Moving My Blog!!!

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Snow!!!

It is snowing!!! I just got home from work (gotta love it when you get sent home early) and I took pictures along the way. Lest you think I put myself or anyone else in danger while DWTP (driving while taking pictures) we were only going about 15 miles per hour and well, I have to multi-task even while driving!!!

I absolutely love living in the country but on days like today, it's a little scary! Here are some pics:

Here are a few of a sunrise I took last week in my backyard. I get to watch it rise everyday!

How can anyone believe there is not a Creator? Look at how absolutely magnificent these colors are. I am so grateful God is so creative. I am also so blessed to be able to live where I do and every day I only need to look out my window and He reminds me that He is always there.

A New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 states, "therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!."
What an incredible statement. Most of us have it memorized, certainly people with a past like mine. Whenever I have a "shame" attack or start to feel condemnation, I say this Scripture over and over. I don't know if you do this or not, but if you would look into my Bible you would see my name in alot of the places where it says me, you, them. Like in Jeremiah 31:3 (one of my fav's) my Bible says, I have loved Rachel with an everlasting love, I have drawn Rachel with loving kindness. I am totally serious, all over my Bible, it says Rachel this and Rachel that. It personalizes it for me. You should try it! I call it my RIV.
Anyways, doing my Bible study this morning on forgetting what is behind... I came across this cool statement by Charles Spurgeon. (I just love these dudes who preached in the days of old. They tell it like it is and don't water down the message so everyone would feel comfortable).
He writes, "We are today accepted in the Beloved, absolved from sin, aquitted at the bar from God. We are now even pardoned; even now are our sins put away; even now we stand accepted in the sight of God, as though we had never been guilty...There is neither speck, nor spot, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing remaining upon any one believer in the matter of justification in the sight of the Judge of all the earth."
Look at those words: accepted, absolved, aquitted. I pray today that I will walk as a truly forgiven woman of God with my head held high and my face looking up toward the One who loves me with an everlasting love.

The Lack of Prayer

The subject of prayer covers so much and lately I have been reading and studying this most important thing in a Christian's life. I was listening to Spurgeon lst night and am amazed that he can preach in the 1800's and it still applies today. Jesus is indeed the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Spurgeon challenged on the subject of prayer and our lack of real prayer. What happened that we are so busy that we can't even get on our knees or our faces like in the days of our salvation? When did our prayer time get so impersonal that we spit out a few things we want or throw up a quick prayer for someone who needs healing. What happened to praying without ceasing? I remember when I first became a Christian, I used to have these special prayer times with the Lord. I would turn off the lights in my bedroom, light candles and put a blanket on the floor and lay on it and read my Bible and pray and just bask in God's presence. When did I stop doing that? I would journal and sing to Him and we have a grand old time together.
I remember one time I was dealing with a broken heart over some issues I was struggling with and almost an entire day I was on my face, prostrate on the floor. I felt like David when he was praying for his baby. Arms out to the side, face on the ground and weeping and crying out to the Lord to come help me. When did I cease to get on my face before Him?
One of my commitments I made for this year is to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit more. This goes hand in hand with prayer. We can't be filled with the very Spirit of God if we are not in the very presence of God.
I have been pondering my lack of genuine prayer. Notice I said genuine, not the 15 minutes of blah, blah, blah the Lord hears but real genuine prayer. The Lord opened my eyes to show me that I may be holding onto some fears about prayer. Not scared of actually praying, but scared of praying about certain things because I am afraid He will let me down. I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous and I know without a doubt, He would never let me down but it's almost like being a kid again. You know, you are so afraid of getting excited about something andyou hold back because if it doesn't come through, you are not hurt or dissapointed by it. Do you know what I mean? It is a destructive defense mechanism and will and has robbed me. I am afraid to ask for what I really want. At times, I don't even know what I want because in many areas, I stopped dreaming a long time ago. Jesus tells us we have to become like little children and I am starting to get why. Little children don't carry a bunch of baggage, hurts, dissapointments or expectations. They believe in Santa and the Boogie Man. They aren't afraid of sounding stupid when they ask for something, they simply say, I want it now! Right now!
Oh, I want to be like Jacob when he wrestled with God. Yes, Jacob walked away with a limp, but He also walked away with God's blessing. Maybe I am afraid the limp will not be worth it. I don't know. I will pray about it!
I will end with Mark 11:24, "Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have recieved it and it will be yours."
Oh Lord, increase my faith!

The Ragamuffin Gospel

I was talking to a girlfriend of mine, Courtney (aka-foo foo skippy), one day about grace and she suggested that I read The Ragamuffin Gospel. I had heard about it and it was on my list to read anyways so I went ahead and bought it. Wow, that's all I can say. What a reminder that Christ came not for the healthy but for the sick. He died for us WHILE we were sinners. Staggering thought.
Anyways, in the first chapter, Brennan Manning is brutally honest when he states, "The American church today accepts grace in theory but denies it in practice. Our culture is partially to blame because the word grace is impossible to understand. We resonate slogans like: There's no free lunch. You get what you deserve. You want money? Work for it. You want love? Earn it. You want mercy? Show you deserve it. Do unto others before they do unto you. Though the Scriptures insist on God's initiative in the work of salvation, our spirituality often starts with self not God. Though lip service is paid to the gospel of grace, many Christians live as if only personal discipline and self-denial will mold the perfect me. The emphasis is on what I do rather than on what God is doing...Sooner or later we are confronted with the painful truth of our inadequacy and insufficiency. Our security is shattered...weakness and infidelity appear. We discover our inability to add a single inch to our spiritual stature...Our huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to God and are a flat denial of the gospel of grace."

