Consuming Fire

Monday night, in preparation to cook supper, I filled a pan with oil, set the burner on low, or so I thought... Knowing that it would take awhile for the oil to heat up, I went on to finish up some other things around the house that I needed to do. Lee had went out for a meeting, so I was waiting dinner for him and was not in a huge hurry.
After about ten minutes or so, Lucy (my parents dog, whom we share custody of! haha!) started frantically barking in the kitchen. I yelled at her a couple of times to shut up, but she just got louder and more annoying, so I walked in to see what in the world was bothering her.
To my horror, the pan with the oil in it, was completely engulfed in flames! The stove had been jacked up to high! The fire was to the point that I needed to either put it out right then or the cabinets above the stove would ignite as well.
Now, the non-panicked me knows exactly what to do when there is a oil/grease fire...you either throw a damp towel over it, or you dump flour or baking soda on it, or you smother it with a lid. Any one of those tactics would have worked... However, the very panicked me had absolutely no idea what to do. So i yanked the pan off the stove and stood in the middle of the kitchen with it in my hand saying over and over again, " Jesus, What do I do....What do I do...WHAT DO I DO!!!!" It didn't take long before the heat burned my hand. In a moment of pain and panic, I threw the pan into my sink...my sink full of dish water...I KNOW...even stating that sends me back into a full-fledged heart pounding, pits sweating, rapid breathing panic all over again! It took less than a second (which really felt like an eternity) for me to realize, "Oh ya, THAT'S what your NOT supposed to do!!!" The moment the pan hit the water it exploded. Fire blew up the cabinets over the sink and licked all the way across the ceiling above me. In those few seconds, which again felt like an eternity, I was screaming and staring at the fire that was unlike anything I have ever seen. In those moments I knew three things for sure; my kitchen was engulfed in flames, I needed to get my boys out immediately, and that it was all because of my stupidity.
Just as quickly as it exploded it was gone. I ran through the house opening all of the doors and windows as thick black smoke began to fill the house. I was shaking and apparently crying and praying out loud, when both the boys ran in, saw me and the smoke, and started crying as well. (Afterward, I realized that they thought that I had been hurt! Poor babies!!) I ran back into the kitchen and stared at the wall and ceiling, they were black with fire damage. You could see so clearly exactly where the fire had been. It looked like black fingers reaching across the wall and ceiling! I figured that I would try and clean it up before Lee got home...I just made a bigger mess!
When Lee got home, he (thankfully!!) wasn't upset. He was just glad we were ok! It might have been the fact that the moment he stepped through the door I started crying all over again! I think he figured being upset with me would only make my hysterics worse! (Not that I am ever dramatic or hysterical!) All that said, we are going to have to Kilz and then repaint the kitchen and the ceiling....But, seriously, at least no one was hurt and there wasn't anymore damage than there is! I truly believe that the Lord heard my cries (or rather SCREAMS!) and protected us!

As I retell that story, I can't help but think of these verses~

Deut. 4:24 "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

Hebrews 12:28-29, "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'"

Let me tell you, consuming fire makes so much more sense to me now! When I walked into that kitchen, all I saw was that fire! It consumed my thoughts, my vision, everything around me. When it exploded I felt like everywhere I looked there was fire! When it was gone, there was no question that it had been there and exactly where and what it had touched. The evidence of it's presence was not easily wiped away.
God is a consuming fire! When we are in His presence it will consume our thoughts, our vision, and everything around us! He is everywhere we look!! It brings a true reverence and awe! When He shows up, there is no question where He was or what He has touched! It's obvious!!! The evidence of His presence is not easily wiped away! It lasts! It permanently damages what we once were! Praise God, He is making us more like Him!!! And our God is an All-Consuming Fire!!!! Let's step up and worship Him acceptably!!!!

(ps...Lucy now has a new name, Lassie! HAHA!!!)

