"...Always Fail Forward"

Today marks my week-a-ver-sary as a Greensboro Fellow! It has been an incredible week filled with amazing people. I have only been on this journey for 7 days, yet I have already seen myself fail. I have failed to always have a good attitude. I have failed to extend grace to others. I have failed to consistently set aside time to spend with Christ. There are a million ways that I have failed, and there will be more next week. 

I walked into church this morning very aware of these failures. For whatever reason I had been reflecting on my shortcomings for a large part of the weekend. The sermon at Church of the Redeemer met me right in the midst of these thoughts, reminding me of God's incredible love for me. The Gospel was beautifully poured out on me this morning, reminding me that the Lord deals with me by first by Grace and second by the Law. 

After church, we had a meeting laying out the vision for how God is shaping the future of Redeemer. This was a quote used to sum up our church's history...

     "Never say die. Never be satisfied. Be stubborn. Be persistent. Integrity is a must. Anything worth having is worth striving for with all your might. 
     If we look long enough for what we want in life we are almost sure to find it. Success is in the journey, the continual process. And no matter how hard you work, you will not create the perfect plan or execute it without error. You will never get to the point that you no longer make mistakes, that you no longer fail.
     The next time you find yourself envying what successful people have achieved, recognize that they have probably gone through many negative experiences that you cannot see on the surface.
     Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.” 
― John Maxwell, Failing Forward

I love this quote, I love the vision being lived out by the leadership at Church of the Redeemer, and I am excited to walk alongside this body of believers to see what the Lord teaches me this year. 

Thank you for your prayers : )