And that was just part of the chapter! I am not writing about this to come down on the church but to agree with what the author wrote because this entire paragraph could have been written about me. It sounds like my biography. I have been writing about my struggles with grace and the law since I started this blog and until I "get" it, I guess I'll continue writing about it. I know in my head what grace is. I mean for heaven's sake, I work for the church! I do Bible studies on grace! But how and when did grace become something that I keep striving to earn? I have prayed about this very issue since I was pretty much saved. I shared in an earlier post about an old roomate asking me if I thought God loved me anymore today than the day He pulled me out of the alcohol induced, depression laden pit from hell and I know, know, that He doesn't!
I know there is absolutely nothing I can do to merit His love and forgiveness and I will be joyous on the day that I can just rest in His presence and let Him love me for who I am. Broken, messed up little me bringing absolutely nothing but myself to Him. How can I offer grace if I can't even accept it for myself? How can I explain the love and mercy of Christ if people watch me continually strive for it? How can I show people that God is a lover of the broken hearted when I hide my own broken heart from Him? You'd think I'd be getting it now! Have you struggled with this issue too? I mean, jiminy crickets, why do I have to be a type a in my relationship with the Lord?!
I know I am rambling and I am not condemning myself, I guess I just needed to share that with the whole world. Hahaha!
Praise God He knows what He's doing!

Who God Has Made Us

I woke up this morning thinking about something a friend said to me yesterday. Basically it was that I talked too much. Ouch! Ok, so there is a little truth in it but I am a very talkative person. Not obnoxious like I have to be the center of attention or that nervous, chatty talk. I just enjoy conversation for the sake of conversing. I always have something to say, no matter the topic!
I know men and women differ tremendously in this area (as in almost all areas!) and women use like a bajillion more words than men each day. Here is my thought... Have you ever wondered why God made you with certain "qualities" or gave you the personality He did? I know there are many factors that develop our character and personality, like our environment, upbringing, etc. (One only need to look at my crazy mother and brothers to see where I got my spunkiness from!). How about things like being an extrovert versus introvert, or type A's versus people are really laid back. Thinkers versus feelers, you get the idea.
I am writing about this because when I woke up I had a little shame attack about this. I started wishing I would talk less. I wished I wasn't so comical or type A. I wished I could just let things go sometimes. Then as I prayed about it, Psalm 139 came to me. God knew me before I was born. He knew I would have a quirky sense of humor and that I would "talk too much." I am fearfully and wonderfully made, granted I am also a little strange! My point is this, I love to talk and I love to make people laugh. It is who I am and I like that part of me no matter what anyone says!!!

I started a new Bible study yesterday Becoming a Woman of Freedom, which focuses on laying aside our hindrances, our old self, our past, pleasing people, busyness, etc..
Here is an excerpt that fits exactly what I am blabbering about. Jerry Bridges says,
Self-acceptance is basically trusting God for who I am, disabilities or physical flaws and all. We need to learn to think as George MacDonald did when he said, "I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born into God's thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking."

I like that!!!

Psalm 139:13-116
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

An Incredible Blessing

I received an email today that came at such a perfect time. The Lord really does know what we need when we need it. It was so encouraging to me that I asked the sender if I could blog it and she said ok. I am posting this not to toot my horn but to challenge you to encourage someone today. The Lord puts people in our lives and in our paths and I truly believe that when Paul told us to speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spirtual songs, this is what he meant. Your kinds words could change someone's life or be the pick up they so desperately need.
I had to read it 3 times because I couldn't get through it at all once. It made me weep tears of joy and I am once again so amazed that God can take a "ragamuffin" like me and use me for His glory.
Here is what she wrote.

I stumbled onto your blog last night as I was "googling" some scripture verses, and I just could not stop reading. I don't usually contact anyone like this but I can't deny this feeling in my heart from God. I just need to tell you how amazing you are. You are surely being used as an instrument of His righteousness. He is spilling out His love in you.
I truly believe that a woman of your character and faith is only created out of desperation for God. A love like yours only grows out of a heart that has been deeply wounded. God is using it all for His Glory.
I can't express how blessed I was by reading the cries of your heart on this blog. I am so encouraged by the way that you love God and I am so grateful that you are a member of the Body of Christ; I am extremely proud to call you my sister. In the words of author Lauren Winner, "We Christians are dedicated to living the really real." Rachel, I don't know you at all but I do know that you are living the really real. Thank God for your obedience to Him and your unquenchable fire for Him. Your life is extravagant worship.

There are no words for me to describe the joy I feel in my heart from this wonderful sister in Christ. Thank you so much Missy!

