My Journal..

I am not usually one to be sentimental... I'm not the Mom who keeps everything Presley makes at school, usually, it doesn't even make it to the fridge (gasp, I know). But for some reason, when I've filled up a writing journal, I just can't seem to part with it! It's hard enough to put it in the closet.. I definitely don't think I could throw it away..
This morning I made the transition to a new journal, my previous one was full of writings, thoughts, quotes, prayers, and scriptures that meant a lot to me over the last 6 months. Wow, has it been a full 6 months!! It's funny looking back because I can see so many ups and downs, tears and victories, lots of asking "Why?" and then I can see God's fingerprints through it all! I can see how He was leading us and teaching me all entire way. I can also see how much more I have to grow and learn! I am so thankful that His Love endures forever and that He won't give up on me :) Because trust me, I'd give up on me sometimes! My heart is so full as I reflect on everything that God has done in my life and in so many other lives within 6 short months!! I see prayers that I wrote as a COMPLETE long shot, God answer!! Like our family not only coming to church, but seeking Him & MORE family coming now, until we have an entire row of our family that we 6 months ago NEVER would have imagined be sitting with us. I see changes in my amazing Husband and how He is leading our family in ways far beyond what I prayed for! It's just incredible to look back over all the ways He has provided when we didn't know what we were going to go and to see Him leading us when we didn't even realize He was there!

One of the key themes that I noticed as I was looking back over the pages and pages of my heart on paper was Proverbs 4:23 "Guard your heart above all else; for it determines the course of your life." 
Then this morning I read Proverbs 15:15 "A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful heart fills the day with song." I always giggle at God because He knows me so well, He knows that when He needs to get a point across to me, He has to send it to me in MULTIPLE ways and several times :)
So this morning as I am praying, reading, and writing in my new fresh journal, I am going to take some time to evaluate my heart and truly focus it on Him! I have came a LONGGG way in the last 6 months with getting rid of the excess to make more room for Him, His calling, and His Kingdom, but there is still excess to remove in our lives and it starts in our hearts!! I am so excited to have a new journal to fill with all that He still has in store and all that I have to learn!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Being The Church..

I know you guys are going to get so sick of me telling you things that I'm reading, but I can't help it.. So bear with me :)
I told you guys about the books I read by Jen Hatmaker, well no matter how hard I tried I could not get Jacob to even consider reading them. Then I realized, Jen's husband, Brandon, just released a book late last year! Genius, I could totally get him to read it from the guys perspective! And that worked, haha! So the last week Jacob has been reading, Barefoot Church, by Brandon Hatmaker. He has talked about it so much I started it this morning! Here is what Brandon said about his hope for what this book will help people realize and empower them to do:
"My hope is that we are continuously being challenged to be good news to a lost, broken, and dying world. That God would open our eyes more and more each day to the needs of our community and world. That we would see it as the charge in making a difference, not just in our own church campus, but also in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our city, our nation, and our world."

It's so easy to see all the massiveness of the needs in our world and be so over-whelmed that you don't even know where to start or what cause to fight for or what to even think about doing. It's also easy to feel like some of it is so far away, but in reality it's just not. I 100% wholeheartedly believe that there are those of us who are called to support and help to fight hunger in the world, to stop human trafficking, and help to free the people who are enslaved! But that doesn't mean that God is calling each and every one of us to sell everything we own and go feed the hungry in Ethiopia, although He does call some of us to that very thing! But for me (& Jacob) and maybe many of you, He is calling us to BE the church, to be the GOOD NEWS, and to meet the needs we have right here in our community! There are also AMAZING organizations out there that we want to support in what they are already doing to combat hunger, one of my favorites is, Hello Somebody, you can check them out at hello-somebody.com. They not only are feeding the hungry, but giving them education and teaching them to grow their own foods and focusing on rehabilitating them not just providing food. So while we feel called to support some of these organizations that are doing incredible things we also feel called to serve Broken Arrow, OK! Don't get over-whelmed with the how huge the needs are, start right here, serving your neighbor, your schools, and let God guide you!  A great resource if you are trying to sort through some of this is a message series Pastor Craig did last year, "Changing Your World in 52 Days" You can watch it online here: http://www.lifechurch.tv/watch/change-your-world/1
Actually, I think I'm going to re-watch it soon :)


In my opinion, the key is taking the things that God is using to speak to you, like for me the books I've been reading and messages I've heard, I'm using these things then seeking God, allowing HIM to guide me to where He is wanting to use me to serve and change my life to be focused on Him! For us, there are things we've learned from the Hatmakers, from Pastor Craig, and what we are doing is a mixture of all that craziness and what we feel like God is asking us to give up, give away, and change to live a tiny bit more like Him!

I couldn't be more excited to get started loving and serving in BA! I am praying for God to stir in so many hearts that are broken, abused, sad, lost, and that He will bring them through these doors and give us the chance to love and serve them! I cannot wait to hear all the stories of lives that He is going to change right here in this room! But you know how these people are going to come here to have this opportunity? From us, all of us, being out in the community showing the love of Christ everywhere we are. Meeting the needs we see! People will come because they see how much we care!

It's just like our code says, "We are spiritual contributors NOT spiritual consumers. The church does not exist for the world. We are the church and we exist for the world."


There are "7 Easy Ways to Begin Your Own Personal Mutiny Against Excess" that Jen Hatmaker posted. I just wanted to share them with you in case you are looking for that first step to fight the excess in your own life to make room for His Kingdom! I'll give you guys some insight into what The Whites did like this soon :)