JESUS.
MUSIC.
FASHION.
ANGELIC LEXINGTON
MAR/APR 2016
ANGELICMARCH/APRIL 2첫16 JESUS. MUSIC. FASHION.
CONTENT 8 14 15 16 17 19 20
FASHION: EMILY THOMAS INTERVIEW JESUS: KAYLA NORD TESTIMONY JESUS: RHEA STARNS TESTIMONY JESUS: WHY WE NEED WOMEN JESUS: PATIENCE FASHION: PORSCHE MORROW TESTIMONY FASHION: CHRISTA OLSON FEATURE
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EDITOR LETTER
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Love. Peace. Hope.
lessings are looking for you because God's best always works for your greater good. Do you believe this to be true? Love is within you because God's love is in your core. Peace is in your midst because our prayers are only a conversation away. Hope is in your heart because our heart beats with His. You are loved. You are important and you matter. You are His. Lexington. God has something amazing brewing in the community. God's best is working for the greater good of the community. You are the community. God's needs you. The community needs you. Be blessed as spring comes near. Love, peace and hope is in our midst.
-- Jesse Anaya
EMILY THOMAS PHOTOGRAPHER INTERVIEW LEXINGTON
,
KY
"I WOULD WANT ANYONE TO BE ABLE TO COME HERE AND TO SEE MY CITY LIFTED UP THROUGH HIS POWER AND THROUGH HIS VISION."
1. Why do you choose Jesus?
I choose Jesus because He chose me. Choosing to let His love flow through me onto other people has been extremely freeing and comforting, something that is limitless and easy to express.
2. How does He influence you as an artist/photographer?
A sweet friend once told me that I had a gift from God to capture beauty. Hearing that summed up to me what I always wanted to be known for as an artist. To use my gifts to let others see beauty in the world is letting him move through me to move other people.
3. What type of equipment do you use?
I use a Nikon D7100 and switch between my 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses. My personal preference is natural lighting and golden hour goodness as much as possible!
4. What is your vision for seeing Lexington united for Jesus?
I hope to see Lexington move even furthur past where it is to see even greater things that it would become. I would want anyone to be able to come here and to see my city lifted up through His power and through His vision.
5. One day when your legacy is fully written, what do you want to be remembered for?
I want to know that my work was used to inspire others to dream more, thinking deeper and live for what we have been given on this earth!
P H O T O G R A P H Y M O D E L
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A M E L I A
L O C A T I O N
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L E X I N G T O N
ANGELICTESTIMONY
KAYLA NORD lexington, ky
"I CALLED MYSELF A CHRISTIAN, BUT HAD NO RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST. I PRETENDED THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE" At nine years old, I had it all figured out. I was baptized and made a commitment to Jesus that he was my Lord and Savior. For me that was that. I understood what it meant and I knew I loved God, but I didn’t know how much at that time. I was young and innocent, but I believed in a God that saved me and I loved Him. The next seventeen years would bring many ups and downs and change me in more ways than one. My high school days were always God filled, but not God centered. I lived in a way that was “Christianly,” but there was always something missing. I told myself that I would grow closer to God when volleyball was over… or in the summer… or after I took the ACT, but there was always something else that came up that I had to do instead. I never had enough time to truly and fully commit to the Lord. I was playing three sports, hanging out with my friends, spending time with my boyfriend, and filling up every possible second doing something. I went to church every Sunday, but this just seemed like another thing that I added to my already filled schedule. I always told myself that I would give more time to prayer and reading the Bible, but then would just fill my time with more busy-ness. College came and went in a big mess of even more busyness, but this time I filled my schedule with partying and shameful worldly behavior that I swore I would never associate with. At this time I was still a “Christian,” but told myself that I was just “doing what everyone else was doing” and that I was “finding myself”; knowing full and well, that I was completely lost. I was surrounded by people at all times, living in a destructive way, all the while feeling empty and vacant. My behavior led me to continue to fill the void with more things to take up the time, so that I wouldn’t notice how alone I really was. I graduated from college and immediately got a job teaching art at an elementary school. It was a tough transition for me to be thrown into the real world of being at work before the sun rose every day and the exhausting hours of being surrounded by children. At this point, I was still trying to live my college lifestyle of
