lots of little victories tonight. Ask and you will receive. Jesus is good. so so good. So tonight is a celebration, for all the little victories the Kingdom had tonight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJxlqfHCZFs
duh. = )
Friday, February 18, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
opportunities
The last few days have been incredible. Well, honestly the last month or so has been. I have learned so much in the process of applying to be a camp staff intern and field staff intern. I have been learning what it means to live moment by moment, to pray consisently, and to trust in the plan the Lord has already made for me.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 4:6-7
This verse has taken on a whole new meaning for me. That's a command right there. Do not be anxious about anything. Period. End of discussion. Then, instead of being anxious, pray about everything. Recently, as I've been reading different scriptures, I've been looking a lot of words up in the dictionary. Usually I "know" what all the words mean, but it's so sweet to look up the words. I love to see what they actually mean. Petition is an earnest request. And that's what I've been doing. Earnestly requesting that he prepare my heart for the next 2 years of my life. Not that He would reveal to me exactly what I'll be doing, where I'll be, who I'll be with. But that my heart would be prepared for all of it. And then past that, then I present my requests. Me saying, from my small and insignificant point of view, I'd love this and I'd be comfortable with that. However, my requests are not the plan. Not always the best way. And so I'm open to what the Lord has for me. Not my will, yet yours be done. It is cool to see that, as a result from spending so much time with him and being so prayerful about things, that sometimes my will is the same as his. Crazy.
Another thing I've been realizing with this whole process is that the Lord has had my life planned out since the beginning of time. So whatever He has planned, is what's going to happen. My current favorite song is Our God by Chris Tomlin. One of the lines is: And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us. And if our God is with us, then what could stand against. I love that. If I'm supposed to be on YL staff in VA, then nothing in this entire world could stop me. And if I'm not, then nothing in this world could lead me there. Incredible. And what a relief!
The current update: I'm interning at Lake Champion this summer. And I'm so excited about it. I'm going on YL staff. And I'm so excited about this too. Where? Not sure. Praying for a prepared heart, but also for opportunities in the greater northeast and in VA. I'm praying that doors will be opened and closed and that I will be willing to listen when the call comes.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 4:6-7
This verse has taken on a whole new meaning for me. That's a command right there. Do not be anxious about anything. Period. End of discussion. Then, instead of being anxious, pray about everything. Recently, as I've been reading different scriptures, I've been looking a lot of words up in the dictionary. Usually I "know" what all the words mean, but it's so sweet to look up the words. I love to see what they actually mean. Petition is an earnest request. And that's what I've been doing. Earnestly requesting that he prepare my heart for the next 2 years of my life. Not that He would reveal to me exactly what I'll be doing, where I'll be, who I'll be with. But that my heart would be prepared for all of it. And then past that, then I present my requests. Me saying, from my small and insignificant point of view, I'd love this and I'd be comfortable with that. However, my requests are not the plan. Not always the best way. And so I'm open to what the Lord has for me. Not my will, yet yours be done. It is cool to see that, as a result from spending so much time with him and being so prayerful about things, that sometimes my will is the same as his. Crazy.
Another thing I've been realizing with this whole process is that the Lord has had my life planned out since the beginning of time. So whatever He has planned, is what's going to happen. My current favorite song is Our God by Chris Tomlin. One of the lines is: And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us. And if our God is with us, then what could stand against. I love that. If I'm supposed to be on YL staff in VA, then nothing in this entire world could stop me. And if I'm not, then nothing in this world could lead me there. Incredible. And what a relief!
The current update: I'm interning at Lake Champion this summer. And I'm so excited about it. I'm going on YL staff. And I'm so excited about this too. Where? Not sure. Praying for a prepared heart, but also for opportunities in the greater northeast and in VA. I'm praying that doors will be opened and closed and that I will be willing to listen when the call comes.
Friday, February 4, 2011
that's the way it is
what else brings me joy? sitting in my living room, for 3 hours, laughing non-stop, with all my housemates. and having itunes genius make me this playlist from "I want it that way" (BSB):
Genie in a bottle - christina
everywhere - michelle branch
back here - bb mak
summer girls - lfo
gone - kelly clarkson
i knew i loved you - savage garden
white houses - vanessar carlton
as long as you love me - bsb
everything you want - vertical horizon
what a girl wants - christina
breathe - michelle branch
always be my baby - mariah
that's the way it is - celine dion
does it get any better than that?
Genie in a bottle - christina
everywhere - michelle branch
back here - bb mak
summer girls - lfo
gone - kelly clarkson
i knew i loved you - savage garden
white houses - vanessar carlton
as long as you love me - bsb
everything you want - vertical horizon
what a girl wants - christina
breathe - michelle branch
always be my baby - mariah
that's the way it is - celine dion
does it get any better than that?
Thursday, February 3, 2011
for the glory of the Lord
young life brings me joy. high school kids bring me joy. and lots of it. We had our first event tonight, a scavenger hunt. It was great. One of the perks of leading out of the area is the long drives. Which so often I do not see a perk, but as something that prevents me from spending a lot of time with girls. But it truly is a perk, especially when I drive by myself. Because that's so much built in time with just me and the Lord. And tonight I prayed. I got to pray for my time with one of my closest friends at stonewall, pray for the scavenger hunt, pray for specific girls, my small group, soccer, club this semester, campaigners. I just got to lift up so much and it was so great. Lift up my fears and excitements about different aspects of the ministry. It's incredible to see the Lord's power through prayer. And to see His perfect timing. Within the last 48 hours, there have been multiple girls who have kind of dropped off in the last few months, who have contacted me and showed up and wanted to talk about life. Praise the Lord.
Prayer overnight was last weekend. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year. It's incredible and powerful. This year was hard for me. The last time I went (2 years ago) I fainted because I have low blood sugar and I didn't eat food. I fell on top of someone while we were praying. It was embarassing and defeating. And because of my blood sugar issues, I am not allowed to fast. I know fasting is something that a lot of people don't like doing, but I would truly love to be able to participate in that. This past weekend was hard. Plain and simple. It's hard to not fast when 850 other people are. I get so nervous about not having food with me. I was so nervous to get trapped in the middle of the club room and start to feel light headed and need to get food in me. So most of the time I sat in the back. I realized how I am a slave to food. not sure if that's a bad thing but I am. and it's tough. But regardless of that, it was a great weekend. I got to see two of my closest girls from stonewall experience the Lord in a new way. They experienced healing and were given a vision for who they can be in Christ. Incredible.
We (all 850 of us) prayed for healing, specifically for a little girl named Maury who has a rare degenerative disease that causes her body to convulse. She's confined to a wheel chair. Her younger brother has it too. Maury wasn't doing very well last week. And we all lifted her up in prayer. We got news yesterday that her convulsions have stopped and the doctors think they have a cure for her. Jesus is powerful and loving. He listens and He's responding. Incredible.
check out va young life. "For where two or three (or 850) come together in my name, there am I with them."
Something else I realized tonight, on my quiet ride home, was how much I avoid conflict. I don't like attention and I don't like to cause a scene, especially with young life. I love high school kids and I love their energy. But so often I am concerned with if they are disturbing anyone or offending anyone. I often find myself trying to get them to be quiet. I don't want them to cause a ruckus. I got to thinking. Why do I do that. Jesus caused a scene. He made a commotion, He offended people and He caused a ruckus. Why don't I live like that. We had 22 high school kids, running around a neighborhood tonight, asking for bandaids, old VHS videos, and beanie babies. There was laughter and competition. The older kids were leader the younger kids. They rang doorbells and got so excited when someone gave them an item. They sang a song about how beautiful jeremy's feet were. A police officer came, and told us someone reported that there was a group of teenagers who looked dangerous outside. He came and talked to us, and told us to have fun. There was no need for me to try to hold back these kids. It's ok for them to make a scene. It's ok that people notice us. We are doing it for the glory of the Lord. Just like Jesus did. So that is how I will try to live my life this week. I will not be afraid to cause a commotion or make a scene.
Prayer overnight was last weekend. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year. It's incredible and powerful. This year was hard for me. The last time I went (2 years ago) I fainted because I have low blood sugar and I didn't eat food. I fell on top of someone while we were praying. It was embarassing and defeating. And because of my blood sugar issues, I am not allowed to fast. I know fasting is something that a lot of people don't like doing, but I would truly love to be able to participate in that. This past weekend was hard. Plain and simple. It's hard to not fast when 850 other people are. I get so nervous about not having food with me. I was so nervous to get trapped in the middle of the club room and start to feel light headed and need to get food in me. So most of the time I sat in the back. I realized how I am a slave to food. not sure if that's a bad thing but I am. and it's tough. But regardless of that, it was a great weekend. I got to see two of my closest girls from stonewall experience the Lord in a new way. They experienced healing and were given a vision for who they can be in Christ. Incredible.
We (all 850 of us) prayed for healing, specifically for a little girl named Maury who has a rare degenerative disease that causes her body to convulse. She's confined to a wheel chair. Her younger brother has it too. Maury wasn't doing very well last week. And we all lifted her up in prayer. We got news yesterday that her convulsions have stopped and the doctors think they have a cure for her. Jesus is powerful and loving. He listens and He's responding. Incredible.
check out va young life. "For where two or three (or 850) come together in my name, there am I with them."
Something else I realized tonight, on my quiet ride home, was how much I avoid conflict. I don't like attention and I don't like to cause a scene, especially with young life. I love high school kids and I love their energy. But so often I am concerned with if they are disturbing anyone or offending anyone. I often find myself trying to get them to be quiet. I don't want them to cause a ruckus. I got to thinking. Why do I do that. Jesus caused a scene. He made a commotion, He offended people and He caused a ruckus. Why don't I live like that. We had 22 high school kids, running around a neighborhood tonight, asking for bandaids, old VHS videos, and beanie babies. There was laughter and competition. The older kids were leader the younger kids. They rang doorbells and got so excited when someone gave them an item. They sang a song about how beautiful jeremy's feet were. A police officer came, and told us someone reported that there was a group of teenagers who looked dangerous outside. He came and talked to us, and told us to have fun. There was no need for me to try to hold back these kids. It's ok for them to make a scene. It's ok that people notice us. We are doing it for the glory of the Lord. Just like Jesus did. So that is how I will try to live my life this week. I will not be afraid to cause a commotion or make a scene.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Arms high and heart abandoned
That is my prayer for the semester. For my life. That I would live with arms high and heart abandoned to the Lord. It’s crazy to see the way the Lord works. How He has blessed me by the incredible people He put in my life. A lot of times it’s not even what they say. It’s that they listen. And as they ask about my life and listen and I share my heart, the Lord reveals Himself. I got to spend some sweet time with my teammate yesterday. She is such a blessing to me and brings me so much joy. As I was sharing with her, I realized how little I actually trust the Lord with my life. I say that I trust Him and I say that I will follow Him where He leads me. I will go if He calls me. I will live in the way that He has put on my heart. And I mean that, I really do. But while saying and thinking those things, I have in my head a box essentially. A box that is titled, “I will go where you lead me God, but I know you’re going to lead me somewhere in here”. Aka I trust you, as long as you stay within these boundaries. I give God suggestions about how I think my life should be like. What I think would bring Him glory and where I think He could use me for His glory. Seriously?! Who am I to give God suggestions like that? To say that I trust Him, but only if He stays betweens lines that I will set for Him? Ridiculous. I think as I’ve continued walking with the Lord, I have definitely handed over many areas of my life to Him. But not all of me. There are parts of me that I don’t even know about that I have yet to hand over to the Lord. It’s a process. I am a work in progress. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” My prayer is that as I realize I’m holding these things from Him, that I would freely let go. That I would stand before Him with arms high and heart abandoned.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Moment by moment
My housemate was telling me about a picture she saw once. It had a cliff and a girl who was walking blindfolded off the edge. She had her left foot out and a step had come up underneath her. As she moved her right foot, another step was coming up beneath her. This is how the Lord wants me to live my life. I don’t need to plan for the next 5 years of my life. Or to know what’s going to happen this summer. Or in a month. He will reveal his plan for me moment by moment. Step by step. I need to just keep walking and He will provide the path that will lead me to Him. I need to stop trying to plan the Lord’s plan.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Divine Recognition
“Authentic worship is our response to the presence of God. It has nothing to do with our circumstances, but is driven by divine recognition.” I read this a few days ago in a devotional my pastor from home made. Divine recognition. Recognizing the divine in life. Essentially seeing the world and recognizing that Jesus is Lord of it, Jesus made it happen, Jesus created it, Jesus allowed a conversation to happen, Jesus brought people together as friends. When you look through the lens of divine recognition, everything changes. You see Jesus in people, rather than how they fall short. You allow Jesus’ plan for your life to unfold before you, rather than try to plan it yourself. You have a peace that transcends all understanding. You experience joy all day, rather than being swayed through the ups and downs the world takes you through during the day. You bring glory to God by living. Living a life in recognition.
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