newest cousin

knit together by God in her mother's womb.

Jennifer Grace, 9lbs 1oz.

love this.

one of the girls in my cabin from summer camp just updated her status to:

"Right now the only men i need in my life is the Lord & my daddy!"

she texted me earlier this month (out of the blue) telling me that her cousin was released from jail early and she didn't think that would happen, but she prayed for him all the time and now he's free.


i love when the kids are excited about god's work and faithfulness.

a very good article.

being in culture, but not being affected by culture.
by mark driscoll.

somewhat of a theology of living in our culture as a christian.

my soul mates.

these are my sisters and best friends.
the women closest to my heart!
we, apparently, love sunglasses and traveling.
my prayer warriors, challengers, comforters, and best company.
i love them SO much. my soul mates.

peace

"If any thought robs you of peace, it is an enemy of your soul; give it no recognition."

advent.

i'll always love advent after being in theology 1 with thoennes during fall semester/advent season. if you would like a daily devotional for advent season to be sent to your email, sign up here. it was put together by faculty at Gordon-Conwell Seminary. i signed up and got the idea from Kevin DeYoung's blog on TGC. enjoy!

"Those who are in anguish will be filled with gladness and rejoicing. Hope for this glorious restoration is to be found most profoundly in a child who will be born. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

thanks.

i'm thankful for a kooky family and funny friends to make memories with.
i'm thankful for a church that embraces the gospel and glorifies Christ.
and i'm thankful for the maker of the universe who blessed me with everything i have and chose me.

naturally I would want to share this :)

Seeing as I was able to these guys in concert a few weeks ago, it only make sense I would want to promote them.

The Hip Hop Opportunity


also, on my way around town running errands or on my way to work, I've been listening to Trip Lee's CD "Between Two Worlds" and there is a track I LOVE called "Yours to Own"...here are some of the lyrics:

All of my life is Yours to own, You orchestrate it all along
And if my life is a cup come fill it up, so the whole world can see what You've done

You placed me in the city that I'm in for a reason
Sent folks in my life that was friends for a season
Some exposed my flaws and my sin it wasn't pleasing
And others fell from the faith and was leaving
If I respond wrong I'm dishonorin' Your grace
And I'm kind of just a product of my mind and not the faith
But You are my Father the refiner full of grace
And You're the designer of my time and in my place
I could take the easy route and follow all the trends
Of my brothers and my sisters, pastors and my friends
It probably wouldn't lead to a disaster in the end
But I can't be following the path You giving them
Yup, you made me me, with my own set of gifts
So I won't settle for less You bless You never miss
I'll be steward who You made me, steward where You place me
And I pray that You use me like crazy



ah! that's my prayer. God, use me. wherever you place me, use me.

Revelation 4:11

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

loving the souls of the cities.

"We either give life to cities or we take life from cities. What kind of life are you giving to the city? Are you giving or taking, consuming or renewing, using or strengthening the city? To love a city we have to love more than its stuff, its entertainment, its dining, and its landscape. We have to love its people. To renew a city we must love its souls."

the resurgence

a great find on forgiveness!

Seven Characteristics of the Most Forgiving People in the World

1. The most forgiving people in the world have an exceedingly high view of God.
2. The most forgiving people in the world trust that God is all powerful, all loving, and always working for his glory and our good, even in the midst of suffering. (Gen. 45:4-7; Acts 2:23-24; Rom. 8:28)
3. ‎The most forgiving people in the world trust God’s promise that every sin will eventually be fully paid for, either through Christ’s atonement on the cross or through eternal judgment. (Gen. 50:19; Luke 18:6-8; Rom. 12:19)
4. The most forgiving people in the world see their sin against God and his forgiveness of them as being infinitely great. (Matt. 18:23-25; Luke 7:47; Ps. 25:11; Eph. 1:7)
5. The most forgiving people in the world see God as the true treasure of forgiveness and will do anything to have more of him. (Ps. 73:25)
6. The most forgiving people in the world see others through the eyes of Christ. (Col. 1:21-22; Luke 23:34)
7. The most forgiving people in the world depend utterly on God to cultivate the perspectives and attitudes needed to forgive. (Phil 2:13)

battling anxiety.

copy and pasted from here.

How to Battle Anxiety with the Promises of God

John Piper:

• When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: “Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

• When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, “So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

• When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9), and “As your days so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).

• When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).

• When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, “If God is for us who can be against us!” (Romans 8:31).

• When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that “tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed” (Romans 5:3–5).