staying out too late and surrounding myself with people whose lifestyles were not pleasing to God. Months and months went by of living a double life. I called myself a Christian, but had no relationship with Christ. I pretended that everything was fine and that I was still doing better than most people, but in reality I was more lost than they were. I knew the truth and I knew who my Savior was, and yet I was choosing over and over again to not obey him or seek a relationship with him. I’m really not sure what finally clicked, or when the big ahha moment happened for me, but I finally starting slowing down and listening to God. I stopped filling my schedule to the brim, and I finally started to crave the quiet and the stillness of doing nothing. I began spending more time reading the Bible and praying and everything started to settle down. I finally felt at peace and able to breathe again. Not long after, I met the man that would become my husband, and together we started seeking God. We knew that if we wanted a successful marriage, God had to be the center of it. We are helping each other grow into people who follow Christ whole-heartedly, but we are still sinners. I am still a sinner. I try and I fail. I am not worthy of the love of Christ, but he loves me anyways. He has been with me all along, protecting me and guarding me, even though I have not followed him like I should. He never left me and I have been covered by his Grace my entire life. In the years that I strayed away from Him, He was still there for me, waiting patiently for me to come back home. I am now on a journey to become more like the innocent, nine year old girl who first accepted Jesus. Each day I spend with Him, I can see Him working in my heart and changing me. I am so thankful for this journey and that I am loved by a God as accepting, loving, and forgiving as ours.
RHEA STARNS
ANGELICTESTIMONY
LEXINGTON, KY
"EVEN THOUGH I’VE KNOWN JESUS MY ENTIRE LIFE, IT TOOK 23 YEARS FOR ME TO PERSONALLY TRUST THAT GOD IS THE GOOD, GOOD FATHER. HIS PROMISES ARE TRUE"
Hate it or love it, we are shaped by our personal
circumstances and opportunities. To further the molding process within these circumstances and opportunities, there are also personal tests and trials. No pressure. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been TKO’d by more challenges than I have won. Only by the grace of God I’m still in the fight. Many years ago, my family lost the most wonderful man; my father, a very good father, unexpectedly passed away at my innocent age of 10. Although I was blessed with a loving and secure family, there were still big, empty spaces in my heart that could only be filled by the role of a father. A wiser girl would have turned to her Heavenly Father to fill those voids, unfortunately however, some of us are only right because we’ve done everything wrong. If you’ve felt heartbreak, you know those gaps can feel like literal holes in your heart, a sting that runs deep enough to make you want to rip the whole organ out. Time eventually soothes the sting, but scars remain. My scars looked like the fear of losing someone, the need for security, distrust in love, and question of purpose. Whenever presented with opportunity, like a deep friendship or strong faith, I remembered my scars and hid. If I couldn’t control my circumstance, if I couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t get hurt, than I didn’t want anyone to see or know my scars. Instead of retreating to my Heavenly Father I chased after earthly distractions, usually in the form of relationships. I thought a relationship would be the inhibitor to my mixture of troubles but it wasn’t; it was actually a catalyst to an even bigger mess. A mess of deceit, trouble, danger and a whole lot more that continually left me more hurt and confused. Over the years, there were times where I came out on top and did okay for a while. But the guilt of the past was always there and the longer I dwelled in that the more vulnerable I was to going back. Faith weakened. Heart got cold. Nothing felt right. My spirit was toiling with these secrets; they didn’t belong. My heart longed for a greater purpose than
to fight with myself. I began to face these intrinsic pressures during a trip last summer to visit my twin sister, a missionary in Uganda. (Clearly the best time and place to ask all of life’s biggest questions.) This could be a whole other story, but I learned a great deal from observing the spiritual and physiological culture in Uganda. I wondered what happens when we run from God. After all, He sees and knows all. Is it possible, even when we don’t deserve it or see it, that He protects us from ourselves and outside attacks? For a moment, I set aside my self-doubt and guilt to examine all the times I felt let down. I tried to approach these unexplainable circumstances with a theory that maybe God was guarding me. Maybe, He was protecting me from myself and the greater damage I could’ve inflicted if He hadn’t ripped everything away that I couldn’t let go. So I prayed, “If You were to search and find anything good inside of me, would You not give up?” I begged that these would not be my greatest battles. I begged that He would not leave me alone. Not yet. Even though I’ve known Jesus my entire life, it took 23 years for me to personally trust that God is the good, good Father. His promises are true, He loves us on an individual level, and He gladly gives grace when we don’t deserve it. He forgives us for all the times that we fail Him, and He allows us to run back to Him. It’s in His space that I feel fullness of security, love and purpose. If and when you have been scarred by circumstance or failed at a test or trial, I encourage you to face the Lord and address Him with humbleness and honesty… He will honor that. God is with you, in you, and on your side. He won’t give up on you, so don’t give up on Him.
