A Confident Expectation of Good

Let's confidently expect good from God our Maker, our Savior, our Comforter, our Friend! He promises to never leave us or forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5). Expect Him and look to Him always!!

Another Great Article

I just wanted to share this article from the ElijahList. It is on the topic of focus and has tremendous power inside! Most likely it speaks something different in each one of lives. For me, this brought great encouragement in the area of music and maximizing my potential.

Enjoy. :-)

http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/8562

Be in Thanks Always

Being thankful (by choice) causes us to appreciate things at a much deeper level.

Remember!

Always remember that God hungers, yearns, and desires us more than we do for Him! He passionately loves us!

Allow Him to awaken the flame of love in your own heart.

Stuck on this!

I am still stuck on a topic of one of my last few blogs.... Idolatry. It is an immensely crucial topic throughout the entire Old Testament. When the Israelites were in the wilderness with Moses, when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, he found that the people made an idol to worship. We are commanded not to bow down to any idol (see Deuteronomy 5:8-10). On and on the Israelites were warned to not have any idols.

It's easy to sit here and think, "What an awful, abominable thing! How could they make something to worship?" It's too easy to do so... It's not a widespread topic to keep God at number one in our lives. It's too easy in the complacency of life to allow certain things to run us ... money, family, jobs, friends, work, etc. It might not be an image or a statue, but how often do we bow down to these and worship them in the sense of allowing them to run our lives?

Where has the honor gone in keeping the Lord in the first and foremost place? May we keep Him first in our love, time, money, and everything. By obeying Him to the fullest, loving Him above anyone and anything in our lives, He will make us successful and bless us in all of our ways.

Coming from within

This morning I felt the Lord speak to my heart...

"Allow the Lord to convict, but please don't condemn yourself!!!"

It's so simple. However, having struggled a grand amount with being hard on myself, this is a statement that constantly needs to be reinforced.

There is such power in allowing God to do the work. It comes from within--not from without. Just as a flower blooms and is opened up to show the world its beauty, so too should conviction gently break down whatever needs to be broken down and lead us closer to God.

Conviction lifts us higher, but condemnation puts us deep into the ground.

Honor God as #1

Ezekiel 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know, understand, and realize her [idolatrous] abominations [that they] are disgusting, detestable, and shamefully vile.

Ezekiel 14:4 ...idols of [self-will and unsubmissiveness]...

Wow. Ezekiel chapter 16 is filled with the metaphorical telling of Israel's unfaithfulness to God. It's terrible! They turned and ran everywhere but to God, thus worshiping idols like mad. This type of behavior is compared to an unfaithful wife. That shows how intensely He feels about each one of us. Raising us and giving us everything we could ever want or need... And then we play the harlot and run to other things.

This shows how serious it is that we MUST NOT allow anything come before the Lord. It is an abomination, disgusting, detestable, and shamefully vile to place anything before Him. He loves us with such great intensity, and it pains Him so when there is anything placed above Him in our hearts. How much do our hearts need to be righted by the Holy Spirit and to truly place God in the #1 spot in our hearts and lives?

Dear Heavenly Father,

We confess that there are many things we have placed above You--our job, our family, and even ourselves. We desperately need You to free us from these things that tie us up and in every way to turn whole-heartedly to You with the very same intense desire and passion that You have for us, before anything else. Melt our hearts in Your refining fire, Lord, that we may hold You in the absolute highest place in our lives. In Jesus' wonderful name. Amen.

A Resolution for 2010

My resolution for this year is to learn how to love. To abide in God's love, receiving it and growing in it, and learning how to love others are the two areas I want to grow in.

Ten days into the year the Lord is already answering. Imagine what lies ahead!

Don't Be Deceived!

Hey, everyone! I recently found this article on ElijahList. It is very encouraging. I have been going through some different situations lately that have since cleared, but this article has confirmed what the Lord has shown me.

Stand strong and firm in the truth of the Lord.

http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/8371

so be it

I heard someone once say, "Intimacy breeds conflict." This is so true. As you become closer to a person, there's going to be conflict, something that needs worked out. The only way to resolve this is good ole communication. Sorting out mixed-messages, expectations, figuring out where things got out of alignment.

