Hope For Every Girl (Anti-Slavery Day) from Hopeforjustice on Vimeo.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Spiritual Pregnancy
The process of having a baby has got to be the most amazing journey that someone can take. My wife and I have only 2 months until things become completely different from what we now know and every step of the way I can't help but be reminded of how spiritual pregnancy is much the same. It is so unbelievable to think that my baby is not even born and yet God has found things to teach me through this little one.
I never quite understood at times what was going on in the Spirit, in regards to our personal life, until we found out we were pregnant. All of a sudden some things started to make more sense, we were spiritually pregnant. If you have never been expecting a baby before then let me fill you in on some of the journey we have been on that has made some sense of our spiritual journey.
As excited as you are to meet your baby, you still have to wait 9 months. When we dream with God and He reveals things to us it is so exciting that we feel we can jump to the moon. That feeling of excitement is good and ok to feel but it is also important to understand that what God showed you might not happen right away. Just like a baby in the womb those 9 months are so so so important because in those 9 months that baby develops from the size of a poppy seed to the size of a watermelon. And you can't rush it. You have to wait. This leads me into the next stage that follows the initial excitement.
After finding out you are having a baby you expect things to totally change over night and for the outward manifestations to match the joy inside. I thought that I would literally watch my wife's belly grow as I stared at it. But guess what? No matter how hard I stared I didn't see it grow. At times it felt as though nothing was even happening. It was a faith season. You will find that following a season of great revelation over the future and destiny there comes a season of faith. You may not see the belly growing yet but you believe that there is a baby in there. The faith season is such an important season because you are going totally on what was told to you.
John 20:29 'Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, Thomas, do you now believe (trust, have faith)? Blessed and happy and [a]to be envied are those who have never seen Me and yet have believedand adhered to and trusted and relied on Me.'
One of the craziest moments for me was when I first heard my baby's heartbeat. There is nothing that can describe that feeling. I was overjoyed and excited. And while I listened something really funny came into my head, 'There really is a baby in there'. I had the same thing happen to me at our ultrasound. Coming out of the faith season you begin to see what was always and already is real begin to manifest to your senses. Its a lot like a movie trailer, a preview/glimpse of what is coming soon. When what we have been believing for begins to manifest itself to our senses it creates an atmosphere of excitement for the fullness of it to come forth. Its a lot like the children of Israel being promised the promise land, then walking through years of the dessert, then finally seeing it, then possessing it.
When you've gotten this point in the pregnancy you get almost nervous because the baby is coming so soon and you have to get things ready for the arrival. This is the next step. We must begin to prepare everything for the arrival of the baby. For the arrival of the promise. Much like John The Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus there are certain things that need to be done before the birth of the spiritual promise, personally in your own life as well as practical. When that baby comes they need a place to 'lay their head', they need clothes, food, blankets and the list goes on. And when that promise comes forth you need to guard it and take care of it. Joseph and Mary were entrusted with this responsibility of carrying Jesus in the womb, preparing a place and raising Him. In the same way you are entrusted to carry this spiritual baby and to see to it that it is carried to full term and protected.
As we near the final stages in the natural we do so with arms wide open ready to receive the gift that is promised. Each step of the way is a glimpse into something beautiful and breath taking. We take each step with care so that we miss not one thing. May you enjoy not just the birth of the promise but the process that it takes to get there.
Blessings!
I never quite understood at times what was going on in the Spirit, in regards to our personal life, until we found out we were pregnant. All of a sudden some things started to make more sense, we were spiritually pregnant. If you have never been expecting a baby before then let me fill you in on some of the journey we have been on that has made some sense of our spiritual journey.
As excited as you are to meet your baby, you still have to wait 9 months. When we dream with God and He reveals things to us it is so exciting that we feel we can jump to the moon. That feeling of excitement is good and ok to feel but it is also important to understand that what God showed you might not happen right away. Just like a baby in the womb those 9 months are so so so important because in those 9 months that baby develops from the size of a poppy seed to the size of a watermelon. And you can't rush it. You have to wait. This leads me into the next stage that follows the initial excitement.
After finding out you are having a baby you expect things to totally change over night and for the outward manifestations to match the joy inside. I thought that I would literally watch my wife's belly grow as I stared at it. But guess what? No matter how hard I stared I didn't see it grow. At times it felt as though nothing was even happening. It was a faith season. You will find that following a season of great revelation over the future and destiny there comes a season of faith. You may not see the belly growing yet but you believe that there is a baby in there. The faith season is such an important season because you are going totally on what was told to you.
John 20:29 'Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, Thomas, do you now believe (trust, have faith)? Blessed and happy and [a]to be envied are those who have never seen Me and yet have believedand adhered to and trusted and relied on Me.'
