Church in the Wild // Church on the Beach: East Hampton's Edition

All photos property of Cosita Studios.

If you can make it through these few short paragraphs, you can enjoy photos of our East Hampton's trip.

When some people think of church, they think of a place where you go to pay some religious dues. A place where people are stoic and bland. Some social club where people have limited abilities to socialize. A place where someone will look at you differently if you look differently.

To me, church isn't a religious duty; it's not a steeple or an altar filled with candles and statues. It's not an Easter Sunday or Christmas Eve ritual, and it's not a chore. Church definitely ain't  a chore.

Church is a gathering of believers with the purpose of encouraging, edifying, and empowering each other. Church is a place where the name of Jesus is lifted up. I attend a church in Manhattan, New York called Hillsong NYC. It has the reputation of being a "cool church" that attracts young adults and has a hipster vibe. Oh, but it's so much more than that! When talking about outsider's perspectives of our church, my friend Hugo so well said, "Oftentimes, other churches and people try to mimic the surface of Hillsong Church but don't quite get the heart of it. The coolness factor is just a bonus. It's the cherry on top of everything." 

Hillsong, as a global church, places value on the importance of loving God, loving people, and loving life. 

Simple enough, huh? Yes, but I've witnessed many Christians who love God, yet don't really know how to LOVE people...and I mean REALLY love people. Or they don't seem to enjoy life. They spend every waking moment within the confines of the four walls of a building, that they miss out on the life that they were given to live abundantly.

In an earlier blog post, I shared that the year Mike and I got married (2010), was one of the most difficult years of my life. In the beginning of 2011, we began attending Hillsong NYC Church and immediately found refuge, and healing, and acceptance, and HOME. 

Over  the last 4 years, I've had the honor and privilege of loving God and loving life alongside some of the most amazing people that are so dang good... at loving people. We went to a couples Connect Group in the UWS of Manhattan weekly from 2011-2013, and built rare and unparalleled relationships with some genuinely incredible people. I've learned more about love and leadership from these people in such a short amount of time than I ever could have elsewhere. 

Last month, five of us couples decided to enjoy a weekend getaway in East Hampton. 

(in no way was this trip endorsed by our church. It was merely a family/friend vacay)

We entertained ourselves through some competitive game nights.

We took some time to encourage one another and share with this wonderful family how much their leadership has impacted us all.

Some of the best moments were family meal times. 

The 10 (& a half) of us sitting around that table meant for 6... 

...eating...drinking...laughing...crying...praying...laughing some more...

During breakfast...

lunch...

& dinner!

Fun fact about me: The beach is my very favorite place in the entire world.

S I S T E R H O O D
How refreshing it is to have female relationships that aren't catty or plagued with gossip & jealousy! My friends are all women who are wise & beautiful & encouraging & selfless & talented & intelligent & I could go on forever...

& I feel I should note how much I love each one of these guys like the brothers I never had. They each exemplify Jesus in the way they communicate with their wives, the way they communicate with each other, and even the way they communicate with other women. If only more men were like this bunch... 

(too bad they're all taken)

Lastly, a weekend away was just what we needed to take a break from work & grad school & every day routines to not only enjoy time with our friends, but enjoy time with  each other! I'm learning how important it is to prioritize your marriage. It is work, but you reap the greatest rewards when you do. Life is just that much sweeter when you really enjoy the person you sleep next to every night!

Can I encourage you for a second? If you're not planted in a healthy local church, and you are not building relationships with people who are challenging you and inspiring to grow in every area of your life, and you don't know the fullness of joy that is in Jesus...I encourage you to find a church! 

The last thing church is not...church ain't boring y'all! 

& if you don't know, now you know...

#finishthatbasement

"Our singular, all-consuming passion is to build God's Church and Kingdom on the earth, and see everyday people released into their purpose and calling. We believe in people - we believe in their potential and we believe in their amazing capacity to influence the world with good." 

-Brian & Bobbie Houston (Senior Pastors of Hillsong Church)