Refocus…

Hey everyone!

What a week it has been. It feels like just yesterday I was writing my last blog! Time is starting to move really quickly here. Our work load has increased by about double, so time is moving! But we also are seeing really cool things happen!!

This week, painted half of the church we live in, repaired and rebuilt a fence, and cleaned up a patch of public land to make into a parking area for the church. Most of the work we do is right outside the place we live. It also is a really unique opportunity to meet people in the community. As we work, we get numerous people that come up to us to talk and ask questions about what we’re doing. It’s really easy to invite people to church because they know exactly where to go! It’s even crazier seeing the people we invite actually show up!! Our group of people who come to church is growing by every service. So fun to watch! 

This week has been a little bit of a roller coaster emotionally and spiritually. 

There are lies coming up that I didn’t realize I still believed about myself. Lies saying I’m not good enough. Lies saying I need to perform. Lies saying I will never be fully loved by the people who fully know me. 

All these things I thought I had overcome. Yet here they are again. How long will we continue to believe lies about ourselves? How long will we put unneeded pressures on ourselves? 

There’s no need to perform. 

There’s no need to perform. 

There’s no need to perform. 

We can just rest in Him. He still loves us even at our worst. While we were still living in our worst sin, seeing all the mistakes we would ever make. Seeing the hidden sins that no one else knows. Things you still feel too ashamed to speak into light. Things you’ve carried with you for years. 

He still chose you. 

He sees it. He knows it. He chooses you. 

Now rest in that. 

Slow down. Stop overthinking it. Take a few deep yoga breaths. 

If that amount of grace and mercy and love over your life doesn’t compel you love other people, even the so-called “lowest” people in society, do you really believe it? 

We are only able to truly love other people out of an overflow of the love we receive from Him. 

Look at your last month. Truly reflect. Have you been truly loving people? Have you gone out of your way for the person who’s left out and forgotten? Or does your own life and worries take up too much time and energy? Are we really being compelled by His love for us? 

If not, why is that? Are there maybe still some lies that we are believing about ourselves? Pressures to perform so much in our own life that we forget to focus on others? Let’s refocus. 

As I write this, I don’t think I’ve ever been so convicted by my own writing. If you realize this last month hasn’t looked like loving people well, that’s okay. Because He still chooses you. He still uses you. Only one month has (very quickly) gone by in this year so far. What do we want our 2021 to look like? I want mine to look like a year of loving people like Jesus. Showing people who He really is. Let’s start refocusing our purpose. Let’s start loving people. Let’s make this year one that is remembered by the amount of love we showed. The amount of mercy we gave the one who feels like they could never be loved. That’s what Jesus does. Let’s follow in the footsteps of the one we call our example. 

Thank you for reading. And thank Him for saving us.