{Of The Year}

Sort of how I’m feeling right now…lots of expectancy for  2013.

As the new year starts, I can’t help but smile. I truly love new beginnings and that’s exactly what a new year offers. I recently spent some time reading through my old journals and oh goodness at the treasures scribbled there. A recurring theme in my journals is my growing intimacy with God and that brings me such joy. So as 2013 begins I wanted to have a verse of the year, a word of the year, and a song of the year.

Verse of the year:

My lover spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one and come with me.” Song of Songs 2:10

I love, love, love the imagery that this verse provides. It reminds me once again that I am the Bride pursued. God pursues and it’s my responsibility to step out and follow Him.

Word of the year:

INTIMACY

As I mentioned above, over the past two years I’ve been awakened to the glorious truth that God desires intimacy with me. I can truly say that this has radically changed my relationship with Him. Intimacy takes intentionality and I want the desire of my heart to be to cultivate intimacy with Christ. I snagged the piece below from an article in Set Apart Girl months ago, and it reflects my heart for intimacy beautifully…

“That is what the gospel is all about – how to get the wrong man out, and the Right Man in – and to exchange the Lie for the Truth! On your own you cannot do it! But I have good news for you! You can’t! But He can!”

“As I am meditating on this truth recently, I thought about the beautiful harmony that exists when a groom offers his adoring bride, who absolutely delights in the ability of his strong arm to protect, aid, and fight on her behalf. As a woman, she depends on her man – and loves every minute of it! She does not walk around resenting help or bitterly trying to prove she doesn’t need him. Rather, her joyful dependence on him creates a sweet intimacy in which she is willing to make herself vulnerable to him, for she knows he will only wield his strength for her good, and will never refuse to give it.”

“Likewise, as the Bride of Christ, it is our great joy and privilege to enter into an unceasing intimacy with our soul’s Husband, as He becomes the moment-by-moment source of our righteousness, purity, and holiness.”

Song of the year:

“Called Me Higher” by All Sons and Daughters

I know that I have been called to deep and abiding intimacy with Him. As I step out to follow His calling to come higher and go deeper, it will effect every part of my life. I want people to know that there is something different about me. That when we interact they would think “there’s just something about that girl.” And that will be because of my relationship with Christ.

I urge you to listen to these lyrics. So powerful.

Nothing Holding Me Back

Good morning, sweet friends! I had the most wonderful fall break. My break contained so much joy and I'll be be back to share lots of photos soon. In the mean time, I wanted to share this song with you as you get ready to start a new week. I urge you to listen to the lyrics...they hold such richness and truth.

"Thank You for Your death and resurrection
Thank You for the power of Your blood
I am overwhelmed by Your affection "

 

As another busy week starts, I'm holding onto the truth that nothing stands between me and Him. He desires an intimate relationship with me and that truly is overwhelming. I hope that I never become numb to the grandness of this. 

Focused on Jesus

Ever since I first read Jennifer's post on marriage and ministry a few days ago my thoughts have kept cycling back to this statement of hers…

“I want to finish well. I want to be more in love with my husband after 50 years of marriage than I am now. I never want to sacrifice my relationship with him on the alter of ministry, work or anything else. I don’t want a ministry or child focused marriage, but a Jesus focused marriage.”

As soon as I read her words I stopped to soak them in. A “Jesus focused marriage.” Even though I’m single and am no where near being married, I was struck by her description. Everything within me desires for my marriage one day to be focused on Jesus. I want for my marriage to be rooted deep in Him. I want my marriage to grow with Him at the very core of our relationship. The more I love Christ, the better I’ll be able to love my husband.  Like Jennifer, I want to be more in love with my husband with each year of marriage.

Such a relationship doesn’t come without work. It means guarding my marriage fiercely. It means investing in my husband every single day. It means the only thing he is second to is my relationship with Christ. It means that Jesus is the core of our marriage.

As I thought about how I could use the time now to better prepare for such a marriage, I was challenged with another thought. The best way I can prepare for a Jesus focused marriage is to have a Jesus focused life. It seems obvious, but how often I stray from this. I never want to sacrifice my relationship with Christ for anything else.