One of the craziest moments for me was when I first heard my baby's heartbeat. There is nothing that can describe that feeling. I was overjoyed and excited. And while I listened something really funny came into my head, 'There really is a baby in there'. I had the same thing happen to me at our ultrasound. Coming out of the faith season you begin to see what was always and already is real begin to manifest to your senses. Its a lot like a movie trailer, a preview/glimpse of what is coming soon. When what we have been believing for begins to manifest itself to our senses it creates an atmosphere of excitement for the fullness of it to come forth. Its a lot like the children of Israel being promised the promise land, then walking through years of the dessert, then finally seeing it, then possessing it.
When you've gotten this point in the pregnancy you get almost nervous because the baby is coming so soon and you have to get things ready for the arrival. This is the next step. We must begin to prepare everything for the arrival of the baby. For the arrival of the promise. Much like John The Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus there are certain things that need to be done before the birth of the spiritual promise, personally in your own life as well as practical. When that baby comes they need a place to 'lay their head', they need clothes, food, blankets and the list goes on. And when that promise comes forth you need to guard it and take care of it. Joseph and Mary were entrusted with this responsibility of carrying Jesus in the womb, preparing a place and raising Him. In the same way you are entrusted to carry this spiritual baby and to see to it that it is carried to full term and protected.
As we near the final stages in the natural we do so with arms wide open ready to receive the gift that is promised. Each step of the way is a glimpse into something beautiful and breath taking. We take each step with care so that we miss not one thing. May you enjoy not just the birth of the promise but the process that it takes to get there.
Blessings!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Heart
In and out. In and out. In and out. People coming in and going out. The doors of Starbucks never seem to receive a break and I wonder how much longer the door can take before it simply falls off the hinges. With each person that comes in I wonder what their story is. And for each person going out I ponder my own story. This is the life of a wild heart stuck inside a western body. It's not that there is no room for a wild heart in the West, because it is needed, it's more that there's no room for the West in the wild heart. This is the point of conflict that all face but few overcome. This has been my conflict.
Albert Schweitzer said, "the tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives". To come face to face with your own heart in this day and age takes extreme honesty. To walk out the findings of your own heart takes courage. But the Man who never encounters his own heart is like a book with no beginning, only an ending.
Albert Schweitzer said, "the tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives". To come face to face with your own heart in this day and age takes extreme honesty. To walk out the findings of your own heart takes courage. But the Man who never encounters his own heart is like a book with no beginning, only an ending.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Time Lapse
My brother in law showed us this the other day and we felt to put it up on our blog. There is something very powerful about the beauty of creation. This video is a time lapse of a satellite going around earth.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Garden
God never ceases to amaze me, never. You know those amazing God moments that you think can never be topped but then they get topped. I feel like this is my life. Every new day I wake up and step out the door into the Love of a Father that doesn't know how to love less. At the peak of my amazement with this awesome Daddy is the fact that He cares about not only the big things in our life but also the little things.
My wife and I just recently purchased and moved into a house that was previously a rental house. The house was in great condition and needed little work, with the exception of the yard and gardens. 2 weeks ago I decided that I wanted to get at those gardens and get them ready to be a thing of beauty. The only thing is, is that plants aren't cheap and we didn't have a ton of money to go and buy plants. With that in mind I did what any man would do, go ahead anyways and get the garden ready. The end result was a beautifully edged garden with lots of dirt. It was the most beautiful dirt I had ever seen. But the next day the most amazing thing happened. A friend of my wife's family called and asked if we wanted any plants because they are getting older and are getting rid of all their gardens because it is too much for them to take care of anymore. We took a truck and dump trailer over to their house and filled them up with beautiful plants and planted them in our beautiful dirt and now we have a beautiful garden. Simply Amazing.
A few days later my wife and I were on the phone with some spiritual parents and we were telling them what happened. I told them, "All I had to do was get the garden ready", then it hit me. God was not just blessing us with plants but teaching us something very special. If we didn't have the garden ready then we would never have been able to receive the plants. The whole thing sounds a lot like Noah's ark. He was preparing for something that he could not yet see. In fact he was preparing for something that had yet to been seen. IT HAD NEVER RAINED BEFORE. Noah's preparation was not an over night thing, it took years BUT if he had not taken those preparations then he would not have been ready for what was coming and he would have missed it.
Before Jesus could come, John the Baptist had to till the ground and prepare the way. We also must till the ground in our lives and in whatever season we are in so that the ground will be good for the promises of the Spirit to grow.
My wife and I just recently purchased and moved into a house that was previously a rental house. The house was in great condition and needed little work, with the exception of the yard and gardens. 2 weeks ago I decided that I wanted to get at those gardens and get them ready to be a thing of beauty. The only thing is, is that plants aren't cheap and we didn't have a ton of money to go and buy plants. With that in mind I did what any man would do, go ahead anyways and get the garden ready. The end result was a beautifully edged garden with lots of dirt. It was the most beautiful dirt I had ever seen. But the next day the most amazing thing happened. A friend of my wife's family called and asked if we wanted any plants because they are getting older and are getting rid of all their gardens because it is too much for them to take care of anymore. We took a truck and dump trailer over to their house and filled them up with beautiful plants and planted them in our beautiful dirt and now we have a beautiful garden. Simply Amazing.
