Your Story: A Peter or a Paul?

My whole life I have known who Jesus Christ was. I went to church since I can remember, and never really had a time in my life that I was not covered by belief in Jesus, whether it be my parents' belief or my own.  I remember it was the sixth grade at lunch time and my friends and I were discussing our testimonies, which were to be given at our graduation from elementary school. At that place in life it was more impressive to have been 2 years old when you accepted Jesus, but I remember thinking to myself, "Well nothing has really happened in my life, so I don't have a good testimony." That was the first time I began to agree with a lie.

Middle school and high school came along, and I would hear of amazing stories at camp or church of people whose lives had been radically changed by belief in Jesus Christ. I began to hide from situations where I would have to tell my testimony because in my eyes "I didn't have one." I had never known life without Jesus. I had lived that "peachy" life with a loving family, parents still married, Christian school, obedient respectful friends, church involvement, and the whole nine-yards.

At times I would wish I hadn't known Jesus my whole life, because then my faith in Jesus "would actually mean something." I looked at others thinking that their faith was greater or better because they had REALLY changed when Jesus entered their lives. But my story didn't have that pivotal moment. It had always been this steady relationship.

As I went to college I still faced those thoughts. I remember a girl my sophomore year, telling her testimony in small group and if you could go through it...she'd been through it. Her story was dramatic and intriguing. She looked at me when she had finished and told me I should go next. I remember wanting to hide under the table and thinking, "Me? oh please no! Not after that amazing story of redemption and rescue! Nothing has happened in my life."

It wasn't until my Senior year when my then small group decided to do life maps. You take your life year by year and find the highs and lows, the memorial stones of that year. I sat there making a timeline of all the big events and realized for the first time in my life...I had been through things. I had been through alot. It wasn't as severe as some, but I saw in that moment the grace of the Lord sparing me from certain things, but also his discipline taking me through those dark valleys.

I realized, I have a story. I have a testimony that no one else in this world can say they have.

At my women's group, we are doing memorial stones again (speaking on events that show God's hand). A sweet lady discussed how she had not been a Christian until a few years ago, and has struggled feeling shame of not having grown up Christian and not feeling acceptable compared to those who had.

In that moment I realized something...we have all been believing a lie!!! Both sides, those who have grown up Christian and those who had not, believing that the other group was more "worthy" more "acceptable" more "Christlike." What a lie of the enemy!!

And the Lord spoke three words to my spirit in that moment. "Peter and Paul."

Peter and Paul. In those two men lies the exact contrast that causes trial this day.

Peter grew up Jewish, honoring the laws his entire life, knowing God intimately, walked with Jesus from day one of his ministry. He was a humble fisherman.
Paul grew up Jewish as well, a well-studied wealthy scholarly Pharisee, yet he hated Jesus and all Christians. He supported the murder the first martyr, Stephen, and countless other Christians.

When comparing the two, one might think that Peter was better than Paul because Peter hadn't done any of those "worst sins" like murdering. But Peter had his own faults against God, denying Jesus Christ three times, the very man he lived life with for 3 years (Luke 22:31-34).  God didn't see either better or worse than the other. And because of his mercy, he used both to spread the Gospel to the entire world.

The beauty of this comparison is that yes both had drastically different pasts, but they both had a moment of belief, one's more dramatic than the other but significant none-the-less.

God knows exactly how to reach each of us. Some of us need a bigger wake-up call than others, while others are whispered to in that quiet place. But neither story is greater than the other.

Both of these men had horrendous lows: Paul - his murderous hateful past, Peter-denying the God of the Universe he swore to defend to the death. But the most beautiful thing I see in both of these men's stories is that they both were abundantly covered by the mercy of God.

Both men could have forsaken all they knew about God, lowered their heads and ran away to spend the rest of their lives hiding from everyone who knew their past. But NO. INSTEAD they chose to deal with their past of failure. By the power of God, they chose to accept the mercy of Jesus Christ and press on to share the Good News with the entire world. Paul speaks the truth himself, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil.4:13)

"Few unmistakeable evidences glorify Him more than powerfully restored lives that humbly and authentically proclaim His faithfulness to the death." - Beth Moore

The beauty comes from realizing our pasts are not perfect, whether Christian from day 1 of our lives or only yesterday. The beauty lies in the fact that no one has to stay in their past. Realize God's faithfulness to forgive and choose to accept his mercies!

