Bold as Lions!

Proverbs 28:1 "The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.

Proverbs 28:4 "To reject the law is to praise the wicked; to obey the law is to fight them.

These two verses are DYNAMITE! For sure. So I was reading and I wasn't understanding the the second one, Proverbs 28:4, so I asked the Holy Spirit...lead me to truth and understanding! Then BOOM I read it over again and got something. So basically to do what God says, obey His laws/ways, is like fighting wickedness but to not do what God says is like praising wickedness. Wow, I don't want to praise wickedness by my disobedience, ah! So this is where Proverbs 28:1 comes in, let's be BOLD as LIONS, and not praise wickedness, but fight it with our obedience to God! YES!

So now this must be my prayer:

"Into your hands,
I commit again,
with all I am, for you Lord.
You hold my world
in the palm of your hands
and I am yours forever.
Jesus I believe in you,
Jesus I belong to you.
You're the reason that I live
the reason that I sing
with ALL I AM!
I walk with you,
wherever you go.
Through tears and joy
I'll trust in you.
And I will live,
in all of your ways
your promises, forever.

-Hillsongs "Into your hands"

Welcoming the Stirring!

The last week I have just beeen getting stirred up in the Lord!! :) After a rough semester, His grace has definitely proved to be sufficient for me! I get home and BOOM it's like He has had all these things waiting for me, just many blessings to my heart and life! Pastor was saying Sunday morning that the way to know His divine plans for your life is through the WORD, which produces faith. I am SO excited for this new journey of life this semester and when I graduate, I know He has it all planned out for me and as I seek Him through His word like never before, I know my next steps will be exciting and glorifying to Him. I want to glorify Him in everything I do, not my will but your will be done Father! He's been challenging me lately in the sense "how far do you wanna go jenna?" And I am like, dang, let's goooo! I want to go farther and farther in Him. I want to receive more revelation and develop deeper roots. I want the passion and fire to pour out of me, ALL for His glory and purpose. He's taught me a lot the last 8 or 9 months what it means to be a Christian woman and I have been praying and asking the Lord to make me like the Proverbs 31 woman. I believe something like this is a lifetime process, but I want to see some of that fruit in my life now! I beleive even though I've been all crazy emotional this past semester I have matured in many ways and my mindset and heart are in way different places. I WANT to GO DEEPER and FARTHER and I'm up for whatever He has planned! I want ALL He has for me and this world...and I seeking to fulfill all the crazy and awesome plans He has for my life! I surrender all plans to your ways Lord because yours are higher than mine, and that's the truth! I am here for you and your purpose, help me to want to know you more than anyone!

Pumped! 2011 Bring it ON!

Alright so it's been forever since I have been consistently blogging! AH I have been in the DR for the last 4 months so I think it was just too much of a hastle to keep up on it. ANYWAYS SOOOO the last 2 days I have been getting pumped up! wooo hooo! Man this past semester was super super hard, but I know that a lot of growth comes out of the hard times. Tonight I was just fired up! Literally I was just getting so excited and passionate about everything I could see with the eyes of faith. The word says that young men will see visions and boy was I seeing so many visions about everything! I just starting praying for my church and what the Lord wants to do there and I can just see the Lord wanting to bring down FIRE! BOOOM! yes! yes! And I sure do wanna be a part of that! I am pumped to see what comes in 2011, I am for sure declaring victory over my life for this next year...hallelujah, let's GO!! :) Bring it on, I'm walking in the light and He is in the light, unleash Lord! wooo hoooo!

Hmm lovely God

Wow, Jesus is just so amazing! :) boy have I been streched this whole summer! Can't say it's been easy, but it sure has helped me grow..The JOY of the Lord is my strength! :) hehe ya baby!

You know...I am headed to the DRepublic in a few days to study abroad. I have just been thinking about the ways in which I am expecting to be transformed(like I can really know all that yet haha)...but I think I will definitely be transformed internally which will have external evidence. I want the Lord to teach me that material things are less important, to show me how much He loves me....how much he loves everyone and how beautiful everyone is. I want to reach out to the lonely, be a shoulder for the crying, and be an encouragement to those who are down. God, CHANGE ME! I don't wanna stay the same! I want to grow, I want to become more like you. I want to LOVE better and MORE! I can't wait to see how you will change all of us on this trip. Consume me from the inside out! :)

Who will go? To whom shall I send?

“Who will go?
To whom shall I send?"
Are you hungry for souls?
Or does fear stand in your way?”
Fear of man, Fear of speech, Fear of judgment. Laziness?
Guilty of these I am, aren’t you?
“Who will go?
To whom shall I send?”
He moves and He breathes,
Are you in His rhythm?
It’s a high tide, time is rushing out
Running around, who shall I tell?
The lady at the Dollar Tree, my neighbor, my Aunt, oh who, Lord, who?
“It is not for you to decide who should come and who should not.
So go as I lead you, GO, and tell of Me.”
It’s not about us anyways, so stop the FEAR
The Fear seems only to be an excuse.
But, But, but what if…?
“Yes, but what about their souls?"
Okay Lord, I will speak, I will go.
"Who will go?
To whom shall I send?"
Me Lord, please use me.
“Okay, tell them I love them.”
But, but what if...?
"Who will go?
To whom shall I send?"
OH how selfish am I to not share the gift that has changed my life.
“Now child, you go. You speak. Now you are sent. I send you.”

Prayerrr

So I think Prayer is one of the coolest things ever. It think it's one of the most beautiful things as well!

"if my people would humble themselves and pray and seek my face then I will hear them from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land" 2 chronicles 7:14

I LOVE this verse and I had the grand opportunity to watch my church congregation humble themselves and pray for a week every single night. Wow, Prayer is so moving and powerful. IT WORKS I tell ya, it does! If you don't pray much, start praying all the time. It's conversation with God! You don't haaave to stop everything you are doing and sit down and pray (thats good) but you can talk to God at any moment...in the car...while your exercising...etc. I love prayer and it's sooo beautiful! :) Sometimes I don't feel like praying, but once I start praying to God about other people (interecessory prayer) then it just starts flowing and it gets exciting to pray about others because I know at that moment God is moving on their behalf. When we offer our petitions to God, then suddenly something is released, an angel is on assignment, the holy spirit is at work, and God is drawing nearer, and boom badda bing..AH things happen! :) Even if we don't see anything in the natural, it's working. The neat thing is often times we do get to see the results! AH start praying more!

