Rocks of Remembrance - August 2, 2026 - Marcela Harper

Good morning, Mission Vineyard.

It's great to see you here today. If

you'll make your way back to your seats,

my name is Kate, and I have the joy of

welcoming you to church this morning.

So, we are so glad that you're here.

Thank you for worshiping with us.

Whether you're here u with us at the

museum or you're online, welcome. We are

so glad that you're here and we hope

that you feel welcomed. um but also that

you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit

and Jesus because he's here with us. And

so as we move through our service, I

just have a few announcements, but first

and foremost, if you are a new face with

us, we are so glad that you're visiting

and that you're a guest. And please be

sure that you take a white bag. I see

one in the back over there. So, they

grabbed one. Um there's a white welcome

bag. And then um in that bag is

information about our church,

information about small groups that meet

weekly um throughout the the week. And

then there's also a connect card. And so

if you'll pull that connect card out if

you haven't yet filled one out already,

you can also fill it out online at

connect.missionyard.org.

We would love to um have as much

information as you're willing to share

with us. We have a weekly church email

that goes out to keep you informed in

the life of the church, events and small

groups and all things happening. So, if

you add your email address, we will

subscribe you to our email, your

physical mailing address. Our pastor who

is on vacation and back soon will send

you a note in the mail, a note of thanks

with a gift certificate um uh to take

coffee or have coffee on us. So, please,

if you're willing to share that um

physical mailing address, we would love

to have that as well. You can drop that

card in the giving baskets that'll be

passed throughout the service. You can

also leave it on the back table as well.

Also, um, one of the most important

things in

Sorry, that looked like it was about to

fall. One of the most important things

in the bag is something we call a mana

bag. And a mana bag is something that is

our gift to you to give away to those

that you may encounter throughout the

week who are in need. And so in there,

some practical items like a water

bottle, some crackers, some snacks, some

Kleenex. So, please be sure that you

take one. And this is also open to

anyone um at Mission Vineyard to take

one on their way out as well. And

Stephen reminded me that we are entering

into some really hot days coming up in

San Antonio. So let us pray for those

who um might be in need. And please on

behalf of Mission Vineyard, take one of

these mana bags um and at least we can

bless our neighbors um with some water

as well. Also, a couple of announcements

that I wanted to share with you. one

being um in September, Alpha is starting

up and that date is September 9th.

That's going to meet every Wednesday uh

during the fall and Alpha is an

incredible international church-based

course um that meets weekly. We are

partnering with several churches. First

Presbyterian Church will be hosting

Alpha for us Wednesdays 6 to 8 starting

on September 9th. It's a great place to

explore the Christian faith to ask

questions and learn what all this is

about Jesus, right? And so it's it's a

safe space. So if you haven't attended

Alpha or if you have a friend or a

neighbor who is curious or asking

questions, Alpha is an incredible place

to do that. And um there's a meal that's

included 6 to 8 Wednesdays. So we invite

you to save that date starting September

9th. And then September 12th, Saturday,

is our next um men's breakfast. And I

hear that it's back and better than

ever. So that's September 12th, 8:30 to

10:30. Todd's giving us a thumbs up in

the back. They're meeting at the Whitigs

building, which is just down Broadway.

And we'll send out that information in

future emails. You can also see Todd for

that information. Um, so save those two

dates, September 9th for Alpha and

September 12th for the men's breakfast.

And then I am going to move into a time

of prayer over our giving and ask those

that are giving our passing our offering

baskets if you'll please come forward.

So Lord Jesus, we bless you today. We

worship you today um with our words um

and with our finances, with our tithes

and with our presence, Lord Jesus. And

so would you bless the the gifts and

every giver today, Father, that you

would bless their hearts, that you would

multiply their provisions, Lord. And we

know that you love a cheerful giver. And

so I pray for each and every person in

this room, Lord, that your Holy Spirit

would come upon them. Um that your

presence would fill this place and that

your words um through our sermon today

would just touch each one of our hearts.

So, thank you, Jesus, for all that

you've given us, for all that you've

created, and we bless you today with our

finances and with our gifts in the name

of Jesus. Amen.

