Matt Redman - King of Wonders

We could try to count the stars,
You already know them each by name.
Every single galaxy was your design,
Your majesty displayed.

Your glory shines before our eyes,
The more we see, the more we love You

King of wonders, we stand amazed,
There’s no other, other than you.
King of wonders, you know the way to our hearts and
The more we see the more we love you.

You reveal and we respond,
You have shown there’s no one like you God
Your love and mercy welcomes us
Into the beauty of this Holiness.

Your glory shines before our eyes,
The more we see, the more we love You
The more we see the more we love You, God.

* compassionart//free song

chew on this ...

*read this passage, we talked about it today in beta [Sunday school] ... God is so amazing and He longs to see us overcome, despite what the enemy spews at us on a daily basis. He truly works and orchestrates situations so perfectly it's mind boggling.

Revelation 12
The Woman and the Dragon

1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short."

13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.15Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

KAIROS CHRISTMAS:

[hint] kairos is the fancy name for Lighthouse Collective small groups where people; make connections, learn, make new friends, build community, grow, trust, or share meals and life together. And for our Christmas party, we were treated to Miyakoa - a Japanese steak house for a very filling dinner, photo op in a giant snow globe and dessert at the Melting Pot ... it was so fun :)

blessing in disguise:

“God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm…
In His own time, in His own way”
-William Cowper

Yesterday a dear friend of mine visited me at work or maybe just so she could study, either way – she indirectly reminded me of how our heavenly Father works. So, this past summer was going good, warm, sunny, and pretty – the only good thing Michigan brings for three months. I graduated from HS, had seen family I hadn’t seen a while, hung out with friends all the time, was looking forward to the rest of the summer and what was in store, life was moving fast as I quickly went from a care free high schooler to a more “mature” college student with more responsibilities. I was working a tad above minimum wage at the time, at a job that at the time I really actually loved – despite the pay, the customers, and the management staff … okay I only liked the social aspect. The people that worked there were all young (my age – mid twenties) and really funny and made time go by quickly. I knew in May that I would be going away (various trips & other responsibilities) for three week near the end of July into August. I requested this time off knowing it was a long time and that I would make up for it once I returned. My boss was totally cool with it and off I went. Little did I know July would be the last time I was punched in at work … So there I went, honest to goodness serving my Creator at a camp for disabled/abused kids – which was a truly amazing experience, once home after about ten days, I loaded on to yet another bus about three days later and headed up North to counsel at my churches summer camp – which again was a huge blessing and growing experience. After that I was finally home, but not going back to work just yet – my family, about 41 %: my mom, dad, and twin sister went down South for a missions trip with our church. That left my two little brothers, my older sister and myself with the house to ourselves for an entire week. My twin had been withholding a decent paying nannying job that summer, and I volunteered my services as she was away. Alright so the three weeks were finally up and I was at my church on a Sunday afternoon before Lighthouse, when it dawned on me to call my work and see when I was scheduled for the following week… that’s when it happened and when I heard th e words I honestly NEVER thought I would hear on the other end “you’re not on the schedule.” – those words translate to your fired, adios amigos, go find another job, or your time here is through. The first thing that came to my mind were, oh they are just pulling my leg (seeing that the guy who I was talking to, a fellow employee and someone who was known for being very sarcastic and never took life seriously), so still in shock I actually asked for the other guy who was also working, for a reassurance my time was through or to second his remarks. He wasn’t lying or joking he was telling the hurtful truth. I was sad – this was a job that I enjoyed on most days and had really grew to love the people I worked with, so it was like I was being cut off from a group of friends in a way. Not only that I had been working there for almost a year which for an after school job is pretty impressive. The next thing that came to mind was settling with the fact that I had to get a new job – and if you know me at all you know I hate change, change in the weather, change in friendships or change in every area of life. I also dreaded the idea of having to go in for interviews or knowing that the job market was super sketchy at the time. So many things went through my mind: Why me? Why know? God, You know I am starting school in a couple of weeks and know I NEED a job? You know I liked the people I worked with. You know it was convenient to get to and had flexible scheduling options. You know I hate change!?

