Tune.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there! The risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I AM
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased with His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God

A New Season.

:) Happy New Year my wonderful friends.

My 2008 year verse -
"Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the comings of rain in early spring." Hosea 6:3

...this totally inspires me to not just press on to know Him myself, but also to press on to help others know Him, builds a deeper desire in me to see God responding to people as their hearts press on to know Him.

Through the end of last year, God really pushed me out of a few comfort zones in the form of having to make a lot of decisions about my time and how im spending it. As always, its still something i find a little more difficult to know what exactly is good and effective..
I think the hardest part was the seeming decision between carrying on at iD, or taking up the role on exec at CU at my uni. Both of them made me reeeeeally quite excited, because God is at work in both things, but i guess a lot of my heart was attached to the iD group, having spent so much time with them, having built into them, prayed for them and God having grown me to love them over 2007, the prospect of not being able to be involved in their lives as much made my heart break.
As well as that, i think i knew that in some ways, staying with the iD group would be so much safer, in a way, a little easier - because i know the leadership team so well, because i love those guys aswell and God had blessed me so much with the opportunity to serve with them, because i was comfortable in that position, i knew what was happening, i knew the vision, and the iD group isn't huge, and ive learnt all their names now!!
Going on to exec at uni...was a whole different kettle of fish (those small blue electric ones). The likelihood being that i wouldn't know any of the other exec members, because most of the people i know well at CU are 3rd or 1st years, the scope and the people group being HUGE, and also the people group being the one that actually i feel least comfortable with. Being honest with you guys - people my own age sometimes scare me! They're big bad and mean! No im kidding, but they are big. :P
Ive always found it so much easier and less scary interacting with people under 16, or over 24...
The role on exec (which is global by the way :) ) wasn't one i knew a whole lot about - ive never done anything like it before and i didn't really have a full grasp of what it involved...
However, it wasn't all bad!! It was something that built up so much excitement in my heart - this semester God's really being growing my heart for international students, and also been growing my heart even further into going into full time ministry after uni, rather than a secular job. Three weeks before i was asked, i was having all these ideas for the international ministry at uni, and i know that getting involved at CU this year was something God had called me to do - and though it was hard, i was enjoying growing into this group of people who know that our God is Lord :)

In the second to last iD of 2007, the iD which i knew would be the last before i had to make my decision, we sang the song Surrender...

"I'm giving you my heart, and all that is within
I lay it all down for the sake of you my King
I'm giving you my dreams, I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride for the promise of new life

And I surrender all to you, all to you
And I surrender all to you, all to you

I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss
For the sake of knowing You for the glory of Your name
To know the lasting joy, even sharing in Your pain"

And by the end of the song, i was in tears, knowing that God was calling me to surrender iD, to let Him draw me out of my comfort zones and lead me along His planned path. The best way for me. But definitely not the easiest.
Ive still struggled with making this decision - because its not one i thought i would have to make. I honestly thought id be at iD till i at least left uni. But there you go, something ive found out about God is that many things that He does, or asks of me are unexpected - because His ways are far beyond my own.

And so, there are big challenges ahead for such a small person as me.
Ahhhhhh! Im trusting in my big God. :)

Our God.

this pretty much rocks kabooty.

http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2007/09/powerful-gospel-skit/

A dancing, fighting generation.

Yesterdayen i went to Precius's church...it was MAD! never experienced a church service quite like it, but it was cool :) Man...those guys can SING...their voices, rebound off all the walls and its just this amazing cacophony of awesome harmony...
Anywho, they talked about war...about the time being NOW...the pastor guy was playing his piano during a time of response, and started singing...
"Wake up the mighty men of war..."
woah.
And i just sat there and was like...YEAH...God...WAKE US UP! I was holding my bible, and it fell open to Exodus -

"But Moses told the poeple, 'Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.' Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!...When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that i am the Lord!' " Exodus 14:13-18

