Why He Came

Happy Easter Sunday!  

Throughout the Easter season the passage of Scripture from Philippians 2 has really been speaking to me:

Although he was in the form of God and equal with God,
      he did not take advantage of this equality.
 Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant,
      by becoming like other humans,
      by having a human appearance.
 He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
      death on a cross.
 This is why God has given him an exceptional honor—
      the name honored above all other names—
       so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth,
            and in the world below will kneel
             and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
      to the glory of God the Father.

~Philippians 2:6-11

I have read these verses over and over again, but in light of some things weighing deeply on my heart these past few months verses 9-11 have held special meaning to me.  They have given me renewed hope.  

At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  

Jesus rose to bring life...eternal life!!  The grave could not hold the King!!  

By Name

A few minutes ago I heard the song "Praying For You" by the Katinas.  I hadn't heard it before but it really encouraged me this morning so I thought I'd share it with you!

"Tonight I'm prayin' for you 
Down on my knees for you 
Heaven can hear your name 
Tonight, I'm prayin' 
I'll keep on prayin' for you" 

It's great to be reminded that God hears the names of those I'm praying for.  It's amazing to think that He is the Creator of the universe and yet He knows ALL of us by name.  He knows my heart.  He loves us all.  And, as I pray, as we pray, He is working...even if behind the scenes...to bring us all closer to Him.

Homecoming Party

In the days leading up to Easter, my church is going through a devotional book called "Seek God For The City 2012."  The prayer from Monday's devotional stood out to me so I wanted to share it with you.

"Father, You've been constantly watching for Your long-lost sons and daughters to return to You.  Awaken their yearning for You.  Empower those who turn toward home.  Run toward them as the come.  Convince them of Your unchanging love, regardless of what they have done or how long they have been away.  Let the homecoming party begin."

Amen.  So be it.

If You Have Faith...

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
~Matthew 17:20

When I was younger, somewhere between the age of 9-12, my friend gave me the necklace in the picture for my birthday.  In the middle of the heart is a mustard seed, and the square behind it has part of Matthew 17:20 on it.  As the years have gone by the necklace has been tarnished, the resin holding the seed in the heart has yellowed, but the truth of the necklace remains - If we have faith in God, nothing will be impossible for us.  


In life it is easy for faith to be tarnished.  It is easy to allow circumstances to distract us or leave us hopeless.  It is easy to lose heart.  


As I was doing some cleaning a couple days ago I found my necklace, and as I found it God revealed something to me.  All it takes is the smallest amount of faith that God can and will do something.  A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds, yet it grows into a large, sturdy tree.  The same happens with faith.  God takes an ounce of faith and turns it into something strong and unshakable.

I am thankful I found this necklace and was reminded to have faith and trust that God will continuously work.  My friend, like others I know, is lost.  Yet, although she is lost right now the necklace she gave me years ago reminds me to keep on believing.  Keep on hoping.  Keep on having faith in Jesus that nothing is impossible...nothing at all.  They will come back to Him.

All it takes is faith.  Faith to be able to HEAR them praising the Lord.  Faith to be able to SEE them with arms lifted to their King.  Faith to be able to SAY today is the day they are found.

A song on Phil Wickham's album Response called "This Is The Day" has been a real encouragement to me over the past week or so...  Listen to it and declare life over those you know who are lost and need to be found.  For today is the day of salvation!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

Growing up, every time when I was going away or planning on doing something fun one of my Great Uncle's would tell me to make sure I ate a lemon when, just to ensure I didn't have any fun.  The next time I would see him I would tell him that I had a lemon, but that the sour taste of the lemon didn't ruin my fun.

This game I played with my Great Uncle always reminds me of the saying that says, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."

Life will hand everyone lemons, but it's up to us to decide if we are going to let the sour take over, or turn it into something sweet...something delicious.

The past few months I've felt trapped.  Very trapped.  Trapped in sorrow.  Trapped in pain.  Trapped in confusion and hurt.  Each time I felt pain, I would pull away even further from the people around me.  I quit talking to people, because it was emotionally exhausting to reach out to anyone...and I didn't feel like anyone was reaching out to me.  In the past few months I have felt more lost than I have ever felt in my entire life.  I suppose I let the sourness of the lemons in my life take over.

When life takes a turn you didn't ever imagine possible, it's so easy to get trapped in the pain that you lose sight of what is important.  That's what happened to me...and that's what the enemy would like to happen to us all.  He wants us to feel defeated and alone.  He wants us to doubt our purpose and destiny.

Reality is though that the enemy has already been defeated.  He was defeated when Jesus rose from the dead.  I just need to cling to the hope that God is in control.  He knows exactly what I need...just as He knows exactly what you need.

There's a song I've been listening to called "The Anthem" by Jesus Culture.  There's a line that says "Wake up child, it's your time to shine.  You were born for such a time as this."  That's become my anthem.  It's time to wake up...time to make lemonade out of the lemons.

A Voice

I started this blog 2 years ago because I felt like I was to use it to be a voice to those who would stumble upon it.

A lot has happened in those 2 years.  There have been ups.  There have been downs.  I've shared pieces of my journey on this blog, but in May I lost my inspiration.  I lost my passion.  I slowly stopped writing.  I would continously think of new posts to write, but it seemed like so much effort to take those thoughts and turn them into something that made sense.  I contimplated giving up blogging entirely.  I almost closed my blog from the public...but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  Even though I had lost my inspiration for why I was blogging, I knew deep down inside that I wasn't to stop forever.  It was only for a season. 

For the last month or so I've started up new blog posts, to get back into the blogging world, but I didn't finish them.  I felt like I didn't have anything important to say.  I felt like my voice was gone.  Tonight my mom reminded me that I do have a voice.  I may not be great at public speaking.  I may be awkward at starting up a conversation.  I may have a hard time opening up to others.  Yet, despite all the things I'm not good at, I do have a voice.  I find it easier to communicate on paper than in person.  It's just who I am. 

So, I'm not going to close down my blog.  I've decided to begin sharing again.  I'm opening up my life again.  It's time to blossom, not hide. 

I invite you to join me on my life's journey!

Power of Life or Death

It has been forever since I have written a blog post.  I need to get back into it, and get caught up on where I left off, but tonight I just have one thing to say.

Proverbs 18:21 from the Message...

"Words kill, words give life;
they're either poison or fruit—you choose."


Watch what you say...because if you don't, the words that come out of your mouth can truly kill.  They can be the poison that destroys someone's dream...and I have all to well seen the results of this...