Exerpts from "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller

"I will love God because He first loved me. I will obey God because I love God. But if I cannot accept God's love, I cannot love Him in return, and I cannot obey Him. Self-discipline will never make us feel righteous or clean; accepting God's love will. The ability to accept God's unconditional grace and ferocious love is all the fuel we need to obey Him in return. Accepting God's kidness and free love is something that the devil does not want us to do. If we hear, in our inner ear, a voice saying we are failures, we are losers, we will never amount to anything, this is the voice of Satan trying to convince the bride that the groom does not love her. This is not the voice of God. God woos us with kindness, He changes our character with the passion of His love. . . . In exchange for our humility and willingness to accept the charity of God, we are given a kingdom. And a begger's kingdom is better than a proud man's delusion."

God might we hear Your voice of gentle love over Satan's lies. Help us to choose Your kingdom over this fallen world.

Romanced

Romance is the deepest thing in life.
It is deeper even than reality.
--G.K.Chesterton

From Captivating by John and Staci Eldredge

"You might recall that the Scriptures use a number of metaphors to describe our relationship with God. . . . From a potter and His clay to a shepherd and His sheep, there is a marked difference in intimacy, in the way they relate. It gets even better. From master and servant to father and child, there is a wonderful progression into greater intimacy. It grows more beautiful and rich when He calls us His friends. But what is most breathtaking is when God says He is our Love (our Bridegroom , our Fiancé), and we His bride.”

“What were the things that romanced your heart as a girl? Was it horses in a field? Was it the fragrance of the air after a summer rain? Was it a favorite book like The Secret Garden? The first snowfall of winter? Those were all whispers from your Lover, notes sent to awaken your heart’s longings. And as we journey into a true intimacy with God as women, he often brings those things back into our lives, to remind us he was there, to heal and restore thins that were lost or stolen.

Every song you love, every memory you cherish, every moment that has moved you to holy tears has been given to you from your first breath in order to win your heart. God’s version of flowers and chocolates and candlelight dinners come in the form of sunsets and falling stars, moonlight on lakes and cricket symphonies; warm wind, swaying trees, lush gardens, and fierce devotion. . . . We have missed many notes simply because we shut our hearts down in order to endure the pain of life. . . we must choose to open our hearts again so that we might hear His whispers, receive His kisses.”

"In the spacious love of God, our souls can lie down and rest. This love from Him is not something we must struggle for, earn, or fear to lose. It is bestowed. He has bestowed it upon us. He has chosen us. And nothing can separate us from His love. Not even we, ourselves. We are made for such love. Our hearts yearn to be loved intimately, personally, and yes, romantically. We are created to be the object of desire and affection of one who is totally and completely in love with us.”

“To pursue intimacy with Christ, you will have to fight for it. You’ll need to fight busyness. You’ll need to fight accusations. You’ll need to fight the Thief that would steal your Lover’s gifts to you outright. There is a fierceness in women that was given to us for a purpose. Getting time with your Lover is worth whatever it costs.”

“You are made for romance, and the only one who can offer it to you consistently and deeply is Jesus.
Offer your heart to Him.”

Tears

"Grief, dear sisters, is good. Grief helps us heal our hearts. Why Jesus himself was a 'Man of sorrows and aquainted with grief' (Isa. 53:3 NKJV). Let the tears come. Get alone, get to your car or your bedroom or the shower and let the tears come. Let the tears come. It is the only kind thing to do for woundedness. Allow yourself to feel again. And feel you will -- many things. . . . In fact there is no emotion you can bring up that Jesus can't handle. (Look at the psalms -- they are a raging sea of emotions.) Let it all out. As Augustine wrote in his Confessions, ' The tears . . . streamed down, and I let them flow as freely as they would, making of them a pillow for my heart. On them it rested.' . . . Let the tears come."

~ from Capivating by John and Stasi Eldredge

A Broken World

I watched these two videos last night, in tears and utter disbelief. They are Channel 10 (in San Diego) news stories about the children who are being sexually exploited in Tijuana (Mexico). They interviewed the owners of El Pozo, a Christian orphanage that Kairos has been working with to help some of these children. Here are the links to the two stories. Please watch them and cry out to God for these children.

www.10news.com/video/7521059/index.html
www.10news.com/video/7559491/index.html

Beach Pictures

Eyes

Father what can we do here?
Beauty and pain mixed together, in its people, in its city
Paradise and hell in one.
Give me Your eyes to see Your lost people.

"This mess is not my home,
it's got nothing for me,
only leaves me with emptiness,
and tears in my eyes."
~Shawn McDonald

Riding Off Into the LA Sunset

Here is what I wrote this morning on the plane taking off from St. Louis to move to LA:

Here I embark on a new adventure,
My hands open wide, not dropping or simply letting go, but surrendering to Him who is my solid Rock
My Lord who is not safe, but who is good
With an old hymn chorus repeating in my mind, my heart feels at peace after much turmoil in the past couple of weeks
My God has given me strength for this departure, although I know many trials await me, to grow me and make me fully dependent on Him who is always faithful.

Oh that my soul would rejoice at this unfamiliar journey.
My future is unknown, everything about it is uncertain BUT in one thing my soul can rest, on my unchanging, faithful, dangerous, good God.

My future, a great adventure awaits me,
As my Father slowly unveils His awesome plan
That I might have patience for His perfect plan and timing,
That I would not close my fists and pull back in fear,
That I would not trust in myself but wholly in Him,
That I would be an instrument used to bring His light to a fallen, hurting world- willing to be sent to the ends of the earth, resting in His promises and truth alone.
God would you make me in to this.