I am sitting on the floor of my "old" bedroom. I'm looking around this room and it's so spacious... it's actually pretty huge! Lots of sunlight... and did I mention spacious? The three windows (yes, three)are open and the breeze from this goregous spring day is coming in to this room. I hear the birds and now I hear a lawn mower of some sort - where the landscapers are working to keep this place so crisp and beautiful.
While I should be finishing packing, I thought I would sit down to blog and take in this moment.
Trinity and I just left our new apartment. We tied up the loose ends while Tony is at work and got our keys! The property manager took us through our new apartment to make sure everything checked out okay - and it was okay.
My fleshly side - the new apartment is small. It's dark because it's on the back side of the unit so there are lots of trees... which make for great privacy but it's still dark in the inside. AND... it's small. Did I mention small? The pool - is small. Just one pool ... a small one. The playground area is ... you guessed it! SMALL! (<--I find it funny that I just typed the word 'small' in big letters) :o)
My fleshly side somemore - I put Trinity down for a nap one last time in her 'old' room and look around at how big her room is. I then closed the blinds ... all THREE of them to block out all of the sunlight coming into her room. I then travel back to the kitchen to put her milk cup in the sink and look at our awesome, spacious kitchen with black appliances and dark counter tops.
I don't want to lie to you and make this sound (as Tony would say) all "butterflies annd rainbows" - These are my true reactions and thoughts to what we are about to do. I do have flesh that is tied to this world BUT THANK THE LORD, JESUS - that I have a spirit that is just passing through a foriegn country.
God's sweet "God-nods" - The property manager from our new complex told me this morning that the apartment we are moving to just got new carpet, vinyl, stove, and bath tub! WOW! The property manager also told me she wasn't going to charge us for today or tomorrow for rent - she would just start fresh with May 1st. That's a big deal! That's a God thing! Also while waiting for the property manager to return to the office from lunch I let Trinity play at the playground for a bit and met a sweet woman and her two kids who live in the complex. She is a Believer and we hit it off really quickly. She lives one building over from us. Her family is doing the same thing my family is doing - (I'm not sure if they were called by God because we didn't go that deep) sacrificing now and saving money/ getting priorities straight so they can soon buy a house the right way. It was total comformation from God.
Well - I have tons to do and if I keep typing those things won't get done.
I just wanted to end this blog with telling you how much I love and trust the God we serve. He is so faithful and His peace has been so evident from the moment he put this call of obedience on me and Tony's heart. I love how He changes our plans and shows us new paths and makes us conquer our flesh! He is worthy of ALL praise!!!
In Christ,
April
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
For God So Loved The World
I'm about to cry.
I just saw a delivery confirmation showing that the other phone has arrived (we received the first one last Friday) and this means that my time with a smart phone is coming to an end.
I called Tony and said "Well, our other phone is here so we can make the switch" - totally fighting back tears. He laughed because he knew I was about to cry (and because it's ridiculous) and I said to him "Seriously! I'm over here tearing up and getting ready to cry because I have to give up this stupid phone that I THINK I need and deserve. I hate the way this world is!!!!! I hate that we get so corrupted by STUFF and think we need or deserve certain things in our lives and that we just can't live without this stuff!"
You know what I can't live without? Jesus Christ. Apart from Him I have nothing. I can't live without Him and because of the SACRIFICE 2,000 years ago I don't ever have to live without Him.
What is this phone in comparison to my Lord? If I can cry over the sacrifice of giving up a phone with every app under the sun - imagine, just imagine the tears of God as He sacrificed His Son. Wow!
Ridiculous... me crying over a PHONE. A worldy item. Matthew 6:19-24 NIV 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
This is such a remarkable week and the best week to give up something that I am fond of having around. I have been thinking a lot about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem ... knowing His final days on earth were quickly coming to an end. I am speechless and my heart sinks the more I ponder and read of His final days.
We sing a song at church and these lyrics have been running through my heart all day "I will lose this life to find it/ I will give myself away/ I will set this world behind me/ I will live to bless Your name/ All to Jesus, I surrender, All to Him I freely give.
I have been thinking about how Tony and I are FREELY giving to Jesus. Giving up our phones and the comfort of our Brentwood apartment. We are freely giving.
This whole phone 'thing'has been such an eye opener to how this world hooks us and holds us captive... how I can cry at the thought of not having it anymore. *Shakes head in disgust*
In closing - "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have EVERLASTING life." John 3:16. God freely gave. God Sacrificially gave. I am forever grateful.
Love in Christ,
April
**Note** I am not saying everyone should move or give up their phones - please see beyond what is written.**
I just saw a delivery confirmation showing that the other phone has arrived (we received the first one last Friday) and this means that my time with a smart phone is coming to an end.
