Have you taken time lately to hear whats going on in the world?
In my communication class this week we learning the importance of listening - one of the points in the book was that more times than not, we listen to what other people say so we can respond to them with our thoughts and opinions on whatever the issue is. We listen to respond. Instead of listening to hear. When's the last time you listened to someone, just hear them? I had to get myself in check on this one - I usually listen to respond. I think more of us are guilty of it than we would like to admit.
hear this:
Chile's mining minister expressed optimism Thursday that the 33 miners trapped since early last month 2,300 feet (701 meters) below ground here will be rescued in early November and maybe sooner.
The Census Bureau has released its annual poverty report showing more people are living at or below the poverty threshold. This means many are finding themselves there for the first time.“Maria,” who was too embarrassed to give us her true name or allow us to photograph her face, says she and her husband have had to sell their most cherished possessions.“We sold our wedding rings, our furniture, everything,” said Maria.
Sheryl WuDunn says, "Before long, we will consider sex slavery, honor killings and acid attacks as unfathomable as foot-binding. The question is how long that transformation will take and how many girls will be kidnapped into brothels before it is complete -- and whether each of us will be part of that historical movement, or a bystander."
Guatemalan police on Thursday were searching for a drug trafficker who initiated a shootout with police at a shopping mall the day before.
These things are going on in the world, and we don't even think twice about them... is it because they seem to be across the globe, and have no effect on us? Or is it because we have "other" things to worry about... more important things...
I got in a 'debate' with a friend today about the idea of having a female president - I understand that we all have different opinions about this, which is fine - but I think through this talk that we were having, i discovered that there was really an underlying issue. In multiple places throughout the bible, it talks about men being the head of the house hold - Paul tells us that men should love their wives the way Christ loves the church - even giving His life for her; and in return wives are to submit to their husbands. (Eph.5) I completely agree with this - and will do it gladly.
But what if we took gender out of the equation? what if we were submissive and loved each other in the greatest form, that we would even lay down our lives for eachother if it came to that?
The underlying issue is not the gender of our president - the issue is that we get more upset with each other about issues like this instead of getting angry over what's really wrong in the world.
when i asked him if he would vote for a godly woman over an ungodly man to lead this nation, which he would pick... the answer was somewhere along the lines of "the woman- but that choice would only happen because this country isn't full of christians"
I feel like it doesn't take much to realize that the body of christ is lacking in doing its job around here - I mean, the two greatest commandments are to Love God and to Love People... right? So if we are legitimately following Jesus than we would be more worried about taking care of the orphans and the widows and the poverty stricken than we are. Jesus said "What you do to the least of these, you're doing to me" (Matt 25) I think we should take that seriously. Its time we get angry about the things are wrong in this world - we waste our time and our breath with arguing about things that are so controversial that we will probably never agree on, and then we get mad at each other for having opposing ideas...
Hear this:
"What is, therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: "Faith, hope, and love"? That sounds beautiful. But I would say - courage. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack today is not psychology or literature...what we lack is a holy rage - the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets, and when the lie rages across the face of the earth...a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To rage against the ravaging of God's earth, and the destruction of God's world. To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of militaries. To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction peace. To rage against complacency. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God. And remember the signs of the Christian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish... but never the chameleon." - Kaj Munk
Will people know who we are by the things that make us angry?
I once heard that if only seven percent of professing christians in the world adopted an orphan, there would be no more orphans...
What is making you angry? We must get a grip on a Holy rage - the world is watching our every move... a world that is searching for something stable, something true, something that lasts... we hold the answer - it replinishes itself. We can never get rid of it - when we empty our cups, they get filled back up. We have to stand up for something that matters.
It's time we run hard and fast after something that can rock human history until it conforms to the norm of the Kingdom of God... He wont relent until he has it all. Get angry about something.
9.17.2010
9.09.2010
Overcomers.
Fifteen years ago, 1 in 288 teenager girls cut themselves.
Fifteen years ago, 0% of teenage boys cut themselves.
One of my good friends, Alison, moved to India this passed summer and is living there for the next year... She emailed me last week and asked me what she could be praying for me and I got to tell her what God had been doing in my life.
I grew up around boys. All the time. Before my Sophomore, junior and senior year my best friends were boys... I liked to believe that they made better friends; less drama. Growing up, if my dad and brother were doing one thing and my mom and sister were doing another, you'd usually find me with Craig and Luke. It's just the way I was.
My junior and senior year of highschool I developed a passion for connecting with young women, and walking through life together. I was constantly being reminded that us girls gotta stick together. We have to be for each other. It's the only way we'll make it out.
