Posted by
L.
In:
MINNESOTA
Today's post is brought to you by "snow".
Oh living in the land of frozen tundra. The cold is what brings out the creativity in us Minnesotans. Some of our best thoughts are born out of frustration, and frost bite. The Minnesotan has a love hate relationship with their state, that keeps them here but wondering why. I have compiled a couple songs that were born out of this mentality.
A country lament about snow:
Like hip-hop? Say: Shhhhh
Out of desperation to move out of MN came this brilliance:
I guess you could say my own quest for "why", why there are people living in a land that is fit for polar bears and penguins, led to this post. Have a great day! If you live in Minnesota safe travels today and good luck on the snowy streets.
Posted by
L.
In:
Out of the Dust
Here are two songs I'm loving right now.
"Here with Me Now" by Laura Hackett
I love the the words:
"Don't give up on me now cuz I'm scared and I need you strong when I'm weak hold on and believe in me. When my heart just can't figure out what it wants please give me a reason to trust you'll still fight for me."
How often I find myself crying out these words to the Lord. Most of the time I can't figure myself out and become anxious for the things he has promised me. How often I end up striving, trying to figure things out on my own and end up a heap on the floor weaker than I started my strength used up. Thats usually when shame comes to devour what is left, shame that I wasn't strong enough to constantly trust and lean on Him. To rest in Him. Shame that I failed the good christian life. Shame that anxiety, annoyance, complacency, confusion, numbness and exhaustion exist in my life. Those are the times I relate to the above words. Those are the times I need to be reminded that He is my strength, that He still sees potential in me and believes in me. I want to hear that he hasn't given up on this broken life. I need to be filled with the truth that He is my champion. Then I remember that no matter my circumstance I am His beloved and that is enough, that is EVERYTHING and 'just knowing that he's here with me, changes everything.'
"Beautiful Things" by: Gungor
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things out of us
You make me new
You are making me new
How amazing is it that the Lord is so Big, so Creative, so Graceful, so Merciful, so Forgiving, so Patient, so Loving that he takes our brokenness and makes something new, beautiful, fragrant and useful to bring Him GLORY. Praise God! Thank you Jesus!
Posted by
L.
In:
Turkey Day 5K (AKA: Turkey Trot)
Hello to all of you out there, its been awhile. Happy Belated Thanksgiving!
I recently completed my first 5K ever. I would have blogged about my running journey earlier but wasn't sure how successful I would be so decided to hold off until I had successfully completed the run. For those of you who don't know me very well I am not a natural runner. For as long as I can remember I have loved playing sports and games of all kinds, but running just wasn't something I could do on a consistent basis. Then one fateful day I saw a flyer at REI advertising the Turkey Day 5K and decided to go for it. I registered before I could come up with any excuses and was locked in. The day I signed up was 60 degrees and sunny. Honestly I didn't think it through and I'm glad I didn't because if I had given it more thought I would have realized that the weather in November in Minnesota is, while unpredictable, usually not very warm. Wouldn't you know it pretty soon after I signed up the temp dropped, the snow started flying, and most importantly the ice started forming.
I believe God was testing my commitment. I know, I know how silly. But honestly commitment is something I've been working on this past fall and you have to start somewhere right? Anyway enough of the serious stuff, and onto the rigorous below freezing training. I ran as many nights after work as I could and let me tell you if it wasn't for that race I already committed to you would not have seen me out there running. Honestly even then for the first mile and a half EVERY TIME (seriously you would think that it would get better the more you do it) my body would say "NO!, NO!, NO!" with ever step. Here is where I came to appreciate the cold because A: you can't just stop running and walk the rest of the way home when its below freezing and you have only a fleece, long underwear and cotton pants, head band, and cheapo stretchy gloves. You would have frost bite by the time you make it home, if you make it home, and B: after that first mile and a half its exhilarating, enjoyable and FUN! Honestly I truly believe that running is more a mental sport than physical. I had to trick myself into running a little bit farther every block until I hit that mile and a half mark. I don't understand this but I know that it is an awesome feeling when you overcome yourself and through sheer determination make your goal.
