Periodt.

“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.””

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I woke up early. To keep myself from doing the social media scroll through I decided maybe I should open my bible app. This was after I shut my eyes as tight I could and told myself you really should try to go back to sleep. Fail.

I opened the app and the verse above is the “verse of the day”. I immediately thought of several members of our community who have inspired me recently as they boldly have stepped out on faith. People like Rhonda and her new job, Nicki who is an encourager, our not so little kiddos who just entered high school, Charles who is looking to move beyond our home, Evangelina who is choosing daily to do the right thing for her family, and my team: Brooke, Hannah, Rachel, Cooper and Thomas who show up each day ready and willing to be present.

Then I thought of my friends Greg and Laura who I both admire and trust for the work they do, the way they lead and simply the people they are. I sat across from them and not so eloquently poured my heart out and in response they stated, “Ashley, you are the person for the job; believe that, own that, and speak up for that”...aka be strong and be courageous.

Sometimes it’s easier for us to speak that truth into others and not receive it for ourselves. While we don’t always get the foresight for what’s to come, if we look back we see time and time again God’s faithfulness in being present today, while simultaneously trusting he also is the one who wrote tomorrow. Because of that, we can hold firm to the truth above.

Father, may we: Be Strong. Be Courageous. Trust what You gave us to do and do it. You are with us. As our members like to say, “Periodt.”

Amen, Ashley