Living under open heaven

I am the woman at the well, taken aback that this man would dare to be seen with me. 
I am Zaccheus, standing at a distance and hoping to catch a glimpse of the Messiah.
 I am Peter, promising I would never deny Him and then turning around to do exactly that.
 I am Peter, weeping when I meet Jesus’ eyes and realize that I have failed and failed big, again.
 I am Martha, running around trying to guarantee my worth and everyone else’s happiness. 
I am Mary, collapsing at His feet because I am so desperate for His presence. 
I am the adulterous woman, standing guilty for all the world to see.
I am the bleeding woman, utterly incapable of healing what ails me. 
I am a mess, in process, just like all of them. Looking through its pages, I see pieces of me all through God’s Book. 2 cor 1:19-22 19 "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us —by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”. For no matter how many promises G...

Once there was a man who dared God to speak. Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow. Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God. And I will fight. Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God. And I will listen. And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, close to a sea and waited for God to speak. And God heard the man, so God answered. He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church. He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin. He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of a soul. And God waited for the man to respond.          And He waited. . .                And He waited. . .                       And waited. But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks and not lives, seas and not souls, he decided that God had done nothing. Finally he looked to God and asked, "Have you lost your power?" And Go...

Oh Lord, You're beautiful Your face is all I seek For when Your eyes are on this child Your grace abounds to me Oh Lord, please light the fire That once burned bright and clean Replace the lamp of my first love That burns with holy fear I wanna take Your Word and shine it all around But first help me just to live it, Lord And when I'm doing well, help me to never seek a crown For my reward is giving glory to You   ”I only want to build God’s Kingdom and see it increase, not my own. If someone writes a great poem no one praises the pencil they used, they praise the one who created the poem.  Well, I’m just a pencil in the hands of the Lord.  Don’t praise me, praise Him!” “I repent of ever having recorded one single song and ever having performed one concert if my music, and more importantly --  my life -- has not provoked you into godly jealousy, or to sell out more completely to Jesus!”   Keith Green "He is no fool who gives what he cannot kee...

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness  The chains of yesterday surround me I yearn for peace and rest I don't want to end up where You found me And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west 'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again In the arms of Your mercy I find rest 'cause You know just how far the east is from the west From one scarred hand to the other I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light I need Your peac...

Dear child, Come to me because there will be no inch of Condemnation. A place you find yourself dead to sin and any kind of death but rather alive in me. You are alive and you are free. Your past will no longer have any grip upon your life because I died to give you a new life and I desire to give you life and life to the fullest- one that is beyond your wildest imagination. I am not far or distant but I live in you. I love you and gave my Son for you. I sent him in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering and so I condemned sin in the flesh so that the righteous requirement of the law is fully met in you. Not by works so that no one can boast but by grace and grace alone. Therefore you don't have to do anything to repay. Because though my grace is free, it is costly. You are precious and pure. You will no longer be a Slave to fear but you will cry out abba Father. You are a child of the most high king, heir of God and co-heirs with Christ. I will give you joy i...

You have been, and You will be, You have seen, and You will see. and still You Love me. You hung the stars, and You moved the sea. and still You Know me. Nothing is hidden from your sight, wherever I go You'll find me. This is not our home.... When I feel disappointed by God, it's because at that moment there's something I'm longing more than him, whether it be healing, deliverance, employment, and marriage might be, none of them will come close to satisfying me as much as God himself.  So when I'm disappointed by God, what does it says about my faith? Am I trusting that god himself is who he says he is for me in Jesus? Am I trusting in Him as my all-satisfying treasure? Sanctification; to set apart for particular use in a special purpose set by the designer.  Sanctification always requires God's presence. His presence is more than his "being there" a corollary of his omnipresence. It is his dynamic presence, producing fruit for...

God is our refuge  and strength,      an ever-present  help  in trouble.   Therefore we will not fear,  though the earth give way      and the mountains fall  into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar  and foam      and the mountains quake  with their surging.   There is a river  whose streams  make glad the city of God,      the holy place where the Most High  dwells.   God is within her,  she will not fall;      God will help  her at break of day.   Nations  are in uproar,  kingdoms  fall;      he lifts his voice,  the earth melts.   The  Lord  Almighty  is with us;      the God of Jacob  is our fortress.   Come and see what the  Lord  has done,      the desolation...

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8 No matter how edifying I've tried, speaking life instead of death, I've come to realize if people are broken, it is hard for them receive the love you give so freely. But love anyway. That's what Jesus did. For some, loving is tough as there stands the risk of getting hurt when love is offered with a sincere heart. However, that's self-preservation, and isn't selfless. "You love until there is pain, you love through the pain, until all that remains is love. "  ~Mother Theresa In the moment, Mother Teresa’s paradox is hard for me to understand. When my love is pushed and challenged, the last thing I want to do is love more. And while these moments, these tests of love can be painful, the hurt is temporary. The hurt is short-lived, relatively speaking. The hurt will eventually dissipate once we decide the person we choose to ...

What happened to that pure and simple heart of serving? That in every small little things I do or say, it is to put a smile on His face?  Was reminded of what Jason Wong had shared during the camp. how he humbled himself to serve.  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  Gentleness, also translated “meekness,” does not mean weakness. Rather, it involves humility and thankfulness toward God, and polite, restrained behavior toward others. The opposites of gentleness are anger, a desire for revenge, and self-aggrandizement. It takes a strong person to be truly gentle. “And with his hard, rough hand he wipes / A tear out of his eyes.” This is gentleness. Might restrained. Humility and grace. When we are filled with the Spirit’s fruit of gentleness, we will correct others with easiness instead of arguing in resentment and anger, knowing that their salvation is far more important than our ...

come away with me,  come away with me,  it's never too late, it's not too late, it's not too late for you. I have plans for you, I have plans for you. It's gonna be wild, it's gonna be great, it's gonna be full of me.   For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ( Jer 29:11) Trust in the LORD  with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (proverbs 3:5-6) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) there are still too many conundrums that i am grappling with, but i do pray that in the near future, things that seem so divergent now may cease to be parallel lines, that somehow it may converge in the most beautiful of ways when i least expect it. all is not lost when...

\ \we have this hope as a anchor for our soul, firm and secure.. One of the girls did this and shared with me what love is to her. "Love is try to feel what they feel. It is giving more than receiving. It is being there when all else fails. It is acceptance. Love is learning to love yourself before loving another. Love is when you don't give up. " It speaks to me with regards to this job. To love and hope like a kid again. Love is patient and  kind; love  does not envy or boast;  it  is not arrogant   or rude.We  It  does not insist on its own way; it  is not irritable or resentful; it  does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but  rejoices with the truth.     Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,  endures all things. "I got a dream.." Feeling surreal to hear this from the girls. Having dreams means they still have hope. and hope, faith and love is what a broken world needs. From 2013 to no...