Off to a Great Start

Day one of the prayer week was exactly what I needed. Chad hadn't been able to take a real day off in a long time. When that happens I usually don't take a day off because I feel guilty when he works and I don't. One of my fears is to be lazy... but that's for another blog post. Back to the point. With Chad's day off we were able to take time together talking, dreaming, encouraging, challenging, praying. My heart was so full by the time we needed to pick up our kids from school. I can't express to you how thankful I am for Chad. Sometimes I'm tempted to not talk too much about how great he is because I don't want to make people uncomfortable, but I don't care today. He is an amazing husband to me. He leads me in such a way that I become a better person. He challenges me to be a better leader. He partners with me in parenting to raise our kids. I'm so inspired by how hard he works, how much he studies, how he takes criticism with grace, how he never complains. The insight he has into scripture is profound. Through this season of waiting on so many things, he continues to keep his eyes on Jesus and trust in his perfect plan. He is a strong, intelligent, amazing guy. I really like him.

Later in the day I was pondering relationships that are also tied into leadership. It can be such an amazing adventure to lead with friends, and it can also be a complicated mess. My prayers are for godly wisdom in dealing with relationships, that I would be pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

To finish the day, about 20 ladies of Moxie met to pray. Throughout the day I had asked God for an agenda for the women's time together, but I felt in my spirit that he desired to lead the time. I showed up with only a couple of ideas for our prayer time. We started in... the women prayed. Brief words or phrases of God's attributes and gifts we were thankful for filled the room. Scripture was read. A time of confession of personal sin and areas we were afraid to let God have control over moved us into sincerity. It was deep, heavy, and authentic. The way my friends opened their mouths in obedience was beautiful. I believe speaking the dreaded things out loud is a step towards freedom. Many, many steps were taken last night. But our time didn't end focused on us. The over-all theme of the end of our time together was boldness in sharing Jesus with our friends. Again, the authenticity was moving. We want to share Jesus, we are often afraid, we want change, we believe he will draw our friends to himself. Thank you, Jesus, for meeting us last night.