Why There's Still Hope

WHY THERE'S STILL HOPE

June 5, 1981 is considered to be day zero of the first HIV diagnosis. However, doing a small bit of research, HIV has been in existence for many years prior to the CDC's first report of PCP.

It is now 2013, and from my first involvement with those in the HIV/AIDS community in the 90's, we have come a long way. The investigation into protease inhibitors in that day and time added many years to the lives of those infected by this horrible disease, and since then we have seen the advent of many other medications and classifications of drugs which has elongated the lives of our HIV-positive sisters and brothers.

A long life, however, is not a cure nor does the existence of these drugs create a long life for survivors. In the past year, I have met many who are dealing with medical issues beyond HIV, such as depression or heart disease. I have met people who are handling the stress of the disease and sobriety challenges. I have met people who are homeless. And almost everyone who is infected is afraid of the stigma that disclosing HIV to friends and family will have on their relationships.

However, there's still hope. I see hope almost every day when I read about the research in new medications and even glimpses of hope in HIV eradication. I see the hope in the people I work with who are navigating life with all of its challenges. I see hope in all the agencies that are available to help positive living. 

And, I see hope in my sisters and brothers ministering to those infected and affected by HIV. I witness a touch of God's grace each and every time see God's people being the hands and feet of Christ to this under-served community. 

I believe God is present and hears the "cries of the afflicted." I see God working even in the midst of our grief over our sisters and brothers we have lost.  I see hope in our coming Saviour who will eliminate all disease and suffering.

Every year, my birthday (November 30) backs up to International AIDS day (December 1). On one day I celebrate, and on the next I grieve. But, there's hope. There's always hope....

Thankfulness & the kingdom of God

We have arrived at Thanksgiving. It is our individual and corporate opportunity to count our many blessings that we are thankful for.  So, what are you thankful for? How has God blessed you in the last year?

People generally know that being thankful is good for you. Gratitude brings comfort and peace of mind. By being thankful, we are generally happier and more satisfied with our lives the way that they are. We are content with what God has provided us.

Scripture calls us to be thankful for everything – both in our gifts and our challenges. However, scripture also calls us to be mindful in the areas where there is opportunity. The word calls us to take steps as the kingdom of God to address those concerns. I would like to share what is on my heart in this season and what I believe God is calling us to address.

I am alarmed that the state of Arizona has the highest rate of children in foster care in comparison to other states. I am alarmed in education that we are the forty-ninth state on expenditure per pupil in our schools.

I am alarmed that 1.4 million Arizonans live below the poverty line, and 31.3% of our children live in these circumstances. In 2012, 4,004 families experienced homelessness.  I am alarmed that over 1.3 billion people worldwide live on less than a $1.25 per day. They are not able to secure a living wage.

I am concerned at the continued stigma of HIV/AIDS that the highest rate of infection is in young adults aged 25-34. In 2011, 300,000 children became infected by HIV/AIDS.  I am not thankful that the “least of these” continues to be the least of us.

Christ the King Sunday brings us hope of a future resolution of society’s problems through Christ. In order to address these concerns, we must stop and understand the Kingdom of God. We must then shed light on the church’s role in addressing these social justice issues.

The passage in Jeremiah speaks against the kings of Judah in opposition to the kingdom of God. The demise of Israel which is portrayed in this passage is directly related to the abuse of power in the shepherds of the day, including priests. The impending destruction and suffering of Jerusalem is because of this behavior.

Later in the Jeremiah passage, we see qualities of the new king. These are different characteristics, qualities of justice and righteousness. The final verse even declares that the name of the Lord is righteous.

In Luke, we can see one of the many examples where Jesus Christ was able to demonstrate His reign on earth to someone else. This was in the midst of the agony of the cross.  Jesus’ last words to another human being were words of forgiveness and healing.

In his ministry, Jesus challenged the status quo. He healed on the Sabbath. He called for fundamental change in people's attitudes and actions toward women. He addressed believer’s attitudes towards the poor and the marginalized. This included political rulers. He was an agent of change in a world bent on tradition and control.

Jesus spent much of his ministry describing the kingdom of God as having different rules and expectations. In fact, He spent more time talking about the kingdom of God than any other topic or issue.