Why we need women.
I
A GUY'S OPINION B Y JESSE ANAYA
interviewed a Young Life Leader at Arizona State University for a story for Angelic Magazine about two years ago. We sat at the back of a coffee shop a few blocks from the ASU campus during mid-day rush hour. The coffeehouse had that cool vibe that made you feel a little more cool just for being inside of it. He was a few years removed from college and newly married. Hipster couldn’t quite describe his style, but he had that bearded millennial look that’s becoming the default for Christian guys in Christian circles. During the interview his eyes lit up when I asked him a non-Jesus question, and what he replied, I can remember his response two years later word for word. I asked him, “What’s the best part about being married?” He paused for a moment, not out of uncertainty but out of wanting to word it right. He gathered his words and said, “Praying for my wife.” “I get to pray for her during the day. At night, and when I wake up in the morning. And she prays for me. We get to pray for each other and pray together.” In that moment he let his guard down with me. I was no longer some guy interviewing him for a magazine story, but I became a Christian brother that he could share a sort of sentimental moment he and his wife share together. We finished the interview, shook hands and eventually added each other on Facebook sometime later. I’ve never seen him again in person after that, but his self-disclosure then - is something I’m writing about to you today. I’m writing this to you because I think it’s important. I’m writing this because I hope in some way that maybe two years from now you’ll remember the words I’m about to say to you as I’m letting my guard down. As men we’re told to be strong. Women want us to be the spiritual leaders, leaders of the family, bold, integrity driven and courageous men. Men after God’s heart. Men of no fear. Men of honor. And we want to be. We pray to be. We desire to be. But God has given us a gift that only He can give. He’s given us something that can help us become all of those things. He’s given us His miracle. A blessing. A testament to His wondrous glory. He’s given us you. At night, in the morning, during the day, He’s given us someone to pray for and for someone to pray for us. He’s sent us a helper fit perfectly for us. In our leadership, our boldness, our courage, our integrity and in our honor, you are our support system. You are our prayer warrior. You are our help, our gift, our miracle and our blessing. We don’t have to do life alone because we have each other. There is such power in prayer, and we can pray together, forever. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.”
PATIENCE. AND GOD'S WILL. "PATIENCE IS NOT MY FORTE. INSTEAD I PRAY FOR GOD TO DO HIS
WILL IN MY LIFE WHILE SUBCONSCIOUSLY HOPING THAT WE CAN JUST SKIP THE PATIENCE PART. "
I
B Y LAUREN PRATHER
hesitate to pray for patience in any given situation fearing that Jesus will keep true to His promise that “…whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24. I believe myself at times to have no capacity to accept or tolerate delay as so the dictionary says. Blame it on American culture, but patience is not my forte. Instead I pray for God to do His will in my life while subconsciously hoping that we can just skip the patience part. God has undeniably done His will in my life. Even so, I find myself like a toddler asking “Why?” over and over until I am sick of the short, simple question. At any given point in our walk with Jesus we may not know exactly where He is leading us. “Why would you move me to a place I would never choose?” “Why would you have me leave a job that I am content with?” “Why would you move me further away from my family?” When I finally gave up asking why it led me to where my journey with Jesus ultimately began. Surrender. I asked for Jesus to take my life and make it His so why would I want to skip out on anything He has to offer? Even if it is a lesson in patience. The God of our universe has perfect timing and worrying about when He will make the big reveal will keep us from experiencing the unfolding of our blessing. Just because God takes us on the scenic route from time to time doesn’t mean that He is not blessing us in the process to where we at length need to be. Even Jesus prayed for surrender. “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14:36. Can you imagine patiently waiting to die? All the while continuing to surrender? And I’m pretty sure Jesus wasn’t subconsciously praying that God would leave out the uncomfortable lessons in between. He instead constantly remained in prayer and in surrender to His Father’s will. When I have waited for understanding I somehow tricked myself into believing that I was being patient with God. Patiently waiting for Him to reveal His plan for me like the good little servant I am. It is a humbling thought to realize that God is being patient with me. Giving me time to understand His meaning, His teachings, and His guidance in my life. Taking the time to show me a job that wasn’t right for me so I would appreciate the one that is. Allowing time for my sinful nature to delay His ultimate plan for my life. Thank you God for being patient with me. I have questioned many times what God was up to in my life but I have come to understand that it’s not always time for me to know. It’s turning your questions about God’s actions into trusting His way and obediently following. Relentlessly following Jesus, no matter what course of action, is the only way to turn your “Why” moments into “Wow” moments.
