There has been significant progress in the ab initio approaches to the structure of light nuclei. One such method is the ab initio no-core shell model (NCSM). Starting from the realistic two- and three-nucleon interactions, this method can predict the low-lying levels in p-shell nuclei. It is a challenging task to extend the ab initio methods to describe nuclear reactions. In this contribution, we present a brief overview of the NCSM with examples of recent applications as well as the first steps taken toward nuclear reaction applications.