Hey beautiful friend!

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Have you ever been searching for the next thing to do, say, or create only to feel confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed as you try to move forward with no clear direction to go?

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That was me trying to write this email 🙃...

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As you know, the Unashamed & Unhindered Community Kickoff is less than 1 week away!! 🥳🥳🥳

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I am super excited and super pumped about what God is going to do as we dedicate the month of April to a singular focus - returning to our first love, Jesus Christ!

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I truly believe God is going to do incredible things as we choose to move closer to Him with sincere and repentant hearts!!

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But from a preparation standpoint, I am feeling behind on some of my pre-work. By this point I wanted to have a bulk of my content already created and ready to be scheduled... But I don't yet! 😬

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I have the verses for each week's encouragement, but I don't have the daily content lined out just yet.
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So as I sat during the time I had to work on some of these things, I allowed my concerns for the outcome to overshadow my faith in God's plan. What do I mean by that?

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Because I want everything to be perfect and planned out. I want to guarantee those 30 days are filled with wisdom, encouragement, and helping all of us re-focus on Christ. And because I want this thing to be "perfect" I tend to limit myself (and God!) to a box... but that is not our God. The God of "exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20) does not fit into any box we build for Him.

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You see, Reader, if we want to see a genuine move of God's Holy Spirit and allow His presence to rest upon us, we must be willing to do things differently than the world. We must be willing to let go of the outcome or the desire of a guarantee and instead grab hold of Christ's hand and take things step-by-faith-filled-step with God and trust that He will show up with everything we need right when we need it.

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The outcome is not up to us. Obedience is.

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So instead of allowing our desire for all the answers or a specific outcome to be what we focus on (or the fact that we lack answers to questions we have) we can choose to say:

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"God, I trust You. I trust You to show up each step of the way because this isn't about me impressing anyone. It is about being a vessel of honor and glory for You."

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And that is how you can choose to do something differently. Instead of trying to force pieces of a puzzle together and instead of striving for an answer that God hasn't revealed to you yet, choose to trust Him instead.

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For me that looked like closing my computer and taking a 1 mile run. And instead of listening to something as I ran I chose to turn off the music and audiobooks. I chose not to consume anything. (Sometimes that is our issue - overconsumption - but that is another topic for another time! haha) And that lack of outside input allowed my heart to begin to pour out to the Lord in prayer as I ran. And those words above are similar to the words I have been saying to God lately...

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I want more of Him and less of me. I want to see others set free in Christ. I want Him to show up and be the One who speaks, moves, and ministers. Not me. Because I don't have the answers. I don't have the words. I don't know what you are going through, but I do know how God has come through for me and I cannot keep His faithfulness to myself!

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Maybe what helps you connect with God and pour out your heart to Him is not a run, but you know what you need in those moments.

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We were not created to keep our concerns bottled up inside of us. We were not meant to figure out everything on our own. (Those choices cause stress and actually turn into health issues in our bodies.) We were created to be in communion with Christ, going to Him about our anxieties, fears, and worries, and allowing Him to give us the strategies, the encouragement, and the strength to take the next step of faith. However it looks.

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So next time you feel anxious, remember progress is the goal - not perfection. Figure out what helps you in those moments of stress and utilize those tools God has given you to work with Him and take the pressure off at His feet.

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Praise God in the midst of things that don't make sense and rest in the loving arms of Christ instead of trying to press forward creating more tension, frustration, and stress.

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In Christ's love,

~Sarah Murphy

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PS: Haven't joined the list to be an official member of the Unashamed & Unhindered community yet? There is still time to join us! >>>Click this link<<< to be added to the membership list!

Sunday, March 30th at 6:00 PM CT we will be kicking off the community with a 30 day challenge where we will be focused on returning to our first love, Jesus Christ. I am so excited to see what God does in our hearts + lives during this time together!