Nassau Recap Part I: MMF Article

So I'm a little late posting update on the trip to Nassau. And by a little, I mean three months late!

There are loads of pictures and stories I want to share, but for now, an article I wrote about one of the residents at the AIDS clinic some students and I visited will have to suffice.

The AIDS issue of myMISSIONfulfilled was scheduled to come out in August, the deadline falling just after my return from the Bahamas. My assignment was to write about the missionaries who run the camp, but summer schedules and some tension with the camp owners prevented them from speaking into the story. As I thought about my time at the camp, another missionary stood out to me as the perfect subject, even though I hadn't actually interviewed her.

Read it here.

You've gotta love this girl! Her exuberant pose mimics one I used to strike with two other bold girls I love. The first summer I lived in Nashville, Emily and her mom and I would make this pose in their kitchen whenever one of us had something difficult to do. Emily's mom had the Willowtree Angel of Courage in her closet to remind her that she could do anything--and Em and I loved it! (They purchased the courage angle for me that summer and it has a prominent spot on a shelf in my bedroom.) So here's to three amazing women of courage!

Recent Freelance Work

Even though I've taken an unintentional hiatus from blogging recently, I've still been writing! Here are the links to recent articles on myMISSIONfulfilled. As always, if you know of women in their 20s and 30s who might have interest in reading this missions-based online publication, please spread the word!

This is a How-to article about finding one's calling that I wrote for the college section of the site.

Read "Exploring Your God-Given Calling" here.

And this is a two-part missional Bible study about the Good Samaritan. I focused on the way this parable challenges our expectations about God, His Kingdom, and what He requires of His people. I'm indebted to Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, a sage professor at Vanderbilt's Divinity school and a good friend of my own beloved Jewish Studies professor, Dr. Frank Eakin, at U of R. I heard Dr. Levine when Dr. Eakin (who calls her "A.J.") invited her to speak on this parable at Richmond as part of the Weinstein lecture series. I never got to hear her speak while I lived in Nashville, but I've enjoyed her book "The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus." Our theological persuasions may differ, but she is a brilliant woman who has greatly impacted my understanding of Jesus as a Palestinian Jew.

Read Part I: "More Than You Expected to Give" here.

Read Part II: "The One You'd Least Expect" here.


Thanks for reading!
Chelsea

p.s. Stay tuned for some news about contract work I did with LifeWay recently! I'm working on a way to include the spread here.

In Feast or Fallow

It's beautiful when you latch on to a musician who's also a songwriter, even better when that songwriter's a poet, and better still when she inspires you--or disciples you really--in faith and life. That's Sandra McCracken for me. I'm passionate about her poetry (and the melodies that lift it to song), the way I'm passionate about Lauren Winner's prose.

Today Sandra (who's husband Derek Webb has also influenced my life and theology in big and small ways over the years) launched a preview of her soon-to-be released album In Feast or Fallow. It's a hymns project that follows her 2006 album, The Builder and the Architect. Derek and Sandra have helped to forge the way for the hymn resurgence that's been making moves in the South in recent years. They are a driving force behind the Indelible Grace project, which is recorded through Reformed University Fellowship at Belmont University in Nashville. And I feel a special kinship with them because they are members at a sister church of West End Community (my church in Nashville). Frequent opportunities to hear these two play live are some of the things I miss most about living in Nashville--I'm trying to raise some awareness for them here in New England!

As she often so graciously does, Sandra released a rough version of one of the cuts from this record, an old Luther Christmas hymn, via Noisetrade (a site that allows artists to give songs away in exchange for fans' spreading the word to their friends). I plugged that song in my Advent Tunes post back in December, and it has become a favorite carol! Today she's released three more songs on Noisetrade! You can get them by clicking on the widget below and forwarding a message to friends or posting a link on your facebook wall. Genius! You can also access the widget on the left-hand sidebar of wherethecloudsettles.

Sandra talks about the album in an interview with "Patrol" that captures why I love her as an artist and a person. Here's a little snippet, but if you have a few minutes, read the whole thing!

When you released Red Balloon last summer, Paste magazine said: "Three years ago, Sandra McCracken released The Builder And the Architect, a collection of reworked traditional hymns that remains one of the strongest albums in her near-decade-long career. Her latest, Red Balloon, only sounds like a collection of hymns." How do you respond to a statement like that, that can go so many ways?

I thought it was interesting that they mentioned the hymns record. That the writer of the review would mention that and draw the parallel to me is a high honor. The songs I wrote on Red Balloon were full of themes about having our first baby, dealing with a lot of personal situations, and narratives around people I really love. So that songs about everyday could be called spiritual, to me is an indicator that those things are starting to become integrated, that spiritual is becoming everyday life, and everyday life is becoming spiritual. I think that's an important discipline of the journey of faith, that over the years they're becoming less and less separate and more and more holistic.

So there you have it. My long-winded shameless plug for the day. Check this girl out!

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True Masculinity

Both of the Bible studies I lead in my home are studying Paul's letters. In the high school girls' group we're doing Romans (their choice--can you see why I love them so?!) and in the young adult girls' group we're going through Ephesians. In both studies, we're nearing the part about "wives submit to your husbands." Uhhg--that is such a hard part, isn't it? I find myself just needing to be reminded of what masculinity and femininity are supposed to look like, so that I can maybe make just a little sense out of these hard passages that speak of gender roles.

As if on cue, I came across possibly the best sermon I ever heard on masculinity the other day. This was the very last sermon I heard Carter Crenshaw (my pastor at West End Community Church in Nashville) give before I moved from the Music City to New England. West End is now posting Carter's sermons online, which is great news for me because I love to listen to him!

Before I ever visited West End, my sweet friend Shelley told me how Carter performed her brother and sister-in-law's wedding service, and how it was beautiful and poignant, and how Beth Moore (a friend of theirs through LifeWay) loved it so much that she endorsed it on her blog! (I later read the blog post--you can check it out on the Living Proof blog here. I can just picture Carter being "up in their stuff" and patting Rich on the arm over and over...he's so dear.) I attended West End for the better part of a year, and people from other churches would often tout Carter as the best pre-marriage counselor in Nashville. When I met with him one-on-one a couple of times, and especially when I heard this sermon on masculinity, I began to see that they weren't just being gracious. This guy means business!

The message is taken largely from a book by John Piper (one of my favorite theologians) and Wayne Grudem (the guy who wrote my 1200+ page Systematic Theology textbook). But Carter lends his wonderfully enthusiastic and studied flavor to it.

So the point is, listen to this sermon. If you're a dude, it will make you want to shape up and be a real man like Jesus. If you're a girl, it will make you want to quit flirting with fire and find a guy who seeks after Jesus with his whole heart. Seriously. It's good stuff. And if you struggle at all with Paul's telling the saints that wives should submit to their husbands, and husbands should lay down their lives for their wives, maybe it will bring just a little clarity to the whole messy issue.

Click here for the audio file.

New article about adoption and my friend Svitlana

My latest article is posted at www.myMISSIONfulfilled.com. You can read it here.

This month, I got to write about my friend Svitlana, who has an amazing testimony. Svieta grew up in an orphanage in Ukraine and was later adopted--by not just one, but TWO families, one of which is the Causey family, dear friends of mine from Forest Hills Baptist Church in Nashville! Svieta is leveraging all that God's given her in some pretty cool ways. She will inspire you!

And as always, if you know women in their 20s and 30s, let them know about My Mission Fulfilled!

Thanks for reading!

love,
Chelsea

The Cloud Has Settled!

Now that I've been here in Connecticut for nearly a week, I thought I'd post a little update on life in New England:

I arrived on Wednesday after a 15 hour drive from Bloomington, and I began work the very next morning. On Thursday, it appeared that the cloud had indeed settled...along with 50 or so of it's closest friends. Thankfully, the overcast skies have since cleared off and we've been having the first bit of true summer Connecticut has seen yet this year. I still chuckle every time someone complains about how hot the lovely 83 degree days are...these folks sure couldn't hack it in the south! (I'm sure they'll be saying that I'm a wimp come winter...)