The week of the race I was praying hard, maybe you saw my facebook posts? I was asking the Lord to change the weather because the forecasters were predicting a high of 11 degrees on Thanksgiving which meant something like 5 degrees for race time. Holy Smokes! A little chilly to say the least. I was starting to settle for no wind or ice and sun the closer Thanksgiving got, because the temp was not changing and snow was expected.
Thanksgiving day arrived finally after much anticipation and I was ready to go. The sun was up the sky was clear and it was 9 degrees (ok not exactly a "warm-up" but warmer than I was expecting), no wind, but the streets downtown were a little icy. Praise the Lord! I got 3 of the 4 things I asked for, so I couldn't really complain, and I was too excited to care about the ice and cold. I've never been a part of any running race before and I had a blast, its a whole sub culture those 5k runs especially the themed ones. I saw 2 turkeys running, several elves a-leaping, 2 Harry Potter characters a-scurrying, 2 panda bears(?) lumbering, 3 men running in shorts without their shirts ummm...half streaking? (don't judge me), people wearing pilgrim hats joyfully and lots more wearing some sort of thanksgiving paraphernalia proudly. I enjoyed people watching while I ran and it made the run seem short. I even got a personal best on my time. All in all it was a fun time on a cold day. Time well spent.
Cold weather running: don't knock it 'til you try it. "What are you...chicken?"
P.S. I have to add my favorite quote of the day from Ms. Andrea Meister, well let me set it up a little. If you haven't ever run one of these races before there were literally hundreds (I'm not certain on the exact number maybe thousands?) of people running this thing and as expected at varying speeds which means you have to be quick on your feet to pass, dodge and sneak past people. and when there's space you "SHOOT THE GAP". Thanks Andrea for all the laughs it was fun.
Posted by
L.
In:
Africa with Reinhard Bonnke
This morning I received an email "from" Reinhard Bonnke requesting that I enter into a drawing to win a trip to Africa with him on an evangelistic crusade. Ummm...random and stinkin' AWESOME!!! For those of you that don't know Reinhard, you MUST watch the ISOM videos of his preaching. He is the definition of passionate. He doesn't care at all what others think and will preach the gospel however he can including dancing like an idiot. When you watch him and listen to the passion in his voice you can't help but love the guy, crazy dance and all!
Anyhow, if you are interested in entering yourself click on the link below for your chance to win. One disclaimer here, if you win remember I'm available to come with you!! It's only fair now. God Bless! JESUS IS THE SAUCE!!!!!
Posted by
L.
In:
Furious Love
I have been waiting since January for this. Finally this evening it came.
Furious Love.
Ever since I watched the film "Finger of God" my eyes have been opened in new freeing ways to the work of the Lord in our world, our nation, our city, our backyard. Which is why I highly anticipated this movie.
In the song "people get ready" by Misty Edwards, she says "He's doing a new thing, so we're singin' a new song". I believe with all my heart this is true except the Lord is doing an "old thing" in a new way all across the world. Love.
Love. It is one of the most complex concepts to describe, but the easiest to recognize when its experienced in its true, pure form. It is the language that our souls speak, and when we encounter Love, in its true form our hearts and souls sing. Darkness flees. The devil cringes. Deliverance comes and wounds heal.
Church, let's love passionately, selflessly, humbly and with wild abandon. We were given 2 commandments by Jesus that sum up the rest, Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, soul and mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). Love. Love. Love. That. Is. It. Nothing more is required but loving God, and loving people. Nothing. Everything is summed up in Love.
What happens when darkness encounters the un-defiled love of Jesus? Love wins every time.
You've gotta watch this movie.
GLORY LORD!!!
Posted by
L.