More on Grace and Legalism

Why is legalism so much easier than grace? I am finishing my Bible study on Becoming A Woman of Grace by Cynthia Heald. It has been a very good study for me as this is an area I struggle with. Is it all type A people like me who find it easier to keep the focus on the law and the do's and the do not's? What in the world is that all about??? Is it easier for us "strivers" to do instead of just be? Why?
I was thinking about Mary and Martha this morning. I am Martha but want so bad to become like Mary. I think if I was there, doing all that preparing and cooking and Mary was just sitting there at Jesus' feet doing nothing, I may have walked up to her and bopped her on her head. I am sure I would have had a stinky attitude towards her because I would have been focused on me doing everything while she was focusing on her Lord. I hate to admit it, but it's true. When Martha complained to Jesus' (imagine that!) He said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her."
Wow, Mary made a choice to sit at Jesus' feet. Martha made a choice to be worried and upset. Hmmm. Many things had to be done to prepare for all the disciples coming. I think, I, like Martha, was focused on making sure everything was perfect for them. I mean, who can blame her? She had to vacuum, dust, wash the linen napkins (you can't give the Lord a paper napkin, I mean, really!) and probably made several trips to Walmart for last minute items. She was tired but she was focused on making everything all nice and perfect (and probably wanted a pat on the back) while Mary was just a sitting there. Hanging on every word of her Master. Mary did choose what was better. I pray that I can make the right choices today, just for today, one day at a time.

Here is an excerpt from the study from a quote from Jerry Bridges:
Under a sense of legalism, obedience is done with a view to meriting salvation or God's blessing in our lives. Under grace, obedience is a loving response to salvation already provided in Christ, and the assurance that, having provided salvation, God will also through Christ provide all else that we need.
There is no question that obedience to God's commands prompted by fear or merit-seeking is not true obedience. The only obedience acceptable to God is constrained and impelled by love, because "love is the fulfillment of the law." God's law as revealed in His Word prescribes our duty, but love provides the correct motive for obedience. We obey God's law, not be loved, but because we are loved in Christ.

Well, that pretty much sums it up. I have been praying about getting this for some time now. My head knows it. I can't do anything to merit God's favor. My salvation, already taken care of. It is finished all right.

God's Will

Do you ever feel like you are simply not living up to all that God has called you to be? If you are anything like me, you have asked yourself and God the question, "what is my calling? What am I supposed to be doing? Am I living my life as the Lord intended?" I'm not talking about going to church, reading your Bible, serving or whatever just popped into your head as you read this. I am talking about truly living out your calling. "But I don't even know my calling", you say. Sure you do. It's right in the Bible. I was thinking about some verses and these are some of the ones that I thought of. I like to walk around my house and speak these out loud. There is just something that occurs when you speak the Words of God out loud. There is power and authority in them. Think about creation. God spoke it into existence.
Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Obey God's word. Seek Him first. Forgive as you have been forgiven. Lay down your life for your brother. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Look after orphans and widows. Pray for one another. Give to all who ask. Let your mouth overflow with praise with thanksgiving. Trust in the Lord. Mourn with those who mourn. Love your enemies. Store up His commands in your heart. Have childlike faith. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Acknowledge Christ in everything. Get wisdom. Guard your heart. Rejoice in your sufferings. Guard your lips. Walk with the wise. Do not fear. Forget the former things. Delight in the Lord. Bow down in worship. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be controlled by the Spirit. Offer your body as a living sacrifice to God. Be a peacemaker. Comfort others with the comfort you received. Press on towards the goal. Honor God with your body. Stand firm in your faith. Set your hearts on things above. Fix your eyes on what is eternal not temporary. Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Boast about your weaknesses. Clothe yourselves with kindness and compassion. Build others up. Be completely humble and gentle with one another. Be rooted and built up in Christ. Put off your old self. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Focus on what is pure and lovely. Be imitators of God. Be holy. Put on the full armor of God. Bear with one another. Let the word of Christ dwell in you. Do what the Word says. Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to one another. Grow in the grace and knowledge of God. Do nothing out of selfish ambition. Work at whatever you do with all your heart. Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances. Be quick to listen, slow to speak. Run your race with perseverance. Be clear minded and self controlled. Love one another.

There are of course, a bajillion more but these are some of my favorites that I like. They keep me focused on the Lord and on His will. They remind me of how I am supposed to be living. My prayer today is that when I feel unloving, impatient, judgmental, or just plain stinky, I will remember who I am in Christ. I pray I will remember all that I have been forgiven for. I pray that I will be sensitive to the Spirit's leading and not the leading of my flesh. I pray that I will be Jesus' hands and feet to this dying, hurting world.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

I have one of those Snoopy desk calendars because I absolutely love him and all the Peanuts gang. I used to collect stuff when I was younger and still have lots of really cool stuff. I was cleaning my office today and I have about a bajillion pictures, cartoons and scriptures all over the corkboard thingie and came across a few that I think have great blogabilty. Some I may have posted before but they warranted another post.

I happen to think cuteness is everything!

Amazing Grace

This past Sunday in church, we sang Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin and I was so awestruck and reminded of the love my Savior has for me. I have heard and sang it many times but for some reason this weekend, it really hit me. This is a song written about me (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it was written for ALL of us but this is my blog so here, it's all about Me!)
Anyways, I had my eyes closed and was worshipping the Lord and when we sang the chorus, I felt my eyes tearing up. This is a pretty usual occurence for me during worship but something felt different this day. Have you ever been so moved by God that there are simply no words to describe it? Just an incredible, overwhelming sensing of His presense consumming your heart and soul? Well, that is exactly how I felt especially while singing the chorus, My chains are gone, I've been set free! My God, my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood His mercy reigns, Unending love, Amazing grace.
Amazing that He would take someone like me and cover me in His love and mercy. It boggles my mind that He chose me. He loves me with an everlasting love, how cool is that?
Here are the words, let them get down in your heart:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found was blind, but now I see. 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
My chains are gone, I've been set free! My God, my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood His mercy reigns, Unending love, Amazing grace.
The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.
My chains are gone, I've been set free, My God, my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood His mercy reigns, Unending love, Amazing grace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine. But God, who called me here below will be forever mine.
Will be forever mine.
You are forever mine.

