Rock Solid

I returned to the Bible study Open Table the other night as planned. What I didn't realize though was how God was going to speak to me, how powerful the scripture and discussion was going to be. Everything was good, from the start my mind was racing with answers to the questions that were posed. One question/scripture really caught my attention though and it was the 7th question and the scripture came from Matthew 7:24-25. The scripture reads: (Jesus says) "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock." Now, as soon as I read this I started thinking about some of the weddings I have been to in the last year and a half, and stay with me as I break this down. At some of these weddings instead of doing the traditional lighting of the Unity Candle, the Bride and Groom have down a "mixing of the sands". What this generally looks like is the Minister takes a rock and places it in a glass vase to signify Christ being the Eternal Rock that this marriage will be built on. There are many scriptures that reference God as being the Eternal Rock on which we should build our lives such as the one above and one of my favorites Isaiah 26:4. The Bride, Groom, and Minister then proceed to each dump a different colored sand over the rock, the bride and groom's sands are colors of their choosing, but the Minister's sand is white to symbolize the purity, grace and mercy that comes with two lives becoming one in Christ. All three are poured in simultaneously, mixing together to show that these two have become one in Christ. The vase is then sealed with wax so the newly weds may keep this as a memory of that day. Now there is a reason this verse applies to all of us and God placed a different idea on my heart. Let me ask you this, should there only be a rock in the main vase? Should only the unity of two lives becoming one be built on the Rock Eternal? I say simply, no. Both the Bride's vase and the Groom's vase should each contain their own rock. We should be building our daily lives on the Eternal Rock so that we are much more stable and balanced when we are united with the person God made to perfectly compliment us. Why would you want to try and stick two unstable foundations onto a solid piece of the puzzle, that can't hold both people without tipping one way or the other? The tipping is what causes separations and divorce, heartache and headaches. I think it is crucial that our generation build our own houses on a solid foundation daily, that way we can add that experience to the vase, and stand a little more firmly on our Rock, our Creator. Why don't we challenge ourselves on a more daily basis to build our lives on the solid foundation of Christ? I'm not saying that no one does this, I just don't think it's as prevalent as it should be, I know it's something I have struggled with. Take this challenge with me, each morning wake up and start your day with Christ, eat lunch with Christ, take your coffee breaks with Christ, spend time at the gym, in the car, in your room, or at your job with Christ and fully focus on that time. See if your life doesn't change... Grace and peace

An unfolding story...

My life seems like it has been a whirlwind since I returned from Africa. God has done so many amazing things in my life, I feel like I am being blessed far beyond what I deserve which makes me think about how truly unworthy we are. Last night at small group we had a discussion about God being a part of our lives, about if He accepts us for who we are, and so on. I was blown away at the thought that God, the creator of Heaven and Earth, completely accepts me for who I am, merely because He loves me. No matter how many times I screw up, no matter how many times I fail, or let Him down... He always lifts me up. I guess I never realized how much hope I truly have only because I know God on a personal level. Throughout my life I have merely gotten by as far as the whole Christian thing is concerned, until the last few years. When I really decided to hand my life over to Christ, I realized during our conversation last night, that I no longer fear the same things, I have hope for good results in difficult times, I look forward to what He has planned. I think I am just blown away by the fact that He shows us grace... at no cost to us. Jesus didn't just die on the cross to forgive our sins... Jesus died on the cross because He loved us so much He couldn't bear the thought of not having us join him for eternal life in Heaven... this whole idea makes me think of my own life... Show.More.Grace. I realized that a lot of times in my own life, I expect things from other people before I show them grace. I expect an apology at the least... and even then sometimes I fail to show them grace. But JESUS showed me, you, and all of us grace, before we were even alive, before we had even been conceived. AND if Ephesians 5:1 says "Be imitators of God" shouldn't we be willing to show others grace more easily, if Jesus could show us God's grace centuries before we were around?? I realize this post is a little scatter-brained, but it's something that has been stirring around inside me most of the day. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it... For that matter I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the amazingly wonderful things God has done in my life in the last week and a half (and of course before then too)... For the first time I feel like I am the character in a book, watching my own story unfold, a story that was set into motion long ago, a story that already has an ending... and for the first time, I don't want to put the book down, I want to keep reading, and see what great adventures and devastating disappointments await me... Grace and Peace

