"You Really Want to Do This!"

Ready for a challenge?
1. Go HERE
2. Right-click the player.
3. Select "Save video as"
4. Save it wherever you usually do on your computer.
5. Find it and put it on your mp3 player/iPod
6. Go on an hour long walk...(3-4 miles depending how fast you walk) and listen away.
Startiiiiing NOW! :)
Seriously though, you do really want to do this. Promise.

Home Sweet Apartment

I'm officially a Sioux Center resident again! Living back home for the past 5 1/2 months was such a blessing and exactly where I needed to be for the time, but I am a big girl and ready to get out on my own again. :)

Call me weird, but I think setting up my apartment is so much fun. Over the summer, I was making little things that I was excited to put in my apartment.

See Exhibit A:

Isn't it cute?? I printed it offline in black 'n' white and then colored it in with my color-choice. It doesn't match my cute little teapot so much, but at least it matches my bright yellow coffee pot! :)

So the main things in my apartment are set up, and now I'm finishing up the final touches. A few years ago I had read an autobiography by Mother Theresa. I loved so many of the things she had to say, that I wrote a bunch of them down in a separate notebook. I've now taken those quotes and put them in my apartment.

One of them is this:

I have this on my bathroom mirror. (Radiating--get it?!) Obviously, I've also included a verse that reminds me that Jesus is indeed completely in love with me, so I have no excuse not to radiate that love and pour it out on others. More of Him and less of me! 

Just a guess, but maybe some of you see that Song of Songs verse and immediately think that it's a book about husband & wife. I don't disagree with you--parts of the book certainly can be applied that way. But there are some kinda weird things in there that I find super hard to apply to just husband and wife love. Like how is it romantic that the husband leaves his wife two different times & she gets beat up because of it? Why would a husband do that? 

 BUT if God is love, then all types of love comes from & originates in Him, right? So all this love that the husband feels about his bride and vice versa can be applied to the relationship between the Bride, the Church, and Jesus, the Bridegroom, yes? I honestly don't know how you can read that book and not read it that way. :) Not trying to offend anyone, but it kinda bugs me when weddings will have "I have found the one whom my soul loves." My soul is spiritual, therefore, a human being can not fill my soul. But Jesus? Most definitely! I have found the one whom my soul loves, but it's never, ever going to be a human being. :) That's just my opinion. And then to explain the whole husband leaving His wife thing--how often do we have "spiritual highs" followed by a "spiritual low." I believe this is Jesus drawing Himself away from us to see if we will come search even deeper for Him or if we'll just back away. He pursues us, for sure, but He also longs to be pursued in return! He knows that's what we need in order to increase our faith and hope and love.

But then maybe some of you are thinking, "Well, then how in the world do you explain the parts where they're complimenting each other's physical features? Does Jesus really care about that stuff??" Well, I know He cares about everything about us, but I personally, don't think of it much that way. Instead, I look at the order that the body parts come in. In chapter 4, He starts with complimenting the bride's eyes, hair, teeth, etc...then ends with breasts. I know that Jesus longs for intimacy with us, and I know that intimacy only comes from vulnerability. Now what's a more vulnerable body part--your eyes or your breasts? Obvious answer, right? When we grow in intimacy with Jesus, we don't start right off with the most vulnerable parts of who we are. No, we slowly open up deeper parts of our hearts and invite Jesus in. It doesn't work any other way. So Jesus loves our eyes and hair--the less intimate parts of who we are, but He also loves our breasts--the very vulnerable parts of who we are that requires a whole lot of trust to open up about. By Jesus complimenting those "body parts", He's telling His Bride, that she can trust Him even more and give Him even deeper parts of who she is.

Likewise, Jesus longs to reveal more of Himself to us! When we open up to Him, He lets us know Him more, too. He's an endless treasure!! So in chapter 5, she starts off with complimenting His head and eyes and cheeks and moves on to His body and legs. Same deal--we start off in our relationship with Jesus knowing so little about His character, His desires, His personality, His purposes. And as we grow in our knowledge and love of Him, we discover more and more about Him and can't help but fall deeper in love! :) 

So then, when it gets to verses like 7:7-8 "Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit. I said, 'I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of it's fruit..." It's not so weird to think of Jesus saying that to His Bride, because He's saying I LOVE everything about my Bride--the deepest, most vulnerable and intimates parts of her--I want all of Her. And that's a much greater feeling than any human being can ever give you, isn't it?? :) I hope so!

I should note that I haven't really done much actual studying on this. As in reading different interpretations and all that jazz. I just read one book called "Passion for Jesus" that first introduced me to this take on the book, but this whole body part equals vulnerability is really my own thoughts from personal study. Hopefully, Spirit-led thoughts, but still my own. I invite you to read through this book from start to finish on your own and decide for yourself what you think. Leave me a message telling me what you think! :)  

My prayer for you is that by reading that book, you realize that no matter what, the banner over you is always Jesus' love. May that knowledge always give you comfort & protect your heart so that you can focus on pouring that love on others. :) 

I Get God

I was introduced to a really beautiful worship artist this weekend. Check her out on Spotify!

I think if I were a worship artist, my style and lyrics would be a lot like hers. It's so peaceful and pretty. I just feel so at rest when I listen to it. :) And the lyrics are so full of beautiful truths! I hope you believe them when you read over & listen to them.

