No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.’ – Hebrews 12:11(NLT)

I hate painting.  It’s the worst!  But... a fresh coat of paint on something always looks clean & renewed!  I find it takes so long and such meticulousness to really do a good job!  “They” say that the prep work before you paint is the key to a good paint job.  If you tape really well and prime well, the actual paint job itself isn’t so overwhelming and is actually a lot faster than if you didn’t prep at all.

Whenever I paint, the results are always worth it.  It’s hard work; it’s tiring; it feels like it never ends; but it always feels so good to be done.

Isn’t that true with discipline?

We create the lives we want – whether on purpose (discipline) or on accident (lack of discipline).

Four and half years ago, I started this mindset shift that I was going to start creating the life I want instead of reacting to the things I didn’t want.  “Do things on purpose” was the motto.  I had just ended a very toxic relationship before this shift, and dealing with things that were out of my control was something I had grown so used to.  Emotionally and mentally, I had started to give up.

Accepting things as they were happening was the new normal even if it was ultimately harming me and pushing me farther from Jesus and the life He had planned for me.  It was a paralyzing relationship that wasn’t going to end well if something didn’t change.

Through all this I learned that an accidental life leads to confusion, frustration, and mistakes.
When you start to let things slide in your life, it leads to a life you didn’t exactly want.  When you become unintentional with your words, your thoughts, and your actions, you make room for an unhealthy lifestyle in more ways than one.

I am not perfect, that’s for sure.  I intentionally made decisions that weren’t right. I guess that’s what happens when you let things slide.  It becomes easier to allow people to treat you in a way you don’t deserve.  You become numb to it because, “Hey! This is the new normal I guess.”

Every day, I try to retrain myself to understand that I’m not perfect and I’m not supposed to be.  God doesn’t expect me to be perfect, so I shouldn’t feel that for myself. With Jesus, though, deciding to do great things on purpose is one of the best decisions I have made.

So today, create the life you want and you love!  Do things on purpose.  Smile on purpose. Choose to be positive on purpose.  If you want something, go for it. I know...  I know.  “Easier said than done,” you say. But one step a day, on purpose, will lead you to something so incredible, it’s intoxicating!  It’s called “purpose”.

Amber Miyasato has been on staff at Hillcrest Church for three years.  She is the Operations Director, which means she oversees all media, promotion, office, and century projects.  Some of the things she enjoys are graphic design and Crossfit (Crossfit Seven Cities).  She loves to write and be creative in several different aspects. Her goal in life is to constantly grow in all areas so she can best reflect who Jesus is.

There’s been a nasty flu bug wreaking havoc in the sleepy lands of Kitsap.  It has the destructive power to turn your best day into your worst nightmare.  Death and devastation are free-flowing with no end in sight — for 24 hours.  Then you feel as good as new and you look slimmer than ever, so there’s a silver lining I guess!  But how do you know if you’re really sick?  There’s some kind of a sign, like a fever, usually.  

That works great for the body, but have we ever considered that our SOULS may have the tell-tale signs of a fever as well?  Could it be that our souls have been trying to let us know they’re sick and need attention, but we haven’t been taught to listen to the signs?  

Do you find yourself up in the middle of the night a lot?  Or, are you having conversations with people (and winning them) but you’re the only one in the car?  Do you keep telling yourself you “should be” doing this, or you “have to” keep doing that.  However, deep down you really don’t care.  Wouldn’t it be great if your boss asked you to take a nap and everyone brought you birthday cake and you got to eat all of it with no feeling of judgment?  

Honestly, these are all signs of a sick soul — kind of — just like when the body gets an infection and you experience fever, nausea, loss of appetite, greater need for sleep, chills, etc.  The soul has its own symptoms of soul infection.  Here they are:

Your SLEEP gets disrupted, and you no longer have steady sleep patterns.

Your INTERESTS start to become less interesting.  What you loved you just don’t really care about doing anymore.

You experience a lot of GUILT.  Life seems to be driven more by obligation than passion or enjoyment. There’s even a robust amount of shame in the back of your mind.  

Your ENERGY levels fluctuate unpredictably.  You tire out easily or have unexpected bursts of energy.

Mentally, your CONCENTRATION game is struggling, and you find yourself having trouble focusing.

Your APPETITES start to change, and this is a big one because you are self-medicating.  Only, you don’t realize you’re medicating.  You just see that you’re struggling with temptation and self-control.  What you would never do before seems to become common place.  One drink becomes seven. You pick up smoking again.  Meth?  Usually no, but this week it sounds good.  Your cell phone has become a porn machine.  You took a day off to stream several seasons of Sesame Street.  Or you somehow never reach your fill of Sour Patch Kids (don’t judge me).  This is where many Christians find themselves without realizing why.  They just see that they’re delving into sin, but they don’t understand that it’s because their soul is sick.  So they throw the cigarettes away and switch to a different form of excess.  And the shame multiplies exponentially.  

PHYSICALLY, you find yourself more clumsy, lazy, or forgetful.  You try to play it off as age, but you’re 24.  

Finally, people begin to contemplate SUICIDE.  But the way they contemplate it is not how many would assume it is thought about.   It’s framed as kindness for others, like:  “It would be better for everyone if I… .” All of these symptoms are serious.  However, I would add that this one is EXTREMELY serious.  If you’re thinking things like this, reach out to me!  Don’t keep going at it alone.  Your soul is sick and it needs treatment.  The church community is here to love, support, and help.  

So, what do we do if we see some symptoms in our lives?  How do we heal?  The symptoms won’t just go away like we hope, until we deal with them.  In fact, these issues seem to hang on and create more illness in our souls the longer we leave them untreated.  And, both PRESSURE and HOPELESSNESS seem to fuel the fever.  So we’ve got to handle these things.  Look at Elijah’s breakdown in 1 Kings 19.  There were some things God told him to do when his soul got sick and he started displaying many of the symptoms I’ve listed above.  

