Grace Klein Community is a community of faith that stretches across states and oceans. We are the Body of Christ, learning to live in biblical community. Every day, we understand a little more of what it means to belong to one another. The diversity of our personalities, interests, gifts and abilities unite us. What freedom to know that someone else’s strength compensates for another’s weakness and another’s courage combats someone’s fear. No wonder Jesus prayed for us to be unified. He knew our differences would complement one another, encourage each other and spur us on to the calling He has on our lives.
Quiet people are valuable people. They are often our strong listeners and our prayer warriors. The meek and the gentle support, they drive hours to be fully present, they help set up events and clean up when it’s late, they follow directions really well and many of them smile a lot.
A special member of Grace Klein Community is Ashley Baker. She’s the one that comes in and out with such frequency that people never really know where she lives. She can be caught hanging signs in the bathroom, putting cabbage in boxes, stapling letters for food boxes, traveling to Africa to help a partner ministry with finances, washing little kids feet in Guatemala, giggling at a ladies game night, driving a friend to speak at a community event, staying up late listening to God stories, giving financially to help with community projects, and trusting God to do so much way out of her comfort zone.
Ashley is a steady in chaos. She doesn’t mind sharing a house with twelve people or sleeping on the sofa. She’s learned how to share her favorite creamer and give away a bag she made, with seconds notice, just because Jesus said so. She is who she is and God has used the community to stretch her and grow her to a new level of comfort in her own skin. She finds herself sitting on kitchen floors, grassy fields and rocks to visit with new people. She finds herself hiking, exploring, rising early and worshiping late. She’s flexible. She’s a reader and a contributor to challenging others to read the hard books as she steps out to do more hard things with Jesus.
We are better together. And Ashley shows us what it is to trust God with the up and down emotions of trusting God with her current calling to be single, of learning not to look back and to take risks to follow Jesus even when the way may be unknown or difficult. She’s a picture of growth and excitement to what living in community does. Community living brings out frustrations, smooths out each other’s rough edges and teaches us to live as givers of great grace.
Love is a beautiful, hard and amazing thing and Ashley seeks to love well people she’s known for years and the person she just met one minute ago. Don’t let her quiet trick you. She has a great love for people and she enjoys hearing your stories, laughing with you at your blunders and giving you a big hug. She is one that brings give and take room goodies every time she comes, reads the blogposts and prays for the many ministry projects. Her heart is open to help carry your heartache and your pain. She has her own yuck so she will never judge yours. Love is acceptance, grace and forgiveness. Love is God as God is love.
Maybe we need to meet Ashley in the Better Togethers to remember to notice the quiet people, to be quiet and listen to what they have to say, to remember to invite them to our crazy, to cherish their contributions to the whole and to not make a big deal of our differences. We are all amazing people, created by Jesus, who never need to hold back in bringing our best to the table. Our bests mingled together is the perfect plan God has for us.
Romans 12:5, “so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
Grace Klein Community is a community of faith that stretches across states and oceans. We are the Body of Christ, learning to live in biblical community. Every day, we understand a little more of what it means to belong to one another. The diversity of our personalities, interests, gifts and abilities unite us. What freedom to know that someone else’s strength compensates for another’s weakness and another’s courage combats someone’s fear. No wonder Jesus prayed for us to be unified. He knew our differences would complement one another, encourage each other and spur us on to the calling He has on our lives.
Quiet people are valuable people. They are often our strong listeners and our prayer warriors. The meek and the gentle support, they drive hours to be fully present, they help set up events and clean up when it’s late, they follow directions really well and many of them smile a lot.
A special member of Grace Klein Community is Ashley Baker. She’s the one that comes in and out with such frequency that people never really know where she lives. She can be caught hanging signs in the bathroom, putting cabbage in boxes, stapling letters for food boxes, traveling to Africa to help a partner ministry with finances, washing little kids feet in Guatemala, giggling at a ladies game night, driving a friend to speak at a community event, staying up late listening to God stories, giving financially to help with community projects, and trusting God to do so much way out of her comfort zone.
Ashley is a steady in chaos. She doesn’t mind sharing a house with twelve people or sleeping on the sofa. She’s learned how to share her favorite creamer and give away a bag she made, with seconds notice, just because Jesus said so. She is who she is and God has used the community to stretch her and grow her to a new level of comfort in her own skin. She finds herself sitting on kitchen floors, grassy fields and rocks to visit with new people. She finds herself hiking, exploring, rising early and worshiping late. She’s flexible. She’s a reader and a contributor to challenging others to read the hard books as she steps out to do more hard things with Jesus.
We are better together. And Ashley shows us what it is to trust God with the up and down emotions of trusting God with her current calling to be single, of learning not to look back and to take risks to follow Jesus even when the way may be unknown or difficult. She’s a picture of growth and excitement to what living in community does. Community living brings out frustrations, smooths out each other’s rough edges and teaches us to live as givers of great grace.
Love is a beautiful, hard and amazing thing and Ashley seeks to love well people she’s known for years and the person she just met one minute ago. Don’t let her quiet trick you. She has a great love for people and she enjoys hearing your stories, laughing with you at your blunders and giving you a big hug. She is one that brings give and take room goodies every time she comes, reads the blogposts and prays for the many ministry projects. Her heart is open to help carry your heartache and your pain. She has her own yuck so she will never judge yours. Love is acceptance, grace and forgiveness. Love is God as God is love.
Maybe we need to meet Ashley in the Better Togethers to remember to notice the quiet people, to be quiet and listen to what they have to say, to remember to invite them to our crazy, to cherish their contributions to the whole and to not make a big deal of our differences. We are all amazing people, created by Jesus, who never need to hold back in bringing our best to the table. Our bests mingled together is the perfect plan God has for us.
Romans 12:5, “so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
A special member of Grace Klein Community is Ashley Baker. She’s the one that comes in and out with such frequency that people never really know where she lives. She can be caught hanging signs in the bathroom, putting cabbage in boxes, stapling letters for food boxes, traveling to Africa to help a partner ministry with finances, washing little kids feet in Guatemala, giggling at a ladies game night, driving a friend to speak at a community event, staying up late listening to God stories, giving financially to help with community projects, and trusting God to do so much way out of her comfort zone.
We are better together. And Ashley shows us what it is to trust God with the up and down emotions of trusting God with her current calling to be single, of learning not to look back and to take risks to follow Jesus even when the way may be unknown or difficult. She’s a picture of growth and excitement to what living in community does. Community living brings out frustrations, smooths out each other’s rough edges and teaches us to live as givers of great grace.
Maybe we need to meet Ashley in the Better Togethers to remember to notice the quiet people, to be quiet and listen to what they have to say, to remember to invite them to our crazy, to cherish their contributions to the whole and to not make a big deal of our differences. We are all amazing people, created by Jesus, who never need to hold back in bringing our best to the table. Our bests mingled together is the perfect plan God has for us.