I called Tony and said "Well, our other phone is here so we can make the switch" - totally fighting back tears. He laughed because he knew I was about to cry (and because it's ridiculous) and I said to him "Seriously! I'm over here tearing up and getting ready to cry because I have to give up this stupid phone that I THINK I need and deserve. I hate the way this world is!!!!! I hate that we get so corrupted by STUFF and think we need or deserve certain things in our lives and that we just can't live without this stuff!"
You know what I can't live without? Jesus Christ. Apart from Him I have nothing. I can't live without Him and because of the SACRIFICE 2,000 years ago I don't ever have to live without Him.
What is this phone in comparison to my Lord? If I can cry over the sacrifice of giving up a phone with every app under the sun - imagine, just imagine the tears of God as He sacrificed His Son. Wow!
Ridiculous... me crying over a PHONE. A worldy item. Matthew 6:19-24 NIV 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
This is such a remarkable week and the best week to give up something that I am fond of having around. I have been thinking a lot about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem ... knowing His final days on earth were quickly coming to an end. I am speechless and my heart sinks the more I ponder and read of His final days.
We sing a song at church and these lyrics have been running through my heart all day "I will lose this life to find it/ I will give myself away/ I will set this world behind me/ I will live to bless Your name/ All to Jesus, I surrender, All to Him I freely give.
I have been thinking about how Tony and I are FREELY giving to Jesus. Giving up our phones and the comfort of our Brentwood apartment. We are freely giving.
This whole phone 'thing'has been such an eye opener to how this world hooks us and holds us captive... how I can cry at the thought of not having it anymore. *Shakes head in disgust*
In closing - "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have EVERLASTING life." John 3:16. God freely gave. God Sacrificially gave. I am forever grateful.
Love in Christ,
April
**Note** I am not saying everyone should move or give up their phones - please see beyond what is written.**
Thursday, April 14, 2011
April Showers bring ... Simplicity
Here is the update in a nutshell:
God has placed such a sweet message in me and Tony's spirits. Simplify.
We have searched our hearts and in our alone time with God we have discovered something so sweet that the Lord has been telling us. Simplify.
Simplify + April = Getting rid of EVERYTHING! ... well, almost everything. Old makeup and hair stuff (TONS OF STUFF), old clothes that I never wear, shoes that I never wear ... getting rid of the clutter. Opening up my schedule to allow God to use my schedule, clearing my thoughts and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak fresh words to my mind and spirit, saving my money, etc..
Simplify + Tony = Posting old electronics on Craigslist and making money while getting rid of old stuff.
HAHA! I joke about Tony. God has called Him to simplify in his own ways.
We have found that God has specifically spoken to us in two places of our lives where we could simplify and save.
One is our phones. (Holding back the tears) ... Two HTC EVO's that have unlimited internet, messaging, 1500 shared minutes, free mobile to mobile, etc, etc... all the bells and wistles. Facebook, Twitter, Bible, Gmail, Yahoo at the click of a button... or press on the screen. We are getting rid of them. We are downgrading. No internet. No Facebook. No more checking in throughout my day and telling the world the random thoughts on my mind while sitting at a red light. We are downgrading to a more basic phone which will save us a good amount each month. Is this easy? Ummm... are you kidding me?? Do you know me? Do you know how much I love having a quick connection to the internet? It's going to be hard but it's just a phone. It has no eternal value. AND - once our priorities are straight we can have "toys" again.
The other is our apartment. Our apartment is beautiful. It's not a high rise, gated community by any means but it is very nice. Great landscaping, located in Brentwood, spacious... We are moving to another location in Franklin that will save us a lot each month. We will be losing a lot of square footage, our lush environment, and the "comfort" of our Brentwood home ... but who cares?!?! It's temporary.
The cool thing is our lease at our current apartment is not up until September but before we moved in apparently there was a floor issue (The concrete under the carpet is busted and is a liability) but it was not fixed before we moved in so now our downstairs neighbors are concerned and can hear our every foot step to the 10th power... so the management team said they can move us to another unit or let us out of our lease. This came up a couple of weeks after Tony and I had discussed that it was too bad we were in our lease until September because if we could move now we could save a lot of money. That is my God. An apartment lease is not too big for Him.
So, for those who care and are reading this blog - this is what's going on in the Poynter family right now.
In about two weeks I will be disconnected via cell phone from the world (besides texting) and April 30th we are moving to our new(small)apartment.
As I travel through A Discipleship Journey with my church family, God shows me so many cool things. I was reading yesterday about dying to self... someting I thought I had already mastered. Sheesh... God is so gentle yet puts me in my place. I don't have a clue.
