It is so easy living in this culture to internalize. To internalize everything. When you take an over thinker like me and add that to the mix, it makes it almost automatic. One of the topics I find rolling around in my brain the most is what I am doing for God and how well I’m doing it. I catch myself replaying scenarios on the screen of my imagination involving talks I’ve had with people, advice I’ve given, my character in public, etc. Now don’t get me wrong, I strive to be the best me I can be all the time, but we all have our moments. I’ve noticed, however, that I have a tendency to take on these memories as potential land mines for God’s kingdom. When I give advice to someone and they take it differently than I meant it, I wonder if I’ve caused them to stumble. When people are talking spirituality and I choose not to comment, I wonder if I have missed an opportunity to share God’s love. Recently, I realized that living life in this way does absolutely NOTHING for God’s kingdom. Living life with such worry and distraction only causes me to be introspective about things I can’t control or change.

Introspection that shapes the future feeds growth, but introspection that mulls on the past stunts growth.

When I focus my time and energy worrying if my behavior is hindering God’s work, I’m missing the entire point of living for Him! God is not a human entity that I need to protect and take care of, He is a sovereign LORD who breathes stars and holds universes in His grasp! I need not concern myself with the outcome, but merely strive to live a Holy life, and commit my life to be available for Him. Living for Him shouldn’t cause me to worry about my failures (there will be failures) but instead should cause me to humbly fall at the foot of the cross and weep in the truth that my God is using an imperfect, tiny, unworthy me to do work for His kingdom! How amazing! We are all imperfect and unworthy of His love, but He still chooses to use us for His kingdom because He delights in us! God does not expect us to be perfect, so we need not beat ourselves up for our shortcomings. As long as I am truly striving to live my life for Him, He will guide my actions and convict my heart. As long as I am living for Him, I need not worry if I am doing so ‘good enough.’ I’m learning how demonic this mental poison truly is! Satan is tricky, and can even use our loving desires for others (blended with our own insecurities) as stumbling blocks. While fear hinders fruit, faith causes fear to stop dead in its tracks.

When Jesus died on the cross for us, He didn’t merely take our sins on His shoulders. When Jesus died on the cross, He reaffirmed the sovereignty of God in this world. God is so big that He created the universe! Yet God is so loving on an intimate level that He sent Jesus to carry the weight of our burdens and sins.

When Satan tries to grab a foothold on my overthinking, I will rest in the truth that there is nothing I could possibly do to screw up God’s plan. I will pick myself up out of the mental loop, and stand tall as the man God has ordained me to be and walk the walk He has laid before me.

In moments where fear and doubt creep in, I will rest in this fact:

My God is bigger.

Prologue

This is the first installment in a series of stories depicting what God is doing through the ministry of NewDay Community Church in Versailles, KY. There are true miracles happening daily, and I must share them. God is doing truly amazing things through this ministry I’m a part of, and I want to share this joy with everyone who wants to know. May these stories bring you wonder, joy, peace, hope, and life.

A Life Redeemed – Terry Edwards

It was slow moving Monday evening at Starbucks. The night appeared just like every other Monday night at work, but little did I know what was coming. A gentleman in his 50s walked in around 6 or so and came up to the counter. He asked for a small coffee and a chocolate brownie. I retrieved the items and told him his total. As he was collecting his money, I asked him how his night was going. He explained to me that it had been a rough day because he was looking for a job. He continued on, saying that he was a veteran and that his wife had died a few years before. He was looking for a job because he was tired of living on pension alone. On top of that, his car had broken down and he had no money to fix it. I looked at the counter and saw that he was counting out pennies for his snack. He was short. I covered the coffee so that he was able to enjoy it, and he went to have a seat.

