BEING a LEARNER

Days in Nashville: 65

Typing that out seems crazy. 65 days I've already been here two months. Where did November go?

Figuring out a new city again has been quite the adventure! I am so privileged to work along side two beautiful, talented, loving women! (Jes & Meredith) That have been so wonderful at introducing me to Music City, and helping me find my way! I am so thrilled to get to share with you more over the next few months about how these two lovely ladies are impacting my life! 

For now I want to give you a little update on what my last month has been like! 

JESUS UPDATE:

Below is a list I made in My journal…

I wrote the struggles list at the start of November, and I made the Joys list at the end of November! 

           Joys:                                         Struggles:
1. Nashville has live                                1. Meeting new friends!
    Music all the time!                                   (I feel like I'm in 7th grade again!)
2. Working with amazing                        2. Living Alone… but not for long!
    ministry partners! (See Below)            3. Seeing different kinds of brokenness.
3. Learning new skills. (gardening)      
4. Making new friends :)
5. Learning things about myself that
    can only be learned by solitude.

It is amazing to me that in one month's span God was has been so faithful in hearing my fears, and turning them into joys!  HE IS FAITHFUL!

JOB UPDATE:

While working for CSM Nashville I have been provided an amazing opportunity to work 25 hours a week with one of our local ministry partners called THE NASHVILLE FOOD PROJECT.

THE NASHVILLE FOOD PROJECT

THE NASHVILLE FOOD PROJECT is a ministry based here in Nashville that is dedicated to providing healthy food to homeless and working poor communities across the Nashville area.

TNFP uses food grown in their local garden and food that has been donated by local companies to prepare meals in the kitchens, and then send the food out on food trucks to local low income neighborhoods.
My time working for THE NASHVILLE FOOD PROJECT will primarily be spent in the garden. I am excited to learn along side an amazing teacher and expand my knowledge on sustainable food production!

There will be many more posts about time spent in the garden coming soon!

Outside of getting to work for THE NASHVILLE FOOD PROJECT, I also get to work for CSM! In November that looked like traveling to Philadelphia, meeting a bunch of other CSM STAFFERS and getting some good training in! We laughed A LOT, we communicated and found that we were all in similar places and had similar hopes and fears, and we came together to encourage and lift each other up! It was an amazing trip!

These are just a few of the lovely people I got to meet who work in some of the other CSM cities!

So far Nashville has been amazing! I am excited to continue to learn learn learn!

Learn about myself and the journey God has planned for my life.

Learn new things: gardening, bee keeping, and chicken keeping.

Learn how to better love the people all around me.

New City New Adventure

Time spent in California was amazing.

Coming home to family and friends that I missed very much was beautiful.

Getting to rest, refuel, and relax for the month of September was needed. 

But…because of all those things, and after all those things, I got to…

Move to a brand new city that is exciting, scary, and full of adventure.  

But before I explain why I moved to Nashville, I need to express my gratitude for the following Pre--move experiences!

PRE----MOVE:

I GOT TO HANG OUT WITH FRIENDS WHO I MISSED 
INCREDIBLY, 

AND HADN'T SEEN IN 
AGES!

I GOT TO SPEND SOME QUALITY FAMILY TIME & EXPERIENCE BIG CHANGES.

Paddling adventures for Daddy daughter dates.

(RENEE' GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL & BRANDON MOVING TO COLLEGE)

Renee's first homecoming!

Brandon moving in at Samford.
(little man to big man)

Last but not least I got to help teach at a pre-school in down town Birmingham for children who are homeless. The school is called MY PLACE, fitting because in these kids worlds not very many things can they call theirs. I learned, grew, loved, and got loved on by some of the most beautiful little children in the whole world!

We struck our best pose
while giving our biggest cheeses!

We read books about green eggs,
a silly cat,
and being special!

And we danced and sang songs
 to a record player,
these kiddos are way
 cooler then they
will ever know!

We painted pictures of things we were good at!

September was good to me! Thank you everyone who made it so wonderful! 

All that being said it was finally time to pack up the car and move to Tennessee! 

I moved to Nashville to continue working for Center for Student Missions (the same non-profit I worked for in L.A.) 

There are a lot of things that will be different from L.A. My main role will change from leading groups to focusing more on learning about how non-profits run, how urban ministry differs from city to city, as well as getting to work more directly with one of our ministry partners here in Nashville.

Another thing that has changed is that I now get to recruit people who will be willing to partner with me through becoming part of a prayer team and or feel led to becoming a partner through giving financially. 

This means that people (such as yourself) can now join me more tangibly in this time of my life! I am excited to be able to extend this ministry opportunity to folks outside of the CSM family! I believe that God has called all of us to be a part of his body, some may go to far off places, some may love on people who live or work right next to us. Everyone is called.

