Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Soaking in His Presence

I've been sitting in His presence to this song lately. Sitting in a Scripture and then jumping off into more of Him. Enjoy!

 

More Now?

My brother-in-law (Morlock Photography) is sending me pics from my wedding as he goes through them. He does such an amazing job! The photos are reminding me of so many things from that day...one of which is an interaction with Jesus right before the ceremony began...

I was standing at the top of the aisle with my Dad getting ready to walk down to Kevin, and I had a brief moment of interaction with my Savior. (I know...I'm trying to get married here, Jesus!!! Haha.) For a second, I saw Jesus at the end of the aisle waiting for me to come to Him. A powerfully, beautiful moment!! As I've thought about it further, my mind is drawn to the verses that refer to the church as the bride of Christ with us being more fully united with Him in eternity. Interestingly, though, what pressed upon my heart in that moment was a longing from His heart that said, "How about more (of Him, of intimacy with Him) now?". Now, meaning today...not living with a "later" or "lesser" mentality of experiencing a fullness of relationship with Him.

Well, I'll tell you what...it has me exploring intimacy (greater connectedness) with Him.

It's a fact that we are made for connection with Him. It's a part of our original design...our original glory...redeemed and unleashed by the death and resurrection of Christ. It is also a fact that God wants US to pursue Him...not just waiting for Him to come for us.

So, we can! And we can without the shame of comparison to others and how they experience Him! Freedom to love and be loved, freedom to discover how He has made us to connect with Him, and freedom to explore the many creative methods of relationship that others have found.

Intimacy with Him???...oh, baby! We will grow in our understanding of who He really is. We will, as King David says, discover how we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (powerful identity and destiny). AND...we will find, as the prophet Isaiah says, that nations will be drawn to Him through us.

Sign me up!!! :)

Monday, January 12, 2015

Intimacy...Imagination

What an interesting quote!! It's becoming a core study for me...greater intimacy with God and all of the implications of such a life. Sometimes God uses lessons from memory (past ways of doing things), but other times He wants us to dream HUGE dreams with Him.

What a life!

2015's Theme Word

Drum roll......here it is! For the last few years, God has been giving me a theme word for the new year. It is always an invitation to discover the fuller meanings of the concepts and jump into an adventure of exploring the practical applications in upcoming challenges and opportunities.

Three years ago...the year of "change".
Two years ago...the year of "opportunity".
One year ago...the year of "focus".

And this year...the year of "kingdom".

I'm actually really excited to explore this word. Being a part of the movement of Jesus to bring His beautiful kingdom of grace and love...I'd love the challenge to step into that more.

Here we go!