>> So, the weekly church email had an

incorrect date. So, Wednesday, September

10th is alpha. So, if you'll save that.

Thanks. Thanks, Arley.

pray for Marcela as she comes up.

So Lord, thank you for Marcella, Jesus,

for her heart, for her presence, for the

words that um you're going to speak to

over uh to us today, Lord Jesus. I pray

that you would give her um faith, that

you'd give her wisdom, Lord Jesus, and

just the confidence to share um how you

have spoken to her, Lord Jesus. So thank

you for her and your presence. In the

name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

>> Hello. Good morning.

>> I am so nervous to be up here. Uh Pastor

John has invited me multiple times um to

share and for one reason reason or

another um those dates haven't worked.

And if I'm being honest, every time I

was asked and I couldn't be here, I was

relieved. I was like, "Okay, I have the

perfect excuse. Family's coming over. I

can't I can't." Um, and part of it is

because the perfectionist inside of me

uh doesn't want to be vulnerable and

have to speak in public with an accent

knowing that I'll be butchering a couple

words. I think I just butchered

butchering, by the way. Um, and we'll

have to pretend I did not hear myself uh

saying something wrong and have to move

on for the sake of the sermon. But this

isn't about me. This is just about God,

what God is doing and has been doing in

my life, in our marriage. So, I'm just

going to share a little bit of of that.

Um, anyways, this time Pastor John gave

me a lot of options. So, what I did was

just to simply pick the latest date. Um,

little did I know this would mean to

preach after Randall. Uh, who wants to

preach after him? He has a PhD, years of

experience. So, I was like, "No, I don't

want to preach after him." But here I

am. Um, I did go to seminary though. I

spent four years at a Baptist seminary.

Um, and you know how people are called

to do ministry and then they go to

seminary, they they have this moment

when God is calling them or it's just

like a pivoted moment and then they go,

I didn't I didn't have that. Um,

I was or probably still am argumentative

enough to put myself through seminary

just to prove my point with facts and

logic. That's what I went to seminary. I

didn't I didn't go because God called me

to do ministry. Um I went to law school,

so no surprise there, right? Um but

what's funny is like the more I studied,

the more I learned like I was like I'm

not going to convince anyone. Like I'm

not the Holy Spirit. Like

>> it's just I'm just going to keep going,

try to persevere as a Christian and then

we'll see. And a lot of the people I

wanted to um kind of convert or convince

was my own family. Like my mom's side of

the family were all Christians, but on

my dad's side, like a lot of them don't

don't believe. They're very like

successful, career oriented. So I grew

up going to church and I'll have

criticism from them. So I always wanted

to have something good to come back at

them and be like, "Huh, I said that

like, you know, but that didn't happen.

when I went to seminary, I was like, I'm

just going to pray for y'all. So,

all that to say, um I am glad that

despite having to preach after someone

so knowledgeable like Randall, um Pastor

John through to us or at least to me, a

live servant by adding the word

testimony to this series of sermons

because I can do that. I can definitely

share a little bit of who I am and what

God has done in my life and and what is

he doing right now. So I'm going to read

real quick the two verses we'll be

discussing this morning.

So it's um Psalm 23 5 and 6 verses 5

verse 5 says you prepare a table before

me in the presence of my enemies. You

anoint my head with oil. My cup

overflows.

Verse six, surely goodness and mercy

shall follow me all days of my life, and

I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

forever. My husband was like, "So, you

going to preach like one verse?" And I

was like, "No, it's two. I read the

text. It's two." And he was like, "But I

think Randall talked about I was like,

"Well, I don't have time this morning to

redo this thing." So, I double check and

and Pastor John said uh verses five and

six. So, I think Randall did mention a

little bit of verse five, but I'm going

to go back to that, but that's okay.

Okay. So, it starts saying, "You prepare

a table before me in the presence of my

enemies." Uh it's David essentially

saying, "God doesn't wait until the war

is over to show up. He cooks dinner in

the middle of it. God doesn't wait for

you to get that result being v negative

or positive depending on what your

situation is. Um he does not wait for

you to overcome anxiety, depression,

pay those bills, get a job or that

promotion. He is ready to be with you

right in the middle of it all. Um for

those who don't know me, I am from El

Salvador. Almost all my family is still

there. Um, I moved here in 2019.

