Happy Two Years to HealingPointe!

On Saturday, our church celebrated two years of existence. With all the recent bumps along the church plant road, it seemed rather inappropriate to have a big "bash." So we had some really good worship and Eric talked for a bit and then he turned it over to us to share if we wanted to about what we have learned and how we have changed in the last year. And of course I did, because I always like the chance to blab in front of others. Maybe I shouldn't say it like that. I'm trying to get a little more guidance from God on when I should speak and when I should just be quiet. Many times I think I speak in front of people because I want them to recognize how smart I am and I like to look like I have it all together. Lately it's been more about being real and honest in front of people. That's a whole lot harder.

But I had to answer the question. How have I NOT changed and what HAVEN'T I learned in the past year? It was almost too big to fit in a couple minutes. We moved back to Sullivan, pregnancy and sickness and work, work, work, I had a baby, I quit my job...and instead of God dragging me through it all like He usually does, I proactively ran towards finding His will and His strength in all of these situations. Most of the time. There were still a few dark days, but they were far fewer and far less dark than before. Why? I guess mostly because I have made a commitment to choose to put God first every day and obey Him. Simple stuff like choosing to pick up my Bible almost every day, consciously choosing to spend time in prayer, trusting that God cares about what I care about and will take care of it so I don't have to freak out. You'd think being a Christian practically my entire life, I would have learned these things, but it seems these are the things that you keep learning and relearning on deeper and deeper levels. And isn't it funny, the more you get to know God and yourself, the more you realize how truly far away you are from Him? So there's these new things that have popped up, too, that I'm trying to work on. Things like being honest when I mess up and asking people for forgiveness. Things like obeying the Holy Spirit and putting words to my faith out loud when I get the opportunity. Can you tell I'm a little bit of a people pleaser? OK, maybe a lot of one. And if you look at history, being bold for Jesus hasn't exactly led to winning popularity contests.

So anyway, I didn't say all of this at church on Saturday. I managed to choke out something generic like "I am dealing with hard circumstances better...blah,blah...listening to Holy Spirit more...reading Bible more...duhhhh." But I think everybody understood because most of them had similar experiences this year.

It was super special to me that my husband spoke up, too. He started towards his Master's in Church Planting this fall. He had looked at all sorts of programs...computers and technology and media...all things he's really good at. But when it came down to it, he decided that a more "God Stuff" degree is the way he wanted to go. All the reading and assignments are NOT easy for a man with a full time job and a young family, but he has already learned so much. So he shared about how he has been speaking up about his faith as a result of his personal evangelism class. He intentionally shared with a co-worker and a friend of his. He just did it- like that! Using the Bible and everything! That stuff freaks me out beyond measure even though we're commanded by Jesus to do it. I usually have some excuse that I'll just not know what to say or I will be too confrontational and drive them further away from God or they will reject what I say and somehow reject me as well, so I just say nothing or hint at things or ask them to come to church. So I'm proud of him. And in true Frank fashion, after explaining all of the deep stuff he said, "Oh yeah. I cuss less, too." That's my Baby, folks!

So all in all, it was a good service. And we ended it with food! Lots of it! You can't go wrong with a potluck dinner. Good people, good food, and a good God. Despite many ups and downs, it has been a very good two years.