A change of country, brought a change of heart

I apologize for the lack of updates following my return to the United States, but fear not, now that I am home for good I intend to update multiple times a week. Let's get to the real meat and potatoes right off the bat. Ethiopia. Wow... I.Am.Changed. I had no idea what to expect when I left this place for a third-world country, for a place I had never been too, to a place that I knew very little about. It's probably a good thing I had very little expectation for my trip, because it allowed me to be open to everything God wanted to do in my life. As some of you know our trip started out pretty rocky with some delay in flights, causing us to spend a whole day in Detroit (yippeee) and miss a whole day in Ethiopia. God had a purpose though, God used that time to prepare our hearts even more, and to bring us together before we even got out of our comfort zones. The time spent in that hotel began memories that I will cherish for a very long time, and it set a precedent for the rest of the trip. I realized that God was going to teach me a lot on that trip, I realized this because He started with a lesson in patience and faith when our flights got messed up. When we arrived in Ethiopia it was 1:00 am there, and we were exhausted. The ride from the airport to the compound I was completely mesmerized by everything around us, I didn't feel an ounce of exhaustion during those 25 minutes because I was so floored by the knowledge that I was in Africa. I had no idea what the next day would bring and I didn't care a bit, I was ready for anything. I.wasn't.ready. Monday was... hard. The work was good but difficult, and after only having about 6 hours of sleep, traveling for 2 days, and sleeping very little on the flights I was ready to collapse at the end of the day. We were building a house, and we got started that morning, working, learning, and doing everything that we could to push through until quitting time. I was ready for bed at 8:00 pm that first night, and I slept like a baby. Being away from my family and friends proved to be much more difficult than I expected it to be, I struggled greatly those first few days. However, that was part of God's plan. I learned how to PRAY... let me explain that. I have always prayed, I have always brought my troubles before God and asked him to fix them, but up to this point that was about all I ever did. When I think about it, and I am truly honest with myself and all of you, I realize that my prayer life was...well... pitiful. I used this analogy tonight at small group, and I said that a lot of times I treat God as a landlord. What I mean by that is that I call on Him only when things are broken, and expect Him to fix things with little help or effort put out by me. This really came to the forefront of my realizations in Africa. I noticed that I didn't pray the way that I should. It wasn't about the amount of time I spent praying, rather it was the way that I was praying. I needed to be in full conversation and fellowship with my creator while I was praying, and not once a day but throughout the day. So I started praying more on our trip. I prayed specifically for a few different things, I prayed for discernment, which He provided, and I prayed for the full Ethiopian experience, and that I would be broken. Be.Careful.What.You.Pray.For. I had no idea God would answer in the way that He did. Even the answer to my prayers for discernment was a bit of a shock, but it ended up being what was best for me, even if I disagreed originally. The other two prayers is really where I want to focus though. I prayed to be broken... and I was shattered in a million pieces. God not only broke me spiritually in providing great conversation, teaching me about my own prayer life and faith, but also emotionally in being away from and without communication with my family, and physically. Emotionally... I felt alone at first. I will honestly say I speak to my parents every day, even at school I would at least email/text one of them. I was used to talking to my sister, my favorite Old Tymer, and my best friends. Other than a few emails I had no way of communicating. God used this time to teach me about depending on Him for comfort rather than depending on others. At one point on Wednesday I was furious because I hadn't received an email from my family at all. God placed a peace on my heart that told me to not be angry, and I prayed for forgiveness, then I prayed that He would encourage me that day, to keep pushing forward despite my emotional break. An hour later I logged on to my gmail account for the first time and I had 6 emails from family and friends, talk about encouragement! I felt this sense of calm, I was ready to continue serving my God with the knowledge that people were praying for me at home. I felt on top of the world to be honest, and at 8000 ft. elevation, that's not hard to do! Then something else happened... remember how I said I was physically broken as well? That hit hard and hit fast. I woke up Monday morning, after a week in Ethiopia, feeling as though I was going to die. I was ready to write my will. Convinced that I had malaria, I found the strength to get up, I made it the 10 ft to the bathroom and got sick. It stayed that way until Wednesday afternoon. I didn't eat for 3 days and lost 15 pounds. I was miserable. Yet, I got what I asked for. God not only broke me yet again, but He made sure I got the whole Ethiopian experience. T.I.A. This is Africa. The Fehl's explained that being sick was just part of it, and that I prayed for it and God provided... next time I go out of the country I will be a little more cautious. However, the time spent in bed/bathroom allowed me to read, pray, and think about everything that life had thrown at me in the last few months. I was able to make some big decisions, realize some things, learn a few lessons, and enjoy a good book. I am so thankful for those three days that I was sick. Here.I.Am. So here I am, I'm back in the U.S. and completely changed by my trip. I learned a lot about myself, about how to live my life for God, and about the things that aren't necessities in life. I am now back in Columbus, IN. Living at home, reading, doing as many things with my church as possible, enjoying my family, hanging out with friends, getting back in shape, playing golf, and searching for a job of course. Now, this isn't the end of the updates on what happened in Ethiopia, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned if you want to here the rest. Grace and Peace.

