The 7 Journey

*****WARNING*****

This post is heavy, sorry. But I had to get it out there because it has been on my heart.

 

A few of you know about the seven months of fasting that Jeremy and I have been doing with Jodi and Chris and a couple of their friends. But if I haven't told you about it let me just share that God has been taking us on an incredible path toward being in closer fellowship with Him.

The most important learning experience of my life summed up: "My salvation is not something I was entitled to, it is a gift - the greatest gift any person could ever hope to receive and the majority of people on earth are dying without ever even hearing about it! The most devastating thing is that so many of people think they are all set because they have been in church a couple of times and prayed that prayer or got dunked or sprikled with water or whatever, but they are completely missing it. Being a follower of Jesus is life changing and it is more than a one time act that you can check off a "to do" list.
When you receive forgiveness and eternal life from Jesus you realize it is a gift to be shared, not hidden. Why do we think "tolerence" is love when all we are doing is pacifying people we care about straight to hell. There is a right and a wrong here my friend. There is a heaven and a hell and it lasts forever. And there is ONE way to get to heaven. Not lots of self-fufilling paths to enlightenment. One way, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ the son of the one and only God, creator of the universe. Please don't miss this. We were created for one purpose - to know and love Jesus and to follow Him in all our ways, including sharing Him and His TRUTH and salvation with others in love. Please note I said sharing in love, not in judgement....we are not the judge, He is. We share truth and salvation and love - we are ALL sinners and have all messed up and still mess up. Thank the Lord for His grace and forgiveness but His grace and forgiveness are not an excuse for us to continue living in sin saying, well, God will forgive. No, because of His love and grace for us we love Him through being conformed and transformed to His ways, joyfully. Leaving our sinful ways behind we strive for new life in Jesus.

I was the girl who thought she had it all together until the Holy Spirit started shaking up my world and exposing my cleverly disguised sinful nature, my selfish ways, my sinful thoughts, my gluttonous appetite for worldly pleasures and comforts and my strong need for control. He is breaking me completely to form me new again and I've never been more grateful to be completely broken, torn down, and exposed for the fraud that was in my heart. All so that I could be purified and live in truth. Raw and exposed and unashamed to share my faults and shortcomings for the glory of my Savior. He is humbling me. It is hard, but it is life giving. And I am eternally grateful.

In the midst of all the changes God has been working in our family, Jeremy and I have been participating in an experiment of sorts. It is part of a book called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, written by a woman named Jen Hatmaker.

So I wanted to share a bit of our experience with you if you are interested. We are in Month 3 right now.

The 7 Journey that we have been traveling.