The Weekend

We had such a great Going Beyond event in Troy, Michigan on Friday and Saturday. One of the highlights for me was that my dad's three sisters got to come to the conference. It was neat that they got to experience the event and also see what I get to do for a living. Worship was so great - Anthony Evans and his team lead along with Vicki Yohe. We were able to pray for lives to be changed, which is always my favorite part of the event. It's amazing once people open up about the things they are going through - you would never think that a group of women coming to a "womens conference" would be going through so much crap. But they really are - abusive relationship, no jobs, infertility, immorality, rebellious children, broken marriages, etc. We prayed and believe that God is going to do the unexpected in each of their lives.

On Saturday after the event was over, I went to Detroit to see my grandma. My grandma is one of the most amazing women I have ever known. I know no one else who literally walks with the Lord as much as she does. She is 94 years old! She is very ill, however, and on her way to be with the Lord. I am so grateful that I was able to be there and see her and read the Word with her. I know it is very hard for her to be in the stage that she is in, but I am asking that the Lord will give her peace in these last days. What a blessing it was to be with her this weekend.

Our time here is so short. It encourages me to give all that I have to the Lord today. To walk and rest in Him.

Psalm 27 says this:
The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I hear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling...My heart says of you "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek. Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait fo the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

One thing I ask for today: that I may dwell/be/live in the house of the Lord and to gaze upon His beauty!

Answers or Intimacy

I've really been encouraged by John Eldredge over this past year as God has used his book Walking With God to draw me into a more intimate relationship with Him. I encourage you to read it if you haven't.

My main desire right now is to grow more in my intimacy with Him. I am a person who needs to spend time with people in order to feel loved by them - hands down, that's the most important thing to me- or the way I feel loved the most. And lately I've realized how much God feels the same way towards me. For me, I'm tired of coming to God with all the things I need. What I really want is just to know Him. I want more than this life has to offer. I want to spend time with Him and for Him to spend time with me. And for God, He is not primarily worried about my list of prayers that I need answers to right now - He's really not. I believe that He just wants me to carve out specific time where I am just sitting and listening to what He has to say - to what He wants to speak to. He already knows what I need. And, He will lead me. I know that. But there are some things he wants to speak to first before He leads me in my specific prayer requests.

I'd like to encourage you to listen to some podcasts on this subject. You can download their podcasts on iTunes. I have no idea how to link through iTunes, sorry. But you can search John Eldredge and Ransomed Heart and the series is called "Conversing with God". There are three different ones you can listen to. Let me know what you think. They are only about 20 minutes long and soooo good!

I'd love to know your thoughts on the first one..."Conversing With God: Answers or Intimacy"

You Are For Me

There is a song on Kari Jobe's new CD called "You Are For Me" that I could listen to over and over again. The words of the song go something like this:

So faithful, so constant
So loving and so true
So powerful in all you do
You fill me, You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to you

I know that you are for me
I know that you will never forsake me in my weaknesses
I know that you have come down
Even if to write upon my heart
To remind me of who you are

So patient, so gracious
So merciful and true
So wonderful in all you do
You fill me, You see me
You know my every move
You love for me to sing to you

For some reason, I need to hear these words right now.. over and over again. He sees me. He fills me. He knows my every move. I need Him to remind me of who He is today.

Go buy it on iTunes. Listen to it a few times. Let me know what you think and how it speaks to you.

Back to The Beginning

One week in Ephesians really wasn't enough for me. So, I decided to go back through Ephesians and just read a few verses at a time.

This morning I have been reading and re-reading verses 3 and 4.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.

The thing that is amazing about these verses is that they are in past tense. We HAVE BEEN BLESSED with every spiritual blessing in Christ. HE CHOSE US before creation. We have already been blessed and we have already been chosen. We don't have to wonder who we are or what our purpose is. We already have access to everything we need and we know what we are to do: to be holy and blameless in His sight.

