Monday Morning Munch No. 21 - Overflow; a prayer

(This is an unedited prayer I journaled last Thursday, that has been running through my heart ever since.)

The Lord is good and His love endures forever. Oh Lord, I praise You in the gates and in my heart; for the world to hear, and sitting silently before You. 

You are good in the times of plenty, when my heart spills with joy and wonder, and You are good in times of pain, when my heart spills with sorrow and my soul faints in weariness. 

You revive the heart to fear You and You ordain our steps. You have us ever before You and lead, guide and protect.

You are great and greatly to be exalted. Be lifted high in my life so that the world may see You and fear You, for Your ways are excellent and Your laws right. You have given the Blameless for the shameful and the Well for the sick. 

You mend hearts and cause men to stand in awe of Your unsearchable ways. You created galaxies and mountains, oceans and dry land, You made the earth Your Son's footstool and yet You know me. You know my name and remember I am but dust. You are Master and friend, Savior and judge, righteous and humble, and therein lies the divine wonder; that the King of Glory, for which all was made that was made, became a man. Laid His glory down and became the created. All for me.

Oh Lord, You gave it all for my pardon, help me give all for Thee. Be honored and glorified, for all glory is Yours.

Monday Morning Munch No. 17 - A Favorite Verse

Today's MMM comes straight from the Word of God. It's one of my favorite Scriptures and it's the last verse in the book of John.

The Gospel of John is stuffed full with miracles of Jesus, testimonies of His mercy toward sinners and His plan to save them from Satan's captivity. Healings are listed in beautiful detail throughout the book as well as Jesus' teachings and cruel road to the cross where He died our death before trampling over sin and death by rising victoriously from the grave.

With all that in mind, read the last verse of John:

"Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."
(John 21:25 ESV)

Does that blow your mind like it does mine? Were all of things things Jesus did (teachings, miracles, healings, acts of love and service to others, fighting for the poor and defending the weak) written down the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

The world is huge and it couldn't hold all the books that would be written! No matter how many times I read that my heart dances around with the realization (yet again) of how big our God is!

Whatever you're facing today, whatever this week looks like for you, just remember you have a God who is bigger than anything looming in your path and He will fight for you and do only what's best.

Monday Morning Munch No. 11 - Fairy Tales

Once upon a time there was a 23 year old girl who loved blue ink pens, pumpkin spice lattes, camping and Hallmark movies. 

She loved the Lord more than anything in the world and would be perfectly content curled up with a good book and a steaming cup of coffee as the hours ticked by, or perhaps just a journal and an ink pen (preferably blue) by the fireplace. 

In fact, that's where the following blog was conceived. She hopes it encourages you. 

Hallmark movies are so wholesome and sweet and, although thoroughly predictable, I genuinely look forward to watching each new movie they produce. I get swept up in the (predictable) love story, the quirky characters and the impossible situation which true love always overcomes.

Today, as I was washing dishes I realized those movies probably weren't the best thing for my heart.

I mean, they are nothing more than fairy tales. Fictional stories. Nothing but unrealistic fantasies that cause women (and maybe men?) to set standards for a relationship/marriage so high no human could possibly reach.

And, as I continued washing the casserole pans and giant pumpkin-carving knives, it hit me. No, not the knives, thankfully, but the realization that even though I'm single, I'm a part of a love story that puts even the greatest fairy tales to shame.


God, the Creator of the Universe, has redeemed me from my sins, my morality and my good works--which were taking me straight to hell--and lifted me from that path to destruction and sat my foot firmly on the rock- Jesus. Now that very same God, the One who called stars into being and who took the death I deserved, calls me His bride.

What? Yeah. I'm the bride of Christ.

Wow.

And what a wedding feast it will be when He returns for His Church. We really will live happily ever after.

For eternity.

What a celebration of love.
What a Savior.
What a marriage.

“Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;

be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;

for you will forget the shame of your youth,

and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

For your Maker is your Husband,

the LORD of hosts is His name;

and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,

the God of the whole earth He is called.

