God speaks to me at... Starbucks

So.. I am sitting in starbucks and everyone that know me knows that I LOVE Starbucks! But there is a reason behind it... I moved to Birmingham 4 years ago to start a new job. I didn't know ANYONE in Birmingham except a really good friend/roommate of mine so I was very alone here. The week that I moved here, I decided to visit a place called the Basement and that night God moved in my heart so strongly that I realized how deep His love was for me and how much I desired Him above all else that this world could offer me. This was a new thing for me. I would have always said that I was a christian, and maybe I was but I definately didn't have a personal reationship with this God and I wasn't living a life that reflected Him.  I had only one friend that was a christian and no family in town, so I began coming to Starbucks and reading my new bible. I became so intrigued by the Word of God that I came to Starbucks everyday that I wasn't at work and spend hours upon hours there in the Word. I would sit there, bible open, pen in hand, and write everything down in my journal that the Lord was teaching me. The people that worked there began blessing me with free coffee and muffins because I was there for so long!

It was in Starbucks that I read for the first time that "I am a new creation" in 2 Corinthians 5:17, that "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" in Psalm 139, and that "He would never leave me or forsake me" in Hebrews 13:5. I would leave Starbucks with a renewed and refreshed mind fully eager to give God all of my life. Starbucks is like a vacation to me... I love the calm atmosphere, I love the smell of coffee beans, I love the people that work here, but most of all, I love getting in my word and letting Jesus speak straight to my heart.

"Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path" Psalm 119:105

"For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword"  Hebrews 4:12



My DEEPEST hearts desire is....

This is something that I shared with the girls in the group last week: It is from the deepest parts of my heart to all girls!

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

                                          

Alot of women think that their deepest hearts desire is to be more beautiful, or to be married to their prince charming, or to be a mom... Those desires are SO beautiful and precious! I have those desires in my heart also... BUT, those are not the DEEPEST desires in your heart and those things alone will never truly satisfy. You see, you were created for something so much more than to live for this life alone. I can't tell you exactly what that is or what it will look like, but I can tell you with complete confidence that there is somethng deep down in your heart that desires the eternal. "He has placed eternity into mans heart" Ecc 3:11

 Deep down in you heart of hearts, some of you have already been awakened and some will be very soon I pray, deep down your true desire is this wonderful, beautiful thirst for God. When He created you , He placed something in you that He would awaked at some point in your life. Something that you hear in your heart that says "only God can satisfy " or "perhaps life is more than the here and now".

Some people say that its not about YOU, but it is! It is SO about YOU! It's about you being madly in love with your Maker, it's about you being used by your Creator. It's about You being fully surrendered to God and being a living vessel for Jesus. It's about you bringing the love of Christ to someone who has never known love! It's about You bringing hope to the hopeless and joy to the joyless.

It's about, WITH CHRIST IN YOU, YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD! I pray that God awakens something in you that will cause you to dare to dream! Dare to dream that God has ordained your steps up unto this point in your live, that you are a world changer, the aroma of Christ, the bride of christ, fully awakened !

OK... I'm back...

So the last year of my life has been CRAZY busy! I have been a full time nurse, part-time graduate student, fiance then wife and we then moved two times, and I'm full-time ministry (we all are)! BUT, we are now settled into our little home, I finish graduate school in 4 days so I'm ready to devote a little time to my blog. I am praying that it becomes a way for me to not only share what God is doing in my life but that you may be encouraged to also share your stories of God's faithfulness in your life! I will be sharing on several different things each week (The Basement, Shake the City, my personal walk with Jesus, My wonderful church (Church of the Highlands) my amazing husband (Joel), my beautiful friends and family, and the small group that I LOVE each Sunday night. This should be interesting......

Phil 3:14-14

"Forgetting the past... I press onward" (Phil 3:13,14) One of the most amazing gifts that Jesus offers us is a chance to leave our past behind, to be washed clean of all of our mistakes and failures, and to really start over! I thank Jesus every day that He is God of the future, not of the past and that He gave me a new life! So often people think that He is at the front of the classroom with a list of their sins and failures, He is not... He is beckoning us to just mearly let Him into our lives and move on toward a new, brighter beginning, toward a personal, intimate relationship with Him. The bible actually says that He will "cast your sins as far as the east is from the west!" (psalm 103:12) and that "He will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:25) Why would we stay where we are? We should be so grateful for the opportunity to not only have a new start at life but to have a relationship with the ALMIGHTY GOD!

