1. "Our Lord, our Father is our support and strength. He says, just reach out to me. Just reach out. I want you to. Seek my face. I want to be there." [01:26] (14 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "We need to be reaching, always reaching. And when we've grabbed hold, we need to stand up and let that glory shine through us so that others know exactly what direction to go. We need to reach hard. We need to reach. See, tendrils are for support. It helps them hold firm. Helps them hold strong. That's what we need in our life. We need to train ourselves because it's not easy." [03:06] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "He said, my heart says, seek his face. My heart says, get out of bed. But my body says, no, I need to stay here. I deserve a few more moments. See, we can talk ourselves out of reaching and training ourselves in the right way. I can train myself to reach for his love. I love feeling strong. I can't do that by myself. Stand firm, it said in that." [04:47] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "Stand firm, then. After you've done everything to grab a hold, just hold on. Just hold on. Just hold on tight. And he gives us our strength. He gives us our worth. He gives us what we need to move on till tomorrow. So as we weather life, that's what happened to the woman." [05:49] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "Regardless of what you have weathered or what you're weathering now, that's life. We all do. We all weather something. But it's where we seek and where we reach. And I hope today that you are reaching out to the Father and that you are letting that sun just soak up in your heart. And when you are mature, when he says, you've got this, stand up and share my glory with everyone else." [06:52] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




6. "I have sought his face. I seek his face and I reach for his son and I have been grabbed and I am his arms." [08:18] (10 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

Just wrap themselves around me because they are looking for stability and for strength.

So tendrils, that's really what it is. They are for support and for strength.

And here are some that actually attach to the right places. So our neighbors have that trellis. You can see that white trellis in that one. They have this beautiful trellis, and the plant has grown so big.

Or this one, maybe it's a rebel, or maybe it likes me. Maybe it's like their yard looks really cool. I'm going to go over there. But it is now hanging on the opposite side of the fence on my side.

The problem is it might not get as much love, but because it gets from the roots, it should be okay. It's wrapped itself around that fence. That fence, which is supposed to give it, it's wrapped itself around tight.

And then the other two are actual, I have to take them, and I have to bring the tendrils down, and I have to bend it so that the plant will grab a hold. And it has grabbed a hold of my green trellis, and it's staying where it's supposed to be.

And I have to go out every so many days. And there's something reaching out, and I have to thread it back through to get it back on the trellis so it doesn't grow onto my fence and into my neighbor's yard because those flowers are beautiful.

And I'm going to have a big butterfly place. That's what I'm going for—a butterfly ecosystem. But there's support and strength.

Our Lord, our Father is our support and strength. He says, just reach out to me. Just reach out. I want you to seek my face. I want to be there.

Job 11:13-16 says this: "Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that's in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then free of fault, you will lift up your face and you will stand firm without fear. And you will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by."

To remember those days as waters gone by. Letting them go. Not holding on to them. Not keeping one little tendril just dragging a little piece behind you. But letting it go. Absolutely letting it go.

You know, my passion plant is absolutely beautiful. And it has beautiful flowers. Right now, the flowers that it has just amaze me because they are so pretty.

And I'll just go out and stare at them for a while, the dog and I. He doesn't really stare too much. He just kind of looks at me staring at them. And I'm just like, oh, my God. I'm just mesmerized at how beautiful they are.

And God has created it in such a way for it to survive. And he put that much love into a flower that come winter might be gone if I don't put the right stuff over it. And I'm not really good at doing that.

But, you know, God gave us the exact same thing. And we are people that are beside us in this world reaching. And where are we reaching for?

When we have a bad day, where do we reach for first? When we're going through the storm, we need to be reaching, always reaching.

And when we've grabbed hold, we need to stand up and let that glory shine through us so that others know exactly what direction to go. We need to reach hard. We need to reach.

See, tendrils are for support. It helps them hold firm. Helps them hold strong. That's what we need in our life.

We need to train ourselves because it's not easy. And the scripture talks about training in many times and in many places. And it says train or to press on.

Training isn't fun. I am trying to train myself to get up every morning at 6:30. How many of you are successful getting up every morning at the same time? I am not.

You guys are amazing. You guys deserve an award because I tried so hard. And you know what it says? He said, my heart says, seek his face. My heart says, get out of bed. But my body says, no, I need to stay here. I deserve a few more moments.

See, we can talk ourselves out of reaching and training ourselves in the right way. I can train myself to reach for his love. I love feeling strong. I can't do that by myself.

Stand firm, it said in that. You know, in Ephesians 6, it says, when you have done everything to stand, what does it say after that? Stand firm, then.

After you've done everything to grab a hold, just hold on. Just hold on. Just hold on tight. And he gives us our strength. He gives us our worth. He gives us what we need to move on till tomorrow.

So as we weather life, that's what happened to the woman. Going back to Matthew chapter 9, and I will pull that up in my Bible.

Matthew chapter 9, it says this: "So the woman had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. And she came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. And she said to herself, if I only touch the edge of his cloak, I will be healed."

And Jesus turned and saw her, and he said, "Take heart, daughter. Your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

Can you imagine as she touched it? And as he spoke to her, that weathering that had been over her just changed her heart from downcast to beautiful.

Have you seen it when your plants need a little bit of water, and they're just a little wilty, and you go out and you give them water, and all of a sudden they are back up and beautiful? I love that.

That is what? Reaching out. Reaching out. What Jesus does for us changes our hearts so that we can change the hearts of others.

Well, that's not true. So that we can point them in the direction so that he can change the hearts of others. We can't save. Don't reach out to me for salvation, but I can show you the person to seek his face.

Regardless of what you have weathered or what you're weathering now, that's life. We all do. We all weather something. But it's where we seek and where we reach.

And I hope today that you are reaching out to the Father and that you are letting that sun just soak up in your heart.

And when you are mature, when he says, you've got this, stand up and share my glory with everyone else.

Our Father, we thank you so much for all that you do for us. Lord, how you give us examples day after day in your word.

You go back to that triumphal entry. And Jesus said, listen, if they don't holler, if they don't scream out, the rocks will.

Lord, you show us your beauty and your grace every day in the things that we see. Help us to take heart from nature.

And Lord, as those sunflowers on the edge of the road just shine your glory, don't let them outshine the words of glory that we give to you.

Let us be the first to say he has helped me through the weather. I have sought his face. I seek his face and I reach for his son, and I have been grabbed, and I am his.

Father, we thank you for your grace and for your mercy. In the precious name of Jesus.