Isn't it amazing that we already have been given these things, but we sometimes act like we have no idea? It's like someone set aside millions and millions of dollars in a savings account before you were born.. and it's been there all along... but you've been living in poverty having no idea that you have access to all of this money because you just didn't ask for it.

Praise be to God for he has blessed us! That is more than enough for me today!

The Weekend

This might have been one of the craziest travel weekends I have had thus far since I started my new job. All in all it could've been a lot worse.. it was just really inconvenient. Thankfully Priscilla and I were together and could keep each other entertained!

The event really turned out great. Carol Kent has a really neat story in her book "I Lay My Isaac Down". You should read it if you get a chance. Priscilla did a great job - it's amazing really how much their two stories went perfectly together and they totally didn't plan it. They both spoke about how to deal with life circumstances, and life in general, when it really doesn't turn out the way we plan. It's so encouraging to remember that we don't have it together and that we are just a mess, and that is where God comes in to pick up our mess and turn it into something beautiful!

We had lots of airport drama on Saturday as well, but we finally made it back to Dallas around 7:00 or so. I decided to drive to Waco to spend Sunday with my brother and sis and niece. I love coming here to hang out with them - we just relax and have so much fun together! I'm so grateful that they live so close! It's so good to get away and detox after our events on the weekends - and I couldn't think of a better place than here with them. I'm actually going to stay here in the morning and take my time getting to back to Dallas. Luci had to convince me it was ok to take some time off in the morning =) For those of you who know me well, it's really hard for me to take off time from work.

So anyway, hopefully when we are with Phil Waldrep and his team again in two weekends in Sevierville, it will go a little more smoothly next time!

Branson, MO Part II

This is what was supposed to happen today:
Pick up Priscilla and Jude around 7:30AM - Drive to airport
Fly from 9:30-11:00
Pick up rental car at 11 and drive to Branson
Arrive to Branson, eat lunch, get Priscilla and Jude settled in hotel, set up resource table
Meet up with a friend perhaps, and then go hear Kirk Cameron speak, meet Kirk and take a picture with him

Here's the short story of what actually happened today:
Pick up Priscilla and Jude at 7:30 - Drive to airport
9:30 flight keeps delaying and delaying - eventually cancels
We get on the next flight at 11:35 - don't actually board until 12:30
Sit on the plane until 1:30 - they cancel the flight
Next flight out is at 5:45, so we eat lunch at TGI Fridays, which by the way has a really great salad and an amazing fudge brownie sundae!
At this point the baby is just going wild, poor guy, so we decide to send him back home with Jerry
We sit at the airport from 2:30-6:30
Finally board around 7:00, land in Missouri around 8:30, stop and eat, stop at the store
Finally get to the hotel at 11:00PM!

I felt awful. Priscilla was supposed to have a relaxing evening and that was just thrown out the window.

However, in the midst of all of the airport drama, it was somehow really not such a bad day, at least I didn't think so. Only by the grace of God were neither of us stressed out. She's not speaking until tomorrow morning, so we were thankful for that. I always wonder when these kinds of days happen, what God is speaking or trying to teach me. What is the purpose of traveling for 14 hours? I'm not really sure why we had such difficulty today. It was nothing that I could change or control. I do think part of it was that God wanted to bless us with that amazing brownie sundae thing =)

In all seriousness, I heard that Kirk did a great job tonight. The place is completely packed out. Should be neat to see what God wants to speak to us about tomorrow through Carol Kent and Priscilla. Today really could've been a lot worse and I'm thankful that we made it here safely! I will keep you updated on how everything goes. I'll be back at the airport probably before half of you read this anyway =)

Ephesians 4

If you are reading with me through Ephesians this week, I wonder if you feel the same way I do... I could take just one verse from the chapter and focus on that single verse for the whole week! There is just so much to learn about Jesus as Paul writes this letter.

Can you first of all, imagine your church receiving a letter like this? The more I read scripture the more I try to picture it happening right at that moment. I wonder how we would react if we had a friend who was writing us from prison b/c of his love for Christ and persecution... I wonder if we would grab hold of the words he wrote about Christ, or if we would act like the Gentiles?! Interesting thought.

