Endless Faces

This is a song that I wrote today, while thinking about the past and now.  I don't have a good tune to it, but if someone likes to make nice tunes and makes this a song, please share with me!  I'd love to put this to music.

All these endless faces
Are rolling past my mind
What once gave me a broken heart
Now I'm leaving it all behind

Oh, you know
I've been rescued from my hole
Oh, it shows
I'm finding my way back home

A tear fell on my shoulder
But now my cheeks are dry
It once gave me a broken heart
Now I know I won't ever cry

Oh, you know
I've been rescued from my hole
Oh, it shows
I'm finding a place to go

"What happened to what we had?
Why'd we ever let go?"
All those lies were just stuck in my mind...
I'm leaving that all behind

Oh, you know
I'm rescued from my hole
Oh, it shows
I'm finding a place to go

Oh, you know
I'm rescued from my hole
Oh, and it shows
I'm on my way back home

~♥

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
- Philippians 3:13-14

Have You Seen?

"Have you ever stood in the family with the Lord there in your midst; seen the face of Christ in your brother?

Then I say you've seen Jesus my Lord."

A lot has happened in my life lately:

On the 25th, my Mom-Mom Pat passed away.

  She was loved by our whole family, and always spoke and did nice things for us. She spent a lot of time with my younger cousins, but that's okay; I still got to see her at least twice a year, and on occasion, she and Pop-Pop would take my sisters and I out to eat.  Last time I saw her, I realized that I loved getting to see her.  Little did I know that I would never get to again.

That Sunday, my Pop-Pop went to the hospital.

  Saturday, after the funeral, he left early from lunch because he didn't feel well. The next morning he had a horrible fever, and they had to take him to the hospital.  His appendix was removed, and he did return home Thursday.  The thought of losing him or another tears at me inside.

Saturday, after the funeral, I spent a week at Camp.

  We came home, changed, and threw everything into the car to work as Staff.  I had a wonderful cabin of girls who received many awards during the week.  The first three days, we had Girl's Cleanest Cabin, with scores of 100, 101, and 103.  One of them had a heart that totally understood God's message in almost everything.  She was uplifting to hear speak during devotionals.

Then, my older sister got engaged.

  He showed me the ring Friday before camp, and told me throughout the week when he asked my Dad and then my Mom for permission.  I helped plan the "circle prayer" leading up to it, but nothing compared to the words he said to her when he asked her to marry him.  I love my sister so much, and I can tell that they love each other just as much and more.  

All of this, my dad announced today in front of the church.  As he said it one by one, just as I have done now, it all hit me hard, like a long storm after a drought.  I sat with my head in my hands, and quietly began to cry, for once not worried that anyone would see, because my tears were between me and God.

And as I silently prayed, and began to control my tears, wiping my face with a tissue, I looked up just barely to see my friend up front looking back with a smile that wasn't his own. 

In a glance, in his face, I saw the love of one who realized that I have loved much; I saw Jesus.

Everything that I heard this morning changed me.  So many people visited today.  A young boy was baptized.  A family moved and was leaving our church.  A family who left visited with their son whom was just baptized last week.  I got to be with people whom I haven't seen in months, and I got to give hugs to many people who I won't see again for months.  And I couldn't help but feel the Holy Spirit inside of me when we prayed and when we looked into the Scripture; so I thank God for today, and for everything he has done for me. "I love you, O Lord, my strength." -Psalm 18:1

Today, I've seen Jesus my Lord.♥

Praise the Lord

Today, I am really tired, but I opened my Bible in the semi-quietness of my living room, and here's what I found:

Psalm 146

"Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them--
the Lord, who remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord."

Praise the Lord, with all of me, and for all of my life! How awesome is it to think of that? Praising God not just now, not just yesterday, but for your whole life?!
Look at this scale and find where you are in life now:


How long do you have still to praise Him? How many opportunities do you think you'll still get to praise Him? How many triumphs will he bring you to? How many joys, sorrows, and lessons will you be able to thank Him for still?
Be joyful always. :)

Do not trust princes and mortal men, who can't actually save. --Listen up girls!!!
How many times will we all fall into this trap that guys are all we need in life and are our heros???
I was watching a movie last night called Mighty Macs, and in it, a man was flirting with a lady and her friend who was a nun(but not dressed as one in this scene). When he asked if the nun was taken, she said, "Well, sort of." He asked what the special guy does and she responded, "He's a carpenter." To this the man replied, "Oh, so he's good with his hands?" and she threw out with a smile, "He works miracles." Haha, I hope you laughed at that! But how awesome is it to think that way! That Jesus is "The One", our Hero, the love of our lives, who fascinates us more than any other man!
What man can work miracles? What man knows what you need at every second of every minute and is there to provide exactly that for you as long as you're willing to accept it?
If you haven't noticed yet, no guy can do that for you, ladies. Yes, you may find a good faithful husband one day(if you aren't married yet), but remember always that no one is like Jesus.
No, Jesus is the only man who can fulfill your life.

Jesus upholds the cause of the oppressed.
Jesus gives food to the hungry.
Jesus sets prisoners free.
Jesus gives sight to the blind. (Amazing!)
Jesus lifts up those who are bowed down.
Jesus loves the righteous.
Jesus watches the alien, sustains the orphan, and the widow...

Don't you see? Jesus cares for all of us more than any man ever will, AND he CAN fulfill his word!

Imagine being married to a King, but not just a King: a humble King. A humble guy who was given power to be ruler over the World not because of the wealth or what people wanted, but because he outright deserved it from his character and his life.

