speak now Jesus

a nice part of my job is getting the music ready for the weekend at church... therefore I get an in on what we will be singing, it's fun! I'm excited that we're singing this gem! I've been listening to it all week... it's literally exactly what I needed to hear this week.



Say the words and I will listen
Show Your way, impart Your wisdom
open up my ears to hear, open up my ears to hear

Speak now Jesus, speak into my heart
I am desperate to hear Your still small voice
I need to hear Your voice

The noise of life is overwhelming
Drowning out the truth that I need
Open up my ears to hear, open up my ears to hear

Speak now Jesus, speak into my heart
I am desperate to hear Your still small voice
I need to hear Your voice
Lead me Jesus, I need direction
I am so lost, without You guiding me.
I need to know Your peace.

When you speak I'll listen
Where you lead I'll go

Speak now Jesus, speak into my heart
I am desperate to hear Your still small voice
I need to hear Your voice
Lead me Jesus, I need direction
I am so lost, without You guiding me.
I need to know Your peace.

Insta-friday

this has been such a good week! I'm overwhelmed by God's goodness / grace / joy / mercy in my life. this weeks instagrams are just a reminder to me of how much I have to be thankful for!

"The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults, and with

my song I give thanks to him."

psalms 28 v 7

L to R

1. at WSM the other night everyone was wearing their TOMS.. love it!

2. our church just added a HUGE youth facilities & it opens in a few short week... I'm stoked to see what God has in store for this building... it gives me chills to think of the 100's of students that will soon pour in there & how the message of Jesus will be spoken over them!!

3. my twin semi-surprised me the other day & picked me up for lunch from work!!

4. one of my favorite tracks on the new Passion album is Sing Along, it's basically a prayer over everyone hurting in the world & when I was singing along to it I couldn't stop thinking of how it was nighttime in Thailand & praying that God would wrap His arms around the women/girls starting their shifts at the clubs/bars... seriously crushes my heart to think about the women I met in Thailand... keep praying for them.

5. this morning I was driving in the worst fog ever.. but made for a pretty photo :)

6. last night Linds & I went to visit Ange & her little Loves.. it was so great to just relax and chit-chat with her! I haven't seen/spent time with her in quit a while since her & the fam moved down town to their sweet little loft!! I feel super blessed to have a woman like her in my life... every girl needs wise godly women in their lives!! [read their story...God is so evident in their life]

7. YES I broke out my favorite sandy's... I just need to work on getting a pedi!

8. the final insta needs to explanation... but could have a huge part in my over flowing JOY :)

HAPPINESS!!!

hello sunshine! If you know me at all you know I despise winter/cold/snow ... being cold is the worst feeling ever. I LOVE the feeling of sun on my skin, grass under my feet and being able to go outside without having to put ten million layers on! this week has made me SO HAPPY! It's been 60's-70's, with thunderstorms and SUNSHINE!! Mich already had the lamest winter ever this year, so to have this kind of weather in mid-March is seriously God sent!! He knew my Aussie-thin skin couldn't handle a rigid Mich winter :)


hello white flag! Another thing that makes me very happy today is that the WHITE FLAG album came out this week!! every track gives me chills & reminds of how good God is. the worship leaders from Passion are very gifted, so you need to get your hands on this album. of course, this weather and album go perfectly together... once you buy the album, get in your car, cruise around town with all the windows down, turn the volume up all the way & sing as loud as you can... you won't regret it.

thanks Jesus for giving me a lot of JOY today!

week - end

Friday -

after work I was really looking forward to relaxing and the thought of doing nothing sounded very inviting. but since the rest of the fam had plans besides my brothers & I... I decided the boys & I should go out!! so we went to chomp for dinner, the dollar store for movie theatre snacks, and to see the Lorax! I love spending time with them, they crack me up & it makes me sad that they are so grown up now, they are still babies to me :( gotta value the time I have with them now, before they get too old to hang out with their older sister!!


Saturday -

I love having plans on the weekend, but if there's a Saturday with no agenda, I'm very keen! I spent three hours re-organizing my bedroom...sounds a bit over board, but I haven't really taken the time to get my room the way I want it since I've been home from Aus! And it was nice that I was in such a cleaning / organizing mood, it made the task enjoyable. I always wonder what my house will be like when I have my own family... my bedroom is rarely clean, but I LOVE cleaning and keeping things organized...other than my room?! It doesn't make sense I know....

after the cleaning kick wore off, I went to the Professional Bull Riding competition that was in town with some friends... what was I thinking!? totally not my scene but it was fun company and people watching :)


Sunday -

Since we lost a hour of sleep and got in super late, I may or may not have slept in way too late and didn't make it to church this AM... but it was nice to just relax! Sunday is a day of rest after all. It's also high 63, blue skies, and sunny today... so I'm naturally in a GREAT mood...! looking forward to WSM & Lighthouse tonight, the u-sh.

insta-Friday

Hopefully I'm not cheating if my insta's are from my week,
not just my friday :)

just a glimpse...

you must watch this... it gives me chills, everything about it; what God did that week, what we did as a generation and what is to come! you have to come to Passion conference 2013, if you haven't been... it will change your life, I promise.

commune

lets bother God w/
relentless prayer.
listen to podcast here.

sweet surrender?

God's teaching me A LOT lately that surrendering to Him is a daily thing... more like a minute-by-minute thing! I REALLY need to work on surrendering my plans, my thoughts, my dreams, my life... that's where closeness/oneness with Him comes. Whoever is reading this is probably thinking to themselves... duh! Well hello, way easier said than done & I'm learning to lean into Him. His ways are HIGHER, so why is it so hard to surrender!? It's difficult for a planner/perfectionist to live life with open hands... I know I am capable, I just have to hype myself up for it... like I did all the other times, Jesus I need Your help.

For my [dreams/desires for you]
are not your [dreams/desires],
neither are your [plans/agenda]
my [plans/agenda for you],
declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my [plans/agenda for you]
higher than your [plans/agenda]
and my [dreams/desires for you]
than your [dreams/desires].

Isaiah 55 v 8-9


[slightly] intimidating,
yet comforting nudge.

listen to this Truth

chains are broken
scales are on the floor
Truth is spoken
I'm no orphan anymore
I am loved
I am new again
and I am free
I'm no slave to sin.
I am all HE says I am.

PS is it REALLY March 1, 2012?!
Where is my life going...?

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

sun + moon

If you are the sun
then I wanna be the moon
I wanna reflect the light that shines from you
And if this is war
Then I'm gonna draw my sword
This time I know what I am fighting for

God I wanna let you know
I want everything you are
I'm waiting for the morning light to show
a fire in the dark

Shine your light, I wanna feel you now
God I need a miracle
Take my heart, make it glow
Shine your light from the inside out
I wanna be more like you
If you are the sun, I wanna be the moon
I wanna be the moon

If love is a choice
Then I need you to hear my voice
I'm the one knocking on your door making all this noise
Whatever it takes
I give it all away
I wanna show my love in a thousand ways

God I wanna let you know
I love everything you are
I'm waiting for the morning light to show
a fire in the dark

Shine your light, I wanna feel you now
God I need a miracle
Take my heart, make it glow
Shine your light from the inside out
I wanna be more like you
If you are the sun, I wanna be the moon

I can't live a single day without you
I don't even want to try
And I won't take another step without your light
I need your light

Shine your light, I wanna feel you now
God I need a miracle
Take my heart, make it glow
Shine your light from the inside out
I wanna be more like you
If you are the sun, I wanna be the moon

If you are the sun
then I wanna be the moon
I wanna reflect the light that shines from

whoa-eekend.

This weekend was jam-packed!

Friday... heaps of work! wsm girl hang out... lots of giggles, chocolate, pinterest, & conversing.

Saturday... spent the day downtown, repairing an old DPS - turned church & youth outreach center... long nap... massive grocery shopping trip... date with my twin, classic dinner & bumming around Target.

Sunday... church/worship... excellent message on trusting God for our needs... huge/scary snow fall, making driving a nightmare... long arvo setting up for kairos small group kick-off dinn dinn... a huge success... I'm so excited to see what God had in store for each group starting up :)

*first ever post via my Blogger App!

sex, marriage & fairytales

realizing God's value.

my life in a nutshell:

God blessed me with a seemingly perfect childhood. I really never experienced a horrific life altering event as a kid. My parents never got divorced. I went to private school for elementary and middle school. I knew what was wrong and what was right. I've been going to church since the womb, I know all the answers, I always seem to have it all together. I memorized the fruits of the Spirit, thanks to Steve Green sing-a-longs. I managed to struggle my way through AWANA. In high school I went to all of the youth group events / small groups / retreats. I was pretty naive about things when I went to high school. I wasn't really popular in my public high school, but at church I always seemed to be in the "cool" group. I prided myself in staying out of trouble and would judge the trouble makers. I’ve never actually been on a date before; making it pretty easy to stay out of trouble with boys. I never snuck out of the house. I never partied or drank illegally. I didn't dress like I was easy, because my mom wouldn't let me. And I only listened to Christian music, of course!

My story may not seem thrilling or exciting, but I can't discredit the story that He gave me. Just because I haven't turned down certain roads, doesn't mean God didn't still have to SAVE me! I was born a SINNER, in DESPERATE need of a Savior… still in need of grasping God's VALUE for me. After all, behind my clean/polished church self, was a very broken, depressed, and hopeless girl. As Lecrae would say I was “eating on some secret sin” … holding all of my sins and problems deep down inside of me; it made me be become a really good hypocrite too. UNTIL I stepped back, let Jesus step into my life and truly REALIZED HIS value for me.

here are 5 revelations that helped me,

REALIZE God’s VALUE for me :::

1. I REALIZED God’s VALUE for me, once I understood that I had…

VICTORY over all of my dirty / hidden / embedded / embarrassing / nasty SIN.

Jesus died to bring us to life! If we remain dead in our sins, we can't be fully used by Him. In is death brought victory over our sin, through faith/trust in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:4 ... we were ONCE living in darkness, BUT GOD [He steps in] being RICH in MERCY because of the great love with which he LOVED us even when we were DEAD in our SIN made us ALIVE together with CHRIST—by GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED---and raised up with HIM and seated with HIM in the heavenly places.

IF you’re currently living in sin, run from it NOW, because your SIN WILL find YOU OUT… so why not start LIVING in FREEDOM right now!?

2. I REALIZED God’s VALUE for me once I understood that I have the…

ABILITY to carry out HIS plans…

The only way you will be equipped and ABLE to carry our HIS plans for you, is by DOING THEM! If you feel like God is calling you to do something, DO IT! He put a call on EACH of your life and has given you the ABILITY to carry our very specific/unique plans...NO ONE’S PLANS ARE THE SAME, so STOP COMPARING yourself.

+If someone told me ten years ago I would travel to AUSTRALIA by myself, God would shake my life upside down and then take me to Thailand to minster to women enslaved by the sex industry, I would have probably laughed in their face! BUT God knew, and HE knew I would be ABLE to carry out EXACTLY what He had planned.

Ephesians 3:20 … Now to him who is ABLE to do immeasurably MORE than all we ask or imagine.

He will do MORE than we can imagine once we use our ABILITIES to fearlessly proclaim His name to all the world.

3. I REALIZED God’s VALUE for me once I forgot about the…

LIES that this world tries to feed me...

The world’s definition of everything is warped. Beauty in God's economy is very different than the world, we are conditioned from an early age that we have to be PHYSICALLY perfect to get a Prince Charming or a happy life with Ken. This is in fact a LIE. We think that living the American Dream will bring us lasting joy, fulfillment and happiness, FALSE.

1 Timothy 6:7-8 ... Nothing of this world will last, be content with the basics!

1 Samuel 16:7 ... Do not look on her appearance or on the height of her stature, because I have rejected her. For the LORD sees not as the WORLD sees: THE WORLD looks at her outward appearance, but the LORD looks at her heart!

We are all going to be wrinkly and saggy one day, so worry more about WHAT will last and that is YOUR heart! Your status will not bring you joy, only Jesus can give you true joy & satisfaction.

4. I REALIZED God’s VALUE for me once I accepted His…

UNCONDITIONAL love…

This means HE loves me WITHOUT conditions! I can’t do anything to deserve HIS love. He JUST LOVES, no matter what I say or do, HE LOVES ME.

1 John 4:19 ... WE LOVE BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.

John 3:16 ... For GOD SO LOVED the world, that HE gave HIS only Son, that whoever believes in HIM will not perish.

His LOVE for us is evident ALL OVER SCRIPTURE, read the BIBLE as if it’s a LOVE LETTER from the world’s most ATTRACTIVE LOVER.

5. I REALIZED God’s VALUE for me once I started to …

EMBRACE HIS VALUE…

CLAIM IT, WALK IN HIS VALUE. YOU ARE HIS FAVORITE. You are HIS most PRIZED possession. This is all just HEAD knowledge until WE EMBRACE IT. Tell yourself every morning in the mirror that YOU ARE HIS FAVORITE. YOU ARE HIS MOST VALUED CREATION.

Psalm 139:13 ... YOU KNIT ME TOGETHER… I praise YOU because I am fearfully and WONDERFULLY made.

Song of Solomon 6:3 ... I am my beloved and my beloved is MINE!

You are HIS. Embrace these truths. You’ve been ADOPTED into HIS kingdom, EMBRACE the VALUE He places on you! Apply it to your life.

experience grace / accept grace.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us ALIVE together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2 v 1-10

+ as children of God, we experience grace on a daily basis -- every morning we wake up to new mercies and second chances. have we really accepted this grace though? or do we just rely/live off of countless second chances? have we truly repented and turned from our sin? have we surrendered to Grace? until we clear/confess out our embedded sin, run away from it and give up our rights to a selfish life... we will have really accepted grace.

"Fragments of brokenness
Salvaged by the art of grace
You craft life from our mistakes
A second chance is heaven's heart
Countless second chances
We've been [freely] given at the Cross"

journal roster.