The Lord has been so faithful. I ask the Lord to place girls in my life that I need to meet. Girls I need to mentor me. Girls I need to invest in. Girls who will probably end up changing my life.. I'm in a new city at a huge university and I'm surrounded by girls everywhere I turn. I live on an all girls floor, and I'm constantly with girls from my sorority. I've gotten to meet so many girls who are in the same boat as I am... so many new friends to make and stories to hear.
I keep asking the Lord to show me who I am.
Who am I?
I am a daughter of the Most High King - a daughter.
I'm learning what that means. I'm learning what it means to really be a girl. I've lost a desire to be "one of the guys" - I want to be who God has created me to be. Girly, and pretty, and joyful, and classy, and lovable.
She is more precious than rubies, and she will greatly enrich his life. She is energetic, and strong, and hard working. She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. - Proverbs 31
I've been asking God to show me who I am... how to be His girl. His daughter. His wife, the church.
I am more precious than rubies, and I will greatly enrich his life. I will strive to be energetic and strong and hardworking. I will extend a hand to the poor and open my arms to the needy. I am clothed with strength and dignity, and I laugh without fear of the future. When I speak, my words are wise and I will give instructions with kindness.
Life is hard, and sometimes it's too hard to be who we are called to be. We are overcomers. We are not meant for this world. We were created for another one. The life after this... We are called to be IN this world, but not OF it.
Today, 1 in 5 teenage girls cut themselves.
Today, 1 in 7 teenage boys cut themselves.
Sometimes life interupts our plans... we get stuck in a moment that feels like it will last forever. We can't see past the darkness that we live in... we feel like hope is non existant.
Hope is real. We are overcomers. Remember the light - it is coming for you even when you cant see it. Your story matters. You were created to be a Proverbs 31 woman. Talk to someone. Your words are worth something. Your life is more precious than rubies.
Who are you? You are an overcomer.
Fifteen years ago, 0% of teenage boys cut themselves.
One of my good friends, Alison, moved to India this passed summer and is living there for the next year... She emailed me last week and asked me what she could be praying for me and I got to tell her what God had been doing in my life.
I grew up around boys. All the time. Before my Sophomore, junior and senior year my best friends were boys... I liked to believe that they made better friends; less drama. Growing up, if my dad and brother were doing one thing and my mom and sister were doing another, you'd usually find me with Craig and Luke. It's just the way I was.
My junior and senior year of highschool I developed a passion for connecting with young women, and walking through life together. I was constantly being reminded that us girls gotta stick together. We have to be for each other. It's the only way we'll make it out.
The Lord has been so faithful. I ask the Lord to place girls in my life that I need to meet. Girls I need to mentor me. Girls I need to invest in. Girls who will probably end up changing my life.. I'm in a new city at a huge university and I'm surrounded by girls everywhere I turn. I live on an all girls floor, and I'm constantly with girls from my sorority. I've gotten to meet so many girls who are in the same boat as I am... so many new friends to make and stories to hear.
I keep asking the Lord to show me who I am.
Who am I?
I am a daughter of the Most High King - a daughter.
I'm learning what that means. I'm learning what it means to really be a girl. I've lost a desire to be "one of the guys" - I want to be who God has created me to be. Girly, and pretty, and joyful, and classy, and lovable.
She is more precious than rubies, and she will greatly enrich his life. She is energetic, and strong, and hard working. She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. - Proverbs 31
I've been asking God to show me who I am... how to be His girl. His daughter. His wife, the church.
I am more precious than rubies, and I will greatly enrich his life. I will strive to be energetic and strong and hardworking. I will extend a hand to the poor and open my arms to the needy. I am clothed with strength and dignity, and I laugh without fear of the future. When I speak, my words are wise and I will give instructions with kindness.
Life is hard, and sometimes it's too hard to be who we are called to be. We are overcomers. We are not meant for this world. We were created for another one. The life after this... We are called to be IN this world, but not OF it.
Today, 1 in 5 teenage girls cut themselves.
Today, 1 in 7 teenage boys cut themselves.
Sometimes life interupts our plans... we get stuck in a moment that feels like it will last forever. We can't see past the darkness that we live in... we feel like hope is non existant.
Hope is real. We are overcomers. Remember the light - it is coming for you even when you cant see it. Your story matters. You were created to be a Proverbs 31 woman. Talk to someone. Your words are worth something. Your life is more precious than rubies.
Who are you? You are an overcomer.
8.23.2010
Run With Purpose
I LOVE COLLEGE. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I'M HERE.
I feel like this whole experience is a dream... I always thought I was made for high school. I loved everything about high school. The teachers, the administrators, the events, the dances, the mud fights... I had the greatest high school experience, and I would defend that to my death. I dont think I would go back and change a single thing if I was given the opportunity. I built relationships in that high school that I know will stick with me throughout life, relationships that prepared me for the future.. relationships that taught me to always stay "childlike" in my faith. If anything, I was definitely blessed with shaking the right hands at the right time.
