Mackenzie Standing

The greatest day in history Death is beaten, you have rescued me Sing it out, Jesus is alive! The empty cross, the empty grave Life eternal, you have won the day Sing it out, Jesus is alive! He's alive! -Tim Hughes, "Happy Day" There's something amazingly beautiful about Easter. There's something beautiful about corporate worship. I stood today in a beautiful new church building, oh so thankful for God's amazing blessings and oh so mindful that God is bigger and more beautiful than any building ever could be. There's something beautiful about standing in that gorgeous new building, 500 people strong, and worshiping. We were a people with backgrounds, stories, and perspectives far more vast than I could ever comprehend, and in that moment, none of it mattered. As we called to one another, "Christ is risen!", there was no discrimination in who would respond, "He is risen indeed!" There is something amazingly beautiful about a tra...

Dear Columbia Grove Covenant Church , Happy birthday! Can you believe it? You're officially ten years old. I always get nostalgic on birthdays, and yours makes me feel exponentially so. I couldn't help but reflect on all that you've been through over the last ten years, and how much I've enjoyed being part of the ride.  It's been ten years in a beautiful valley-- ten years of being next to the Columbia river and ten years being surrounded by a Grove of orchard trees. It's been ten years of walking out of worship and getting the privilege of seeing one of the most breathtaking views God ever made. It's been ten years of the port-a-church lifestyle. Ten years of dedicated, servant-hearted volunteers generously showing up early to set up each week and patiently staying late to tear down. It's been ten years of learning how to make people feel warm, welcome, and comfortable inside a cafeteria. It's been ten years of intentional layout--t...

Lately, I've caught myself humming show-tunes: At the end of the day you're another day colder, and the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill.  Personally, I don't think it's a good thing when a song from Les Misérables seems to describe your life, but so it goes.  In some ways, at the end of the day I'm literally another day colder. The weather here has been absolutely freezing lately. Yesterday, Bri and I headed to our 8am class when it was -29ºF outside-- without  factoring in the windchill. Our professor told us that if we took it into account, it was probably about -44º, and that, by the way, the heating in one of the buildings was malfunctioning. Thank goodness they got it working before I had class in there, because there was no way MSU would cancel.   The weather has been an interesting experiment in both breathing and seeing. When I walk outside, it takes me a minute or two to catch my breath. By that time, though, the inside of my nose has f...

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. -Galatians 3:26-29 I'm not going to lie: I do not treat people equally. I do not love people equally. I struggle with understanding and accepting people who are different from me. I'm not proud of it. I'm not going to cover it up, though, because that simply aggravates the problem. For years, I've adored knowing that I am a child of God. My broken, lonely heart took comfort in a God that not only loves me, but chose me and adopted me. Christ does not reject; Christ envelopes. Is there a better truth than that? I don't think so. Here's the thing, though: I'm not God's only daughter, but it...

Grace, what have you done Murdered for me on that cross Accused, in absence of wrong My sin washed away in your blood Too much to make sense of it all I know that your love breaks my fall  The scandal of grace, you died in my place So my soul will live Oh, to be like you Give all I have just to know you Jesus, there's no one besides you Forever the hope in my heart. -Hillsong, "Scandal of Grace" Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost, but now I'm found Was blind but now I see.  -John Newton, "Amazing Grace" I do not understand the mystery of grace- only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.  -Anne Lamott Of all the words in the dictionary, I'm pretty sure grace is my favorite. Of all the gifts in all the earth, I'm pretty sure grace is the one I need the most. And of all the concepts in the Bible, grace is the one I often struggle with accepting. I'v...

This is my New Year's Resolution. Well, okay, not this post, per say, but being more intentional about blogging in general. So often, though, I want to write but struggle with deciding what to write. While I have nothing against the types of blogs where people post every day about what they had for dinner, I never wanted to be like that. There's not much meat to those kind of posts (pun intended). Instead, I issued myself a challenge. I decided to pick a book of the Bible and spend an entire week on each chapter. At the end of the week I'd blog about something related to what I'd learned and what God had been teaching me. Sounds pretty easy, right? Here's the thing, though: A week is a long time to spend on just a chapter of the Bible. A looooong time. With this in mind, I set out to pick a book with two stipulations: 1) It had to be one I hadn't studied intensely before (where's the challenge in picking one I know super well?) and 2) It had to be a s...

Today is my 20th birthday. While in the grand scheme of life, birthdays really aren't a big deal, I still like the opportunity they give to reflect on where God has taken me. And so, since I love lists and today is kind of all about me, I present to you a list of the top twenty things I've learned over the last twenty years: 1. Twenty years is really no time at all. 2. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life--for me and for you. My life is so much better with Him as priority number one. 3. After Jesus, family is the most important thing. 4. Sometimes, you get really lucky and have friends that become family. 5. Popcorn over the stove beats the microwave stuff everyday.       6. Oftentimes, God calls you to participate in His plans in ways that you really don't want to. However, oftentimes you find yourself liking what He's called you to much more than expected. Which leads me to... 7. Montana's not as bad as it seems. 8. Travel is fantastic, but th...