“Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
This has sort of been our unofficial family verse for 2016. I love the reminder from God to Joshua. The way he starts out sounds like a parent, doesn’t it?! “Have I not commanded you?” He’s like, “I already to told you this, but because you aren’t the best listener I’ll say it again.” 🙂 And it just gets better from there! A commandment to be strong and courageous. Not a suggestion or motivational thought. And the reason we shouldn’t be afraid or discouraged isn’t because we’re awesome. But because God has promised to be with us wherever we go!
This morning, I sent a piece of my heart out into the world. This parenting stuff is hard some days! It’s scary because this world is messed up. And it would be easy to ignore what God has called our family to do and just keep him home forever. But no! God has commanded that we be strong and courageous.
And he is so incredibly faithful.
As we prayed and prayed about where to send Kingston to school, God kept leading us back to a certain place. And it turns out that we know a bunch of the awesome teachers there. And I know and love the principal! As I asked trusted friends and family for specific advice they all kept saying the same thing, “Send him where you already have community. Where you’re already known and loved.” And wouldn’t you know, he ended up with the teachers we prayed he would get, and I’ve already weaseled my way into a class project that starts today!
I’m so thankful for the incredible community God has surrounded us with. And for our sweet boy who just wants to “be on tv” when he grows up. 🙂
Pray about everything, friends. Our kids don’t belong to us, but it’s our responsibility to do the hard work, always pointing them to Jesus! Be strong and courageous. Because he is with you (AND THEM!) wherever you go.
(He look so old compared to his first day of Pre-K4 and Pre-K3!)