Anyway, there are so many actions to take away from chapter 4. So many do's and be's. It's really interesting to take them out and look at them all:

Be completely humble
Be completely gentle
Be patient, bearing with one another in love
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through peace
Do not live as the Gentiles do (in futility and ignorance)
Put off your old self
Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness
Put off falsehood
Speak truthfully
In your anger, do not sin
Don't let sun go down on your anger
Do not give the devil a foothole
Steal no longer
Don't let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God
Get rid of all bitterness
Get rid of all anger
Get rid of all brawling and slander
Get rid of every malice
Be kind
Be compassionate
Forgive each other, just as in Christ God forgave you

That's a lot to comprehend. So what do you gather from it all? What is Paul trying to get at?

Your thoughts....

Branson, MO

I leave in the morning for Branson, Missouri for a Women of Joy Conference. You can see the information here. This weekend is a little different in that Priscilla is only speaking on Saturday morning, so we will have some free time tomorrow night. You better believe that I will be there to hear Kirk Cameron Friday night! I hope to meet the guy and take a picture with him. I never take pictures with people, but I will be sure to take one if I get to meet. I just hope I will be able to focus when he's speaking and not think about Full House the whole time.

Phil Waldrep and his ministry put on these conferences, and from what I hear they just do an amazing job. I'm excited to meet them and see what the Lord has for us this weekend. If you think about it, pray for the women attending the conference, that they will taste and see Jesus this weekend and be encouraged on their journey with Him.

I'll let you know how tomorrow night goes!! =)

Freedom and Confidence

I've really enjoyed reading through Ephesians these past few days. The words are so encouraging for those of us who believe. For me personally, I have felt lately as though there is some serious opposition going on in my life - this opposition where the enemy is trying to rob me of my confidence and relationship with the Lord - and it's really driving me nuts.

I've been reading and trying to cling to these verses in Ephesians. Today I read through Paul's words as if they were written for me:

In Him and through Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.... I pray that you will be able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge... that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God..

Today, we can approach God with freedom and confidence. Confidence of what? Confidence that no matter what we feel or think or say, Christ is seating at the right hand of God. We have just felt and heard that Christ conquered all of our doubts, fears, and sins on the cross. We are set free from this bondage. I am set free from my incapabilities to understand God's love for me. He gives me grace to know this love that surpasses knowledge.

God I so desperately need and want to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of You! Give me the grace to approach you with confidence. Would you let me know that it's not up to me.. that there's nothing that I can do to know You more... but it's about you enlightening the eyes of my heart.... I pray that my body will become Your dwelling place Lord. I surrender my mind, heart, soul, and body to you today.

To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Puzzles

I had this great idea the other day to bring out one of my old puzzles and start putting one together. I used to LOVE puzzles when I was little. I think I always had one going. Well, because I don't have cable or really any channels at all at home, I thought this would be a good way to entertain myself. Let me just tell you that I have never put a puzzle together so quickly before in my life. I became ADDICTED to this puzzle. Once I sat down to start working on it, I could not stop. Literally - I couldn't get up and leave the puzzle. I stayed up until 12:30 last night until the puzzle was finished. It was ridiculous. I have no idea why - but I will not doing a puzzle again for a long time. I'm almost mad at myself with how much sleep I haven't gotten because I've stayed up late working on this darn thing. This is the culprit:


Now you know I'm completely strange and love puzzles.... =)

Yesterday we finished the 28 day challenge of reading through Matthew, which was so great. I was thrilled when I went to my church here in Dallas yesterday as our pastor shared that we will be in the book of Ephesians for the next few weeks. We will all be reading through the six chapters this week and I would love for you to join me if you would like. They are super short chapters, but so full of LIFE!

The verse I am clinging to today which I also pray over anyone who comes across this blog today:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

I beg of God today that He will give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. That He will enlighten our hearts to know: 1. Our calling 2. The riches of His glorious inheritance 3. His power!