In:
These Little Ones Whom He Loves Deeply
Today I finally got around to reading the much talked about "Kisses from Kate" blog and to say that it stirred something within me doesn't give it justice. This 21 year old with 14 adopted Ugandan daughters spoke to something deep inside me, Jesus. My heart ached for the children this girl encountered on a daily basis, some were malnourished, some were racked with AIDS and some were on the doorstep of death. Her account of life in Uganda is a humble unassuming one, yet one that God calls us all to. Are we not to "seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow"(Isaiah 1:17)? Jesus, the one I know and love, loves the least of these, they are close to his heart. Why aren't they close to ours? Maybe its because they smell, look funny, are dirty, sick, violent, ugly, and unpleasant to listen to. Maybe we are too busy. Maybe we are over-informed and inundated with images of sick and dying children. Brothers and Sisters those aren't good enough! We, me included, need to be love to the most unlovable, especially the unlovable, because the reality is that 24,000 children died today. Right here in America children are dying from poverty, one child every 53 minutes. Does your heart break? Mine is broken for all the children of world caught in the horrors of starvation, disease, abuse and neglect. What about the 1 million who are caught in modern day slavery and trafficked around the world EACH YEAR? Do we care about them? They have no voice, but we do and we are able to make a change, we are called by Jesus to make a change. Lets be modern day abolitionists, lets take in the orphaned, the hungry, the homeless. Lets befriend the lonely, love our neighbors, each other and above all God. Lets be ambassadors of Christ and show the world how much He truly cares and loves.
Posted by
L.
In:
MEXICO- The Last Hurrah
Hey Everybody! I'm back in the states now and thought I should finally get around to updating this blog that I promised all of you. I decided to tell the story of our trip through pictures and a few significant stories. I hope you enjoy.
TLACOLULA, OAXACA
Foundations for His Ministry Children's Home
Ashley and I started out our trip at this place and were blessed beyond our expectations. Looking back I would have loved to stay here for longer than the 3 days we were able, but I am glad we were able to even go. We had the immense privilege of being a part of these childrens' lives for a short time, but they will stay in my heart for a long time. The first time we met the kids we were surrounded by hugs and stayed that way until we left. It was glorious! These kids only want to love and be loved and I loved loving on them :). The first night we were there we went with the little girls (6-12) to a village called Yagay to play with the kids there, show a movie and have etole and sweet bread. This village was a very poor village and all of the people there had someone in their family in prison and to say they were living day by day is an understatement. It was fun to see the girls play with the children there, teach them games and songs that they learned in sunday school. It was a precious memory that I will take with me. You see some of these girls live at the home because they too have a family member in prison and their family can't take care of them either. They can relate to the people of Yagay.
Singing Songs at Yagay
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PUEBLA, PUEBLA
CHOLULA, PUEBLA
After the children's home we headed to Puebla to visit our friend Nelly. I love the story of Nelly and God's divine plan in her life that we had the privilege of seeing unfold this past spring. Nelly recently made a decision to follow Jesus and was baptized on easter sunday. Nelly's story started way before we met her in March; God had been working in her life and in the life of her brother for quite some time (as is how it usually is). Her brother who struggled with drugs for quite sometime until it came to a point where he needed intervention to get free from it. At that point he turned to Reto (Mexican version of teen challenge) to help him get back on his feet, but he got more than he bargained for and instead of getting free from just drugs he found total freedom in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Nelly saw a HUGE change in his life and became curious of what her brother had, so when he told her that Reto was going on a medical clinic outreach to a remote part of Mexico she jumped at the chance to go (she is a doctor). It just so happens that the GFM church planting team was on this same outreach. Rhonda (nurse on our church planting team) and Nelly became easy friends and when we were understaffed for our upcoming short-term medical clinics Rhonda called her up to see if she would be willing to go, and what Nelly didn't know then was that her decision would change her life forever. She came at a very interesting time on short-term #1, when she came into the base we were worshiping and the spirit was thick in the room and as we were worshiping downstairs, upstairs a local guy was getting baptized (can you imagine!! I'm getting giddy just thinking about it). I told the story of this guy in a previous post, but if you haven't read about this story yet you should read a couple posts down, incredible moving of the Holy Spirit. Anyway this is what she walked into that night and none of us knew that she wasn't a believer. On that outreach we realized that she hadn't made a decision quite yet and was still in a exploration phase, where she knew this is what she wanted, but wanted to make sure completely and have some of her questions answered before making such an important commitment. On that outreach pastor Enrique prophesied over Nelly not knowing that she hadn't made a commitment yet, but it was, as always with God, perfect timing for her to hear those words for her life. The next part of the story is in Nelly's words enjoy :)