For example, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a shepherd who cares so much for his sheep that he would search for the one that is lost and would not give up until they are found. Jesus also describes the kingdom of God as a party in which the poor, the lame, the outcast, and the ostracized are all welcome. They are welcome with open arms.

Jesus demonstrated the passion of the kingdom that God’s grace, forgiveness, and sustenance is available to all without demand. Jesus modeled a mission that each of us can follow. He declared the coming kingdom, broke down boundaries, gathered communities together, shared God’s righteousness and promised the Holy Spirit to all.

So, what is the church’s role in being the kingdom of God to a world which needs that kingdom here on earth?

First, everything the church does should focus on why the church exists in the first place. The church exists to worship God, teaching believers and non-believers, and the redemption of the world.  According to JR Woodward, the church is to be a sign, a foretaste, and an instrument of God’s kingdom.

Secondly, the church is created and maintained by the Holy Spirit. The church is not a product of human striving and aspiration. However, God calls us to use our time, talents, and treasures through the gifts of the spirit to reach others. The church is to be a demonstration of the life giving spirit of the God.

Finally, the church is called by God to participate in God’s purpose of bringing well-being to the whole creation. That means we need to effect change in our communities and address the needs of the poor and the marginalized.

Jesus’ declaration of the kingdom of God calls the church into a new vision of a just, peaceful, and equitable society. God calls us to minister to the least of these, our sisters and brothers on the margins of society.  

As John Wesley says, the kingdom of God resides “within us, even ‘righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.’” This inward kingdom is the Lord reigning in the human heart. It is “heaven already opened in the soul, the first springing up of those rivers of pleasure which flow at God’s right hand forevermore.  Likewise, the inward kingdom must be expressed as the outward love of God.

In an article for Ministry Today, Matthew Barnett wrote about such a kingdom demonstrated through the church. He calls the church to dream, to articulate the kingdom of God, and to take action to bring that kingdom to fruition on earth. He also calls the underserved to dream, and to see how they can belong and to dream big fulfilling their God-given potential.

He emphasizes “Jesus allowed people to belong first, to see what He was doing, find themselves drawn to Him – and then believe.” Believe in the kingdom.

During this charge conference season, our Bishop called us to dream, to articulate what God is doing in the Desert Southwest Conference.  He has returned to the overall theme of the 2013 annual conference – Imagine.  Bishop Bob calls us to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He asks us to tell people that the reign of God is here and now, and to share, and dare I say, be the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We are to let the oppressed go free, to fight injustice and release the burden of cruelty and evilness. We are to advocate for the powerless. We are to proclaim the healing power of Jesus himself. We need to simply say to others “God loves you, and I do too.”

As we prepare to commit our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness to the ministries of God locally in Faith UMC and the global United Methodist Church, I implore all of us to dream big, to imagine what God is doing in us individually and through us corporately. I ask that we take our challenges and turn them into using our time, our talents, our graces, and our treasures to be the kingdom of God here on earth.

   

The Call to Faithfulness

THE CALL TO FAITHFULNESS

In late August, I was stunned to hear of the ghastly attacks on the people of Syria from their own leader. What I saw on the television screen was unthinkable. Never in my life did I think I would be aware or see the pain of those who had been hurt physically, emotionally, and dare I say spiritually.

The body bags of children and adults that lined the streets which I saw on the news were a very stirring example of that which happens when people’s lives are turned upside down, and destruction is at their door.

While I do not know the reason this leader decided to declare such mass violence on his people, I do know that the people of Syria cried out "where is our help?" "Where is our healer?"

I observed the same experiences and feelings during a worship  service the Sunday after the violence which occurred in Newtown, Massachusetts in which 26 people lost their lives at the hands of a disturbed gunman - the second deadliest shooting in American history. Here in Phoenix, some in Sunday worship were people who came from Newtown and knew the families that were impacted by the unjust violence.

Even this week, multiple victims loss their lives in a mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard – another senseless act of violence.

We have experienced tragedy at the communal, state, national, and international levels. So, too, have the people in our lives experienced that same destruction on a personal or individual level. Injustices in society,  Destruction of families, homelessness, poverty, drug violence, and murder - the list goes on and on and on.

As Jeremiah spoke - as a leader serving with God’s church, I hurt; I mourn, and am challenged by what I see. I mourn with you when I see atrocities that take place on our streets and in our towns. I hurt and I grieve when I see people in crisis.

