"You are God alone..."

"You are God alone... Unchangeable... Unshakeable... Unstopable... That's what you are!!!"

Over the past month God has been showing me more of Himself. Through crises... through answers to prayer... through heartache... through immense blessings.

Tonight as I was sitting here reflecting back on my week... I am humbled by God using me. This song by Phillips, Craig, and Dean just seems to capture what is resonating inside my heart.

"You are not a god created by human hands
You are not a god dependent on any mortal man
You are not a god in need of anything we can give
By Your plan that's just the way it is...

You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
You are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
And you are God alone

You're the only God whose Power none can contend
You're the only God whose name and Praise will never end
You're the only God whose worthy of everything we can give
You are God that's just the way it is!

Unchangeable
Unshakeable
Unstoppable
That's what you are."

It is not what I can do on my own but totally what He desires for me to do and strengthens me for. He uses me despite me and my imperfections. So many times I get consumed by all of the "trash" that I am carrying around that I forget about 'the God alone' wants my burdens to be lite! (But yet how stubborn am I to keep taking them out of His hand.)

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He doesn't change and neither does His Word. No matter how much our culture and world changes... GOD alone is the constant.

He is the rock in which we should build our faith upon. No earthquake can crumble that solid foundation.

He will not be stopped. His plan will go on no matter what. My little goof ups can not thwart the big picture of God's perfect plan.

As I sit here in awe of His majesty, I challenge you to go and hear this song for your self.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMjMDxPkXkI

Worship God alone!!!

The surprising critters

Last night, on my way out of the bathroom I noticed something following me out of the corner of my eye. As I took a closer look I realized it was a huge scorpion on a rampage. Within seconds of me letting out a shriek of horror, Romeo came bounding in to rescue me from the evil villian. I didn't want him getting stung so I kicked him out of the bathroom, shut the door, and realized I trapped myself in with the evil critter. Looking for something to drop on him before I got stung, I was very thankful that I had just put a recipe book... "Friday Night Bites" in the bathroom to peruse in my spare time.

Any way with the drop of the book, the evil critter was smashed and flushed but now I am not so thrilled about walking around my house barefoot in the dark. Between the dead rat in my office closet, the centipede coming up the boy's bathroom drain, and the scorpion chasing me out of my own bathroom... What else could be lurking???

Living a life of adultery

I am a prostitute when I tell God "You are not enough for me."  I am restless and need to find my rest solely in God.  If I look for rest anywhere else I am awhoreing myself to the ways of the world.

O Lord may I solely look to You to be my everything.  Forgive me for the numerous times I have sought after the things of the world over the things of You.  I desire an intimate relationship with you and you alone!

Precious in His sight

Children...

"All it takes is a moment to change a child's life."

I spend a minute wasting time worrying about something minuscule when I could be pouring into a child. Children are so precious to God. Shouldn't they be just as precious to us???

After having the pleasure of visiting Compassion International and Focus on the Family, God has reminded me of where He wants me. So many times children are forgotten. They are the first to go hungry in a famine. They are the first to lose their education in the midst of financial crises. They are the first to be killed when it's inconvienent. They are the first to be living on the streets when sickness occurs. To so many these children are invisible and dispensible. Are we seeing these little ones from the eyes of God or are we so wrapped up in our agenda and busyness that we push them aside?

God has really convicted my heart on seeing children through His eyes... through this conference, seeing the stand that Compassion and Focus on the Family take on children, and from the book "When Invisible Children Sing" by Dr. Chi Huang. During all my flying time over the past few days I read this book from cover to cover on the street children of Bolivia. Throughout the book, I was in tears and the Lord showed me aspects of these precious little ones and what they go through on a daily basis. Things that have been ignored by American Christianity because it is so far away but I have been challenged that these are God's children.

"Do you see our invisible children? Economics and technology widen the moats and heighten the walls between us in the developed world and the poor of the developing world. Political parties distort our vision. Many on the left wish us to believe tht our street children are innocent and helpless victims. In contrast, those on the right often define these children as violent, lazy vermin deserving of their torture. Street children are not good or bad, but rather complex human beings with good and bad qualities- just like us all." (When Invisible Children Sing, pg 291-292)

What can we do... ignoring it won't make it go away so I challenge myself and you to pray and see what God would have you do for these invisible children...

would it be sponsoring one child through Compassion International releasing them from poverty in Jesus' name?

would it be becoming a foster/adoptive parent to an orphaned child?

would it be teaching a child in our path about the love of Jesus?

would it be serving on the mission field or praying for one who does?

If Jesus said "Let the children come to me" (Matthew 19:14) should we turn them away???

Enough

"Great is your faithfulness. All I have your hand has provided." You are truly ENOUGH!



The hand of God that created the majestic rock formations... is ENOUGH to provide for each need according to HIS riches in glory!





Over the past few days I had the privilege of going to Colorado Springs for the International Early Education Leadership Conference (IEELC) with ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International). The theme has been "ENOUGH" with seminars entitled "Finding Enough", "The illusion of Enough", "Beyond Enough- Going the Extra Mile to Build Bridges", "Small enough to impact", and "Enough is Enough".





So my question is -Is God enough for what He has called us to do? Am I trusting in myself to do enough or listening to God as to what He says is enough for me to do? How many times do I try to do things out of my own strength when God's is enough?





God used these conferences to remind me that I am to only do what He has called me to do. It is not my job to do everything that people want me to do but to do only the things God has put before me. What a freeing fact to know that I don't have to be enough by myself because I will never live up to that.

He created enough supply. He offers enough supply. He is ENOUGH! Are you tapping into the right source?

Understanding Children

Conference by Wess Stafford

DL Moody- "If I had my life to do it all over again, I would spend it educating children."

In an upside down world... the little ones are big in God's kingdom.

*Everytime a child is mentioned in scripture, God is doing something big... Abraham-Isaac, Miriam- Moses, Eli- Samuel, Josiah, Jesus, little boy with fish and loaves,...

*Satan attacks when people are small... battle over the unborn whether poverty or convience.
Matthew 18:10

*Every child that comes into our path is a divine appointment. 
*Like wet cement, children are so pliable.  All it takes is a moment to change a child's life.


A critical time- Children ages 5-18 (George Barna)
"If you want to shape a person's life... whether you are most concerned about his or her moral spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, or economic development... it is during these critical eight years that lifelong habits, values, beliefs, and attitudes are formed."

Bridge Building

notes from Beyond Enough Conference...

Going the Extra Mile to Build Bridges
by Julia, Brooke, and D'Arcy

Myths about Bridge Building

1.  Building bridges is comfortable
2. Building bridges will change people
3. Success is guaranteed
4. Building bridges is easy and quick
5. The problem is everyone else
6. You can delegate and not be involved
7. One construction method/material to be used
8. Building Bridges does not require homework
9. The bridge will always go in the direction you want
10. Building bridges is convienient
11. You are totally in control of this process.
12.  Building bridges is cheap
13. This isn't going to be worth it
14. The bridge benefits me alone

Jesus' foundation was to do the will of His father
*Am I doing this because it is ithe will of my father?

Implementation of Bridge Building

• with a team
• have grace when abandoned halfway through
• open handed surrender
• long term goals- not our ideas but God's
• gain empahty for others

Truths of Bridges

• beautiful
• strong
• connect
• depict a culture or area
• all unique
• commintment of time
• once they are build you can go farther easier
• not build by one