I went on my business for the next hour or so, and I noticed that he was still sitting in the cafe just staring into space. When I was on a break from work a few minutes later, I felt a strong pull from the Holy Spirit to pray for him. It was as though God said “Take your break and go pray for this man.” So, I went and I sat down next to him. He looked up from the remnants of his small coffee cup with a look that captivated my heart. It was apparent in the eyes that met mine that this man had no hope or joy. He was downtrodden and felt defeated. I looked at him, smiled, and said “this might be a little weird for you, but can I pray with you?” Without hesitation, he nodded his head as tears unashamedly rolled from those same eyes. “Alright. What’s your name?” “Terry.” I don’t remember the exact words of the prayer I prayed for Terry that night, but I know I prayed for peace, comfort, provision, protection, and for God’s love to surround his heart. When the prayer was over, the eyes that were conveying hopelessness just moments before had changed; he was wide eyed like a child and obviously in some sort of shock. I will carry what he said to me following our prayer in my heart forever. He said, “Do you see these scars on my wrists? I’ve been suicidal countless times, and I’ve tried to end it countless times, but somehow God has always stopped it from happening. No matter what I do, I can’t die. When my wife died six years ago, I lost it. I lived for myself in a lifestyle that I’m not proud of, and because of that I’ve lost everything. I’ve been trying to get a job so I can get my life on track and start over, but there are few jobs for a guy like me. On top of that my car broke down. I told God earlier today that I didn’t think he was listening to me anymore, and that if he really loved me he would give me a sign that he is real. I asked him to send me someone who could take me to church.” When he finished, I’m quite certain our expressions were identical. I paused for a moment and said, “Well I work at a little church in Versailles, and everyone there will love the heck out of you. I’ll pick you up on Sunday at 9:30.” “Really?” “Of course. What followed can only be described as God literally loving the heck out of Terry through our church community.

I arrived at his apartment building that Sunday praying fervently that he would actually show up. He did, and we went to church. This went on for several weeks. As I talked with Terry more, I learned another key piece of his story. The evening we prayed at Starbucks was set to be yet another attempt at an ended life; Starbucks was set to be the last meal. God is always faithful. God is always faithful. On the fourth week, Terry Edwards gave his life to the one who created him and loves him so very much, and there was much celebrating! In a matter of four weeks, we had all seen a man who was completely and utterly downtrodden and depressed truly and publicly declare his belief in God and surrender his heart to God’s will. The next day when I saw him, it was so apparent that the old Terry had truly died, and a new Terry had been put in his place. This man was full of life, hope, joy, peace, and love! While there were still many hard situations going on in his life, He no longer allowed the struggles to define his life; Jesus defines his life.

Terry did not waste one instant sharing the love of Christ with everyone around him. He has shared many stories, most have been related to the numerous job interviews he has experienced as of late, about sharing the love and truth of Christ with hurting people just as it was shared with him. Terry Edwards went from a lost man to a bold preacher in a 5 week time period. It is truly amazing. We often joke that God may never provide him with a job, because He is reaching so many people with the love of Christ through all of these job interviews. He asserts that “as long as there’s manna” he’ll be alright.

On Easter morning, I got the humbling experience of helping baptize my dear friend Terry in our little church in Versailles, Kentucky. The baptism was not only a public declaration of who Terry was against who Terry IS, but this baptism in particular was a testament to the fierce, complete, never ending, never failing love of Christ. God had his sights on Terry from the moment he was conceived. No matter how far away Terry ran, no matter how low Terry got, or how dark his world became, NONE of it was too large for my God (Terry’s God, your God) to overcome.

The God I serve is a God who loves his Children more than they can possibly imagine.

The God I serve is a God who has amazing things in store for us all.

The God I serve is a God who redeems lives from darkness and brings them into light.

Our God is Love.

Our God is quite literally miraculous.

Our God saves.

Epitaph

I hope and pray that this short account of these events has captivated your heart and spirit. Please keep Terry in your prayers as he walks along this bold, scary, uncertain path with the Lord. God is always faithful, but sometimes life is trying. Cover this humbling man in prayer.

“And I’ll give it all to you God, trusting that you’ll make something beautiful out of me!”

