![](\"https:\/\/oshetablogs.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/02\/onmyheart1.jpg?w=300\")
<\/a><\/div>\nAs I get ready for bed my day has turned around. \u00a0My sick son is recovered. \u00a0Our family movie time was awesome (rent Hotel Transylvania.. the autotune wonder that is the closing number is worth price of admission alone). \u00a0The kids are in bed and were asleep by 8. \u00a0I had a glorious shower where I actually got to shave! \u00a0(Yay!) \u00a0My kitchen\u2019s not as messy (Tempestt wouldn\u2019t waste her time here now) and, to top it all off, \u00a0it smells wonderful thanks to the Yankee Candle coupon I found in the bottom my purse. \u00a0<\/span> I\u2019m pining for the city. \u00a0Pi-ning. So bad, that Craigslist is in my bookmark bar and I keep getting form emails from Orlando, the real estate agent asking, \u201chow\u2019s your search in Roxbury going\u201d? \u00a0I want to be near our potential church members. I want to invite\u00a0neighborhood\u00a0kids into my home to bake cookies and do crafts. \u00a0I want bump into young mamas at the grocery store and wander the aisles together bonding in that special way only \u201cdoing life\u201d together can accomplish. \u00a0I want to be incarnational like Jesus. \u00a0But, we\u2019re still in Cambridge waiting for God to open the right door for us. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m worried about schooling options for our kids, if and when we move. \u00a0Homeschooling? Charter Schools? Navigating Boston Public\u2019s confusing admission and lottery system? \u00a0They are all on my mind. \u00a0I\u2019m processing them like crazy before God.\u00a0<\/span> So, fellow worry-wart, knowing God and how He works, let\u2019s overcome worry by getting our steep on:\u00a0<\/span> Let\u2019s steep ourselves in God-initiative for us: trusting Him to be a better giver than we are getters<\/b><\/p>\n Let\u2019s steep ourselves in God-provision: thanking Him for the small blessings that reveal His big heart and care for us.\u00a0<\/b><\/span> For me it\u2019s shaven legs and yummy candles. \u00a0Laughter with my children and a semi-cleaned kitchen. \u00a0A quiet house save for the click-clacking of my computer and Jewish hip-hop\u00a0reggae<\/span>\u00a0on my husband, ministry partner and best friends\u2019 laptop.<\/span> I started the day feeling empty and overwhelmed by motherhood. \u00a0My son got up at midnight sick and vomiting so I \u201cslept\u201d on the couch to be near him. \u00a0This morning my six and seven year olds \u201cmade\u201d their own breakfast when I accidentally overslept on the couch. \u00a0As a result they spilled milk and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3037,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[21,15],"class_list":["post-125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-jesus","tag-peace"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/span>I started the day feeling empty and overwhelmed by motherhood. \u00a0My son got up at midnight sick and vomiting so I \u201cslept\u201d on the couch to be near him. \u00a0This morning my six and seven year olds \u201cmade\u201d their own breakfast when I accidentally overslept on the couch. \u00a0As a result they spilled milk and green paint (wha\u2026huh?) on my new tablecloth. After cleaned up the kitchen table and attempted to send the kids to school, my middle son refused to wear his coat because it stank to high heaven (long story). Thankfully the high was 57, darn near\u00a0sweltering<\/span>\u00a0for a New England winter, so I pulled a light jacket from the donation bag and sent them on their way. \u00a0To top it all off, I was sure any moment Tempestt Bledsoe<\/a> would burst into my house camera men at the ready to feature my kitchen on \u201cClean House\u201d. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span>These little blessings built trust in my heart today that God sees, He knows, and He moves. \u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>As a mother, I\u2019m reminded \u00a0that he does indeed gather the lambs in His arms, holds them close to His heart and gently leads the one with young (lead on, Lord. Lead on.).\u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>But, these little blessings unexpectedly built trust in this church planting wife\u2019s heart. \u00a0<\/span>
<\/b>Church planting is hard<\/b>\u00a0and right now our start is a bit rocky. It feels much like this morning.\u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>Empty and overwhelming.<\/span>
<\/span>I have so much to be worried about:<\/b><\/span>
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My husband and I are adjusting to our roles within the church. \u00a0Although we love each other dearly, we\u2019re learning that we think, work, and prioritize very differently. \u00a0It hasn\u2019t been a problem in the past since we had very distinct roles in our home, but now as we work together to get New City up and running, we\u2019re having to flex our grace and\u00a0forgiveness\u00a0muscles. \u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>Our launch team is forming slowly but surely. It\u2019s always nerve wrecking to ask someone to join your church plant. \u00a0You want to preserve the relationship while\u00a0encouraging\u00a0them to take a step of faith with you. It can be tricky, especially when you see their gifts and the way they can bless the Body through serving in your church. \u00a0I\u2019m worried I\u2019m alienating all my friends :).\u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>I\u2019m learning to file taxes as clergy and church. \u00a0Not fun. \u00a0Taxes! Oh Lord, help me give to Ceasar what is his and to you what is Yours! \u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span>I\u2019m worried and my worry is giving way to fear.<\/span>
<\/span> But, somewhere I remember Jesus had something to say about worry. \u00a0<\/b><\/span>
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Jesus taught about birds who started their day with nothing but were fed by a loving God. \u00a0They didn\u2019t try to micromanage the menu, they trusted that they\u2019ll receive exactly what they need. \u00a0Lord, can I trust you like that?<\/b><\/i><\/span>
<\/span>Then there are those annoyingly contented lilies that remain rooted where God placed them to reflect His beauty. \u00a0Lovely witnesses to the creativity, wisdom, and care of our God; they are not worried that should beautify another field. Maybe one day He\u2019ll move them, but for now, they trust in His initiative. \u00a0Lord, can I trust you like that?<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n
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<\/i><\/span><\/span>Church planting is a faith exercise unlike any I\u2019ve experienced. \u00a0Unlike evacuating from New Orleans when Katrina bore down on the city I loved. \u00a0Unlike moving to Boston, having never been further north than Flint, MI. Unlike finding out that we\u2019d have another baby while I held a two month old sleeping in my arms. \u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>Church planting seems harder, realer, more urgent.\u00a0<\/b><\/span>
<\/span>\u00a0But, I know both God and how He works. \u00a0I know He is unchanging in His goodness and I know that He is mindful of even the smallest of creation. \u00a0How can he not be mindful of me and the call He\u2019s placed on our lives?<\/span>
<\/span>Christine Hoover says in her fantastic book to church planter\u2019s wives, \u201cThe Church Planting Wife: Help and Hope for Her Heart<\/a><\/span>\u201c<\/a>,\u00a0 \u201c..when I think about the unchanging character of God\u2026all the worries darting through my mind, all the weight of my sin, all the burden of motherhood and ministry fall right off in light of these truths. \u201c<\/span>
<\/span>Amen, Sister Amen!<\/i><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span>Let\u2019s steep ourselves in God-reality: remembering the ways He\u2019s come through for us when it seemed hopeless.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/span>Which \u201csteep\u201d is hardest for you to do? \u00a0What are some ways you\u2019ve seen God-reality, God-initiative, or God-provision in your life? \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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