Hey everyone,
I thought that you all might enjoy our children, along with the Bellefield kids, singing, "Go Tell It On The Mountain." Merry Christmas!
In Christ,
-Andy Moore
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Christmas Letter 2012
Please click on the picture below to read my newsletter, or click on the link below for a larger version:
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Fall Newsletter
Recasting an Old Vision
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” –Jeremiah 29:11
I believe that this passage, Jeremiah 29:11, is one of the most misused verses in the Bible. Though beautiful, it is often taken out of context. We have a tendency to skip over verse ten and go straight for eleven. Verse ten states, “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” What is actually stated here is that the Israelites are going to have to go through immense suffering and trial before they reach that “future and hope.” It kind of reflects on the summary of the story of Joseph in Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Or the famous Romans 8:28 passage, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” In other words, to quote the band Switchfoot, the shadow proves the sunshine.
In my last newsletter, I told everyone what a difficult semester it had been. In fact, it was so stressful for me that I thought God may be leading me elsewhere. I took the summer to reenergize and reinvigorate myself, and then refocus on work. What is it that I wanted to see happen in Cornerstone? What did I want my job to look like? Are my passions that once were, still my passions? I took that summer to completely reevaluate myself, and came up with the conclusion that I had strayed away from what I am good at: evangelism. I knew I needed to get back there. I’m sure that I have mentioned this before, but I am a very relational person. In fact out of the three Cornerstone staff members, I am the most extraverted. Basically, I need relationships. With this in mind, I devised a plan: meet as many students on campus as possible. I just don’t want to meet students though, I want to know them. I want to form a relationship with them. I want to hear their story. I want to befriend them. And from there, Lord willing, I want to tell them about Christ.
So far, I would say that this recasting of an old vision has been successful. It was my goal to meet three new students a week, which would mean that I have met about 35ish students thus far…if I had just met three students a week. The Lord has done great things, and I believe that I am close to the hundred mark with how many students I have met. Wow! Even typing this, I am stunned at how God works. Not only has he blessed me with meeting students, but he has provided ways that I couldn’t have thought of to meet students. I just had to go through a little rough patch to get here. Please be in prayer for me as I continue to meet and form relationships with students.
Why We Do What We Do
Meet Laura Tileston, a freshmen nursing major here at Pitt. Laura has been involved in a variety of ways in Cornerstone, and has really found a home here. Read more about her:
1. What is your favorite movie, book, and band/music? My favorite movies are probably A Walk to Remember and Dirty Dancing. Besides the Bible (which of course is the best book of all time!) I can get lost in any novel by Jodi Picoult, such as Change of Heart, as well as the book Kisses from Katie, the story of a girl who left her comfortable life in Nashville to teach children in Uganda right after she graduated high school, and ended up adopting something like 13 girls and starting a ministry there; so inspiring! Music is especially hard because I love pretty much all styles of music, but I’ll say Mumford and Sons have me hooked right now. However, you can never go wrong with Relient K, Gungor, or Something Corporate!
2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? I’m a freshman so I haven’t done terribly much with Cornerstone as of yet, but I’ve joined a D-Group (Discipleship Group) with two awesome girls and sing with the Worship Team every few weeks on Wednesday nights. I also went on the Fall Retreat, which was an absolute blast and a great way to meet more people!
3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your year at Pitt? I’ve only been at Pitt for a little over 2 months, but Cornerstone has been a great place to make friends and build solid relationships with new people here in Pittsburgh, as well as introduce others to Jesus through such a college-friendly ministry. Most importantly, it’s a wonderful outlet during the middle of the week to come together to worship and learn about God!
Meeting and getting to know students is what gives me energy. It is my bread and butter, and helps me even through the rough times. God has truly blessed me this semester, and I am grateful. I am also grateful for your donations and support which have helped me accomplish these goals of meeting students like Laura. Honestly, it is God working through my supporters that makes this all possible. Your support, in turn, makes you a part of this ministry. If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to join this ministry through gift and/or prayer. We trust for you and for us that God will provide. He always has, and He always will. Remember that any gift is a good gift. We thank you, and may God bless you richly because you have given to advance His kingdom! Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.