"After the outreach well, something started working inside me, it was a special thing. I was amuzed of what I had lived with all you guys, it was only 1 week but it was intense; the words of Enrique... wow. I was impressed of the passion you had with God, that joy for life, for worshiping Him, for the relationship between you and Him, I learned some things talking and listening to you those days... I remember I wrote to you something about it in my first mail to all of you. And also I remember that I wanted something like that in my own life. It was a strong feeling that never stopped, but at the beginning I was a little confused. That last day Rhonda gave me a book called Face to face with God written by Bill Johnson(awesome book) Jolynne gave me a bilingual bible, and I must say that reading Face to face with God continued even more that feeling. I was rised as a catholic girl, but honestly just by name. I had been feeling a necesity of being a more spiritual person since few months ago. A week after the outreach I went back to Tlax for the baptisms of Joni and her daughters and another girl from there (can’t remember her name right now), when finally Chino and his girlfriend were baptized too. I remember that while we arrived to the lake, I asked to Rhonda a lot of things about the bible, baptisms, and being a christian; it was good, she always answered me and encouraged me. After the baptisms I went to visit you at the base. You were with the 2nd team that should go to Tida. We talked for a few minutes and I said that I was planning on going again for the Easter, in 1 week. During this time I realized that I wanted more, yes I was hungry for Him and all this became a necesity too, you know? I felt identified while reading Face to Face, someone was asking for me, for sure, along with some encouraging mails from you. I’m a doctor but I don’t wanna keep doing the same, not only give consultations or prescribe some medicine or play the role of a Psychologist when people look for you to share their problems and you try to say the best words ever to cheer them up, which is not bad, but is not enough. I wanted to go deeper, like Pastor Enrique said, maybe let God works through me. If I pray for someone would be with an unshakable faith with God and Holy Spirit as my support, not just words. A couple days before Easter Rhonda went to my home in Huajuapan to visit and meet my mom. I talked with her about that crazy, strong and unstoppable desire of being closer to God. We arrived to the base Sat night and I helped in the kitchen, I made my “cockie man” haha. Next day at the base, april 4th, while we were worshipping God I made up my mind and I thought a simple thing: Why keep waiting if you know what do u want? So I said, no more waiting, I’ll do it today. And I’m completely sure that, that day was as perfect as any day there ever was. Simple, it was Easter and I was going to be with you all. The rest of the history you know it. I know that this happened so quickly! but things happen, and maybe is not too much time since my baptism, just 1 month, although for me seems more time, but I think I've learned some great new things, I feel relief but I want more and more. I need to keep working and seeking Him. Is not easy but I'm not alone anymore. Now for me is not enough to know more things about Jesus, what I want is being known by Him, which is different. Passion!! :)"
Praise GOD!! He is AMAZING! I love Nelly's passion and her desire for her true lover, Jesus Christ! God has blessed Nelly with an incredible heart that I believe you can hear in her words and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is going to use Nelly to do some radically crazy things for him. Love you Nelly!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUADALAJARA, JALISCO
After Puebla we headed to Guadalajara to the Youth with a Mission base there. The base wasn't exactly in Guadalajara, but closer to Chapala which interestingly enough has the largest lake in Mexico. God's timing is perfect and He couldn't have been more dead on than his timing in having us here. Ashley and I arrived a few days before some of our other friends and helped get some rooms ready for the incoming DTS students who were coming in a few days as well. Alright now about the perfect timing story, when Ashley and I were planning this trip we decided that we wanted to visit various ministries in Mexico and we knew that we wanted to visit a YWAM base and had decided upon Guadalajara. One day we were talking with our friend Yesi about our trip and she got beyond excited about the fact that we were going to a YWAM base and told us that she had been wanting to go to a school for missions/ministry and so we invited her to come with us. She did come and the timing couldn't have been better because a school was just starting the day she arrived and all of the students spoke spanish (usually they have some english speakers and some spanish, its a bi-lingual school). Yesi was able to attend all the classes and got to know the students and staff very well and she LOVED it and didn't want to leave. The staff said that she could go home and get her stuff and come back the next week and be a part of the school if she wanted and so she left with that intention. She told me that she was 99% sure she would be back that next monday she just needed the blessing from her father, because she already had it from her mom. Unfortunately when she went home she didn't get his blessing and didn't return, but she plans on going next fall and in the mean time she is praying that God softens her dad's heart, also she has decided to support one of the students in the school that cannot pay all of her tuition. God is good!
