Jack-o-laterns and Snowflakes?

That's right. Harrisonburg is currently covered with about 5 inches of snow...and it's still falling. Happy Halloween! I'm not sure of my feelings towards the snow at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE snow. But I wasn't done with fall :( I still had some pumpkin recipes left in mind and I still wanted to go take some autumn pictures with my new camera. Let's just hope this snow doesn't take the leaves off the trees. (I'm being optimistic for my own sake.) 

Documented day: first Halloween covered in snow.

Quotes and Lyrics.

I just finished reading a book I started in September...which is really unlike me. I usually down a book in a week or two max, especially if it's full of some Jesus juice. If I were to choose an excuse for this one, it'd be school and my other priorities this semester. But, nonetheless, I finished it. God opened my eyes to some pretty sick realizations and used this book to motivate me as the prayer leader for CRU.

There were so many amazing points made in this book, but I'd thought I'd post some of my favorites quotes today. 1) To get you to read it! and 2) because I like the reminder of them.

God is attracted to weakness. He can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for his power. 

You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning. You can tell how popular the pastor is by who comes on Sunday night. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting.

A basic sign of revival is that the wind is allowed to blow where it will.

If you have only the Word, you dry up. If you have only the Spirit, you blow up.

But if you have them both, you grow up.

We are always either drawing nearer to God or falling away. There is no holding pattern.

People who have seeking hearts still make mistakes. But their action to rebuke and correct shows the condition of that heart. It determines what God is able to do with them in the future.

These are just some of the wonderful words of wisdom that the Lord granted Jim Cymbala. This man is a wonderful pastor, fervently seeking the will of the Lord on a daily basis.

One more thing I wanted to include (that doesn't relate to this book) is some lyrics that we sang last night at CRU. These words are incredible and literally captured my heart last night as I heard them sung.

One Pure and Holy Passion

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after You

To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in your truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you, my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
Lead me on and I will run after you

Tweet

My eternal tweet.

Follow Him.

Saturated with my Savior

If you read my blog while I was in Australia, this post will make perfect sense to you. If you answered no to the previous sentence....see my "I'm Sorry" post from July.

The "I'm Sorry" outreach that we did in Australia became a reality today at JMU. We saw so much fruit from it in Australia that we knew God wanted it to happen here at JMU as well.This was my prayer today (best stated directly from my journal):

I pray for this campus, for the lost souls of students and faculty and for the hearts behind the hands holding the signs.

Don't let fear creep in. We are David, the Truth written on our signs and in our hearts is the rock and sling, Satan trying to tear us down with persecution is Goliath.

"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." -1 Samuel 17:45

Goliath comes at David with insults of how insignificant he was; how weak he was and the lack of power or strength to even stand a chance against a 9 foot giant. David realized his significant lack of strength (and height) compared to his competition. He was completely aware of the situation, that's why he was so confident. His confident is in his Lord.

What does this show? One single pebble was used to take down Goliath. One. Little. Rock. This is a clear depiction that God does not require human strength in order to accomplish His purposes. He made the weapon of choice so insignificant so that His Significance was the only thing seen.

Today we are called to be humble, to be just like David. We must realize that our self is worthless in fighting the lies and step aside to let the Lord's power explode in the lives of the students and faculty today.

{We are nothing apart from Christ.}

Today was saturated with God, and I liked it. 

6:30am Morning Prayer with some of my favorite people.

Heart-preparing quiet time.

I'm Sorry Outreach.

Prayer Walk around campus.

Legit bible study.

This campus is being prayed for. God is stirring in hearts. People are becoming curious. Satan's getting nervous. God is about to do work at JMU.

You Will Forever Reign

This song was played at CRU tonight. I encourage you to really meditate on each Truth that is spoken about our God. Do you believe each of those characteristics? Do you live like you do?

Forever Reign -Hillsong

You are good, You are good 

When there's nothing good in me

You are love, You are love
On display for all to see

You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in

You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling

You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering

You are joy, You are joy
You're the reason that I sing

You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost its sting

Oh, I’m running to Your arms,
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say

You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim

You are here, You are here
In Your presence I'm made whole

You are God, You are God
Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing
no other Name
Jesus, Jesus

Advice from an Older Bro

Shout out to all the single men out there from: Matt Chandler

This just blew my mind (in a good way)

Two Truths and a Lie

God should fix my problems. Lie.

God wants to use my problems as a part of His sanctifying process in my life. Truth.

No matter what problem I am facing, God's grace is sufficient for me. Truth.

"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." -Job 23:10

"Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

-2 Corinthians 12:7-10

We CANNOT expect God to fix our problems. Life is hard, we're going to have to deal with it. 

We cannot judge God through the lens of our circumstances.

Comfort.

"What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."

-Philippians 3:8-11

Knowing what matters is what leads to a joyful and passionate life.

Newest Addition

This, my friends, is the newest addition to my life. 

