Focus On The Promise Through The Journey

Sometimes, when we've been walking through our journey for so long we can end up losing the focus of our actual destination. God gives us a promise, but when more time than we were expecting passes, it becomes harder to see "it". We question, we cry out, we even lose hope for a sec., but we never give up. I've always had a saying ever since I gave my life over to Jesus and encountered Him: There's no turning back anymore no matter what, no matter how hard it gets my only option is to move forward.

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."  -Martin Luther King Jr.

God never said the journey of this life would be easy, but he did say that the arrival would be worth it! -Max Lucado

I've been asking God the same question over and over and over again for quite some time (years) and today I was just stopped by Him. He reminded me of a prayer I made when I was 15 years old and how He answered the beginning of it during that time. To me the little sign I asked God for at the end of my prayer was just a quirky inside joke between me and God, but he answered it. I joke with what I ask and He jokes by responding super quick. You see, the problem is that I expected that my whole prayer list would be answered and packaged up to be delivered to me all at once, but God's ways were different. He said it would be given to me but He didn't say when or how. My journey to the promise has been a rough one, I can't deny it, but I have come out a stronger woman who God intends to make stronger.

One Winter day during the Festival of Dedication, Jesus was confronted by the Jews who were also walking along in the temple courts. They surrounded Jesus and asked him "how long" he planned on keeping them "in suspense" and to just tell them "plainly" if he was the Messiah. While I was reading this story this morning in John 10:22-30 I knew without a doubt in my mind that God was talking to me. I had been crying out asking God to please just speak to me in such an obvious way because I couldn't get it, but He said to me that He already answered my question many times but I just wasn't seeing what He wanted me to see. I just wasn't getting it. When I started my walk toward the promise I was so sure, but then things got so scary bad that I let my gaze become foggy. I felt frustrated like those Jews did (of course I wasn't going to stone my Savior but I let anger and confusion get the best of me) because though they had heard the promise of Jesus' coming written in scripture, they let their gaze become foggy by what was said to them:the scriptures said that a Messiah was coming in a humble manner but it didn't say his name or the fact that he was going to be a carpenter's son.  The promise was delivered to them in different circumstances than they had expected in their hearts so they closed up their hearts and refused to see that God was living among them. The signs and wonders made it obvious but to believe meant that they had to be closer to faith and farther from their expectations. I knew that I couldn't take my anger and frustration out on my God, so instead...I took it out on the promise. That's a big no,no. I was so busy comparing my walk to others and asking God why others were happy with their promise fulfilled while mine seemed to be getting crazier and even more unpredictable. The thing is: God is not a cookie-cutter God, so He created individual people with individual stories. It's easy to buy into a one-for-all solution but that's just not true. We have to seek God's counsel directly from Him and then wait for His confirmation (through His word, dreams, people...etc). This whole week my seeking an answer for my question really escalated, and I see now as I write this that God has been answering me. Every morning with what I've been reading in the Word He's been answering me. It all connects. How God showed me in the Book of Genesis that he had to open Hagar's eyes to see the well of water so that she wouldn't let hopelessness in the middle of the dessert kill her and her son Ishmael, how God protected and cared for Ishmael as his only Father after he was rejected and sent away as God's plan to create him into a strong nation, and also how God looked into the heart of Rebekah and predestined her to be the wife that would say yes to an unpredictable marriage to Abraham's son Isaac. God spoke to me in detail about these stories all week long and finally I understand. Jesus was obviously the Messiah and my answer has been obviously staring me in the face for years. Jesus' answer to the Jews in the temple was this:

(John 10:27-30) My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

I am so sure of my salvation in Jesus and that He abides in me and I in Him by His grace alone, therefore my ear is in tune to what He's saying. The devil sometimes wants to make us doubt that, actually, the enemy always wants to make us doubt that because His mission is to kill, steal, and destroy us. I truly believe that Jesus wasn't just answering the Jew's questions...He was making a bold statement and letting the devil know that what belonged to the king of kings could not be taken from Him even by the thieve of thieves. We belong to Jesus and the devil has no right to touch us and our God who is greater can not be over-powered. I realized that the reason that I haven't responded to the many voices around me for years telling me to go this way and that way is because I've been fleeing from the other. I was once told a great truth: the devil takes no breaks and shows no mercy. He will use whatever he wants to use in order to kill you because your purpose threatens him. That goes for all of us. The enemy has tried to make me believe that I'm crazy for not listening to who I "should" listen to, dumb for "failing" those who I shouldn't, or just plain disobedient and worthy of receiving God's punishment when that is not true. Because the people around me have also seen the dessert that I have walked through with my promise in hand, they give advice out of hopelessness when I have been called to walk by the amount of faith that God has given to me. My walk is mine, entrusted to me by God and nobody will ever confuse me enough to snatch it from me. I am to complete my mission until I see the fulfillment of what God has promised me. I encourage everybody who reads this...stand strong and firm in the faith. Keep pressing forward with your eyes focused on the promise as you walk this life-long journey. May faith arise and I pray that hope sustain us through.

Bringing My Lamp & My Oil

(Matthew 25:1-4)

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins 

who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 

Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones 

took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, 

however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 

The Lord has really been pressing in my spirit the story of the ten virgins toward the end of the Book of Matthew. Even though I continued to read ahead I always seemed to make my way back to that small passage in the 25th chapter. This is one of my favorite parables that Jesus taught just because it mirrors the church as His bride, Jesus as the bridegroom, and He gives us another little glimpse of what bringing His kingdom down to earth looks like. I got some info about the tradition of Jewish weddings online because I really wanted to understand the context of what Jesus was talking about: "In Jewish society, the parents of the betrothed generally drew up the marriage contract. The bride and groom would meet, perhaps for the first time, when this contract was signed. The couple was considered married at this point, but they would separate until the actual time of the ceremony. The bride would remain with her parents, and the groom would leave to prepare their home. This could take quite a while. When the home was all ready, the groom would return for his bride without notice. The marriage ceremony would then take place, and the wedding banquet would follow."

When I started to read, a picture was painted in my head of these ten young ladies, half careless and the other half expectantly waiting for the groom to arrive. I imagined their talks of what he looked like standing at the altar, of where they would live together, and when he was coming. I imagined them pacing back and forth looking out of the windows to be the first ones to run to His side. At this point he could be right around the corner or far off in the distance: It was a total surprise visit waiting to happen. For any girl it's hard to wait, can I get an amen? I can picture joy turning into expectancy, expectancy turning into impatience, and impatience turning into boredom. The young women became so tired of waiting that they fell asleep. When the bridegroom arrived at midnight to take the ladies to the banquet to celebrate, the ones that were prepared followed with their well-oiled lamps while the one's that weren't were left behind and denied entrance into the feast.

The details of this parable are so important. What the Spirit pressed in my heart was that the wise virgins that were prepared with their lamps and oil are a symbol of God's church being ready through the filling of His Word and His Holy Spirit. Psalm 119:105 automatically popped up into my head word by word and I was like yes Lord, I understand. But right after He revealed that the lamp was talking about God's Word He then spoke this strongly into my spirit: The ladies that were left out had their lamps but lacked the oil...that oil is my Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit to breathe a new revelation of God's Word into our lives we the church will not see the glory of Jesus manifested here on earth. This is like supplementing His signs and wonders for a Bible study. We need the combination. We can't have one without the other. It is His desire for all of His children to move in the power of the Holy Spirit. These ten women, symbolizing the church, knew that without the oil eventually the fire was going to burn out and they would not be able to see their bridegroom coming and would either miss Him or get lost trying to go out to meet Him.

(Psalm 119:105)

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path.

The Bible is the instrument that The Lord provides us with so that we can follow the path that He's marked out before us and His Holy Spirit is the source of power that is needed to turn keep the fire burning. His anointing in our lives is his seal of ownership because knowing the word alone won't do it, this just opens the door for religion. We need His Word + His Holy Spirit anointing in order to produce fire (power) in our lives.

(2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. 

He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit 

in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

.