(Isaiah 54:4-5 ESV)

Monday Morning Munch No. 8 - Redemption is Here

My mind and heart are completely fixed in prayer for the salvation of souls. I am beyond ready for God to pour out His Spirit and save multitudes;

my True Beauty girls,

my family, 

our church members who sit in the pews week after week and know the truth but choose to reject it, 

my classmates, 

my teachers, 

the basketball team,

the lady in Kroger, 

the tiny African baby and her parents who are dying of HIV/AIDS, 

the young men at church, 

the old men who are too proud to ask for help from anyone, especially God...

The list goes on. 

I don't even know all of them, but these people have my heart. I desire so desperately for them to experience the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ. The One, completely God as if not man and completely man as if not God, who left heaven to come down to us. He didn't make us go to Him, He came to us, meeting us in our sin and pain and mockery of a life and offering the hope of redemption. 

Redemption (Greek word lutrosis from lutroo = to release on receipt of a ransom. Lutroo is derived from the root verb luo = to loosen that which is bound, freeing those in prison, release from prison, opening of what is closed, destroying of foundations, putting off of fetters) describes a ransoming, a liberation, or a deliverance (in the New Testament, especially from the penalty and power of sin).  [From Precept Austin]

I'm writing this because I know the person reading this has been changed by the Lord also has a heart for lost souls perishing every minute without hope. Sometimes it can be frustrating, daunting and downright exhausting pouring into hungry and not-so-hungry souls day in and day out, but don't lose heart! 

"Never must we cease to pray until they cease to breathe. No case is hopeless while Jesus lives." -Charles Spurgeon 

Praise the Lord. We are not responsible to save, but we are responsible to speak His Word.

Go. Tell. Minister. Serve. Love. Forgive. Support. Share. Speak. He is worthy.


Dear holy Father,

Thank You for Your love. Thank You for redemption. I pray You continue that work and redeem the nations, draw them to Yourself and show them the love they've only dreamed of. I pray for the people on the above list, save them, God. Open their eyes and reveal Truth to them. Show them mercy, Lord, for they don't know what they're doing as they fool about with frivolous and mundane things while the hope of glory waits expectantly. Don't let them die in their sin, Lord. Redeem them with the blood of You Son- our ransom. 

For my brothers and sisters this week, Father, encourage their spirits, uplift their faces and turn them to see Your face. Refresh their hearts and revive their hope. Help us to share Your Word and our very lives with others this week. May our countenance scream Your glory so that the nations may be glad and sing for joy, so everyone around us may know of the hope that lies within us. Help us to not waste our lives living for anything less than what You died for. 

Father, receive the glory. May the Lamb of God receive the reward of His suffering.

 

Three Month Anniversary- My Story

Six months ago I was convinced I would be working in Laos with ELIC (English Learning Institute China) in January after my December graduation.

Five months ago God starting changing my heart.

Four months ago He showed me where He wanted me.

Three months ago I started working for Real Truth Matters.

Today I have my dream job.

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When I began working for RTM, the nonprofit media ministry out of my church, I knew it was exactly where God wanted me. But I never knew it would turn into my dream job.

I mean, it's a well known fact for students that you don't land your dream job immediately after college, much less while you're still in school. That's just not how it works. You have to start out as the low man on the totem pole and sweat, toil and claw your way to the top and hopefully land your dream job before you turn 35. That's how it's done.

Unless God does something else.


As I read through Scripture it seems to me that God doesn't typically act in accordance with the people's preconceived notions but rather He is in the business of blowing people's expectations out of the water and displaying His glorious excellence by opening doors no one can shut and shutting doors no one can open. And, like the unchangeable God He is, He did the same thing for me.

From the very moment I heard about ELIC back in September I wanted to go to Laos and teach university students English speaking/listening/writing classes. Because Laos is a country closed to the Gospel, the classes would be intertwined with the Good News and opportunities for one-on-one time with students to share the Gospel.

I was sold. I began the application process which led to an intensive interview process and I knew God wanted me to follow this process until He closed the door.

However, I thought the closed door would come because ELIC rejected me or said I wasn't a good fit for their organization or the school in Laos.

That didn't happen. In fact, they told me they wanted me to go and that I was a perfect fit.

Yet something in my Spirit was telling me it wasn't right.

"But God," I reasoned, "I could go on this awesome one-year adventure to Laos, love on the university students there, share the Gospel, obey the great commission, get out of my comfort zone and seek to make Your name famous. It would be so good!"

