Recent Discoveries

These are a few articles, videos, or quotes that I've found resourceful over the past few days (please excuse the length of the videos, but note that it's worth watching them in full):

(via NPR)

the babe who loved all nations (and the savior who still does)

Louie Giglio mashup of stars and whales singing God's praise

"Maybe it's just be, but redemption means so much more when it's not a story about me. When Jesus and I stop being the main characters in His sacrifice, I can see the scope of God's love in a way that is so much deeper, so much more complex and beautiful, than just a simple girl and a handful of people who are just like her." - http://midenianscholar.livejournal.com

John Piper: Bloodlines Documentary

Give Me Faith - Elevation Worship

 

(they go local: Atlanta)

 and    

Acclimate

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." Acts 17

Allison, Claire, Mark, Matt, Matthew, & Bruce

Tonight marks the last 11 days of the life of Cups & Mugs on Broad Street. The last.
I discovered this little gem in the recesses of my bedroom over Christmas break.  After watching Passion 2011 live online and streaming every episode of Pushing Daisies like it was the next big thing, I spent hours watching Twitter and Facebook for some semblance of life. Sure enough - a coffee shop in Rome, something unheard of since the Nest's closing a good six months prior. I was ecstatic and searched through the photos chronicling the makeover of a tiny space on Broad between Ginger's and Johnny's Pizza. Teal, brown, black, red and brick were prominent colors. The faces of the people training and working laboriously to have the space ready for opening seemed inviting, open, fun. Soon after getting home, and by home I mean Rome, I insisted that my friends take me (a carless college student) to this new found glory. "Sarah with an h" became a regular statement when we came in - the baristas knew us well. The owner, Allison Cox, knew us by name. Homework got the better of us and we were often stuck huddled in our little dorms, but as often as possible we made our way to this safe haven. And I do mean safe haven. The mugs were fun - owls, mustaches, superheroes, and so much more. The choices were endless...and you never knew which would hold your toasty beverage of goodness.  Now the baristas.. There was the ginger boy who was known for his espresso pours and rosettas - Matthew, not to be confused with Matt, a later addition though just as grand. He even once made a panda. Claire was precious and always in the cutest attire alongside Bruce, Jennifer Bruce. Mark and his mustache made marvelous mochas. And Allison - owner of it all.
I went on my official "date" here at this little coffee shop. I should've done homework that night, but I spent it talking over several cups of tea (they have the most marvelous teas in so many varieties!) with a boy I didn't even like, but found myself romanced by the atmosphere, a place I'd come to call home. My parents came to visit at Easter and I insisted the come by Cups and Mugs to take a gander. I bought my mother a tumbler and tea for Mother's day and she chatted about tea with Allison. Since then, my mom always asks how Cups and Mugs is doing (or mugs and cups) and insists I tell Allison she said hello.
I played guitar in the back where the upside down cake holder side table was with the tiny heater and television. Madison and I tried on our new mustaches and listened to the new Gungor CD. We spent our time in front of that TV doing homework in sour moods while our two other friends, Sarah and Susan, sat feet away chatting in the best of moods. Sarah and I spent countless nights in hoodies and pajama pants talking in front of that heater.  We played games on the floor there and completed assignment after assignment for class and spent hours in the Word, being good to our hearts.
After a few visits, the four of us migrated to the couch with the two purple chairs in front of the "Chai me!" sign advertising Big Train Chai. We had many a laugh, many a conversation here. We took pictures of all of us with long curly hair (not too soon before we all had it chopped off...except for Sarah). We came here after Friday night Sunshine Gang dates. We came here on random Saturdays for crepes and pick-me-ups after days of shopping. Jordan had his 21st birthday party here.
Our Sundays consisted of craving Chickfila .... and Cups & Mugs, neither of which we could have on such a day.
This is where Sarah, Madison, Susan, and I became friends - best friends. This is where we bonded. This is where I asked Claire to turn the channel to the Braves game one time so I could watch it. This is where we watched the most random things on the news. This is where the door to the girl's bathroom wouldn't lock for the longest time so we served as "door watchers" for Allison and made sure no one embarrassed someone in the bathroom. This is where we saw many an artist play on Friday nights - even Marc Johnson! This is where we learned to love good coffee - not the kind of coffee that Starbucks makes, but the kind that requires no masking to be enjoyed. This is where I learned about the African Queen and her many flavors, from lavender to a nutty flavor.  This is where I learned to love the Kenyan that one time at the beginning and never got it back again, but one day I will.
This is the place I cried when I realized October 8th Cups & Mugs would be closing its doors.
Most of this is for memory's sake. I don't want to forget this place and the memories I've had here. The coffee will be gone and the company will be different, but I'm so thankful for the lessons I've learned and the people I've met. I'm thankful for the laughs and relationships that are irreplaceable. Thank you Allison, Claire, Mark, Matt, Matthew, & Bruce.
It was an "honur."

