captivated

songs:

“you are more than the choices that you’ve made. you are more than the sum of your past mistakes. you are more than the problems you create. you’ve been remade. this is not about what you’ve done, but what’s been done for you.” you are more by tenth avenue north

“in my life you’ve heard me say i love you. how do i show you it’s true? hear my heart. it longs for more of You. i’ve fallen deeply in love with you. you have stolen my heart. i’m captivated. by you. never will you and i part. i’ve fallen deeply in love with you. you and i together forever. nothing can stand in the way. my love for you grows stronger each new day. ” deeply in love by hillsong.

prayer:

papa, i’m crawling up and curling up into your loving arms. i’m letting you wipe away my tears and whisper my name, “hephzibah.” i’m leaning back and looking up into your face. i love you, not for what you can do for me, not for what you are working out for good, not for the miracles, not for so many things. even though, i know you are doing those things and i am thankful for them. you are who you say you are. but. papa, i love you. simply. you. i’m captivated by you.

verse:

love (god’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking….its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. -1 cor. 13

it’s a blender!

That delicious goodness in the beautiful Starbucks travel coffee mug (which by the way, took me quite a long time to find one I liked) is a blended vanilla chai tea with rice milk.  I even made it in my brand new blender which was on sale! To which as I opened I said, “It’s a blender!” in honor of my lovely 24/7 director from last year (love her).  After that, I whipped this tasty little thing up, opened up the sliding door, let my dog come with me, and plopped down on a chair on the deck to enjoy a little sun. Okay, a lot of sun. I have a bit of a glow on my shoulders to prove it.  Settled into reading The Bait of Satan by John Bevere only to find myself saying, “Amen.” and “So true.” and “Ohh…..” Now, that’s what I call a little creativity mixed with a little time to be me and a lotta keep on pressing on toward God.

So, what have you done lately for you? Did you create something this week?

the lines blur

The carpet cleaners came yesterday. My room needless to say was not quite in a state where others could come and well, see the floor let alone clean it. I go in streaks of “clean” and tend to like making piles of things like clothes and books.

What started as a little cleaning turned into full blown organizing, throwing away, piling to sell/giveaway, and then rearranging my furniture!  In the midst of all this, I found this “pretty” little, um, bracelet or hair binder or something? Last year, with my girlies we took a night to learn how to crochet.  I think it was supposed to be a mitten.  That was as far as I got and let me tell you…if you could see the stitches (is that even what they’re called!?) you would know they are messy and not pretty!  But, I wore it on my wrist all night to remind me…

At this time last year, my life was a bit like that bracelet. Looking good from a distance, but up-close there were gaping holes, extra string, hasty attempts to cover parts, skipped rows…but the thing is that God didn’t leave me like that. He’s the one who exposed the things I tried to hide, ripped out the lies, filled in my holes, made rows of truth, and used it all for good.

He’s still doing that in my life and will continue this good work until completion. Just like with my room, He’s throwing out some junk that’s stayed in my heart, exposing more lies, bringing in the new, resurrecting dreams, and teaching me to keep laying things at His altar.

I’m so thankful that He keeps saying to me…

“yes, I love you right here, right now, but I’m not going to just let you stay in the muddy pit, baby girl, I’m going to take you out, and transform you into who I created you to be because when I see you, the lines blur between you and me.”

~~

Is God doing a little heart work in you to blur the lines?

How can I be praying for you?

preach it!

I stumbled upon this video and I love it even though I don’t sing…well, I sing, but definitely not on a stage! Either way, I love the heart behind the message.  The reminder that, sure, you can have a bad day, but that doesn’t mean you need to focus on that.  See, I used to do this. I even had a “sad, evil, depressing music” playlist.  And you know what it did? Made me even more sad!

Last year, God completely turned me around and inside out. Part of that change required letting go of the “old” things.  I scoured my iTunes (nearly 15,000 at one point) and deleted anything that didn’t fit with Philippians 4:8.  Extreme, sure, but I’d rather err on this side.  My current library has 3,000 songs and every once in a while I still find something that I realize I don’t need to listen to anymore so I hit that delete button one more time.  I would much rather sing truth and life than anything else.

So, what do you think? Agree? Do you listen to or watch anything and everything?

 

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” -Ephesians 4:29

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” -Philippians 4:8

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” -John 4:24

heart-moments-of-joy

my heart captured a moment.

my legs criss crossed. she fit with room to spare. she settled in skin on skin with her lungs still working hard. i knew she had spun and spun in circles during the last song. spinning recklessly as little girls do best. she spun in His love as His daughter. yet, now, He was calling her to come close. to not be afraid. to hear the “i love you.” to melt into her abba’s arms. to tell him what’s on her heart.  to rustle and raise her little arm into the air.

faith like child.

i’m {still} learning

i’m learning to avoid power struggles and to be patient

i’m learning taking an afternoon nap sometimes means staying up late which then makes the need for another afternoon nap

i’m learning that god loves to leave little surprises for me and to fill my heart right up with love

i’m learning that answered prayers come in all forms, even when you’ve almost forgotten you prayed

i’m learning i can trade these ashes in for beauty and wear forgiveness like a crown

i’m learning to hang onto truth

i’m learning to hit a softball so that i don’t bruise my arm…it’s a slow process

i’m learning that God doesn’t want to leave me where I’m at

i’m learning to look for the sunrise after the rain

-what are you learning?

create:you…melty beads!

After a day of wearing a toga, making Egyptian board games complete with stickers, singing with actions, eating some dirt and worms in a cup, helping at swimming lessons, watching iCarly, swinging on the playground, watching girls do cartwheels…all for vacation bible school and work….of course, I went home and did all sorts of “adult things” like make melty bead south africa flags. Besides, I’d been wanting to do them ever since this girl and I saw some at the store.  So, when I found them while looking for crayons, I knew I just had to fit some time in my busy schedule for me to be a little creative. Plus, now, I have a new key chain!

Have you been a kid lately? Or creative?

underlining

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

-Acts 9:15-16

the cross

“Love is multifaceted. It is like a diamond with many surfaces yet one display of beauty.”

-Gary Chapman

found in the sweet moments

of cutting flowers to fill the air with a sweet fragrance

dancing away at work to hear the laughter of children who smile big

a hallelujah chorus singing in my mind for getting off a little early

big hugs after a kiddo blows bubbles and does ice cream scoops at swimming

fading into the backdrop to watch as new friends are made

time to linger in a conversation that shrinks the distance of hearts

it’s okay, baby girl, god’s got your hand even in the rainy storms

a little i love you heart from God found on the path while rollerblading

hands held high in worship love

 

what sweet moments have you seen or had?