I My Cross Have Taken (A Day in the Life of a Dead Man Walking Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

“[Jesus] said to them all, ‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me’” (Luke 9:23).

In no starker way could Christ have highlighted the steep cost of accepting Him as both Lord and Savior. In The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer thundered, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” Yet this truth does not resonate with my life here in America. I’ve never gone hungry or lived on the streets. I attended private schools and charter schools throughout my childhood. My greatest fear as a Christian is being criticized or ostracized not imprisonment or death. So why does Christ warn that following Him will cost us everything?

The Cross Jesus Carried

The answer lies in the very person of Jesus Christ Himself. Less than a day before His death, He said, “‘Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many’” (Mark 10:45). Jesus’ entire life was marked by self-sacrifice. He stepped down from perfection and clothed Himself in corruption (Philippians 2:7). He was born in obscurity, lived in paucity, and died in ignominy. He chose the hard life when He could have had the high life. And as “little-Christs”, we are called to do the same.

My Cross to Carry

Even here in the most comfortable country in the world, the bid to “come and die” is both powerful and tangible. It may involve something as drastic as “selling all we have” like Jesus called the rich young ruler to do (Matthew 19:21). But it’ll often look more like the story of the Good Samaritan:

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side…But a Samaritan, as he traveled…saw him and took pity” (Luke 10:30-33).

The call to die is often as simple as caring enough to not walk on by. I know caring is expensive in our hectic, fast-paced world. Caring may require our time, our energy, or even our money. But we can’t carry the world on one shoulder and the cross on the other. We must lay one down if we want to take up the other.

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

(Ephesians 5:1-2)

I Thank God for Family (I Thank God For… Pt. 4)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1: “I Thank God for Gratitude”. For Part 2: “I Thank God for His Promises”. And for Part 3: “I Thank God for the Memories”.

Family is a complicated word. When we think of gratitude, the furthest people from many of our minds is our family. Even in my own life, some of my deepest wounds have come from my parents and siblings. But family is special to God because that is who He is.

An Old Family

When God said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helper [counterpart] suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18), He created the second family in all of existence. God was never alone. Since eternity past, He’s always been Father, Son, and Spirit—the Trinity. And that is why Jesus spends His time on earth calling God His Heavenly Father.

The Father loves the Son (John 5:20), and the Son pleases the Father (John 8:29). Their relationship with one another—along with the Holy Spirit, is unparalleled, and this is the type of relationship God calls us to enter into with our earthly family.

A New Family

For many reasons, our earthly family may not be our blood relatives. Due to trauma or other unfortunate life circumstances, we may not have spent Thanksgiving with anyone who shares our last name. But the beautiful thing about the Christian concept of family is how expansive it is.

Through Christ’s death on the cross, He inaugurated a new type of family, one not bound by the blood of our ancestors but the blood of our risen Savior. In the book of Galatians, Apostle Paul says, “In Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith…There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26, 28). So Christ connects us believers in a way that transcends gender, ethnicity, and even ancestry. And through Him we are forever family.

Conclusion

In the past decade, Friendsgivings have been on the rise. One of the most intimate family moments of the year has begun to be shared with close friends. While some lament the dissolvement of family traditions, I believe this phenomenon may be a good thing. The root is connection, whether by blood or by faith, and as we transition into the Christmas season, we can be grateful we have our tribe to celebrate with.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!”
(Psalm 133:1)

I Thank God for the Memories (I Thank God For… Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “I Thank God for Gratitude”, click here. For Part 2, “I Thank God for His Promises,” click here.

Psalm 103:2 begins with, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” As I reflect on this psalm as we near the end of this year, its words resonate in the depths of my inner man. Many people called 2020 “the year that took our breath away,” but for me that was 2022. Some of the highest highs and lowest lows I’ve experienced in a long time occurred during this past year.

Lowest Lows

“Who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:3). There are few things in life as terrifying as a false positive. When I was told at a routine checkup in May that I “might have had a heart attack,” only the word of God sustained me through that stressful week. Just as God preserved King Hezekiah on his deathbed (Isaiah 38:1-5), God’s word held me together as I spiraled under the hold of a terrifying diagnosis.

“Who redeems your life from destruction” (Psalm 103:4a). Well, there might be one thing more terrifying than a false positive: an SUV u-turning out of traffic and barreling toward you on the sidewalk. My feet were glued to the ground as my brain struggled to process what my eyes were seeing. But a voice in the back of my head cried, “Move!” and I leapt out of the way right before the vehicle flattened a yield sign and crashed into a tree. For weeks, anxiety swirled within me as I walked around my neighborhood. But the God who’s protected me for all my years before promised to continue protecting me now. And I knew I could trust in Him.