Uh, Robert and I, Robert is back there.

Uh, got married in December of of the

same year, 2019. Um, and we always knew

we wanted a family. And I'm going to be

reading a lot because I don't want to

get emotional and I don't want to like

lose track of what I'm saying and start

saying weird things, okay? So, just bear

with me. I'm watching my paper a lot.

Um, so we always knew we wanted a

family. Uh, we never doubt each other's

desire to become parents. Um, whenever

what God was ready to bless us with a

child,

Robert uh has always been open to the

idea of adopting a kid. Uh, more than

open, I feel like he was called to do

that. Uh, he had no doubts he will

blindly jump into adopting a child. Like

that that's my husband. That that's his

heart and his faith. Me on the other

hand, the first time he said I was like,

"No, like not even I wouldn't even

discuss this thing with you. No, no, no,

no. I am Latina. We take care of each

other. Like it adoption is something

that we see as if someone's missing,

I'll take care of my niece, my nephew,

like a grandkid. So, so we do adopt

kids, but it's just completely different

in the way we see it here. So, I was

like, "No, this this idea of me taking

care of a kid that it it's just too

foreign to me, right? like you're

telling me I'm going to get a kid that I

don't know mom and dad and the situation

and it's just no blood. So many things

went through my head. I I could spend

like an entire hour sharing just all the

thoughts that went into my head when he

was like no I'm really and I was like no

I'm not. So we we closed that door at

the very beginning of well we closed

that door at the very beginning of our

marriage. Um, time passed and, uh, we

realized we were not conceiving.

And long story short, uh, we got

diagnosed with unexplained infertility.

Revealing, huh? Like, I was like, great,

I know what's going on then. I know what

to do now. It's like, it's all good, but

it's just not happening. Awesome.

Um but God as my good shepherd has been

preparing this table right in the middle

of my enemies

right here in my uncertainty.

Uh to understand this verse uh we need

to see like this table right in

shephering culture it was a place uh the

shepherd prepared ahead of time before

the sheep ever arrived uh the shepherd

would make a couple of trips to that

area which is just a flat plateau uh for

pasture.

God, our good shepherd is going ahead of

us into that job interview, into your

upcoming surgery, upcoming court date,

next payment due, that uncomfortable

conversation, conversation you need to

have with your child, your spouse. He is

ahead of you into your next season of

life.

God is going ahead and preparing the

very best in the face of the very worst.

Uh he's not scared off by your enemies.

He sets the table while they watch.

For us, this table God was preparing was

through foster care. Our church partners

with One Hope. I think we have like the

little uh what are those called?

I don't have the word. I not even in

English or Spanish, but it's there in

the banner. Isn't it a banner? Yeah, in

the banner. It's right there. We partner

with One Hope. Um, if you have never

taken the time to look into uh that,

please do. Uh, we have been and are so

so blessed by their ministry. Um, One

Hope is the agency through which we got

licensed to foster and and foster to

adopt. We have other families here

actually at Mission Vineyard that are

licensed to babysit like Josephina, the

Torios. Actually, they have both um help

us babysit our little kid. Um and they

have other ways for you to get involved.

Like there's people praying for us,

sending us emails with like words of

encouragement. So, there's so many ways

uh to place those currently fostering

children or fostering to adopt a child.

So, just take a look at One Hope. We're

already partnering um with them. So, for

us, uh, God was preparing us to become

foster parents. We got licensed and had

a placement last year. We had a

2-year-old boy for a little over a

month. And then we have a 5-year-old in

January for less than a week. So, we've

we've had two placements before the kid

we have now. And truth to be told, when

that happened, I was like, "God, what do

you want from me?" like here I am

keeping up with this license and we can

even have a long placement to serve you

because the first was like a month and

the other one like a week. So I'm like,

"Okay, this isn't work." Okay. And by

the way, I still want to have biological

skin, right? Like I want to be a a biom.