All that being said this is simply me offering you a way to partner with Me and CSM as we do our part here in Nashville! 

If this partnership (prayer, encouragement, or financial) sounds like something you are interested in or want more information about please email me at Bailey@csm.org !

Nashville is sure to hold new adventure, new friends, new insight, new growth, and new places to love, and be loved. 

I am excited to fall in love with this city! 
I am excited to grow as a person.
I am excited to give Nashville everything I've got!

Leaving LA.

All seasons come to a close. And August was the close of my time spent in Los Angeles. I've put off writing this post for an entire month because as much as I am excited for my next adventure in life (which I'll explain soon) I grew to love that crazy city.

Summer at CSM in any city I believe looks very different from the spring season. Summer is filled with group after group after group, early mornings, and late nights. My schedule was Sunday afternoon through Saturday at noonish and then wake up Sunday and do it again. Needless to say time for blogging was limited.

I am going to attempt to use words and pictures to give a "snapshot" of my summer, hopefully grace can be given in places I fall short and where my lack of ability to describe my adventure comes in, it can be made up in conversation that will be had. Enjoy!        

The greatest hope was to show these students that all the ways we gave them to serve were able to be recreated in the communities they were from.

 Below are just a few of the ways and places that the student groups got their hands dirty in the city.

Bingo was played at recovery homes for the elderly and disabled , prayers were prayed for hurting hearts , and laughs were exchanged while dancing.

Food was sorted for the Hungry at the Los Angeles 

Regional Food Bank

These brothers and sisters were served hot meals and big smiles here --->

Going: into an unfamiliar community to have conversation become learners, and hear truth spoken by unexpected voices from people who have put their whole life into the cart you see below...

                                   Sharing Bible stories under a tree, 

playing endless games of capture the flag, duck duck goose, red light green light, tag, hop-scotch, and kick ball,

giving away all your hugs, and finding strength to give two more piggy back rides, falling down in the grass after spinning in a million circles, and breaking down stereo types with soccer balls. 

And at the end of a long day….

these students dug deep to find energy to lift their voices with strength to praise a God they found was much bigger then even this City...

Bye for now L.A.

and Nashville see you soon!

" Love has a hem to her garment that reaches the very dust. It sweeps the stains from the streets and lanes, and because it can, it must."

- Mother Teresa

Climbing With Hands Wide Open

Seeking.

Looking.
Searching.
Learning. The joy of surrender. The beauty in unfamiliar places. The satisfaction in calloused souls. The excitement in discovering the adventure in the in-between. The rest in restoration.


The God we love, the God we serve is faithful. Not just now, not just sometimes but forever. He is teaching me to walk through life with open palms, something that can be hard and sometimes painful to do. The desire to have immediate gratification in a society flowing with instant gratification is often the greatest struggle. Learning to trust God in a world that teaches lessons of "you control your destiny" is burdensome in lonely times. But remembering His faithfulness has become my refuge. Leaning on the truth that if I give it all to Him, He will make it brand new.


Im trying daily to climb my mountain with hands wide open. And pray for the day that this will become easier. For now I am learning to be filled, to be satisfied, to be made whole in Jesus…alone. He knows the desires of my heart, and holds them in the palm of his hand. He longs to continue bestowing His deep redemption in my heart, letting me seek for my identity in His precious name. The path of healing is often bumpy but seeking His face, His presence is the small gift I receive daily.


Thank you Lord for being a King who loves, and cares deeply about his daughters & sons. Let us learn to walk in ways of surrender for all of our days. You are every good thing. Thank you.

The Last Month in Pictures!

After a Spring away from home, getting back to the south for a week was much needed! My little brother  (Brandon) graduated from high school and will be attending Samford University in the fall on a track scholarship! I was greatly inspired by how much of an impact he made at his high school, on his track team, and in his youth group… Can't wait to see the mark he leaves on the rest of the world!!! So proud of this little…Now big guy! 

In the middle of family time so great friends came to visit and we began our road trip (Topher's 1st road trip ever!) to Clemson South Carolina! These are two of the greatest/ most influential people I have ever gotten the pleasure of knowing! (Hannah & Topher)

Pit stop in the ATL to watch the Braves play and meet up with the best Southern college group we had!!! What a good time of reuniting and tomahawk chopping! 

So we may have failed epically at documenting our tip actually at Clemson. But it was full of frisbee playing, contra dancing, playing cards, catching up and lots of laughing! Over all very successful trip!

Back to La! After a quick trip home I got back on a plane to go back to LA! We got brand new summer staff who are amazing, silly, and love Jesus with all their hearts! The new faces are Chris from Texas, Alisha from Cali, Desera from Virginia, and Chelsea from Florida! 

