You're Enough

"Start With Me"

You are air to desperate lungs
Water falling on the sand
Silence to an angry storm
Sight to a blind man

You're still the God of miracles
So if You're gonna move again
would You move in me?
Move in me

You're the beat to a broken heart
Bread for a hungry crowd
In one word from Your voice rings out
And the dead of the grave close down
Because You're still the God of the empty tomb
The one who came alive again
So come alive in me
Come alive in me
Come alive in me
Come alive in me

My life is an empty cup
Fill it up, fill it up!
I wanna hear every rescued heart cry
You're enough, You're enough!
Break what needs breaking
'Til You're all we see
Start with me, start with me

Whose arms hold the fatherless?
Whose voice do they hear?
Who sits with the prisoner
And stands for the one who fear?
You're still the God of what is just
And You're still the God who loves
So would You love through me
Love through me yeah
Come and love through me
Would You love through me, yeah

My life is an empty cup
Fill it up, fill it up!
I wanna hear every rescued heart cry
You're enough, You're enough!
Break what needs breaking
'Til You're all we see
And start with me, start with me, yeah

Your kingdom come
Your will be done
Lord let it be
Let it start with me, start with me

Yes, Your kingdom come
And Your will be done
Oh Lord let it be
Let it start with me, start with me

Yeah, start with me, start with me

My life is an empty cup
Fill it up, fill it up!
I wanna hear every rescued heart cry
You're enough, You're enough!
Break what needs breaking
'Til You're all we see
And start with me, start with me,
Yeah start with me, start with me
Yeah 

     I'm a lover of lyrics. I could stay up all night listening to songs as the words fill my heart. Lyrics take me on a journey. Before I know it, it's 4am and I'm still awake riding on beautiful ribbons of poetic words. 

     This song in particular has been ministering to me greatly. Life has a way of breaking us in the most intimate ways. But it's in the brokenness that God comes alive in us. When we think we've been broken enough and can't go on we see there is yet more work to be done. Brokenness allows His light to shine through us. I'm learning to embrace the process each broken piece brings. Break what needs breaking, Lord, till you are all we see.

Today and everyday!

Help me to live in such a way...

Destiny Hope

       I've seen all these bloggers write letters to Miley. All well meaning, but still sometimes sarcastic and cutting. I thought I'd write my own little letter to Miley and share what I sense in my spirit for her.

Dear Miley,

     God can give you a new name, restore the name He prophetically put in your parents hearts and mouth, Destiny Hope. You are a child of purpose. You have been placed on this earth for a reason, for now, for this season. As I began praying for you and thinking upon your life and all the wonderful plans God has set aside just for you, this song began to bubble up in my spirit for YOU.

     God can replace all the shame and sadness and replace it with true joy. He can give you real freedom. Freedom from your critics, freedom from users and abusers, freedom from yourself. A freedom that allows you to BE, to soar and to rest. He will bring restoration to your soul.

To worship you, I live

Your Love Is Extravagant

For signs and for seasons

"And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons,and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day." Genesis 1:14-19 ESV

        I love looking at the sky. I love the stars, the clouds and sun sets. I've heard about people who've seen the life of Jesus written in the stars, those that have seen angels in the clouds, and felt the warmth of God's presence in the sun. Through out the ages the sky has been a mysterious and beautiful thing for all cultures and religions. This shouldn't be a surprises since even God says He created the lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, for signs and for seasons and days and for years. He created them with messages to us, with a rhythm for us to catch onto for seasons, days, nights, weather, signs etc. But as with anything sometimes a message gets skewed, taken advantage of and exploited by those with an alternative agenda. 

        One example of a deceptive message coming from the sky would be horoscopes (a diagram of the heavens, showing the relative position of planets and the signs of the zodiac, for use in calculating births, foretelling events in a person's life, etc.)  Horoscopes are false prediction of your future. One given by a false or corrupted source. Since I  have a heart for discipleship it really puts a fire in me when I see Christians posting their horoscopes. Horoscopes are witchcraft. I used to love them as kid, when I didn't know any better. We all have a desire to know what's next. It gives us hope and a sense of expectancy. Plus, they look innocent and fun in those fashion magazines. They don't look dark or demonic at all. When I learned the dark source of the predictions while in my teens I repented and never looked at another horoscope again. Horoscopes and Astrology are not only a sin but deception that will eventually lead you away from God's good, perfect and pleasing plans for your life. Same goes with fortune tellers and psychic hot lines.

          It is built in us to want revelation about our future. God put that in us. But that desire is to be filled with His presence and divine revelation that comes from a relationship with Him. He can give you divine words, dreams, signs and direction but it comes by being connected and loyal to Him, not demonic copy cats. 

        There is a difference between Astrology and Astronomy. Astrology is  the belief that, "the position of the Moon and Sun within these twelve divisions influence what happens on Earth, from the personalities of people born under a certain sign to the likelihood of certain kinds of undertakings to be successful." Astronomy is the, "scientific interpretation of matter in space" and has nothing to do with the future and shaping of individuals and their lives.

         So next time you are admiring the beautiful art work in the sky, do just that, admire God's handiwork and delight in it and know He has woven mysteries within. Even the wise men followed a star to Jesus and they are not the only ones. Throughout history people have used the stars as maps and guiding lights for their explorations, escapes to freedom and the telling of weather patterns. But when it comes to your future, it is in God's hands, not the stars and the interpretation of an individual who is under demonic influence. If you want the map to your life then go to the source, the creator, God almighty and His personal book to you, The Bible.

 (Definitions from the farmersalmanac.com)

Good, Perfect and Pleasing

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:2 NLT

Material and Godliness

      I was watching a video on Youtube and I saw a comment by someone that stated something along the lines of "If you're rich it's a sign of God's blessings" and basically if you weren't then the opposite is true. She went on to say that you can tell if someone is in God's favor by the things they own. Sadly, this is a common misconception that's been running throughout many churches for a long time.

     Of course God blesses His people, but what does that look like? There are many ways to be blessed. When we think about being blessed we can't think only about America, we need to think world wide. People are dying everyday all over the world from starvation, lack of water and disease. People are living under trees, in cardboard huts and some with less than that. If we look at the bigger picture we realize that if we have access to a computer/phone to read this very blog we are already blessed.

      If we only look at blessings in comparison to how the wealthy live in America we will be deceived and succumb to greed. We will never be grateful. Common sense tells us this idea of wealth being a sign of God's blessing is flawed. If it was true we'd have to assume the Mafia was favored by God, also the Kardashians and other Hollywood Celebrities. Are they living a life for God? Do they even believe in Jesus? So you see, wealth is usually a sign of compromise and sin, and not a sign of living a Godly life. What about the missionaries who live off 20k or less a year? Are they sinful and unloved by God? This whole idea of measuring a person's favor with God by their material gain is broken.

        Look at the world around you, so many have much less than you do. You are blessed. You are taken care of by God. He loves you. This crazy, insane wealth we see in America is usually filled with sin, scandal, compromise and a self reliance, not a God reliance (there are a few exceptions to this). At times it's easier for ungodly people to get rich because they are able to sow into the lusts and fun, evil desires of others. Sin sells. Also, they don't have the enemy trying to stop them in the spiritual world. As long as you are doing the devil's work why would he try and withhold anything form you? These are all things we have to think about. God's people do righteous and holy things with wealth. They make the world a more beautiful place with the prosperity God gives them, so of course more hindrance come with this holy agenda.

        With all this said, know, God takes care of His children. God will make sure we have everything we need. God is not going to have His kids begging for bread and for shelter over their heads. But if we are comparing God's provision with a Mercedes and a Hollywood mansion we may miss the goodness that's already been given to us by our Lord or judge people unfairly. Our ideas of wealth in America are so far in left field that we forget that rain and sunshine are all gifts from God. That a healthy family, and air in our lungs are blessings. That having a job, food on the table, a house (no matter the size), access to the internet, a vehicle and more are all blessings that many live without.

        This whole wealth and godliness mentality does nothing for us but feed our greed, causes people to live fake lives trying to keep up appearances, and breaks down healthy relationships in our churches since everyone wants to be around wealthy people since they are "blessed" (sad but true in many places).

         The fruit I care about are the fruit of the spirit in your life. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." - Galatians 5:22 NIV    I don't care what car you drive up in, what brand your clothes are, what your job title is, how expensive your purse is, or how many vacations you go on per year. As Christians we should be ashamed of ourselves if we judge others based on such temporary things. Material does not determine if a person is evil or good. As with all things God looks at the heart.

         Plus, if we really look around we will see that many of us are far more blessed than we ever realized, but we are to busy lusting after a Hollywood and an upper east side lifestyle to notice.

Your love never fails

Who God is

The least of these...

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service....only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food....NO ONE in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit n the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.

As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation........"We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek"....The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation.....The homeless man sitting in the back stood up.....and started walking down the aisle.....the clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him....he walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment....then he recited

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning...many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame.... he then said....Today I see a gathering of people......not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples...when will YOU decide to become disciples? He then dismissed service until next week.......Being a Christian is more than something you claim. I'ts something you live by and share with others. - Author Unknown

Amazing

Jason Upton - Calgary Confrence

I love Jason Upton's teaching. His videos take you on a journey.

Stand up for others

Parenting Goals

     I'm not a mother, yet. But I already love my future children. I find myself praying for them and blessing them in my quiet time. I've gotten several dreams about the names of two of my children. I'm sure other women have experienced this. The Holy Spirit has really been working in me and speaking to me about what it means to be a parent and challenging me to really think about what His goals are.
    I've been jotting down notes here and there about my hopes and dreams for my children and how He wants me to raise them. 
   
Some of my notes are as such (this is a rough list):

-Help my kids develop mentally, emotionally and spiritually

-Add no emotional trauma

- look into their eyes and truly see them, everyday

-cherish the moments and never forget this is the good old days

-To be a safe place where issues are healed not covered or exploited

-teach them to think for themselves and to be assertive

-Leaders not followers, yet respectful of authority

-Routine is resistance to wonder. Encourage my child’s sense of wonder.

-Recognize my children’s gifts, talents and joys and help them sharpen and peruse them

-Above all teach my children to love God, love others and reach out.

 

    What are or were some of your goals for you and your children? I want to pray over this list and edited as the Lord leads, then hang it on my mirror or in my office and read it every morning. I guess my list is more about myself - reminding me not to control them or forget them, but truly see them and enjoy them, and help them grow into all God created them to be. I don't want to be swept away and never truly be present.  :-)

Eat your fill

        My husband and I are proud parents of a bossy Basset Hound. I don't know what you know about Basset Hounds, but most sources say they are lazy. This can't be further from the truth in our case. Winston, is always on the go. He's loud, bossy, silly and makes friends easily :-). When we lived in the apartments there was a trail we could walk him on every day to burn energy and stay fit. He was eating about four cups of food a day! Two cups in the morning and two in the evenings. That's more than my Golden Retriever. Yet, Winston was super skinny and fit. Basset lovers always admire his healthy size, since most Bassets are stereotyped as fat and slow. Over time we slowly cut Winston's food down to three cups a day (two in the mornings and one in the evenings). He seemed fine and it allowed us to save food.
         Eventually we moved into our house. Though we have a huge backyard, Winston didn't get those long walks on the trail anymore. So we decided to cut him down to two cups a day. One in the morning and one in the evenings. I mean, if my huge Golden Retriever can live off of two cups, surly, Winston can, right? As time went on I noticed Winston acting up, he would jump on the counters, he wouldn't settle down, and wouldn't listen. I had no idea what was going on. Then one day he was eating breakfast and I saw his stomach and thought, "Hmm, He's looking kinda skinny." I told my husband I wanted to start feeding him three cups again. He agreed and we began increasing his food. I saw a noticeable difference right away. He was calm, slept more, obeyed the rules and was back to being a cheerful little guy. Today, he happily eats three cups a day and remains fit.

          As I was thinking upon this situation and my little buddies behavior problems and how a little extra food changed him back to his happy self, the Lord showed me how we act the same way when we are spiritually hungry. Hunger can cause us to act in strange ways. When we are spiritually full we are calm, we rest well, we live life respecting others boundaries, spreading love wherever we go. But when we are hungry and running on empty we are moody, short tempered, rebellious, willing to eat anything and careless of others.  It's all about us.
           If you find yourself looking in the mirror and not recognizing yourself check your spiritual diet. Are you hungry? Are you running on empty? My poor little Winston's whole personality changed when his tummy was on empty. When is the last time you've eaten something good for you?
          When we are full of God's word our lives reflect that fullness in everything we do. So, if you are noticing negative behavior and attitudes in your life, know, it's not you, it's your diet. Eat your fill on healthy spiritual things and you will see positive changes take place almost instantly.

Jason Upton - ReleaseRetreat

I love what Jason says about selling yourself and spiritually aborting your destiny to please man (starts about 20mins in). Sounds like what I've been writing in my new book. It's definitely where my heart is. Jason has an amazing way of humbling the proud and encouraging the broken. If you're broken his message will bless you.

The ones who really belong

"Be yourself, do your own thing and work hard. The right people the ones who really belong in your life, will come to you. And stay."

Catch a wave

    If you have a hard time being intimate with God on your own, the next best way to saturate yourself in His presence is to go places where He's manifesting. Hang around people who are manifesting Him. It's not a copout.
     I can't tell you how many times I was feeling spiritually dry, and went to an event where I knew people would be flowing in the Holy Spirit and prophetic gifts. As soon as I walked through the doors, BAM, I was hit with God's manifested presence. If you can't create a wave then catch a wave, hang around where the waves are crashing. Trust me you will get soaked. Before you know it you will be creating waves and catching waves when you're all alone worshiping. It will rub off on you.
      Sometimes we are in a dry season, not because God wants it that way, but because life pulls us down. That's why we need each other. Come surf my waves! We sharpen each other and encourage one another. Sometimes we need someone else to fill us up. There is no shame in that. Other times people are still young and immature to spiritual things and need some help. Again, no shame. Ride my waves.
      Over the years I've learned what events, or gatherings host His presence. So my hubs and I make a point to go for a refreshing. I will warn you, once you've experience the true and living God in a manifested way you are ruined for anything less. Places that used to fit you wont be able to hold you anymore. You can't go back.
      It's an amazing thing when God's presence rests on you and His spirit abides in you. There is a difference when you are running on empty and when you're running on full. Hang around people and places and help keep you full.
          God wants to speak to you and move through you.