In an almost audible voice I heard this in the depths of my Spirit:

"You're right, you could go and declare My name, you could be on an adventure, be stretched out of your comfort zone, meet new people, experience a different part of the world I created, and be used by Me and it would be good, but it wouldn't be the best."

Then in a whirlwind of prayers, Scripture and more grace than I could ever comprehend, the Lord showed me what was best.

Enter Real Truth Matters.



Never in a million years did I think I would end up at RTM. I wanted to go to the nations, not sit in a little office in Paducah, Kentucky and do whatever they do at RTM (I really had no idea what all they did... I just knew I would never do it. God is so funny), so I just prayed that God would make whatever He wanted clear.

Talking with Bro. Michael
during a mission trip to
Eastern Kentucky.

Then one day the director of RTM, my pastor and friend second dad, Michael Durham, shared his heart with me about his dream of one day having an interactive web magazine and when he spoke those words it was like the Holy Spirit did a little dance in my soul. It was so obvious that this is not just what God wanted me to do, but what He made me for.

I'm a senior at Murray State University with a double major in journalism and youth and nonprofit leadership. I've always wanted to have my own magazine, a Christian sports magazine, and although this wasn't a sports magazine, I knew this was it. This is what God had equipped me for.



Today marks my three month anniversary with the ministry God is divinely using to make His name famous among the nations and I am so grateful for my "job" that has never felt like a job.

I get to talk about God all the time, write stories of how God has saved people and continues to work in their life, design a magazine infused with the Gospel, work with three brothers following hard after the Lord and have staff meetings completely saturated in God's Word.

God. is. awesome. and I am so grateful He never skimps but always gives His children His absolute best. If you need more evidence, just look to the bloody but beautiful cross where He gave His Best to hang with the weight of our sin upon His shoulders.



The first issue of the bi-monthly Real Truth Matters Magazine is awaiting approval from Apple and will hopefully be released on iPads and online in the next couple of weeks. I am so excited to share it with you!

I'm also excited to follow God wherever He leads this ministry and watch Him display His majesty through the declaration and proclamation of His Word to the nations.

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness. Why should the nations say, 'Where is their God?' Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases." -Psalm 115:1-3

Take Aways: 

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9 

  

"But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”" - 1 Corinthians 2:9 

"Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass." - Isaiah 37:26

"The Lord of hosts has sworn: 'As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.'" - Isaiah 14:24

It is my upmost desire that God uses this magazine and RTM to show you His glory. To set aflame the hearts of believers around the world, encourage the fainthearted, lift up the downtrodden, strengthen the weak and give comfort to the broken. To equip His church, reach the furtherest points of the world, establish His Kingdom on earth, declare truth in a world of lies and magnify the Lord as the supreme Treasure among all treasures.


Praying for the refreshing of the hearts of saints,

Monday Morning Munch No. 5 - He Died My Death

The purpose of MMM is to be a little breakfast of encouragement before the week starts, and today I want to share one of the most humbling but encouraging things I've read in a long time.

"Be hard on sin but easy on forgiveness. I think that's what the cross proves about our God. He's hanging there because I put Him there. God is making a statement about what He thinks about my sin as Jesus writhes in agony trying to get enough leverage to just breathe. He's there on the cross because God is saying something about my sin, "I hate it. I'm hard on sin. You want to know how hard I am on sin? Watch Me as I deal with My Son on Calvary." And without mercy, without grace, without pity, without compassion, He brutally killed His Son and made Him to suffer my hell. God is hard on sin so He can be easy to come to me one day and say, "Forgiven.""

-Michael Durham  

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

-2 Corinthians 5:2

If that doesn't wrap you up in a warm blanket of love, humility and awe, I don't know what will.

Jesus became our sin. We were supposed to have His death, but because of love He suffered in our place so that full atonement could be received by us and full glory could be given to Him.

