A Story

We each have a story. A story that is filled with mistakes, joys, adventures, laughs, disappointments, pain, heartache, love, hate, anguish, sadness, peace, comfort, security and so much more. Each persons story is significant to them, even if they've forgotten certain parts, or decided to live in the moment. Regardless, every person has a unique story that is simply their own. No one else can copy it or truly live anyone else's story. And most of the time, no one will ever fully be able to understand another person's story. The only exception to that rule is Christ.

But, when you genuinely care about their story, they might just let you in. At first, you may just be listening to their story; seeing it from their perspective. Then you might start to understand their story and how they became like they are today. Next you'll become a part of their story and if you're lucky, you'll get to start living that story with them. And your story will be in theirs and vice versa.

Part of what Jesus does is he lives our story along side of us. Just like any relationship though, you have to let him be a part of it. You have to allow him to hear you. The great thing about God is that he knows everything that has ever happened, everything that ever will happen and all the things happening right now. He doesn't need time to process your story, or understand where you've been and how you got to where you are. He isn't judgmental or rude. He is always caring, always there and always listening. God has designed us to desire to be a part of other people's stories. It's not a maybe thing, it's a gonna happen thing. Being a part of someone's story is exhilarating and new and full of someone else.

What I'm getting to is that living in another person's story is selfless. It's real. It's authentic. It's humbling. It's laying down your life for another. And that is what God has intended marriage to be. Now I can't say from experience, but what God has been showing me is that when you allow yourself to choose to love another person, you are committing one hundred and ten percent of who you are to that person. That encompasses every emotion, every desire, every hurt, every joy that you have, you are laying down and saying that they are more important. And you are willing to put aside all of those things for that person. But he has also shown me that that person, when they are equally yoked, WILL do the same. No if's, and's, or but's. That is just the way it is.

I don't know how I'm gonna get to that place, but I will pray from now on that God show's me exactly how to do that, because my husband deserves nothing less than that. My unconditional love that I choose to give him every day of my life.

So I encourage you, if you are in a relationship, or thinking about having one, pray about this for yourself. Because your heart is too special to let anyone, besides your future spouse, have.

Mish Mash!

These are some thoughts, verses and quotes that I have been compiling for a while. And I thought I'd share :)

12/28/10
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
As we seek after God, he will empower us, break us, then build us back up, so our humility stays in contact. But he will bless us beyond what we think.
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

12/29/10
You have to "walk in the light" of the vision that has been given to you. -Oswald Chambers

1/4/11
Jealousy
-human jealousy is an emotional response (it's relational). It is out of passion and ones self, born out of insecurity, mistrust, and fear.
-God's is a creator/creation desire for goodness. It's a compassion jealousy. He wants you to experience his love for you.

Love
-There are 4 kinds of love ~ the one that is most talked about is the affection love, which is storge in Greek. The other three are agape, phileo, and eros.

Hate
means to passionately disliking someone; to feel extreme aversion or hostility; detest.
-The word hate is thrown around so much, and yet God has so much intense stuff to say about it. Why take it lightly if He doesn't?

1/12/11
Everything that is NOT of faith is sin.

"Now FAITH is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1

The joy of the Lord can be so evidenced in us that we will be filled with God and able to rebuke the devil. -Smith Wigglesworth

Lord, let prime mover of my thoughts be you.

1/16/11
Overcoming~by the Grace of God

What does it mean to be a Biblical overcomer?
Titus 1:1-5

The answer: 1 John 5:4-5 "for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

YOU are an overcomer of the world!
Betcha didn't know that, huh? It's pretty kewl.

We are each a dynamic expression of Jesus.
Today Jesus told me that He wants me to be that dynamic expression and not worry about how other people do it. No one is exactly like me and He has placed in me each desire, each love, each joy, for a specific purpose. How he desires me to love is specific for who he has made me to be.

Nehemiah 8:10
"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Speak victory over your struggles!

You know when you're at that point where you just cry out to God that He is all you have left. I can just imagine God looking at us and being like, "Yeah, all you've got left is the
Creator of Universe. How do you think that is gonna work out for ya?" Silly humans. We always let ourselves think that just having God is a bad thing. Well, it's not. Not at all in fact :) God is all we've got left ALL the time.

