YES is such a great word. Can I have some vacation time? Yes. (WIN!) Can I have a raise? Yes. (WIN!) Is my cancer cured? Yes. (WIN!) Yes is such a great word. Saying yes, shapes our lives. Yes, I will marry you. Yes, I will buy you dinner. Yes, you can move into our home. Yes, I will be committed to you. Three little letters but the potential to shape our entire life. Did you know there are college classes, training seminars, books and videos, dedicated to training you to get someone to say yes?

When I was 15 years old, I made a commitment to God, and it has been the most significant and most influential commitment I have ever made. I became a follower of Jesus as a child, and the next decade of my life was a journey of ups, downs, hurts, mistakes, some big sin stuff and quite a bit of drifting in and out of what it means to follow Jesus. Then at 15, after being challenged to say “yes” to God, I committed.

I said,

“Jesus, from this day forward, every conversation I have with you, GOD, will begin with the life-changing word, YES! I do not need to know the question, I just need to know the answer, and for you, the answer is always going to be yes.”

My life has never been the same. Have I had pain, you bet, but the yes has allowed God to use every ounce of the pain to make me like him. Brokenness, for sure, but the yes has allowed God to mend places where my sin or someone else has left a broken piece in my heart. Frightened, without a doubt, but the yes has allowed God to pour his courage into my soul. Lost and confused, you know it, but the “yes” has always been how God points me to true north. Saying yes to God is how I “become.”

Make no mistake, I was already a child of God, but the transformation in my life has been directly linked to learning and then choosing to say yes. In a growing consistency of saying yes, I am becoming who he has made me to be. Saying yes is how God the Holy Spirit shows me the will of God. Saying yes to God is how I live fully immersed in his love, how I lean upon his wisdom, and how I walk by faith and not by sight. Saying yes is how I am becoming healthier, whole, and more joy-filled. Saying yes is what God uses to show himself to me, shine his light through me, renew my thinking, and set me free. Saying “Yes” has been the most powerful decision I have ever made.

The Bible provides two incredible invitations from God, learning and choosing to say “YES” to these invitations will be the focus of this blog. The first invitation from God is, “Come be my friend.” God’s amazing love invites us to be close to him. His amazing grace provides a way to be close to him and to be his friend. The second invitation He offers: “Come and join me in what I am doing in this world.” Come be my partner. This invitation is also about his love and grace. This blog is about learning the process and habits of saying yes to these two invitations. Staying in the process of saying yes is how we become disciple-makers, living fully in partnership and friendship with God.

I titled my blog Say Yes - And Become. I want to say “Yes Jesus, I will be your friend. I want to say “Yes Jesus, I will join you in what you are doing.” The name of the blog is the reason for the blog: Say Yes - and Become. This blog is being written in the hopes that you will enter into the friendship with God that drives you to be a partner with God in this world, and in doing so, become everything God intended you to become.