Laminin

You really should watch Louie Giglio's "How Great Is Our God" message, but for now you should watch this:

Semester 6 of 8

I spent a full day thinking on and off - mostly off - about what my next memory verse should be for this year (Check out Beth Moore's blog for more information).
Side note: I'm thankful for accountability because I'm absolutely no good at memorizing or remembering or being intentional about the scripture if I'm not accountable to someone or something about it. So thank you to my sweet siestas - on the blog, on twitter, in Texas, or right here in Rome. It's beautiful seeing how God moves in you.

My first scripture had a lot to do with my awful inability to keep my mouth shut which you can read about here, but I'm warning you: It's not pretty.

I sat for a good twenty minutes flipping through the Word looking for something that caught my eye or really hit me. Nothing. My mind kept wandering to other things and somewhere deep inside I thought it was dumb to LOOK for a scripture. God ordains things. Let Him bring it.

As soon as I sat back in my chair I heard John Waller's "Perfect Place." If you haven't heard any of his music, I definitely recommend you checking it out - wonderful music and mind-blowing lyrics.
This particular song says this:

Thou will keep me 

In perfect peace when

My mind is stayed on you

Peace flowing like a river

Peace never to be stolen

Peace that you give 

Is not of this world

My mind is stayed on You

That's it. 

Thou will keep me in perfect peace when my mind is stayed on You.

You will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it is trusting in You.

Isaiah 26:4

I may be stretching this a little, but later in the same chapter of Isaiah is the verse by which 268 Generation is based. 268 is a "Jesus movement" - this generation is set apart for God. We are a chosen generation.

And God will keep our minds in perfect peace if we depend on Him.

Classes can't stir us. Money can't make us fear. Circumstances and situations with friends, family, coworkers, classmates, professors, banks...none of this can sway us if our minds are stayed on Christ.

memory verse #2 

Isaiah 26:4

"Thou will keep me in perfect peace when my mind is stayed on You."

Top Ten

Just a glimpse at the top 10 most-viewed blog posts here in 2010.

10. New Song A song I found in August that completely blew my worries out of the water. You should definitely add this one to your collection.

9. Elizabeth Barrett Browning One of my favorite poem finds of the year. It's old, but so worth it.

8. frustration word vomit My reaction to building tension in my life and life in general. Sometimes being outside the situation helps you see what needs to be fixed in your own life.

7. fairytales and cinderella Another of my "life analogies" on decisions & patience.

6. Your Faithful Love The final compilation of a pattern I noticed in scripture about God's love for us and what His love really looks like.

5. impossibilities A pretty transparent decision not to be angry mixed in with a decision to be uncomfortable for the name of Jesus, but not idolize "doing."

4. heaven in CD-R form Christmas, Thanksgiving, and paganism

3. everything looks different when i wake up A few brutally honest facts about me as I am now (some things have changed).

2. givepeoplethebird.com Happy 1st Birthday Connect Rome and my story about getting there.

1. Let me tell you what God did... A testimony...God allowing me to see His answer to a prayer. I witnessed the Healer in action. wild.

Passion 2011

Nope, I'm not there, but that's okay.
I'm glad I'm not because I got to stream it LIVE last night (yup) with a friend of mine who's near Atlanta but not at Passion either (and she's never gone - only  heard about it).
That was beautiful.

I want you guys in on this. Seriously. Wild.

http://live.passion2011.com

fans

I'm not a huge fan of Christmas. It's always awkward at my house. Mom is never satisfied with what she's gotten us, thinking we're not satisfied. My family doesn't know what to do with a dedicated day to being lazy, though we are lazy a lot, but most of all a whole day dedicated to being with each other.
And there's always a fight of some kind.
I've been feeling pretty out of place when it comes to my family. My older brother is 24 & my younger brother is 15. They both still live at home with both of my parents. They interact on a daily basis, are very much in tune with each others' lives, and have gotten pretty decent at co-existing & functioning together. When I come home, it throws the equilibrium in the house off kilter. You'd think 3 boys & 2 girls would be more balanced than 3 boys and 1 girl. Lies. I think Berry College has gotten me too used to high estrogen levels. I miss being around boys, but not necessarily my brothers & dad. One of those in particular, but I digress.

