“God is always coming to you in the sacrament of “God is always coming to you in the sacrament of the Present Moment. Meet and receive Him there with gratitude.” Evelyn Underhill 

Such brokenness we see, such pain, such fear. Attend to Jesus — Lord, Savior, King — with all your honest thoughts and feelings, and let His power and love change you. Let Him form and re-form you into a help for the hurting, a bright spot for those in the dark, a presence for others to rest in. A ‘little Christ’ on the earth.

 ^ what I’m rehearsing to myself
Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfil Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfill the will of God through the inner influence of His Spirit instead of the outer influence of the law of God” (David Guzik).

This took me probably 15 years of following Jesus to grasp. It felt too easy, my willpower was my measuring stick, and the freedom was terrifying. 

But alas, God’s way is the best way, and there is no substitute for the Holy Spirit. I can’t muster spiritual fruit, but His goal, thankfully and marvelously, is vineyards and vineyards.

May we surrender this work to Him.
“The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must en “The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure; the deeper our hope, the more prone we are to despair; the deeper our love, the more pain its loss will bring: these are a few of the paradoxes we must hold as human beings. If we refuse to hold them in the hopes of living without doubt, despair, and pain, we also find ourselves living without faith, hope, and love.” Parker J. Palmer
I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me rec I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me recently: What if you made choices out of fear of missing out on God instead of fear of missing out on what others deem significant?

In all honesty, FOMO sneaks up on me not along paths of a friend’s travel adventures or home decor or even if friends hang out without me. My FOMO animal comes in the form of popular and effective Christian voices. Because of technology and social media, I have access, though not complete (because we’re not actual friends), to their lives and ministry, their work and the personality they choose to share online. While a good thing in many ways, it stops being good when it becomes an avalanche I can’t keep up with but am afraid to stop.

// new blog post: FOMO on God //
zoom zoom zoom zoom
Like Anna plays in my presence, like she comes to Like Anna plays in my presence, 
like she comes to me when she gets hurt,
like she wants to be held when she’s sick,
like she unashamedly + honestly feels any and every range of emotion with me, 
like she never corrects or censors or judges herself before coming to me, 
like she trusts me to love and care and accept her always... 
so it can be and is for me with God my Father. 

What a delightful way to be with Him! Don’t hold back — disappointment, confusion, happiness, sadness, longings. Give Him access to you, as you are right now, and find rest and love for your soul.
Just a girl bumping her New Years’ goal of wakin Just a girl bumping her New Years’ goal of waking up early to February as she reaches her 10th day of coronavirus quarantine.

I’ll keep the details to myself, but I do have to acknowledge the generosity and availability and kindness of our family and friends. They’ve brought us meals, groceries, medicine, and @maghjohnson, IN MICHIGAN, sent us a Door Dash gift card for a pizza. I could cry over the love. @audreyhealy5 @kgmartin521 @ansley.c.evans @nm_wilson @klb418

Also, even though today was the first day I had the energy to walk it, I’ve never been more thankful for our long driveway. Sunshine is the JAM. 

To everyone who has had COVID or will get it, our experience will of course be different, but— solitary, friends, solidarity. And grace upon grace.
Supplies of water, sustenance and shade in the wil Supplies of water, sustenance and shade in the wilderness are impossible without God. Miracles of change and help.

“The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I will answer them. I am the Lord, the God of Israel. 

I will not abandon them. I will open rivers on the barren heights, and springs in the middle of the plains. I will turn the desert into a pool and dry land into springs. I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees in the wilderness. I will put juniper, elm, and cypress trees together in the desert. 

So that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.” Isaiah‬ ‭41:17-20‬ ‭CSB 

It is the Spirit of God who changes hearts.
It is the truth of God that transforms + renews minds.
It is the Son of God who leads the way.
It is the love of God that heals and calls. 
It is the power of God that does the impossible.
It is the presence of God that makes a difference.

So I pray. Faithful to what + who He puts before me. Trusting Him to be faithful in being God.

So we pray.
Ruth Haley Barton writes that in silence we come t Ruth Haley Barton writes that in silence we come to God with what is true about us and let Him be in control. 

This is my personal prayer for this year and honestly for the rest of my life — that I would accept what comes, and what is. That I would welcome what God gives and allows for me. That I would grow comfortable in His presence with what is true about me, not what I feel *should* be true, or even what I wish was true. 

Not defending, not comparing, not berating, not promoting, not criticizing, not earning... being with Jesus with what IS, and receiving Him. Letting Him form and grow what is there, the real me. 

Accepting with joy. Because God is God, sovereign, wise, almighty, good and merciful, and I am His.
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books, faith · 05/20/2014

Current Read: Rhinestone Jesus

Saying yes to God when sparkly, safe faith is no longer enough.

“Making Jesus enough isn’t about good works or being good enough. It’s about peeling back all the layers, the blessings, the stuff in our hearts, and discovering our desperate need for Him. When we remove the extras, we find we are not enough. And we see that He is. When you make Jesus enough, He becomes all you need.” I discovered this title from a blog post by Ann Voskamp, and was intrigued by the words Ann said in reference to its topic and its author. To summarize, it is the story of a girl turned woman, a wife turned mother, who found herself in a place of wanting more of Jesus, more out of life. She was asked to visit and write about what she saw on a trip to the slums of Africa, and from then on she was changed. While there they visited a boy named Vincent, and the author notes how peaceful he seemed, so she asked, “Why are you so happy? Why aren’t you afraid?” To which he responded,

“Because I have Jesus.”

She then writes about how she returned home with this battle raging in her soul, how when she returned it was like an invisible veil had been lifted from her eyes.

“When I honestly looked into my heart, I knew I equated Jesus with comfort and blessings. Vincent had nothing except a leaky roof over his head, and yet he was content. I envied him. In a few days I would return to a lifestyle with every convenience and only want more. I added Jesus like salt and pepper to a tasteless dish. He wasn’t the main course for me, just an extra on the side.”

After being home for a couple weeks, the stirring in her soul kept growing, a God-sized dream and call building, and she and her family embarked on an adventure to establish a home/ministry in Kenya for young pregnant girls. She quotes Holley Gerth,

“Why are God-sized dreams so compelling? Because we powerfully experience God’s presence in our lives through them. It’s not about destination. It’s not what we will get if we complete the dream. It’s about a relationship… the pursuit of any God-sized dream is ultimately the pursuit of the One who placed it within you. It’s like a homing beacon for your heart.”

As Kristen (the author) continues to tell her story, I was inspired. She spoke of hard things that happened in her marriage, of the difficulty in adjusting to American life after seeing such heartbreaking realities across the world, her fight for balance in her family’s daily life, raising her kids in a way that reflects Jesus and compassion for people; and throughout it all, her own strengthening of faith when things were wearisome, when goals seemed impossible, and when circumstances called for so much doubt. I admit that as I was reading, sometimes I felt a little overwhelmed by all she was doing, because I haven’t experienced anything like that, done anything like what they did, and then I read this…

“God has a unique purpose for you. Your yes won’t look like anyone else’s yes; it will be completely one-of-a-kind, just like you. Who are you supposed to look like in your calling here on earth and in the way you follow Christ? You’re supposed to look like the version of you that loves Jesus with everything in you.”

Reading that, I was filled with a confidence that whatever God has in mind for me to do during this life, if I’m loving Him with everything in me, it will come to pass. Maybe a small fear had been growing in me that I would miss it, or that I wouldn’t have the eyes to see something that big, that God-sized, but just like she said, my ‘yes’ will be different than anyone else’s, so.. I’ll live mercy and love Jesus and see what happens. I’ll love Jesus with my whole heart and if that whole heart prompts me to do something, I’ll do it in faith!

Reading this book, where I am in life, didn’t prompt me to do something radical or drop everything and move to a third world country (Although I confess sometimes my heart aches to do just that). It did however, challenge my perspective. Kristen quoted Elizabeth Dreyer, “In a profound way, our intentionality is a key ingredient determining whether we notice God everywhere or only in church or only in suffering, or nowhere. It all depends on how we choose to fashion our world.” When we open our eyes to what we have and how others live, it affects the choices we make. I am challenged to be more intentional with my time and with my money, my communication and my relationships.To be more intentional in a way that will allow me to glimpse God in even the mundane.

She also prompted readers to find their one thing.

“Finding and pursuing your one passion changes your life and ignites a godly desire to support others in their divine pursuits. When you get involved in someone else’s God-sized dream, you are a part of his or her story.”

It’s easy to read books like this and feel burdened by a weight of condemnation or anxiety over not doing enough (whatever enough is). I think everyone is called to do something, just not everything. I think it will be both freeing and life-changing, to focus on my one thing and do it well to His glory. Ann Voskamp said, “You were made for the place where your real passion meets compassion, because there lies your real purpose.”

Coming off of graduation, I don’t think I know what my one thing is yet. But that’s okay.

When I do discover my God-sized dream, I’ll enjoy the journey of digging deep into His Presence, because the beautiful reality is that I’ll never walk alone. 