With the change in seasons comes a new season...

We recently transition from winter into... spring (also known as melty winter), and soon we will transition into Summer. Just as many of us will transition from one season of our lives to the next. For me this comes in the form of graduation. Weird. I was sitting here just now working (or attempting too) on some of my final exam/project work and realized that in just 24 hours my life as a college student comes to an end. 1 day. 24 hours. 1,440 minutes. 86,400 seconds. What a mix of emotions this brings to my core. Earlier today I was on the phone with one of my oldest, and best friends Gabe. We were discussing life, the changes that are about to be made, the path that God is laying out before us, and the plans that He has yet to revealed. We talked about our excitement for the next stage of our lives. Gabe as received and accepted a job offer, and on June 11th he will be marrying the girl of his dreams, and the girl that I know God created just for him. I couldn't be more excited. As for me, all I know is that I am going to Africa, our paths are very different, but then again they always have been. Since we were little kids Gabe and I have been extremely different. Yet, for almost all of the last 18 or so years we have remained great friends. Just like many guys we have had our fair share of issues, but that conversation tonight just made me realize how much we have experienced together. Gabe and I's friendship has been a huge part of my college experience, granted we lived far away from each other, and sure we didn't see each other often, but we went through a lot together. Gabe was my support through a terrible breakup, through uncertainty and darkness in my walk with Christ, and a constant reminder that I can accomplish all things through Christ who strengthens me. We've been through so many things together, that I can't believe either one of us has survived this crazy journey... the point of this part of this post is to let Gabe know that I am proud of his accomplishments, I am blessed to have him as a brother, and I am greatly looking forward to what God has in store for both of us... After that conversation came the thought that I described earlier, and with it came sadness and frustration. I don't know what life holds, I have no answers, and I have nothing figured out... except for this... I know that God is my rock, my Savior, my deliverer and my redeemer. I know that because of my faith in God I will always know love and I will have infinite opportunities to experience grace. Does this mean that I'm not going to face trials and tribulations? Of course not! Can anyone guess what verse is coming next??? That's right, James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds. For the testing of your faith develops perseverance, perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." I am excited to struggle, to face trials, and to walk blindly into uncertainity. And yes, I am terrified. I am utterly scared. And I know that is okay, because I know that while I am uncertain, God has a plan for me. A plan so great that I can't even begin to wrap my head around what it entails... I am so thankful for everything I have experienced in college. I have been angry about things, hurt, devastated, and immature... yet proud, accomplished, patient, and gracious in other situations. I look back on this college experience and realize that there are probably some things I would change... Some wrongs I would right, some fights I would allow myself to lose, some fights I would push harder to win, some people I would fight harder for, and some people I would probably allow to walk out of my life. Yet, when I think about changing those things, I am glad I can't. They have shaped me into exactly the person that I am, and for that I am thankful. I have struggled for years with self-image... yet sitting here tonight, I am confident in who I am, in how I look, in what God created me for. I know that there are lifestyle changes I am going to make upon graduation, and I know that they will improve my quality of life... I want to live in a new way for Christ. I want to provide a new outlet for God to use me to glorify Him. I want to be new, but not lose sight of the old... I want to learn compassionate sacrifice (but that is a whole different post, look for it this week) I want to thank my family especially. I want to thank you for enriching my life in whatever way you did. I want to thank my parents for instilling the values in me that made this possible, and of course for providing the financial, emotional, and spiritually support that I needed to accomplish my dreams of graduating college. I want to thank my grandparents.. on both sides. Nonny and Poppy you have provided memories, financial support, constant love, and many wise and insightful conversations that have helped me to become who I am. Grandma and Grandpa, even though you weren't here to see this. I can always feel your presence, and I know that there are times when you are smiling down upon me, and times where I have let you down. Knowing that you are watching from above has helped me to stay on the path that God laid before me, because you have always taught me that faith and family come first and foremost. To my sister: You are an inspiration, and during your hard time I worry not... because I know that you are an amazing person and you have such a gift for what you do. I love you, and I am proud that my older sister has accomplished what you have accomplished... I can't thank everyone... there is absolutely no way. I will lay out this blanket statement for all of you though, I want to thank everyone for.. the late nights, the early mornings, the all night study sessions, the baseball games, the basketball games, the classes that we shared, the classes that we skipped, the love and the heartbreak, the hugs and the punches, the trivia nights, and the movie marathons, the cold beers, and the warm coffee... thank you for everything you have shared with me to make this experience so wonderful. So to college I say goodbye, and to life I say bring it on. My God and I will take everything you throw at me in stride, and I know that I can accomplish anything, I just have no idea what any of that will be... Grace and Peace