*A little side note this year is YWAM's 50th anniversary and so Loren Cunningham (founder of YWAM) is coming to the Guadalajara base for a visit in October/November so Yesi will have the opportunity to meet him if she decides to go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PUERTO VALLARTA, JALISCO
Next up was Puerto Vallarta for me and Ashley. We were intending on working with an organization called Families at the Dump, but due to disappointing circumstances we only "worked" with them one day for 3 hours. The rest of our time was spent being bums, beach and otherwise. It was a good time of reflection, rest and a good way to end our time in Mexico.
Posted by
L.
In:
And so The Adventure Begins
Hey there from Southern Mexico!
Things are wrapped up, goodbyes are said and its time to head out and see some other parts of Mexico and work with other ministries and see what God is up to in Mexcio. Tomorrow we (me and my friend Ashley) head to Oaxaca for a day of composure and rest before we start out for real. On Friday we will head to an orphanage just outside of Mitla to hang out there for a few days working with the ministry there. After that we will head to Puebla to visit our dear and recently baptized (Whoop! Whoop!) friend Nelly, lots of laughs are to be expected. After that we head out to Guadalajara to help out a YWAM base there. We are gonna help them set up for the next DTS that's coming in and we will actually get to meet the students and hopefully help out with whatever ministry they have going there. Finally. we are off to Puerto Vallarta to work with a dump ministry for a few days and of course we will end with a day or two at the beach :).
As I sit here with this adventure ahead of me I can't help but feel excited and greatly blessed. My prayer is that God uses this time for His purposes in my life, in Ashley's life, and the people's lives that we will meet along the way. My desire is for the Holy Spirit to have His way and that we would be constantly seeking out His voice to know what He is up to and not miss out on anything He wants to do in us and through us. Whatever happens the next several weeks all glory, honor and praise goes to Him Who Sits on Throne. King of Glory have your glory!
If you think of it we would greatly appreciate your prayers while we are traveling. Prayers for safety, divine encounters, supernatural Spanish ability, and just the supernatural. I'm not sure I will get a chance to update this while we are traveling but I will for sure be keeping a journal and will update this once I get a chance or when I get home. Thanks for your prayers! Hasta Luego Amigos!
Posted by
L.
In:
Me-me-me Gusta Teposcolula
Spring Teams are here!!!
I love this time of year here at GFM; the weather is the best in March (in my opinion), school ends, teams arrive and people prepare for what God has for them next. Saying goodbye is never easy, but its bittersweet for us here, because we all have a new phase that God is leading us into and that is always exciting and an adventure, but we have grown so close over the last year and having to say goodbye to each other knowing there is a chance we won't see each other again in this life is tough.
I have so much to say about this past week. God is so very good!! The team arrived on Saturday night and it wasn't without its complications. On the way to Oaxaca our van's breaks stopped working, but praise God they stopped working right outside Oaxaca so they were able to get to a mechanic fairly easily. Then one of our participants didn't show up at the airport on time because of delays (he eventually made it 6 hours later) and one participant just flat out didn't show up. We knew then that something interesting was about to happen with this team.
So that was Saturday, and on Sunday and Monday we had training/orientation, but on Monday night something miraculous happened. This guy that a couple of the students here shared the gospel with (on Saturday) showed up at the base to hang out. As he was hanging out he shared with the guys that he wanted to follow Christ and even drew up a church planting movement on a sheet of paper that he wanted to do! Holy Spirit you are incredible! That was without any discipling or teaching from anyone, a complete move of the Holy Spirit. Then one of the guys was talking about baptism and this guy we'll call him E said he wanted to do that so that he could be sent out so they baptized him that night. PRAISE THE LORD!! Oh how sweet worship was that night, the Holy Spirit was thick in the room that night!
