Create

I have been trying to let my creative side out a little more lately. I have been doing some art projects on paper with yarn, as well as pen/pencil/crayon, and I have just re-installed my Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0, which I had lost after moving, and just recently rediscovered.

Here are some of the things that I have been creating.

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One of the first projects I did a few months ago. Just Sharpie markers and highlighter on paper.

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Inspired by Luke 6:45 "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."

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My latest Sharpie/pencil project. The pencil colors didn't turn out as bright as I had hoped, but I didn't have markers that I wanted to use for them, because they were too bold. But these are the three panels I ended up with.

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 Got the idea for this from gracewaymedia.com/ and tried to do my best at recreating it. (I'd go buy theirs if I had the money - mine is not refined at all.)

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Another attempt, with blue and purple, instead of two shades of blue. No snowflakes on this one either.

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Red and tan diagonal stripes. I was trying to do something in my church's colors. It didn't turn out readable. So I made one with a bit of white over the top of it so text could be added.

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640x480 attempt at following the tutorial from octotuts on YouTube.

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HD version! lol. Didn't turn out great, but the scatter/fade/etc is not the same in Photoshop Elements as it is in the real deal. Wish I could afford CS-whatever-number-they-are-up-to-now. For Photoshop and Illustrator.

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This was inspired by our pastor's description of what he plans to preach about next week. He's going to talk about how people are "fans" of Jesus, and "like" Him, but don't really FOLLOW Him.

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There you have it. My most recent art endeavors. Just trying to do something somewhat productive with the artsy gifting that God has given me.

Fed Up

I am sick and tired of seeing stuff about Santa. I've seen several movies recently that talk a lot about believing in Santa, and completely ignore the real reason for the season. I know it's a cliche phrase for Christ, but it is true (well, after the church tried to get people to focus on Christ instead of the pagan nature worship they were doing at the winter solstice.)

I don't see how, actually I do but that's another point I have tonight, people can keep talking about believing in Santa - who has never been made out to be an all powerful god, just an old dude in a red suit zooming around the planet visiting all the children in one night via magic or something esoteric such as that - and they cannot even briefly entertain the thought that God might in fact be real.

Which brings me to my second point. I know that people so nonchalantly deny that God exists because of free will in this broken and sinful world.

I know that as Christians we are called to love. But I can't help but want to pound people/the media over the head with a few candy canes at this time of year when they keep talking about believing in Santa and they don't even touch on the birth of the Messiah.

Never mind that Christ wasn't born in the middle of December. But that's beside the point.

The point is that people have almost completely forgotten the Messiah. They have forgotten that God came to this earth to live as we did, yet without sin, and experience life as we experience it, only to take on himself all of our sins to offer himself as a sacrifice so that we could live.

There is a supernatural war going on. If that is not more evident in the events of this last week I don't know what will make it evident. These shootings weren't senseless acts of violence. They were sinful acts of violence.

We need to put Christ back in Christmas, and put God and prayer back in schools. The enemy cannot stand when Jesus' name is spoken. We need to pray for our nation, reach out to our neighbors, and spread the Gospel in love to these people that have no hope. In Christ there is hope. He is our hope. Not Obama. Obamas promises are empty, as each mans promises are. Only God will fulfill each and every promise He has made.

Anyway. This nation needs the Gospel. This nation needs prayer. And this blogger needs sleep. That's the summation of my post. I'm off to bed.

*Also, we don't need more gun control laws. We need self-controlled people. These shooters have no self control. They act on unnatural urges to do wrong. If you support gun control you should also support anti-abortion, because over 100,000 babies are aborted daily. If that is not at least as horrifying as this latest shooting, then I don't know what to say.

Ending my slightly political and possibly very emotionally charged post now.

Atmosphere

For some reason the last couple weeks I've felt like there's been a shift in the atmosphere. Not in some new age sense. But in the very real spiritual battle sense. I'm not sure I've prepared myself for battle as best as I could have. I have felt a weight. Not overwhelmingly so. Something like a dull headache but in the spiritual realm. If that makes sense. Maybe you think I'm crazy by this point.

I don't know. I know it's not just me. I feel like others sense it too. I feel challenged to seek God more, (notice a theme lately?), and I'm not sure I'm doing as much as I can to seek Him.

I don't know what the point of this post is. I mean, as moody as I can get, and have been the last few days, I just feel like there is another sense of something different in a spiritual realm. Kind of like when a weather system moves through and I get a headache. I don't know what the atmosphere shift is. It's just something I feel.

Maybe I'm just rambling. But this thought has been on my mind for a couple of weeks or so now. I don't know exactly when. Maybe it's just something I am personally experiencing. Maybe it's just a spiritual battle, as I work with my friend Kelsey, on putting together a ladies night for the women's ministry at church. I want to be encouraging and not be all meh! I have been blessed so much by many of these ladies and I want to be a blessing, not a hindrance. More and more I find I'm being pulled out of my shell a little more.