As I sat listening to Bethel Church worship on Youtube this Saturday morning, this line from one of the songs clung to me. In this season of my life, God is doing miraculous things all around me, and He is truly using me to spread His love to others. How humbling that He would use me, because my imperfect love is nothing like the love He has to offer. Often in this life we can feel a pressure to perform, to accomplish. It’s engrained in our culture and work ethic to outperform others so that we can rise above and make a way for ourselves. While this might have merit on Wall Street, this is not at all how God sees us. God does not require us to perform at a certain level, and he doesn’t want us to make a way for ourselves. God wants us to offer up our lives to Him so that He may use the gifts, skills, personality, passions, and desires that He has given us in ways that only He can dream up. God already has a way for us, and that way is more fulfilling than any way we could come up with on our own. Walking down this path doesn’t occur because of anything we can attain, but rather by submitting our own selves, and our prerogatives, fully to Him. Doing life our own way is like putting a puzzle with a million pieces together without having the picture, the end result, to aim for. The puzzle maker provides the pieces and the finished picture, so we use both. Going our own way in life is taking a million pieces of ourselves that God has given us and trying to make our own creation with them. We might be able to assemble something with a few of the pieces, but we will never be able to use them all to make a creation that is beautiful, awe-inspiring, and makes sense. God has given every single one of us specific pieces and He has a magnificent picture for how those pieces will fit together and, in fact, how everyone’s pieces fit together. It’s the most important, impressive puzzle ever.

In the same way that God wants us to offer up our lives to Him, He also wants us to offer up our fears and performance anxiety. I know I fall short of this daily, as I walk in this season. “Is my work really helping people? Am I doing enough for God?” I see this happening in churches all across the U.S. as well. God is not calling us to ‘win’ so many souls, or to check off a certain number of boxes on the ‘changed-lives sheet,’ but to simply offer up ourselves for His use. If we are obedient, He will take care of the rest. If we listen to His call, He will move us where He wants us, and it will be (and already has been) the most spectacular, beautiful experience we could ever imagine.

Next time you are afraid you are not performing enough for God, rest in the knowledge that He is bigger than the earthly boundaries and trials we face, and trust that He is making something beautiful out of you.

Hey all! It has been a while since I have updated because, as usual, life gets busy! Regardless of how busy I may or may not be, I can assure you that I am living the dream right now! When I took the plunge on this crazy journey last November, I could not have ever imagined all of the amazing things God is doing in front of my very eyes! It is earth shatteringly beautiful!

This past Sunday, Easter, I was blessed by the opportunity to aide in baptisms. Two of my youth students got baptized, as well as a dear friend of mine who I’ll refer to as T. (I will be telling the story of T and I later on this week, so be on the lookout! It’s crazy good!) The father of one of my youth students ended up following after his daughter and getting baptized as well! God is moving through the ministries of our little church in ways that could never be orchestrated by human hands, and He is accomplishing feats only possible through divine intervention. The stories are numerous and lengthy, but include severed relationships becoming whole, people on suicide watch getting saved and finding joy, teens learning about forgiveness and compassion regardless of the patterns at home, etc. Its beyond humbling to witness so many honest to goodness miracles happening all because I serve a God who loves His creation with a manner of unconditionality unmatched by anything we’ve yet to come up with. I am living the life that dreams are made of! I am keeping track of these stories in a private manner and will begin to post them, pending permission of the people involved, in the coming weeks. I believe God will change lives through these stories!

Switching gears, I have a very exciting update to announce: NewDay Community Church is sending me to Africa! You read that right: Africa! My father, who does missions work with in the church I grew up in, is going over to Africa the first two weeks of April to do pastoral care for missionaries who live there full time. I am blessed to say that NewDay jumped at the idea of sending me with him! My role will be to scout out future missions opportunities for our church, as well as get a feel for how our small (in numbers) church can make a global difference. The Christian Missionary Alliance, the denomination we are part of, is extremely missions-focussed, and this is the perfect opportunity for our church to establish itself as a member of the global community. I will also use this experience as a way of bringing a piece of the world back to my children’s and youth ministries to give both perspective and drive here at home.

While my traveling expenses will be so graciously covered by the church, there are a few more expenses I will need to cover. These include: 1. a traveling visa. 2. immunizations. 3. room and board (roughly $15 per day) through the CMA. I am reaching out to my social networks to raise $1,000 so that this trip may be possible. I truly believe God will bless it and use it for His will, because that has been my reality during this season. When God orders something, He fulfills it. More importantly than money, however, is prayer. From safety concerns, to health, to the people we will be reaching, I am asking for prayer for this trip. Prayer is the primary work of God’s people, and I stand firm that through prayer, lives change. If you feel led to donate to this trip, please visit my Go Fund Me page here: gofundme.com/r9r4hk

Any prayers you can say, or dollars you can give will be truly appreciated with a grateful heart.

