She has nothing to do with this post but I couldn’t NOT share her photo because she’s the cutest calf in the history of ever.
One thing my life has never been is boring. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m an enneagram 7 and I’m married to a 7. We never slow down. We always have ten irons in the fire.
But, I have to say, life has been less boring than ever around here lately. It feels a little like we’re hanging on by the tips of our fingers to a rollercoaster looping around the tracks at lightening speed. Anyone else know the feeling?
The biggest thing we’ve been working on is launching our little show out into the world. Can I be honest and tell y’all that I was so nervous about this? I know this may sound a bit crazy if you don’t understand and appreciate the reality of spiritual warfare, but right before the first episode aired, I felt like we were standing on the edge of a cliff, about to leap into a great, vast unknown. I couldn’t see anything beyond the edge, I just knew we had to leap and trust that we would land safely. I also knew that God brought us to this place – this was never, ever on our radar – He opened these doors and quite literally brought the cameras into our home. I knew that if He had orchestrated it, He would use it for His glory.
My prayer from day one of this TV adventure had been Lord, this is all yours. Use it. Shine your light through our family. May you alone be glorified through this.
I also know that if God is working to bring about His glory through His kids, the enemy is prowling life a thief in the night, waiting for the moment when we let our guard down so he can attack.
The night before the press release went out, I found a thread of vicious comments on facebook about our family and our adoption, in particular. I wish I could say I was calm and steady as I read the scathing words attacking one of my kids, as well as my husband and I. I was not. I was shaking violently and physically ill. My hands are shaking right now as I type these words. I hadn’t planned to tell y’all about this. I had planned to do what I did – pray, ask my tribe to pray and reach out to the person who posted the original post to take it down immediately. I did all of those things. The next morning, I sat at my kitchen table, tears streaming as I relayed the words to my bible study girls. They stopped right then and lifted our family up in prayer. We put on our battle gear. I prayed the armor of God over our family with new tenacity. I never planned to share this part of the story. But, here I am. Typing away with what I can only attribute to the Holy Spirit’s leading.
Because, the enemy wants us to shrink back in the darkness and stay quiet about things like spiritual warfare. He wants us to believe that everyone will think we’re being overly-dramatic or slightly crazy. He doesn’t want us to shine bright, beautiful, LIGHT into the darkness. Because, the light wins every time.
So, here I am. Sharing a story I hadn’t planned on sharing on a quiet Sunday morning because someone, somewhere needs to hear these words. The enemy is real. He is. But, God is so much more powerful than an enemy who works under the cover of darkness. We don’t need to shrink back in fear. We need to simply acknowledge the existence of evil and fight back with Truth. And, to be clear, fighting back doesn’t look like we think it does. It looks like quiet surrender to the One who fights on our behalf. It looks like battling on our knees and praying protection from the God of Angel Armies over our people. It looks like calling out the enemy for the liar he is. It looks like SOS texts at midnight to prayer warrior friends who can join us in the fight. It looks like not shrinking back even when it feels so terrifying to put yourself out there.
I hadn’t planned to tell y’all any of this. I had planned to tell you about the fun new website and brand we created to encompass all of our work (the building business, the farm, the show, etc). This post just took on a life of it’s own and I know better than to stop the Holy Spirit when He has something to say.
Now that I got that out there, here’s what I originally planned to tell y’all about. We created a new brand, Goodtable, and a new website: ourgoodtable.com.
Hop over and read the story behind the brand. Hint: we believe the table is a gathering place where we find acceptance, nourishment and comfort.
I’ll be posting the episode recaps from the show on that site. You can find episode one and two here and here.
There you go, that’s what I intended to say. But, I hope the other stuff encouraged someone this morning. You are loved, my friends. By a God who sees you and knows you and meets you right where you are – even if it’s at your kitchen table in tears. He is present, even there. Especially there.