Moore News
So, where to begin…A lot has happened since my last Newsletter. First, Benjamin has started kindergarten at Fulton Academy a few blocks away from us. Fulton is a magnet school with an emphasis on French. We have always known that Ben was very intelligent, but wondered how he would handle a classroom setting. After some initial struggles of boredom and not meeting people, Ben has really found his niche and is excelling. He has won both the “Wildcat Award” for the best behaved student and the “Student of the Month.” During the parent teach conference, the teacher was amazed at how smart and advanced Ben is. God has certainly gifted Ben with intelligence and a thirst for knowledge. We were a little worried when Ben told us in the first week that he hadn’t met anyone, but that soon changed. God has a gifted Benjamin with a personality that other kids seem to gravitate towards. He seems to really be excelling in school.
Joshua in the meantime has had to learn to adjust to life at home without a big brother during the day. Luckily, he still has Asher to play with. We’ll have to see how Asher adjusts when Joshua goes to school next year. Joshua still loves his sports, and can tell you anything about them, and Asher still loves Pixar’s Cars. Together, Joshua and Asher are fun to watch. Joshua is extremely protective of Asher, and Asher usually shoves away Josh’s protectiveness.
Emily continues to thrive with watching the boys and maintaining our home. She is my constant support for when times get rough and great accountability for when I am not thinking clearly. If it weren’t for God working through her, I would have been in a much bigger mess.
I hope that all is well with you, and that God is blessing you richly. As Paul says in the beginning of Phillipians, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
In Christ,
Andy Moore
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” –Jeremiah 29:11
I believe that this passage, Jeremiah 29:11, is one of the most misused verses in the Bible. Though beautiful, it is often taken out of context. We have a tendency to skip over verse ten and go straight for eleven. Verse ten states, “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” What is actually stated here is that the Israelites are going to have to go through immense suffering and trial before they reach that “future and hope.” It kind of reflects on the summary of the story of Joseph in Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Or the famous Romans 8:28 passage, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” In other words, to quote the band Switchfoot, the shadow proves the sunshine.
In my last newsletter, I told everyone what a difficult semester it had been. In fact, it was so stressful for me that I thought God may be leading me elsewhere. I took the summer to reenergize and reinvigorate myself, and then refocus on work. What is it that I wanted to see happen in Cornerstone? What did I want my job to look like? Are my passions that once were, still my passions? I took that summer to completely reevaluate myself, and came up with the conclusion that I had strayed away from what I am good at: evangelism. I knew I needed to get back there. I’m sure that I have mentioned this before, but I am a very relational person. In fact out of the three Cornerstone staff members, I am the most extraverted. Basically, I need relationships. With this in mind, I devised a plan: meet as many students on campus as possible. I just don’t want to meet students though, I want to know them. I want to form a relationship with them. I want to hear their story. I want to befriend them. And from there, Lord willing, I want to tell them about Christ.
So far, I would say that this recasting of an old vision has been successful. It was my goal to meet three new students a week, which would mean that I have met about 35ish students thus far…if I had just met three students a week. The Lord has done great things, and I believe that I am close to the hundred mark with how many students I have met. Wow! Even typing this, I am stunned at how God works. Not only has he blessed me with meeting students, but he has provided ways that I couldn’t have thought of to meet students. I just had to go through a little rough patch to get here. Please be in prayer for me as I continue to meet and form relationships with students.
Why We Do What We Do
Meet Laura Tileston, a freshmen nursing major here at Pitt. Laura has been involved in a variety of ways in Cornerstone, and has really found a home here. Read more about her:
1. What is your favorite movie, book, and band/music? My favorite movies are probably A Walk to Remember and Dirty Dancing. Besides the Bible (which of course is the best book of all time!) I can get lost in any novel by Jodi Picoult, such as Change of Heart, as well as the book Kisses from Katie, the story of a girl who left her comfortable life in Nashville to teach children in Uganda right after she graduated high school, and ended up adopting something like 13 girls and starting a ministry there; so inspiring! Music is especially hard because I love pretty much all styles of music, but I’ll say Mumford and Sons have me hooked right now. However, you can never go wrong with Relient K, Gungor, or Something Corporate!
