I am thankful for…

My brave and faithful husband.

I have been amazed by Josh’s obedience to God, even when it may mean taking the difficult path. Uprooting our lives and moving to a new city, leading a new ministry, and making new friends… is not an easy task. It takes a man of character, leadership and strength to make this transition comfortable – not only for himself, but for his family as well. I am thankful today for my husband and his ability to do that.
 
 
 

A welcoming church family.

We have been blown away by the support of our new church family @ The Springs. There were about 20 people in and out of our house the day we arrived. Helping us unload, unpack and stocking our pantry with groceries. It was a sight to see! In fact, as I look around my house right now… it looks like we have lived here for at least three months, not three WEEKS! They have gone above and beyond to bless us and make us feel welcome here. Thank you, Church @ The Springs.
 
 

Our baby boy, Micah.

Now that we are settled into our home, we can begin the exciting journey of planning for the arrival of our little boy, Micah! Every morning I am greeted with a little “thump, thump” from this little one. Being pregnant was an answer to prayer for us, and one that I will never take advantage of. There are only 16 weeks left to enjoy, before Micah is expected to make his appearance. This pregnancy has flown by! I am thankful for our precious blessing.
 
 

My mom’s remission from cancer.

I received the great news that my mom’s cancer was in remission… on my BIRTHDAY! It was a wonderful gift. The best I could ask for. I know that this does not mean the end of the battle for her just yet, but it does give us hope that the chemo is working and the cancer can be defeated! As with any trial, it brings us to our knees. Our dependence is on the Lord to get through it. I can say this has been so true for my family. I am so thankful for God’s mercy and healing on my mother.
 
 

New opportunities.

Not everything about transitioning is difficult, of course. There are lots of exciting opportunities for us ahead as we make new friends, discover new ways to use our gifts and talents, and explore our new city! We have already enjoyed eating out at several local places, found the closest airport where we can take a short (55 minute!!) flight to Greenville to visit Josh’s family, we joined the local YMCA, I led worship with The Springs team this weekend and Josh has baptized two students already!! We are thankful for this new platform and all the opportunities that come with it. May God be honored in all we do!

Beach bums. #nature #ocean #beautiful

I mentioned in my previous posts that we’d be doing a little traveling this week – and WHEW! have we ever. It’s been fun, though. We spent the weekend in Melbourne, FL where my husband Josh spoke to a group of students and adults on “being awakened’ in Christ. God really moved and it was a fantastic time altogether! I was able to sing a few of my songs as well – None Like You, Little One and I Need You. It was great to see some old friends and make some new ones along the way!

Then, we stopped by my hometown in central Florida to visit with my mom and then visit with dad. Splitting time between two families when you’re married is no easy task, but how about when you have to split your time on one side between split parents? Even more difficult.  But we made the best of it. :)

Hanging out with mi padre watching the AMA's. Heidi loves her grandpa! Haha.

The best waitress I know! (my momma) :

After leaving Monday morning to head up to Greenville, Josh’s throat became unbearably sore. He suffered through the sore throat over the weekend – but shrugged it off as just strain from speaking so much. By the time Monday hit, he knew it was more serious. We made the 8 1/2 hour trek to Greenville (with me driving half of the way… not sure it helped Josh relax as much as I was hoping, hah!) and stopped by a CVS minute clinic as soon as we arrived. His sweet momma took us there. Come to find out… Josh has STREP. Ouch. We got his diagnosis, antibiotics and were out of there in an hour (not a minute, mind you, but pretty fast nonetheless). If there is any place to recover – the Robinson house is as good as it gets. Hot tea, therapeutic neck warmers and vitamins. Josh should be feeling better in no time! :)

I have been convicted lately about being present wherever I am. In this world of distractions – especially with the advancements in technology and numerous ways to stay connected – I can miss being connected with those I am present with. So that said, this week I am going to take a leave of absence from the blog to spend precious time with family. I hope to share all the great happenings as soon as we return home! I know there will be many. :)

HAPPY

(early)

THANKSGIVING!!!

me and my lovely sister. :)

I have been so overwhelmed by the messages I have received lately. You really don’t know what others are going through, until you allow yourself to be REAL about what you are going through. And it can be embarrassing and painful to admit you are struggling… but honestly, who isn’t? We are all struggling with something. If you aren’t struggling, then you aren’t really living.