Now I'm in college, and honestly... Its just about the exact same. I still have teachers that I could really love, I still have events to attend... fun surrounds me in every direction I turn. I still have so many of the same opportunities, but on a bigger scale. My friendships have expanded... new friends galore :)
The only difference is this: I dont have my parents to tell me what to do and when do it... They dont wake me up before church and wait for me while I'm getting ready. I'm on my own. I have the opportunity to find a family that I'm unfamiliar with... its uncomfortable, but it's so rewarding. I've never been so far out of my comfort zone, but I couldn't be more blessed. I've been pushed out of the nest, and I'm beginning to spread my wings.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that for the last 18 years my parents have been raising me for this very time... to go out and be who I am destined and created to be. To love and to be loved.
I went to a church called Antioch yesterday, and I completely fell in love with it. I loved the way God spoke through the pastor, Chris. The sermon was about the parable of the sower and the lesson of "planting seeds". He also spoke from Acts 17 where Paul explains that from one man came every nation, and God has already decided when each of us would rise and fall. He knew that I would come to OU and He knew I would be a Theta and He knew I would be involved in different organizations and he knows the things that I dont even know yet... He ordained every second of my life, before he even created the world.
For in Him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28
It was said of David that he was a man after God's own heart... What a reputation. I can only hope that someday someone will say that I was a woman after Gods own heart... In Psalm 27 David says "The one thing I ask is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life."
That was the one thing he desired. To constantly be in the Throne Room. Thats it.
He didnt ask for anything else. Not a companion or a house or a family or a job or money or whatever else they had back in his day... He just wanted to be before the Lord all the days of his life.
4 years. If that.
I have four years to walk this campus. To love these people. To pour into these lives. To learn from these professors. To teach these professors. To grow in this city. To plant seeds here. To water seeds here. To reap harvest here.
The next four years are a blank canvas. Every decision I make is like a paint stroke that ultimately paints a picture. Today is the beginning.
I want to run hard and fast after God. I want to spend every day of my life before God in His throne room. I want my words and my actions and my decisions and my thoughts to make Jesus famous...
So I run with purpose in every step... 1 Corinthians 9:26
Wherever you find yourself today, tomorrow... You are beginning a new day. It's a new start. A fresh start. Run hard and fast... He has ordained your every move, your every breath. Never forget that you are called and equipped. Even if you're not qualified, you're called! Let God make up the rest, and he will... He loves you, so much. He watches over you and laughs at the silly things you do and say.
You are never alone.
I feel like this whole experience is a dream... I always thought I was made for high school. I loved everything about high school. The teachers, the administrators, the events, the dances, the mud fights... I had the greatest high school experience, and I would defend that to my death. I dont think I would go back and change a single thing if I was given the opportunity. I built relationships in that high school that I know will stick with me throughout life, relationships that prepared me for the future.. relationships that taught me to always stay "childlike" in my faith. If anything, I was definitely blessed with shaking the right hands at the right time.
Now I'm in college, and honestly... Its just about the exact same. I still have teachers that I could really love, I still have events to attend... fun surrounds me in every direction I turn. I still have so many of the same opportunities, but on a bigger scale. My friendships have expanded... new friends galore :)
The only difference is this: I dont have my parents to tell me what to do and when do it... They dont wake me up before church and wait for me while I'm getting ready. I'm on my own. I have the opportunity to find a family that I'm unfamiliar with... its uncomfortable, but it's so rewarding. I've never been so far out of my comfort zone, but I couldn't be more blessed. I've been pushed out of the nest, and I'm beginning to spread my wings.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that for the last 18 years my parents have been raising me for this very time... to go out and be who I am destined and created to be. To love and to be loved.
I went to a church called Antioch yesterday, and I completely fell in love with it. I loved the way God spoke through the pastor, Chris. The sermon was about the parable of the sower and the lesson of "planting seeds". He also spoke from Acts 17 where Paul explains that from one man came every nation, and God has already decided when each of us would rise and fall. He knew that I would come to OU and He knew I would be a Theta and He knew I would be involved in different organizations and he knows the things that I dont even know yet... He ordained every second of my life, before he even created the world.
For in Him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28
It was said of David that he was a man after God's own heart... What a reputation. I can only hope that someday someone will say that I was a woman after Gods own heart... In Psalm 27 David says "The one thing I ask is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life."
That was the one thing he desired. To constantly be in the Throne Room. Thats it.
He didnt ask for anything else. Not a companion or a house or a family or a job or money or whatever else they had back in his day... He just wanted to be before the Lord all the days of his life.
4 years. If that.
I have four years to walk this campus. To love these people. To pour into these lives. To learn from these professors. To teach these professors. To grow in this city. To plant seeds here. To water seeds here. To reap harvest here.
