Heart Exercises

After meeting with a dear friend Patty this morning to discuss life's happenings, it's been on the forefront of my mind to be conversational with the Lord. Did you know the Lord wants you to hear Him more than you want to hear Him? I don't know about you, but I wanna hear Him a lot a lot a lot, and I've had a hard time trusting the Spirit is really in me. That's something I've struggled with for months, but I'm glad that God is gently walking me through that process of learning to listen and hear His voice, which (not)coincidentally sounds an awful lot like my own voice. Go figure!

I was recounting all the mini-revelations I had during that meeting while on a walk this afternoon. I realized I have a real hard time rejoicing for folks who have "what I want", and I put that in quotes because sometimes "what I want" and "what God's doing" are a little different, and the latter is always better, but that's another story for another day.

So I straight up asked Him, "God, why does it hurt me to see other people have these things? Why does it hurt to rejoice?"

And He answered, "Because it stretches your heart, and growing can be painful."

So simple, almost silly how simple and elementary it sounds. But I got to thinking about physical growth and exercise. There is of course growing pains - they simply happen because we are getting older, taller, bigger. They can't be avoided, really. They last for a bit, and next thing you know, you're 6 inches taller.

And then there's intentional exercise. We want to get stronger muscles, more flexibility, more endurance, we want to grow healthier. If we want to see results, we must put in work, put in time. Our muscles will ache and our lungs will burn. But the more we do, our bodies adapt, they strengthen and acclimate, and the exercises don't seem as strenuous or impossible as they did 3,6,9 months ago. We have the ability to press on harder and longer without growing as weary.

My spiritual heart is like a muscle that needs to be strengthened, it needs to be stretched. It was getting a little inflexible, a little stagnant. It was deteriorating. I feel like God told me, "Adrienne, the more you rejoice with others, especially when it hurts, your heart is growing bigger, stronger, more like Mine. The more you do it, the easier and truer it becomes." Also, how good is it that the Spirit is our strength to rejoice? Definitely not in my own strength to rejoice when I'm just not feelin' it. I usually just want to have a pity party and invite all my friends.  Not to mention, our trust in the Lord for His good and perfect will over our life expands exponentially when we do this - bonus!

I know that's such a plain and simple thought, but it encouraged my spirit and felt prompted to share. I hope it blesses your growing heart today!

Summer Bucket List

Taken by one of my new favorite roads out by Tulsa Botanic Gardens

Inspired by one of my favorite reads, Jen Loves Kev, I thought it'd be a fun idea to make a little summer bucket list of sorts.

So, here we go!

1. Berry picking at Thunderbird Berry Farm. My sister and I have gone out there the last couple years and it has been a blast each time. This year it will be fun to wear Naomi and pick some juicy strawberries and blueberries. Typing this has got me all excited to go!

2. Birthday trip with Kevin and Naomi. Mine and Kev's birthdays are one day apart, so we usually lump both into one dinner/celebration, etc. This year we're hoping to steal away for a long weekend. I'm thinking south-eastern Oklahoma, but we'll see. There's just so many places around here I want to visit.

3. Go swimming as often as possible. We love having a neighborhood pool 4 blocks away from our house. I can't wait to see what Naomi will think of the pool. She'll be the cutest babe there.

4. Clean out the garden plot. Unfortunately, I haven't had a lick of time to garden this spring, and my garden is the biggest disaster. I'd like to get in there in clear out all the overgrown weeds and grass and get it all clean for a fall garden.

5. Craft more stuff. I've been feeling inspired to make cute stuff for Naomi to wear. I've got a few simple ideas and some darling fabric from Owl & Drum just begging to be made into something. I better start practicing on that sewing machine...

6. Go to the drive-in movies at least once. I love the drive-in but I've only been 2 times, I think. If you can stay for the double feature, it's such a great deal! Grab at QuikTrip drink beforehand and I'm all set.

7. Spend as much free time outside as possible. I'm ready to hike and explore. There's the added benefit of exercise in there somewhere ;-)

8. Spend more time with friends we don't get to see much. It's no joke that parenthood shifts your priorities around, but making time for new friend and old friends is such a huge priority for us. The key is flexibility...and food...and friends. You can't go wrong with that combo!

I'm sure we'll end up not doing some of these and doing more things I can't think of right now. I absolutely love summer, and I'm more excited about this one than I've ever been (and that's saying something, because Lord knows summer is every school kid's dream come true).

What about you all?  Any fun plans on the horizon?

On Lent

Lent sneaked up on me this year. My sister texted me Tuesday evening to ask if I was going to fast anything for Lent. My response was, "Uhh... is Lent coming up?". I knew immediately that my ignorance of the season that was upon me as a Christian demanded that I step back and re-prioritize a few things in my life. I went through the motions of asking the Spirit what He'd have me fast during these 40 days leading to Easter. I thought, "social media is always a good idea," but that didn't resonate with my spirit (not that I don't need to cut back, because I do). Yesterday, the first day of Lent, I still had nothing, so I just decided to sit on it for a while and see if Jesus would let me know how He'd like me to spend these next few weeks.

This morning, I hopped over to one of my favorite blogs, Jen Loves Kev. Bingo! She talked about needing to fast a negative mindset. Yes times a million. My spirit received that word and I knew immediately that giving up negativity and doubt and pride (and everything that opposes the mind of Christ) is exactly what God desires of me and where He wants to work most on me, not just during Lent, but always. Jen went on to share an excerpt from She Reads Truth, a great Bible study tool for women:

" As I approach this season of Lent, I’m in need of big, bright Gospel post-it note. My mind and body are tired, my heart is numb, and I just feel… forgetful. Disconnected. Distracted. Remind me what we’re doing here again, Lord? Remind me of who You are. Remind me of what You’ve done. Maybe you know this feeling of Gospel detachment, where you have to squint hard to see what you know is true.."

So that's my prayer for me (and for you!) during this season, that God would grant me a spirit of wisdom and revelation that I might know Him better, and that the eyes of my heart would be enlightened to know the hope to which Christ has called me.* Jesus, remind us of the good news. Remind us of why we're here and what You're up to. Amen.

I pray you are so blessed during this season. May we repent and turn our eyes to Jesus and rejoice in what He has done and what He is still doing!

Adrienne

*an excerpt from Ephesians 1

Take a Risk

Over the past year, Jesus has been prompting and preparing Kev and me for a new way of living. I'm not exactly sure what that is right this second, but I'm finding with God, He only reveals what I need to know when I need to know it. A lesson in waiting, to be certain. That's okay. More patience, Lord.

One of the ways God has been working on us is by encouraging us to take risks for Him. I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with Come&Live, but the founder, Chad, started a "One Thousand Risks" journey where he'd simply take risks to love on and pray for people everyday wherever he was. Except, as most of us know, when the time comes to step out of your comfort zone, it's really not so simple. What will people think? How will I be received? What if whatever I'm saying to them doesn't connect to their situation? Will God really work something good out of it? Anything God is calling you to do will bring glory to Him, so it will most definitely be met with a little if not a lot of resistance, just in your own heart. I'll explain a little better with my short story:

Before Naomi was born, I felt like God prompted me to clean out my overly excessive wardrobe and give it to the neighbor girl down the street whom I've never talked to. I did the easy part of cleaning out my closet. Then the bags of clothes just sat on the floor...and sat there...and sat there. Every single day, and I really mean everyday, for the past (probably) five or so months I thought about taking those clothes to her. My nerves got the best of me every time and I just chickened out. I really couldn't think of any legit excuses not to other than that I was just too nervous.

Today was different though. Today I was being selfish and sad, so I knew I needed to be obedient to God. He gently told me to shift my focus off myself so that others might know He loves them (yes, through you and me!) Faith comes in believing that God actually could, would, and DELIGHTS in advancing His kingdom through His people when we are obedient to do so. It's not us, it's Him, and we are just vessels!

Anyway, so for my very first risk, I packed up the clothes today and drove them down the street to Jessica's house. She has a name! Wow, there's power in just asking what people's names are. They are real people! I knocked on the door, butterflies going wild in my tum, and Jessica answers, "Oh, you are just the person I was hoping would answer the door!" Thanks, God! I told Jessica I'm a Christian, learning to hear from and be obedient to the Holy Spirit, and I felt like I was supposed to give her these clothes. She was super stunned and honestly didn't have very many words to say, but was very smiley and receptive. I must have caught her off guard, as I know I would be in that situation. I gave her the clothes and asked if there was any way I could pray for her or her family. "Yeah, actually, my mom has breast cancer." Oh, wow. Ok, God, let's do this! We joined hands in the cold on her porch, I thanked God for Jessica's mom, and for Jessica and her brother. I thanked Him for loving them. I asked God to heal her mom of cancer and thanked Him that he delights in doing that for His creation. I prayed also that God would draw the 3 of them closer to Him. I think He will.

Drove back home, super pumped because YES! God is good and why wouldn't I want to share that with others? Jesus, help me be more bold for you. Thank you for grace and for your gentleness with me through this long season of learning and trusting.

-Adrienne

On Farm Dreams

My dear friend, Hannah posted this video on Facebook last week. Wow! I mean, how awesome is his story? Multi-millionaire NFL star leaves career to pursue God's call of farming on his life. HE LEARNED HOW TO FARM ON YOUTUBE. Yes yes yes yes.

If you've read my old posts at all, you know I like (love) gardening. I don't know a dang thing about it, but I love it. To me, there's nothing more satisfying than preparing a plot, planting a seed, watching it grow, and giving the fruits of my labor away.

I've always dreamed of living on acreage somewhere outside of town. I've got a vision of it in my head. Chickens running free and rows and rows of veggies growing taller than my head. My heart skips a beat or two when I think about turning my love for gardening into something a little bigger, more substantial. Something that blesses many hands and many tummies.

When I got pregnant last December, I had to put my garden on the back burner for the year as I was just too pregnant and it was just too hot for me to tend to it with the care it needed. You should see it right now, it is an overgrown weed patch with stalks of dead okra standing six feet tall. The cats love prowling around in there. Anyway... Now I'm no longer pregnant, I've got a little babe to care for. But, I can bend down! I can strap my baby on my back and have two free hands! Then when Naomi grows a little older, I'll have two extra hands to dig in the dirt with. I like where this is headed.

I guess the point I'm getting at is that, like in my previous post, I've got a passion. I've got an itch to do something, and I'm realizing I have to make time for it. You know what I'm learning? Satan loves when we're passive about our callings and purposes, especially if they are going to impact multiple peoples' lives in positive ways. That's exactly where he wants us to be, stagnant and in a constant state of "wondering if." I'm onto him, and I don't want to entertain him anymore.

So, I don't know what this looks like for me, this whole farming thing. I know it'll come to pass because God is good and He has given me such peace and confidence about this big vision. For now, I guess I'll learn what it looks like to take small steps of obedience in my own backyard.

I love when Jason Brown says in the video, "When I think about a life of greatness, I think about a life of service." Just like Jesus, who did not come to be served but to serve. That's what I want my life to be about.