JESUS.
MUSIC.
FASHION.
ANGELIC LEXINGTON
JAN/FEB 2016
ANGELICJAN/FEB 2첫16
JESUS. MUSIC. FASHION.
LEXINGTON CONTENT 8 10 11 12 13 14 16 22
JESUS: LANE OF ROSES JESUS: CHERI GANUCHEAU JESUS: LAUREN PRATHER MUSIC: WADE HAGA JESUS: WHAT DO WOMEN WANT? JESUS: CENTRAL KENTUCKY FASHION: MEGAN & MORGAN JESUS: ERIN DRYSDALE
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ANGELIC - LEXINGTON
EDITOR LETTER "OUR YEAR OF HOPE"
I
hope when you become afraid, that you’ll remember to have faith. When you start to doubt, that you remember to believe. When you don’t want to leap, I hope you take that leap of faith. I hope your days will be spent being bold. Being who God made you to be. And if you forget your way, I hope you find your way back home. I hope you remember to live. And run after your dreams. Lexington. In the morning, proclaim His name. Before the sun fades, ever moment of every day, please proclaim His name. When you can’t give anymore, I hope you remember He can do immeasurably more. I hope when He calls out to you, you won't go silent. We can't go silent. Happy New Year to you Lexington. This year, our year, I hope you never lose hope.
-- Jesse Anaya WWW.ANGELICMAG.COM
JESUS. MUSIC. FASHION.
COMMUNITY
FEATURE: WWW.LANEOFROSES.COM
L
E X I N G T O N PHOTO OF KATIE HUMPHRESS
1. What is Lane of Roses?
Lane of Roses is a non-profit founded by Katie Humphress encouraging millennial women to see themselves as Gods sees them (valuable and loved). We encourage others through our website, books, magazine, e-books, speaking engagements and the Lane of Roses Ambassador Program. Ambassadors can write and use social media to spread the message of God's unconditional love to others.
2. How is Jesus reflected through your ministry?
The tagline of Lane of Roses is “Faith, Stories, Community.” Faith is why we exist as an organization: a relationship with Jesus Christ is transformational. Connecting women to community—whether with us through the Ambassador Program, or counselors and outside ministries—encourages us to grow spiritually.
of freedom, hope, and change. Change the city, change the world. Through the hope and change found on the corner of Rose Lane and Street our vision is to encourage 1 million people all over the world in 5 years.
Ten years ago, Katie started speaking to sorority women at the University of Kentucky—telling them my story and offering to take girls to coffee if they wanted to talk. We are named Lane of Roses because the sororities at UK are primarily on Rose Lane and Rose Street. Our vision is for the intersection of Rose Lane and Street to be one
- Seek the Kingdom First because Lane of Roses doesn’t change lives, God does. We are simply His Ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) - Be Open to Adventure. God has used Lane of Roses to reach thousands of young women, and we’re excited to be a part of that. The future is bright and full of possibility—we want to boldly go wherever He tells us.
3. What is Lane of Roses vision for impacting Lexington?
4. What is the New Year's resolution for Lane of Roses?
P H O T O G R A P H Y
B Y
T A Y L O R
LANE
W U R T H
OF ROSES ENCOURAGES MILLENNIAL WOMEN TO SEE THEMSELVES AS GOD SEES THEM
(VALUABLE
AND LOVED)
CHERI GANUCHEAU AGE: 22 // LEXINGTON
My testimony summed up in two words: purity & purpose. \\ P U R I T Y //
It’s not just a word defining sex, but a word that has grown to define me. In high school whenever I heard that word, I thought it was just another term for being chaste. But the Lord had other definitions in mind. I chose to find satisfaction in what boys thought of me. To allow them in and turn my self worth into something that was merely lust. So concerned about what I said or looked like. If I didn’t get the approval of a guy, then I felt like I had failed. And if I did, feeling satisfaction and pride. But why? What is it that causes girls to feel this way? Deception from Satan. He puts a spin on the word purity; by defining it as a term for sex, and only if we haven’t had it yet then we must be pure. But pureness is more than that. It means being spiritually pure, emotionally pure, as well as physically pure. It took seasons of life to discover that God was defining who I was in Him with this simple word. I had to try and understand what being spiritually pure meant. Through prayer and time, I had found that it is being true to my relationship with Jesus. Living pure in Christ meant I was committed to Him. That it is REAL. None of that one foot in and one foot out stuff. I’m all in. No turning back. When it came to being emotionally pure, that was and is STILL difficult. The amount of guilt that I let lust cause me is unending and Satan abuses my joy with every thought of it. But because I know the love God has for me, along with the confidence I have knowing my Savior will carry me in between the valleys, surpasses all doubt and fear that Satan throws my way. I will continue to overcome, praising Him.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 \\ P U R P O S E //