Highest Highs

“Who crowns you with love and compassion” (Psalm 103:5a). In the midst of the many difficult moments this past year, I found God trustworthy. Even when I was stressing over small things, God proved loving and compassionate. One day, I found out that the mover I had selected to transport my stuff across the country was untrustworthy. But after several hours of scouring the internet, I had no alternative plan. So I went for a walk to pray, and I saw the moving truck for a company I had never heard of. When I researched them, they turned out to be a perfect fit, and they transported my belongings seamlessly.

“Who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:5b). Since moving to Los Angeles, I’ve been blown away by God’s tremendous hand of blessing upon my life. Wonderful people have entered my journey at every step. I have classmates to celebrate with, believers to fellowship alongside, and a family to call home even when I’m a thousand miles from Houston. I never expected the food, fun, and laughs that I’ve found in this new city. And each new day I find myself waking up wondering if I’m still dreaming.

Conclusion

Memories are pictures etched in the photo album of our minds that we can flip back to in the years to come. I’m sure they will grey and grow fuzzy with time, but I’m positive that I will soon turn back to 2022 and thank God for the memories.

“I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done.”

(1 Chronicles 16:12)

I Thank God for His Promises (I Thank God For… Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I still remember my first crush. She was a gorgeous Asian beauty, and I was a bumbling fifth grader. In my brilliant elementary school wisdom, I had to share my secret with somebody. So I swore one of my closest friends to secrecy and divulged the name of my crush to him. The very next day, like clockwork, everyone at school knew. My crush avoided me, and a bully in my class pranked me mercilessly for the next several months. From that unhappy experience I learned the life lesson that no one can be trusted to keep their promises.

And we’ve all been there. Whether it be our spouse, parent, or coworker, someone we trusted has betrayed our trust. A pop singer once sang: “How can I learn how to trust again? How can I learn how to trust? How can I learn how to love again when everything turns to dust?” When trust is so easily broken and so hard to restore, is anyone in the world truly worthy of it?

God is Not a Man

Ironically, out of the mouth of a pagan soothsayer named Balaam, the LORD says, “‘God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill’” (Numbers 23:19)? God Himself claims to be the one being in all of existence who will never let us down. He will never default on His promises. He will never fail to come through.

But there can often feel like there is a divide between the God we hope for and the God we know. There’s the God who saved our loved one from cancer, restored our failing marriage, and delivered our prodigal child. But that’s not the God we know. We’ve seen the sorrow of daily living which can sometimes make even the deepest Biblical promises feel trite and unreliable.

Yet, every week this year I reread Romans 8:32, which says, “Since God did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?” From the eternal vantage point of our everlasting salvation, etched on our hearts through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I’ve found the comfort to put my trust in God. For only through Him are trouble, hardship, persecution, hunger, need, and danger powerless to separate me from the love of God (Romans 8:35). And so I can take God at His word when He promises, “‘Though the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, My steadfast love shall never leave you, and My covenant of peace shall never be removed,’ says the LORD, who has compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:10).

Conclusion

A mantra I repeat probably on a weekly basis is “trust is the hardest part.” I don’t trust readily, and I don’t trust easily. But when Christ extends His nail-pierced palms to me, I know if there is any place in the world I can rest the weight of my world, it is there and there alone.

“No word from God will ever fail.”
(Luke 1:37)

I Thank God for Gratitude (I Thank God For… Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

 About this time five years ago, I was a dispirited engineering graduate student. I experienced discouragement daily, frustration weekly, and hopelessness monthly. I vomited my heart’s content to God in prayer week after week. But one afternoon, He interrupted me with two words: “Thank Me.”

The thought struck me like a glancing blow to the head. It was so far out of left field that I dismissed it and carried on lamenting. But God repeated, “Thank Me.”

I shot back, “Don’t you know what I’m going through? Why on earth should I thank You?” But from that day forward, God began to teach me the essential value of gratitude.

Be Grateful for the Mundane

Christian author and artist Joni Eareckson Tada once had a mentor who started off every day by saying, “I thank you God for giving me arms that move and legs that walk.” Joni found this acknowledgment ridiculous until she found herself paralyzed from the neck down years later.

