I wanted to write this blog post to explain the meaning behind my shirts that so many of you are wearing and as a resource to lead people to if they ask about the shirt. (seriously thank you so much, it is so surreal to see all you wearing my shirt and supporting me) When I first designed the shirts I had the phrase “To the Ends of the Earth” from Acts 1:8 on the back. Now while I still see this verse as my mission I wanted to put something a little more personable to me on the back. I wrestled through a couple of options before deciding on “Life is not a Performance, it is an Act of Obedience”.This is a phrase a co-leader had told me when I was struggling with pride in serving. Serving within my church and around my city has always been something I loved and felt called to do. But I have also struggled with the pride that can come with it. Being worried about what I wear or say when I’m up in front of people, making sure I always have the right answer, taking every opportunity even if it means I get burnt out, or having the fear of not being good enough to be picked to do things. These are all things I have felt before when serving and you probably have too. The common factor in all of these scenarios is the spotlight was on me, not on God. I wanted to do and say the right thing. I wanted to have all of the answers. I wanted to be seen for my acts of service. I was doing things for the sake of being seen not for the sake of making Him known. This mindset is a performance mindset. I’ve had my fair share of homeschool musical programs to know how a performance is done. You practice for months beforehand, the right lines to say are given to you beforehand, and in the end it is all done with a spotlight on you for all to see. This is nothing like serving Jesus with your life. A lot of the things God calls us to do we don’t get to practice or even get a heads up beforehand, sometimes we don’t know the right words to say, and everything we do should be done for the glory of God and with the purpose of sharing His love. The super cool part of not always knowing what God will call us to do or say is that we get to have faith and call on His name and see Him provide. AND HE ALWAYS PROVIDES. There has never been a time when I have asked God to provide and He hasn’t. It isn’t always what I want, but God says it is what is best. Who else would know what is best for me then the one who knit me together in my mother’s womb. I want to dedicate my life to being his hands and feet and serving with the intention of shining a spotlight on Him not myself, and I am super excited to do that on the World Race. This is why there are hands and feet on the front pocket of the shirt and a world map on the back. We are all called to walk in obedience with the Lord and share his love with everyone we come in contact with. What does that look like in your life?
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. – 2 John 1:6
