Fight...or else

"This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophesies previously made about you, that you wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme." -1 Timothy 1:18-20

 "But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of God and many witnesses." -1 Timothy 6"11-12

Make War - Tedashii ft. Flame 

[Intro: John Piper]
I hear so many Christians, murmuring about their imperfections,
And their failures, and their addiction, and their shortcomings.
And I see so little war! Murmur, murmur, murmur.
Why am I this way? Make war!

[Verse 1: Tedashii]
Bang with me, ba-bang bang, ba-bang with me
No more playing games mane
Cause this thang can get risky
So mane if you into Christ,
Take up!! your cross quickly
Stand fearless on the front-line
Time to come with it, do the right thing
Wake up!! And let's get it
I ain't even in the ring
They throwing bows like Riddick
Persistently attacking me
They're even in the back of me
It's either fight or loose my life
And I can't take this passively
So what you think I'm 'bout to do
I'm bout to do what I can do
Trust the one who got me through
And fight like it was after school
Never giving up, steady, standing on the battle field
Feet firm to the ground like I stepped on Chapel Hill
Flesh feeling frisky, sin persuades and tempts me
Satan cheers me on, guilt followed by conviction
It's the same ol' trap and we fall like we defenseless
Work your senses, grow in wisdom
Stand firm and be relentless

[Hook:]
I make war!
Cause sin never sleeps
It's got me in a trance
You can see it in my dreams
I make war!
Man I beat my flesh
To the death, every breath
Like I beat my chest
I make war
Sun up
I make war
Sun down
I make war
Time in
I make war
Time out
I make war
Against lust
Against pride
Against me
Until I die

[Verse 2: Flame]
Do you even have a clue
What happened to you when He died
When that tomb got rolled when He rose in the sky
I think we emphasis sin so much
That it makes us paralyzed
And glorify struggle so much
That it makes us terrified
And de-emphasize the fact
That we have been sterilized from our own lives and thus
We gotta snap out of it
We ain't in no straight-jacket, we free
When Jesus died in our lives something strange happened
He gave us power
Yeah I know that we sinners
But since He rose He's renewing the image of God in us
Now, we gotta start making war
Now we can start saying no
To them fleshy impulses that Jesus Christ is paying for
Now we can start taking the lead
Just like the Dalai Lama and start going all out like a suicide bomber
Whatever the sin is we gotta go go go harder
By His grace no time to waste and just just just like there's no tomorrow

[Hook:]
I make war!
Cause sin never sleeps
It's got me in a trance
You can see it in my dreams
I make war!
Man I beat my flesh
To the death, every breath
Like I beat my chest
I make war
Sun up
I make war
Sun down
I make war
Time in
I make war
Time out
I make war
Against lust
Against pride
Against me
Until I die

[Verse 3: Tedashii]
I'm a Christ representer, fin' to stand and deliver
Cause a lot of my believers struggle with their agenda
So I dropped this on an adat
Just so you could come play back
A hit to be encouraged that rocks you with truth from, way back
So listen up to it asap, like you do a Lecrae track
I'm spittin' written visions to put on heads like a wave cap
Sinning, naw we don't play that
Cause that's the way that a slave acts
I'm filled with the spirit so tell them dog this is payback
As you begin to copy the carbon copies of Christ
And conform to his written image you should be shinning a light
If you not, why is that?
Is it fear that's been grippin' you
Cause you scared they'll be dissin' you
Flipping birds while that spit at you
If you not, why is that?
It don't matter so bump it
Perfect love cast out fear and He ain't save us for nothing
This is a privilege (privilege)
Your life to give to Him (give to Him)
So stand firm for Him dawg and let's get it in

[Hook:]
I make war!
Cause sin never sleeps
It's got me in a trance
You can see it in my dreams
I make war!
Man I beat my flesh
To the death, every breath
Like I beat my chest
I make war
Sun up
I make war
Sun down
I make war
Time in
I make war
Time out
I make war
Against lust
Against pride
Against meUntil I die 

 

Ouch

Convicting [v, kun-vikt-ing]: evidence that impresses upon someone the feeling of guilt, defeat, or unreached standards.