Supporting the Call....

Friends and Family, This isn't going to be my usual blog post, nor is it a typical support letter. In today's media-crazed age I thought that writing a note this way might yield some bigger results. As some of you may or may not know I am going on a mission trip shortly after I graduate this May. It has been a passion of mine for quite some time to work in missions, and last summer I was given that opportunity for the first time. I spent 8 days in Jamaica with a bunch of middle school kids, helping with some last minute construction and a Vacation Bible School. It not only changed my life but also created a new desire in my heart to continue serving across the globe. This May I will be going to Ethiopia to serve for two weeks! I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I truly feel a call to step out of my comfort zone and do something big for the Kingdom. I have been passionate about Ethiopia and Africa for quite some time, so when the opportunity presented itself I couldn't ignore it. In the words of my dear friend Anna I can literally feel African drums beating in my heart. I have no idea what God has in store for me there, but I do know that I will be broken, uplifted, shaped, moved, awestruck, and mesmerized by the Creator for the entire two weeks that I am there. I am taking this trip with Southland Christian Church here in Lexington. It will be myself (the youngest) and 3 other men. We will be spending the entire two weeks helping to build a home for a family of missionaries, working right alongside Ethiopian men and women, getting to know them, getting to know each other, and getting to know ourselves. I can't tell you how excited I am for this trip! So excited that I couldn't wait to share it with all of you! I am striving to live my life much more like Abraham, in the sense that when Christ says Go! I go without question. Every morning since I made the decision to go on this trip, I wake up with the lyrics from a popular praise song resonating through my heart/soul/mind: "Where you go I'll go, where you stay I'll stay, Where you move, I'll move... I will follow YOU!" I have prayed and prayed for guidance and wisdom and answered prayers for as long as I can remember. God has finally made me realize that I just need to listen, I just need to listen to what He is asking and answer the Call. SO that is what this trip is all about... What I am asking from you is your support. Prayer is such a powerful tool and I have seen it work in amazing ways. I am asking all of you to pray for me, pray for our team and pray for the people of Ethiopia. I am praying for strength, good health, amazing acts of God, to be completely broken, to be completely made whole, to find answers to the questions I have, and to be changed into more of the man that God wants me to be. I ask that you pray all of these things with me. It's going to be a long two weeks, and it will be hard physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, but I know that I need it, I know that God is going to provide such amazing moments that it will be a life-changing trip just like Jamaica was, but in a completely different way. Here's the part I'm not good at... the money part. I don't like asking for money, and I know God will provide the money so I'm not going to specifically ask anyone to send support. I will give you an idea what it's going to take for me to go though. I have to raise $2900 in order to be able to go. That includes, food, airfare, and shots. Next Monday I am going to be getting a LOT of shots, anywhere from $350 to $500 dollars worth. I have to get everything, Typhoid, Yellowfever, Malaria, Hep A & B, Tetanus, the whole nine yards. The rest of the money I have to turn in by the day we leave, which is May 13th. I realize that this is very soon, and I apologize for the late notice. Deciding to take a mission trip immediately after graduating from college was definitely a challenge. It has left me very little time to fully commit to raising support because of my schoolwork. If you feel led to help financially, send me a message or send your support to the address listed below. You can also donate by clicking the Donate! button on my blog, through paypal. I am hoping to send out a physical letter, but this is the best way to reach the masses. What I really want you to do is pray for me, that is the number one thing I need. Thank you all for you love and support, I will continue to post notes and blogs leading up to the trip, during, and after I get back to let you all know what amazing things God does while we are in Ethiopia. Grace and Peace, Brad Brad Robertson 1200 Unity Drive Lexington, KY 40504