He needed (and we need):

Rest – God put him to sleep.  You need it too.  If it’s a struggle, there’s a lot you can do to make it a priority.

Nutrition – Literally, birds and angels brought him food!  It had to be good!  We need the good stuff too.  
No more Sour Patch Kids!

Exercise – Your body is connected to your soul and mind.  If it gets unhealthy, it will affect the other parts. Take a walk.  Climb the stairs.  Run the marathon.  Lift the weights.  Whatever you need to do, take care of the body God gave you.  

Spirituality – We need Jesus just like we need breathing.  And even if we don’t think about breathing, we don’t stop breathing.  Treat your spirituality the same way.  Read your Bible, even when it’s difficult.  Pray, even when it seems fruitless.  Listen.  Let the Holy Spirit speak to you and encourage your soul.  

And this is so important:  find the ISSUE causing the infection and deal with it.  If you were hurt, you need to forgive and heal.  If you’re walking through a divorce, you’ve got to process the pain.  If it’s a dream that has died, it deserves your attention.  If a relationship has ended, don’t just move on, but probe the pain and grow from it.  

I got sick right before Easter a few years ago, and I ignored the symptoms and forced myself to tough it out.  I thought I was being awesome, but it was a miserable disaster.  I ended up getting really, really sick on one of the most important weekends for the church.  I wasn’t at my best because I refused to pay attention to my symptoms (and my wife) and get rest.  If you see these symptoms in your life, take the time to work through the steps of treatment and healing.  It will be like Alka-Seltzer to your soul, and you’ll be back to Loving Jesus, Loving People, and Loving Life before you know it!

Brian has been at his dream job of lead pastor at Hillcrest Church in Bremerton, WA since 2013. Together with the love of his life, Andrea, they have two children and one dog. Brian loves spending time with his family, Netflix, carbs, CrossFit, and moderate outdoorsy stuff.

The other night my husband asked me an innocent enough question: “Do you like your life at home?”  I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for four years now, and it has certainly been a dramatic change in lifestyle from my pre-motherhood days.  I’m a social person by nature, a middle child who is always most comfortable surrounded by lots of people, the more the merrier.  And for the majority of my life, that’s the way I’ve lived.  From lots of extra-curricular activities in school, to dorm life in college, to working in a cubicle, I’ve spent most of my life surrounded by lots of people.

But ever since I could remember, I’ve known that I was meant to be a stay-at-home mom.  And through a crazy string of events, God made that happen.  Not only did He give me this desire and lay the path to make it happen, but He knew all the reasons why I needed to be a stay-at-home mom, too.  He had some important lessons to teach me at home.

Lesson #1:  Being home a lot can actually be a GOOD thing.

“We stay so busy that the truth of our lives can’t catch up.” – Brene Brown

Our modern society puts a lot of value in being busy.  We are constantly pressured to go and do and sign up for this activity and this sport and this class.  I’m dangerously susceptible to the allure of being busy.  But it is thanks to my children and my life at home as their mother that I’m learning that a slower, less busy life is actually good for me.

Being home and attempting to raise my children — by far THE hardest job I’ve ever had — without the distraction of activities and lots of people forces me to continually face the truth of my life: my failings and weaknesses; my strengths and gifts; and my endless, undeserved blessings.  The quiet of home allows for introspection.  My life at home forces me to be still and know that He is God — and I am not.

I’ve learned to see home as a source of rest, comfort, routine, safety, and love, and not merely a pitstop in the midst of a chaotic life.  I pray that giving this foundation to my children during their early years will help them to grow up and see home as a place of value, a safe harbor in what can be a crazy world.

Lesson #2:  Community is worth working for.

“Like iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17

For all of our talk of it taking a village to raise our kids, if you are a stay-at-home mom that title can very easily become quite literal.  Local community is not what it was even a few decades ago.  Most of us don’t know our neighbors, and our kids don’t all play outside together like they used to.  On top of this, social media tricks us into thinking that connection is only a few clicks away — that physical distance doesn’t matter.  But I can tell you from experience that when your smartphone is your main window to the outside world, no matter how “social” your media is, you are only going to feel one thing — ALONE.

Before I had kids, I never appreciated how easy it was to go places.  Who knew it could be so hard to get shoes and coats on, bags packed, and car seats buckled?  With kids, you learn to give yourself a lot more time to get out of the house than you think you need, and it often still isn’t enough.  There are days where I just don’t have it in me.  But, a few times a week I force myself — whether I feel like it or not — to do the hard work of getting out of the house and surrounding myself with other people.  I might show up late, exhausted, and frazzled, but I still do the work to get to that playdate or mom’s group, because I NEED to.  And a few times a month I make a point to get some “grown-ups only” time when my kids are in bed.  It might be a date with my husband, or a book club meeting, or dinner with my sister, or an evening practicing worship music with friends at church.  Whatever it is, I always come away refreshed and energized.

Doing the work to create community has shown me how much we all truly need other people.  It can be so much easier to fall into routines of isolation, but God uses people in our lives to bring energy, inspiration, and encouragement.  Simply put, we need each other.

Lesson #3:  My energy and ability is limited.  God’s is infinite and sufficient.

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears
much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

My years spent as a mom have brought lots of joy —  and lots of exhaustion.  Parenting really is a 24/7 job, and so much of your day is spent catering to the needs of tiny humans.  It is exhausting physically, mentally, and emotionally.  I never knew it was possible to be so tired, so often.

