04.13.08
Illuminate.
When the walls come down and your heart is laid out bare,
There is peace in the silence, for you know that I am there.
Can you imagine for a minute, this life of yours I hold.
Nothing could compare, no story has ever told.
This beauty that I’ve given, you were never meant to hide.
So come forth form the darkness, my precious little child.
Cast down the burdens you carry, and set your eyes on me.
Come run into my arms and let your heart be free.
Let your light shine bright, so my glory may be known.
Illuminate your heart, so the world can be shown.
The truth of the matter is your heart belongs to me.
Cry out Abba Father, it is then you will see.
Rest your head upon my lap, leave your fears far behind.
Believe in my Name, seek and you will find.
-ACS
04.06.08
Surrender.
Have you ever had God deal with your heart about a certain issue until finally you say “Okay, I give up!”
It seems that when God has something to say to me, He finds a million different ways to say it until I get it. I don’t know about you, but after the first couple times of having said something I get irratated having to repeat the same thing over and over to someone… I don’t know how God puts up with it.
Lately the Lord has been speaking to me about Surrender. The simple act of surrender can mean many things to people. Most specifically to me, it means Freedom.
There are some things in my life that the Lord is telling me it’s time to let go of… wounds from my past that I have been struggling to forgive and let go of. Honestly, it’s the fear that keeps me holding on, because I know that once I surrender them to God, Im going to have to do things that are uncomfortable to my nature.
Isn’t that where we find ourselves many times. Torn between the two… The bad thing about it is that by carrying the burden of unforgiveness, it’s like we’re saying to God “I don’t trust you.” Not only that, but as Christians, we are commiting a sin not to forgive someone and at the same time expect Gods grace over our lives… Whats up with that!?
Is it time for you to surrender something to God?
Forgiveness is not something anyone deserves. No one is worthy of God’s grace, yet he freely gave His only son, Jesus. Even though it may not seem like it, by forgiving others you are freeing and forgiving yourself. You are allowing yourself the healing your heart has been hurting for. When we surrender those things that have been keeping us in chains for so long, we are giving God control and saying “I trust you.” That’s when Jesus takes over and begins the healing process.
Healing comes from Surrender.
Don’t live in fear of being free. Sometimes that’s the only thing delaying your healing.
03.29.08
This one’s for the girls….
…” who’ve ever had a broken heart… who’ve wished upon a shooting star.. you’re beautiful the way you are…This one’s for the girls……. who’ve loved without holding back…. who’ve dreamed with everything they have… all around the world…. This one’s for the girls.” – Martina McBride
Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of meeting my prince charming. I was cinderella in the childhood games, awaiting her handsome prince to come rescue her from the not so happy ending of a life. The whole point of living was to find your prince, fall madly in love and marry him. Then… bam! There would be my happy ending. All would be right with the world. You could only imagine my disappointment at the end of the movie as I pulled it out of the VCR and placed it back on the shelf with the other happy endings. There was always that nagging feeling as I wondered when my prince would come for me… or worse, was I worth rescuing, like those beautiful princesses in the fairytales I loved so much.
It’s something every girl and woman struggles with. That is a fact… It is who we are… More so, it is who we were made to be. Truth be told, most of us feel less like a princess as we get older. The fariytale fades away like a terrible memory we try to block out. We have run out of reasons why we would be worth fighting for…
That is….. until Jesus came.
I dont know where this is going but here it goes any how… I have always thought I was waiting for my prince charming. I just had no idea he would actually be a real prince… Please allow me to apologize, for I have gone about this the wrong way in the past. I have been caught many times in the idea of protecting my purity only for my future husband who will one day be worthy of the love I have to give…
Lord forgive me, I had forgotten that I was already married to not just a prince, but a King.
Jesus, is the lover of not only my heart, but yours. He is who we save our purity for.. I know this is going to break some mans heart but no one will ever be good enough for you ladies. I can’t believe I just said that, but I believe it’s true. No man will ever be good enough because none can compare to Jesus. He is your true love prince. (You are worth being sought after – don’t get me wrong, Im by no means saying women should remain single and married to Jesus for the rest of their lives. He is just your first love. The earthly man that God will bring into your life is someone who will fight for your heart by seeking the Lord for it, because he knows only Jesus is worthy of your heart. Thats how you’ll know)
Jesus is the one you stayed up all hours of the night dreaming would come to your rescue and sweep you off your feet with a rose in his hand (or mouth ). And ladies, Disney isn’t the only place where dreams come true =) No matter where your heart is, whether your married, single (like myself), divorced, widowed or just a little girl still believing in fairytales… Dont stop believing… Jesus has come to captivate your heart and awaken the desires of a happy ending once again….
He came because you were worth it to Him… He will never stop seeking after your heart.
This is your dream come true, You are a Princess.
03.25.08
You are Glorious.
Yea, you heard me……. I’m talking about you.
You, (fill in your name) are Glorious.
“Why am I glorious?” You ask…. “What’s so special about me?”……. You say….
It’s simple. It’s not what about you thats special or glorious, it’s the one who lives in you who makes you glorious… And that my friend, is Jesus.
Can I be honest… Too many times I find myself getting caught in the lies of the enemy that say a life of mediocrity is all there is. It tells me to do enough to get by. A lie that says slack off every chance you get. And here’s the biggest lie of them all, You’ll never be good enough.
Please please dont let the enemy decieve you into thinking enough is enough… You see,
“There’s a glory to your life that the enemy fears and he is Hell-bent on destroying that glory before you act on it” (John Eldredge- waking the dead)
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Woman of God, there is a beauty about you that was meant to reflect the radiance of your King. Believe….
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Man of God, there is courage and boldness deep inside you that no lie of the enemy can come up against. Stand….
He who is on the inside of you is Greater than he who is in the world. Don’t get discouraged when you fall short of His glory. Dont let the enemy defeat you. You are glorious not because you forget to have a devotional or because you let it slip in 5 o’clock traffic….. You are glorious because the King of Glory covers you with His grace in such a way that you and I share His same glory…
Don’t give up my Brother and Sister. This is an on going battle, not for Victory- that is already accomplished- but a battle for your life, your heart and your glory…
It’s okay… Be Glorious… For Him.
03.19.08
Things I’m tired of….. besides myself.
- Living in a generation that doubts the word of God
- Second guessing the word of God
- Running from the Lord instead of running to Him
- Allowing the world to kill our desires
- Hiding instead of fighting
- Pretending to have it all together
- Trying to have it all together
- Not having it all together
- Losing the sight of the Lost
- Depending on comfort
- Forgetting God is Always in control
- Seeing the face of God and then forgetting what it looks like
- Doubting the calling He placed over our lives
- Potential without Passion
- Passion without fire
- Feeling not good enough
- Thinking we’re too good to deserve His grace
- Taking for granted Gods goodness
- Over looking the many signs He gives
- Hearing but not listening to His voice
- Allowing the enemy to have a say in our lives
- Dreaming about our lives instead of living out our dreams
- Knowing our purpose and yet lacking the pursuit of it
Tonight I spent with my new friend named Becky. She is simply beautiful. We began talking about the temptations of the world. She put it in such a way I have never heard before but spoke with such wisdom. (paraphrased)
”The world and its temptations seems to glitter on the outside until we hold it in our hands -that false life quickly turns to mud and melts in your hand. “
03.18.08
Taste and see that the Lord is Good.
Something I’ve been learning.. from watching others……Once you taste the life of sin, it’s harder to get back to life with out it.
I know thats in the bible somewhere. It says something along the lines that its harder for someone who’s seen the Lord and turned their back on Him to find their relationship again than it is for someone who just came to know Christ…. I’ts not that they can’y have Jesus back in their lives; I think we try to find a replacement or supplement for Christ that allows us to have what we want… or is it, what we think we want..?
It’s like breaking your leg. You cant just continue running the next day. You need time to heal. Not only that, but if you intend to run again your going to need to excersice twice as hard as before in order to regain your strength.. I think that is how it is with a relationship with Jesus.
I honestly believe purity is something you have to fight for. Everyday hour of every day.
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Its a Decision you make in your mind;
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A Commitment you make in your heart;
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And a Promise you seal in your soul.
It’s for the young and the old. The weak and the strong. The wise and the not so wise. God demands purity for All.
What are you and I doing to fight for it…?
03.01.08
Consumed by Passion…
“Our God is a consuming fire.” -Heb 12:29
As stated in the previous post, passion is three different things: fire, desire and attitude.
It’s a longing that determines a man’s thoughts…
Is it better to have passion without purpose, than to be passionless…?
St. Augustine wrote:
“Give me a man in love; he knows what I mean. Give me one who yearns, Give me one who is hungry; give me one far away in this desert, who is thirsty and sighs for the spring of the Eternal Country. Give me that sort of man; he knows what I mean. But if I speak to a cold man, he just doesn’t know what I am talking about.”
I have a friend who’s brother used to be so on fire for the Lord. He was very passionate in everything he did. He was involved in his church and just in love with the Word of God; Nothing could steal his joy….. Then, over time something in him started to give way. His fire slowly started burning out. His spirit was dying. - Granted there were other things that led up to this point- the outcome remains the same. It is a sad story to watch passion die.. We then find ourselves asking What happened?
What was my friends brother really passionate about?….. Was it something worth fighting for?
Well, maybe your wondering how one can even have passion if they don’t know what their passionate for…? I believe every passion has a purpose. Your either dead or alive. With passion comes purpose.. The trick is discovering the desire of your passion… What’s deep down in your heart of hearts..? The thing that only God knows about…? The thing that keeps you awake at night and just wont stop tugging on your heart. That longing that leaves you unsatisfied……………………… What is it?
The enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy- is not only trying to steal our joy, but take our passion along with it!
The enemy is pleading for our lives to be mediocre, dead to hope, Passionless.
We must Never give up!
to be continued…..
02.27.08
Living with ‘Step it up’ Passion
The other day I ventured to the movie theater to see the new ‘Step it up 2′.. I have to admit, I was in love with the first one for the longest time, but this one, it has got to be about 10 times better in the dancing category. It was just so cool!!!
Now, I happen to be one of those people that throughout the movie, I try to find the deeper meaning in it all.. I noticed in this one that the kids were constantly fighting for their chance to dance. It didnt matter what the situation was, they would work around it. They would risk Everything just so they could dance. Why?… all for what? You may ask… They did it because they were passionate about dancing. They would drop dead before they gave up on dancing. It was their life.
So, as always, I began thinking about how people who don’t even know Jesus could be more passionate than the people that do… It’s a crazy thought, I know; But unfortunately for most of us, it’s true. (my favorite author John Eldredge says that Desire, a burning passion for more, is at the heart of both the sinner and the saint.)
What does passion mean to me….?
Passion is what drives you to pick yourself up when you fall, and to keep pressing forward.
What level is your passion for the Lord right now if asked to rate it..?
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Okay, Im passionate, yea, but have I forgotten why Im passionate? —–In the Christian faith, it’s easy to lose sight of the passion life you were once so clearly introduced to. It’s easy to just wake up with the attitude of having to do this all over again. It’s easy to just say I don’t care. As Christians, we are passionate for the Lost.
Sadly, many of us frequently base our passion off of feelings. To be passionate is more than just a feeling. It is a mindset, an unwavering attitude….. I recently read the story in 2 Kings 13:18-20… Elisha had told the King to strike the ground. The king did so, but did so only 3 times. Elisha was angry with the king telling him that he should have struck the ground five or six times… saying that if he had, he would have defeated his enemys in the upcoming battle…
This simple example shows the impact of passion. The king was passionless. His heart was not in it. In effect to that, God says “if your hearts not in it, than niether is mine.”…. As men and women of God, we’re unable to touch the things God has called us towards with an attitude that lacks passion.
When your passionate about something, you Will do whatever it takes to fight for it!
What is fueling your passion…. the flesh… or the spirit?
Passion is NOT luke warm.
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Passion is Fire.
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Passion is Desire.
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Passion is an attitude of the Heart.
If someone was to examine your life right now, what would they find you are most passionate about?
Are you on fire for the Lord?
02.04.08
coffee and god
Sitting at my table in the corner at DaSilvas this morning, I couldnt help but over hear the variety of conversations going on around me. I sipped my black coffee (thought I’d try something new) as I tried to focus on some math homework. Eventually I just gave in and tuned into some conversation these two ladies were having next to me. They were discussing ways to raise money for the upcoming Relay for Life. They were talking about thousands of dollars here. Craziness in my eyes.. I mean, I cant think of the last time I raised anywhere close to a thousand dollars…
So as I sat there, I began to let the Lord speak to me about some things… Its amazing when we put ourselves around coffee and a good friend how we can immediatly open up about our desires and dreams, passions and goals… We discuss things that are seemingly impossible in our eyes while somehow searching for hope in the eyes of another.
I love the time I spend with Jessica and Bethany around coffee. I dont know what it is but I become vulnerable when pouring my heart out before them. The point in it all is to recieve encouragement from eachother and build our excitement for whatever the idea or thought is… mostly though, it is simply to gain comfort from their friendship..
As I sat there, the Lord said to me, ” why is it that you go to your friends for encouragement, and you seek them for comfort instead of going to Me?”
My heart sank. Why do I do that….? I mean, friends can only give us their perspective of the world. But God, He is able to confirm what promises he has spoken over our lives. He is able to reveal to us our purpose. He can even answer those questions and longings deep within our hearts, if only we ask… By golly! Have I been going about this all wrong!?
I think, for me anyways, I run to friends first because its easy to hear what their saying. Listening to God on the other hand, that takes time, effort and sacrifice. It’s not as easy as listening to a friend, more often than not, they tell us what we wanna hear… On the other hand, sometimes what God has to say to us is not quite as pleasing to our ears…… I wonder if thats our problem…. We just don’t take the time to actually listen to the truth in what the Lord has to say to us…. If only we knew what we were missing out on!
My challenge for you- as well as me- is to take the time today to listen to what the Lord has to say to you. Quiet your heart and listen… I promise, you wont be disappointed.
01.31.08
Ex 15:3
“The Lord is a warrior.”
He has come to rescue us.
“So that is what faith is – God perceived by the heart.” ……..What more can be said, what greater case could be made than this: to find God you must look with all your heart. To remain present to God you must listen with all your heart. To love him, you must love with all your heart. You cannot be the person God meant you to be, and you cannot live the life he meant you to live, unless you live from the heart.
-Waking the dead – John Eldredge
