4 verses for 2015.

525,600 Minutes. What goes into a year?
 Is it the moments that take our breath away?
Is it the laughter with friends?

Is it the breath-taking beauty of nature?

How is it that when we peel back the memories and the scaly skin of time, we discover true love and beauty in the midst of the hurts and the pain?
Where in the midst of a year do we find meaning?

This year was slower in the adventures. I didn't get any new stamps in my passport, but it was an adventure of the heart. I played with children all day with the best job a girl could ask for. I traveled to the foreign land of Arkansas, I flew on a plane for the first time all by myself. I applied to college and completed my first semester at college. I bought my first car. And most importantly God, changed my heart. At the end of this year I hope I can say, I'm a little more sanctified and a little more filled with Jesus.

4 Important verses for 2015.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:35
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14
At the start of this year, there was no direction in my life. I didn't know what I was doing and I had no idea where I would be at the end of this year. My heart's desire was to be a missionary somewhere. But that was not God's plan. I am amazed at the lessons I learned in waiting. Some days the waiting was so much I was scared I might let go of God, my faith. It was on those days that God was good to me, and spoke to my restless heart. And Lamentations is right, the Lord IS good to those who wait for him. He was good to me. In his timing, in his way he spoke to me about my future.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 27:4
Oh my, do I understand this verse now. The desires of my heart at the beginning of this year were much different then they are now. This verse does not say, "Tell the Lord your desires and then delight in the manifestation of them." It says FIRST and foremost, Delight yourself in the Lord. This year, I learned what it means to delight yourself in the Lord. Even when it's hard, even when you want to let go and give up. Even when you don't see what He is doing. And then he will give you the desires of your heart. The thing is though, that when you delight yourself in Him, He has a way of changing your desires for his glory. The beginning of the year, I wanted desperately to be a missionary with YWAM fulltime. After I learned to give Him my whole life, my desires shifted as he sifted through my heart.


Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:16
There are gifts that are too deep for words. Gifts that God gives us when we don't even ask, but He knows we need. Gifts that we aren't even looking for, and suddenly we don't know what we would do without. My need was a soul friend. My need was a friend who would understand me here in Lancaster. And God provided a friend for me, for this year, who flipped the loneliness I was feeling upside down. I am grateful for that gift of the Lord and how he sees even the needs I am completely unaware of.


 He who calls you is faithful, He will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Finally, God showed me his faithfulness repeatedly. He provided me a car when mine gave up. He provided me adventure when my heart couldn't take anymore mundane. He is continually providing money for me to go to college. I have a lot of dreams for 2016 and along with the dreams, a lot of worries.. But He has called me. And HE IS FAITHFUL.

So what goes into a year?
It is the daily adventure of following Jesus wherever he takes me. From nannying to college. From Arkansas to Kentucky. From youth group to Starbucks. The moments that make up a year are filled with the people that touch our lives and we touch in return. The beauty that is bottled up in a sand timer is wonderful and dreadful, but so worth it.
As I step uncertainly into another year, I am confident only in the fact that the ground I am stepping on is steady because Jesus is holding my hand. Wherever I go, whatever I face, He is right here by my side. And for that I am forever grateful.

we have seen a great light.

"The People who walked in Darkness have seen a great light."

Isaiah 9:2

The shepherds are the first, most obvious recipients of this promise. Night after night, these shephereds ritualistically watched the sheep. Nothing exciting ever happened, except for an predator scare every once in a while, or on the rare night they saw a shooting star. But one night, these people who walked in darkness saw a great light. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and told them the good news of the birth of their Savior. 

How wonderful!

How marvelous! 

They immediately leapt to their feet, forgetting the sheep, forgetting their responsiblilites, only thinking of how their lives were about to change. 

Mary and Joseph were also recipients of this promise. We fail to think of them in that capacity. The unsuspecting virgin, we often equate her to a clueless teenage girl, but I believe this girl had the most courageous faith. Her faith caused her to find favor with God and carry his son for 9 months. This is not a task given to just anyone. Joseph, a simple carpenter, about to become father also was filled with faith. He had to trust God unconditionally that Mary was telling the truth. He believed God enough to disregard the opinions of everyone around him who thought Mary was breaking the Law. She should be stoned to death. 

But when this gentle, courageous mother, met eyes with her Son for the first time, she saw a great light. When this quiet, faithful father held his Son for the first time, He saw a great light.

We are recipients of this promise. If it wasn't for that Baby where would I be? That baby grew up to be the wonderful counselor, prince of peace, almighty God, and our everlasting Father. 

Without that baby I would still be buried in a graveyard of my sin. Without that baby I would still be separated from God by a deep cavern called Hell. Without that birth on a quiet night, in a small stable in Bethlehem, I would be lost, isolated and alone. Without that Child, who would grow up to be the greatest Man who ever walked this earth, my life would be meaningless. Without that Man, who lived a perfect, sinless life, and sacrificed himself on a cross to appease the wrath of God, I would have no righteousness before God himself. And if that man did not rise again three days later, I would not be alive again. Without that baby, there would be no wonderful counselor, there would be no prince of peace, there would be no everlasting father. 

Without that baby, who is Christ the Lord, this life is not worth it. 

All my hope boils down to one thing: Jesus Christ. From the simple complexity of his birth to the humility of his death, my hope weighs on Jesus. Because of Him I see how I have walked in darkness. And now I see a great light. How grateful I am.

How marvelous.

How wonderful. 

I'm thankful for his birth. I'm thankful for his death. I'm thankful for the time in between. 

1 Corinthians 6:15-16

He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unnaproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. 

come and see what God has done.

Writer's block has plagued me hard within the past few weeks. The words haven't flowed. I wanted to find all the right words to express my many emotions this Christmas season, but I am struck with the simplicity of the Gospel. My poem, Come and see what God has done, is inspired by Lauren Daigel's new song Noel. Click the link below to listen.

Lauren Daigel - Noel

A baby,

swaddled in cloths,

sleeping on hay.

This boy: the greatest gift,

given to a courageous mother,

a simple father,

to us.

How can this be?

This baby, 

answers prophecies of old.

This child, 

hope incarnate. 

This tiny one,

with love radiating from his infant face,

will shake history. 

To the lost,

he will guide.

To the lonely,

he will comfort.

To the broken,

He will mend.

To the sick,

He will heal.

To the dead,

He will raise.

To the empty,

He will fill.

To the sinful, 

he will clean.

How can this be?

come and see what God has done,

Hope is ALIVE.

Hope is HERE.

Hope is lying in a manger.

Love is wrapped in swaddled cloths.

Peace is looking a virgin mother in the eye.

come and see what God has done,

this baby is called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace,

Immanuel.

come and see what God has done,

Jesus is his name,

God is with us.

Isaiah 7:14, 9:6

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be on his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Supernova

Supernova

My heart races at the speed of light.

My thoughts swirl in my head lacking in sense.

Words flow out of my mouth missing vocabulary.

My restlessness is chaos.

Winter air falls gently over the land.

Promising snow, promising peace.

Brisk air envelopes me in tranquility.

The lights of Christmas,

the joy of the season gives rest.

The promises are shalom.

My discontent is creating a gossip out of me.

Bitterness is planted as a seed in my heart.

Questions of God's goodness and love

grow like weeds in me.

Something must change.

"Be still," He says. "Listen to me," He whispers.

His hand that holds the entirety of the universe

touches my heart and I can breathe.

His heart that loves unconditionally stops

this anarchy in my mind.

The paradox of this curious reality

is that I am mess

and You are order.

When I spin like a tornado,

bringing destruction to everything in my wake,

You are.

A peace that silences the questions,

calms the storm

and breaks the disillusions.

This collision of peaceful serenity

and my restless soul is creating a supernova.

Because when chaos meets harmony,

and love meets apathy,

fears are stilled,

restlessness replaced with content.

I am chaos,

You are harmony.

Silence my fears,

still my restlessness. 

Content my heart.