Thankful For Abraham & Desire Church

2 Corinthians 4: 7- 12 and 16-18: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Growing up, as far as I can remember, people always told me how happy I was all the time. It makes me smile when I think about bringing joy to others but then there's a part of me deep down inside that's saddened when people tell me that I'm "happy all the time." I'm not, surprise! Haha! Does anyone really want to be happy all the time? Isn't life supposed to be full of ups and downs? My biggest fear was that by being called happy all the time, that people wouldn't realize that I'm a real person with real fears and struggles. I want to mourn with those who mourn, weep with those who weep, and that has nothing to do with happiness. Joy, however is different. Joy is given to us by the Holy Spirit and is the result of Christ sustaining us. However, I have another issue with happiness.

I think at times I've worshipped the idol of happiness. I've bought in to the lie that I deserve a life full of happiness. God is concerned with our holiness and becoming more like himself, not mere happy feelings. What about the idleness in happiness? Who is really living if they're never struggling? The Bible promises suffering if you're living for Christ so then we must suffer if we're a true witness!

While we were in the process of moving to Florida I found myself without any circumstances that I could control or predict. I doubted the fact that we were supposed to move to Florida, we didn't have any source of income, we didn't have a place of our own to live, we were without security for our family. Bla, bla, bla! I didn't stop to look at what I did have. I saw the Lord just waiting for me with open arms and I was too selfish to break down and cling to Him. I realize now that the reason that I was so angry was not only my insecurities, I was angry at God because I was seeking happiness. Worshipping it. You know; the moments where you can relax, know that everything is going to be ok, a routine of housework, meals, movies, fun times, friends, family, etc. Predictability. Sounds boring on this end of the story haha! Who really wants that? I want to make a difference in people's lives for the glory of God!! Each day is an opportunity to share life, bless someone, and grow closer to Christ. I want to live life with people who believe and people who don't believe! We all know that stressless, peaceful living is not reality but we all try to pursue it anyway. Think about Facebook, Instagram, and other types of social media. Most people try to present themselves in pictures and status updates as happy, content, and carefree! That's all fine and dandy but it's not the whole truth.

We wouldn't know the difference between peace and calamity if both didn't exist. Isn't it during the most trialing times that we learn how to appreciate life, appreciate the "good" times? I'm learning each day to let go little by little of my idea of happiness because it's not reality. Reality is so much better. Reality is that we get to go through the picinic at the beach days and the cryfest stressful days together. I think about this a lot when I'm watching a movie. What good would any movie or story be without a trial of some kind? It wouldn't be a story at all, would it? No!

There's a story that I have to share with you. God led me to study Abraham while we were going through our transition to Florida and I'm so grateful for the true and rich story of his life and faith.

Genesis chapter 12 tells us how God called Abraham to travel far away from his country, relatives, and father's house to the land that God would show him. This was no short trip, he had to travel over 900 miles with his wife, brother and his spouse, and herds of animals! Not to a land that God defined before the journey. I think that God called him just as he calls us, to have faith on the journey. How are we stepping out in faith? God then made a covenant to make Abraham a great nation, to make his name great, and to bless him. Typically when we see the word "bless" we may think about material things. Surely, God didn't mean that he would merely provide for just his physical needs. No, I think that God's blessing also entails raising us. Pushing us, purifying us, refining us, challenging us, so that we are more like Him, have more of his perspective, and have a passion for his glory. Not our glory. To know our Lord and to be with him is the blessing. That's the point, not material blessings. Oh, and to think that we get to have communion with God along the way! To speak with him and worship him during all the chaos. During Abraham's travels, he consistently worshipped and built an altar to the Lord. What a testimony of his strong relationship with the Lord even before the Holy Spirit was given!

When Abraham reached Negev where he was going to settle for some period of time, he noticed there was a great famine. You can't let your sheep graze where there's no grass! He had to keep moving forward to Egypt. He didn't wallow in doubt and wonder why God would lead him to a land that was famished, he kept moving forward. He passed one test of faith but sadly, was about to fail another. When they reached Egypt, he told his wife to tell the Egyptians that she was his sister because he was afraid they would harm him because she was so beautiful. He lied! Come on Abraham! The Egyptians found out that he lied and sent him away so he had to pack up and go! It appears that Abraham failed a test of faith, he lied and had to suffer the consequences.

