Joshua

A few years ago, before I had surrendered my gifts & dreams to the Lord, my family bought me a book by Darlene Zschech called Extravagant Worship. Recently I rediscovered the book (while moving) & decided to read it & in doing so God has brought a tremendous level of revelation into my life. I shared this piece with my choir this past week & now it’s time for me to share it with the internet world.

Most stories begin the same way, but for the sake of this story I will just say that there was once a man named Joshua. Now Joshua had the enormous job of leading God’s people into the Promised Land. I’d like to point out that Joshua spent a lot of time in the presence of the Lord. Anywho, God told Joshua that He had given the city of Jericho into the hands of the Israelites. They had just arrived in the Promised Land & had a lot of work to do in order to fully come into the promises that God had for them. So God gives Joshua instructions on how to conquer this great city, He tells him to walk around the city once for six days & then on the seventh day to walk around it seven times & at the end of the seventh time they were all to blow trumpets & shout & the Lord would give the city into their hands. Joshua filled with godly wisdom told the Israelites to be silent as they walked around the city until he told them to open their mouths & shout. The Israelites got up & did just as God had said for six days & then on the seventh day they walked around the city seven times & once they were finished walking Joshua told them to “Shout, for the Lord has give you the city”. So the people raised their voices to God & the walls of this gigantic city came crashing outward & they took the city- coming into the promise that God had made for them.
** The full account is found in Joshua 6**

At the beginning I mentioned that the book had come to me “before I had surrendered my gifts & dreams to the Lord”. The reason I say this is that in my younger days my maturity level & understanding of God wasn’t in a place where I would have taken as much from the book as I am able to now. It took a lot of life to get to the point where I am able to yield myself to the Lord because He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us”. (Ephesians 3:20) As I continue to spend time in the presence of the Lord, He continues to bring refreshing & guidance. I truly believe that He caused me to rediscover this book at a time when I was fully capable of taking from it what He desires to show me.

Back to Joshua. God told him to walk around the city thirteen times & He would give them the city. Sometimes God’s leading doesn’t make sense to us, we just need to believe He loves us & has everything under control. At the end the Israelites lifted their voices to God in praise & the walls came crashing down!! God’s power inhabits our praise of Him. I don’t even begin to comprehend the enormity of this! God’s power inhabits our praise! When we lift our voices in praise to God walls come crashing down & His power is made manifest in our lives. When times are tough & we sing praises to our King the enemy no longer holds any power over the situation. We declare that God is all-powerful & has everything under control & we are able to enter into the promises He has for us.

Last week had its share of trials. I broke down at one point because it seemed like everything was going wrong & all I wanted to do was go take a seventy-two hour nap. I sat down on a sidewalk & just began to cry. While I was sitting there I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to sing. I should mention that it’s quite difficult to sing & cry at the same time, but I did it anyway. I opened my mouth & out came “How great is our God. How great is our God, & all will see how great, how great is our God”. I just kept singing & at some point the tears stopped & I was reminded of the truth that God has everything under control.

The power of God which inhabits our praise will tear down walls & heal wounds. My dream is to see Jesus Christ’s church all across the world raise our voices in praise to the Father & watch as He begins to restore people to Himself.

she & him

It’s always funny to me when people think I am way cooler than I actually am. Quite honestly, I am rather uneventful & kind of boring & I like being that way. So when people express concentrated interest in my day to day & are charmed by my response it’s rather amusing.

That being said, I stepped out of my monotonous box Friday to attend a She & Him concert with a friend. Talented, live music is inspiring. I was captivated. M. Ward pretty much stole my heart away—step aside John Mayer, you’ve been outdone. Luckily, we were able to score second row seats allowing my gearhead side to drool over all of the awesome equipment they used.

I was also quite star-struck being about forty feet from Zooey Deschanel, not only is she a brilliant musician she’s also my favorite actress. They started with a few numbers accompanied by their whole band & then dismissed the rest of the band for a little “alone time” with just the two of them, in which M. Ward played his Gibson acoustic & the two of them sang. During this time they sang one of my favorites, a cover of “You Really God A Hold On Me”, & I found myself singing along at the top of my lungs. If I’m going to get out of the box occasionally, I’m really glad it’s to have incredible experiences of this nature.

one of my best...

...can't wait for Michelle & Joshua to come home again!!!

Jesus is for me.

So apparently Jesus is taking over Seattle (jesus-is.org). That's pretty awesome if you ask me. I believe that Salem is also on the edge of a massive spiritual revival & I am extremely excited to be on the front lines.