RUN, RUN to a new life full of hope, joy, and purpose! Run toward a relationship with Your creator, the One who fashioned you together in your mother's womb!(psalm 139:13) For He is good! "ALL the paths of the Lord are steadfast LOVE and FAITHFULNESS." (psalm 25:10) "The Lord is MERCIFUL and GRACIOUS, slow to anger and ABOUNDING IN STEADFAST LOVE." (Psalm 103:8)

The pages of our lives may be marred by mistakes and torn by guilt and shame, but "through many dangers, toils, and snares we have already come, Twas grace that brought us safe thus far, and grace will lead us home." Though we often stray from His side like sheep that have gotten off path, He is faithful to draw us back to His arms. Life is too short to wallow in our situations for "man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow." (Psalm 144:4) Let's get up out of our situation and let Him wash us clean with His blood and run into His arms! Every day you have a choice to make, a road to choose.

How will you live?

Will you repeat the past or like Paul will you forget the past and press onward toward Your Savior? "The STEADFAST love of the LORD never cease; His mercies never come to an end!" Lam 3:22

Genesis 1-3

Just finished Genesis! Wow! God is so amazing!

Here are some things I learned from ch 1-3! I would love for everyone to comment! Let's teach one another!

Ch 1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" God in this verse in Hebrew is 'elohiym, which is plural... ok... so.. John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." So, Jesus is God, they are one, they were together as one in the beginning! This is unexplainable, but such a beautiful mystery!

"God said, let there be light, and there was light", "God said, let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to seperate the day from the night", "God said..." GOD SAID = IT WAS! "He upholds the universe by the word of His power." Heb 1:3 "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." Col 1:17. The earth, the stars, the ocean OBEY GOD! He gives us breath and life. Who am I to disobey Him?

Ch2: God created man in His image. God created us to be like Him, to reflect His GLORY and BEAUTY, to walk in relationship with Him. Then God said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." The divine intention for marriage was monogomy, for husband and wife to be bound together as "one flesh". To love one another purely and symbolize the love of God. "They felt no shame." They were free from shame, morally innocent, this would soon be lost as a result of sin. You see, sin robs us of our freedom and innocence. Sin brings chains that can only be loosed by God's grace. I have felt those chains before, chains of guilt, shame, and condemnation. But praise God! He set me free! "It is for freedom He set us free!" Gal 5:1

Ch 3: The Fall.... Sin WILL cost you everything. Sin is destructive. Sin comes with chains, it will take you places you never meant to go and keep you there longer than you want to stay! A subtle, crafty whisper in the garden caused Eve to doubt God and she lost everything. Can you imagine walking with God daily!? Walking and communicating with the all-holy, all-powerful, all-righteous Creator of the universe!? This was lost. Adam and Eve lost this for every following generation to come. "Did God actually say?" the serpent said to Eve. How many times have we all heard this in our lifetime? In a week? In a day even? Did God actually say.... (you fill in the blank) God is holy, God is righteous, He is our judge. We will stand before Him. Sin may look harmless from the outside (the tree Eve ate from was a "delight to the eyes"), but it WILL rob you of Your future, of the plans and purpose you were created for! Stand firm, walk with integrity, take hold of this amazing grace offered by Jesus!

Once Adam and Eve had sinned, they immediately felt shame! God came into the garden and "called to them saying 'Where are you?'" God is calling out to His children saying "where are you?" Even in the midst of their sin, God was still calling out to them, searching for them! Some people feel as though they have to "clean their lives up" before they can go to God, but God comes calling to us while we are in our sin, it is Him alone that can make our scarlet sins as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18) ! God made a way for humanity immediately following the fall. He made a plan to provide a way for humanity to have relationship with Him. "I will put enmity between you (serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel" This was ultimately fullfilled by Christ's victory over satan! God is a righteous judge, but He is a merciful savior too! Thank You Father for providing a way! Now through the blood of Jesus, the veil has been torn, we can dance in the freedom of Christ!

"For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a GIFT, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus!" Romans 3:24-24 "... we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." Romans 5:11"For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

So humanity went from walking hand in hand with the BEAUTIFUL GOD, to covered in shame and guilt... The rest of the old testament is God's way of taking humanity from the fall in Genesis 3 to reconcilitation with Him through Jesus!

Life IN Him....

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." Galatians 2:20

The Lord has been reminding me lately what this verse is really about. Sometimes, actually most of the time, it is hard for me to lay down my desires and wants and plans and to allow my life to really be Christ's.

How easily I forget that He is my

all in all.

He is my everything.

Without Him, I simply would not be, I would not BE!

I start planning my day, my life as if it were my life... I gave my life to God and now it is His. When I gave my life to Him it was because He bought me with a very high price and I trusted Him that His ways were higher than my ways.

You see... I lived my life as if it were my own for 22 years and I ended up chasing the wind with only a shattered and empty heart to show for it all. Why do I so frequently take my life up from Him??? Did I forget that...