I spent most of last night purging my email inbox & getting rid of saved emails that I didn't need. Maybe it's that end-of-the-year inventory kind of thing. I ended up in tears a few times.
Today was spent mostly sleeping or watching movies until around 5 when I started listening to/watching the Passion main sessions from 2010. I really didn't mean to. I thought I pressed shuffle on my iTunes, but evidently managed to open Andy Stanley's message. I decided it was a God-ordained collision and just let it roll. His main statement was this:
It is a mistake to decide what you're going to be before determining who you're going to be.
True story. I've heard this twice, at least, since last January and still haven't thoroughly thought about it. It makes you question what you value. I'm fast approaching the end of my college career and I have no idea what I want to do - none. That's the question of the century - what does Beth want to do with an English major and Art minor after graduating from Berry College.
I.don't.know.
I need to decide who I want to be first...what I value. What's important.

Beth Moore's message was next. Lord have mercy. I love that woman so much. God speaks through her, even a year later, and it just blows my mind. SO thankful and blessed to listen to her insight on the Word. She talked about how God equips us. I'm sure I've blogged about this before.
Still, wow.
God equips us by preparing us. No detail is accidental.
God equips us by adjusting us. He changes us to conform us to His will.
God equips us by restoring us. We are made in to what we could not be without that brokenness.
God equips us by filling us. We can't be what we're called to be without Christ in us.

"Ain't no high like the Most High." - Beth Moore

impossibilities

I have to be completely honest with you guys: I've spent most of the past two days being angry. I've been angry at people. I've been angry at situations and conflicts. I've been angry at reactions. I've been angry with myself.
Anger is a result of Satan pouring confusion into my life. Anger is a result of my living as the god of my own circumstances rather than obeying THE God...the God of OBEDIENCE. Anger is a result of my insecurity involving my friendships, my relationships, and where God is taking me. Anger is a result of my insecurity with my own self and my inability to DO as much as often and as well as I want to. Anger is a result of my humanity, which I cannot change.

I've been wrestling with this all weekend long. I even started a blog post in my notebook during a class Friday. It wasn't anger on the page, but I had to stop because I hadn't dealt with my anger yet. I hadn't come face to face with it and just dealt with it.
I can't say that I've had a dramatic encounter with it today, but I can say that I've had a dramatic encounter with the Healer of my heart. I sat in a room full of hearts desiring to serve. I think sometimes we can get to the point where our servant hearts idolize "doing." I know I've been there in the past few weeks. God has called me to be involved, to absolutely jump.in., but in specific areas. I can't do everything, though my heart so longs to be involved in EVERY area.
Tonight, these people have such a desire to be FOR GOD. They aren't concerned about race, gender, class, church affiliation, religious affiliation, where you live, who your parents are, where you work, if you've done something morally wrong....they want you to KNOW GOD. I don't know how better to explain it, but it inspires me to no end.
I came face to face with the God of these people tonight in videos from Passion Kyiv, Passion London, and the other destinations on the Passion 2010 World Tour. Hearing these people cry out to God in confidence, in faith, in vulnerability, and in STRENGTH made me just want to fall on my face and thank El Shaddai, MY ALL SUFFICIENT GOD, for His hand that defies language barriers, cultural barriers, and mental stigmas.
God has called me OUT and called me TO some of the most difficult situations I've ever had to make...mostly because I tried to make them alone. His restoration and healing is beyond anything you know. Doctors and medicine can't touch this. Nothing can touch the power that just resounds in His NAME alone.
I don't know who reads my blog, or if anyone really does outside a few specific friends. I don't know where YOU are at in your life, or maybe I do. Either way, I challenge you to reach out. I challenge you to try this "God thing" or "Jesus thing" if you haven't tried it, or to try it again if you have in the past and just didn't agree with it.
I challenge you to step out of what makes you comfortable. Step away from the people and "stuff" that you find your worth and security in and I dare you to ask God to be your security, your worth, and your passion.
I dare you to make yourself uncomfortable by seeing what He's about. I dare you to forget the stereotypes and failures of everyone around you and look at the One who is blameless, but loves you.
I challenge you to step into the rushing water of the Jordan River at harvest time, overflowing its banks, and see what God will do.
I dare you to trust Him.

