Spring has Sprung!!

You know, I enjoy different things about all four of the seasons. In the summer, you can enjoy lazy days, more relaxed schedule (most of the time) and lots of outdoor activity. In the fall, you see the leaves change and experience the harvest and all the brilliant colors. Then in winter, there is the bitter cold that makes snuggling up with a blanket and either a book or a movie so fun, there is sledding and snowmobiles and snowball fights. Finally there is SPRING - where you begin to see the newness of life every where you look. The trees are blooming, baby animals are here and there, the flowers begin to come out and you see more people out walking, runnig, riding bikes etc after the cold winter.

Spring is incredible in the physical world we live in but it is even more incredible in our spiritual walk with Christ! There are seasons in our lives that are just like the seasons of Earth. There are times when we may experience a cold, dark, long "winter" but BEHOLD Spring is coming and the Lord can release us from that season and bring us into a new and bountiful season.

I feel like perhaps both personally and in the life of our church I am coming out of that winter season into a glorious SPRING!! The past 6 months have been filled with some challenges and obstacles that I have allowed my self to get "bogged" down in. There was simply moving to a new community and settling into life here, then a month later the passing of my Grandfather, followed by a tragic death in the life of our church in Dec. We allowed ourselves to be "shaken" by all that and thus trapped in a cold season spiritually.

However, the past week or so the Lord has revealed to me that HE IS RISEN!!! What I mean by this is not just the resurrection which is also incredible but the time of darkness is past and He is bringing new light and new life to not only our church but to me individually. I am so excited to feel and know that the Lord is restoring joy to me and to our church. This has been brought about through women's ministry, children being baptized, the salvation of my nephew, and numerous other blessings here and there.

Yes there are still those "luming" concerns and issues but God has brought me a peace that HIS SPRING IS HERE. In a world that is growing farther and farther away from him, I can know and trust that He is on His throne and in control. I do not need to fear because I am His and He is mine! Halleujah!

I am praying that each and every person that reads this will experience the Spring that ONLY Jesus can bring to us in a dark world. Do not be decieved or misled by those that seek to lead you away from the true light into the darkness. Allow Jesus to surround you with his newness of life and light.