sure foundation, royal priest

after a new roof, after lots of demo, the next big thing to do on the house was get the foundation fixed.

When you walk in the front door, that is the first thing you notice - a big bulk of floor that is raised about 6 inches. Straight down the hall you can tell the house leans to the left. On the east side of the exterior, there is a noticeable section of brick that bulges out, and lots of cracks around the entire outside.

I had several different estimates, opinions, and suggestions from people on how to proceed with getting it all fixed. The cost ranged from $5,000 - $20,000. I just couldn't see spending that much money, and really didn't feel like it was going to be that much work.

Back on a day in January (Jan 12 to be exact), I sat down with my Bible, snuggled up with the Lord, and had a sweet time with him talking about this. Yes, Jesus loves us enough to sit down and talk about a house foundation.

He showed me so many times in the word what my foundation in him is. There were 19 scriptures he showed me, and I wrote them all down and began reading over them and praying these out loud everyday. For he is the only foundation I have, and without my foundation being solid, safe, secure and stable - I will surely crumble and crack and fall apart.

"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid in Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:11

"I am laying in Zion a stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly places. He who believes in it will not be disturbed." Isaiah 28:16

"Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on a rock." Matthew 7:24

"For this is contained in scripture - behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed." 1 Peter 2:6

That one is my most favorite, because following the cornerstone is the royal priest. Last summer one of my amazing boys was at the house with me and we were talking about the truths that Jesus speaks over us. The Lord told me that "dude" was 1 Peter 2:9 - a royal priest. We talked about this and I wrote that truth for him and had him say it over himself. I continue to speak that over him, and on one of the demo days at the house where he was there helping, I happened to walk into the room with him and another person and he was telling this man about it - he said something like "yo, did you know i was a royal priest?" Months later he was still speaking that! Ya'll, what that did to my heart.....

I was given another name of someone to contact to have look at the house. He happens to be the same person who is working on foundation issues with 17 other houses in Midtown right now. At first he gave me similar estimates as the other few people, which was going to be quite extensive. The more we talked, and the more he realized that I just needed the house to be safe and wasn't looking for perfection, he showed me a simple fix that would take care of it.....and it will only cost $500!!!! I about fell through that floor when he said this.

The house will still have a slight lean to the left, there will still be a little bulge on the outside, and my coconut oil might all slide over to one side of the cooking pan on the stove, but after all, the house is almost 100 years old. More so, I know my foundation will be secure and safe and solid.

This is so much like my life with sweet Jesus. He is the only solid and secure thing I have in my life. I have imperfections, I have things that are obviously crooked, I am not always in alignment, but underneath all of that, Jesus holds me up safely and loves me still despite all of this. Those things in my life that are never going to be perfect - I value them so much, because it makes my heart rejoice in knowing that my sure foundation IS perfect.

And to make all of this so much more beautiful - I had the money to get this fixed, donated to me! My heart just can't take this most of the time. He always reminds me "I am not doing this for you, this is all about me."

and if you have never seen what a royal priest looks like, here you go.

obedience comes from love

Joshua 22

"Only this: Be vigilant to keep the commandment given to you - Love the Lord your God, walk in his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul." 22:5

Three of the tribes (Reuben, Gad and Manasseh) had faithfully served the Lord, received their promise, and were given freedom to go back to their families on the other side of the Jordan. They literally got to see the other side of their obedience. But before they were released, they were reminded of the expectation God had for them.

Obedience is based on love for God. Simple truth.

Sometimes we can focus so much on the tasks, or the tangible things we must do, that we forsake the reason we are doing them. Being a child of God means that we serve him with great joy, with reckless abandon, with fear-free faith. We can not let daily service become obligation rather than obedience. It is easy to become complacent with giving and serving because we feel like we "have to", versus always being challenged and strengthened with the messy things he ASK of us. I have lived both and I would not want to go back to complacency for anything in the world.

I was in sunny Arizona last week for work - sorry for those of you that were stuck in ice here. On my way home Friday night in Atlanta, I listened to this sermon on "Giving God Absolute Obedience." As I sat in terminal C and watched so many souls walk by me, the Lord poured out so much love and encouragement on me through this. His voice can reach even in the loudest of places, if we have our ears open to hear him.

Serving the Lord is so beautiful. Beautiful can look different every day. Some days are full of laughter, joy, and fun; some days are full of heartbreak, grief, and extreme exhaustion. I serve him because he saved me. I give everything I have to love others because he first loved me. That is what makes each day worth it.

Take some time to sit with the Lord and listen to this. If you already heard it, listen again.

so much goodness

Joshua 21

"Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel at Shiloh in Canaan and said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.” So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance." 21:1-3

It goes on to list out 48 towns and pasturelands that were given to the Levites.

But this is my favorite part....

"And so God gave Israel the entire land that he had solemnly vowed to give to their ancestors. They took possession of it and made themselves at home in it. And God gave them rest on all sides, as he had also solemnly vowed to their ancestors. Not a single one of their enemies was able to stand up to them - God handed over all their enemies to them. Not one word failed from all the good words God spoke to the house of Israel. Everything came out right." 21:43-45

God proved his faithfulness, again, fulfilling every promise he had made to Israel. Some of the promises took years, but "not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given them was left unfulfilled." We know his word is true. We know he won't fail us. We know that his timing is impeccable, even when we don't like it.

The more we can wait on the promises, and see him deliver them to us in such beautiful ways, the easier it becomes to hope for them. Be faithful. Be obedient. Be honest. Be true. Be loved. Be amazed at what is to still in his heart to give.

This makes me thing of a two things.

David Lancaster said one time, "hold God accountable to the promises he has given you." That sits in the front pocket of my heart daily. Not that I am saying to the Lord - OK, Lord, you said it, now you do it! It is more of a reverent place of sitting at the feet of the Father, letting him love me, lead me, teach me, and then trusting him in a way that I know he will fulfill these promises, and praising him in that place until he does.

I watched from the sidelines as several families have adopted children from other countries, and from other states. Adoption is one of the purest pictures of how God rescues us. One family I know adopted a beautiful baby girl from Ethiopia, and since I had been to that land and had a love for that place, I was as anxious for them to bring her home as they were. For 3 years they journeyed through this process. With each post she would share about where they were, the longing in her heart to see God fulfill this promise was so deep. On days when you could read she was so discouraged and weary, her faithfulness to hold tight to what the Lord was giving them, always encouraged me so much. Now every time I see a picture of this beautiful child, the Lord uses her life and their story to remind me how faithful to fulfill he is - from adoption, to land in Israel, to a house in Midtown.

I see God's faithfulness in these pictures. Just a glimpse of what he has let me be a part of over the last few weeks.

"everything he had spoken came true."

boys night out to celebrate my big boys birthday's

Keshawn turns 12! I love this kids so much.

little girls night out slumber party

soon to be new kitchen

a place of refuge

Joshua 20

"The Lord said to Joshua, “Now tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed Moses. Anyone who kills another person accidentally and unintentionally can run to one of these cities; they will be places of refuge from relatives seeking revenge for the person who was killed." 20:1-3

This fulfilled what the Lord told Moses to do way before the Israelites were actually settled in their promised inheritance. (Numbers 35). These cities were designed as a place of safety and refuge for someone that had committed an unintentional murder, that would evoke retaliation from the victim's family. There were 6 cities that were set up throughout the land so that no one was ever far from refuge.

This confirms what the Lord told me months ago when I walked to the back of my house for the first time.

Look at this picture. What do you see? Really - look at it through the eyes of Jesus.

When I turned the corner of the driveway and saw this backyard, and the space on the back of the house, the Lord instantly spoke to me and said "this is to be used for a place of refuge, a safe place for the kids to find rest." I don't anticipate that any of my kids will seek refuge after committing murder, or something of that nature; however, given the reality and generational cycle of survival in which they live, it is likely.

This is what I see when I look at this.

A big screened in porch all the way across the back. Space that will be used for all my kids - to share the gospel with them, see many miracles of salvation within them, disciple their young hearts through what is means to truly walk with the Lord, and a place of refuge to escape the chaos and darkness that chases them. Lots of laughter, hugs, tears, joy, peace, love. Jesus.

In the thoughts that are wrapped in worry of - how am I going to do this??? - over the weekend I had someone call and ask me if I needed a refrigerator. Earlier this week I was praying for one. Seriously. Knowing that this space will also feed lots of bellies, I asked the Lord to provide one that I could keep out there, full of food and drinks. And He provided one!

The Lord has also provided me with some furniture, a tv and a wii (we got to have some fun too!), and a stash of other things that will be helpful with a porch full of kids. So now I wait on Him to provide the materials, help, and resources to see it come to life.

I had a car full of boys Saturday evening, which is not unusual. As I was taking them all home, one of the boys who is 14 wanted to ride with me. He was the last one I dropped off. He just wanted to ride. He didn't ask for anything, and he didn't say much, but he knew that in those 15 - 20 minutes of just riding in the car with me, it was safe and peaceful. What a beautiful reminder to me that when we find our place of refuge in the arms of Jesus, everything else fades away.

You who sit down in the High God’s presence,
spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge.
I trust in you and I’m safe!”
That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
under them you’re perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.
You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you,
harm can’t get through the door.
He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.
You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
“I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
if you’ll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!”
Psalm 91