Don’t get me wrong.  There are occasional days when I’ve had good sleep, and the coffee is flowing, and I feel like supermom.  The kids are fed healthy food, and the house is clean, with time to spare for running errands and a playdate.  On those days it is easy to trick myself into thinking I’m self-sufficient and I’ve got this mom thing down.  But on the days of sheer exhaustion, when I feel thoroughly depleted, I can more clearly see how much I am lacking.  I can see that on my own, my best will never be enough.  My lack of patience, knowledge, skill, and wisdom mean that I can never be the perfect mom, no matter how hard I try.  I’m not sure how I could live with that knowledge, were it not for my trust that God truly IS the perfect father.  He is capable of filling in the gaps and giving my kids what they need.  And He is also capable of giving me what I need — and am lacking — to become a better mother than I am on my own.

Exhaustion, while a nuisance, is the path that has led me to rely more fully on God.  It is on those days when I am at my lowest and feel like I have nothing left to give that I’m forced to rely on God’s Spirit and ask for the fruit that He brings: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  All the things that I need in order to be an effective mother, no matter how much sleep I’ve had.

So, do I like my life at home?  Some days, yes.  Some days, not so much.  But do I NEED my life at home? Absolutely.

Jessica Pelton is a Kitsap county native who lives in Kingston, WA along with her husband Casey and two young daughters, Amelia and Lucy. She is a full-time stay-at-home mom and part-time freelance writer. In her rare moments of free time Jessica enjoys playing music and singing, or getting lost in a good book… usually while sitting next to a giant pile of unfolded laundry.

Have you ever said something that you regretted?  Either as you were saying it, or when you saw the look on the other persons face?  I have! Why is it that our brains work faster than we want them to in situations where we should be thinking before speaking?  Do we say these things to be mean or to win an argument?  Or is it because that is how we really feel?  Let’s explore that more, shall we?

I have often wondered how some people go through life being unapologetic for their words or actions.  Do they realize that they are hurting people?  Or do they even care?  Are they convinced that they know best and that being “truthful” is the only way to go?  You know what I say:  they are hurt.  It’s their defense mechanism to “get them before they get me.”  The bible speaks of this in Luke 6:45  “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”  So, I’m left to believe that when we say things quickly without thinking it’s what is stored up in our hearts.  Good and bad!  It’s like playing the word association game where the object is to say the first thing that comes to mind.  Sometimes our answers surprise us.

These days, I find myself thinking way more about how I will react to things said and done to me.  I’ve been in situations where someone close to me would talk to me in a tone that was just harsh enough to keep me from asking too many questions — an intimidation tactic that had obviously worked in the past and which they had now mastered.  I guarantee that they don’t even know they are doing it anymore.  It occurred to me that they did this because their heart was hurting.  They wanted love and support but didn’t know how to actually receive it from people who love them.  Instead, they spoke out of the hurt they had stored up in their heart.  How do I help them if they won’t let me in?  Love them anyway, right?  Right, but with boundaries.  Without boundaries, the words that come at you from a hurt heart can start building up in your own.    Over the years, I’ve endured a lot of these hurtful words, but I had to stop, because I started seeing that my words were starting to turn dark.  I couldn’t allow the bad to push out the good.  I had to set boundaries.

Check your heart.  Are your words sharp as knives, soft as clouds, or somewhere in-between?   Do you find yourself angry or satisfied?  I had a gut check recently that let me know right away that I needed to work on my heart.  Being self-aware is so important; don’t wait until you hurt someone’s feelings to look at yourself.  Listen to the Holy Spirit when he is prompting you to examine what is stored up in your heart.  You cannot help anyone if you yourself have bad stored up in your heart.  Luke 6:42  “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

So, do you need a gut check?  Here’s a hint:  if you said no immediately, you just might!  We all can work on something.  I challenge you to pray about it, ask God to help you identify the area in your life where you need to push out the bad and accept the good.

My name is am Chelsea, wife to Kevin and mom to Landon (10), Leighton (8) and Logan (6). I work full time at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and have been there for almost 14 years. I love being involved with my family…and all that entails with raising 3 boys! We love camping and the SEAHAWKS!!!! God is good and never fails!

The point is not to just get by.  We want to live well.  (1 Corinthians 10:23 MSG)
What does it mean to “live well?”  Some say it means to be successful or to have your lifelong dreams realized.  Some say it’s when “I’m living my best life!”  Others say it’s when they have everything on their checklist taken care of.  When life is balanced.  When nothing bad is happening.  When I FEEL well.

Most of the time, the idea of “living well” means “doing more.”  So, we create more lists.  We take on more activities.  We say “yes” and “of course” and “why not” because if we don’t say “yes” then we must be a terrible person.  We get busier and life goes faster and then, we blink, and the month of June is over when we feel like only yesterday we were celebrating Christmas. I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the faster time seems to fly by.

As I have spent the last few weeks meditating on this verse and these words, I’ve concluded that to live well has nothing to do with my efforts or my productivity.  I can spend all the hours and check all the boxes and take on all the responsibilities and drink all the coffee to keep all of me awake because of all the hours I spent lying in bed last night thinking about all the things I need to do tomorrow.  For some reason, I have equated the word “well” with “more” or “all.”
And I think I’m doing it wrong.

I’ve intentionally spent the last few weeks off the grid.  I took days off work.  I went back home to California where I hiked a mountain.  I got a tattoo.  I deleted Facebook and Instagram for a week.  I stopped trying to have the perfect response, and I just listened.  I turned off my phone. I turned off my computer.  I spent time with people who reminded me who Jesus created me to be.  I forgave people who have hurt me and asked for forgiveness from friends I have hurt.  I took chances.  I laughed.  I laughed a lot.