Summer started really fast and has been super busy! We have groups every week who come Sunday and leave Saturday. Doesn't leave much room for sleep but its all worth it to see these younger students getting to know God more through serving his City!
(Above is a few of my girls from Menlo Park((home of Google!!!)) Making mustaches with me at dinner! Thank you all for introducing me to Call Me Maybe!)

These are some of the greatest high school students I have ever met!  They came all the way from Ohio! Despite a few road blocks in our trip they overcame and inspired me in ways they will never know! I miss them already! 

Not only were they great on their mission trip but they took me to Warner Brothers Studios where we saw the set of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Pretty Little Liars, and tons of Harry Potter stuff!!! Thank you again for blessing me so much!

The day after Warner Brothers the girls decided to take a random trip to DinseyLand!!!!!! WAHOOooo!!! Such a great day celebrating first time visits, my birthday, and the magic of Disney!!! 

I have the greatest staff ever! They threw me a surprise birthday party on our night off! Catch Phrase and Taboo! 

God is teaching more then I could ever expect through the kids I get to play with here in LA.  God really does use the small, the weak, the poor, the lowly to bring glory to his kingdom! I love these kids so much it will be super tough to leave them in August!

Just some other things God has been teaching me :) Im excited for the fall, for the future, and just for life! So much joy in my soul!

Last but not least! This place has been on my mind more then ever . Looking forward to the day that God tells me its time!

"The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."
Psalm 19:1

Bare Feet

Im reading a little book right now called "An Altar in the World" which by the way is bomb and you should for sure read! Any who... The chapter i read this morning was called The Practice of Walking on the Earth...It was very focused on what we do with our feet, and legs while on this earth and I just wanted to share a little snip from the chapter because it made me think!

So the things in quotes are from the book and if its not in quotes its my words, I hope it makes you smile as much as it made me smile!

"If you get down on your knees, however, you are likely to become exquisitely aware of what you are doing. You will not miss much on your knees. Every seed sized piece of gravel will announce itself to you. Every pound you weigh will impress itself on you. The body is a great focuser, whether the means is pain or pleasure. The body is a great reminder of where we come from and where we are going, on the one sacred journey that we will make whether we mean to or not."

This inspired me to get on my knees and read the rest of this chapter on my knees and its true on your knees you miss nothing, from what i was reading to the ache that my shins felt from sitting in one position so long. But it also heightened my senses to every word i was reading and because of this awareness to the words on the page i think God spoke to me more on the subject of intentionality.

" Jesus walked a lot, and not only during the last week of his life. The four gospels are peppered with accounts of him walking in the countryside, walking by the sea of Galilee, walking in the temple, and even walking on water. If Jesus had driven a car instead, it is difficult to imagine how that might have changed his impact. Surely someone could have loaned him a fast horse. Instead he Walked everywhere he went, except for the short stint on a donkey at the end. This gave him time to see things, like the milky eyes of the beggar sitting by the side of the road, or the round black eyes of sparrows sitting in their cages at the market. For many who followed him around, he was the destination. Whether he was going somewhere or no where at all, going with him was the point. Food tasted better at the pace he set. Stories lasted longer. Talk went deeper. While many of his present-day admirers pay close attention to what he said and did, they pay less attention to the pace at which he did it. Jesus was a walker not a rider."

I have never stopped to think about the intentionality of Jesus. How in everything he did he was intentional. In every conversation, in every person he did or did not heal, in every meal he shared, in every house he visited, and now I see even at the pace at which he walked. If he had been moving more quickly he may have missed the things that he took the time to see, but being perfect and all he let them become a focus for him, just as he came into focus for them. Then that made me think of not just walking intentionally but the spiritual practice of going barefoot... that even with my hatred for feet going bare foot has always been something that brings me great joy! So that made me think what if I walked intentionally barefoot, what then would God reveal to my soul! But then i thought I would look like a nut walking around LA barefoot..not to mention that would be nasty. But because I was on my knees and more aware of my thoughts and Gods soft voice in my heart he said to me Why are you so afraid of what people may think of you? he  took my mind of this quickly by reminding me of the thought that there are people who go barefoot in this world because they have no shoes. What would it be like to walk through the world with so little cushion, what nasty things would i walk through if I hunted for my lunch like my brothers and sisters in this world have to do. I think if done properly the spiritual act of going barefoot can take you halfway around the world and wake you up to your own place in the world all at the same time. 

