in Lafayette working retail for Ace Hardware. You're probably wondering how in the world working for Ace Hardware could possibly lead to working on a church launch team. Don't worry, I'll explain!
At Ace, I learned the ins and outs of the retail industry. Ace's main focus is on customer service, and I learned about customer service from the best of the best (Ace is ranked #1 in overall customer satisfaction in the home improvement industry)! When it came time during the school year to start applying for interviews with prospective companies, I prayed that God would give me plenty of opportunities for interviews. God rewarded me with around 7 or 8 different job interviews within the span of about 2 weeks! Its funny, because the only real business experience that I had outside of actual classroom work, was from good ol' Ace Hardware. So I really attributed my interviews to my experience at Ace (And God doing work as well, of course)!
I started out completely nervous in my initial job interviews, but gradually got better with practice. Kmart's initial interview was one of my final interviews during the 2 week period, and I nailed it, mainly because of all the practice that I had from my other interviews. So then I prayed that God would open up a clear path for me to follow. I asked for him to give me just one company that he wanted me to pursue. Low and behold, Kmart was the only company to call me back for a 2nd round of interviews! So they paid for me (and around 20 other students from various schools) to come to their company headquarters in Illinois for a full day of interviews.
I then prayed that God would be with me during the process, that if Kmart was where He wanted me to be, then He would just open the doors for it to happen. Well, needless to say, my 2nd round interview process was one of the proudest days of my life. It was a day where I actually felt like anything I did was 100% successful. I had a morning interview and afternoon one, which were both the best interviews of my entire life. One of my interviewers at lunch even went so far as to tell me that I was a "natural leader". Needless to say, a few days later, I got the official job offer in the mail from Kmart, with a great salary and full benefits (I later found out that they exaggerated my offer in order to get me to sign, but I won't get into that). So there I was, set on working for Kmart for the coming years. They located me in Warsaw, IN, which was close enough to home so that it allowed me to live with my parents to save some money.
Meanwhile, I joined the Epic launch team in May of 2009, right after I graduated. I really fell in love with the idea of planting a church and how much of a difference we could make in the community. I started working for Kmart on June 15th, 2009 with no doubt in my mind that I was working at Kmart because of God's work. From the very first day, I was getting the idea that God had a new plan in store for me, one that I didn't expect at all. Nevertheless, I decided to stick it out for a few weeks and pray about what path God wanted me to do. About my fourth week into employment and after weeks of prayer, I was sitting at my desk reading more company training documents, when I felt God urging me to leave and to get more involved with the Epic church plant. Some of you may be skeptical, but I can honestly tell you I have never felt God's presence more than that single day while sitting at my desk working at Kmart. When I told my manager that I was quitting, it took everything I had to not break down in tears right then and there in front of her. She was completely understanding and wished me the best! It was a huge relief, and it was easily the biggest step of faith that I have ever taken in my life! I was leaving the security of my well paying job to find God's true calling for my life, which at the time I had no idea what that might be.
A few weeks later the pastor of Epic, Jeremy LeVan, suggested that I come on staff with Epic as a director of administration. The only hitch is that I would need to raise my own support, which terrified me (and still does to be honest). So I prayed about it, and God assured me that everything would be fine, and that He would provide. So I decided to take yet another giant step of faith and pursue this opportunity. So here I am now, starting a one-year internship as the Administrative Director of Epic church!
So here is my take on the situation. I had plenty of interviews that first semester of the school year, and I could have gotten a job and gone anywhere in the country, where I would probably be lonely and know nobody. Yet God lead me to Kmart and to Northern Indiana, not because he wanted me to work for Kmart, but because he wanted me to have a conversation with Jeremy about a certain Epic Church plant. If I had gone anywhere other than Northern Indiana, I would have been completely content with working at Kmart and having no problem in working weekends and Sundays. Sure I'd be super lonely and spiritually dead, but at least those $80,000 worth of student loans would be getting paid off! But instead He lead me to join this church plant and lead me to fully commit myself to it by joining the staff. Sure, I got plenty of jabs from people about quitting Kmart, but I know this is where God wants me to be. So this is where I am now, seeking support, both prayerfully and financially. I need all of your help if I am to succeed in this situation. If you are spiritually moved by this situation, I would love for you to consider partnering with me to provide prayer or financial support! I'd love to talk to you more about it, and if you'd like to get in contact with me about this opportunity, feel free to contact me through any of the means listed below! Thanks!
Email: jyoder21@hotmail.com
Phone: 574-536-4078
Facebook (a private message would work best)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Hygge
Ever since I had a professor talk about it in one of my classes at Purdue this past year, I've been in love with the idea of "hygge." Its a Danish word that doesn't really translate into the English vocabulary. The word "cosiness" has most often been used to describe it, but that alone really doesn't do the idea justice. Here is one of the better definitions that I have come across on the web:
"The Danish word Hygge (hu-gah) is a feeling or mood that comes from taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary everyday things simply extraordinary. It's about owning things you only truly love or that inspire, being present in yourself and your life, putting effort into your home without being Martha Stewart or buying a bed in a bag. Words like cosiness, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, fellowship, simpleness and living well are often used to describe the idea of Hygge."
Why did I decide to name my blog "Finding Hygge" you ask? Well, I have created this blog primarily for my support team to follow up with how things are going with the Epic Church plant and my ministry with the church. My goal in this church plant is to not just help unbelievers find Christ, but to also help them find hygge. As a church, Epic is dedicated to reaching out and serving the community. We have partnered with a few different local churches to serve the community by repairing or rebuilding two different houses in the lower-income areas of Mishawaka. Pictures from one of the service days can be seen here!
It is my hope that we all strive to find our own hygge in our every day lives. I pray that the launch team of Epic, our future members, as well as the surrounding community will find it through this church. The book "Jim and Casper Go to Church" takes note of one church in particular in which I think really nail the idea of hygge. They said of the church that: "They're not trying to get you to join them, so much as they're trying to join you." It is my hope that our church really works to join in the lives of the people of the community, helping them to not just find Christ, but to also find cosiness, comfort, fellowship, and familiarity. And to help them find hygge.
"The Danish word Hygge (hu-gah) is a feeling or mood that comes from taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary everyday things simply extraordinary. It's about owning things you only truly love or that inspire, being present in yourself and your life, putting effort into your home without being Martha Stewart or buying a bed in a bag. Words like cosiness, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, fellowship, simpleness and living well are often used to describe the idea of Hygge."
Why did I decide to name my blog "Finding Hygge" you ask? Well, I have created this blog primarily for my support team to follow up with how things are going with the Epic Church plant and my ministry with the church. My goal in this church plant is to not just help unbelievers find Christ, but to also help them find hygge. As a church, Epic is dedicated to reaching out and serving the community. We have partnered with a few different local churches to serve the community by repairing or rebuilding two different houses in the lower-income areas of Mishawaka. Pictures from one of the service days can be seen here!
It is my hope that we all strive to find our own hygge in our every day lives. I pray that the launch team of Epic, our future members, as well as the surrounding community will find it through this church. The book "Jim and Casper Go to Church" takes note of one church in particular in which I think really nail the idea of hygge. They said of the church that: "They're not trying to get you to join them, so much as they're trying to join you." It is my hope that our church really works to join in the lives of the people of the community, helping them to not just find Christ, but to also find cosiness, comfort, fellowship, and familiarity. And to help them find hygge.
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