Remembering to be Thankful...

A crisp chill in the air, the leaves are changing colors, the hustle and bustle of shoppers can only mean that the holidays are just around the corner. I love this time of year. Fall is my absolute favorite season! It's a great time to appreciate God's glory in creation. Every time I go outside and hear the rustling in the trees, see the yellow and orange leaves in the trees I feel God's presence. I hope during this fall season that we will all enjoy what God has created and not take for granted the things that we see and feel everyday but don't take the time to embrace. 

Today at Uptown Church we took communion. Our first time to do so as a church. As we get closer to Thanksgiving today we were able to reflect and take time to give thanks for the ultimate sacrifice that God made by giving up his son in order for all of us to have life forever. God reminded me of the importance of being thankful. Think about how many things we take for granted. There are so many blessings each and every day and we don't normally take the time to stop and think about them. 

I was reminded today of how much God desires to bless us and does bless us every day...we just get so busy and focused on other things that we miss out. I am so blessed to be loved by such a gracious God and to be able to have a personal relationship with Him. I am blessed to have such a Godly husband. I am blessed to have a wonderful family and great friends that encourage me in so many ways. I could go on and on about how God has blessed me. 

I hope as we go through the holiday season that we will take time to step outside, enjoy the breeze, the beautiful colors in the trees, and thank God for the blessings that He has given us each and every day. Don't just let this be another holiday season. Take time to reflect and be grateful for what God has done and is constantly doing in our lives. 

So we all know that waiting can be a hard thing to do. Our society is so fast paced and we live in a "I want it now" culture. But if everything came to us so easily there would be no reason to put ALL of our faith and Trust in God to provide not only for our needs but also to provide for the plan that He calls you to do. Isn't it funny that we tend to complain about having to wait on something to happen when God was the one that ultimately called us so don't you think He would provide. But as human beings we don't naturally think that way. We want to try and solve the problem or provide an answer automatically. Instead we should be obedient to the call that God puts on our lives and then wait for Him to provide a way for that calling to be carried out. Way easier to blog about it than to live it out on a daily basis!!


It never fails that during the waiting period everything that can go wrong seems to go wrong. Waiting would be so much easier or at least a little easier if circumstances in life wouldn't arise that frustrate you or cause you to question your obedience in the first place. The thing is, God doesn't call us to just wait, while we are waiting He allows circumstances in our life that test our faith and cause us to grow in faith and trust in God. If we begin to view circumstances as a testing of our faith we might think twice the next time we react. 


Jason preached in Luke 9 on Sunday morning and the big idea was: "Faith requires continuous obedience in the midst of the unknown." What a HUGE truth that is!!! It's in the unknown that it is hard to trust, so that is why God allows those times to happen....to build our faith and trust in Him. 


Two months after we have set ourselves a part to follow God's leading to start a church we are still waiting on funding. It's definitely not my timing but I have no doubt that God is in control and that His timing is going to be perfect. Today we received our first financial gift to Uptown Church!!!! What a blessing that is! And to top it off there is a church in the area that is going to partner with us!!! I have no doubt that God will continue to bless this ministry. Even in the midst of the waiting God is working. God is using a lady that none of us really know to minister to the church by donating children's books and toys to the nursery/preschool area. How cool is that! This is all about God and He is revealing himself and using out of the ordinary ways to provide. 


We are also continuing to wait on the adoption journey as well. To give a little update we ended up having to resubmit our lifebook about 2 or 3 weeks ago and so we are back to square one in this journey. A little discouraging but I know there is no point in worrying or getting upset because God has a plan and has called us to this so He will provide. The thing I've learned through the adoption journey so far is that you can't predict anything and you have to be ready for anything....which is so true of our daily lives when we are following God. Continue to pray for us as we go through this journey because it's not an easy journey.No matter what your circumstances might be remember to continue to grow your faith by being obedient in the midst of the unknown!

 

Sometimes life can be similar to a baseball player stepping up to the plate. He isn't sure what the pitcher is going to throw but more than likely it won't be right down the middle. He might see a fast ball or a sinker or even a curve ball. Those are the ones you have to look out for! A lot of times in life, we are thrown curve balls especially when we least expect it. You might be going through life and all of a sudden the path you are on takes a little turn or something gets in the way and the journey is delayed. A batter has to be ready for anything. He has to be ready for the fast ball or sinker and be ready to hit what is thrown by the pitcher. The same is true in life....no matter what life's journey brings we need to be ready and expect God to move in the midst of the circumstances that He allows. If we expect curve balls to be thrown then we won't be surprised or thrown off when we experience them but we will embrace them and realize that it's just a part of the plan.

Over the last week God has allowed some delays in the journey of our life. We are kind of back to square one with our adoption process and we are not sure when our funding will come in for the new church start. There are so many what if's and questions that come to mind when you face difficulties.....but in the midst of the delays and uncertainty I have a peace about the journey of life we are on. I know we are being obedient and because of that I know that these delays are going to be for God's glory. In the midst of the circumstances we have we are going to stay faithful and keep praying for God to be glorified in all that we do.

I encourage you as you face the curve balls and delays that might be thrown at you in life, that you will expect those so that when they do come you will be able to see that even then God is going to use that in your life to bring honor and glory to him but also to bless you. 

 

Let the Journey begin

I've thought about blogging for awhile but never took the time to do it. Now that so many things in life are changing I figured this was a good time to start. I hope this blog will be encouraging and if nothing else will brighten your day. 

As of yesterday Jason and I have started on a new journey in life. We are officially church planters. Yikers! God has given us a burden for the young professionals, couples, and families in the 20 to 35 age group. There are so many people in this age group that are not being impacted by the Kingdom of God and we want to see that change. We will launch to the public in September. We know that God is going to use Uptown Church to renew Oklahoma City to His love one life at a time. We are stepping out on faith which really means jumping full speed ahead and trusting that God is going to be there to catch us or keep us from falling. I have learned that I wouldn't want to be anywhere but in the center of God's plan. 

That is just one of the exciting things God is doing in our lives....we have also started the adoption process as well! Jason and I always knew that we would adopt but we didn't think it would be a our first child. Over the last year God has really given us a burden for adoption and ministering to birth moms. Through our hair dresser in Norman we learned about an organization in Tulsa called Crisis Pregnancy Outreach and immediately fell in love. Its a ministry to birth moms who want to place or keep their child. What an amazing biblical ministry and I am so blessed we get to be a part of it. We are now waiting at this point in the journey and that is honestly the hardest part at least so far. If you know me, patience is not a virtue of mine so God is growing me in this area...poor Jason hopefully he'll survive! haha j/k I can't wait for the opportunity to love on a baby and make a difference in the life of a birth mom who just needs to know that she is loved. Adoption has helped me see God's love for me in such a new and inspiring way. Please be praying for us as we continue in this journey and patiently wait for God's plan to come together. Can't wait to see who God brings into our family!

So as life takes a different turn for us I will continue to fill you in on what happens and how God works.