Jeremiah 31:35
This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that it's waves roar-The Lord Almighty is HIS NAME.

Perhaps “AMERICA” is tired of everyone being so “young and perfect”…

I have to say I am surprised to see who won on American Idol. ( I didn’t watch any of it) Instead of picking the typical Strikingly beautiful YOUNG girl, with long legs, long beautiful hair,..., I was surprised to see that “America” picked someone with a good voice, with gray in his hair, and who probably wouldn’t be on the cover of People magazine for the sexiest man alive.

The motto everywhere seems to be,… the younger (skinnier, perfect skin, etc) the better. And it keeps getting younger. It used to be an artist (no matter the music genre) was considered young if they were in there 30’s, then it became there 20’s and now you have to be a teenager! What’s really sad is that it’s creeping into our churches! NOT GOOD!!

Recently, I had a friend say to me, "what's up with all of the young, stick figures on stage in churches, these days?'...

The "world" seems to only place value on those young and perfect, they have become the voice…(who are ‘they’ anyway? Hollywood ?) it’s not God’s voice…and it shouldn’t be the church’s voice either! We all matter to God!

Perhaps “AMERICA” is tired of everyone being so “young and perfect looking”…

I love hearing inspiring stories of those of every age, those who’ve struggled through theri own adversities, and began to serve others, like Joni Erikson Tada-creating a camp for those with spinal chord injuries. Or others who have retired (in their 50-60’s) & then become missionaries, or who have gone into the inner cities to help the homeless, or an 80 year old blind woman who made phone calls from her apartment (with her brail yellow pages) and lead 1,000’s to Christ. These are the real hero's! The real role models!! people over 20..heck people over 50!!!

But if we don’t speak up, teenagers across the globe will think that turning 20 is horrible, when they have so much to look forward to. Or if they have a blemish or if they are not a size 4 they are not worth anything. Such lies from satan, to keep us from the purposes God has for us. (if satan can get us to become discouraged...he has suceeded.)

The church, those of us with the power of the Holy Spirit living inside us, have life breathing messages...& we need to speak up!

No matter if you have grey in your hair, no matter what your age, shape, disability or ethnicity…God wants to use you. You are NOT used up! God Loves and Adores YOU!!! He can and will use you, for HIS kingdom purposes. Just ask HIM.

I Samuel 16:7 The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all of your soul and with all your strength.

The Davinci Code

Today is “opening” day for the movie “The Davinci Code”.
So many opinions about this movie…from, “what’s the big deal? It’s fiction! -To- “ it’s blasphemous”, etc…

Should believers go & see it? that you need to pray about. But if those in our families or work places go out and see it, we need to know what they are talking about & have an answer to give. (Lot’s of informative books out, by Lee Stroebel )

But what is funny to me…is that out of all of the religions in the world, Christianity and Jesus Christ are the ones that are always “picked on”. How many Saturday Night Live, or Mad TV skits, or Sunday morning comics are making fun of Christ? a ton!…You never see any other jabs, or “fictitious” stories about Buda, or Mohamed (well except for recently with that Comic Strip in England, …and then look what happened? A bounty was put on their head!)

So what does all of this mean to me? …Well, the bible says in John 12:31, that satan is the prince of this world. His job is to confuse and to distort the truth or belief in Christ.

Does Buda or Mohamed threaten satan? NOPE…because satan KNOWS that JESUS is the ONLY way. That Christ is the Way, the Truth and the LIFE! so why not try and slander Christ' reputation or have people question it. He is threatened by Christ! Ha…and he should be, because guess what? I know who wins in the end…and it’s NOT satan (the little lizard that he is) Hallelujah! (Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.)

We need to know our stuff. We need to dig deep. We need to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. I am convicted even now to be in the Word, more and more. WE need to be so close to God that we can hear His heartbeat and the whisper of our names.

The enemy has been defeated
Death couldn’t hold You down
We’re gonna lift our voice in victory
We’re gonna make Your praises LOUD!!!

Shout Unto God with a Voice of Triumph! (Hillsong United)

Cookie

This entry is dedicated to my friend Lisa, who had to say good bye to her dog Cookie yesterday. I love you sweetie.

Lifter of My head

There’s a cry in my heart, for Your glory to fall
For your presence to fill up my senses
There’s a yearning again, a thirst for discipline
A hunger for things that are deeper

Could you take me beyond?
Could You carry me through?
If I open my heart? Could I go there with You?
(for I’ve been here before)

But I know there’s still more
Oh, Lord, I need to know you

For what do I have, if I don’t have You Jesus?
What in this life could mean any more?
You are my rock, You are my Glory
You are the lifter of my head, lifter of this head

(written by*Tim Neufeld)

Psalm 3:3 But thou, O LORD, are a shield about me; my glory, and the lifter of mine head.

Since I was little, I’ve hated goodbyes. Always have, always will. Drive me past an airport, and I’m a blubbering idiot, that’s just me. For whatever reason God has allowed me to get so close to people, that have eventually moved away. And no matter how many times you say, “things won’t change between us”…they eventually do. It sucks. Life’s hard like that.

As I am faced with watching yet another friend (Aaron) leave…I am reminded of some goodbyes from the past.

I have had many friends, who either due to change of schools, job relocations, or have gotten married & have moved away and not one of them has been easy for me. The hardest goodbye (and one that is still hard to write about) was saying goodbye to my brother, Steven. I will never understand why God moved my brother away,…from me. I understand God moving him away from Michigan, our church, etc…but not me.

I have one of the most incredible relationships with my brother. It’s just the 2 of us. And since I can remember, he has always been my best friend. We did everything together. We were inseparable. (That is until he got his driver’s license. Eventually, I ended up being able to stay out as late as he did, “as long as I was with him” per Mom)

We are not the trendiest of people, but in each other’s eyes, we are the coolest. People might not think we are funny, but we think we are hysterical! We are each other’s biggest fans. We would pray together about everything! -School, our parents, my boyfriends, his girlfriends, etc. He would ALWAYS point me to Christ.

We would go to concert after concert together. We would always get yelled at by someone to “sit down”. Come to think of it…that still happens to me. HaHa.

There are times even now; during a concert I will just cry, missing him. (Silly some might say, but again, that’s me!) I’ve been blessed to have front row seats at concerts and he would have LOVED it. Concerts are just not the same without you, bro.

We are alike in so many ways, yet opposite in others. We tease and say, that we were the ‘Christian’ Donnie & Marie Osmond. LOLOL but it’s true. We are musical. (He’s far better than me) However, when we are together something just happens. God moves in us, and those around us. We could sit for hours, with Steven playing the guitar and he and I singing. (Till this day it’s one the FIRST things we do, when either of us gets together. And now we add my nephew Josh! It’s awesome!) We were a team. I still remember the first time; I sang without him…whew (with tears) that was tough.

It has been quite a journey. He moved away in 1992, and God has done so much in Steven’s life.(and mine) His ministry, his gifts have flourished in ways that could have NEVER happened if he had stayed in Michigan. He now lives in Missouri. (A suburb of Kansas City) We do our best to make it feel like we are not so far away. Calling each other during a concert or sending videos or Cd’s of him teaching, leading worship, etc.

He’s been able to get away and become the person God created him to be. And now he is soaring on wings of eagles. He has written worship songs that are now being done in churches out West. I am so proud of YOU Bro.

Time has taught me a few lessons. As hard as it is to say good bye, I would never want to be selfish and have someone “not leave” when they need to pursue what God has for them. Also…God has plans for me, and sometimes (even though it’s hard to see) needs for me to be alone, to teach, to grow, to stretch.

I am reminded of the verse in Proverbs, that Christ is a friend who is closer than a brother. (That’s huge for me!) Jesus is the one I have learned to draw near to. He is truly the one who is more than enough.

However, I am still grateful for the friends, for the family, …for my brother, that God allows me to do life with.

Resue HUG

Glory

Psalm 19:1
The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 57:11
Be Exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

We called this our “Glory” picture, on our way back from the Great Barrier Reef.