All Sons & Daughters

If you don't listen to All Sons & Daughters, you're missing on some of the most powerful, worshipful lyrics and beautiful melodies out there. Their most recent album is called "The Longing" and my favorite track right now is called "Oh How I Need You". Everything about this song is truly so beautiful. Check out this video about the story behind the song...

My favorite part of the song is the bridge. You can't listen to it and not be dancing. It is so joyful, so genuine, so uplifting and encouraging! I love love it! 

The lyrics are:

"Light glorious light, I will go where You shine

Break the dawn. Crack the skies. Make the way bright before me.

In Your light I will find all I need. All I need is You."

Psalm 40:16 says "May all who search for You be filled with joy and gladness in You. May those who love Your salvation repeatedly shout, 'The Lord is great!'"

Lord, I will go where You shine. I will go where You shine. Guide me and fill me with the radiance I need to shine for You. I will go where You shine Lord. 

SafeHouse

"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, will keep me safe." Psalm 4:8

My roommate (Heather) and I chose Psalm 4:8 to be our house verse. Our vision for our house is for it to be a place of safety, comfort, light, and an escape from the chaos, darkness, and uncertainty of life in college. We want it to be not just a house, but a home-a place of refuge and worship and prayer and encouragement.

And "Safe House" is.

"Safe House" is more than just a place to sleep for Heather and me. It is almost like a sanctuary for us. From the very start, we invited the Lord to come in and dwell in our home. It is abundantly filled with His presence and His love; some friends have described our home as a "hug" right when you walk in the door. Others say it is their escape, their hiding place when encountering ungodly experiences.

{Lord, be the blanket that covers and warms our hearts. Be the pillow we choose to rest our heads upon. Be the walls and the roof which protects us from the storms that will come our way. Be the lightbulbs and candles to shine throughout these rooms and dark hallways. Be the air we breath each morning and the daily bread that is necessary to live each day.}

This godly friendship with Heather has tremendously blessed me this past year; she has become my best friend and my accountability partner. Now that we have a house of just our own, we have noticed that: not only do we continue looking to each other for accountability, but also to our house. "Safe House" keeps me closer to the Lord because that was our prayer at the very beginning-that it would be a place of daily reminders of God's love and faithfulness and restoration. Its funny how God works--Sometimes, when I am having a spiritually dry and empty day, Heather is having a spiritually full and joyous day. Or vice versa. And now, if we both are feeling dry or empty spiritually, we can look to our home for accountability, safety, and assurance that God is constant and faithful.

"It is better to have a partner than to go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, but if there's no one to help, tough! Two in bed warm each other. Alone, you shiver all night by yourself unprotected. With a friend, you can face the worst." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Heather wrote me a sweet sweet letter the day we moved in and she closed the note with this: "I am so excited to see our house become a place of peace, comfort, worship, growth, safety! A place where He is constantly dwelling. I'm so excited to dwell here with Him right next to you! Let the adventures begin!"

I truly look forward to living life here! In this house, we will enjoy life, we will make mistakes, we will learn from our mistakes, we will make coffee each morning and cook dinner each evening, we will get sick, we will get stressed about schoolwork, we will cry, we will laugh, we will mourn, we will meet new friends, we will say goodbye to old friends, we will be pursued, we will be heartbroken, we will want to give up, we will endure, we will experience God in truly incredible ways, and we will grow.

In whatever living situation the Lord brings you into, choose to make it a "Safe House" of your own. Be a light and invite God to dwell. Where His presence is, He will be glorified!

beautiful you

"Wives, follow the lead of your husbands. Suppose some of them don't believe God's word. Then let them be won to Christ without words by seeing how their wives behave. Let them see how pure you are. Let them see that your lives are full of respect for God. Braiding your hair doesn't make you beautiful. Wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes doesn't make you beautiful. Instead, your beauty comes from inside you. It is the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Beauty like that doesn't fade away. God places great value on it. This is how the holy women of the past used to make themselves beautiful. They put their hope in God. And they followed the lead of their own husbands. Sarah was like that. She obeyed Abraham. She called him her master. Do you want to be like her? Then do what is right. And don't give in to fear." 1 Peter 3:1-6 


