The song of your heart

Ever had a particular song stuck in your head? You wake up with a song that it seems like your spirit is crying out? Today I had a song stuck in my head and really just the melody but I didn't think too much into it. I am going to be real and honest here because I believe in me being vulnerable with people who read this, it enables them to be vulnerable and open with God. My heart is broken and it hurts so I have been bearing my soul to Jesus. My facebook status is even reflecting what is going on in my life...

"After Jesus experienced the worst heartbreak of all time, where the people he loved nailed him to a tree while he looked at us in the eye and said "I love you", he could have stayed in that tomb but he got back up and rose despite everything that had happened. Moral of this story: Jesus lives in you and he got back up and you can too!!! ♥." 

As I was driving to meet with my small group of kids I work with at the Dream Center, the song kept playing in my head so I put it on and then realized the lyrics went right with what has been going on all day for me.....

"The Victory"
 On a hill Your blood was spilled
Your brow, Your hands, Your feet
With nails and thorns the veil was torn
To make a way for me, You made a way for me.

[Chorus:]
Jesus, Savior, my God, my King, my Lord
Jesus, Savior, the victory is Yours.

Wrapped and bound, they laid You down
A perfect sacrifice
But in three days, the stone was rolled away
Forever You're alive
Forever You're alive

[Chorus:]
Jesus, Savior, my God, my King, my Lord
Jesus, Savior, the victory is Yours
The victory is Yours

Death has been beaten
The grave has been conquered
Jesus is risen
Life ever after

I became overwhelmed by tears because I know what he was telling me, "I have already won your battles for you my child, the victory is mine, the three days are over and its time to rejoice." I then heard his voice say "Look at the sun" and there was a church's perfect steeple cross surrounded by the light from the gorgeous sunset. WOWZERS. Sometimes I can't even handle his love and how much he knows how to love me just the right way. I needed him more than ever today and he totally blew me away by his constant faithfulness and unfailing love. Jesus, the only thing I need is more of you. Thank you for showing up today and being the song in my heart.

Jesus, 
 I need you more than ever. Help me to realize daily how much you are the only thing I need and that you will never leave me or forsake me. You are always with me, every step of the way and I want to thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit to sing your song in my heart. Amen.


 

Passing the Test

Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; When times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. (Ecclesiastes 7:13-14)

Anyone ever thank God when you are in the midst of a test or trial? Yeah right, why would I thank God when something bad is happening? Well in the above verse, the author tells us that God makes the bad days as well as the good. Our God is interested in our heart issues, in our attitudes. Of course it is easy to praise God when things are good but it is so easy to blame him when things aren't going exactly the way we think it should. But he plans out our course, he knows what is and was going to happen in our lives before they happened and he with us in the midst of our battles.

He wants good things for us but sometimes he has to shake things up a bit to get our heart in the right shape and the right beat and that is the beat and shape of HIS heart. 

Jesus had the very best heart of anyone who ever walked this earth. He came to this earth knowing he had a mission. There were a lot of people who disagreed with what Jesus was doing AND he still carried out the plan set before him. Not once did Jesus question God or complain about his life. He just said, "Here I am, what can I do?," and God gave him the most important assignment in all of creation... to save us from eternal damnation. It begins to make me think that if we began to praise God in the midst of storms and quit questioning God for what is happening in our life, we might just begin to see God use us in even bigger ways than we could have ever thought. 

We are Not trying to Please men but GOD, who TESTS our HEARTS." (1 Thes. 2:4)

But he has to test us to see who will pass the test. The greatest thing about this is that he is actually the one who will fight this battle for you if you let him. Just sit back, praise and trust him, and watch him amaze you. He knows what is going on in your life. He is the creator of the map of your life. He is the creator of the beginning. Can you imagine? No, you cannot. Our God is so amazing that we can't even begin to wrap our fingers on just how incredible he really is... Our God sends us tests so that he can fight for us and win for us if we keep our hearts pure and our attitudes Christlike. I vow to have a heart of Christ as trials are sent my way.