Obedience ..STRETCH

"Lord you have my heart, and I will search for yours, let me be to you a sacrifice..."

Okay so if these lyrics are our prayer above, if this is our desire, if this is real...we must be saints of obedience. If I want to be a sacrifice for HIM, then I must obey all that He tells me to do, no matter how streching it is. Obedience brings you closer to God and your spiritual walk will grow immensely. Lately, God has been streching me so much in the area of obedience...AH. It's new stuff...new ways of obedience that I've never had to surrender to, until now because spirit of God is showing new things and bringing me into new situations.

We can sing over and over again about the lyrics above, but how deeply are those words residing in us...how deeply are those words piercing our hearts? Do I really want ME to be a sacrifice to HIM?! How can you know this? By your obedience. Are you obeying Him?! Thats the truth.

"He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricance, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his love and mercy..."

Speak Tenderly

So I watched this video my friend Jim told me to check out. YOU SHOULD WATCH IT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhfUzodLRvk

Wow I was just really impacted by it. I can completely identify with so much of it! The one guy says "But God I've let you down so many times" and the other guy (GOD) responds "No, you were never holding me up. I hold you up with my victorious right hand. Don't you forget that in this relationship I hold you up." This really impacted me because so many times I feel like a failure if I don't live up to what I wish I was or something. I question myself, doubt myself, think I could have done so much better with this or that. I look at my failures way too often. This can cause me to be scared when I come to God. So I have been asking God to show me His love and to speak tenderly to me, so that I may know Him as a loving Fathers who is not condemning but loving. SO God show me this in a powerful new way!!!

Also I have been really seeing the places in my life where I want to ask God to change and grow. I need to grow in boldness, compassion, and the list goes on of course!

TRIALS! SONGS! JOY!

So when I transferred to Bethel I got really involved in music and began pursuing this passion of my heart. Well this summer it seemed that music just wasn't one of my top priorities or that it seemed to be fading for a time....so I told my friend Rachel that I felt like music just wasn't so strong for me this summer. Well God is funny haha because in the last month I have written like 6 new "in progress songs" its been crazy haha. Before I struggled writting songs and then all the sudden within the last like 3 weeks when I sit down at the piano it just COMES...rains down! Thank GOD! I said to my mom..."Mom I don't know what's happening, why now?" SHe said, "Jenna it's been happening, in the inside. You have to go through stuff and grow, get revelation and etc, for God to bring these songs out of you." I was like WOW she's right! So everything that I have struggled with in the last couple of months has been beneficial in the sense that it produced an outpouring of new music. Rivers flowing from within...yaya! I am so thankful to God for bringing this out of me. Writing, singing, music are my deeper inner passions and I am SO thankful that God is bit by bit manifesting more of these in my life. THANK GOD. BUT to encourage any of you out there...Sometimes it seems that you cannot see the light or that your struggles are difficult to bear at times...BUT take heart and know that a harvest is coming, an outpourig is coming in your life! Sometimes when we get most discouraged or you are in the hottest flame of the fire, suddenly BOOM God MOVES in your life and you are changed from the inside out. So don't be discouraged as trials come, know that these are producing something in your life. Trust that you have the victory and the sun will shine again. Praise your way thru those trials and may the JOY of the Lord be your STRENGTH...Praise God forever and Amen.

Oh to be a Proverbs 31 Woman...

So I was thinking about what it means to be a woman of Christ and how that should look, well how that should BE. Of course I was directed to Proverbs 31. I want to be the type of woman described in this chapter. I really want the gentle and quiet spirit mentioned in 1 peter, the unfading beauty that comes from within.

SOooo Proverbs 31 describes "A wife of noble character." There are so many attributes mentioned but a few stuck out to me right now. One, proverbs says that "she gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household." This resonates with me because the Lord revealed to me in May specific areas in which need changed in my life. One of those areas is waking up in the morning. I got in the habit of not waking up on time, using the snooze too much, and maybe just oversleeping in general, which wastes some of the day! Well the Lord revealed to me that this must be corrected and it's a work in progress YAYAYA!

Second, Proverbs says "she is energetic and strong, a hard worker." This also speaks to me because the Lord has been teaching me about channeling my energy, or to even just make the decision to be energetic when I don't feel like it...to be a hard worker! yaya! This was shown to me through starting to do yardwork. I LOVE IT haha. This of course is still a work in progress. Recently I have been trying to exemplify the hardworking and energetic person while babysitting, to make every moment count and put my energy into these kids...show them the Love of God, even if they are difficult at times.

Thirdly proverbs 31 says "...she laughs without fear of the future." This is dynamite for me. I'm not perfect and often I do worry about the future, BUT the lord is really showing me how to just trust Him with all my future and how to find joy..ahh I feel like laughing without fear of the future right now! I know the plans God has for me are GOOD and I don't need to worry HAHAHAHAAHA yes! :)

Anyways so I am super excited that the Lord has been correcting me to be more like the woman described in Proverbs 31. I am glad I read this chapter tonight...God continue to craft and fashion my heart to be more like you...to one day be "a wife of noble character"

<3

Reality Check

For the last 3 years I have attended a Christian college, surrounded by people of like faith and such. This past year at school I was surrounded by so many vibrant and seeking Christians that I was continually built up and encouraged in my fatih. It was easy to talk about God, we ALWAYS did. Almost no converstation went undone without the mention of God.

Now for the last almost 4 weeks of summer I have been working at an academic camp. There are a few Christians here, but not everyone. I guess it's been weird for me to adapt to the new atmosphere, but I know this is part of growing and this is reality. I won't always be in a bubble of encouragement and around all my friends who believe in God and are really expressive about their faith. This is reality, this is how life is...so to adapt is important. I have just been learning how to be ME in the midst of a lot of people who value different things or have a different faiths/religions than me or even those who don't beleive in God at all. It's been a few years since I have been in this environment. It is here that I seem to find out where I really am in my walk with God because I don't have the comfort of the norm.


