Our lives can be characterized in one of two ways – Deep Reward or Deep Regret.  Next week, we start a new series – “This Not That” – where we will be talking about how to choose a life of deep reward.  Make sure you join us for this new series, and make sure to invite friends who might benefit from these teachings.

If you want more info, please email Yanni@WatersEdgeATL.com

Fill out the form below and an email will be sent to our staff. If you already know which team you’d like to serve with, click “I know where I want to serve” and then select the team from the dropdown menu. If you would like help finding a suitable place for you, check “Help me find my place” and we will be in contact with you very soon.

The following film was made by Joe Trimmer of the Whitestone Protege Program.

Was it really just a couple years ago that I was beginning to learn who I was? Just a couple years ago that I began to open up my heart to experience what it truly means to love and be loved? Yes.

Three years ago, I was a lost and lonely soul; crying out for attention and affection, I was looking in all the wrong places for fulfillment. My heart was crying out, begging to know what it was to be lovely, to be worthy, and to be loved beyond every mistake, flaw, and (hopefully disappearing) love-handle.

Four years ago, I was two different people. Longing so much to be loved, I threw myself into relationships that were neither godly nor healthy. I only desired to be desirable. On the one hand, I was every parent’s dream: a sweet, “Christian” girl that exuded confidence and had high goals; on the other hand, I was everything but. Not only was I a hypocrite that would mess around with her jerk of a boyfriend on a Saturday night and raise her hands to praise God the next morning, but I had such low self-esteem that I would do nearly anything just to feel worthy, to feel wanted by any guy.

The downward spiral continued until I woke up one day and realized I was not who God called me to be, not even close. I was raised well by loving parents, and yet I took as much advantage of them as I could by acting selfishly and rebelliously. Hypocritical, arrogant, and promiscuous, I knew I had become a monster.

I had come to the point that I was frustrated with the person I was, and the God I thought I knew was not helping me the way I thought he should. I foolishly said, “If I don’t find the perfect church for me, I’m just gonna quit going – I can do this on my own! A few days later, on a random Thursday night in July 2007, I was at Water’s Edge.

Little did I know, God had a different plan for me than I had for myself. He absolutely showed me his love for me that night. And the following week. And the week after that. He brought me to a place of brokenness, where my only need was Him; I was ravenous for more of Him, and he was faithful in healing my wounds and soothing my spirit.

I started to meet with a group of girls who had been through similar things as me; bad and broken relationships, lies, feeling unworthy of love. Through those meetings, God used their stories to lead me step by step back to Him. He put a desire within me to know His heart for me, and through that, I learned His heart for others too.

A few months after I began going to Water’s Edge, I moved to Athens to go to school at UGA. I had tried a few different campus ministries, but I missed Water’s Edge terribly and didn’t have a car so I couldn’t go very often. The following Fall Semester, a small group of friends and I would carpool every Thursday night to Water’s Edge. We hardly ever missed it.

Then came Spring Small Group sign-ups, and we were disappointed to find there weren’t any for Athens, and with gas and scheduling we just couldn’t come back another day for one in Gwinnett. Desperate to be a part of a small group, I asked Miles if we could join a group via Skype. He chuckled and said talk to Cory. So I asked Cory the same question. His reply: “No, but there’s going to be a small group in Athens and you are going to lead it!”

I didn’t know what to think; I had never led a small group before, and had only ever been in one the summer before. But it soon became obvious that this is what God would have me do, and he had been preparing me for this for the previous year. Thus, the first Athens Small Group was born. There were four of us who met consistently, and God was faithful; lives were changed forever even though we were so small.

In the fall, the second Athens Small Group began. We tripled in size, from four to 12 girls. God was faithful again, changing lives, breaking off chains, and bringing redemption. This semester is our third Athens Small Group. But because we have so many girls (nearly 30 signed up!), we had to split into two groups! This is EPIC!!! God is moving so much in Athens, and he is using Water’s Edge to do it. I am so, so grateful and humbled to be a part of this ministry.

-Jordan

I was reminded of this recently when I was reading in Galatians.  In Chapter 5 of Galatians, we read about the Freedom we have found in Christ…a freedom that releases us from the duty of the Law.  There is an interesting transition in this chapter, highlighting the fact that we are released from the duty of the law so that we could live by the power of the Holy Spirit. This might seemed a little bit weird, because effectively we are released from having to do what God wants for us, in order to be inspired to desire to do what God wants for us. Is this a little bit of reverse psychology?  It might seem that way, but there is so much more going on here beneath the surface.  When you accept Jesus into your heart, and choose to follow Him, you are choosing to live by the power of the Holy Spirit. We should be challenged by what we read near the end of chapter 5: “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal 5:25). When you find yourself following God in every area of your life, you will find God speaking to you in the most un-suspecting of places.

