Tell Me, where are you going, My child, on your journey so far from your Home?
Tell Me, what can they offer you? What can they do that I haven't already done?
I will meet you there, there in the heart of the Father.
I will meet you there, there in the heart of the Son.
And let Me tell you, it's breaking My heart to see you walk down that road.
But in all of you running, remember this one thing:
That I'll always welcome you Home.
I will meet you there, there in the heart of the Father.
I will meet you there, there in the heart of the Son.
I will meet you there, there in the hearts of my Daughters.
I will meet you there, there in the hearts of my Sons.
And you don't have to tell Me, My child, how your life was in vain in the world
Because when you finally stopped running, you found only thing:
I was running to you all along.
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Consuming Love
Esther's uncle declared, "And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this."
Esther 4:14
Esther possessed the power to save the people of Israel because of her intimate relationship with the King. The church is called to be the Bride of the King, and this gives us a strategic position in fighting the evils of the world. Seeing the need and taking action is not enough. Without intimate relationship, we will have no authority or power.
The love we share with the King must be as powerful as the evil we hope to conquer.
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Found
"For the Son of Man came to
seek
and to save what was lost."
This isn't going to be a long post. I just had to share this thought.
Most of the world has heard of Jesus. They know who He is. They know what He did. They know all of these facts about Him. But too often, I think that that's where the world stops. At the facts. I'm talking about non-believers and believers alike. Because the fact is, Jesus is the Son of God. The fact is, He came to rescue the world by dying for our sins. The fact is, He came to save the lost. But He is so, so much deeper than facts. Jesus' death didn't just clear our sins for that time. His death and resurrection carries throughout the rest of time and eternity. I read that verse, Luke 19:10, the other day, and it hit me hard (again) just how personal and intimate Jesus is. He doesn't just wait for us to accept His salvation. He seeks. He pursues. He comes to find us. Even when we don't want Him, He seeks us. Even when we deny Him, He pursues us. Even when we screw up big time, He comes after us! That's not a fact of some far away or impersonal God. That's the TRUTH about a passionate, intimate God who wants nothing less than all of us. His Love is untameable, ungovernable, wild, passionate, unconditional, jealous, intimate, and ETERNAL.
Ahh! I'm so overwhelmed with my Savior who SEEKS ME.
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Words
I felt like sharing some of my favorite quotes. Enjoy! :)
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs are people who are alive!"
"When you walk to the edge of all the light you have, and you take the first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen: there will be something solid for you to stand upon, or you will be taught to fly."
"I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit."
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of the unknown is strength undefeatable."
"I could more easily contain Niagara Falls in a teacup than I can comprehend the wild, uncontainable love of God."
"And the day came when the wish to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in."
"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else."
"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."
"A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for."
"When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers."
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."
"The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”
"A girl should be so lost in God that a man should have to search God to find her."
“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”
"The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not the answer."
"I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they are the first to be rescued off sinking ships."
“It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly...Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
"The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you in some way. You just gotta find the ones worth suffering for."
"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."
"Hate has a reason for everything. Love is unreasonable."
"I haven't failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work."
"The only thing standing between me and greatness is me."
"We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, but to create something that will."
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."
"Speak your mind---even if your voice shakes."
"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent."
"The man who can't dance thinks the band is no good."
"Not all who wander are lost."
"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity."
"Treat people as though they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming."
"It is such a secret place, the land of tears."
"Speak not of my debts unless you mean to pay them."
"Blaze with a fire that is never extinguished."
"Nowhere is our vision more distorted than when we turn it on ourselves."
"As many times as I have experienced such lonely passings, I still don't understand how, with so many people on this planet, so many die alone."
"Don’t take life too seriously; you’ll never get out alive."
"Everybody is somebody else’s weirdo."
"Love is like pin the tail on the donkey: you don't know what you're doing, you don't know where you're going, and when you get it, everyone else knows."
"There is no room for sparks--show her lightning."
"The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it."
"Pure love is a willingness to give without a thought of receiving anything in return."
"Whoever has loved knows all that life contains of sorrow and joy."
"Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds."
"It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end."
"You were once wild here; Don't let them tame you!"
"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you could never do."
