the month and some change

The last adventure the Gospel Coffee Crew concluded wasn’t a trip like usual, it was right here at home. Truly at home. We invited three girls and one guy to join us. To be a part of discipleship right here in our homes. I, Miki, moved in with Britnee and Brett, along with three other girls. And Matt got a new roommate for one month as well. Over the past month, we have lived life together, through the ups and downs and all arounds. I want to give you a glimpse into the month, into our hearts, what the Lord has been teaching us, and what we’ve gleaned from this experience.

Like I said in the last blog, from the great commission, “making disciples” was one that we felt we weren’t doing as actively as we wanted to. While in Africa, Britnee and I were having intentional conversations with some girls and the concept of discipleship was mentioned. All the girls eagerly expressed interest. We continued the rest of the trip and came home. We started planning and discussing the next season of life and although we wanted to have a discipleship time, our lives were extremely busy. We didn't want to be worn out and not be fully invested in the people we were pouring into. After deciding not to do it, several people asked about it and Brett encouraged us to seriously reconsider. We decided to pray, seek the Lord, and wise counsel. Historically, when Brett feels strongly about something, it’s wise to take it into account. After more praying and gaining wisdom from the body, we finally decided to do it. Overall, this looked like inviting four people to come, to be a part of studying the Word, eating meals together, having deep conversations, goofing around, serving at churches, and so much more. The girls and guys had a bit of a different schedule, and since I was co-leading the girls’ time, I’ll give more insight into it.

The Lord purposed it. I know He did. The timing was perfect for the girls for so many reasons. Each girl was walking through something unique to them and the timing was extraordinarily purposed for all three, well actually, all five - including Britnee and I. As you might know, or at least may have heard, when you are leading the Lord often teaches you too. And that was definitely true this month.

Our main topics were foundations of the Old Testament and deep diving into how the Lord created each of the girls and their gifts and designs. Something God has taught me that has been extremely life-altering is how important it is to understand and know the way God created you. He is a good designer. And as a Good Designer, His designs have purpose and are made and formed for reasons. This is something God has actually laid on my heart to write a little book/ devotion about. Without giving you all the details, we walked through that with these girls and it was truly beautiful. Other things we were able to go into were the festivals in Leviticus 23 and how they are fulfilled or will be fulfilled in Jesus, gifts of the body, and the fruit of the Spirit. But one main desire of ours was walking through the daily life when it's happening. The messy days and talking about how to give it to the Lord, really. Walking through sadness, big decisions, hearing from the Lord and being wrong, and much, much more. Simply living life and being intentional with our conversations.

Life is hard. And it is messy. And it can be confusing. Hearing from God is not always easy.

We experienced this.

Life is beautiful. And it’s special to be a part of the body. Serving is life-giving. Revelations from the Lord are something to be cherished.

We also experienced all of this.

Each day was lovely and often hard too. I’ll share some of the expectations and some other things we learned. Something Britnee and I went into the month expecting, was to cruise through the Old Testament teaching pretty simply. This is something that Britnee and I have talked a lot about and Britnee has experience teaching it multiple times. However, this group was different. These girls had questions. Good ones. They wanted to talk deep. They struggled with the Lord and talked about it. They weren’t afraid to cry. They were raw and honest and real. And they grew so much! Like little flowers bursting through the dirt, they persevered through the hard nights of tears and they broke through. The Lord was faithful to give them more, because they asked and they truly sought.

The nights I led were Thursdays. I gave them a little workbook to answer questions and start the process of thinking deeply and analyzing themselves with the Lord. After the first Thursday, I realized, this is deep and is going to be hard. Hard for them to work through the deep-rooted lies and hurts that used to affect them. Hard for me and Britnee to know when to have mercy and when to challenge, when to probe and when to let the ground rest, and how to walk through years of these ladies’ lives for one night for one month. But God is good. Again, the girls didn’t back down. They talked and walked and cried and laughed through the challenges and through the discomfort and have started to blossom. They are still growing. They are still learning. But this week, the last week of the month, they each shared something that is now different than when they came. And that is growth. Real growth that you can see and experience. One experienced deep love and joy from God, one realized she heard wrong from the Lord and released it, and one recognized that she was able to better discern the way God created her. Friends, that's amazing.

Along with the girls, the Lord was (and still is) teaching Britnee and I. We don’t know how to shabbat. Not really. We know how to cook dinner. We know how to host. We know how to “have Shabbat”. But we do not know what true, deep, intentional restful time is with the Lord for Shabbat looks like. We desire to. And I think God will continue convicting and teaching us, as we continue seeking and desiring to learn. The Lord gave me several gentle corrections this month. Soft disciplines, if you will. He corrected me. But they weren't sharp. It was as if He lovingly said, “Little Miki, why are you doing ___? Why don’t you give it to me?” And lastly, God just showed us that He wants to take us deeper and deeper. He’s taught us who we are. And now He’s revealing more. This doesn’t mean that we didn’t get it or that we forgot. It means another layer deeper with the Lord. Or a new aspect. The Lord is patient when we are impatient. And He is faithful when we are not. So just as we were teaching the girls and walking with them on understanding the way their Maker made them, Britnee and I got to reseek the Lord and revisit that with Him too. He’s taught and we’ve learned once. It was time for Him to teach again and for us to learn again. Isn’t He good?

One thing that was a big topic of discussion this month was how fast-paced our culture is. We want change NOW. We want growth NOW. Well, that’s not how God created almost anything in creation, including us. He created trees to start as seeds, into saplings, and to have to grow with time and storms to be able to have strong, deep roots and be able to bear fruits. He created babies the same way. At first, they are small, dependent, and incapable of almost everything. But as they grow, they gain capabilities, like rolling over, crawling, walking, running, talking, eating on their own, and so much more. Then as they become kids, then teenagers, and adults, then further into adulthood, they learn and grow so much more. But rarely do we want that in our walk with the Lord. We want to be grown NOW. We want to be a mature Christian right NOW. We don’t want to weather the storms to grow deep roots, or be disciplined to learn what’s good or not, or practice our faith and transform our mind to the Word of God, we just want to get it. And God gives it. But we have to “walk out our faith” and “consider it joy when we go through trials so that our faith can be mature and complete, lacking nothing”. Those promises are AMAZING. BUT also really hard to cling to and remain in. These girls did it. They stuck with it. They preserved through the storm. They practiced righteousness (1 John 3:7). They did not give up. And they have received. I’m so extremely proud of them. I’m so blessed to have been able to live with them for a month. I’m honored and amazed that they would sacrifice a month of their normal lives to come and live here, to walk with us, to serve with us, to be with us, to live with us.

And my prayer is this. Dear friends and to the girls, may you continue to grow. To grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who saved us and saves us every day. To grow in confidence of His love for you. To be certain of the beautiful ways that He has crafted you. And I pray that in this next season, He would be with you and you would be with Him. I pray you won’t forget but that you will hold fast to the truths He has revealed to you. And that one day, we would all come together again and be delighted to see each other and to see the flowers that have grown from the little seeds that God took time to plant and water and grow during the month and some change

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Shalom from the Gospel Coffee Crew