The next four years are a blank canvas. Every decision I make is like a paint stroke that ultimately paints a picture. Today is the beginning.
I want to run hard and fast after God. I want to spend every day of my life before God in His throne room. I want my words and my actions and my decisions and my thoughts to make Jesus famous...
So I run with purpose in every step... 1 Corinthians 9:26
Wherever you find yourself today, tomorrow... You are beginning a new day. It's a new start. A fresh start. Run hard and fast... He has ordained your every move, your every breath. Never forget that you are called and equipped. Even if you're not qualified, you're called! Let God make up the rest, and he will... He loves you, so much. He watches over you and laughs at the silly things you do and say.
You are never alone.
8.06.2010
The Countdown Begins...
6 DAYS UNTIL I MOVE INTO MY NEW HOME IN NORMAN OKLAHOMA...
I can't believe it. I have a rush of emotions filling my heart and my head. I'm nervous, and exciting, and confident, and hopeful, and anxious, and ready, and sad, and joyful, and willing... I have so much before me, so many new friends to meet... and so many friends that are staying behind.
There are a few people back in Tulsa who get me teary eyed when I think about leaving them... My parents, my Sister, My best friend Shelly, and my small group... I am who I am today mostly because of these people.
I've been praying a lot about what I'm supposed to leave here throughout the next six days, mostly so I can be ready instead of hesitant when I drive away.
Last monday was my second to last Crazy Love small group and we saw God move in a way we hadn't yet seen in that setting. We washed each others feet, because we knew that's what Jesus did for his friends. He set an example for them, and then told them to follow Him. We talked about the symbolism of washing each others feet and what it meant to be so humiliated that we were literally on our hands and knees washing and drying our friends' feet. We got to experience the heart of Jesus first hand. It wasn't comfortable, but it was eye opening.
What would it be like if we were serious about being humble before each other? If we literally asked people what they needed and found a way to get it to them? Whether it be a listening ear, or a blanket, or a summer scarf that we have a thousand of? What if it was a mattress or a friend or a meal? I think if we heard these needs, we would be quick to move... but what will it take for us to stop and ask? - To be so humiliated before eachother that we will give whatever we have... even if it is to wash someones feet.
My best friend, Shelly, is going to TU to play soccer... She has already moved in, and my friends and I went to go see her new room and experience "dorm life" with her. It stirred something in my heart... I was finally getting excited to move away! Then I realized, Shelly wouldn't be coming with me. Shelly has been my rock throughout the past few years... She was an answer to prayer, to say the least. She was the light Jesus put in my path when it was too dark for me to see, and when I was too weak to even open my eyes. She came alongside me, and she lifted me up. Honestly, I don't know if I would be here today without Shelly. Jesus knew what He was doing when He put her in my life,he knew we would need each other, and because of that I know we will always be friends. She has become my sister, more than anything else. We share a lot of the same passions, and a lot of the same dreams. She's going to be a Missionary by teaching someday, and I am so so so excited to see where she lands. "Spin the Globe" Shelly :)
I feel like I am too young to be moving away. I can't believe I'm going to be living without my parents. Today, my friend Margie asked me what I was going to miss the most about Tulsa and I said, "I think coming home every night and sharing feelings with my dad." I can't believe I wont be walking into my house, and seeing him waiting up for me. I can't believe I wont have my mom to come home to and cry to when I'm just having one of those days... or just need to cry. I can't believe she won't be waiting in my dorm room telling me to do something with that sassy tone in your voice... Her poweful outlook on life has shaped my personality and my sense of humor. I can't believe I wont be able to hear the two of them laughing hysterically with each other when I'm trying to sleep. I'm not Miss Independent when it comes to my family, so I think that will be one of my greatest obstacles. I guess I'm realizing how blessed I am to come from the family I come from.
My sister has finally moved back to Tulsa - and now I'm leaving her. She keeps telling me to find my "safe place" in Norman that I can go to or drive to when I need to cry - but she doesn't understand that She is my safe place. Whether we are in Florida and we wind up at the Donut Hole, or we are in Tulsa and we end up in the parking lot of Union High School... She's been my safe place, and I'm so so sad to be leaving her.
So these are my feelings about leaving - All my sisters, and my Dad.
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT WHAT IS IN STORE FOR ME. My dad sent me an email about all the things that I needed to hear as I move to college... but they were all things that could be found in my own writing: on my blog, or on my facebook wall. I know that God has been preparing my heart for all the new things that I'm about to encounter. All the new people, and new friends, and new stories, and new organizations and churches... I know that I am equipped... I'm just trusting that God will guide my steps.
"The world is knocking at your front door. Clutch the knob and open on up, running forward into its widespread greeting arms with your hands before you, fingertips trembling though they may be." -Anis Mojgani
Here is to something new. Something beautiful. Stay tuned for all the new, hectic, exciting, scary adventures that I'm about to call my life!
It is all counted as Something Beautiful.
I can't believe it. I have a rush of emotions filling my heart and my head. I'm nervous, and exciting, and confident, and hopeful, and anxious, and ready, and sad, and joyful, and willing... I have so much before me, so many new friends to meet... and so many friends that are staying behind.
There are a few people back in Tulsa who get me teary eyed when I think about leaving them... My parents, my Sister, My best friend Shelly, and my small group... I am who I am today mostly because of these people.
I've been praying a lot about what I'm supposed to leave here throughout the next six days, mostly so I can be ready instead of hesitant when I drive away.
Last monday was my second to last Crazy Love small group and we saw God move in a way we hadn't yet seen in that setting. We washed each others feet, because we knew that's what Jesus did for his friends. He set an example for them, and then told them to follow Him. We talked about the symbolism of washing each others feet and what it meant to be so humiliated that we were literally on our hands and knees washing and drying our friends' feet. We got to experience the heart of Jesus first hand. It wasn't comfortable, but it was eye opening.
What would it be like if we were serious about being humble before each other? If we literally asked people what they needed and found a way to get it to them? Whether it be a listening ear, or a blanket, or a summer scarf that we have a thousand of? What if it was a mattress or a friend or a meal? I think if we heard these needs, we would be quick to move... but what will it take for us to stop and ask? - To be so humiliated before eachother that we will give whatever we have... even if it is to wash someones feet.
My best friend, Shelly, is going to TU to play soccer... She has already moved in, and my friends and I went to go see her new room and experience "dorm life" with her. It stirred something in my heart... I was finally getting excited to move away! Then I realized, Shelly wouldn't be coming with me. Shelly has been my rock throughout the past few years... She was an answer to prayer, to say the least. She was the light Jesus put in my path when it was too dark for me to see, and when I was too weak to even open my eyes. She came alongside me, and she lifted me up. Honestly, I don't know if I would be here today without Shelly. Jesus knew what He was doing when He put her in my life,he knew we would need each other, and because of that I know we will always be friends. She has become my sister, more than anything else. We share a lot of the same passions, and a lot of the same dreams. She's going to be a Missionary by teaching someday, and I am so so so excited to see where she lands. "Spin the Globe" Shelly :)
I feel like I am too young to be moving away. I can't believe I'm going to be living without my parents. Today, my friend Margie asked me what I was going to miss the most about Tulsa and I said, "I think coming home every night and sharing feelings with my dad." I can't believe I wont be walking into my house, and seeing him waiting up for me. I can't believe I wont have my mom to come home to and cry to when I'm just having one of those days... or just need to cry. I can't believe she won't be waiting in my dorm room telling me to do something with that sassy tone in your voice... Her poweful outlook on life has shaped my personality and my sense of humor. I can't believe I wont be able to hear the two of them laughing hysterically with each other when I'm trying to sleep. I'm not Miss Independent when it comes to my family, so I think that will be one of my greatest obstacles. I guess I'm realizing how blessed I am to come from the family I come from.
My sister has finally moved back to Tulsa - and now I'm leaving her. She keeps telling me to find my "safe place" in Norman that I can go to or drive to when I need to cry - but she doesn't understand that She is my safe place. Whether we are in Florida and we wind up at the Donut Hole, or we are in Tulsa and we end up in the parking lot of Union High School... She's been my safe place, and I'm so so sad to be leaving her.
So these are my feelings about leaving - All my sisters, and my Dad.
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT WHAT IS IN STORE FOR ME. My dad sent me an email about all the things that I needed to hear as I move to college... but they were all things that could be found in my own writing: on my blog, or on my facebook wall. I know that God has been preparing my heart for all the new things that I'm about to encounter. All the new people, and new friends, and new stories, and new organizations and churches... I know that I am equipped... I'm just trusting that God will guide my steps.
"The world is knocking at your front door. Clutch the knob and open on up, running forward into its widespread greeting arms with your hands before you, fingertips trembling though they may be." -Anis Mojgani
Here is to something new. Something beautiful. Stay tuned for all the new, hectic, exciting, scary adventures that I'm about to call my life!
It is all counted as Something Beautiful.
7.24.2010
"This? This is for You..."
Tonight I came across a poem/youtube video that is my favorite of both... it is called "Shake The Dust..." by Anis Mojgani
It addresses every single person who walks the face of the earth. I think everyone and anyone can read it and relate to it... It begins by calling out to every type of person.
"This is for the benches, and the people sitting upon them." - Pretty universal. "This is for the two year olds who can not be understood because they speak have english and half God." "This is for the biggots, the sexists, the killers..." "This is for the tired and for the dreamers... this? This is for you."