PORSCHE MORROW MODEL TESTIMONY
Imy wholewishlife,I could say I have walked the straight and narrow but if that were true, I wouldn’t be able to say I
know Jesus the way I do. Growing up, apart from Easter, I only went to church when I was visiting my dad and grandparents in Tennessee. When I was 13 we went to a heaven and hell haunted house that a local church put on. I remember walking through the hell side of it and having what was supposed to be the exorcism of Emily Rose reach up and grab me from a hospital bed. At the end of it my step sister said, “I’m glad I’m saved and don’t have to go to hell.” I had no idea what that meant, “being saved.” I did know I wanted to do whatever “that was” in order to avoid going to hell. The next day we went over to a family member's house, I repeated “the prayer” after them, and all I could think was, “I’m golden. Now I just have to follow all of the rules in the Bible in order to get to heaven.” For years, it was repetitive: being human, messing up, laying down at night, and going down the entire list of all of the things I did wrong each day, asking for repentance. In middle school that was easy; you can’t mess up too much when you’re too awkward for life. High school, it got a little harder: more influences and trying to find my identity. Then there was dating. My first relationship didn’t begin until high school was about to end. Several months into came the verbal and emotional manipulation. “You’re fat, worthless, never going to amount to anything, etc,” became the norm. The relationship finally came to an end, but me believing the lies about myself didn’t. Junior year of college I spent rebuilding myself. I remember thinking, “I followed most of the rules, and repented for the ones that I broke. So why wasn’t this Jesus person there to protect me?” A part of me you could say stopped believing in Him during that time and that’s when I turned to other means of help. I spent a lot of nights drinking with friends at parties. At 3 o’clock in the morning I would find myself coming home and going to my apartment gym; I would get on the elliptical because I still believed I was “fat, worthless” and the other lies that remained in the back of my head. I would go to bed about 5 in the morning, wake up, go to class, and repeat.
//
LEXINGTON
,
KY
"I AM BEAUTY, NOT ASHES. I AM GRACE, NOT PUNISHMENT. I AM FAITH, NOT FEAR. WHEN THE ENEMY HINDERED I WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH TO SHARE MY STORY" ANGELICTESTIMONY Junior year of college was probably my darkest and most destructive year. Then a friend invited me to fall retreat. The morning before we left I was standing in front of the mirror getting ready and I remember looking into it and thinking to myself, “I don’t even know this person looking back at me anymore.” It was almost like a black cloud blurring out my face. On the second night of Fall Retreat, everyone was waiting in line for prayer from a man known as Pastor Tim. I waited in line and at 4 in the morning I was finally able to pray with him. All I said was “Hi, my name is Porsche.” He started praying, “You look in the mirror and you don’t know who you are anymore. Someone has put lies into your head that you can’t stop believing.” He goes on and then ends with, “You’re looking for a fatherly figure here on earth.” By that point I was in tears and completely freaked out, thinking “who is this guy?” Was he standing in my bathroom this morning? And does this mean this Jesus guy might actually be real? Since 2011, I have been rebuilding myself in the identity of Jesus Christ and what He says about me. I am beauty, not ashes. I am grace, not punishment. I am faith, not fear. When the enemy hindered I wasn’t good enough to share my story -Angelic posted "Fear says don’t do it. Faith says do it afraid.” So here I am. Trying to find a way to reach young girls who don’t know that their identity is in Jesus Christ and nothing else. For me, it's all about my relationship with Christ, and not concentrating on what I’m doing wrong, but what I can do in this world to be more like Him.