Thank you for your time, and be on the lookout for amazing stories of God’s redeeming love later on this week.

Love,

Jacob

As I sit in a Delta SkyClub in Atlanta drinking a San Pellegrino with lime, I am overwhelmed by how rich my life is.

In English there are a few different connotations the word ‘rich’ brings to the table. One denotes something of high quality or satisfaction. I.e., “This food tastes extremely rich.” “What a rich color that carpet has.” Another meaning brings the idea of monetary advantage. “Look at his car! He must be rich.” A third, and this one is my personal favorite, is using the word ‘rich’ to talk about ones life and/or experiences. While this use is somewhat similar in presentation to the first (and maybe the second), it is different in nature because of where it’s adjectival value is derived. The first two connotations indicate a man-made value, a cause and effect relationship between a substance (food, money, etc.) and how it pleases the senses. In opposition, the third connotation is not derived or caused by any man-made incidence, but rather comes from a place of joy and love for life. This type of pure, complete joy cannot come from anything any person can accomplish or create, but rather comes from the decision one makes to choose joy in their present circumstances. Joy is not determined by circumstances, but rather by attitude. Furthermore, I fully believe that the only way to know true joy is to know He who created it, and who longs to give it to all of His children! We don’t deserve to have rich lives full of joy and peace, but we are given it because He loves us. Everything in your life from the moment of conception down to the last breath you take is coated in His love, because His love and desire for YOU are the very reason you exist at all. It’s a beautiful thing when we begin to see the fingerprints of our creator on our lives.

My life is not rich because I get to travel or drink overpriced water (though I am very blessed to be able to do these things, and I appreciate them!) but because God’s love permeates every fiber of my being. Because the nature of our God is to love and bless beyond all human reason would dictate, the only type of life I have to live is a rich one.

Recently, I have been thinking and talking a lot about love. Love is a word that encompasses so many different situations and scenarios, but it all expresses the same thing: a level of humility that places someone else above yourself, all out of a genuine, amazingly strong care for that person.

Love is staying on the phone late at night with a friend who is going through impossible circumstances when every part of your body is telling you to sleep. Love doesn’t leave people who are hurting.

Love is providing a meal for someone who has no food, because love doesn’t let people go hungry.

Love is sharing the Love and Peace of God with others when they are desperately searching for something meaningful in this world, because true love shares the Truest Love of all.

Love is saying yes to the man/woman of your dreams and committing to a life with them, because true love is committed.

Love is waking up to find out that your place of work has been closed down for the day because of inclement weather, and that means you don’t have to risk your life driving in a foot of snow. Love places lives above dollars.

Love is forgiving someone even when they hurt you. Love means second, third, fourth, and fifth chances.

Love that bright, warm, ‘winter’ day full of sunshine; it’s like God is saying “I know how much you need this. I love you!” Love is full of little things that point to its beauty.

Love is putting yourself after others. If we all put each other first, then everyone would have their needs met and no one would be selfish.

Love is being willing to have super hard conversations when it’s all but convenient, because love doesn’t sweep things under the rug.

Love is sacrificing oneself for the fate of the world. Love is humbling one’s Holy self to the hands of man who only know earthly judgement because Love doesn’t stop with merely talking and preaching, no, love doesn’t stop with miracles or instructing: Love keeps on going until it gives its very last. The cross is true love not just because it allows us to fully live through the salvation it brought that day and the salvation it brings us daily, but it is the perfect symbol of what true love really is: an unrelenting form of sacrifice that is not satisfied until all have felt, heard, and seen its message.

Love will not stop until the whole world hears.

1 Corinthians 13:1-10

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;^a but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages^b and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

The past few days have been full of laughter, pensive moments, and worship. I can honestly say that I am living the dream right now, but we were never called to a life of ease, but we are called to a life of fulfillment and blessings. There are seasons in all of our lives with which God begins to open up our hearts and to heal parts of us that were closed off before. I, friends, am realizing I am in one of those seasons. As many of you know, my father was extremely ill with daily migraines for a large portion of my adolescence, and there are quite a bit of unprocessed pain from that season of my life that God is stirring up in me. Being healed in a season in which God is healing those around me and those I work with is such a blessing. The fact of the matter is that we ALL have hurts, and we all have broken pieces in us. Our human nature is to hold on to them, to stuff them down, so that we can function and live our daily lives. This coping mechanism is a gift from God, but there comes a time when God begins to upheave all of this. He desperately wants to make us whole in Him, and while it is not possible to be completely whole here on this earth, I am so encouraged by the pouring out of His spirit in me and those around me that leads to healing moments. This world is not our home, and one day we will be whole again. I covet your prayers in this healing season I’m involved in, both for me and the teens and adults I am working alongside. I am working with people who have not found Hope, and I sincerely pray that they find Hope and refuge in Jesus. May this time be a Holy time full of redemption and grace in Jesus name!