I went to a football game last Saturday & had an awesome time. In typical Oregon fashion it rained the entire time...but my team won (they blew the other team out of the water) & that's cause for great celebration. There was one point where they brought out about 150 football players from the past sixty years (I believe)- some so old that they were pushed out in wheelchairs or walking on the field with their walkers. I, being a bit overly sentimental at times, felt myself choking up as these players received a standing ovation from the 57,000+ crowd.

Jesus is my biggest fan. Jesus isn’t sitting on the sideline cheering for me—He’s in the game with me! He wants me to succeed & to rely on His strength. In His presence I find peace, inspiration, rest, & life. He’s not in heaven waiting for me to fail—He views me with grace as I continually strive to let Him live in me. I can’t, but He can.

Jesus is for me.

a collage of revelation.

"First priority is God's presence before His plan. His plan is a byproduct of a life in His presence."
- Elijah Waters

"Give your best today & I will better your best tomorrow" (God speaking)
- Judah Smith

"Respond to God, don't react to life."
- Judah Smith

"Jesus was radical! Anything short of being a radical believer can't be normal Christianity. Radical Christianity has become rational Christianity. Let's get disgruntled."
- Pastor Bowles

"You know how you become the blessed of God? Stop trying to be & let Him be."
- Pastor Alex

"There's a big difference between knowing Jesus more & knowing more about Jesus."
- Pastor Nick (quoting unknown tweeter)

"Forgiveness is immediate, but sanctification takes time."
- Pastor Alex

"The most important thing on earth is dwelling in God's presence."
- Pastor Nick

I can either choose to live in complete freedom in grace through Jesus Christ or I can remain a slave to the law of sin & death. The trouble with the latter is that I was powerless to save myself what makes me think I can battle sin? I choose to live under grace & let Jesus Christ take care of the rest...He already took care of the first part. :)

Psalm 16

The past few months, I've been reading through Psalms & the Gospels daily...when I finish them I just start them over. I've probably read this Psalm hundreds of times, but now that I've got my handy ESV Bible (the Bible Jesus used...) it has taken new meaning. Enjoy.

Preserve me, O God,
for in You I take refuge.
I say to the Lord,
"You are my Lord; I have no good apart from You."
As for the saints in the land,
they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run
after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood
I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion
& my cup; You hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me
I have set the Lord always before me;
because He is at my right hand,
I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad,
& my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let Your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life;
in Your presence there is fullness of joy;
at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.


**emphasized words or verses were added by myself.

the little things.

On April 20th of this year an oil drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico causing oil to spill into the marine endangering wildlife & nature & jobs & causing loads of damage. Over a series of days & weeks the spill just continued to pour out. The affected states & national political leaders, in an act of extreme despiration, called upon the church leaders to host national prayer days & cry out to God to move in the situation. During this time, I even made sure to pray daily for the Gulf of Mexico & surrounding areas...I remember being in Ensenada, Mexico over that time & praying that God would work the miraculous as only He can.

A few weeks after I returned from Mexico I received an email from the New York Times, the title of the email said "News Alert: Gulf of Mexico Oil Slick Appears to Vanish Quickly". I've saved it in my phone to remind myself of what an amazing, incredible, powerful, inspiring, indescribable God we are priviledged to be in relationship with.

Yesterday at Reverb, Pastor Nick was talking about how easy it is to overlook God's miracles because they don't happen in the way that we're looking for. God doesn't move the same way twice- just because He opened blind eyes by spitting in mud one day does not mean He'll do it the same way for the next guy.

Far too often I am looking for God to move in the same way He did last time, but I'm missing out on so many of His blessings in doing so. I pray that God will continue to create in me a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's moving so that I can witness all of the miraculous signs & wonders that He pours out daily.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/us/28spill.html?_r=1&emc=na

present.

For the past few months I have begun to learn & understand the importance of spending time in the presence of the Lord. I’ve been discovering that it’s not about a ritual- it’s not a ten step process- it’s just time spent with my Saviour…His Spirit communing with my spirit in every way. Through the grace of God & the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we are no longer under condemnation (which means all of those condemning thoughts are not of the Lord). Because there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) we are the “righteousness of God in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This means we can openly come into His presence as sons of the Most High God! It’s a benefit to be able to spend time in His presence.

A few months ago Pastor preached a series about the “Power & the Presence of the Lord”. He talked about Moses & the Israelites while they were wandering in the desert. The power of God that was displayed through Moses was because he spent time in the presence of God. The Israelites knew the power of God while Moses knew the presence of God. The reason the Israelites continually wanted to go back to Egypt was because they had only seen His power…His presence is what sustains us. In Exodus 33:15 Moses tells God “if Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” Moses knew the presence of God & knew that he’d much rather stay in the desert if God was there than continue on without the presence of the Lord.