I wrote a song a few months ago about this “waiting” period in our lives. Waiting for a baby, waiting for our “dream careers,” waiting to see loved ones again. If there is another thing in life that we all seem to have in common… it is the process of waiting. The fact that so many of us are bonded by at least these two things, struggling and waiting, should bring us closer together. But there are some who instead of embracing the struggle, choose to complain and sink into a hole of self-pity. Now I know this is a serious problem for some, and depression is very real, but I believe that so much of this can be prevented if we allow ourselves to just, be REAL.

I read a quote the other day that put this in perspective for me.

“Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves. The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others. By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

How true! When we serve other people and see their needs, our problems seem so much smaller. This is obvious when we go overseas on mission trips, for example, but what about in our daily lives? Why not start with our friendships?

As a follower of Christ, there is ONE commandment that we are given to fulfill the “law of Christ” here on earth. This blew me away when I realized it…

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galations 6:2

Carry each other’s burdens. Wow, seems so simple and yet so difficult at the same time. In order to carry a burden, the first step is to admit you have one. Going back to the beginning… be REAL. Leave me a comment, email me, call a friend. Whatever you need to do to share your burden with someone. And then, let them carry it.

Thank you to those who have carried our burdens this week. Perhaps next week it will be yours on our shoulders. :)

But, I didn’t have to endure any of the halloween crazies this year. Instead I attended a memorial service for the father of two of our students. He passed away this weekend after suffering with Listeria for over a week. He was a husband, a father, teacher, and a football coach. He wasn’t even 50 years old. Both of his daughters (pictured with me, above) are in our youth group at church and his wife helps serve on Wednesday nights. We love them all dearly. It’s crazy how life can end so quickly and without warning. I am learning this every day as I get older, that our moments together are but a glimpse. Here today, gone tomorrow.

I want my life to leave a legacy. God obviously thought enough to put me here for a reason, I want to fulfill His purpose for me to the fullest. Some days I know exactly what I’m here to do. Some days I think I’m still learning what exactly that is. And honestly, some days I feel as though I have no purpose at all. But God always seems to come through with a word of encouragement to point me in the right direction. Last week, I was feeling purposeless when I received the random message telling me that my music was playing on the radio! You see? You never really know what your words could mean to someone.

I think my biggest struggle with purpose right now is not being a mom. I love children with all my heart. I love them the moment they walk in my classroom and the moment they leave. I love them when they pee on my floor, when they spill paint on my chairs, when they trip over their shoelaces and come crying to me to tie them. I love their little smiles and when their laughter fills the room, I have a hard time not laughing too. I struggle with understanding why God would allow us to face infertility, while allowing teenagers to get pregnant? Or worse, a woman He knows is going to choose to abort it?

I understand these are sensitive subjects. I am just being real with you.

Tomorrow is my first surgery ever. I like to think I’m a brave person, but this is a tad scary. But I am doing it for my future children. I want to do all that I can to leave a lasting legacy and one of the greatest ways I believe we can do that is through our children. I am thankful for a mom, who prayed for me no matter the circumstance. I am grateful for the legacy of my grandma, who showed me the love of Jesus from a young age. I am blessed by the legacy of my mother-in-law who raised four boys to know and love the Lord, one whom I would eventually marry. Without these women, my life would not exist. I pray that my purpose on this earth would not just end with me…

I don’t usually blog on Sundays. I barely have a moment to sit down at all to be honest. But, I have a few minutes before bed time and I wanted to share something I heard from the Lord this morning. And it had nothing to do with the message at church today (which was great, by the way). It was actually an accident on my part.

Have you ever turned to the wrong book or chapter during a sermon and didn’t know it? Well… it happened to me today. And for some reason I didn’t catch it, because I was too wrapped up in the passage. We were asked to turn to John 14:16. Instead I turned to Luke 14:16 and read this…

Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come.’