I admit to struggling in the area of giving back. It's difficult for me to find ways to return provision, care, love, etc. Giving is just a weak area. Sure most of my generation and I are ungrateful, unappreciative, and take a lot for granted. We haven't really known what it's like to be "without" so consequently we can't fully appreciate our situation of being "with." Therefore, when those around us deserve having something given back to, after giving so freely, I must say it becomes so ridiculously challenging to SEE that there needs to be more given back. It is totally blinding.

Yes, blindness. There can't really be excuses, but giving is a learned thing. Giving must be practiced. Giving must become a way of life. So I'm sorry for all the ways and all the times I've failed to give back when not being told I should give back.

Dear Lord,
Please teach us all lessons on giving back. On our own we are selfish. On our own we only think about ourselves. That's where You come in. In our weakness, You are strong. In our selfishness, You break those walls down and let love flow out of us. By Your grace--power of Your Holy Spirit within us--may we come to have hearts that freely give and constantly seek ways to give.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

A free will

God has a free will. So do we. Jesus lived with a will entirely submitted to God's. In Christ there is no bondage whatsoever, nothing constricting in the least. The Holy Spirit dwells in Christ. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. Jesus came that we would have and enjoy life. So it is in submission to God and His will that we will have and enjoy our lives, in abundance, to the full. In Christ there is life. In obedience to His will and His way there is freedom, life, and liberty everlasting.

A revealing of the Heart

God is so good at revealing His Truth at just the right time. The issue of the heart is a tumultuous thing. Have there been times when you think and feel things that you know aren't right? I suppose that's the division line between the carnal/selfish nature of the flesh and the Truth within us.

Sometimes it's plain difficult to let things go, to forgive, to place aside. Relationships are good like that. We so want to let it go, but something in our heart holds onto the pain, the offense, etc.

"But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.
Luke 7:47

That is a key. In the past someone may have acted very unforgivingly towards us. That created an unseen/unconsious stronghold which unfortunately affects the way we see others when things go haywire.

So with this in place it makes it difficult to truly love others, which definitely includes forgiveness.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for your precious and unconditional love. Thank you for your forgiveness that can never be exhausted. Reveal the power of your forgiveness to our hearts in perfect ways so that we can know grasp it. Then may we be empowered to go out and love with Your love, forgiving others readily and freely just as You have forgiven us in Christ.
Amen.

House of Love

Recently I visited a house of Love. It was big, open, spacious, and free. The joy, love, and laughter that must be there so much lingered in the air. Everything was so inviting and comfy! The toys and games and everything left out for all to see all spoke of the fun had. Every object and every person in the house speak of genuine care. Of full attention. Of freedom to speak. Of joy. Of laughter. Of wonder and amazement from sparkling eyes.

I wonder what it would be like. The power of knowing we are so delighted in, cherished, and valued speaks volumes to the heart. Such a foundation can never be moved. To know that your voice is heard... To not be criticized, judged, or condemned... To be able to give so freely and not be shot down... All because someone is there to love it, and more importantly to love YOU!

Check this out!

I recently came across this article on the Elijah List. It blew me away. The simplicity to what God has called us to is astounding. Just to love Him above all else. That's it...

This I Love

And this I love, in being able to share life together. The ups and downs, the good times and bad. Hopes. Dreams. Laughter and sadness. Games and books. Music. Friends.

Words cannot describe what it means to be part of another's life. To share and partake. To be a part of. To feel included in every way. Nothing held back. In no way excluded.

Fully a part of.

To encourage and lift up. To make a difference in another's life. To give them a spark to carry through in their own journey. May we all do that for each other.

Making us all on the inside.

A small part of one another.

are we blind?!

After walking through the checkout line in Giant Eagle today, I got pretty angry. Tabloids are tabloids, but they reveal bitter truth about society. And yes, we are all keeping a watchful eye the government, politics, international relations, etc., but somehow I feel like we are overlooking way too much.


Is there any respect left for sex?... For marriage?... For families?...



There is a vicious cycle occurring that is ripping apart society as we know it. Although it's been going on for quite some time, nearly everything is geared towards sex, and I am so sick of it! The perversion of something so beautiful as a physical expression of love between wife and husband--an act of selfless giving to each other--has been turned into self-filled pleasure coupled with exploitation.

And the sad part is...

How young kids are being filled with such notions.

