Honestly!?

Satan. you are such a loser! seriously, stop trying to convince / woo us with all of your twisted lies. enough of that false hope & gratification.


for WE know that in ALL things WE are more than conquerors ... the enemy has already been defeated, death could not hold Him down ... you belong under our feet, you have no place here. only ONE can give us true lasting hope & gratification.

J E S U S is enough.

ahh...!

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
john 10:10

all I can say tonight is Satan, nice try ...
the war is over - love has come - [His] love has won

tmfs

It's good to know I'm doing something that Mark Driscoll suggests :)

to my future spouse::: I seriously encourage everyone to start journal-ing to their spouse... it's sweet! just think, one day you can share it with them... how special/fun would that be for both of you. y'all can look back on love notes, verses, encouragement, prayers, or struggles. pointers; never use names -- that could get awkward -- this shouldn't be a dear diary Jimmy is so dreamy type journal, make sure you date all the entries, be honest/transparent/open, share deep thoughts -- but don't forget to have fun with it! make it your own.

love on them now, it's a good way to pass the time of waiting for him or her to come along.

help me!

the travel bug bit me! I need, want to travel somewhere abroad...right now! At work I was talking to a girl from Mission of Hope in Haiti...nailing down details of the LH Haiti trip & it REALLY made me want to go SOMEWHERE! Either for missions or for fun. Why do flights have to cost money!? Why am I not on a 10+ hour flight right now?! I miss being in airports, waiting around, people watching, being in new places, smelling new smells, meeting new people, not speaking the language, eating mystery food, bartering, different currency, busy markets, foreign shoppes, being sweaty, learning the transit system, and living life somewhere other than HERE.

neglect.

last week:: busy, busy, busy... long hours at work [winter camp week is crazy, it's all everyone talks about & works on, even if you don't work in WSM...hence the blog neglect], valentines dinner-movie date with some of my favorite girls, caught up with old friends, prepared for winter camp, had an awesome ending to a WSM girls weekly Bible study, spent all Friday at church and then went to camp.. finally!

I've been going to winter camp since I was in middle school and I would say that this year, was the best year.. it makes me excited for the possibilities for next year!!

God did awesome things in and through the WSM community... several student gave their lives to Christ, re-committed their lives to Him or were literally saved from spiritual emergencies... there was such high energy during worship and awesome testimonies from the students on Sunday morning.

the theme of the weekend was being united; there's so much power in the body of Christ being unified... in worship, in community, and in Him!

thursday thoughts.

1. this is exactly what He did in and through me...

You give the hopeless soul a brand new start,
You lead the captive in Your freedom song,
I know, this is who You are.

2. I'm feel so blessed to have friends literally, around the world. I got to have some needed skype dates, what did people do before skype!? It is crazy to think that God some how, miraculously allowed all of our different paths to intersect one way or another. It makes the world and the Church seem smaller...you can feel the community, I love it.

3. this week I was reminded that I need to spend more time LISTENING to God. I TALK to God all the time, but how often am I LISTENING!? Almost never..!! Yeah... I was talking with some people and this topic came up & felt a huge tug on my heart. I talk, talk, talk... when do I sit back, in solitude and LISTEN!? It's funny, because I would say I'm a pretty good listener in general, I LOVE to listen to people talk and share their heart... but when it comes to God & I, it seems to just a one way convo?! Gotta sit back & LISTEN to Him & stay in check on that.

4. I've recently started running, again... HOLLA! I maintained a good routine all through the summer and into the fall... then I just stopped because, I had an accident with my shin -- involving falling... I'm glad I can laugh at myself -- AND mainly cause it got cold out... typical. BUT it's not an excuse because I have a TREADMILL!? Yeah.! I'm lame. ONE day I want to run a half/full marathon and you gotta pick back up somewhere, right? Plus it feels good & keeps me healthy :)

5. When I was at work yesterday this caught my eye. When I started working at church I had put a ton of random things up on my massive cubicle pin-up-board; photos, verses, notes, post-its... last month I added the FREEDOM picture and it just dawned on me yesterday WHERE I had placed it... RIGHT by Luke 8:45-48... HELLO... that is basically the passage that led me to FREEDOM! I love sweet reminders like that.

God's supremacy.

At Passion, I reluctantly bought their digital all access pass -- judging it as a total money grab, I was sold once they said we would get a discounted rego fee for 2013. THANKFULLY that's not the only sweet thing about this special pass... it gives you the audio/video to each session! As they've been coming through I've been trying to take time to listen to each session, again... I seem to get HEAPS more out of something if I hear it a second, third, tenth time. With that being said, I leave you with two things; 1. YOU would be foolish to not pay $25 for this digital all access pass. 2. here are snippets from John Piper's talk on the supremacy of Christ...good stuff!

Seeing and savoring the supremacy of Jesus Christ frees you from the slavery of sin, for the sacrifices of love.



Being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus, frees you form the bondage of sin, for the suffering of love.



Faith in Jesus Christ frees you from the slavery of sin, for the sacrifices of love.

2 Corinthians 3 v 18
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

He is supreme over ALL things.
There's not a square inch on planet earth,
where Jesus Christ doesn't say, Mine.

Little hearts give little lusts, big power. Big hearts give little lusts little power -- because they look little. When you see the magnitude of your Treasure, your soul swells to get around it and you mock [insert sin here] as a powerless thrill.

*content & photo credit; John Piper & Passion

love this analogy;

"Our life is like a house; for Christians, Satan never owns the house, Jesus does, but Satan can influence and oppress. We must recognize the ways in which we could leave doors and windows to our house open (such as through unrepentant, habitual sin). Through repentance and faith in Jesus because of his death, burial, and resurrection, our allegiance to Satan is canceled, and our freedom in Christ is granted. God’s enemy becomes our enemy and Jesus’ authority becomes our authority."

- mark driscoll

listen to full message here.

. . . . . . . . .

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

EPH. 6:10-13

wait, what?!

Oh hey waiting season! You annoy me so much. You get under my skin, because I let you. You consume my mind. You cause me grief. But THANK YOU JESUS for revealing Truth through this season.

I find myself waiting for so many things right now [college/graduation/career/marriage/family…]. Everyone says to make the most of waiting seasons. Thankfully, so far I can say I’ve done a lot in during this waiting season; traveled, learned HEAPS of about myself, re-discovered God’s grace/love/mercy… now I feel like I’m in a waiting season, within a waiting season, if that makes sense. What a conundrum, am I right or am I right!?

I am essentially waiting for the waiting to be over!! What is wrong with me? Hello, we’ll always be waiting for someone/something, so does that mean this isn’t really a waiting season? It’s really just how life is? I’m confusing myself as I type this.. BUT God is revealing lots of Truth to me in these days of waiting, while waiting…

So wait, what am I waiting for!? Why not do things now?! Check things off my list. Be active! Things I want to see brought to fruition need to start somewhere! I need to stop planning and trying to map out my life. God is once again reminding me... that this life I live is a daily decision to give Him control, letting Him lead and guide my steps. Surrender is key. Just wait on Him.

therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. - is. 30:18