2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? I’m a freshman so I haven’t done terribly much with Cornerstone as of yet, but I’ve joined a D-Group (Discipleship Group) with two awesome girls and sing with the Worship Team every few weeks on Wednesday nights. I also went on the Fall Retreat, which was an absolute blast and a great way to meet more people!
3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your year at Pitt? I’ve only been at Pitt for a little over 2 months, but Cornerstone has been a great place to make friends and build solid relationships with new people here in Pittsburgh, as well as introduce others to Jesus through such a college-friendly ministry. Most importantly, it’s a wonderful outlet during the middle of the week to come together to worship and learn about God!
Moore News
So, where to begin…A lot has happened since my last Newsletter. First, Benjamin has started kindergarten at Fulton Academy a few blocks away from us. Fulton is a magnet school with an emphasis on French. We have always known that Ben was very intelligent, but wondered how he would handle a classroom setting. After some initial struggles of boredom and not meeting people, Ben has really found his niche and is excelling. He has won both the “Wildcat Award” for the best behaved student and the “Student of the Month.” During the parent teach conference, the teacher was amazed at how smart and advanced Ben is. God has certainly gifted Ben with intelligence and a thirst for knowledge. We were a little worried when Ben told us in the first week that he hadn’t met anyone, but that soon changed. God has a gifted Benjamin with a personality that other kids seem to gravitate towards. He seems to really be excelling in school.
Joshua in the meantime has had to learn to adjust to life at home without a big brother during the day. Luckily, he still has Asher to play with. We’ll have to see how Asher adjusts when Joshua goes to school next year. Joshua still loves his sports, and can tell you anything about them, and Asher still loves Pixar’s Cars. Together, Joshua and Asher are fun to watch. Joshua is extremely protective of Asher, and Asher usually shoves away Josh’s protectiveness.
Emily continues to thrive with watching the boys and maintaining our home. She is my constant support for when times get rough and great accountability for when I am not thinking clearly. If it weren’t for God working through her, I would have been in a much bigger mess.
I hope that all is well with you, and that God is blessing you richly. As Paul says in the beginning of Phillipians, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
In Christ,
Andy Moore
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sorry...
Hey everyone,
Sorry that I have not written a newsletter in a while, but there is a new one in progress! There is a lot to catch up on, so hopefully we can fit it all in. In the meantime, here is a video of two of my kids, Joshua (Quarterback) and Benjamin (Wide Receiver), playing football in my back yard. Hope all is well with everybody!
God Bless,
-Andy Moore
Sorry that I have not written a newsletter in a while, but there is a new one in progress! There is a lot to catch up on, so hopefully we can fit it all in. In the meantime, here is a video of two of my kids, Joshua (Quarterback) and Benjamin (Wide Receiver), playing football in my back yard. Hope all is well with everybody!
God Bless,
-Andy Moore
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Summer Newsletter
When Trouble Looms
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” –Psalm 27:1
To say that it has been a difficult year at the University of Pittsburgh would be an understatement. I was in the Dominican Republic when I first heard the news of the shooting. In fact, I got it through a text message: Shooting has occurred at Western Psych. One dead, several injured. Oakland is on lockdown. Please do not leave, until advised to do so. Share this message if safe to do so.
My first thoughts were immediately of one of my students: Andrew. Andrew was currently with me in the Dominican Republic, and worked at Western Psych (Western Pennsylvania’s largest psychiatric facility.) I knew that I had to break the news to him, and that it would not be easy. ..and it wasn’t. In fact, it wasn’t easy breaking the news to the entire group.
I have seen the recent string of college shootings on the news in the past few years, most notably the Virginia Tech massacre, but the thought that it could happen at Pitt was not even in my mind…and only a couple of blocks away! It was deeply troubling.