When we focus on our problems, pain, or poverty, we often neglect the silent blessings that God gifts us every day.  From the bed I lay on at night to the clothes I slip on in the morning, the sandwich I eat for lunch or the job I clock out of for dinner, each day is filled with a multitude of blessings we’ve grown used to. When we take the time to explicitly enumerate such graces, we can appreciate how blessed our life remains even when it is filled with staggering difficulties.

Be Grateful in the Bad

Furthermore, there is often good to be found in the bad if we dare to look for it. In fifth grade, my tonsils swelled in my throat. I collapsed out of my chair as I struggled to breathe, and my teacher called an ambulance. I could not believe that the paramedics were coming for me, of all people.

But I still remember my relief when my mom arrived on the scene and my heartfelt gratitude for a kind letter a classmate gave me the following day. There are very few other moments in my life that I felt as loved and supported as I did that week in spite of the terror of gasping for air. Even though the good to be found in bad situations may not be evident, that doesn’t mean it’s nonexistent.

Be Grateful for Our God

Lastly, gratitude focuses our minds on the greatness of our good God rather than the badness of our evil problems. The psalmist Asaph once said, “When the earth and all its people quake, it is God who holds its pillars firm” (Psalm 75:3). If God can steady Los Angeles when it quakes (which it does thirty times a day), He can surely steady my life when I’m shaken by stress or distress. Such reminders grant us fresh perspective on our challenging life circumstances.

Conclusion

From the day I made a habit of gratitude—thanking God daily in my prayers and keeping a list of ten things I am grateful for each evening, my master’s experience improved. My circumstances hadn’t changed. Several months passed before tangible signs of hope entered the test cell I slaved in day and night. But the transformation within me directly impacted my view of the world around me. And that is why I’ve found gratitude to not be the product of a good life but the input that produces a beautiful one.

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Life is Too Short to Live Too Fast

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Life in any big city, from Los Angeles to New York City, will tend to be fast paced. There is so much to do and too much to be done. But the push to live faster will manifest in a distinct way for each of us.

The Hustle Mentality

The first manifestation is the hustle mentality: “I live to work.” I struggle with this mindset the most. And seeing the dozens of phone lines that exist for Workaholics Anonymous, I know I’m not alone.

I hustle because time always feels like it’s of the essence. Lazy Saturdays are wasted Saturdays. What am I doing with my life if I’m not striving toward my God-given dreams? If I’m not working on them, who is?

The Hustle Cure

When God places a vision on your heart, He is the one who is ultimately responsible for them, not you. And accepting this reality is the first step toward healing from the hustle mentality.

However, this is an especially bitter pill for me to swallow. As a child of immigrants, I was taught that hard work was the solution to every problem. Your grades are low? Work harder. Your quarterly performance reviews are bad? Work harder. You’re 30 and you’re not married yet? Work harder.

But God Himself sternly rebukes this mindset. “‘If you repented and patiently waited for Me, you would be delivered; if you calmly trusted in Me you would find strength, but you are unwilling’” (Isaiah 30:16). Waiting on God and resting in His promises are key to overcoming the need to hustle.

The Hangover Mentality

At the other extreme is the hangover mentality: “I live to party.” At business school, you might imagine how common this mindset is. Party, crash, repeat, and the cycle continues until the funds run dry or the consequences come calling.

At the heart of this mindset lies a fear of the future. With greater responsibility and less freedom lying ahead, when else will we get a chance to kickback like we’re doing now?

The Hangover Cure

Ironically, the cure to this problem is actually the same as the cure to the hustle mindset: waiting on God and resting in His promises. Overindulgence arises from a scarcity mindset. “If I don’t indulge now, I may never again have the chance to.” And there is some truth in that. There are very few forty-years-old I know who spend their Saturday nights at epic ragers. And even fewer geriatrics who can bust a move at the club. But there is life after youth. Older age brings joys that younger years cannot: legacy, perspective, and family. If we pace ourselves now and plan our futures well, we can make the most of our current enjoyment and still be around to reminisce about it later.

Conclusion

In the book of Ecclesiastes, the wise King Solomon says, “It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will avoid all extremes” (Ecclesiastes 7:18). As human beings, we tend to the extreme. Our compass will direct us to work too hard or play too hard because we’re trying to live life too fast. But we need to know when to slow down, so that we can make the most of our short lives here on earth.

“‘Stop striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.'”

(Psalm 46:10)

Learning the Art of Rejectomancy

By Ife J. Ibitayo

A leadership development program rejected me last week. I was doubly surprised, first at my pride for assuming I’d be accepted in the first place and second that I took it so hard. I’ve been rejected by hundreds of magazine editors, dozens of schools, and plenty of women. I’d assumed that by now I’ve become an expert at “rejectomancy.” Yet every fresh refusal still doubles me over like Mike Tyson’s body blow.