I truly thought the career that I would pursue in college was what was going to determine my purpose in life. Struggling while trying to find where I would best fit. What would make enough money to keep me stable? What degree had the easiest classes? And feeling like I was not prepared in any way for that amount of stress. My freshman year was a mess. I was failing classes and feeling helpless. Allowing myself to sink into a mental state of “I am not smart enough to pursue a degree”. I had decided I was going to take a year off and pray through what the Lord had in mind for me moving forward. During that year I got the chance to take a mission trip to Haiti. Man oh man, if I were to describe that experience, I would most definitely need a whole other spread! Needless to say I came back from that trip with a new outlook on my purpose in life and what that meant for me in college. My purpose was NOT determined by my career. No matter what, the ultimate purpose of my life is to love people like Jesus. Once I had come to that realization, He opened doors for me in college. Leading me to a career path that I love and also getting to show people the love that Christ has for them. I have PURPOSE because of Jesus + I am PURE through Jesus
LAU REN PRATH ER
AGE: 28 // LEXINGTON
ANGELICTESTIMONY
wade haga
"I WAS DISGUSTED WITH MYSELF AND THE MORE I TRIED TO STOP, THE MORE I DID THINGS I SAID I WOULD NEVER DO. "
J
anuary 23rd 2012, I attended my first day of hair school on exactly zero hours of sleep. I wish I could say this was due to excitement. In reality, the night before I checked my live-in boyfriend into rehab. For as long as I could remember I believed the lies that Satan placed in my life. Many of those lies lead me to that particular relationship, and I saw no way out of my situation. I felt chained to this person. He was the first person that made me feel truly loved, and I had put all my love and trust in him. With my life crashing down around me I had one constant: My best friend, Kendra. She was my first college friend, and no one could understand our relationship. We were opposite in almost every way, especially when it came to Jesus. She had followed Jesus since she was very young and I had always believed in Jesus but never followed Him. I never questioned His existence, but when I was told that Jesus loved me personally, I didn’t believe it for an instant. In the midst of my chaos, Kendra asked me if she could pray for me. I remember feeling uncomfortable, but wanting to let her. She laughed and told me, “Don’t freak out, I’m going to touch you,” took my hand and prayed over me. Her prayer assured me that things wouldn’t stay the way they were forever. The next year of my life was the most challenging I have faced to date. I tried to hold on to my relationship, but even after rehab my boyfriend had many demons to face. I moved out and was completely broken financially and mentally. I felt like a failure in every way except when it came to doing hair. I was in school full-time and working at a bar at night. I partied in college, but in my recent broken state I took it to a different level. I always had a mental list of actions and felt as long as I stayed within those parameters I was a good person.
Satan quickly got ahold of that list and starting checking things off. Almost like he was taunting me saying “You said you’d never do, this? Well there. You did it.” I was disgusted with myself and the more I tried to stop, the more I did things I said I would never do. Every Saturday night I would get a text message from Kendra inviting me to church on Sunday. I really wanted to go but there was still something holding me back from having a relationship with God. I earned a trip to go to a hair show in Las Vegas. As I was sitting in a room with thousands of people inside Caesar’s Palace, I noticed the date. January 23rd. Exactly one year from when I believed I would never be happy again. That was the first time in my life that I felt truly blessed, and I knew that God had placed me there. Out of the blue, someone I dated briefly contacted me. He said had been saved and God put it in his heart to reach out to me. This is a person that when I knew him, I saw the things he did as worse than me. I know now that I needed to see him that way because he filled the gap that was missing between me and God. I saw what God had done in his life, and wanted that in mine. We talked for hours about Jesus. He encouraged me to read my bible and pray constantly. One morning while driving to school I called out to Jesus. I confessed my sins and asked Him to take my life and make it His. He told me those ways weren’t for me anymore and I heard Him tell me “You are mine.” I felt a lifetime of unworthiness lift off me as I rested, for the first time, in the arms of my Savior. When I look back on the history of my life thus far, in every instance, I can say without a shred of doubt: He was there. I was the one choosing to run, choosing to fight. Once I gave my life to Jesus, He took my story and made it beautiful.
ANGELICMUSIC
wade haga WORSHIP
L E A D E R //
LEXINGTON
"IwanttoseewhatGodwilldowhenpeople arebroughtoutofisolationandinto communitywheretheycanspurone anotherontolivemoreandmorelikeJesus"
3. What is your vision for seeing Lexington united for Christ?
1. What does worship mean to you?
I try to stay cognizant that worship is something I was designed to do. Whether it's money, relationships, my image, or God, I must and I will worship something. I know that God is the only one worthy of my worship, so I strive to daily put Him in his proper place, no matter where I am or what I'm doing. 2. How has music influenced your walk with Jesus?
