A New Kind of Christmas

Friends & Family:

Just as Christmas is upon us and though this past week with the senseless acts of man have effected this nation yet again, I find comfort in the one and only tangible thing that holds power and truth which is the Bible. As I turn to it and devote this week into the book of Luke, I am yet again in awe as I read 1 sentence. I know I've read this over and over before but man, this time, this week in particular it struck a new cord to me. To my heart!

Luke 1:38 after the angel appeared to Mary to tell her that God chose her to carry the very gift we need which is Jesus it says:

"Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." And then the angel left her.

What this particular time in reading this stood out to me was that first of all, an angel appeared. Who wouldn't have been a little fearful? Mary wasn't frightened in this, in fact she was more confused after the angel declared her as the "favored woman." (Luke 1:28) Then, the angel later explained to her that she had found favor with God! (Luke 1:30)
Of course as many of you know, she obviously and gracefully went along with this plan of God and sought out His will and birthed Christ. What a gift!

Now, think about this...

How many times has the very God who created the Heavens and earth asked us to do something and we fought it tooth and nail depending on the timing, cost, sacrifice, what will other's think, selfishness? Man, have I been at fault on this one but I've been working on this very thing. Now, if Mary were to have argued on this with God, how would things have turned out? I don't want to go there but what I'm trying to say is that the bigger picture was that she didn't! She did exactly what the angel told her via God's command and went forth in spite of the ridicule, shame, embarrassment, pain, what people thought yet put her wants/desires/dreams/life on hold to seek out God's plan and realized that of course it was the PERFECT PLAN ALL ALONG! She chose to serve HIM just like He chose for her to carry HIM! He chooses US to be His children! WHOA!!! We are treasures in HIS eyes!

Mary is the Hero in this case. She carried that boy (future Savior of the world), bathed him, fed him, nurtured him, loved him, taught him, put her wants aside for our King and ultimately for our future with our Creator! Thank you Mary!!! This to is what it felt like for me in particular in carrying our "gifts" which are our girls. Just another blessing that I'm guilty of taking for granted. Yet, in spite of that, God still graces me with unconditional love. Not only that but they are believers and sisters in Christ, good grief many reasons to CELEBRATE PEOPLE!

So, this Christmas especially this Christmas, please don't treat this time the same as the previous years. Look deeper into the lives God has gifted you with. See them as when Christ saw each of us with his dying breath. Change our ways for HIS ways. Put all of our selfishness aside for GOOD, not just for one day. See people as His Children. See the LOVE that only He has taught us.

Praises to our King! Thank you God for all of the blessings given freely to me! I do not take you for granted and my prayer is that with this particular lesson that the Holy Spirit revealed to me was not one that I will forget but one that I will SHARE for your Kingdom.

Merry Christmas sweet family & friends from the Hill's. If you have Christ living in your heart, don't breathe another breath with hate or grudges or that your way is the only way cuz' it will only cause glory to Satan. You have the opportunity to be made new. Forget traditions if that's what's enabling you to receive this gift I'm writing about. Please, ask for the very gift that only Christ can give you and that's your salvation into His Kingdom. This is my prayer... 


From my family to yours, Merry Christmas

Mel

On the hunt...

Hey guys! Well, we're now on the hunt for our home here in Florida. The inspection was completed on our Arkansas home yesterday so hoping to hear back today what came of that and hoping nothing does. lol!

We have several homes here in South Florida that are either a short sale, foreclosure, and of course for sale but most of all for rent. Floridians are still trying to recover from the housing market crisis and so we have found a completely depressed market here. You would think then that it would not be of any problems finding a house right? Wrong! I'm still getting use to the styles here which are very different in many ways from what we've built in the past and that doesn't even included the space, yard size, and just really exterior and interior overall. We'll find it or else it'll find us. Homes are lovely here, just 1100 miles of a difference that we're still getting use to, but nevertheless we are getting there. After all, this is our home....

What's also going on you ask?

I am co-leading a lifegroup along with our Campus Pastor's wife Deanna starting this Thur. We're beginning a 6 week study called Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst. There, we will dig into how we women "stuff, explode, or react somewhere in between during all circumstances. What do we do with those raw emotions?" I am so very excited to start this group with at least 50 women and can't wait to see what God has planned for these gals. Praying for new group leaders to come forward and begin their own lifegroup and create lasting relationships.

So, that's what's happening this week. Also, while people are experiencing a glimpse of Fall like temps, we here in South Florida are not though it is beautiful most of the time. 88 is our average temp. So, enjoy your crisp mornings and fantastical evenings sitting outside and have a terririfc week my friends! God is wanting to do something BIG in your life. Seek Him!

Love always
~Mel~

Oh WOWzer.....

Hello friends!!! I have been terrible about blogging but I intend on getting better and update you about what all is, has been, and what is ahead of the Hill family. Wow, have things been C.R.A.Z.Y!!!

First off, as I sit in what I believe is now our 6th home to live in since June (though I've lost track) I am ever more grateful to the amazing people that have been so open in allowing our family to find rest in their homes during the attempts to sell our home. There really are no words of the amount of appreciation we have in these precious people.

So.....April 15th, 2012. Bryan's official first day on staff as the Associate Pastor over LifeGroups/LifeMissions at LifeChurch.tv in Wellington, Florida. Yep, no longer a banker, which has been his career for 17 years. WHAT????