So I'm just going through this all. Um

so I was like, "God, do you still hear

the prayer or should I just keep it to

myself now?" Like there were times that

I was like,

"You've heard my prayer, right? Should I

keep repeating this on and on? Should I

just

You've been there." Uh but through all

the pain you get exposed while doing

foster care and just some darkness you

never knew is there in the world and

through all the up and downs that

struggling with infertility has brought

to my life. My God, my good shepherd has

set a table and I have gotten a stronger

marriage, a stronger faith, God presence

in my heart despite the doubts, the

fear, the tears, the unknown, the

unresolved.

The waiting can be so heavy in our

hearts. But this is what makes us makes

us Christians, right? Not that we won't

suffer like the rest of the world, but

that we are not alone through that. We

have a God that provides for us and he

has peace for us in the middle of it

with joy. We have joy through God in the

middle of it. We have self-control in

the middle of it. Doesn't mean that the

problems will go away. We still going to

walk through that, but we're just not

alone. Um, and it's not after the battle

is won. is not once the threat is over.

Like he doesn't wait for that test

result to be negative or in our case for

that pregnancy test to be positive. Uh

for that paycheck to hit your bank

account, the haters or those criticizing

you to shut up. He sets a table right

there while while your enemies are

watching.

Then um the second part of that verse

five says, "You anoint my head with oil.

My cup overflows."

Sheep are annoyed, tormented by flies.

The solution is it's oil. The shepherd

completely covers them in oil, even

submerging them in it, and it becomes

like a protective barrier against pests

and parasites. It It was just

life-saving, like putting all on their

head. I read that the oil they use

didn't just soothe, it shielded.

And as we know, oil in the Bible refers

to like the Holy Spirit, God's divine

blessing and his empowerment.

Um, we need a fresh anointing of the

Holy Spirit daily. Not once a year in a

men or women conference conference. Not

just when the worship was really good uh

last Sunday and I love the songs they

picked. Not through one sermon on a

Sunday to mark we attended a church this

week. We need the Holy Spirit to be

poured out on us aesh every single day

to protect us from the spiritual flies

that try to distract, infect, and

irritate us.

And know how difficult can that be?

Sometimes we are all go all the time.

multitasking, being productive,

sometimes taking the time to sit, still

to dwell in his presence feels like a

chore. Like, do I really have to do this

today because I have so many other

things to do. Uh, we get so busy trying

to be successful that run out of oil and

get the flies back into our faces.

Um, and those flies are different for

all of us, right? It can be getting

offended real quick, bitterness,

comparison, insecurity,

fear, anxiety, depression, doubts,

temptation,

sin. But if we got the oil, if we got

the Holy Spirit, we can shield

ourselves. And when the flies come and

try to get into our face, when those

thoughts come into our heads, the Holy

Spirit soften hearts before offense

settles in. The spirit reminds us of our

identity in Christ. The spirit brings

peace that guards our hearts despite the

circumstances.

The spirit empower us to overcome.

I can even start to describe how much do

I need the holy spirit in this season of

my life. My thoughts can completely

overpower me in this journey of trying

to build or have a family.

Sorry, I need to like there's certain

things that I wrote here that I cried

when I wrote it down and I cried when I

read it again and I'm like I'm just

going to take a pause because I don't

want to cry here. I don't even have a

clinics out here. So, okay. We've been

married a little over six years and um

as I mentioned before, even though my

husband always knew he wanted to adopt,

it took me longer to get there. I had to

hear from God before I was able to move

toward that direction. And eventually I

did. Like it was clear to me. I was

like, "Okay, this thank you so much." I

was like, "Okay, this is this is what

we're doing. I don't know when, but but

we're going to do this." Um, and the

fear of the uncertainty makes me want to

take control. That's who I am, by the

way. As if I knew better than God,

right? I remember when I knew God was

calling us to adopt, I told God that I

needed to be a biological mom first.

Yes, I was telling God what to do and

how to do it. Um, I know you never go

there. It's just me. The only that the

only one that whispers to God how to do

things. I was like, God, I do not want

my adoptive child to think I adopted him

or her because we couldn't have a

biological kid.

Like, therefore, I need to have a

biological kid first and then you bless

us with an adoptive child. Okay, cool.

Sounds like a plan deal. Do you think

that happened? Well, of course not. That

did not happen. Um but and I was uh

talking to my husband this morning and

he was like he reminded me of a

conversation he had with John and I and

I thought of this I wrote here because

it was a battle for us thinking

we wanted to adopt and it's just the

noise of the world like what are the

people going to think and say and ask

we don't we want to grow our family but

we don't want

bring in a kid to patch the desire of

being parents because we're not bringing

a kid to heal us. Like that's the job of

the Holy Spirit. So, Pastor John and

Robert had that conversation and they

were like, "You we have to mourn this.

It's okay." Um, and we're not bringing

in a kid to fill that void. Like, this

is just what God has called us to do.

And of course, I had a perfect plan of

first doing other things, but this just

not how God intended it for my life. Um,

so this year, as I mentioned earlier, we

foster a 5-year-old boy and it was just

for six days. Um, you guys, five years

old or something else, like the things

they would ask and it was so much fun.

But I wrote uh sentence like things he

would say on a book and and there's a

lot of inner jokes in our home now

because of that experience.

Yeah, I didn't put a lot of that in

here, but just thinking about it, he'll

he he wouldn't call each other's like he

wouldn't say, "Hey, can you tell

Robert?" He will tell me, "Hey, can you

tell your husband?"

And he will tell Robert, "Can you tell

your wife?" And it it was it was funny.

I was like, "Do you know our names?

Marcela, Robert?" I was like, "Yeah,

your husband."

Anyways, um so for him, uh despite the

short period of time we foster him, it

was clear to us um why he needed to

spend time with us. He had never but

never ever heard the gospel in his life.

Uh we watched the movie Light of the

World. Uh those with kids maybe know

which movie I'm talking about. It's just

just the life of Jesus. It's it's really

nice. And because he had never heard the

gospel, he was so surprised when Jesus

died.

He was jumping OUT OF THERE LIKE WHAT?

WHAT? Jesus died. And we're like,

"Uhhuh." Like in my mind like of course

like what? Anyways, he was so surprised.

So so surprised that Jesus died. He was

like this this movie. What kind of movie

are you making me watch, right? Like the

hero just died. Uh so he couldn't make

sense of the main character dying. Like

he he didn't know what to do with that

information. And I didn't want to like

uh tell them the rest of the movie. I

was like, "Yeah, we're going to heaven."

And you know, I was just like, "Just

watch. Just watch." Um, and I grew up in

church, so I don't remember a time when

I did not know Jesus died and

resurrected. So, for me, experiencing

someone coming to hear this for the very

first time in his life was amazing.

Like, it was I was like, "Okay."

Anyways, we watched the movie and he was

surprised and trying to make sense of

what he was he just watched. So, I know

God blessed us to have the privilege uh

to share the gospel with this cute

little 5-year-old. So, it was a short it

was a short foster uh period of time. We

fostered him for a short period of time,

but it was great. Like, there's no doubt

why he needed to be in our home. And it

was fun. Anyways, back to where I was

going with this. I remember it was the

day that Verizon towers were down and we

didn't have reception for a couple

hours. Um, so it was a weekday, so I

went to pick him up uh from school. We

got home. I was finally back with like

connected through Wi-Fi. And I got this

text saying that they were picking him

up at 6:00 p.m. So in foster world, that

means washing everything, counting the

pieces of shorts and pants and socks and

everything, put it all in a bag and

explaining him he's leaving, why he's

leaving, who is he going? Like, so we

went through all that. So, it was

bittersweet. Um, he was with a family

member, so I was happy. But it's also

like as a human and as an adult, I was

like, why didn't you put this kid with a

family member in the first place? Like

this kid had to go through all this. But

then again, he heard the gospel and he

watched that movie.

So, it it it's makes more sense now. But

back then, I was like, what?

Anyways, um he went and that same day

they told us that they there's um there

was a little boy that he was already in

foster care with another family that

actually got licensed through one hope.

Um and it seems like the like his case

was going towards uh parental rights

being terminated.

