This Sunday was the first time we participated in Renovo and this is the first time any of us have ever blogged… so we apologize for that in advance. The Sunday began in much the same way as other Sundays. As the service concluded at ECC we gathered around to discuss our plans for the day. We talked about napping, swimming, and studying, but God had a different plan for all of us. Just as our conversation ended, Amy walked by and gave us a plug for Renovo that started later that day, just like God was saying, “I have work for you today.” (more…)

I think perhaps that one of my biggest struggles during my involvement with Renovo has been in wanting to measure the worth of my work within the ministry. I’m not confused about the salvation by works/ salvation by faith thing, so I have no delusion that my work in Renovo or anywhere else is adding to my salvation as wrought by Christ and his work. However, I do worry myself as to whether my work is worthy of and stemming from the gospel, which I have been given to live by and for. And I think we’re called to consider this by Paul in Colossians as he prays that his church “might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”(v.9-10) (more…)

As I stand behind the tables with an oversized serving spoon in my hand, I can’t help but be acutely aware of the presence of love and the sense of community all around me. I think if I had to pick one thing I have noticed while being a part of Renovo this year, it would be that. It’s the sort of thing that hovers all around you unnoticed, but something you are also acutely aware of. There have been so many ways that I have seen this during the past year, and I’d like to share some of them.
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Two weeks ago this Sunday, Joe and another guest approached me at the Sunday meal at Renovo. They approached me with a very unexpected question. They sought to know if a Bible study had ever been started or happened to be in the works. They wanted to know more about the Word of God. (more…)

They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” – Matthew 14:17

When you think about not having a credit card, being locked out of a destination, and having only 15 minutes to get a meal served on time, most of us would not look at that as a blessing. However, the Lord constantly reminds us that His ways are above our own, and that there is always method to His suspected madness.
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I write this in the heat of finals week, amazed at how another year has flown by with rapid speed. I am blessed as I remember the moment almost a year ago when Andrew and I decided to “start serving lunch on the weekends”, our first Renovo Leadership meeting, the multiple stories of guests finding love in Christ, the beauty of Christ’s body coming together to serve, the development of a prayer ministry, and this past week-seeing a young girl touched deeply by His work-so much so that she plans to start Renovo in Syracuse, New York. Crazy, huh? As I looked at the leaders sporting the new t-shirt, I smiled in worship as we sang “Blessed Be Your Name” at Connexion. “Every blessing you pour out, I’ll turn back to praise.” And this is our heart.
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Ah! God is so good! Thank you God for permeating Renovo today, for filling it to the brim in so many ways! We prayed for joy, and oh, we got it! Okay, so this is the third attempt at writing this. It seems as if I have lost the ability to form coherent paragraphs after being a music major for two years. Ha, and now I am beginning to understand why David wrote “Praise the Lord” over and over. That’s really all my heart wants to express, there aren’t words. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
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Wow! God is so good. (Actually, that’s the understatement of the century!) It’s been almost six months since I’ve been to Renovo, and it feels like coming home. Renovo is such an amazing ministry, and I’m unbelievably grateful to be part of it.
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Has it really been 3 weeks?

I really couldn’t seem to stop asking myself that question throughout the afternoon on Sunday. It really had been awhile since we did our last Sunday Renovo lunch. And it was good to be back!

I’m not even sure if saying that it was good to be back really covers it, though. So much has changed in my life in the last few weeks, and I know it has as well in the lives of my fellow brothers & sisters (some of whom I was blessed to spend a week with in Mexico!) It was a little weird, in that sense, to come back into the ’swing of things’ …. but also, I think it’s safe to say that the Lord used the last couple weeks to renew a sense of excitement in our hearts for this ministry. (more…)

When Amy asked me to write the Renovo blog for this week, tons of thoughts came pouring out of me. I began searching for the right words to describe this ministry. Three simple words: God is moving. He is moving through both our guests and volunteers. I turned back to my journal on November 5, 2006 and read through all my Renovo prayers and updates up to March 4, 2007.

In these past four months God has answered so many prayers. Warm homes have been provided for the homeless. Jobs have been attained. The numbers of guests continue to increase week by week. Sufficient funds and food have been supplied. Conversations and hearts have opened up. And these are just some of the blessings involving our guests! (more…)