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
"I will have poetry in my life. And adventure. And love. Love above all….Unbiddable, ungovernable, like a riot in the heart, and nothing to be done, come ruin or rapture..."
"Do not judge, and you will never be mistaken."
"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage--pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically--to say 'no' to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside. The enemy of the 'best' is often the 'good.'"
"Let go of the past and go for the future. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined."
"For two people in a marriage to live together day after day is unquestionably the one miracle the Vatican has overlooked."
"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live a day without you."
"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day."
"Significant relationship prove there worth and depth not in calm seas, but when the storms roll in. How else would you ever know if the boat has leaks? I guess you could live in your comfort cave and never experience anything that is real, but that feels more like prison. Assuredly, that is prison."
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
"Always remember, it’s simply not an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons."
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs are people who are alive!"
"When you walk to the edge of all the light you have, and you take the first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen: there will be something solid for you to stand upon, or you will be taught to fly."
"I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit."
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of the unknown is strength undefeatable."
"I could more easily contain Niagara Falls in a teacup than I can comprehend the wild, uncontainable love of God."
"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in."
"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else."
"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."
"A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for."
"When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers."
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."
"A girl should be so lost in God that a man should have to search God to find her."
“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”
"The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not the answer."
"I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they are the first to be rescued off sinking ships."
“It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly...Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
"The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you in some way. You just gotta find the ones worth suffering for."
"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."
"Hate has a reason for everything. Love is unreasonable."
"I haven't failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work."
"The only thing standing between me and greatness is me."
"We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, but to create something that will."
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."
"Speak your mind---even if your voice shakes."
"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent."
"The man who can't dance thinks the band is no good."
"Not all who wander are lost."
"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity."
"Treat people as though they were what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming."
"It is such a secret place, the land of tears."
"Speak not of my debts unless you mean to pay them."
"Blaze with a fire that is never extinguished."
"Nowhere is our vision more distorted than when we turn it on ourselves."
"As many times as I have experienced such lonely passings, I still don't understand how, with so many people on this planet, so many die alone."
"Don’t take life too seriously; you’ll never get out alive."
"Everybody is somebody else’s weirdo."
"Love is like pin the tail on the donkey: you don't know what you're doing, you don't know where you're going, and when you get it, everyone else knows."
"There is no room for sparks--show her lightning."
"The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it."
"Pure love is a willingness to give without a thought of receiving anything in return."
"Whoever has loved knows all that life contains of sorrow and joy."
"Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds."
"It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end."
"You were once wild here; Don't let them tame you!"
"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you could never do."
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
"I will have poetry in my life. And adventure. And love. Love above all….Unbiddable, ungovernable, like a riot in the heart, and nothing to be done, come ruin or rapture..."
"Do not judge, and you will never be mistaken."
"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage--pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically--to say 'no' to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside. The enemy of the 'best' is often the 'good.'"
"Let go of the past and go for the future. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined."
"For two people in a marriage to live together day after day is unquestionably the one miracle the Vatican has overlooked."
"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live a day without you."
"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day."
"Significant relationship prove there worth and depth not in calm seas, but when the storms roll in. How else would you ever know if the boat has leaks? I guess you could live in your comfort cave and never experience anything that is real, but that feels more like prison. Assuredly, that is prison."
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
"Always remember, it’s simply not an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons."
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Monday, April 4, 2011
Yes You Have
Every rushing wind that moans
They sing Your praise
My God, they sing Your praise
Every star and open sky
Tell of Your glory divine
They shout Your praise
They shout Your praise
You've stolen my heart
Yes, You have
You've stolen my heart
Yes, You have
You've wiped away the stains
And broke away the chains
Yes, You have
With Your love, You set me free
Through Your nails, gave me liberty
So I'll sing Your praise
My God, I'll sing Your praise
Oh, with Your love
Your forgave my sins
Forgot my past and brought me back again
So I'll sing Your praise
I'll sing Your praise
If I ascend into the sky
Or hide behind the night
I cannot run, Your love is chasing me
If I fall into the sea
Your hand will rescue me
No one will take Your place
Because
This is all for You
Yes, this is all for You
You're the King of the world
I can't escape Your love
You're the King of the world
You've stolen my heart
Yes, You have
You've stolen my heart
Yes, You have
You've wiped away the stains
And broke away the chains
Yes, You have
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Concern vs. Compassion
Concern: to relate to; be connected with; be of interest or importance to; affect
Compassion: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, usually accompanied by an action to alleviate the suffering.