He then pointed me to scripture in Exodus, that reminds us to "remove the sandals form your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 

God allows me each day to walk on holy ground, especially at Wyvernwood, where kids take refuge, where they seek innocences, where they come for a few hours of intentional joy that is given by God through our groups. Today at Wyvernwood a group of kids played capture the flag not to win but to play. Big kids helped little kids, little kids smiled bigger at the big kids, older kids chose younger ones as MVPS and gave them the teams flags. 

As I stepped back tears filled my eyes as I was overcome with the presence of the kingdom and I heard a small voice whisper "remove your sandals for the place on which you stand is holy ground."

 And then I could not think of a more worthy place to be considered Holy ground! The thought of bare feet on holy ground instead of grossing me out filled me with joy and i had an over whelming feeling of desiring to fall on my knees and wash the feet of Jesus...I think i want that to be the first thing i do when i get to heaven!

A Different Kind of Church

For a while now God has opened my eyes to the idea that The Church doesn't mean a building. I don't think I really grasped that concept until moving to LA, because when you grow up in the bible belt its hard not to relate The Church with a building...seeing as on every street there is at least one church building.
Because LA has very few buildings that are only churches (even the super fast growing church we go to here called RealityLA meets in the auditorium of a high school), God has been teaching me to be intentional about looking for The Church in places I may have never thought to look. This thought challenged me to find "church" in three places out side of the regular building and this is what I've found.


1. An organization called Central City Community Outreach every Wednesday gives the residents of Skid Row their moment to shine. Skid Row contains the largest population of homeless people in the United States, up to nearly 7,000 people in a five block by five block radius are literally homeless, and each Wednesday a handful of these folks get to drink coffee, dance till they cant dance any more, and sing their hearts out. As you could imagine there are not many forms of entertainment for our homeless brothers and sisters so Tony and his wife decided to open up the doors to the community to give people a moment to be a star. Music varies from old crowd favorites, R&B, and even Coldplay. Not only are these people having a blast but there are so many phenomenal voices! American Idol should think about doing a round of auditions here next year! In a place like skid row its easy to only see the dark, to walk through and never see a glimpse of good, but  every Wednesday night God is bursting out of this place, showing Himself in the form of beautiful voices, genuine joy, and real fellowship. Praise goes out to intentional community, smiles reflecting the heart of Jesus, and getting to be a star!

2. The second place God has showed me Church has been for sure where I least expected it. For the past three weeks I have had the privilege of taking students to an elderly rehabilitation center called Vernon Convalescent Home. Vernon is a place where the elderly who have had some sort of medical problem can go live and recover, or receive the proper care that is needed for them to heal. 

I have always been super nervous when it comes to spending time with the elderly...I'm aware that this probably makes me a bad person, but I'm just being honest. I get scared and just feel uncomfortable. But God is so much bigger then my fears and rose to my challenge for Him to present himself in this place. Each time I have gone I have gotten to sit in on a worship service that is done every Monday at 11. A wonderful lady named Ms. Pattie comes and places the piano and leads a group of about ten women in old hymns. Not only do I get to be blessed by their genuine worship lifting of their voices in strength before our Lord, but there is also a testimony time where they all share how God has loved them that week. This past week a lady named Mattie shared that she was born in 1912 (which makes her 100 for all you math stars out there) and that she was so thankful to wake up, but that she can not wait to meet Jesus face to face and bow at his feet. Praise goes out to getting wisdom from new sisters, overcoming fear, and authentic worship. 

                                          

3. I have gotten the awesome opportunity to work at a not so official ministry site with my past few CSM groups. Each afternoon we go to a large community called Wyvernwood in East LA. It is a neighborhood that is in an area of LA that has more gang activity then your typical community. Not only do they have more gang activity but they also have more kids then they average neighborhood. Up to 2,000 Latino kids live in this community of small town house style apartments, with up to four families living together in some cases. The best way kids stay out of getting involved with gangs is after school activities and so its a great way for us to plug into this community by having something for the children here to do when they get off the bus. We play soccer, duck duck goose, color with chalk, do arts and crafts, teach bible stories, and be kids! Most of these kids will be forced to grow up pretty fast, I hang out with a group of 9 to 11 year old boys who use the F word like its their job, so we try and offer them a two to three hour period of their day where they can just be kids. Each time we close our time in the afternoons we all join hands and make a circle and kids share what they are thankful for. (thanks Sifat for this great idea) At the beginning of my time with these kids they told me they were thankful for things like toilets, food, soccer, and underwear...which yes, are all great things to be thankful for... However. yesterday a small boy raised his hand and said he was thankful for his generation... Praise goes out to having log roll races down a hill, laying in the grass looking at the sky talking about air planes, and hearing the thankful hearts of a generation that will undoubtedly change our world.

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

Ephesians 2:19-22