Year End, New Blog

Busy Busy. That's the norm. I can't believe this year (2014) is basically over. 

I've been soo blessed to have had so many opportunities to grow my trust in God. This year I:

• Coached Middle-school basketball
• Resigned from school
• Ran a half-marathon
• Moved to Philadelphia
• Turned 26
• Sold my car
• Nanny-ed in THE SAME house I nanny-ed in 2 years ago (631 Pine St)
• Accepted a FULL TIME teaching position
• LAUNCHED The Block church
• Began attending counseling

I wouldn't have wanted to do this year any other way. There have been lots of laughs, lots of tears, and lots of opportunities to grow in my faith. God has been SO present in every step that I've taken this year and I can't wait to see what He has for me in 2015. I've been meditating and praying and I feel that 2015 is going to be my Year of Going Deeper. I want to grow deeper in my knowledge of the Bible and deeper in my personal relationship with Christ. I'll seek out more spiritual gifts. Ask for wisdom and understanding and believe for breakthrough for my city: Philadelphia. The Ocean was created by God, controlled by Moses and Elijah, and walked on by Jesus. Let's see what the vast "ocean" of God's word has for me!

I'm toying with the idea of eliminating my usage of Facebook for 2015, but I'm not sure if i'm ready to do that yet. I'm going to start with the first 21 days of 2015. I might be back on facebook after that; I might not. 

So if you want to know what I've been up to, my new blog is where it's at. DeeperFaithForCherith.blogspot.com Happy 2015! -Cherith

Look at me now

If someone told me I'd be less stressed out now than I was a month ago I'd tell them they were right. Getting into a new routine is hard; but worth it. 

I am so honored to be a small part of two incredible things that are going on in the wonderful city of brotherly love. Firstly the Block Church. I moved here to help launch TBC and God has shown me incredible provision in return for my trust on Him. The Block has become the big family I always wanted. It's become my safe place where I can go and just be myself. It's the home of the love of my life. My Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Everything else is garbage when compared to the significance of having a relationship with my King. 

In addition to serving with The Block, I have been blessed with the opportunity to teach middle school math and Bible in North Philly. HPCA has proven itself far beyond my greatest expectations. The kids are incredible, the staff is gracious, and the administration is trusting and supportive. I'm soo blessed to be able to be a part of their team. 

I knew that this year was going to be a year where I TRULY needed to trust God. Trust is hard. Trust can be blind. But trusting in God doesn't go Un-rewarded. There are still things God asks me to do that are far beyond my comfort zone and additionally aren't even things I can accomplish on my own. But HE strengthens me. HE gives me self control. And best of all HE loves me no matter what. 

If you ever read these blogs posts and want to know more about our awesome creator who loves us and wants to be in relationship with us: please message me! I would love to tell you more about how truly amazing our perfect, loving God truly is.

I just really want a Chai Tea.

Matthew 6 talks about fasting in private so as not to boast about what you are doing. I get what he's saying here, but let me tell you, having accountability during a fast is huge for me.

Our lead pastor, Joey, began a 3-part fast on August 1st. He, and anyone who wanted to join him, is fasting all media for 10 days, then doing a Daniel fast (as done by Daniel in the Bible). The Daniel fast limits what you can eat to the basic principle of: only natural things that come from the earth. So fruit, veggies, beans, whole grain, etc. The last 10 days of Joey's fast will be pure liquids.

I've mixed my order up since I'm going to be traveling next week and I couldn't fathom trying to maneuver a food-based fast while I was on vacation, however I will be fasting Social Media for those 10 days of August 10-20. It will be difficult, but I hope to read many books during that time period.

So I'm currently trying to uphold a Daniel Fast. Man do I miss cheese. And milk. And chocolate. And COFFEE. Definitely coffee. I'm only on day 4 and I feel stretched. Perhaps it's because the weight of learning how to be a good and effective Admin for The Block Church happened to really hit hard today, or perhaps this is just part of the growing process. I once heard it said that the workout never gets easier, you just get stronger. I'm not sure that church planting will ever get easier, but by the grace of God, I will get stronger. Through long hours and tough roads, it will be worth it.

At some point I probably should start lesson-planning, but right now, I've got other things to do, and I believe that God will give me the focus and understanding that I'll need once the time to ACTUALLY lesson plan rolls around. Oh, say, tomorrow.

I hope to look back on this blog come January 2015 and rejoice in the triumph that God is going to bring through this process and be glorified through me.

Halfway there, forever to go

Back in December 2013 I was toying with the idea of moving to Philly to help launch this church. I had lived in Philly before and I knew I loved it here; but I also loved Ann Arbor. Although I was nowhere near ready to admit that I needed to make the move, I was ready to name my year and I felt that 2014 was going to require me to trust God   

Remember that law of gravity, what goes up must come down? Well the 2 years I spent in A2 were pretty smooth sailing. I felt closer to God than I ever had in my entire life and I was continually growing in my faith and character.

