My Angel

ANGEL

by Casting Crowns

My Dearest Kyristen,
You're the proof that the Father answers prayers!
I love you with all my heart.
-Stephen

It was a day just like any other day
I was a boy just like every other boy
When a girl unlike any I had seen
It’s like she stepped out of a dream
And into my world
It could’ve been the summer wind
Playing with her hair
As the sun danced in her eyes
We were standing there
She smiled, I forgot my name
‘Cause all I was thinking

Maybe I’m crazy but I’m praying
That an angel will love me, an angel will love me
Maybe I’m a fool but I’m still falling
Asking Heaven above me for an angel to love me

The rest of my life
The rest of my life

You’re the proof that the Father answers prayer
Because somehow, some way
You and I are standing here
With a sacred promise and a ring that says it all
Oh, I’ve just begun to fall
And from the deepest part of me I say “I do”

And after all the changing seasons have turned to years
The crowds are gone and the songs have faded
I’ll still be here
Holding you and thanking Heaven for my angel

Maybe I’m crazy but I’m praying
That an angel will love me, an angel will love me
Maybe I’m crazy for praying an angel will love me
Maybe I’m a fool but I’m still falling
Asking Heaven above me for an angel to love me
The rest of my life
The rest of my life

I Love You

It's just you and me,

on my island of hope.

Breath between us, could be miles.

Let me surround you.

My sea to your shore.

Let me be the calm you seek.

"I love you."

-Sarah McLachlan

I Will Notice

Quote from the movie "Shall We Dance?"....

"We need a witness to our lives.  There's a billion people on the planet.... I mean, what does any one life mean?

But in marriage, you're promising to care about everything.  The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all the time, every day.

You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.  Your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness.'"

My Boy

Just had to say this...

The Lord has blessed with me an amazing Son in Benjamin.  He's exactly the type of boy I always dreamed of having. He is very friendly, easy to get along with, happy, smart and fun to be around. From a very early age, he had a rare type of confidence not typically found in young children. Nothing was too big, too scary, or too difficult to him to tackle. He always had a strong sense of success whether the task was learning to ride a bike, or nailing together wood for building a bridge or a fort. He has an excellent imagination and is full of great ideas on ways to do things better. He is very smart!

Ben is a very loving boy, and has touched many peoples lives through the years. He is also an amazing friend and has a way of humbly relating and getting along with just about anyone. He has an amazing future ahead of him. Someday he is going to be a great husband, father and employee. Many will be blessed by his life.

I love you Ben!

Love Come

Love Come

by Sarah McLachlan

Love come light up the shadows

Let the beauty of you enter in 

For I have hungered for a tender touch 

A long and lonely time 

I've seen much more than I want to 

So much anger so much pain 

A line is drawn ad lives are torn apart 

The wounds too hard to heal 

Love has taken me in Lifted my load 

And in this empty space a wonder grows 

A dream of some kind of peace 

I could hold up as true 

I never knew anything about love before you 

You call and I come running 

I can sense the flood before it breaks 

And I'd do anything to dry your tears 

To let you know you're safe 

Love has taken me in Lifted my load 

And in this empty space a wonder grows 

A dream of some kind of peace 

I could hold up as true 

I never know anything about love before you 

Love come light up the shadows 

Let the beauty of you enter in 

For I have hungered for a tender touch 

A long and lonely time

A Patient Man

A hot-tempered man

stirs up conflict,

BUT...

A patient man

calms a quarrel.

-Proverbs 15:18

By Grace, I'll Love You

By Grace, I'll love you with all my heart.

What would you give up for love?  I love this song!

One Eyed Cat

Jenny & Tyler

There's More

There's More...  Are you desperate?

 How much capacity is there for God in your life?

Now is the point where we either 

seize the moment or look back with 

everlasting shame that we missed it!

Sleep Song for My Girls

I love poetry, just like I love the lyrics of a good song.  Tonight while I was reading some poems, I stumbled on this sweet poetic reminder of my two little girls (not so little any more?).  This poem is called "Sleep Song" and it is written by Ephemera.  I tweaked the ending just a bit to work for both of my "girls".

sleep song

by ephemera

Bedtime, little moonbeam.
See the stars? They're sleepy, too—
all blinky-eyed and snuggled in
like you need to do;

but the very, very moment
that you drift off into slumber,
the whole world sighs and smiles
at you, its dreaming little wonder,

and the bunnies in their hutches
and the sparrows in their nests,
they sleep, too, my little moon,
all fuzzy, warm and blessed

to have spent another perfect day
with perfect girls like you.
Now tomorrow waits to meet you,
and I'll be waiting, too.

Click Here for More Poems from Ephemera

Two Are Better Than One

I've been feeling very sick these last couple of days.  I took Monday and Tuesday off of work and pretty much slept the entire days away.  As I laid there I thought about how difficult it is to exercise my faith when I am feeling so sick.  Any other time, I have faith to believe in miracles.  I have faith for others to receiving their healing, but when I'm sick I feel like I'm just grasping the air.

There's a scripture in Isaiah 55 that says "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near."  I know that my Father never leaves me, but I also realize that when I'm not feeling well, I have a difficult time seeking Him.  This is one of the reasons that it is so important to have friends who can and will faithfully lift you in prayer.  Friends who will literally tear through the roof and lower you into the throne room if that's what it takes.

I make it a point to *always* pray for any friend who asks for prayer.  Not just say "I'll pray" but seriously stop for a brief time and lift their needs.  I do this because when their faith may not be strong, mine is, and one day when I'm down, I may need them to reach out and lift me as well.


"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.  But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.  Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm.  But how can one be warm alone?  A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.  Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."

-Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Waiting on the Lord

It's Sunday night and as I reflect back on the week that I just came through, I am in awe of my Father's love.  It was such an amazing week in His presence.  Both Tuesday and Friday nights were so good.

Tuesday night, I had the privilege of spending a couple hours in prayer with four awesome men of God.  Together we pressed in and broke through like never before.  It was as if our Father opened the heavens and rained down his love and goodness upon us.  His presence was so thick and tangible that for a good 10-15 minutes I could do nothing but cry as I laid face down on the floor.  I was completely lost in His love, and it was as if warm, thick oil was being poured over my head and onto the floor.  Words cannot even begin to describe!  The tears were followed by an overwhelming sense of joy and spurts of laughter.  As I stood to shout praises to God, I felt so filled with the Holy Spirit; filled to overflowing.  My whole being was consumed with God's love.  I've heard of people feeling drunk in the spirit, and this was the first time I've ever experienced this.  There's so much more I could write about how the Lord moved among us.  I'm still basking in His presence from this night and I'm so thankful for the privilege of experiencing His love in such a tangible way.

The Father is seeking worshipers.  He promises that if you seek Him, you will find Him.  Just press in, press in, press in.  Don't give up!!  Don't give up!!  Wait on the Lord... He has soooo much for you!

"I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the LORD."

-Psalm 27:13-14

Healing Comes

"Most of our hurts come

through relationships...

so will our healing."

-- The Shack

Falling in Love With You

"I keep falling in love, falling in love with you.

 I love, I love .. I love your presence"

You Deserve It All

By Josh Baldwin

(My Pastor's Son)

 

So Thankful

I know this may sound strange; but tonight, I am so thankful for all the bad things that have happened in my life.  All of the suffering, pain, trials and heartache have pulled me so much closer to my Father God. 

Psalm 34:17-18 says...

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.

He rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;

He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

This IS my testimony!  My Father has rescued me!  I have grown so much through all of the troubles.  I am thankful for the person that I have become because of them.

Thank you again Lord for your faithfulness!

When the Rain Comes

So rest a while, it'll be alright.

No one loves you like I do.

I can't stop the rain

from falling down on you again

I can't stop the rain

But I will hold you 'till it goes away.

This is My Love

I'll put you in front of me

So everybody can see

Love

This is my love.

Perfect Timing

I may never understand God's perfect timing and that's okay with me.  The only thing that matters is that He knows!  Isaiah 46:10 says "I make known the END from the BEGINNING"  it continues to say "My purpose will stand and I will do all that I please".

He doesn't just start us out, knowing which paths we will take to reach our end.  NO.. He has planned our perfect ending first!!  The purpose... His ending purpose will always be accomplished in His perfect timing.  He will do all that He pleases.

Thank you Father for your perfect timing in my life!

Get Behind Me Satan!

After Jesus explained to his disciples how he must suffer many things and be killed, Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

Jesus turned and said to Peter... 

"Get behind me, Satan! 

You are a stumbling block to me; 

you do not have in mind the concerns of God, 

but merely human concerns."

Matthew 16:21-23

I love the Lord with a passion.  I hunger after His presence in my life daily.  I can't ever remember a time when I felt closer in my walk with the Lord, than over these last few months.  Yet today, the Holy Spirit quickly revealed to me how I had been letting the enemy whisper in my ear.