“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

It caught my attention enough for me to read a little before this to find out why exactly Jesus shared this story with the people.

Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

This was definitely something I needed to hear today. Being in ministry, sometimes it seems that we are giving all the time and we deserve “one area” in which we don’t need to. Most of the time that area is in our friendships. Josh is better at it than me, but I tend to avoid a friendship if I feel it is becoming too “needy” or “clingy.” It’s sad to even admit that.

But reading this passage this morning reminded me of what it’s like to truly serve others and live in humility. Most of my friends don’t “need” me. They have great jobs, spouses, family, talents. I would probably need to plan a couple days in advance to schedule myself into their lives. But, Jesus calls us to do the opposite! He says our house should be full of the needy. Not just a party with our dearest and best. He wants us to invite those who are less fortunate, who have obvious disabilities, who can give us nothing in return. And if we are honest, sometimes the only people we surround ourselves with are people who make us look good. Not people who we can bless. The Lord convicted me that I can be serving in a “ministry” and not really ministering.

And I got all that from turning to the wrong book. :)

I cannot tell you how many times I have read these verses and focused on everything but the bolded part – pride in one’s lifestyle. I mean, I get that we aren’t to love the things of this world… fleshly desires, lustful thinking… but I have never thought about the idea of having pride in our lifestyle. Then this morning, it was as if all I could read in the paragraph were those words.

Lord, what is pride in one’s lifestyle? 

To answer this, the Lord directed me to read the passage before these verses in 1 John 2:12-14 where the author begins to explain his reason for writing this book. It can be summed up in two sentences – “you have come to know the One who is from the beginning” and ” you have had victory over the evil one.” This book was written to the church, to those who know the Lord. Funny, just this past week at WIRED we talked about spiritual warfare and battling the enemy. The last day was all about the victory. I can definitely stand with those whom 1 John is written to and say that I know the One from the beginning and have had victory over the evil one. This book was written for those like me.

So Lord, what is this “pride in one’s lifestyle” supposed to mean?

There are generational sins in my family. Drug and alcohol addiction, divorce, depression and abuse. And by the grace of God, I have been victorious over the evil one in these areas! I am still young – with an indefinite amount of time to live – but I believe that I have been empowered by the Holy Spirit in my life to have victory. I can stand before you today with all the pride in me and say I have never done drugs or drank a bottle of alcohol. I grew up surrounded by it… but was never once tempted. In fact, I was more disgusted than anything. And I still am.

But if I am not careful, I can let pride seep into my life… where I begin to think of myself as the victorious one, instead of the Holy Spirit within me. I begin to look at my life and how “good” I am and all the “stuff” I have and… wow, how easy it can be to become prideful. Joel Osteen wouldn’t like this post… but, whoever tells you that living a life of surrender to Christ is easy – is probably not living it.

So please forgive me if I’ve at any point been prideful of my lifestyle on this blog. I’ve done my best to be real and open with my struggles, as well as how God has helped me overcome them. I pray that in doing this, you will be inspired and encouraged to live a more dedicated life to Christ as well.

I really love my church.

Sadly, the majority of people in America probably couldn’t say the same. They either don’t go, don’t want to go, find it boring, hypocritical or judgmental. You name it, I’ve heard it. Why is this?

People don’t understand what the church is.

The church is not a building with a steeple and a bunch of pews. That is just the traditional, architectural design for most religious buildings so people can tell the difference between a church location and the local movie theater. (Although, some churches are now meeting in movie theaters!) The church is a body of believers. We can have “church” in my living room. And we do, on occasion.

People don’t understand why the church exists.

Sunday, Monday and Wednesdays are some of my favorite days of the week. Simply because I get to hang out with my church family. Sunday we all gather together in three services in our church “building”  located off of I-84 East (it can hold more people than my living room). This is where we sing songs of praise to God, hear testimonies from those being baptized, watch videos that make us laugh, cry or think and listen to our pastor as he teaches us the word of God and how it applies to our lives in 2011. The service usually lasts a little over an hour.

