Ivan Aivazovsky [Public domain]
Treading Water or Walking with Jesus on Water?
Leviticus 19:23-25 3 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the Lord withal.25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the Lord your God.
Our Calling
TreadingWaterTilJesusComes.com celebrated five years of online presence last week. We launched in July 2015. Unfortunately,we have had years with little to no growth despite our best efforts and following the Lord’s leadership at every turn. It has all seemed like more trouble than it is worth. We have wondered: Are we helping, encouraging, or reaching anyone for Jesus. Are we offering His body some simple words to soul survive? This year our fifth to sixth year is the time to see God’s hand do something. It is time to see our numbers climb.
Our friends
On a positive note, the trees we have planted have been the writers. Each has a unique voice, a special gift from the Lord to share. It has been a learning process for us all. We have settled into a rhythm and we give Him all the praise! Our wee blog has been examined by professionals on several occasions and have gotten reviews that stunned us! They said it was “Great!” Only God! The reason: none of us had any experience, when we launched, in blogging, writing, or managing a website. The “fruit we want to eat,” is to hear how this blog has been used by God in your life.
Our Voices
Our writer’s voices are the voices of friends having a conversation (one sided though it may be), teachers, mothers, grandmothers, students, and colleagues. We share our experience with the Lord and how He has taught us, changed us, moved us, and shaped us. In face,we like all of you are just “treading water.”
Our inspiration
I found this scripture as we were contemplating shutting down due to low numbers. Some blogs get hundreds of thousands of hits. We barely have 500 and most pop on and right off. They don’t even stay long enough to read it. Even our own families don’t read us! Yes, we check our progress or lack thereof regularly. This can be discouraging. But John wrote the Revelation on a deserted island never knowing who would read it. Paul wrote to fledgling churches from prison not knowing if the letters would ever reach them and without any inkling 2000 years later we would still be combing their truths.
Our Commitment
So, we write on. Treading water til Jesus comes though we become discouraged, tired, afraid, cold, wet, hungry……..We do it til He comes or calls us home because if even ONE is helped, it is worth the time, money, effort, and yes, tears. For this reason, we write what God lays on our very vulnerable hearts. We are kentsugi: Broken vessels allowing the Lord to fill our hearts and let His light shine on whomever He chooses, whenever He chooses.
Our Gratitude
For all of you who have supported us faithfully: Thank YOU! We covet your prayers, your comments, and ask you to share us with others as the LORD leads. This is for His kingdom and His glory alone. We are in too deep to quit! And if Jesus returns, this will stay online for at least three years for searching souls to find.
In Christ’s service, treading water til Jesus Comes
The writers past, present, and future.
additional reading:
Don’t stop! I’m not on this site often, but when I am on this site, I am so blessed. On the days I skip over my email notices, I do sometimes go back later. Reading Paula Wallace and others reminds me to slow down and re-evaluate was is more important to get through the day, time with Jesus.
I have always been toId I need to “Journal”, but journaling is not my thing. I have tried. I do good to take notes during sermons and Bible studies, where I end up writing down the scripture references then forgetting why I wrote them down. I am doing a little better in getting enough written down to remind why. That is why, those of you who write and post on here are here. You write encouraging thoughts for those of us, who think alike, but just can’t seem to get the words to paper.
Thank you for your words of encouragement. We are blessed by the Lord to have godly women who write down their experiences for us. We will pray for you and know that God is on your side. He is ever present. You writing this note tells me you may have within you to write. You have expressed yourself very well. God bless and thank you again. Pray for us to be faithful in our call too.
This blog truly blesses me! Praying that more will read and receive their personal blessings as well. Bless you “treaders”! 🙏♥️
Yvonne, I was introduced to this sight last Thanksgiving and love to read it, It has become an almost daily read for me. I love reading it and it has helped me in many ways. Thanks for the effort and all the other writers make to keep it going.
Thank you for your kind words. We appreciate them so much. Your words are a great encouragement for us to keep going. May God bless.