I have another story from that night/week that I won't share here, but if you'd like to hear about another person touched by God this week I would LOVE to tell you, just email me and let me know.
On Tuesday we headed out for Teposcolula (Tepos) for 4 days of outreach that included a medical clinic among other things. The Lord moved in Tepos in some powerful ways and in ways that I'm convinced we will never know about! Glory to God! We were able to share the gospel with several people, pray with them, and love on them. One of my favorite stories from this week was about a bunch of kids. We were hanging out with these kids at the medical clinic talking with them, playing with them and teaching them songs. Unfortunately the clinic ended on this particular day at 6ish and we had a church service with the church in Tepos at 6pm that night. Those kids didn't want to stop hanging out, but I told them that we had to go to a church service at 6 but that we'd be back at 8pm to show a movie in the park. That wasn't good enough for them, they began to ask about the service and what we'd be doing and I started to realize they wanted to come, how could I be so dense not to ask them to come with? I guess I figured that they wouldn't want to come, but God had other plans. I told them that we'd be singing and Pastor Enrique would be talking and they said they wanted to come! So me and 8 kids headed for the church. It was awesome. They didn't stay for the whole time, but they stayed longer than I expected and who knows what seeds were planted that night and what they'll remember from that service. They hung out with us for the rest of the time we were there and I pray that the Holy Spirit moves mightily in their lives. I know I'm blessed to have known them.
Enrique and Ana. What can I say about these people? Not enough thats for sure. This couple pastors the church in Tepos and to sum them up in one phrase: They are spirit filled people. My spirit is refreshed every time I talk to them, they always have a word of encouragement, a story of encouragement or an uplifting smile. They are sweet people who love the Lord and only want to obey the Lord and love people. I love talking with them and never feel like I can get enough of their stories or wisdom. God is and is going to use them mightily here in Oaxaca and I'm privileged to know them. LORD FLOOD THEM WITH YOUR BLESSINGS!!! RAIN DOWN ON TEPOS!!
There is so much more I'd love to say, but I will leave it at that for now. God is so much bigger than any plans we have and I'm glad that its so. We have another team arriving this evening and on Tuesday we will be heading out to Tidaa to do another clinic and the hands and feet of Jesus.
Posted by
L.
In:
Where Do I Go From Here
How familiar this place feels. It seems just like yesterday I was in this place of seeking the next of my life, and yet it was more than a year ago. How much has happened since then, how amazing is the grace, the mercy and the hands that have held me, molded me and shaped me into the woman I am today and continue to shape me into a better woman. I am grateful for the process even through the pain of stretching. I can truly say Praise God for all that has transpired this past year!
With that same confidence I can say that God will do the same and greater for the next chapter of this broken road we call life. I stand at the center of innumerable options and opportunities that continue to grow every day, yet I know there is one that fits me better than anything I could dream up, imagine or plan and I want that road. Each day I get closer to leaving this place that I dearly love I have to fight anxiousness because I know that God honors patience I will wait on Him and not move a second sooner than he does. If you think of it, please keep me in your prayers as I sort through, and pray through the things God has been revealing to me. I would very much appreciate your prayers. Love you all, night.
Posted by
L.
In:
Today We Honor Love
Today we honored love, today was created to honor love. This day, February 14th was set aside specially to be devoted to recognizing love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. We hear it everywhere we go, the overused, misused, worn out term, Love. Do we even recognize what love truly is anymore? Is it a relationship with a significant other, a passionate affair, a one night stand? Is it physical, emotional, or spiritual? What is true love? Finding "that" person? What happens when that person turns out to be somebody else, does that mean that "true love" does not exist?
Today I realized something, we have made today, February 14th, and everyday about something its not: human love. I came into today indifferent, because I didn't have a significant other to share it with, a part of me felt that I was disqualified from "truly" celebrating what the day was about. Then it hit me as I was getting ready for my party, and as I was sitting with my sisters making valentines for Jesus; God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the definition of Love, true, undifiled, pure, divine, amazing Love. That is what today and everyday of the year is all about and neither I nor you are disqualified, in fact we are welcomed in as intimate participants! I am blessed beyond measure to have a lover, THE Lover, the Lover of TRUE love, the Lover of PERFECT love romance my soul each and every day. Praise God!