Man of Sorrows! What a Name:

Man of Sorrows! what a name

For the Son of God, Who came 

Ruined sinners to reclaim. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude, 

In my place condemned He stood; 

Sealed my pardon with His blood. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we; 

Spotless Lamb of God was He; 

Full atonement can it be? 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die; 

"It is finished!" was His cry; 

Now in heaven exalted high. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King, 

All His ransomed home to bring, 

Then anew His song we'll sing: 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

I pray you are able to see with what pure, redeeming, relentless love God has loved you. He offers redemption and steadfast love to all [Psalm 130:7-8]. And, while He was hard on your sins, He is easy on forgiveness [which in no way makes it acceptable to sin, Romans 6:15]. If you haven't died to yourself and this world, do it today. If you have, be encouraged by the Gospel and preach it to yourself daily as you continue to die to your identity in this world.

Michael Carneal and Me

Dad had his morning radio news playing when I woke up yesterday morning. The local AM talk show was giving updates when the person said, "Courts are deciding whether or not Michael Carneal waited too long to withdrawal his guilty plea to the 1997 Heath High School shootings."

As my mom continued getting vitamins for my dad I just stood there in disbelief over Carneal.

Fourteen-year-old Carneal is escorted off Heath High School
 property by officers after he opened fire December 1, 1997,
killing three and wounding five more. 

Why doesn't he just admit to the shooting? I mean, he was the one. It's on video. There's eye witnesses. Evidence. And he already plead guilty once.

My cousins were there that morning. The day he opened fire on the other side of my medium-sized town in western Kentucky. I remember their fear.

Why is he trying to say he's innocent now? Three people died and five were injured. Why did he admit to it and now change his plea?

Then it hit me like a spiritual spanking:
That's just like me.
I am just like Michael Carneal.

No, I haven't murdered anyone in a high school shooting, but I've had anger without cause and Jesus says that's the same.

But besides that, I've tried to defend my sin.

How many time have I stood before God in guilt and, despite evidence and eye witnesses, tried to play it off like I wasn't guilty?

Welcome to my whole life before surrendering to Christ. And, unfortunately, too much of my regenerated life after being saved.

I hate sin.
And Satan,
and my pride,
and my ugly, ugly flesh.

Francis Chan said this, "Confess sin, don't defend it."

Yesterday's 10-second news spot reminded me of that and showed me how fast I am to judge the sins of others when I do the very same thing.

What's crazy is that after confessing my wretch sin (and every sin is wretched), my Judge, the Ruler and Creator of the universe, doesn't pronounce me guilty, but free. Completely innocent. 

The Judge says I did the sin but Jesus Christ did my time. He took the punishment then took the death penalty that I deserved.

"Sealed my pardon with His blood, hallelujah, what a Savior!"

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." --Colossians 3:3  

"Because the sinless Savior died my sinful soul is counted free,for God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me." 

Humbled and in awe of the Lord's remarkable grace,
 

Monday Morning Munch No. 1- Word Study: Equip

Welcome to the very first Monday Morning Munch! It is my goal to post a short devotional-esque blog every Monday morning on something God is teaching me that week. I hope you will continue reading and that God would encourage, refresh and feed your hearts so much with His words, not mine.

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This week, as He often does, God has zoned in on one particular word for me to chew on. Word studies are one of my favorite things to do; if there is a word burning in my mind or if I’m trying to better grasp what a word means in relation to the Bible (the real Word), I’ll look up the definition then every verse that has that particular word in it and try to gain a better understanding.

Clearly you wouldn’t want to do a word study on the word the, and, or so.

Anyway, this week the word was equip.

It all started when I was praying Hebrews 13:20-21,

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with every good work that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

During Passion 2010, Beth Moore defined equip to mean:

To prepare,

to adjust,

to fit,

to readjust,

to supply,

to mold,

to complete.

So put that definition in the verse:

Our Lord Jesus, by the blood of the eternal covenant, prepares, adjusts, fits, readjusts, supplies, molds, and completes us with every good work so that we may do His will.

Wow.

So then I looked up the other verses with equip in it.

Turns out there are only three passages in the Bible with that word in it.

Short study. 

But so good.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” -2 Timothy 3:16-17

Not only does God Himself equip us through life experiences, trials and other people, but His primary way of preparing, adjusting, fitting, readjusting, supplying, molding, and completing us is through His precious Word (which He breathed out).