So my sweet brothers and sisters,  whether you are a Peter or a Paul, choose this day to accept the mercies that are "new every morning"(Lamentations 3:22-23).  You have a story and it is a grand story.

Peter asked Jesus in John 21, what will happen to John in his life? Jesus replied "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?" (v.23)

Jesus says to us, "Do not compare yourselves my sweet children.  My story for you is YOURS, and yours alone. It is a story that I love, because it is perfect and good. So good. So rest in that, know that your story is my joy. Keep your eyes on me, 'Come, follow me' (Matt.4:19)."

We expect everyone to be perfect, except the One who is.

In Middle School, the Lord began to stir my heart to tell girls of the Savior's adoration of them. I recently found something that had really spoken to my soul. It comes from "Who Calls Me Beautiful" by Regina Franklin, an amazing book every woman should read. It is truly so beautiful, and such a perfect Word from the Lord for his daughters.

Before the beginning of time, I knew you. I knew what color your eyes would be, and I could hear the sound of your laughter. Like a proud father who carries a picture of his daughter, I carried the image of you in my heart, for you were created in my image. Before the beginning of time, I chose YOU. I spoke your name into the heaves, and I smiled as its melody resounded off the wall of my heart. Even your name gave me great delight.

You are mine. My love for you extends farther than the stars in the sky and deeper than any ocean. You are my pearl of great price, the one for whom I gave everything. I cradle you in the palm of my hand. I love you even in the face of your failure. Nothing you say or do can cause Me to stop loving you. I am RELENTLESS in my pursuit of you.

Run from me - I will love you.

Spurn me- I will love you.

Reject yourself - I will love you.

You see, my love for you was slain before the foundations of the world, and I have never regretted the sacrifice I made for you at calvary.

When I see every part of who you are, I marvel at the work of My hands, for I whispered words of longing and desire and you came into existence. You are beautiful, and I take pleasure in you - heart, mind and body. You are MY DESIRE. When you turn your head in shame and despise what I have made, still I reach for you with gentle passion. YOU are MY BELOVED and I am yours.

Here are some quotes that go along with this precious word:

Efforts to have a beautiful face and body rarely come from the desire to reflect more accurately the body of Christ. Rather, they have roots in the desire to make ourselves "pleasant to the eyes" (Gen. 3:6)

Beyond the dreams and illusions of childhood is One who calls me beautiful. His voice never falters, never ceases, even when I continue my childhood games, even when I keep listening to voices other than His.

Prufrock's love song is a cry to be known by a world that imprisons him in superficiality. It is a world that pretends to know life while it withers in spiritual death.

She lives with a divided heart, for she believes in Christ's ultimate love for her and yet feels burdened by her inability to love herself. Her struggle becomes an issue of spiritual pride - an inability to allow Christ to be enough beauty for her and unwillingness to allow others to see her insecurities.

I knew with my head, but not with my heart, that my beauty and worth are found in Christ.

We hear words of failure in our minds because we actively choose to give them an audience.

When we deride ourselves, we curse God's creation.

The world did not create me and does not know me. God did and does.

The only way we will ever know true, pure physical beauty is to seek a life of true, pure spiritual beauty.