In this part of the Grand Narrative of the Hebrew Bible, we see the destruction of Jerusalem. Throughout the book of Jeremiah, he is calling the people of Israel to faithfulness, to worship God alone. He prophesies the impending fall of Jerusalem, with all its horrific implications. The condition in which our text is written is a hopeless circumstance which is how Jeremiah perceives the situation at hand.

In the overall text, these people have experienced more than just devastation and loss of their land and property. They have also experienced utter disillusionment with their leaders and with God.

Jeremiah in this reading expresses God’s lament over His people. God’s heart is wounded. God’s joy is gone; God is grieving for His people. He hears the cries of people. God identifies so closely with the people that their wound is His wound. God is taking over the pain and bearing the wounds.

However, there is an answer hidden in the text – the balm of Gilead. A balm is an aromatic, medicinal substance derived from plants. Gilead was an area east of the Jordan River, well known for its spices and ointments. The "balm of Gilead" was, therefore, a high-quality ointment with healing properties.

What we see is both a concrete and abstract answer to the healing required. There is a call to faithfully using resources and people in healing the tragedy at hand.

What are we as Christ’s church supposed to do about the challenges we face? How can we as the Church be like the balm of Gilead in a time of sadness and lament in our society? In our General confession, we state that we have not loved our neighbors and that we have not heard the cries of the needy.

I firmly believe that God has changed our lives and transformed us so that we are called to faithfulness – to be the hands and feet of Christ to our world. We need to be society’s balm in Gilead.

 We have demonstrated time and time again as a community of faith that we will stand and be counted as those who are willing to stand in the gap for those in need.

What I am describing is what Ron Sider calls a holistic ministry. He refers to 6 characteristics – I will mention 4. These are faithful acts in service towards those around us so that we can be the balm of Gilead for a world in need.

First, we need to focus on ministries of personal spiritual transformation as a path to social change. Next, we need to focus on ministries of reconciliation that witness our unity in Christ.  We also need to focus on spiritual community development to express God’s love for whole persons and communities. Finally, we need to focus on justice ministries – doing the right thing embodying the message of the gospel.

What Sider is seeking is church which is a center of healing and hope in the community; providence in a time of need; breaking the bonds of injustice, racial and other forms of prejudice; restoring families and communities; being advocates for justice while sharing the Good News of  Christ.

I would like to share a story from my childhood. I was raised in Montana as a teenager in a pretty challenging house to say the least. Our family was quite dysfunctional. I lived in an unsafe environment and needed the great Physician that our story talks about.

In 1987, I accepted Christ into my heart and became a part of the local Christian community. That decision would serve me well as I entered high school and began attending a church school. There, I found healing from what was happening in my household. I not only was able to escape what I was experiencing, but I felt the healing that comes when God’s people faithfully engage in the love of Christ with our sisters and our brothers.

On a trip to the DC area for business and as an opportunity to visit with family, I stopped by the Methodist building located in downtown DC, and across the street from the Supreme Court and the US capital. Inside the building, the General Board of Church & Society is housed. The job of GBCS is to uphold and engage in the social principles, which are adopted by General Conference to "speak to the human issues in the contemporary world from a sound biblical and theological foundation." Throughout the social principles are statements that advocate for the safety and self-determination of all of God's creatures.

In their foyer, their mission is embodied in the words of Micah 6:8, posted on the wall: to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.

In the Hebrew Bible passage the question is asked - where is our help? Where is our healing? Where is the love? The people of Israel had experienced life in horror at the destruction of their land. They were crying out for resolution.

We are collectively being called to faithfulness - to use our time, our talents, our gifts, our service and our witness to express our individual and communal love to those in need. Examples include what we are already doing – feeding the homeless, supporting the family promise program, the gleaning of citrus, and other service projects.

However, collectively we can do more. We can advocate for a living wage for all of our citizens, we can work for education reform through our schools for our children, we can work to address terminal and chronic illness in our community, and we can continue to take additional steps to resolve hunger and poverty.

Will you take that step with me? Will you be the hands of the great Physician? Will you go wherever God calls you to go and do what God asks you to do? Will you share the love of God to a world that is crying out for healing?

