Like A Sheep.

The last 2 weeks have been difficult. I haven't felt close to the Lord at all. I haven't had the desire to spend time with Him. I've been in a rut. God kicked me into 4-drive and told me it's time to get out. 

I have been so overcome with my flesh lately. I have been giving into temptations that I know would have been shielded if I had been saturating my heart in the Word. I have been so selfish and unmotivated in just about every aspect of my life: friendships, work, school, prayer, reading the Word. 

This morning I was flipping through the Psalms and came across the longest one of them all, Psalm 119. My eyes quickly found verse 36, and that's when He did it...He told me it was time to come back.

"Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain."

I want my Groom back. I want to feel loved and "wooed" again. The book of Hosea is a parallel to what I've been going through these last 2 weeks. God won me, He let me stray, He let me experience the emptiness that life is without Him as the center, and He was patiently waiting my return with outstretched arms.

He's way too good for me, but yet, He loves me anyway...a truth that is most difficult to grasp. 

I encourage you with this: If you have found yourself straying from God...go look for Him. He's waiting for you. He won't be upset or disappointed...He'll just be glad you came searching for His love.

Check out Luke 15:11-32 if you have some time.

Heaven is bleeding purple and gold

Over the past month, JMU has seen 5 deaths. Our campus is shaken right now. People who don't know God are praying. People who don't know each other are loving one another. Compassion fills the campus. Hearts are broken for the Dukes who's lives ended so suddenly.

God is stirring. He is answering the prayer that CRU has been praying for almost a year now...revival. God wants to make Himself known to JMU, He wants to show people what He can do for them and the incredible comfort only He can provide. It is so difficult for me to not know if those 5 souls knew Jesus, but I pray that they did. That alone puts the urgency in my heart to proclaim the name of Jesus to JMU. Now, more than ever, is when people have questions and are searching for answers. Jesus has equipped us with the answers. We are being called into battle for Him. Satan looks at this and cannot wait to start corrupting hearts even more. But we, as disciples of Jesus, must defend with the only thing we have that can defeat Satan...Jesus. 

I know we don't understand tragedies, but God's gift to those who believe is peace.

"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him." -Nahum 1:7

Praise You in this Storm - Casting Crowns

This should be the Truth in our hearts.

Show this campus Your grace.

25 Hours With Him.

I’m not really sure how to put into words the experience of 25 hour prayer.

Background: 25 hour prayer started Thursday (Nov 10 at 10:30pm) and went until Friday (Nov 11 at 11:30pm).

Exhilarating. Convicting. Enlightening. Powerful. Difficult. Vulnerable. Fruitful. Rewarding. Unifying. Intense. Beautiful. Sanctifying. Encouraging. Sacrificial. Cold. Genuine. Satisfying. Patient. Real. Experimental. Submissive. Passionate. Active. Joyful. Incredible.

God really showed Himself to me through it. I had some legit time with Him. He worked in my heart and brought to surface areas in my life that I had no idea were sinful. I’ve experienced powerful prayer, but this tops it all. For 25 hours, I surrendered my time, my desire for food, and sleep to spend time with Him. The reward was so incredible. He provided the strength and energy I needed to really listen and respond to Him. I could literally write for hours about everything that happened, but I don’t know if that’s necessary. God knows what happened. He knows what went on in my heart. He’s knows the impact He made on each person who came. 

A few things that happened:

Group prayer

Shared testimonies

Praising Jesus while watching the sunrise

Prayer for nonbelievers

Prayer for JMU (CRU, professors, students)

Time in the Word

Discussion about the characteristics of God

LOTS of "hobo coffee" (coffee + hot chocolate mix)

Unity among believers

Early mornings are so worth it.

