Tell that Giant to MOVE!

"Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” - Numbers 14:9 NLT

Hey y'all! I'm baaaack. 

If I'm being honest, it's been tough to get my focus back to BGP. Sooo many things are competing for my attention - from my work, to relaunching a mentor program at my church, to justttt....life.

...but today, God brought me to the pool in my apartment complex on a beautiful, clear sky day (with no kids around because they start school in the morning!!). Even though I don't have my computer, I feel like blogging right here, right now on my phone...while dangling my toes in the pool...

(which, I'm kinda living on the edge trying not to drop my phone in the pool! Lol)

Let's do this!

In case you haven't been reading, I am a Foster Parent Recruiter for a living. This takes me up and down the highways to events, speaking engagements, etc. working to build awareness about the need for foster families. This weekend's adventures: a "Back To School" event in Yanceyville and a table setup outside of Weaver Street Market in Hillsborough.

Even though this was technically a busy weekend for me with 2 events (and each of them took about an hour to get there), it honestly doesn't have me feeling drained:

The weather has been pretty perfect.

I met some really great people.

Not to mention, each of the events ended at a time where I still felt like I had plenty of time in the day to enjoy my weekend! (Hence, why I'm at the pool at 5pm)

Today's event at Weaver Street Market truly left my heart glad:

I pulled into the parking lot this morning- slightly running behind - and saw all of the people outside eating and everyone bustling in and out of the store. 

I can't lie: I was feeling a bit intimidated.

Yes...even though I've been doing this work of recruiting foster parents for 7 years, I still get scared. It's such a vulnerable position to be the only one championing your cause, knowing that many people you meet won't be open to hearing what you have to say.

As I sat in the car and felt the fear began to arise in me, thoughts began to come to me about how this would be a failure. No one would want to hear what I had to say. This would be awkward and embarrassing for me...

Then, I looked up from my fear and prayed for God to help me. I was reminded about how I'd gotten this opportunity to table there in the first place...

I'd visited Hillsborough back in March and I ran across the market and saw how the community seemed to come together there. I believed that this was a place that God wanted me to table at.

After months of seemingly hopeless calling and emailing, I finally got the "go ahead" to table there. I had been persistent with knocking and God did, in fact, open the door!

With all of that faith and persistence, here I was being scared.

Oh nah!

After praying, I felt strongly to not be intimidated by what I saw, but to believe that, since God brought me here, there was someone here to meet. 

With that, God completely changed my perspective. I began to feel eager and hopeful about the families that I was about to meet. I took this hope with me as I stood at my table. I reckoned that hope resonated with people while I was there: 

A few kind people insisted on helping me tote items to and from my car.

Several people commented on how positivity radiated from me.

A few people wanted to learn more about fostering.

The sweetest moment came when a family walked out the store and a little boy handed me a cherry lime popsicle. Turns out they'd overheard me talking about the popsicles with another family and decided to get me one. I could've just melted then...(but then I wouldn't have been able to enjoy my frozen treat!)

So, yeah. 

In spite of what I felt when I first pulled up, there was in fact someone I was there to meet. Thank you Jesus!!

I was reminded of the story in the Bible when Moses sends spies to check out the promised land. The majority of the spies saw that the land was as great as God had promised, but all they could think about was the giants that inhabited it.

...but then there was Caleb. 

He knew that if God promised it, no matter what it looked like, it was theirs. What's an earthly giant to an almighty God?!

Just wanted to encourage you today: No matter what giants try to stand in your way - whether it's actual people, disapproving stares, or just your own fears - remember that God is BIGGER than them all. What He promised you is YOURS!