High Expectations; High Permissions - With Permission to Fail

Last week at church, I preached a sermon about the Synagogue leader who scoffed at Jesus when He healed a woman on the Sabbath. The woman had been afflicted of an illness for several years, and Jesus felt that "breaking the rules" was necessary in order to do the right thing.

As I begin my preparations for another semester of seminary education (right on the heals of a long spring semester and 2 week intensive classes), I am taking a class taught by the famous Chuck Gutenson on Church Revival. The class is being taught per the mission of United Theological Seminary - "Spirit filled; renewing the Church"

I spent the last week earnestly reading Chuck's book called "Church worth getting up for." After reading the first chapter, I had to contemplate that concept - what makes for an engaged, enriching church experience that calls the people who I and my Pastor serve worth getting up for?

In the book Chuck discusses Rev Mike Slaughter's three-fold method to empower the church and make it "worth getting up for" - High permissions, high expectations, with permission to fail.

In order for us to have an impact to our church and the society which we serve, we need to make sure that we have high expectations of ourselves and others. This involves discipleship and service. We as church members and leaders need to show up, be present, and be available for ourselves our church, and our community. We need to fulfill our call to be one in our relationship with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. That requires action and perseverance.

Next, we need to give ourselves and each other permission to do things unconventionally. I am still blown away that I had the opportunity to attend Jacob's Well church during my time between internships this summer. In all my years of attending church, I never attended a service at an indoor kids skatepark and trampoline. (FYI, I hear that they actually get on the trampoline from time to time).

Another example is City Square Church pastored by my good friends Rob Rynders and Brian Kemp-Schlemmer. They actually (gasp) hold a "Theology Pub" at a local bar to discuss spiritual matters once a month. While I personally have not attended (we live in the boonies aka Surprise, AZ), I have heard from friends that it is well attended and has great results.

These are just two of the many examples I have seen where society is being ministered to in ways that meet their needs. These are the dynamic changes which are necessary in order for us to be the hands and feet of Christ to the world.

Finally, we must all have permission to fail. This works in the corporate community. I work for a large financial organization and we have tried things that have not worked or have not been as fruitful as we would have liked. But the point is we tried. We stepped out of the box, did something, and learned from it. It is the holistic movement of growth that we as a church need. If we fail at something, we learn from it, adjust our approach and try again.

With this said, I don't believe that we need to stop what we are doing altogether. I am not advocating for a complete change of belief or practice, just our approach towards the goal of sharing the love that Christ has for us with each other and the world.

I love our Church, and am a loyal United Methodist.  John Wesley attempted to approach things from a different angle. Now is our opportunity to follow the same approach.

Abundant and inconvenient grace

In the Luke 13:10-17, we see a woman who has suffered for eighteen years from a “spirit of infirmity”. The story begins by describing Jesus as teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, among teachers of the law, listening and interpreting scripture.

In walks this woman who appears to have both a physical ailment as well as a spiritual problem – what the text describes as a “spirit of infirmity” or a “spirit that crippled her”. She is impacted by this physical issue that she cannot even bring herself to look up to Jesus.

In that time and place, physical ills were believed to be caused by something deeper – sickness of the soul.  What happens next is significant.

Jesus sees her, and three things happen: First, He calls to her. He is the one who acknowledged her presence, not the other way around – a clear example of the grace Jesus is about to offer her.

Then he says to her “Woman, you are free of your ailment.” He speaks these words of assurance even before she reached him. By freeing her, Jesus was demonstrating His power over sickness.

Immediately, all eyes are on Jesus, and based on where she is sitting (on the opposite side of the room) and where He is seated (in the front, with the teachers), He has to walk through the entire crowd to reach her.

Finally, Jesus lays hands on her. Jesus is physically declaring His power over any physical or spiritual sickness. And what happens? The woman is made whole in body and in spirit, she stands up straight, and immediately she praises God.

Now, the synagogue leaders will have nothing to do with this heretical behavior of Jesus. In that time, the Ten Commandments determined certain behaviors and expectations of the Israelites on the Sabbath. However, as time went on, the commandments were turned into laws – hundreds of them. By Jesus’ time, there were many restrictions on what could and could not be done on the Sabbath, and healing was one of them. Therefore, the religious leaders are not praising God for the miracle that just happened; they are crying foul when Jesus isn’t following the laws of the Sabbath.

