FREEDOM!!

In service today Auntie Elsie preached about having the spirit of God in you. She gave example from the Creation, to Isaiah, to Jesus of the necessity of having the Holy Spirit in you. The Holy Spirit brings revelation where problems seem to overwhelm you. He gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding when even the wisest and smartest people on earth are confused. It's interesting, because I have several issues that I'm facing right now that I need a revelation that is beyond the natural. I know that the solutions to these deep problems no one can give me but the Lord. It will take spending time in His presence, and walking in the Spirit to give me these answers.

I also remembered today that the way I will live righteously and in purity is not through my own power. It is by the spirit of God. I cannot forget that HE is the One who strengthens me.

After the message Uncle Olu began to speak freedom to the congregation, and we spent some time in prayer asking that the Spirit of God take control of our lives, and that He would manifest Himself in us. We also prayed for freedom to walk in His spirit and to do the things that He has called us to do. There was a time of deep worship and prayer, and by the end of the service, the Lord had completed some things in me that He had started from the time I woke up. I know that He is calling me to a deeper place in Him, and with each call I must leap. I know that I can no longer walk in fear. Everything that I do must be in Him and Him alone.

Several verses are sticking out to me as I've been typing, and I am going to put these references here.

2 Corinthians 3:¹²Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. ¹³We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. ¹⁴But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect^a]">[a] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Woo! Very intense...

Looking at the last two verses, it all hits me hard. When we turn to the Lord, "the veil," that blindness, that hindrance, that thing that keeps us from understanding, wisdom, and knowledge; that thing that keeps us from advancing into what God has called us to--it is removed!! Where God's Spirit resides, there is freedom. Now what does this freedom provide? What does it entail?

Reading Galatians 5 you can conclude that:

One, Christ made us free from the bondage of the law of sin and death, meaning, that we have life in Him and in His Spirit. The law of sin and death bound us to this world and to our flesh. Accepting Christ made it so that we are no longer bound to our flesh, but are made free to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Two, though we are free, we are not free to do whatever we want. This freedom goes as far as righteousness and righteousness alone. Anything outside of righteousness binds us once again to this world and its lusts.

God keeps opening my eyes more and more to what life is without Him. I am so blessed to have turned to the Lord when I did. I could be in so much bondage right now, but He has made me free!!! I have a new confidence in Him that I didn't have before, and I believe that this new-found freedom will allow me to focus on Him and His mission: to show the world His love and to draw men to Him.

Ephesians 5

"6 Let no one deceive you with empty words,for because f these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therfore do not be partakers of them."

I remember the first time I noticed these words it was during the time of Junior. Empty, promising words....before I look at those who are speaking empty words to me, I must think about the empty wordsI say to other people. Am I flattering? Am I being full truthful in all that I say? I wonder......

Lord, may my words be full of life. May they reflect who You are and not myself.
May my words benefit those who listen, and be wholesome before You. May it build others up according to their needs.
(Ephesians 4:28-30)

Summer Time

This summer has been filled with work and school.
Not much has happened, but I'm pretty sure that God's about to do some incredible things in my life.
I continually face what seem to be minor decisions, and afterward it is revealed to me that they were life changing decisions. Thankfully, I have generally made God-fearing decisions, and when I have begun to walk down the wrong path, I then turn around, and run straight into my Daddy's arms. There are many a lesson to be learned by October, and I am trying to be willing to learn them.

Nigeria is getting closer and closer, and in a couple of weeks I will be meeting with the pastors. I am so excited!!!

Nigeria, here I come!

Ivy

has gold in her pocket.

Just

looked at my theknot.com profile.
My former wedding date was August 2009.

Lol.

Silly girl, tricks are for kids.

Godly Sorrow

I'm realizing more and more everyday that grace that God bestows upon me.  I remember the times that I have lived foolishly, taking advantage of His grace and mercy, and then He pulls me right back to where He wants me.

What a wonderful God He is.

2Co 7:9  Now I rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you grieved to repentance. For you were grieved according to God, so that you might suffer loss by nothing in us. 

2Co 7:10  For the grief according to God works repentance to salvation, not to be regretted, but the grief of the world works out death. 

2Co 7:11  For behold this same thing (you being grieved according to God); how much it worked out earnestness in you; but also defense; but also indignation; but also fear; but also desire; but also zeal; but also vengeance! In everything you approved yourselves to be clear in the matter. 

The sorrow I have in my heart is godly; though I grieve, it is only for a moment, because He has brought me to repentance, turning my face and heart towards Him.

What a wonderful God He is!!!

Psalm 103:3-4 says, "If You, Lord, would mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."  It continues on in verse 8, saying that He is slow to anger, and He does not deal with us according to our sin, but throws them as far as the east is from the west. 

God's love is so great, so wonderful, that He disciplines me as a father disciplines His child (Heb. 12:7-10). 

As I look at the consequences I face each day for one sin or the other, I gratefully take them. 

I am becoming a woman and God no longer whispers my foolishness to my father, but disciplines me Himself.  

How I wish I could take a two weeks grounding and get it over with!

But it is His Love that disciplines me...

What a wonderful God He is!!!!!!!

 

I Will Hope.

I will not hope in marriage.

I will not hope in children.

I will not hope in riches.

But I will hope in God for the grace to obtain these things.