Music is such a cool tool God's given us to enjoy Him. The nature of it points to an incredible Creator. As I become a better musician God has taught me to be patient with myself, and that willingness is a key element to being used by him.
Encouragement from fellow believers has been essential to my walk with Christ. I want everyone to experience that. I want to see what God will do when people are brought out of isolation and into community where they can spur one another on to live more and more like Jesus lived. 4. If you could sing a style of music for Jesus, what style of music would it be?
I really enjoy having diversity in my life, whether it's in the people I hang out with, the clothes I wear or the music I listen to. So while it's hard to narrow it down, some of my favorite moments are on a Spotify station of classic hymns. I think they're calming, and serve as great reminders of who God is while I'm in the midst of stress and distractions. 5. What are 3 random facts about you?
- I love food, all food. - I'm a wannabe morning person. - Brown is my favorite color (I know, weird).
WHAT DO WOMEN WANT? A GUY'S OPINION WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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B Y JESSE ANAYA broke her heart. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and she couldn’t believe what I had done. I felt broken about it but the damage had already been created. I’m sorry. Those were the only words I could think of, but sometimes sorry isn’t enough. My niece Adrina will be two years old this month and I told her calmly to be nice to her older sister in the midst of her fussiness, and she broke into tears. Painful tears. Adrina loves me so much and it broke her heart that I said that to her. There wasn't any anger or scolding in my tone, but I hurt her feelings. And I felt awful about it. You might think a two year old little girl can’t teach a man something but Adrina has taught me so much. In her tears, what she wanted from me was just to hold her. She didn’t want me to leave her or walk away from her. She just wanted to be held. I thought she might have been mad at me. I thought she might of resisted me. But she fell asleep in my arms as I sat with her as she cried. She still loved me. She just wanted to make sure I still loved her. I’ve learned that a woman isn’t so different. They were once that little girl that just wanted to be held. To know that even in a tantrum, we still will choose her. Love her. Sit with her. Hold her. So, what do women want? I don’t think women always know, but if I had to guess, I would say women want to be loved unconditionally.
To be loved in the mornings even when they haven’t yet had their coffee. To be loved when they get jealous of another girl flirting with you and so in return they’re short and act indifferent to you. To be loved for better or worse, in sickness and in health. I think as guys we mouth those things, but I think women really want us to mean those things. I will love you for better or worse. I will sit with you in sickness and in health. I will choose you. Always. An old man preached one day as I sat in the back of the church. He was talking about what it means for a man to love a woman and he said something that has never left me. “A woman’s first relationship wasn’t with a man, but with God. That will always be her most important relationship. And as men, we are to love her as He would.” God’s love keeps no record of wrongs. There is no judgment. No insecurity. No anger. But gentleness. Kindness. Unconditional. Sweet. I love my little niece Adrina and one day she’s going to grow up with visions of meeting a man and getting married to him. I want him to be true to her and love her always. Women want romance. And some chocolate too. And lots of other things. But I think they all can agree, nothing can substitute the feeling of being unconditionally loved.
GOD IS DOING SOMETHING IN LEXINGTON. CAN YOU FEEL IT? DID YOU KNOW THAT CENTRAL KENTUCKY IS THE CENTER POINT TO ALL THE MAJOR CITIES ON THE EAST COAST? LOOK AT A MAP. NASHVILLE, CHARLOTTE, CHICAGO, MIAMI, NEW YORK, B OSTON, PHILADELPHIA, ATLANTA. LEXINGTON IS IN THE HEART OF THEM ALL. B RIDGING THE S OUTH TO THE NORTH. CONNECTING THE EAST TO THE SPRAWLING LAND OF THE WEST. IF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO EXPERIENCE A REVIVAL, AN AWAKENING OF EXPERIENCING JESUS IN A WAY THAT THEY NEVER HAVE BEFORE, WE BELIEVE LEXINGTON, KY IS THE CENTER POINT OF THIS MASS AWAKENING. ANGELIC MAGAZINE EXIST TO POINT PEOPLE TO JESUS AND WE'VE LAUNCHED A LEXINGTON, KY COMMUNITY ISSUE OF OUR MAGAZINE BECAUSE WE FELT A PROMPTING TO COME TO LEXINGTON. WE FEEL AN URGING TO BE A PART OF WHAT GOD IS DOING IN AND THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF LEXINGTON. WE ARE PREPARED TO BE BOLD FOR JESUS. AND WE BELIEVE THAT WHAT IS TAKING PLACE IN LEXINGTON, THIS STIRRING OF HEARTS FOR C HRIST WILL MANIFEST TO THE EAST AND WEST COASTS . JESUS IS WORKING IN LEXINGTON. CAN YOU FEEL IT?