By the way, the picture is me a year and half ago in Peru at the Women's Shelter.

Prayer Request

The Bible says that where 2 or 3 gather, Jesus is there also. Well, I need Him and your prayers. I almost did not want to post about it because I am so frustrated I could cry. As many of you know, I have had 4 knee operations in the last 5 years. It is wearing me out. Last November, I had a partial knee replacement and it helped a little. I still have pain on and off but for some reason, the pain is now more on than off. I want to throw myself on the floor and yell and scream and kick my feet (although that would hurt my knee!) and have a full blown temper tantrum! I just want it to be healed! I thought I would be back to hiking by now. How am I going to climb Mt Kilmanjaro if it hurts to just walk through the stinkin' mall?!
Ok, I feel much better. Sometimes, you just gotta let it out. I have an appointment on Monday with my orthopedic doctor but part of me is scared he is going to tell me nothing is wrong. I know I am not crazy, insert smart comment here, because I am back to limping pretty bad because of the pain. I feel like the metal part is loose or something and I can feel it pressing down in my tibia. I don't want to get back on pain meds, they make me feel too good.

Happy New Year!

It's hard to imagine another year went by and that we are in 2008. I was talking to a friend last night and he asked me if I had made any resolutions. It's funny because the thought never crossed my mind! Usually I try to think of a few things I want to commit to but I didn't. As I woke up this morning, I was thinking about the areas I want to grow in spiritually and there are so many it's hard to think of just a few. I am doing a Bible study on grace and it is really opening my eyes to see my tendency towards being judgmental and legalistic.
So the first area I would like to grow in is grace. I want to be a woman of grace. I want to be motivated by my love of people and Christ. Jesus always helped people out of His love and compassion. That's what I want. To be gracious, to "err on the side of grace" as one of my friends would say.
The second area I want to grow in is by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit a whole lot more than I have been doing. When I was in Africa, I saw the most amazing things that I knew could only be accomplished with a filling of the Holy Spirit. I watched shy teenagers walk into shacks and proclaim Christ in such a bold way. I saw people get healed right before my very eyes. I saw hundreds of lives being transformed by Christ and I have to admit that it had nothing to do with us and everything to do with Jesus and His power. I want to walk in His power. I don't want to doubt, I want to be faith and spirit filled. I want to know the power of His resurrection.
Thirdly, this is a tough one for me. I need to keep a tight rein on my tongue. It's no wonder the Bible says our tongues are a restless evil full of deadly poison. Those are very strong words. My friends joke with me whenever I am not controlling my tongue by saying "mouth book." I have a "mouth book" and carry it around in my purse. I am always writing Scriptures down and whenever I am struggling with an issue (which is always!) I look up all the Scriptures in the Bible pertaining to the issue and write them down on index cards then I put them in a small photo album to carry with me and read over and over. It is a great way to renew my mind and memorize Scriptures. I have several of these little "books" and it is a great way to "take my thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ."
So, those are the 3 biggies for me that I want to focus on. Today I will make up a "grace" book and a Holy Spirit "power" book.
I really think this is going to be a life-changing year for me. I have a few "decisions" I am praying about and need to make that will alter the course of my life and I really need wisdom and guidance from the Lord. I don't want to make any decisions based on my feelings or fear but out of obedience to Christ. Either way, I know no matter what I choose, He will guide me and be near me. How cool is that?

Christmas with Family

This was by far the best Christmas I have ever had because of my family. It is amazing to think that prior to me accepting Christ, we rarely even spoke to each other. My brothers and my mom sometimes didn't even know where I lived or whether or not I was alive. It has been almost 7 years since I made the most important decision of my life, giving my heart to Jesus, and He continues to amaze me every day. I am so thankful and the gratitude in my heart will never even come close to the sacrifice He made for me. Tomorrow I will post about the past year.

Here are some pictures of my beautiful nieces and nephews, and of course my brothers.
Shige, Jr and Gavin, Amina Rose, Alana Marie. My brothers JoJo, Shige, Taka and Mom.

The Gift of Significance

This weekend our pastor was talking about the gift of significance that God wants to give us. We try to achieve this significance through people, possessions and pursuits instead of receiving this gift that comes being a child of the King. Only when we stop striving for it and look towards Christ can we really begin to understand our value, our worth and how much God truly loves us.
My pastor also shared a few points about what significance produces:

• Security
• Sanctification
• Service
• Satisfaction

Another point he shared was people of significance:

• Know they are loved and valued by God
• Are settled in their relationship with God
• Are settled in their relationship with others
• Move from being consumers to contributors

The Scripture my pastor shared from was in Luke 2:8-20, when the angels came to the shepherds to announce the birth of Christ. I never really thought much about this Scripture in regards to why the Lord would choose these lowly shepherds to make such an incredible announcement to.

I started to think about people He uses and I am convinced that God has a special place in His heart for the lowly, the broken hearted, the prodigal, the least of the least. I thought back to His resurrection and how He chose to show Himself to Mary Magdalene, the former demoniac. I thought of Gideon, the "Mighty Warrior" who was hiding from the Midianites in a cave and threshing his wheat because he was afraid. God used this man from the weakest clan (he was the runt!) and subdued the Midianites. How about Rahab, the prostitute? I could go on and on. my point is that no matter what we have done, no matter where we have been, no matter what people say about us, if we know Christ, if we have put our faith and trust in Him, than we have significance. God knows us by name and each one of us matter to Him.