Community/Blessing/Faith/Provision

Community has been a reoccurring theme in my life lately. It started about 3 weeks ago. As many of you that read this (or at least skim) know I am moving to Nashville as soon as I can. Even though I know it's what I want, I have been very up and down about whether or not it's what God wants. I have struggled greatly with this decision, and while in Nashville, God presented a new opportunity. A new community. A new church.

There is a church plant in Nashville that two of my best friends attend. You've heard a lot about these friends, seeing as they are the ones adopting from Ethiopia (more on that later). I was leery about a church plant... new church, fewer people, currently no youth program. All things that I'm not used to. When I moved to Lexington, I joined Southland, partly because it was huge, and partly because i knew the size would create immense opportunities. So the whole way to this new church plant on Sunday morning I sat in the back of Mike's car and prayed... Mike was completely unaware of this prayer, and if he wasn't, I was unaware that he was aware :) . Anyway, I prayed that my heart would be opened to an opportunity, to the people, to the fact that God was going to teach me something in a situation in which I was not comfortable at all. What God showed me that Sunday morning was astonishing. Here I am, with only two people I know (and one guy who I am friends with on Twitter @jasonegly) in the middle of a small warehouse, on fold-out metal chairs, placed in an oval, with a coffee table in the middle. Now, as a pre-cursor, I was informed that this service would be different than most, that we would be sharing the Lord's Supper... again, a new experience. This completely blew my mind though. Short version** Jason and Justin talked about the fact that communion is about spending intimate, communal time with God, but too often we forget that communion is a time of community with those around us, with other Christians. He made it clear that not only is it a time to spend with our God, but also a time to spend with our Brothers and Sisters, being vulnerable and clearing the air. Wow. Completely different perspective than the typical .037364 oz. of grape juice and wafer, a little quiet time and then church is over. We spent the whole service with the blood and the body in our hands, looking at each other, listening to the message and then sharing our thoughts about anything and everything. It was unreal.

Then it dawned on me... my worries about Nashville weren't about whether I could move there, it was about whether or not I could embrace the community and understand what that would mean for my move. Christ offers us a community anywhere He leads us, it's part of the journey. I was so worried that I would fail by going to Nashville, and then realized that my worries about failure came from the fact that I didn't think I could find a community. I grew up in small town USA, a place where community is everything. I have always been a member of some sort of community and it has always been a constant and comforting part of my life. Moving to Nashville invoked fear that finding a community wouldn't be as easy this time. I prayed earnestly about this all the way to that service, and God provided in such a big way! God provided this amazing community of people that I have just begun to connect with (other than Mike and Amy, and the 4 other people I knew in that area). This has just been so overwhelming, which is why it took me so long to write this.

Then I came back to Lexington, and I started talking to a friend at middle school ministry. We usually talk about our passion for missions and our weeks and so on and so forth. We had previously joked about her moving to Nashville with one of her friends around the same time I was moving there. A couple weeks ago we were talking and out of the blue this friend got wickedly excited and told me if everything goes according to plan she's moving to Nashville at the end of the summer/early fall. God provides. I just kept thanking God for reinforcing this idea of community. I realized He was providing opportunities to help reaffirm my decision. That was one more person I would have an established friendship with in Nashville. I was blown away by this, and of course, God through one more at me. One of the greatest people I have met at school is a guy named Miles. Miles has a passion and heart for Christ like no one I've ever met. We struggle with very similar things, and He has taught me so many things about myself and about being a young Christian man. We got to talking about my trip to Nashville and my desire to move there. Wouldn't ya know it? God had presented an opportunity for Miles to be in Nashville twice a month starting at the end of April I believe. How impossible is that?? God provides absolutely everything we need to vanquish our fears. This has just had my head spinning...

I have been so blessed in community my whole life, and God just continues to bless me with it because he knows that it is helping me move forward in my walk. If all of that wasn't enough, today I found out that a classmate is moving there for TFA and one of my oldest friends from home has been offered a job at APSU... Community. Trust. Faith. Blessing...
God has provided so much for me in the last three weeks I am just in absolute awe. I needed this reassurance and I had prayed for it. God provides...