In: books, faith · Tagged: current read

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“God is always coming to you in the sacrament of “God is always coming to you in the sacrament of the Present Moment. Meet and receive Him there with gratitude.” Evelyn Underhill 

Such brokenness we see, such pain, such fear. Attend to Jesus — Lord, Savior, King — with all your honest thoughts and feelings, and let His power and love change you. Let Him form and re-form you into a help for the hurting, a bright spot for those in the dark, a presence for others to rest in. A ‘little Christ’ on the earth.

 ^ what I’m rehearsing to myself
Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfil Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfill the will of God through the inner influence of His Spirit instead of the outer influence of the law of God” (David Guzik).

This took me probably 15 years of following Jesus to grasp. It felt too easy, my willpower was my measuring stick, and the freedom was terrifying. 

But alas, God’s way is the best way, and there is no substitute for the Holy Spirit. I can’t muster spiritual fruit, but His goal, thankfully and marvelously, is vineyards and vineyards.

May we surrender this work to Him.
“The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must en “The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure; the deeper our hope, the more prone we are to despair; the deeper our love, the more pain its loss will bring: these are a few of the paradoxes we must hold as human beings. If we refuse to hold them in the hopes of living without doubt, despair, and pain, we also find ourselves living without faith, hope, and love.” Parker J. Palmer
I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me rec I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me recently: What if you made choices out of fear of missing out on God instead of fear of missing out on what others deem significant?

In all honesty, FOMO sneaks up on me not along paths of a friend’s travel adventures or home decor or even if friends hang out without me. My FOMO animal comes in the form of popular and effective Christian voices. Because of technology and social media, I have access, though not complete (because we’re not actual friends), to their lives and ministry, their work and the personality they choose to share online. While a good thing in many ways, it stops being good when it becomes an avalanche I can’t keep up with but am afraid to stop.

// new blog post: FOMO on God //
zoom zoom zoom zoom
Like Anna plays in my presence, like she comes to Like Anna plays in my presence, 
like she comes to me when she gets hurt,
like she wants to be held when she’s sick,
like she unashamedly + honestly feels any and every range of emotion with me, 
like she never corrects or censors or judges herself before coming to me, 
like she trusts me to love and care and accept her always... 
so it can be and is for me with God my Father. 

What a delightful way to be with Him! Don’t hold back — disappointment, confusion, happiness, sadness, longings. Give Him access to you, as you are right now, and find rest and love for your soul.
Just a girl bumping her New Years’ goal of wakin Just a girl bumping her New Years’ goal of waking up early to February as she reaches her 10th day of coronavirus quarantine.

I’ll keep the details to myself, but I do have to acknowledge the generosity and availability and kindness of our family and friends. They’ve brought us meals, groceries, medicine, and @maghjohnson, IN MICHIGAN, sent us a Door Dash gift card for a pizza. I could cry over the love. @audreyhealy5 @kgmartin521 @ansley.c.evans @nm_wilson @klb418

Also, even though today was the first day I had the energy to walk it, I’ve never been more thankful for our long driveway. Sunshine is the JAM. 

To everyone who has had COVID or will get it, our experience will of course be different, but— solitary, friends, solidarity. And grace upon grace.
Supplies of water, sustenance and shade in the wil Supplies of water, sustenance and shade in the wilderness are impossible without God. Miracles of change and help.

“The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I will answer them. I am the Lord, the God of Israel. 

I will not abandon them. I will open rivers on the barren heights, and springs in the middle of the plains. I will turn the desert into a pool and dry land into springs. I will plant cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees in the wilderness. I will put juniper, elm, and cypress trees together in the desert. 

So that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.” Isaiah‬ ‭41:17-20‬ ‭CSB 

It is the Spirit of God who changes hearts.
It is the truth of God that transforms + renews minds.
It is the Son of God who leads the way.
It is the love of God that heals and calls. 
It is the power of God that does the impossible.
It is the presence of God that makes a difference.

So I pray. Faithful to what + who He puts before me. Trusting Him to be faithful in being God.

So we pray.
Ruth Haley Barton writes that in silence we come t Ruth Haley Barton writes that in silence we come to God with what is true about us and let Him be in control. 

This is my personal prayer for this year and honestly for the rest of my life — that I would accept what comes, and what is. That I would welcome what God gives and allows for me. That I would grow comfortable in His presence with what is true about me, not what I feel *should* be true, or even what I wish was true. 

Not defending, not comparing, not berating, not promoting, not criticizing, not earning... being with Jesus with what IS, and receiving Him. Letting Him form and grow what is there, the real me. 

Accepting with joy. Because God is God, sovereign, wise, almighty, good and merciful, and I am His.
“May the urgency with which I approach my work n “May the urgency with which I approach my work never become anxiety. The world is not mine to save.” @justinmcroberts

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