We have one of those antique oil lamps at home on top of our fridge that we've conserved for years for those stormy nights when the power goes out. I want to talk a little bit about the maintenance of an oil lamp. Humor me guys I promise it's important. After you've filled the bottom glass end with oil the wick (rectangular thick stringy thingy) has to be trimmed if it's been previously used because it's all burned up. In the the parable of the ten virgins I noticed that the moment the ladies heard that the bridegroom was coming they woke up and the first thing they did was trim their lamps. They had left their lamps burning the whole time that now the time came for them to re-fuel them with some oil and a clean wick. You know that moment when you read through something but then stop, make a curious face, and then read back again? That was my aha moment. I knew that this portion of was important somehow so I said, "Holy Spirit show me, explain why this is important." He likes to flood me and that's exactly what happened and continues to happen. Just like that "wick" our spiritual lives reach points of burn out when we're stuck on old revelations and past experiences when the Holy Spirit wants to give us something fresh and new. I've been there and gosh I'm sure we all have but what He spoke into my spirit was that we need to trim off the old burned up wick. We need to throw away what we think we know about God through what we've learned so far, to make room for Him to show up in our lives a new way. We need to throw out the window what we've heard of God and prepare ourselves for daily encounters. And I'm not talking about shutting out readings or men and women of God, not at all. But I am saying that living off of second hand information is scary and not enough. We need to have a personal relationship with God and then let second hand information serve as a compliment and as confirmation for what the Holy Spirit has already revealed to us first. Let's just let our bridegroom pay us a surprise visit. Let's be ready for that visit. I'm excited!

The Beginning Of True Worship: A Circumsized Heart

My Bible reading time is getting so good. I'm so close to The New Testament that I can taste it but the journey has been astonishing, slow paced but full of meditation. As I read through the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel there was one similar focal point that I tuned into: God was telling these anointed men that what He most desired was the heart. The Lord went on to pour out prophecies about how He planned to recapture Israel's hearts, how He desired for His people to circumcise their hearts. God gave them so many literal examples and symbols for what true worship really was but they (with an exception of a few) never got it. The prophet Samuel understood this when he reprimanded King Saul for choosing sacrifices over obedience. David got it when he sang in one of his Psalms about how he finally realized that The Lord takes no pleasure in sacrifices and offerings, but instead, delights in a broken and contrite heart. For a while God used these literal expressions as a shadow of the true meaning of the beginnings of worship. Before anything else, God desires to have our hearts in His hand, because to give someone your heart is to give them all of you. Change came and God was behind this transformation, ready to reveal to all that what He was trying to do this whole time was win over their hearts. The few men that understood this did life with God: walked with Him daily, invited The Lord to be where they were, and followed The Lord wherever He wanted them to go. It's so easy to recognize a move of God when you spend intimate and public time with God. In your secret place as well as the grocery store, church, between classes, at work, and during lunch conversations. This is a picture of what doing life with God is and it all begins with a rendered, devoted, circumcised heart. You see, a circumcision removes the natural protective covering and what God was saying was this: for a while guys I asked you to circumcise your children because I was giving you a picture of what I really wanted and that was for that wall in your heart that you use to keep me out to be removed so that I could come in. God wants to come in to our hearts and dwell there. Worship first involves us giving our hearts over so that His Spirit may dwell there. When Jesus came He later gave the next revelation and that was this: guys, the temple was a symbol for a long time but now I've been sent by my Father to tell you that when I leave His Spirit will now not just be with you and in you...now He's gonna be upon you because your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Lord tells us in The Book of Daniel that God is the revealer of mysteries and that He is.

*~*~*

(Ezekiel 11:19-20) I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

*~*~*

My favorite example so far in The Old Testament of what a circumcised heart looks like would have to be in the life story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they're put on the spot and about to be thrown into a burning furnace because they refused to worship anybody/anything else but their God. I mean, I felt empowered as I was reading this.

*~*~*

(Daniel 3:17-18) "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” 

*~*~*

God loves and honors that heart that has let Him completely come in to the point of living a life that screams: My God is the living God and He can do anything for me but even if things don't work out the way I envision I will still love Him and keep my heart open to Him. God just can't resist this genuine heart because we were all created the same fierce and bold potential to love. This is the beginning of true worship that is born from doing life with God.

