Bloom where you are planted

Bloom where you are planted - that was the title of today's sermon. How amazing for me - that God would send a guest speaker to our church - to preach on Bloom where you are planted. The praise and worship time was also awesome - and I was reminded that worship realigns my heart to focus back to God - on what's really important.
The guest speaker today started out planting a church in Denton, Texas. Wow - Denton, Texas is a small little city that we lived in from August 2000, to July of 2002. The whole sermon was great - and I will post a link at the bottom. He challenged us that God's will for our lives is not always the path of least resistance. How God had called him back to the city. How we should take the attention off ourselves and put it on Christ. How we should be content in our circumstances - where ever we are.
So here I am again - at another crossroads in my life - should I stay or should I move. I feel God is asking us to move - and this time I hope I can keep my focus on God and not my circumstances. I have moved more times than I can count. I mean - when you have only renewed your drivers license ONCE in your entire life - you know you have moved a lot. I won't go into all the details, but I was born in Florida, lived in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, New Zealand, and been nicely settled here in Alpharetta, Georgia, for SIX YEARS!!

This is a photo of our home in Alpharetta, Georgia! It has been our warm and toasty home with central heat and air - for six years! I will never take central heat for granted again!

My husband, Warren, is an Engineer and he has been working overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan for five years - home less than 50% of the time. While we visited his homeland of New Zealand last summer for a family vacation - Warren gave a talk to the professionals Engineer societies - on Engineering around the world. To make a long story short....he was offered a job as Technical Director for rebuilding the infrastructure of a city - a beautiful city called Christchurch. Christchurch was struck with several major earthquakes over the past 18 months plus hundreds and thousands of aftershocks (some big, many too small to feel). So in about four weeks - our family will be heading on another journey - all the way to the bottom of the earth - to a little but beautiful Country called New Zealand.

While contemplating this huge endeavor - and all the comforts of home that I would have to give up - the scripture that brings me comfort is....
Proverbs 3:5-6...."Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in ALL your ways acknowledge him and HE will direct your path."

My trust is in the Lord - my goal is to keep my eyes on HIM and not my changing circumstances. Please keep me in your prayers and I will keep you posted on our journey!

Below is a photo of my children and I - taken at a beautiful field of Sunflowers- the Sunflower grows tall and reaches for the sun!

Thanks!
Colette

the link to our church - where you can listen to today's sermon - January 22, 2012