:We know where the Spirit of the Lord is:

Guys, I can't stress enough

go.buy. the new Passion CD. I don't have it yet, but I'm streaming Live Link from Monday night off the website. It's only going to be up for 24 hours though...so I'd definitely go check that if you get a chance.

these songs are written on my heart. They each hold such a special meaning to me - each signifies a promise that God has given me...that He has fulfilled from the very beginning of time. It's absolutely fantastic.

Have you ever stumbled on a promise - one you didn't know was there? HOW GREAT!! I absolutely love it!! They are everywhere in the Bible...we just overlook them in our quest to find what will make our actions and thoughts acceptable. How terrible that we miss what God is saying to us - His whispers of love and promise to us. wow!

He is the COVENANT MAKER and relationship keeper.
He is the ultimate server - the doorholder.
He brings restorations.
He heals the torn.
He is the center.

center.

what an incredible word. it comes from the Greek word kentein - to prick.
He pricks our hearts, yes?

"We run with passion for Your name" - for Ha Shem!

Doorholder, ninja-in-training

Doorholders or doormen make me think of those guys outside the hotels when Kate Hudson or Julia Roberts come waltzing in, upset from a break up or bad night with a guy. They have a smile on their face and are ready to greet their patrons, inviting them inside. They don't mind dogs, like the guys on that Disney show...you know, with Zach & Cody (the twins) and the Tipton Hotel.

Interjection: The images God brings us in our lives are so incredible. We are so blind to them...I assure you that there are tons if you will only look around you!!

Last night on Passion 2011 Live Link..wow. Louie Giglio spoke on being doorholders..
It's great that we go to events like Passion and even to church/synagogue..but we are so often stingy with that. We want it all...we want to always be in the presence of Adonai...to the point that we can't associate with people "outside."
Yet, isn't "the great commission," as it is referred to, that we go to the nations and preach the gospel....beyond that, aren't we told multiple times in Scripture to help the widows and the poor? Not selfishly or even necessarily with the overall motive of 'converting' them to our beliefs, but to HELP them. (Isaiah 61;  Mark 16)
Concurrently (big word: at the same time), we shouldn't live among the world in such a way that says to those around us "well yeah, I've been in the presence of God ... but it didn't change me at all. I still act like you do and do what you do." That's wrong. God uses Isaiah to tell us to "come out of her my people!" (Isaiah 52)
"her" being THE WORLD. We are to be IN the world but not OF the world. (Romans 12:2)
Like Moses and Abraham who BOTH encountered God FACE-TO-FACE, we should return different...with a glow...after we have been in the presence of the glory of Adonai. Our faces should be different. We should be changed. Moses was only able to see the BACK of Adonai because His glory was too great...and yet he STILL came down from the mountain with a face that was changed!!!
We have walked on holy ground with our bare feet and have seen the glory of Adonai...HOW CAN WE RETURN THE SAME?!

We should be EAGER and ANXIOUS even to stand at the door for others to enter in. We should not receive that our worlds will forever be separate. We should stand as intercessors, as those in the middle, for the ones on both sides...to open the door for those who are in the presence of Adonai to RUN to tell others! We should stand and open the door with inviting faces, understanding (and maybe a few hugs) for those who are wondering what this "presence of God" is about. We should stand in the middle. (2 Cor 5:8)

Doesn't this bring new meaning to being CHRISTIANS - CHRIST-LIKE?!... we so often forget the meaning and responsibility behind that word!!!!  Yeshua stands as intercessor for us. He is the ULTIMATE doorholder...should we not strive to be like that? To desire only to see the faces of others changed by the glory and power of the LORD MOST HIGH?!

Beth Moore says "Ain't no high like the MOST HIGH!" ... and let me tell you, THERE AIN'T! That high will rock your face - literally!!!


