And The Gate Is Open!

Welcome! We're scared but we feel the call and we can't ignore it any longer. This blog is called "The Narrow Gate Invites" because we feel called to share the deeper things of Christian faith. Our hope is to blog our experiences, mistakes, learnings, revelations and tears to challenge your walk and seek God in a way you never have before. By no means does this mean we have things mastered, quite the opposite. We're all on this journey together.



The authors of this blog are myself, Kim and Maria. Besides feeling the call to blog here, we are all wives and moms with a full plate stretching us in several directions. We are hungry for things of God yet when we get together we confess how we yell at our kids, get frustrated, and skip Bible readings when we need it most. Our hope is to blog a few times a week and we definitely want you on board. We ask for your grace as this full plate may prevent us from posting like we want. My hope is to tackle Tuesdays and Thursdays. Kim would like once a week and so would Maria. I can't wait for you to get to know them.



My name is Julie and you can also find me at the right of this blog with my personal blog, The Surrendered Scribe, http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/ I blog about many things there, and this blog will be a little more faith specific, so check my rants, thoughts, confessions and learnings on anything from writing, to family to wanting a two car attached garage over at the Surrendered Scribe. I'm also a writer dipping my pen in the waters so to speak, and you can find the list of what I'm doing at the right of the Surrendered Scribe blog. On Sundays I am the mommy blogger at the Christian Writers Forum blog, http://christianwritersforum.com/Blog/ . I'm married with two children and like Kim and Maria, I live in NE Ohio. If you want to know more about me, I am the featured author of the month at FaithReaders http://www.faithreaders.com/featured-author.php and Lynda did such a great job interviewing me I joke that my family can use this interview as my obituary one day.



Today I just want to say welcome and Kim and Maria, it's real and happening. For you the reader, pray for us. We sense this is a new thing God is doing, and we want to be authentic vessels for Him. We don't want you to be fans of us, we want you to be close friends with God because when Christ died on the cross, He opened the gate and knocked barriers so we could know the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in a personal way. We want that, and we hope you do too. Note on the right you can sign up for the RSS service or the Feedburner subscription service. As always, feel free to bookmark us and check back often!



Some of what we may blog may be new to you and that's ok. You may not agree with everything we write, that's fine too. We don't want to be controversial, we want to be Scriptural. More than anything, we want to challenge your thinking and rock your faith. Anyone can go the wide beaten down path----where God is calling us and you now is lesser traveled. It's narrow. There is room for you, so please, take those small steps and push the gate open a little further. Walk with us. Share your thoughts, remembering to be kind even if you disagree. Laugh and cry with us, but don't stand still. This journey is for all of us.



Will you join me in this prayer of asking God to bless this endeavor?



Father God, we invite you to this blog. We ask that every word written here would be given by You first and filtered through us. Help us be the vessels you want us to be. Guide each topic, each blogger, each comment, every part of this experience. Let anything learned here be for Your glory. Give us the drive to obey this call, surrendering all fear. Bring the readers you want to be here in Your time, not ours. Thank you for stirring us to step out of our comfort zone and try something new and different. This blog isn't convenient or easy, but it's of You. We covet your favor, anointing, blessing and protection over this, us, and our loved ones.



We feel this year is a year where you want to use the theme of the gate, so we honor You with your Word: But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:14 NIV) and But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the (gate) stall. (Malachi 4:2 NIV)



Thank you Lord for the opportunity to serve You. Your grace amazes us. Blessed be Your name. Surrendered to Him, Amen.



*Note: The gate image comes from by Petr Kratochvil at http://publicdomainpictures.net/