More on Grace

I am doing my Bible study on grace and came across a quote from Andrew Murray which really stuck out to me. (Ok, it convicted me to my core!) It's in a chapter titled Liberty and Legalism. I have shared many times here about my struggles with legalism. For me, keeping rules is my natural bent and I want to grow out of it. I want to be a woman of grace. I want to extend the grace that the Lord has so freely extended towards me. Here is what Andrew Murray wrote:

We may be seeking for our growth in a more diligent use of the means of grace, and a more earnest striving to live in accordance with God's will, and yet entirely fail. The reason is, that there is a secret root of evil, which must be removed. That root is the spirit of bondage, the legal spirit of self-effort, which hinders that humble faith that knows that God will work all, and yields to Him to do it.

Ouch. Today, I will, by God's grace, make a choice to be a woman of grace and mercy.

A Day of Blessings

Have you ever just set out to be blessing then all of sudden you realize that you are the one being blessed? Yesterday I took off from work to help a friend named Rosemary who started a foundation to give presents to underprivileged kids. She raises funds and every Christmas blesses a local school in our area. The program is called, "If you had a hundred."
Basically each child has a budget of $100 and they make a wish list for their family members. y Rosemary then gets volunteers and we take them to the Target and buy the gifts on the list . There are about 100 kids and it was crazy fun! I had 2 kids that I spent the day with and we picked up everything for their families.
To watch their little faces light up with pride at being able to pick out gifts was something I will never forget. They also write something they really want but they don't get to buy anything for themselves. When all the shopping is done, we took all the packages back to the kids' school and we ate pizza and they wrapped all of the presents. There was much laughter and giggles galore. When all the wrapping was finished, Rosemary gathered all the kids and had them sit in a big circle. She then handed out gifts that were on the kids' wish list and there is nothing that can compare to the excitement that filled that room. They were screaming so loud and were totally surprised.
Rosemary also pays for all the wrapping paper, supplies, pizza and everything else. What a way to share the love of Christ in a tangible way. I actually got to talk to one of the teachers about the Lord and invited her to come to church on Sunday.
Next year, I will definitely help her more. She does most of the stuff herself with a few volunteers but what a way to be blessed. I came home feeling such a warmth in my heart and I know those kids will never be the same.

It reminds me of Matthew 25:37-40, "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Walking the Walk

I am in a Bible study on the book of 1 John and yesterday in class something really struck out to me and I wanted to share it.
In 1 John 1:6-7 says, "So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin."
The word translated "living" in these verses is a Greek word that literally means "walking continuously." It has it roots in the Old Testament concept of "walking" in God's Word and His ways instead of ungodly counsel. This speaks of our lifestyle, how we think and act every day. If the consistent patterns of our life reflect spirtual darkness, then we do not truly have fellowship (koinonia) with God and we are not living in His light.
Here are some practical questions that we can ask ourselves:

• Do the consistent choices I am making reflect an understanding of God and His ways?
• Do my daily thoughts, attitudes and actions demonstrate a desire to purge sinfulness and pursue righteousness in my life?
• Is there a hunger in my heart to grow in my love for God and the expression of His love through me?

I know for me, I need to ask myself these questions on a daily basis. How about you?

First Snow!!

I was driving home from work yesterday and I drive by several farms and fields and I was amazed at how beautiful the snow looked. It was so pristine and pure. It reminded me of how the Lord takes us and makes us pure again. In Isaiah 1:18 it says, "Come now let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow..." In Psalm 51:7 it says, "Wash me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow." I looked at the snow at the side of the road, brown and dingy and dirty and that represented me and my past sins. I could almost picture the scarlet red creeping over the pure snow, standing out for all the world to see. One glance at the snow way out in the fields and everything was clean and untouched. This is how the Lord sees me now, pure and untouched. Holy and righteous. It's almost too much to comprehend. To think that I am once again clean, that I have been cleansed by the very blood of Christ; healer of the sick, raiser of the dead and Savior of the world. Wow...
I will post some pictures of my real backyard when I get home from work.

Grace and Grace Alone

I started doing a new Bible study on grace and it amazes me what I have learned in just a few short lessons. I think most of us can understand the concept of grace but do we really grasp how powerful and freeing it really is? I have a natural bent towards keeping the Law. It is much easier for me to make a little "law" checklist and adhere to that than to simply accept grace as a free gift. Ephesians 2:8-9 couldn't be more clearer, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast."
We know it, most have memorized it. My prayer is that as I continue in this study, the Lord would reveal to me and make His grace known to me in ways that will blow my mind!
Here is an excerpt from Jerry Bridges on the spiritual principle regarding the grace of God:
"'...to the extent you are clinging to any vestiges of self-righteousness or are putting any confidence in your own spiritual attainments, to that degree you are not living by the grace of God in your life. '
This principle applies to salvation and in living the Christian life... Grace and good works (that is, works done to earn favor with God) are mutually exclusive. We cannot stand, as it were, with one foot on grace and the other on our own merit. "
What a way to start the day...

New Blog!

I am so excited that I had to share that I started a new blog that will journey my change to becoming a veganite! I am pretty much a vegetarian but after much research have decided to go all the way. A true vegan. No more dairy either. Woohoo! January 1 will be my launch date as I am praying and preparing myself (and my kitchen) to the change. Feel free to check it out and post a comment to encourage me! I was so excited to see that I was able to get the name christianvegetarian and I will be able to share Christ with some new friends!

