Listening Now

I went to post this picture the other day, and as I was typing it, I had a message about Jesus come to mind. But I didn’t add it to my caption because I didn’t want to sit in the moment and try to work through whatever it was He was telling me to write. I just wanted to post about the outfit and move on.

Normally, I listen when He wants me to write something. Just like I’m listening now. But there are times when I am tired. There are times when I am scared. And there are times when I am down right selfish and ignore Him because hearing from Him might make things harder. Better, but harder.

Jesus used stories to teach about God’s love. I was recently reading in Matthew 22 about the parable of the wedding banquet when a verse kind of jumped out at me. The king was throwing a wedding banquet for his son. He invited people to the banquet, but they didn’t want to come. He said “I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet”. But they still didn’t come. They ignored his request to celebrate with the king. When people finally did come to celebrate, the king asked a man why he wasn’t in wedding clothes and how he got there. The man was thrown out of the wedding as the king said, (and this is the verse that grabbed my attention) “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

We are all invited to listen to God when He is trying to tell us something. We are all invited into a relationship with Him. But we have to decide if we want to work at it, grow with Him, seek Him and create a bond with Jesus that exceeds all other relationships. We are chosen as His children, but is that something we are ready to accept?

God is yearning to speak to you. He is inviting you into the greatest party ever planned. A party that offers wisdom, peace, and promise of a never ending love. So, let’s lean in and listen. Because here’s the thing, I can’t remember what He was trying to teach me when I first shared that picture. I hate that. I hate that I missed it. Here’s the other thing, I serve a God that offers grace, and He is offering it now and teaching me all over again.

Are you ready to listen?

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Free to Go

The other day Jane Taylor was walking around the playroom with a pink blanket. She kept putting it over head, pretending to hide, and thinking it was wildly funny whenever she reappeared from under it’s cover. Like any fearless child, she took the game to a new level by putting the blanket over her head and instead of just sitting there, she began to walk. She did this over and over again, allowing herself to move blindly around the room without a worry of if she would bump into anything, or trip over something. She just went – trusting that I was there to guide her and move her along the way. Which, OF COURSE, I did. Her only job was to laugh.  

While she was walking around with no view of what was in front of her I found myself saying “I wish I could do that.” I wish I could walk forward not worrying about what I might run into up ahead. I wish I could do it with laughter instead of with fear. I wish I was as confident in the fact that someone is watching over me the same way I was watching over Jane Taylor in that particular moment.  

The thing is God calls us to do this very act every single day. He is always asking us to move forward, without being able to see what comes next. Not only is He asking us to move, He is asking us to trust Him along the way. To know that if we fall down, He will pick us back up. If we get hurt, He will heal our wounds. If something blocks our path, He will redirect us to another one. He wants us to take steps blindly, full of trust, in the direction He is calling us to go.

 In the book of Genesis, Noah is asked by God to grab his family, some animals, and to hop on an ark. Just get on an ark, float around for a while, and one day you will send out a bird, it wont return, then you can get off. Sounds pretty simple. Right? But what do you think Noah thought during that time? Do you think he had moments of fear? Do you think he ever worried when a week went by, it was still raining and they were still floating along? Or did he have so much faith and trust in God’s plan that he was able to sit back and not worry with each day that passed where he was surrounded by water?

My word for 2019 is trust. I want to be able to put my full trust in God and His plan for me. It is something I know I should do – but being a person who likes to be in control I’ve had a real hard time handing that job completely over to Him. Especially when God’s plan and mine don’t match up. He has never failed me and I know that He won’t. Knowing it, and believing it are two very different things.

My prayer is that we will all be able to walk confidently through each day knowing that the Lord is in control. That even the messy parts of His plan for us are perfect. That through the good and the bad He is shaping us to help be a light in His kingdom. That we are free to go forward, blanket over our head and all, because He will always guide us along.

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” - Psalms 20:7 ESV

Black and White

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson 

Cardigan: Fab'rik || Similar Cardigans Here, Here & Here || Jeans: Madewell || Similar jeans Here || Watch: Nixon || Boots: BP

During the winter, you can just about always find me in an oversized cardigan. The extra warmth feels like a big hug that will last throughout the day. This particular cardigan from Fab’rik is one that I have been rocking for several weeks. I especially love the black and white pattern, which can be dressed up or down. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love dressing in black and white?

You know what isn’t always black and white? Life. In fact, most of the time, our decisions and everyday events are very grey. No real answer. No true understanding of the situation. Just grey area that fills our head with confusion and frustration. Most of the time, the grey areas come in situations where the answer should be black and white. You should have a clear understanding; but, all too often, life doesn’t work like that.
 
I feel like I am "living in the grey” with a couple areas of my life. Unsure of how to “fix” things. Unsure of what situations mean. As I sit there trying to come up with a logical answer as to why life goes a certain way, I am left with answers that still keep me in the grey. I get frustrated, sad, and sometimes angry. 
 
Jesus didn’t create this life for us and promise that things will always be black and white. Rather, he created this life for us to trust when things are far from black and white. And the foundation for this trust lies in the Bible. That is where the answers to our questions are written in black and white. It may not be the answer you want to hear. But it will be an answer that reminds you to keep going. To trust in His almighty power. To see that He will carry you through the grey — even when the grey seems to last longer than you originally planned.
 
When we immerse ourselves in the Bible, we are almost always better equipped to face the grey. So, today, I pray that those of you who are swimming in the grey will pick up the Bible and read the words written for us. He loves you. He cares for you. He will carry you through. He will fight for you. Be still and know that He is God, and He is working through you in more ways than you will ever know.

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. - Psalm 118:6