Forever Thankful

This Thanksgiving I am so thankful for what God has done in and through my family. We have been "blessed" with material items but the most important and precious gift was my son Brennan trusting Jesus as his Lord and Savior. I am ecstatic that he came to this point in his life. I never wanted to rush him into this decision. I knew he was curious but he is curious about everything in life. That's just Brennan.

It was a normal Sunday morning in our household on November 1st. Brennan was taking a bath in my bathtub, and I was hurriedly trying to figure out what to wear. Brennan looked at me and asked why my lips were still red. I reminded him that I had red lipstick on the previous night for Halloween and it wouldn't come off. I normally don't wear lipstick but Brennan insisted on me wearing red lipstick to complete our family's Halloween costume: the Avengers. I was Black Widow!

The Neal Family Presents:

The Avengers: Captain America, Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Black Widow

I was a little frustrated the lipstick wouldn't come off. Brennan's exact words were "you should be happy your lips are red, they are like the blood of Jesus". I was taken aback and almost let the comment slide but I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me to ask him more questions. I allowed him to "teach" me what he already understood about Jesus, the Cross, and sin.

At this point, I knew A.T. (my husband) needed to be included in the conversation. A.T. came in and Brennan explained to him our previous conversation. A.T. then led Brennan in a prayer as we all hugged each other. The realization that Brennan was no longer only my son but also my brother in Christ made me cry and extremely thankful.

Brennan is so excited about his journey. He loves reading his bible and devotional. He is hungry to know more. I can't believe that a silly Halloween costume led to a conversation and my son's conversion. God can and will use anything for His glory and part of His will!

I am thankful to my missional community and Hello World children's ministry at Blueprint Church as well as countless family members and friends for teaching Brennan about Christ. I am thankful for God's grace and mercy to pursue Brennan. A couple nights ago Brennan prayed that one day he will become a pastor. I don't know if that's God's will for his life, but we are committed to teaching him God's Word for the rest of his life.

Brennan by the cross at Blueprint Church with his new devotional 

My prayer as Thanksgiving approaches is that we, as believers, have the same hunger and thirst for God's Word that Brennan has at this moment. We must seek God with everything in us. We must be "all in". We should be forever thankful that God pursues us and wants us to be a part of His family.

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

Run Till I Finish

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38 (ESV)

A fire has been placed in me and I pray it does not get extinguished any time soon. I see the urgency of the message of hope that is found in Christ. I must use the gifts and talents God assigned me to reflect glory back to Him. I've sat around too long trying to ensure everything will be perfect. I wait for the perfect moment, perfect opportunity, or perfect timing. Well I've learned, just as I hope you have, there will never be a perfect moment to follow your dreams and pursue your passions.

I discussed with a friend the other day "if you aren't going to do what God tells you to do, what is the point of all the praying and waiting for an answer?". As soon as the words left my mouth, the enormity of the statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I am in a habit of praying and asking God to give me eyes to see and ears to hear. However when God provides an answer I tend to get fearful and make excuses for why I shouldn't do what He said.

Friends, I don't want to be that way anymore. I declare I will not be that way anymore. My pastor Dhati Lewis preached about the harvest being plentiful but the laborers are few. The next verse says to pray to the Lord to send out laborers into his harvest. "Send out" in that context is the Greek word ekballo which means "to force out". I am glad God loves me so much that he has ekballo-ed me from my comfort zone and unnecessary fear. He has shown me the harvest, and I intend to make an impact in His name.

I vow to God that I will run till I finish. I will continue to encourage others while proclaiming the gospel. I will continue to show people who they are in Christ. I will continue to tell my story of redemption without being ashamed. I will continue to live like tomorrow isn't promised (because it's not).

I am determined to run my race well. Will you join me on the track? We may have to jog or even walk at times but that's ok because God is with us every step of the journey. Let's go friends! We don't have any time to waste!

"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7 (ESV)

Worth Fighting For

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

Tears form in the corner of my eyes as I continue to hear story after story of young women wanting and attempting to take their own life. The devil has waged a war in my dear sisters' minds that results in such negative thinking the best solution appears to be suicide. He has fooled them into believing their lives are not worth fighting for, their dreams are not worth fighting for, their well being is not worth fighting for. My heart aches when I see how far from the truth the enemy has led my beautiful sisters. Women tend to go into isolation or "keep up appearances" with the false assumption they are the only ones dealing with the brokenness of this world. The devil believes he has them where he wants them...that he has won.

Dear sisters, I want you to know God has already defeated the devil. The devil's schemes do not have to rule you. You are worthy, worthy of life and worthy of grace. I want to talk and walk with you down the road to redemption. I love you and am willing to get in the ring and fight with you however long it takes. I know we have other sisters who will fight and pray just as hard if only they knew the situation.

My prayer is that women bind together to stand firm against the devil's schemes. We need to be intentional about forming relationships and being vulnerable with our sisters. We have to stand in the gap for each other.  I want to see a generation of women and girls impacted by the power of God. I want this generation to get in the ring and fight not only for ourselves but for our sisters. I want this generation of women to allow our pasts to propel us forward to impact others. I want people to look at this generation of women and see true community and true sisterhood. It starts with me and it starts with you because we are WORTH FIGHTING FOR!