True beauty is a life lived for Christ.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, I know who's fairest of all. His name is Jesus and because of Him I cannot define beauty as this world does. 

~~~~

Is it not incredible that even in our lowest times, when we feel like God's greatest disappointment we can STILL bring a sparkle to our Savior's eye!? How often we forget about the love of our God! The other day the Lord opened my eyes to this: We expect everyone to be perfect, except the One who is.

Wow. I was shocked. What a truth! We expect our family to serve joyfully, love constantly, and forgive  easily. We expect our spouse to never fail us or hurt us. We expect our friends to never leave us and to always encourage us. Yet everyone on this earth fails us. 

And then there is our view of the Lord. We expect him to be angry when we fail, not forgive us when we repent, blame us for all the evil, be harsh when we ignore him, forget about us, think us ugly and disgusting, not want anything to do with us. And yet...he is none of those things!

He reacts just the way we could only dream of!! He forgives when we repent, he responds in gentleness, compassion, grace, and kindness. What we expect out of all people, we can only expect from him, and yet we don't even do that! 

Oh how he loves! How he loves! He will never let us down. He will never ever ever ever...ever fail us! He is the lover of our entire being: heart, personality, body, quirks, voice, everything. 

This reminds me of a baby. When you hold that precious baby for the first time nothing comes to mind except "Wow, you are so perfect my sweet precious child!" The parents see absolutely no flaw in their child. And THAT is how God sees us! All beauty and all perfect. YES. He sees us as PERFECT. He does not see our faults, because of what Jesus Christ of Nazareth did upon that cross on the hill of Golgotha.   We are white as snow, precious and holy in the eyes of our Lord. 

He does not look at or dwell on our past. So why do we!? Let us fix our eyes upon the Savior, let go of our past as he already has done, and live for the glory and the honor of our Savior. For he loves you, greater than all. 

He loves you. 

Your Heart

Your love has ravished my heart, and taken me over.
And all i want is to be with You forever. 

So pull me a little closer God, take me a little deeper.

i want to know Your heart.

Your love is so much sweeter than anything i have ever tasted.

i want to know your heart oh God.

You alone are all i long for, all i care to know. i want to feel you close, so close.
i want to feel your breathe upon my face, i want to feel the fire burning in your heart.
 i want to know You.

i want to see the eyes that looked upon a prostitute with grace,

that saw the first light shine in the sky, 

that sees the forgotten, 

that looked upon death as hope,

that saw beauty in the ashes,

that sees my inmost being and yet still loves me. 

i want to see the feet that carried the Redeemer of all creation,

the feet that willingly stepped into a world of sin,

the feet that made ground holy, 

the feet that were washed by a condemned woman,

the feet that were nailed to a tree,

the feet that walked the road of Calvary.

i want to see the hands that knit me together in my mother's womb,

the hands that washed the sinner's feet,

the hands that measure east to west,

the hands that hold the universe,

the hands that blessed the fatherless,

the hands that touched the untouchable,

the hands that showed the way,

the hands that calmed the storm,

the hands that were worn and weathered,

the hands that were pierced for my redemption.

i want to see the side that was speared for my transgressions,

the brow that carried a crown of thorns,

the lips that sang forgiveness over murders,

the face of glory.

Yes Lord, let me see those eyes, those feet, those hands, that side, that brow, those lips, that face.

 Let me see your glory.

Let me see your face.

Pull me closer. Take me a little deeper. I want to know your heart. 

Because your love is so much sweeter than anything I've ever tasted. 

How great Your love is for me. How great is Your love.

You could love me more in a moment, than all the lovers could in a lifetime.

*inspired by the song Closer by Bethel*

How much do you want?

Where do I begin? Well firstly, hello. :) 

I haven't been able to post much this semester as school has been insanely crazy. But finally, spring break is here, and I can finally catch my breath. It amazes me that it is my last semester in college. But I am surprisingly excited about the new adventure the Lord is leading me on. He guides me so tenderly. 

Never before in my life have my eyes been opened to so much so quickly! I feel like the Lord is showing me so many new things, I don't even know which one to dwell on! But what a blessing! I truly have no desire to be anywhere else than where I am right this moment. I am overwhelmed at the faithfulness of my Father. I simply ask him to increase my faith, and he blows me out of the water (gently of course : )

So I suppose I should share with you some of what the Lord has revealed to me? Here goes.

Over Christmas break, the Lord has shown me the lack of the Holy Spirit in the western church. This is absolutely tragic. Here in the western church, we acknowledge and include in our doctrine the Holy Spirit, however, there is little else. Without the Holy Spirit, a church is simply a building full of people talking. If the Holy Spirit were to leave the church, would it look any different? I fear we would still stick to our by-the-minute routine every sunday, and not realize the lack. However, I know with full confidence there are quite a few people who would notice this lack, and already do. 

