What's in a Name?

Lost are saved, find their way

 at the sound of Your great name
All condemned, feel no shame

at the sound of Your great name
Every fear, has no place

 at the sound of Your great name
The enemy, he has to leave

 at the sound of Your great name

I have been here at the learning center for 6 weeks now and I don't think y'all would want to read through all that I have learned. Whoever compared our time here to drinking from a fire hydrant was not kidding. A LOT of important, valuable information coming at you in a short time. I like what my supervisor told me before coming here. Not to be stressed out;  I will learn some stuff here that I'll never use on the field, and there will be things on the field never covered in my time here in Richmond.

I tell you all of this in short to let you know I'm not going to summarize the 7 dimensions of IMB personnel or review the 4 spiritual laws with you. I want to share with you the renewed confidence I have in who I am sent out by. I have heard so many stories since being here, studied a few different worldviews and I am broken for them. For their lost-ness. BUT. I am continually humbled by the name of Jesus who strengthens me to do His work. It is only by His power that we get to see great things happening in the darkest places of the world.  I would not trust to go out with any other name than Jesus. 6 weeks after training and that's all I can tell you, as simple as it is. Everything we do must point back to the gospel, else we're just talking about ourselves.  And as imperfect as I am, that would be a huge mistake. 

Revelation 7:9 says, "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands." I'm so thankful that we serve a God who knows eternity and who will get all the glory. Every nation, tribe, people and language will be present and I hold on to that promise when times look so dark in Ukraine, Venezuela and other parts of the world.  His kingdom is big and I can't wait to be used for it.

Tunesday Tuesday.

I heard this song the other night playing on my friend's Spotify and have been listening to it ever since. It has got such a good hook!! At least I think so, anyway. It's by Churchill and is called "Lock Your Heart Down."

Tasteful Travels.

This weekend I had the pleasure of sitting back and being a tourist in a town I had never been before, Charlottesville, VA. Home of one of nation's president's and what I now believe to be one of the most prestigious state schools, UVA. I went with an old school best friend, a new bestie and a brand new friend. The fun we had this Saturday will be remembered for years to come through the lens of not one but 4 cameras (yes, we all 4 were carrying our DSLR cameras) and I'm sharing some of my favorites with you now.

First, our hostesses and one of my dearest friends Emily. Heart of gold and so thankful for her friendship.

So, UVA has this bridge that anyone can paint on at anytime. Currently they had this huge portion dedicated to Venezuela and my heart was proud. We need to remember to pray for their political unrest and our people in country.

Our group for the day: Natalie, me, Leanne, and Emily

We had lunch at Trump Winery and it was so pretty! No, we had no drinks, and yes, it was the Donald's.

Monticello in all its glory!

Tunesday Tuesday.

iTunes radio is a great tool. I used to listen to it at work for hours on the Hillsong United station and I'm pretty sure that's how I first heard this song among many great others. I don't know how old this song is, but the message is so central to what I'm here for that I listen to it almost every morning and night before I go to bed.

My favorite lines in the song are in the chorus:
I am in love with You I want to take Your name
I am in love with You I want to cling to You Jesus

Such a simple song and yet such a good one. 

Happy Weekend, Y'all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sufficient for You is the Grace of Me.

Sometimes when I am overwhelmed with my insecurities, I just have to be reminded that He is enough.

Living on a Prayer.

Prayer. How often do you do it? I mean, really, intimately get to talk with God? Answering honestly I'd say far less often than I wish.  It is something so powerful. Yet I fear as a society we take it so lightly... But if we look to the Bible, it is so highly regarded in the life of a believer, in the life of Jesus. Just in studying Acts, the first church was constantly together in prayer. Acts 1:14, 2:42, 3:1, 4:24-31 and 6:6 are full of examples of this, and that is only the beginning.

Jesus. During his ministry on earth he often went off alone to spend time with the Father.  Luke 5:16 tells us "But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray." If someone as righteous and holy as Jesus needed alone time with God, how much more does a sinful person like me need it? Just saying. Again in Mark 1:35, "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there." This was a pattern in His life, not a one time special prayer request that Jesus was shooting up to the Father.  A discipline to be alone in the morning, day and night if you recall before His crucifixion He went alone to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane.

And how often does Paul urge us to pray without ceasing? Probably because he knows the enemy stands by waiting to get us while we're down... Prayer is our best defense! All of the following verses encourage us in the area of prayer:

• Philippians 4:6 - "...but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17 - "Pray without ceasing."
• Romans 12:12 - "Be [...] faithful in prayer."
• Ephesians 6:18 - "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."
• Colossians 4:2 - "Continue steadfastly in prayer..."  

It is my prayer that in my time here in Virginia, that I would be better at prayer and grow deeper in my prayer life. But for some reason, it doesn't come naturally to me. Now I realize it's just talking to God. But my mind is as easily distracted as a child in a candy shop when I close my eyes to pray. So if you'll join in praying that over me, I would so greatly appreciate it! It's my prayer request for the next 8 weeks here and it is a discipline in the fact that it requires practice. Waking up earlier to spend more time in prayer without back falling asleep. 

I have just one last verse to share with you that I hope will rock your world like it did mine. It is from Hebrews 7:24-25, "But Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Did you catch what it says at the end... He intercedes for us. How humbling that the Son of Man prays for us daily. This is the same God who we have the privilege of meeting with every morning, Creator of the universe for from him and through him and to him are all things. I encourage you to meet with Him today if you haven't already.