I want to ooze Jesus. But each person has their own color of ooze. That is part of our dynamic expression of Jesus, oozing Him in a different way then the next guy. It's GOOD to ooze Jesus in a different color than your friends. It shows how individual and unique you are to Him. He has done that with a beautiful purpose in mind. And it's great, cause we know that God has not just flippantly made us, He has a plan for us, whether we know it at this point or not. He does, and that's what matters.

Go God!



So after all of my mish mash, how are you gonna be the dynamic expression of Jesus that you are today? Don't hold back, don't be afraid. Just be Him that way He has created you too!

Healing and other things...

It [Bible] always addresses the big things that need to be healed. Demon-possession, sickness, diseases, pain, paralyzation and seizures. But it doesn't give much salt to the mental games that we play in our heads. It seems to not address the inside, and yet, God gives us the promise that if we ask, we will receive. The Bible tells us that Jesus went through all temptations that we go through so even those mind games, the lies and deceptions, the falseness of our thoughts. He dealt with them and conquered them. If Jesus can do that and he lives in us, we will surely be able to do that with him if we ask. Because truly it is in those seconds that we take those lies captive that we are obeying God in the simplest and most beautiful of ways. Who are we to think that we less than what God thinks of us. His love is so deep and real for us. It is so magnificent in the way that He desires for us to go. I always take comfort that God accepts me just the way I am. Every quirk, every ridiculous phrase, every deep thought, every shallow comment, every failure to love, every thing that I take joy in, every person that I hold dear, every person that has hurt or disappointed me, every person that has broken my hear in one way or another, every flaw, every phobia. He accepts me for who I was, who I am and who I will become. And more than that, He wants my "who I am right now," to grow into the "who I will become." That why he takes our emotions, thoughts and complexes so seriously. He desires to bring those deeply rooted and/or hidden complexes to light so He can heal them. He wants us to acknowledge those issues, to deal with them and ask for healing. Because He will bring it. Maybe not soon, and it pry won't be easy, but it WILL BE healed, if you ask and seek Him.

Ask yourself... Self, what is holding me back from doing this?

Most of the time, for me, it's fear. Fear of having to dig deep, find the root and acknowledge that the issue is actually an issue. And then seeing how that issue has corrupted the way I think. Which affects the way I speak, act and do God's will. WHICH SUCKS!!! Cause I don't want to let my own crap get in the way of God, but it does. And you'd be blind not to see that.

I won't give you a 3 step program to help, but if this is something that you struggle with and don't know how to change, then here are some things that help me:
Ask God to reveal to you things that are an issue for you
After they have been revealed, seek Him even more. Be in the word, talk to people about this issue so that can be praying. And PRAY! Talk to God about that thing, or the stuff or the thought process.
And let God have it. Slowly, but surely, God will heal you. But you have to be willing to go to the root. To dig deeply and just sit with God. Let Him wash over you, let Him fill you with His love and grace.

My friends, this is not an easy task. It's simple though. Because God is on your side. He wants the very best for you. :)

Hope

For a long time, hope wasn't something that I put in Christ. I didn't ever fully understand how much hope he gives us. I just saw hope as a desire to put in whatever to get what I wanted. It wasn't a God-thing for me. It just was there.

As I watch the world, it dawns on me more and more how hopeless people truly are. They won't admit it if you ask, they won't even think of it as one of their secrets. Honestly, I don't even think it'll enter their minds if they're having a good day. And yet, each person that doesn't know the hope of Jesus, endures that hopelessness every day of their life. Because if this earth is all that we're living for, there is no reason to have hope.

Fortunately, our hope is not in the world. It doesn't lie in people, it doesn't lie in the things we do or how we are or what we are. Our only cause for hope is Christ.

I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
Psalm 25:2-3

The promise that God gives us is hopeful. Full of something this world cannot offer. The hope that we can take comfort in is the same hope that God has to give.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Hope is defined as a "confident desire." When our hope is in Christ it is true hope because our God is bigger than everything else. He is the one orchestrating the universe. That desire can only be filled by Him. It is one of the only things to live in. God says, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love." [1 Corinthians 13:13a]

The confident desire that we have that things will turn out okay, is something that WILL happen; but only, when our hope is in Christ.