It ends as universal as it begins.
"Make sure that by the time fisherman returns you are gone.
Because just like the days, I burn both ends and every time I write, every time I open my eyes I am cutting out a part of myself to give to you.
So shake the dust and take me with you when you do for none of this has never been for me.
All that pushes and pulls, pushes and pulls for you.
So grab this world by its clothespins and shake it out again and again and jump on top and take it for a spin and when you hop off shake it again for this is yours.
Make my words worth it, make this not just another poem that I write, not just another poem like just another night that sits heavy above us all.
Walk into it, breathe it in, let is crash through the halls of your arms at the millions of years of millions of poets coursing like blood pumping and pushing making you live, shaking the dust.
So when the world knocks at your front door, clutch the knob and open on up, running forward into its widespread greeting arms with your hands before you, fingertips trembling though they may be." - Anis Mojgani
I want my life to be worth it. I want to run forward into life with widespread greeting arms, and trembling fingertips. I want to be fearless. I want to see each person I come in contact with and offer them some hope just by sharing my life with them. I want to walk with people through life... I want to let go of my "plans" for my future. I want to live today - because I will never know who I was supposed to meet and what I was supposed to see today, if I'm too busy looking forward and planning.
I want to be prepared, but even more I want to be willing to learn from the moment I have today. I want to meditate on the living Word of God, and the fact that I am blessed to be here every second that I'm here. I know a lot of people who's families would give anything to have them back here... I want to shout praise while I'm still here.
Life has never been described as "easy" - so shake the dust. Remind yourself that you're alive. "Speak everytime you stand so you do not forget yourself." You matter. Your words matter. Your story matters. Your art matters. Your talent matters. Your laughter and your tears matter. Shake the dust.
"Do not settle for letting these waves settle, and for dust to collect in your veins." - Find something that makes you move for something greater than yourself.
"We are only given a little spark of madness. We musn't lose it." - Robin Williams
It addresses every single person who walks the face of the earth. I think everyone and anyone can read it and relate to it... It begins by calling out to every type of person.
"This is for the benches, and the people sitting upon them." - Pretty universal. "This is for the two year olds who can not be understood because they speak have english and half God." "This is for the biggots, the sexists, the killers..." "This is for the tired and for the dreamers... this? This is for you."
It ends as universal as it begins.
"Make sure that by the time fisherman returns you are gone.
Because just like the days, I burn both ends and every time I write, every time I open my eyes I am cutting out a part of myself to give to you.
So shake the dust and take me with you when you do for none of this has never been for me.
All that pushes and pulls, pushes and pulls for you.
So grab this world by its clothespins and shake it out again and again and jump on top and take it for a spin and when you hop off shake it again for this is yours.
Make my words worth it, make this not just another poem that I write, not just another poem like just another night that sits heavy above us all.
Walk into it, breathe it in, let is crash through the halls of your arms at the millions of years of millions of poets coursing like blood pumping and pushing making you live, shaking the dust.
So when the world knocks at your front door, clutch the knob and open on up, running forward into its widespread greeting arms with your hands before you, fingertips trembling though they may be." - Anis Mojgani
I want my life to be worth it. I want to run forward into life with widespread greeting arms, and trembling fingertips. I want to be fearless. I want to see each person I come in contact with and offer them some hope just by sharing my life with them. I want to walk with people through life... I want to let go of my "plans" for my future. I want to live today - because I will never know who I was supposed to meet and what I was supposed to see today, if I'm too busy looking forward and planning.
I want to be prepared, but even more I want to be willing to learn from the moment I have today. I want to meditate on the living Word of God, and the fact that I am blessed to be here every second that I'm here. I know a lot of people who's families would give anything to have them back here... I want to shout praise while I'm still here.
Life has never been described as "easy" - so shake the dust. Remind yourself that you're alive. "Speak everytime you stand so you do not forget yourself." You matter. Your words matter. Your story matters. Your art matters. Your talent matters. Your laughter and your tears matter. Shake the dust.
"Do not settle for letting these waves settle, and for dust to collect in your veins." - Find something that makes you move for something greater than yourself.
"We are only given a little spark of madness. We musn't lose it." - Robin Williams
7.06.2010
KUSHIKA
Kushika: v- to be held
Today, I met with my best friend Rachael who just got home from Tanzania on a Medical Missions trip. She came back with a heavy heart for many of the people that she met while she walked through the country. She spoke with tears in her eyes about the words God was speaking to her.
Kushika is Swahili for "to be held". Rachael went to Africa with one thing for certain in her heart... to reach the people of Tanzania and to give them hope; to show them that the promise was that when everything in this life fell, we'd be held.
She came back with stories of how poor these beautiful people were, but how rich they were in spirit. How thankful and joyful they were, even when they had little to show for it.