Some of My Favorite Quotes from the Weekend

"No one can sing your Redeemers praise for you. Step up in your worship to your Redeemer!" ~ Travis Cottrell

"To God we are not a sea of faceless people...we are a sea of "ones"! Our worship to Him is personal, because He is personal to us!" ~ Travis Cottrell

"You will never be secure by accident. It takes an intentional daily decision!" ~ Beth Moore

"That was the old me...this is the new me!" ~ Me...as repeated after Beth Moore

"Our God is a God of Resurrection! He will not leave what belongs to Him dead!" ~ Kitty Osmon

"I am clothed with strength and dignity. I can laugh at days to come!" ~ taken from Proverbs 31:25

"God will never allow Satan to do more to us than what He knows we can handle, and He knows us better than we know ourselves!" ~ Scott Hill

"The Accuser can't accuse us of anything, that our Savior doesn't already know about and forgiven!" ~ Scott Hill

"A bulldog can almost always whip a skunk in a fight, but it's not always worth the stink! Pick your battles carefully!" ~ Vance Havner (re-quoted by Scott Hill)

Courage

Show courage before you feel it & soon your feelings will catch up w/ your actions. ~ Beth Moore

Hebrews 10:35-39 "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while,
'He who is coming will come and will not delay.
But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him.'
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the LORD; be courageous and let your heart be strong. Wait for the LORD."

Psalm 31:24 "Be of good courage,And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD."

John 16:33 "I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world."

1 Corinthians 16:13 "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong."

Truth

I have so much on my mind as of late. It tends to be a bit overwhelming. It has made me frustrated and a little irritable. I was up til 2 am this morning. My mind refused to turn off. My thoughts have involved...
...The ins and outs copyrighting, doing a rough recording and wondering if all or just a few of the songs need to be on it, wondering whether or not studio time is in the future, feeling completely and totally unable to do all this, feeling not good enough and totally unworthy, trying to figure out the new and incredibly confusing keyboard and wondering if we will ever figure it out, trying to figure out who to involve in all this and when, thinking through how to lead worship and speak at the women's conference, knowing that I ramble and am socially awkward, knowing that this is what I'm supposed to be doing but terrified all at the same time, wondering if I'm hearing God clearly and fearing that I won't, dealing with the fear that this is all way too big for me, fearing that I won't be able to do it, fearing what others will think, letting insecurities get back in, wondering if and hoping that more songs come, wondering how exactly my blog will work into all this, nervous about possibility of an upcoming magazine article and these pics that will go with it, fearing what others will think, and once again fearing what others will think....
I have failed to taking every thought captive for the glory of God. I allowed the weapons formed against me to weigh me down. In the last two days, I have allowed my own thoughts to worm their way into my mind and therefore, forgetting to cling to the Truth. I have allowed myself to be caught in a trap of worry, which is sin plain and simple. No more...I refuse to allow it to continue. I'm pretty sick of the direction it's taking me. I am squishing these A.N.T's (Automatic Negative Thoughts). Seriously, this is ridiculous! I have circled this mountain long enough, I am turning north!!! (Deut. 2:3) I am going to TRUST Him!!! I am not going to allow the Thief to steal the excitement and joy that all this gives me!!!! I am choosing to cling to the only Truth. I am going to continue to not shrink back. I will press on, knowing that whatever God is doing is going to be big, knowing He never does anything small, and knowing that He is in control and He NEVER gives us more that we can handle. He doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. He makes me worthy through His Son!!! With Him ALL things are possible. The truth is, I'm right...I can't do this. It is too big for us alone, but we aren't doing this alone! He is doing it ALL and is guiding us every single step of the way!!!! It's in my weaknesses that HE is strong, so I will glory in my weaknesses so that Christ may be glorified!!! Oh and do I want Him to be glorified! I want that more than anything!
And about those continued thoughts about others...Who cares what people think? In everything I do, I should do it as unto God, not man! The only opinion that should matter is HIS! Is He pleased with me? Am I doing what He wants me to do? Am I following Him every step of the way? Am I seeking Him with everything in me? Is my life giving evidence that that is so? If the answer to all of those is "Yes", then what does it matter what others think? Not everyone is going to like me or us, or this thing that God is doing in our lives. Not everyone is going to be excited about it. That has to be okay with me, because it is okay! He clothes me with strength and dignity!!!
God is in control of my future, and I am not!!! He has hemmed me in, before and behind. He is working ALL things together for good! He is faithful always, even when I'm not! Thankfully, He is continuing to sanctify me through and through! He is making me more and more like His Son. He who began a good work in me is faithful to complete it! I will take captive every thought to the glory of Him! I am overwhelmingly a conqueror in Christ!!!! I can do ALL things through Him who give me strength!!! I will cling to the Truth!!!