Where does your hope lie? Is it in Him? Because if it isn't, it's futile.

Inspiration

What is it that truly inspires you?

Is it a beautiful sunset? An encouraging word? A deep thought? A well written book?

Inspiration can come from anything. But to me, inspiration comes from those around you. I truly love watching people do what they are good at, essentially, what they are created to do. It's nothing short of a miracle to watch people succeed at something. Whether it's just knowing the right answer to a difficult question, making a superb tasting coffee, or dancing beautifully. Regardless of what it is, it's an inspiration to me. I love getting to see people do what they are good at, because they are good at it. They know that they can succeed and that brings a sense of accomplishment. But what is even better, is watching someone do something great that they had no idea that they were good at. Especially when it is something that is beautiful. It blows my mind when I see people doing all these things that God intended them to do, and they don't have the faintest idea that He has intended them to do it.

My life purpose statement is "To love, encourage, and inspire people to Christ."

So how do you inspire people? How do you make them believe they can do anything in the world? How do you show them that they need to do what they have been created to do, even when they don't know what that is?!

Well, lets think about it. God has created us for a purpose. A very specific purpose. And we may not know what that is at this exact moment, but regardless, we should be willing to search for it.

To be honest, sometimes we're not inspired, and that is perfectly fine. You go through dry seasons, and in the end, you come out stronger than you were. Because you had to endure it. Yes, it might be hard, and sad, and maybe even a little frustrating. But it is worth it in the end, when you find out the reason for that dry season.

Is inspiration necessary? Absolutely not. Not to live, anyways. But is it helpful in motivating you to do what you love? Yes, most definitely.

So I encourage you, find out what inspires you, and do that so you will be pushed to do the things that you love. And, be an inspiration to those around you, because you just might, inspire someone to greatness.

Lightbulb!

With all of the crazy things thrown at me at this point in my life, I'm not super willing to hear anything other than what I know is truth. Simply because it's easier to cope that way. I know what I know because God has given me specific instruction, and truth to lean on. So, in other words, I don't feel like my eyes have been opened to see other people's perspectives; due to sitting in my pain and sadness. Yup, I'm willing to admit it.

Regardless of all this, my desire is see life from other people's perspectives. Empathize with their pain, joy, craziness and, above all else, who they are. It may seem silly, but this is something that I need to do. Not only for myself, but for those close to me.

I came to the realization that if I were one of my friends, I would worry about me. Not because of any surface matter, but because of the stuff I knew was goin on in my heart. Unfortunately, I haven't been willing to really dig deep and work through that. The bouncing off of ideas and thoughts hasn't been real high on my to-do list, if you know what I mean.

So, it comes down to this. Are you willing to let out what's going on in your heart? Do you have someone that you can be completely open and honest with? Are you able to bounce ideas, be real, let your guard down and be free to sound like a total moron? I am. At least, now I am. I'm ready. To take the next step, to stand in the gap and proclaim to the world that I want healing! I want my brokenness to mended, my wounds to be healed, and the moving forward to insist.

The best part is that I know that God wants this for me as well. He was just waiting for me to get this point. I'm ready, God. Let's go.

wishing i could think of kewler title names...

Good morning sunshine, the world says hello! -Willy Wonka (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

Even though technically, it's not morning here, i'm sure it is somewhere in the world. Just not here :)

Living. Breathing. Speaking. Singing. Doing. Hearing. Knowing. Loving.

Hmmm...Thoughts of the day:
God calls us to know his truth. But it's a concious decision to know his truth and to live in that truth every moment of the day. Cause sometimes, you can know it, but you won't always live in it.

Truth: God has a plan for us. His plan is a zillion times better than our plan. He wants us to surrender. Fully. Not just half-way. He wants us to be in complete surrender to Him. Meaning that, no matter what, we are letting him have control. But it's not just one day out of the 7 days of the week. It's second by second.
Fact: It's gonna be hard. God didn't tell us it would be easy.
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
The best part though, is knowing that God is with us.
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
When our Father, the King of the Universe, the best friend who is always there, gives us attention, he will not turn away. So when you think he's not there, he is. Take comfort, my friends. Take comfort in Him.