"This is what it means to be held, how it feels when the sacred is torn from your life. This is what it is to be loved, and to know that the promise was that when everything fell we'd be held." -Natalie Grant
Tonight, I sit and remember the stories of the babies I met in Arlington this past week. My heart is heavy for people. Life is tough, and sometimes it takes too much out of us to lift out own heads. We are tired and hungry and thirsty. We can't see the end and we wonder if it will ever come.
If you've had the sacred torn from you're life, remember that you are held. There is hope, and there is healing. You were never meant to face the heartache of this life alone. When it feels like you cant move on, when you cant take one more step, I pray that God will light your path just enough to show you where to plant your foot.
We must remember hope, and we must remember "Kushika". Remember what it is to be held. You are in better hands tonight.
Wherever you are, whatever you are dealing with remember that there is someone who is praying for you, someone who loves you, someone who believes in you and someone who wants to walk with you.
May you find Kushika tonight.
Today, I met with my best friend Rachael who just got home from Tanzania on a Medical Missions trip. She came back with a heavy heart for many of the people that she met while she walked through the country. She spoke with tears in her eyes about the words God was speaking to her.
Kushika is Swahili for "to be held". Rachael went to Africa with one thing for certain in her heart... to reach the people of Tanzania and to give them hope; to show them that the promise was that when everything in this life fell, we'd be held.
She came back with stories of how poor these beautiful people were, but how rich they were in spirit. How thankful and joyful they were, even when they had little to show for it.
"This is what it means to be held, how it feels when the sacred is torn from your life. This is what it is to be loved, and to know that the promise was that when everything fell we'd be held." -Natalie Grant
Tonight, I sit and remember the stories of the babies I met in Arlington this past week. My heart is heavy for people. Life is tough, and sometimes it takes too much out of us to lift out own heads. We are tired and hungry and thirsty. We can't see the end and we wonder if it will ever come.
If you've had the sacred torn from you're life, remember that you are held. There is hope, and there is healing. You were never meant to face the heartache of this life alone. When it feels like you cant move on, when you cant take one more step, I pray that God will light your path just enough to show you where to plant your foot.
We must remember hope, and we must remember "Kushika". Remember what it is to be held. You are in better hands tonight.
Wherever you are, whatever you are dealing with remember that there is someone who is praying for you, someone who loves you, someone who believes in you and someone who wants to walk with you.
May you find Kushika tonight.
6.26.2010
Unknown. Unheard. Unseen.
I was cleaning out my room the other day, and found a plethera of my old journals. I love to write, and I love to document my feelings on different subjects or experiences. I feel like the journal is my safe place. The thing I can turn to and spill my thoughts... a place I find that my thoughts actually make sense. There are times when I can't think of a single thing to put on paper, and then there are times when my fingers can write fast enough... Its always entertaining to go back and read the things that were on my heart during certain times of my life.
I love buying new journals. I love the different styles, and the art on the cover, and the quotes that are already written inside of them. People who know me pretty well know that a journal is always a welcomed gift around here. With that being said: Collectively, I have 9 journals. None of which have been completely filled. My goal is to finish an entire journal before I die. I think I can do it, it will just take dedication.
I promise this blog has more to do with it than informing you about my journals... hang in there.
I discovered my journal that I took to Amsterdam last summer, and reading the words that were written on the lines of the pages caught me by surprise. It's as if I remember feeling every word that I wrote, but now it feels like I'm reading someone else's words... I stand in amazement when I look back and remember the things I learned, or the people I met, or the way God orchestrated every detail. It is so obvious that no human being could have ever planned that trip to Amster and seen it unfold the way it did without God's hand at work. I am so blessed... today, I am reminded.
I found this journal entry:
Unknown.
How could I stand here with You, and not be moved by You? Unknown is my theme word for the week. Lord, You know every story of every person to walk on the face of this earth. Today is going to be a big day. Somehow, each of these women ended up in this place. But why? What are their stories? It's all unknown, until it is asked. the woman at the busstop, what is her story? Does she have anything that reminds her to hope? Hope. It's a mighty thing. It gives us the energy to keep holding on. to push through. Anne Frank died one month before the suffering and torture were over. She thought her entire family died. She lost hope. Maybe if she would have known her dad was still alive, she would have pushed through and survived. Hope does that for us. The yellow roses that were given to the prostitute from Singapore reminded her to Hope. Who do I need to share my hope with?
"Growth means change. Which sometimes involves risk. Stepping from the known to the unknown." -George Shinn
Unheard.