CHRISTA OLSON PHOTOGRAPHER TESTIMONY
CAPTURING THE LIGHT
To understand my story is to understand the contrast of light and darkness in my life; Jesus being the light and Satan being the darkness. Christ has been pursuing me my whole life, but it took me a while to figure out whether or not I wanted to pursue Him in return. I struggled with trusting Him, receiving His love, and forgiving myself for a dark past. Thankfully He is a very patient Father, and stayed with me through it all. He still does to this day. Thank you Jesus. Thank you for your patience. Growing up I was totally dependent on others, especially my twin sister. Being a twin was a huge blessing, but also a huge challenge for me because I could never establish my own identity. Somehow I always found myself putting my identity in others, like my twin sister, or in other things. Middle school, high school, and college I turned to the world to find my identity and purpose. To this day, some of my closest family members and friends don’t even know of all of
the dark places the Lord has redeemed me: alcohol, drugs, sex, suicidal ideation, abuse, broken relationships, deep depression, and severe anxiety. You name it, Satan tried to use it against me, and stow me away in the darkness. My long story short, I’m thankful Christ loves me unconditionally and continually pursues me out of the darkness, and into His beautiful light. Before my relationship with Him I had never experienced that kind of love, especially from a Father. My parents divorced when I was five years old, and growing up my father was in and out of my life due to a combination of things. As a child I longed for a Father, but it wasn’t until my junior year of college that I finally found one. My junior year the best thing happened, I was forced to live in a dorm room alone. What I thought was going to be the worst year of my life, turned out to be the best. The Lord did the unordinary, and instead of surrounding me with people, He used His word to pursue me alone in my dorm room.
P H O T O G R A P H Y : C H R I S T A O L S O N M O D E L : P O R S C H E M O R R O W L O C A T I O N : L E X I N G T O N
Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. I craved His word and I craved Him. Jesus quickly showed me, that was great, but I couldn’t just sit in my dorm room and read scripture forever. He wanted me to do something with it. So, I applied for Winshape Camps for Communities. For the next two summers I traveled to different communities across the Southeastern U.S. sharing the gospel with first and second graders. At the beginning, I thought, “who am I to share the gospel, especially with first and second graders?” Fear, the enemy, and the darkness tried to hold me back. But Jesus, doing what He does best, continued to capture my heart and pursue me with His beautiful light. Over the next two years Jesus sweetly reminded me (and still reminds me) I was equipped to share the gospel all along. Why? It’s simple: I am a child of God, He loves me, and His power lives in me. He just wanted me to do something with it and follow Him. Is He worth following? Absolutely. Is it easy? Absolutely not, but John 1:5 is a sweet reminder of why I do: to reach the hearts of those still living in the darkness, and to pursue others like Christ continually pursues me. “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.” -John 1:5 This verse not only serves as a reminder of why I follow Christ, but why I take pictures. For me, photography has always been more than just taking pictures. God’s children, their lives, their hearts, and their stories are what draw me behind the camera lens. To be able to capture their hearts and see the light of Christ working in their lives through a lens is beautiful thing. Why? Because I know from experience, Christ redeems us from some of the darkest places, and to be able to capture that is a beautiful thing.
"I TURNED TO THE WORLD TO FIND MY IDENTITY AND PURPOSE. TO THIS DAY, SOME OF MY CLOSEST FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS DON’ T EVEN KNOW OF ALL OF THE DARK PLACES THE LORD HAS REDEEMED ME: ALCOHOL, DRUGS , SEX, SUICIDAL IDEATION, ABUSE, BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS , DEEP DEPRESSION, AND SEVERE ANXIETY."
-- CHRISTA OLSON