Page 9 – All The More: Collective Blog

Peace in non-peaceful times

November 6, 2020 Sina Steele 3 min read

As I scroll through social media or overhear conversations between people, I’m overwhelmed with the heaviness people are carrying in 2020. People are anxious, burnt out, exhausted, worried for sick loved ones, uncertain about the future, confused—our world is marked by a lack of peace. If I honestly examine my own thought life during this chaotic year, much of it has been characterized by a lack of peace, too. Wanting to grasp God’s peace during these uncertain times, I recently began searching the scriptures. I came across one of the names of Jesus, as prophesied in Isaiah 9:6, that struck me: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (ESV) Prince of Peace, or in the original Hebrew, ‘sar shalom‘. It sounds […]

This is my Father’s World

October 30, 2020 Jenny McCarty 4 min read

“This Is My Father’s World” is a hymn I was reintroduced to recently, and I have found its words to be calming in the midst of the anxious climate of uncertainties to be found outside my door. This blog is to be posted the Friday before an election that has brought about a great deal of division and disunity during a global pandemic that has also brought about the same. No matter what happens on this earth, the lyrics are a reminder that this is in fact our Father’s world, our future hope is secure in Him, and He is present in the intricate details of the world around us. Maltbie Davenport Babcock not only has a great name, but also wrote the words to this great hymn. Before heading out for evening walks, it is written that he would say, “I’m going out to see my Father’s world.” I […]

Community: Bound Together in Love

October 23, 2020 Rachel Guerrero 5 min read

silhouette of two person sitting on chair near tree

In the Spring of 2010, I walked into a small room in San Jacinto Hall, a dorm at Texas State University. The room felt vibrant and alive, with lots of smiles, laughs, hugs, and conversation. The room was diverse, from skin color to clothing style, but everyone loved deeply; you could just feel it. I was invited by my new friend, Ellen Porter, to a campus night for a student ministry at Texas State. I knew only one person, but everyone introduced themselves to me and made me feel cared for. This was the start of feeling like a part of a community, a family even, that I didn’t even know I needed at the time. When Jesus truly changed my heart and I became a follower of Jesus a month later, it was this same community that helped me walk faithfully, encouraging me, and challenging me weekly to follow […]

The Paradox of Powerlessness

October 16, 2020 Claire Raabe 4 min read

This year has been a season of longing – longing for normalcy and longing for a return of routines, activities, and hangouts. Some of these longings are simple and easy to persevere through – longing to stand in a crowd at your favorite band’s concert, longing to go to the grocery store without being armed with Clorox wipes, or longing for the start of the college football season. Others are rooted in more sensitive and desperate parts of our hearts – longing to be surrounded by a life-giving community, longing for employment that feels meaningful and worthwhile, longing for a new relationship or healing in a current one. In many ways, our whole lives are a series of thirsts that culminate in the ultimate thirst for Christ. The reality is, this thirst is unlikely to be fully quenched this side of heaven. With that in mind, how can we carry […]

Living in Injustice

October 2, 2020 TaKasha Smith 7 min read

When I was in elementary school the Ku Klux Klan held a march through my hometown. I don’t know the exact route they took, but I know they passed the Bus Center where all the public busses met to exchange passengers and start their routes over again. I know because that is where I was introduced to the Klan. I had heard the name before, knew it wasn’t something good… but I couldn’t have imagined the fear and confusion that I would feel when I saw them. There was never a time in my life when I didn’t understand what unjust hatred was. I knew there was something about me (that I couldn’t control) that made people actually hate me. I knew there were people who wanted to hurt me. I knew the world was not safe for me, and for weeks I jumped at every noise while I walked […]

Living on Mission: What is it anyway?

September 25, 2020 Kathryn Pesyna 3 min read

In the middle of a pandemic, when your every day to day is suddenly flipped on its head, it’s pretty easy to start contemplating life and its purpose – specifically your own. Who am I? What am I doing? Why am I here? If you are a believer, the answer is simple. Your mission is Christ’s mission. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 During a recent sermon by Calvary Church’s Steve Dang, he said, “When we place our faith in Christ, we don’t go into ministry, we are in ministry.” In other words, when you accept Christ, you accept the mission of God. And God is in the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). From the time of the The Fall in Genesis 3, God has been working to win us back to Him. He did this through Christ, and […]

Our Limitedness and His Limitlessness

September 18, 2020 Bailey Lenzen 4 min read

In response to a friend’s recent question about for others, I shared something that I do not always remember myself: Part of being on mission means accepting the invitation to pray and intercede for others (1 Thessalonians 5:9, Ephesians 6:19). “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.” Colossians 4:3 I both want to share in others’ burdens by thinking about how they might be feeling, but also turn these burdens over to the Lord (Psalm 55:22, Galatians 6:2). We catch glimpses of the early church doing this regularly (Acts 12:12, 20:36). These prayers are also an opportunity to gain humility as we pray prayers often ones no one even knows about. This could lead us to a different question, “Does it really matter that I pray for […]

Owners of nothing, stewards of everything

September 11, 2020 Rachel Marissa 3 min read

A while back, my mom let me borrow her purple water bottle. I used it so much I started to forget it was hers to begin with. Sometimes I fail to remember that the “purple water bottles” God lets me borrow are His, too. During my first year in the counseling program at my seminary, I was so very aware grad school was a gift from God. I knew He was loaning me the knowledge, time, and resources. I was believing and remembering He is all-wise and knows everything about counseling, my program, where He’s calling me. I found myself holding loosely to grad school. I wasn’t anxious about going to class, studying for exams, writing research papers, applying for internships, or telling people I had no idea where I’d be after graduation. As I entered my second year of the program, however, a strange thing happened. I became clingy, […]

A Citywide Prayer Movement

September 4, 2020 Eileen Drake 4 min read

When you think of a city where God is actively moving and doing wondrous works, what do you think of? What do you hope for God to accomplish in your city? I have a hope and prayer for my city that looks like this: For God’s presence to be felt in the city like it feels during an outdoor worship experience where God’s joy, hope and commission is palpably tangible. I pray that nonprofits work together; local pastors be united; people chained to addiction and brokenness be set free; for Christians across the city to have the benefit of Christian co-workers “in their corner” that encourage each other to lead with integrity, conviction, and love. I pray for city-wide discipleship: for older folks to show younger folks how to follow Christ. I pray for Christians to love their neighbors so well that people are drawn to wanting to know who […]

Ancient Wisdom for Our Social Media Age

August 28, 2020 Natalie Mayo 5 min read

Between a pandemic and feeding a newborn a billion times a day, I’ve spent a significant amount of time on social media over the past several months. I pick up my phone, use my thumbprint to unlock it, and pull up Instagram or Facebook like a bad habit. By the time I’m done, my heart is heavy because while my thumb was busy scrolling, my heart was busy comparing, judging, loving self-promotion, and wanting to respond to someone’s online foolishness with my own folly. For such a simple and mindless habit, my heart can really come out spinning. While social media may be an area of temptation we need to flee at times, there are many beautiful, redeeming aspects of social media, especially in this moment in history. Social media is not the reason why my heart spins out of control; my sin is. Social media may be new, but […]

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