My point is this: We must invite the Holy Spirit, the presence of God, to dwell with and in us. There is an infinite amount of love and power in the Holy Spirit, and yet we do not even seek it!

"We may have as much of God as we will. Christ puts the key of the treasure-chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we want. If a man is admitted into the bullion vault of a bank, and told to help himself, and comes out with one cent, whose fault is it that he is poor? Whose fault is it that Christian people generally have such scanty portions of the free riches of God?" - McLaren "Streams in the Desert"

The Lord has graced me with the experience of seeing the Holy Spirit's power through several healings in the past few months, and allowed me to tangibly feel the "leap of faith" it takes to welcome in the workings of the Holy Spirit. I want to take all that I can from the rich inheritance of Christ! May we never cease to take from the fountain of Living Water. 

I want to see a church rise up that depends upon the Holy Spirit for everything, a church that  welcomes the Spirit before all they do, and seeks the presence of God before going into routine. I want to see a church that doesn't just read the word of God and tell us to worship it; I want to see a church that realizes without the Spirit, the Word is just words. 

God is infinitely bigger than our comprehension, and he has given us the Holy Spirit to show us that. Yet we remain satisfied with "one cent," one ticket to salvation, one check off the Christian list. May it not be! God has so much more for us in this life even! He longs to show us his majesty and power! Why do we not take from this! People think miracles don't happen anymore or that God doesn't speak prophesy through his people any longer. Have they ever thought that it is perhaps because we have stopped asking or thinking we need it?

Don't limit God. When you limit God, you are only limiting how much he uses you, not limiting his power. He will just move on to use someone else if you are not willing. But  I choose to be willing, and I pray you will be too. Let us choose to rise up and claim the calling we have been given. 

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him." 2 Chronicles KJB 

 He longs to show himself strong! We need only to ask and believe that He will! 

"I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. " 

Ephesians 4:1-6

Let us not neglect the Spirit. He is God. Let us not limit him, but with faith pray for big things. This generation has been called to step out of the shadows and rise up to the calling. We will not stand idle. We will glorify the Father of Heaven, stand upon the salvation of Christ, and put into action the power of the Holy Spirit. And in this way, He will make heaven on earth a reality here. 

Let Him be Glorified

A couple months ago I received a call from from the non-profit we support in our sales, OneVerse. They called asking if my donation was a one time deal or a monthly commitment. I then was able to explain to them Three Remain and the purpose behind it. They were very excited about it and so asked me to be interviewed for their monthly newsletter.

I never started this to bring glory to my name, but God's name. And he has been utterly faithful to act and bring glory and honor to his name. My God is so amazingly faithful, I cannot understand how he could be so good. But with this publicity has come quite a lot more business. I rely upon the Lord to help this business and I know he will show his faithfulness once again. He will be faithful to the end.

OneVerse Three Remain Article


Here is the article written about God's business. He is faithful to go beyond our wildest expectations. All glory and honor be to my Savior, for he is certainly so good.

I hope you feel his presence today and are reminded of his steadfast love for you. May you have an intimate encounter with our God this Christmas season.

Blessings.

Predestined to Be.

Scripture is eternal. It is the Word of God and will last forever. It holds treasures that will take forever to uncover and understand. Charles Spurgeon said,

"There is enough in the Bible for you to live on forever. If your life should outnumber the years of Methuselah, there would be no need for a fresh revelation. If you should live until Christ comes back upon the earth, there would be no necessity for the addition of a single word. If you should go down as deep as Jonah or descend as David said he did into the belly of hell, there would be enough in the Bible to comfort you without a supplementary sentence" (Holy Spirit Power p.20).

Enough. There is more than enough in this blessed treasure! What we know of the Holy Book, we will keep with us for all eternity. That is why it is so important for us to know it deeply and better than anything else in this world. It is a command:

"Seek and read from the book of he Lord" Isaiah 34:16

I watched this Youtube video by the poet Janette...ikz (Genetics) called I Will Wait for You.