I wish I could say that the Western Psych shooting was the end of Pitt’s troubles, but it was not. In the week following (and lasting until graduation), there were over one-hundred (yes, one-hundred) bomb threats to almost every building on Pitt’s campus. The bomb threats started as graffitied threats scribbled on a bathroom wall, and then escalated to dozens of threatening e-mails.
The threats caused panic, and fear on Pitt’s campus. Students could not attend class, or couldn’t sleep because of evacuations at 2:00am. Many students left for home for the semester, and soon to be freshmen took their name out for enrollment. Many class finals became optional, online, or take home. Fear had struck, exactly as the terrorizing threatener had planned. But there is one thing that panic, and fear, always point to: a need for a savior. During the midst of uncertainty, we must rely on the on thing that is certain: Jesus Christ.
During those trying weeks, Cornerstone students really stepped up, being a light to the Pitt and Pittsburgh community. A few of our students started a network of unused beds and couches to sleep on, in case they were evacuated from their dorm. All the evacuated students would have to do was go to one of these safe havens to find shelter. A prayer visage was held. Our students handed out free cookies and hot dogs to students. It is these reasons that I thank God every day for where I am, and who he put me with.
Why We Do What We Do
Meet Danny “Haircuts” Churchill, a now sophomore Psychology major at the University of Pittsburgh. I really got to know Danny during this past year, and especially on the Dominican Republic spring break trip. Here is his testimony of the trip:
God gives us a great deal of talents and helps us to use them, even if we may be afraid or uncomfortable. That’s one of the most important things I learned from my trip to the Dominican Republic. I had some of the craziest, God-filled experiences there. Before going to the DR, I had been on mission trips before. On these trips, the things I was most used to doing was labor, such as building walls or hauling dirt or digging holes. Our mission trip did not have any of that. I was going to be doing something completely different. The main idea of our trip was to “be comfortable with being uncomfortable”. With that idea in mind, I was in for a whole new experience.
We arrived there and each day when we went to villages, I felt I was learning something new about the world God created. I learned just how much energy little kids can have. They will keep on going whether you can or not. Another thing I learned was that there is so much beauty in everything in God’s world. Everywhere we traveled, all of it was beautiful. It’s a beauty that I seemed to have taken for granted before. As I was having all these experiences, I was also learning a great deal about myself. In doing evangelism with everyone on the evangelism team, I was able to see my friends communicate the amazing word of God to many people who needed it. It was amazing to see the effect that their words had on the people that heard them. I was a bit anxious to step up and speak to some of the people, though. I figured I would stand off to the side and doing little things and not be the person that would share the words that they believed God put on their heart. However, I needed to learn to “be comfortable with being uncomfortable”. I worked up the courage and one day I was able to speak words that God gave me to a woman who wanted Christ in her life. As she came to Christ soon after she heard me speak, I really felt his presence. I felt I had the courage and the strength to continue doing what I had just done. It was a feeling that I had never had before. From that point on, I knew that God would give me the words that I needed to say whenever I felt I needed to communicate His word to someone there. Through eliminating the fear that I carried, I had learned to utilize a talent God had given me to do His work.
Though I had had this amazing experience and had overcome a fear that I had, I continued to struggle with something. How am I, being a young college student, qualified to even begin to tell anyone what it takes to be a Christian, to help them come to Christ? What makes me special enough to do that? As I thought more about it on our way back home, I realized the answer was simple. God gave us all talents. It does not matter who you are, if you let him into your heart, he will use the talents he gave you. He can have you evangelize people even if you feel inadequate for the job or he can have you reach out to children even if you think you cannot. While this is just one of the many things I learned about myself on this trip, I felt it was the most important lesson I could take from it. I do not think it is possible to adequately describe my experience in words. Rather than describe it, I attempt to live it every day. The Dominican Republic trip was the most rewarding experience I ever had. It showed me talents I did not know I had and really taught me how to use them to glorify God. I was successful because I became comfortable with being uncomfortable.
