AWAKENING

WAKE UP, O SLEEPER, RISE FROM THE DEAD AND CHRIST WILL SHINE ON YOU. - EPH 5:14

This is a promise from our Covenant God, our Faithful Father. A promise I am claiming for myself, family and this neighborhood.


I dont think ever in my life have I sensed a need for God' Spirit to awaken my heart to spiritual things, to see things like they really are. And He is doing it bit by bit.

This winter has been long...clouds, cold,now rain. With all the snow melted all i can see is mess, trash, obsene graffitti, kids running around the neighborhood like orphans, homeless people walkin in a constant state of drunkenness. Not much community is going on because its just too cold to walk around and get out, and the walls in my house were closing in.

And to be honest my flesh goes back to 100th street. Cause even on glummy days there was still beauty, and it was my choice if I wanted to enter into the brokeneness of the world around me or retreat, most days I would retreat and enjoy being on the fence of thinking what it would be like living among the most needy in our city, but not actually being there.

God showed me this weekend that the battle within me b/f moving here was the Spirit battling the flesh, God calling us to enter in and our flesh holding on to our comfort. The past month it has been the opposite, the flesh calling us to retreat back into comfort and the Spirit saying "my plan for your family now is here...on the Westside". I can feel the diffence, because when it was the Spirit calling us from Byron, I was restless, now there is bit of a fight but in my Spirit there is a peace that I cant explain, It's a peace that my whole family has.

And so God, being loving and gracious gave me a perfect day... It started out waking up to sunshine and 70 degrees... And then going to church and Ryan preaching in Acts.. the story of Simon the Sorcerer...What God spoke clearly to me through this story was we live in a culture and Church age in the West where we as Christian yearn for "the expereince of God" the mountian top expereinces, the great worship, seeing God do wonders and miracles, and we have over spiritualized everything. And we go from one place to another to look for the mountian top...and this is bad theology. I dont think Jesus felt these mountian top experiences all the time, I dont think the early church was always on the mountain top feeling wowed by God, I dont thing the the persucuted church feels the mountian top most of the time. So why should we...

The mark of the Gospel is obediance period.

And so this weekend remembering the call..."why are we here?" because God called us here, because where we come from the harvest is plentiful, and there is work to be done, but the workers are plentiful too. Here the work is plentiful, but the workers are few, there is great need for the Kingdom of God to break in, that is why we are here.

And whether God chooses to use us to plant seeds, grow seeds, He is the harvester. And He loves mess, to redeem and restore.

Over the past 8 months we have learned so much, and I can summarize it with "WE NEED JESUS" he's IT. Silver and gold have I none, but what we do have is the HOPE and LOVE and GRACE of our SAVIOR JESUS. We need Jesus to fill us with HIS SPIRIT to give us HIS POWER and HIS LOVE. we desperately do. And I dont care where people live, behind gates, suburbs, inner city or in the slums.

JESUS - the world needs HIM, and why we think that comfort, or things, or relationships or safety can take HIS place, that is a lie from the devil.

And so yesterday, with the sun shining and glimpse to know that the earth is ready to awaken with the buds and new growth, so did our neighborhood, hanging out with the Phil and Allsion and having their little kids playing with my kids, to see my kids over at the Boiler Room helping rake, chelsea and dm, taking a bike ride, the boys playing roller hockey with jordan, brad and michele walking hand in hand visiting with people, Kevin taking our dog for a walk to the fish ladder, seeing Julie and Paula jogging, knowing that three house churches were meeting, seeing young families at the park, seeing Brooke sitting on her front porch enjoying the weather and knowing she was probably praying over her precious daughter that she will be giving birth too in a few weeks, for the tebos coming over and taking interest in our lives down here, dreaming with everyone with how to minster together down here this summer and hearing my kids get excited about it. And ending the night with a campfire with the Tebos's, Max, Chelsea and James....

Yes, God showed me that He is awakening this neighborhood, and it is for our joy that He has called us into this.

I know most days will not be a mountiantop expereince, but we will continue on even when it isnt... Because God is always present, whether he shows HImself like He did today today, through HIS Word, through HIS bride and through the beauty of nature, or whether it is unspeakable peace in the midst of a storm, He here, watching, working, guiding and filling in HIS GRACE with our mistakes so we applaud, and we are filled with JOY, knowing that serving the KING of KINGS.

One day, our HOPE and YEARNING is that we will live on the mountian top with Jesus Christ forever and ever, but we not there yet and there's work to do... Just like Jesus told his disiples on the Mount of TRansfiguation... when Peter asked if they could just stay there...Jesus said no... you must go down and enter into the broken world again (paraphrase).

So here we go...its not pretty but thank God - he hasnt given up on me, praying and believing that there will be a great Harvest...and we get to be part of it and so do you.

I AM

making all things new... these are the words that I have heard my Abba Father whisper over me the past few months. I stand in anticipation and excitment to see how God is making all things new. He is purifiying His bride to become more like Christ - because God is doing a new thing. I pray into this...

Jesus continue to create in me and my family a new heart, hearts so in love with you, making our flesh feel dull toward the things of this world.. a fierce love in us to love the things you love.

Jesus, re-new our minds daily by your Living Word, give us new understanding and insight into your will and your heart.

Jesus, give Kevin new opportunity to be the bread winner and know that is all comes from Jehovah Jirah.

Jesus, renew this broken neighbor you have placed us in, renew it with your beauty. "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19
God is making all things new... God's doing it, one person at a time...

And so when on Feburary 1st, our 20th anniversary, we found out that God had a gift to reveal to us, I smile... because He knew that we needed to have a daily reminder that He is the Creator or all, the Redeemer of all, and the Father to all.

I want to introduce to you baby Smith #5. This precious life that God is knitting together in my womb, it is a grand picture of what he is doing in the world. He delights in His creation and he is a God of detail and perfection.

It's a picture of God working behind the scenes, where no human eye can look, He's creating and restoring. He is writing a story, He is the Author and Finisher of all things. As I type I am again overwhelmed with gratidude, of HIS ways, HIS thoughts, they are so much better than ours.

"I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made"
God reminded me through a teaching at Love Feast this week that the first word formed by a baby is "Abba". God knows whether we are still in the womb or about to enter the grave and every day in between, we have desperated need for our Abba Father.

And so I smile as I think of God whispering over me that He is making all things new, and He is making new creation. And we are gifted again to raise another one of His kids. We do this humbly, and doing this at the age of 40, (I laugh) I dont know, we've grown up some... we know that it is all God, it is, and we need Jesus more that ever.

And so as we go about our daily calling of bringing light into darkness, letting the Holy Spirit that lives in us be the river that runs through the desert, when we get discouraged because we dont see fruit in our actions, or when we parent and we really mess up, or when work is scarce and we dont know where the next job will come from, we are reminded by this life that is growing in my womb, that God is working in the hidden places, He has too, and He is a covenant God, who is always faithful to His promises, we are nothing without Him he is writing our story, to bring glory to his name.
Its a love story of the greatest LOVE and REDEMPTION and we are part of it.

I dont know what God has in store for this little one, but we know that it will be a life filled with HOPE and a FUTURE. And that this new one is LOVED. And we are BLESSED.