For the last several days, I've become a bit frustrated about the things of this life -- "Human concerns" as Jesus called them.  In my frustration, I struggled with God's reasoning and timing.  Mentally, I began to question whether the Father even cared about my personal needs and desires.  These thoughts started out innocently enough, but as they began to flood my mind, they became such a driving force that I was ready to step out of God's will and once again chase my own dreams with a passion!

A brief note from a friend who is strong in the Lord, hit me like a wall of bricks.  The Holy Spirit quickly nudged me and showed me that I had been allowing the enemy to whisper these worldly thoughts in my ear.  Those thoughts had gone from small seeds of dissatisfaction to weeds that were building a stronghold or root system in my mind.

If it could happen to Peter, it could happen to me!  I don't want to be a stumbling block.  I want to have the mind of Christ and not the mind of this world.

Thank you Father for your love and divine concern over my life.  Father, I ask forgiveness and give you full control again.  Get behind me Satan!

Go!

"Now Go!  

I will help you speak 

and will teach you what to say."  

-God

(Exodus 4:12)

He Will Do

Isaiah 46:9-13

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say "My purpose will stand

and I will do all that I please."

From the east I summon a bird of prey;

from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What i have said, that I will bring about;

what I have planned, that I will do.

Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted,

you who are now far from my righteousness.

I am bringing my righteousness near,

it is not far away; 

and my salvation will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion,

my splendor to Israel.

Your Love Never Fails

Your Love Never Fails

-Jesus Culture/Chris Quilala

Unlimited Possibilities

Word of the day: "Unlimited Possibilities"

"When God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of His face." (2 Cor 3:16-18 Message Bible)

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!

And with freedom comes "unlimited possibilities."

Lonely without You

Sometimes a man has to get everything taken away
before he realized just how good he's got it made.
Please be thankful of what you got,
cause if you're not it just might pass you on by.
And you'll find yourself standin' there
Oh asking the question "why?"

And what would I do, if I did not have You?
And what would I say, if I had no one to say it too?
Yes, I would be.... oh, lonely without You.

Sing Me to Sleep

Such a sweet spirit of worship flowing this evening, I just can't seem to break away.  It all started around 6 tonight while I was working, and continued through the night.  It's now almost 1AM and His presence is even stronger that earlier.  Sometimes the Lord just hangs out and spends the whole night with you... tonight's that night.  Spontaneous worship streaming from the internet has been continuously overflowing on me and keeping my attention on Him.   

I don't want to break away, but I am getting very sleepy.  Last night was so restless for me, I was only able to sleep for 2 hours.  I'm going to carry this atmosphere with me and get some rest now.

Lord, I give you permission to interrupt my sleep tonight if that is your will.  Everything I have is yours Father.  Take my other pillow and lay here beside me.  Sing me to sleep Lord... Sing over me.  Sing and whisper your love in my ear.  I can't wait for our day together tomorrow.   Zzzzzzzzzz.


The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
-Zephaniah 3:17

Overwhelming Love

I love to share my experiences about what God has been doing in my life; but, I can never seem to get the words together to describe it well enough.  No matter what I type, or say, the words always seem to fall short.  So many times I feel like people must think I'm crazy, but they just don't understand.  God is so good and so full of love.  He has a plan for YOU... not a religious, jump-through-hoops, recite this prayer thing... no way!  You are his child and he looooooves you!  Isaiah 49:16 even says that He has engraved or tattooed you on the palm of his hands.  He wants to be a part of everything you do.  He is a good Father!

Years ago, I went through the most painful and tragic time in my life as my marriage of 15 years crumbled and fell apart.  In broken-hearted desperation, I cried out, day after day for God.  Faithfully, He carried me through the weeks and months that followed.  He strategically placed believers and experiences in my life that lifted me out of the pit of depression and bitterness that I was in.  He taught me forgiveness, and taught me how to love and trust again.  He taught me how to pray and worship in spirit and truth.  But most importantly, He ruined me and spoiled me for His love and presence.

Never in all of my years as a follower of Christ did I have such an incredible, overwhelming desire to spend time with my Father God.  Here I am years later and the revival in my life is stronger than ever before.  My passion and hunger for God often overwhelms me, and I just have to get away to spend time with Him.  Whether it's through worship and praise, reading the bible, taking communion, spending time in prayer, or just laying face down before Him.... I just can't seem to get enough.

Every day, I can truly feel my Father beckoning and interrupting me throughout my day.  At least a hundred times a day a spark ignites in my spirit that causes my attention to shift to Him.  Like a playful lover interrupting your day with a 'thinking of you' text message, so does my Father with His beckoning. It happens at work, at the store, at my house, when I'm surrounded by people, and when I'm all alone.  His love beckons, and I can not wait to find time alone with Him.