So August met me with the craziness of registering for classes, getting ready to start a new chapter of life – entitled College, and looking so desperately for a new job or source of income. I applied and looked into a lot of different coffee shops, book stores, restaurants, because the only two jobs I had ever held were in the food biz. I also applied to be an intern at for my churches youth ministry, something I really wanted and had a passion for and had really been praying for – but God closed all those doors and opened another door instead. One day my mom, being as wise and helpful as she is, suggested applying at our local Library. Okay in all honesty I laughed at the thought of even applying to such establishment. First because I’m not a reader – I can read, I choose not to read for enjoyment, unless I know it's really good … plus the only time I read tends to be forced upon, because my education requires such exercise. Another issue being my older sister was once fired from a library, - so we have a past and the only thing I think of when I think of libraries are; mean, old, unreasonable librarians. Therefore the idea of applying to work at one sounded preposterous! But because I know my mom really does always knows best, I applied anyway and a week later to my delight I was called in for an interview. I put nice clothes and makeup on and went in for my interview. I get super nervous on things such as interviews and of course this one wasn’t any different. My now boss was asking what I knew about computers and I was thinking in the back of my mind – uhh not enough to be helping someone … little did I know the job description involved working in the computer center. To my delight, God closed a door just to so graciously open another one instead. I started officially in September and I love it…the library that is. The job is a lot more professional than any other jobs I’ve had in the past and it looks better on a resumé. Not to mention I am getting paid three bucks more than I was at my last job – which does add up. I get homework done and get paid for it … yeah it’s sweet.

° ° ° ° °

*All that to say, God really does bless us when we least expect it. This may be a silly or not so serious situation, and I know I've had bigger problems than having to find a new job, but any situation we face causes us to stop and wait on God . It may take time, patience’s, courage, or maybe pain to see the light at the end of the tunnel sometimes – but He does not and will not fail us. When we seek Him, He is the one that approaches us with His never ending love and mercy. God can bless us in the smallest, biggest or even strangest ways but we can’t be blessed unless we diligently seek His face, through prayer, staying in His word, growing with other believers, or telling the world of this amazing Love! Blessings are in disguise because, God may take away or close doors just to open another door for reasons we can't understand & things may seem really bad or hard at the time ... but in the end, we find what a blessing that situation really was. As Christians, it is up to us to have faith and trust in God, as He can truly do the impossible, things unimaginable .. and in Gods perfect timing He will bless us. Oh God lets us press on --- that we may find Your favor through trials or pain, so that we may find Your blessings in disguise.

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” - James 1:12

procrastination, is my middle name

why am I such a procrastinator!?

I leave things till the last minute way to much .. that needs to change if I want to go anywhere in my life. I lack motivation, this is definitely a flaw of mine and something I need to work on as soon as possible....because everything I do must glorify my Creator, the One that gives me the ability to do things in the first place, God help me stop procrastinating so much and let me move into action.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as working for the Lord, not for men,

since you know that you will receive an inheritance

from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving"

Colossians 3:23-24

my future decided?

“my dreams are set in stone and 

someday I’ll be who I want to be, for now I’ll wait"

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the future.....future defined as: college major (yet, I am already in college?!), where to transfer after next year, moving out, having to buy a ‘new-to-me’ car ... eek, what kind of job will I have one day, what to do this summer -- making money or counseling at lake ann camp, still wanting to get married/wanting a family to take care of one day, longing to go to over seas, wanting to live somewhere warm or at least before I die, perhaps re-applying to Moody Chicago or not ...

decisions, decisions, decisions ... pondering, 'where do I see myself five years from now?' It’s hard to picture what the next five years could hold, because today I don’t even know what tomorrow will hold. I have so many dreams and expectations for my future but I can’t even come up with a major to focus on for the next four years ... I can’t say I am a planner in my personal life, however I have to know everything that is going to happen next. I like to know what is next on the list of to-do’s for the day. I read the last chapter of books & google movie plots before I go see it -- I just like to know what to expect. Only God knows where I will be in five years and it’s up to me to wholly surrender to His plan, it is comforting to know that His plans for my life are bigger and better than the dreams I have.
I can’t settle on expectations or things I want to happen, I need to loosen up the reins and let God steer my life...and stop worrying about where tomorrow will lead, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matt. 6:34) ... this concept is so hard for me, it's like living for God is life with out an agenda - because He takes you on a lot of unexpected twists and turns. I don’t like to think of myself as a “worried” person... I prefer the word concerned or aware of what will happen next ... but instead I want to exist to live for today and find excitement in not knowing what’s next.

things I am certain of; I am SO thankful for the new mercies that wash over me every morning, I really do have an amazing family who excepts my human flaws, I am blessed beyond words -- even when I don’t realize it during the valleys of life, and I have a Creator that allows me to sit back and watch while He paints a perfect masterpiece. >>>> so why am I so worried/nervous/anxious about the future?!

God please use me today, as You define my tomorrow.