My sweet friend Heather blessed me tremendously with such an amazing conversation last night about God's faithfulness, our desperate need for His Love, and what our lives should look like as women of God. This morning I woke up to a text from her with this passage from 1 Peter. Although it is directed towards wives, this Scripture spoke volumes to me about my duty as a daughter of the King, and maybe as someone's future wife. I think that what it all comes down to is this: put your hope in God and trust His hand that leads you. As women of God, we to not be consumed by worldly things such as fine clothing or jewelry, but to instead enjoy being pursued by Christ, being clothed with beauty that comes only from Him.

I love this imagery Scripture uses about "clothing" yourself with the virtues and qualities of what holy looks like. Here in 1 Peter 3:4, we are told to clothe ourselves with the beauty that comes from within. In Colossians 3:12, Paul says: "Since you are God's holy people, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Then in verse 14, it says, "Above all else, clothe yourselves with love." Let God adorn you with purity, radiance, and joy. When you get dressed in the morning or before you go out at night, be sure to clothe yourself with a smile that radiates God's love. Leviticus 11:44 says: "You must be holy because I AM Holy." Pursue His holiness. Pursue radiance.

I love this 1 Peter 3 passage, how is clearly states: "Let them see how pure you are and that your lives are full of respect for God" (v. 2). Whoever your "dream guy" is you've been facebook stalking for the past month or that boy you've had a crush on for years, shift your focus on Christ and let that guy and everyone else see how pure, how lovely, and how radiant you are. Show the world your beautiful heart. I absolutely love how the passage ends with this: "..and do not give into fear." Be so confident in yourself, knowing that the Lord considers you as His precious treasure.

Listen to this song by Lindsey Kane called "Measure of Beauty" along with her insightful commentary:

He is Jealous for me

"I exult for joy in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God, for He has wrapped me in the cloak of integrity, like a bridegroom wearing His wreath, like a bride adorned in her jewels." Isaiah 61:10

I love how the Scriptures paint this beautiful image of Jesus as my Bridegroom, waiting for me to meet Him at the cross (or altar, if you will). He extends His hand outstretched to mine, ready to take me into His everlasting embrace. He is forever committed to stand by my side, to lead me in the right direction, and to faithfully provide for me everything needed to live a righteous life. When I accepted Him in my heart, He became the Lord of my life and the Love of my life. He never stops pursing me, never stops chasing me, never stops fighting for me. If you think you are waiting for your fairytale prince to come stand below your balcony ready to sweep you off your feet, look no more. Your Prince is here. He is eagerly waiting for you to get swept away in His love. It is no longer Mr. Right who I seek to discover, but it is Jesus Christ, my Bridegroom, who I seek daily. 

Marian Jordan, author of "Sex and the City Uncovered" and founder of Redeemed Girl Ministries, wrote the book "Radiant", which was a major influence on my blog from the start. In the first chapter, she beautifully writes about the radiance of a bride on her wedding day. Just as every girl dreams of it (I know I have since I was 4), there is something purely magical about your wedding day. Marian highlights that although the bride is framed perfectly in the doorway with her traditional white dress adorned in fine jewels and an heirloom lace veil, it is not the dress nor the pearls nor the flowers that take her breath away; it is the moment when her eyes meet the groom standing at the altar waiting expectantly for her to come meet her. That is the moment us girls long for. Radiance is what makes the ceremony beautiful. You can see it in the bride's eyes. The guests whisper to each other: "Wow, she is radiant."

"Her beauty on this day emanates from a source deep within her soul. She is not beautiful because of a makeup artist's tricks or a hairstylist's skills. No, there is a different quality today, something that is impossible to contain. If this beauty could be bottled, every cosmetic company in the world would clamor for the patent. But it can't be bottled, or produced, for this kind of beauty. Radiance comes from one thing: basking in the glow of love." (pg. 5)

In the same way, when we fall in love with Jesus and we choose to fix our eyes on Him, there is a radiance ignited in our souls that is the most beautiful thing ever created. The love Christ has for us is deeper than anything we can imagine. He is the Creator, the Father of Love. Apart from His love, nothing in our lives can or will be radiant. The glory of God "burst forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding" (Psalm 19:5).

