I see the evidence of Your goodness
All over my life, all over my life
I see Your promises in fulfillment
All over my life, all over my life

Evidence - Josh Baldwin

Hello friends, I am back!

It's been two years since I last posted, and this site has undergone significant changes. I'm a bit of a perfectionist—some might say OCD—and I have difficulty leaving things alone. I'm also a creative who loves designing things on my computer, which led me down the rabbit hole of trying an entirely different web design platform. I moved everything over, got frustrated, and moved it all back. Then, I rebuilt everything from the ground up.

Why did I do this? Honestly, I'm not entirely sure, other than the fact that I wanted this blog to look perfect. But here's the hard truth: it never will be. Perfection is an impossible goal, and I had to accept that.

I recently watched a YouTube video where several creatives shared valuable advice. Sometimes, you just have to launch the dang thing! So, that's what I'm doing. Welcome to the relaunch of my blog, and I'm excited to share more with you from here on out.

Be strong and courageous; don't be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.

Deuteronomy 31:6 CSB

GOD LATELY

A lot has happened in the two-plus years since my last blog post—so much that I could probably write a novel! For now, I want to share two stories or events that have stood out to me during that time.

THE NEIGHBOR

A few years ago, the small group class that my wife, Ashlie, and I were in began doing a study on a book called Everybody Always by Bob Goff.

In the book, Bob tells many stories about his neighbors and his mission to show everyone around him Christ-like love, as Jesus did.

I remember going through this series and thinking I was failing at this miserably. Ashlie and I would talk about it, and we both felt convicted but did nothing about it.

Bob gives many examples of being a good neighbor and loving those around him as Jesus did. He talks about how we often overcomplicate things and that sometimes, all we have to do is cross the street of our neighborhood to show Jesus to others. While going through this series, I knew I wasn't doing anything with what Bob described in his book. I was unwilling to leave my comfort zone to know our neighbors. Based on stories I had heard, I had already decided that our neighbors were terrible people to be left alone.

I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬ ‭CSB‬‬

We are dog owners, and our neighbor is a cat owner. Her cats roam freely and come into our yard all the time. Our yard is not fenced in, so when we let our dog, Lillie, outside, we must watch her like a hawk and ensure she does not run off. She is always good and stays in the yard, but when the kids watch her occasionally, she runs off and goes on an adventure. This is usually not a big deal because she returns home, and everything is fine.

One evening, the kids had let the dog out, and Lillie saw the neighbor's cat and decided to chase it back into the yard. I did not see this happen, but the kids came inside and told my wife and me that the neighbor had walked into our yard with a baseball bat and said to them that she was going to kill our dog by beating her to death with a baseball bat if she ever saw our dog in her yard again. This is obviously not something you say to kids, especially while holding a baseball bat and standing in our yard.

When they told me this, I looked at my wife, closed my laptop that was in my lap, and said, "I'm going over there." I didn't have a plan. I'm not too fond of confrontation, and I certainly wasn't going to fight our neighbor.

Ashlie followed me but stayed on the street while I walked to our neighbor's house and knocked on the door. The neighbor answered the door and was immediately scowling and looking irate. I smiled and said hello. She didn't respond. I said that I was coming over because my kids had mentioned that you spoke to them, and I came over to see what was going on and if there was a problem. She began yelling at me repeatedly and telling me that, yes, there was a problem and that if our dog ever came into her yard again, she would kill it. I kept my cool and apologized for the dog coming into the yard. I explained that we try very hard to keep her in our yard and that her cat sometimes comes into our yard, making it difficult for us to keep our dog from running after it. I also tried to explain that our dog was friendly and harmless and wouldn't hurt the cat or anyone else. This did not matter; she continued to yell at me.

I told her that I hated that things had to be this way, that we were neighbors, and that I hoped we could get to know one another. That was when she told me that she didn't want to know me and that she didn't know me from Adam. I said, "Well, funny enough, Adam is my name." She didn't think I was funny, which aggravated her further, and she yelled at me to get off her property.

I smiled at her and said I am sorry you are so upset. I wanted you to know that I am a follower of Jesus and am a Christian, and this isn't how I had hoped this would go. She yelled at the top of her lungs, "F*** you," and slammed the door in my face.

