I'm supposed to be working on a lesson I'm going to be teaching but it just seems impossible to actually do any work right now. The 2% achiever in me is NOT at work right now. Instead I've been watching youtube videos of Pink. I love her so much. She is so bad ass, her voice is so rock star, her hair is mesmerizing, her body is ridiculous...I may have a slight girl crush. I'm pretty sure we would be friends.
Check out these videos:
The end of this video is ridiculous with her voice...
I'm sorry but she is actually singing with all of her acrobatic work. What?! I'm thinking I'm going to do this routine next Sunday...
And just for fun because I just saw these pics that my sister just posted on facebook and they have nothing to do with Pink but they are ridiculously cute...this is my nephew Max...
Oh give me those dimples. I can't even handle it. I love being an aunt so much.
I absolutely love the vulnerability in these words. I have just worshiped through this song over and over again and I find my heart stirred, my soul broken down, head full of all the stuff going on in my little life...only to be reminded of God's faithfulness and His goodness that He has never left me, He won't ever leave me and He is always there no matter what is going on in me and around me. I have Him. I get Him. He is enough. He will never forsake me. Never.
You were reaching through the storm
Walking on the water
Even when I could not see
In the middle of it all
When I thought You were a thousand miles away
Not for a moment did you forsake me
Not for a moment did you forsake me
After all, You are constant
After all, You are only good
After all, You are sovereign
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Not for a moment will You forsake me
You were singing in the dark
Whispering Your promise
Even when I could not hear
I was held in Your arms
Carried for a thousands miles to show
Not for a moment did You forsake me
Not for a moment did You forsake me
After all, You are constant
After all, You are only good
After all, You are only good
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Every step, every breath You are there
Every tear, every cry, every prayer
In my hurt, in my worst, when my world falls down
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Not for a moment will You forsake me
After all, You are constant
After all, You are only good
After all, You are only good
Not for a moment will You forsake me
Not for a moment will You forsake me
I have quarantined myself to my room for the past week. In the midst of all my travels this summer I have caught pink eye and tonsillitis. boo. I was supposed to fly out to Chicago on Wednesday to be with one of my best friends who is getting married on SUNDAY! I postponed my flight and I leave TODAY! I figured it would be better to be at home in my quarantined room resting instead of infecting the bride and the whole bridal party.
My friend Jamie just posted about what she is excited about today and I thought I would join her in sharing in some exciting things.
1. I feel SO much better. I'm not completely back to normal...but definitely better. I'm so thankful. I've had some peeps praying hard for healing in my body and I'm thankful that God answered & is quickly healing my body. He is so kind.
2. I fly out TODAY for Chicago! I absolutely LOVE Chicago. Being from Iowa, this city was our vacation city growing up. I'm excited to be in the city but most of all that I will get to be with 2 of my best friends! Mich (Christy) is getting MARRIED!!! My other friend AJ is the maid of honor and I'm a bridesmaid. It's going to be so much fun. I have shared so many fun memories with these girls and I can't wait to spend the weekend with them!
3. I get a massage tomorrow. We are having a spa day with the bridal party and AJ got me a massage! When I was at the dr. this week she said that I needed a massage, so this is perfect! I can't wait. This summer has been a rough one and I think it's all building up in my shoulders and neck. This massage will be wonderful!
4. Monday when I get back into town, Jamie is picking me up at the airport and we are heading to Port A with 15 of our other girlfriends for a week at the beach! These girls are some of the best girls I know and I'm so thankful for each of them. I'm excited to have a fun & memorable time with them. What happens in Port A...stays in Port A.
5. My August 2012 playlist. I get made fun of for my playlists. I have one for each month of songs that I'm listening to over and over that month. I have to say that my August 2012 playlist is pretty amazing.
Here is what I'm reading that you should get on board with (you can click on the pic & it will take you to amazon):
I have been listening to this song over and over. So. Beautiful.
I love when music gets to the depths of my soul, it is only because the Spirit goes there first.
I've been wrestling and all out fighting the war in me with my thoughts, with my feelings, with the outer pressures of different things weighing on me. It's exhausting. When I first heard this song, I feel to my face and cried. I had been trying so hard to carry all of this myself. I'm not quite sure why I quickly forget that God wants me...all of me...all of my burdens. Every single one of them. He wants me to come and lay them before Him. There is rest in Him. There is peace in Him. There is healing in Him. I want to breathe Him in and breathe Him out. Just breathe.