Glory to God Who is Able

I’m not sure exactly how to write this story of how God has shown His power and greatness. I want my words to do it all justice, and I’m feeling very ill equipped to do so. Regardless, I equally feel with absolute certainty that I’m supposed to at least try. I have hesitated writing this for fear that somehow it will be viewed as pretentious or self-seeking. I want to be clear that that is so far from the truth. The things that the Lord has done and is continuing to do are ALL Him. I don’t have the capabilities to do what He is doing through me! It would be so much more comfortable for me to keep this to myself. But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable, He calls us to be obedient. So here goes…

About a year ago, the Lord revealed this verse to me ~
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.”
In all my years of being His, I had never come across this verse before. I felt led to show it to my dear friend Aimee. Aimee plays the piano at our church. We formed a strong friendship through our love for worshiping the Lord through music. We started playing and singing together regularly and it became a passion. After I showed her that verse, we committed to praying it for ourselves and each another.
The Lord tells us in John 14:13-15, “ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Therefore, as a result, He began a process of intense sanctification. I felt Him stripping me bare, laying everything out before Him. It was at times exciting and joyful, but it was equally painful and convicting. It was necessary. I had been shamefully content living a lukewarm life. He began working in Aimee’s life the same way.
The more I became aware of Him and His purpose for me, the more I knew that God had something big for me to do! It also became very obvious that whatever the Lord was going to do in my life, it would involve Aimee as well.
In the spring of 2009, our womens Bible study group at church did Beth Moore’s “Esther” study. Aimee and I were asked to lead in a time of praise and worship. It was in the course of this study, that it became apparent God wanted us to do something with music. We just didn’t know what in the world it would be. Aimee, our husbands, and myself began praying that we would have ears to hear what He would have us do.

* On a side note, I think that it is very very important to understand, that our husbands felt this calling as well. They both were, and still are, very supportive, encouraging, and motivating. We prayed from the beginning that whatever it was that God wanted us to do, He would put that same call and understanding in our husbands’ hearts as well. He has honored that prayer. God gave us our marriages and our sweet husbands for a purpose! We knew that if this thing was from the Lord, that He would bring our marriages closer, not further apart. He has done that! *

In November 2009, I began to have a nagging thought. I felt like God was telling me to write a song. I know I know, it sounded to crazy to me too. I would immediately shut it down. It just sounded too weird. It sounded impossible. I didn’t talk about it to anyone, not even my husband. Surely God wouldn’t be asking me to do that. I don’t write songs. I don’t know how!

This verse began to be constantly on my mind,
Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."
I would find myself saying it over and over again in my mind. I now know that God was bringing it to my memory and weaving it into my life for a purpose.