 I knew that there was going to be some major change in 2014 and that the only way I was going to get through alive (both spiritually and mentally) was through my trust in God. My trust that He is Good and He has good things for me. That He is Loving and full of Mercy when I fail. But here I find myself in August and I still struggle to find that trust, especially in certain areas of my life. I am praying this week that the Holy Spirit would begin to groom me of the lies I believe about myself. I know that I am the daughter of the King of Creation, I just need to believe that I am special. As I begin to grow in the trust that He created me to be special, I believe that the opportunities I will embrace will grow exponentially. I will find my hope and confidence in He who made me and sent His son to die for me. That is something I can trust in. 

Distractions

What happens when you try to plant a church? God moves mountains that's what. In the past few weeks our church has been able to secure a venue to hold our Sunday morning service! It's a wedding catering hall in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA. It's soo nice to have a place to invite people to. It was difficult to tell people about a church that didn't "exist" yet at a location that hadn't been determined yet.

Other good has come my way. I have accepted a teaching position at Hunting Park Christian Academy. I will be teaching Middle School Math and Bible. That's 6th-8th grade. It is a full-time position with benefits. I am truly blessed. Back in January, before I had decided to listen to God an commit to moving to Philadelphia, I looked into Christian schools in the Philly area. I came across HPCA at that time and saw that they had a 5th grade vacancy posted. I e-mailed the principal but never heard back. Fast forward nearly 4 full months later, on a day that I was praying to God about future jobs and FINALLY giving that control over to him, I heard back from HPCA. They wanted to interview me.

In spite of being so clearly blessed and provided for, my flesh longed for something more: companionship. I neither dated nor pursued anyone while I was in Ann Arbor. Sure I had a crush here and there, but all short-lived. When I moved back to Philly, I started dating again. I enjoyed the thrill of the pursuit and the hope of a future spouse. I quickly became super distracted by this. I idolized my phone and use every opportunity possible to check my messages and emails to see if I had any new contacts from the online dating site I was using. My work with the church became my second priority, and God became my third. I worked on my church responsibilities with a half-focused, half-passion.

I've always been one to keep busy so that I don't feel lonely. I need to dismantle the distractions and direct my focus to God and God alone. He is the one who brought me here, He is the one who created me and ordered my steps, and He is the one who is leading me in the path that I should go. No more detours. They are a perfectly painful path laid out by the master schemer, Satan himself. Course we never know the damage that is done until it hits us smack in the face and the wound is created. It's not worth it. As nice as those distractions are, they are temporary and I can't, and won't, allow a temporary trick to interpolate my journey to an infinite destination.

This day, July 23rd, 2014 is the day that I step forward with my hands open wide, stretched toward the creator of my destiny. I will clench control no longer. Bring on the wild ride of His all-powerful, all-inspiring, perfect plan.

Prospective Jobs

Well I've been here a few weeks and it's nice to be in the swing of things. I picked up a part-time nanny job, something I hadn't necessarily anticipated, but it's going ok. I'm actually working in the EXACT SAME house that I nannied in when I lived here before. Crazy right? It was a rough first few days, but the little boy (age 3.5) is finally starting to trust me and let his guard down a little bit. Still lots of tears when I ask him to do something he doesn't want to do. 

The anxiety of my future job has been weighing heavy on my heart. I'm not going to be able to teach at a public or charter school this fall; at least not one that's strict about certification. Turns out that PA teacher certification is VERY difficult to get. They have been dissecting my transcripts and found that there are 3 specific classes that I never took in either of my programs. They are requiring me to take these classes in order to get a teaching license here. It's a pain. 

Thankfully I can take the classes at the local community college for about $450 per class... I just have to wait until I've been a Philly resident for a year before I can get those cheap resident rates. Clearly my patience is being challenged but in the healthiest way possible. I'm always trying to make the hard times fly by, rather than enjoy the journey and embrace the process. 

The Christian school I interviewed at wants to do a second interview, but at a low salary, I'd have to take on a second job, something I don't want to do while I'm working on this church plant. It would just take too much time and energy. 

I need to pray and fast about it so that I can stop trying to control the situation and trust that God is going to provide for me with HIS perfect plan. #growingPains. 

Deja Vu

Well seems as though I have a reoccurring case of déjà vu. It feels as though I never left Philly. I'm actually nannying part time in the VERY SAME house I nannied in 2 years ago. The family that lives there needed care in the afternoons for their 3.5 year old son. 

I'm loving falling back into the routine of life here. I didn't realize how much I missed it.