allume

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When the Small is Really the Big

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The mountains in our lives are mole hills to God, but even the mole hills
are not hidden from His gaze. A week ago I was praying hard. I was praying hard
for things that I couldn’t see.

Sometimes you pray for small things when what you are really asking for are
enormous, if-God-doesn’t-show-up- we-will-not-make-it sized things.  Our
life is full of unexpected right now and there are more questions than answers
scattered along this faith road, but still we walk and we hope.

I had a hope. A flicker of a hope in the midst of a tighter than tight
budget that I might return to Allume this
year. Last October I gathered with women from all over to talk all things
blogging and Jesus. It inspired. It grew my vision. It made me just a bit more
fearless. I was hoping to go this October, but we’re about strike out into
a new God-sized dream and funds are limited to say the least.

While praying for a means of purchasing my ticket for Allume I felt God’s nudge.

Do you know what I mean? 

That moment when you know God is saying more than what meets the eye through
your circumstance. 

He gave a nudge to my heart reminding me to not stop short in believing for
the small things. I’ve got to believe Him for ALL things. If I am willing to
pray that God would provide for a ticket to a blogging conference then how
could I shirk back from believing that He will provide everything for where my family is
headed?

The little stuff and the big stuff
are all the same to God.

That is why it really shouldn’t have come as a surprise when I opened up
twitter to see that a friend, an anonymous friend, heard this need. This woman
heard it in her heart from the same God, by the same Spirit, that speaks to me
and loves me and calls me, that she should be the hands and feet of Jesus in my
life.

I’ve got a ticket to Allume because someone listened to a God-sized nudge, a God-sized voice. 

I was humbled, humbled right down to the holy ground that is all of life for
anyone who dares to follow Christ.

I want this person to know, whoever they are, that God used you in a big way.
Yes, you bought my ticket to Allume and
that is a tremendous gift, but you also showed my weak faith that every step on
this journey my family is about to leap into without a net is already taken
care of by a God who sees me and even cares whether or not I go to a blogging
conference.

How much more does He care that we have enough to pay the bills, to fill the
empty, to meet all of the ends? If our end is Christ then all our ends will meet in Him.

In the end all of it is God-sized and the dreams we dream with pursed lips
and through blurry eyes filled with tears are heard by the heart of God and sometimes
whispered to others on our behalf.

If we believe the small we can believe the big.

Some of you are walking through impossible
circumstances and every little thing seems to require a mountain of faith. Some
of you are hoping for your own anonymous Allume
ticket. 

He knows the plans that He has for
you. 

Walk strong in Him, pray even when your words falter, believe that God is
for you and will supply every need. His riches are endless.

Thank you sweet anonymous friend. Thanks be to God who shows up big in the
seemingly small.

Jessica Hoover is a wife, mama, writer and grace lover. She lives in the hills of North Carolina where her family serves with a missionary training organization. She dabbles as a birth doula and loves chocolate, {hot or iced and
always sweet} tea, British dramas, cheering on other mamas and heaps of good conversation. She blogs about her belief that grace is the biggest kind of brave and can be found talking about it all on twitter and facebook.

Comments

  1. Oh girl, you have no idea how thrilled I am that you’ll be at Allume!! God has amazed me in the ways He’s shown he cares about the small things – right down to blessing us with something as “silly” as a Starbucks giftcard for our favorite coffee from a sweet friend who had no idea those things were no longer in our budget 🙂

    • That is exactly what I mean. God just gets right in there in the big and little of our hearts and just fills in the nooks in crannies in ways we didn’t even know we needed. Praying for you sweet friend and looking forward to Allume with you!

  2. That? Is beautiful! I’m so happy you’ll be at Allume because you’re on my list of people I want to meet. God is indeed amazing and the mountains we believe are so high we can’t possibly get over them, to Him they’re just nothing. Love your post!

  4. Isn’t it awesome the things he uses to remind us that he is still in control and know our hearts desire? And better yet…he CARES about the desires of our heart. Love this post and I hope to meet you there Jessica.

  5. This is beautiful and inspiring! I am so glad God provided for you and that you shared it with us to encourage us. See you at Allume!

  6. I just LOVE how God provides. Truly and I love it when He blesses our faithfulnesss… SQUEEEEEEEE I get to hug your neck at Allume… that my friend is my answer to prayer!!!

  7. Look forward to meeting you at Allume and yes, to being specific when we ask. God loves to surprise us with the unexpected doesn’t He?

  8. Love how God has provided for you, even in the seemingly small. I’m one of those who would have loved to get that anonymous ticket, but instead I’m feeling God telling me “not yet”. I would love to go and meet all of you, but in my heart I’m feeling “someday but not now”. 🙁 Gotta have faith, though!! Can’t wait to hear everyone’s stories from the conference!!

    • April, for a couple of years prior to last year I wanted to go and God gave me that same “not yet” in answer to that desire. I’m trusting with you that He will bring that “someday” in the years to come. He’s awesome like that.

  9. I can’t even tell you sweet friend! I had God provide my ticket to attend this year as well… well – He partnered with someone that I have yet to meet inrl but oh how I get to now in October! and I Can. Not. Wait. to meet you inrl as well! He is just so consistently awesome and in the midst of our praying for big and small – we can forget that! Thanks for the reminder!

  10. As much as my head knows all of this my heart needed the reminder. Thank you! Loved this:”If I am willing to pray that God would provide for a ticket to a blogging conference then howcould I shirk back from believing that He will provide everything for where my family is
    headed?”

    • Carey, my heart needs this reminder pretty much all the time. Oh and just “met” you you over on Sarah Mae’s blog- way to rock a hat girl and the life coach thing is pretty amazing too!

  11. I love God-provision stories! One of my favorite is from the creation of The Hiding Place movie by the Billy Graham association. They ran out of funds in the middle of the process and called to tell Corrie Ten Boom that they couldn’t proceed. Her response was that it was nonsense. God wanted the film to be made and “that is no problem, my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” (from Psalm 50:10) and hung up the phone.

    A Texas rancher, within a short amount of time, sold some cattle and gave the money to the Billy Graham association designated for the movie. 🙂 {Story found in Splash The Living Water}

    We are in such a place here of having to trust in the Lord with our whole heart and not lean on our own understanding, in all our ways acknowledge Him and trusting He will direct our path. And it seems I have encountered many in transition, leaving homes, jobs and being radical for Jesus.

    Looking forward to our gathering in October. Where there are many flames-a holy fire! 🙂

  12. I read this on my phone and thought I had commented but read it again and I guess not… I LOVE that you’ll be there this year! I love that God opened the door and that I’m going to give you the biggest hug, friend. SO excited to see you again!

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