It's a New Dawn...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, submit to Him and He will make your paths straight." --Proverbs 3:5-6

I've spent a great deal of time standing on the edge of the diving board over the last few months. It seemed my sanity was being tried more and more. I was filled with internal angst at every turn. I felt God  pushing me toward the water, but I was afraid to jump. So, I dipped my toes in, felt that the water was icy, and backed away. Then, I sat on the side of the board, inching toward the safety of the cement walkway, as far away from the pool as I could get. And, finally, I stood up and did what probably appeared on the surface to be a bellyflop but, in the end, turned out to be an elegant jack-knife.

My life is now a mission.

As difficult of a decision as it was to make, I resigned my position at the magazine where I have been working for the past year. We were going in different directions, I felt, and I did not want to be a hindrance any longer. I'm certain it was the right decision, although the fallout won't necessarily be pleasant on either end. I know that God is going to take care of me, of our family, and I wholeheartedly trust in the path that He has laid out for us. We are, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, exactly where we need to be in this very moment. He has provided at every juncture when we have trusted Him, and He will continue to do so in the future, I am certain.

A Journey of Reinvention is going to become a non-profit organization with the goal of helping others at any cost: teaching life skills, budgeting, planting, sewing, recycling/reusing/upcycling -- anything and everything that will help people to get a leg up from poverty, sustain our resources, and give encouragement, inspiration, and faith to each and every person we come into contact with. Though the blog was established by me quite some time ago, the vision has grown into its current status through the collaboration of four ministry partners. In addition to myself and my husband, Steve, we are sharing a vision for missional living with Andie Kingsbury and Kevin Kingsbury, some close personal friends of ours and also some incredible, faith-driven local missionaries who are on fire for bringing God's Kingdom to Earth.

If you're just tuning in for the first time, here's a glimpse into what we believe about God, Jesus, our mission, and more:

Most of the time, when we encounter someone and have a conversation about God and Jesus and life and beliefs, we find much the same story as what we have had in our past. Raised in a church, we became jaded by judgmental people who inflicted rules upon us, made us feel 'less-than', and told us through their actions that we needed to change who we were so we could be 'good' in God's eyes. Or, we encounter people who have never believed or followed because the people they have heard be so vocal are filled with what seems to be hatred: racism, homophobia, judging and calling others sinners while claiming their own innocence, thinking and sometimes flat-out saying they are better than everyone else.

Friends, this is NOT true Christianity. Our beliefs are plain and simple, as were the teachings of Jesus. Love people. Love them right where they are, for who they are, all the time, through flaws and failures, through betrayals and heartaches, because we are all children of God. He does not love one of us more than another for any reason. He does not love us more when we do more things 'right' or love us less when we do more things 'wrong'. The only thing that matters is that Jesus died for us -- each of us -- and we should treat each other with love and respect regardless of how we feel personally about someone. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, the bible says, and one sin is not different from another sin in His eyes. It is not up to us to judge others, it is up to us to help and teach them, to love and grow them so that they see themselves -- and other people -- through the eyes of God.

This is A Journey of Reinvention. We're flawed people lifting one another up, praying for wisdom and guidance, giving as much as we can every moment that we can to further the cause of Christ.

Please join us, and bring your friends... and your enemies.

Stephanie Jean