This week has been a myriad of random errands (bank account, cell phone, etc.) and just digging into the new job. I'm living with a dear colleague these first few weeks while I get settled and hunt for an apartment. Everyone at the church office has been amazing--I've felt very loved and cared for already! And I've had the opportunity to hang out with lots of people from the church: students, 20s-and-30 somethings, parents, etc. I've located the mall--of course :)--and I've talked with the manager at Williams-Sonoma about transferring my part-time employment from Pottery Barn Kids. Whew! It's been quite a week.

If you think of it, please pray for the following:
-That I will speedily find an apartment and be able to negotiate a more affordable rent. Everything's expensive here! I especially want to be sensitive to where the Lord might want to place me in regards to location and whether or not I have a roommate.

-That I will continue to acclimate quickly to my job. We have two youth retreats coming up a month from now, so I'm already a little behind! Additionally, the new high school youth pastor starts this week, so the Emerging Generations team is in a season of transition right now. Pray that our personalities would mesh for the glory of God.

-That I will develop meaningful community here. I've met lots of wonderful people and I'm so excited to form new relationships! I'm also wanting to connect with sorority sisters from Richmond in the area, so pray that I would be able to balance work, church, and other relationships in a way that honors the Lord and sharpens me.

-That I will make a smooth transition from missing life in Nashville to loving life in New England. I hate the feeling of missing people and missing out on fun times and community in Tennessee, but I continue to sense that this place is going to bless me greatly over the next few years. I've already seen God's graciousness to me as I move from one season into another.

If you want to learn more about Walnut Hill Community Church, visit walnuthillcc.org. You can listen to Senior Pastor Clive Calver's sermons, find out more about the vision of the church, and even browse staff profiles to "meet" my co-workers.

God is on the move at Walnut Hill and in New England! Stay tuned for my musings on Christianity in this corner of the world.

Thanks for waiting on this cloud with me!
Chelsea

The Eyes Have It: A Tribute to My Last Days in Optometry

I've loved working here at the Spectacle Shoppe. It's been a fun opportunity to learn a new industry and a whole new set of skills, and I have loved watching this practice grow the past year! In order to commemorate my last couple of days here, I thought I'd share a comedy routine recommended by a patient and also by my dear ol' dad. Check it out!




So there you have it. A peak into my life this past year :) Also, I thought I'd mention that Real Simple did a great feature last month (proudly displayed in our magazine collection here at the office--yes, I realize I'm a huge nerd) about eye health. You can read it here.





Keep Your Eyes Healthy
7 Ways to Protect Your Vision






I'm passing the torch to my sweet friend Robin--a Tri Delta sister from U of R! So come see her if you're in the market for a great pair of glasses! And schedule an appointment here if you need a new eye doctor!

An RV and Unwasted Lives

I met the most amazing couple today at the office. While Mr. J. was seeing the doctor, his wife chatted with me about their life here in Franklin--and everywhere else. They retired from a small town in northern Indiana a few years ago. A desire for increased mobility prompted them to sell their house and buy a motor home in its stead. Now that they've lightened their load, they travel all over the U.S. volunteering for various ministries. This year they helped their Alma Mater refinish its cross country course, made several trips to Louisiana to help with hurricane relief, and traveled internationally to serve with a ministry called TCM in Vienna, Austria.

Talking with them reminded me of John Piper's commentary on the American dream of retirement. In Don't Waste Your Life (one of my all-time favorite Piper books) he writes: "I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider this story from the February 1998 Reader's Digest: A couple 'took early retirement from their jobs in the northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Guda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells...' Picture them before Christ on the great day of judgment. 'Look, Lord. See my shells.' That is a tragedy."

What a stark contrast between the tragic picture Piper paints and the beautiful one lived out by Mr. and Mrs. J! In a few months they will be heading back to Vienna for a three month stint with Taking Christ to the Millions Institute International (TCM), a seminary that trains Eastern Europeans for ministry in their home countries. Pastors and missionaries of all ages come for two weeks at a time to take intensive ministry and theology courses. Because the students come from closed countries where boldly proclaiming the gospel means real hardship, TCM wants Haus Edelweiss, the chalet that houses the school (see picture above), to be a place of rest and retreat. The 500 volunteers who come throughout each school year clean their rooms and cook their meals so that the students can focus on their classes. You can learn more about the program (and find out how you can help!) here.