So they will try to find a family open

for adoption and they were like you may

get a call to see if you would take him

and he's he's about to turn one. So we

got that call the same day 5-year-old

boy was leaving our home after five or

six days of being there. We did get a

call. Uh we got the email with a picture

little cute boy and the summary of

what's going on um with his case. We

said yes and then we had to wait to see

if the case worker would pick us to

place him in our care because you you

kind of review you said yes and then the

case manager case worker kind of has to

pick the families. Um

lots of lies come to my head those

couple of days we waited. Um, but I pray

that God's will be done and God

shielding me with his Holy Spirit

because there's just so much going on uh

those couple of days just checking my

phone like did we get picked? Did we get

picked? A few days a few days later um

we got a text message saying we have

been selected for baby B. I I'll call

him baby B because I don't want to say

his name for YouTube. You can ask me

later what's his name and that's a long

story too but anyways uh because he was

already in the system and with a one

hope family the transition was smooth

and center on his well-being. So we

really appreciate that and the family

that had him um was so kind to us.

told us on Monday that baby be would

come to our care within the following

weeks and his birthday was that Tuesday

and he his foster mom at the time

invited us to celebrate his birthday. So

we got to meet him the day he turned one

so we wouldn't miss the birthday. Uh he

got home in February and parental rights

were relinquished a few months later

and we are now in the process of

adoption. And no, God did not follow my

plan. He did not give me first a

biological child. I'm not going to be

and I'm pregnant, too. No, no, no, that

did not happen. Um, and yes, I do get

flies around my head because of this.

But I do know the Holy Spirit empowers

me to preach truth to myself when my

mind wants to pay attention to the fear

of the unknown,

the fear of being vulnerable, of getting

hurt. The Holy Spirit reminds me God

before me and prepares a table before my

enemies. So I get to enjoy his presence,

his peace, and his joy in the midst of

it all.

Lastly,

ask for fresh oil daily.

Don't leave on leftovers.

Invite the Holy Spirit into into your

space every day at every time.

Don't have that conversation before

asking the Holy Spirit to come. Don't

rush to decide without consulting with

the Holy Spirit. Don't let your mind run

to conclusions before you filter it all

with the Holy Spirit. Take a break.

Invite God. Invite the Holy Spirit to it

all. To the good, to the bad, to the

beautiful, to the ugly. Keep getting

shielded by anointing you with his

presence.

Get so much of it that your cup

overflows and you can be a blessing to

those around you.

I didn't write this note, but when I

said this, I just thought of Ashley

because she's been fostering and she

reached out to me via email.

And it was so nice to hear someone

that's going through the same thing and

someone I can text

and read what what this is for somebody

else and get encouragement.

I'm so glad you're filled with the Holy

Spirit in there for me. Um again, this

is in my notes, but I just thought of

that. We were at the park and you'll see

our baby once we're done here. He's

blonde and white. He doesn't look like

he's my kid, right? And part of the

flies I have to battle because I'm like,

why did they like they didn't have a

Hispanic kid that will look like me?

Not I don't even know how I'm going to

handle this. We were at the park and I

was walking with him and then there's

little I'm telling you 5 years old are

hilarious. Like he looked AT ME LIKE,

"ARE YOU HIS MOMMY?"

And I was like, "Yes." I didn't even

think of it. Like of course like I'm

taking care of it. I'm his mom. And then

I was like, "Oh." And Robert looked at

me like, "Uh."

Cuz yes, we don't we don't we don't look

alike, right? So it's it's it's still so

heavy on my heart because I don't know

if I'm going to be full of the Holy

Spirit and be like, "Yes, God has

blessed me with him." I was like, "Who

cares? Why do you ask? You know, I don't

know what you're going to get." So um so

that day I texted you and I said like,

"Hey, can we got coffee?" Cuz I wanted

to have that conversation with you. and

three weeks have passed and we haven't

had that coffee because I've been so

busy with work. Um, so anyways, just

get so much of the Holy Spirit that

you're there for someone else.

Verse six,

surely goodness and mercy will follow me

all the days of my life, and I shall

dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

What a beautiful promise. God will

pursue me. Wow, that sounds so

encouraging.

