Hello Friends. It’s been a while. What a journey the Lord has had me on in these last few months. It’s high time I told you a little about it.
First though, Happy Thanksgiving! Holidays are a double-edged sword for many of us, but being grateful is so important. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 the apostle Paul tells us to be grateful in all things. Note he says “in” all things not “for” all things. No matter the circumstances, we can and should count our blessings. We need not save that for Thanksgiving Day. May this be the year that your gratitude stretches beyond November and permeates your every day.
I am grateful for those of you hearty souls who continue to read my words and follow my journey. The words have been few of late – at least here. My first objective in all things is to follow where God leads, even if He doesn’t provide a map. When He asks me to write, I write. And when He asks me to follow down roads that don’t seem to make sense, well, I follow. Sometimes I follow less than enthusiastically, but I’ve learned my lesson and follow I must.
There’s a quote from A.W. Tozer that says, “The final test of love is obedience. Not sweet emotions, not willingness to sacrifice, not zeal, but obedience to the commandments of Christ.”
I think I agree with that. It sure does feel like a test. Do I love the Lord more than anyone or anything else? That’s where we’re supposed to do, according to Jesus in Matthew 22:27-38. “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment’.”
My word of the year for 2023 is build. It didn’t look like I thought it would. It has looked like building a habit of obedience. It has looked like seeking God’s next steps for me and building the confidence to say “yes” during wild uncertainty. It has looked like building trust in His sovereignty when I couldn’t imagine why He was leading this way or how I would manage.
Many of you know that after months and months of praying, I felt God leading me to run for my local school board. I had never run for a public office – never wanted to. However, the more I prayed, the more God led me down that path. If you’ve been on my socials this fall, you perhaps saw that I ran and won.
It was more time consuming and difficult than I imagined. However, I bring it up here because I had a front-row seat to watching God at work. I prayed multiple times about the financial aspects of campaigning only to get almost immediate divine responses that worked in my favor. I watched as the whole process seemed to play out in a lane that showcased my strengths. I obeyed, stayed true to what I felt Him asking me to do, and got to witness Him making the way.
I questioned Him on “why” many times. He kept showing me different answers to whys. It was uncanny. I’m sure, as with most things on this side of heaven, I won’t know all the whys. I’m not sure I need to know. I’ll travel this road and serve in this way with whatever it brings because He has asked.
Serving in an elected position isn’t the only new road the Lord has asked me to travel down. A few of you know, but I haven’t yet made it fully public because some steps needed to be completed. The Lord has been calling me into more full-time ministry. I have applied and been accepted to pursue my pastoral ordination.
It will be a three-year process of study, learning, and serving at the end of which I will be credentialed as a minister. Talk about another road I didn’t see coming!
Again, “build” didn’t look like I thought it would in 2023. I thought I would be writing more. I had planned to get my website built to house all my various content and offerings. The Lord had a different definition of build, and I have tried to love Him with all my heart and soul and mind. That looked like obedience.
It certainly has not looked like lots of blog posts or social media content that you have grown accustomed to from me. I did have a piece in the book, “Life Changing Stories” that came out this fall. If you missed it, I highly recommend it. It’s available on Amazon and features powerful stories from 34 authors and profits from the book go to Compassion International.
Now that the discerning, the campaigning, the leaps of faith, and the initial commitment to what He’s asked are behind me, I hope He’ll let me get back to at least a version of regular writing and sharing words of faith, hope, and encouragement with you. Now that my direction is determined, perhaps He’ll let me get that website built after all.
I am certainly grateful for each of you that read my words and continue to return to my corner for any light that God shares through me. It is truly the honor of my life to serve the Lord and be used in such a way. I’m thankful that you are here for the journey.
Friend, God is good no matter what and He loves you very much.