"No, where are you?"
As believers, God has left it up to us to be His hands, His feet, His love, His light. He commissioned us. He commanded us. What are we doing with His commission and commandment?
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
I read this the other day, after hearing a sermon about the difference between God's heart and our hearts. Jesus had just gotten tragic news of his good friends death. He withdrew to be alone and grieve. But even in the midst of tragedy and heartbreak, Jesus still had compassion on the people and met their needs. He forgot Himself. As the evening continued, the disciples thought about the people and how they must be getting hungry. They were concerned for them. Concern is a good feeling to have. But if all you have is concern, then all you have is a feeling. Jesus went further than to be concerned for them. He had compassion on them, which led Him to an action to help them Himself.
I wonder...how many times are Christians just concerned with the worlds affairs? How often are we just concerned with our own church family? Concern alone is just a feeling. We need to be like Jesus and be moved to compassion. If there is a need, and I have the resources or power to meet that need and I don't, that's a problem. In the beginning of the church, the church family was described like this:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
No one was in need! No one was alone! No one wondered how they were going to be taken care of, or how they were going to eat, or pay, or live. They took care of each other. They had compassion on each other, just like Jesus. They didn't think about how inconvenient it might be to offer a room or some food or their time. Convenience has nothing to do with Christ.
I know I'm guilty of this sometimes. I know I've allowed myself to stop at concern, feeling sorry or touched or broken for another people, but doing nothing about it. I know I've tried to even stop myself on purpose because I know that compassion will mean that I have to do something I might not want to do. I'm not saying that we should give all of our money to everyone, or use all of our time trying to meet other peoples needs. We all have our own lives to live too, with responsibilities and committments. But if it's in my power to do something and I have something to offer that someone needs but I'm not giving it, I'm missing something. The world knows exactly what Christians are supposed to do, make no mistake about it. And when we don't do them, we disappoint the world. Believers and non-believers alike. I can talk all day about the state of the world and how horrible I feel about it. I can pray all day about the tragedies and heartbreak that go on around me, and praying is good. But "the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." God wants me to be His hands and feet. God gives to us all the time, hoping we'll give it all away.
Henri Nouwen once said,“Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it."
I don't want to disappoint the world because I'm full of talk and no action. I don't want to let down my church family when someone is in need and I have the means to meet that need, but don't. I want to be compassion driven, like my Jesus.
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Compassion: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, usually accompanied by an action to alleviate the suffering.
There are a lot of tragic and horrible things that happen in the world everyday. Starvation. Diseases. Accidents. Slavery. Murders. Rapes. Abuse. Divorces. Bullying. Homelessness. Poverty. The list goes on. It's easy to look at the world and say, "God, where are You?" But you know what I think His response is?
"No, where are you?"
As believers, God has left it up to us to be His hands, His feet, His love, His light. He commissioned us. He commanded us. What are we doing with His commission and commandment?
I know I've said it before, but I love how the Lord went about choosing His disciples. They were all people that we can relate with. They were all stupid sometimes. They were all prideful sometimes. They were all wrong sometimes. They had good intentions. They were just figuring things out along their way.
This is in Matthew 14, where Jesus feeds the five thousand. Jesus had just gotten news of John the Baptists death.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
I read this the other day, after hearing a sermon about the difference between God's heart and our hearts. Jesus had just gotten tragic news of his good friends death. He withdrew to be alone and grieve. But even in the midst of tragedy and heartbreak, Jesus still had compassion on the people and met their needs. He forgot Himself. As the evening continued, the disciples thought about the people and how they must be getting hungry. They were concerned for them. Concern is a good feeling to have. But if all you have is concern, then all you have is a feeling. Jesus went further than to be concerned for them. He had compassion on them, which led Him to an action to help them Himself.