Please hear my heart in this matter.  You will never experience this with earthly religious practices... you will only sense this when you are completely and wholly surrendered to Jesus.  He will immersed you in the Holy Spirit, and you will become alive with passion!  I am not boasting or bragging; but, I am trying to excite hunger in your heart like mine.  I know three other people right now who are experiencing this same God-given revival in their own lives, and several others who are pressing in for a breakthrough right now!  Remember that God does not show favoritism (Rom 2:11).  His desire is for all of His children to hunger and thirst after Him. If you seek Him, you WILL find Him!  He promises that He will give you rivers of living waters flowing from within.  (John 7:38)  I am experiencing these rivers daily, and I pray that you will too.

I have been given so much and I have been blessed beyond measure!!  I hunger for more and more and more.  With all that I have been given, there's still an eternity filled with the wonder and amazement of my Father.  He's the God who holds the entire universe in the span of his hand (Isaiah 40:12)... imagine the millions and millions of things that He has not even begun to reveal to us yet.  My heart burns for more and more.

Dance With Me

Dance With Me

Jesus Culture

Won't You dance with me, Oh

Lover of my soul

to the song of all songs?

Romance me, Oh

Lover of my sould

to the song of all songs.

Can't Get Enough

The cry of my heart has been for more and more of the Lord.  I have prayed for a deeper, wider, hunger for God's presence in my life.   He's doing it... He has increased my desire and appetite.  I am addicted to God's love.  I want more and more and more and more.

My Pastor shared this wonderful link with me that is surely going to cause an even deeper level of craving in my heart.  I love to worship.  I love to get lost in pouring out my heart to my Father.  Naturally, prayer flows during worship.  The link he shared with me was for this 24 hour, 7 day a week LIVE streaming of worship and prayer from "The Prayer Room" which is a ministry of the International House of Prayer (IHOP).  I've have this open on my computer for 4 hours so far and I just can't get enough.  My room is being filled with spontaneous worship and I find myself entering in as if I were right there.

Here's the link.  I hope you enjoy it as well.  No matter what time of day, you can click the link an there will be praise and worship going up before the Lord.

Click here to visit

The Prayer Room

Good Night!

Rescue Me Lord

My heart is messy tonight.

Rescue me Lord.

Take the feeling of loneliness from me,
and wrap me in your arms.
Take the desire to be loved again,
and fill me with hope that only You can give.

Remind me that You are all I need.
Remind me of Your unfailing love.
Send your comforter and healer
Breath upon me

Help me set my eyes on you and
Quench the emotions that trouble me tonight.

Rescue me Lord.
You alone are my hearts desire.

Got 'em!

I just wanted to post this quick note since I had mentioned on Saturday's post that I was waiting on a fresh word for my life for 2011.  Well... Praise God!  I Got 'em!

Late Wednesday night, I finally got the words from the Lord that I was waiting for.  I've been seeking God and praying for them since Sunday.  God is so faithful to lead and guide.  I'm so excited to see how everything comes together this year to fulfill His promises in my life.  It's going to be a great year.

He's given me three distinct promises so far.  There could be more, but I'm grateful for the ones He's given me.  I've thought about posting them here, but I think I will keep 'em personal at this time.  I have shared them with my Pastor and will also share them with a couple other praying friends.  If you'd like to know, shoot me an e-mail or message on facebook... I just don't want to post them for the world to see.

Power from on High

Increase my hunger for you, Lord -- increase my hunger, more and more and more.

I love this short clip of Pastor Katherine Ruonala talking about the filling of the Holy Spirit....

 

"Jesus breathed on them, then He said to wait in Jerusalem until you've been clothed with power from on high ....  I began to get hungry ...  The more I hungered after Him, the more God would come and He'd fill me. 

If you look at the book of Acts, they pray and they're all filled.  But hang on, they were already filled two chapters before.  The filling of the Holy Ghost is a continual thing -- the more you hunger, the more you receive.  The more you ask, the more you receive.  When you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you have all that you need, but you know, He is a living God who wants to continually pour into your life until you overflow.  And overflow is not a one-off experience.  It has to be continually poured in to overflow.... more, more, more, more"

Face Down

When was the last time that you found yourself laying face down on the ground before the Lord?

In my life, it has not been often enough.  The times I did lay there, were my most desperate and broken moments.  These were the times when nothing else mattered except for the complete surrender of my heart to Him.  Out of desperation, I laid still and humbly cried out to Him.