It's a new year, lots of new things, including JOURNALS! the older I've gotten the more serious I've become about journal-ing...I tend to forget important details in my old age :) So here we go 2012 ::: journal 1. personal prayer journal; basically a journal between God & I, lots praises and requests... lots of forgiveness and joy goes into this one. 2. quiet time journal; in 2012 I'm trying to be more intentional about dissecting God's Word, via a journal to write, recite and memorize things. 3. to-my-future-spouse journal... in high school I tried to start a journal to my future husband and it never got kept up with... in 2012 I want to be more intentional about praying for my future husband and sharing thoughts/prayers with him, to one day have him look back on. I'm excited for new exciting adventures/seasons to be written in these journals.cheers to 2012 journal-ing!

fighting for freedom

whoa!... I went to Passion Conference last week. the theme was freedom. freedom for anyone and everyone. freedom in Christ. freedom from sin. freedom from slavery. freedom for the voiceless. freedom for the nameless. freedom for the faceless. in God's economy, everyone has a chance for freedom. [where the SPIRIT of the LORD is, THERE IS freedom]

the conference was fighting for two realms of freedom; spiritual & physical.

God taught me so much. every time a session ended I walked out dumb founded. it's not like I've never heard these truths before, this time it was just different. God seriously shook me to the core! He turned my heart inside out. I truly grasped His idea of freedom/grace, more than I ever have before.

the conference opened with a half-hour or so of spoken Word.! 44,000 people reading out loud different Bible passages, over and over again, Truth being proclaimed through this massive stadium... chills! of course the worship was amazing. the speaking was so captivating, hearing these speakers, who are all basically known around the world, share their hearts for this generation and fighting for freedom of those being held captive spiritually/physically was literally breath-taking. seeing an older generation, proud of this generation was also very humbling. God's hand was clearly over the entire week.... I don't really know how one could have sat through the sessions or worship with out sensing the Holy Spirit.! the presence of God was so tangible, lives/hearts were definitely transformed.

to make the massive sea of people seem smaller, they split everyone into 20 community groups of 2,000+, from there you got into family groups of 8! when they told us this at registration, the girls & I were so stoked! it was sweet to have a chance to connect with other college students from around the country... all finding/fighting for the same freedom. it was awesome to see God move through our family group & community group! very thankful for a sense of community amongst that many people.

with the idea of [freedom] as the running theme, we managed to raise 3 million+ dollars to help local/national/international organizations aid in ending human trafficking/modern slavery! we got to hear real-life stories of trafficking raids, hope, and heart-shattering statistic. today 27 million HUMAN beings [a story/ a face / a life] are enslaved!? His prized possessions, enslaved. His masterpieces, taken advantage of. His workmanship, chained.

a lot of times I'll hear people give the excuse that they can't help end slavery because they can't identify.. hello! we are/were all slaves! we were once enslaved by sin, until Salvation came into the picture. true freedom is only found in the HOPE of Jesus. we are all slaves to sin, until we raise our white flag to Jesus and surrender ALL to Him. Jesus' desire is that none of His prized possessions would be enslaved any longer... read the entire of Ephesians.




basically the whole week gave me chills:::

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

>MAJESTY stepped into our mess

>I am offended by [your sin],
but I am not afraid of your humanity - JESUS

>HE intersected us at the right time,
in the middle of our funeral procession...
bringing us back to LIFE

YOU REVIVE ME.
YOU TURNED MY DESERT,
INTO RIVERS OF JOY.

>You cannot be unclean enough
to make a mess out of Him

>He is clean enough for all of us,
Your faith leads to healing

DO SOMETHING NOW.
THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME,
TO NOT ACT NOW.

>Being satisfied with Christ frees you,
from the bondage of sin...
by trusting, seeing, savoring

>It must be a desire, not just a decision

>Make the Name of Christ be your sight, savor satisfaction, desire, & trust

BLIND PEOPLE DON'T DECIDED TO SEE
-- WE DON'T DECIDE TO BE FREE,
HE DECIDED TO COME SET US FREE.

[Praying search my heart / Holy Spirit search my heart / As I draw nearer, Jesus be clearer / Cause Your Word will shine a light on my life, and I'll see You / Show Your face / Jesus, would You show Your face / As I draw nearer, Jesus be clearer / Jesus would You show Your face / As I draw nearer, Jesus clearer]

>We were raised from the dead,
given authority & now have to do something with it.

>We are being set up for a destination unknown to us,
fully known by the Creator of the Universe

>proclaim His name
f e a r l e s s l y .

>Brokenness doesn't disqualify you,
it fully qualifies you!

"that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." _ EPHESIANS 6v19-20
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* feeling overwhelmingly blessed to have been a part of such a movement.

december !

December::: quality family time / Christmas parties / work / lots of babysitting / cookie baking / pressies / hand-made-craft show / weddings / mom-sister dates / lights / candles / chilled new years eve / JESUS!