So my last post was February of 2012... I am not sure how one recaps the last 3 1/2 years in one post! Ha! So you know what I am not even going to try! Instead I will share how God has put it on my heart to dust off the old blog and see what happens.

Lately I have been stirred up (in a good way!). So much has been happening in my life that is new and exciting and amazing and also a little bit scary and a little bit sad. 2015 will be a year I look back on for the rest of my life as transforming. In January of this year I sat down and wrote down a phrase for the year that I wanted to focus on. I came up with "Trust More. Fear Less." And God has given me ample opportunity to put this to practice in very tangible ways. In future posts I will go into detail about all of this, but for now I just want to share my heart.

I am extremely blessed. I can honestly say that all of the major things in my life I have prayed for and desired have come to pass. Marrying Micheal, buying a house, buying a car, going to college, being hired at different jobs, and the list goes on and on. But this year I have had a major revelation. I did not play an active role in bringing those things to pass. When I say active role I mean fervently praying, seeking, speaking truth and partnering with God to physically see my prayers manifested on this earth. And I very much want to change that.

I have a dear friend whom I admire so much share an awesome testimony. She and her family recently moved from New Mexico to Texas. They prayed and prayed that God would provide a home for them and God answered that prayer. Once they moved in to their home some things took place that threatened to take it away from them. They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God provided that house for them and that is where they were supposed to be. So she and her husband and 4 boys prayed and spoke God's truth over their house every chance they got. She shared that she would walk around her home and thank God for the blessing of being able to buy their home and that this home was theirs in the name of Jesus. And shortly thereafter they found out they were able to keep their home. What an AMAZING faith lesson for her and her family! I mean they can look back on that forever as an example when God completely came through for them and it wasn't by chance! It was because they mixed their faith with the promises of God and watched Him move on their behalf.

Because God is just so incredibly good, many times we are given the desires of our heart just because he loves to bless his children. That has been the summary of my life up to this point. And I am so thankful and grateful and I do not mean to diminish those things at all! But I believe God is showing me that the majority of the time, my job is not to say a few quick prayers and then sit around and wait. Most of the time He is waiting on me to move and speak His promises over my life. He is waiting for me to mix faith with His word so He can do his part! I believe by not doing these things we limit God. He is so excited to move on our behalf but so many times we get in our own way by the words we speak and our lack of faith and unbelief.

I am so ready to use my authority as a believer to bring heaven to this earth! Not just in my personal life (although I believe that is where it starts) but also for God's kingdom as a whole! That is what we are called to do! It is time for us as believers to go after the things God has placed in our hearts! The dreams he buried deep inside of us when we were being knit together in our mother's womb. He wants those things for us! He is just waiting on us to start speaking them, believing for them, and actively pursuing them! So I decided that is what I am going to do!

I want to look back on my life when I am old and know that my relationship with Christ was REAL. Not just in a warm fuzzy feelings way... but in a tangible-God-totally-moved-mountains-for-me kind of way.  When you desire to experience God in that way, it forces you to remove some of the safety nets you have in place and just leap! Do you ever feel that way? Like you get so excited when you hear a story or testimony of how faithful and incredible God is and when you look at your life it feels so boring because you have been so busy playing it safe that you haven't even given God the opportunity to show up for you like that? That is how I feel. Like I am itching to do something big and crazy so that I can know and experience God in a deeper and more intimate way.

ALL of that to say, one of the things God has place in my heart from the time I was young was a love for writing and a love for all things that have to do with marriage and motherhood. I have always LOVED reading blogs written by other women about their journeys and it truly stirs my heart in an incredible way. So I decided I am going to be intentional about sharing mine. I want to be real and honest and raw and just share. Even as I type that I get excited and scared all at the same time. It can be scary to share. It makes you vulnerable. But I have decided that that is ok. Because there is such beauty in being vulnerable. It opens up your heart and allows God to work in you. And I am very excited about that.

I am also excited to have this guy with me through it all!

Ok I am leaping off the diving board and hitting publish!


Blessings,


~Manda Jo~