I did things that bring me closer to Jesus.  I let go of stuff that had been hurting me.  I surrendered my need to understand things that are outside of my brain capacity as a human.  I took time to celebrate how far God has brought me.  I asked for bravery in the places where I have been paralyzed by fear.  I worshipped even though I was hurt.  I painfully admitted to myself and to God that I still have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.

And something amazing happened.  My schedule didn’t get any less hectic.  I still had 2 jobs.  I was still working over 40 hours a week.  Still not getting a full 8 hours of sleep.  Still had people asking for more than I had to give.  Still had a million thoughts in my brain and a thousand things on my to-do list.  

But my anxiety decreased dramatically.  I was able to focus.  I could show up somewhere and be ALL there.  Not just physically there.  But mentally and emotionally and spiritually.  I could be ALL in when someone asked me for help.  I even found joy in going grocery shopping, my least favorite chore.  I saw Jesus everywhere. He had heard me and was responding.  He was answering all those questions I had been asking.  Only this time, I was listening.  I was ready.  I was looking for Him, and He was making Himself easy to find.

1 Corinthians 10:23 (MSG): The point of life is not just to get by.  The point is to live well.  The NIV translation says, “I have the right to do anything, but not everything is beneficial.”
See, friends, I think that to live well has nothing to do with doing more or having it all.

Living well starts with the soul.
To live well means living from the inside out.
To live well means rearranging your priorities so that Jesus can take his rightful place as the best and most important thing that has ever happened to you.
To live well means getting rid of the stuff that weighs you down or keeps you from moving forward, whether it’s the clothes in your closet or the anger in your heart.
To live well means getting outside of your own four walls and asking what you can GIVE instead of what you can GET.
To live well means looking around at your house, your car, your spouse, your children, your job, and being aware that you already have what someone else’s heart is aching for.
To live well means staring chaos in the face and feeling relieved because you remember that you don’t have to be the one in the driver’s seat.
To live well means enduring tragedy and finding your comfort in a God who never wastes a wound and has bigger plans than you could ever imagine.

It’s staying close when you want to push away.
It’s getting out of bed when everyday feels like failure.
It’s holding on to a God who is everything He says He is,  even if you are just holding on by your fingertips.

Don’t waste another minute of this already-fleeting life focused on something that doesn’t matter and won’t matter at the end of your life.  Don’t be afraid to have hope when hope seems silly. Don’t fill your heart with negativity.  Don’t get caught up in chaos.
But don’t waste your wounds either.  Let God use your pain, your fear, your loneliness, and your mistakes to change the world around you and help someone who needs to know they’re not alone in this life.  Let God make something beautiful out of your dust.  Otherwise, what is it all for?

Friends, it’s my hope and prayer that this summer, this week, this moment, we start living well. Let’s love Jesus well.  Let’s love people well.  And let’s love this life well.

Marissa works as the Director of Youth Ministries at Hillcrest Church, where she gets to hang out with the most amazing 6th-12th graders every week!  She can be seen playing the guitar, keys, or box drum on Sunday mornings during worship, as well as awkwardly dancing towards the muffin table during mingle.  She spends most of her time starting food fights, laughing at her own jokes, talking about Harry Potter, and reminding Amber that Drake used to be on Degrassi.  Mostly, she finds Jesus to be irresistible and
wants to be just like Him when she grows up.

Day 1
'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.'

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/1CO.13.4-7

'Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. '

Colossians 3:14
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/COL.3.14

Day 2
'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.'

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/1CO.13.4-7

'Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.'

Ephesians 4:31-32
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/EPH.4.31-32

Day 3
'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.'

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/1CO.13.4-7

'“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.'

John 15:9-17
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/JHN.15.9-17

Day 4
'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.'

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/1CO.13.4-7

'“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’#22:37 Deut 6:5. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’#22:39 Lev 19:18. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”'

Matthew 22:36-40
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/MAT.22.36-40

Day 5
'Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.'

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/1CO.13.4-7

'This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them. We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?'

1 John 3:11-17
https://my.bible.com/bible/116/1JN.3.11-17

Frantic: in a word, a characterization of my typical approach to life.  Perhaps resulting from a collision between wayward strands of my worry-prone DNA and the obsessive busyness that is rampant in American culture, I spend far too many moments in a state that ranges from a mild but pervasive anxiety to a circumstantially-induced panic.
I do well at pretending this is not so, I think.  All it takes is a quiet manner, an easy smile. Behind this façade, however, I am all turmoil.
I know this is not the life God has called me to.  Rather,
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength[.] (Isaiah 30:15a).

Repentance. Rest. Quietness. Trust.

I wish I could tell you I take heed of His words.  I wish it would be honest to say I am consistently obedient to sit at the feet of Jesus and trust Him with every facet of my life, whether of infinite importance or infinitesimal.  I wish I came with a lamb’s meekness to kneel beside still waters.  Instead, all too often, the reprimand that follows the above passage of scripture more accurately describes my response:

But you would have none of it.

You said, “No, we will flee on horses.”

Therefore you will flee!

You said, “We will ride off on swift horses.”

Therefore your pursuers will be swift! (Isaiah 30:15b-16).

I am fleeing on horseback at a hundred miles an hour; hurdling desperately away from the ghosts of my guilty past or the terrors of my uncertain future; running headlong from the darkness that still shadows my own heart, those sins I hate, yet still cling to.

But no matter how quickly I spur the animal beneath me, no matter the distance I traverse, I cannot escape.  Because the truth is, I have never been strong enough to save myself.  And nothing I approach for rescue satisfies either—at least, not for long.  Not the television screen.  Not my own “good” deeds. Not my strivings to please everyone around me and thus earn their approval.