Am I Worthy?

The first thing rejection challenges is our worthiness: “Am I deserving of your time, attention, and interest?” When a person, friend group, or company rejects us, we can be tempted to doubt our self-worth. We can struggle to distance our resume from the person God made. And we can struggle to imagine a future apart from the opportunity that just slammed in our faces.

But God says, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). This verse doesn’t mean that “when one door closes another opens.” There are worthwhile opportunities that for whatever reason we end up missing out on in this life. However, it does mean that there is “an expected end” that God has qualified us for regardless of the opportunities we miss.

Am I Special?

The second thing rejection touches on is specialness: “Am I beyond the ordinary?” From the day I was born, I reveled in my unique qualities. I was happy being the only black boy among a see of Mexican faces in the Rio Grande Valley. I always identified in contrast to the crowd rather than with it. But rejections fly in the face of that illusion. For example, “We received so many strong applicants this year…” but apparently, I wasn’t one of them.  

Every striver on the face of this planet will encounter this situation at least once in their lives. They were once a big fish in a small pond, then they’re plopped into the ocean filled with sharks and humpback whales. We stumble across giants, and we can’t help but compare ourselves to them.

This truth is why Ephesians 2:10 resonates so deeply within me, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We may not be the best public speaker in our family, but there’s someone who needs our encouragement today. We may not be the world’s most talented businessperson, but there is work God has uniquely fashioned for us to champion. Our specialness is derived from the special plan God has in store for us, not the other way around.

Conclusion

According to writer Aeryn Rudel–who popularized the term “rejectomancy,” “Rejectomancy is the skill writers must master in order to weather the slings and arrows that come from putting their work out for public consumption. It’s the skill of accepting rejection letters, bad reviews, negative comments—all with grace and dignity—and still having the gumption to carry on writing.”

We all must learn how to apply a bit of rejectomancy to our lives as creators, entrepreneurs, and regular human beings. Rejection will come. But having the grace and dignity to accept it and keep on pursuing our passions, is a decision each of us must make.

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”

(Hebrews 10:35-36)

The Pressure

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Less than three months have passed since I moved to Los Angeles. But I’m already feeling the pressure creep onto my shoulder like the long, blackened fingernails from the worst horror movie you’ve ever seen. “You should lead this.” “You must join that.” “Everyone else is doing it.” Every “yes” I utter fills my future with obligations I never wanted to commit to. And every “no” engulfs me in the all too familiar fear of missing out. Is being damned if you do and damned if you don’t the only two options for the fledgling college student? Is there any way to overcome the pressure?

The Conflict

Firstly, societal pressure arises from the conflict between our own desires and those of others for us. To face this pressure head on, we must determine where the conflict is coming from: comfort vs. discomfort, fear vs. faith, or good vs. evil.

A lot of pressure comes simply from being pushed outside of our comfort zone. Joining a new club or flying to a new country are not inherently evil. But they may require us to stretch ourselves. We have to trust others’ words rather than our gut sense that pickleball or a pickle sandwich are really bad ideas.

Or our fear may arise from deep-seated wisdom within us. For instance, if we don’t want to go to a club where we may run into our ex, we may not be “overthinking it.” And wanting to leave early before we drink too much may be the best decision we can make. Knowing why we feel so conflicted is critical for us to decide whether to give in to the pressure or resist it with all our might.

The Advisers

Secondly, we have to choose not only what we’re pressured into doing but who we let pressure us in the first place. Truly no man is an island, and we are often our own worst advisers. The book of Proverbs is filled with advice about seeking advice (Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 15:22, etc.) because we need other people’s inputs in our lives. But we must know our advisers have our best interests at heart before we allow them to influence our choices.

The Foundation

Lastly, we must have a solid foundation if we want to effectively resist societal pressure. Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matthew 27:24-25).

Everyone will face pressure in this life. But if we don’t have our own sense of identity and purpose, we’re bound to be carried along by the whims of others. We must have a north star, a focal point we orient our lives around, if we don’t want to be swept away by the current of this fast-moving world.

“Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety.”

(Proverbs 29:25)

Abide in Me

By Ife J. Ibitayo

A couple weeks ago, I heard a powerful message about “Abiding in the Presence” of God. Before His death on the cross, Jesus commanded His disciples, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4). In essence, Jesus said there is one thing you must do in order to live a fruitful life: Abide in Him. Hearing that simple charge, I was pumped. If I can check off the “Abide in Jesus” box each day, I’ll be good to go. But then I realized, I have no idea what “abiding in Christ” really means.

So resorting to the same measures as any other proselyte, I dug into Thayer’s Greek Lexicon. And I discovered the manifold richness captured in this puzzling world.

Abiding is Lodging

First, to abide means “to lodge somewhere, to tarry as a guest.” I.e. abiding means to make a place home. As a child that moved as often as an All American military brat, I struggled to call any place home. My home was never a particular house or neighborhood. Rather, it was the faith I carried with me and used to orient myself wherever I lived. So my first order of business every time I move is to find a church to get plugged into. It provides an old sense of familiarity in a bewildering new environment.

Abiding is Remaining

Secondly, to abide means “to remain as one thing and not become something different.” Coming to LA, there are so many things I want to do and so many me’s I want to be. I’m a student, an author, an entrepreneur, a wannabe socialite and many other labels that I’m trying on for size like fall sweaters. And I often find myself frustrated as I attempt to disentangle my overscheduled, conflict-ridden calendar. But God says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let Me transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know My will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Just because I’m in Rome doesn’t mean I have to do as the Romans do. My residency is still in Christ no matter what city I move to.

Abiding is Enduring

Lastly, to abide means “to endure through time.” I’ve only been in this new city a couple months, yet I’ve already found myself wondering if I should throw in the towel. I already have so much to do and so little energy left to finish it all. But that is why Jesus went on to say, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:6).

Just as my Apple Watch is useless unless it retains its Bluetooth connection with my iPhone, I am useless unless I retain my spiritual connection with Jesus. We have little capacity because we were never meant to be reservoirs. God is the source. Rather, we’re meant to be conduits, and a conduit can only remain useful if it stays connected to its source.

Abiding is Obeying

Jesus said, “Abide in my love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love” (John 15:9-10). The outworking of the super spiritual word “abide” is culminated in the very practical word “obey.” When we love God and love others, we walk in closest communion with Him. And from those seeds of obedience will surely grow the fruit of faithfulness.

The Jesus I Thought I Knew (Father Complex Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

I’m your quintessential African American. I was born with a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other. Church was my home base, the star my weekly schedule orbited around. Sunday was church day. Wednesday was church night. And I think there were some other, less important days in between.

I mastered the gamut of Sunday school stories about Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. I finished reading the Bible through by middle school, and I’ve studied, highlighted, and annotated it from cover to cover several times since. I’ve sometimes found myself wondering, “Is there a Bible Pt. 2? If B.I.B.L.E. stands for ‘Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth’, are there advanced instructions?”

The Nazarenes Who “Knew” Jesus

I recently reread Jesus’ homecoming story:

“Jesus left that part of the country and returned with His disciples to Nazareth, His hometown. The next Sabbath He began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were amazed. They asked, ‘Where did He get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’ Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And His sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in Him.

“Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in His own hometown and among His relatives and His own family.’ And because of their unbelief, He couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their unbelief” (Mark 6:1-6).

Of all the people to reject Jesus, the Nazarenes knew Him the longest. They’d spent three decades in His presence, watching His deeds and hearing His words. Yet they dismissed Him because they thought they already knew Him.

The Unbelief of “Knowing” Jesus

I find this same pattern playing out in my life. My eyes glaze over when I read John 3:16. Many mornings I let God’s living word slip past me like a shower rather than sink in like a bath. To misquote old man Solomon: “There’s nothing new under the Son” (Ecclesiastes 1:3).

But why does this matter? What are the consequences of knowing the stories but missing their Author? You’ll miss the miracles as well.

I’ve grow numb to the power of the simple gospel. I’ve heard that “faith can move mountains” (Mark 11:23). Yet I’ve seen the tension between faith and endurance, abundance and suffering, joy and sorrow. And I forget that even though “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), life is not. And Jesus’ response to my situation yesterday may not—often, will not—be the same as His response today.

Conclusion

I think these truths are why Jesus said, “You must turn and become like children” (Matthew 18:3). Children know they haven’t gotten it all figured out. They readily accept the unexpected. They’re still open to having their minds blown!

I want to see healing, restoration, and resurrection. I want to accept that the patterns and rhythms I expect from God may change in an instant. I thought I knew Jesus, but I’ve only dipped my toes into the surf of His boundless oceans. I want to cast off my water wings of preconceived notions. Only then, will Jesus guide me into the deep end where feet fail and faith floats.

“To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless.”
(Psalm 119:96)