2021: A Year of Miracles, With More to Come!
As I reflect over this past year, I am so amazed at the continual provision from God as I can see how he has led us step-by-step and has not failed to give us everything that we need and more! Last year, as a group we were extremely confused and unsure of where we would all end up. We all knew that God wanted to do great things here in this county and that we had an amazing team but lacked the knowledge of how He wanted to make that happen. It has definitely been a year of building our faith and trust in God as he refines our character. We began to move forward slowly at first, taking one small step at a time...coming up with a name....filing for our business license....applying for our 501(c)3...Originally Tina's property was a place of refuge for us to get our "horse fix" but it quickly turned into Jackie saying, "maybe we could bring Lauren out here to do some grooming?" which turned into completing over 130 sessions this year with 18 kids!
We spent some time this past year coming up with our core values. One of them is that "we dream big because we serve a big God!" I am learning that God does not expect us to have everything together, He just wants our obedience. Like the little boy that brought his lunch to Jesus, he knew that it would not feed a massive crowd but sacrificed everything that he had regardless.
9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. John 6:9-11
Like that little boy, we know that we could not have accomplished all that we have alone but it has come through laying down all that we have so that He can multiply it. Our individual skills and giftings are small but when He brings them together and brings the increase, it has massive impact. Our part is simply to yield and He responds by bringing the provision.
My prayer is that the testimony of what God has done through us here at Blue Sky Acres will be an encouragement to others who have God-sized dreams and to know that if He can do it through us, He can do it through you! It is going to take more than just us to make a difference. I would like to encourage everyone who reads this, especially since we are moving into a new year, to begin asking God what you can offer Him, what are the desires that He has put in your heart that may have laid dormant for a while that He can revive and breathe life on? We would love to hear about those dreams so we can join in praying for them. If you would like to share them with us, you can send an email to hallie@blueskyacres.org and we will cover them in prayer as we gather on Tuesdays. Our heart is not to simply be an isolated ministry that does our own thing but to work together with others to build up God's Kingdom and see true change and awakening come into this county and region.
As we look forward to the upcoming year, we have many more big dreams and believe that God is going to continue to lead us as long as we continue to lift up His name. We are believing the promise from Ezekiel that God has made very personal to us:
14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’” Ezekiel 37:14S
In addition to finding our acres, some of what we have on the horizon includes beginning the pilot program for foster children and expanding our supported employment program to teach a wider variety of skills and to encourage them to walk in their God-given destiny and potential. All of these things will only be possible as Jesus continues to multiply what we have brought before Him. We would also like to thank you for being a part of this journey, each one of you plays an important part and we are so thankful for your prayer and support as we continue to move forward!
From the desk of Hallie Myers, Executive Director