Today, I had the amazing opportunity of attending a small get together about the ongoing Ebola crisis in West Africa. It was a presentation and conversation about methods that need to be used to reach oral cultures with pertinent information about disease prevention; these cultures have zero-to-no literacy and will not be able to learn or process information via written words. I am extremely interested in this because of my interest in both International Affairs and foreign language. I am also reminded today how amazingly blessed I am to have been born in this country. I have had education handed to me on a silver platter, and I spend my day preparing $5 lattes to the general public. It is not bad to have come from wealth, but there is extreme hopeless poverty that exists, and I escaped it merely because I was born here. If you are reading this right now, you are among the fortunate 20% of the world who has learned how to read. 80% of the world does have the opportunity to learn how to read. That is crazy to me. I have spent time in Peru, and I’ve seen poverty that surpasses my understanding, and it simply breaks my heart to know that I cannot do anything physically substantial to alleviate the poverty of this world. What I can do, and what you can also do, is realize that you are so blessed by God, and that He has blessed you for a reason. We are called to share that which God gives us to those who do not have. The church’s responsibility is to share both the economic and spiritual blessings we have to meet ALL of the needs of those around the world who have not. The only difference between you and a starving child in Africa is that you were born here and they were born there. It’s as simple as that. There is nothing wrong with having a life full of resources and access to resources, but it is so important to realize that you did not attain them in the womb by act of virtue, but by act of blessing. Blessings are meant to be shared. If all you can do is pray, then that is all the LORD is calling you to do. I am sincerely asking all of you, however, to pray about doing more; ask God to place a specific calling on your heart to give a piece of yourself (time, money, conversations, activism, etc.) to a cause He lays on your heart. North America holds 5.17% of the worlds population and 27.1% of its net worth. I am not saying that we should equally distribute wealth from a political perspective, but I am saying that all money is God’s money and that He has great plans for every one of His children! There are great needs around the world, and I stand firm that through humbly laying down our resources to God we can truly make a difference in this world. God is ready to use YOU! Please take some time this week and pray about how God is leading you to make a difference.

On a separate note, my father is flying down to Florida this week to be with my grandmother who is battling her third bout of cancer. It is hard to see her deteriorate, but we are confident that through all things, God is LORD. Please keep them and my family in your prayers as we walk this journey.

This probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has had any close proximity with me since high school, but I have a serious problem: I do not know how to rest. I can take time to watch netflix, sit at coffee shops and converse, etc., but I do not know how to truly rest. Some days it is because I am too busy for my own good and there is far too much work to be completed, but other days it is more complicated than that.

This world is full of hurting people in bad situations, and it is extremely hard for me to take time and fully rest knowing there are people who need an advocate. If I could spend every waking moment of every single day immersed in this town or that city working with people to change their situations, I would. The fact of the matter is, though, I can’t. The nature of living in a fallen world is that there will always be struggles and there will always be hurting people, and I am merely one man trying to make a difference in a world full of people who all have struggles. While I know I am not alone in this, on the dreariest of Kentucky days it can seem like the hurting outnumber the advocates a million to one.

When I took the first step on the journey of this semester, my eyes glazed over with visions of spending day after day sitting with people, working tirelessly to change the trajectory of their lives. (a concept the teens I work with have been discussing with me) I imagined myself channeling all of my physical/mental exertion that school took into the spiritual/emotional exertion that advocacy would be. I justified this by saying “I’m sleeping a lot more, so yeah I’m more rested.” The more I walk in faith, though, the more I realize that exertion is exertion, and that I need to learn to be still. I need to learn to rest in the LORD and to wait on Him.