I loved listening to Mrs. J. talk about her experience serving with TCM last year and how thrilled she and her husband are to be going back. She told me about one man in his 20s. When she was cleaning his room on the day he left, she noticed that he had left behind all of his study materials--notebooks, pens, class handouts. When Mrs. J. rushed to the bus to give him his things, he shook his head and explained that he was not allowed to bring any of them back into his country. He had done his best to memorize the material presented in each lecture over the two week period.

When Mrs. J. finished the story, I was in tears right there at the office. This nameless man from Eastern Europe, a devoted disciple and seminary student, had absolutely shamed me. How often do I take for granted the privelage that it is to be able to read God's word so openly? How lightly do I take my own seminary classes, often skimming the reading or listening half-heartedly to lectures? I am laid low by the plight of these Eastern Europeans who labor for the Gospel in their countries. And I've fallen in love with the mission of TCM. (It helps of course, that the ministry is located in a city I dearly love! Anyone want to organzie a volunteer trip?!)

Most of all, I'm challenged by the example of this dear retired couple who have refused to be slowed down by their age or conquered by the lures of retirement. They live as vagabons, leveraging their possessions, time, and resources for the good of the Kingdom. They make themselves available to go wherever God might send them.

"Whatever you do, find the God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life."
--John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life

Sweeter in Tennessee

There is a little mountain--well a foothill, really--here in Nashville that always reminds me of God's faithfulness to me while I've lived in this city. A little background is necessary here, I suppose.

Two years ago upon my return from Italy, I received the news that I was no longer welcome at the church in Richmond where I had served prior to my stint overseas. It was a devastating blow. (Read more .) That night I picked up my Bible reading from the place I had left off the night before. And God, as He so often does in these pivotal moments, lent His eternal Word to my present situation:

"Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess...The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end" (Deuteronomy 11:8-12).

I cried my eyes out that night, but I also took God at His word, believing that He would faithfully give me a new land (read: ministry), and that it would be (spiritually) richer than the place I was leaving behind and entrusting to Him.

Fast forward two months. I arrived in Nashville for a visit to Forest Hills Baptist Church, where I was being considered for a summer youth internship. Cognitively, I was weighing the decision heavily against another church in Kansas City, but my heart was already tied to Nashville because of several connections here (not to mention my love of Southern cities). As I drove South on Hillsboro Road with a church employee that Saturday afternoon, I remarked at how beautiful the foothills were. She agreed and told me about Moores Lane, a little mountain in Franklin that she loved to drive on. Suddenly, the promise from Deuteronomy came rushing back to me:

"But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end."

"Surely not God?" I hesitated to accept the words; they seemed too literal. Perhaps sub-consciously my selfish desires were manipulating my thinking. But as I looked into the beautifully rough Tennessee landscape, my heart did a little somersault. And as I continued to pray about the decision those next couple of weeks, I couldn't get the words from Deuteronomy out of my head...a land of mountains and valleys...a land the LORD your God cares for...

Needless to say I took the job. I drove into town late in May, and headed straight for the Tims' house, where I would stay for a week before moving in with the Harpers. Surely it's Providence that to get to the Tims' you have to take Moore's Lane. It was a perfect sunny spring day, and as I approached Moore's Lane, Bethany Dillon's song "Exodus" started playing on my pod:

Come, come fallen ones
Dance in the healing stream
He has faithfully kept you
Brought you out of captivity

Rejoice, rejoice with all your hearts
Sing Him a new song
That’s heard high on the windswept mountains
It will resound

And the song in my heart must have resounded from that windswept mountain...er...foothill; because as my SUV automatically switched gears to make it up the hill, the most delightful rain started to fall. The sun was still shining, but it was raining (a phenomenon Hawaiians call "liquid sunshine.")

I couldn't believe it. I cried a little and then laughed through my tears..."a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven...a land the LORD your God cares for." Suddenly I knew deep down in the depths of my heart that this would be for me a place of God's provision and rest.

From an e-mail home that night: "I'm sitting here tonight trying to finish up tomorrow's talk about the Old and New covenants, trying to wrap my mind around how faithful God is to us even when we are so lacking in faith, and I am just in awe of this personal covenant He has made with me for this summer."