Question for application:

• Am I ignoring or overlooking this method of His equipping or am I diving head first into His Scripture to be as equipped as possible?

This next verse was my absolute favorite.

“I call you by name, I name you though you do not know Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides Me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know Me, that people may know from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me; I am the Lord and there is no other.” –Isaiah 45:4b-6

How awesome to consider that before we knew God He knew us and was equipping us to make His name famous. Think about that. Before salvation ever took place, God was equipping (preparing, adjusting, fitting, readjusting, supplying, molding, and completing) you for the very things you are facing today.

How deep the Father’s love for us!

 

Give and Take

This culture has a mindset of give and take. You give to me and then I'll give back to you.

But guess what? That's the culture, and, as New Testament Christians, we are called to be opposite of culture and what is popular with the world. Just look at Romans 12:2

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

So, if we're supposed to be opposite of the world, what does New Testament "giving and taking" look like? Well, if you look at scripture it's a whole lot more giving and very little taking, except for taking part in the immeasurable grace and lavish love of our amazing Father. Which, if you think about it, is enough to satisfy us for eternity. So give into His love and take part in His grace. For those of you keeping score at home, that's a win-win situation.

My wonderful brother-in-law, Whitt, has been sharing ways to "Give this Christmas Away" on his supremely awesome blog that you should read here. The inspiration for his daily posts encouraging giving come from Matthew West's book, appropriately titled, Give this Christmas Away, and the purpose of the devotionals is to recognize that God has given to us so we can give to others.

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." -2 Corinthians 9:11 

We are called to put others before ourselves and become servants, following the example of the greatest servant the world will ever know, Jesus Christ.

And, as I've been striving to live radically different from the world, God has heightened my awareness to different ways we can give to others, and as mom and I were standing in the check out lane at Walmart this week one of His ideas came to me.

Lets think about this, the Christmas season has become so commercialized that the hustle and bustle of the season have added two new buddies: stress and press (through the crowds). And who has to deal with these pesky little joy snatchers more than the workers in retail stores? They have to put up with inconsiderate people pushing and shoving, sometimes clawing their way to get to the best sale or to get that last toy on the shelf. Speaking of shelves, customers mess up the displays and don't put unwanted items back where they belong, they don't take the time to wait for others but are too caught up in the moment and the hunt of finding that certain gift to check off their list that they temporarily (or not-so-temporarily) lose even the simplest concern for the workers who must fix the displays, round up the carts left scattered across wintery parking lots and run the cash registers for them while dealing with a less than pleasant 'tude.

Okay, so not every shopping experience is like this. In fact, sometimes Christmas and the "spirit" of the season brings out the best in people (which the Bible says is like filthy rags...) and they're sweet, thoughtful and patient with every person they encounter, but, lets be honest, those occasions are few and far between.

But what if we purchased gift cards from stores or restaurants and carried them around with us and gave them to store workers who seem to be having a particularly rough day? Or maybe give one to the employee who seems to have joy unexplainable and isn't letting their stressful circumstances affect their attitude? Pray for the Spirit to show you who is to recieve the gift, sometimes it won't make sense but just be obedient and leave the results up to God.

Why should we give to others?

Most importantly because the Bible says too.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." -1 John 3:17-18

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil." -Luke 6:35

"Give and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put in your bosom for with the same measure that you use, it will be measure back to you." -Luke 6:38

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." -2 Corinthians 9:11

We love because God has loved us. We give because He has given to us. When we didn't deserve it. When we thought we could live without it. When we didn't want Him. When we spit in His face. When we rebelled.

So why shouldn't we pour out what He has poured into us? We are called to love the world and extend a picture of the Gospel to them through our lives. And you might notice as you read through Scripture and follow God through the highs and lows of life, that He didn't just give to us one time. No, He gives to us over and over, His mercies are new every morning. So this whole "season of giving" should be a life of giving, I mean, Jesus gave His whole life. Literally.  

Will you join me in living and giving radically to the world Jesus died for as He has so generously given to us?

Let's take less and give more this Christmas and throughout the rest of our lives.

Waiting for Butter

In my pursuit of sexual purity and saving not only my body but heart for my future husband, I've always likened the physical purity as waiting for butter. Butter is the real thing and, when made the way God intended, is healthier and better for you than anything offered on store shelves. Sex in the confines of marriage--the way God intended--is the best. Anything less is margarine. Just a substitute.

