"Lord, I am Coming"

Psalm 27:8 My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."

I love this verse. I hope that anytime we hear God calling us to spend time with him that we respond, "Lord, I am coming." It's so easy for a lot of us to say, "Lord, I am coming but give me a minute." We get wrapped up in the demands of our daily routine and schedule that we don't take the time when he asks us to. I encourage you to make spending time with your heavenly father a priority in life so that when he asks you to spend time with him, you have no trouble responding, "Lord, I am coming."

Courage & Strength

Psalms 31:24 So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!

Strong- Not easily subdued or taken
Courage- Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty

Reading the definitions for being strong and courageous bring a whole new perspective to this passage. We're encouraged to not be easily subdued or taken and to have mental or moral strength to push through, to stand strong against danger, fear and difficulty. One of the enemy's main goals in the lives of followers of Christ is to subdue or "tone them down". If the enemy can subdue us, he can get us to remain in neutral, going through the motions of the Christian life. In John 16:33 Jesus says, "...Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." Even on our darkest days we can be assured that God is stronger than anything we may have to face in this temporary life on earth.

Never Stop Praying

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Never stop praying

I titled this blog before I even found a verse to go along with what I wanted to share with you. God has a way of fitting things together perfectly. Never stop praying. Currently at New Life Church, we are in the midst of 21 days of prayer and fasting. We are praying for breakthrough, miracles, new vision, along with so many other things. As I've been taking time to pray and hear the Lord, I've realized just how important my prayer life is in developing my relationship with him. Just as we talk to friends and family frequently, so we need to talk to our heavenly father. We can talk to him about anything at any time. We can pray for an answer to a situation, we can pray for provision for the future, we can tell him our worries and our joys, we can pray on behalf of others in our lives, the list is endless. Anything on your mind, you can take to God in prayer. It's also good for us to take time to not only talk to God but to allow him to talk to us. Take an equal amount of time to listen to what He might have to say to you. Quiet your mind and forget about what the day has ahead or what you need to accomplish and let him speak to your heart. Prayer is a two way conversation, so talk and take time to listen.

He Knows Us

First of all, I am so sorry for not blogging as frequently as I committed to. I realized the other day that I haven't blogged in months and I miss it. I love writing and encouraging you. God put on my heart to share with you what He has been revealing to me almost every day the last month or two, and that is the fact that He knows me better than anyone else. He knows YOU better than anyone in your life as well. He knows the deep and shameful secrets that you've never shared with anyone, he knows the larger-than-life dreams that you keep in your back pocket, he knows the longings and desires of your heart, and he knows every little detail of your life because he made you! Even the things that you think are so small they don't matter, they matter to your Creator because he cares deeply about the things that concern and worry you. 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." Find comfort in the fact that the Maker of all the earth cares about you and has your best in mind. He knows you, inside and out. I wrote a poem that expresses this very idea. Let him embrace you and find joy in his arms.

At times in life we feel depleted
Unlike God who is completed
So we turn to him for fullness of life
The one who takes our pain and our strife
His joy is free, without cost
Filling my soul when I am lost
You wrap me up in arms of love
Reaching from the heavens above
Hope deferred makes the heart sick
But you know just what makes me tick
You know me Lord, inside and out
You know my worry and my doubt
You know my delight and desire
Burning within me like a fire
You know my thoughts and all my shame
Each person I've seemed to blame
You know my secrets and every scar
The wounds inflicted from afar
You know my struggles deep within
Each heartache and every sin
You know all my ways, good and bad
All the anxiety I've ever had
You search me O God
Breaking down my facade
Knocking on my heart's door
Wanting me to give you more
I want to surrender all to you
But I don't know what to do
Show me the way, show me how
Show me in the stillness of now

A Subtle Stir

What am i scared of

What do i hide

Is it hate or is it love

 

What is stirring on the inside

What is waiting to awaken..

Hope, desire, something that's died

Tears, laughter, dreams in my heart

Maybe it's something that has yet to become

Waiting so patiently to get to the start

 

 There's so much to think through in this life
High school and college, weddings and kids
Joyful celebrations and painful strife
Growing up and becoming aware
All of the things that were once unseen

Now are the things that seem so unfair

Who or what is calling out
Will you respond
Or deny with doubt?



 

Transparent Tears

"Let your tears come. Let them water your soul." ~Eileen Mayhew

Let this love letter for you from God speak to your heart....taken from Sheri Rose Shepherd's book His Princess...Love letters from Your King

I see how hard you to try to handle your heart, and I know you want to live a life without heartaches or pain. I'm asking you to take a step closer to your Father in heaven by crying out to Me when you hurt. Let Me heal you. Remember My chosen, King David? He cried out to Me in his fears, disappointments, and sin, and I answered. You are also My chosen one, and you are My daughter/son...so it's okay to cry. I don't expect you to pretend that pain is not real. It is truth and tears that will give you the freedom that I want you to know. Now let go of that part of your heart that only I can heal. Let your heavenly Daddy hold you while you cry.
Love,
Your King who wipes away your tears

Often times we cover up the very feelings that God has called us to reveal to Him. We hide what's underneath so that we come across as someone who has it all together. The truth is we all make mistakes and have problems, it's okay to be vulnerable and transparent with the One who knows what we feel before we share it with Him. He wants to hear from you and He wants you to know it's okay to cry.

Whispers of His Nearness

As a lot of you know, I am now living in Colorado Springs attending the School of Worship at New Life Church. I am staying with an amazing family and they have made the transition an easy one. However, I wanted to share with you a major God-thing that happened recently because it reveals just how much he cares for each one of His children.
 
The first two weeks I was in Colorado I was busy with orientation for school, adjusting to the altitude (and believe me it's an adjustment), and attending the retreat planned for students in SOW. It was a whirlwind of activities, information, and new surroundings. I really didn't have time to think about missing home or my family because I was so busy. In the middle of September things started to slow down and I had more time to process everything that had happened in the last couple weeks. I began to feel overwhelmed, lonely and isolated. I felt as if I didn't fit in with my classmates or anyone around me. Backtracking a bit, a few weeks before I came out to Colorado I shared with my youth group about the nearness of God. The title was Never Alone. God has a funny way with things because within three days, he revealed himself to me in a way he never has.
 
Last weekend I attended Women of Faith with a group of women from New Life and while I was there I ended up going to lunch with my roomates at the conference. We went to Cheescake Factory (this has a point) and ate dinner but didn't have time to get dessert. I had never had cheesecake from there and was really wanting to get some but we didn't have time. One of my roomates offered to bring some back for me on Sunday so I told her I would really appreciate it. To my suprise, she brought it back for me and I text her later in the day to say thank you for thinking of me. A few minutes later she text back and told me she wanted me to know I was worth a trip to a restaurant and she also felt like God wanted her to tell me that he sees me and he knows where I am at. The next day I went to class and when I sat down in my usual spot, the lady I sit next to got my attention and said, "I felt like God wanted me to tell you that he thinks you are perfect the way you are and that he delights in you." Wow!! Two days in a row!! It gets better....The next day (day three), we had chapel and right after we got done worshipping, one of the interns came up to me and said, "I felt like God wanted me to come over and give you a hug and to tell you that he knows."
 
WHAT?!!! I was blown away. The fact that God would use three completely different people to speak into my life and tell me that God cares and he knows my needs was amazing!! He used the message I shared with the youth to minister to me in a powerful way. I know this is longer than what I usually share, but this story is an amazing testimony to the unique way that God speaks to us!! Just when I thought he'd forgotten about me, he whispered hope into my spirit and allowed the voice of those three women to reflect his love for me.