becka lippy

Our pastoral team last year had 6 people. Two of them went back to Australia. One of them graduated from seminary and moved back to his hometown. And now, our dear Max Diaz is leaving us to do his internship at another church for a year.  This week we had our last Sunday service with Max and his wife Caro. And in good chilean style, we had a picnic after church to say our "good-byes".  If you are keeping track, this means our pastoral team is down to two of us. Cristobal and myself. The good news is that we will get a seminary student who will spend the year with us.

I've made my way up to the roof of my apartment building. I love it up here. Up here, I look over the tops of the buildings, hear the traffic down below, and I know I am truly a city girl. Up here, I can sometimes see the Andes Mountains. Up here, I admire the clouds that make such interesting patterns, and the sunsets that take my breath away. Up here I worship the Creator of all these things. After all, isn't it biblical. I'm pretty sure that the old-school guys like Daniel used to go up on their roofs to worship God. Not sure culturally why they chose their roofs, but I think the practice is quite appropriate for a 21st century city girl. Some people are evoked to worship God when they go out into nature. I feel it when I am in the city. Today I've come up here to the rooftop to work. Now that I have three jobs, I have plenty of work to get done. But before I attacked the long to-do list for the day, I wanted to spend some time in Ephesians. You know, a devotiona

Mary grew up in the church. She was even a leader. Helped lead worship on Sundays and was active in the life of the community. But something was off. Her boyfriend had moved in with her. They knew that the bible was clear that sex was supposed to be enjoyed only in the context of marriage. She assumed they would get married someday. And for now, it was just easier if they lived together. She enjoyed waking up with him each morning, discovering each other's idiosyncrasies, and things were great. Except they weren't.  The church, where Mary was a integrally involved, did nothing. They knew that two of their leaders were willfully disobeying God. And the church turned a blind eye. Easier that way.  Eventually Mary and her boyfriend broke up. And it was no pretty break up. She left her church. She knew she was still a christian, still believed in God, but somehow in her mind, her sexuality was separate from all of that. She eventually got back into a church, a new church. She

Gozo means joy in Spanish. And it's what I've been feeling. Really and seriously. 2011 was a year of changes. 2012 was a year full of work (and a few mental breakdowns) but I can see that 2013 is going to be a year of joy. How can I say this? Some of you might think that I am jinxing myself by saying that. But I say it, full with confidence, "This will be a year of JOY" I can say this because my joy is set in something that has been tried and proven true: Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I am also looking forward to a lot of great things this year. I'll explain more later. But for a moment I just want to enjoy what my 29 years of life have taught me. Jesus is worthy of everything. And living a life for Him is mind-blowingly awesome. There are hard moments, there are certainly tears. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I've been making some bigger life decisions recently, and I've seen that God has taught me to seek Him in all things