God Chose Me

Ephesians 1:4 ~ Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.

Wow, God is this true? Could it be that you chose me?

YOU…You amaze me. Your Word is life and breath, and it causes me to rejoice!
You…the Creator of the universe, chose me.
You…the Beginning and the End, the Author of Life, the Giver of Breath, the One who crafted the earth, every nation, every creature.
You…with one word, You spoke and it was.
You…the Perfect Father, the Spotless Lamb, my Strong Tower, the Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Great Messiah, the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE!!!
You chose me!

CHOSE…I didn’t choose you first. No, You chose me.
Chose…picked, wanted, longed for, searched for, desired, dreamed about, knew, loved, purposed, made, called, DIED FOR!!!
You chose me!

Me…Who am I that you chose me or are even mindful of me?
Me…the one who doubts, who fears, who questions, who analyzes
My…insecurities, selfish ambitions, thoughts, guilt, shame, weaknesses, struggles, filth, SIN!
You chose me!

You, oh Lord, are my freedom. To know that You chose me and that I don’t have to earn Your love, Your acceptance, Your thoughts, truly frees my soul. It propels me to love, to live, to be who You made me to be.
It drives me to dream, to serve, to sing, and to give all I am to You!

Thank you Jesus, for forgiving me, dying for me and choosing me!!!
I choose You because YOU CHOSE ME!

From Good to God

My daughter Jenna is twenty months old and is into everything.  I like to call her the little Texas Tornado because she leaves a mess wherever she goes.  I am becoming an expert at storm chasing that’s for sure.  Life is an adventure!  It is entertaining to watch her play for she does strange things.  For example, she randomly starts dancing, even without music to accompany her.  She tries to fit into the most obscure places, like behind the couch or between the bed and the wall.  One of the most interesting things, however, is how she holds onto a toy at all times even if she needs both hands free to do something.  She will get so frustrated, but it never occurs to her to drop the toy in order to free up one of her hands. 

I believe that just like Jenna, many times we need to learn how to drop some things in our lives in order to gain all that God has for us…to move from a good place to a God place.  The differences between the words “good” and “God” is a capital letter and the letter “o”.  First of all, God needs to be the capital of our lives.  What I mean by this is He needs to be not only Savior, but complete Lord.  When He is the ruler of our lives, we may have to drop some things so we can advance in our destinies.  We may have to drop some o’s to go from living a good life to living a God life and living a life bigger than we could ever imagine. 

Many times the difference between a goOd thing and a God thing is an O-obstacle.  Dictionary.com defines an obstacle as something that obstructs or hinders progress.  It is an obstacle that has the ability to hold us back.  It could be a sickness, a trial, a heart ache, a disappointment or anything that gets us down.  By prayer and trust, God teaches us through His Word how to overcome these obstacles.  John 16:33 says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Here are a few o’s, obstacles, that I have learned (and am still learning) to drop.

~Obstacle of Obsession~           

Okay, I admit it…sometimes I can be a bit of a control freak!  What???  It’s true, and I know I’m not alone on this one.  There was a time in my life that I could control everything, or at least I thought I could.  I could control my grades in college based on how obsessively I studied.  I could control my weight by working out tirelessly and eating grass to drop a few pounds.  The lifestyle of a control freak is not just exhausting; it’s unhealthy!  The Bible says that we should not obsess over things in this manner.  1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about what happens to you.”  The Message reads, “Live carefree before God; He is most careful with you.”  I love that!  He cares so much about every detail of our lives, so we can trust Him to be in control.  It may have been good for me to get A’s, but it wasn’t the plan of God for me to lose my peace over it.  God’s plan is great and is peaceful.  “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3

~Obstacle of Overanalyzing~

“A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”  If only I had a dollar bill for every unnecessary thought, I would be so rich!  Oh, the time spent wasted on overanalyzing situations.  Overanalyzing is a distraction from faith.  It is not humanly possible to understand the depths of the works and plans of God.  Yes, He gives us glimpses of what He is doing, but the beauty in faith is that it allows God to blow our minds with His miracles.  If we can analyze and explain everything that goes on in our lives, we are missing out on all the fun!  What if Nehemiah overanalyzed the rebuilding of the wall?  He wasted no time nor did he give an ear to those who tried to distract him from his purpose.  In doing this, what laid in ruins for 120+ years was rebuilt in 52 days.  What if the woman with the issue of blood overanalyzed the crowd around Jesus?  Would she have gotten her miracle?  Naaman did overanalyze the directions from the prophet Elisha and almost missed his miracle.  The amazing part is that God is patient and full of grace.  He welcomes our questions, but longs for us to move from a place of trying to figure it all out to a place of trust even though we can’t figure it out.  For us to be all that God has created us to be, we must believe that God can and will do things beyond our very comprehension.  This is when life moves from good to God!

~Obstacle of Order~

Bear with me on this one.  I understand that God is orderly.  “Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:40)  Pastor Joe Champion preached about order and Noah’s Ark a few months ago.  He said that if there wasn’t order, the animals would eat one another.  So true!  I want to look at the flip side of the coin on this one.  Order does not imply that we get in a spiritual rut or ritual.  We may plan and order our lives, but God wants us to allow Him to shake up some things.  Make room for God to move.  God may have something for you around the corner, but you miss it because you have set your coordinates to go straight.  Be sensitive to God through prayer, and if he wants to change direction, be willing to deviate from the predictable into the supernatural.  Proverbs 16:9 says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”  When we take a step of faith, which is out of our comfortable order of things, miracles can happen.