Spending time in His presence keeps us in tune with His Spirit. How can we follow His leading if we haven’t been letting Him fill us up & bring us fresh revelation? The more time I spend in His presence, the more I desire to be in His presence. It’s about relationship. I encourage you to take some time to quiet yourself in the midst of an ever moving society & experience the greatness & transformation that can only come through spending time with the Almighty Lord.

It’s a present (gift).

It’s present (now).

He’s present.

“Show us Your glory.”

Maid of Honor Toast

This is from my sister's wedding, & I ran across it yesterday so...enjoy!



In the movie “When Harry Met Sally,” Billy Crystal delivers what, in my opinion, is one of the best lines in any movie. He says, “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” Well maybe I’m a hopeless romantic at times, but I’m so glad that my sister has found someone that she can’t possibly live without…someone to spend the rest of her life with.

I just want to point out what I’m sure all of you have already noticed…but doesn’t she just look beautiful? When we were kids, I used to always play the bride and make her dress up like a boy so I had a groom to fake-marry. I am very glad she didn’t make me dress up like a boy today to get even.

As kids we used to “run away” to our tree house whenever we wanted to be in charge of our own home. No one could give us direction as to how to run our tree house because it was our thing and we were able to make it up as we went along. Well Shannon, it’s your turn to go and start your own family. As Darren and you learn and grow I wish you both a long happy life together, and I promise I will always be there to support and encourage the two of you.

And Darren, as you travel to Iraq, our prayers of safety will be with you.

Bebo Norman, a contemporary musician, wrote a great love song, that I think catches a glimpse into your romance. The words are:

“Take another look at me
Oh breaker of my heart
Take a look and you will see
How beautiful you are
Even when I walk away
I could not go very far
Before the child in me would say
Home is where you are
In the tapestry of time
I cannot imagine where
I could find someone as kind
On the ground or in the air
I have heard that angels fly
And they never show their face
So I suppose that from the sky
One landed in your place
Did you know right from the start
When you first held me in your arms
That you would always hold my heart
Where you are
You make the mornings seem so light
With coffee in the air
But to be a mother and a wife
Is a heavy load to bear
And so you gave your life away
Like the God inside your heart
And even though we've gone away
Home is where you are”

Let us all raise our glasses and toast Shannon and Darren. Best wishes to the happy couple on their wedding day. May your love for each other continue to grow with each passing year.

New.

I haven't written anything for a while. It's not for a lack of trying...it's just that I continually sit down to write & can't seem to bring clarity to my thoughts. God has been doing so much in my heart lately, so here goes: I'm going to attempt to put words to His awesome revelations.

I've been reading through the Gospels & the Psalms lately. My friend Abbey told me that if you want to increase in wisdom you should read Proverbs, if you want to increase in the prophetic you should read through the prophets, if you want to increase your worship then read through Psalms, & if you want to become more like Jesus then read the Gospels. All of those things are good things, & if I could read the entire Bible every day I certainly would, but that's entirely impossible.

I've had so many revelations while reading through these books.

Sometimes I find that I relate to David so easily. He made some really stupid mistakes...but God continued to show him grace. I love how God's grace knows no bounds. I love that He provided a way for us to come into His presence & experience Him. (sidenote: I've found that no matter how much time I spend in His presence, I never feel like it's enough. Then I realized that's how it should be...I should never be satisfied, I should continue to crave more of His presence.) I love that Jesus Christ's blood is ever-flowing & covers all of me. As Paul wrote in Galations 2:20, 21, I no longer live by the law...I live by grace. God's grace covers me. Living in grace is empowering. I no longer have a desire to live my old life...I want to move forward with Christ.

I want to love people like Jesus did...always forgiving & bestowing grace.

I want to spend so much time in His presence that people I encounter can't help but be affected by the Holy Spirit in me.

I want to walk in faith, knowing that the Lord's counsel will stand. (Proverbs 19:21)

God is doing some incredible things in Salem, Oregon...& I am going to be used by Him. Dive in...get ready for revival!!

worth dying for

Out of nearly ten thousand songs on my iTunes, I hit random & my song with an ex-boyfriend starts to play. Don't get me wrong, I wish him well in every place life takes him & harbor no bitter feelings. It's funny that something 'so right' could become quite a blessing in the heartbreak. The song, on the other hand, got me to thinking about the lessons I've learned from where I've been versus where I am. So this is actually about that...

