Praise the Lord I didn’t have to reread last week’s blog to transform
any traveling fears into faith this week😉. Our
transition from Peralta Canyon, just outside of Apache Junction AZ, to Indian
bread Rock was quite smooth! And you
guessed it! God was faithful yet again
at showing us a breathtaking “home” for the next week. Within the hour of cruising in our jeep to
find a spot, two people, unrelated but near each other, and who had clearly been
there awhile, packed up camp, and we had the whole area to ourselves! Odd or God?
I think God (if you can’t tell, I don’t believe in coincidence and luck
but God’s good grace). Although we did
learn that packing up camp ourselves, taking a hike, traveling, grocery shopping,
laundry, and more traveling was A LOT the day before. We’ll have to figure that out this week.
Our time at Peralta Canyon was blessed as predicted and we
would definitely go back and spend an even longer time. Although the first church we attended was sadly
very watered down (taking anything that makes people uncomfortable out of their
service), we did discover that fast food play places with wifi could potentially
be the best cheap date/Bible study ever (we’ll try it this week and let you
know). We also learned that we are raising
some amazing little hikers (even Abe who loves his “pack”)! The second church we attended was on fire (despite
being a megachurch like the last one). It
was pretty incredible to see that many believers who love Jesus worshipping together. It gave us a glimpse of what heaven might be
like! The best part of Peralta however:
fellowshipping with some friends at a park after service on Sunday.
I felt pretty convicted a few weeks ago that I was not to be
doing my grocery shopping and laundry on Sunday. It is to be a day of rest…no matter where you
are, the Bible says! And if I couldn’t
learn to rest and relax with friends and family on Sundays traveling down here:
with probably the least loaded down “plate” I’ll ever have, than when am I going
establish this priority? I figured hey,
I learned how to read my Bible with cartoons going in the background at 5 a.m.
I can learn to rest one day a week too! And
wow would I recommend it to anyone. Okay
people there is a reason even God rested on day 7 of creation and even asked us
to honor the Sabbath as one of His 10 commandments. Try it and you’ll see!
Anyways, details aside, we drove home from the park on
Sunday with the epiphany that we need to be bringing church to the people who
missed church that day. The Bible tells
us in Philippians that if we have received hope, love, and encouragement from
the Lord ourselves, we need to share that same hope, love, and encouragement
with others. You would be surprised by
how much our very friends and family need Jesus’ hope desperately. May I not only encourage you to spend your
Sunday’s relaxing with friends and family, don’t talk about the weather. Cut to the chase, how are they really doing,
how can you pray for them, and how much hope do they have? Because if you’ve got any…you’ve got to share
it! And if you don’t have any hope yourself,
I pray you seek a real relationship with Jesus immediately. Don’t wait another minute! Let’s be honest, life can feel pretty hopeless
sometimes…but Jesus: hope-filling EVERY TIME.
Although I’ll admit simplifying our life and completely uprooting has
helped us to seek God more, as much as I wish all of you could join us on this venture
(and please do if you can!), I pray you can learn to seek God and His will for your
life right where you are. He has such an
extraordinary plan for each and every one of us! Praying for you all as we continue to seek His
will for our lives. Miss you all!
Peace and Love,
Eric, Jenna, Addalynn, Ethan, Abram, Sophie, and
Holly
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