Move, move your feet
Dance before the Lord
On to the Promised Land
On to your reward, sing

Lead, Lord, with unfailing love
Those that You have ransomed
And we will sing out as we go on
Our God is faithful
Our God is faithful

I drove on Moore's Lane last night on my way to pick up Chick fil A and watch LOST with Matt. And my heart caught in my chest, and I was overwhelmed at God's gracious provision for me here in this city. I'm heading out this weekend for an interview in Charlotte, preparing to potentially leave Nashville and the sweetness of Tennessee behind. It is a welcome change in many ways; I'm so ready for this dang cloud to move! But it is also bittersweet as I remember the goodness of God to me in this place, this land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven.

A Prodigal Father and His Less-than-loving Sons

I just love it when I learn of a great author or teacher, and then start hearing about him or her everywhere I turn. Tim Keller has been like that for me recently.

Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan, made an appearance at a local church last night to talk about his new book, The Prodigal God. Listening to him speak from an overflow room (the church was literally packed out), I was easily persuaded that far more than promoting book sales, this man's heart was to see Christians live in such a way that their faith would be attractive to the world. I'm not talking about seeker-sensitive services or programs, but about real heart-change that is contagious. I was convicted and encouraged beyond belief.

Keller's new book is called The Prodigal God. I had heard before (in a sermon at my church in Richmond) that prodigal means "recklessly or wastefully extravagant; lavish." Of course the adjective could very well refer to the story's younger son, who indeed spent his father's wealth wastefully. But a second glance reveals that it is the father who is most reckless with his wealth and his love. Therefore, the parable would be better titled "The Prodigal Father." (Keep in mind, of course, that the headings in our Bibles were not part of the Divinely inspired writings, but rather an addition of editors who compiled the Canon centuries later.)

Explaining the application of the parable, Keller said that the rebellious Christian (the younger brother, who skipped town with his inheritance) and the legalist (the older brother who stuck around and did the right thing) sit in the same pew at church on Sundays...and unfortunately "both sons want the Father's things and not the Father." As Keller put it, one brother tries to be good and one is rebellious, but both are "outside of the feast." And at the end of the story, it's the bad boy who is saved while the good boy is so proud of his good works that he refuses to come into the feast. Keller pleaded with the audience to learn from the illustration of the older brother, who is too proud and too bitter to have compassion over his lost brother. To be a true older brother, he said, "you've got to be humbled to the dust but know that you're loved to the sky!"

This parable, meant to indict the Pharisees (and now us!) as "older brother" types isn't the only place in the New Testament where where we see the distinction between the rebellious son and the legalist. We see the Pharisee contrasted with the tax collector and the harlot again and again throughout Jesus' ministry. It seems God loves to ransom the most hopeless cases! The way He does this, according to Keller, is by sending a true older brother, His Son Jesus, with whom we are co-heirs of the Kingdom (Romans 8:17).

Keller told the story of a man whose younger brother was lost in Vietnam during the war. The older brother flew to Vietnam and went out into the jungle in search of his lost brother, and both the U.S. and the Communist troops so respected his commitment to his family that they allowed him to search unharmed. He explained that the true older brother goes after his younger brother, and at his own expense! And surely we need an "older brother" who flies not just from the States to Vietnam, but from Heaven to earth. The only way we can be brought back into the family, to join the feast, is at His expense.

At the end of the story, when the younger brother returns, the father puts a robe and a ring on him. The ring, Keller said, can only be a signet ring, the marking of association with a certain family in ancient culture. So, the father is adopting this lost son back into his family. Obviously it's a perfect picture of God's extravagant, reckless love toward those of us to belong to him because He has adopted us as sons (Romans 8:23).

Oh that we might hear the Father say to us "My son (or daughter), you are always with me and everything I have is yours" (Luke 5:31) so that we may rejoice when a younger brother returns home!



*Keller's podcasts can be downloaded for free from the iTunes store, and you can listen to his defense of faith in God (an Authors@Google talk) on youtube.com. I haven't been able to locate a talk on the Prodigal God anywhere online, so let me know if you come across something!

Seeing Past the Empty Living Room

Last night Matt and I attended a Christmas dinner at the local prison. Matt's been thinking about getting involved in a mentoring ministry there, and he was invited to attend the annual Christmas party in order to check things out. I was the plus one.