He is the author and creator or ALL things.

What am I to myself without You but a guide to my own downfall?" Saint Augustine

Father, You are my everything. Jesus, take my life. Take my life and seal me in You. Keep me in the shadow of Your beautiful wings. Don't let me wander from Your perfect path. Keep me in You Jesus.

For I truly only live in You, my King, My God!

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3

Isaiah 45:3

"Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down RIGHTEOUSNESS; let the earth open, that SALVATION and RIGHTEOUSNESS may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I, the Lord, have created it."

Isaiah 45:3

God, let Your salvation rain on us! Shower us, saturate us in Your love and mercy! Open the heavens and let Your kingdom come to earth!

Compassion International!

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, COMPASSION, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience."

Colossians 3:12

I really want to encourage everyone to sponsor a child.

It's only $32/month!

This WILL change a child's life!!!

The child will write you letters and you can write them back and really encourage and minister to them!!! It is amazing! The need is so huge and there are so many of us that can reach out and help! Go to the website and just take a look for yourself!

"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Matt 19:14

Ask the poor, they will tell you who the Christians are." Ghandi

"As we consider what it means to be born again, we must ask ourselves what it means to be born again into a family in which our sisters and brothers are starving to death" Shane Claiborne.

When the holy spirit fell on Pentecost, when the spirit of the Lord fell on that day, noone did without... A spirit of compassion and generosity and love and mercy fell on that day. "And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need." Acts 2:45 When the spirit of the Lord dwells in our hearts, how can it be possible for us to store up eartly possessions, while our neighbors are in need? Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither povery or riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God." Proverbs 30:8-9. Solomon prays not to be rich! Who does that?! .... A man full of wisdom. Poverty was created not by God but by you and me, because we have not learned to love our neighbors as ourselves" Shane Claiborne. Some of us so strongly desire to be used by God in such a big way, but when God filled you with His love, compassion, and mercy, He expects that we will show that same love, compassion, and mercy to a hungry and cold neighbor. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" Mark 12:31. "If you pour yourself our for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday" Isaiah 58:10. I want the light of Jesus to rise up in the darkness for all the hungry and hurting to see! John the Baptist said "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise" Luke 3:11. What about us that have been blessed with an abundance? Shall we keep them and while being thankful, not really share.. or if we see someone in need, we will just pray for God's provision or send them to the salvation army..., but what if God put you there as His provision?... Or when God blesses us we could thank Him by turning to our neighbor and blessing Him also while storing our possessions in Heaven, not on earth. Jesus said, when speaking of a poor widow that placed one penny, one penny, in the offereing box while many rich people put large amounts in. "Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box, for they are contributing out of their abundance, but she out of her povery has put in everything she had to live on." This poor widow placed more in her offering than she ever could have imagined. "True generosity is measured not by how much we give but by how much we have left." Shane Claiborne

As I sit in Starbucks with my $5 cup of coffee wearing my new Buckle jeans, I pray that the Lord will work in my heart in such a powerful way that I can love, really love, a deep love that leads to action, my neighbor as myself., that I would only desire to give and not to recieve.

Lord, give me a new heart, a heart that is so seperate from this culture of "need and want". A heart like yours. A heart full of self-sacrifice and generosity. Jesus, when You have blessed me so much, let me not keep it to myself.

"Do not put up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where theives do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matt 6:19-21

HIS EYES

In Luke chapter 7 Jesus went into the house of a Pharisee. A sinful woman saw Jesus, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, she began to weep, she wet His feet with her tears, wiped them off with her hair, she kissed His feet, anointed them. This sinful woman came to the feet of Jesus with weeping, in a moment of true, pure, wholehearted worship. The Pharisee began to judge the woman. Jesus asked Simon if he "saw" this woman. Jesus began to explain to Simon that this woman was forgiven much and loved much. Jesus saw this woman's heart, He saw her for His sister, His daughter. Oh if we could only see the world through the eyes of Jesus, how differently would we treat people. When we look through the eyes of Jesus, we see people differently that society sees them. When we look through the eyes of Jesus, we will see our brother instead of seeing the drunk on the corner, we will see a daughter instead of seeing a prostitute. We will see that NOONE is beyond redemption. When Jesus encountered people, He saw deep into their hearts and He was moved with compassion to help them. I wish we could be more like Jesus.



Father, I pray that you give us eyes like yours. Eyes that see through the outter shell into the hurting and bruised heart. Eyes that see a need and are so full of love and compassion that it only leads to action. Eyes that see the beautiful daughters and sons that You see. Eyes that see the life broken and ruined by iniquity and the complete restoration that will be brought by an ugly cross.