DREAMERS
MODEL Q&A
MEGAN AND MORGAN TOOK PART IN A MODEL CASTING ANGELIC MAGAZINE HELD. THE HEART OF THE CASTING WAS TO FIND WOMEN WHO DESIRED TO KNOW JESUS MORE AND MORGAN NEWTON SHARE HIM WITH OTHERS . MEET MEGAN LARISON AND MORGAN NEWTON.
AGE: 21
ASBURY UNIVERSITY What would life be like for you without Jesus?
Definitely messy. I go to Him constantly throughout the day with questions and asking for help which He patiently and faithfully answers. But without Him I probably couldn't make it to lunch in one piece. What would you like women to know about experiencing life with God?
MEGAN LARISON
AGE: 21 UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
What would life be like for you without Jesus?
My life would feel empty and burdened. Jesus is the way I am able to handle stress and face the trials of life. Without Jesus I would live in fear. Jesus gives me the courage and strength to persevere toward my dreams. What would you like women to know about experiencing life with God?
Be the kind of woman who knows that no matter what school you get into, how much money you make or what career you choose, you won't get anywhere unless you put God first! What is your vision for seeing Lexington united for Jesus?
My vision is seeing the hand of God work through the churches and challenge others to step out to show the love that Jesus has shown us. I vision seeing the whole community coming together to lift those up who are hurting and lost from Jesus.
That as daughters of the Creator of the universe we have been given a magnificent identity. That when we choose to live into this God given identity we are powerful in His name. I love to see women step into who they were created to be, not because it's comfortable or easy, but because they understand the authority they have as a daughter; that they have access to the resources of Heaven by their Father. What is your vision for seeing Lexington united for Jesus?
I feel that denominational differences can often leave churches discussing amongst themselves rather than uniting as one body. By focusing outwardly, Lexington's affect for the kingdom could be exponential.
P H O T O G R A P H Y
B Y
E R I N
D R Y S D A L E
ERIN DRYSDALE 18 YEARS OLD
PHOTOGRAPHER // NICHOLASVILLE "HAVING TRUE COMMUNITY WAS A DEEP DESIRE IN MY HEART AND I FERVENTLY PRAYED FOR GOD TO BRING CHRIST-LIKE FRIENDS INTO MY LIFE."
C
ommunity is one of the greatest blessings that God gives us on earth. Having accepted Christ into my heart as a young girl and growing up in the church, I have seen some straight-up heavenly examples of community. One of my first personal experiences with community was in a third grade life group at church. It was a sweet space for us girls to share our hearts, our hurts, and our praises. We had a safe haven to ask questions, uplift each other, and serve one another. Middle school and high school is where Satan began to skew my perception of true friendship and community. I made toxic friendships and began finding my worth in their opinion of me. I desired their friendship and approval, and would have changed anything and everything about myself to be accepted by them. Very quickly, I became self-obsessed, slanderous, and apathetic. Rather than rooting myself in Christ, I was rooted in gossip and judgment. Some of these friendships eventually ended, but some continued into high school and remained in that same toxic foundation. Though I craved the joy that comes from knowing Christ, my relationship with Him was shallow. In my senior year, God broke those relationships apart and I was left feeling disappointed, defeated, and seriously lonely. Though I was sure that I never would have the friendships that I desired, God still had a plan greater than I could have ever imagined. 2015 was the year God taught me the most about community. He has not only shown me how necessary it is to be involved in fellowship with
other believers, but also just how much of a blessing it is. Community is so incredibly humbling, encouraging, and challenging. It is also something that I had not honestly experienced in years. Having true community was a deep desire in my heart and I fervently prayed for God to bring Christ-like friends into my life. One day in March, I journaled about my desire for community, and in that same week God changed my life forever by bringing me to Delight & Be, an online community for young ladies pursuing Jesus and the creative arts. Similar to that little third grade life group, we worship and we open our hearts, sharing both the good and the bad. We are all brought together in community by our individual loves for Christ and the arts, and our desire to glorify Him through our work. We are a family of believers. This fall I had the amazing opportunity to fly out to Chelan, Washington for a wedding photography workshop at the Delight House. What a unique and beautiful experience is was. One hour would be sharing from the depths of our hearts and the next we’d be learning about the business aspects of wedding photography. Without a doubt in my heart, Delight & Be has provided me with lifelong friends. There is truly nothing else like it.