Footprints.

Winter months can be a great time of growth. It's like God brings us through this season with early nights of darkness, shorter days of work and tells us to rest, to be still, to wait. Then Spring slowly blossoms and we get a fresh start. The sun comes out, the birds chirp, new life is born. We get to make new memories and take what we've been learning, and be the new creation God has been molding us to be.

"...the old has gone, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

I'm not here to rub my opinion in your face or speak louder so my voice will be heard. My hope is for others to see beyond the words I say or words I write in a blog, and see the Great God I serve and the lessons He is teaching me. My hope is for you to be encouraged and inspired by what He reveals. I know we all come from different backgrounds, different beliefs, different families and it's our differences that make up our community.

 God rejoices in our differences!!

It's our differences that can come together as one community and become a stronger, more influential and effective group of people reaching out to serve the community where we live.

God has been revealing to me that we all have a desire to be heard. We all want to be valued. Some of us will budge in line to be heard, some of us will wait our turn to be heard, and some of us will not say anything at all. But God wants His Church people to feel valued so they will offer up their gifts when opportunities arise and God wants His lost sheep (eg. neighbors, co-workers, friends, family) to be found so they will feel loved.  We can step out and serve the community where we live and make people feel valued and heard. We can search for the lost and reach out a hand.

I was looking back on old photos this morning and remembering sweet memories. I was reminded of where I was and where God has brought me... there's something so sweet about Spring and sunshine and fresh starts. There's also something so sweet about the long, quiet months of Winter. And through these winter months. the Lord has been revealing to me what truly matters in this life. I may have wasted hours of time but it hasn't been a waste to be home because in this time, I've been learning what truly matters and what only matters is a relationship with God and thanking Christ Jesus for what he did on the cross.

That's it.

That's what the big story is all about.

Jesus.

When I was 18 years old headed to college, I was brainwashed to believe what mattered most was a career, success, a role in ministry, finding a husband, but underneath all those messages I was so torn and confused. Somehow it didn't fit, it didn't feel right, something didn't make sense, this couldn't possibly be what this life was all about I thought.

College felt empty, church felt dry,  people seemed lifeless and hopeless.

And that's when FOOTPRINTS was born.

God came to me one dark winter night and birthed in me this great idea, this vision to bring people together to step out and serve, to leave our footprints on the community where we live and a thumbprint of the

God we serve.

Lately in our small group, ideas have been tossed around, great ideas, in fact. I have this beautiful picture of all of us individually serving- the girl who sees an elderly needing help at the grocery store, the man who can perform CPR at any moment. Like I said earlier, we are different and with that, we all have different opportunities to serve. Picture all 40 of us serving in our own way. This person serving at the grocery store, that person using CPR to save a life, etc and then coming together to share those moments of opportunities we had to serve. It would encourage all of us, inspire us to do more, to empower us to step out when an opportunity arises. Picture with me how we as a group of people can disperse out into our community to serve and how we as a group of people can come together to serve the community where we live.

You, the employed, who have opportunities in the workplace but the unemployed don't. 

You, the stay-at-home-mom, who can't just get up and go but the wife with no kids can.

 You, the wealthy, who can give hundreds of dollars but the struggling who can't.

Ask yourself. . . what can I give?

Time is a gift.

Money is a gift.

Yourself is a gift.

Words are a gift.

Tea parties are a gift.

Smiles are a gift.

Patience is a gift.

Prayer is a gift.

Serving is a gift.

CPR is a gift.

Jesus is a gift. 

What's ONE gift we can give this week? 

Share what that one thing is with a friend. Maybe even start writing that one thing down each week and keeping a jar or journal. Maybe it would inspire us to be on the look out more throughout our week and when opportunities come up as a group, maybe we could come together and be that . . . .be that . . . I keep getting this mental picture of a game of "Simon says" and how the link gets stronger as we add another person. . .

let's be that.

A great Professor of mine, Dr. C, once said, "Our God is a God who cares about planting seeds and nurturing each of us in our blooming process." God sees our beautiful potential and what we can become. Let's be a people who care about others in their blooming process by serving

one opportunity at a time.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe... in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:14-15