Stopping to Smell the Roses... And They Smell REALLY Good!

This-past Sunday was the 6-month-iversary of our church.

In order to encourage our amazing team about the impact they're having in our community & in peoples' lives, I shared some statistics.

Some of these statistics blew me away & I wanted to share them with you, too.

So... Here it goes!

Hang on!

Since Launch Day, JUST 6 MONTHS AGO…

…people have decided to follow Jesus at least 82 times!

…79 people have visited Inspire for the first time! 

That's just over 3 each week for both!

…our average attendance has been 48 people!

…our highest attendance was 91 people (on Launch Day)!

…10 people have joined our Dream Team!

…3 new leaders have stepped up!

Can we celebrate together?!

I am blown away at God's goodness to us!

And Then it Hit Me...

One of the most-difficult things I've had to learn is to be content where I am.

I am a goal-oriented person, & severely driven (yes, I meant to say "severely"). While that has it's advantages, it has its disadvantages, too.

The same drive that helps me reach my goals can cause me to get frustrated & discouraged when I don't see "enough" progress toward those goals.

Full disclosure: "enough progress" is completely subjective & subject to my mood at the moment... Another disadvantage of being so driven.

So, having said that, I have gotten used to frustration & discouragement.

In fact, if I can just be transparent for a moment, I get frustrated & discouraged every Sunday around 2 pm.

Well... I USED to.

See... I've KNOWN for a long time that I needed to learn how to be content, even while I remained focused.

This has NOT been easy for me.

But one of the things I've learned this past year is how to celebrate the successes I've experience. Not just my own personal successes, but the successes of our team--both as a whole AND as individuals.

And as I've learned to do THAT, something has changed... In me!

In fact, I wasn't really even thinking about it... Which is a miracle in & of itself, believe me!

I was just driving along, thinking about how much fun I'm having & how thankful I am for my church family.

And then it hit me...

I am FINALLY content where I am... Even though I have so much more I want to do!

I don't really know when it happened...

But I am SO glad it did!

The Last Exit Before THE Exit

Have you ever taken a car trip?

Ya know that feeling you get when you cross certain "checkpoints"?

Like when you cross the halfway point?

Or you see the "Welcome to Florida" sign on your way to Disney World?

Or when the miles to your destination city start showing up on those green signs on the right?

I think my FAVORITE one, though, is when you come up to the last exit before THE exit.

I had the same feeling today when we had the AMAZING privilege of seeing the 80th person commit to Jesus since Launch Day.

Even sitting here typing, my eyes are tearing up.

Honestly, we aren't anywhere near our destination, but God is doing something VERY special at Inspire, & I sometimes can't believe that I get to be a part of it!

One final word... Because it just wouldn't be right to talk about these 80 people without mentioning the people who made it possible: our Dream Team. They are absolutely incredible & I love every one of them!

Thank you, Lord... My cup is running over!

Tis Better to Learn & Learn Again... Than to Learn & Yet Forget

It seems like a lot of what God is teaching me lately are things He's already taught me before.

(Full Disclosure: If I'd learned it well enough already, He probably wouldn't HAVE to be teaching me again. But, I digress.)

So, on one of my many "take another lap" moments, I noticed that I was feeling really aggravated at myself. ("I know I'm thick-headed, God, but COME ON!")

And can you guess what God spoke to me?

Any idea?

If you said, "Not a dang thing!" you are today's big winner!

'Cause that is EXACTLY what He spoke to me: NOTHING!

Zip.

Zilch.

Nada.

El-ZERO-mundo!

So there I was, left with my thoughts.

And as I thought about it, I realized that some of the most-deeply felt lessons that have carved me out of the rock that I used to be were the ones that I didn't learn the first go-round.

Or the second.

Or the third.

And yet somewhere, someway,  some HOW, God managed to teach me something that has forever changed my life.

As the frustration started to ease, it occurred to me...

It truly is better to learn & learn again (& again & again & again)... Than to learn & yet forget.

Thank You, Lord, for not giving up on me!