I wonder...how many times are Christians just concerned with the worlds affairs? How often are we just concerned with our own church family? Concern alone is just a feeling. We need to be like Jesus and be moved to compassion. If there is a need, and I have the resources or power to meet that need and I don't, that's a problem. In the beginning of the church, the church family was described like this:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
I know I'm guilty of this sometimes. I know I've allowed myself to stop at concern, feeling sorry or touched or broken for another people, but doing nothing about it. I know I've tried to even stop myself on purpose because I know that compassion will mean that I have to do something I might not want to do. I'm not saying that we should give all of our money to everyone, or use all of our time trying to meet other peoples needs. We all have our own lives to live too, with responsibilities and committments. But if it's in my power to do something and I have something to offer that someone needs but I'm not giving it, I'm missing something. The world knows exactly what Christians are supposed to do, make no mistake about it. And when we don't do them, we disappoint the world. Believers and non-believers alike. I can talk all day about the state of the world and how horrible I feel about it. I can pray all day about the tragedies and heartbreak that go on around me, and praying is good. But "the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." God wants me to be His hands and feet. God gives to us all the time, hoping we'll give it all away.
Henri Nouwen once said,“Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it."
I don't want to disappoint the world because I'm full of talk and no action. I don't want to let down my church family when someone is in need and I have the means to meet that need, but don't. I want to be compassion driven, like my Jesus.
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Thursday, March 24, 2011
A Woman's Question
"This chills me everytime I read it. Her words show me to be the immature boy that I am, stopping me in my tracks and daring me to be man enough to treat a woman right. Some of the poem's wording might seem old-fashioned, but the message is timeless."
~Joshua Harris, I Kissed Dating Goodbye
So it seemed that it was cool for everyone to be in a relationship but me. So, I took matters into my own hands and ended up with him.
Him, who displayed the characteristics of a cheater, a liar, an abuser, and a thief, so why was I surprised when he broke into my heart?
I called 911 but I was cardiac arrested for aiding and abetting ‘cause it was me who let him in - claiming we were ‘just friends’.
It was already decided for me by the first date that even if he wasn't, I was gonna make him the one.
You know, I was tired of being alone, and I simply made up in my mind that it was about that time so I decided to drag him along for the ride, because I was always the bridesmaid and never the bride.
A virgin in the physical but mentally just a grown woman on the corner, in heat, and was tired of the wait.
So I was going to make him the one.
He had a form of godliness, but not much.
But, hey! I can change him, so I’ll take him.
I mean, he’s close enough.
Ready to sell my aorta for a quarter not knowing the value of its used to be - Arteries so clogged with my will that blocked His will from flowing through me.
So I thank Christ that His blood pressure gave His heart an attack that flat-lined my obscure vision, put me flat on my back.
Through my ignorance He saw, so through my sternum He saw, to crack open my chest to transplant so I was 51:10 (Psalm 51:10).
A new heart and a renewed, right spirit within, so now I fully understand; better yet, I thoroughly comprehend how much I need to wait… for you.
See, the bad thing is that I knew he wasn’t you from the beginning.
‘Cause in the beginning was the Word and he didn't even sound or shine like Your Son.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and all he could whisper were sweet, empty nothings, which meant nothing.He couldn't even pray what I needed him to.
Asking him to fast would be absurd, so forget about being cleansed and washed with water through the Word.
But I know you. You are already praying for me.
Even never having met me, let me assure you, I will wait... for you.
I will no longer date, socialize, or communicate with carbon copies of you to appease my boredom or to quench my thirsty desire for attention and short-lived compliments from sort-of kind-ers.
You know: he’s sort-of kind of right, but sort-of kind of wrong.
His first name Luke, his last name Warm.
I won’t settle for false companionship.
I won’t lay in the embrace of his arms attempting to find some closeness but never feeling so far apart ‘cause I just want to be held.
‘ Cause all I gotta do is say, “No”.No more almost sessions of almost coming close.Passing winks and buying drinks and – I’m a, I’m a, I’m a flirt -
Who flirts with the ideology of: “Can you just tell me how much I can get away with and still be saved?”
No more.
I’ll stay in my bed, alone, and write poems about how I will wait for you.
He won’t even come close;
Our fingers won’t even interlock;
We won’t even exchange breath;
‘Cause I have thoughts that I have saved, and asked that Father God has only equipped you to open.I will no longer get be-raided down from so-called friends and family talks about the concerns of my biological clock when I serve the Author of Time – who is not subject to time, but I am subject to Him.
He has the ability to stop, fast forward, pause, or rewind at any given time so if we could role play, you would be Abraham and I would be Sarah.
Or, you could be Isaac and I could be Rebekah: a servant’s answered prayer.
I am bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh, made up of your rib, Adam.
And once we meet, like electrons I will be bound to your nucleus completely indivisible atom.
We even speak the same math.
One plus one plus one equals three, which really equals One if you add 'em.
We were all created in His image, but you have the ability to reflect, project, and even detect the Son.
If I were to explain what you look like, you would have to look like a star – a son of the Son.
I would gain energy simply from the light that you shine on me.
I would need you in order to complete my photosynthesis.
I await your revelation but once again from the moments of genesis – I will wait for you.
And I will know you, because
But to my Father, my Father who has known me before I was birthed into this earth – only if You should see fit.I desire Your will above mine, so even if you call me to a life of singleness, my heart is content with You. You are the greatest love story ever told, the greatest love ever known.
You are forever my Judge and I’m forever Your witness.
And I pray I’m always found in the mission about my Father’s business.
I will always be Yours, and I will always wait for You, LORD.More than the watchmen wait for the morning. More than the watchmen wait for the morning,
The Best Is Yet To Come...
~Joshua Harris, I Kissed Dating Goodbye
Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing
Ever made by the Hand above?
A woman's heart, and a woman's life--
And a woman's wonderful love.
Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing
As a child might ask for a toy?
Demanding what others have died to win,
Demanding what others have died to win,
With the reckless dash of a boy.
You have written my lesson of duty out,
Manlike, you have questioned me.
Now stand at the bars of my woman's soul
Until I shall question thee.
You require your mutton shall always be hot,
Your socks and your shirt be whole;
I require your heart be true as God's stars
And as pure as His Heaven, your soul
You require a cook for your mutton and beef,
I require a far greater thing;
A seamstress you're wanting for socks and shirts--
I look for a man and a king.
A king for the beautiful realm called Home,
And a man that his Maker, God,
Shall look upon as He did on the first
And say, "It is very good."
I am fair and young, but the rose may fade
From this soft young cheek one day;
Will you love me then 'mid the falling leaves,
As you did 'mong the blossoms of May?
Is your heart an ocean so strong and true,
I may launch my all on its tide?
A loving woman finds heaven or hell
On the day she is made a bride.
I require all things that are grand and true,
All things that a man should be;
If you give this all, I would stake my life
To be all you demand of me.
If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook
You can hire and little to pay;
But a woman's heart and a woman's life
Are not to be won that way.
~Lena Lathrop~
That poem is my heart's cry for my future husband. Yes, it may be old-fashioned wording, but you can understand what it's saying. You can even translate it to modern-day words and meaning. I know it's long, but kind of like this:
So it seemed that it was cool for everyone to be in a relationship but me. So, I took matters into my own hands and ended up with him.
Him, who displayed the characteristics of a cheater, a liar, an abuser, and a thief, so why was I surprised when he broke into my heart?
I called 911 but I was cardiac arrested for aiding and abetting ‘cause it was me who let him in - claiming we were ‘just friends’.
It was already decided for me by the first date that even if he wasn't, I was gonna make him the one.
You know, I was tired of being alone, and I simply made up in my mind that it was about that time so I decided to drag him along for the ride, because I was always the bridesmaid and never the bride.
A virgin in the physical but mentally just a grown woman on the corner, in heat, and was tired of the wait.
So I was going to make him the one.
He had a form of godliness, but not much.
But, hey! I can change him, so I’ll take him.
I mean, he’s close enough.
Ready to sell my aorta for a quarter not knowing the value of its used to be - Arteries so clogged with my will that blocked His will from flowing through me.
So I thank Christ that His blood pressure gave His heart an attack that flat-lined my obscure vision, put me flat on my back.
Through my ignorance He saw, so through my sternum He saw, to crack open my chest to transplant so I was 51:10 (Psalm 51:10).
A new heart and a renewed, right spirit within, so now I fully understand; better yet, I thoroughly comprehend how much I need to wait… for you.
See, the bad thing is that I knew he wasn’t you from the beginning.
‘Cause in the beginning was the Word and he didn't even sound or shine like Your Son.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and all he could whisper were sweet, empty nothings, which meant nothing.He couldn't even pray what I needed him to.
Asking him to fast would be absurd, so forget about being cleansed and washed with water through the Word.
But I know you. You are already praying for me.
Even never having met me, let me assure you, I will wait... for you.
I will no longer date, socialize, or communicate with carbon copies of you to appease my boredom or to quench my thirsty desire for attention and short-lived compliments from sort-of kind-ers.
You know: he’s sort-of kind of right, but sort-of kind of wrong.
His first name Luke, his last name Warm.
I won’t settle for false companionship.
I won’t lay in the embrace of his arms attempting to find some closeness but never feeling so far apart ‘cause I just want to be held.
‘ Cause all I gotta do is say, “No”.No more almost sessions of almost coming close.Passing winks and buying drinks and – I’m a, I’m a, I’m a flirt -
Who flirts with the ideology of: “Can you just tell me how much I can get away with and still be saved?”
No more.
I’ll stay in my bed, alone, and write poems about how I will wait for you.
He won’t even come close;
Our fingers won’t even interlock;
We won’t even exchange breath;
‘Cause I have thoughts that I have saved, and asked that Father God has only equipped you to open.I will no longer get be-raided down from so-called friends and family talks about the concerns of my biological clock when I serve the Author of Time – who is not subject to time, but I am subject to Him.
He has the ability to stop, fast forward, pause, or rewind at any given time so if we could role play, you would be Abraham and I would be Sarah.
Or, you could be Isaac and I could be Rebekah: a servant’s answered prayer.
I am bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh, made up of your rib, Adam.
And once we meet, like electrons I will be bound to your nucleus completely indivisible atom.
We even speak the same math.
One plus one plus one equals three, which really equals One if you add 'em.
We were all created in His image, but you have the ability to reflect, project, and even detect the Son.
If I were to explain what you look like, you would have to look like a star – a son of the Son.
I would gain energy simply from the light that you shine on me.
I would need you in order to complete my photosynthesis.
I await your revelation but once again from the moments of genesis – I will wait for you.
And I will know you, because
when you speak I will be reminded of Solomon’s wisdom;
your ability to lead will remind me of Moses;
your faith will remind me of Abraham;
your confidence in God’s word will remind me of Daniel;
your inspiration will remind me of Paul;
your heart for God will remind me of David;
your attention to detail will remind me of Noah;
your integrity will remind me of Joseph;
and your ability to abandon your own will will remind me of the disciples.
But your ability to love selflessly and unconditionally will remind me of Christ.But I won’t need to identify you by any special Matthews or any special Marks ‘cause His word will be tatted all over your heart.
And you will know me and you will find me where the
boldness of Esther meets the warm, closeness of Ruth;
where the hospitality of Lydia is aligned with the submission of Mary,
which is engulfed in the tears of a praying Hannah.
I will be the one drenched in Proverbs 31 waiting for you.
I will be the one drenched in Proverbs 31 waiting for you.
But to my Father, my Father who has known me before I was birthed into this earth – only if You should see fit.I desire Your will above mine, so even if you call me to a life of singleness, my heart is content with You. You are the greatest love story ever told, the greatest love ever known.
You are forever my Judge and I’m forever Your witness.
And I pray I’m always found in the mission about my Father’s business.
I will always be Yours, and I will always wait for You, LORD.More than the watchmen wait for the morning. More than the watchmen wait for the morning,
I will wait.
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Sometime
Sometime
when all life's lessons have been learned,And the sun and stars forevermore have set
The things which our weak judgements here have spurned,
The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet,
Will flash before us out of life's dark night,
As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue;
And we shall see how all God's plans are right,
And how what seemed reproof was love most true.
Then be content poor heart;
God's plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold;
we must not tear the close-shut leaves apart--Time will reveal the chalices of gold.
