It's a brand new day

It is absolutely beautiful outside today. Upper sixties. Cloudless. Breeze.

I'm in bed now drinking green tea. Just read the Word. Wanting to share about some stuff that is going on.

Man... life is absolutely crazy. If I would have been able one year ago to see myself now. I would not recognize me. Seriously.

I go to a new church and have been doing so for a while now. It is called Faith Outreach Church. I absolutely love it there. Everyone is seeking God and when someone is loosing hope, we all scoop them up and encourage them in the Lord. Lives are being saved. Folks are accepting the Lord. We share meals. We share houses. We share lives. When I am having a crisis of some sort, I have a number of godly women I can call at any hour for prayer or confession or when I simply need to talk. They will listen and give me advice that I do NOT want to hear but need so badly. I am challenged at this church.

Things I have been learning--->
*I have a greater understanding now more than ever of what it means to be called OUT. To live in this world, but not look exactly like it. I feel the conviction of the Spirit here, and am encouraged to drop the godlessness, stop playing games, and be holy like God is holy. Not for the sake of being holy in itself, but to live a life worthy of the calling I've received. What good is my faith without works? It's dead.

*Tithing is a joy and should be done in accordance with Scripture. The Lord will bless obedience. Will he give me a Rolex if I drop a fifty in the plate? Absolutely not. He may bless with money...also maybe with peace. One thing I know, He is always faithful. A cheerful tither comes about the same way a cheerful jogger comes about. The first time someone jobs, I'm sure they are not thoroughly excited about jogging. In fact, it is a chore, but so healthy and beneficial for their life. With practice, joy comes. If a person has received the revelation of all that has been freely given to us, how can we withhold? If you struggle financially, consider tithing.

* I am learning about what it means to have Jesus as LORD of my life... not just Savior.

*If I look like the world, smell like the world, listen to what the world listens to, say what the world says, watch what the world watches, of what value do I have as a Christian who is called to be an ambassador to not a citizen of this world? Does this mean if the world is wearing white, I must wear black? NO! Does this mean my life should not be in lock step with the world, and that I will have some very different practices and convictions? YES! Everything I do should be run through a filter... Does this please God? If so, great. If not, it's a waste of time.

*The Spirit of God is a gift. He can bring conviction, remind me of who I am in Christ, and say things that are to come (John 16:13). He is a comforter, a friend, a PERSON. I feel as if I have been set free. So free that I am able to lay down this freedom for others.

I guess I should explain how it all happened. 

A while back, Jose and I were praying for community for me. I had been going to church for almost a year at a church here in Orlando that was great, but I longed for a community that I could connect with and serve in. We started praying and the next day discouragement fell over me. So much so that I did a girl thing. I got a make-me-feel-better haircut. Some people get their nails done when they are sad. Some shop. I get my haircut.

I called that Saturday morning and asked the Aveda Salon if they could please squeeze me in. They said they could, but that I would be with a student. I was desperate, so of course I complied. I sat and sat and sat and then finally a young girl (she looked my age) came and got me from the waiting room. She said that I was supposed to be with another lady, but that she would take me since I'd been there a while.

Can I say that God KNOWS what He is doing.

This girl introduced herself as Julie. She was weird, and I liked it. I asked where she went to church because I could just tell she did. We talked the entire haircut. I picked her up after work and she ended up spending the night at my house. My friends thought I was crazy when I went to class the next morning and said my hairdresser was asleep in my room. Ha!

She invited me to her church. Faith Outreach. It is there I have seen the Lord move in my life in a way that I have not in years...maybe ever. I do not agree with every single thing that is taught, but this makes me grow all the more. What I DO know is that I have made amazing godly friends who keep me accountable.  I am able to walk around the church and hug everyone and hold babies and speak different languages and it feels like home when I walk in the door. I am learning about the gifts of the Spirit in a BIBLICAL manner and am finding that I have been sorely missing out. I've dropped my preconceived notions about the Spirit and realized that had I of been born on a desert island with nothing but the Bible to read, I would be SHOCKED at the way the North American church neglects the Spirit if the Bible is truly accurate about His power,  abilities, and presence in our daily lives. I wish I would have known sooner, but it's a process. Everything is still new. I am continually learning. I am excited about what life will bring.

More to come,

Cody