Check out her lyrics:

I Get God
What sacrifice compares with Christ?
What trial or pain overshadows my gain?
Tell me what tribulation, pressure or persecution
Rivals the glory of Christ dwelling in me.

I get God. I get God. I get God.
You're my joy. 
I get God. I get God. I get God.
You're my joy.

Lifting up eyes, looking towards the prize
Laying aside every weight, every sin,
I run with perseverance, considering the Man, Christ Jesus
Weariness loses its hopes, discourage now leaves my soul.

I get God. I get God. I get God.
You're my joy.

What are you momentary, light affliction compared to God?
He's my joy.
You're not worthy to be compared to God.
You're my joy. 

My Love, My Dove
You looked at Me, said yes, then went your way.
What you don't see is that I've never looked away.
With an ache in my heart, I live to intercede 
For the day that you're with Me is the day My joy is complete.

Could I forget the kindness of your youth?
My arms outstretched, I long to gather you.
With an ache in my heart, I live to intercede
For the day that you're with Me is the day My joy is complete.

My love, My dove, oh fair one.
My love, My dove, oh fair one.
It's you I love compared to naught
My love, My dove, oh fair one.

Until day briefs and shadows disappear
Lift up your voice, it's your song I want to hear.
For in Me you're the tree of my heart
And faithful I will be to complete everything that I start.

The Love Chapter Sandwich

1 Corinthians 13--it's one of the most well-known chapters in the Bible. But have you ever bothered to read the chapters before and after this one? I remember the first time I really read them as a whole--it gives 1 Cor. 13 a whole new look!

This love chapter is sandwiched right in between chapters about spiritual gifts. Gifts that aren't talked about all too much, which is really quite sad because they're some of the greatest things that God could give us and yet we unknowingly choose not to receive them! In fact, when I first started learning about this stuff, I found out that some people think that these gifts stopped existing once the Bible was finished being written. No offense, but I find that strange...and quite unlike our never-changing God to give the early disciples these gifts but then keep them away from the rest of us.

But anyway--I'm going to focus on one particular verse in 1 Corinthians 14--verse 3. It says: "But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them." When Paul puts it that way, prophesying doesn't sound so scary does it? Who doesn't want to be strengthened, encouraged, and comforted? This isn't talking about future telling prophetic statements. In all the times that I have been prophesied to, not once have I've been told something about my future. But every time I walk away from a prophecy, I do feel so much more strengthened, encouraged, and comforted than I ever do from people's encouragement. Prophecy is God using people's voices as His own to tell His children important messages for just them. These are usually complete strangers who know nothing about my situation or what I've been talking with God about lately and yet they tell me things that are exactly what I needed to hear. It is such a GIFT! I hope you all get to experience it some day :)
And other times, I'll receive words in my prophecy that don't really apply to my current situation that instead I'll tuck away until a later time in my life. Such is the case with a certain prophecy I received last August. I had an audio recording and this is exactly what they said to me:

I was led to the verse Psalm. 46:10- "Be still and know that I am God.” Maybe you’re in a waiting period, but God is there in the stillness. He wants you to know that when you’re still before Him, He’s gonna give good things in ways you may not understand at first.

I got a picture of a dark room. As I looked, I saw a window with light coming in.

I heard the words HOPE & LOVE and it prompted me to go to 1 Corinthians. 13

God highlighted the verse “Love does not delight in evil (the darkness), but rejoices in the Truth. (that window)”

God is calling you into a life of hope, to bring people out of the darkness and be able to see that window and light in the dark world where if you look around there is no hope, but if you look to that window that you see, you can point them to that window of hope. God’s calling you to be a person that points to that light in a dark world.

God wants to use you to help people and point them in this way even if they’re not asking for help. Ask God for nuggets of Truth that you can see something in their life that you can help turn them around into hope & light.

I think of Psalm. 27:4- “One thing I ask of the Lord, this only do I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life..."
People will be coming to you and this verse is what they want but they don’t know how to get there. You can show them that this is what your desire is, too. That you desire to seek Him in His temple and see Christ standing in the window. That’s what makes it so magnificent is that you see Christ in that window--I just can’t get that enough! That you just want that for everyone you touch and see for them to see the window--to see Christ.

I'm so thankful for these prophecies. When I first received them, I would have never guessed that they would apply to me in the way that they do. I never would have guessed that my dark room would be a broken engagement. But so many times throughout these past months, God has helped me to remember this prophecy. He's reminded me to keep looking for Christ in the window and not get overwhelmed by the darkness. Every time that I get another email thanking me for my blog, He reminds me that He told me people will be coming to me to find out how to seek the Lord. Every time I didn't understand and wanted to question what God was doing, He reminded me that He's gonna give me good things in ways I may not understand at first.

I realize that in sharing this with you, I run the risk of coming off as bragging or whatever, but I hope you don't think that. Really, my purpose in sharing this with you is to encourage you to receive prophecy for yourself. I want you to see that prophecies really are comforting and encouraging and legit! God has special words for you! Just like our earthly parents want to encourage and comfort us, how much more so does our heavenly Dad?? He knows that running the race isn't easy and He would love to help us out. If you'd like more information on where you can go to receive prophecy, message me on Facebook or comment with your email and I'll get in contact! :)