A few days later my wife and I were on the phone with some spiritual parents and we were telling them what happened. I told them, "All I had to do was get the garden ready", then it hit me. God was not just blessing us with plants but teaching us something very special. If we didn't have the garden ready then we would never have been able to receive the plants. The whole thing sounds a lot like Noah's ark. He was preparing for something that he could not yet see. In fact he was preparing for something that had yet to been seen. IT HAD NEVER RAINED BEFORE. Noah's preparation was not an over night thing, it took years BUT if he had not taken those preparations then he would not have been ready for what was coming and he would have missed it.
Before Jesus could come, John the Baptist had to till the ground and prepare the way. We also must till the ground in our lives and in whatever season we are in so that the ground will be good for the promises of the Spirit to grow.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Courage
I have been pondering the last couple of days what it means to be courageous. Simple enough question, right? You would think that there would be a simple enough answer. The question of courage is a subject that carries a weight and depth that in my own life, up until now, has been unexplored. If you would ask me if I were courageous, I would stand up, look you in the eyes and say a most definite "I think so". At the very depth of all of us there is something that wants to say "yes, I am courageous" but not 100% sure.
This whole thought process about courage was stirred up in me by a quote from Kris Vallotton. He said, "You can always tell the size of a man by the size of the problem it takes to discourage him". The word that stood out to me in this quote was 'dis-courage'. Discouragement is the result of courage coming up against opposition and losing. I began to examine my own life to find myself easily discouraged in different areas. In other words I began to examine areas in my own life that lacked courage.
I feel that my own personal view of courage, over the years of growing up until now, where molded and shaped by a hollywood heroic movie character that was never afraid of anything. I have never been so wrong. Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to confront fear (and pain, danger, uncertainty, intimidation...) and stomp on over it. 4 times in the first chapter alone of the book of Joshua God speaks to Joshua and tells him to be courageous! Why? In Joshua 1:9 the Lord says to Joshua, "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." BE NOT AFRAID, NEITHER BE THOU DISMAYED. God was en-COURAGING Joshua in the face of fear to rise above what he was afraid of and press on, in courage. Courage is found in the word encourage. God was encouraging Joshua and the word encourage means 'to inspire with courage, spirit or confidence'.
Throughout time there have been countless historic figures that displayed lives of courage. In our house the walls are littered with pictures, posters and speeches of courageous men and women from the past. I never realized why I collected them or why I was drawn to them until recently. They were people who transcended the caste system of society. They were not perfect, dressed right or talked right. They felt fear, opposition and pain. They were Courageous.
We have been fooled into believing that courage is an easy road without fear or opposition. But the irony of it all is that without fear, opposition, pain, danger, uncertainty, intimidation etc. then there can be no courage, for courage is the very ability to face those things that face you and win. Never forget that God did not ask Joshua to be courageous, He commanded it. Let us take hold of our sling and stones and not just face our giants but RUN AT THEM!
This whole thought process about courage was stirred up in me by a quote from Kris Vallotton. He said, "You can always tell the size of a man by the size of the problem it takes to discourage him". The word that stood out to me in this quote was 'dis-courage'. Discouragement is the result of courage coming up against opposition and losing. I began to examine my own life to find myself easily discouraged in different areas. In other words I began to examine areas in my own life that lacked courage.
I feel that my own personal view of courage, over the years of growing up until now, where molded and shaped by a hollywood heroic movie character that was never afraid of anything. I have never been so wrong. Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to confront fear (and pain, danger, uncertainty, intimidation...) and stomp on over it. 4 times in the first chapter alone of the book of Joshua God speaks to Joshua and tells him to be courageous! Why? In Joshua 1:9 the Lord says to Joshua, "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." BE NOT AFRAID, NEITHER BE THOU DISMAYED. God was en-COURAGING Joshua in the face of fear to rise above what he was afraid of and press on, in courage. Courage is found in the word encourage. God was encouraging Joshua and the word encourage means 'to inspire with courage, spirit or confidence'.
Throughout time there have been countless historic figures that displayed lives of courage. In our house the walls are littered with pictures, posters and speeches of courageous men and women from the past. I never realized why I collected them or why I was drawn to them until recently. They were people who transcended the caste system of society. They were not perfect, dressed right or talked right. They felt fear, opposition and pain. They were Courageous.
We have been fooled into believing that courage is an easy road without fear or opposition. But the irony of it all is that without fear, opposition, pain, danger, uncertainty, intimidation etc. then there can be no courage, for courage is the very ability to face those things that face you and win. Never forget that God did not ask Joshua to be courageous, He commanded it. Let us take hold of our sling and stones and not just face our giants but RUN AT THEM!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)