Tag Archives: Nashville

Throwback Sundays…There’s No Place Like Home

I have been waiting to bring back this post in a Throwback Sunday. A year ago today, I wrote this…

“There’s no place like home.” Or is there? What is “home” after all? Where is it?
I’m sitting here in an apartment that I love with the sun shining in. It’s beautiful.
But in my hand I hold a cup of Drew’s Brews coffee.
And today, it’s taking me back to Nashville where I spent most of this past week. And my heart is sad, a piece of it almost feels empty. Is it possible that a place you have spent less than 72 hours in can feel like home?
Today, I think it is. And to be honest, it’s not a good feeling. I don’t know what God is up to in my heart but I sure can’t wait to figure it out.
Where is “home” for you? Is it more than one place?

Today, Nashville IS home. I’ve been here 6 months. I’ve seen a couple of seasons come and go.

And I still love it. But it’s the people here that make it home. Without a doubt.

Comment Throwback Sundays

Digging In

Community is a funny thing. We can be dropped right in the middle of it and still not feel like we have it. We can be surrounded by people who love and encourage us yet still feel lonely. A crowded loneliness of sorts.

When I moved to Nashville God dropped me right in the middle of a lively, Biblical, loving, supporting, challenging community. I jumped in and loved the time I spent with people here. But, there was still something missing…I still felt that crowded loneliness quite often though I did a pretty good job of hiding it…even from myself.

But, something changed after I went home for Christmas. I came back ready to dig in. And it has made all the difference. God puts promises within our grasp but we have to reach out and take hold of them. He gives us the freedom to refuse them.

Choosing to dig means being vulnerable…being the one to pick up the phone and extend an invitation…being honest…sharing from the heart…not holding back. Sure, it’s risky. I could get hurt. People could let me down…in fact they probably will because we all do. But, my relationships are richer and more life-giving than they ever have been. Surrendering fear and risking allows me to run full force into the community God has put in front of me. And there is indescribable beauty and joy in that.

What areas of your life do you need to do some digging into in?

2 Comments Deep Thinking, Just Life, Relationships

The Twenty – #2: The Best Community of People I Know

When I left my church, I didn’t know for sure where I was going to end up. Or at the very least was too afraid to admit that I did know but Nashville just seemed like too crazy of an option. But, deep down I did know. I knew Nashville was right because one of the things I felt God challenging me with was truly living in community and it seemed

Now I know I talk a lot about relationships. I write about them. I tweet about them. Etc. But, if I’m honest, relationships don’t always come naturally to me because I have an ongoing fight with trust. And community requires trust. If left to my own devices, though, I’ll often keep relationships and community surface level which doesn’t require a whole lot of trust on my part.

But, after my second visit to Nashville last April, something struck me about the community here…at least the community God surrounded me with during that visit…I couldn’t hide. It hit me as I was driving back to Wisconsin that I had told my story more times in those five days, and to strangers nonetheless, than I had in years. And I think at that moment I knew Nashville was exactly where God was going to drop me even if I was too afraid to acknowledge it. It was a place where I wouldn’t be able to hide.

The best community is honestly the people I get to do life with in Nashville. It’s as small as a few close friends and as big as the church I attend. It’s the people I serve alongside on Monday nights with People Loving Nashville and the homeless people we serve. It’s the people in my Village (a.k.a. small group). It’s Journey. And it’s my friends here who don’t fall into any of those.

They are people who I can laugh with, cry with, rest with, worship with, vent to, be silent with, dream with, pray with, work with, be challenged by, and serve with. It is a community that I believe with my whole heart is the reason God brought me to Nashville. It is a community that I get incredibly excited about when I think of how God has used them and will continue to use them for His Kingdom.

It’s people with some of the biggest, most compassionate and servant filled hearts I know. It’s people with some of the craziest God-sized dreams I know. They each have a different story, yet there are common threads that tie all of our stories together. It’s a community I don’t believe happened by chance. It’s a community…it’s people…for whom I am deeply grateful…I believe that God has written each of them into my story for a reason. And it’s the closest thing I’ve experienced to what I believe in my heart is the Church.

What’s the best community of people you know?

This is the second post in a series of twenty. For more on the background, check out this post.

5 Comments Just Life, Relationships

The Best Part of Life in Nashville

Someone asked me recently what the best thing about living in Nashville was so far. My answer? The people.

I have found more community here in two months than I have ever had in my life. There are people here, all of whom I’ve known less than a year, who know more about me than some of my family and friends I’ve had for years. Now I’ll admit, part of that is on me. I am in a season of surrendering and that includes my fear of trusting people. When you surrender that community happens much more easily.

But, even beyond that, there is something different about the people here. I noticed it when I spent some time here in April and met some “locals.” In those few days I told my story more times than I ever had…and to complete strangers. The people here make it nearly impossible to hide…at least the community that God has dropped me into.

They get what it means to hold one another accountable, to encourage, to support, to challenge, to love, to risk, to dream…they get it means to be the church.

In a day when 20-somethings, and even 30-somethings, get a bad rap, I’m honored to do life with 20 and 30 somethings who love God and love people. They each do it in their own unique way, but that common thread comes through loud and clear. Nashville, I hope you know how blessed you are with these people!

5 Comments Just Life, Relationships

There’s No Place Like Home

“There’s no place like home.” Or is there? What is “home” after all? Where is it?

I’m sitting here in an apartment that I love with the sun shining in. It’s beautiful.

But in my hand I hold a cup of Drew’s Brews coffee.

And today, it’s taking me back to Nashville where I spent most of this past week. And my heart is sad, a piece of it almost feels empty. Is it possible that a place you have spent less than 72 hours in can feel like home?

Today, I think it is. And to be honest, it’s not a good feeling. I don’t know what God is up to in my heart but I sure can’t wait to figure it out.

Where is “home” for you? Is it more than one place?

6 Comments Just Life