Full Attention

On December 29, we rode our bikes to the park and threw a blanket down by one of the springs that fills the Comal. With a notebook in hand we jotted down all of our goals for the new year. Brent obviously has a goal of finding a new job and I want to continue to develop into the teacher I dream of being and continue to strengthen my photography. We both want to have at least one joint outdoor activity a week whether it be biking, kayaking, running, walking/hiking, playing soccer/bball/football, etc. Brent wants to make a BBQ pit with my dad and I hope to grow an even greener thumb that can handle big juicy worms (UGH!). With the grace of God we'll be stay on track with our financial goals and be debt free (outside of mortgage) before the end of this year!! I've been tagging yummy recipes from Pinterest and want to make at least a couple new things per month. We want to make an accent wall (or two!) out of reclaimed barn wood and continue fixing up our precious little home. We are excited about all of this, yet it all seems pretty minor compared to the goal God placed on our hearts.

This year we wish to be at Full Attention. We feel a deep desire to grow in our walk with the Lord so that we can be His hands and feet. We are encouraged by our church community to mature and to bear fruit. Our church's mission statement is this: "We are a diverse community of ordinary people following Jesus learning, living, and delivering the good news of the Kingdom to our neighbors and the nations with extraordinary acts and words until everyone and everything is under the dignified and powerful rule of Jesus.

This morning we read John 15:1-8 "I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken. Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation is intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

It is a new year and we desire to be pruned. We pray that the Lord continues to strip from us what is not good and deeply cleanse our hearts and souls. We pray to be more intimate with Him each and every day. Our desire this year is to have His goals at the forefront of our minds. God, what is your plan for our marriage? What is your goal for Brent? God, what is your goal for my classroom? How do you wish for us to serve our community? May we keep abiding in you and not be shaken by any other voice. May your words be louder, truer, and clearer. May we seek approval only from you and may we continue to be righteous in your name. We are listening Lord, help us to hold on.  I encourage all of you to listen to Jeremy Riddle's Full Attention. May this be all of our goal/new years resolution for 2012.