Have you ever lost something? Well maybe you didn't loose it, but you misplaced it? That was the case for me tonight. I thought I had lost my Bengals hoodie. Now some might see this as a problem, but others could probably care less (ha). I really REALLY needed to find my hoodie. This week is homecoming week at the school Im subbing at, and tomorrow is Cincy Reds/Bengals day. So I HAD to find that darn hoodie. If you could have only seen me. I tore my closet completely apart. I looked behind every stack of clothes on my shelves, between every smashed hanger (Im sure some of you have closets where it would be better if you didn't hang up your clothes. I believe mine get more wrinkled hanging up.) I searched behind my drawers (I stuff those to full also). I ran downstairs and looked in the coat closet, and then I even got on my hands and knees and crawled into what I call is the secret closet thats inside my closet! If you could have seen me. There I was holding a lamp in my hand and going through all of the winter bins in my closet inside my closet. I was on a mission, and that mission was to find my Bengals hoodie. Really did I need to put that much effort into finding my hoodie....really? About an hour later I found that hoodie tucked away in my closet on the shelf (which I looked behind) with the rest of my hoodies. I must have just over looked it.
The search for my hoodie got me thinking...what if we put that much effort in searching for God. Would I go as far as putting a lamp in my hand, and crawling into a very small space to search for the word of God? Maybe we haven't completely lost Him, but maybe we have lost the desire or passion to seek His word. Some of us might say "I just wish I had more time in my day." I will be the first to raise my hand....Im guilty of letting the entire day go by without seeking His word. There I sat one hour later my mission completed, hoodie in hand. Could I have spent that hour seeking the wisdom of God or searching for the hoodie I couldn't live without? Im not saying that by searching for my hoodie I was doing wrong. I hope that I continue to have more passion to seek wisdom from the Lord than I do searching for my lost hoodie.
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
God of This City
Sidewalks lead us many places. In the past year one sidewalk has been very prevalent in mine and my husbands life. It took three years for us to make the decision to walk in the doors of 7 Hills church in Northern Kentucky, but after we visited just one time we pretty much knew this was the church for us. (I know they say to visit at least three times before you make a decision, but we just knew.) Bubba got plugged in right away volunteering to play in the worship band, and I quickly started volunteering my time in the youth (which I love). This sidewalk has also connected us with so many wonderful people who I love dearly. Our sidewalk to church has changed just a bit these last couple of weeks though....
Our old weekend routine would be go to church on Saturday and Sunday. Bubba sometimes plays the weekends, and I usually help out in the middle school room, teaching or just hanging out with the youth. For me this meant getting up around 9 or 9:30 and being at church by 10:20. However, these past few Sundays have been quite different. I am now getting up around 5:30 or 6:00 and getting to church around 6:30 or 7:00. Are you asking why yet? Well not only does our church have a sidewalk that runs through Florence, but this month we have also created a sidewalk that runs through Newport. I think many times we get comfortable with where we are and sometimes we are afraid to go, but thats not the case for 7 Hills church. We opened our first satellite campus in Newport, Kentucky at the Syndicate. Yes....the Syndicate! How amazing is that?
The past couple of weeks, we have met many people who come from many different walks of life. When I see the people come through the doors, I am completely amazed at how BIG God is in what I would say is a small world. I had no idea what our first service would be like? Im not sure that anyone did? Was I doubting that God would show up at the Syndicate....not at all, but I still had no idea how many people we would reach. Our first service we had over 400 people take the sidewalk that led them to 7 Hills Church Newport. Out of that 400 there were 29 decisions made for the Lord!!! How amazing is that? God has a plan for 7 Hills Church Newport...do I or anyone else at the church know what that plan is exactly? No we don't, but the one thing we do know, and can have complete faith in is that God has a plan for the future of 7 Hills Church Newport. We sang "God of This City" at church this weekend and it brought me to tears. In the words of Chris Tomlin, "Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this City." And I couldn't agree more that "there is no one like our God".
Our old weekend routine would be go to church on Saturday and Sunday. Bubba sometimes plays the weekends, and I usually help out in the middle school room, teaching or just hanging out with the youth. For me this meant getting up around 9 or 9:30 and being at church by 10:20. However, these past few Sundays have been quite different. I am now getting up around 5:30 or 6:00 and getting to church around 6:30 or 7:00. Are you asking why yet? Well not only does our church have a sidewalk that runs through Florence, but this month we have also created a sidewalk that runs through Newport. I think many times we get comfortable with where we are and sometimes we are afraid to go, but thats not the case for 7 Hills church. We opened our first satellite campus in Newport, Kentucky at the Syndicate. Yes....the Syndicate! How amazing is that?
