this is a call to all the dead and disappointed
the ones who feel like they are done
this is a word to all the ones who feel forgotten
you are not.
oh you are not.
cause we’re alive. alive in You.
we are soaked in all the grace that we have been given
unchained from all that we have done
your mercy is rising like the sun on the horizon
we’re coming home
alive by sons & daughters
hello week. good-bye weekend. i feel like i need another weekend. seriously i’m finding that the days and weeks keep going faster and faster. before long…i’ll be old 😉 i feel like a happy broken record coming here each week and saying that joy is everywhere and that i feel so….loved. joyful. at peace. excited. at home. seriously, y’all (i’m not southern but i just felt like saying that), God is so very faithful. months ago, one of my intern people told me about how when he was praying for me that he saw a book where i needed to focus on the page at hand rather than look ahead to the end. i think i’m finally starting to live like that and trust God like that. saying hello to the new adventure right here, right now and not trying to make another adventure happen on my own. so, without further ado, here are some snapshots of joy…
816. knowing that people have my back
830. more swings, more swings (cute little kiddos on the playground)
871. eating brownies with a spoon from the pan with my people
876. melting into peace
879. moments where my heart stops in a good way
880. memories i want to hold onto
888. closing my eyes to soak up the moment
908. bananagrams and cribbage and laughing and fabulous people
938. watching life!
and before you run off…don’t forget to comment because it makes my heart happy to hear from you all! did you watch life? what was the highlight of your week? anything I can be praying for you about?
p.s. i’m SO close to 1000 gifts. 🙂
Love this! Here are some of my favorites with my comments in italics:
I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.
Lord, here I am, send me. Keep breaking my heart for what breaks yours. Let Your love overflow.
No moment from my God is a rock of burden…it’s just a rock waiting to be broken apart into stepping stones.
Even this moment…this moment when I’m laying on the floor crying. You are using it to make a stepping stone toward something beautiful. You are the potter. I am the clay.
choose joy
here am I. I choose You tonight and Your joy.
if what you do does not resonate with you… it is not really going to matter to anyone else.
talking about passion gets me energized and makes me come alive. talking about kids and life changes and God completely invading your heart…yeah, that’s the good stuff.
some pursue happiness..others create it
I may not control the circumstances, but I choose joy and I choose to let God give abundant life in Him.
fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds.
let everything I say and do be a reflection of You.
I am bursting at the seams with love and am completely overwhelmed with the love God has for me. This weekend was a tough one. One of battle after battle. Not listening or entertaining the lies and distractions that desperately want me to believe that I’m not enough, that they won’t want me to come back, that I need to lose weight, that he’s gone, and that their actions say they don’t care, etc. Rather, holding fast to His words of truth and promises by reading His Word and prayer while laying things at the cross.
Yet, God turned the tide and came like a rushing stream last night and this morning. My fellow interns prayed for me as I let the tears fall down my face. I sat vulnerable, broken, and honest about the hard weekend. Afterward, strengthened by prayer, God provided a source of life, of passion. The timing worked out that I stayed up late editing a curriculum for the Leadership Summit classes. I devoured every word and came alive. I could barely sleep. When I woke up to see the sunrise, I found myself drawn to Isaiah where verse after verse captured my heart.
Isaiah 58:8-9 “Then your light will break out like the dawn and your recovery will speedily spring forth and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry and He will say, ‘Here I am.'”
Isaiah 61: 10 For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness.
Isaiah 62: 4 But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
As I write, tears flood my eyes and stream down my face because I am so broken by His love. So broken to feel the love of God. That even through everything, He keeps saying, “And I’m madly in love with you” and to show you that I’m going to give you an amazing gift today:
My heart broke in July when I had to say good-bye. I cried so many tears and prayed so many prayers for him. Each Friday still made my heart happy, but not like when he was there to give me a hug. Today, I got that hug I’ve been wanting for months. He played with my hair, I met his new family, I held him in my arms, I said I love you over and over, we sang Hakuna Matata, and he jumped up on my shoulders. All the things that I loved and missed. Yet, he stole my heart all over again and brought tears to my eyes when I heard the sweet words:
“I missed you too”
You have led me to the sadness
I have carried this pain
On a back bruised, nearly broken
I’m crying out to you
I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy
When death like a Gypsy
Comes to steal what I love
I will still look to the heavens
I will still seek your face
But I fear you aren’t listening
Because there are no words
Just the stillness and the hunger
For a faith that assures
While we wait for rescue
With our eyes tightly shut
Face to the ground using our hands
To cover the fatal cut
And though the pain is an ocean
Tossing us around, around, around
You have calmed greater waters
Higher mountains have come down
————————————————-
I’m liking this song lately…aka the last two days.
Every Other Memory by Trick Pony
Heaven Forbid by The Fray
Broken by Seether
Good-bye My Lover by James Blunt
Distant Shore by Dierks Bentley
That’s When I’ll Believe You’re Gone by Craig Morgan
We believe Jesus Christ is the supreme embodiment of Truth. He is the way, the truth, and the life. All things find their ultimate meaning and purpose in Him. We also believe the Bible is God’s written, authoritative, and completely true revelation to His creation. We are passionate about being transformed by God as we grow in love, zeal, knowledge, and obedience to the truth He has revealed. (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Timothy 3:15; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
God is the center of everything we do. We seek to glorify Him as we live out our lives as an expression of worship. We acknowledge our complete dependence upon God and strive to be people of faith and prayer. We pursue an active, growing, obedient, and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Romans 12:1-2; Colossians 4:2; Ephesians 6:18-20; John 15:1-8)
God exists as a community of three in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God’s people are called to live as a relational community expressing diversity within unity. We strive to cultivate loving, authentic relationships that are centered in Jesus Christ. Our goal is to be an active, healthy, growing, and life-giving organic community that reflects the reality of who Jesus is to the world around us. (John 13:34-35; John 17:20-23; Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 4:1-3)
We have been created in the image of God. As followers of Jesus, we are part of God’s cosmic work of redemption and new creation. We desire that our community be an expression of the creative work of redemption God is doing within and among us. Our goal is to utilize the diverse gifts and abilities God has given us to creatively engage people and culture with the gospel. (Genesis 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 12; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Acts 17:16-34; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
God is a missional, sending God. As the Father sent the Son, we have been sent out into the world by Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Acknowledging we are hopeless apart from Christ, we desire to become “friends of sinners” as we guide lost and broken people to Jesus. We believe in the power of the gospel to transform people, our city, and our world. Therefore, we believe the gospel must be both tangibly demonstrated and courageously declared in our culture.(John 20:21; Luke 24:45-49; Acts 1:8; Matthew 9:9-13; Jeremiah 29:7; Matthew 5:13-16)
In obedience to Jesus’ mandate, we intentionally strive to make disciples of all people. We are committed to developing and multiplying leaders. We also desire to start new churches that start new churches. Our goal is to help ignite a movement of the gospel in the Twin Cities and beyond that will contribute to the advancement of God’s Kingdom upon the earth. (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Timothy 2:2; Ephesians 4:11-16; Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3)
Sound interesting? Inspiring? Encouraging? What do you think?
Read Andy’s message about the Core Values here and find out more about Antioch Community Church here.
b'ahava 