Moses had it part right - Don't be afraid, God will fight for you, be calm in that knowledge...but God picked up on the other thing Moses said - just stand still - and He said...NO...tell them to get moving!!
Sometimes, i believe there are times when its in God's will for us to just stand still and watch Him rescue us, that theres times to be still, to just rest under His power and protection...
However, theres also the time to fight with Him, for Him. There's still the resting in Him, but theres also the action in Him - moving because He is in us, moving in faith.
Yesterday, as a congregation they were crying out - turn us into Your soldiers, we want to fight for You...God raise us up as a dancing, FIGHTING generation, we are not weak, we will not be silent, we will march on evil spirits, we will anger satan, all in love for You.
It was mad.
There was so much joy in that church...it was awesome. Man, you see that some of them were going through tough times, its not like their lives are easy, but they were so JOYFUL in the knowledge that our Dad is LORD...it was really refreshing :) So rings true in my heart, theres so much joy in God its unimaginable.

So this is my cry for now - Wake us up Lord...Wake us up.

Oranges.

At the moment...i am reflecting and spending time with people i care about a lot.
Its awesome. :)

Im also doing some reading ive always wanted to do but never been organised enough to fit it into daily scheduling.
Books include - Mere Christianity; C.S Lewis, Velvet Elvis; Rob Bell, The Pursuit of God; A.W.Tozer...Psalms from beginning to end...plus more, but i won't bore you with the list!

Things im learning/have learnt -
pasta salad is fun to make...
my friends eat a lot...
peon is an inferior level of human being...
people change when you play competitive games...
roof tiles are heavy...
i can survive without that much food...
badminton is fun but ultimately fruitless...
my bed is my favourite piece of furniture...
dancing in car parks is fun...
the moon is bigger than i remember...
i like being outside much more than i like being inside...
my friends are huge blessings in my life.

London and Southend this weekend! woop!:D

Bread.

Thank you for your responses to the last two posts, they have been mulled over, added to my collection of thoughts on these topics and laughed at... :P I feel all the wiser from all your musings :)

Lots and lots of new things. Times are a changin'!

At the moment, God's shaking up a lot of different things in my life, i guess a lot of its internal, stuff like where my thoughts dwell, my ideas about relationships, my hopes for the future, how God is portrayed in my head knowledge..
Things He's been teaching me range from how majestic He is, how much He loves the people in my life, having faith that He is working in their lives, challenges in my devotion to Him, challenges in my prayer life and in where i put my energy.

I realised just how selfish ive grown to be recently, its not good and its not pretty, but now i can see this selfishness that i was so blinded to before, we can go about changing it, working on it, enduring through this dirt. :)
I remember somebody saying that as you come to know God more, as you grow, you become infinitely more aware of how sinful you are, it gets more painful to look inward because the dirt and the dregs are more easily spotted. Its like this -
"How can i know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me..." Ps 19:12-13
This passage echoes whats in my heart right now. Theres this constant, second-by-second gritting battle for my purity, every second saying no to my sinful nature so i can say yes to God...this constant "ahhhh God! Don't let them control me!" ah man, my resolve is so weak, and its so clear that im a child to this battle, i keep fumbling with my weapons, dropping things, losing my vision, but its so good to have the winning, glorious God on my side...the God who is holy and perfect and yet makes room for our mistakes.

-----

Read psalm 19...its fantastically awesome.
...we can learn from the heavens and the sun...creations of God which constantly pour out this devotion to God. Sure, they're not in relationship with Him, but from this psalm its clear to see that in so many ways God calls us to have similar traits...

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. Dad after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known...God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat..."

God too has made a home for us in the heavens, He is our radiant bridegroom and He calls us to rejoice like great athletes, eager to run the race He has set before us...we can live lives which follow its course to end up in heaven, being so set on our course and so steeped in His power and truth that nothing can stop us, and no soul can hide from His power in our lives. Its true! Its possible! But it doesn't happen without a fight and without endurance...(this is the part im learning), its a hard graft, a constant struggle and yet a constant joy. Its war but its peaceful.

Woop! Lets be HOT like the sun! :P burning every morsel of energy God gives us for His glory :D

Twirling.

I was lying in bed last night...
and the thought suddenly came to me...

"I wonder what its like to lay an egg."

(like a lady chicken that is)

your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.