Jesus, have it all...

Jesus have it all.

a selah with social media 

Following after what I feel the Lord is calling me to. This is just another act of obedience.

I’ve prayed daily for what we do and share on Instagram to be an act of obedience and not just for self gain. The last 10 years on this app have been the greatest blessing to our lives. I’ve never been more challenged, refined and seen an overwhelmingly amount of abundance poured out on us and on Gods people. He has taught me to live life open handedly. Not living for myself or my glory, but for His. While there has been much abundance on this journey, we have also encountered the loss of those closest to us and even jobs. We’ve endured ridicule, hate pages created about us and been the hot topic of gossip and slander from many. That hurt, used to make me crumble. And while that evil still saddens my heart; through the years, the Lord has equipped me with His armor, to not only endure the trials, but to find joy in them.  He’s shown me the ultimate example of love and forgiveness.

Now I look back and realize, it’s been the greatest honor to be spoken of dishonorably, for His purpose and glory.

My slogan “finding joy in the in-between” came during a time of living a life half way for myself and half way for God. I wanted to do what I wanted, getting after and pursuing my desires with a sprinkle of Jesus leading me. But He had other plans for me. He didn’t want me to live a life partially for Him, He wanted me to gain my identity and purpose in Him and through Him. To do that, I had to die to myself and it’s a decision I get to make daily.

Our hands have learned they’re best left open. Waiting, seeking, serving and ready to do and go wherever God leads us.

Our home is His.

Our Babies are His.

Our businesses are His.

My instagram is His.

My life is all His.

When we live life this way. It makes loss softer. It makes trials joyful and it makes pivoting a part of our identity, because it’s rooted in Him and our purpose is to live a life for Him.

I pray often, “Lord this account is yours, use me for your glory. And when you’re done with me here, show me. I don’t want to stay somewhere when you want to use me elsewhere.”

With that, I can confidently say, this is my time to step away from Instagram and selah. However long that is, I don’t know. I just know, for this season of life, He has something else for me.

I’ve felt the nudge for sometime now… but after our move to Tennessee I can see He has a new season for our family.

I know who we I am in the Lord. He has made me a visionary and facilitator. It’s only out of obedience first, that I’ve been able to be transformed into this. Only He can give us these desires and only He can change who we are. When you live a life open handed for Him, be prepared for your world to be moved, be prepared to be molded into a new creation. It’s humbling and an incredible thing to witness.  

These last few months, my desire to share home decor content on social has diminished. But my heart is stirring for my kids and in person fellowship. I’m ready to quiet the noise and focus on our family and a more intimate ministry life. We tend to think (or at least I do) that the bigger the audience, the greater the impact. I know for certain that God has used Dino and myself to be impactful for the kingdom through our journey and this app. And while that is incredible and I am so honored and thankful, that doesn’t mean it’s a given that it’s always where He wants us. Because only God is sovereign. Not us. And only He knows what will impact the kingdom most. Only He knows what will impact our personal walks the most.

While certain desires are being removed, He’s growing a new creation in me. He’s given me an incredible vision for our home and I keep feeling that I’m to “prepare the rooms”. I have a new desire to dive into what Gods love is and how we are called to love like Him and I feel Him stretching me in what true Christian hospitality looks like. I’ve shared so much through a screen these last few years, but now my heart is longing to sit one on one with someone in my home or at a coffee shop, building up and encouraging strong women of God and pouring into marriage ministry. It’s a desire to fellowship and have discipleship on a more intimate level.

I’m honestly excited to just live unattached from my phone.

I never excepted it to get this far. I had no intention of growing to the size I have grown or be low key “famous”. It was never my desire and it still isn’t. Ive seen all the sides social media plays. Through every movement, election, controversy, death and life, there’s a behind the scenes for an influencers life, that most people have no idea about. There have been moments of beauty and friendships but there is also pride, greed and envy lurking in the corners. People flippantly say “don’t listen to the haters.” But it’s a constant dripping of negativity that’s being poured out all over your life. We keep all the behind the scenes hush hush because we get to make money doing it, travel the world and live life like a D grade celebrity. We play the social game to continue to grow and stay relevant. But it’s a life chasing after worldly possessions, self glorifying and self gain at the expense of many, but mostly ourselves. I’m so tired of consuming and I’m tired of being an idle. We aren’t meant to be worshipped.

For myself, these last 10 years have shaped who I am. I’ve seen the ugly, I’ve battled against it, and I’ve broken chains that had strongholds on my life. But it was only possible with the Lord. From the get go I knew He needed to be woven into what I shared, because He is my life and without Him I wouldn’t have any of this.

Only with Him, can I walk away from something that the world would call me crazy for doing. But this is about obedience to Him, this is about trusting Him. This is faith. It’s so important for us to go before the Lord and ask Him, “what am I holding on to Lord that’s yours? What am I going after that you haven’t given me?” We are not called to know what’s on the other side and then obey. Obedience is not knowing what’s before us and by faith, walk forward with the Lord.

Jesus have it all.

Living life for Christ will look weird and foreign to the world. But when we follow Christ; we don’t get to choose the path we’re on. There is one path and it’s His, and it’s the only one I want to be on. I’m not sure what the future holds. But I know He holds it all in His hands and that’s exciting to me.

Thank you for being apart of the story God has been writing.  So much of the accomplishments we’ve achieved could not have been possible without this community of people praying over us, encouraging us and supporting us. This time was a gift and I wouldn’t change a thing about what Gods done to us and through us during it all.

As you can see, I’ve brought back my OG website arrowsandbow.com it’ll house old recipes and designs I’ve done. And possibly some new. Im really gonna take this new chapter one day at a time. The blog may end up being a spot I continue to share on. I’ll also be sharing updates on Joie Inn news and any other ministry related things the Lord desires us to share. Be sure to subscribe to the blog.

We are keeping Joie Inn on Anna Maria island. I’m excited to continue to stay there and use that as an extension of our hospitality. And if you want to experience the Joie Inn for yourself - or email us at hello@joieinn.com - we would love to have you!

Dino has streamlined our website for a more convenient experience.

We will continue to pour into Designed to Last Ministries. To be apart of that head here.

Where our desire is to get Bibles into the hands of those seeking for more. We want to spread the gospel, one free Bible at a time. Providing Gods word, praying for those receiving them and equipping all to speak boldly for the truth. We’ve also included a free Bible plan to read the Bible in a year. Join us in that!

There is one God, He is King of Kings and for everything we’ve done these last 10 years… to Him be ALL the glory.

***You may have noticed I went private last week... I want my page to be kept a peaceful space while I’m away. I may never come back, but if I do, I want it to be protected.

xo - Ashley and Dino