December 8, 2011 By Mary Hess

I can’t believe another year has practically come and gone. {this is me shaking my head in disbelief and picking my jaw up off the floor. seriously} When Alece asked us to choose our OneWord2011, I was stumped. I had no clue what to choose. Then I posted about the anticipation of opening up a gift from Him and it came to me

Anticipation

Little did I know that my OneWord2011 would really put me to the test this year. Because honestly, y’all, it’s been a tough year. So learning to anticipate God showing up even when it looks completely hopeless was difficult to say the least.

But I was determined to press in.

So press in I did.

Do you know how hard it is to anticipate (positively and with joy) when your house is in foreclosure, your in laws have moved in with you and your home is not your own anymore, when your outgoing is more than your incoming and when life just stinks in general?!?!

No?

Me neither.

Ahem.

So God had me all set up for learning to anticipate Him even when I couldn’t see Him in the situation. I learned to focus on His goodness, His faithfulness and His provision because let’s face it, I couldn’t make it happen on my own, ya know?

He really showed up.

How?

Our house is no longer in foreclosure.
Our house payment has been cut in half – on a fixed note.
We both have jobs now which means we’ll be able to pay off more debt and get his Mom settled in to her own place soon.

And while those are miraculous things that we could’ve never made happen on our own, He didn’t stop there.

This year I attended a School of Ministry through our local church, New Day and learned to anticipate God in a different way.

I learned to hear His voice.

Can I tell you what an excitement that was for me?!? The anticipation of meeting with Him and knowing, knowing that He would not only be there and hear me, but that He wanted to talk to me on a daily basis – be a part of my life all day long – that, THAT was incredible.

For a girl raised to believe it was all about the rule-keeping, this was a monumental breakthrough!

And completely worth all of the other crap I had to deal with all year.

Learning to anticipate – expect – believe – trust that He’s here.

He’s on His way.

He’s with me always.

He’ll always provide.

My OneWord2011 was right. on. time.

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How was yours?!?! If you had a OneWord 2011, you can link up with us at Grit and Glory. We’ve have a great community over there and we all want to celebrate with you!

what i’ve learned

July 6, 2011 By Mary Hess

I’ve read the Word of God for years.

Memorized it.

Tried to practice it.

Quoted it.

Taught from it.

Prayed it.

Walked it.

Believed it.

Questioned it.

And there’s this part of me that thinks, “Surely there’s nothing new to learn here. I mean, after all, I’ve read this thing through numerous times.”

BAHAHAHAHA

My heart knows better.

It’s no secret that life has been flipped, turned upside down these last 2 years here at New Day Community Church. God has been peeling layers away and teaching us new things, refining some old things, and trashing some other things.

So it was with fresh eyes, a tender heart, and lots of questions that I started reading the Bible through in 2010 – a year plan – and turned right around in 2011 and read it through, chronologically, in 6 months.

And man, what I saw.

So much grace.

So much unconditional love.

So much Father’s Heart.

Yeah.

Good stuff indeed.

While I am taking a “reading plan” break for the remainder of 2011, I am thankful that His Word will not be far from me.

Because I don’t have to read the pages only to know His heart, His thoughts, His Word.

He speaks them to me.

Amen.

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Have you been following a reading plan this year?
What are you thoughts on reading the Bible through?
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