"So I'll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe, of the one who gave it all. I'll stand, my soul, Lord to you surrendered, all I have is yours"

Grace and Peace

Perfect Fear...

I've been struggling the last week and a half or so, more than usual. However I'm not struggling with the usual things, which is bittersweet. I'm struggling with fear. Fear that I'm not going to achieve my best, that what I want to accomplish will either not come full circle, or that it won't be perfect. I, just like any other graduate, want to find the perfect job, in the perfect city, near the perfect Church, with the perfect group of friends, so that I can define myself as successful after college graduation. This whole notion of "perfection" is new to me, normally I'm pretty okay with being above average, to the point that I’m complacent. In fact, my obsession with perfection and it being the defining characteristic of my success is quite the opposite of how I have lived my life thus far. I am successfully going to graduate college, I have had a successful college career, yet for the most part... my grades have been just above average. While I always strive to do better, often times not sticking with the "study plan" I lay out for myself, I have always been overall happy with my performance in classes. Could I have done better? I'm sure I could have, but I know that I did well and I realize that the things I have learned outside of the classroom have made up for the things I didn't learn inside, mainly because of this blog and twitter/facebook/texting. All of these thoughts have been cultivated in the depths of my soul without me realizing it. It took a blog post by a guy I read daily (well... almost..) to really draw them out and make them apparent to me.

Perfectionism isn't necessary. To quote the author of the blog Stuff Christians Like "90% perfect and published always changes more lives than 100% perfect and stuck in your head."- Jon Acuff.. this sums up everything I'm saying, well, perfectly. It doesn't just relate to my writing this blog, although I do shy away from writing a lot of things for reasons even I don't understand. I took it to mean that dreaming about a perfect life is fine. Acting on your dreams to change the world, write a book, or travel international is the only way you can impact people. Acting on it may not yield the exact results you dreamt of, but it’s better than doing nothing. It led me to realize that I don't need to have everything be perfect. I want to experience life, I want something new when I graduate, I want to reach others, show Jesus' love and compassion daily, and make just enough money to pay the bills, tithe, and visit friends and family. So why am I so concerned with finding the perfect job? I already know what city I want to go to, so what's stopping me?? I know that that city contains AMAZING friends, and extended family. In fact, that city is where my favorite blogger @jonacuff currently resides. I'm tired of being fearful of making a mistake, or that what I want to share will fall short of glory. Instead of trying to perfect everything without taking any chances, I'm taking a chance. I made a decision. It may only be 90% perfect, but it will be out there, it will be real, in a sense it will be published.

I'm moving after I graduate. I have spoken of this many times, and few people know how confident I am in this decision but here it is. I am moving to Nashville, TN. I have two job interviews there on Monday. I'm spending the weekend with some amazing people and doing some apartment hunting. I have felt this pull on my heart for the last year to move to Nashville ever since I met Mike and Amy. I love the area, and I love the opportunity. Is it going to be perfect? Not. At. All. In fact I'm probably going to struggle at first, being in a new city with about 8 friends to start with. I don't know what job I will have, but I know it will be one in which God can use me. I know that it won't be perfect, I won't be perfect, but God's plan for me is perfect. I can dream as much as I want, but if I don't act it will impact no one. However, if I act and say... 90% of those dreams become reality, or culminate into what I had hoped they would, I could impact the world. I want to be a life changer, I want to wake up every morning hit my knees and know that God will prepare my heart for the day. So after I return from Ethiopia, I'm leaving. The only thing that will stop me is if God gives me a definitive answer to go somewhere else. I just want to follow my heart and God’s plan, which I am fully aware don’t always match up. In that instance I will follow God’s plan, but just like with my dreams, if I don’t take action… I have no impact. I don’t know if this all makes sense, and I’m not sure that anyone will read it. But I know that based on what Jon Acuff wrote, the only way to know is to hit publish at the bottom of this blog. This post isn’t perfect, it may not even be 90%, but that’s okay. Maybe someone will read it and realize they feel the same way. Maybe someone will strike up a conversation with me about it, and we can move forward into uncertainty as brothers/sisters in Christ. Maybe… just Maybe, my fear of perfect was a perfect fear. It’s what led me to realize that I don’t need perfection, I just need to take action.

Grace and Peace