On Mondays (or any day the group decides on), we break into small groups of 15-20 people and meet at a friend’s home. Here we share prayer requests, get “real” with each other and dig deeper in the Bible. Sometimes we even enjoy an outing together – meet for dinner at a restaurant, see a movie, bonfire, game night, etc.

The church building on Wednesdays is reserved for children and youth. My husband is the student pastor at our church, so I spend most of my time hanging out with the students in 7th-12th grade. I love it! I began to really grow in my faith when I was in the 10th grade, so I have a heart for that age. Wednesday nights are almost completely student led at this point – the band, lights, sound, videos, games and announcements are all done by them. Josh gets up to teach and that’s pretty much it. The reason we do this is to allow the students a venue to use those gifts and talents that God has given them. If they can do it in front of 60-100 people every week in a building, its a good start to reaching their circle of friends at school.

People don’t understand how the church functions.

Meeting every week in a building doesn’t make anyone a Christian. It’s the message that changes lives. Sadly, the only place some people ever hear this message is inside a church building. But then again, none of the other stuff that happens in the building makes sense if you don’t know Jesus. Dilemma? It seems so. As long as there are people going to church without knowing the purpose the whole thing is centered around, it will leave them bored, empty and most importantly lost - because they feel as though they’re missing out on something that seems to be pretty obvious. Plain and simple, they are. And so are we. And you.

So, why don’t you go to church? Hopefully if you fall into one of the categories above, something has been said to help you think differently about what the church is, why it exists and how it functions. And I pray that instead of steeples and fancy clothes, you’ll see lives saved by grace. And then you’ll love it.

High five to Hayden Glass and Adrienne McCall for this awkward moment.

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” – Matthew 13:3-9

Now, sometimes we can walk away from parables (and a lot of Scripture, actually) and wonder, “What exactly is He trying to tell me here?” We may probe the passage searching for answers. In this case, Jesus explains to the disciples just exactly what is meant.

“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” - Matthew 13:18-23

Wow! How can we walk away from that and not consider our own hearts and the seed that has been sown within us? I would bet that there is not a single person reading this right now that has never heard the name of Jesus. I say that with such boldness, because for one, there are probably only about three of you that are even reading this (hey Josh, Court and Cindy!). And secondly, I’m American and I’m guessing that you probably are too. America was founded by Christianity.

Saying all that, I think it is important to realize something – knowing the name of Jesus… and knowing Jesus, are two completely different things. And I believe that the American culture has more seeds that fall into hard, shallow and thorn-infested soil than anything else. Some hear the gospel of Jesus and just don’t understand it (hard soil). Some hear the message and receive it with joy immediately; but when their joy fades, so does their faith (shallow soil). Some hear from God, but are too distracted with the worries and concerns of this life to do anything about it (thorn-infested soil).

The seed that we should pursue, is the seed that gives evidence of fruit! The seed that is hungry for more rain and sunlight to produce more and more. I love seeing a true seed grow. It is probably my favorite thing in the world. And when that seed begins to multiply into a harvest… it is a beautiful sight.

What kind of seed are you? Have you fallen on rocky soil and just never understood what following Christ is all about? Did you once get excited about the possibility of following God, but fell away as soon as you ran into a problem? Have you just been more wrapped up in the concerns of this world and never been able to really grow? Or is your seed rooted so deeply, that you are now investing in others and planting seeds of your own? I pray, that today your heart is one seed closer to the right soil.

It scares me a little to think life is about to get even busier! I am returning to school to finish my BA in Christian Studies this fall. I’ll be taking a full 15 hour load. On top of that, I’ll be teaching a small group, singing with the worship team and working at Eagle Eye Outfitters part-time! I’m ready to dive in head first. I’ve learned in the past few years, that I accomplish more when I stay busy. My prayer now is that I don’t become too busy doing work for the Lord, that I miss spending time with Him. The more I seek Him… the more I find Him, the more I find Him… the more I love Him.