"I don't wanna sing to air- I wanna sing to the Man that has eyes like a flame of fire!" ~IHOP

Distractions

When God is trying to do something big in your heart or in your individual ministry there's a good chance attacks and distractions will come to get you off track....Wow this summer so far has been full of it...BUT I'm not complaining, I'm learning how to rise above everything and keep my focus on the SOURCE and not the circumstances. It's been an interesting journey, but has proven to bring growth and development in some areas of my life. I haven't been perfect at it, but that's where Grace steps in! :) I am going to keep chugging along here with the JOY of the LORD and keep my eyes fixed on Him, asking for HIs help within all the mix and relying on His strength thru me to accomplish that of which He set me out to do. THe Lord is good and SOOO good to me.

Recently I have been really reflecting on how awesome of friends I have. Lots of them build me up in Christ and help refresh me :) Thank you encouraging friends for everything, may you be blessed bc of your good friendship to others! :)

Father's House!

Alright so been reading thru Luke and there's SO many things I could say about it! BUT, I will limit myself to 1 thing for tonight.

So in Luke 2:41-52 it talks about how Jesus was left in Jerusalem and his parents were looking for him. They found Him sitting in the temple among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.In v48 Jesus mother says "Son, why have you done his to us, Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere!" Jesus responds with DYNAMITE. Jesus says in v.49 "But why did you need to search? he asked. "Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?"

How awesome is that, Jesus responds with a question. He is like duh mom and dad, shouldn't you know I'd be involved with my Father's affairs, that I would be in my FATHER'S HOUSE!?!! He was like hello, where else would I be? Anyways, what I'm pulling from this is that I want to be like Jesus in this way. I want when my parents, friends, or whoever..when they ask. "Where's Jenna?" For the response to be "Duh, she is in her Father's House" meaning I am spending time with the Father or being about the Father's business. It's NOT for others to recognize you as "how holy thou art" or something..NEVER...but the point is to be so so wrapped up in the Father, that this is where you live and move and have you being just as it says in scripture..."In Him we live and move and have our being" Acts 17:28. I wanna be found in the Father's House, that's all I'm saying! :)

Don't get weary!

Gal 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Im working at a camp at ND and its been challenging and its only been a couple of days. BUT tonight was a breakthrough time for the students here and the counselors. WOW. The girls write in journals and we respond to them. I have 9 girls under me that I respond to. The things they write are incredible...sometiems funny, sometimes sad! I am so priveleged to have the opportunity to encourage them and tell them how special they truly are. My heart melts by this. I love them so much. Today I lost sight of my purpose for a moment as I got overwhelmed and exhausted with some challenges. The lord soon reminded me and gave me hope, reminding me of the impact that I have on them and CAN have on them thru His guidance and love. Wow I am so touched by these girls and whats going on here, I am so glad the Lord led me back to this camp for the 2nd time, it's changing me and im sure its changing them.

Don't get weary in doing good, draw your strength and focus from the Lord. Don't forget your purpose, remember that everything you do is for the glory of God. LOVE must be a part of all we do, shine and choose to love today, even if you dont get a response. LOVE LOVE LOVE...more!

Only one continued...

"It comes down to relationships. Relationships are what matter, what count.
From fun fellowship, to the depth of friendship.
From the heart of a parent, to the bond of siblings.
From daily companionship, to the intimacy of lovers in marriage.
Relationships, for all they were meant to be and mean to us, even at their best are only a shadow, a fraction, an imperfect, tainted replica of what is meant to be with HIM. At it’s best…our hearts really long for, were designed for, and will only be fulfilled with…unconditional love..."

It all comes down to HIM...No one, no relationship, nothing...can take the place of the ONLY ONE...He is the ONE and ONLY ONE...unconditional love always, blessed Savior, wow...enthralled by this beauty of our Lord and Savior.

The only One...

God is the only one...
-who will never let you down (even if you think He has)
-who will never leave you
-who you can always put your trust in
-who knows everything single thing about you
-who agape loves you no matter what
-who heals your broken heart
-who engineers circumstances in your life
-who brings you true peace, a peace that passes all understanding
-who changes your heart of stone
-who rescues you from the evil one
-who forgives your sins & give you eternal life
-who brings real lasting unexplainable joy to your heart
-who turns mourning into dancing
-who redeems relationships
-who never changes

and the list can go ON AND ON...

See, the Lord is what we need, a deep and personal relationship with Him. He's always there wanting for us to receive all His love. He never changes. I find my rest and peace in Him, knowing He loves me and He has the plans for my life worked out ahead of me. When you see more of His love for you, your trust grows because you know He loves you so much that He is taking care of things in your life. BELIEVE, have FAITH, take action, move on, go forward not backwards.

Lord teach me more trust and patience. I know you always always always come thru and you are GOOD. Show your people your love thru your presence and thru the lives of your saints. May the LOVE you give change melt hearts and bring people into full communion with you that they may trust you more and follow you all the days of their lives. You love everyone and you made a way for us all. Draw hearts to you. Rise up your saints to take a stand for your Kingdom, fan the flame inside of their hearts that they may burn for the world to see...see YOU! Bring us into unity and divine connection, that christians of every denomination will come together in the name of Jesus Christ.

ahhh yes! good quote

So found this just now...

"Have you ever spent so much time praying and thinking of others that you forget to pray and think about yourself?"

ahhh yes..hmmm good to think about FOR REAL! Get off the ME focus...

Earnestly I Seek You

Lord I come before you in Jesus' name, help me to earnestly seek you! Help me to not waste anymore time in my life, but in all things be fervent and purposeful. May I not forget the big picture nor the small details, but in all things acknowledge you. May I not quench the holy spirit's promptings and may I be quicky obedient. I know you have shown me some new things, help me to trust you and know what to do with it all. Every emotion, every thought, every everything may it be pleasing and taken captive to your word. Train me and correct me to be a faithful and trustworthy saint to you and others. Lord remind me of you Love always for I know here I find trust and confidence. You are a BIG God, you hold the world in the palm of your hand, surely you hold all of me, my life, dreams, plans, and desires in the same palm. You got this, lead me, I surrender and completely abandon myself in your presense and your ways. If I get distracted, press me, until I get back on track. If I mess up, show me so that I may repent. If I fall down, catch me so that I may be standing again. I am truly only yours now...exactly where you want me to be...so may I take that as a complete gift and return all praise and gratitude to you. There is no place I would rather be than in your hands alone. Nothing else can satisfy like you can. No one can take your place. No one can I depend on more. You are jealous for me, so I cling to you and hide myself in you. I commit all my ways to you and I Know you will work everything out in due season. You oh Lord are a mighty and powerful God, you engineer situations in my life all for your glory, returning joy and blessings to me because you are good and you love me. You take me down roads I don't understand just so you can prove to me how you always come thru, so you can develop patience in me, trust in me...you do it all for good. You are so good. In the desert, in the harvest, I will bring praise..always and forever. May you continue with me a new season of complete focus and transformation. With my eyes fixed on you, my heart willing to change and be corrected, I humbly come before you and ask you to complete shake me up and set on fire the blaze within me that it may burn SO BRIGHT. FIRE Lord, confidence Lord, authority...bring revelation to my heart...boldness like never before! I am a canvas, paint your picture...whatever and wherever...do it, I am willing before you now! Even if it's hard, even if it doesn't make sense, change me and take me away so that you may receive the MOST GLORY and the plan you have for me may be completed in full! I love you God, you never leave me and I love you.