I was also reading about how once you become a servant you will do things that will make the world think you are crazy (paraphrasing) ... I would say the Poynter family is on the verge of doing some CRAZY... #Score!
Why all these changes? Because God honors obedience. Because we GET to make these changes ... we don't HAVE to make these changes. God has provided for us and we are fine right where we are but we are being called to do these "weird" things and we know that God will bless us when we follow His calling and are obedient.
Does this mean you should get rid of your awesome phone and move to a box? You're asking the wrong person. I don't believe God tells everyone to do the same thing but I can say if you have an awesome phone with all the bells and wistles and you're paying a fortune for it BUT you can't afford repairs on your car, groceries, gas, lunch, family outings, copays, a Bible, ... you get my point ... maybe God is asking you to get your priorities straight.
This is not our current situation but it has been our situation before until Tony met a man by the name of Dave Ramsey. :oD
I find it so bizarre that there is no 'reason' why we need to make these changes but we are going to make them any way.
Isaiah 1:19 NIV "If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land"
Romans 5:1-5 Romans 5
Peace and Joy
"1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Can I just tell you how thrilled I am? Strange huh? My flesh is like "WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!" but my spirit is overjoyed, excited, stoked, ecstatic!
What now? *sigh* PACKING... lots of packing. We are hosting a yard sale this Satuday, April 16th from 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM in Franklin at 106 Flintlock Court. A percentage of the funds will go towards a charity (please give me your suggestions of a charity) we are still praying over which charity to give a donation, another percentage will go towards Grace Chapel's Sacrifical Offering for the new addition to our church that is going to be AMAZING, and the rest will go towards helping us move. We would love for you to come and support us or spread the word to your yard-sale'n friends!
If anyone would like to help us move (loading/unloading) we would love your help! It has always been Tony, me, and his dad everytime we move (and we have moved A LOT) and if you could help we would not turn you down! haha! I'll even buy pizza and feed you! ... Let me see if I can find a scripture that talks about helping friends move (Kidding!).
Final request- Please just pray over us and this new chapter. Pray for a quick adjustment and little complaining, and please pray for Trinity. She knows we are moving and seems excited about the move but prayers over her are appreciated.
There it is. My update.
LOVE LOVE LOVE with a 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 LOVE,
April
God has placed such a sweet message in me and Tony's spirits. Simplify.
We have searched our hearts and in our alone time with God we have discovered something so sweet that the Lord has been telling us. Simplify.
Simplify + April = Getting rid of EVERYTHING! ... well, almost everything. Old makeup and hair stuff (TONS OF STUFF), old clothes that I never wear, shoes that I never wear ... getting rid of the clutter. Opening up my schedule to allow God to use my schedule, clearing my thoughts and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak fresh words to my mind and spirit, saving my money, etc..
Simplify + Tony = Posting old electronics on Craigslist and making money while getting rid of old stuff.
HAHA! I joke about Tony. God has called Him to simplify in his own ways.
We have found that God has specifically spoken to us in two places of our lives where we could simplify and save.
One is our phones. (Holding back the tears) ... Two HTC EVO's that have unlimited internet, messaging, 1500 shared minutes, free mobile to mobile, etc, etc... all the bells and wistles. Facebook, Twitter, Bible, Gmail, Yahoo at the click of a button... or press on the screen. We are getting rid of them. We are downgrading. No internet. No Facebook. No more checking in throughout my day and telling the world the random thoughts on my mind while sitting at a red light. We are downgrading to a more basic phone which will save us a good amount each month. Is this easy? Ummm... are you kidding me?? Do you know me? Do you know how much I love having a quick connection to the internet? It's going to be hard but it's just a phone. It has no eternal value. AND - once our priorities are straight we can have "toys" again.
The other is our apartment. Our apartment is beautiful. It's not a high rise, gated community by any means but it is very nice. Great landscaping, located in Brentwood, spacious... We are moving to another location in Franklin that will save us a lot each month. We will be losing a lot of square footage, our lush environment, and the "comfort" of our Brentwood home ... but who cares?!?! It's temporary.
The cool thing is our lease at our current apartment is not up until September but before we moved in apparently there was a floor issue (The concrete under the carpet is busted and is a liability) but it was not fixed before we moved in so now our downstairs neighbors are concerned and can hear our every foot step to the 10th power... so the management team said they can move us to another unit or let us out of our lease. This came up a couple of weeks after Tony and I had discussed that it was too bad we were in our lease until September because if we could move now we could save a lot of money. That is my God. An apartment lease is not too big for Him.
So, for those who care and are reading this blog - this is what's going on in the Poynter family right now.