Yes, this relationship/friendship may have failed time and time again;

but I cannot hope in it.  

"But this is not hope, and it was never a good idea. No! Hope is placed in God for whatever He will bring to us. We confess this because we know He loves us. The object of our hope is merely a function of our desire. It is proper, but must keep its place. Nothing but God is our right. He is our inheritance. We hope for a relationship with the understanding that it is through His grace that we shall be blessed. I don’t deserve a wife, but hope that grace will provide. We will speak another time of my part in the play. What I know is that short of grace no relationship is truly a blessing."

Hudson Russel Davis, The Distinction Between In and For Part 1

Bjork

Thanks to Everett, I am now falling in love with Bjork.....she is A-MAZ-ING!!
I must get every single song/album she has ever created and go to one of her concerts.
It's a must before I die.

My music interests are starting to change. I am beginning to love "noise," as Everett calls it, and appreciate it. I know that as my music interests change, the style of my worship is going to change. I need to look up some new Christian indie bands, because I'm starting to get a little bit bored with worship. I believe it's vital that we as worship leaders/musicians become more creative as we grow in Christ, just as we do spiritually.

I need to learn guitar.
After I perfect keyboard.

Right now I just want to go to the church building and get on the keyboard and play with some crazy sounds. All for my Creator. He deserves the best, and the most creative. I'm not sure how I am going to incorporate it ["noise"] into worship--maybe the lock-in? That's always a good place to start. Mrs. Rosa is always receptive to new sounds, and doesn't care!

I'm probably going to write a couple of songs from some Psalms and get up with Royce and Rose, create something different. I would love for it to be Kevin, but he doesn't have his guitar right now.

Oh well.
How much more can I fall in love with music and God?
It's gettin' better every day.

Submission:

the condition of having submitted to control by someone or something else; "the union was brought into submission"; "his submission to the will of God"; meekness: the feeling of patient, submissive humbleness.

I have not yeilded my life in such a way that it could be considered submission.
I have not quietly rendered my life unto Him. I am still fighting in my head and heart to follow His pathway. It is imperative that I do so, and I can no longer fight it.

Lord, give me the strength to submit to Your will. Let me gladly blindly follow You.
I know You will not lead me into darkness, but You will carry me into the Light.
I submit myself and my will to You...quietly...meekly...patiently,
I submit.

Acoustic Ovation Was

WONDERFUL!!

I blew everyone (including myself) out of the water, and I can't wait to do it again.

I have so many things that I need to get done--STUDY, STUDY, STUDY!!!!

I probably won't be going to voice lessons tomorrow.

Let me get back to Trig...

Let It Die

This song by Feist is what I've been feeling today.

Let it die.

Let it die and get out of my mind

 We don't see eye to eye 
Or hear ear to ear 

Don't you wish that we could forget that kiss 
And see this for what it is 
That we're not in love 

The saddest part of a 

broken heart 
Isn't the ending so much as the start 

It was hard to tell just how 

I felt 
To not recognize myself 
I started to fade away 

And after all it won't take long to fall in love 
Now I know what I don't want 
I learned that with you 

The saddest part of a broken heart 
Isn't the ending so much as the start 

The tragedy starts from the very first spark 
Losing your mind for the sake of your heart 
The saddest part of a broken heart 
Isn't the ending so much as the start 

And The Lion Fell In Love With the Lamb

Jo   sent me some amazing b-day present ideas (since my b-day is March 15th):

What to chose?

I like the t-shirt the best.

This t-shirt refers to the cult followed book series by Stephenie Meyer.  Before the movie came out, it was doing pretty okay on the popularity side.  I would love to see how much money Meyers has made since the film was released--I'm sure it could feed a small country for several centuries.  Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it's become very popular.  I remember when my sister and I first started reading the books--everyone thought we were crazy, reading books about vampires.  The only other people I knew reading the books were some highly depressed Emo kids.  But soon the fire caught on, and everyone knew how wonderfully romantic AND intriguing these books actually are.  I usually hate fantasy fiction, but Stephenie Meyers did a beautiful job of making her plot so realistic, I began questioning if some of my friends were werewolves--excuse me--shape shifters.  

I am so in love with Edward Cullen--but not as much as I am with Jake.  He is my hero.

=)

Long live Twilight.

Just A Lil' Acoustic Ovation Preview

I have been sick all day, so my voice is shot--but it'll sound grand on Saturday.
=)

Psalm 112.WMA

Thought I Was Practicing Piano

Maybe not.

I've been listening to this awesome band called The Mae Shi.  They have a lot of religous themes in their music, and I enjoy listening to them.  I'm still trying to figure out exactly why they have a lot of religous themes and I need to watch a couple of interviews or something.  On their MySpace page they curse like crazy and they don't claim to be Christians on there either, so I won't call them that.

My favorite songs are probably "Pwnd" and "Kingdom Come."

I love music.

=) 

Now I'm off to rehearse for real.  It won't be for long due to the massive headache I have had all evening.

New Blog

So, I've decided to create a new blog;

I have a new life, a new goal, and a new mindset--I think the other blog kinda kept me down.

I'll blog more about things that happened to me that day, music, books, articles I've read, stuff like that.

I need a fresh page.

I'm off to practice for Acoustic Ovation.

Adios...