My parents came up yesterday and brought her along :) It was quite a surprise and such a wonderful (and undeserved) blessing! Can you say perfect timing? The leaves are changing and I live in Harrisonburg...the best combination to some pretty awesome photo opportunities :)

 Fall is probably my favorite season, especially at JMU. 

Reasons why fall wins my heart:

1. The colors

2. Pumpkin EVERYTHING

3. Chai Tea Lattes

4. Bonfires

5. Cool nights

6. Carving pumpkins

7. Football

JMU DUKESSSS

Black and Gold :)

8. Thanksgiving

9. Baking

All of this makes me quite happy as I sit here in my sweatpants and sweatshirt while my pumpkin spice candle is spreading it's aroma around my room. 2 more things you can add to the list :)

Wait.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly  for salvation of the Lord."  -Lamentations 3:22-26

I came across this awesome "nugget-o-wisdom" this morning. How I have never read this before I don't know, but I'm glad I found it! I'm in the processing of waiting for something. Waiting isn't the easiest thing, but with God involved, I know it will be beneficial. 

The Greek word for "wait" comes from the root word: meno

The definition = to remain, abide; do not depart

I love that definition. While we wait, He expects us to abide in Him. Staying as close as possible to the Lord while waiting is the best thing we can do if we want to clearly hear His answer. It's easier to hear what someone says when you're close to them right? It's the same with God. 

The closer we are, the easier it is to hear Him speak.

"Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given." -G. Campbell Morgan

Persistence Shows Importance

"Ask and it will be given; seek and you will be find; knock and the door will be opened." -Matthew 7:7

Knock. It's a verb that occurs multiple times. Knocking once usually won't get someone to answer the door. We must be persistent in knocking if we want an answer. The more persistent we are, the more important our desire is. 

It's the same with prayer. We can't expect to send up one prayer and God answer us. I'm not saying it won't happen because God is indeed of doing anything. By being persistent in prayer, it shows how important our request is to us. When Jesus said, "knock and the door will be opened" I believe He was telling us to knock...multiple times. He wants to know what our desires are. He wants to satisfy them. But in order to do that, He has to see how much we want it/think it's worth.

I want to clarify, these requests should not be selfish. I'm not saying to ask God for the "perfect" boyfriend/girlfriend or a raise at work. If we are following the Lord with all of our hearts and constantly submerging ourselves in His Word, then our desires (requests) will be aligned with His. 

He wants us to ask, to seek, and to knock. And He wants us to do this repeatedly. 

Look at your heart: 

-Are you persistent in your prayers, or do you go to God only when it's convenient for you?

-Are your prayers selfish, or do you believe that God has specifically placed desires on your heart for you to lift up to Him?

Don't Expect, Just Trust.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heave and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." -Philippians 2:3-11

Acting like Christ on a daily basis doesn't come naturally. We try, but we fail. We end up making excuses or try to justify ourselves. For many I think, when they first realize that this is what they should do, they try as best they can. But very quickly they realize that it's nearly impossible to be Christ-like in every situation of the day. So they quit. 

Quitting is not what God called us to do. Quitting is something that the world has invented. Quitting in this case is saying that God isn't worth this much effort or dedication. Becoming more like Christ is not some over-the-counter remedy that can be taken and takes 8 hours to kick in. Nope, not even close. Learning and living like Christ is a lifelong process; a process full of discipline and surrender. 

The most important realization that needs to be understood in living like Christ is that it's not a duty. It's not something that we can do and give ourselves a little pat on the back. 

Imitating Christ is our response to the unending love He shows us. It's one way of thanking the Lord for the undeserved grace we are constantly receiving. It's a way of showing Christ to others. It glorifies Him. 

Don't make God a box to check. He created that to-do list.

"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him." -Philippians 1:29

Shopping Selfishly.

You know when you were a kid sitting in the shopping cart getting pushed up and down the aisles and the desire you had to grab what you were craving? My life is like that right now.There are so many things that I want to "reach out and grab" but not all of them are necessarily "healthy". 

I'm learning all about resting in the Lord and how much satisfaction that brings. Reaching for what I want is not considered resting, which is why I'm turning to the Lord for discipline on a daily basis. If God were to let me grab everything I wanted off the shelf, I would lack self-control and probably not be in the healthiest state. God wants the best for me. He wants me to rest in Him; to trust that He knows the groceries that I need, the ones that are good for me and the ones I should stay away from. He blesses us when He finds us resting in Him. Not resting is considering not being obedient. Not being obedient is a sin. God blesses those who rely solely on Him. I want to be one of those who gets a "treat" at the end of the day for being the controlled child who sat patiently in the shopping cart. And who knows, those desires for that candy we had while strolling down the sugar aisle may end up in our hands at the end of the day. God enjoys fulfilling the desires of our hearts. 

Be patient, trust and find rest. God will give you that candy.