We need to live life with open hands so we can grab ALL that God has for us.  When we drop the obstacle(s) that we are gripping, we are free to catch the God blessings He so generously wants to shower upon us.  “I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.” Ezekiel 34:26 

 

The House That Built Me

This week was monumental for our family.  We put our house on the market!  This is just one step closer to moving to Austin.  We are so excited about the new season that God has for our church and overjoyed that we get to play a part in God’s plan for the Austin area!  For the last few weeks, we have been getting our house ready to sell.  Although this can be a tedious process of purging and painting, for me it has been somewhat nostalgic.  One day I was rummaging through some old boxes and came across old photos and memorabilia, and I found a picture that took me back in time.  I began to reminisce about all the places I have lived.  I can barely remember living, as a tiny tot, in a tiny two bedroom house in the tiny town of Cameron, Oklahoma.  After my parents divorced, my mom and I moved to Tahlequah, Oklahoma so she could finish college.  There, we lived in a low-income apartment.  I can distinctly remember the playground at that complex where I played.  I also remember going to a community center every time there was a tornado in the area.  That was exciting!

After my mom graduated, we moved back to Cameron where she began teaching, and I began kindergarten.  Mom bought a two bedroom, brown and white trailer that we placed right in the middle of town.  We were so proud of our trailer.  For all I knew, it was a castle, and I was a blessed little princess.  We didn’t have much, but that “house” was made a home.  I rode my bike all around town, I climbed the small tree in the yard, and I walked to my Grandparent’s house, to school and to church.

Taking this walk down memory lane brings to mind the beautiful song by Miranda Lambert called The House That Built Me.  I think about how God has ordered my steps all of my life.  I think about how he has used not just houses and buildings to make me who I am today but amazing, loving people who have built me over the years.  I can’t help but think of how vital God’s House was, and still is, in the building process of my life, character and destiny.

God’s church is not made up of buildings; it’s people who build hope in others’ lives.  It’s not an organization; it’s a living, breathing organism that worships the Risen Savior.  The church is not a house only, but it’s a home where families unite and form the Bride of Christ!  I am so thankful to be a part of such a life-giving house, namely Celebration Church.  Celebration Church is in the building business, and God is the CEO.  Not only do we build hope in the lives of the hopeless, but God also uses us to build future, character, conviction, joy, love, peace and much more in people as they see His love through us.  We partner together to build Christ up, making His glory big, in the generations. 

1 Chronicles 29:16 so beautifully states, “O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own.”  God is building His house in the earth.  He is building, but He puts the resources and abilities in our hands.  We are like Noah who built the ark. With God’s direction and provision, He built a safe place for all who would enter.  When the floods came, those in the ark were protected and the next generation of Noah’s family was saved.  We are building an ark, called the church, providing a place of refuge and salvation for the generations.  We get to play a part!  We get to hammer a nail, paint a wall and lay the foundation in the hearts of men, women and children who need our glorious Savior!  What an honor it is to help build the house that builds me!

Here is the link to Miranda Lambert's song, The House That Built Me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQYNM6SjD_o

What Not to Wear

My Daughter, Jenna Kate, is eighteen months old and is becoming very active and increasingly independent.  Her latest declaration of independence is her will to put up a fight when I change her clothes.  She simply does not want to be still long enough for me to do this.  She wiggles, whines and worms all around until she finally gives into the fact that I am bigger and stronger than she is.  However, at the point of giving in, she has managed to work herself into a frenzy!

Does this sound familiar to you?  I think sometimes we approach God in this same manner.  We become independent like little Jenna. Sometimes, it is difficult for us to stop long enough to allow God to change our spiritual clothes.  Isaiah 61:10 (Message version) says, “I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul! He dressed me up in a suit of salvation, he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara.”  God desires to change the clothes of our hearts.  In fact, He wants to give us all new wardrobes.

I love to watch the show on TLC, What Not to Wear.  The basic concept of the show is simple.  People who have a fashion handicap, so-to-speak, are nominated by loved ones to get a wardrobe makeover.  The hosts and the selected fashion-less throw out his/her old garments then buy thousands of dollars worth of new clothes.  The new wardrobe is much more up-to-date and fits the person perfectly.

This is exactly what God longs to do for his children.  He came to take away our filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) and adorn us with His amazing grace, salvation and righteousness.  He gives us the “garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” (Isaiah 61:10)  He takes our fear and gives us faith.  He takes our worry and gives us the ability to trust in Him.  He takes our lack and blesses us with more than enough for our needs.  He replaces our heavy hearts with hearts that burst with everlasting joy!  He takes our sickness and heals us, making us whole.  God knows our measurements; the sizes of our needs and the conditions of our hearts.  He knows exactly how to dress us for the occasion of His designed purpose.  When we trust God to take control of every area of our lives, He is faithful.  So don’t get caught in last season’s attire.  Surrender to the one who is bigger and stronger, place your heart into His loving hands and allow God to gift you with His designer line of spiritual clothes!