It is too big. You can’t do it. It will never happen. Your not good enough. Those voices in your head or around you in the flesh. They are loud. They are stifling. But…I, early this morning, am so incredibly thankful that I hear a louder voice. I hear the voice of the one and only thing I need to follow in my life. That voice of the God that tells me I Am Who the Great I Am say that I Am. ~ learned that awesome phrase on my DR missions trip this summer from some pretty sweet girls! 🙂
For years we have had a vision. A vision for our family. A vision for our property. A vision for our community and beyond. Things for a while have been lining up for that vision. Little unexplainable things. Things that can only come from one place. Then came this rainbow that you see on this post. On August 17th, 2015, 4 days after we closed on purchasing a piece of property right beside us and 8 days before I got the email about a local grant cycle opening up (that normally opens in May ~ which has some significance I will explain later) I took this picture. I know this may sound crazy but I have lived on this property for over 30 years and I have never seen a rainbow like this in this spot this low and it literally stretched from one side of the piece that we had just purchased to the other side of the property. I have known in my heart for years we would do something here and the beauty of this rainbow and the way it stretched across our property just sealed it for me and told me it was time to step up.
But then came the voices. So I talked to my pastor one day and basically told him how crazy I myself thought I was about taking this step. What would everyone say? Do I really want to step up in the politics of this and put myself and our family out there for the “restaurant talk”? Is God really laying this huge thing on our hearts? He confirmed that day in me that if God is laying it on my heart, then again…it was time to step up. The next morning ~ I promise you can ask him! ~ my First 5 App (you absolutely must download it if you have not) had a devotion called Promises and Rainbows. (posted it below for your enjoyment!) Some would say coincidence, but I say it was God again with that confirmation.
So it was time. We started the application process and on November 2nd, we turned in our application for a $1.6 million dollar grant to the Hardee County Economic Development Authority. It was NOT easy. This week the presentations began. Each city in the county and the county commission has to rank the applications according to what will bring the most economic growth to our community with the unique and limited funds available. Those rankings are considered by the EDA when making the final awards in February. I will be honest. The first two meetings were a bit brutal for me. Remember those voices? Well ~ they were there in the flesh. Not only in those meetings, but in the community. I wish that people would remember that when they speak gossip and negativity, they really never know who they are talking to. Sometimes it is better to keep those opinions to yourself if you don’t know first hand or don’t have the respect to address it first hand. Ephesians 4:29 says it perfectly. Use your words to build others up not tear them down. I have literally had friends and those that truly care about me and our project come to me since the grant application amounts were announced to just tell me what that “restaurant” talk is. Thankfully I am sure they are softening it up for me a bit and that I have not always been told who it actually is talking, but knowing that it is there prepared me for what was to come Monday and Tuesday and probably beyond that over the next few months. But…I am thankful for those voices because it is fuel. It was fuel for me to expand my third presentation which did not have the same time constraints of the first two. I did just that and thankfully I can share that with everyone today because it is video recorded! (below is the link) If you have some time and want to hear me share the vision of our project and our businesses, just follow the link and then let me know what you think about it! One thing that I will ask is this. Please keep your comments about us and our project constructive. I welcome questions and advice but would ask for respect in those comments. Also, if there are any negative comments about others applications or presentations, any of the boards, elected officials or anything else, they will be deleted. This money can be used for great things and I am doing this to share our project with you, nothing else. Unless of course you just want to share with everyone how amazing our project is or tell your local officials how much you love it and will support it!!
Please pray for us. Please pray that whatever happens with this process that it will all happen according to his will and that whether we get nothing or any amount, we will be strong through this process and we will use the money wisely. It is not always easy to step out in faith and be obedient, but his promises are amazing. Deut 28:1-14. That is what I stand on.
I hope you and your families have an amazing Christmas and that you remember through all the hustle and bustle that Jesus is the reason for the season! (Is it really 14 days away ~ help!!)
P.S. Remember the significance of that date of the grant cycle. Normally it is in May and I have thought about applying every year but it was alway just after tax season and if awarded in August for the cycle there was not time to put the fall event together, so it just never worked out for us to file. This cycle is perfect. If we get funding for the agri-tourism, we would be awarded at the end of February and be ready to open in October. So…thankful for the delay in the grant cycle for the workshops the board wanted to have about the application and grant process. Another coincidence? No. His timing is perfect. 🙂
P.S.S. (I feel like I am Jr. High) Check out the background picture of my blog…Rainbows everywhere!!! That was an amazing picture taken by a local photographer Justin Battles. When I started my blog I asked him permission to use it because I loved rainbows and have seen so many at just the right times in the right place. God is not a coincidence. Here is a link to his picture sight and his Facebook that you will see some of the most amazing pictures you have ever seen in your life…from eagles to lakes to city lights. https://500px.com/jobattles https://www.facebook.com/justin.battles.96?fref=ts
Check us out on Facebook! facebook.com/agoutdoorworld & facebook.com/TheHeartlandMaze & facebook.com/agodworldmission
Here is the link to the commission meeting…
http://hardeecountyfl.boardsync.com/web/player.aspx?id=842
Just scroll down to #13 Tab 10 and you can see my entire presentation. The full application is there as well.
And here is the devotion I was talking about!
Promises and Rainbows
Krista WilliamsGenesis 9:16 (NIV) “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
The flood ended, the waters receded, the ark stopped rocking, and the ground was dry. God’s yearlong judgment on mankind’s sin and wickedness had finally ended, and Noah and his family survived.
Even though they were safe, imagine how frightening and traumatic it must have been to live through the flood and witness its mass destruction.
From that day forward, every time it rained, Noah and his family could be fearful of another flood producing the same kind of destruction.
God knew they might be fearful, so in His sweet mercy He made a covenant, a promise, to Noah and all the earth. In this covenant, God promised unconditionally that He would never send another flood to destroy all life on the earth.
Three times God reiterated His promise to “never again” destroy the earth by such a flood. After living through such a traumatic experience, it seems God wanted to reassure Noah, so He graciously repeated the promise.
Not only did God reassure Noah by repeating His promise, He sealed it with a sign.
As we study through the Bible, we’ll see God giving His people visible signs to help them remember His covenant promises. In Genesis 9, God sealed His promise with a rainbow in the sky.
In the midst of the devastation from the flood of judgment, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky symbolizing God’s gracious promise!
God did not promise we will never experience storms, but He has promised He will be with us during them.
God further promised, “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant …” (Genesis 9:16).
God knows we are forgetful, but He isn’t. He never forgets His covenants and reassures us with a rainbow that He always remembers.
Prayer: Lord, life is filled with tragedy and pain yet it’s the sun shining through the rain that creates the beauty of a rainbow. So shine through our circumstances and show us Your beauty and glory in the midst of the storm. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
More Moments: In the Bible, a covenant is a promise God makes with a person or group. A covenant is a solemn binding agreement. God’s covenants may be conditional or unconditional. Read More
My Moment: What promises of God have reassured you when you have experienced storms in this life?
The Call 