Joy

Joy to the world - the Lord is come!

Joy is so incredible. I love how the Bible talks about Joy -
"Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds..." (James 1:2)

Once again that seeming contradiction of the Bible. But is it really? Why would it be joyful to face a trial? Maybe because in the facing of a trial you become closer to Christ and his suffering on the cross and understand His heart better. What if through that trial you become more like Christ? What if through that trial you're joy becomes more pure because you have been in the valley and walked through it and up the other side and have been better prepared for something that God is calling you towards but would have no idea how to handle if you hadn't walked through that trial. Ultimate pure joy.

At church yesterday, Rod was talking about when we truly are seeking Christ we sometimes become poor, suffer and are rejected, and yet it says this is pure joy. The world offers popularity, wealth, success etc. which can look very attractive. Except those are empty and do not bring about the type of everlasting joy. True joy comes at a cost. Jesus is joy.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
and gave Him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
(Phillipians 2:6-10)

Joy comes from surrender and that also brings about freedom. Jesus made himself obedient to death. Why would we not? Jesus is joy. Do you want deep, pure, joy? Try surrendering as Jesus did and die to self and live only in Him and through Him. Joy is a choice not an emotion... Especially through the hard things that is when we must choose joy because it is bringing about Jesus in our life.

Joy to the world - the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her king
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing...

Called verses Qualified

"God doesn't call the qualified - He qualifies the called."
~Andy McDaniel~

My dad has some pretty good one liners. Some are funny, some are serious, some are funny yet serious seeing as it's my dad. But that one up there is pretty awesome. We live in a time where qualifications mean everything. We are constantly placing our value forward. People ask for qualifications when hiring for a job. We are really good at proving ourselves.

But yet we long for that place of resting in Christ where wo don't have to prove anything anyways, because He already knows. We long to be known and yet we are always trying to prove ourselves. We are contradictions.

Lord let me not get caught up in qualifications - when looking at others or in trying to prove myself. Let me come to you as an empty vessel that You alone can fill me up to be used for Your purposes alone. Call me to You first and foremost and let me not place value in my qualifications but rather in my calling to be called to you.

Jesus' Love

"You are the blood over, the door of my heart. What pain you spared me from, how could I know it all?!"
~Bethany Dillon~

I was thinking about this song lyric earlier and how absolutely intimate, caring and personal is Jesus' love for me. Just as in the book of Exodus it talks about a passover lamb and putting their blood over the doorframe so that the Lord would pass over their houses and not harm the Israelites, so does Jesus blood do that for me now. Nothing can "pass through" the door of my heart that doesn't directly impact Jesus, because His blood is over my heart and covers me. He cares and knows what is going in and out of the "door of my heart."

Wow.

Contradiction, or not?

A few weeks ago I was at Evensong which is a weekly worship gathering of about 500+ college age students. They had a speaker come in named Thomas Mollhagen. He started Open Arms for Asia, an orphanage in India. http://www.openarmsforasia.org/

He was saying how one morning they didn't have any food and didn't have any money to get food and he was worried. One of the little girls came up to him and said, "Thomas did you pray yet?" He said, "yes I've prayed." She said, "then why are you worrying?" They all prayed together and a truck pulled up to the door and this guy had had a huge party the night before and had tons of left over food and asked if they could use it. God provides.

Then I was reading in Jeremiah 50:4

"In those days, at that time,"declares the LORD, "the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the LORD their God.

Matthew 6:27
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life

Doesn't that contradict eachother? Being able to seek the Lord in tears and yet not worrying? Crying is a strong emotion, that Jesus experienced as well. Tears can be triggered by many things. So being able to seek the Lord in tears - I've been there but so often it can be associated with worry. The Bible is full of what seems to be contradictions. I myself can feel like a walking contradiction sometimes, but I think God understands our hearts. We are told not to worry but that can be literally impossible. I think not giving into a constant state of worry and learning about surrender is what God wants and being able to surrender through the hard things. I would like to be more like the little girl talking to Thomas. "Did you pray? Then why are you worried?" God knows we need to be able to come to Him in tears and cry and seek Him with those strong emotions, but being able to ultimately say - "I trust You, Lord and I will surrender even though this is hard."

Surrender. Wow, God understands our hearts so intimately. That is a beautiful concept!

Home

I've had alot of girls talk to me lately about feelings of loneliness or being left out. Having people go out and do things and then they find out about it later. Feelings of not belonging.

Girls like to be pursued and have a tendency to rely alot on expectations. If things don't go the way we think or had hoped it can tend to crush us.