And it occurs to me, in a rare moment of stillness, that maybe all this running—this frantic doing, this chaotic scrambling—is actually stealing me away from what I really need—from the One I have always needed above all else.

How do I return to Him who calls, my God who longs to be gracious to me (v.18a)?

Repentance. Rest. Quietness. Trust.

Therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you[.] (Isaiah 18b-19).
I am so weary of running.  Dear Shepherd, lead me home.

Alyssa Sheedy has a BA in English and supplements her passion for writing with a day-job at a college admissions office. She lives in a cozy apartment in Tacoma with her husband, Danny, and their cat, Sophie. Lover of indie folk music, quiet trails, and the God who is at the heart of all that makes her stand in wonder.

Lately, I’ve been experiencing that; something in my heart and my gut, but my head hasn’t exactly got it figured out yet.

The thing in my heart has something to do with justice and whatever my role in that is.  My daughter Chloe and I have recently changed our shopping lifestyle to help people who are doing business in ethical ways, and we’ve stopped buying items that come from slavery-type factories.

While I’ve been working on this, slowly extricating myself from this shopping trap, I started reading the book of Isaiah.  At the same time, IF:Table introduced a Bible study they were selling called Arise: a Study On God’s Heart For Justice.

The book of Isaiah is all about justice, and my daily Bible reading was dovetailing with the Bible study Arise.  It was amazing.  I could not deny that God was speaking to me about justice, which is His heart.  Because He is love, He is about justice, about making things right.

“‘Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,’ says the Lord; ‘I will place him in the safety for which he longs.’”
—Psalm 12:5

One day, when Jesus was in a synagogue, He was handed a scroll to read and this is what He read about himself: “…to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke.”
 —Isaiah 58:6

None of the injustices on earth are hidden from God.  He sees what’s happening in every nook and cranny.  His heart breaks for the way we treat each other, us humans.  His heart goes out to the ones who are most silenced in any society.

I believe that the heart of God should be our heart.  What He cares about should be what we care about.  And God is the Restorer.  Not just for the victims of injustice, but also for the ones who cause it.  The victim and the victimizer, each can receive healing and forgiveness in the heart of God.  “Even the most dark and hardened human beings are no match for the Gospel.” —Arise.  Jesus is our Redeemer.  He came to seek and to save the lost, the victim and the victimizer.

Through the Arise study, I was introduced to an organization called International Justice Mission (IJM).  They exist to bring justice where there is injustice.  They are an amazing Christian organization that opened my eyes to more injustices in the world but also gave me hope that we can do something about them.

All this to say, I’m on a journey that I didn’t choose for myself.  I believe God is taking me on it.  I don’t know where it’s heading exactly.  I just need to pay attention and go where God leads.  I’m taking steps to change my lifestyle away from materialism.  Not easy!  But I want my life to be about what God wants it to be about.  And it seems lately that He wants me to be aware of what is going on in the world and to care the way He does for all the hurting people.
I’m only one person, but God is big.  And as I allow Him to do what He does, I believe He will take me from being part of the problem to actually helping people somehow.
And that’s where I’m at.  I don’t know what exactly to do with all this inside me.  I’m trusting that God will show me.  First, He has to make us aware of a problem; then He can show us what it is He wants us to do about it.

But now that I’m aware, I must act.  I must change; I must do something.  If I do nothing, I’m in disobedience to God.
God doesn’t call you to do the same things He calls me to do.  He has different jobs for us, different things that He puts on our hearts.

I once spoke at a meeting for volunteers who teach kids about Jesus in after-school clubs.  After the meeting, a woman said to me, “I can’t believe everyone who says they are a Christian aren’t part of this!”  She meant teaching children in the after-school clubs.  I said, “There are Christians doing all kinds of things!  They are meeting needs all over the world.  They are helping people.  They are sharing Jesus in so many ways.  This club is one way to share Jesus.  But if everyone were doing this, what about everything else that needs to be done?”
I mention that because I don’t want you to think I’m saying you need to get on board and be part of what God is speaking to me about.  No.  God is very strategic, and He places each of us in different circumstances, around different people, to minister in those places, to be light in the darkness.  He puts different things on our hearts because there are so many needs in the world.

But He absolutely has something for you to do.  It’s the thing He keeps nudging you about. With the nudging will come some awareness about something—or someone.  And after some time in prayer, you will know what to do.
Sometimes you just take a step in that direction, and see what God does, what He opens up.

He is with you and will guide you as you let Him direct you.
There is a lot of pain in the world, but there is hope!  Jesus is our hope, and He will fill your life with love and joy as you share his hope with the people He brings to intersect your path.

Tammy Bailey serves at Hillcrest Church with her husband, Rick. Although her kids are grown, she is still learning and growing in her relationship with Jesus. She is an awed child of God.

One day when I was a kid, my brothers and I were playing, my dad was sleeping, and my mom was getting ready for church. She came and asked me if I was going to go with her. I didn’t answer right away, because I knew she wanted me to go, but I really wanted to stay home and play. Finally I said, “Dad isn’t going. The boys aren’t going.”
She said, “I know. And I’m not going to force you to go. It’s your decision, but I don’t want you to base your choice on what other people are doing. You can’t base your relationship with God on what other people do.”

She told me that she had struggled with it, because she really wanted Dad to be at church with her and it was really hard to go by herself, but she went because she read in Psalm 63:8, where David said, “My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me” (KJV) and so she told God she would “follow hard” after him. Her choice changed her life. Such a small thing, to choose to go to church, but Jesus gives us first small choices to grow us in character, to see what’s really in our hearts.

Peter, one of the disciples, wanted to do something big. He wanted to walk on water! He and the others were in the boat and Jesus was standing out on the water. Peter asked Jesus to call him out to him, walking on the water. It takes faith to ask for a such a thing. We know what happened, that Peter barely got going, took his eyes off Jesus, and began to sink. But he still did walk on water, better than anyone I have ever known except Jesus.

Why did Peter want to walk on water? I think because it was so cool! It was really about Peter, more than it was about Jesus. Peter would look so good in the eyes of Jesus and his friends. Peter would have done a very great thing.

We all have a bit of that in us, don’t we? We want to do great things for the Lord, but there is a part in us that wants it for ourselves. We want to look good. We want people to look up to us. We want their respect. People would respect me if I walked on water.

I do think it’s interesting that Jesus didn’t correct Peter about his motives or anything; he just said, “C’mon!” Jesus is so gracious and patient with us. He works to grow us in spite of ourselves.

Later, after Peter had denied even knowing Jesus during Jesus’ trial, and after Jesus had died on the cross, Peter went fishing. Fishing was his thing. He could get out on the water, and maybe forget about how he had denied Jesus when it really counted. I think he was utterly disappointed in himself, so brokenhearted about how he failed Jesus.
And then he and the others with him see Jesus on the shore. When Peter realizes it really is Jesus on the shore because of the miraculous catch of fish, he throws off his tunic, dives off the boat and swims to Jesus. He doesn’t care about the fish. He doesn’t care how he looks, he’s not trying to impress anyone, he just wants to get to Jesus. He doesn’t bother walking on water. He just swims. He does what he can to get to Jesus. Jesus is more important to Peter that anything else.

When Jesus talks with him after the disciples are on the shore, Jesus tells Peter to feed his sheep. Jesus gives Peter his mission, a very big, important mission, that looks nothing like walking on water. It’s not glamorous. There is nothing glamorous about feeding sheep. The job is to take care of the believers. Peter is given the task of overseeing the church. Jesus also tells Peter that he is going to follow him in death, a death on a cross. Peter says, “What about him?”, gesturing to John, and Jesus tells Peter not to worry about John or anyone else. He tells Peter, “You follow me.”

We all have to make that choice. We cannot base our relationship with Jesus on somebody’s else’s choices. It’s ours alone to make. We choose, each day, to follow Jesus in simple obedience. Jesus said, “If you love me you will obey my commands.” And trust in Jesus is proved by our actions of obedience. As Jesus works in us and grows us in our small obedient steps, he increases the tasks, until they are great things that we do for him, but rarely are they great in the eyes of the world. They are mostly hidden, seen only by Jesus, or they are very ordinary-seeming, nothing anyone but God pays much attention to.

That day, the day my mom told me to choose, I chose to go to church with her. But later in my life, like Peter, I denied Jesus by my actions. I did what I wanted instead of what God wanted. I am so glad and grateful that he is forgiving and that he offered Peter and me and everyone, another chance. I decided to not bother trying to walk on water, but instead to just dive in, and follow hard after him.

Tammy Bailey serves at Hillcrest Church with her husband, Rick. Although her kids are grown, she is still learning and growing in her relationship with Jesus. She is an awed child of God.

I remember this moment like it was yesterday…

My mom and I were in beautiful Oahu, Hawaii and I had decided take this opportunity to go by myself to the beach while she napped. I found myself in a beautiful and relaxing destination with my soul feeling full of hurt, turmoil, and conflict.  The contrast of internal darkness at a bright beach was not lost on me! But God was right there with me.

Sitting there with the warm sand in between my toes, I did the only thing you do at a beach… watch people. The sun was setting, and I noticed families laughing and having fun. I saw millions of sunset selfies being taken and several people in plastic ponchos because it had just rained. It seemed like everyone was enjoying the moment.

Except for me.

I was watching the incredible Hawaiian sunset but I was feeling miserable. I took this selfie because what else do you do by yourself with a new GoPro? But in reality, this photo would be a reminder for me years later that life can bring you a lot of pain that feels like it will never end but it’s what you choose to do with that pain that matters to God.

In that moment I asked God how I had gotten there. Not to Hawaii (I flew Hawaiian Airlines) but how could I let myself hang on to so much of the pain I was feeling. I believe he gave me this trip with my mom to begin the process of healing me.  Sometimes people go through things and never let Him do the work He needs to do.  We just move on to the next season of life without closing out the previous one. We bury the pain in the sand but we do not heal from it, learn from it, or grow from it.

This was the day that I had decided, I need to “feel the all the feels”. I needed to experience all the emotions in full force so I can process this all completely. I didn’t want to leave any room for wounds in my life to not be healed properly.

That was 3 years ago.

Discovering this photo again struck me and I began to see the difference of my life then and my life now.  I experience joy almost every day and I have never been more healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually in my life. These are things that I aim for and what really matters to me everyday. I am stronger because of the pain in this photo.  I have built character in the process of hurt and uncomfortableness.
Learning that happiness is a choice and is not a destination is “easier caught then taught.”  Had I not chosen to do some hard work, discipline, and face the ugly things that life brought with grace and integrity, I could not have experienced happiness and joy today.

It’s not always easy to pursue joy & happiness. Honestly, when I went on this trip with my mom (my poor mom), I was miserable.  I kept joking with her and saying, “Now do you regret this trip with me?” She was so kind and so selfless that she never regretted it one bit even though I was miserable to be around. (You guys, I have the best mom in the world!!)

What I learned from this photo is you can be surrounded by beauty and be miserable or you can be surrounded by chaos and pain and find joy inside. I loved that trip to Hawaii but I also want to go back someday differently than the last time. I will bring a different attitude and a different outlook. I will considerate it a privilege to be there with someone I love and trust. And I will feel the joy of the experience no matter what state my life is in.

‘Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.’
James 1:2-4

Amber Miyasato has been on staff at Hillcrest Church for three years.  She is the Operations Director, which means she oversees all media, promotion, office, and century projects.  Some of the things she enjoys are graphic design and Crossfit (Crossfit Seven Cities).  She loves to write and be creative in several different aspects.
Her goal in life is to constantly grow in all areas so she can best reflect who Jesus is.

About a year ago, my world collapsed.  I had become such a lost soul that my own daughter preferred to live her life without me.  I was spending all my time and energy pushing every chance at happiness away.  Every relationship I had was crumbling.  Of course it couldn’t be my fault.  I blamed everyone.

Over the course of 5 years I had destroyed my family, my career, and my soul.  I could not see what was really going on, until I saw how it was affecting my girlfriend at the time.  She was following in my footsteps.  We had broken up and both were on a path to self-destruction.  I finally saw in her eyes the pain that we were causing ourselves.
I knew it was time to make a change. It was urgent.  I reached out to a friend whom I had not talked to in years.  I had seen him around, and I knew that something had changed his life in a way I needed mine to change.
Within a couple of hours, we were sitting at a Starbucks and he was listening to my story and helping me gather my thoughts. 
He mentioned that I should attend church with him and just check it out.  My first thought was “God abandoned me when I was 14.  He won’t help me.”  But I decided to check it out. 
I walked into Hillcrest determined that God would not save me.  But I was so wrong.  I felt love and a feeling of hope that I had not felt in a long time. 
Over the last year God has shown me what love is.  He has taken a broken man who had no hope and has been helping me put the pieces back together a little every day. 
 
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!”  2 Corinthians 5:17
 
It has not been an easy journey.  I have lost friends and relationships.  But my daughter is spending more and more time with me.  People are seeing a different man.  I have had people come to me for advice—never thought that would happen.
All this wonderful stuff was happening.  I started to lose the humility I had been working on and started giving myself credit for the gifts God had given me.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9

I could feel things start to fall apart and slowly grow out of control.  I had been praying for God to give me a sign.  What was happening? What was he trying to show me?
That’s when it happened.  God and I had our first fight.  I had decided that He had given up on me and I needed to just admit defeat.  I was determined that I was going back to my old ways.  I was looking for my car keys and planning which bars I would go to first.  But I stopped long enough to send a text to my friend who had helped me out that day.  I wanted to let him know that I was giving up and was done trying to live my life for God.  Instantly my phone started ringing.  I ignored the first call, answered the second.  It was his wife.  I could hear the sadness in her voice.  We talked for a long time, and she helped me get my head straight.  I never ended up getting in my car that day

It is clear to me now that God never gave up on me for one second.
 
“[T]he LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Deuteronomy  31:6b.
 
He had been preparing me for that moment for a year.  He brought new meaningful friendships into my life.  He made sure that my feeling would lead me to pick up that phone before I walked out to my car.  He made sure she was in a position to call me back.  He did not let me take the easy route.  He pushed me in a direction that led me closer to him.  He did not instantly take away the pain, like I wanted.  Instead, he made sure I had the support and love to get through it.  I see now that God’s plan for me is bigger than I can imagine.  We have made up, and I am still working through pain.  But I know for sure now that I am never alone. 
 
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

I am a new follower of Christ and dad of 2 amazing kids. I enjoy
playing my guitar, running, anything outdoors, and riding my motorcycle.  I
am excited to be on this journey with God.  Proverbs 10:12 “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.”

I do this thing called Crossfit.

Wait a minute, don’t tune me out.  There’s a point to this! We do this exercise called “Box Jumps” where you go from two feet on the ground to two feet on the box in one jump.

I’ve developed this hesitation with my feet where I do a foot shuffle and then jump.  I do it every time and it makes me so mad!  The reason this happens is I tripped once on the box and fell off.

Now, I have a small fear that I will do it again and get hurt.
I have programmed myself to do this and it hinders me from being quick on my feet and ultimately slows me down.  It makes it so much harder to do box jumps! That hurt I experienced has made me afraid to fail again. So here’s my point: Sometimes, this happens in life as well.

I am not a natural risk taker.  When it comes to risks in life, I evaluate everything. I analyze by thinking of all the outcomes, weigh out the pros and cons, and decide if it’s worth it (and usually it’s not).

If you are like me, this may seem like a good thing but in reality, this is no way to live life!  Fear gets in the way of strength being built.  If you’re afraid to jump on the box at Crossfit, you’ll never get better, faster or stronger. The “stutter step” will stay as long as you allow it to. FEAR stays as long as you allow it to.

If you are afraid of confronting someone who hurt you, you’ll never experience freedom and forgiveness.

If you are afraid of trusting God, you’ll never experience blessing.

If you are afraid of commitment, you’ll never experience fulfillment.

There are so many things we miss out on because of fear.

The “stutter step” in life is worry or fear. And when we “stutter step”, we don’t grow through something like failure. God has shown me lately that fear should not be a part of my reactions, my thoughts, or my relationships anymore.  Trusting Him (or jumping with two feet on the box) is how we get stronger!

2 Corinthians 12:19 says “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

When we are weak (fearful), that’s when God gets to show us His strength and power in our lives.  But in order for us to see God’s power, we have got to make those strong jumps with two feet.  God never said He was going to do everything for us.  He already gave us everything we need to love who he is, love people, and love the life he has given us.  Our job is to jump up with both feet in trust and boldness so He can show you and others around you who He is through His faithfulness in your life!

Amber Miyasato has been on staff at Hillcrest Church for three years.  She is the Operations Director, which means she oversees all media, promotion, office, and century projects.  Some of the things she enjoys are graphic design and Crossfit (Crossfit Seven Cities).  She loves to write and be creative in several different aspects. Her goal in life is to constantly grow in all areas so she can best reflect who Jesus is.

The other day I walked outside my front door to head to work.  It was a beautiful, warm morning, which is something I enjoy and cherish very much.  I had coffee already, a good breakfast, and the weather was ideal for my liking.

Every day for the last several months I would leave my house seeing weeds growing on my porch.  My thought was always, “I really have to do something about these weeds.”  I would see them, and eventually had to literally step over them because they had gotten so big.  It had reached the point where if I was not careful, they would poke me with their thorns.  I was running out of sidewalk to walk on.

These weeds didn’t look like normal weeds.  Some of them looked like bushes with fully bloomed leaves that were actually very pretty.  But despite their attractive appearance, they were still weeds. And we all know… weeds are weeds.

So this particular day, I walked outside, stepped around them and walked to my car.  Then this thought came to me, “These weeds are starting to look like your heart.”
“What? Where did that thought come from? My heart is fine,” I thought.
I couldn’t figure out where that thought came from, but I came the conclusion that it had to be God sharing this image with me.  I thought about it the entire day. 
What things are there in my heart that are weeds?

Well, I knew what I had to do.  I needed to clean up the weeds.  Maybe then, God would show me what the “weeds” in my heart are.  So that week, I went out and got all the supplies I thought I would need to get rid of these weeds in front of my house.

Over the next several days, I took the evenings to begin to tear down the weeds.  It was hard work!  I had cutting sheers, weed & brush killer, a rake, and good music blasting through the stereo.

A week later, with only a small portion of the weeds removed, I stepped outside on my porch like I normally do every weekday.  I saw a truck parked outside.  It was a man from my church and his lawn company.  They said they were going to clean up the yards, and he motioned where he was going to work.  He never once pointed to my house, but I wasn’t expecting him to.

After I got home from work that day, my yard was completely clean!  There was not one weed in sight!  I walked over to the guys and asked, “Did you guys clean up my yard?”
They smiled and said yes.

I was so thankful!  I couldn’t believe they had gotten all that work done in just a couple of hours when I had spent several nights that week trying to clean up and it seemed as if I hadn’t made a dent.

I walked into my house and was overwhelmed with joy.
In that moment, I felt like God said to me, “I just wanted you to start.”
It’s amazing what happens when we just start somewhere. 
It’s amazing what happens when we make a little effort.

God doesn’t want us to do all the work.  He just wants us to make those small steps.

Isaiah 58:11 – “The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.”

I read this verse, and it got me thinking that maybe this is what God was referring to with my heart.  I’ve felt spiritually dry.  I’ve felt like I don’t have the strength anymore to fight the same battles over and over.

He also showed me through these guys that cleaned the yard that we don’t have the power to do everything by ourselves.  These guys had machines that plowed up the weeds in one sweep.  When I told him I had used small cutting sheers for the big weeds that had basically swallowed up my house, he laughed!  He said, “Oh no, that would have taken you forever.  We have machines that take down those weeds.  But either way, it’s a lot of work for just one person.”

Sometimes we look at these large weeds in our life and think, “How am I supposed to handle that?  I don’t have enough strength to take that down by myself.” You’re right, you don’t. God has the power to change lives.  God has the power to heal hearts and clean up the weeds of our life.  But he needs us to be willing to start somewhere.

Where in your life do you need to “start somewhere”?

Amber Miyasato has been on staff at Hillcrest Church for three years.  She is the Operations Director, which means she oversees all media, promotion, office, and century projects.  Some of the things she enjoys are graphic design and Crossfit (Crossfit Seven Cities).  She loves to write and be creative in several different aspects. Her goal in life is to constantly grow in all areas so she can best reflect who Jesus is.

I don’t know how your year has been, but mine has been a struggle. Here we are in the last quarter of 2018, and I like to look back on the year to see where I am compared to what I wanted to accomplish. The things I wanted to get, I’m still trying to get. The goals I wanted to reach, I’m still trying to reach. The levels I wanted to achieve, the markers to meet–you get it. I’m still working toward most of what I wanted to attain this year.

Like a hike, where you can see a landmark up on a mountain that you make a target to aim for, believing you will be standing there before long, but there was a valley hidden from your view that you have to cross. And then a river. And then a huge section of fallen trees that obscure the trail and you have to pick your way through slowly, with much difficulty.

Still, you know you are going the right direction; it’s just taking so much more time and energy, and in real life, money, too. The path to the prize is slower, steeper, longer and more expensive than you could have imagined but there’s no going back. You’ve come too far to turn around and you are  in no place to just quit and sit where you are. You will have gained nothing. The truth is, you’d rather die trying to accomplish your dreams than to give up anyway, so there is no other option but to continue.

And you get glimpses of the prize now and then, still a ways off, up higher than where you are, but you are moving toward it; you can feel it– soon you will be there.

Also, it’s not like it’s completely horrible along the way! No, it’s wonderful! There are so many good things on the journey. There are the people you love to spend time with, and the Presence of God, and how he shows you over and over he is with you. There are amazing gifts along the way of love, peace, joy, hope, generosity, grace, mercy. What a beautiful life it is, that even in the midst of our darkest hour, God gives us these intangibles, these gifts no one can buy.  

I have some Scriptures that I hold onto to remind me to keep on. I write them on index cards and have them on the wall in front of my desk at home where I do my studying. Maybe they will help you too.

“Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said will be accomplished.” Luke 1:45

“So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadow boxing.” 1 Corinthians 9:26

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” John 17:4

Tammy Bailey serves at Hillcrest Church with her husband, Rick. Although her kids are grown, she is still learning and growing in her relationship with Jesus. She is an awed child of God.