Make me real.

hope.

Keep my heart alive and soft.

Keep my soul as clay in Your hands.

Hold me and mold me;

You won’t let go of me.

Keep me safe and hedge me in.

Go before me, beside me, above me, below me.

Fight for me and win for me.

Encamp me, surround me, teach me, protect me.

It is in You that I am safe.

Christ in me, the hope of glory.

So take Your place in me;

And live Your life through me.

Hem me in, behind, and before

As You keep me in step with You.

is. 62:3

You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand,

a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

et år

finals week = ready for summer

Today has gone fast. Tomorrow I will need an intellectual miracle. Monday will be a long day. Tuesday will be a wonderous day. Wednesday will be even better.

Jesus, help me cram :)

look up

whispers, crumbs, and appetizers

Today I munched on some appetizing crumbs from the table prepared before me. But they are just that: crumbs in comparison to the Feast that is to come.

Your whispers are like shouts in my heart.

One Word from You is enough to reverberate in my being forever.

Your whispers are like shouts in my mind.

Lesser notions are stilled or cleared away as Your exclamation invades.

Your whispers make my ears dance and grin.

I am at peace because I am embraced.

I am embraced because I am Yours.

the wait

Living Water, Bread of Life, You are so much more than I realize.

Our vision is blurred and darkened, until You come back. We miss You and we're joyfully waiting for Your return. Illuminate us, Jesus.

baby eagle

I don't know, but You are good.

"One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard:

that You, O God, are strong,

and that You, O Lord, are loving..."

~Psalm 62:11-12~

I need to be hungry.

bread

"I don’t want to get caught in this struggle

Of begging for my bread to survive

‘Cause there’s a better pursuit for my effort

Mysteries that never run dry

And I don’t want to be lost in these shadows

Without the oil to light my way

And on the day that You come, I won’t stumble

If I fill my lamp day by day

And I don’t want to waste another day

On things that pass on by and then fade away

‘Cause there’s life inside Your Word

And it tastes so sweet to me

Daily is the Bread of Your Salvation

Opening Your hand and sustaining Love

Your Water it runs free and it tastes so sweet

So sweet to me"

lyrics by Audra Lynn

resting

May I stop seeking You and meeting with You for the purpose of getting rid of an unpleasant feeling or situation. And may I stop seeking You and meeting with You for the purpose of gaining a pleasant feeling or situation. May I instead seek You and meet with You simply to be with You and to please You and to be loved by You and to love You.

Reform my mind. Transform my ways. Purify my heart.

-------

“I will keep on smiling, because You’re near me. I’ll sleep well on a promise tonight.”

-Cool Hand Luke-

i need You every day.

start walking

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,

'This is the way; walk in it.'"

- Isaiah 30:21 -

what's It to you?

To me, It is the tearing away of false comforts in life, which hurts, and thereafter the replacement of those false comforts with His true comforts. It is those true comforts which are in both the here and now, and in the Life waiting for me. It is pain and then healing. It soothes. It promises. It is Him wooing me to Himself. It is Him first picking me, and then investing in me; in the past, every day, and in the future. It is the Creator of the Universe being my Best Friend, my Lover, my Father, my Counselor, my Teacher, my Guide, my Truth, my Home. It is at hand. It is near. It is always available. It is close. It is perfect. It is a conversation. It is LOUD. It is bold. It is r u s h i n g w i n d. It is consuming fire. It is peaceful waters. It is rest. It is my dependence. It is my reliance. It is offensive. It is dangerous. It is safe. It is welcoming. It is humble. It is the ‘Beautiful Letdown.’ It is death and then Life. It is weakness and then Strength. It is the growing discontentment for anything but Him; placed in me by Him. It is the longing to see His face and feel His embrace. It is Light and clarity. It is no fairytale; It is the only true Story. It is my pardon. It is my sure thing. It is constant. It is the magnificent obsession. It is the majestic and humble trade. It is humiliation. It is glory. It is radiance. It is giving up. It is receiving. It is offering. It is disappointment and then fulfillment. It is peace. It is Love. It is Truth. It is Joy and Beauty. It is ongoing and eternal... And yet, It is finished...

here today, gone tomorrow. give me eyes for that which is eternal.

"And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." -- Ecclesiastes 4:4

School, work, church, activities, achievement, failure, success, effort, victory, joys, losses, gains... all of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind, if it is not connected to my Source... if it is not centered around You.

I don't want time to merely pass. I don't want it to be a blur.

Lord, unbury me. Define this life.

He woke me up again.

Worthy

"Beautiful Man
Beautiful God
You're more than worth my time
More than worth these longings of my heart
Left unfulfilled
Just for a time...

Take it all...
Just give me Jesus

I don't want any other lovers...

All my devotion belongs to this Man..."

~Kristene Mueller~

You can take the world, just give me You.

They looked to Him and were radiant.

I simply cannot settle for anything less than the Fullness and Love that is God. I've tried. It works for awhile. First I get dull and then I become antsy, and then it doesn't work anymore. And by no means do I fully feel, grasp, know, or understand His fullness. But that's what I like about Him. There's always more to Him, and so there's never an excuse to be truly bored.

"...know this Love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:19

We are blessed to hunger and thirst for Him. Because He is ALL that fulfills.

I'm so not content with "normal." I remember thinking as a little girl that my life was not normal, and that what I wanted the most was to just be what I thought was normal and to have what I thought was a normal life. Now I cannot be satisfied with "normal." I am not satisfied with just getting by, or with being "kind of passionate."

When I read the very Word of God, I see that the ways He is, the ways that He interacts with people, the ways that His people respond to Him (both old and new testaments), seem anything but normal. It's downright seemingly crazy sometimes.

I don't want to live half-heartedly. I want to live radically, with passion, with an undivided heart, like David. I want to look to my Creator and be radiant.

God, cultivate passion in me. True, lasting passion that transcends mere mood and emotion. Passion that binds me to you in true devotion. Passion, devotion, and radiance that consistently spills over into every part of my day and every aspect of my life and extends to every person I'm around... But that is impossible for me. It's only possible for You in and through me. You must increase, I must decrease. Thank You for Your patience with me.