It made me realize the bigger picture of the message of the Bible stories. I have grown up in the church my whole life and always heard the Bible stories. But I saw for the first time, the amazing character qualities as a whole that the people of the Bible hold. She goes into depth about the characteristics of the men in the Bible, and a few of the women. I love how she noticed the "attention to detail of Noah." These qualities are ones that God intends for us to have as his children. Going off of her list I wrote a piece about what the women of scripture show us, their sisters.

My God, my God, you cry out to us,

"My holy, set apart, daughters

Rise. Rise and become what I have predestined you to be.

For you are mine, and I have a glorious future for you.

I have knit you to be a Woman of God.

A woman with the

boldness of Esther's step, and

the unshakable loyalty of Mary Magdalene.

A woman whose hospitality of Lydia 

aligns with the submission of Mary

which is engulfed in the tears of a praying Hannah.

I have formed you to have the

wisdom of Abigail

amidst the discernment of Deborah.

You were not meant for insecurity or doubt, 

but rather to have the strength of Jael 

and the tried faith of Sarah.

You are to forget your past and accept the name Christ has given you.

Redeemed.

Take hold of this redemption with the courage of Rahab.

 I have destined you to proclaim my Truth

with the insight of the prophet Anna

and the endurance of Hagar.

You are my bride, my wife.

Act so, with the charity of Dorcas, 

the selflessness of Martha,

and the humility of her sister, Mary.

I long to have you, with the warm closeness of Ruth.

Trust in my promises. 

Follow me with the trust of Rebecca.

You are my Beloved daughter.

Rise.

You have been predestined before your first breath to be this woman.

But you cannot achieve his on your own.

You need me to refine you, try you, and stretch you.

But this purpose for which I have created you, will come to pass.

Indeed, my sweet, it shall come.

It will be difficult, but draw near to me.

I will redeem and restore the years that the locust have stolen away. 

I will sing sweet melodies as I rejoice over the woman you are becoming.

You are beautiful, and I seek to create even more beauty in you.

My Beauty.

I yearn for the day when I shall bring you to my Father,

Presenting you with utmost joy, saying,

'Look Father! Look at my bride! Her beauty goes beyond the earth. 

She is my bride, and she is a heavenly being.

She is beautiful.

She offered herself in utter humility to be molded and refined.

And look what I have created her to be.

I made her into the perfect image you held in your heart of her

from the day you created her.

She is restored. Redeemed. Complete.'

This is what I long to say on that day I bring you Home. 

My love, this is what I have in store for you. 

Let me shape you, let me form you.

My plan for you is glorious.

So rise. Rise up and declare on this day who you will be.

You will be the Woman of God displayed in My Word.

You will take your place as my bride.

Rise. Be my bride.

Come, and be."

Praise the Lord, oh my soul!

Hello sweet brothers and sisters!
Our God is so good! I would love to share with you all what he did this past weekend. We had a craft show where we shared a table with our sister company A Whimsy Willow.

The Lord was so gracious and the highest selling products were the Three Remain scarves and bracelets. He is surely faithful to bring glory to His Name, and that is the cry of this whole entire endeavor, that the Lord's name be glorified.

Picture courtesy of OneVerse.org

As a result of the great work the Lord did, we were able to give half of the proceeds of the Three Remain sales to OneVerse and translate 4 verses for the Arew people of Tanzania! Four verses may not seem like alot, but each verse is $26 dollars to translate. This money goes towards:

"Your OneVerse gift funds six major steps to bring God’s Word to a new heart language. They are:

• Creating a first draft translation of the text
• Forming a language team to review the first draft of the translation
• Testing the new draft of the translation within the indigenous community
• Checking the translation by translating the draft back into English or another major language
• Professional language consultants to review and check the translation
• A final check of the translation prior to publication

Undergirding each of these project steps are training and mentoring, consultation for translators, computers, printers, translation software, office supplies, transportation, salaries or the equivalent and other necessities." (Oneverse.org ; http://www.oneverse.org/faqs)

As you can see, it takes alot to translate even one verse. They must take the original Hebrew scripture and translate it into a language, taking into account the root words, tense, context, etc. 

With the proceeds the four verses translated this weekend were: 

John 5:18 "For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

John 5:19 "Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 
John 5:20 "For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 
John 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.


I am so excited to see where God takes this endeavor. It was his inspiration that began it, and will continue it. Without Christ we "can do nothing," we only seek to glorify His Name and bring His Word to those who do not have it. 


All glory to God our Father, who is faithful beyond our wildest dreams and expectations. He is so so SO Worthy. Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord.