So crazy!
So on Sunday Dawn was talking about how light travels in service, it can either reflect, absorb, or transmit. She was talking about this in the sense that the light is the Word of God, and we are the substance that the Light is hitting.
So if that is the case... and God has made me a diamond, when the Light of God hits me the light that refracts from me should be so amazingly beautiful. That means that I am not just absorbing the Word of God and doing nothing about it... I am refracting all that God is teaching me through His word... all that He is encouraging me and inspiring me through His word is being refracted into everyone else around me.
The picture is no longer a dark room... but God has come in and there is a light that is shining onto the diamond, and now the room is filled with the beautiful sparkly colourful display that can only be produced from a diamond. It's so pretty.... I love looking at how light makes a diamond sparkle... and this is ME! I am that thing that can make such beautiful refractions of light... I am completely floored that my God can think so highly of me.
But that wasn't the best part... the best part was when the light started to come from the inside of the diamond. And the room started to light up because of the light that was coming through from the inside as well... and it made the diamond even more beautiful and more sparkly... unfortunately I am sitting at work... but I just want to get on my knees and cry. Cause I am in disbelief that this is how my God sees me.
Who am I that the Lord of the earth, who created everything can look on me with such pride, with such love, with such... adoration?! God... thank-you, it is beautiful. :*)
28 Feb 2011
27 Feb 2011
Why is my God so good to me?!
Tonight at 180... I poured it all out to God through worship. I poured out pain, disappointment, confusion, joy, etc into every note that came out of me... and it was beautiful. With each note that I released, God poured back into me His love. The more I let go... the more love He poured, and I was completely overwhelmed.
After He had prepared my heart... He reminded me of my desire to walk the road less travelled, to always take the higher road in ALL situations. My God reminded me that what is strange and unheard of to the world is the norm for Him. What makes no sense to the world, is what should make the most sense to me, because it's what He wants.
What if God had called you to set an example in something that... those around you require leading in? What if God had called you to break the rules and guidelines that has been setup by the world because they are no good to Him? How would you respond?
The responsibility seems daunting... I don't know if I can... it makes no sense. Such an honour... but so so so heavy! I alone will not be able to do this... it will only be through God and in God that this will be made possible. He alone will be my strength... He alone will be my guide... He alone will be the wisdom that I will need to carry this out. By His grace... He will make is possible. The only thing I need to do is be obedient and answer His calling.
I know this is all because He loves me... and I am starting to get a glimpse of how great that love is... how all consuming it is... how life transforming it can be... and simply how deep it runs. My mind has been blown completely out of the water... and this is just the beginning!!! He's not even done yet! Wow... this is gonna be a crazy ride!
After He had prepared my heart... He reminded me of my desire to walk the road less travelled, to always take the higher road in ALL situations. My God reminded me that what is strange and unheard of to the world is the norm for Him. What makes no sense to the world, is what should make the most sense to me, because it's what He wants.
What if God had called you to set an example in something that... those around you require leading in? What if God had called you to break the rules and guidelines that has been setup by the world because they are no good to Him? How would you respond?
The responsibility seems daunting... I don't know if I can... it makes no sense. Such an honour... but so so so heavy! I alone will not be able to do this... it will only be through God and in God that this will be made possible. He alone will be my strength... He alone will be my guide... He alone will be the wisdom that I will need to carry this out. By His grace... He will make is possible. The only thing I need to do is be obedient and answer His calling.
I know this is all because He loves me... and I am starting to get a glimpse of how great that love is... how all consuming it is... how life transforming it can be... and simply how deep it runs. My mind has been blown completely out of the water... and this is just the beginning!!! He's not even done yet! Wow... this is gonna be a crazy ride!
25 Feb 2011
slap in the face...
"But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?' Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honourable uise and another for dishonourable use?" ~ Romans 9:20
Ouch God... those are harsh words, but they ring so true in my life. How many of us girls have ever stood in front of the mirror and wondered thoughts how certain attributes could be improved. Or stood in public whilst people watching and compared yourself to the hundreds of other women surrounding you... thinking about who is better looking, or better dressed, etc. Or picked up a magazine and wished that you had the hair of certain celebrity... or the perfect skin of another. If you're anything like any of the other bajillion women in the world... you've definitely had those thoughts.
With every critical thought of ourselves or other... we are criticizing the work of God. We are telling him that we could have done creation better than him! Ouch. I am very critical of myself... and because I am critical of myself... I think I've built up some protection of pride which makes it even worse when I am being criticized by other people. Even when they do it with the utmost care and love... my protection of pride will take it and twist it into something really horrible. Anyways... that's not what I am talking about today.
Today I want to talk about my self-criticism. About how I am always asking God the question "why have you made me this way?" I am learning that this is wrong... so very very wrong. I have no right to ask God that question because in God's eyes I am his perfect daughter. Even before I was born, he knew every detail of what I would look like... down to the smallest scar and freckle... and he knew every detail of my mental makeup as well as the details of the life that I would lead. ALL this He knew even before I was born... my only respone is wow.