"He who OVERCOMES shall be CLOTHED in WHITE GARMENTS, and I will NOT Blot out (Erase) his Name from the BOOK OF LIFE; but I will CONFESS his name before My Father and before His Angels." (Rev. 3:5)

 God is giving us a chance to be overcomers. Just like Jesus. Jesus was given the biggest battle ever given to a man and he passed the test. And you know what happened. He overcame the world and rose from the dead on the third day. How is that for a happy ending?! Jesus wasn't just an extreme case of what could happen but he is THE example of what will happen if we let God simply be God. We can't lose with him as the fighter of our wars. He is giving us a chance at eternal life. He is giving us a chance to have our name written in the book of life. I think today and everyday, I will praise him for the tests he sends my way, because he is the teacher of the class, and he has already given us the answers, he is giving us the opportunity for extra credit and our passing grade will get us a field trip to sit with him on the right side of the throne as his chosen people. Our God rocks. The end.

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to live forever for you in eternity. You have already overcame the world and want to fight my battles for me, you just want my heart to stay pure and trust that you really do win every. single. time. Thank you for sending me battles that have already been won. I love you and am so grateful for all the blessings in my life. In Jesus name, AMEN.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have Peace. In the WORLD you will have TRIBULATION; but be of Good Cheer, I have OVERCOME the WORLD." (John 16:33)

"God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to TEST HIM and to see what was REALLY in his Heart." (2 Chron 32:31)

"Since he himself (JESUS) as gone through SUFFERING AND TESTING, He is able to help us WHEN WE ARE BEING TESTED."(Hebrews 2:18)

Jesus makes you sparkle

I want every person, specifically women, to know that you are not alone. We all struggle with feeling not worthy enough. Not pretty enough. Not smart enough. Not sophisticated enough. Not holy enough. Not kind enough. Not skinny enough. Not organized enough. Aughhhhhh! All of the pressures in life are enough to make a person go crazy. And you know what all these fears really are? Distractions. Distractions from keeping you focused on eternal things... cause if you are worried about that zit on your face, how would you be able to notice the look in a fellow coworkers eye that desperately needs someone to notice her? Or if you are so worried about your fashion choices, you spend the time you should be spending with Jesus to search the internet for fashion blogs that feature clothes you could never afford. The cycle is a never ending one because the next day you still haven't set your eyes on Jesus, and the zit is still there, and you still can't find an outfit for the weekend because you still feel fat and still can't afford the fashion bloggers outfit suggestions. There is nothing you can do about any of that!


Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. (1 Peter 3:3-4)

The only things that matter in God's sight is what can't be seen with the eye. He cares about your heart. Any time I am not focusing on Jesus, I tend to start picking myself apart and become an extremely selfish woman. I start to see flaws NOONE else sees and begin to play the comparison game. I am in the entertainment business so playing the comparison game is a death trap. Cause who likes to see an unconfident actress or pageant girl? Gross! And that is exactly what our enemy wants. He wants me to be so unconfident that I hide the woman God created me to be.. because acting like someone I am not and getting rejected is easier than the real me exposing herself and coming up short.

OR IS IT?!

The devil is a liar because being who you are called to be in Christ Jesus is the biggest threat to darkness. Because a true beauty is a candle in a dark world.  Because a beautiful strong confident woman is everything he is not... Because any of kind of real beauty is in fellowship with God. And that is one big problem for him. A woman who knows who she is in Christ Jesus and doesn't let fear keep her from being vulnerable to others is a very beautiful thing. I actually am feeling more beautiful just writing this blog and letting others see Jesus shine through me. You will never come up short when you focus on Jesus and let him be the source of your beauty.

You know that woman at church who has that twinkle in her eye? It is the twinkle of a cross shining in her eye. A cross that a man who was perfect in every way died for her and she knows it. She knows Jesus pursues her daily and she isn't afraid to let others see who she really is and offers herself daily to others. She is a woman who knows she is passionately and wildly loved by God. She is the apple of his eye and it shows in her eyes as well!!! Jesus makes her sparkle and he can you too!!!!

Jesus,
I want to shine from the inside out because you live in my heart. I am sorry for hiding myself and ask for your help to make myself more vulnerable to others. I am more than enough because your spirit lives in me and I am made in the image of you. Help me to see what you see and to not hide who you have called me to be. Amen.
 
 You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. (Song of Solomon 4:7)

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.(Proverbs 31:30)

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. (Psalm 34:5)