Let's shed this selfish skin and get rid of our stubborn, self-indulgent, VAIN motives!!! Ecclesiastes tells us that EVERYTHING is vain outside of God's glory! We all tend toward selfishness. Outside of God, why shouldn't we?! BUT, if you have encountered the love and mercy of God that BENDS YOU like a tree amidst a hurricane (yes, we even fall in the face of His MERCY - the very thing that is meant to save us!) and you have escaped unchanged, then our God is not who He says He is.

and I can assure you...He is who He says He is. He is unchanging. He is who He was when Abraham encountered Him. He is who He was when Paul was blinded by His majesty. He will be the same beyond the end of time.

Do Not Hoard Your Blessing. GOD BLESSES US SO THAT WE CAN BLESS OTHERS!!  (It's amazing how God brings things together from different aspects of your life...found this when doing my homework for Bible Study - Beth Moore's "Patriarchs" study...that she wrote over 5 years ago...)

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the GOD OF ALL COMFORT. He comforts us in ALL our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so our comfort overflows through Christ."

WOW

I have a feeling

this is going to be one of the hardest weeks of my life.
and none of it has to do with school.


--


on the way home last night I saw this rather amusing RV towing a red trailer with the words "SIN WAGON" written in blue.
how symbolic of our lives.

we pack up on this journey through life - to find ourselves, truth, or whatever it is that we're looking for - and simply carry around our little "sin wagon." It holds all the things we've done wrong...a personal playhouse for Satan, himself. It holds reminders of what we've done wrong, the ways we showed our stubbornness and took over our lives...the things that we're trying to forget.

yet we are the ones holding on to it.

like looking at an old photo album, we want to look at all the things we've done wrong and have satan sit on our shoulder and tell us what horrible people we are.

get.up.
stop wallowing in self pity and unhook that thing! God has thrown our sins as far from us as possible...yet we're still wanting to hold on to them.

what kind of a faith is that?
sounds like a lack of one to me.

--

okay, I really should update for real. I know that was harsh, but sometimes you need it. After crying for a good thirty minutes and finishing well-overdue homework, it is time.
I am brutally honest in my writing - it's easier than talking in person. Not necessarily that I can erase to keep from saying something that will potentially hurt feelings, but because my fingers have a better sense of their purpose than my mouth does when it comes to expressing feelings, ideas, or recapturing events.

This weekend was fantastic and absolutely horrible for many of the same reasons. Contradictory...normal.
The benefit Saturday was great - Citizens of Heaven, MidSouth, Ninja, Hannah, and everyone else involved in putting it together did an absolutely terrific job. I haven't been so proud in so long! The cars were beautiful as well....TO say the ABSOLUTE least. =)
Stress is something that is difficult to deal with under such circumstances, though. One way to know your friends is by seeing who comes out on the other side with you.
Montana's Saturday night was beyond hilarious. For some reason, I could Not stop laughing. Ninja was just cracking me up with his jokes and such.
SPEAKING of Ninja...today is his birthday .. so a big HI-YA to the Ninja man. =)
We missed liturgy Saturday as well, but it was so good to have Shabbat dinner with the Butlers on Friday night. Absolutely fantastic. :)
Sunday I cried a few buckets of tears. Digging in the Word didn't seem to mend the brokenness. From my experience, which may be much to some and much less to others, *is it harder to watch someone close to you hurt than it is to experience that pain yourself.*
I can't quite explain that. I could try...but for time purposes and because I just don't feel led to, I won't.

I'll just leave it at that.


There's one important bit of information I've left out...well, a few, I'm sure, but one in particular i'm thinking about right now.

I was sitting at the Butlers' after Shabbat dinner watching Mrs Cheryl make signs for Saturday's food with her phenomenal new box of Sharpies - they are incredible. I decided to check my mail for a second - I'm sure there was a reason - and had a sweet message from a lady named Heather. She is blessing me in an incredible way. I just want to tell you guys. wow. God is good..and even in the face of trials, He provides. Jehovah Jireh- our provider. His names are each a promise to us and we should hold onto them like that. there is POWER in His name- SPEAK His name and darkness will flee...but we don't do that. We SHOULD - we NEED TO! He put power there for a reason!!!

But...thank you Heather - for being God's hands and feet. :) You are a blessing!1


alright, relay for life team captain's meeting at 6:30...and I haven't made a list of what we're talking about yet. oh boy. p.s. if you'd like to donate...go here: Berry College Relay for Life!
that's actually my personal page. feel free to look around at all our other teams!


