Just Another Bump in the Road

Our Denton Staff Team

It is April and things are a bit chaotic!

I hope that you are doing well in these strange and unprecedented times! What a whirlwind it has been this past couple of weeks. I was out of town camping with some friends from my ministry when all of this started to go down. As you can see above, there has been quite an adjustment to my meetings. Thankfully my schedule is pretty much the same but instead of meeting up in person, I have been doing video/phone calls. Which was a bit weird at first but I am finally in the swing of things.

Camping with Mackenzie, Claire and Hannah!

I have noticed two different reactions at first to Corona among students. Either they are super anxious and let that fear control them or they don't think it is a real issue. But as time has gone along, I feel as though they are moving more towards the middle and finding the good and the opportunity in this season. I believe a lot of the uncertainty of this fuels the unease among students. But I have been trying to remind them of the fact that we aren't ever really in control and we have the opportunity to live out what it means to be in surrender to God, knowing He is good. I have has to remind my self of this too.

My sweet friend Angel and my core.

I have been pretty sad off and on about not being able to hug my friends and see them in person but I know that it is a small sacrifice to make to keep others safe. Some good that has come in this season is the opportunity to meet more and more people in the ministry at a deeper level. I have had the chance to reach out to people I couldn't normally meet up with because there are only so many hours of the day and that used to include transportation. We have been live streaming out TNF the last three weeks and breaking out into smaller groups to discuss the sermon which has been a sweet chance to connect with more students as well.

My Small group outside of Focus

I have also had a lot more time to devote to the reading of scripture. I had a plan at the beginning of the year to read through the whole Bible more than once and with all the busyness of school and all, I had been inconsistent and fallen off track. I have been able to slow down more and focus on growing in intimacy with Christ. I would encourage you to connect with Him in this season as well. Rather than going out all the time, we get the opportunity to grow and connect to the people we live with and grow and connect with the one who made us. What a sweet chance. My prayer is that God uses this time to draw us to Him.

Our all Staff Meeting(page one of three)

Let's be people who pray more together. Pray for our students, I know it can be hard to move back home and transition to online classes. Pray for those who are essential workers who are putting their lives at risk to keep things moving along. Pray for the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. Pray for those who struggle with mental health. Pray for those who have unstable or stressful homes. Pray for a swift end to this crisis and patient endurance in the meantime.