If you think about it, there's really no reason or purpose in our daily lives to lay face down on the ground.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons it seems so awkward.  Sleeping on your stomach is as close as most will ever come to it.  Even the thought of worshiping God while laying face down is just too crazy, odd or radical to even conceive of for most people.

Well. God has been calling me to a deeper level of surrender in my life and a deeper level of worship.  He's called me to crucify my flesh and put my worldly desires aside.  He's called me to separate myself and walk according to His will.  And, as awkward as it may seem, falling down and worshiping before the Lord is becoming increasingly, more important in my walk with Him.  For when I lay humbled and broken before Him, that's when He is able to finally use me.  When I remove my "crown" of my own plans and accomplishments, and place it before Him, then He is able to move in my life.  You see, in my weakness, He is made strong.  All Glory and Honor to God.

Will you join me in worshiping our Father -- face down?


Revelations 4:6-11
"Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders FALL DOWN before him...... they lay their crowns before the throne.

Revelations 5:8
"And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders FELL DOWN before the Lamb"


Revelations 5:14
"The four living creatures said 'Amen' and the elders FELL DOWN and worshiped."


Revelations 19:4
"And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts FELL DOWN and worshiped God that sat on the throne"

Blow, Mighty Breath of God

This worship song has been on my heart all week long.  It's on the newest album by Jesus Culture.

Mighty Breath of God

by Jesus Culture

Waiting for a Fresh Word

Here it is.... "Day 1" of the new year and I haven't heard a fresh word for my life yet.

I shouldn't be surprised since this week has been very busy and I haven't had as much time to spend with the Lord yet.  I can't just expect everything to come on a silver platter when I've only used the fast food approach with God.  After all, He says "Seek FIRST my kingdom and my righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."  (Matt 6:33)  Well... I haven't truly put my face to the ground and sought after Him.  Tomorrow (Sunday) will begin a much better week with Him as I've already got Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights penciled in.   2010 was a great year, and it ended on a very high note... I'm really looking forward to this new year and experiencing the presence of God in my life.

Looking back to last year at this time, the Lord specifically gave me two words for 2010.  I had shared these with a few friends back then, but now I look and see how faithful my God has been....

1) He said 2010 was going to be a year of renewal and spiritual growth for me.  He said it would NOT be an easy, prosperous year, but one that would require perseverance. 

Hallelujah!  This was so "right on".  Looking back, I can honestly say 2010 was the most amazing year of my life with the Lord.  I've been a Christian since I was a teenager, but never have I experienced the presence or the voice of God so clearly in my life.  I feel renewed, reborn, baptized in the Holy Spirit all over again, just like day one.  The year ended with an amazing series of events that clearly showed me that God is in control and has a strategy and a plan in place.

And yes, it was not an easy year or an overly prosperous one for me.  Though I feel blessed and well taken care of by my Father, daily I still found myself battling loneliness, depression, and self worth.  My failures of the past had a way of pressing in on all sides and I had struggled to overcome.  Worship has become a spiritual weapon that the Father has given me.  Through worship, I can overcome the noise and chatter in my head and turn back to the presence of God of my life.



2) Also in 2010, He showed me that in order to continue to grow this year, I would not be able to remain alone in my walk.  As iron sharpens iron, I would need one or more strong brothers/friends to partner with me.

This too has proven to be true as He helped build these types of relationships in my life.  One friend has been there day and night with encouragement, guidance and most importantly in prayer.  It never fails that he is awake at 3am when I have something to share, and I have found that God will even confirm words spoken to me through my friend and vice versa.

Another friend has recently experienced a life journey so similar to mine that it's obvious that God hooked us up to sharpen each other.  Through our conversations I have found additional healing in areas of my life that I thought I had already resolved.  It's just proof to me that God doesn't leave anything undone.

Finally, another friend who lives far away, has a way of sending me an encouraging e-mail at the exact, precise time that I need to hear it.  Once would just be neat, twice would probably be a coincidence, but four or five times shows me that my God is concerned about me.  In all of these friendships, I have been able to give as well as receive.  They are all definitely a "God thing".

Perhaps the most exciting thing is that during the last week of the year, God miraculously pulled together and partnered me with an amazing small group of Godly men to seek after His will in our lives.  I can see that God would not let the year pass without revealing his strategy and action plan for us.  He's so amazing!  This group of men will continue to sharpen each other into 2011, and I'm blessed to be a part of the group.

Thank you Father for your faithfulness!  Your love astounds me!