If your younger, imagine being the daughter of this King. Imagine running around with a little tiara on your head, having the ability to show yourself to others as a princess and earn respect. Imagine as a child, running into his throne room and jumping up on his lap to give him a bigg hug, shouting "Daddy!" ("Abba!") Now imagine having that same relationship as you got older, as you started being hurt by friends, meeting boys and them not acting the way Daddy says they should treat you, and finding yourself crying looking for somewhere to go where there is love; now, this time when you enter Daddy's throne room, you're embarrassed, hurt, sad, lonely, in pain. This time, you walk slowly in, trying to hide the look on your face as you walk towards the throne. This time, when you shakily say, "Dad, can I talk to you?" he tells the others in the room to go while you come forward, unsure of where to start. He sees your face, and says, " Come here" and pulls you up onto his lap, where you curl up and start crying.

God loves you.

He makes a promise to you that day. He says, "I don't want you to be hurt anymore. There is a guy who won't hurt you. He's kind, humble, gentle, and strong, and I think you'll like him a lot. But you need to make me a promise. You've got to stop doing what you are doing. Act like my princess; show the world that you are MINE, not theirs. Listen to me: you are beautiful and lovely and worth more than the most precious thing the world has to offer. Do not forget that! Don't forget that I love you, and that I am always here for you. It doesn't matter how far you've fallen off the beaten path; if you come to me, I will be here for you."


God won't let them win. Wickedness is a matter of a person's heart; they can choose to reject God. You might not see it, but those who are oppressing others won't always win. In the Old Testament, even when God raised up an nation against Israel to punish them, later he would punish that same nation for not following His ways (usually because they were oppressing others).

God will always reign. He will always be on that throne. Jesus is at his right hand, waiting for us. His bride is the church, and we are the church. He died because he loves us, because we are worth this. We are worth waiting for. He already paid the price; live a life 'pleasing to God'. Life a life that says, "I'm HIS." because, he's already done everything for you. (:

"Praise the Lord."

Praise Him, Not Me

You may see me,

And you may think

'She is holy'

But that's not me.

Some say I have it good with Christ

But that's not what I see.

I am weak.

I have sin.

We all do.

Like Paul,

the older I am

the worse it gets.

Do I need God?

Y E S.

So this is me

After I was freed:

Still slipping in sin

Stuck in mud

I couldn't see.

Something needed to change.

I gave up.

I cried.

I died

To myself and my ways

And I became His

So that He

Could work through me.

When I gave in to sin

He overcame

When I fell

He took over my life

and became my strength.

You see,

I am a sinner

Jesus saved me

I have no muscle

Jesus was my victory

When He declared

"You shall sin no more"

Fighting the devil

Was no longer a chore

So when you see me

Don't say,

"Oh how good is she"

Because there is no way

I could do a thing without God

For He is the strength

That you see in me.

Praise Him alone

--not me.

"Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens."

-Psalm 148:13 (NIV)

Good Enough

For every girl who has ever judged herself for how she looks.♥:

Late one night, a young girl laid out on her bed one night, crying. She had a magazine in one hand and a camera in the other.

"I'm just not good enough," she cried.

Her father knocked on the door. Wiping at her tears, she hid the camera and threw the magazine under her bed. "Come in," she called quietly, while she crawled underneath her covers.

Opening the door, he said, "I just wanted to say goodnight." When he heard her sniffling, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Goodnight, dad," she replied, turning away from him. He walked in, sat on her bed, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing.. I'm fine," she insisted, avoiding his eyes. After a few moments though, he asked again, softer, "Tell me, what is it?"

She sighed. "Dad... do you think I'm pretty? All my friends say how beautiful those girls are in magazines, but when I try taking pictures like that, I don't look like them at all."...she began crying.

"Sweetheart," he hugged her, "No picture could ever compare to the way you look. No camera could ever capture your beauty! It's not what is on the outside that makes you look so beautiful; it is what is on the inside that shines out! Your wonderful spirit radiates through your smiling face, making your image so captivating that no one would even think to call you ugly!" He looked her in the eye; "not for a second could they dare say it."

The girl stopped crying.

"I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, my princess. Don't ever forget that."

~♥~

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

(1 John 3:1a)

Holy King

Lord, my heart cries out to you now!
I hear your voice whisper to me;
It tells me who I am.
You say to me, "You are mine;
The princess of the Holy King,
The daughter of the One who saves the World!"
I fall down before you and praise Your name!

As I worship You,
I hear the serpent slither by;
He spits out lies,
Bribing me with fruit,
Telling me I'll never die.
But as I turn to fall away,
I catch a glimpse of your face.
My hand reaches out for just one bite,
But then I see your eyes, full of love and sorrow
While on the cross you die.
I shout "No!" but it's too late,
You give up one last sigh;
Then you fall forward and hang there,
And I begin to cry.
"No! Take me instead;
He is innocent!
I deserve to be killed
And hung in pain,
For he was crucified
When he was without sin."
But then three days later
He rose again:

After a day of rest,
I looked in
On an empty tomb where
I thought I would find Him.
I came to say goodbyes,
But now he is gone again!
And I cried more and more,
Until a man walked in.
"Why are you crying?"
He asked me then;
But I thought it was the gardener,
Not the one who died for my sin.
"He's gone! He's gone!
I think they took him!"
Then the man opened my eyes,
And I saw his face, alive again.

Hallelujah, praise the Lord!
Jesus Christ has arisen!
He's alive and here today;
For he could not be kept in death's prison!
Let us sing and dance for years and years
To celebrate His grace;
And when we die, we'll just sing some more,
Because we shall see His face!