Finally, that nagging thought became overwhelming. I began to beg Him to take the thought away if it wasn’t from Him. He didn’t. It became obvious that it was from the Lord and He wasn’t going to leave me alone about it until I did what He was telling me to do, no matter how crazy it seemed to me. I had the month of December off work, so I dedicated that month to Him and to writing a song. I was still skeptical and a little fearful; I have never done anything like this before. I didn’t know how to write a song. I asked Him to do it for me. I asked Him to be very obvious. I totally surrendered to the crazy!
On my second day off work, no one else was home and I was in the shower praying out loud that the Lord would speak to me clearly. I began to repeat Zephaniah 3:17 aloud over and over again. Suddenly, it was there. A song; words and a tune; clear as day. I was shocked; I stood completely still, dumbstruck by what had just happened. My heart was pounding, my hands were shaking, and my face was burning. I felt the Lord speaking so clearly! I felt His presence all around me! I went to my computer and sat down and typed it out. Within a matter of hours, it was all there, a complete song. Even now, as I retell the story I am amazed at what He did and captivated by Him all over again! I don’t write songs! I didn’t do that, GOD did!!!
When Lee came home that night, through lots of tears, I told him what God had asked me to do, the commitment that I had made to Him, and then what God had done. We prayed together, that God would do what He wanted to with us and His song. The Lord made it obvious to both of us that Aimee was to do the piano arrangement.
That Sunday, I took the song to church and nervously told Aimee the whole story and sang the song for her. I told her that I felt like God wanted her to be a part of this as well and I asked her to pray about putting together an arrangement. She was as shocked, skeptical, and fearful as I had been. Several months before this I had asked if she could peck out the notes to a song that I remembered singing as a teenager. She had immediately balked at that idea, saying that she didn’t play by ear. She didn’t know how to do that! This time, we decided to just pray about it and then meet again on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, we met at the church early. Aimee was still very skeptical, but willing to do whatever God wanted her to do. I was sure that it would take us many times of meeting together to figure out how get it right. Before we did anything, we spent some time in prayer, praying that God would be obvious and that He would give us the arrangement that He wanted for song.
I can’t find words for what happened next, other than God blew us away. He did it! He wrote the arrangement in the same way He wrote the song, in such a way that it was obvious that it was all Him. In a matter of forty-five minutes, the arrangement was finished! There we were sitting in a back room at the church laughing, crying, and shaking, completely overwhelmed and awed by a God who made Himself known to us in a way neither had ever experienced before.
We are nothing but two average women, sinners saved by grace, daughters of the King, with a passion for music and our God. Neither one of us writes songs, we don’t know how. But God does and He did!

Since then, God has continued to awe us. He has continued to lead and guide us toward writing more songs. Each time I am captivated and astounded once again. As of now, there are eleven songs, ten that are complete! He is not stopping! Each song has a story all it's own and I hope to be able to tell each one and about the things that God has taught us in the process. I can’t wait to share it all! I can’t wait for you to hear what God is doing!
He has a purpose and a plan for us, one that we can’t see. At times, this all seems to be happening so fast it’s scary. However, we serve a Sovereign God who sees our future, and we are earnestly seeking Him. We will not shrink back! We will step out in confidence and follow Him through every step of this process. He who has called us is Faithful and HE will do it!! He has done so much more than we could ever ask or imagine. I don’t write songs. Aimee doesn’t do arrangements. God does and we are so thankful that He is choosing to use us to do it.
We ask that you pray for us in this great adventure that the Lord has us on! That we would always be in step with Him, that we would not shrink back, that we would clearly know the 'next', and that, most importantly, God would receive all of the glory! To Him be ALL the honor, glory, and praise!

Hebrews 10:35-39 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”