And if, through patient toil, we reach the land
Where tired feet, with sandals loosed, may rest,
When we shall clearly see and understand,
I think that we will say,
"God knew the best!"
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Our Delight Is His Delight
You know what I love?
Everything God did, He had us in mind. I love just imagining Him in the creation process, thinking about me. Thinking about you. "She'll like this," and "I can't wait until he's born so that I can watch him smile from this." I was driving down a scenic road the other day, and my heart was just bursting because of the beauty around me. I said, "God, You're so beautiful!" And He responded, "I love watching you take delight in My beauty!" He says that for all of us.
Beauty.
And the best part is that it's all around. Beauty is truly all around.
If you know how to find it.
We live in a world and culture that defines beauty through the size of our waist and the color of our hair and the name on our clothes. We walk through a world and culture where the eyes of man are constantly looking for a way to improve the way we look to satisfy the desire of someone else. Yes, it's easy to find beauty in those ways because we've been told what beauty is. Got the hair? Check. Got the waist size? Check. Got the make-up? Check. Got the muscles? Check. Ok, then you're beautiful! All I had to do was type in "beauty" on google images, and all that popped up was women who filled that mold.
There is so much more beauty to the world. Do you realize how much of this world was made beautiful simply because God knew we'd like it? He could have made the world in blacks and grays. But He didn't. He painted skies of deep blue and He swirled pinks and reds and purples into a sunset.
He could have made flowers without their beautiful scent. But He didn't. He poured fragrance into them because He knew that we'd love to smell them. And He wanted to take delight in our delight. Do you know how often God waits for you to take notice of His creation so that He can find joy in your pleasure? What beauty is found in His creation! He made us each individually and uniquely because beauty is unique to each person. He gave us all different talents and gifts because He knew we'd find joy in each others' gifts as well! The song you love to listen to on repeat? He gave that singer his voice because He wanted you to enjoy it. That painting that makes you catch your breath? He gave that artist her hand to paint so that you could stop and look at it. That child that has the laugh to make your heart stop? He filled that child with it so that you would be touched by it. That hill you love to sled down? He created it knowing how much you'd laugh as you slid down it. He loves when His children have fun!
Our delight is His delight.
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Monday, March 21, 2011
This Moment...Every Moment
All your pain will be made Mine
All your troubles, the tears you cry
Give it up, all that binds
I will place it on My shoulders
And up this hill I'll climb
Father, give Me strength
I know there is no other way
I lay down My life for you
This is the moment when all will be made new
I know that you don't understand
But this is part of a greater plan
So I lay down My life for you
This is Love that had to bleed
To bring you mercy, to set you free
You are Mine, I am yours
And I will wear your burdensJust like this crown of thorns
Give Me all your pride
Give Me all your fears
Give Me all your secrets
Give Me all your tears
Give Me all your doubts
Give Me all your shame
Watch them wash away
Watch them wash away
I will take your place
I know there is no other way
I lay down My life for you
This is the moment when all will be made new
I know that you don't understand
But this is part of a greater plan
So I lay down My life for you
Though I know that you don't understand
These scars are part of a greater plan
And I lay down My life for you
Arms stretched out upon this tree
To show true Love
To set you free
I heard this song today and was moved to tears (Me? Cry? Unbelievable...) As Christians, we know that God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for us so that we might believe in Him and be saved. Whether we grew up knowing the Bible, or have just started reading it, we know the truths inside it. Sometimes though, I think that, because we hear them so often, and because we've believed them and known them for so long, that these truths become just...background noise. We nod and say our "amen", but tune out at the same time because we've "heard it all before."
This is why God is constantly wanting us to dig in deeper with Him, because He always has new secrets and mysteries and truths that He wants to reveal to us and share with us. But I also believe that He wants to remind us of the "old truths" again and again throughout our walk with Him. He wants to reignite the "basics" in us. That's what He did to me tonight through this song.
Jesus was the Son of God, yes. But He was also a man. He felt emotion. He experienced pain in all forms. He grew up in the world. I wonder if sometimes, we belittle His experience at the cross and all that led up to it. I wonder if we think, because He was fully God and fully man, He didn't feel pain as much as a normal person would. I wonder if we think, because He was sent to Earth to die, that He wasn't afraid. He must have been perfectly happy and willing to go through excruciating pain and brutality because it was His purpose.