I was thinking about this since alot of girls had expressed feelings of loneliness etc and it just reminded me that this is not our home. Sure we can have wonderful earthly families that God can bless us with and friendships but no matter how wonderful people can be they are still people and will let us down. This is not the end for us. This is not "home." We are going to have feelings of "left out" or not completely home. But what do we do with those feelings? In Luke it talks about how Jesus actually pursued lonely places to talk to God.

Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

How many of us would acctually chose to often go to lonely places. Being lonely is usually associated with being a bad thing. I remember when my family first moved to Miami that was one of the most lonely times for me. I didn't have any friends - was 17 and didn't have a car. My sister (who is my best friend) stayed in Michigan for school. But that time was so wonderful. I look back on that time and wish I had a little more of that in my life now. I had so much time to just pour into my relationship with Christ. He shaped me and really did so much in my heart during this "lonely" time.

People long for "home" and what all that means and deep friendship and people long to be known intimately and loved for who we all are.

We aren't home yet - but being lonely is not bad. There are glimpses of home here that God gives us and those moments are beautiful reminders of what it will be someday. Thank you, Lord for those moments of "home" before we are home.

Time

We hustle and bustle to keep up with time

While the clock never stops

It's time that holds our constant demand

God created time.

What is time? A gift.

What is to be done with the time given you?

To be fully alive in Christ and His plans and God's will. Blooming where you're planted. But being willing to be transplanted.

I was thinking about the gift of time yesterday because I heard the "Cinderella" song by Steven Curtis Chapman and it made me cry. Maria is so beautiful. But as I was crying I looked up and saw the beautiful clouds and the sunshine breaking through and it looked like a little piece of heaven and I remembered she was there dancing with Jesus. And it made me think about my time here on earth.

Passion for China

I know a 5 year old little boy named, Drew. I saw his family yesterday when I visited Detroit. You ask him what he wants to be when he grows up and he says, "A missionary to China!" Every night he prays for these missionaries who are being persecuted in China. He prays for the "emperor" of China every night to become a Christian. Every chance he gets he asks his mom to go to Blockbuster to get movies about China. This little boy was adopted from Russia 3 years ago by this family - who I look at as a kind of second family to me. I wonder where he would be if he was still in an orphanage in Russia. Would he have that conviction (as a 5 year old) to go to China?

This inspires me so much because ever since I was a little girl I have always wanted to go to China to love the orphans there. This summer I finally get to go. I think it was a dream I had kind of laid aside for a while because I had tried a few different times to go and things never worked out. When I found BMH online and they were just saying "COME" I was like, what? And I registered to go right then and there even though they were full swing in the middle of summer camps and I would have to wait untill 09. Almost every worship service I'm at lately I am drawn to tears out of thankfulness to God that I am finally getting to go to China and out of a broken heart for all the children there hurting. My hearts breaks even now and just wanting to be there and holding them and letting them know that I love them and the reason I love them so much is because Jesus loves them. They maybe can't comprehend it all but just playing with them and taking care of their practical needs in a small way... I am already prepping my heart for having to leave them and hate the thought even now. I just love them so much and my heart is so passionate for those orphans!

Live

Ezekiel 16:6

Then I passed by you and saw you kicking about in your own blood and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, "Live!"

Gabby

Our cousins came over tonight to celebrate my Nana's 71st birthday. My youngest cousin, Gabrielle (aka Gabby) and I have always been really close. But tonight she got me thinking about some stuff... She is probably the BIGGEST snuggle bug in the whole world, every second she wants to be in your lap with your arms around her just absolutely snuggling! Lol... Just as an example tonight she was sitting in my lap while Nana was opening her presents and Nana came to do the rounds of thank yous and give us all kisses and I stood up for two seconds to kiss my Nana and Gabby said, "Ok back to snuggling now!"

Gabby is so affirmed in this and has always felt extreme love and affection in her home and life and school etc. But it breaks my heart tonight because I was thinking of all the Gabby's in this world who are taken advantage of and abused and who are orphans and who have that HUGE desire in their hearts to simply snuggle. All those beautiful girls who don't have daddy's who snuggle with them and let them know they are beautiful and loved and affirmed in Christ.

a sarah grace psalm for the day

As I step into that place
Of complete and utter surrender
When I come before you
Without a protective hand to hinder
With arms open wide
Ready to embrace what you may say
Without a shield up
To block Your burning fire

O, Lord that you would refine me
No matter what the cost
Burn away myself
And let me not shun from the pain
For whatever the cost it's worth it
To be refined by You
Burn away my fleshly passions
Til You alone are standing true