Redemption

So if you didn't notice, I disappeared on the blogging world the past two weeks because we had some really big events the past two weekends. I told you a little bit about Redemption2009. It was seriously such a miraculous event. My adopted aunt was the one who basically put this event on, Ellen Olford. She and Priscilla met about this event about 4 years ago where they both dreamed about having a FREE multicultural event in Memphis, TN. So for the past 4 years hundreds of women came together to try and heal and unite the city of Memphis. I think there were about 9,000 women who came. It was truely a taste of what heaven will be like - women worshipping the Lord in all different ways and no one cared about what the other was doing. It was just so sweet. So anyway, I wanted to share some pics from the event with you.

And.... if you want to see how adorable Jude is, click here

5 Years Gone By

This morning I finally wrote in the last page of my journal that I was telling you about a few weeks ago. The very first time I wrote in that journal was on my birthday - July 1, 2005. Almost give years have passed since then. I realize 5 years is a long time to be writing in a journal, but you have to know that I have several different ones. And this one was more to write about different things that I have gone through. Without getting too personal, I went through a break up of a 7 year relationship, prayed for healing for a friend, went through another break up of a 2 year relationship, prayed through my journeys in Nashville, and then a year of prayers trying to figure out if God was leading me here to Dallas. That sounds kind of dramatic and a lot of breaking up, but it really wasn't =)

But seriously, this is one of the reasons I love to journal. Because for some reason, when we look BACK on what we have been through and the things God has done in our lives, it is so much easier to understand why we went through those times in the wilderness or the happiest times in our lives. When we look BACK, it seems to all fit together. Not only that, but we realize how much God is in control and how we can trust him 100% with our lives and hearts.

When I began this journal, I wrote down this quote:

"My child, Linnae, I love you before you were born. I knit you in your mother's womb and knew what your first and last words would be. I knew every difficulty you, Linnae, would face. I suffered each one with you. Even the ones you didn't suffer with me. I had a plan for your life before you were born. The plan has not changed, Linnae, no matter what has happened to you or what you have done. You see, I already kenw all things concerning you before I formed you. I would never allow any hurt to come into your life that I could not use for eternity, Linnae. Will you let me? Your truth is incomplete unless you view it against the backdrop of my Truth. Your story, Linnae, will forever remain half-finished... until you let Me do My half with your heart. Let me perfect that which concerns you."

God is working far beyond what we can see right now or even imagine. We have to be obedient and we have to trust Him. He is good. He's not safe... but He is kind. And He's good!

You're Invited

THE KINGDON OF HEAVEN IN LIKE:

A king who prepares a huge wedding feast for his son, with the finest of foods that is already set out and ready for the invited guests when they arrive. He sends his servants to the invited guests, even though they have already received an invitation, because he wants to be sure that they come and know what they will receive when they get there. He wants them to enjoy this amazing feast he has prepared for them. The invited guests refuse to come, and he sends his servants out to them again and ask them to come... he promises they won't be disappointed. But the invited guests refuse, and not only refuse their invitation, but they mistreat the servants. The king is enraged at their refusal and destroys them and their city. He then sends his servants to the streets to invite anyone and everyone to come to the wedding banquet. He longs for guests to see what he has prepared, he doesn't care who they are. Sure enough, many from the streets come, both good and bad, the king gives them wedding clothes, and they enjoy this feast he has prepared. There is, however, one man who wasn't dressed in wedding cltohes. The king asks "Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?", but the man has no answer. So the king sends him out into the darkness because he wasn't dressed correctly for the wedding.

FOR MANY ARE INVITED, BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN.

Friend, God has prepared a banquet for you. In fact, He has prepared this huge feast for you! He has this life in mind for you that you could never even begin to dream of. You have already received your invitation. He invites you time after time to come, to believe, to dream. Are you going to accept your invitation?

Many are invited, but few are chosen.

I'm so thankful that I have been chosen. That God has given me grace to see the truth. That there is a feast in heaving waiting for me. Wow! I am God's servant now. I'm going to the street corners to tell others that they have been invited. I don't want them to miss their invitation!

Matthew 22