God gave me a picture the other night... of a diamond in a dark room. (This is progress because up until that point, I haven't even been able to see the diamond.) At the moment... this is how I see myself. A diamond in a dark room isn't much good... and it's beauty is lost... In this next while... he wants to show me how HE sees this diamond. Oh this is gonna be scary... but this will be so exciting. This is a must... and God has promised that whatever he has started, he will see it to the end. So I know that I am in good hands!
Ouch God... those are harsh words, but they ring so true in my life. How many of us girls have ever stood in front of the mirror and wondered thoughts how certain attributes could be improved. Or stood in public whilst people watching and compared yourself to the hundreds of other women surrounding you... thinking about who is better looking, or better dressed, etc. Or picked up a magazine and wished that you had the hair of certain celebrity... or the perfect skin of another. If you're anything like any of the other bajillion women in the world... you've definitely had those thoughts.
With every critical thought of ourselves or other... we are criticizing the work of God. We are telling him that we could have done creation better than him! Ouch. I am very critical of myself... and because I am critical of myself... I think I've built up some protection of pride which makes it even worse when I am being criticized by other people. Even when they do it with the utmost care and love... my protection of pride will take it and twist it into something really horrible. Anyways... that's not what I am talking about today.
Today I want to talk about my self-criticism. About how I am always asking God the question "why have you made me this way?" I am learning that this is wrong... so very very wrong. I have no right to ask God that question because in God's eyes I am his perfect daughter. Even before I was born, he knew every detail of what I would look like... down to the smallest scar and freckle... and he knew every detail of my mental makeup as well as the details of the life that I would lead. ALL this He knew even before I was born... my only respone is wow.
God gave me a picture the other night... of a diamond in a dark room. (This is progress because up until that point, I haven't even been able to see the diamond.) At the moment... this is how I see myself. A diamond in a dark room isn't much good... and it's beauty is lost... In this next while... he wants to show me how HE sees this diamond. Oh this is gonna be scary... but this will be so exciting. This is a must... and God has promised that whatever he has started, he will see it to the end. So I know that I am in good hands!
23 Feb 2011
Today...
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." ~ James 1: 2-4
Today I feel human... okay maybe the better adjective would be bratty. Today is one of those days where I wished that the words in James didn't ring so true in my life. I want to sulk at God that I'd rather not know how strong my faith could be... that I'd rather not be perfect and complete... think God would listen to me? Doubt it.
Today I'd rather it was just a physical distance that divides us and not spiritual, emotional and mental as well. Today I wished that this didn't have to be so hard, or that it didn't have to be this way... Today I wished that I could send you a message and let you know all that I was thinking and encountering at the moment... Today I wished I could share life with you still.
BUT...
"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." ~ James 1:12
"Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." ~ James 1:17
God promises that if I stay with Him... if I trust in him without waver... greater things are yet to come. So I shall keep trekking.
So... today I am sad, but I will continue draw faith, strength, joy and love from the Lord, who has promised to take good care of me. When this passes I shall be "lacking in nothing"... whatever that means... but when God's involved, it's bound to be good, yah? :|
Today I feel human... okay maybe the better adjective would be bratty. Today is one of those days where I wished that the words in James didn't ring so true in my life. I want to sulk at God that I'd rather not know how strong my faith could be... that I'd rather not be perfect and complete... think God would listen to me? Doubt it.
Today I'd rather it was just a physical distance that divides us and not spiritual, emotional and mental as well. Today I wished that this didn't have to be so hard, or that it didn't have to be this way... Today I wished that I could send you a message and let you know all that I was thinking and encountering at the moment... Today I wished I could share life with you still.
BUT...
"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." ~ James 1:12
"Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." ~ James 1:17
God promises that if I stay with Him... if I trust in him without waver... greater things are yet to come. So I shall keep trekking.
So... today I am sad, but I will continue draw faith, strength, joy and love from the Lord, who has promised to take good care of me. When this passes I shall be "lacking in nothing"... whatever that means... but when God's involved, it's bound to be good, yah? :|
16 Feb 2011
To Be Blessed...
Matt 5:8 ~ "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
Blessed as according to the definition in The Amplified Bible: happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous - possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God's favour and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions.
There's been lots of stories going around Facebook talking about miracles and God's blessings... and last night when I was reflecting, God took me back to an old journal entry where I was talking about this verse. I had asked God what does it mean to be pure in heart? And what does it mean to see Him? So last night I did some digging around and looked up word meanings.
Pure is basically... to be free from the contamination of sin. Which is something we are when we come to the cross and accept the forgiveness of sins that Jesus' blood offers to us. Then I looked up what "see God" could mean. In the Jewish context, to see the face of someone or to be in their presense represents great favour. So in essense they are friends and favourites of God and will dwell with Him in His kingdom. (I'll come back to these things later...)
Today, I looked up the word blessed... it comes from the word happy. So going back to the meaning found in the Amplified... one thing that really struck me was "regardless of their outward conditions." Do you realize that it says NOTHING about God providing favourable conditions into our lives?! So to be blessed by God does not mean that he has made everything "good" on our terms or in the world's view... but it means to have a happiness produced by the experience of God's favour which is further conditioned by the revelation of His grace. I am floored right here. I'm gonna go out on a limb and compare this to the joy of the Lord. That to be blessed by God means to have the joy of the Lord.
So what was the point of all that? I want to declare and proclaim that I am blessed by God. There is a joy within me that allows me to continue to trust in my God, to believe that He is a good God, and gives me a hope for my future. Don't get me wrong... I am still sad, and I still have a lot of questions and hurt... but at the end of the day, I choose to hang onto the joy and not the other things. God's favour is that He loves me... and the grace of it is that I don't deserve to be loved by Him, but He still does. Ahh... this is so good! Thank-you Jesus!
Puts a whole new meaning to "Have a blessed day" doesn't it?! You're wishing them to be enviably fortunate... that everyone else they encounter would also want that happiness that is stemming from them! Forgive my excitement, but I am completely mindblasted at the moment!
Oops... I didn't have time to back to the other part of the verse... but that'll have to wail 'til next time!
Be blessed my friends!
Blessed as according to the definition in The Amplified Bible: happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous - possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God's favour and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions.
There's been lots of stories going around Facebook talking about miracles and God's blessings... and last night when I was reflecting, God took me back to an old journal entry where I was talking about this verse. I had asked God what does it mean to be pure in heart? And what does it mean to see Him? So last night I did some digging around and looked up word meanings.
Pure is basically... to be free from the contamination of sin. Which is something we are when we come to the cross and accept the forgiveness of sins that Jesus' blood offers to us. Then I looked up what "see God" could mean. In the Jewish context, to see the face of someone or to be in their presense represents great favour. So in essense they are friends and favourites of God and will dwell with Him in His kingdom. (I'll come back to these things later...)
Today, I looked up the word blessed... it comes from the word happy. So going back to the meaning found in the Amplified... one thing that really struck me was "regardless of their outward conditions." Do you realize that it says NOTHING about God providing favourable conditions into our lives?! So to be blessed by God does not mean that he has made everything "good" on our terms or in the world's view... but it means to have a happiness produced by the experience of God's favour which is further conditioned by the revelation of His grace. I am floored right here. I'm gonna go out on a limb and compare this to the joy of the Lord. That to be blessed by God means to have the joy of the Lord.
So what was the point of all that? I want to declare and proclaim that I am blessed by God. There is a joy within me that allows me to continue to trust in my God, to believe that He is a good God, and gives me a hope for my future. Don't get me wrong... I am still sad, and I still have a lot of questions and hurt... but at the end of the day, I choose to hang onto the joy and not the other things. God's favour is that He loves me... and the grace of it is that I don't deserve to be loved by Him, but He still does. Ahh... this is so good! Thank-you Jesus!
Puts a whole new meaning to "Have a blessed day" doesn't it?! You're wishing them to be enviably fortunate... that everyone else they encounter would also want that happiness that is stemming from them! Forgive my excitement, but I am completely mindblasted at the moment!
Oops... I didn't have time to back to the other part of the verse... but that'll have to wail 'til next time!
Be blessed my friends!
15 Feb 2011
Learning the Renewed Mind
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
~ Romans 12:2
You know... I grew up memorizing passages like this. But this weekend... actually for the past month now, God has been teaching me what this verse actually means. This weekend, he further reinforced everything that I had been learning.
Basically if my life has been transformed by Christ, then my thought life should reflect this. I'll be honest... my thought life does NOT reflect this at all! My thought life is a mess... actually, my mind is basically a vault of very dark and twisted thoughts... no jokes! This is something that very few people know about, it's not like anyone else can get into my thoughts and see what is going on in there. God does NOT like this... and it must be dealt with.
So as the Spirit convicts me to take a good hard look inside myself... I am being completely broken. BUT... it's progress, and in the brokeness I am learning a new freedom... so beauty! The best part is this verse promises that with the renewal of my mind... God's voice will be all the more clear! I am excited for that part!!!
13 Feb 2011
Hiccups are a part of life...
Clinging onto these words for dear life at the moment... and to the peace that God has taught me to have in my heart... that in the midst of the storms in life, I need to have faith and believe that He will carry me through because HE'S IN MY BOAT!!! :)
Come away with me
Come away with me
It's never too late
It's not too late
It's not too late for you
I have a plan for you
I have a plan for you
It's gonna be wild
It's gonna be great
It's gonna be full of me
Open up your heart
And let me in
Come away with me
It's never too late
It's not too late
It's not too late for you
I have a plan for you
I have a plan for you
It's gonna be wild
It's gonna be great
It's gonna be full of me
Open up your heart
And let me in
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