Hope this encourages you.
Come and rest here
Come and lay your burdens down
Come and rest here
There is refuge for you now
You'll find His peace
And know you're not alone anymore
He is near
You'll find His healing
Your heart isn't shattered anymore
He is here
Breathe in
Breathe out
You will, you will find Him here
I will rest in You
I will rest in You
I will rest in You
I will rest in You
Here are some videos/songs that I have been loving lately...check it:
I saw this guy perform at a conference I went to last month. He was AMAZING. He's a cello beat boxer. LOVE.
Sometimes I just listen to this song over and over again and get lost in the simplicity and repetition yet power, in this cry to God... (there is some silliness at the end of the video. love it.)
Mr. David Ramirez always amazes me with his passionate writing and rough vocals. AMAZING.
The Staves absolutely blew me away when I saw them for the first time at The Civil Wars concert I went to. They opened the show and never before have I been to a concert where the opening act got a standing ovation! Unbelievable. Here is one of my favorite songs...
This song has been on repeat the last couple of days. We do this song at the Stone, but I absolutely LOVE this version of it. It's stripped down, slowed down and really makes you think about the words.
My heart is stirred by the thought that Jesus came to rescue me and make me His for all my days.
Listen/watch this and ask the Spirit to stir your heart and love for Jesus. He has set you free. You are His forever.
LOVE CAME DOWN
If my heart is overwhelmed and I cannot hear Your voice
I'll hold on to what is true though I cannot see
If the storms of life they come and the road ahead gets steep
I will lift these hands in faith
I will believe
I'll remind myself of all that You've done
And the life I have because of Your Son
Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours I am forever Yours
Mountain high or valley low
I sing out remind my soul
That I am Yours I am forever Yours
When my heart is filled with hope
and every promise comes my way
When I feel Your hands of grace rest upon me
Staying desperate for You God
Staying humbled at Your feet
I will lift these hands and praise
I will believe
I'll remind myself of all that You've done
And the life I have because of Your Son
Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours I am forever Yours
Mountain high or valley low
I sing out remind my soul
That I am Yours I am forever Yours
I am Yours
I am Yours
All my days
Jesus, I am Yours
Love came down and rescued me
Love came down and set me free
I am Yours I am forever Yours
Mountain high or valley low
I sing out remind my soul
That I am Yours I am forever Yours
Listening to this song today by Bethany Dillon.You Are On Our Side.
The words of this song are piercing. Such a great reminder that we have a God who is on our side, who has loved us and sent His son for us when He could have been silent. The orphan, the widow, the broken, the thief, the whore, wherever we find ourselves, He is there. Fighting for us, sitting with us, loving us beyond our comprehension.
Here are the lyrics:
The orphan clings to Your hand
Singing the song of how he was found
The widow rejoices
For her oppressors are silenced now
You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side
The runaway falls at Your feet
You are what he has searched for
The rich man is broken
When he stands beneath a sky full of stars
You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side
You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side
I love when God uses music to soften my heart. But I have to be careful that I don't rely completely on that to give me life, to soften my heart and to fill me up again.
Jesus can do that. His word can do that.
Psalm 147
"Praise to the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble, he casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving, make melody to our God on the lyre!"
Here are some fun videos I've been watching and can't get enough of --
Best wedding proposal ever. Man...SO fun, it kinda makes me wanna get engaged...
Love this little man...whoever he is. He has real passion about singing...
I'm completely in love with this song...
There are so many things about this next video that I almost feel like it needs its own post. But here you go anyway...I don't know whether to laugh or to not be a christian anymore...
I feel like there needs to be another serious video...This girl's voice is ridiculous. If I could sing like this I would sing everything I said.
There is a kickball tournament happening at the end of the month. It's a fundraiser for a short term missions trip that I will be going on with the women's development program I am a part of. This kickball tournament is going to be on the level of legendary.
If you are in Austin, get a team together and sign up. Now.
For all the info go here: World's Greatest Kickball Tournament and Games
To sign up go here: Registration
So there was this time that I shot a music video. The theme: "Kickball Don't Hurt Me". Promotion for the World's Greatest Kickball Tournament and Games.
Let's discuss: What is your favorite scene in the video?
This song has been on repeat for the last two days.
God is moving my heart.
Brokenness is coming out of me.
Healing is coming in to me.
Worship is coming out of me.
Jesus is coming in to me.
if faith can move the mountains, let the mountains move
we come with expectation, waiting here for You
waiting here for You
You're the Lord of all creation and still You know my heart
the Author of salvation, You've loved us from the start
waiting here for You
with our hands lifted high
in praise
and it's You we adore
singing alleluia
You're everything You've promised, Your faithfulness is true
we are desperate for Your presence, all we need is You
waiting here for You
with our hands lifted high
in praise
and it's You we adore
singing alleluia
I was reading out of my Bible Doctrine book this morning.
yes.
You heard that right...I was reading and I was reading theology.
I have been reading about the bible and how it is God's word. I've been reading about God and how every person has an inner sense that God exists. God created us that way. God gives us His word to know more about Him, so that our inner sense of knowing that there is a God grows to knowing Him deeply.
I came across this video from JD Greear's blog and was so moved by this story, especially after processing through all that I'm reading. A church in Indonesia for the first time received the New Testament in their own language. These people are so beautiful.
Watch this:
My brother-in-law had the privilege to go on a trip to Ethiopia with one of my good friends and a team of others to help out a ministry called Yezelalem Minch
My friend just posted a beautiful video of footage from their trip and also had his sweet girls speak verses over it. Watch this and move.
So good! (my bro-in-law is at the end w the Iowa tshirt on!)
In two days I will be singing songs with this little man. He is one of my nephews and his name is Max. I can't even handle this video. I've probably watched it 243 times.
I cannot wait to spoil my nephews and my niece when I go to visit them in Iowa!! IN 2 DAYS!!! My sisters will hate me. But I'm pretty sure that is the job of an aunt who lives a million miles away and only sees them once or twice a year.
I am amazed by this story. A couple who adopted three boys from China who have albinism. In China, those who have Albinism have no chance of going to school, getting jobs, getting married etc. they don't have much of a future. Also I heard that in Tanzania people who have albinism are being murdered and their limbs being taken off because it has been said that their body parts will make them rich. This is horrific. I had no idea this was happening in other countries. There is a need for adoption with albinism. Get on it.
I love the lady when she says, "We could just get old, or we could get old and do something."
To be completely honest. I'm struggling. Once again I have found myself in a funk. I feel like this is a familiar place to me. I get here often and I get real frustrated about that.
I start to close myself off and I can't stop sleeping, I kind of just want to give up and I don't care...anyone know what I'm talking about?!
I have a feeling I'm not alone in this.
I cry a lot. I don't really want to be around people I don't know...even hard to be around people I do know. I'm tired.
But this is what I know. Jesus hasn't changed. My emotions and everything in me changes but HE hasn't changed.
He never, not even once, looks at me and says, "girl...you crazy. I'm out."
I'm so thankful for that. SO thankful.
I think about how this week has been up and down and how on numerous occasions I've wanted to turn my back and just walk (more like run) as fast away as I can. But He stops me and somehow lovingly reels me back in.
I will walk forward...continue taking steps...even if it looks like rolling out of bed and lying on the floor for a little bit...I will continue to worship Him.
I will stand and lead in the state that I'm in because He takes me as I am and He still is to be worshiped. In my weakness HE is strong. There is nothing in me that can do this. But HE can.
I just happened to listen to this song this morning by Kari Jobe, it's called My Beloved.
It pretty much wrecked me out and I can't stop listening to it...then I decided that I needed to learn how to play it.
Then I decided to record it for y'all to hear it.
Disclaimer: I'm a mess & it's rough.
I can hear God singing this to me over and over and over and over...
Here are the lyrics:
You're My beloved your My bride
To sing over you is My delight
Come away with Me My love
Under My mercy come and wait
Till we are standing face to face
I see no stain on you My child
You're beautiful to Me
So beautiful to Me
I sing over you My song of peace
Cast all your cares down at My feet
Come and find your rest in Me
I breathe My life inside of you
I'll bear you up on eagle's wings
And hide you in the shadow of My strength
I'll take you to My quiet waters
I'll restore your soul
Come rest in me and be made whole
You're My beloved your My bride
To sing over you is My delight
Come away with Me My love