I've done so many things wrong in life. Some of my actions were birthed in reaction to turmoil while others were strictly out of rebellion. Thankfully I hold tight to God's all sufficient grace. It took quite a while, however, before I could forgive myself & begin to live within His blessing. I am not defined by my past, but it has it's part in the woman I've become. I cannot pretend to be someone I'm not- I need to let my passions, personality, experiences, & principles shine through in order to be fully effective in any area.

Throughout the past two months, God has been breaking down the walls I've built & has ripped open the wounds of numerous broken hearts. His purpose has been to mend my heart properly. In all honesty, at times it's been quite painful & I realize just how foolish I had become. Now that my heart is in the healing stage, I see how critical it is for me to guard it. I sought to find my value in people & discovered that it can only be found in Him. I am a treasured possession. I am worth dying for.

if You say go

"If You say go, we will go.
If You say wait, we will wait.
If You say step out on the water
& they say it can't be done,
we will fix our eyes on You
& we will come.

Your ways are higher than our ways
& the plans that You have made are good & true.
If you call us to the fire
You will not withdraw Your hand.
We will gaze into the flames
& look for You."


Rita Springer

just saying...

On two separate occasions this afternoon I had to clean massive amounts of pee off the toilet seat. The fact that I am twenty-five combined with the fact that I am a woman have given me the ability to be extremely accurate in this area for quite some time. Taking this into consideration, I would ask that if a person has yet to master the art of precision whilest urinating, please do everyone a courtesy & eliminate the mess.

Sincerely.

possibilities

It's always fun to learn new things. I recently hit a wall in my piano playing. I've been struggling to find anything new from what I've been doing & my playing was beginning to become a bit boring. I want to expand my horizons & continually push myself to be a better pianist. So today I started taking lessons again. It's great! Already I'm thinking about new things to try or new scales to incorporate! It's funny that twenty-one years ago I started this music journey- I never expected it to turn into my life's passion. I want my musical worship to the Lord to be excellent & ever increasing. I don't want to give Him the mundane- I want to push myself to bring Him an offering that's my best & expresses all of me & all of the emotions I feel toward Him. Music has a way of bridging the gap between body & soul- it moves me to my core & I want my core to be rocked by the presence & power of God.

Now I'm off to spread my passions to (somewhat) unsuspecting town folk! How exciting!!

ramblings on love

A Softer World (asofterworld.com) has this old comic that I stumbled across again today. It says, "I should have been brave enough to just ask your name, instead of screaming 'I cannot contain my lust'. Now you probably think I'm a creep." I let out a good hearty laugh with that one.

I am quite a lucky woman- I have (strictly platonic) guy friends who talk about love & relationships & romance with me. It goes both ways: they ask me about their lady friends & I annoy them by analyzing every little detail about whatever man I am interested in. It's what I do.

So, keeping that in mind, I recently finished reading, for the second time, 'He's Just Not That Into You'- the female manifesto, if you will. The funny thing is that a considerable amount of advice given by my guys completely contradicts the theories in the book. They both tell me what an amazing, beautiful, strong, passionate, capable, woman I am & that I need to find a man who's genuinely interested in me, because giving & receiving love of the romantic kind is a very worthwhile pursuit. They also parallel each other when they tell me that the tools I've dated in the past are just that & I'm lucky to have them out of my life so I can move forward in discovering who I am because I deserve more.

In all of that other stuff they are quite opposite. Greg Behrendt's theory is that when a guy is TRULY into you he will go to the ends of the earth to win you over. His rules are that if a guy doesn't ask you out, call you, date you, have sex with you, hang out sober, marry you, & so on, then he's just not that into you. While I feel that, on a certain level (with most of his rules), he definitely makes a good point, I also agree with my guy friend as he advises to "think about how emasculated men have been and how they've been lead to believe that to chase is to be a 'pig'." Perhaps men will begin to realize that women (I included) never really know what they want.

We make something so complicated when really it's so great simple. I also recently read 'Sex God' by Rob Bell. He discusses the innate human need for connection & suggests that a genuinely healthy marriage relationship will give us a glimpse of the perfection we were meant for. He compares a relationship where you can be completely naked (meaning that we're entirely vulnerable with & trusting of someone else) to what Heaven will be like with Jesus. I can say without a doubt that I want to experience THAT kind of love...& I don't care how long I have to wait for it.

I suppose that for now I'll just relax & see where this road takes me. I'm in no hurry.