God knows the hurting of this world, and His heart is for them. When I take a step back from my own busyness and see what He has for me, I realize that He wants me to be available. He wants the ‘schedule’ of my heart to be open enough that I may spend time with those He sends my way and that I may listen to His calling. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to make the biggest difference, but in the busyness this causes it is easy to stop listening to Him. He is beckoning me to sit at His feet and lean back against Him. I am humbled that He would have me there, but I am so blessed that He knows exactly what I need.

Through listening to His calling, and following His lead, I am learning that the best way we can make a difference is by waiting for the ones He sends our way, loving them unconditionally, and by trusting Him to take care of the ones just beyond our reach.

I challenge you to take an extra moment this week, whether you are a parent, teacher, policeman, friend, etc., and see who God is sending your way.

In His rest,

Jacob

As I sit behind my apartment building typing away, I am overwhelmed with joy for sunshine. Sun in January in Kentucky is such a blessing, and it is the perfect Sunday gift to wrap up an awesome week! This week, God has brought exciting things!

I had the opportunity to meet a man who is restarting his life in his late fifties. His wife died of cancer and he has no family near him or in his life. We met by chance, and through a series of conversations I learned that he is a veteran of three different active duties abroad, and that he has no car, little money, and little hope. I was able to pray with him and bring him to church on this beautiful Sunday. I am amazed at how listening to the whispers of God and following His direction truly does bring His will into light. He wants to use us all daily to impact those around us in ways only He can construct. I am so thankful for the opportunity of this semester, and I am hopeful for things to come.

I have quite frankly been apprehensive about beginning this semester without attending school. This is truly not what I have planned. I am enamored, however, with how fulfilling and satisfying it is to wake up everyday and look for the miracles around me. This week has been an amazing confirmation that God fulfills what He orders, even when it doesn’t make sense to you or I. Here’s to  a life filled with wonder and mercy for all.

Here is the declaration of sabbatical I posted to Facebook a few days ago. It outlines in detail the start to this journey and is therefore a fitting first post:

Since I began studying at Transylvania University in 2012, I have been working at or beyond forty hours a week at multiple jobs to pay for school and maintain a debt-free status. I have completed through the first half of my junior year in this manner, and it has taken a toll on my mind and body. I am confident that graduating debt-free is in God’s plan for my life, but working that much while balancing school is honestly exhausting. My body and mind need more rest than I have time to give them.

One year ago I began working for a church in Versailles Kentucky called NewDay Community Church. This was an opportunity that randomly came to my attention, and it involves working with the church and its surrounding community (especially teens) to create a safe, positive place to be. There are people of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses that I get to work closely with and share the love of Christ with. This job has quickly become one of my passions, and my skill sets and academic passions are channeled naturally through this as well.

In late October I felt like God was challenging me to take a semester off of school. I was initially apprehensive about this because it didn’t fall within MY plan for my life, and I’ve heard all the statistics about those who leave school and do not return. The more I prayed and listened, however, the more clear it became. I signed the papers at the end of 2014, and I am currently un-enrolled from Transy. It is a scary thing to take a plunge such as this, especially when it goes against that which society thinks is ‘correct.’ I am humbled, however, because my life is not my own; God has a plan for my life that stretches far beyond my wildest dreams, and taking this leap of faith in Him is a very exciting thing.

As an aside, I should interject the events that transpired directly after I committed to this semester off. The youth group I lead at NewDay was started this past summer, and maintained a regular attendance of a handful of teens from its inception up until I made the aforementioned decision. At the youth group meeting following ‘decision day,’ more teens poured into that building than ever before. The group literally quadrupled overnight, and they are ALL still in attendance to this day! Praise God! In that moment, God revealed a small piece of His plan for this shift in my life, and it is an exciting time!

I have created focus points for this ‘sabbatical,’ as I want to make this an intentional time. They are (in no particular order):
1. Focus more time and energy on the church and its people
2. Physically rest
3. Exercise as much as I would like (lack of time has prevented this in the past)
4. Spend more time deep in prayer
5. Spend more time deep in scripture
6. Read for pleasure
7. Write for pleasure
8. Focus on planning my future with Alayna

I am sharing this with you because I want to share the amazing things that God is doing in my life! I covet your prayers in this season, as I blindly walk into His will for my life! The future is wide open to me, but I am so thankful He knows my path.