5 years of Houston: stuff I can say

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

We are celebrating 5 years of Houston! God has been so good to us. As I look back I can see His faithfulness and His purpose guiding us through this journey. The reason why we moved here is because of my husband's job as a Worship Pastor. We have found that God has given us a loving church and we are so thankful daily for being planted there. My roots keep growing deeper and of course, I am learning more life lessons as the years roll in. 


I have known for a while that as a Worship Pastor's Wife, there's a lot of stuff I can't say. It is not the confidentiality type of stuff or the 'I'm mad about this stuff' kind of comments. I can't say a lot of things I observe and I know I might be able to say them in the future. I call these things I can't say, life lessons in the making. When I consider these things I can't say, I realize there are way more things I can say. Here are 5 things (because we've been here for 5 years. Ha!) I can say:

1 • I see you and you matter - a lot of people go to church to hide. God has taught me to see people from the inside out. I don't try to "out" them in any way, but I do feel that God's message in my mouth for them is "I see you and you matter." I don't have to do anything other than to be God's mouthpiece. I am not called to be their savior because Jesus does a great job at that. I'm not Holy Spirit junior in this person's life either. I am called to be obedient and do that Jesus would do. He noticed people and He cared for everyone. If he saw someone trying to hide, I bet He'd say "I see you and you matter." 

2 • I love you for who you are - Jesus' love is so amazing. I have learned that being part of a multi ethnic church is a blessing. The differences abound and they are wonderful. God meant to make us different so our family has had the joy of telling people 'I love you for who you are." Because of who Jesus is, I can love people for who they are, where they are. Loving my neighbor is not easy but it is possible as my mind is focused on Jesus Himself and His great sacrifice. 

3 • I honor you from the depths of my soul - Different cultures have outward ways of expressing honor. Because I am Brazilian, I am not familiar with those different traditions. I am familiar with the word of God and with the lessons my ancestors taught me about honoring others. I have learned to be sure I honor others from the depths of my soul, instead of by an outward sign. Honoring from the depths of my soul means that my heart is correct towards that person. It means I recognize God's gift in that person. It also means that no matter what age, I gladly receive the anointing God has given that person. I honor you from the depths of my soul because that's the best way I know how to honor you. I think it's priceless and it's Godly. 

4 • I will pray for you because I have no answers - there are many things we hear in ministry for which we have no answers. I have learned to say, "I have no answers but I know someone who does." I'm not famous (and I hope I will never be) for being a genie with ready answers and solutions for the world's greatest problems. I do want to be faithful to my God as I interceed for others. I may not have answers but I do have access to the One who does. 



5 • I will walk with you in this Christian journey - Sunday is the easiest day of the week to be a Christian. We all get dressed up, the music is jumping, the message is like fire... then Monday rolls around and we get back to our regular lives. I have learned to say (through actions), I will walk with you in this Christian journey. I can't walk for you, nor will I attempt to do that. I will walk by faith with you as I continue to pray and encourage you every chance I can. 

We're so thankful God has brought us to Houston. Being here has opened up amazing possibilities (such as marathon running) outside of church. We continue to trust God to help us bloom as we are so happily planted. 

Previously in this series: