orphans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZgLf3rN9xg

Haiti. the world and God's heart for it. He made it. He cares.

Haiti has been on my heart alot.

Everytime I eat lately, or sleep in my warm bed, or take a shower or drink anything my heart really breaks and feels guilty because I know there is so much suffering there right now. But shouldn't this always be so??? There is suffering around the world right now but Haiti is in the limelight so my heart particularly breaks for this country but there is that hurting everywhere. Hopelessness. People without hope in Jesus...

What does God break your heart for? Are you letting God share His heart with you by spending time with Him and allowing Him to show you His heart for situations? That is something I don't always spend enough time doing is letting God's truth penetrate my life... that just shows me where my heart is though - selfish. Lord help me never be selfish and not let you radically change my life with Your powerful love!!!!

hope. always hope!

oh the depths Christ went to save us
from the pain and sin surrounding us
the most painful of all deaths and hell
3 days down...

oh the depths Christ went to save us.

oh the times i try on my own
to save myself or not remembering His love
or the depths Christ went to save me.
let me never minimize my Savior.


oh how often i do - and negate the cross
what a price He paid,
Lord bring me back to You
in every situation let my heart conform to Yours
remembering that You took this for me
let no bitterness or un-forgiveness be found
because at such a price you took those to hell.

let it all stay there and let me rejoice in your triumph!
what a day...
what joy and what love!

you my Healer and restorer
my place to learn of true Love and healing


and let me never hesitate to follow You
and show this glorious saving of my heart
let other's know of this Savior
we all need to be saved no matter how big or small
You are that Savior...
saved us one and all!

thank you Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!

excited.

because today i woke up WANTING Jesus.
wanting to worship Him and wanting Him to have alll of me.

i love waking up with Jesus so in my heart.
wanting to spend time with Him.
you know i pray for that - i want to love Him most.
having Him pulling my heart towards Him.

Him first...

you know but sometimes my heart gets distracted.
so i was excited...
excited to have a heart undivided!!!


pSalM 86:11-12
teach me to walk in Your ways, Lord
give me an undivided heart that i may fear Your name.
i will praise You, O Lord my God with all my heart
I will glorify Your name forever!

Glorious Numbing of Noses and Toeses

- emily, me, ellen, alison and rachel -

Pure joy...

I feel so blessed and privileged to have such incredible sisters in my life. After ice-skating today we went to a coffee shop and had such encouraging conversations. These girls are absolute gems and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful sisters who have hearts focused on serving Jesus and living that out in every area of life. Encouragement to the soul...

Psalm 3:3
But You are a shield around me O Lord;
You bestow glory on me and lift up my head!

C.S. Lewis

(art by John Thacker)

"To Love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be certainly wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure to keep it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness; but in that casket-safe, dark, motionless; airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable and irredeemable." ~C.S. Lewis~

Lord - break my heart for what is breaking Yours. Let me never be calloused.

God's Temple, God-prayers

This morning I was reading through chapter 8 in 1 Kings and it is when King Solomon finished building the temple. I love what he prays...

verse 54:
When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.

How beautiful to have a place where the Lord dwelt after many years of prayer and waiting. How beautiful to see the fruit of answered prayers.

continued in verse 58:
May He turn our hearts to Him to walk in all His ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers.

verse 60:
so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by His decrees and obey His commands as at this time.

Sometimes, God answers prayers quickly, sometimes years and years go by without a sign of Him hearing, but time to God is not as time is to us. So trust and never stop praying a prayer that is a God-prayer.

The more you spend time with God the easier it is to distinguish His heart and knowing how He wants us to pray. The more time we spend on our own without acknowledging and giving God every part of our lives the more confusing things get and our prayers become frantic and scattered and selfish. Let God's heart beat strongly in your heart and shape your prayers and desires. Then you will be filled with His peace and joy that passes all human understanding.


Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life,
You fill me with JOY in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.