two weeks post surgery

said a sad little goodbye to my first ever abode. (the apartment over the garage) this family was such a blessing to me. they helped make the transition into "the real world" less scary! I am so grateful for the time spent here, the memories made, and the lessons learned. but cheers to new seasons, with new people, and a new house. I'm looking forward to the memories to be made as well as the lessons to be learned. life is good y'all, jesus is also good. he knows where I need to be and when I need to be there. 

THINGS I'VE LEARNED SINCE MOVING OUT PT. 2

choosing your living situation is important.  

tithing is vital. 

alone time is okay, carve it out each week. 

buy fresh flowers. 

don’t buy more food than you need for the week. 

it’s okay to ask for help. 

life is hard, and by that i mean nothing goes as planned.

find a job that you enjoy, if you don’t it will destroy your spirit.

go ahead, splurge on that candle. 

if you think a spontaneous trip to the tattoo parlor will make you feel better, do it. 

if you get behind on laundry, your life is pretty much over. 

forgive. over and over and over and over. 

stay out late, you WILL regret the nights you don’t. 

don’t stay out so late that you’re useless for work the next morning though. 

invest with your friends, one on one. 

cook often. 

work is important, but it’s not the most important. 

i can’t stress the budget enough, you’ll likely dig yourself in a financial pit without one. 

if you want that third tattoo, GO. FOR. IT. 

enjoy every moment that is put in front of you. 

read books. if you like dragons, read about that. if you like kinfolk, read until your heart’s content. just read. 

going back to school little by little is a victory, not a sign of weakness.

TX↠AR↠CO

garden of the gods by john couture 

the team 

I know I haven't posted on here in a while, and it's something I'm going to work on doing, especially now that I am moving to Colorado to plant a church. this was decided back in february of 2014 when steve farris asked me to join the team and move from dallas, texas to colorado springs, colorado.

now, a lot has happened between february and the present, like the fact that I currently live in fayetteville, arkansas. crazy, I know. in march of 2014, steve got a call from cross church asking him to be on staff for a year and in return they would help fund our church in colorado. with lots of prayer and encouragement he took the offer and moved out to a sketchy little apartment in springdale, arkansas. shortly behind him, my best friend and I packed up our lives, I waved goodbye to my folks, and we hit the road. we were excited and scared all at the same time. for the first few months we shared an apartment with steve (my best friend's dad), until a few months later we started renting out a studio apartment from the brown family. 

it's now the beginning of july 2014, half the year is gone, and I've lived in arkansas for roughly 5 months. god is doing wonders in the area of preparing us for colorado. since moving here, we've both gained and lost people from the team. arkansas is more than a detour on our journey to colorado, it's a place that is preparing our hearts and meshing our passions and desires with god's. it's showing me the person god has created me to be, and it's instilling in me a godly dose of confidence that is much needed for the work to be done in colorado. 

I ask that as I keep you updated, you be praying for the people in colorado. that god is already at work in their hearts and in the lives that he has divinely placed them and us to collide at such a time that a beautiful collision will take place with our souls. I ask that you pray for our team, that we are all completely submitted and totally depended on god so much that we pray for our first steps to take in the morning. that our ears, eyes, and hearts are open to every person we encounter in colorado, we are just a group of sinners who were wrecked by god's grace that want to love on other sinners and point them to the freedom and grace in god and that he desires a deep and intimate relationship with them. also, be praying for the financial aspect of our church, we need money to pay staff, to have a building to meet in, to do mission work, to help meet people's needs. 

we leave for colorado in june 2015, be constant and unwavering in pray from now until then. be praying for the people who are already apart of the team and those that aren't yet, but will be. as the time to move draws nearer, I'll be posting more updates. if you'd like to receive email updates that are much more detailed and come at least once a month, email me at madinoellestrickland@gmail.com with "COLORADO" in the subject line, with your email address, we'd love to get you in the know! 

coalesce, folks.