Happy Thanksgiving to you, but most off all thanksgiving to our great Father in Heaven!
A pet peeve of mine is that Black Friday sales are now starting on Thanksgiving. Really? We have set aside a day to be thankful for what we have, but we are going out and buying more! Now, I know they may be for gifts, but it still doesn’t sit well with me. Because of that there are no sales here at Hello Jesus Company today. Take time to be with your people today. Look them in the face and be really present with them. I am speaking to myself first!
I also want to share a little bit about my “thanksgiving” journey with Hello Jesus. When I launched this site, I knew God had placed it in my heart to do. I was obedient to that call, but in the process I had formed my own expectations. Let me tell you, this journey has yet to meet those specific expectations ;). What I thought and hoped I would be offering thanksgiving to God for is not what I am offering Him thanksgiving for today.
I wrestled with these expectations and wondered why God wasn’t coming through with “what I expected”. He sure is powerful enough! I thought, “God I am doing what you want, why are the results I want not coming?” I also wondered why He was leading me down paths that I wouldn’t have chosen in my own logic and understanding. Can I be really honest with you? I was quite frustrated with it all for awhile. I had to dig deep through some things, and really search my heart. All the while God patiently taught me and gently led me. God’s grace and love, I am daily learning, it is so big and so incomprehensible. Each day it humbles me more and more.
Through the wrestle with fear, unmet expectations, and steps of faith because of Hello Jesus, I am thanking Him for these things today:
- Monetary Provision: God provided provision through your donations almost to the dollar for all the basic expenses.There were other expenses I wanted covered that I had diligently prayed for, that He didn’t cover. I can say I was disappointed more than I care to admit. But you know what? He provided in other ways for those needs to be met. As I look back on this wrestle, I can clearly see that now. I am so thankful that He knows exactly how to provide and that I am not in charge of that.
- Assistance: My personality is one that I don’t want to bother or burden people. I rarely ask for help. But God knew I needed help with this ministry. He sent me Trudie and Ashley to provide help by becoming volunteer study and content managers. All of us on the Hello Jesus ministry team are volunteers. God provided us each the willingness and ability to do this! He knows our needs so well! I am thanking Him for this.
- Prayer Warriors: I am thanking God for prayer warriors for Hello Jesus. I know there are people diligently praying for us and that I can request specific prayers at any needed time. I am so humbled and thankful God has provided this way.
- Dreams: I am thanking God for the dreams He lays on my heart. I am a big dreamer by nature, but through this wrestle I was tempted to throw all my dreams in the trash. I wondered what the point of dreaming was when it felt as if others are achieving the dreams that seem so far out of reach for me. I decided to try and dream one more time. I was listening to a podcast and they said God places these desire in your heart, write down what you want. After staring at a blank paper for what seemed like hours, I finally got the courage to write down my desires. As I stepped back and looked at them, I was blown away that God was providing for me to live in those dreams and desires in that very moment. Everyday I was taking small steps towards those dreams. I missed this realization because I was too focused on what I thought the unfolding of these dreams should look like. I am thanking God for the desires He places in our hearts while trusting Him for the future. I don’t have to fear losing a dream, because I fully believe He will place a different desire and goal in my heart. He can be trusted with our dreams because He is the giver of dreams.
- Last of all, I am thanking God for the Spirit’s work through this ministry. I hear people tell me and others how they are touched through Hello Jesus. Sister can I tell you something? All the glory goes to God. I do not feel adequate to do this, I am not able, I am simply trusting and praying that the Spirit is at work and active. It is of God. I am so thankful for Him moving and blessing people through this. It is not of me, it is of Him.
As I think of next year with Hello Jesus, I can easily let fears arise. I can let satan tempt me with doubts, but I keep clinging to “Your Will, not mine”. Through this wrestle I am so thankful that I have been able to surrender this ministry completely in God’s hands. He is capable no matter what happens.
How about you my sister? What are you wrestling with right now? I pray that you can let God gently lead and teach you. He is capable, even when it feels He is not. I pray that He can open your eyes to His grace and love surrounding you today. Today, I pray that most of all we can remember all God’s provisions in our life (even if they weren’t our expected provision) and offer up a hallelujah thanksgiving for all He has done in our lives.
Support Hello Jesus:
As our ministry and ministry team grows, so do the expenses. Even after we make the switch to a paid version of the in-depth studies in 2020, we will most likely still depend on generous donors to make it all possible. I am incredibly thankful for all your donations this year, like I mentioned above, God provided to almost the dollar amount of our need. If you have a heart to help support this ministry, the make a donation link will remain up on our site.
But more importantly will you pray? I am so encouraged to hear ladies say how Hello Jesus has blessed them. This is only through the Spirit’s work my friends. Will you pray that God’s work will be done through this ministry?
