pump up my morning

this song is my hearts anthem right now, so it pretty much makes my day hearing it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmignZozEoA

The future comes alive

You speak Your word and I

I’m running into Your hope

Because I’ve seen Your light

You bring my world to life

I’m coming after Your love

I’m not shaken

I’m not letting go

And everything comes alive

In my life as we lift You higher

Let Your freedom arise

In our lives as we lift You up

Sing it out

Sing it out

Your freedom is here

I will not fear

I will not hide Your love

Your love

All of my life

I cannot deny Your love

Your love

So take the limits off

No matter what the cost

I’m running after Your call

And I will run this race

See You face to face

So let Your power overflow

true community!

i cant even express how much i love the community that i have gotten from grace midtown church :) i started going to a house church about a month ago to meet people and get plugged in better to the church that i love and it has been SUCH a blessing! i have met a ton of new people and they all love God and love people and its been so fun and refreshing to be surrounded by people that desperately want to see the Lord and be a part of what He is doing in Atlanta! i have been changed by these amazing people and have been encouraged by their hearts for God. they make me want to make the changes that i need to in my life, through obedience, to make it more like my Saviors. i was convicted the first time i went to house church because i realized how selfish i was being. i say that i love this God and then i spend my time doing things that are meaningless and a waste of time. so after that first house church, and a crappy situation the same night that reminded that God IS the only constant in my life, i decided that my life is no longer my own. i got so tired of making promises that i never kept and so i started reading scripture again. i love the Lord and i really do desire to glorify Him with my actions and i have had that mind set for a while now but i was dying inside. i had nothing filling me, i was attempting to glorify God on my own pathetic strength, not looking to His Word or His people to be an encouragement to me. i had a dream one night during this time and in it a spiritual leader in the church looked at me straight in the eyes and said "you're drowning" and i knew he was talking about my soul. i tried to blow it off as just a weird coincidence, i guess because of pride and not wanting to look weak, but eventually i figured out that that was a warning from the Lord. praise God it came because i was hurting and the joy that has come so recently is more than i can express to anyone! i want to smile so big that it hurts and i want to dance like idiot. but the reason why i want to write this blog is because i want to encourage anyone out there thats in the same place that i was. its ok. and you don't have to fix everything. just come before God with a willing humble heart ready to follow Him and He will change you! i took that step a month ago and last night was a testament to Gods faithfulness. after a rowdy time of worship at church last night i went to say hi to a few people that i have gotten so close to through house church and they just expressed the change that they have seen in me the past few weeks! i had no idea that it showed! i mean, i just wanted joy again and did what i knew would get me it and apparently it radiates!!! praise God! He shines so brightly. its nothing that i have to try to do! he fills and overflows and i get to soak in it! i pray this joy, divine relationship, and amazing fellowship for everyone reading this and their brother! i want this for everyone and so i pray that it will be. God is faithful to our prayers when they flow with the rhythm of His heartbeat and i believe that my prayer does so AMEN, let it be!

our yoke

i had SUCH a cool realization today about what this verse means! once again, i'm continuing through matthew and the very end of chapter 11 jesus says,"come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and i will give you rest. take my yoke upon you. let me teach you, because i am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. for my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden i give you is light." for a while i have known that it is not talking about egg yoke here. it is referring to what cattle or humans wear so that they are able to stay close and carry the heavy weight they are carrying easier. they share the load, they're close, they are working together to get through it easier. i never thought about the fact that by taking HIS yoke we are BOTH in it. we are walking side by side. He makes the hard things easier and heavy things lighter because He is right there helping me through it. just a nugget but SO encouraging! i have been reminded a lot lately by just how faithful God is. when things on this earth disappoint me, hurt me, let me down etc. i am reminded that God is constant. constantly good...holy...faithful...loving...perfect...and more than worthy of my praise! that is the kind of God that i live for and trust! i love knowing that my God is unwavering.

moved by the breath of the wind.

so i have been reading in matthew and today i read something and i guess in the past i just skimmed over it but today i read it with fresh eyes and it was just really cool to me. in chapter 11 Jesus talks about john the baptist very honorably. whats interesting here is that John was an odd character. Jesus obviously knew that people thought lowly of John the Baptist and so i think he just felt it necessary to plead his case. Jesus wanted people to know that some of the greatest people are the people that don't seem great at all. John was dirty, ate bugs, and was even in jail as Jesus was speaking about him. but in verse 11:11 Jesus says, "i assure you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist." i'm still trying to figure out what exactly God's favor is, but whether i understand that or not its clear that Jesus is proud of the life that John has lead and i think Jesus is giving us a clear example of somebody that would be honorable to model our lives after. i mean we are clearly encouraged to do what Jesus did but maybe Jesus wanted us to see that a real person can do it?? he lived a life that was so glorifying to God that Jesus actually said, "and from the time John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing." how cool! ONE person effected the KINGDOM OF GOD!!!! thats huge! definitely somebody that i want to study and figure out what i need to change about my life to make it look more like his. i want Christ to say one day that my life forcefully advanced His kingdom. so awesome!

Who is your God?

in the past couple years of my life i have really been trying to figure out what a life, following God, looks like. obviously i want people to see how wonderful this God is that i follow and being a living example of that has shown to be one of the most effective ways for people to see that. not talk but action. but its been a trip having a good balance of me and God where i'm playing my part and He's playing His.

i've done the "good" route where i make all the right choices and do my best to follow every rule, but that ends up pushing God to the side cause i think i got things going fine on my own.....until i don't. and in the process everybody wants to smack me cause im "soooo" good and i hide my faults trying to keep God name good, like he needs my help there.

and then i've done the lazy route where i just know God has everything in control and so it doesn't matter what I do cause everything is going turn out the way its supposed to anyway. but then i end up feeling empty, my life has no purpose and nobody see's anything different about my life. and when that happens God doesn't get the glory that His name deserves and when we don't give Him the glory He deserves, i think we forget the kind of God that He is! so then, whats the point of loving a mediocre God?

i think there is beautiful harmony that happens when we finally get real and find the balance. because it is neither all our responsibility or all Gods. God is God and He is constant. He is never going to change. He loves His people and His grace is abundant. overflowing!!! He is holy and deserves praise. and He meets our needs. He is doing His part and waits for His people to pursue seeking their role. the first step is coming to Him willing and then following in obedience. when we stop ignoring His soft voice and listen to what He has to say about our worth and what He has for us, we begin to trust Him more and more. so many people in this world settle on things that are just ok because they have drowned out the voice of the One who says they are worth more. even christians do this! i've done this! but i'm done settling. God's promises are true and so i continue to follow Him because He knows what is best for my heart and if mine stays aligned with His then our desires line up and so as long as i'm following God i will have everything my heart longs for because God is good :)