stepping out.

I'm gonna try this new thing.

It's called blogging.

Ha.

More times than I can count lately, I open up my Instagram account and I find myself tapping away for 15 minutes, writing a lengthy caption that should really be a blog post. So, you might find my words here more often. I'm going to try to keep it casual, and quick, because that's what I love most about Instagram.

Advent season began this past weekend, and along with it, the usual inundation of holiday sales, gift guides, perfect holiday outfit ideas, and red cups, is flying in my face. Each year, I find myself getting caught up in it all, shopping until the last minute, swallowed up by the merriment and traditions, but forgetting to slow down and take time for meditation on the real reason we are celebrating. I can feel it this year-- I'm getting distracted by the tracking numbers on my packages arriving soon, and spending far too much time contemplating the various ways my Christmas decor can be more Instagrammable (let's pretend that's a word).

So this year, I'm taking time to inhale deeply, diffuse a little bit of Frankincense (I'm turning into a crazy essential oil lady now-- more about that later.), and focus on the reason we celebrate in the first place. I'm going through the online Advent devotional by She Reads Truth, and oh man, it's so, so good. 

Yesterday was day four of the plan, and we were in Genesis and Galatians, reading about Abraham and how he left his home of 70 years to follow God and venture into the unknown. God had great promises waiting for him, and all he had to do was obey. We read about how Jesus is the better Abraham, how he left his true home (heaven) for a foreign one (our world), and because of his obedience, God's promises for  all of mankind were fulfilled.

 This short sentence from Debbie Eaton (one of the She Reads Truth writers), stuck out to me. 

What I've learned over the years is that God rarely calls us to comfort and convenience but instead to a life of faith and trust.

As we are gearing up for a move up to Canada this summer, I find myself fearing the unknown--nervous about making new friends, finding a good church, yearning to stay in our beloved home, where things are familiar and comfortable. Moving is messy, and stressful and hard. Starting all over again makes me feel vulnerable, uncertain, and anxious. But yesterday's devotional was such a good reminder that God does great and powerful things when we step outside of what's comfortable and known. Another line from yesterday's devotional (you really should go read it for yourself-- you find it for free here!) that caught me in the gut is this: 

"Like Abraham, we are invited to have faith not only in what we cannot see, but also in what has already been secured for us by our good and sovereign Father."

In this strange military world of moving every few years, uprooting our families and traveling to new and often strangely unfamiliar places, I'm so thankful for a God who is steadfast in his faithfulness and provision for us. I'm thankful that I can rest in the fact that He will do good things in me and through me and for me, no matter where I am, and I'm thankful that I have countless examples in the Bible of people who moved their families to strange lands in obedience, only to see more clearly how God cares for them and provides for them.