You may have seen from the chart that our monthly giving remained at $3200, 91% of where we need to be. It is because of all of you that I am here and will get to where I need to be., I have been raising this support so I can minister to students like Danny, and see how God has worked in his life during his freshman year at Pitt. Working with College students, and seeing God transform them, is a true blessing and I thank God every day for this opportunity. If you would like to help this ministry, we are always looking for new supporters. If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through gift and/or prayer. This will help to make up the difference from what I currently make and from my goal. We trust for you and for us that God will provide. He always has, and He always will. Remember that any gift is a good gift. We thank you, and may God bless you richly because you have given to advance His kingdom! Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.
Moore News
A lot has happened since I last wrote a newsletter. In fact, it has been a long time since I wrote a newsletter. I started to write this newsletter a few weeks ago knowing I needed to put a new one out, and planning on finishing it quickly. Then a funny thing happened: my hard drive crashed on my computer at church. This means that I was forced to put this newsletter on “pause” for a while.
Between the time of Part 1 of my newsletter and part 2, I was able to go on a much needed vacation to Colorado to see Emily’s family. It is exactly what I needed to relieve stress, refocus, and energize myself. Sure you may think that driving approximately sixty hours in a van (three days up, and three days back) with three young, energetic boys wouldn’t be relaxing, but it surprisingly was.
We did so much in Colorado, it is a little bit of a task to sort out and communicate just what we did. We hiked the Red Rocks outside of Denver, journeyed through Estes Park, went to a rescued wildlife sanctuary, and ate at the quirky restraint Casa Bonita (which I like to call the Mexican Chuck-E-Cheese). The boys had a blast playing football, basketball, golf, and baseball with Granny and Grandpa, and we had a great time with the rest of Emily’s family as well.
My real time of relaxation did not simply come from all our adventures, but came through going to Emily’s church (The Evangelical Free Church of Eaton) and meeting with her pastors which kind of became an impromptu counseling session for the past year. This helped me vocalize a lot of what I was feeling. It is interesting that this entire semester seemed to consist of counseling sessions for students, when I needed one myself.
Now I feel refreshed and ready to take on the new school year with a fresh set of lenses and ready to take on new challenges as well as try new things. God has indeed richly blessed us.
In Christ,
Andy Moore
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” –Psalm 27:1
To say that it has been a difficult year at the University of Pittsburgh would be an understatement. I was in the Dominican Republic when I first heard the news of the shooting. In fact, I got it through a text message: Shooting has occurred at Western Psych. One dead, several injured. Oakland is on lockdown. Please do not leave, until advised to do so. Share this message if safe to do so.
My first thoughts were immediately of one of my students: Andrew. Andrew was currently with me in the Dominican Republic, and worked at Western Psych (Western Pennsylvania’s largest psychiatric facility.) I knew that I had to break the news to him, and that it would not be easy. ..and it wasn’t. In fact, it wasn’t easy breaking the news to the entire group.
I have seen the recent string of college shootings on the news in the past few years, most notably the Virginia Tech massacre, but the thought that it could happen at Pitt was not even in my mind…and only a couple of blocks away! It was deeply troubling.
I wish I could say that the Western Psych shooting was the end of Pitt’s troubles, but it was not. In the week following (and lasting until graduation), there were over one-hundred (yes, one-hundred) bomb threats to almost every building on Pitt’s campus. The bomb threats started as graffitied threats scribbled on a bathroom wall, and then escalated to dozens of threatening e-mails.
The threats caused panic, and fear on Pitt’s campus. Students could not attend class, or couldn’t sleep because of evacuations at 2:00am. Many students left for home for the semester, and soon to be freshmen took their name out for enrollment. Many class finals became optional, online, or take home. Fear had struck, exactly as the terrorizing threatener had planned. But there is one thing that panic, and fear, always point to: a need for a savior. During the midst of uncertainty, we must rely on the on thing that is certain: Jesus Christ.