Anyway, that's all I've got tonight. I have a long day/week ahead. Transitions coming up. I wonder how long NERD Energy Drink stays good... I have some from a couple years ago that I hadn't finished. I hope they're still good coz I need something to give me energy and focus this week!!

Seek the LORD

This has been on my heart this week.  For myself, that I would seek the Lord, and not waver in seeking Him just because recent enthusiasm may have dwindled some.  Not that my enthusiasm for what God is doing in myself, or the church body, has dwindled.  But sometimes the freshness wears off some.  It is then that seeking His face is ever more important.  Seeking God means talking to Him, and inquiring of Him.  (See four different Hebrew words for "seek" and their meanings here.)  I think it also means listening, because how can you inquire someone without listening for a response?

Oh, that we may seek Him continually, and would not let Him out of our sight!  It is when He is out of view that we start to worry about the things going on around us, and begin to sink into despair, such as Peter did when he took his eyes off Jesus while walking with Him on the water.  Let us be refreshed in our desire to seek His face!


For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Jeremiah 29:11-14

New International Version (NIV)

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
    By living according to your word. 

I seek you with all my heart;
    do not let me stray from your commands. 

I have hidden your word in my heart
    that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:9-11

New International Version (NIV)

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 4:29

New International Version (NIV)

Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

1 Chronicles 16:10

New International Version (NIV)

One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4

New International Version (NIV)

 

The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Psalm 34:10

New International Version (NIV)

But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”

Psalm 40:16

New International Version (NIV)

 

Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

Psalm 105:2-4

New International Version (NIV)

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;

Lamentations 3:25

New International Version (NIV)

 All italics/bolding mine for emphasis.

Reflections, Gratitude, & Spiritual Growth

As I reflect on this last year and how blessed I have been through the stress and the mess of things, I only have gratitude toward God, and for those who have walked beside me in this journey and continue to do so.

Out of that gratitude I want to give back and be a blessing. I just don't know how to minister well to people. I used to serve a lot more than I do now. Anymore I don't get as much time learning as I used to. So that makes me cherish the times I can be in service and listen and learn. I'm not really cut out for teaching, I don't think anyway. Maybe God has other plans for me. But I don't know right now. I just feel like I have forgotten to be a servant these last few years. I was nominated for a Servant Leadership award during college. That blew my mind then because I didn't know what anyone saw in me that they would even nominate me then. I especially don't see that in myself right now. And I want that to change.

This last weekend I gave a friend a back massage. I haven't really had much opportunity to give back massages to friends since college. I used to give my friends (you know who you are ;) ) back massages a lot. I loved doing that; being able to minister in healing with massage. I always took the opportunity to quietly pray for my friends during that time. It blessed me to be able to help them feel better. It definitely blessed me to be a blessing. Just being able to help my friend move her head better blessed me. Being given the opportunity to give a back massage again was a blessing. The last time I gave back massages was for a ladies night like a year or more ago. That's too long a time between giving back massages!

I just feel so many things stirring in my spirit. Ministering to others, serving others, praying for others both one-on-one and corporately. I haven't really felt a heart of ministry since college. I hadn't been with a group of believers who are all seeking God and ready for breakthrough in the spiritual realms since college. I keep being reminded of my time with Prayer Watch. I feel as if I wandered from that path after Prayer Watch ended, and am returning to where I was then, and growing beyond it. I am still excited for what God is doing in the church body that I am a part of. I don't want to become complacent in this season of growth. I don't want us to stop seeking just because we've grown a little. I pray the fire keeps burning within us and the Holy Spirit keeps pouring out His presence among us.

We, I, can't back down or become stagnant in growth. It makes me think that the complacency that I felt early this week, which i feel was part of a spiritual attack to get me to just stop being fervent in my reading or studies. I mean how easy would it be to just have given up early this week and let myself fight through the jaw pain and being tired and moody this week coz that's what my body felt. I could have just blown off my readings and not tried to study anything. I could give up on trying to bless others, because what can I really do? Right? How easy is it to become complacent in the day to day grind! When I feel like that I know I can't give in. Because I know God has greater things in store, not only for myself but for the small church body that I call home.

I feel as if a shift happened in the atmosphere when the women got back from our retreat in August. Something happened there. Something changed in our church. A fire was lit. We really did begin a "Fresh Brewed Life". It wasn't just a catchphrase for the weekend and what our leaders hoped would happen. It actually happened. It has been evident in our lives. I'm still excited for what God is doing in us, how He is growing us, molding us.

I can't put it into words adequately, so with that I will finish this slightly long winded and random post. I don't even know how many of my thoughts were cohesive. I do have a tendency to begin a thought without any backstory. And I feel like that has been several of my most recent posts. I don't think I have a really good starting point without going into far too much detail that would really be unnecessary and somewhat boring for most. Especially those adsensewatchdog people that keep stalking my page and jacking up my stats. Oh well. Time for me to sleep and see if my dreams are any more cohesive than this blog post.

Commercialism and Connection - A potpourri of thoughts

The more I see of commercialism, the more I hate it.

Yes, I like stuff just as much as the next person. But I keep getting annoyed with stuff. Like my last computer hard drive disc. It stopped working. I lost all my pictures, music, and other files. It was depressing.

I think of photography. I love photography. I like looking at pictures. I want a decent camera (like a DSLR) just so I could contribute to the plethora of photographs that are out there. Because people don't take the time to stop and enjoy the sights of what is around them every day. But then I think of heaven. We won't have photography in heaven. We won't need photography in heaven. Because we will be worshiping the Creator of all the beautiful things we see in this world. That will be all that will matter. Worshiping the Creator.

I look at days like today. Black Friday. The "kickoff" of the so-called "Christmas Season". People take one day to be thankful on Thanksgiving, and turn around the next day and practice a ridiculous display of greed, on what is supposed to be the season in which we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Christ Jesus. Never mind the fact that it's a Catholic holiday (I am a non-denominational Bible-believing Christian,) and I do not celebrate the Catholic Mass remembering Christ's birth, but I do think that His birth is obviously worth remembering (and I dislike those who want to take Christ out of Christmas). Christmas is also not in the correct season... since Jesus was likely not born in the winter time. Christmas trees stem from a pagan ritual to celebrate the winter solstice, so should we as Christians really be decorating them?

How easily we lose sight of what is important in this season: Celebrating Jesus Christ and the fact that He came to earth, to live and grow up here like we do, yet without sin, so that He could take the burden of our sins and die in our place. Spending time with family and friends - being face to face with those we love... not going out and buying more crap that can't love us back.

Community and belonging are things that have been on my heart for a long time. Something that I don't see many churches *get* even though they may talk about it. So to see people, both Christians and non-Christians, so disconnected from others that they would trample those in front of them just to get some piece of metal/plastic, it's heartbreaking.

One of my more recent thoughts has been "Connect In Person". If you follow me on Twitter, you'll see me hashtag it sometimes, #ConnectInPerson. As much as I enjoy technology and social media, it can be a detriment to your social life. I would much rather spend time with people than online just browsing random sites and checking on what other people are doing. I don't get to spend a lot of time with family or friends because of my schedule. I enjoy when I can spend time with people. I think we focus too much on our social scores online, Facebook stalking each other, following people just to get more followers. Lately the unsubscribe button in e-mails has been my friend, when it works. I get too many stock e-mails, not enough personal ones. I see too much clutter in my Twitter feed. There are too many obnoxious posts on Facebook. So at the risk of losing followers, I am un-following several people and products, just to clean up my feeds.

Why do they call it a feed? What are we feeding ourselves? These social media platforms don't force us to follow these people or pages. What are we posting? Are we lifting up others with what we say? Or are we constantly tearing down everyone, including ourselves?

That is about the end of my thoughts for this evening. I'll leave you with a quote that has been on my mind recently. Mostly as I reflect on the craziness of this year. I could give a recap, but that should be another post in and of itself, and I don't know if I feel like doing that. But it's on my mind, and it also relates to general connectedness. Because I would not be as connected with my church family now if it wasn't for the events of the last year with my job, moving, the women's retreat, spiritual growth, and other happenings throughout the year.

“We had some random things happen to us; some good, some bad, some you can’t explain, some you don’t want to, but one thing we did learn for sure…when God throws a curveball…don’t duck…you just might miss something.” 

      Will --- Extreme Days

Breakthrough: take two

I keep trying to write a post here and too much gets written but I don't want to delete it, so I keep saving my draft and writing a new post. So here goes this weeks "take two".

This has been a week of spiritual breakthrough. Of listening to the Holy Spirit telling me to act, and almost being too afraid to do so. However, when Holy Spirit tells you that if you are not obedient He will put His work in your life on hold, you know then you have to act. I had to step out of my box. I had to push past my fears. And with that came some spiritual breakthrough just in being truthful before God, as we had just learned about regarding the spiritual armor of God that is given in Ephesians 6. Chip Ingram spoke about the armor all attaching to the belt in regards to the Roman armor in that day. And as a metaphor the belt of truth means approaching God in truth, and being truthful with ourselves and others.

Stepping out in faith to walk in that truth, and allowing God to examine the deep places of your heart... That's some scary stuff. Or it can be. In truth there is freedom.

I cannot wait to see what God does when we are gathered together this Sunday. I am so thankful to be a part of this church body. I am excited for how God is going to move. I come expecting. Not for some kind of spiritual or emotional high from feeling His presence. Last week I came praising because I *didn't* "feel"like praising. I felt attacked last Sunday, which was all the more reason for me to praise. No, I can't wait to just have that time of corporate worship and praise, and getting in the Word. It makes me come alive to worship my Creator.

I am back out on the dance floor...