We went through security and a guard escorted us to the gymnasium, where all the men of the Jericho Project (a community of inmates within the prison) were waiting for us. These men live by a covenant of love for Christ and respect for one another in units separate from the rest of the facility. They choose to be a part of the Jericho Project because they want to see their lives transformed, both while they are incarcerated and thereafter.

Matt and I were seated at a table with a Vanderbilt law professor and three inmates, twenty-year-old Spencer, 30-something Andrew, and middle-aged Kenneth. While we ate our Cracker Barrel catered dinner (a real treat for them, they confessed), we chatted about their daily Bible studies and about Men of Valor, the group of mentors that provides them with individual spiritual counsel. They told me about their professions before being incarcerated, and Spencer admitted that he's never had a full-time job. Upon his release, he hopes to get into real estate in Southern California, where his sister lives. Kenneth and Andrew talked about their kids. I have no idea how these men ended up in jail, but I know that in the few months they've been involved with the Jericho Project, walls have indeed come down. Jesus Christ has torn down the stony walls of their hearts (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26), evidenced by their very real joy and kindness.

After we ate, a group of the men sang and several inmates and mentors shared briefly. Finally, Mr. Lee, a member of the Men of Valor board gave a Christmas message. He talked openly about his wife's death several years prior, and how his four young children had dealt with the trauma. One of his twin sons, both of whom were with him at the dinner last night, had expressed uncertainty about Heaven. The then nine-year-old was perplexed by how Heaven could be a happy place if his mother was, as everyone told him, watching him from above. (I won't go into how obviously wrong this is theologically speaking--in Heaven we will be worshiping the Almighty God, not concerning ourselves with the foolish things of this present realm!)

Mr. Lee gave his son a beautiful illustration that day, which he shared last night. He told his young boy to picture Christmas morning at their house. His brother and two sisters receive everything they wanted, the living room is overflowing with gifts. But at the boy's place, there is nothing. He searches the room for even one gift belonging to him, but to no avail. Then, through tears he peers into the doorway leading into the kitchen and sees his mother, a smile creasing her face as she tries not to laugh because she knows this will be the best Christmas he's ever had. In the hallway behind her is the go-cart he's been pining after for months!

Mr. Lee likened this illustration to our own desperate longings. Our focus on the here-and-now sometimes keeps us from seeing past the living room of our circumstances. But if we would only look to the kitchen door, to see what marvelous things our King is planning for us, we would be encouraged and delighted!

As I sat at that table surrounded by inmates who have been changed by the scandalous grace of a Savior who took their sin upon Himself, I felt such kinship with them (and not only because I am also in desperate need of grace). Surely their days are filled with longing for something other than the empty living room of prison life. This transitional season of my own life can feel a little empty in a different-than-I-expected sort of way. But hope is being sure that what God has promised us will be accomplished (Luke 1:45), that the kitchen will hold new surprises in our life here on earth and ultimately in the life that is to come.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us...For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Romans 8:18

Art* Music* Justice*

I've been so excited about Sara Groves, Sandra McCracken, and Derek Webb's Art* Music* Justice Tour, and particularly the upcoming show in Brentwood, that I thought I'd put in a quick plug for the tour. All three of these artists (along with a few others who are joining them on the road) have a heart for issues of social justice and have thus put together this tour to benefit International Justice Mission and Food for the Hungry. It's stopping in several cities over the next month or so--check it out! You can buy tickets for the show at Christ Community on Tuesday, October 21 here.

For more information on International Justice Mission, a ministry that's close to my heart, visit www.ijm.org or see the sidebar of my blog for the link. To learn more about Food for the Hungry, visit www.FH.org.

Look for a post about the event after October 21st!

Restaurant Review: The Franklin Mercantile

I've been hearing about the Franklin Mercantile all summer, mostly from the family I live with, and I've wanted to check it out. It's known in picturesque Downtown Franklin (picture the streetlight scene from The Notebook) as a great place to grab a sandwich, but the owners recently added a dinner menu. I thought it might be a good place for dinner when my family came to visit--we've always explored Downtown Nashville when they've come in the past, so this time we decided a trip to Downtown Franklin was in order. After perusing Main Street and checking out our options, we settled on the Merc. The prices were moderate, and generous looking portions adorned the plates of alfresco diners.