The past couple of weeks, we have met many people who come from many different walks of life. When I see the people come through the doors, I am completely amazed at how BIG God is in what I would say is a small world. I had no idea what our first service would be like? Im not sure that anyone did? Was I doubting that God would show up at the Syndicate....not at all, but I still had no idea how many people we would reach. Our first service we had over 400 people take the sidewalk that led them to 7 Hills Church Newport. Out of that 400 there were 29 decisions made for the Lord!!! How amazing is that? God has a plan for 7 Hills Church Newport...do I or anyone else at the church know what that plan is exactly? No we don't, but the one thing we do know, and can have complete faith in is that God has a plan for the future of 7 Hills Church Newport. We sang "God of This City" at church this weekend and it brought me to tears. In the words of Chris Tomlin, "Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this City." And I couldn't agree more that "there is no one like our God".
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
What Exactly Does That Mean?
Okay so I'm going to start off by saying that starting this blog is way out of my comfort zone. I am the type of girl that would never write in her life if someone wasn't making her. So why am I writing now you might ask? I have come to only two conclusions, the first my best friend pressured me into budding out into the wonderful world of blogging (I love her dearly), and the second being that God is showing me so much in my life right now and I hope to share my new journey with all of you.
As I began thinking about my blog and what I had to offer to the blogging community my mind spun round and round. I could have a blog about photography, my husband and I own our own photography business and I love capturing the special days of our clients lives. When I had decided photography would be a no go, I thought well I love to bake, maybe I will create a baking blog. I could even picture it. I would title it Cute as a Cupcake, I would have an adorable cupcake background, and I would share all of my wonderful cupcake recipes with my fellow bloggers. Well as we can see that didn't become my first blog either. And then it finally hit me. My first blog would about my new journey the Lord is taking me on. I had no title, no cute backgrounds, just a vision of what I wanted to share.
For the past 4 years I have been a happily married wife, with two adorable boston terriers and a job in which I really enjoyed. We live in a cute house, drive nice cars, and one might say everything seems to be perfect for our little family. And for the most part it was. There was only one downfall. I stopped enjoying what I was doing for a living. I just felt as if God was moving me into a new direction in life. I stepped out in faith and did what I thought God was calling me to do, and did not renew my teaching contract for the upcoming year. I was unsure if God was telling me to teach in a different school district, or choose a new career path. I applied for one teaching job after another and even had several job interviews, but it seemed as if God was closing each of those doors. I continued to pray and knew that He would take care of me whether I landed a teaching job or not. Well, I didn't. However, He did provide me with a position substitute teaching. The one thing I said when looking for a job was, I don't care what I do, I DO NOT want to be a substitute. As we can see God sometimes has a sense of humor. I am currently subbing in a new school district and I am so completely happy with where I am in life. I have no idea the sidewalk God is going to take me down these next couple of years, but I know that I will be faithfully seeking his wisdom as I walk. There may be times in which I come to a dead end, an intersection, or even a cul-de-sac, but I will not let those distractions stop me from continually seeking his will.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. THen you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all you heart."
As I began thinking about my blog and what I had to offer to the blogging community my mind spun round and round. I could have a blog about photography, my husband and I own our own photography business and I love capturing the special days of our clients lives. When I had decided photography would be a no go, I thought well I love to bake, maybe I will create a baking blog. I could even picture it. I would title it Cute as a Cupcake, I would have an adorable cupcake background, and I would share all of my wonderful cupcake recipes with my fellow bloggers. Well as we can see that didn't become my first blog either. And then it finally hit me. My first blog would about my new journey the Lord is taking me on. I had no title, no cute backgrounds, just a vision of what I wanted to share.
For the past 4 years I have been a happily married wife, with two adorable boston terriers and a job in which I really enjoyed. We live in a cute house, drive nice cars, and one might say everything seems to be perfect for our little family. And for the most part it was. There was only one downfall. I stopped enjoying what I was doing for a living. I just felt as if God was moving me into a new direction in life. I stepped out in faith and did what I thought God was calling me to do, and did not renew my teaching contract for the upcoming year. I was unsure if God was telling me to teach in a different school district, or choose a new career path. I applied for one teaching job after another and even had several job interviews, but it seemed as if God was closing each of those doors. I continued to pray and knew that He would take care of me whether I landed a teaching job or not. Well, I didn't. However, He did provide me with a position substitute teaching. The one thing I said when looking for a job was, I don't care what I do, I DO NOT want to be a substitute. As we can see God sometimes has a sense of humor. I am currently subbing in a new school district and I am so completely happy with where I am in life. I have no idea the sidewalk God is going to take me down these next couple of years, but I know that I will be faithfully seeking his wisdom as I walk. There may be times in which I come to a dead end, an intersection, or even a cul-de-sac, but I will not let those distractions stop me from continually seeking his will.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. THen you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all you heart."
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