The leaders emphatically tell the crowds essentially that being cured on the Sabbath really isn’t an option. One must come on the other six days if they want to be healed.  In saying this, they have now completely marginalized a whole group of people. They speak to these people as if they are less important than the rules of the Sabbath. They have placed process above purpose.

There are many in our society who feel the same way. They feel that the rules of religion exclude them from participating and engaging in the life of the church. They feel that they are not able to be whole because of the rules of participation that are presented to them. They don’t feel the same grace that Jesus expresses in this story.

Then the Lord speaks against what is being said, calling the people in the Synagogue “hypocrites”. Then, the Lord compares the situation to that of providing water to an animal with curing a person on the Sabbath, placing greater value on the miracle which just took place than the day to day care of animals. Jesus uses their own logic against them in an attempt to make a point. His logic is that, if the law permitted loosing an animal for water on the Sabbath, shouldn’t it be permitted to loosen the bonds of this woman who has suffered for 18 years? 

Perhaps, however, it is not about this rule, but control of a marginalized portion of society. Jesus comes and breaks the rules –the rules of the Sabbath and the caste system, placing women before men, the sick before the healthy, the needs of the less in society before the rules of engagement in a church service. He demonstrates abundant grace to those in need, putting their needs above those in power.

Perhaps there are two crippled people in this story, the obvious being the woman who Jesus heals, but the other being the rulers of the synagogue, who was crippled by legalism. They couldn’t see beyond the rules of the church to see the need in front of them.

So, how does this apply to the church of today? The message is simple: we should put the needs of those around us before our need to control. Our need for rigidity and comfortableness shouldn’t supersede our God-given directive to address the needs of those around us. We shouldn’t put our systems before the people who we serve.  We who have experienced the grace of Jesus Christ in our lives need to reach out to a world in need and show that same grace to others.

This may require that we break some rules, think of things unconventionally, and reach out at times where it may be inconvenient for us, but I believe that is what God is calling us to – to show grace to a world in need. We need to resist the constant pressure to maintain the status quo. We need to reach out to those who feel alienated by the church so that we can minister to their needs.

The people of Phoenix are looking to the church for healing and wholeness. Unlike the woman in this story, they are actively pursuing and seeking the abundant grace given to us and through us in Christ Jesus. The needs of the poor and brokenhearted do not cease just because of our rules of what happens on a given day.

This Good News shouldn’t just be shared on Sundays, but on every day.

Jesus provided freedom and healing to the woman in our story today. However, he didn’t just provide healing; He provided freedom from the rules and customs that governed the church. Jesus is providing that same freedom to us – the freedom to love and to engage with the world around us, freeing the oppressed and those who are sick whether that is physical, spiritual, or emotional – the freedom to show abundant grace to those around us.

In my final paper for interreligious and intercultural encounters, I am writing about issues of poverty in our society, how we as a faith community interact and engage with people who struggle providing for their family, paying the bills, securing shelter, and putting food on the table. In order to help, we need to break out of our bondage of uniformity and create unconventional ways to identify the issue, address the immediate need, and work through our call as a church to resolve social justice issues in our society.

While I haven’t completed my thoughts on this difficult and broad subject, it causes me to ponder and ask – what am I doing as an individual and what are we as a church doing to offer abundant grace to those who suffer from generational poverty, addressing the issue with a touch of abundant grace as Jesus would?

Being Present

So, I am on this flight from Atlanta to Phoenix. Atlanta is a pretty neat airport - but nothing as awesome as O'Hare.....Chicago style hot dogs are amazing!!!!

However, right now I am not interested in hot dogs. I just want to get home. It's been 2 very long weeks away from my family. There's been a few challenges while I have tried to help manage the household from Ohio.

While we were boarding the flight, the boarding all of a sudden stopped. There was a group of people who were fresh from a mission trip in El Salvador who were having a good time sharing their experiences with those around them.

What made the boarding stop was their discussion with an older man pertaining to his salvation. While I absolutely support and affirm our call to support people as they feel the grace of God in their lives, and feel their hearts "strangely warmed" as Mr. Wesley puts it, I think we as leaders need to be present throughout the entire experience.