I love the Psalms

David was called a man after God's own heart, yet he wasn't perfect. He struggled with the same things that I do. So often through the Psalms I hear my own heart, my own struggles. The Psalms are raw and honest. A desperate cry of the heart; whether that cry is out of sorrow, fear, anger, worry, stress, and anxiety, or joy, happiness, awe, amazement, adoration, praise, worship, and exaltation. Whatever it was, it was felt deeply and written by the God-inspired hand in honesty.
Isn't it wonderful, that a God who is so MIGHTY, SOVEREIGN, GREAT, and HOLY gives us the ability to feel emotion, to feel deeply? When I am seeking Him with everything I have, I feel more deeply and more honestly than my own humanness ever could. I love that. I love those God-given feelings of adoration, amazement, awe, joy, gladness, and love; and yet I am also so thankful for the conviction and deep burdens for the lost that come with it as well. I have been numb before. I have walked through life shut down so I wouldn't feel. I know what that is like. It's not fun. It's scary. It's lonely. It's dark. I am so thankful for feeling, for emotion! I love feeling emotion the way God intended. He gives us that ability so that we will, in turn, use all of that feeling to praise and exalt Him, to give Him all the honor, glory, and praise. It is those deep feelings that drive us to worship, that compel us to share Him with others, and that give us passion and purpose in Him!
The problem is when we let the enemy sneak in and we start to use those emotions negatively and they begin to take roots of pride, worry, fear, anger, and insecurity. God made us to feel. He made us emotional beings. He wants us to feel. We just need to be sure that we are using those emotions for the Father. We need to be sure that we are taking every thought captive to the glory of God. We need to be sure that we are seeking after Him alone! Then when, not if, those seeds of negative emotion try and sneak into our thoughts and minds, give them to the Mighty One. Turn them all over to Him in open honesty. Trust Him, He can handle it! He doesn't want us to shut down and make our hearts numb for protection sake. Let the Great Healer sooth those ugly raw wounds that those negative emotions rip open. He is such a balm to the hurting soul! He is our Rescuer, Deliverer, Shelter, Strong Tower, Refuge, Redeemer, Savior! That just makes me want to shout out loud!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!

Today I read Psalm 68 & 71!!! Some particular verses that just really touched my spirit were ~

Psalm 68:3-6 But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.
Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds
his name is the LORD—
and rejoice before him.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
he leads forth the prisoners with singing;

Psalm 68:32-35 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
to him who rides the ancient skies above,
who thunders with mighty voice.
Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the skies.
You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!

Psalm 71:14-16 But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.

Psalm 71:19-21 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?
Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.

Psalm 71:23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to You-
I, whom You have redeemed.

There are no greater words to say, than to speak His own words back to Him!

You Saw This

Today I can’t stop thinking of Isaiah 25:1, “O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.” Today, I've overwhelmed by the Lord! He is being so conspicuous! He doesn't have to be, He chooses to be!

Lord God Almighty, I am amazed by You and how You are showing Yourself to me!!! This is exhilarating, exciting, and extremely scary! You have me in stitches! I can’t stop laughing! I can’t stop shaking! And at times, I'm driven to tears. I’m not sure if it’s nerves or joy or a wonderful combination of both! I can't fathom where You are taking all this! I can't wait to see Your plan unfold!

You see it though! You hem me in before and behind! You saw it long ago! You saw this joy, this passion, and this plan, even when I couldn’t have possibly!

You saw it, when I was fourteen years old and realized that even though I was born into a family of people who were God-fearing followers of Christ, I wasn’t. You saw it, when You touched my heart that night and I repented of my sin, and accepted You as my Lord and my Savior. You saw it, when at that same moment, You miraculously saved me and made me Yours! You saw it, when I was a teenager begging You for a purpose. You saw this, when You gave me a love for music and singing to You.

You saw it, when I was a new wife with a husband who wasn’t the spiritual leader I thought he should be and I cried out desperately that that would change. You saw it, when I was walking through life not focused on You at all, but was blaming others for my spiritual condition.

You saw it, when You abundantly bless us with two beautiful boys, 15 months apart. You saw it, when I was a lonely stay-at-home mom with those little babies and Lee was working 40+ hours a week and going to school 21 hours a semester and we never saw him. You saw it, when I was locked in the laundry room after trying to pay the bills, face stuffed in a towel to muffle my screaming, as I wasn't sure that we would have electricity, water, be able to buy groceries, or even keep our vehicle that month. You saw it, when I wrapped the babies bottoms in towels, counted out 400 pennies in a gallon sized Ziploc baggie, and walked (because we had no money for gas to drive) the two miles to the Dollar General to buy diapers, only to be 23 cents short. You saw it, when we miraculously got a zero balance gas bill in the mail that couldn't be explained by the gas company, except that our bill was paid in full. You saw it, every time You proved that You and You alone are our Provider!

