“God is my victory and He is here.”

Tomorrow I return to school, friends.

I am excited.

I am also expectant.

Because I know that God has big plans for me this year.

Even though I don’t know what they are.

But He is doing something completely new in my life.

And I am looking forward to this change 110%.

Listening to a new song called “Desert Song”. It’s by Hillsong. I love the words and the music.

Today, Mother is fixing spaghetti for lunch. Her spaghetti is my favorite food. Therefore, I am ultra-excited.

We sang “Nothing but the Blood” as a congregation in church today. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard in a long time. I love the harmonies. It is such a powerful song - the confession of our own hopelessness and the declaration of redemption and hope we have through His blood.

God is good.

“O, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.

No other fount I know - NOTHING but the blood of JESUS.”

“SEE”

This is the most amazing story I have heard in a long time, if not my whole life. Watch this clip from the Chapman family’s appearance on Larry King Live this past Thursday.

Two Weeks from Today

I’ve been reading a book for school entitled “In The Name of Jesus”. It is by Henri J. M. Nouwen, and its subtitle is “Reflections on Christian Leadership.” This book was deep, but most of the points he made were incredibly true and understandable. I wanted to share a few with you.

“The question is not, ‘How many people take you seriously?’…but, ‘Are you in love with Jesus…Do you know the incarnate God?’”

“But when we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive,  gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.”

“The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God.”

“…leadership, for a large part, means to be led.”

This is one of my favorite quotes from the book: “It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life.”

These are just a few of the insights I found extremely eye-opening. I would expound on them, as I usually do on everything, but really they’re self-explanatory. I do suggest, however, that you find time sometime in your life to read this book.

Today I Listened.

The most common thing I forget to do in my relationship with the living God is listen.

Most of the time, I talk about everything.

Very rarely do I listen to Him speak to me.

But today I did.

This whole summer, my heart has been overshadowed by the past.

I have questioned God. “Why did You let this happen? Why can’t I be where I was? I’m so LOST!”

This is what God said when I finally shut up.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” The verses go on to say, “I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

I have hope.