This past weekend we celebrated. Celebrated a wedding and time together as a family.
My oldest brother, Parke got married on December 11th to Lynnelle and it was a beautiful wedding/reception! They were married at the historical Donegal Presbyterian church in E-town and had the reception at a college facility nearby. This was a sweet reminder of God's provision and we were excited to be a part of their big day. Jonerik was one of the groomsmen along with my other brother, Andrew (best man) and our cousin Matt. I was the "wedding coordinator" and helped orchestrate the schedule for the day.
This weekend we also celebrated time together as a family. This is special for us because we all live in lands far, far away. Parke and Lynnelle live in TX and Andrew and Alanna (with Eliana) live in Illinois. Jonerik and I are the closest to my parents since we are still in the same state and now only about 2 hours apart. Andrew and Alanna lived over-seas while Eliana was born and plan to return there in a couple of years so time together as a whole family is rare and very exciting.
We are blessed to have times together and it is encouraging to hear what God is doing in different parts of the country. There are costs when it comes to following God's calling on your life and when I don't see the people I love so dearly for such long stretches of time I am reminded that there is a greater purpose to why we are alive and who we serve.
Tonight I'm refocusing my definition of what my role is here in Kensington and as a woman of God. I don't think you can live here and deny that we are in a spiritual battle. I look at my life and I see sin and the enemy seeking to devour me from the inside out. He is looking at our marriage and looking for ways to divide. I look at our streets and I see addiction and violence calling after people. There are a lot of physical and tangible battles going on in our world but we can see deeper:
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the ruler, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph 6:12)
The more I observe this culture, the more I read/learn about what lies the enemy is spreading here the more my eyes are opened to what we are facing. And I'm sure I am only seeing the tip of the iceberg. A while back I felt God leading me to declare war on sin. It was not ok anymore to sit back and let sin pull me this way and that, it wasn't ok to allow small arguments to leave me angry and unresolved, it wasn't ok anymore to watch sin around me and feel helpless. And so war was declared. Prayer became central. This is not a physically violent war, this is a war of heart and soul. The Word of God also became central because I realized that I didn't know enough. I haven't gone deep enough. The words were valuable to me but they weren't a priority to read and live out.
The verse that I am clinging to right now is found in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ..."
On my own I have no power. I am a weak, young woman who is useless is breaking strongholds in my life or anyone else's. But I'm not fighting alone. I am fighting with the Creator of the universe who has already won this war. I am no longer a slave to sin and I don't have to obey anxiety and worry like it is my master...it is not! (Romans 6)
So what does it look like to wage war? For me, right now, it means prayer, reading the word. Being prepared to give an answer for my faith. It means constant surrender of my worry and to refocus my thoughts and my actions on who God is and what that means for my circumstances.
I think the average stereotype of a pastor's wife is weak and I think it needs to be redefined. Scripture tells us that we are to submit to our husbands (Eph. 5:22) and have the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4). That is truth. Period.
Scripture also tells us women and men alike are to put on the full armor of God (Eph 6) and to wage war (2 Cor. 10:3-6). We are daughters of the King of kings. And we are warriors. And in this time and culture it is time to take up arms and step up to the challenge. Tired? Worn out? Overwhelmed? Take it to Jesus. Rest. Refresh. Talk to a godly woman who can encourage you. We are not alone in the fight. Let's step up together.
Feel like sin is in your way? Rebuke it. You are not a slave to sin. Will you be perfect? No. We now serve a God who is gracious and has covered your sins with His Son's blood. Sin is part of the fight. Take it to Jesus.
We recently saw Tedashii in concert with our teens (along with several other artists) and this song helps me stay focused and encouraged to fight.
"I hear so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections, and their failure, and their addiction, and their shortcomings. And I see so little war! Murmur, murmur, murmur. Why am I this way? MAKE WAR!"
I gave you a little "teaser" at the end of my last blog about our Women's Bible Study but today I just came home from our study once again and I am overflowing with hope for the women in our church. As I mentioned we are going through a sermon series on Ruth and are using some different studies combined to have video and discussion time. Our video series comes from Mars Hill in Seattle, WA and is of Mark Driscoll preaching. He has been an encouraging source of Biblical truth for Jonerik and I for a long time and I was excited to share this with our women.