These stats are from 2007, compiled into a booklet from an event I attended in Pittsbugh, called BattleCry. And I'm sure they have gone up (or down) since then.

-Every 6.7 scenes on television include a sexual topic.
-The most watched teen network is MTV, where more than 30,000 soft porn images are broadcast every week.
-Average age of first sex: 15.8 years old.
-Average age of first internet exposure to pornography is 11.
-The largest consumer of internet pornography is currently, young people ages 12-17.

And on and on the list goes! It's sick!!! The internet, tv, all forms of media purge our brains with everything sex. It's no wonder it's a problem!

And because sex is so free... then who needs marriage! Right? Wrong. I was told that being physically intimate leads to a false sense of closeness. It's not the relationship... It's an expression of it. The emotional wreckage is incredible! Broken, aching hearts everywhere... A wonderful expression of love at the wrong time.

What we need is a monumental perspective change. A book I recently read, The Red Tent, set during the time of Rachel, Jacob, and Leah, tells a story through Dinah's eyes. Even as a child Dinah saw the dogs and knew what was going on during a brother's honeymoon. All the same it was out in the open. Not something hidden. Not something to be ashamed of. Sex was (and still is) a beautiful fact of life. Maybe if more parental guidance was present to shape the views and intentions of it all there wouldn't be as much of a problem. To keep something hidden in the dark, almost as a secret, is sometimes the cause for total rebellion. Now, I am by no means saying that we just need to blatantly expose children to this. We just need to convey the worth, value, and understanding of it all.

Then we have marriage. It scares me how little respect this gets. All over the place. People marrying, divorcing, not marrying and just having kids, etc. like it's nothing (and of course there are times when it is best to be out of a relationship). This is like a bloodbath on the family system. This was not intended.

And in the end we have the cycle of false intimacy leading to emotional wreckage. How can we have healthy relationships in such conditions?

Love. Pure love. Holy love. Unconditional love. Love no matter what. Love that says I forgive you. Love that wipes out the hurt, fear, and pain. We fail to see it! We too often fail to grasp hold of it! This eternal Love that never, never ends and is always reaching for us! We can't love everyone with the real Love we need. That can only come from the one true God.

Perfect love drives out fear.

Only the One Who made us can love us perfectly with the love we really need.. To know that we are always accepted, loved, cherished, thought of, cared for, forgiven, heard.

God so longs to make us whole and complete through Jesus Christ. If we all came to realize how crazy the Lord is over us, how jealously and madly in love with us God is. Then...

~We'd be able to forgive each other a little easier, knowing that we are forgiven.
~We would accept each other, knowing that we are accepted.
~We would be enabled to love each other, knowing that we are loved.
You get the idea.

And then...
We could have better, healthier relationships, all because we have a relationship with the One--Father, Son, Holy Spirit. More respect. Better marriages. Healthy families. Better society.

dynamic!

"I," she opened her hands to include Jesus and Papa, "I am a verb. I am that I am. I will be who I will be. I am a verb! I am alive, dynamic, ever active, and moving. I am a being verb."

"My words are alive and dynamic - full of life and possibility..."

From The Shack

I have a friend (you know who you are!) that is very dynamic! Always thinking, changing, moving... It is refreshing to be around. Some people might think, "Can't you just be happy the way things are?!" But that is exactly the point...

The danger of complacency is far-reaching. Being settled, stagnant, and unmoving is as filthy as a rank pond with no moving water. God is the only One who never changes. We are constantly in process, being shaped, melted, and molded. So the moment we quit moving is the moment we are no longer going forward.

Active.

Alive.

Dynamic.

Energetic.

May we never be complacent to stay where we're at. May we always be pressing towards the Higher Goal while remaining sure and stable on the Rock.

And by the way... God IS! Right here, right NOW!!!

Sometimes

Sometimes the Lord takes us through crazy times. They can't be explained. In one breath everything is fine, in the next it seems that the world has turned upside-down. Then it goes back again.

It's like in music, with the random dissonances. Out of nowhere! A pianist tosses a chord, the melody takes an unexpected turn... I love it. It makes me laugh. Dissonance can be awful to listen to, unless you hear it in a different light.

And I guess that's where the gap is bridged: perception. I don't know when, but somewhere along the line my view of hard times got tossed out the window. Instead of voicing my thankfulness, keeping my eyes on Jesus and just trusting, and loving the Lord to the fullest, I got consumed with the gloominess. God never intended this!