(My definition)

Last night we had a really intense church service where videos were shown from the original Experiencing God series by Henry Blackaby. Maybe I was the only one who experienced some heavy duty convicting in the throw-back-to-the-eighties videos, but God was active in stomping down Sophie. I wanted to share some of the quotes I jotted down from Dr. Blackaby. (The ones that really convicted me are in blue)

• God doesn't give me a program of activity, He gives me Himself.
• God always asks us to do things we cannot do so that He comes and does it through us so both you and the people around you experience Him.
• Once you have a word from God, what you do next indicates what you believe about God.
• Let God make you the person He has on His mind. He does this through the Word.
• If I can figure it out, it's probably not God's will. His ways aren't my ways.
• No where in Scripture does God give a servant the right to dream dreams for God to do.
• I don't set long range plans or goals for fear I will reach them and never know what God really wanted. (This hit me like a thousand daggers aimed at my soul and hands tightly clutching my planner.)
• I put my heart before the One who has the long range plans.
• God is our equipment. He gave us the equipment to complete the task.
• The call is not to do something, the call is to a relationship.
• How you love God will determine your actions.
• We are impatient and say, "Don't just stand there, do something." God says, "Don't do something, just stand there."
• Waiting on God is not inactivity, it is the most active thing you can do.
• If we are in God's hands we can do anything God can do.

These are from my pastor:

• Wherever your focus is, there you will be. If you focus on your sins you will never get over them.
• As faith in God produces joy and peace, faith in self will always produce anxiousness and fear because you're putting your trust in someone who is not capable to solve the problems.

It's convicting me all over again just writing these out. 

Praying for desperate dependence on the Author of life and not myself,

Fireworks

Last weekend I sold light-up toys at fireworks displays around the area, one of which toys was a blinking pacifier that I had to wear around my neck (sometimes in my mouth) accompanied by a leather fanny pack around the waist.

So classy.

Despite the redneck-ish effect the flashing toys had, I am still grateful for the job and the privilege of working with one of my best friends.

While watching the fireworks and hearing the oohs and ahhs of the audience, I started thinking about deep and theological matters:

A. What do people on airplanes experience when fireworks are going off?

That seriously is a concern of mine.

B. I think God speaking the stars into existence were much like fireworks. At least in my imagination.

"By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." -Psalm 33:6

Picture it, God breathed out the stars. It was like a firework only infinitely better and they didn't disappear after a few glimmering seconds- they stuck. Forever.

That. is. awesome.

The Milky Way Galaxy. We live in there. Looks kind of like a firework, huh? 

Awestruck of God's hugeness and hoping for a movie of creation in heaven,

I am not, but I know I AM.

Up until today, this week has had a discouraging twinge to it. Nothing "bad" happened, it just wasn't one of my favorite weeks. I couldn't really put my finger on it until last night after True Beauty when I once again came face-to-face with an earth-shattering revelation.

I'm not called to be the Holy Spirit 2.

Shocking.

The girls in True Beauty (I would abbreviate but I don't want to be misunderstood as talking about Tuberculosis) have so much of my heart and I want them to come to know Christ so badly with a burden that intensifies with each passing week. They are at the age I was when God in His mercy began opening my eyes to the fact that morality does not equal salvation, and my only hope was through His heart-transforming handiwork.

I want these girls to experience that same thing. I want them to see God as more than a supreme being with wrath and justice and I want them to see Jesus as more than a storybook figure. They are the very source of life, acceptance and love they so desperately crave.

As I was praying for them last night and confessing to God my discouragement at their lack of conversion, He gently and lovingly reminded me of my place. It's not on any sort of throne or really large thing above people- it's on my knees. It's on campus at Murray. It's at press conferences, in the newsroom, and in my column. It's in the classroom, kitchen, and craft room, teaching these precious girls about Him. It's not my place or duty to save, it's my place to speak the truth I've received and leave the details to God.

God's infinite and gloriously sweet grace never fails to humble and leave me amazed and awestruck at His love- He loves me! Me. Why, I don't know, but His Word says He does and I believe His Word. It was His relentless love that sent Jesus to the cross and it is that same love that sends the Holy Spirit to convict us. What mercy! He could let us continue on swimming in our sins, selfishness, and seclusion from Him, but He brings us back and continues shaping us into the image of His Son.

