Kelly and I met at church. We would bump into each other at youth staff meetings, but never really got to know one another until we started a community group together. Now I consider Kelly to be a close friend and I am extremely happy to share her thoughts with you.
You can find more from Kelly here!
This past spring, I finished reading a book called The Missional Mom by Helen Lee. I was first introduced
to Helen at the Hearts at Home conference last spring. I attended her workshop and felt compelled to purchase her book. It sat around on my bookshelf for a good six months before I finally read it. It was
fantastic! I could hardly put it down. I wish I had read it sooner.
I spent so many years waiting… waiting for God’s calling on my life to be revealed. I always thought there was something He hadn’t told me yet. Some ministry He was preparing me for and I was just waiting in limbo for Him to finally give me my “assignment” - what country I was going to live in or what ministry I was going to do full time. What I neglected to do was look around and realize He had already revealed my ministry to me.
Simple, yet for so long I looked beyond that like it wasn’t enough. But it WAS enough. I must admit this
revelation was very freeing. It gave me new purpose and drive. It called me to action right where I was. I
no longer had an excuse to wait.
In the book, Helen talks about how to turn my home into a “Missions Outpost”. My home and my stuff
is not meant for just me and my family. What we have, what we “own” has all been given to us by the Lord. We are the stewards - caretakers, supervisors - of everything in our possession. It all belongs to the Lord but He has given it to us to care of. Therefore, it is not mine to hoard and hide. I am to use what the Lord has given me for His purpose and to minister to other people.
This is a hard task for me because I am an introvert. My home is my sanctuary. It’s where I can rest and
rejuvenate. The idea of opening up my home on a regular basis to other people sounds exhausting and
uncomfortable. Then again, the Lord never said His mission would be easy. What He did say is that He
would be there to help me through it.
Him as the center, all of my efforts will ultimately fail.
You can find more from Kelly here!
Missional Mom
This past spring, I finished reading a book called The Missional Mom by Helen Lee. I was first introduced
to Helen at the Hearts at Home conference last spring. I attended her workshop and felt compelled to purchase her book. It sat around on my bookshelf for a good six months before I finally read it. It was
fantastic! I could hardly put it down. I wish I had read it sooner.
I spent so many years waiting… waiting for God’s calling on my life to be revealed. I always thought there was something He hadn’t told me yet. Some ministry He was preparing me for and I was just waiting in limbo for Him to finally give me my “assignment” - what country I was going to live in or what ministry I was going to do full time. What I neglected to do was look around and realize He had already revealed my ministry to me.
“Sometimes we get stuck trying to figure out what we are supposed to do with our lives when all we have to do is pursue God’s mission with intentionality right where we are already.” Helen LeeThe Bible is so clear what my ministry should be yet I overlooked it so many times.
LOVE
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3Help the poor and needy
“He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD. Jeremiah 22:16
Make disciples
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28: 19,20Be my husband’s helpmate
“Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” Proverbs 31Raise my children to know and love the Lord
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:5-9I’m called to serve in my home to my husband and my kids and I’m called to serve in the community around me - to the poor, the needy and the people in my life who do not know Jesus as their personal savior.
Simple, yet for so long I looked beyond that like it wasn’t enough. But it WAS enough. I must admit this
revelation was very freeing. It gave me new purpose and drive. It called me to action right where I was. I
no longer had an excuse to wait.
In the book, Helen talks about how to turn my home into a “Missions Outpost”. My home and my stuff
is not meant for just me and my family. What we have, what we “own” has all been given to us by the Lord. We are the stewards - caretakers, supervisors - of everything in our possession. It all belongs to the Lord but He has given it to us to care of. Therefore, it is not mine to hoard and hide. I am to use what the Lord has given me for His purpose and to minister to other people.
This is a hard task for me because I am an introvert. My home is my sanctuary. It’s where I can rest and
rejuvenate. The idea of opening up my home on a regular basis to other people sounds exhausting and
uncomfortable. Then again, the Lord never said His mission would be easy. What He did say is that He
would be there to help me through it.
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28, 29This new reality is still very much a work in progress in my life. My task now is to figure out how to implement it and make it a daily reality. One of the best ways to accomplish that, I have discovered, is through spending a lot of time on my knees in prayer seeking the Lord’s guidance and direction. Without
Him as the center, all of my efforts will ultimately fail.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6
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