• When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

• When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living” (Romans 14:9–11).

• When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, “He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:6). “He who calls you is faithful. He will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). “He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

NOVEMBER

going to san francisco with mae the 6th.

going to chicago to see alexandra the 17th.

if i could, i'd live here with caitlyn next year.

i like these.

defeating sin.

and soul food.

love.

What we need is to love without getting tired. How does a lamp burn? Through the continuous input of small drops of oil. What are these drops of oil in our lamps? They are the small things of daily life: faithfulness, small words of kindness, a thought for others, our way of being silent, of looking, of speaking, and of acting. Do not look for Jesus away from yourselves. He is not out there; He is in you. Keep your lamp burning, and you will recognize him.

No Greater Love by Mother Teresa



And then a tidbit from probably one of the best sermons I've heard at reality LA from Isaiah 49.

"But Zion said, 'The Lord has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.'
[God's reply] Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you."
vs. 14-15

He listens to our groans and objections of God being distant. Then God uses the strongest imagery to show love, that being deep, personal attachment of a mother to a nursing child. A love that is nourishing, intimate, and unconditional.

Then when I think I've begun to understand this love, He blows me away with 'even these may forget, yet I will not forget you' a.k.a 'MY LOVE IS BETTER! stronger, more nourishing, more intimate, more unconditional.

Keep reading to verse 16 and God speaks of how we are engraved on his hands. If we were to have a tattoo on our palm, we would not receive, give, take, or hold anything without seeing that tattoo.

"Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands, your walls are continually before me."


mmhmm.

O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams!

Augustine

the rich young man

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Matthew 19:29-30

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
psalm 16:5-6

i'm halfway through 'God is the Gospel' by Piper.

"Until people use the gospel to get to God, they use it wrongly."

"People who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. If we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel."


heaven isn't heaven without my King.
would you be satisfied in heaven if Jesus wasn't there?

"I love the Lord because he hears and answers my prayers. Because he bends down and listens. I will pray as long as I have breath."

Psalm 116:1-2

to live for Christ, i first must die to all the rivals in my life.
only You can satisfy.

from "when i don't desire God" by Piper

"Now there was only one hope, the sovereign grace of God. God would have to transform my heart to do what a heart cannot make itself do, namely, want what it ought to want. Only God can make the depraved heart desire God."

- John Piper

He's in control.

"I know your burden, child! I shaped it—I poised it in My own hand...even as I laid it on, I said I shall be near, and while she leans on Me, this burden shall be Mine, not hers...Do not fear to impose it on a shoulder which upholds the government of worlds! Yet closer come! You are not near ...enough! You love Me! I know it. Doubt not, then. But, loving me, lean hard!"
Octavius Winslow

Jesus will give you a new identity as one who is changed, loved, healed, forgiven, and granted his perfect righteousness. Jesus’ victory is your victory. Jesus’ righteousness is your righteousness.



from: http://theresurgence.com/10-Temptation-Truths

why i like theology....

"Gospel doctrine matters because the good news is so full and rich and wonderful that it must be opened like a treasure chest, and all its treasures brought out for the enjoyment of the world. Doctrine is the description of these treasures. Doctrine guards the diamonds of the gospel from being discarded as mere crystals."

God is the Gospel/J.Piper

fresh wind, fresh fire. 29.

the greatest answer to prayer is more prayer.

fresh wind, fresh fire.

God is attracted to weakness. He can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for His power.

revive me.

hear my prayer, give Your ear
in Your faithfulness answer me
in Your righteousness do not judge
for no one is righteous

Teach me to do Your will, Lord
For You are my God
Your Spirit is good good good
Lead me on level ground Lord
For You are my God
Your Spirit is good
It is good

Revive me, revive me
Not for me, but for Your name
In Your mercy deliver me from my enemies
Revive me

I remember days of old
Your works I meditate, oh Lord
I consider all the works of Your hands
I lift up my hands to You
My soul longs

adoption.

If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the though of being God's child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.

J.I. Packer

initiation.

God never waits for us to make the first move, but always seizes the initiative in our salvation.

This is true in election:
God chose us long before we could choose for him.
It is true in deliverance:
God rescued us when we could not rescue ourselves.
It is true in redemption:
God paid the ransom we could never purchase.
It is true in expiation:
God has covered the sins we cannot put away.
It is true in propitiation:
God has turned aside the wrath we cannot endure.

Salvation is from God. If there is anything of our very own that we contribute, it is only the sin from which we need to be saved.

Message of Salvation, Philip Ryken.
Page 122.