///Will You Still Worship When Your Usual Way of Connecting With God is Cut Off?///

The key that opens the door into God's presence is intimacy; It's a singular action that later turns into a plural activity. To have an intimate relationship of any kind there first has to be a connection, that bridge that allows communication between two Spirits. (John 4:24) tells us that "God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." When we feed our Spirit then our flesh, weak or strong, has to submit under the authority of Jesus. The case for me this week was weak flesh and a strong Spirit. I know when you first read that last sentence it sounds a bit bizarre or maybe a bit uppity but the Lord knows the details of my week and these days have truly stripped my flesh off to only reveal my Spirit. In past seasons I've had to battle through my flesh getting in the way of my Spirit's purpose and I continue to struggle with this of course but God had something new to teach me this week. The battle that I had to face required me to solely depend on the strength of my Spirit Man: I had been feeding Him with word, music, preachings...etc. and now came the time to see the fruit of that. I have seen the fruit and the words that were declared did not return void.

Sunday night, the Lord gave me a dream: I saw myself at a party of some kind. For some reason I was there helping out and I went outside and started walking toward my Mom's SUV. When I was about to open the door I felt someone following me so I turned around and saw a young man walking up behind me. I locked the car and asked the guy if I could help him with anything and before I knew it he pulled out a gun and shot me. He just walked away after this and disappeared behind a wall. I felt myself fall to the ground and land on grass but I didn't feel the bullet penetrate me. I was shocked by this but instead of panicking I began to declare, "I cover myself with the blood of Jesus...The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want He makes me lie down by green pastures and leads me beside still waters..." And then the guy comes back, pulls out his gun, and shoots me over and over again. The more I declared The Word the angrier he got and the angrier he got the more he shot. The bullets couldn't touch me. There was like a force field blocking the bullets. The word of God became my faithful shield. I didn't know it then but God was preparing me for what was going to come and clearly He showed me that I was going to have to declare His Word through this spiritual warfare.

My voice was just gone for almost the whole week and if you express your worship to God through singing like I do then you know how horrible, horrible, that really feels. How impotent I felt when the guitar was being played. Every chord made my heart leap and my lips quiver with anxiousness. Day after day I drove in my car with only my hand raised up and my mouth tightly sealed. The Holy Spirit was there in that moment and saw my heart. It even began to drizzle so all I could do was smile. I felt in my Spirit so strongly that the enemy was not going to hear one complaint, nor one reproach, and he especially was not going to cause confusion as to why this was happening to me. My worship was not going to be defined by what I lacked, but rather, what I had. God loves it when I sing to Him but He loves me so much more. That's it right there! He wants us so so so much more than anything else we can offer Him. The way I was approaching and confronting this situation wasn't something I was doing with the intention of just receiving healing...it was about all my love being offered in the palm of my hand to my good and faithful God in the midst of difficult circumstances. I desperately wanted Him to know that I would worship and love Him no matter what I was going through...I wanted Him to just love my heart...I wanted to make Him smile.

 I didn't even have to memorize this scripture because once I read it, it was engraved in my Spirit. Spending the night on the couch far from my room could have provoked my frustration but instead I took my pillow, blanket, my Declaration Scriptures Notebook, and Bible and read until my eyes couldn't read another word. I declared (Jeremiah 17:14) after The Lord showed me this scripture as I was reading my Bible. What is used to harm us God can use to benefit us. It will work for your good if you're called to God's purposes. Will you still worship?

Make another connection and if that one is taken away make another and then another. If your voice is gone use your hands and if your hands are gone get down on your knees. If you can't dance pray and if you can't pray then converse in your mind with your God. Make a connection. In the natural you may not be able to sing so let your life be your song or maybe you can't physically bow down so let your every step be in full surrender to God. Don't let anything steal your worship because while you see it's tangible form, God see's its spiritual form. Will you still worship?

His Glory Rained Down

And then came Sunday. I drove off to church. I warmed-up. I prayed. I did a mike-check. Met some new people. Worshiped my King. Our service is called Tardes De Gloria (Afternoons of Glory) and that's exactly what we all witnessed. We felt God's glory rain and pour out over us. Some missionaries and prophets from Oklahoma came to pay us a visit and from the moment I stepped foot inside the church I could perceive something new, something big coming our way. Sunday after Sunday after Sunday all of us have been seeking and pursuing the Lord's presence, Worshiping and poring out songs before his throne and we finally saw and felt the overwhelming overflow of our Father's glory. It was unbearable. So unbearable that at one point I just left my mike and went over to the corner of the alter to just break down, kneeling before my God. The only living God was there but this time we just FELT Him push through us and walk among us spiritually. Our eyes could not see it but our spirits were so out of our control and completely under His control. I mean, not one person was left out...everyone drank on their own because that's what the service is all about. Getting into God presence individually as one to drink from the well. Each and every single person just making the most of the three hour or four or how ever long it takes to get satisfied. We sing and praise and worship until we burst with uncontainable life. Each person received a prophetic word from The Lord. When we finally finished the first part of our time of praise and worship (approximately one hour and a half) The man who came to release the prophetic word over our service and congregation introduced himself and gave the word out:

(Jeremiah 9:23-24) 

This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom

or the strong boast of their strength

or the rich boast of their riches,but let the 

one who boasts boast about this:

that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

justice and righteousness on earth,

 for in these I delight,”

declares the Lord.

Because we've been seeking God we found Him. It's all about His presence. After the word, which was amazing because God was just speaking, the prophet and my pastor began to prepare for the altar call and the second round of our congregational worship. I was drinking out of my water jug and reaching for my mike when I heard the prophet say, "bring me that young lady." I was sort of confused because of the spiritual Ephesians 5:18 drunkenness I was experiencing. The man walked up to me and began to release the prophetic word. Most of what I can remember him saying is that I was being given a fresh anointing because I had the gift of prophecy and that The Lord wanted me to begin to release that. He said that I would hear God sing to me and that all I had to do was repeat that because God wants to speak to the church through me. I was just receiving it, over joyed, knowing that the Lord confirmed to me something that I've been acting on that His Spirit has taught me but now God gave His public approval before the whole congregation. My heart was so full because it's been a long walk and God has seen me pushed aside but He made that man walk up to me first. It's like when you have a boyfriend who's parents are talking bad about you and then he sticks up for you. I felt my groom publicly exalt me for being humble in the secret. This place though is something special filled with people who have been rescued from the darkest depths and now seek more and more to walk in the light. We stumble but we no longer fall through the power of The Holy Spirit. I'm only 19 y'all but trust me when I say...it's been a long...long walk. Through the desert and up the mountain but it's brought me closer to my God. I can't even describe anymore how I feel because it's too much to contain in words to the point where I can honestly say that words would do this experience no justice. Talk too you all soon.

Speechless...

A Psalm: Your Words, My Words

(Psalm 119:54) Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.

Awww yes...this verse...this verse made my day. I have two ultimate favorite Psalms out of all of them that I love and Psalm 119 is one of them. This Psalm in particular is a compilation of the psalms of various authors. The one message that each author shared was a description of what the Lord's decrees, words, laws, mean to them. To one they were sweeter than honey, to another their security, salvation, and joy. I sat during my break between my first and second class reading this and felt peace. Like I was on some beautiful quiet island sipping a nice cold glass of sweet tea.



Serenity.
Calm.
Selah.


       

///Now I'm typing before I head on over to Psalmist
School and I find myself thinking: What do the Lord's
decrees mean to me? How can I describe in my own
words what His words have done in my life?///

  Psalm of Deyanira

  Lord, your words shine like
  the stars in the sky within my
  heart. Though endless, they
  are eternally engraved within
  my thoughts. This is why I
  am always thinking of you
  wherever I go and why I
  can't sleep without speaking
  with you. You alone make
  me whole and your words
  make me completely
  complete. Continue to teach
  me as you have, for you
  alone have given your all for
  me. You Lord have been my
  teacher, ever present in my
  life since before I breathed
  my first breath. My love is
  yours forever and ever.

I Love It When The Holy Spirit Sets Me Up!

So I drove to a church I hadn't visited since I was 14 years old last, last, Tuesday. There was where my heart was captivated by how God could use music in such a powerful way. I explained this to a guy who I ran into outside in the parking lot. He told me that usually there were young adult Bible Studies but today they decided to do a Worship Night. My eyebrows were raised right there: Holy Spirit, what are you doing and why did you lead me here? My cousin and I met up right outside the church building and went on in around 8:00. Ushered in by the leader, we shyly stepped on up the large (big enough for me to sit Indian-style) carpet stairs and had a seat. The young guy speaking began to share how now that since they had been studying the Holy Spirit today was the day they were going to pray for baptisms. I felt overwhelmed and looked up at the sky. Oh the irony. I had been praying for a while and recently for the gift of speaking in tongues. It was burning in my heart and I just about wanted to cry from the words that were coming out of this guy's mouth. It was the Holy Spirit literally moving. He was so thick in that room that I could barely stand it. All I really remember from the beginning is that the guy said, "Whatever has been telling you that you can't receive this gift is a lie of the enemy because God wants to give it to you way more than you want it." Bang! Right there! The Holy Spirit took away all the doubts that I had. Overwhelmed is the word...speechless.  When the young adult Pastor (also a few years older than I) called out for anyone who wanted to receive the gift of tongues my legs seemed to have a mind of their own so I hurried down and was the first one on the floor near the musicians. The Pastor asked me for my name and I answered. Then she said these words that I still remember so clearly, "Deya, do you believe this gift is yours? Do you believe it?" After I said yes she started praying for me in tongues. I wasn't freaked out or anything because I'm no stranger to hearing people speak in the Spirit, especially because I'm always hearing my Momma. I was more than ready.Tears rolled down my eyes until I started balling out. I couldn't understand why. There was no reason for it other than feeling the Holy Spirit in my midst.  He was there and my flesh couldn't take what my Spirit was getting fed. I was being filled and my cup was running over. And after a while of the Pastor praying I suddenly started uttering the same unknown words that I muttered once when my Mom had prayed for me a year ago. Back then I shook myself thinking no this can't be it so I said nothing. The Pastor looked at me and said, "There it is! Keep going!" It felt like I was learning to walk again, to talk again. My tongue stumbled but then sudden bursts of joy came forth as the words grew stronger and stronger. I lifted up my hands and sang and worshipped my God for the gift that He had just given me. When I sing in the Spirit I'm a whole different person because my Spirit Man rises up and takes over. All I felt was wholeness, peace, and uncontrollable joy. 

(Acts 1:4-5) On one occasion, while he was eating with them, 

he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait 

for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak 

about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you 

will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

(Acts 2:1-4) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all 

together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a 

violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where 

they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire 

that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them 

were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in 

other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Surprise, surprise! The Holy Spirit did it again. He's so good at setting me up. Tuesday was a life-changing experience. I went back again last Tuesday and it's amazing to see how the Holy Spirit is connecting this new rising generation in one Spirit. I'm so excited! 

The Depths Of Love

*~*~*~*~*

(Song of Solomon 8:6-7)

Place me like a seal over your heart,

    like a seal on your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

its jealousy as enduring as the grave.

Love flashes like fire,

    the brightest kind of flame.

⁷ 

Many waters cannot quench love,

    nor can rivers drown it.

If a man tried to buy love

    with all his wealth,

    his offer would be utterly scorned.

*~*~*~*~*

One Of My Favorite Psalms

*~*~*~*~*

(Psalm 63:1-8)

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld 

your power and your glory. Because your love 

is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live, and in your 

name I will lift up my hands.

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;

with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through 

the watches of the night. Because you are my help,

I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you;

your right hand upholds me.

*~*~*~*~*

The Gentle Whisper

(1 Kings 19:11-13) 

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

*~*~*~*~*

Sometimes I wonder, "God is this you talking to me? Is it really you?" The Lord has been showing me exactly what He sounds like. His voice isn't of confusion, of a big commotion, of violent storms, of furious ramblings...it's a gentle whisper. Shhhh...So gentle that your heart and mind have to be silent to hear it. In Spanish we call it a "susurro". I love that word, I connect with that word. You see, God has never been vindictive nor rough-hearted with me. He's been nothing short of loving, merciful, patient, and gentle to the touch. Why on His green earth would His voice, the very breath that gave me life, be any different? The enemy comes to try and plant so much confusion that He actually thinks I could fall for, but the living memory of my first love is always there to send him right back to where he belongs. The voice of truth and wisdom is a gentle whisper that comes to bring peace and direction. 

