gift – Grow Anyway

Have You Ever Read Numbers?

July 13, 2022July 13, 2022by Liz GossLeave a Comment

In case you are looking at the screen in confusion, Numbers is the fourth book of the Old Testament (right after Leviticus) and it has nothing to do with math. Instead, Numbers showcases the faithfulness of God. Unsettled and weary as the Israelites often were (and tempted to envy everything they left behind or saw surrounding them) they were the most blessed of ALL people. Even in the wilderness, God dwelled in their midst – no other nation had the presence of God.

I love this book because we get to see God intimately interact with people. It’s breathtaking. Scary. Exhilarating. Frightening. And nestled inside of Numbers is a truth I want to shout from the rooftops: God desires to do life with you.

But in order to do life with a holy and just God we will have to wrestle with this verse from Numbers, “The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty.” Numbers 14:18

Interestingly enough the first half that I bolded is usually where people stop the quote. And while it’s a great half – it’s only half. See the Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, but he’s also pure. He cannot live with unexcused sin, which is why we see example after example of God’s punishment of the Israelite people in Numbers.

BUT. You and I are living in a time where God’s presence is even more precious because it is accessible. United through the sacrifice of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit we have become the dwelling place of God. And while the Israelites could not completely escape their guilt… we can through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Reading the Old Testament is a treasure of truth for our souls, helping us appreciate the true gift of a relationship with God. He wants to live with us. He wants to fight for us. He wants to walk beside us and speak with us. But he will not forgive the guilty. Which is why we need Jesus.

Have you thanked Jesus today for restoring you to God? Did you notice the relationship you now have with God? Don’t miss the heart of the one who knows you best and loves you most. In the book of Numbers, an entire generation of Israelites passed away in the wilderness under the guilt of their sin. God has provided a way back for you this very moment.

If you don’t have a personal relationship with God know that it isn’t because he’s distant. God loves nothing more than to do life with his people. He made a way to remove our guilt at great personal cost. But we have to want it. We have to choose with our lives. God desires to do life with you. Do you desire to do life with him?

liz goss

Sunday is not for Sleeping

July 7, 2021July 6, 2021by Liz Goss5 Comments

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Genesis 2:1-3

Anxiety and 2020 were like two sides of the same coin. One minute you were coping like a boss and the next you couldn’t concentrate because your kids are tapping on everything with chopsticks. There were so many afternoons when I would have loved a nap… and I actually did take quite a few.

But exhausted and over it, frustrated and bored longing for a nap isn’t how I picture God on the seventh day. After all, Isaiah 40:28 says “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

So if God wasn’t tired why didn’t he just keep on going? Well… maybe God knew that we needed to rest our hearts fully in HIM once a week. Before the fall we were constantly immersed in God’s presence. We were created for that life. And in the above verses from Genesis God has given us this instruction: yes we must work hard, but we also need to restore our souls in Him.

Mark 2:27-28 says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” This clearly points to the idea that God rested after creation to establish what He wanted US to do.

So was God napping in Genesis 2? No. Not likely. He was finding rest in the expression of Himself as Creator. Likewise, true rest is stopping our busy lives, reflecting on God’s goodness to us and resting in the expression of who we are in God.

If you are struggling, perhaps you need to take time to rest in God. We were made for His presence! Below are a few practical ways to rest in Him. Please comment with more suggestions for us! We would love to know how you choose to rest in God.

Talk to a friend about your faith and encourage each other.
Read the Bible and find verses that comfort you.
Listen to a podcast, sermon or VeggieTales that makes you remember why you love God.
Be grateful for God’s gifts in your life.
Sing songs that worship God.
Go out in nature and enjoy the things He has made.
Sniff a kitty that has been laying in the sunshine (best smell God created).
Tell stories of God’s faithfulness in your family.

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An Underrated Blessing

April 28, 2021April 27, 2021by Guest Blogger1 Comment

As things continue to return to normal, I have been reminded that normal…is….busy! Run, run, run! Go, go, go. Some days there is barely a moment to catch your breath!

Because normal = busy, time seems to fly by. I blinked and I was graduating high school. I blinked and I was saying good-bye to my 20s. I blinked again and all 4 kids were in school. And I made the mistake of blinking again and my oldest is now almost 17 years old and when he stands up straight, he is looking me right in the eyes!