During those trying weeks, Cornerstone students really stepped up, being a light to the Pitt and Pittsburgh community. A few of our students started a network of unused beds and couches to sleep on, in case they were evacuated from their dorm. All the evacuated students would have to do was go to one of these safe havens to find shelter. A prayer visage was held. Our students handed out free cookies and hot dogs to students. It is these reasons that I thank God every day for where I am, and who he put me with.
Why We Do What We Do
Meet Danny “Haircuts” Churchill, a now sophomore Psychology major at the University of Pittsburgh. I really got to know Danny during this past year, and especially on the Dominican Republic spring break trip. Here is his testimony of the trip:God gives us a great deal of talents and helps us to use them, even if we may be afraid or uncomfortable. That’s one of the most important things I learned from my trip to the Dominican Republic. I had some of the craziest, God-filled experiences there. Before going to the DR, I had been on mission trips before. On these trips, the things I was most used to doing was labor, such as building walls or hauling dirt or digging holes. Our mission trip did not have any of that. I was going to be doing something completely different. The main idea of our trip was to “be comfortable with being uncomfortable”. With that idea in mind, I was in for a whole new experience.
We arrived there and each day when we went to villages, I felt I was learning something new about the world God created. I learned just how much energy little kids can have. They will keep on going whether you can or not. Another thing I learned was that there is so much beauty in everything in God’s world. Everywhere we traveled, all of it was beautiful. It’s a beauty that I seemed to have taken for granted before. As I was having all these experiences, I was also learning a great deal about myself. In doing evangelism with everyone on the evangelism team, I was able to see my friends communicate the amazing word of God to many people who needed it. It was amazing to see the effect that their words had on the people that heard them. I was a bit anxious to step up and speak to some of the people, though. I figured I would stand off to the side and doing little things and not be the person that would share the words that they believed God put on their heart. However, I needed to learn to “be comfortable with being uncomfortable”. I worked up the courage and one day I was able to speak words that God gave me to a woman who wanted Christ in her life. As she came to Christ soon after she heard me speak, I really felt his presence. I felt I had the courage and the strength to continue doing what I had just done. It was a feeling that I had never had before. From that point on, I knew that God would give me the words that I needed to say whenever I felt I needed to communicate His word to someone there. Through eliminating the fear that I carried, I had learned to utilize a talent God had given me to do His work.
Though I had had this amazing experience and had overcome a fear that I had, I continued to struggle with something. How am I, being a young college student, qualified to even begin to tell anyone what it takes to be a Christian, to help them come to Christ? What makes me special enough to do that? As I thought more about it on our way back home, I realized the answer was simple. God gave us all talents. It does not matter who you are, if you let him into your heart, he will use the talents he gave you. He can have you evangelize people even if you feel inadequate for the job or he can have you reach out to children even if you think you cannot. While this is just one of the many things I learned about myself on this trip, I felt it was the most important lesson I could take from it. I do not think it is possible to adequately describe my experience in words. Rather than describe it, I attempt to live it every day. The Dominican Republic trip was the most rewarding experience I ever had. It showed me talents I did not know I had and really taught me how to use them to glorify God. I was successful because I became comfortable with being uncomfortable.
You may have seen from the chart that our monthly giving remained at $3200, 91% of where we need to be. It is because of all of you that I am here and will get to where I need to be., I have been raising this support so I can minister to students like Danny, and see how God has worked in his life during his freshman year at Pitt. Working with College students, and seeing God transform them, is a true blessing and I thank God every day for this opportunity. If you would like to help this ministry, we are always looking for new supporters. If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through gift and/or prayer. This will help to make up the difference from what I currently make and from my goal. We trust for you and for us that God will provide. He always has, and He always will. Remember that any gift is a good gift. We thank you, and may God bless you richly because you have given to advance His kingdom! Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.Moore News
A lot has happened since I last wrote a newsletter. In fact, it has been a long time since I wrote a newsletter. I started to write this newsletter a few weeks ago knowing I needed to put a new one out, and planning on finishing it quickly. Then a funny thing happened: my hard drive crashed on my computer at church. This means that I was forced to put this newsletter on “pause” for a while.Between the time of Part 1 of my newsletter and part 2, I was able to go on a much needed vacation to Colorado to see Emily’s family. It is exactly what I needed to relieve stress, refocus, and energize myself. Sure you may think that driving approximately sixty hours in a van (three days up, and three days back) with three young, energetic boys wouldn’t be relaxing, but it surprisingly was.