Alabaster Jars

I was reading in Luke 7 this morning about the "sinful woman" annointing Jesus' feet. I can picture the scene in my mind. Jesus is hanging out with the Pharisees eating dinner. This "sinful woman" finds out that Jesus is there and she goes to see Him. She risked being ridiculed and humiliated because she knew Jesus has something she desperately needed. She brought with her an alabaster jar of perfume. This jar would have been her dowry. In Biblical times, a family would purchase an alabaster jar and fill it with precious ointment (perfume, nard) and the size and value of the ointment would parallel her family's wealth. When a man came to ask for her hand in marriage, she would take the jar and break it at his feet. This gesture showed him honor.
So here is Jesus hanging out and all of a sudden, this woman comes in and stands behind Him weeping and her tears begin to wet His feet. I can picture the jaws on the Pharisees hitting the floor! She then bends down and wipes His feet with her hair and kisses them as she pours out the perfume on them. This is an amazing display of reckless abandonement! She didn't care what anyone thought about her, she didn't care that everyone was whispering slanderous accusations about her. She wanted Jesus and she let nothing stop her from seeing Him. I can imagine the smell permeating the room where the Pharisees were eating. I wonder if the smell lingered for days after. It makes me think of what is in my own alabaster box. Is it the best perfume I have to offer Jesus? Is it full of my heart, my longings, my desires, my dreams? Have I come to the place where I am ready to break it open and pour it out on my Master's feet? Am I willing to sacrifice all I have to Him who has sacrificed his very life for me?

Africa, same thing, different day

The dreams (nightmares) are back. Precious African orphans calling me in the night. Willing me, no daring me to do something.

How Great is Our God

I woke up this morning singing, How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God and all the earth will sing, how great is our God.
Isn't it amazing to think about how great He is?! The splendor of the King clothed in majesty, it boggles the mind to think that He loves us so much and wants to spend time with us. How can our hearts not want to sing praises to Him? I am so glad that He put a new song in my mouth!
My mom came to church with me yesterday, which is a miracle considering she is a die-hard Catholic. She prays the rosary every morning and believes that Protestants are crazy. When I first gave my life to the Lord, she made fun of me and used to walk around and yell out Hallelujah in a derogatory way. It used to really hurt me then I realized that it wasn't me she was making fun of, it was my Savior. She doesn't do that anymore and I think she has finally realized that Jesus has changed me in ways no one else ever could. He took this hopeless, depressed alcoholic and gave me joy and a reason to live. She sees how much the Lord has changed me over the last 6 years and there is no denying it. Sitting next to her in church yesterday made me a little nervous. She has never really saw me or other people worshiping the Lord while singing to Him. I closed my eyes and did what I normally do, which is lift my hands up. My boss opened in prayer after we sang How Great is our God and was talking about creation and how God has His hand in all the beautiful colors of the leaves. I was trying hard to focus but I wanted to see my mom's reaction and it looked like she was definitely thinking about it. During the service she actually read out loud several of the Scriptures and I couldn't believe it! I about fell out of my chair. The message was about lifting our hands in worship and I will admit I didn't think she would understand. Thankfully, the Lord knew exactly what she needed to hear because He picked that day to open her heart and come with me. After the service she told my boss that she liked it and never thought about her hands in that way before. It was amazing. I am praying and having faith that God will open her heart up and that one day she will fall so madly in love with the Lord like I have. I can't wait until she gets rid of religion and enters that wonderful place of relationship. There will be much rejoicing that day!

The Tenderness of God

I was doing my Bible study this morning and it really spoke to my heart so I wanted to blog some of it. In Isaiah 49:16 it says, "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." I never thought too much about that verse but I just found out that the Hebrew word for engraved is chaqaq and it means to hack. This Hebrew word was used for the act of cutting or chiseling laws into tablets of stone. Isn't that cool? To think that the Lord has our very names engraved, hacked in, carved in His hand, the very hands that He knew would be pierced as He was hanging on the cross, loving us to death, literally. I wonder if He was reciting our names as His precious blood poured forth from where the nail was. I picture Him whispering them, Rachel, Sherri, Chris, La Toya, Sandra, Courtney, Mario, Will. Can you picture it?
Another verse I was studying is Zephaniah 3:17, "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." I know I have blogged about this verse before but it is one that needs to be repeated again and again. To think that the Creator of the universe delights in me is almost too much to bear. Quieting me with His love, as a Father quiets a child. Can you hear Him at times just saying, "Shhhh, it will be all right, Daddy's here." Then once He calms us, He begins to rejoice over us with singing. With singing! Amazing. How glorious is this God of ours! He is so loving toward us and I am just recently able to understand and believe it.
Yesterday in my Bible study for teen girls, I asked them all a question. I asked each one if they thought God was pleased with them. Only one said she thought He was a little pleased and all the others girls thought God was mad at them for things they have done. I cannot tell you how this grieved my heart! If I went through my life thinking that the Lord was mad at me, I think it would crush me. No wonder we don't walk in victory! I explained that God hates sin and calls us to be obedient and tried to show them how much He loves them because they are His treasured possession. Most of them never stopped to think of the grace, mercy, love and tenderness of their Daddy. I hope I gave them a glimpse of how much He adores them.
Today I am going to try my best to let Him rejoice over me. I will walk in grace today and allow my Daddy to sing (and brag) over me. Does this sound weird to you? Too bad, it's in the Bible. Read it.

One Thing

If there was one thing you could ask the Lord, what would it be? I can think of about a bajillion things I'd like to ask. Like, why on earth did He make lima beans? Disgusting! Well, I was reading in the Psalms this morning and in Psalm 27:4 it says, "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." Of all the things David could have wanted from the Lord, he wanted to dwell in the house of the Lord and gaze upon His beauty. Wow. That really struck me this morning. To simply gaze upon His beauty. To bask in His presence. To just be near Him. To just be...
Not talking, not even praying, just being.
Today I pray that I won't get so sidetracked with life that I forget to just stop and gaze upon His beauty.

A New Thing

I was reading this morning my Bible this morning and flipping page after page as verses kept coming to me. It's so good to be back in the Spirit again. I didn't realize how my hard heart was keeping me from hearing the Lord. I guess I, like Elijah, was expecting Him to show up amidst my earthquake! He was just waiting for me to quiet and still myself and get rid of the "commitee" in my head so he can whisper to me. One of the verses I read and pondered is:

Isaiah 43:18-19, Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

How fitting and timely for me. He knows just what I need and when I need it.

So tomorrow is my 42 birthday and I can't believe I am really that old. I remember on my 40th birthday I called my mama just to make sure I was turning 40 and asked if she had somehow made a mistake on the birth certificate and maybe I was really turning 30. She assured me she knew when I was born. Rats!

I have decided to splurge this year and buy myself a present. I have been wanting to get a puppy but I am not sure because I won't be able to spend lots of time with it which isn't really fair. So, I am going to get a trick fish. Yep, you read that right, a trick fish. I am going to teach him some coll tricks, like how to do flips and stuff. I may even take the show on the road if he's really good. I can't wait, I even already have a name picked out, Bobby Ray, ain't it cool?

Lest you think fish can't learn tricks, I googled fish tricks and there is actually a fish school where they learn how to some really cool tricks.

Restoration

Restoration is always a good thing. Confession and repentance is good for the soul. I love 1 John 1:9, it was the second scripture I memorized after I gave my heart and life to the Lord. It is amazing when you stop and ponder the words:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse (or purify) us from ALL unrighteousness.
Not because we deserve it but because of His unfailing love for us. Not because of anything we have done, but because of what He has already done. Wow.
After spending the last few days on my face seeking the reasons for being in this valley, I am amazed and even more aware of how much the Lord loves me. One of my favorite verses that keeps coming back to me is Jeremiah 31:3, I have loved you with an everlasting love. It may not mean alot to you but to me, growing up not ever knowing I was loved, it means everything. I also love Jeremiah 1:5, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart...
Double wow. It almost leaves you speechless.
All weekend I kept asking God for a word, a fresh word, a restorative word, any word, just give me a word! As I shared yesterday, it was, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Well, you're supposed to, your God! Then this morning I was reading my Bible and doing homework for my Bible study and I really wanted to blog a little before work, so I stopped doing my homework and closed my Bible and went to grab my laptop off the table. Guess what happened. You got it, I still had some coffee leftover in the cup and it got knocked over and spilled all over my beautiful light tan colored carpet. After I cleaned it up, I apologized to the Lord for cutting Him short and I reopened my Bible and workbook. Take one guess what the next scripture I read and had to study was...Jeremiah 31:3. Funny how the Lord has to get our attention sometimes.
I bet He was just a sitting up in heaven thinking, what a special day this will be for my sweet, beautiful, princess (ok, ok, so maybe He didn't say all that but...) cause boy have I got a word for her! It's gonna blow her mind. Then He is there with all the angels pointing down at me and saying, Look, she's almost to the scripture, look....oh no, what is she doing? No she did NOT just close her Bible and workbook. She begs me for days for a fresh word and just as I am going to give to her, she blows me off! Are you kidding me?
I know it sounds funny but that's how I picture Him with me sometimes.

AWOL

ok, so most of you know that I have not been in bloggerville very much since I came back from Africa. I have had a really hard time adjusting back to life and am in a valley, the lowest I have ever been in. Praise God He is helping me and is pulling me out of it. I can see the light, no pun intended!
I am still trying to figure out where all the junk in my heart is coming from cause I thought I had worked through all of it. Apparently not! During my women's Bible study last week, we were watching a video and it was centered on rejection. Ouch! We had a room full of crying women, not a dry eye in the house. It hit me so hard so that it took everything in me not to fall apart in front of the class. It is hard sometimes to be the leader but I did share some stuff and where I am struggling right now with the women and it felt good.
The Lord has been showing me the hardness of my heart lately and it ain't pretty, to say the least. It is so hard to keep my relationship with the Lord separate with the "church," know what I mean? It is so easy to blame the church then to blame God and keep them lumped together and He is really showing me that the church is made up of messed up people! I know that, I mean really know it but you don't expect certain people to act in certain ways. Anyways, I will not continue to blame other people for the hurt in my heart, I will own my part in it.
Yesterday was an awesome day because I went to my "happy" place, which is a beautiful lake in the mountains. No cell phone, no email, no laptop, no nothing but my Bible and journal. It amazes how well I can hear the Lord speak to me when I shut everything off and actually listen! He showed me my hardened heart and because He loves me so much, gave me a spanking. You know how it doesn't feel good at the time but you know you deserve it and later, you feel better? Well, that is how I feel. Confession and repentance are good for us, duh. So I'm slow sometimes!
As I was sitting there looking out over the lake and listening to the leaves rustling in the wind, I clearly heard the Lord tell me this, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." This scripture keeps coming up! Every time I am alone with Him, He tells me that. I know He loves me but I think He has to keep reminding me that His love is everlasting, endless, never ending.
Another scripture is from Ezekiel 36:25-27:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
That is what I am clinging to. As hard and scary as it is, I am praying for the Lord to wreck me, break my hard heart into a thousand pieces so He can put it back together again.

