burst my bubble

 i mentioned in a previous post that we have "taken a break from our church."

we love our church family.  next to jesus, i don't think there is anyone who could be madlier in love with them than me.

which makes leaving for any amount of time so so hard.

but God wants us to.  he keeps revealing this to us.  we have to be obedient, like it or not.

 in the meantime i count on him to know the bigger picture,  the bigger glory.

in his mercy he is showing us glimpses of his bigger glory.

bigger glory conversations;

after reading scripture together as a family the other evening, a conversation regarding faith ignited.  emilie (10) said to us, "even though it is hard to not be at our church, i can see that it is good.  i didn't know what faith was before.  i didn't have a reason to need to have faith and trust God before.  since we left our church, i need God.  i have been reading my bible and praying (she really has been).  i am understanding what faith is for the first time and i can see that is good."

noah commented that his faith is expanding as well.  he shared that leaders in his new sunday school class have shared their testimonies.  their stories of redemption and coming into relationship with Jesus is deepening his own faith.

 i can see that at this time, this is very good for our children. our family has up to this point, been in the safe bubble of church and home-school community that we have created for them.  everything and everyone is familiar and safe. 

God told me at the beginning of this "taking a break form our church" journey that he wanted to burst our bubble. 

as he bursts our jones bubble he is tenderly caring for our hearts,  taking me back to that faith i had in the beginning, nurturing and expanding our faith- and especially the faith of our children,  revealing his power to us, and causing us to fall madly in love with the BIGGER body of Christ.

 {each of our stories is tailored by God to wonderfully and mysteriously fit us. this is our story.  i am not encouraging you to leave your church.   i do encourage you to be sensitive to the Spirits leading in your own life, and in the life of your family.  i encourage you to be obedient to the Holy Spirit's leading in all areas.}