"He initiated the betrothal at His death, making us His. He went away to His Father's House to prepare our home. One day He will return. We don't know when, but He told us to be ready so we prepare ourselves and wait expectantly for His approach. And then, one glorious day, the trumpets will announce His impeding arrival. We, His bride, will only look for His face, searching for the joy we are sure to find."
Christine Hoover ( gracecoversme.com )

Indeed, my God is jealous for me. 

Divine Inheritance

           Zechariah 3:7 "This is what the Lord of Heaven's armies says: 'If you follow Me and My ways and carefully serve Me, then you will be given authority over My Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing 
here.'" When I came across this verse while casually flipping through the Old Testament, it immediately reminded me of what the Lord has promised us all throughout Scripture, not only in the Old Testament but also later revealed in the New Testament.
            Look at this Psalm of David, and try to pick up this theme of "divine inheritance".

"Lord, You alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!" (Psalm 16:5-6)

As members of the body of Christ, we have an inheritance waiting for us. I am an heiress to the King and a co-heir with Christ (Galatians 4:1-7). “…now you are no longer a slave, but God’s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His heir” (v.7). Check out Galatians 3 as well. “…And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (v.29).

God has prepared something incredible for us, His children. Our eternal home is more than just a dwelling place for our souls after we leave this earth; it is our time to fulfill the inheritance-to finally meet our King face to face, and to become completely filled with His everlasting Spirit. I love the words David chooses in his Psalm, “You alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing…” (Psalm 16:5). It is much like a cup of living water, in which we inherit all blessings and fulfillment according to His promise. Then, we will be completely satisfied.

           Until then… Until then, we are called to live as heirs and heiresses of the King. Devoting my life to be a woman of God, I am undeservingly but gratefully an heiress to my King. And because He is my King, I am His princess, so I must live my life according to that title. Just as you men are mighty warriors of God, you are called to imitate Him in every aspect of your life. So, together, men and women of God, let’s live according to the inheritance. Though we do not deserve it, let’s live for it. Live for Him, inherit beauty and blessing, and gratefully praise Him for being King of our hearts.

Guarding Your Inheritance...
         In a letter from Paul to Timothy, He writes him these specific words (instructions, if you will)... "Timothy, guard what God has In a letter from Paul to Timothy, He writes him these specific words (instructions, if you will)… “Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you” (1 Timothy 6:20). The Lord has entrusted a divine inheritance unto us. We are called to guard it, protect it, value it. We are to hold it in our hearts as a permanent treasure, never letting anything or anyone take it away from us. Many of us are familiar with the wisdom verse in Proverbs 4 that has kept us from much heartbreak (at least from my personal experience), which says, “Guard your heart, above all else, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Not only does Christ live in our hearts, our inheritance rests in there as well. We must guard our hearts with strength and wisdom, accomplished by living a prayerful and righteous lifestyle.

wake up for the new year

Romans 13:11-14
^"This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires."


WAKE UP! Salvation is here!!! God is alive and active in our hearts! Let us not miss out on His glorious riches of the year 2012! 

God's Workmanship

"For we are God's worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Enjoy the adventure of finding yourself through losing yourself in Christ. [Jesus Calling]

Dear Jesus,

I praise You for who You are; You are my Maker. 

You have created me knowing and planning out every intricate detail that makes me, me.

By no mistake am I here alive today. 

By no mistake was I raised in a wonderful godly home. 

By no mistake do I attend Baylor University....sic'em. 

By no mistake am I a Kappa Kappa Gamma.

By no mistake am I obsessed with music.

By no mistake am I drawn to children and love the ministry opportunity there. 

By no mistake are my eyes light blue.

By no mistake can I not touch my toes. 

By no mistake has my heart been broken more than once in my life.

By no mistake am I single at this time in my life.

By no mistake do I crave spiritual milk each morning.

By no mistake am I who I am today.

By no mistake.

By no mistake.

Thank you, Lord, for creating me exactly the way I am. 

Your daughter,

Avery