In about two weeks I will be disconnected via cell phone from the world (besides texting) and April 30th we are moving to our new(small)apartment.
As I travel through A Discipleship Journey with my church family, God shows me so many cool things. I was reading yesterday about dying to self... someting I thought I had already mastered. Sheesh... God is so gentle yet puts me in my place. I don't have a clue.
I was also reading about how once you become a servant you will do things that will make the world think you are crazy (paraphrasing) ... I would say the Poynter family is on the verge of doing some CRAZY... #Score!
Why all these changes? Because God honors obedience. Because we GET to make these changes ... we don't HAVE to make these changes. God has provided for us and we are fine right where we are but we are being called to do these "weird" things and we know that God will bless us when we follow His calling and are obedient.
Does this mean you should get rid of your awesome phone and move to a box? You're asking the wrong person. I don't believe God tells everyone to do the same thing but I can say if you have an awesome phone with all the bells and wistles and you're paying a fortune for it BUT you can't afford repairs on your car, groceries, gas, lunch, family outings, copays, a Bible, ... you get my point ... maybe God is asking you to get your priorities straight.
This is not our current situation but it has been our situation before until Tony met a man by the name of Dave Ramsey. :oD
I find it so bizarre that there is no 'reason' why we need to make these changes but we are going to make them any way.
Isaiah 1:19 NIV "If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land"
Romans 5:1-5 Romans 5
Peace and Joy
"1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Can I just tell you how thrilled I am? Strange huh? My flesh is like "WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!" but my spirit is overjoyed, excited, stoked, ecstatic!
What now? *sigh* PACKING... lots of packing. We are hosting a yard sale this Satuday, April 16th from 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM in Franklin at 106 Flintlock Court. A percentage of the funds will go towards a charity (please give me your suggestions of a charity) we are still praying over which charity to give a donation, another percentage will go towards Grace Chapel's Sacrifical Offering for the new addition to our church that is going to be AMAZING, and the rest will go towards helping us move. We would love for you to come and support us or spread the word to your yard-sale'n friends!
If anyone would like to help us move (loading/unloading) we would love your help! It has always been Tony, me, and his dad everytime we move (and we have moved A LOT) and if you could help we would not turn you down! haha! I'll even buy pizza and feed you! ... Let me see if I can find a scripture that talks about helping friends move (Kidding!).
Final request- Please just pray over us and this new chapter. Pray for a quick adjustment and little complaining, and please pray for Trinity. She knows we are moving and seems excited about the move but prayers over her are appreciated.
There it is. My update.
LOVE LOVE LOVE with a 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 LOVE,
April
Friday, April 1, 2011
What Does Patient Mean?
Where is this year going? Are you kidding me...? It's already April?!?!
The scripture is not playing when it says:
"As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more."
Psalm 103:15-16 NIV
So anywho...
I love how God continuously shows me so much through my little girl. He speaks to me, through me, as I'm speaking to her. I'm not going to lie - it stings a lot.
Lately I've been trying to teach Trinity about PATIENCE... which is funny because if you know me you know that I have a hard time with being patient or sitting still. Still - I have to teach my daughter.
The other day I told her to be patient and then asked her "what does patient mean?" to which she replied (with an attitude) "To be calm and wait".
Immediately I heard the Father's voice saying to me "be calm and wait".
You see, Trinity was excited to get a lolly pop from our weekly stop at the bank. She was so excited that she could barely hold herself together AND she kept asking me every 5 seconds about the lolly pop AND getting irritated with the cars in front of us because they were not moving fast enough.
I know that I get excited for what God has for me and a lot of times want it RIGHT NOW. How sweet is His reminder "be calm and wait"?
I love Him and His sense of humor!
Waiting Patiently,
A
The scripture is not playing when it says:
"As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more."
Psalm 103:15-16 NIV
So anywho...
I love how God continuously shows me so much through my little girl. He speaks to me, through me, as I'm speaking to her. I'm not going to lie - it stings a lot.
Lately I've been trying to teach Trinity about PATIENCE... which is funny because if you know me you know that I have a hard time with being patient or sitting still. Still - I have to teach my daughter.
The other day I told her to be patient and then asked her "what does patient mean?" to which she replied (with an attitude) "To be calm and wait".
Immediately I heard the Father's voice saying to me "be calm and wait".
You see, Trinity was excited to get a lolly pop from our weekly stop at the bank. She was so excited that she could barely hold herself together AND she kept asking me every 5 seconds about the lolly pop AND getting irritated with the cars in front of us because they were not moving fast enough.
I know that I get excited for what God has for me and a lot of times want it RIGHT NOW. How sweet is His reminder "be calm and wait"?
I love Him and His sense of humor!
Waiting Patiently,
A
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