Here is a link to the series that we are watching Redeeming Ruth
The great thing that we are able to do in this setting is to break up into smaller groups of usually 3-5 people and discuss what we have watched and/or read. We are also able to really talk about prayer requests and what God is doing in our lives.
We have two women from a supporting church come to help lead this group and Nikki and I also help facilitate the discussion groups and organize ideas.
My hope overflows from our good conversations and how I am able to see God changing my heart and moving in the hearts of the women around me. There are very diverse backgrounds and life situations that sit around the table and out of that diversity comes unique perspectives on the tough issues of life and the amazing creativity in God's pursuit of each of us.
Please pray for this Bible study, that we would continue to learn truth and that we would continue to grow a sense of unity and love that can only come from Jesus Christ. Being a woman of God in Kensington is not an easy task - we need Christ and we need each other.
Jonerik and I just celebrated our one year anniversary - glory be to God! We were blessed through saving, some sacrifice, and some addition gifts to go on a cruise to celebrate. We went to the Caribbean and enjoyed a week of relaxation and beauty.
Coming back to Kensington was a convicting reminder of reality. It was hard for me to come back, but not for the reasons you might expect. You might expect that it would be hard because of the cold weather, trash all over the streets, and people everywhere. But this adjustment was convicting for me personally because I saw just how much I prefer to ignore that there are destructive forces at work around us.
As I laid in bed the night after returning I was quickly brought back to the reality of our neighborhood as people argued in the streets, spewing anger and hatred, hurt and despair. Drugs readily being sold, people who are stumbling around drunk - trying to forget, children outside late into the night. I would like to ignore that these are realities for so many people. I would like to live in a place where my husband doesn't get approached by a prostitute on his way to church. Where a police helicopter is not circling over our house just about every night.
But the reason I want to be far away from those things is not because I fear my safety, it is because it is painful to watch people living their lives with secrets from their past slowly destroying them, to see the enemy lying to people whose defenses are weak, and it is painful to hear the immaturity in people fighting because of pride, selfishness, and rage - from an empty way of life handed down to them. In my selfishness I would like to put blinders on more frequently than not and ignore the fact that these things go on - all the time.
So I do live here, and while it is hard to be surrounded with darkness on such an obvious level, I love it. How could I love it? Because this is where God is calling us to live and He has some amazing people in our lives that we can partner with. We can see God working in small ways through individuals and through the love of a church family. God is here. And so we love it.
My life is a constant reminder of the amazing grace that God offers to us. My personal sin is a clear example of that for sure, but we also have the reminder of the depravity of man on our doorstep regularly (and literally) and that brings me to my [proverbial] knees as I consistently recognize man's need for a Savior...a Redeemer.
I am then humbled when I see God moving in people around me. I am involved in a women's Bible Study at our church on Wed. mornings. We are currently going through the Redeeming Ruth series by Mark Driscoll and it is going great! We have a consistent group of about 10 women coming and it has been so encouraging (and challenging) to see God changing and growing hearts...slowly...but clearly. I was moved to tears this week as I told Jonerik about our study and how I saw God using one of our women to reach out to other neighborhood women - putting her faith to action and getting excited about it! If you a woman at Cornerstone and you are reading this...come out to our study! Seek God and you won't be disappointed. If not...please pray that God will continue to use this study to build up women of God in our church and in our neighborhood.
There are some more updates on our current life coming. We are coming into a busy time with the holidays straight ahead. Today we did a Thanksgiving Basket give away at our church and we provided food baskets for over 50 people who are mostly regular attenders of CCC. We will do another give away on Thursday for others in the community (at our regular monthly food cupboard). We are also working on getting a newsletter out soon so keep coming back to the blog and let me know if you would like to receive a newsletter and you aren't already on our list! emily.santiago109@gmail.com
Fall has come and our ministries at Cornerstone are beginning a new round. Some things that we are involved in include:
Jonerik
-leading a teen worship team at God Squad (teens) and is a leader there
-teaching through the book of James at our Tues. night Adult Bible Study, which is really growing!