Hard times can be so glorious.. They can bring so much out in us.. If only we would keep our eyes on the Lord and not the storm. Just like Peter walking on water, when we look at the storms in life and away from Jesus, we start to sink. God has promised to be with us through the waters and the fire. Keep focused!

We never really go through anything alone. I mean it's all over the place in the Bible that God says, "Don't be afraid! I am with you!" Oh to take hold of this!

So God promises us in Romans 8:28 that "In all things we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. So in those some-times when we aren't in line with Him, we know He's always there, still working on our behalf, taking each and every situation and turning it around for our own good and benefit.

Just keeping seeking, keep pressing into the Lord. He rewards us when we seek Him. And may your some-times be kept under the watchful and attentive eye of the Lord.

a Tribute

Today has been surreal in a way. Joyful yet sad. Daydream-like but feeling the brunt of reality. Relishing in the past but realizing the present isn't like that anymore.

It's like that when people pass away, isn't it?

They continue on their journey, hopefully in total bliss with the God of the universe. While we are still here on earth, mourning, missing, crying, laughing...

When I remember John, all I can think of is laughing. Never a dull moment. Even now, even today at the funeral, when I thought of him I smiled. It's no other way. It's how he would want it to be.

And even in the midst of the suffering, somehow the image of flowers pervades my mind. Flowers, like growing, blooming, live objects. How much does this speak? That in the midst of death, life is present.

For me this has come in the deep appreciation of John's family who has played a large role in my life. Everything they have shared and given means the world. They have taught me to work hard, to love, to enjoy myself, to have fun. They taught me to receive. Constant givers. I want to be like that. And in the moments of holding these thoughts dear, I questioned what can I do to give back to those who have given so much? And what I've found is to just love. To be there for them. To spend time with them. Especially when they ache so bad for a life taken too soon (from our perspective).

Sometimes just knowing someone cares, even if it is just being there with them, speaks more to the heart than anything else could.

So I pray for God's blessing and comfort on this dear family. May they rest with the peace of the Lord filling their hearts.

And after seeing My Sister's Keeper tonight... It serves as yet another reminder as to how exceedingly precious life is. Each person is a gem. Each life so frail.

But in the Lord there is hope. In the Lord we know that life goes on. Life literally continues. We will be with Him when we pass from this earth, onwards into eternity. We have a hope of being reunited with our loved ones in a great circle of faith. In the Lord there is this hope.

There is safety.

There is security.

In knowing where we are going when we pass from this life.

For at any moment.... life could just slip away..

Freeze frame

With this cool summer, I think it's permissible to talk about something cold!

Anyways. Ice... It is the solid form water takes when heat is minimal. In its beauty ice can form complex crystals. In its treachery ice makes conditions dangerous, slippery, without traction.

When frozen, movement is limited. An eerie stillness settles in. Who would dare move?

I once had an odd dream involving ice. To paint the picture, I was on some type of vacation with my family. We were staying in a house along a stretch of cleared land with trees on lining the sides. Quite comically we were sitting in lawn chairs watching our surroundings. Suddenly a single cloud, looking like a log, rolled in and suspended our immediate surroundings with a coat of ice. Most of my family escaped.

Talk about a lot of fear. Everything was encased by ice.

Then the sun came out and returned the water to its liquid form.

The world was at peace again.

It's so unfortunate, but this happens to us on the inside sometimes. Like a big ice storm we are frozen in our mind.

Fear? Taking liberty to be so hard on yourself, like smacking yourself with a baseball bat?

For any number of reasons we get so mentally knotted. It prevents us from moving, from acting. Likewise we begin to view situations from behind a wall of ice to observe. Oh that the Son would melt this all away!

Jesus said there is no condemnation! He said we are free! Free! FREE! Wherever the Spirit is, there is freedom! We don't need to beat ourselves up anymore... That was never in God's plan. Only Jesus gives us this liberation. Who else can?

Lord, teach us to step out into the unknown, having faith in You constantly. I declare FREEDOM in the hearts and minds of all who read this, that they would be free to think, to speak, and to act in this freedom. May all of our thoughts, words, and movements be in Your will of LOVE. In Jesus' name! Amen!


So be it.