Very soon I will be going back to school, university life in all its splendor, and I can't wait for God to do school with me. Honestly, thank you Jesus for the Holy Spirit because He is the best study buddy. I do the reading and He does the reminding. So, with the spring semester coming up in a few days (4 exactly) comes new challenges  hopes, dreams, experiences that I feel ready for. Ready in the sense that I've strengthened myself with God's presence and the Word over the winter break. Like I said in my previous posts, a lot of changes are coming and I can't wait to testify about those. But in the mean time the preparation continues and I rest in God's peace knowing that all wisdom He has control of. 

If you're having trouble recognizing God's voice I'm going to share with you a little piece of advice that a wise woman shared with me: When God speaks to you what He says will bring you peace and not confusion. Even if God is asking something difficult of you, His peace will overtake you and deep in your spirit you will know exactly what to do. Ask for the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the Father's desires for you and He will because He is your comforter. 

///Meditating On The Word Of God///

*~*~*~*~*

As I browsed through inspirational quote after quote I suddenly came upon a great little picture titled, "How To Meditate On A Verse Of Scripture." It's amazing how we find treasures when we least expect them. So after I find this I think to myself, this is too good to keep to myself I just have to share this! And so...I present to you the tips that are on the image. I've tried them myself and really do love them. I keep various journals, but for this project in particular I'm using an old sketchbook of mine. I've filled page by page with verse after verse and sketch after sketch.

                                                {1.} Picture it! (visualize, draw a sketch) 

                                                {2.} Pronounce it! (emphasize each word) 

                                                {3.} Paraphrase it! (put it in your own words) 

                                                {4.} Personalize it! (put it in first person) 

                                                {5.} Pray it! (turn it into a prayer) 

                                                {6.} Probe it! (ask specific questions...) 

*~*~*~*~*

A little tune...well, it's more than just a tune. I share with 

you all a song by one of my favorite worship leaders. The 

original is by Brian & Katie Torwalt which is equally 

amazing but...there's just something about live worship 

that I love because it feels so near and real. 

Very anointed and don't even get me started on 

the spontaneous worship. Enjoy!

"I See Heaven"- Steffany Gretzinger

My Expression: {2}

*~*~*

The words that come out of our mouths have power. What were to happen if we were to speak life 100% of the time? Unmeasurable and glorious things for sure. I challenge you and I as children of God, as worshipers, to choose our words wisely. Let us glorify the Lord with our mouths. Guard your heart and store inside of it all that will cause your lips to bless the Father.

*~*~*

(Psalm 103:1-5)

Praise the Lord, my soul;all my inmost being, 

praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul,

    and forget not all his benefits—who forgives 

all your sins and heals all your diseases, who 

redeems your life from the pit and crowns you 

with love and compassion, who satisfies 

your desires with good things so that your 

youth is renewed like the eagle’s

*~*~*

Our souls should have many reasons to sing! The Lord here promises us six beautiful benefits: to forgive our sins, to heal our diseases, to redeem our lives, to crown us with love and compassion, to satisfy our desires with good things so that all of these things together will cause us to be renewed like eagles.

Let us be grateful. In the natural sense before I even step up to an altar to sing before the Lord I remember how good He has been to me, how faithful, and how loving. From all that love welled up inside of me come real lyrics that bring liberation by the Holy Spirit and ultimately lead to spontaneous and intimate worship (lyrics often times prophetic or more personal that the Holy Spirit wants to convey or a song from me to Him). We have many reasons to sing, to play our instrument, and to express our worship in whatever way that we do but the greatest of these reasons is love. Never forget your first love. Don't sell it, trade it, push it aside, or substitute it. There is only one God who can do the things that God can do and for this and for who He is, all praise and honor are directly for Him. So may the words that come out of our mouths glorify the Lord. If we stumble then let us change our mentality and try again because before we even get a chance to touch the cold floor God's mighty hand will sustain us.

*~*~*

(Psalm 37:23-24)

The Lord makes firm the steps

    of the one who delights in him;

²⁴ 

though he may stumble, 

he will not fall, for the Lord 

upholds him with his hand.

*~*~*