Posted by
L.
In:
Recapture the Romance
Where to even start? The Lord is so good, so beautiful, so sweet, so rich, so...words fail me. Deep are the places of the Lord, sovereign are His ways, Holy is His presence. Who are we that we get to commune with the God of the Universe? Who are we that we should share in His son's inheritance. Grace. Mercy. Only by these are we even fit to be in relationship with the Creator, who is the uncreated one. Do you know that it actually says in Revelation that in the end, "God will dwell with man, and he will live them. They will be His people and God himself will be with them and be their God." And what about the mystery the incredible experience of having the Holy Spirit who is God dwelling within us right now? Whoaaaa!! Glory Lord! That very fact blows me away, and yet it took me 25 years to take the time to ponder this fact and have it really sink in. God. Is. Inside. Me. And yet as a people we fail to commit like a wayward wife who says yes to the commitment of a marriage and in her heart has no intention to be faithful and have one husband. The marriage is only a guarantee that someone will be there in the end, and the promise that he will forgive and take her back over and over again. PEOPLE THIS IS HOW WE TREAT GOD! WAKE UP! COMMIT NOW WITH CONVICTION!
Recapture the romance of The Lover of our souls. Love him, pour your heart into him, bathe Him in your perfume of worship, cover Him with the kisses of your affection. Don't hold back waiting for another, there is none other. He's the one you've been looking for, waiting for, longing after. He is the satisfier. Give him all of you. Love Him with Reckless abandon. All he asks is that you love Him.
Revel now in the inheritance that could be yours:
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
- Ephesians 1:17-21 -
Posted by
L.
In:
The Bride
Dear Bride,
Are you ready? The wedding day is fast approaching. Are you prepared? Does your heart flutter, jump, and leap with excitement at the anticipation of the day your bridegroom returns? Oh dear beloved bride, why do give your love away to lovers who do nothing but scar, stain and tatter you? Look into the eyes of your Lover. Look! Do they not consume you with passion? He desires you. He is desperate for your love. He delights in you even in your weakness. He is jealous for you. He will not share you with another. You have stolen His heart. Let him steal your heart. Let him make you lovesick for Him. Let Him make you pure. Let Him clothe you in righteousness. Let Him marry you.
Can you hear it? The wedding processional has started. Make yourself ready, for He is coming, your bridegroom, your lover. Eagerly await His return, with mourning, and weeping until he returns. Cry out in desire for Him. This I promise you; no one else will satisfy, so stop chasing after other lovers and chase after Him.
The Spirit and the Bride say come!
Revelation 22:17
Posted by
L.
In:
Shaking of the Nations
The following is a word I received from the Lord at Onething.
This is a shaking of the nations and the after shock of this will resound throughout the world and we will go forth like cracks in the pavement to shake the nations to tear down strongholds and to tear down strongholds and to pour out the light of Jesus. He will pour His anointing like warm oil onto His sons and daughters and they will find favor with the leaders of the nations through the bloodshed of those gone before them. He will robe them in garments of splendor magnificently encrusted with precious jewels and they will be a great multitude joining in one loud glorious voice and it will reverberate through the hills and they will be His high priests who have all authority and power of Jesus and they will tear down and build up. They will be lifted up before the nations and the nations in their blindness will tear them down. But they will shine like the dawn because death has lost its sting and cannot keep them down. They will be placed on footstools before the throne of the most high God and they will be before Him praising and worshiping joining with the angels bringing Him glory doing what they were created to do in the purest form. There will be a celebration because the bridegroom has come to claim his bride, and there will be laughing and dancing and feasting on the glorious riches of the Lord and drinking His mysteries, and there will be a whirlwind honeymoon that will last all eternity.
Amen.
Posted by
L.
