September Update

 Another month of ministry! Time is flying by as Drew and I approach the estimated arrival of our baby! It’ll be sometime in the next month. It’s scary and exciting to think by this time next month I’ll be able to hold our child, lord willing. 

We’ve been consistently filling up this room which has been really sweet and encouraging

As we think through bringing a child into this world, I’ve been thinking a lot about the parallels in ministry and child raising. There’s a lot that is out of our control and it forces us to put our trust in God. Our leader team read this book a couple years ago called Habitudes (there’s a couple and I don’t remember which one it was) but it talks about the concept of three buckets. There’s bucket 1: things we can control. Bucket 2: things that are out of our control. Bucket 3: things we can influence. A lot of our life is not in the realm of what we can control and grasping at that control leads is to frustration and added worry. We can control the weather or what people do, but we do have the ability to influence people. We can give them advice and point them to scripture, but ultimately it’s in their control what they end up doing in situations. 

Ping pong champs after TNF

Ministry is like this too. I can’t make people do what I want them to or what I think is best. I can only point them to God and his truth and let them make decisions for themselves. Jesus didn’t force people to change but gave them an open invitation to new life. I hope I can do that with our son too. I pray that my life is a reflection of Jesus and I can surrender my want for control at Jesus’ feet. 

Some birthday shenanigans

I pray you can too. That whatever you’re dealing with, you can understand what bucket it belongs in and start to give those things over to God. That you use your influence to bring people closer to God rather than use it for your own gains. I pray that you receive peace in the unknown, peace that only the lord can give and no one can take away from you. 

The ultrasounds we’ve gotten of Eli

This podcast I’ve been listening to recently, the Bema podcast, talks about God’s people being ones who trust the story. Who trust that God is working and moving in the midst of the mess. I pray that I can be a person who trusts Gods story even when I can’t see how it’s going to play out. That I trust he is making things new and making me be. That he loves those around me and wants to use me to love on those people too. I pray that you can trust Gods story and remember how he’s shown up in your own life and don’t forget his goodness when things seem bleak.