I’ll share a few of my most recent experiences, and then perhaps you will be bold enough to share a few of yours (by commenting at the end of this blog).

1. Manual Labor – Just this past week I finished building a gravel walking path at my house.  It seemed like a fun idea, and eventually just became a heap of hard work.  The lesson learned through this project was that faithfulness, patience and dedication are found through practicing endurance.  There were many times I wanted to just be done with the path, and let it sit half-complete.  Much like finishing the gravel path, the work that God is doing within me will require me to break through emotional walls and practice faithfulness.

2. Carpet Cleaning – As I was working on the gravel path, I was reminded of my days working as a carpet cleaner for ChemDry. My days working as a carpet cleaner were layered with fresh lessons on humility and peace. I remember I used to think more of myself when I would clean carpets, wanting the homeowners I was serving to know that I am more important than I appear.  The lessons of the carpet teach that my identity is found in Christ; and in Christ alone.  I can learn faithfulness and honor in serving in the most simple of roles.

3. LOST- My favorite show on TV now, and for the past few years, is LOST.  I know some people stay away from the show, and think that LOST fans are kind of crazy…we are.  =) One of the reasons I love this show is that through the many twisted plots and story-lines, there is an ongoing message of redemption for the characters involved.  I am inspired every time I watch this show.  The story never seems to end; the character development is always evolving more…much like every person around me.  LOST reminds me to never write anyone off in life, because redemption and restoration could happen at any time.  Just as my favorite characters are consistently changing, so are the people around me as God does new works in all of His children.

4. Serving My Family – Perhaps the greatest lessons come from serving those closest to you. Over the last few years, I have been given the opportunity to serve my family in many different ways.  During these years, I have learned more about sacrifice, and the reality that acting in love requires sacrifice…and that is a worthwhile trade.

So, those are a few of my thoughts and musings, what has God been teaching you?

-Cory

Have questions from this series? Were you looking for something to be answered but didn’t hear it?

On March 9th, we are going to take a night to answer YOUR questions on Marriage Material. Submit your question in the comments section of this page!

(Staying anonymous is optional, simply type “anonymous” for your name)

We love the community in which we live, and sometimes it makes sense for us to give back…to Do Something! So, on Saturday, March 6th, we invite you to join with us as we serve in different parts of our community. Let’s make our area a better place to live, let’s do something!

Projects:

(also be on the lookout for a few more to be added in the coming weeks)

Habitat for Humanity

We will be helping to build a house in Tucker for Alana’s family. She is a young mother of two daughters, who relocated to the Atlanta area following Hurricane Katrina.

Sign up here for the Habitat for Humanity Project.

Atlanta Metro Kids

We will go door-to-door in the housing projects of Atlanta to share love and hope with children and their families. Weather permitting, the volunteers and kids will gather in a playground or field for games.

Sign up here for the Atlanta Metro Kids Project.

Old Salem Apartments

We are organizing a party at the apartment complex to make opportunities to reach out to the adults and kids of their community.

Sign up here for the Old Salem Apartments Project.

Eagle Ranch

(NO MORE SPOTS – PROJECT IS FULL)

At Eagle Ranch home for troubled boys and girls, we would love your help with landscape. We will work on their ranch for a couple of hours and be a serve them in a huge way!

Compassion for Haiti

We will be teaming up with another Haitian church to collect items that Haiti is in great need. On March 6th, will have a cook-out where everyone can bring their collected items and enjoy lunch with team and the Haitian church.

Sign up here for the Compassion for Haiti Project.

Lawrenceville Co-Op

We are organizing a local food drive to help stock Lawrenceville Co-op.

Sign up here for the Lawrenceville Co-Op Project.

Less than a week later the devastating news of the earthquake came to me, I was shocked, broken, and overwhelmed in concern. Are our new friends alive? how many dead? The team got together and prayed that Tuesday night and asked God to be with our loved ones there. As I went home that Tuesday night with a very heavy heart, I had a glimmer of hope in me. God was telling me that he was going to bring something good out of this. But why? Why OUR friends? Must they suffer? This began a journey in my life that began to unfold in the next month.

Most of our friends survived the earthquake thankfully. As the weeks went on, something incredible happened. Firsthand reports started coming in from some missionary friends of ours. I was dumbfounded at the news.