Wow.

Today in True Beauty a few things went "wrong." The hot water handle broke off while the water was going which resulted in a phone call to my dad and buckets of water on the counter before a pair of pliers finally shut the water off.

So exciting.

The girls were working on making invitations to their final project in the craft room when I walked in and was immediately shewed away. "Don't come in, don't come in!" They squealed.

The next thing I know they tell me to go look at my door. This is what I find...

I may or may not have teared up a little.

Okay, fine. I cried.

Then as I was going through the pictures from the day I found these...

Before I knew it little rivers were running down my cheeks again. It was just so sweet and completely unexpected. I love these girls so much.

Please pray for their hearts. Pray that they will not have temporary behavior modifications to please me, their parents, or anyone else, but that they will have soul transformations. Pray that God protects them and saves them while they are young. He did it for me, He can do it for them.

Depending on His Spirit,

Christ's Call to Follow in His Footsteps

This is real. Please take 4.5 minutes to watch this video by K.P. Yohannan

Oreo Cupcakes

Two posts in one day? Told you I was in a weird mood. The weirdness led me to make a batch of Oreo cupcakes and to take photos of the journey. 

Start out with cupcake liners and put half of a Double-Stuf Oreo in the bottom.

 Then mix a box of cake mix (I used dark chocolate fudge) according to directions and spoon into liners.

 Bake for 17 minutes at 350 degrees.

 Frost with Oreo icing (recipe to follow), place half an Oreo on top and enjoy!

Oreo Icing:
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons Oreo cookies, finely crushed


Side note- This made 41 cupcakes. I should have made more icing, they would have looked and tasted better had I done so. However, they are still tasty and hopefully will be a hit at the church fellowship meal tomorrow. 


7/3/11 side note- Don't put the Oreo on top until you serve the cupcakes, otherwise they will get soggy and fall over. Not the prettiest or appetizing thing to look at, learn from my mistakes.

Weird mood = blog post

I'm in a baking-writing-swimming-movie-watching sort of mood. So, I'm taking a break from editing a sermon transcript to write a few random things.


First off, I just love summer. How awesome are these long days filled with sunshine and warm smells? I adore the smell of freshly cut grass, sunshine-baked dirt, and chlorine and sunscreen. It's no secret I'm quite fond of flip flops too. In fact, I don't remember the last time I wore socks due to the miles I'm putting on my beloved flops. Yes, summer is the season for me. 


Secondly, I love what I get to do this summer. I'm interning with my church (Oak Grove Baptist), which involves leading True Beauty, a summer discipleship program for girls ages 6-14 on how to be a godly woman, and transcribing and editing sermons. I get to listen to sermons all day, then read them over and over and call it a job. Ha! Best job ever. 


Thirdly, baking has become an obsession. I'm teaching the older True Beauty girls how to cook, clean, and sew this summer and through that process I'm falling in love with cooking all over again. The mixers, flour dust, fresh fruit, spatulas, pots and pans, and brand new recipes blend together (no pun intended) to create a masterpiece that so many people can enjoy. What a gift cooking can be, and I forgot all about it's little sugar-crusted self. 


Fourthly, I'm becoming more and more content with where God has me. Well, besides the constant yearning to be in Africa. I love teaching the girls and I love transcribing sermons. I love spending hours at night chatting with Elisabeth Elliot through her stories (she chats, I mostly try to read into what she's saying. Pun completely intended), and I love being with my family. I love being discipled by my Pastor and his wife. I love being single and getting to spend so much time with God, just Him and me. He is showing me so much right now, and I know me- I know if I had a boyfriend/husband I would be severely tempted to depend more on them than on the Lord. God is so gracious in giving us exactly what we need- if I needed a husband, I would have one. But I don't, because I need more of God first. 

Here are a few other random things I've fallen in love with this summer:

• James (the book of)
• Hebrews (especially chapter 11 which is packed with encouragement in every line)
• Zumba
• Blue ink pens
• Sewing
• Making headbands
• Blogging (it's a return to that love)
• Spending time with God outside (reading the Word, journaling, etc)

"Take my life and let it be all for You and for Your glory. Take my life and let it be Yours."