So, as many of you know or didn't know, we have served as volunteers in ministry for more than 12 years full time. Through that time, we focused on growing spiritually during the good, bad, and ugly seasons of life. If we weren't at the church, we were on our way to the church. If we weren't on a call with someone from the church, we were with someone from the church.  You get my point. We have actively been involved in the church for some time now! I remember Maddee just being born and Bryan was asked to pray about joining the worship band. This was a lifelong dream of his stemming from his love for 80's music mainly as a kid, but after accepting this position in the band, it became the very turning point for our family and in his leadership for our family. (side note: he is SOOO good on the bass, aka Tangerine)

After some time serving, those that really knew Bryan and I had already made their own assumption that one day he would commit his life to ministry however we thought they were just smokn' the funny stuff and so we just kept making light of it.

Fast forward to last year around July, we had each been feeling something big that God was doing in our lives and it called for a drastic step in obedience which was to leave the very church that we helped start with the very best of friends and their children to go and focus on what exactly God had in store for us. Blown away from that realization and painfully doing just that, we were obedient and indeed left and began a time of pulling away from all that we've known throughout our times during volunteer ministry. Not to mention, our children's lives when this was all they've known. HARD TIMES they were emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically, etc!

Fast forward to now and you already may have heard about the craziness that God later revealed to us in HIS perfect way which was to step out and GO into a full time pastor role in a church.

Now, I all capsed the word "GO" for a reason and here it is....

During the season of the unknown that we experienced, we specified in our prayers for God to reveal to us wherever and whenever for us to GO and do his work. Our narrow-minded heads never thought it would be where we are today because that's how God operates. It's ALWAYS bigger and better that our tiny minds can fathom. His plans are always good and perfect. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He said, "GO!" As crazy as it sounds, just like when Jesus walked down to the waters and said to the fisherman, "get up, leave your things behind and just come and follow me." We did just that. Was it easy? Did we know what trials were ahead of us? Has it been easy? The real answer is NO!

I strongly believe that because we did go, he has been using that act of obedience to build us up and make us stronger in faith. Trusting Him each and every step of the way. Literally. Surrendering each fear, sadness, frustration, hurt, weariness, anger, displacement to him at the very foot of the cross to which my Jesus bled and died yet defeated Satan by rising up from the grave for me.

I'm preaching, I know. I just can't help it!

So, please hear me when I say that I completely understand the fear of the unknown. I get it! However, I never understood the meaning of "lay all of your burdens down and find rest in the Lord" until this very experience. I thought I did. I thought I surrendered it all to him in my walk until it was HE to which it was all I had to turn to. No more Mel and Bryan figuring things out, yet literally rely solely on HIM for it all!!!

I pray that in the midst of your unknown, you will surrender everything to him. It isn't easy to let down your controling wall but you have to! Allow the Creator of All things be your guide. There is no one who loves you more nor wants to see you succeed in all that you do more than He does. Be real, he already knows your burdens, just trust in him to carry you through them.

PS...We are still trying to sell our home in Arkansas as of today. It's been 4 months now. I haven't stopped believing in Him, in fact trusting in God is all we have for hope. I pray you get there as well in your situation.

I love you,

Mel

Routine's...or really a break?

Hey guys! I know, I'm a slacker for not blogging but I have decided to after all that has been going on since January. So, here goes.

Many of you now know what exciting times have been going on with the Hill family and if you don't know, you ought to join Bryan's blog because he's far better a writer and in remembering to blog/update than I am. He is an Associate Campus Pastor over LifeGroups/Missions with a wonderful, growing, all about leading people to Christ church called LifeChurch.tv. Check out the website. I love the hearts of these people there and I look forward in establishing relationships with each of them soon!

So, here is the very first Monday after B has moved to the sunny state of Florida and our new routine's have begun. I must say first that the first weekend has come and gone and w/o B around was busy (note: that was my goal all along) though I found myself in a state of moping around mostly and hoping to hide it from the girls and my peeps. I did pretty good in accomplishing that I believe. Meanwhile, the girls were super great! I'm sure lack of sleep/rest did that mostly though.

So, after reading my mom's text this morning, as she has done since he left, asking how we're doing and such, I told her about B and I getting to Skype for about 50 min last night. (Loving technology) I told her about how I jokingly showed B the curtain in our room which did not have the blanket at the top of it to hide out the street light which he did routinely, or his side of the bed not turned down, or that I now turn the alarm on, turn all Scentsies off, turn our fan on, close the doors from other light from the bathroom, tuck in our babies, preparing the house every weekend for our Open House and so on. Can you see where I'm going with this? Realizing to myself....Bryan's getting a break from these dang routine's that he's been helping/doing for years!!! Poor guy needed to drive all the way to South Florida to get that much needed break! He's calling it a job but we both know that's not all it is. haha

I know that I sound like a high maintenance woman, but I'm actually sharing with you what I found to be true and that is..... that I have a partner in life and when he's gone, though briefly, I get a little thrown off because of the things I wasn't use to doing alone. Which leads me to seeking scripture where God is constantly reminding us that we as believers in Christ are never alone. This wasn't anything new but now I see it so differently.

Jesus was very clear when telling his disciples this.

John 15:16

'You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last-and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.'

John 14:12

'Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.'

Man, that excites me like no other....I have the very same power that Christ has living in me through the Holy Spirit. I can and will learn how to accept the transitions during these short term "changes" in our lives. Jesus chose me, and for that, I am eternally grateful that he sought me and thought enough of me to love me unconditionally even through my whiny stages in life. I have a lot of work to do during this time so we begin in this new journey with me putting my "big girl panties on" and enjoying the ride of my life! I am not alone, ever, thank you Jesus! Though having Bryan as my partner in life, it is a gift to me, and having his help is extremely nice, we're all going to be just fine because God is in control not us.

I trust in you Jesus! Teach me what I need to learn and hear what you have to say so that I can bear fruit and will have lasting effects in Your name.

Sorry if I offended anyone with my "big girl panties" remark, but that's how I role....Maybe you too should use that term and live by it?

Mel