We opted to eat inside, mostly because the outdoor tables weren't big enough for five. But the interior proved charming, with eclectic wooden and Formica tables topped with vintage table cloths, a cozy couch, and varying art displays throughout the restaurant. The menu boasts an impressive beverage list, but the sweet and fruit tea, served in old fashioned Ball jars, was the creme de la creme. The tapas-style dinner menu is fairly short, but full of tempting options, of which we tried several.

Matt had the shrimp bruschetta and Taylor and Dad each had the tapas burgers, which are essentially sliders on baguette with a bruschetta garnish. I consider myself something of a bruschetta connoisseur, after a semester in Italy of perfecting my own bruschetta recipe, but I was impressed with the flavor of the tomato-basil blend. Mom and I split the tapas burgers and the raspberry chicken with pecans, which was by far my favorite dish. The raspberry glaze was light, but flavorful, and the chicken was perfectly seared. An added plus was the delicious sweet potato pancakes on the side.

We were too full for desert, but I'll save that for another day. With great food at reasonable prices, I think it's safe to say we'll go back. And for those who are familiar only with the Merc's sandwiches, I heartily recommend checking out the evening menu!

An Update

[An e-mail sent to friends at home/school regarding new developments in my life. If I left you out by mistake, you can catch up here.]

Hey, friends!

Just wanted to write and give you a little update on my life post-graduation. I have been mourning the loss of my college-girl days, but living in Nashville has been an exciting change! While it's been disheartening not to have a job all summer, I've used the time to visit with friends, get settled in a new city, and go to several weddings. I've also been doing some writing and starting to flesh out some ideas for girls' ministry curriculum. I've been living with a sweet family with a seven-year-old daughter and an almost-six-year-old son. They have blessed me by opening their home--and their lives--during this time of transition.

My life seems to be filled with children, actually. For the past month, I've been working at Pottery Barn Kids, where I sell kids' furniture, facilitate sing-alongs, climb ten-foot ladders, and clean up after not-yet potty trained two-year-olds. Needless to say, working retail has been quite a humbling experience! I've been thankful for the stellar discount and even the not-so-stellar income, however, and plan to continue working there on a casual basis so that I can afford to furnish a Pottery Barn/Williams-Sonoma apartment sometime soon.

The big news is that I have a "real" job! I will be working for a friend who recently opened an optometry practice called the Spectacle Shoppe here in Franklin. It's in a cute planned community called that my mom, who visited last weekend, would kill to live in :) I have jokingly said that I'll be a "lay optometrist," since I'll be helping with eye exams and teaching people how to put in contacts, so Matt made up the word "loptometrist" to describe my new occupation!

In addition to starting work in two weeks, I was accepted to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and will begin a class or two at the extension center here in Nashville next Monday. This was a big decision for me, since I never thought I was interested in graduate school! As recently as April I had said I at least needed some time off before going back to school, but as soon as I handed in that thirty-page thesis, I knew I was ready to start classes again. It's funny how the Lord prepares us for things in different timing than we might expect. Check back to keep up with what I'm learning in systematic theology this semester!

Thanks to all of you who have so faithfully prayed that the Lord would make a way for me here in Nashville! At times it's been difficult to trust that I'm where I am supposed to be, especially since I passed up a great job opportunity at my church in Richmond to move here and be unemployed!! But I can see how God has provided just a little at a time, thereby confirming the presence of His Spirit. My dear friend in Japan once pointed me to Proverbs 4:12, which says "as you go step by step, I will open up the way to you." That wisdom has really resonated in my life this summer! I've also been encouraged during this season by the story of Israel's desert wandering in Numbers 9. Verse 17 says, "wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped." Thanks for continuing to pray with me that the Lord will make clear my life's overall calling and the individual assignments He has for me along the way!

Would love to visit with those of you in Bloomington/Chicago when Matt and I are home September 18-21, and with all of you in Richmond over homecoming weekend, October 24-26! And of course if you're ever passing through Nashville, give me a holler!

Living where the cloud settles,
Chelsea