Hey, y'all!

We hope you enjoyed your three-day weekend with your family and stayed safe! We always look forward to a day off, but of course, I woke up in a bit of a panic, thinking I had overslept and missed my alarm. I wasn't always this way, though. I used to be able to sleep until 3 pm and then still make time to nap. The person who changed this for me was my manager at my old photography studio. I was 21 when I was working there and so careless. Whatever my clock in time was, I was there a few minutes late but never early. I thought it wasn't a big deal, but I was clearly wrong. My manager was a fierce woman with a strong, loud, assertive voice that never had a tone of doubt. She would constantly remind me to be on time, and I just kept saying, "yeah, I got it." Well, one day, I came in, set my stuff down, and proceeded to clock in. She stopped me, asked what time it was and what time I was set to be there. I said, "10:02, and I was set for 10". In her very assertive voice, she said, "It's not 10 then, is it? You can leave. See you tomorrow." Man, I was CRUSHED! I was waiting for a "just kidding," but it never came. I sadly gathered my stuff and walked out of there crying. Her voice shook me. Her tone stunned me. I replayed her words over and over. She dismissed me with no hesitation. She was so clear in her directions for me, and I will never forget the lesson she taught me that day.

You may wonder what that has anything to do with Pastor Dre's message. I believe that we, as Christians, often wish there was this big, audible, assertive, strong voice to give us clear direction. Especially in times where we are being careless and need some clear rerouting. Wouldn't it be great if, as we went about our day, we heard the Holy Spirit yelling at us to do or not do things? Since we can't hear a loud voice, sometimes it's hard to discern the Holy Spirit's voice, and we don't know how to interact or be led by the Spirit. There is no formula or easy cheat sheet to hear the Spirit perfectly. To hear and understand the Spirit, you have to build a relationship with the Spirit. That's the only way you get to know someone and understand them, so why would it be any different with the Holy Spirit? The more you invest in that relationship, the more you'll become familiar with them. The more time you spend with the Spirit, the easier it will be to understand the sweet sounds and voice of the Spirit. Like Pastor Dre said, "The Holy Spirit is a gift to us as believers." I've never seen anyone receive a gift from someone and just set it to the side. You tear into that bag with anticipation and gratefully receive that gift. That is how we should be unwrapping this gift from God.

This week I want you all to start getting familiar with the voice of the Holy Spirit. Spend some time self-emptying and purge your desires through prayer. As Pastor Shawn said, "Confessing sin and emptying everything away gives us a clear plate to hear clearly what God is saying and doing. It's a way of clearing away the space He is to reside in so we can be in clear communication with Him." Let's clear out some space and welcome in a life-changing relationship. 

We love you, and we pray you spend some quality time this week with God.

Jesse and Marissa