We did so much in Colorado, it is a little bit of a task to sort out and communicate just what we did. We hiked the Red Rocks outside of Denver, journeyed through Estes Park, went to a rescued wildlife sanctuary, and ate at the quirky restraint Casa Bonita (which I like to call the Mexican Chuck-E-Cheese). The boys had a blast playing football, basketball, golf, and baseball with Granny and Grandpa, and we had a great time with the rest of Emily’s family as well.
My real time of relaxation did not simply come from all our adventures, but came through going to Emily’s church (The Evangelical Free Church of Eaton) and meeting with her pastors which kind of became an impromptu counseling session for the past year. This helped me vocalize a lot of what I was feeling. It is interesting that this entire semester seemed to consist of counseling sessions for students, when I needed one myself.
Now I feel refreshed and ready to take on the new school year with a fresh set of lenses and ready to take on new challenges as well as try new things. God has indeed richly blessed us.
In Christ,
Andy Moore
Monday, February 20, 2012
January & February Newsletter
Embracing Change
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” –Joshua 1:9
Change can be a hard pill to swallow. Giving up what you know, and what is comfortable in exchange for uncertainty is never easy. In a few months, senior students will experience the change of graduation to joining the working force. A few months ago, high school students became freshman, therefore experiencing change. It is the fear of facing an uncertain, cloudy future that makes change so hard to deal with. Change is inevitable. There is no dodging or avoiding it: Change happens. It’s just how we deal with change that matters.
I have found that it is easier to face change when someone is with you to experience the change as well. When I moved from Morgantown, WV to Pittsburgh, it was easier because I had Emily with me. How much easier is it then to have the God of the Universe, which dwells within us, when we face change? What an amazing thought that is.
So remember that when uncertainty arrives, you have the ultimate comforter, the very one who made comfort, with you. Though I still have my anxieties, knowing God is there helps put my mind at ease.
My Third Trip to the Dominican Republic
If you remember from one of last year’s newsletters, I defined my first trip to the Dominican Republic as “The largest spiritual renewal in my life, other than my conversion to Christianity.” This year I have the pleasure of taking 10 students back to the place were I found a love for those who are less fortunate and learned how deep Christ’s love and joy goes. This will be another great opportunity to see how God is working in the Dominican Republic. I can’t wait to go back! Please pray for the following students going on the trip: Nicole Arthur, Danny Churchill, Andrew Dekkinga, Danielle Englert, Dillon Hoffman, Cody Latimer, Jessica Martin, Jason Retucci, Megan Schug, and Connor Smith.
Why We Do What We Do
Meet Jason Retucci. Jason is a sophomore history major at Pitt, who started becoming involved in Cornerstone this year due to his roommate Cody Latimer. Jason recently came to know Christ as his savior and has been involved in a Discipleship group with Cody and me. He has a uniquely weird (in a good way) and funny personality, as you can see from the following questions. Read and enjoy!
1. What is your favorite movie, book, and band/music? I like the movie The Blues Brothers because I am the Blues Brothers…Both of them. I like the book East of Eden by John Steinbeck and am also a big fan of Raymond Carver's short stories. My favorite band is probably Rush.
2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? I attend Cornerstone and am involved in a D-Group with Andy Moore and Cody Latimer. We kick it in Market Central and discuss our readings (Wayne Grudem’s Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know) for the week. Over Spring Break, I plan to attend a trip to the Dominican Republic.
3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your years at Pitt? Cornerstone, as well as D-Group, has given me the opportunity to have some good old fashion Christian fellowship, which is important to me. Inserting these little breaks from a secular university into my life has helped me to grow stronger as a Christian.
You may have seen from the chart that our monthly giving remained at $3200, 91% of where we need to be. It is because of all of you that I am here and will get to where I need to be., I have been raising this support so I can minister to students like Jason, and see how God has worked in his life during his years at Pitt. Working with College students, and seeing God transform them, is a true blessing and I thank God every day for this opportunity. If you would like to help this ministry, we are always looking for new supporters. This is what makes ministry possible. If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through gift and/or prayer. I am asking that my current supporters give an extra 10% on top of their usual giving. This will help to make up the difference from what I currently make and from my goal. We trust for you and for us that God will provide. He always has, and He always will. Remember that any gift is a good gift. We thank you, and may God bless you richly because you have given to advance His kingdom! Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.
Moore News
Christmas was a wonderful time with the family. Like the past few years, we spent Christmas in Pittsburgh. My favorite part of the day was lighting the Advent Candle at church with the family. Benjamin shined as he got to read the passage in from of the congregation. It was an absolutely incredible experience.
Emily and I soon celebrated our birthdays after Christmas (mine on December 28th and hers on January 2nd). I turned the dreaded (duh duh duh) 30, but did not really stress about it. I started feeling older when I started having kids (age 24), so 30 was nothing to me. Hopefully we can say the same for Emily next year!
I hope all is going well with you all and that the Lord is blessing you richly in the new year!
In Christ,
Andy Moore
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” –Joshua 1:9
Change can be a hard pill to swallow. Giving up what you know, and what is comfortable in exchange for uncertainty is never easy. In a few months, senior students will experience the change of graduation to joining the working force. A few months ago, high school students became freshman, therefore experiencing change. It is the fear of facing an uncertain, cloudy future that makes change so hard to deal with. Change is inevitable. There is no dodging or avoiding it: Change happens. It’s just how we deal with change that matters.
I have found that it is easier to face change when someone is with you to experience the change as well. When I moved from Morgantown, WV to Pittsburgh, it was easier because I had Emily with me. How much easier is it then to have the God of the Universe, which dwells within us, when we face change? What an amazing thought that is.
So remember that when uncertainty arrives, you have the ultimate comforter, the very one who made comfort, with you. Though I still have my anxieties, knowing God is there helps put my mind at ease.
My Third Trip to the Dominican Republic
If you remember from one of last year’s newsletters, I defined my first trip to the Dominican Republic as “The largest spiritual renewal in my life, other than my conversion to Christianity.” This year I have the pleasure of taking 10 students back to the place were I found a love for those who are less fortunate and learned how deep Christ’s love and joy goes. This will be another great opportunity to see how God is working in the Dominican Republic. I can’t wait to go back! Please pray for the following students going on the trip: Nicole Arthur, Danny Churchill, Andrew Dekkinga, Danielle Englert, Dillon Hoffman, Cody Latimer, Jessica Martin, Jason Retucci, Megan Schug, and Connor Smith.
Why We Do What We Do
1. What is your favorite movie, book, and band/music? I like the movie The Blues Brothers because I am the Blues Brothers…Both of them. I like the book East of Eden by John Steinbeck and am also a big fan of Raymond Carver's short stories. My favorite band is probably Rush.
2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? I attend Cornerstone and am involved in a D-Group with Andy Moore and Cody Latimer. We kick it in Market Central and discuss our readings (Wayne Grudem’s Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know) for the week. Over Spring Break, I plan to attend a trip to the Dominican Republic.
3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your years at Pitt? Cornerstone, as well as D-Group, has given me the opportunity to have some good old fashion Christian fellowship, which is important to me. Inserting these little breaks from a secular university into my life has helped me to grow stronger as a Christian.
Moore News
Emily and I soon celebrated our birthdays after Christmas (mine on December 28th and hers on January 2nd). I turned the dreaded (duh duh duh) 30, but did not really stress about it. I started feeling older when I started having kids (age 24), so 30 was nothing to me. Hopefully we can say the same for Emily next year!
I hope all is going well with you all and that the Lord is blessing you richly in the new year!
In Christ,
Andy Moore
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