Here am I...

"Here am I, all of me. Take my life, all for thee."

Lord, these few simple words are compacted with power. All of me, have it, have it all. THe parts I that I have not surrendered, shove me on my knees, that I may give it ALL to you. It's all I know to do at this point, all of me...all for thee!

-daughter

Change!

So in a recent email I received a quote saying "You'll never change your life until you change your choices" AHHHH so true, except I believe God changes your life, you seek, you make the decisions, and He steps in and His power changes things. So revised quote "Your life won't be changed until you change your choices" That sounds more right to me I think! But YES, love it. YOu know why? BECAUSE I'm doing it and it's the right thing. Look at your life, examine your life, what needs changed?! Okay got it, alright so now start making different decisions regarding the areas that need change. Ask the Lord to step in and govern these areas of your life and that His power may become effective through you in these situations. DO IT, make different decisions, ask Him to take over, and be changed forever! Hallelujah...another AMEN!

I have been doing the above for the last month or so and my life has been transforming before my eyes. I am so motivated and change is happening. AMEN! I'm also discovering so much work ethic (apart from school, lol already got that down). BUt I mean I am now just using my time so much more wisely and being so much more productive hour by hour. Yesterday when I had an extra hour, instead of napping or fiddling around, I swept out my car! YES! THen I made dinner for mom and I on Tuesday. THe sense of accomplishment and productivity that comes with this new motivation is fabulous. I love it, it was so needed after a tiring (but awesome) school year. I asked the Lord to come in and make me such a motivated person and over time it's happening! :) I love it bc it's making the most of the day! wooo hooo!

Random but I have been doing yard work, landscaping, and today began painting a lake cottage. UM I LOVE THIS STUFF...haha so weird that me of all people would like it so much, but man oh man the hours fly by and the work is dirty and hard haha and so I feel tough and accomplished. I would rather be busy with a goal then sitting around at some reception desk or folding clothes at the store (not that there is anything wrong with these, I just like more activity). WOO hoo for outside work! OH and last weekend for 4 days I had a blast working at ND for the reunion weekend, shuttled people all over in vans and golf carts, so much fun!

till we meet again...

Unreached People

At bible study tonight, a few people shared about their recent trip to the philipines. They said that they encountered people who have NEVER EVER heard the Word of God, the message of Jesus Christ. They were able to be a part of spreading the good news, entirely new and fresh to the unreached people. They said the people were so eager and willing to listen, so hungry for it. WOW WOW WOW. My heart was touched and wow I pray to one day be a part of reaching and unreached people group, people who have never ever heard the good news, how incredible! Places like Africa, Phillipines, etc...call my name please! At the same time, I pray to spread the good news to those who do not know or understand that truth in my own country, the people next door, the cashier at the store; those who have never been shown the real love of Christ. They may have heard of this christianity stuff, but they have never encountered the true love of God. WOW I am overwhelmed. Lord work through me to reach all types of people, including the ones closest to me-my friends and family. May I pray ferevently and know you more intimately so that I may hear you voice clearer and be walking in you will in order to accomplish your purposes, salvation for all!

Woo hoo Lord!

God is taking me over right now, completely. I am just stunned by Him and His glory. I want to be so lost in love with Him, let it overtake my entire being. This time, I'm surrendering it ALL FOR REAL, allowing the Holy Spirit to come in and shake up the things needing to be touched and redeemed and corrected. Bring it on, I so desire to be transformed in so many ways. Never have I been so determined in God, Praise Him for His work in me, by HIs grace that I am running after Him as He is running faster after me! I am so pumped! Woooo hoooooo! I'm telling ya'll, there's nothing like a life with the Father, nothing satisfies apart from the Father's love, the cross, the death of Jesus Christ. No other avenue will give you freedom like this one. He is everything we need, everything we could ever ask for and MORE. People think being a Christian takes away freedom, but that is wrong....it unleashes it! Amen to that!! AHH FIRED UP! Boo YAH! overflow Lord...woooo hooo!

Utmost for today! que bueno!

THis is the devotion from "His utmost for his highest" If you don't read this daily, you totally should...soooo good!!!

He said to me, ’Son of man, can these bones live?’ —Ezekiel 37:3

Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord God, You know” ( Ezekiel 37:3 ). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, “Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done.”

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.

“Behold, O My people, I will open your graves . . .” ( Ezekiel 37:12 ). When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. My “grave” has been opened by God and “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” ( Romans 7:18 ). God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.

The Lord is my sheperd, I shall not want...

Lord, You are a beast. You always come in and save the day! I know you will save the day for me at the appointed time, so I will hide myself in you, and wait for you to act. I will do what I know to do, I will pray, I will seek you face, I will fight the good fight, and I will watch you come in and rescue me. May I be found so lost in you, may I be so consumed by you that there's nothing that could take your place. Keep me focused. I am moving forward, not backwards, going over, not under!

Today some things really came to light for me. We had a guest speaker and he was ON FIRE. Hallelujah! He spoke so much truth that related to me. He as talking about trials, go figure.

A few things he said that hit me 1.) The devil will try to come in and attack what you have already learned. This is so true for me. In previous posts I was saying how I must need to receive God's love and forgiveness more, and how I need more of a reality of the cross. I SHOULD and WANT to always grow in these areas (always needing to grow), BUT now I realize that these very areas were where the Lord has taught me a lot in this past year, and these were the very areas the devil was attacking. Now I see that the devil was trying to attack what I have learned. So I will become stronger in these areas, because the devil looses in his attacks, he is defeated. 2.) Those whose roots are planted may bend when a trial comes, but they always bounce back. I have been a bit shaken up,crying out to God, worrying too much, BUT I'm always bouncing back, because I won't give up and I will depend on Him forever. 3.) He said your best days are just ahead of you, so when the trials come, God wants to prepare you for increase in Him, so keep chugging along -Jer 29:11,-Jer 31:17, -Ez 36:11. He wants to make you stronger than before.

