“He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” Ephesians 2:10 The Message
I thought about the verse we had just discussed in bible study as I got into my very messy minivan with my daughters. I looked around and thought, “Maybe cleaning this van would be a good place to start living out this verse!”
And yes, I ended up cleaning the minivan..and selling the minivan. But I knew God had called me to do more than just clean up perpetual messes of my young brood.
You see, I was in this season where I was trying to translate what living a MISSION DRIVEN, EXCITING, ADVENTURE- FILLED, VIBRANT FAITH for Christ looked like during the day to day normal life at home in my small town in North Carolina.
The last few years of our lives had been filled with these kind of “step out onto the deep waters and watch Jesus sustain you” adventures.
My husband went into ministry.
We adopted a little girl from Africa.
I’m a homeschool mom in North Carolina.
Which one of those seems like the most thrilling adventure to you? Probably not the last one, huh?
You see, I’m weirdly wired for the first two. My faith is fueled when I am on my knees before God in front of a mountain, waiting and expecting to see him show up in amazing ways to move it. I’d seen him move some incredible mountains in the last several years of my faith journey, but now the biggest mountain I needed to see move was the mound in front of my washing machine.
I had a disconnect that needing connecting.
I’d known him as MIRACLE WORKING, MOUNTAIN MOVING GOD in Africa, but where was he HERE?
HERE, in my ordinary life?
I didn’t “need” him as much HERE. People didn’t need him as much HERE.
Maybe you can relate. Have you ever been on a “high” with God — like so desperate for him that you searched him out relentlessly everyday, and he showed up? Like you were on mission with him and you saw him do the MIRACULOUS?
Doesn’t that just ruin you for the ordinary?
See here’s thing — there’s no ordinary with God.
Even in the everyday, he wants to do the extraordinary.
Here’s where my ordinary collided with his extraordinary; back home. A year and a half after our adoption was final and we had been settled in as a family of five, I still didn’t have it together (and will never completely). In fact, life was very challenging.
I was on my daily escape (aka the gym with childcare). I used the gyms’ two hour childcare daily allotment to the max, squeezing everything out of it that I could for my daily dose of mom sanity: a worship music zumba workout to pump me up full of encouraging songs while I got exercise, then downstairs for a mini spa trip to the sauna, and weekly a few other moms and I would have bible study together while the kids were still in childcare.
One Wednesday we were leaving after bible study, I looked at my sweet little angels in the back seat with my happy, post-workout mommy smile, and I heard God tell me it was time…I had new work to be doing. My eyes fell down to my messy mini van floor and I thought, surely I heard him wrong because what person is qualified to write encouragement to others who cannot keep their space more organized than this?!
…Plus, Lord, if you haven’t already realized, I have my hands full – beautifully full – so full that every time I walk into this place someone POINTS IT OUT verbally. “My, you have your hands full, don’t you?”
However, he kept speaking this verse to me.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 NLT
So finally, one Sunday afternoon, I told him that I would listen. That I would be obedient and write the message that I needed, knowing that I couldn’t be the only one waiting to hear it.
I had one very huge condition that I laid out to the Lord as a promise to him.
“I don’t want to neglect the mission of wifehood and motherhood on this new journey of writing my heart out.”
So basically, that’s where REFOCUSED STARTED. I wanted to get quiet and hear how to use my God given gift of encouraging and building his kingdom without neglect the small kingdom in my own home.
If we fix our eyes on JESUS, he will flow through us as we intentionally cultivate the holy passions and dreams he is stirring in us, while still faithfully pouring into those closest to us.
It will take us holding his hand the entire journey, not letting go for a single step to run ahead of him for fame, money, or pride.
So if you have a dream, goal, or passion you want to pursue that you believe is God driven, REFOCUSED will help you.
If you just want to do MARRIED LIFE according to his word, REFOCUSED will help you.
If you want to know you are pouring intentionally and eternally into your CHILDREN, REFOCUSED will give you tools to do it.
My goal is always that you will be encouraging on this journey with Jesus! Join us New Year’s Eve as we fix our eyes on Jesus for the year ahead. ❤
You can purchase the study God wrote on my heart below, I pray it blesses you!
Amy
Here is a link for a more in depth view of it: A Peak inside Refocused Bible Study
Married with Children
$15.99
Married Edition
$12.99
Single Mom Edition
$12.99
Single Woman Edition
$6.99
Amy D Terry 