This Is Amazing Grace: Remembering the Journey

I dated a really bad guy once.  A really bad guy.  He was abusive in a way that I'm not sure you will understand if you haven't experienced it before.  He was controlling and emotionally abusive through his control of my life.  He made me feel teeny tiny and unworthy of him.  I changed who I was for him, I gave up my beliefs and pushed my family aside to be with him.  Through all the warnings and red flags I couldn't see the forest for the trees.  I try not to say I regret things in life, as God uses those things to mold and shape us and bring us somewhere beautiful, but it's the closest thing I have to regret. (If you are in an abusive relationship please seek help today!)

Today I am typing from my front porch at Ferrell Farms.  I am about to celebrate 5 years of marriage to Farmer Adam and I am blown away by where God has brought me.  My college years were rough, the world won me over in my 20's.  Cohen's birth and raising him as a single momma saved my life.  The years that followed were filled with extreme highs and lows.  Dating an abusive man took a toll on me but after that I began to find a personal journey in my walk with God.  It became less of something my parents brought me up to do and more about a need and desire.  I had an ache I was trying to heal with a lot of things, an ache that only God had the medicine for.  When I met Adam the first time, we were no where near ready for each other, so a year later God tried again and we have been together ever since.  In this time the Lord has worked in our lives in the most incredible ways.  He has blessed us with two more boys, kept us together fighting against the world for our marriage and most importantly he has drawn us each so closely to him that we have become one unit.  I sit on this porch saying there is no way I could have ever dreamed this big for my life, my God he is so BIG!  (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

I am reminded this morning of one of my favorite Bible stories. One that I fell in love with when I fell back in love with God.  The story of Ruth in the Bible is incredible.  It is a love story, but not exactly the kind of love story you would think of.  This story has a special place in my heart, because it was the first time I fell in love with the words of the Bible.

In honor of my love story meeting it's 5th year anniversary this month and to celebrate a new chapter coming in my life, we are going to do a 2 week study together of the book of Ruth.  I am not a theologian, I barely know how to spell that word.  However, I believe that God is calling me to go deeper with you and for you to step in closer to him through his words revealed through this blog. This will be a great journey together and I am excited to share my love of this book in the Bible.  So join in on the fun and let's discover together how God worked in one woman's life so greatly he put her name in the lineage of Jesus!  A lowly widow of the wrong kind of people group ended up in the lineage of Jesus, I mean how big is our God!

Can't wait friends!  You can join in by subscribing to my blog or following me on social media for more posts which will lead to a BIG announcement at the end!  Eeek so excited!

This week as you step into all the hard places look forward into the eyes of your Savior! Step in knowing that God's plan is so great, that you are FEARFULLY, BEAUTIFULLY and WONDERFULLY MADE in his image!

Much Love,
Chrystan