Absolute

Whew. 2017 was a doozy. A DOOZY with a wild ride to cap it all off! #trottertribe spent the year on our faces in surrender and then put a wrap on it with 40,000 people in AT&T stadium to win the UIL 5A State Championship for the second year in a row. Back to back Championships. That's 32 football games in 16 months. Most football teams don't play that many games in 3 years. We watched God work and weld hard faith. God attentively cast away fears and built up a solidified trust in the gracious provisional nature of His Love as we grasp for new energy and deeper commitment to each other and to the mission to love and serve and believe.Felt the tension in pretty much every area of our lives in 2017. You name it, God battle tested it.Absolute Surrender was the ask for our tribe in 2017. God not only drew us into surrender, accepted our surrender, cared for us in the days of our surrender, but worked in us HIS power, blessing, humility, depth and meekness. A simplified act of surrender has felt feeble and gross so much of the time, but it has given us a real possession of the work of the Holy Spirit.Absolute Surrender has granted us real possession of the Holy Spirit.His activated work, love, guidance, power.....victory in this season of life has come on the conditions of surrender. A full lean into the Anchor of God asking for daily bread, daily focus, daily interactions and daily stewardship of faith.Surrender cannot be self focused; it must be faith focused. Each new day we have had to be leaned in together reminding each other to dash distractions and stay completely occupied with Jesus and His activity. It's been a messy year of surrendering so much of our "selves" BUT in the mess I sense our tribe finding a message.God does not leave His children in the ash heap....and we are discovering a beauty rising above the flames of surrender to formulate into a message.We have discovered that in absolute surrender all your Hope rests in the assurance of Jesus and with that Hope you are purified, cleansed, set free. So we keep hoping and continue surrendering. We've had to claim with gut and gumption the realization of miracles not only for ourselves but in the seeking for miracles we've looked to the right and left and been woven together with a whole slew of miracle seeking believers. Miracles for finances, miracles for health, miracles for love, miracles for moves, miracles for jobs, miracles for relationships, miracles for spiritual growth, miracles for healing. Surrender produces miracles. Absolute Surrender catapults you into the company of miracle seekers. Those who are continually asking God to eradicate self-centeredness and insert unity in prayers, Kingdom, and mission.God might have asked surrender of us, but it is God alone who has kept us faithfully in it.It is HIS fellowship that has maintained our energies to stay surrendered, tenderhearted and attentive to what God's desires are for our tribe. As the pages of 2017 slip into the new year we realize more than ever the extreme requirement on our lives to "take EVERY THOUGHT {project, idea, conversation, dream, motivation, relationship, invitation - EVERYTHING} captive into the obedience of Christ." {2 Corinthians 10:5} and we are reminded and renewed with energy to take the EXACT SAME IDEA into 2018. Absolute Surrender was not just an end of year fad for our tribe....God has made it very clear - surrender is a lifestyle.Absolute Surrender must be a lifestyle so as to see God ignite power, might and great fruit for His Kingdom in all our lives.Yielding all in order to gain all. Let's make the emptying of our lives and the seeking of God's FULLEST presence fill 2018 to overflowing.