Once this group was done talking with this man, he wasn't done talking. He wanted to share all about his life, where he was raised, his grandchildren. They really didn't seem interested.

So, it caused me to pause. When we are helping people experience God's grace, I believe we need to be present. We need to be the hands and feet of Christ in their world at that moment.

Being "in the moment" with those who God calls children is imperative. We need to not only address the long term needs of those who we support, we need to support their immediate needs. We need to take a vested interest in the lives of those who we are called to serve.

This man had an amazing life to share. He was raised in Lewistown, Montana - just about 2 hours from where I was raised. He has children, and he loves them. He also has grandchildren.

And that's important - it's important to embrace and support the whole person.

Giving and Receiving

"If you are not receiving as much as you are giving,  you are not there."

One of the things that I have learned over the last two weeks, we need to be able to give AND receive. While our communities may want us to be Superman, sometimes that just isn't possible. We need to, as all humans, receive and give at the same rate in order to maintain balance.

There is a poem which I am reading today titled "We are composed of others." As I read the poem, there isn't anything specific that comes to mind, but the phrase "we are composed of others" provides that relationship between myself and the "other" person where, in engagement with the other person, perhaps I am able to receive and give at the same time.

I believe, perhaps, that Jesus demonstrates this time and time again throughout the four gospels. Luke 9:58 states, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." This is, I believe, a good analogy on how we as Christian leaders and Christians in general should approach our lives and our relations to others. When we engage with those outside the church, we need to not only welcome them into our lives, but we also need to receive in that dialogue.

Calling - A Poem

Last year this time,  I heard Rev. Dr. Lisa Hess preach, and she spoke of one's calling. I was so mesmerized by this poem, that I asked her to send me a copy.  In turn, she gave me the script of her sermon from that evening.

While I continue to ponder my life's work and continue to discern and articulate God's call on my life as a Pastor, I think I will post this in an effort to be present with what the poem is telling you & I.

Calling

Written by J. Barrie Shepherd           

Both less and more than family and good friends,

still you belong there at the high moments and the low,

included in the laughter and the tears, all the embraces,

words and gestures of delight and consolation,

across the years even participating in remembering,

noting the absences, the gaps among the circled chairs,

the ones who couldn't make it for whatever reason,  

 glad or sad.

Both less and more than family and good friends,

still you belong there at the high moments and the low,

included in the laughter and the tears, all

 the embraces,

words and gestures of delight and consolation,

across the years even participating in remembering,

noting the absences, the gaps among the circled chairs,

the ones who couldn't make it for whatever reason,  

   glad or sad.

Yet, for all the long and hard earned familiarities,

You are also set apart. You have a role to play,

a place to fill, a dimension toward which it is your duty

and your privilege to focus everyone's attention.

Your task to speak the words

and open up the silences that unite,

that lend shape and form and texture,

and at least a glimpse of the beyond,

within these joyful/painful moments crammed

   with here and now.

If you can do it, if you can evoke and hold together

both this world and the next, if you can

   somehow embody,

even for the instant of a handclasp or a prayer,

that sheer intensity of presence

that fills all absence with new hope,

then they may realize they have a pastor,

then you may even touch the fringes

of the garment of the Master.

Why write?

Why write....

This will be my second attempt at creating a blog where I can share my growing skill set as a candidate for ordination, student, teacher, and father. I think there are many roles which we own, hence an intersection of faith, life, and love.

This past week, I have been at Seminary - an experience which I will post on from time to time. My morning class is Christian History, but my afternoon class is "Methods of Interreligious and Intercultural Encounter". 

Part of this class has included "fast writes", which is my opportunity to both share and hear from my colleagues reflecting on the current topic, whether it be a poem, a movie, or just general class discussion. For the purposes of confidentiality, I will not share what was discussed in that sacred space.

However, I think there is a sacred space out there in the world which we share with our sisters and brothers, regardless of their faith or culture. Hence, the name of my title: Contextual Christianity. 

I believe we experience our Christianity in context of our histories, our current cultural dynamics, and the cultural dynamics of others. Pardon the phrase, but I think our contextual Christianity evolves over time. That increases both our awareness of ourselves and others, and deepens our faith.

It is my hope through my "blogging" that I can share more about myself, my family, my educational experience, and ultimately my faith, for I believe that all of those pieces intersect to who I am.