The next test of faith was between Abraham and his brother Lot. The scripture mentioned that there was "strife" between Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's so Abraham sought out Lot and told him that he could choose whatever land he wanted to first, so that his herds would have a place to settle. Lot chose the land of Sodom which was notorious for very corrupt behavior but beautiful land... not a good decision! Lot wasn't very smart in choosing this area because he wouldn't be in very uplifting surroundings, you know Sodom and Gomorra has a bad reputation! Abraham however, tried to do what was right by putting Lot's desires and family peace before his own wants. The rivalries between the herdsmen were very destructive as they affected everyone in the group. The note in my Bible mentions how jealousy damages trust, peace, and hampers progress towards common goals. Gosh that's true! Jealousy also makes us self-centered instead of God-centered. My Bible also noted that Jesus in his final prayer before he was betrayed prayed for us to "be one." How beautiful would it be if we could all keep in mind that we're all on the same team. That we all have struggles and there's no need to waste time judging one another when we really should try to empathize with one another. It's so important for us to all move in the same direction and not become like the culture we're trying to reach. Lot really struggled with that in the future.

My life looked a lot like Abraham's a few months ago. We moved FAR away from our friends, relatives, our home, and traveled to what I feel like is a different country. Over 900 miles, similar to Abraham. Almost everyone you meet here in South Florida has an accent; although I appreciate that now, it really shocked me at first since I wasn't used to that kind of atmosphere. I couldn't have anticipated the life that God has given Blake and I here in Florida. It has definitely not been easy or carefree but there's a certain peace that rests in your soul when you obey the Lord. We knew the Lord told us to move to Florida to start this church. Desire Church. We just couldn't see past the obstacles in our path at times. I'm so grateful that the Lord has reminded me to stop seeking mere happiness. Now that we're down here, it's incredible to see how the Lord has changed my heart.

For example, I realize my heart had changed when I said to myself that I was ok with the fact that our budget doesn't make any sense. God has provided in SO MANY WAYS! Oh, it humbles me to even think about it. There's a precious lady named Betty Jane for example. I haven't even met this little lady and she has been sending her tithe to us because she doesn't belong to a church right now, she's not able to travel to church for health reasons. The Lord spoke to her heart and is using her in mighty ways! We have received random money in the mail that we didn't expect, right on time. Isn't that just like God? He's so good to us. We have met the most amazing friends. This is the time to BE a friend. Surrender. Give. Live and love with no holding back. I don't want to have any regrets when I look back on our time here. We're not sure how long we'll be here but we know that it's beginning to feel like home. Another blessing that I haven't mentioned is that my wonderful husband got a part-time job at Lowe's. He was able to access full benefits which is amazing, I almost cried when he told me. He is impressing everyone at his work and they have already offered him additional shifts to work! The Lord has blessed our marriage as well. Through what was probably the worst two months, came the best two months we could ever ask for. We have a beautiful son that lights up a room! He has been the starter of so many conversations with strangers! It's amazing to watch his little personality bless someone. All of these are blessings from God!! Praises!

I have to tell you one more amazing story! This past Saturday evening, Blake and I sang at a singer/songwriter open mic night at "Your Big Picture Cafe" here in town. Here's a picture from the scene...

We found out about this cafe from our pastor's coworker, Mohammed. Mohammed goes by "Trip" at the cafe and he is SO TALENTED. We sang a Needtobreathe song and Alpha Rev song and it was such a joy to sing and share our gift with people... but that's not what I'm excited to tell you about! Before we sang, we were just getting to know some friendly people in the room. Jude was in my arms and a sweet lady was smiling at him so we struck up a conversation. Her name was Keelan and her husband was named Aaron. They asked me why we just moved to PP and I mentioned our church... their jaws dropped! They began to explain to me about how they were interested in starting a church here in town because they haven't been able to find a church here. I was so excited to invite them to our church the following night!! They told me about their SEVEN children, how Aarom was on the coast guard, and how he was previously a worship pastor. Blake and Aaron became instant friends and Aaron met our friend Scott who is retired coast guard! Oh, it's just amazing. They stayed to hear us sing and they even CAME TO OUR CHURCH the next day! They have such an amazing family! Their children are so precious to me already! I wanted to take them all home with me! I hung out with their oldest daughter, Hannah who won her talent show last year in high school for singing and playing the guitar. (I didn't share with her about my old talent show glory days, maybe later) I can't wait to share music with her! Aaron also mentioned that he was a drummer for a certain worship band who I happen to have on my iPod. What are the chances? They said that they have never been to this coffee shop before! GOD IS SO GOOD! I love them so much already!

Here's a glimpse into what our church meetings are like. I can't explain the richness of life that night. We had 39 people of all ages, races, backgrounds, children, oh it was heaven!!!

Davi, stirring his father's famous jambalaya. It was so interesting to me because they said the evening was going to be a barbecue so us Tennesseans thought that meant the usual hamburgers and hotdogs. Oh, I'm so glad it was jambalaya. YUM. It was awesome!!!

Someone had a good time!

Mark said, "take a picture of me and my strawberry," so, I did! I made some chocolate covered strawberries for the first time in Florida and it felt SO GOOD. Mark is so cool!

I also made some homemade angel food cake with Truvia that was FAT FREE! As soon as I said "fat free" my friend Millie came up to me and hugged me screaming, "thank you Lord!!" Hahah!