Great Sermons...

Seriously, this summer has been filled with Great Messages from COTH...It's like one after another!!!

All started with "Kevoding"

Last Sunday Scott was ON POINT and then THIS SUNDAY TOO! ((By "on point" I mean, HS and I had JUST wrestled with that topic not even 48 hours before!)) It used to freak me out, but now it makes sense, Eph 4 -- if we have the same Spirit, the same Bible then we have the same "Teachers" =)

Podcast the series "Feed Your Faith" a study on Peter's Epistles.

Last Week =
BECAUSE Jesus paid for my life...
1. Rejoice
2. Be Holy
3. Love Deeply from the Heart
((all through knowledge and wisdom of the Word))

This Week =
God/Jesus/The Bible is not only "good for me" but it's "good"

Just in a happy place right now...

This is SSSOOOO how I feel right now!!!

EVEN WHEN
Seven Places
((click -- free streaming of WHOLE song))

This week, I prayed, one time
My phone, it rang, I put You on the other line
And now my thoughts they drift around
My knees remain unacquainted with the ground
Unless my faith is put to the test and I am forced to bow
Although I'm in this flesh it doesn't mean You shouldn't have the best
from me, from me

[Chorus:]
Even when my eyes are dry
even when my soul is tired
even when my hands are heavy, I will lift them up to You
It's not about how I feel, oh Lord I am here for You (oh)
I exist for You

I close my eyes but all I see
Is a background of black, bouncy squiggly lines
And this week's mistakes coming back to mind but
I will lift my voice and make a joyful sound
Forget about me, I only get me down
Although I cannot see it doesn't mean I shouldn't sing to You, to You

[Chorus:]
Even when my eyes are dry
even when my soul is tired
even when my hands are heavy, I will lift them up to You
It's not about how I feel, oh Lord I am here for You (oh)
I exist for You

You've given me Your life and have held mine together yet I find
Excuses to slouch in my pew
But when glory divine
Is sitting in my very presence, the least that I can do
Is give my all to You, give my all to You, oh

[Chorus:]
Even when my eyes are dry
(even when my soul is tired)
even when my hands are heavy, I will lift them up to You
It's not about how I feel, oh Lord I am here for You (oh)
I exist for You

Even when my eyes are dry, even when my soul is so tired
I won't leave my hands down by my side, I'll lift them up to You
It's not about how I feel, oh Lord I am here for You (oh)
'Cause You are here for me
This is what I was made to do (oh)

(I exist for you)

Timing...

SO... I am a lot of things... but of the nine, Patience seems to be one of the fruits that I have yet to FULLY cultivate in my life.

I am moving again (craziness that doesn't need to be repeated) but all in all -- looking at it as a new opportunity to see God's goodness and it doesn't seem that bad =) It's closer, and cooler, and I am just excited about the "new beginning".

Praise the Lord for friends that are my new family up here in NorCal... it really is a blessing that cannot be measured.

With the closer location, I'm just praying about how the new living situation will be, and my routine, etc.

--Lead and guide me. May every day, and each moment, be lived with eternity in mind, and intentionally with excellence for Your Glory. Amen.

beauty

www.stephen.com

reminds me of the flowers in my Mama's garden from when I was little...

CRAZY how images can unlock so many memories and emotions in like A SECOND!!!

Stupid Worldliness...

Why is it so ridiculously difficult to live a life completely set apart!?

2 Tim 3:12 "If you even want to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus,
YOU --- WILL --- BE --- PERSECUTED."

I know that it requires "ACTIVE EFFORT" to "throw aside the sin that so easily entangles..." (Heb 12:1-4) but what about when I get tired, so bored, or just tired? I've heard the Christian life paralleled to swimming upstream, and that unless we're actively exerting ourselves to move up, then defaultly we move backwards... that doesn't seem fair to me sometimes.

I'm listening to BDW-Never Every Morning right now, quoted from Lametations 3:23, which I know and love. But seriously, how can I be happy about ending the day not on an awesome great note?

I'm a great "STARTER" - HS, I need your help to be a great "FINISHER" too! And I think this is where I am... that I know this, and know it needs to be fixed, but I have yet to institute some kind of boundaries and or guidelines for when I feel myself getting "tired" (mentally, physically or spiritually) to protect me from returning to the DEFAULT of what I used to do.

I want as much of God as I can get, this side of Heaven.

QUESTION: Does my desire for that CONSISTENTLY surpass my desire for what I want now, in this present moment?

----
Father God, you know my heart. You know that I do desperately seek to know you and live out a life that would glorify Your Name in all that that I say, think and do. You know that every time I come back I resolve to never leave again - and yet, something from the world seems to always eventually pull me away... GRANTED: I'm getting pulled away "less amount" and returning than before, when I'd get far, far away before I'd return. But Father, is it possible to just STAY!? To not leave your presence???
Jesus, I do not see you as I should. I forget sometimes, the great sacrifice that you made for me. That you laid it all down to restore me to fellowship with God, and my actions - of doing whatever the heck I want to do - just disreguard and don't value and appreciate that as I should. Forgive me, and show me. Open my eyes and remind me! Thank you for your IRRATIONAL LOVE and help me to see it throughout my day, and to thank you when I do.
HS, thank you for praying for me when I have no idea what to pray for, which I'm realizing is happening more than I would think/prefer it to. You know what it is I crave. You know what it is that will satiate my life. Help me to be sensitive to You, and when I feel myself wondering away, SIT ME DOWN & let me STOP and just CRY OUT TO YOU 4 HELP! I don't want to just "live" I want to "Live Abundantly" - and if I'm leading my life, I know that'll never happen. Guide Away HS =)

SONG: Hillsong, "Lead me to the Cross"
(AWESOME Lyrics and Video of the song)

THERE ARE NO WORDS...

Jay's Message on Kevoding (8/3/08) was the best single sermon I've heard since I've been here -- "best" to me meaning that I learned lots and it hit me specifically where I was.

Sunday's Sermon, with the Living Scereny, Drama and Scott's Message (8/17/08) was the best ALL-AROUND-WORSHIP-EXPERIENCE I've had since I've been here at COTH. Check out the website, podcast the message... I bought the DVD and am sending it to family and friends in San Diego, Los Angeles and Charlottesville, Virginia -- it was THAT good!

----
LORD, I pray that every Sunday we will seek to glorify You and magnify Your Name in all that we do- whether audio, drama, ushering or the message itself. That we can live our lives in such a way that others will get a clearer picture of who YOU are.
Amen

Finding Neverland (2004)

How come I've never seen this before? Was it because it didn't initially catch my interest? Or maybe because I had heard mixed reviews and said "ugh, I could do with or without"... I don't know. But I THANK GOD that I saw it and at this time in my life.

I don't intentionally set out to make Spiritual Connections with everything I do... but I've been wondering lately: I wonder if I did, INTENTIONALLY SET OUT TO MAKE AN ACTIVE EFFORT TO "SEE GOD" IN EVERYTHING -- I wonder if I would. In light of James 4:4 I would argue that God's answer would be "Yes, Yes you would see Me."



I am just blown away... in awe of His Majesty.

What a Great and AWESOME God He is!



LORD, this is the cry of my heart!
That I may see You as You truly are, and love You as You so deserve.

30 min Prayer Walking

So I started this new initiative = Prayer Walking. I'm sure people have done it before, but I thought for me it would be an ingenious way to get my verbal prayer time and exercise combined, is that wrong??

Today was the first time. And I was thinking 2-3 times a day, that's good! For starting, 1/2 way (post-work to change gears/reflect) and pre-bed... dunno, still thinking about it, but I enjoyed it this morning.

Insight from Today's PW1.1
Song: BDW - Be Your Everything
Insightful Axiom: "I WANT To, but HOW?!"

I've been sitting on this book for a while now, not really sure when to read it, but knowing that I should. I think now is the time =)
The Walk of the Spirit- The Walk of Power, Dave Roberson

I hope that my future husband will be understanding of my two addictions:
1. School Supplies
2. Books
Thankfully though, I only by what's (almost) just about absolutely necessary.

A NEW RULE = use/read what I have before I buy too many more. And that rule is by "kind" of course ;)

I'm excited to see what's in-store for my special day. Thanks again God.
AND thanks to OCF, Officer's Christian Fellowship, NROTC Retreat 2/9/03

I'm Spiritually 5 1/2 Today!

I am super excited. I feel like I should do something special, but don't know what.

I'm also kinda sick: eyes, nose, ears and throat... so I'm going to try and rest/keep it low key today; prayers appreciated.

Other than that, I'm just in a cleaning/reflective mode - thinking back on all that God's brought me through and done for me, it really is amazing when you think about it. ((I'll review journals when my head feels better))

SO I think that's all I've got right now. Thanks God for saving me and calling me to be in fellowship with you. LOVE YOU!

It's been a while...

Wow... I almost forgot about this site! I journal in regularly, but HS has been reminding me that I need to be posting some of the insights that I'm learning: putting them out there for others to learn from =)

But what can I say?

LOVE Church on the Hill and all that God has going on here... and I'm so happy that I get to play apart! It's awesome, because I'm finally starting to feel like I'm becoming apart of the team - it's pretty cool.

Anyhow, just finished the LEAD Summit and it was A-MAZING! I was the "Church Liaison" which was more work for prep/pre-event than actually the day of... I love leadership.

I'm thankful that God continues to inspire us to be the leaders He's called us to be.

I'm going to journal about some of that now... hasta.

Romans 8:28

If all things work together for "the good" that changes the way that I should look at EVERYTHING in life -- right?

Something HS told me at University was that my life is "Father Filtered".

I feel that I get so consumed with how things are or how I wish they could be, that I forget to take a step back and see what can really become of the something that GOD may be trying to work about in my life through a certain situation, good or bad.

SO -- LORD help me to be patient, to read your Word and to speak WITH YOU frequently about what's going on, because it's so easy for me to get confused... gotta keep on my "God Glasses". AMEN