Pursuing Jesus

Valentines Day What comes to your mind when you think of Valentines Day? For some people, theres excitement and joy. Maybe you have new love that is just blooming, and this is a day to celebrate and look forward to what is to come. Maybe you have a deep rooted love that is strong and sweeter now that you've been through the fires and love has been refined.  Maybe your heart sinks. You're looking for that love and it hasn't come yet. Or you've lost a love. This day is just a reminder of the love that you don't have.  There could be a hundred different scenarios that either make you look forward to, or dread today.  Wherever you are on the spectrum, whatever your feelings are of love right now, I encourage you to take time to come to the feet of LOVE. In the Bible there are four different words used for love. The first three are: Storge- empathetic love Philia - friendship love Eros- romantic love   These loves are beautiful, they are gifts from our Creator. ...

Light streams through the open window. Colors bloom through the room. I breath in the smell of earth and smile. I run my fingers along the shelf, eyes gazing at the pottery that line the walls. Each has a story.  Each is unique.  Each has been fashioned by hand.  By His hands.  I hear footsteps down the hall and He steps into the room His eyes dance as He too gazes around. I notice in His hand a clump of earth. Excitment bubbles up as I anticipate watching Him create. I never know what He is going to make, but He does. He has told me that every time He sits at the wheel, He has a picture in His mind of what He is making. I see a clump of earth. He sees the beauty of what He is making.  He moves to the wheel and I watch. The beginning is always hard. The dirt is tough.  His foot pumps the pedal, and the top of the table starts spinning slowly. The top of the table is centered in a bowl filled with water. He scoops water and presses hard on the st...

I read Ecclesiastes 1 during my Quiet Time yesterday, and it hit me that I have been feeling this sense of vanity that Solomon is talking about. He talks about the natural world going on while man labors, then is gone like the wind. He says that nothing is new. He says that what is crooked cannot be made straight. With everything going on right now- Corona, the government and media feeding our fear, wondering if this is the begining of Revelation or will things "calm back down", the hate and fear being spread by different groups rallying for different lives that matter- while simultaneously cheering and voting for the murder of unborn babies, children being sold and traded for sex- even infants! My heart is heavy with the hurt. With the pain. With the longing of knowing what awaits in forever with Jesus. And while I look around and wish for Jesus to come back right now- I also hesitate- knowing that the reason He is waiting is because He doesn't desire any to ...

Receive.   This is the word that the Lord brought to mind when I was praying about my “word of the year.” And my heart rebelled. I couldn’t have that word. I needed a word that required action- something that I could do for Him. My heart was to serve Him. That was the route I was already on. The year before I had followed Him from Virginia to Oregon to intern at Crystal Peaks. While I was there I felt His leading to move to NY. I drove back to Virginia, not knowing if I was going to be staying for a while or moving right away. Ten months later I moved to NY and worked at a Christian summer camp, not knowing what I would be doing job wise when I finished at the camp. I started teaching Sunday school at my church and started a small group with a couple friends. All of these things were actions on my part. Me following the Lord’s leading. So where did this “receive” come in? I was ready to do!   But Abba knew my heart. He knew how tired and thirsty my soul was for Him. I...

“But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:20-21‬ ‭ During a trip to Chicago with my leadership group we had the privilege of going to church with brothers and sisters in Christ we had never met before. 14 people from NY worshiped Jesus with a group of believers in Chicago. How amazing is that?! As followers of Jesus we can go to a city where we don’t know anyone else and worship with brothers and sisters. That’s the beauty of the Body of Christ. There are no lines or divisions- we are ONE body!  In the message we were going over Mark 4 where Jesus tells the parable over the sower and the seed, where a sower comes and sows seeds in a field. Some seeds take root and grow deeply, others, wither away. We stopped at verse 20, but verse 21 talks about...

"Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men  stumble and fall;  but those who hope   in the   Lord  will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary,  they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40: 30-31 This summer I worked at a summer camp called Circle C Ranch. For those of you who don't know about it, it is a summer camp for kids that revolves around sharing the gospel with kids. I was a... you guessed it... wrangler! That means that I worked long days working with the horses and making sure the tiny humans didn't die. Not going to lie, it was hard! We woke up early and went to bed late. The work was hard and fast paced. But it was so worth it! The kids absolutely loved the horses and there were a number of the kids who said that the horses were their favorite part of camp- they had come from places where they didn't have a chance to ride so this was special for them.  Outs...