That's trash.
Jesus felt every ounce of pain that He went through in all of its severity and deepness. And we know that He wanted another way to save us. He prayed to His Father in Heaven, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Jesus knew that His Father could do anything. Even create a different way to save the world. And He wanted it! But He also knew that His Father's way was best, and He surrendered His life to obey His Father.
And so, Jesus layed down His life. For you. For me. Who else can that be said about? He died so that I could live. He hung on the cross because He knew that through it, all things would be made new. Not just in that moment, but in every moment from then on! The cross wasn't just for then. It's for now. All we will ever need is at the foot of the cross. That means that every moment I need healing, I can find it at the cross. Every moment I need comfort, I can find it at the cross. Every moment that I need things made new, I can find it at the cross. In His presence, all things are made new. So every time I enter His presence, I'm made new in some way. That's crazy! That's beautiful!
That moment that Jesus gave up His life...was done for every moment after.
This moment.
And this moment.
And this one.
And this one.
How can I not use every moment for Him when He gave His life so that I could have life? Without Him, I wouldn't even have a life to even consider giving to Him! Ah, He's so good! There are no words to describe! I need a language as large as this longing inside!
How are you living your moments? Are you just a fan or admirer of Christ? That won't cost you anything. But if you're a follower of Christ, it's going to cost you everything. Look at your life: what are you paying?
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Love Is Not A Fight
It's a house we enter in, and then commit to never leave
So lock the door behind you, throw away the key
We'll work it out together, and let it bring us to our knees
Love is a shelter in a raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
If we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight, but it's something worth fighting for
To some, love is a word that they can fall into
But when they're falling out, keeping that word is hard to do
Love will come to save us if we'll only call
He will ask nothing from us
But demand we give our all
Love is a shelter in a raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
If we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight, but it's something worth fighting for
I will fight for you
Would you fight for me?
It's worth fighting for
The Best Is Yet To Come...
Saturday, February 12, 2011
By All Appearances
SO...
Did you know that Jesus would not have been hired at most churches today? Whoa...
The Bible commands us to do our best to be like Jesus. It's what we as followers of Christ live for and stand on as our way of life. It's not a suggestion. But before we can really live our lives as Jesus lived out His, we have to look at not only the big things He commanded us to obey, but also the little things that He did on a day to day basis.
So I have to ask...
If I hang out with prostitutes, does that make me a prostitute according to your eyes? If I eat with drunkards, does that make me a drunkard according to what you see? If I walk with druggies or gangsters, does that make me a druggie or gangster by all appearances? Because if it does, I guess that means that Jesus was a sinner and a tax collector and a leper and a drunkard and...the list goes on. Because by all appearances, to man, Jesus was no prophet or spiritual leader. And He definitely couldn't have been a pastor these days by our regulations...
I think sometimes, as Christians, we judge and gossip more than unbelievers! How many of us are just modern-day pharisees? If you were to see a pastor that you know sitting in a bar talking, I bet that most people would think, "What's Pastor So-and-So doing in a bar? He drinks? That is not ok for a spiritual authority!" Why do we so often think the worst of people before we think the best? Why are we so quick to judge someone's actions instead of asking them about it, instead of learning about their heart? It's biblical to go to the person first anyway! If you went to that person in love to ask what was going on in his or her life, I can bet that a whole lot of drama and gossip and pain would be spared.
It's sad to think that, in God's flock, the greatest wounds usually come from other sheep, not the wolves. I'm sick of God's children being torn apart by each other. All the wolves have to do is wait for the blood to be spilt, and then they can feast.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
James 3:9-12
Instead:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35
This verse has really been hitting me hard lately. Jesus says that one of the only things that sets us apart from nonbelievers is our love for one another. Which means to me, if I'm not loving my brother or sister in Christ, I'm not proving myself to be a disciple of Christ. Ouch. I don't want to have to try to convince people that I'm a disciple. I want them to know it just from knowing me. I want them to know I'm in Christ's family. In His army. But.
I'm going to end with this:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Luke 6:37-38
The Best Is Yet To Come...
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