In:
Onething
If hunger is the escort to the deeper things of the Lord I want to be ravenous. It's funny how it works when you are hungry for the Lord, you get a taste and it makes you hungrier then you get a feast and you starve for more. It makes me laugh, because I realize I will never be satisfied with my knowledge of the Lord and depth of my relationship with Him no matter how deep I go. That very fact fills me with joy. I never want to be satisfied.
I'll briefly tell you how I came to the Onething conference in Kansas City: It was God, because he is extravagantly good to His children. I have been blessed with a yearning for the Lord and a holy discontent with my faith and depth of my relationship with God. This fall I realized that while I was walking in my spiritual giftings here and there it wasn't a consistent outpouring that I desired. I wanted to have the life of power that I was promised and exhorted to live in the Bible. I took a deeper look at that starting this summer but really began to live it out this fall. I was frustrated because while I felt this hunger that consumed me I still had not experienced the radical outpouring of the Spirit that I was reading in the Bible. I learned and continue to learn that patience is something valued greatly by the Lord so I waited and I continue to wait on the Lord for extreme outpouring in whatever way He decides. I will say here that I have also learned that however small He seems to move, value it because He is moving. When I came home from Mexico I heard about the awakening that was happening at IHOP and I desired to go to where God was moving in powerful ways and soak in that, and as I was sharing this I was told about the Onething conference and it got me thinking, but I didn't think it would work out. A few weeks later this same person told me that she and her husband were going to go and invited me along, this stirred something inside me and I began to pray. I prayed for a week and a half and during that time God put so many things into place that I couldn't deny that he was leading me to this conference. So on Monday the 28th I left MN to go to Kansas City for the week.
To really share everything that happened this past week would take a book, so I will share just a little and if you want to know more let me know I would love to share with you. Wow, well if you don't know a little less than 2 months ago IHOP-KC had an outpouring of the Spirit and He manifested in many ways from healings to people drunk on the Spirit to people being delivered from bondage. The Holy Spirit has stayed and manifested himself in these and many other ways since then, so this years Onething conference was quite eventful to say the least. The healings, drunkenness on the Spirit, and deliverance and other manifestations spilled out onto all of us that were at the conference. I don't think there was anybody that wasn't touched by the Holy Spirit. He was like a rushing river, if you stepped in you were swept away and it was amazing. Seriously, you want to get swept away. Ask the Lord to sweep you away today, I promise you won't regret it.
The conference consisted of 3 sessions a day which pretty much took up the entire day, from 9am to about 12am. I'm not sure what the final count on participation was, but I know it could be up to 20,000 people. At the same time that Onething was happening Urbana about 3 hours away from us was going on at the same time and they also had about 20,000 young men and women on fire for God and ready to finish the task set before us to quicken the coming of our bridegroom Jesus Christ. You know what that is my friends? The beginning of revival in America, pray for it. Earnestly seek it.
Prayer. Worship. Ministry. Three very important pieces of the puzzle are the things I took away from this conference (among other things). Without these three things the task will go unfinished and we will fall deeper into complacency. Please, please, please don't horde your salvation but do these three things: PRAY for people, Jesus to come back, revelation to understand the deeper things of God, your country, your countries leaders, etc., WORSHIP your Lord and Savior, and go out and do ministry. MINISTER to the poor, the widow, weak, the sick, the lost, the orphan, etc. in the name of Jesus and through His power.
Stand Firm. God demands Holiness, Righteousness, and Purity from us and we cannot do this by compromising His truths. Don't back down because its unpopular, don't give in because you feel uncomfortable, don't sugar coat because its politically incorrect. Don't. Speak truth, speak light, but do all these things through a spirit of love. Yes, you can bring a hard truth to someone in love, it can be done. We must do it through love, because God says the greatest command is LOVE. If you don't have love for people, spend time with the Lord and He will give it to you because he loves people more than anything in this universe.
I could go on, but at the risk of losing your attention I will end it there tonight. Again I would love to tell you more about the conference, but you can check out some great resources by Mike Bickle (founder of IHOP) yourself if you are curious what IHOP is all about here:
God bless you and keep you, may he cause his face to shine upon you, so that His ways may be known on earth, His salvation among all nations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