There is nothing more glorious than waking up before the sunrise and spending time with the Lord. Wednesday morning prayer is just so rejuvenating and energizing :) I never leave wishing I had stayed in bed for that extra hour. Instead, I usually find myself saying "Why don't I do this every morning?" This morning my heart was so full of praise and eagerness to spend some time thanking Christ for answering prayers and literally handing me blessings I don't deserve to be a part of :) 

God has put someone absolutely precious in my life in the past 2 weeks and I have gotten to spend some awesome time with them talking about their life and how God has been knocking on the door of their heart all semester. Last night over dinner, this person realized that they are confident in wanting to give their life fully to the Lord :) Praise Jesus to the max! God not only blessed their life, but mine as well. He reminded me of His ability to draw people to Him. He refreshed the gospel in my heart and renewed the joy that He saw I was lacking. He reminded me of what is really important in life and that all my other petty worries don't even compare to the gift of salvation. 

"The gospel is that you are more sinful and flawed that you ever dared believe yet can be more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope at the same time because Jesus Christ lived and died in your place." -Tim Keller

I'm seriously beaming with joy and I love how God charms me every day to fall more and more in love with Him. I've had a great morning...if you can't tell :) It's beautiful outside and I cannot wait to see the blessings He has in store for today.

new find! Heaven in a cup :)

it's a good day to bring out the red boots :)

Enthralled by your beauty

The men of JMU CRU are absolutely wonderful :) Saturday night they served all the beautiful women of CRU with a delicious dinner and showed us so much love and encouragement. Blessed beyond belief.

<3

Shiloh :)

Our table and our wonderful waiters

"The King is enthralled with your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord." -Psalm 45:11

His Only Weapon: Lies

Starve the flesh and feed the spirit. 

Such an anchor of Truth.

What is your stronghold? That question has been on my heart for 4 months now. I've had lots of answers over those 4 months and have seen God work to tear down the lies that have kept me from completely believing in Him and transform my thinking in a way that is more like His.
I don't think we're ever not struggling with something. Some times yes, it may be more difficult than others, but I believe there is always something we're struggling with (I know that's the case for me). 

I came across this quote today, "starve the flesh and feed the spirit" and I believe God wants me to really dissect this and examine how doing this would/will look in my own life.

"Satan lacks the authority to lock believers in a prison of oppression, so he works overtime to talk us into staying." -Beth Moore

If we starve our flesh, Satan has nothing to work with. There's nothing for Him to turn into a lie in attempt to "woo" us into slavery.

So how do I "starve my flesh"? Don't give into temptations. Turn from the desires you know aren't from God. Take yourself out of situations that you know could give Satan an easy way in. 

What does "feeding the spirit" look like? Read God's Word, read it often. Fill your heart with Him. Surround yourself with Christians. Pray like you text.

Starve your flesh. Don't give into the lies. That's all he has to work with. If we cut him off, he's got no other means. Feed the spirit. Quench its thirst for knowledge and Truth.

"Then you will know the truth, and the Truth will set you free" -John 8:32

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." -Isaiah 26:3

Not the usual.

After reading Psalm 30 this morning, I had a major desire to just start writing. The result was a poem...not my usual writing style, but we'll go with it. 

Confession: I got my friend Amy to read it before I posted it just to make sure it didn't sound ridiculously corny. She gave me an all clear, so here it goes.

I don't know what my life has in store

"Just wait," You say, "and I'll give you more."

My patience almost always runs thin,

And I find myself asking for forgiveness again.

But that's the beauty of Your grace, 

It's the reason why You came and took my place.

Your daughter, the one who was entangled in pride and lust

Was saved because she found the One that she could trust.

Her wailing turned into dancing and praise

All because of Your power to raise

The Savior to prove the You are true.

My God, this world needs You.

My sackcloth was replaced with joy and peace

Knowing your love for me will never cease.

This I promise: I will not be silent about You

Because You, my God, make all things new.

Regardless of past, present or future mistakes

You will always do whatever it takes

To remind us of our eternal security,

The gift of cleansed hands and a renewed purity.

The verses that really captured my heart this morning were verses 11 and 12:

"You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever."