In July, my sister and I had just returned from taking a trip home to West Virginia and Pennsylvania and New York to see our family.We had driven all over and had a few dollars left after our long trip, and I happened to not be scheduled for work for almost an entire week
due to a mix up in the scheduling world. It was at this time, during a morning service on the Sunday after our return that I really felt a download from God about praying for Texas.
Let me say at this juncture that while we have been blessed greatly as we have been here, and our needs have been amply met, none of us enjoyed being in Texas. Maybe it was the season we were all in, or maybe Texas just isn't "it" for us - I'm not entirely sure.
But whatever the case, I - and I know the other girls too - had a very hard time praying earnestly for this state.I'm not saying it was right or that we were actingaccording to how we should have been (in love at all times...ahem...)but that is the honest truth. Have you ever lived somewhere that just didn't "sit" right with you?
Nonetheless, God doesn't share my emotions and my dislikes and so on, and for that we can all be grateful!I hope I will not offend any reader that may be Texan, but I must speak plainly. One of the hardest things we found to deal with here was the overgrown spirit of PRIDE that sort of parades itself around this state. I love my country and I do believe in supporting your state, by the way.
I almost hesitate to write this, but if I don't you will not get the complete story, and I really want to be honest about how we feel about our experiences.
At any rate, after praying some about how we were to pray - or where, or if we were even supposed to pray - I happened to read an article in the weekly neighborhood magazine that got my attention!
I had come to the conclusion that maybe we weren't supposed to pray in Texas, that God had brought us here for other purpose and was fine with that. But when I read this article, suddenly a fire was lit in my heart and I recognized the Holy Spirit speaking. The article itself was about Washington on the Brazos - a state park about 3-4 hours south of us.
During worship the week before I had asked God to show us the key for Texas, if there was one He wanted to show us...and this is how the article began, "One of the first things you think of when you think of Texas is their pride." I am not kidding! I read on as the article described and boasted of Texas pride and said this what was Texas was known for.
It then stated that for a fun summer side trip, you might consider visiting historic Washington on the Brazos, which was the birthplace of Texas - "where it all began!" There was so much significance to this article I could hardly believe my eyes.
Fast forward to that Sunday in July during worship, where I am feeling so strongly that we MUST go visit this place and pray there. When the pastor gets up to speak his message is,
"We have to be open to the Holy Spirit, because God has places He wants us to visit and prayers for us to pray, divine appointments for us, and we need to be flexible and just go with what he is saying!" Hmmm...
So basically, Teruah and I got home from church, threw some stuff in the car with a tent and our sleeping bags and decided to set out. I am glad the desire to go lasted all that time, because as we were driving to the middle of nowhere and it was getting dark while we tried to find a campsite, I was wondering if I was completely crazy doing this on a whim.
Why were we wandering around out here in the dark again??
Why were we wandering around out here in the dark again??
We found a tiny Mexican restaurant open after staking out the tent, and split a late dinner that was welcome and DELICIOUS. Then we headed back to our campsite. When we arrived we realized that the night guard had forgotten to tell us that the gate closed at 10pm sharp, and there was no other way in. It looked like we might be hiking back into the campground perhaps a few miles to where we had left our tent. Just then, the man drove up ( he had seen us when he was leaving, and turned around to follow us and let us into the camp. I was so relieved!
After an incredibly humid night in the tent, and trying to sleep on a bumpy piece of ground, we awoke early and set off for the park. 
I will not go into minute detail about Washington on the Brazos, but if you wish to read further into our nation's history and how Texas came about, you can visit their site at http://www.birthplaceoftexas.com/ where there is a wealth of information about the formation and development of the state. After going through their museum, I had a new respect for the frontiersmen and women who risked so much to settle the land.
There was also a lot of history regarding our relationship to the Mexicans who owned the land before us. I also learned that Texas, before it was a state, was an independent nation of it's own for a short time and had it's own elected president! It also had it's own declarartion of independence, signed in the small wooden buildng standing on the grounds there.
I came to understand that Texas came about after a series of intense struggles for those who settled here, and perhaps another part of the pride was the fact that they had even survived in the first place.
We had stopped at a small grocery store before we went to the park, and bought a bottle of wine and a bottle of oil and mixed the two in our water bottle so we wouldn't appear too conspicuous.
So after reading a while about the history of the place, we went to the quiet picnic area near the river and sat on a picnic table just waiting to hear from Father God.
We asked Him to forgive us for our bad attitiude in response to the attitude we had seen, and then we prayed wholeheartedly for Texas. we asked God to move in her,to break off the chains of religion and pride that hold her back, and to repair and bring restoration to the broken places and to heal the brokeness caused to the Mexican peoples. We asked that instead of a spirit of lone independence, that a healthy dependence on God would be found.
I will not go into minute detail about Washington on the Brazos, but if you wish to read further into our nation's history and how Texas came about, you can visit their site at http://www.birthplaceoftexas.com/ where there is a wealth of information about the formation and development of the state. After going through their museum, I had a new respect for the frontiersmen and women who risked so much to settle the land.
There was also a lot of history regarding our relationship to the Mexicans who owned the land before us. I also learned that Texas, before it was a state, was an independent nation of it's own for a short time and had it's own elected president! It also had it's own declarartion of independence, signed in the small wooden buildng standing on the grounds there.
I came to understand that Texas came about after a series of intense struggles for those who settled here, and perhaps another part of the pride was the fact that they had even survived in the first place.
We had stopped at a small grocery store before we went to the park, and bought a bottle of wine and a bottle of oil and mixed the two in our water bottle so we wouldn't appear too conspicuous.
So after reading a while about the history of the place, we went to the quiet picnic area near the river and sat on a picnic table just waiting to hear from Father God.
We asked Him to forgive us for our bad attitiude in response to the attitude we had seen, and then we prayed wholeheartedly for Texas. we asked God to move in her,to break off the chains of religion and pride that hold her back, and to repair and bring restoration to the broken places and to heal the brokeness caused to the Mexican peoples. We asked that instead of a spirit of lone independence, that a healthy dependence on God would be found.
It was SO interesting as we prayed together quietly, just waiting on Holy Spirit, that I realized that Mexican blood runs through Teruah's veins, while I am a "white girl" from the North eastern states - the states that sent out the pioneers that settled many parts of the US, who consequently, took land from others.
And here we were, best friends, praying together for the healing of this land. We poured the wine and oil out then and asked the Lord to seal our prayers.
God is good. He knows exactly what He is doing! Even when we are just trying to do what we think he is saying, fumbling around in the dark, tripping over tent pegs, waking up scared to death because of raccoons in the trash cans, and wondering if you made it all up in your own head! We are flawed and we have our own predjudices and pride and yet He uses us!
I know God has good things in store for this state. They say everything is BIG in Texas, and so it is - the houses, the stores, the land, and yes, even the attitude! But so is the LOVE and the plans that our amazing Father has for Texas BIG love and BIG plans and purposes...and no one can out-do Him on that! There are amazing men and women of God here who hear His voice and follow after Him with great passion. One such place is Convergence Church in Ft. Worth. We were super blessed to attend services there while living here. The pastors and leadership team there are amazing as well as the congregation.
God is good. He knows exactly what He is doing! Even when we are just trying to do what we think he is saying, fumbling around in the dark, tripping over tent pegs, waking up scared to death because of raccoons in the trash cans, and wondering if you made it all up in your own head! We are flawed and we have our own predjudices and pride and yet He uses us!
I know God has good things in store for this state. They say everything is BIG in Texas, and so it is - the houses, the stores, the land, and yes, even the attitude! But so is the LOVE and the plans that our amazing Father has for Texas BIG love and BIG plans and purposes...and no one can out-do Him on that! There are amazing men and women of God here who hear His voice and follow after Him with great passion. One such place is Convergence Church in Ft. Worth. We were super blessed to attend services there while living here. The pastors and leadership team there are amazing as well as the congregation.
Another time, Teruah and I met an amazing lady at a Starbucks, a total stranger but a divine connection we ended up talking to for over two hours. She goes wherever the Lord shows her to go that day, and just waits on him, until she finds His appointment for her, whether that is to pray, to speak to someone, etc. She was really amazing. There are many hearts after God in this place.
As a final note, it is interesting to know that the Brazos river is really named Los Brazos de Dios, named so by the Spanish explorers in the 1700's. The name means "The Arms of God" and it is the longest river in Texas, flowing from New Mexico down into the Gulf. It is also the river that has the most output of water in this state. There are many places that God has stamped His name on this state - this is just one of them.
God holds Texas securely in His loving, strong arms.