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." -MK16:15
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resoundng gong or a clanging symbol. - 1COR13:1
Tomorrow I am leaving for a missions trip with my youth group to Arlington, Texas. We will be working with all kinds of kids who live in the projects of Arlington... I think mostly running VBS camps, and loving on people. I dont know what they have heard, or what they have never been told. I dont know if they'll look at me and think, "Who is this Jesus she speaks of?" By the time I leave I hope there are 3 things I leave them with: 1) The Love of Jesus. 2) A message of hope and of healing. and 3) They are important. Their story matters. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I hope, by the end of the week, they leave VBS grasping a piece of hope that was once unheard of.
Unseen.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2COR4:5
For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in the dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. EPH6:12
(EXERPT FROM AMSTER JOURNAL):
"The spirit of Satan is so obvious in this district. It's like Satan has this place on a leash. I have never experienced such a dark place. The Light floods the darkness though. It isn't the girls or the clients or the pimps or the traffickers we are fighting against. But rather the evil that resides over them. The hatred and emptiness and bitterness and lust and rage... they are all friends and they all work together. The good news is: Love heals."
I hope that when I go to Arlington, I will see the world with my spiritual eyes. I want to see the city and the people through the eyes of Jesus. Because everything and every being has beauty embedded in it.
I am going on a new mission. It is very different than walking the streets of Amsterdam; however, it is very much the same. I am still going to invest in people. People must be restored. I am going to speak life over a city and a child. If even one child experiences Jesus while I'm there, then this week will be worth it.
Some may say that short term mission trips have a greater impact on the missionary... and to an extent, I might agree. But like my Mom always told me: "Plant seeds."
Some plant, some water, and some reap the harvest.
I love buying new journals. I love the different styles, and the art on the cover, and the quotes that are already written inside of them. People who know me pretty well know that a journal is always a welcomed gift around here. With that being said: Collectively, I have 9 journals. None of which have been completely filled. My goal is to finish an entire journal before I die. I think I can do it, it will just take dedication.
I promise this blog has more to do with it than informing you about my journals... hang in there.
I discovered my journal that I took to Amsterdam last summer, and reading the words that were written on the lines of the pages caught me by surprise. It's as if I remember feeling every word that I wrote, but now it feels like I'm reading someone else's words... I stand in amazement when I look back and remember the things I learned, or the people I met, or the way God orchestrated every detail. It is so obvious that no human being could have ever planned that trip to Amster and seen it unfold the way it did without God's hand at work. I am so blessed... today, I am reminded.
I found this journal entry:
Unknown.
How could I stand here with You, and not be moved by You? Unknown is my theme word for the week. Lord, You know every story of every person to walk on the face of this earth. Today is going to be a big day. Somehow, each of these women ended up in this place. But why? What are their stories? It's all unknown, until it is asked. the woman at the busstop, what is her story? Does she have anything that reminds her to hope? Hope. It's a mighty thing. It gives us the energy to keep holding on. to push through. Anne Frank died one month before the suffering and torture were over. She thought her entire family died. She lost hope. Maybe if she would have known her dad was still alive, she would have pushed through and survived. Hope does that for us. The yellow roses that were given to the prostitute from Singapore reminded her to Hope. Who do I need to share my hope with?
"Growth means change. Which sometimes involves risk. Stepping from the known to the unknown." -George Shinn
Unheard.
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." -MK16:15
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resoundng gong or a clanging symbol. - 1COR13:1
Tomorrow I am leaving for a missions trip with my youth group to Arlington, Texas. We will be working with all kinds of kids who live in the projects of Arlington... I think mostly running VBS camps, and loving on people. I dont know what they have heard, or what they have never been told. I dont know if they'll look at me and think, "Who is this Jesus she speaks of?" By the time I leave I hope there are 3 things I leave them with: 1) The Love of Jesus. 2) A message of hope and of healing. and 3) They are important. Their story matters. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I hope, by the end of the week, they leave VBS grasping a piece of hope that was once unheard of.
Unseen.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2COR4:5
For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in the dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. EPH6:12
(EXERPT FROM AMSTER JOURNAL):
"The spirit of Satan is so obvious in this district. It's like Satan has this place on a leash. I have never experienced such a dark place. The Light floods the darkness though. It isn't the girls or the clients or the pimps or the traffickers we are fighting against. But rather the evil that resides over them. The hatred and emptiness and bitterness and lust and rage... they are all friends and they all work together. The good news is: Love heals."
I hope that when I go to Arlington, I will see the world with my spiritual eyes. I want to see the city and the people through the eyes of Jesus. Because everything and every being has beauty embedded in it.
I am going on a new mission. It is very different than walking the streets of Amsterdam; however, it is very much the same. I am still going to invest in people. People must be restored. I am going to speak life over a city and a child. If even one child experiences Jesus while I'm there, then this week will be worth it.
Some may say that short term mission trips have a greater impact on the missionary... and to an extent, I might agree. But like my Mom always told me: "Plant seeds."
Some plant, some water, and some reap the harvest.
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