As I approach the halfway point in my life, I want to take the wisdom I have acquired, some of it which came at great cost (life’s tough lessons often don’t come cheap) and I want to apply that wisdom to the days that I have left. One of my goals for my second half is to fight twice as hard to give my time to my family. If I trade in my family time in order to be successful at work? That’s actually failure. Family must be first.

But there is an overlooked aspect of life, a blessing that God intended us to have, and with all of the things going on, it is often easily neglected. That neglected blessings is friendship. I have had this thought running through my head for a while now: “Friendship is a gift you give yourself.” Making time for friends, pursuing a quality person in friendship seems like a selfish thing to do. I feel like I almost have to give myself permission. With so much competition for time, you could feel guilty for creating some space to enjoy your friends.

Another reason we might neglect friendship is because relationships are messy. We can step on each other’s toes. We can get offended. Sometimes friendships end badly. I have had seasons where I have had walls up, because I didn’t want to get burned again. I look back on those seasons now and I wish I had taken the walls down sooner. I was missing the blessing that comes from friendship.

David in the Bible had a wonderful friend in Jonathan. David’s life was stressful! One minute King Saul wanted to hear David play his music, and the next minute, with no warning, he tried to kill David. Since he was in the service of King Saul there wasn’t much David could do about it. In this rough season of life, David found support from Jonathan, who was like a brother to him. Jonathan was a true friend.

Here are some characteristics of a true friend:

They always tells you what you need to hear, not what you necessarily want to hear!
They will be genuinely happy for you when blessings come your way. They won’t grumble about ‘how nothing good happens to them,’ they will celebrate their friends happiness!
They will hang in there with you, when you need them the most, even if it is unpopular. King Saul was not pleased with his son’s loyalty to David!

In this marathon called life, it isn’t good to run alone. Prioritize godly friends, and you will enjoy the journey!

By: Matt Larson (senior pastor at journey church)

amy oberg

Why Do We Need Each Other!?!

December 28, 2020December 29, 2020by amyobergLeave a Comment

We are women who are normal. Not normal in a boring sense but normal in a human sense. We are everyday women who work, stay at home moms, corporate executives, small business owners, love our kids with every ounce of our beings, love being married, love being single, strong, meek, quiet strength, foodies, teachers, readers, animal lovers, writers, students, and every where in between or over the top.

Why are YOU important?

YOU MATTER to God and to us! We NEED you! Your gifts, talents and strengths fill in weaknesses of others. We believe our weakness could be your strength. Then how do you fit?

What are your strengths?
What can you do that can help build other women up?
Where does your heart and talent collide?

Typically, God gives you eyes to see things only you can see or do. An early childhood development teacher can easily spot a way to help a new teacher create a space that would encourage a student’s learning environment. A nutritionist easily spots how my diet can change to improve my health. A marketing director can spot the holes in a website and how the prospective client interacts with the site. This is an endless analogy of one person seeing a perspective that others cannot. There is no judgement or condemnation, but confident perspective and constructive information. In business, this is an acceptable form of interaction of building each other up. Can it live inside relationships too?

What if we saw a group of women as someone on your team? God gifting them to help build you up. Unfortunately, we are not really that good at this. We live in relationships that could build our lives up but rarely use the relationship resources around us. Why?

Fear
Judgement
Bad experiences
Bad relationships
Vulnerability

We cannot choose that we don’t need other (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). God has given and gifted us with each other. We need you! We need your eyes in our life to build us up.

How do we do that?

We need relationship with you. What I have learned over the last year: Only a relationship with respect will allow opinions to be valued and heard. Proximity in business or family does not determine relationship per se…no matter how much we want it too. Position does not determine relationship. Relationship must be granted, accepted and mutual—opinions are only allowed in relationship.

What does all that mean?? We need relationship so we can value your opinion. Yes, YOU MATTER! You have something we don’t—our weakness may just be your strength. How would we know that if we don’t know you? Ready to go to coffee and start a relationship? Let’s do it! Email women@journeykingman.com.

Be bold and share your strengths in the comments! What are you awesome at? Or share how you met a new friend.