I trust my Lord, you are my sheperd, help me to not want anything but all of you and to be found completely at rest, peace, and contentment in you. Again and Again, you are a GOOD GOOD God!! You always save the day! I trust you are always saving mine, even when I don't see it now, I see it with my eyes of faith! May the words of my heart and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer!

Close your eyes...what do you see?! HAHA

OKay so one of my besties, rachel, and I made up this game over christmas break. It can be summed up in one word...HILARIOUS! haha. So the object of the game is to close your eyes and then to say what the first thing you see is....so far we have gotten:

a block of triangle cheese
a red wagon
the girl from the movie lovely bones
tree bark (lol whaaat in the world?!)
big guns
a razor scooter
toothbrush
a sweater
abraham/george lincoln (bahaha)


Anyways so I love my friend rachel because she makes crack up. She says the most funny things...like today she was talking about God giving her a sweet vision and she was like "This was not even my idea, but i mean I'm down with it" HAHA it's one of those you had to be there moments/need to know her personality. But basically, she is hilarious.

God, thanks for laughter! I love laughing :)

Oh and today got like huge revelation from God about everything going on in my life..will write about that tomorrow!! ;)

Thank you God, friends, and family!

So oh buddy didn't expect the last 3 weeks or so to be like this. I had such a crazy cloud 9 type spring semester and I thought that would carry into the summer, but so far it's been way different. Although I have really found the joy of the Lord to be my strength, at the same time I am facing many trials. BUT I know I am moving in the right direction and that the Lord is pruning me and working in and thru me to accomplish HIs purposes. It has been amazing the past few days...the love and support I have had from friends and family. The connection of the holy spirit between us all has been great. During a time of spiritual warfare recently, I had a friend text me the most distinct text ever, so nice, and I really needed it. Later I find out that when she had texted me it was like God was down pouring all His emotions about me onto her about how much He loves me. That is just sweeeet I tell ya! God is sweet! Then another friend has really been encouraging me and has come along side of me to do a facebook fast. Then I got to spend some great quality time with my sister and that was just such a blessings to me...and plus getting to spend so much time with my nephew, bonus! Then I have an amazing best friend, sister in christ, that I have been able to talk with all time, even though we live 3 hours apart. Me and her made such specific decisions regarding our lives and relationships, surrendering control fully over to God, and we have been doing this whole process together. Then I have another friend who is just being awesome and really just being a joy for me to be around, she's such a breath of fresh air. I am so thankful, God, that you have provided such loving support and encouragement in my path. THANK YOU! And thank you all you wonderful people, I appreciate everything so much! Praise God for taking care of us in times of need. Ps 46:1 "God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in times of need"

JESUS CRISTO!

the creeper

So the creeper, devil that is, can try to come in and try to attack your thoughts and freedom....I have experienced this hardcore the last week or so. I was confusing conviction and condemnation. Being tormented/taunted by guilt-related thoughts, which would make me not want to read my bible out of fear and keep my head low. BUT I have not given up, I have not backed down, I have kept the faith and continued to pursue God in the WORD, prayer, and devotion, as well as responding to the Lord's pursuit. Victory is arising, bit by bit, the devil is being defeated in my thought life...victory has already been won for me at calvary. It's a continued process of taking every thought captive to the word of God, every day we must think on things that are pure, lovely, just, and right. During this time I was so fearful to go to the bible because it was at these moments the thoughts were the worst, but I would do it anyways because I knew I had to. What I didn't realize is that this was the devils strategy, bringing thoughts full force the moment I was about to read truth...he wanted to keep me stuck in lies and he knows the truth is in the word. If he can get us away from the word, then he can surely get us out of the church, and eventually out of the christian faith...ughh he is nasty. I thought that God was unleashing something crazy on me every time I went to the word, that it was Him speaking, but it felt so horrible that I didn't understand how it could be my Father God..until DUH it was the devil trying to disrupt me, get me off track bc he knows I'm on the brink of something new and he doesnt want that power unleashed through me. So I talked to a friend today and just so happen to share the struggle going on and he was stunned because the exact SAME thing has been happening to him the last 5 days or so....so we felt encouraged and relieved to have another who was/is dealing with the same stuff. The devil tried to get us so caught up in shame and such that we couldn't keep our heads up...what a way to get us ineffective for the Kingdom. Well anyways, after much prayer, crying out to God, and asking others to pray, the Lord has brought more peace and thoughts are being blocked out Hallelujah! The main point here is that I didn't realize that the devil really can try to come in and attack strongly on me...so I thought maybe it was God, but that doesn't make sense at ALL! But the truth is the devil and his schemes cannot stay, he is a defeated foe, under my feet! I am loved by the King, and right now I can see this mental picture of God just whipping down the devil for my sake, saying.."NO no that's MY DAUGHTER!"
Well thankfully, as I have praye

Cross me!!

"I will be true, I will obey, I will be poured out just for you.."

"Search me, know me, try me and see, every worthless affection hidden in me. All I'm asking for, is that you'd cleanse me Lord. Create in me a heart that's clean, conquer the power of secret shame. Come wash away the guilty stain of all my sin."

Realized this morning that I do not have enough revelation of the cross in my daily life. For myself, it was like I made this one time decision to follow Jesus, but that His love, mercy, and forgiveness ended there. I have always thought I am a christian..I should have known better every tiem i've sinned...beating myself up, wallowing in my sin...when salvation is every day...salvation is always with you. I am asking the Lord to help make the cross a reality to me everyday...His mercies and grace are new every morning...I can say this, but is it downloaded in my heart? Not entirely...

Lord, help me receive your love, forgiveness, and mercy so that I may walk in more freedom and confidence in who you are, who I am in you. Thank you for sending your son, make the cross central to my heart, that I may breathe you in and breathe you out. THank you for your loving kindness that leads me to repetance. You are a good God, this is true. I love you God..but more importantly you love me! Come in and keep cleaning me out, and may I respond with complete gratitude! In Jesus name, amen.

Endurance! Determination!

Alright so every person is usually going through some kind of trial. The point is to endure the trial, to not run away from it, but to face it and to ask God to take control and be your master in it! AH, and we freak out during the trials, wondering "what if" "what if" "what if" type junk....God wants to turn that "what if" jargin into trust and security in Him...that He is faithful,that He is good, and that His plans for us are for good and not for evil. He wants us to get to a place where we are confident He will come through. I know my God is a faithful God, I look back on my life and see all the times He has been so faithful. The trials I'm in are not easy, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that my God will save the day, that my God will grant me with good through it all. What I NEED to work on is finding more PATIENCE and peace throughout the trials. The joy of Lord has been my strength a lot of the time, but I need more patient endurance! I need it so badly...I am too anxious to get outta the trial when I need to let God work in me and through me until what needs to be done is DONE! This is what I so desperately need, patient endurance. I need to stand still and wait patiently for my Lord to act. It's not that I want to get stuck in the trial, but that I wanna be changed through the trial. I want to be transformed internally, gaining more patience, endurance, trust, peace, joy...etc...in the LORD! ah!

Also, been so determined...making new decisions, doing new things. Today hauled shrubs back and forth to a recycling center and mowing and etc. Hot weather, physical work, getting dirty....I like it! I like trying new things and working hard outside. If only I could capture this hard work thing around the house then that would be amazing! So today, instead of just doing whatever this afternoon, I am gonna look for things to accomplish...determination yes! The last few weeks I have gained a lot more drive to get things done, but I want this to be a daily thing for me....so this area I am asking God to help me in. Let's do it yes! Can't wait till it becomes so much more real to me. Making the most of everyday, serving the Lrod and others diligently. It starts at home!

...more!

Alright so 2 other areas I want God to come in clean out and govern! 1.) weird sleeping patterns 2.) Being waaay more helpful and productive withe helping around the house.

I sleep at weird times and have these dumb patterns that are totally ridiculuous. I get too busy to pay attention to things needing to be done to help the madre. Alright let's get on these two things too God, come in and change me!

Father's Love, relentless!

Tonight I went to bible study...OH so GOOD. Robin is teaching us the book of James...been on chapter 1 for like 3 months haha, YES! Anyways, God put me in this bible study for such a time as this...defnitely needed the teaching. So far this year my life has transformed a lot, God has given me a new joy and confidence, a deeper trust and understanding of His love. BUT there is SO much MORE work to be done in me with these areas, so as a result of the teachings at bible study I have applied new things in my relationship with the Father...like admitting that I am helpless and that God is powerful, asking God to govern and take control of specific areas of my life, and coming to terms with past-present-future. Recently, the devil has tried to steal my confidence and joy...trying to get me stuck in thinking low of myself. BUT I won't let him do this, He has no control over me. I will allow the word of God, the truth to be spoke from my lips, to silence the thgouhts the devil brings my way. I will not give in and I will have victory, I already have victory..Jesus has already won it all for me! Anyways so about LOVE...Robin said tonight that if we were to write down the way we truly see ourselves on a piece of paper, what would it say? Prolly a lot of bad things, but this is the problem...we need to see ourselves as the Father does! We need to know how much we are loved and cherished by the King. I feel I got a huge revelation of this during the past 8 months, but God wants to take me even deeper in it now and I see that..the work is not done...its never done! I need to know how much God loves me and so I will park in His Love to get this deep within me. The enemy wants to keep you in the place of thinking down on yourself so you will not receive God's love...bc what stops us from coming boldy to the throne is the way we see ourselves. What will God do first in the area of your life that you ask Him to govern? He will LOVE because the reason there is a problem is because of a lack of love in that particular area. So our thoughts must be changed about ourselves...Phil 4:8, 2 Cor. 10:15. Is what I'm thinking that same as God is thinking, is it edifying myself? If not, refuse it, take it captive to the Word of God, and speak out the truth about what God says you are. WOO hoooo! Hallelujah to that...powerful! Also random to add, this whole bible study is concentrating a lot about the trials in life..SOOOO GOOOD, I have really learned some key things...like that we sit in the trial all annoyed because of the process, the WAIT...we complain about waiting, but do you know how long the Father waits on us? WOW...the Father's patient endurance is beautiful and precious and so loving. WOW...gotta stop focusing on the wait, and giving more of the Praise. This whole purification process, allowing God to step in and take FULL CONTROL in some areas...ooo buddy hard, but again, so good. This is my next step...seeing myself the way God sees me. First is was just talking openly a lot with my mom and working on that relationship in general...lots of work to do there, and to add now is finding my identity..LOVE

battle #1...victory!

Alright so Holy Spirit showed me the first battle to address, being real and honest with the madre about my life and our relationship. The convo lasted 2 1/2 hours..wooo hooo yikes...it took everything in me to do this, but I prayed for that power from within, the strength of my Lord and I took the step, praise God for helping me! Yikes, will def be tired tomorrow considering its not 2:30 and I have to get up at 7:30..but tonight was so worth it! Woot woot, again, this is hard, but oh man OH soo soo good for the heart. Praise God...what's next? ahh nooo, but yes!

YOu know the thing that got to me this point was realizing that life is not about me, it's about God's plan and His Kingdom, and unless I let him work all this junk outta me, then I am deliberately saying...No God I don't want you to use me fully for your plan and glory bc I'm too stuck on myself, too worried about what everyone will think of me, etc. But as soon as I take that focus off of me, and realize that it's all about Him, then I allow Him to work things out in me because I know it pleases Him and it helps me be in a better position to be used for His Kingdom business. If I'm carrying around all this junk all the time then how effective am I for God's plan and purpose? Um well, until you surrender, you are just caught up in self and in bondage...and it's hard to allow God to be effective in you and through you when you're like that, ain't that the truth!

...also

Oh so and after making this decision, I am extremely determined in so many things all the sudden. I mean I am so determined in this whole heart cleansing, clinging to the Father, knowing Him intimately...but in addition I am making all these random changes. Cut my hair all off...kinda like an expression of whats going on inside, ran for 60 minutes today, gonna cut wood tomorrow....just doing some interesting things. I want to be a productive and determined person in all I do, and I have prayed for God to help me to do this...and wow it's coming lil by lil! It's all a process, but whoooaa

Easy?...I think not! :)

Alright, so recently I have made a decision to just do some major heart cleaning, dirt clean up...allowing the Lord to get down in their and cleanse me out! This takes some real intimacy with the Lord and some major cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Wow okay so it begins with relationships....all relationships. Men, Mom, Dad, sister, friends...etc. The Holy Spirit has revealed to me how to break some walls down and I have been praying and seeking for enpowerment to do what He asks of me, no matter how hard it is...I'm doing it. "No turning back, I've made up my mind, I'm giving it all this time." I know I will fail at times during this process, but I know my Lord is there to steady me along. "Thought they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." psalm 37:24. One thing is for sure, God doesn't promise easy, but He does promise VICTORY...but one cannot get this victory without cooperating with the Holy Spirit. This whole heart cleaning is NOT easy so far, but I know with all I am that it is completely right and the Lord wants me to do it. I am so determined to go all out, to be exposed, to allow the Lord to work in me so that I may be found more confident in Him, decrease in pride, and increase in PRAISE AND ADORATION OF MY FATHER! This blog is now becoming a way to document my process...it's good to write about it...hopefully someone will read this and be encouraged to take on the challenge and let the Lord totally work in your heart. Abandoned, exposed, before the King and before others in your life...coming to terms with your past, present, and future...and giving God control in crucial areas of your life! Girls, as far as boys goes..."On the face of this earth there is one man who will love you. God will present you to him at the right time. ANd until that time arrives, there's plenty of work to do" I have come to see that there is some work to do in my heart before I am released to my future hubby!

Flower lovin'

So I started planting flowers for people the last two weeks...um NEW HOBBY! Alright so I like the hard work...getting dirty, mud under the finger nails...tough stuff lol. It's fun and one day I will plant lots of flowers and other stuff at my own house haha if I can stay put somewhere! :)Lol but today this really crazy dog kept sniffing through all the plants around me. He would suprise me at times and look at me, he had an underbite hahahahaha. Then I heard the ice cream truck, ooo I wanted something so bad...but then got distracted thinking about how awful the person driving it must feel listening to that same song over and over again..ahh tough life. Well, basically just wanted to say that planting flowers is great! a lil tiring tho! :)

woot woot for God's creation! flower lovin'...who knew it could be so fun?!

Holy Cow!

OKay so this book, "Knight in Shining Armor"....BOO YAH! SO GOOD. Women, you must read this book. So I am on like page 40 and I have just been eating it all up. The author talks about how her past affected her marriage and how it took a toll on their marriage for about 10 years. She wishes she would have spent the time asking God to help her work things about before marriage, but thankfully her husbands patient endurance held their marriage together. The author encourages me to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal 3 greatest areas of my life that need healing. There are some things in my life that need attention and I don't want to to drag those into my marriage someday. The book is directing me on how to work through things with the Holy Spirit, so that first, I can be intimate with the Lord, working out the areas in my life, and second, so that I am well prepared for a happy marriage. This is so sweeeet, even though the process will surely be difficult, the result will be glorious....just gotta work on that pride jenna. Ladies, seriously read this book...christian women...you will appreciate it so much, but you have to be willing to surrender to the Holy Spirit. Ah, preparation time is not wasted time! This almost sounds weird that im doing this, but I know it's right...how can it not be...how can taking time to allow the Holy Spirit dig up and heal the dirt be wasting time?! No way! :) here we go!

First Love

Okay so I started reading this book today I found in storage...it's called "Knight in Shining Armor" It's about discovering your lifelong love...GOD. Wow I have only read like 7 pages and I am already stunned! It's all about how women must take the time to make the Lord their true Husband "For your maker is your husband"(Is. 54:5) The author. P.B. Wilson challenges in the book for you to sign a commitment to the Lord, that you would allow God to fashion you for your future husband, to commit the next 6 months to HIS construction, and for you to surrender any part of your life not controlled by Him. I am totally gonna do this, I have to. The area of dating, I have not done the best job of letting the Lord take full control...but this time I'm gonna do it! I've messed too much up trying to do it my way, so this time I'm gonna do it God's way...How exciting! I am just so glad the Lord has brought me to this point. I encourage all you ladies to do this with me. Stop looking, that's the man's job!!Proverbs 18:22 says, "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD" It's pretty clear the Lord has given to each male the challenge of seeking out his wife. Gen. 2:18 "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him"

The song "By your side" by tenth avenue north says:
"Why are you looking for love, why are you still searching, as if I'm not enough?"

This is what the Lord is asking us women, why are we searching everywhere but in tHe Lord, we make it like God is not enough for us. Let's stop and find intimately our first Love, the Lord! He first loved us...

:)

Intimacy

"In the silence, in the secret place, In the depths of my soul,all I desire is to see you face to face,oooo Jesus, I need to know more of you, Reveal yourself to me, Reveal yourself to me, I long to have a deeper level intimacy, Show me more, yes, show me more of your love, The greatest joy that I have ever felt, was the day that I fell in love with you, But I won't be satisfied until the moment that I know I've reached your heart, Reveal yourself to me, I long to have a deeper level of intimacy"

Wow, these words are so pure, so real, so right. I desire so badly to have a more intimate relationship with the Father. Wow, I am overwhelmed, my heart needs it, my heart desires it...Overwhelmed, crying out, here I am, HERE I AM Lord! This time I'm doing it your way, this time I'm giving it all to you...and I won't be satisfied until I know I've reached your heart.

"All to you, I surrender, everything, every part of me, all to you I surrender all of my dreams, all of me. No turning back, I've made up my mind, I'm giving all of my life this time!! Your love makes it worth it, your love makes it worth it all, GOD!"

whispers

Wow, a lady at bible study gave me this the other day...

"God wants you to know that when whispers do not get your attention, bricks will fly your way. Don't speed through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention. Slow down and be present"

Boy, I sure don't want bricks thrown at me.

God help us to respond to your whispers. May we be people who are sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. You have good plans for us, for good and not for evil. Lord you love us. May we obey you in the whispers. We want to do all that you have called us to do for your Kingdom's sake, whatever the cost to ourselves. It's not about us, it's about YOU. You are the famous one, the glorious one....reign down!

Where the Spirit of the Lord is.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQEAM7hwUEI&feature=related

Def listen to this song! It's a must! I just get excited listening to it.

FREEDOM...SPIRIT

You know, where the Spirit is alive, there is joy, dancing, laughter, love, ahhhh everything!! I wanna be more alive in the spirit!

What do you think it means when Jesus talks about how God is looking for people who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth? I always ponder this and I LOVE IT, but what do you all think he means? Feedback please!

<3 Oh God you are sooo awesome, I am so blessed and I don't deserve any of it!

Be my HEART

The song, "I know You're There" by Casting Crowns has always stuck out to me. I love the lyrics! Today I was running and listened to this song over and over. I was thinking and getting all emotional...I WANT these words to be my prayer, I want these words to BE MY HEART. May you want them to be YOURS TOO! :)

Here are some of the lyrics I LOVE:

"If all I had was one last breath
I'd spend it just to sing Your praise
Just to say Your name
If all I had was one last prayer
I'd pray it 'cause I know You're always listening
If I could live a thousand lives, bind the hands of time
I would spend every moment by Your side

If all I had was one more song to sing
I would raise a noise to make the heavens ring
If all I had was one last chance, I'd take it
I would stake it all on You

If I could raise up high and catch a glimpse of every eye
I would make them believe
What I feel inside"

If all I had was one last ANYTHING....I want it ALL to be for HIM! BUT I want to live like this DAILY....to live like all I have is one last something...I want to pray like it's my last prayer, I want to sing like its my last breath, raise a noise like its my last song to sing, and to take a chance, stake it all, like I only had once last chance. What I feel inside...I want them to believe! This is just so strong on my heart.

"I am Your guest"

Psalm 39:12
"For I am your guest, a traveler passing through"

This statement of 'I am your guest' makes me think a lot. And the Lord revealed to me that guests in a home treat those they are staying with...with respect, thankfulness, politeness, and etc. We are temples of the Lord...we are guests in his house! Therefore, our hearts and actions should be that of guests...of respect, thankfulness, obedience, and etc...for the one who ALLOWS us to stay here, the one whom created the earth and everything in it--our bodies, minds, hearts, world-earth. We are guests in his home...may we fear him and treat him with complete gratitude and reverence.

As we look at our world, our lives, and our activities we know that they are not ours in real perspective. My time, my family...ALL belong to God..He gave them to me. So we must respect and love all because everything,in reality, is truly HIS! The earth is HIS, so we must care for it. Our time is His, so we must realize that my time, my agenda, etc...all belong to Him because I am His. So it's not so much of a "sacrifice" of MY time, but more of an acknowledgment of knowing that all is His...and in that we are willing to SURRENDER everything we "have" because we are guests, and we play by HIS rules! Guests take their shoes off, if that is the rules. Christians should follow what the Lord states in His word--not just some of it. We need to have the attitude of a respectful guest. Our bodies are His temple, respect them. So when we use the word "sacrifice", think of the word "obedience" instead. (hebrew translation for sacrifice in many scriptures) Think of this not as a "self" given to God, but as a person who realizes that "self" IS God's! When we have the attitude where we consider everything to be MY time, My life and when I give God MY time...I feel good about it b/c I was "selfless" for God...THINK AGAIN...because this thought should never be! Rather, the thought should be...."God I am yours, all I have is yours (my time, energy, devotion, etc). I am your guest. I follow your rules."

He created us and everything. ALL belongs to Him! Start responding to Him like all really does belong to HIM! And let's play by HIS rules! He doesn't just have these commands in the bible made up for no reason or purpose. He LOVES us soo much that He wants us to follow his commands because He knows that it will benefit US! Often I think...God is not so much concerned about himself when we ignore Him or when we sin...but He is more concerned about us...because HE knows that sin and other things that distract us from Him ultimately HURT US!! He loves us that much that He wants our full attention...because His way is the BEST way..for HIM and for US!!!

WOw that's a mouth full!
BTW----I am preaching to my own choir here! convicting stuff for me!

:)

some clarity

Referring to my last post about wanting stuff....to clarify...I do not necessarily think we should not have nice stuff in this life, because those are blessings....but the main point of the last post is:

We can get so consumed with our selfish desires of wanting stuff, of which have no eternal value, that it blocks our hearts from seeing and desiring God's desires-for example, salvation for others.

:)

wanting stuff--a heart block in desiring what God desires

Okie dokie, so lately I have been thinking a lot about money and having things-material things. I have been praying for God to work on my heart to not desire the things in this life that have NO eternal value, but to only desire to bless others with the blessings I have been given. I don't want to be a person that desires materials or a person who finds happiness in having things! I want to desire God---my daily bread....ALONE! He is the source of everything and I want all of Him..and so if I want all of Him...I gotta get rid of the want for anything and everything else that does not line up to His word and that does not have eternal purpose. I believe when God does house cleanining in our hearts like this it makes room for our focus to get OFF of ourselves and onto HIM! This opens our hearts to desire what HE desires...which includes souls! I have been experiencing this in a new way recently and it has been so wonderful to come into more oneness with the father's desires. God has been seriously tugging on my heart about the people I know that are not saved, that do not know Him!!! I get all emotional about it...BUT unless I pray for these people...unless I TAKE ACTION in prayer or in whatever the Holy Spirit leads me to do...then these are just emotions!! (This ties into my last post about prayer). Anyways, SO basically, when we desires things for ourselves that do not have eternal value--things that are selfish desires, like material possesions and etc....we are blocking our hearts from being open to desiring what God desires....desiring stuff=HEART BLOCKAGE! This is one reason why we must ask God to prune our hearts of selfish desires. It is such a joy to desire what God desires, to get a taste of God's own heart!!

Lord, work on our hearts, bringing us into more oneness with your holy desires. Lord, we don't want to be caught up in the things of this life that do not impact eternity. God we want to be about your business. To do this, we know we must get rid of the cloudiness that covers and hardens our hearts that is a result of selfish wants and ambitions. Make us more like you. May we live to please you alone and be people who make an impact on the rest of eternity...all for YOU! In Jesus name..AMEN!

1 timothy 6:6-10
"Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. So, if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of eveil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows"

WOW this verse is sooo solid! Basically Paul is telling it like it is!


P.S. -----Today I went shopping, which I actually don't enjoy that much anymore, oddly enough. I went to Sears (of all places haha). Anyways, I bought ONE item and the worker handed me a reciept that literally is at least the size of a regular ruler-12 inches that is!!! Seriously...WHY is the reciept so long? -(I only bought ONE THING) HAHA..for some reason I just think that is so funny! When I picked it up I felt like I was whipping out some ancient century long scroll or something.