-teaching about the Worship of God at Wed. night Adult Bible Study (new)
-leading the worship team for Sunday mornings (practice on Sat.)
-preaching from time to time - including this Sunday
-one on one mentoring/teaching
-other things could be added
Emily
-teaching a new women's sunday school class from the book "Practical Theology for Women"
-helping with a women's Bible study on Wed. mornings going through Ruth
-volunteering at Kid's Club (new)
-singing on the worship team for Sunday mornings
We both do the Food Cupboard together.
This is not a list of things that we are doing that need praise, but I write these things because we could really use your prayers and this will give you specific ways to pray. We are praying to be refreshed in our work for God. Through discouraging circumstances and a desire to see genuine change in places where it seems dry...we are praying for God's eyes to see His heart for our church and our neighborhood.
I believe God is setting the stage to do amazing things little by little...we are waiting in the moment, serving in faith that God's word will not return to Him void.
"As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." - Is 55:10-11
We are going away for our one year anniversary (praise God!) at the end of next week. We are seeking Him for direction and wisdom in our lives. We have taken this first year to really focus on our marriage and use that time to build our relationship. This meant stepping away from extra responsibility, saying no to opportunities that came up, and for me (Emily) this meant being intentional about not signing up for every need that came along. God has been gracious to provide this time for us to learn more about Him, ourselves, and each other.
What does that mean for year two? Good question....
We have some dear friends who own a farm, they are a family that has invested a lot in Jonerik since he was a teen. They were having an open house/farm on Saturday and had the opportunity to help them for the day! Needless to say we worked hard but had a lot of fun. It was an educational day so we put up posters with information about cows, goats, and other animals. There may be more pictures to come but here are a few:
We are encouraged by this family's practical faith and their love for each other and for other people. Getting out of the city for a day was nice and it was a perfect day to sit outside on a lawn chair and drink chocolate milk!
Some highlights of the day:
-Jonerik got to lay some gravel with a skid loader
-Emily got to mow a maze in a grassy field for the kids
-Emily took the reins for a horse-drawn hay ride - with the expert next to her and ready =)
-We got to spend time with a godly family who is able to encourage us in our ministry and walk with Jesus!
Same God...very different way of life. We like diversity.
So much has been going on that I'm not sure where to begin. Some things that didn't make it to the blog for various reasons - I got to attend the Women of Faith Conference in September this year with a group from our church. We were really encouraged and blessed by this event and I was challenged in new ways to expand my view of God. It is encouraging to see so many women gathered in Philly to praise the name of God!
Limaris was in the hospital for another round of chemo (hence the lack of posting) and Jonerik and I had the kids again. This was hopefully her next to last treatment! We love having the kids but this time around was more of a push for us. There was only one pictures that I captured and this pretty much says it all!" --
Before the kids came we went on a church camping retreat! This was our first chance to use our tent and we enjoyed getting a weekend of nature in. It was a great weekend of worship, hanging out, and playing sports. We canoed, played ultimate frisbee, soccer, softball (Jonerik), and others.
I was offered a part time job as a substitute teacher's aide at a local Christian school. It is obviously not something that is a regular income, but it could open doors for things in the future and God might be using that to teach me lessons in life now. I'm still praying about my schedule and what God has for me now that the kids are in school. We have two of the kids before and after school so it's important to find things that can accommodate that.
Also we have a Women's Bible Study on Wednesday morning that I am helping to lead. We are going through Ruth and it is starting off with a lot of great momentum! We had 13 women this morning and I am excited about where God is taking us.
Tuesday night we had a Praise and Worship Night at church while Bible Study is still on break. We had a great turn out and it was a time where we cried out to God for our neighborhood, church, and country. We desire to be a church of prayer and this was a refreshing time to seek Him and to praise Him for all the things He is doing in our church. This comes in a timely manner as there were two shootings on our street within the past few weeks and drug corners are appearing more frequently in our area. There is also a brand new casino opening at the end of Frankford Ave tomorrow which will bring a lot of negative affects with it. Pray with us for our neighborhood and for the kingdom of God to advance.
That is a short update on how our lives are going. There is always more to it, but to sum up the past few weeks I would say God is teaching us how to trust Him. He is teaching us that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. This has been so true in our lives.