In many ways, I must guard my relationship with Him like I will my marriage one day. I can’t allow anything to sway my heart away from Him. Everything in my life flows from my relationship with Christ. He is my focus. Even though my passions flow from Him, I must be careful that I don’t become so caught up in these that I push away intimacy with Christ. My passion for teaching is the example that stands out the most. Although I know teaching is my ministry and will fill a large aspect of my life, I can’t allow this to become more important than abiding in Jesus.

I want to be more in love with Jesus in 50 years than I am now and this also doesn’t come without work. It takes intentionality in building a Jesus focused life. Every day I have a choice to respond to His invitation or not.

“There is no event so common place but that God is present within it, always hidden, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not to recognize Him.” –Frederick Buechner

Today I choose to recognize Him. I choose to see Him in the early morning breeze. I choose to see Him while I walk to my classes. I choose to see Him when a stranger responds to my smile. I choose to see Him in the changing leaves. I choose to see Him while I’m at work. One day at a time I will work on building a Jesus focused life.

Divine Romance

Last week I was reminded again that God deeply desires intimacy with me. Not only does He desire it, but He pursues me fiercely. I was in a funk last week and I let myself become numb to this truth. I was overwhelmed with classes and work. Mostly I was struggling with being single.

I didn’t struggle with this over the summer, so I was flustered with myself for being discontent now. It started to creep in when I moved back to school. It seemed like everywhere I looked on campus there was a couple holding hands or making starry eyes at each other. I started to notice how many girls had an engagement ring on their left hand. I wondered when God would bring my guy into my life. With all that’s within me I want God to script every detail of my earthly love story, but part of my heart also longs for His timing to align with mine. I want to have a man after His heart enter my life and pursue me. I want to grow in love with this man who will one day win my heart. These desires aren’t inherently bad because I do believe that God has placed them in my feminine heart. BUT, they were starting to consume my thoughts…they were becoming an idol.

Last week as these longings reached a climax I walked into my bedroom after a long day and saw this…

I was so overwhelmed by the beauty that I sat on my bed and just stared. Although God didn’t audibly speak to me, I felt like He was whispering “I am here. I am pursuing you. Always.” In that moment as the sunset slowly slipped away I was reminded again that I am the bride pursued. I have a divine romance with the same God who has painted every sunset. He pursues me even when I shut myself off from Him. He pursues you just as fiercely.

God woos us...."Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her." -Hosea 2:14

God always comes..."Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth." -Hosea 6:3

God finds you to be beautiful..."How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves..." -Song of Songs 4:1

God is in love with us..."You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace." -Song of Songs 4:9

God longs for us to spend time with Him...."..Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me." Song of Songs 2:13

I discovered this a few years ago, and it captures what’s on my heart…

“Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone; to have a deep soul relationship with another; to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God says, "No, not until you satisfied, fulfilled, and content with being loved by Me alone, and with having intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone, discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found; only then will you be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with Me. Exclusive of anyone else, exclusive of any other desires or longings, I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing, one that you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best. Please allow me to bring it to you. You just wait. That's all. Don't be anxious. Don't worry. Don't look around at the things others have gotten or that I've given them. Don't look at the things you think you want. Just keep looking off and away up to Me or you'll miss what I want to show you. And then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than you could dream of. You see, until you are ready (I am working even at this moment to have both of you ready at the same time), until both of you are satisfied exclusively with Me and the life I have planned for you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me; and this perfect love. And, dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love; I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me, and to enjoy materially and concretely the love that I offer you with Myself. Know that I love you utterly. I am God. Believe and be satisfied."

I leave you with this today…I urge you to soak in the lyrics.

I Found Love.

I discovered this video posted on Amanda's Facebook page and I wanted to share it with all of you…

Did you get goose bumps too?

One word stands out to me…JOY.  After I finished watching, I couldn’t help but think about what joy means to me. Many things flooded my mind…

laughing with my parents

freedom to worship my Father

thunderstorms at night

being silly with my friends

conversations over coffee (or tea!)

kids

being able to bless someone else

dancing in the kitchen

writing and receiving handwritten letters

vibrant and life-giving classrooms

Christ centered marriages

being able to relate and connect with someone

set apart femininity

cozy friday nights at home

All of the above bring a special sweetness to my life, but they aren’t my ultimate joy. No, that deep and satisfying joy is found somewhere else. My ultimate joy comes from knowing the God who breathed life into all creation. The God who sent His Son to earth to rescue me before I even knew I needed rescuing. The Lord who spilled His blood so that I may be redeemed. Now, I can have an intimate relationship with the God who holds the stars in His hands. I have joy because I found Love. This God is the source of my ultimate JOY.

And you know what is even more amazing…my joy in Him multiplies the sweetness of all the other little joys.

“You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.” Psalm 4:7

Truth.

Good morning, sweet girls! I wanted to share with you a little wisdom from Amy Carmichael that I’m resting in today. I have so many dreams and desires tumbling around in my heart that I can sometimes become discouraged when they don’t come to pass in the way I planned or in my timing. BUT, I’m learning to surrender them to the One who created and placed them in my heart in the first place. He knows me intimately. He knows the desires that are deeply embedded upon my heart. He also knows what’s best for me even when I don’t see it that way.

I want to encourage you today to trust in the Lord who knows you SO intimately. He knows your heart. One of my favorite songs is “Waiting Here For You.” There is a line where Christy Nockels sings, “You’re the Lord of all creation and still you know my heart…” I’m so overwhelmed when I soak in the grandness of that statement.

Rest in the truth that the Lord of ALL creation knows your heart. Joy comes from knowing that!

Warrior-Poet

{source}

As I was sorting through various documents I have on my computer, I stumbled upon a powerful quote I saved a while back. It came from an article in the Set Apart Girl Online Magazine…although I’m not sure which issue. In the article, godly men with hearts after the Lord shared their advice about waiting for God to script your love story. Here is one that stood out to me:

“Do not focus on the warrior-poet, but rather THE Warrior-Poet (Jesus). Make Him the big deal of your life. Get away from the nonsense of looking for the “right guy” and lose yourself in Jesus. It is when you are completely obsessed, lost in, consumed with Him, that He will orchestrate, in His perfect timing, an encounter with a true warrior poet. I know we warrior-poets are seen as a rare treasure, but so is a true Christ-built woman of God. I am not interested in a “religious” girl, not even one who is radical – I want a woman of God who is grounded in the Word, who delights in Jesus alone, who cares not what the world thinks, dresses and behaves with the highest standard of modesty, dignity, and honor. It is far more appealing, enchanting, and romantic to find a Godly woman who is lost in Jesus than one who is worried about finding the right guy to marry. But remember, our precious Jesus IS faithful, good, and overflowing with love. Trust Him.” –Anonymous warrior-poet

The truth of his words makes my heart pound now just as much as when I first read them. They stuck a chord within me and made me wonder about my life. Does it reflect that of the woman he described? Is Jesus my deepest joy and delight? Am I wholly grounded in the Word? Etc.

In so many of these areas I fall short, but I rest in the fact that I'm able to start fresh each day. Each morning I'm able to give the Lord my heart and pursue Him again.

However, as a young woman, I also wonder about when "my guy" will enter my life. I wonder about when and where it will be. I dream about those details. Sometimes I just wish he would come into my life out of thin air, but where is the worth and excitement in that. In my heart I know that God is using this time to prepare us as individuals. I can feel that the Lord is preparing my heart for him to be brought into my life whenever that time may be (hopefully sooner than later).

But, I have no desire to search for a man because I know that God is more than capable of bringing one into my life. My future husband will be a great blessing to my life, but he will not complete me. My identity is only found in Christ and I want to be wrapped up in Him. When the Lord does begin to script my love story, I'll look back on this time with thankfulness. I'll be glad I spent this time building a foundation of finding my deepest joy in my First Love.