Let's list a couple of the offered substitutes in today's society:

• Coke vs. generic
• Butter vs. margarine
• iPod vs. any other mp3 player
• Off-brands in general are substitutes for the real thing (definitely not knocking off-brands, that's basically the only way to shop- I adore Aldi's)

So in a world full of substitutes (and let's just face it, most substitutes aren't as great as the real thing... you can usually tell a difference in quality, taste, and overall satisfaction), Jesus died a substitutional death. (Can I get an amen for the substitute of my sins?) The only substitute that is better than the real thing.

"For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:3-4

He died as a substitute for my sins so I would have too.

Anything less than God's best may bring temporary (fleeting) happiness, but will not satisfy. God gave His best because He was the only One who could satisfy His judgement.

What an amazing substitute.

Through the Eyes of Children

Today at preschool I told the cute kids the Bible story (I work at a church-facilitated early learning program), and today's story was on Jesus' death. We've been going through the New Testament and this was the day Jesus died. It was a tough story to tell, because I wanted to share it in such a way they would understand but without down playing the horrible, yet beautiful sacrificial death.

They sat watching me with huge eyes and their mouths wide open because they understood (as much as you can when you're four) that Jesus hadn't committed one act of sin, yet He was being punished with thorns stuck in His head, flesh ripped off, hanging naked with nails through His hands and feet.

After the story I told them it was prayer time and I wanted them all to pray today (on most days the majority of the class want to pray, but today I wanted them all to pray) and thank God for sending Jesus to die for us. So I prayed then opened the floor for them to pray.

What happened rocked me to my core.

Almost all of them (we had nine in class today) fell on their face, literally, and prayed with their face to the ground, thanking God "for sending Jesus to die so we could be made alive" (direct quote from a four year old).

"Jesus said, 'Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" -Matthew 18:3-4

It is my greatest desire to see these little children grow and be saved, to see the power of God in their lives alive and active, and to teach them about God and His amazing plan for their lives. But today they taught me something; how to be humble and when you feel overwhelmed the best place to be is on your face before God thanking Him for sending Jesus to die so we could be made alive.

How He loves us...

I just saw this and am now bawling my eyes out. Wow. Just wow.

Top 10 2008 Blessings

I thought I would share a little bit of what my Savior has done in my life this past year, and what I hope He will do as the 2009 begins.

1. God has shown me the importance, rather the necessity, of His word. Psalm 119: 50- This is the comfort in my affliction, for Your Word has given me life. -His Word is our life support in affliction or otherwise.

2. He has increased my sensitivity to Him and strengthened my discernment to His voice and direction. He’s taught me the importance of obeying those “red flags” that He gives us and that the smallest act of disobedience will ruin your testimony.

3. The Lord has given me the most amazing circle of friends. Friends that are more like family than even my blood relatives.

4. He has strengthened my faith and ability to cast ALL my cares on Him. I still try to take my life in my own hands sometimes, but for the most part He’s taught me that He definitely can handle it better than I can.

5. God has shown me that His plans are better than my greatest imagined plans, and that I need to trust that He is in control because whether I feel it or not, I will never be in control.

6. God has given me a small taste of the disgustingness of the World. Gosh, it is so filthy, filthy and awful! I can’t believe He sent His son to die for this disgusting race. But I’m so thankful He did.

7. Jesus has shown me this unexplainable grace, even when I screw up. He’s also shown me how completely, 100% undeserving I am of that grace.

8. God has allowed me to live out more than one of my dreams and has shown me that even in my best hours (that are more like minutes) I am nothing without Him.

9. God has shown me how it feels to be truly lonely, even in a crowded place. To be an outcast. To be alone. To be without anyone to talk to. Then He’s shown me at those times to remember that Jesus is my friend who sticks closer than a brother.

10. He’s allowed me to taste and see that He is good, and that having an ongoing conversation with Him and learning to listen to Him is the greatest part of my day.


In 2009…

I pray that God would reveal Himself to me in ways that are far above anything I’ve ever experienced.

I pray that He would use me to directly minister to someone’s Walk.

I pray that His Word would root itself in my heart and will stay alive there even in my darkest days.

I pray that He takes away my insecurities and gives me confidence in Him and His ability.

I pray that I will be bold and not intimidated by this World. They have nothing on me or in my God in whom I stand.

I pray He saves people in the church body.

I pray that the leaders of this World see their need for a Savior and that God draws them into His fold.

I pray that God allows me to have amazing teachers this semester.

I pray that He allows me to glorify Him all across the country when I shoot.

I pray that He gives me opportunities at these matches to brag on Him.

I pray that when I succeed that I will automatically revert the praise to the One who gave me the ability.

I pray that people will see God in me… that I truly become a moon and reflect the Son.



I hope and pray each one of you have an amazing God-filled 2009. I pray that God is the center in each of your lives and that you will lean on Him for all your strength… regardless if you do or not, He is still where your strength comes from.

Jesus and Jolly St. Nick

In department stores all over town there are signs hanging everywhere reminding you it’s Christmas time, advertisements suck you in to buying this or that, all in the name of Christmas. You get drawn in by all the sparkles, pretty colors and the holiday specials. Of course we all know that Christmas is really about Jesus and His gift to us, but that gift tends to fade in all the glittering lights of the over-decorated stores. Adults get caught up in shopping and children get caught up in what Santa is going to bring them. This leads to the question:

What if Jesus was like Santa?

What if all we had to do was make Him a list of everything we wanted, then wait eagerly for it to arrive Christmas morning? Maybe leave Him a few cookies and milk as a thank you, but that would be it. No more Jesus until we wanted something else. Like Santa’s bottomless bag of toys, Jesus would grant our every want and desire according to the list we sent Him. And Jesus would always give us what we asked for; we would never have any doubts about that.

Unfortunately, for some people this distorted version of Jesus is not that far off from the Jesus they serve, or rather the Jesus that serves them. Their fabricated ‘Jesus’ is more like a fairy godmother, someone who appears only when they need something, and is not unlike children who think only of Santa at Christmas when they’re waiting for him to deliver their presents.

Like kids who think they earned their gifts from Santa because they weren’t naughty is also similar to the belief of some so-called Christians who think they deserve heaven because they’ve been good or because their ‘nice’ outweighs the ‘naughty.’ Yet the Bible clearly says it’s nothing we do that grants us favor with God; it’s not works that save anyone; no one is good enough to be called righteous, no, not one. However, those false converts are not to be deterred, their ‘Santa-ized’ version of God’s Son dilutes God’s judgment, replacing it with the sparkly, glittery, warm-fuzzy, “unconditional love” God has for everyone.
I guess they missed all the verses about how much wrath God has for sinners.

You see, Santa is seen as the epitome of everything good and pure.

Jesus is everything good and pure. Even His holy wrath is pure, perfect, and totally deserved by every sinner.

Let’s do some more comparisons:

Santa works based off a list we send him. Jesus already knows our most coveted desires before we even know ourselves.

Santa gives us what we want. Jesus gives us what we need.

Santa instills no fear in the heart of anyone. Jesus is to be feared.

Santa is a magical fantasy, one that is shattered with the realization that he is just that- a fantasy. Knowing Jesus, on the other hand, is often magical, but He is not an illusion. However, you do have to be on guard for the lies that say Jesus is also only a product of someone’s amazing imagination. But once you’ve experienced Jesus’ power you’ll have no doubts of His realness.

Beginning right after Thanksgiving, parents take their kids to the mall to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what they want, yet hardly any parents teach their children that God wants them to crawl up on His lap and talk to Him. But even that produces the thought of another good thing, on the endless list of good things, about Jesus; we don’t have to wait all year to send Him a letter in the mail or go visit Him at the mall, because we have a direct line of communication with the Father and the Son that is open 24/7 and is faster than email could ever hope to be. Prayer.

No, Jesus is not like the boisterous, Jolly St. Nick we so often see around town this time of year, but Jesus should be seen as approachable as Santa. He did, after all, give His life for us. The least we can do is boldly approach Him with our gratitude.

So the next time you’re out rushing around the glitzy department stores for gifts, remember there is one gift no man can manufacture; the gift of Jesus. And Jesus is oh, so much better than the fantasy of Santa Clause. Jesus is real, alive, and longs to be the focus of our lives.

Twilight vs. Obedience

“Life is hard. If life was easy there would be no people of integrity or character; for it is in the difficult choices that one displays character.”

I had a very difficult choice to make today. Well, really it’s been building up for weeks now but I tried ignoring it. That didn’t work out so well.

This choice involved me, a book (a series of books, really), part of my church family, and my God.

Twilight has become a national phenomenon. It has broken records in book sales and now in movie sales. Groups of young and old, men and women alike have flocked to book stores and now to the theaters to be a part of this vampire love story.

I’ve read the first three books and almost the entire final book. I got so caught up in the amazing story of Edward and Bella; just a girl like me, clumsy and determined, who falls in love with the perfect man (okay, that part’s totally not like me).

I could barely put down this book long enough to sleep. I’d stay up late reading it, and Edward and Bella were on my mind as soon as I woke up—just dying to know what would happen next. And as I read the book more and more the grip the book had on me became stronger and stronger.

I found myself constantly thinking about this amazingly well written book that has captivated audiences of all ages, dreaming about things that had happened and picturing myself making decisions in Bella’s shoes.

Okay, let’s back up just a little.

I wasn’t going to read this book.

People of all ages told me I ‘had’ to read this. They told me how incredible Twilight was. All I could say was, “Are you crazy?! I’m not going to read a book about vampires!”

But I compromised. And compromise is seductive. It lures you in and then it keeps you there. And even after I tell everyone never, ever to compromise—not physically/sexually, emotionally, or spiritually—what do I do? Compromise.

So back to the choice that’s before me:

Well, I tell you I don’t like this fork in my path. And, like with almost everything else in my life- I’m overcomplicating it.

I have the choice to obey God or blatantly disobey Him.

Sounds like a pretty simple decision.

But it’s not. It’s hard. Way harder than it should be.

God sent someone really amazing to confront me about this. Actually, God used several people to confront me about this. But one in particular; this person told me how they too had been ‘addicted’ to vampire books and how God finally told them enough was enough. They told me it was still a struggle for them but encouraged me that there was amazing Christian fiction books out there that would both bring glory to God while stimulating my desire for fiction reading. She also told me that her husband told her to think about how much time she was spent reading those books and how that time could be spent in the Bible.

Well, I really, really took that to heart and God showed me how Twilight and all its following books absolutely consumed me. I would try to justify everything, going as far to say I gleaned some spiritual application throughout the books (which I did, but that really kind of drowned in the big picture).

My relationship with God was in pretty deep waters as well, I wasn’t focused on Him because I was always focused on the books. And while the books were “good” books, they did not glorify God.

And if it’s not glorifying God, what is it doing?

So my choice has come. And I have chosen to give the final book back to the person I borrowed it from, even with the last 100 or so pages unread.

Even now I’m fighting this battle to read the final pages just to know what happened. I’m trying to reason that this is the final book of the series- the author already said she wasn’t writing anymore; I could just read the last pages and be done with it forever.

But where is the self-sacrifice in that? No where. That would be feeding my desire instead of starving it.

I’m trusting God to help me turn the book in tomorrow. To give me the words to speak to these people if they ask what I thought about it, and then to ask why I didn’t finish it.
I’m also asking you all for your prayers. I need your prayers. I need your encouragement. I need your love.
Most of all, I need God’s mercy and grace to help me through.

Proverbs 24:1- “Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them.”

Proverbs 24:21- “My son, fear the Lord and the king, do not associate with those given to change (rebellion).”

Proverbs 23:19- “Hear my son, and be wise; and guide your heart in the way.”

You know, that last verse goes against what is popular in society. Because you hear everywhere “follow your heart. Follow your heart.” But the Bible says we are to GUIDE our hearts. Guide it in wisdom. We must be prudent, obedient, and guide our own hearts in The Way. John 14:6- “Jesus said, ‘I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life…” We have to guide our hearts in Jesus, because our flesh won’t lead us correctly.

Knowledge= an organized body of information.

Wisdom= Knowing what to do with the knowledge you have.

Prudent= Wisdom applied to practice.