-

edit: 11:28pm


this week might be tough, but tonight was sure good. Passion 2011 Live Link..wow. can't wait to get those songs on my ipod. I'll be shouting for all 26,000 acres of this place to hear. :)
Someone told me I was a ninja.
Live Link was so good tonight with my Julifrann! We haven't had any quality franntime in a while. How precious to catch up!! She is such a blessing.


let me tell you a proclamation from tonight...a realization, a declaration if you will..

the sickness, the division.
it ends to night.

Hakuna Matata and glow-in-the-dark paint

Today's a normal Tuesday, right? Well, if you leave out the random snow this morning and the ambulance outside my dorm earlier in the evening.

I'm beginning to realize that there is no such thing as a 'normal day' with the Lord. I should've learned that a while back; I know, I know.

While working on an essay rough draft - which I still haven't finished, by the way - I decided to switch up my playlist. I remembered a few key Disney songs that had been given me and I've been in the mood to watch Aladdin for the past few weeks - it all fit perfectly. One of these most important Disney songs was "Hakuna Matata." It means no worries for the rest of your...okay, I'm sure you know it. Anyone in the United States over the age of 4 should have seen that movie. If you know of someone who has not, please get them in touch with me. I will gladly find a copy for them to borrow (I don't own it myself, unfortunately).

Think about that though: Hakuna Matata -- no.worries.
How often does God call us to that? James 1:2 says we should be joyful in our trials and temptations. Isaiah 51 and 52 tell us not to be discouraged by the words others would speak against us. Paul says numerous times that as Christians we WILL be persecuted and Matthew says those who disliked Yeshua would dislike us, surely. David cries out countless times in the Psalms: If God is for us, who can stop us? If God is with us, what can stand against us? What do we have to fear? GREATER is He who is in us that he who is in the world.
Isn't that true?!
In Romans 8, Paul tells us that there is NOTHING that can separate us from God's love - we should be PERSISTENT in prayer and PATIENT in our afflictions..because by Yeshua, enshrouded in the Shekhinah of Adonai, we are MOOOOOORE than conquerors!!

Then why don't we go around shouting, "GLORY TO GOD, HAKUNA MATATA," because our Savior has rescued us from the pits of hell and has risen again....so that we have no more worries for the rest of our days. It IS a problem free philosophy - it is unfailing, unshakable!!

-

I painted a picture for Mr. Keith last week and gave it to him last Saturday after service. It was gray with black and white swirls all over. On top of that in glow in the dark paint were ninjas...fighting ones...and Hebrews 4:12 (modified) :: "God's Word is quick, powerful, and sharper than a (Samari) sword." This is significant to Mr. Keith..because he's a ninja, but that's a different story for a different time - it may already be in one of my Passion2010 posts from January sometime.
There was a big to-do about the glow-in-the-dark paint and how cool it was that Michaels had it and the way it made the ninjas glow - it was just great. I was thinking about it tonight for some reason - there was really no prompting - and realized this:

If the paint is not in the light for a little while to "charge," it will not glow. You have to let it sit in the light or put it close to the light bulb for a few minutes for it to be extra bright as soon as you turn the light off.
The paint glows the brightest immediately after the darkest darkness surrounds it and soon the glow fades.

WE ARE LIKE THAT PAINT!! If we don't spend time in the Word, soaking up the rays of the S-O-N, we fade and our light is no longer able to shine. Matthew 5 tells us we are the light of the world...we are to take the Word to the farthest reaches of this planet and tell everyone, but if we don't spend time walking with Yeshua, just existing in the presence of Adonai, we fade.
After conferences like Passion or camp we are positively glowing - people commented about it when the 10 of us from NA returned from Passion2010. We are excited to share the Word, we are pumped, we are full of energy and the strength of the Lord. But over time - let's say a month or two as it's now been - we lose it. We become weary. I've noticed that it's harder for me to wake up and get in the Word..it's harder for me to set time aside during the day. BUT, it's also harder for me to fight back. it's harder for me to sit in New Testament class with a discerning spirit, knowing that the subjects we are speaking on are imperative - much more so than a literature class or math class, though God has a hand in those as well and can teach you some of the coolest lessons if you'll pay attention in those classes.
Another scientific truth is this: if we don't spend time in the sunshine - the big bright light in the sky - we end up with a vitamin d deficiency and will get sick. Sure, we can take pills for that, but it's not as healthy or as beneficial to us as being in the very presence of the sunshine.
Similarly, if those little ninjas on Sensei Keith's picture don't spend time under a light bulb, but are constantly surrounded by darkness, they will get sick...they will lose their strength to shine.
MUCH the same, as I'm sure you have gathered, WE as Messianic believers, will lose our light if we "put it under a bushel" of darkness and do not spend time in the presence of the Shekhinah. Our witness will be lost, God's strength in us to control our flesh and our tongue will be lost. Everything will fall apart.
And let me tell you, you will see it if you just look.
It is IMPERATIVE that we spend time walking with the Lord EVERYDAY! Not just once or twice a week and service our youth or Bible study.
You have to eat!!! You have to feed on the Word or you starve spiritually!


