Grow Group

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I got invited to a Grow Group tonight.

Oh. My. Goodness.

It was AMAZING.

I must confess I was a tiny bit nervous about going, purely since I did not know what to expect, and I was also nervous that I would feel like an outsider or be awkward or something. Regardless, I was mostly very excited and so grateful to be welcomed in.

I got picked up by a new friend I had met at the church earlier in the day, so I was also grateful that I was greeted by a familiar face right away. He actually is a current NewThing leadership resident at one of the Ivy campuses, so it was really encouraging to hear his story with NewThing.

The Grow Group was held at the home of the person who had invited me, and he cooked an amazing dinner for all of us. There were five of us there, and we immediately fell into conversation and shared lots of laughter. I felt right at home pretty much as soon as I got there, so all of my nerves quickly fell away. I should have said so then, but I was so incredibly thankful at that moment. After we finished eating, we had tea and pudding (dessert, which was ice cream) and then proceeded into our group discussion.

Ivy just finished a series about the heart this past Sunday (as I mentioned in my Sunday post), and one of the group members actually spoke the message at the campus that most (if not all) of the group attends. They gave me a recap, and from the sounds of the recap alone and the discussion that followed, it sounded amazing.

Essentially, three conditions of the heart were discussed and how they can be fought:

1. Doubtful heart
1. To fight a doubtful heart, Declare the Lord's truth to yourself (through prayer, Scripture, etc.).
2. Divided heart
1. To fight a divided heart, Delight in the Lord. (His goodness will overtake anything else that is fighting for your attention.)
3. Distant heart
1. To fight a distant heart, Dwell in the Lord. (He is never the one to distance Himself, so if you draw near to Him, He is already there.)

(In case you hadn't noticed, each condition and solution starts with D so it's easy to remember. Thank goodness.)

Our discussion was very honest and truthful, and the group had been so welcoming and accepting of me that I had absolutely zero reservations about speaking candidly. It was amazing, and I think we all needed to be reminded of the power of the Lord's truth. We spent time in Scripture together and in prayer, and the whole time I kept thinking of how grateful I was to be there. I felt so convicted and challenged by our discussion, and don't we all sometimes (all the time) need an honest dose of truth to get us back on fire for God? It truly was exactly what I needed, and I am seriously so thankful for the invitation.

I honestly just feel so overwhelmed in the best way at how close God feels right now and how blessed I am to be here and to have met these people and to be able to experience this church. Even though the truth about Him can seem so simple when we just start listing off adjectives about Him (good, faithful, loving, etc.), it doesn't minimize the power in that simplicity when we really take that truth and internalize it. He IS good. He IS faithful. He IS loving. He IS powerful. And He is SO much more good than we could ever understand or deserve. Because of that, He is SO worth any risk it takes to follow Him.

When it comes to the heart, how we approach God with it is simple and yet so profound and monumental. He gives us His whole heart out of his endless love and grace. He gave it all for us on the cross. How could we do any less than to give Him our whole heart and our all in return?

"I'm saying yes to You and no to my desires. I'll leave myself behind and follow You. I'll take the narrow road 'cause it leads me to You. I'll fall, but grace will pick me up again.

I've counted up the cost, and You are worth it.

I do not need safety as much as I need you. You're dangerous, but Lord, You're beautiful. I'll chase You through the pain. I'll carry my cross, 'cause real love is not afraid to bleed.

I've counted up the cost, and You are worth it. Jesus, take my all. Take my everything. I've counted up the cost, and You're worth everything."

~"The Cost," Rend Collective Experiment

Blessings,

Lindsay