But let's be honest, like some days for

some of us, most days, it doesn't feel

that way. When the medical report isn't

great or the bills are stacking up or

things at home are falling apart,

we we start to wonder, is God's goodness

really following me right now? Beautiful

bed. uh burst, but the mess I have going

on in my personal life, it's still there

once I leave this church today, right?

My circumstances remain the same. I

personally still have to deal with the

fact that God has not blessed us with a

biological kid. And I don't know if he

ever will.

But just because we can see, it doesn't

mean it's not happening.

God is pursuing us. He loves us a lot

despite what we may think,

despite the circumstances.

To dig deeper into this phrase, and you

can check later with Randle because he

knows Hebrew because I Googled this and

watch YouTube videos. So I what do I

know? He may know. But the Hebrew word

translated follow is radaf or radafath.

I don't know. which means to chase down,

to hunt, or relentlessly pursue.

So, this isn't casual goodness. This

isn't mercy wandering aimlessly behind

you. This is God's goodness chasing you

down. God is not just watching over you.

He is trying to grab you into his

presence with his staff as the good

shepherd he is. The love and care God of

God is active, relentless. He doesn't

get tired like us. He doesn't give up

like us. So come and rest. Come and

enjoy his presence. Life won't get

easier nor perfect because you get near

him. But it would get full of his

presence to shelter us, to protect us,

to love us, to encourage us. And as I

mentioned before, now we do have home a

little boy. And our lives have changed.

It's great. It's amazing. I I love it.

Of course, it's not how I planned it.

But God knew better. God knew better. Uh

there's a court coming up in August

13th. I don't think we'll have all the

paperwork ready to move forward like

setting a date for adoption, but we'll

be close to that. So, just keep us in

your prayers.

It's it's the when you have a biological

kid, like you give birth to that child

and it's yours, right? When you foster

and foster to adopt, like you have court

hearings, paperwork every month, and

until you don't have that final document

saying that's your kid, you still have

that sensation of what if he ends up not

being my kid? And at this point,

I can't bear

the idea of losing him. me like the same

person I didn't want to adopt a kid.

Right here I am like no like I'm gonna

skip to El Salvador with this kid if

you're just kidding. Don't cut it up

then put that on YouTube. I'm lying. I'm

an I'm a licensed attorney. I follow the

law. Okay.

Anyways um as I prepare for today, I

read the following about uh this psalm

that I would like to use to conclude my

short message this morning. And it said,

um, and don't miss the significance of

this, sheep are most vulnerable when

they're isolated from the flock, when

they stray, they're easy targets. That's

why community is vital. Being part of

the fold isn't just nice. It's it's

necessary. The enemy picks off those who

wandered alone, alone.

Stay close. Stay connected.

And I love reading that and being able

to say with certainty that this is

something that the vineyard thrives on.

Um I have failed as a vineyard member

multiple times. I tend to feel like no

one is going through what I'm going

through and then I isolated myself. At

the very beginning I was like no like

everyone is American. I don't want to

like they don't know me. I it was a

struggle. I think like when when you're

an immigrant that's some there's a side

of you that is like I'm here but they

don't know me. They know my version in

English but the pro version is in

Spanish and they don't get that version

of me. So I tend to like I don't want to

be in community and put myself being

vulnerable saying weird stuff like my

husband now it's I guess okay with me

saying things that make no sense and

they be like what did you mean this? is

like yes that

um anyways don't be like me be in

community and this is just a reminder

for me and for some of you like me

probably that are still not living in

community text someone make yourself

uncomfortable and get together

gather and carry each other burdens.

Um, and just before I give those who

prayed this morning the mic to come and

share uh what God spoke to them and as

the worship team probably comes back up

here, I'm going to read one more time

this beautiful two verses and I'm going

to close us in prayer and I'll pray in

Spanish. I was telling my husband, I'll

pray in Spanish. I was like, it's okay.

John is not here.

So, I'm going to read I'm going to read

the the two verses and then I'm going to

pray it as as the worship team comes

back up here.

Um, you prepare a table before me in the

presence of my enemies. You anoint my

head with oil. My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow

me all the days of my life. and I shall

dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let's bow our heads and pray.

Fore!

Fore!chch!

Amen.

>> Amen.

Amen.