You saw it, when You answered my prayers and captivated my husband and he truly became the spiritual leader of our home! You see it, when I continue to fall in love with this man over and over! You see it, when we fall to our knees and pray together.

You saw it, when we lost our third child at 12 weeks. You saw it, when I was angry and felt like I was going crazy! You saw it, when I was sinking into a pit of fear, depression, grief, and anxiety. You saw it, when even though my heart felt like it was being crushed You gave me strength to choose to worship You anyway.

You saw it, when we were pregnant with our fourth child and I was crippled with fear. You saw it, when; three days after having an ultrasound, seeing our baby, hearing his heartbeat, and hearing the doctor tell us all looked well; we lost our fourth child at 14 weeks. You saw it, when I was kicking and screaming in a hospital bed, that it just wasn’t fair. You saw it, when I was sure I wasn't going to make it though it all again. You saw it, when You spoke to me so clearly, I'm sure it was audible. You saw it, when You wrapped Your arms around me and held me there. You saw it, in the months afterward when I would wake in the night screaming from the horrific nightmares. You saw it, when I clung to You and Your Word desperately, knowing that if I didn’t, I would sink back into that deep pit, and I might never come out again. You saw it, when I felt like I would never laugh again, and then somehow I did! You saw it, when, once again, my heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest and crushed to pieces and You gave me strength to choose to worship You anyway, even in the pain. You see it, when Lee and I can’t seem to have more children, even though we want them. You see it, when You overwhelm us with joy!

You saw it, when You called Lee into the youth ministry and we said yes. You saw it, when we left our church of ten years and became a part of the Lakeside Baptist staff. You saw it, when I would cry pulling out of the church parking lot, because I missed my old church and all my friends there and I felt like I would never fit in at that new church. You saw it, as Lee and I took baby steps learning how to be in the ministry. You saw it, when Lakeside became more than just our church, it became our family!

You saw it, when my alopecia came back with a vengeance. You saw it, when I was crippled with anxiety from trying to hide the bald spots. You saw it, when I went completely bald and lost all the hair on my body. You saw it, when I would stare into the mirror and would believe the enemies lies. You saw it, when I couldn’t possibly see what You would want to do with me. You saw it, when I struggled with insecurity.

You saw it, as we had the overwhelming joy to see answered prayer as both of our sweet boys came to know the Lord as their personal Savior this year! You see it, as we pray for those boys to become Godly men. You see it, when we hear our sons talk about You and what You are doing and saying in their own hearts.

You saw it, when You revealed 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” to my heart.
You saw it, when You led Aimee and I to start praying that verse for ourselves and for one another.

You saw it, when You convicted my heart, changed my thought process, and then told me so very clearly to write this post. You saw it, when I called on You and You so obviously answered me!

You saw it, when You called me to do something that seemed impossible and little crazy! You saw it, when I surrendered and was obedient. You saw it, when You overwhelmed us with Your power! You saw it, when You told us to trust You! You saw it, when You did marvelous things right before our eyes! You saw it, when through them You were glorified! You see it, when You captivate us over and over again! You see it, when I feel so unworthy of any of this! You see it, when You whisper that I'm valued and loved, and that You make me worthy through Christ!

You continue to see so far beyond what I can. You see what our future holds. You see what is going to come of our obedience to You. You see the path You’ve planned for us, and I trust you with my life! I can't possibly see what marvelous things You have planned! I can't possibly know why You would choose to use me like this, but I'm forever thankful that You have! You have given me joy and a passion!
You have done so much more than I could ever ask or imagine! You have brought me thus far! You have brought me out of the miry pit and put a new song in my mouth! You still have so much that You are doing! SO MUCH!!!! Thank You that You who called me is FAITHFUL, and You will do it!!! Thank You that, He who began this good work in me will complete it! Thank You that You sanctify!

Isaiah 25:1, “O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”

THIS IS MY KING!!!!!

DO YOU KNOW HIM??

HAPPY EASTER!!!

He is risen! HE IS RISEN, INDEED!!!