be a fighting glowing ninja that sings Hakuna Matata! =)

aHomeInHaiti.org

DONATE TENTS HERE

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 calls us to be united as the body of Christ, UNIFIED. For those of you who went to Passion Twenty-Ten, you understand this. Louie Giglio only said it a FEW times.
Not only does helping people in Haiti address a direct need for these people, but I PROMISE it will serve as common ground for every church in your community. If they love the Lord, they have a desire to be His hands and feet regardless of denomination, religion, creed, doctrine, or any other wall that we have put up to separate ourselves. Put all of that aside and help OTHERS. You, in turn, will be impacting your community in a huge way.

I know the representative for Middle Georgia who is heading up the tent drive and will be glad to pass along information to you if you need to drop off a tent or are interested in helping.


*For those of you in Rome, I'll be glad to collect tents and drop them off in Peachtree City on my way home if you have some to donate. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or resources to head up a tent drive here, myself. If YOU want to take the initiative, pray about it and contact Shaun King at aHomeInHaiti.org. He and the people working with him will help you out.

You can BUY tents directly from the website or drop them off at local drop-off points. You can also simply donate money. That, as well, can be done online or in person.

If you need more information, please let me know. I'll be glad to help in any way I can!

until March 9

Jason Upton's "Freedom Reigns" is just about as good as you can get right now until March 9th when the Passion 2010 CD, Awakening, is released. At that time, you will be so marvelously blessed to know ... well, the whole CD is legit. I recommend it. Those songs are written on my heart now after Passion this year. Three days of singing them....how can they not be?
It can be awkward when you walk into a place of worship and don't know the words to the songs. You end up mumbling and staring at the words on a screen, if there is one, and you don't get much out of the worship. We have a hard time letting go of the words...of the control of how we worship.
Let me tell you, by the time we got to Passion - all of us, 26,000 students, not just our 10 - were ready to let go. We were ready to just let.go. and worship. It didn't matter that we were in a room full of thousands we didn't know. It didn't even matter that we may or may not be sitting in the order on the row that we wanted to sit in or that the people around us were people we knew. We all battled to get there, struggled against principalities and powers, against time and emotions, against mentality and organization, against sickness and "impossible."
To struggle to get somewhere, knowing that satan had a red flag on every single one of our heads, and finally reach the goal, SUCCEED - yet not by our own strength, but HIS - and to find UNITY there!..how incredible.... Better yet, to rest at the feet of Yeshua. wow. To say that He "leads us by the still waters" is an understatement. We had mini lives just trying to get to Passion! Sitting at the feet of Yeshua we sang to Him the songs that are on this "Awakening" album. We worshiped Him. We found sweet peace and mercy at His feet. Grace DID abound, and His love overflowed in us. We would not have made it to Tuesday had we not entered the GWCC and Philips Arena to find such souls as Christy, Chris, Matt, and Kristian to lead us to the throne room.
Adonai gave them a vision, gave them words, and led them there with the talent and sincerity that HE needed to get us to where He wanted us. They served as intercessors, preparers, ushers, servants to the King. For the next three days we were poured into, broken, burned, filled, and restored. The Spirit of the Lord was there; there we found liberty, freedom, reigning...raining.

new rule

BBQ Chicken pizza tastes good at the time, but is not for the irritated of stomach.
Zach and I know this now.

however, today has been better. snow flurries all the day long.

today's all-access pass song from Passion is...........A Mighty Fortress..performed live at P2010 by the one and only Christy Nockels.
Gotta love her.
Gotta love that song.
Gotta listen to that song LOUD.
=D

on another note:
"the same power that conquered the grave lives in me"
-how POWERFUL a statement?! how powerful the power behind that powerful statement?!
intense.

own that today. it's yours.