I was stunned, but I did not respond. I felt utterly defeated as I walked back down the driveway to where my wife was standing. She had watched the whole exchange go down. I looked at her and said, "Well, that's the first and last time I will proclaim that I'm a Jesus follower to anyone." I was being sarcastic, and she knew it, so she laughed and said, "Babe, next time, read the room better." I called my pastor and told him the story, and he jokingly said the same thing.

The feeling of defeat lingered, and I was trying to overcome and forget about it. There had been another time when I tried to proclaim my faith to someone, but it did not go well. I began thinking I was not the type to speak about faith to anyone.

If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.

John 15:18-19 CSB

All of this happened on a Thursday evening. That Friday, the kids were already gone to spend the weekend at their dad's, and Ashlie and I had just gotten home from a dinner date. We had just pulled into our driveway when our neighbor walked through our yard straight towards us. I'm not going to lie; I was a little anxious about what would happen. Ashlie stayed in the car, and I got out. I made sure to keep my hands in my pockets. I didn't want there to be any confusion or animosity. I smiled at our neighbor and said hello. I could tell that she had been crying.

She told me that she had been watching our house all day, waiting for us to come home, and that she would like to apologize to the kids and me for her actions. I explained that the kids were with their dad for the weekend but that I would welcome her back on Sunday when they returned home to speak with them. I told her that Ashlie and I had spoken with them and that we would all be more mindful about keeping our dog in our yard.

This was the first time that I saw her smile. She said, "Oh, no, it's really no big deal; I'm very sorry about how I acted; my father is fighting with dementia, and we thought we were going to lose him yesterday. I have no excuse for how I acted, but I was dealing with a lot." I immediately asked her father's name and if praying for him would be okay. When I mentioned this, it was like a world of weight was lifted off her shoulders. She seemed like a completely different person.

She said, "I remembered you saying you were a Christian yesterday. I have been thinking about that since you left; I did not treat you well yesterday. I am so sorry, and I was hoping you would pray for my dad."

I told her that I absolutely would. At this point, Ashlie had gotten out of the car and overheard the conversation. She immediately began talking with our neighbor and letting her know that we knew people who had dealt with dementia and cared for others with dementia. We'd be happy to put them in touch with one another. We told her we'd be praying and asked her to let us know if she needed anything. This was the first time they had spoken to one another in years.

Ashlie and I got back inside the house, and I looked at her. She had tears in her eyes. We hugged each other and prayed for our neighbor and her father.

A few weeks later, we brought cookies to our neighbor's house with the kids for Christmas, and all prayed together on her porch. This was a wonderful experience.

We have never had another issue, and yes, our dog has run off and probably ran into her yard a few times, but God has changed that relationship and things are good. This was one of the most impactful Jesus moments I have ever experienced.

ANSWERING THE CALL

Ashlie and I received a phone call from our small group leader one day. Our church sought to revamp, rebrand, and start a new small group, and Ashlie and I were asked to help take the lead on this. We were very reluctant at first. We had all the doubtful thoughts: "We aren't leaders, we like it where we are now, we can't do this." As discussions occurred and a lot of prayer, we began to change our minds. We still had doubts, but we decided to say yes to this.

We were super excited when we learned that some of our very best friends would be leading this small group with us!

I went to lunch with our pastor and told him we didn't want our class to have a name like all the others. We wanted to be different from the 20s or 30s class, a singles class, or a married people class. I told him it would be cool to have the name be just numbers from a Bible verse and asked if he knew of any good ones to base a small group on.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

Acts 2:42 CSB

242 is our name. This group has changed our lives. God brought so many of our friends together, and we have all become a family to one another. We are a wacky bunch of Jesus-loving, imperfect people doing life together, and it's beautiful.

When we began, we were so worried that nobody would show up. God continues to prove us wrong and reminds us to trust Him. He reminds me that 242 is not my class or anyone else's, but His, and He remains faithful.

It has been amazing to watch this group grow, and being a part of it has been one of the joys of my life.

The evidence of God's goodness surrounds us. Sometimes, we must let go of our ways and allow Him to lead.