What is it about Africa?

I can't explain it. It's a feeling deep in my soul. It reaches the innermost part of my heart. That secret place that no one gets to see. The place where long lost dreams and forgotten goals live. Sometimes, it wakes me from a sound sleep. I can see the beautiful faces and dark, lost eyes willing me to open mine. Willing me to come and make a difference. I can't get the images out of my head. They are seared forever into my memory. How long? How long Lord will these innocent children have to suffer? I almost can't breathe because I feel like my heart has been ripped out and it is breaking in two. Why do I have so much and they so little? How long until I can go back???

More pics

Between my facebook and being sick all weekend, I feel like I am never going to get to blog my trip! Here are a few more pictures. This is the church we went to and it is right in the squatters camp where we ministered. We went to service there too and it lasted several hours! It was great, the preacher would preach for a few minutes then we would sing for a while, then back to preaching then back to singing! It was awesome!

This is where we were doing vbs and praying with the kids. They are so cute!

We did alot of servant evangelism and we got water for some people but we had a really hard time carrying the water. The women carry it on top of their heads but I didn't want to risk breaking my neck! They really enjoyed laughing at us carrying and spilling it all over the place.

We also helped to do laundry and one day, we were walking by a man doing laundry and he told us he heard we were there so we could wash everyone's clothes. It was so funny, he was laughing but when we told him we wanted to, he would not let us. He said he promised his wife that HE would do it!

My 2 girls.

Pictures from Africa

I have wanted to blog my trip but brought back something funky from Africa so pray for me to get well! Most of the people on my trip put their pics on facebook and I added link to mine on the sidebar. You can also click here to see them.

A few pics from Africa

There is so much to write about my trip to Africa but for now I am posting a few pictures. The first picture is where we spent our time. This is garbage and sewage mixed together and to the left of it is where the church is where we held our VBS. I can't even begin to describe what a "squatter camp" is but whatever image comes to mind when you just read that, muliply it by a hundred.

Just got home

I love Africa.

This is it!

I can't believe I start my journey to Africa today! I am so excited, well as excited as one can be at 4:30 in the morning. The youth pastor and I are heading out to Dallas, Texas for leadership training at the Teen Mania HQ and then the other 4 leaders come tomorrow for more training then our teens come Monday for more training then we finally leave for Africa!!! It is going to be awesome.
Please keep out entire team covered in prayer. I will blog everything when I get back!!

I Love Jesus!

I love waking up in the morning with a smile on my face. Thinking about how much the Creator of the universe loves me. Pondering the things of God and looking forward to what He is going to show me today. I love the feeling of expectation I have as I think about who the Lord will put in my path today.
I watch the sun rise almost every day and yet it never ceases to amaze me the beauty of it all. I drive to work and pass several farms and trees and I am so grateful that the Lord is creative and did not make just one type of tree of one type of flower. Am I am weirdo or does anyone else out there dig creation like I do? I sit outside for hours and stare at the stars and right now I am listening to the birds chirping. How cool is that? That God gave them their own beautiful language.
I love Psalm 19, The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the earth.
When I was Peru 2 years ago, we took a ride in an open cattle truck (I thought I was meeting Jesus that night!) and we drove up this mountain and I will never forget the stars. I have never seen so many stars so close up. It was as if I was looking at a black sheet and someone had poked holes through it and put a light behind it. I wonder if Africa will be like that. I am glad my friend Sara bought me a cool camera so I can take pictures when I am there. God is so good to me.
I can't believe I leave in 2 days. I can't wait to see all the beautiful African people. I can't wait to kiss the little kids faces and share Jesus with them. I can't wait to see 27 people being transformed before my very eyes. I can't wait to see the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear and salvation to come to that dark continent.
I am amazed at the love the Savior has for me. It is undeniable.

4 more days!

I can't believe I leave for Africa in 4 days! Actually we will be in Texas for a few days at Teen Mania doing leadership training and then our teens will arrive and we will have a few more days of training then we head to Africa. We leave from Texas, then go to Chicago and then back home to Dulles then off to Africa. Airplane time is about 20 hours and that doesn't include the layovers. Please pray for our team, we are taking 21 teens and 6 leaders and many of them have never even been on an airplanee. I bought all sorts of puzzle books and cards so hopefully that will keep them busy on the plane. They may actually have talk to each other or read a book!
I know without a doubt that God is going to do extraordinary things and I am so excited. Yesterday the leaders got together and prayed and it was awesome. I prayed for us to have an abundance of faith and that the lame would walk, the blind would see, the deaf would hear and that redemption would rock Africa!

My ladies summer Bible study ended yesterday and we had a little party. It was great. Not only do these women learn to love their Savior more but they get to connect with other women and share what's on their hearts. We did a Bible study on breaking free from strongholds and to listen to them open up and share their struggles with one another was amazing.
When I get back from Africa I will be doing a Bible study on the fruits of the spirit and also one for Sr High teens. I have really enjoyed hanging out with these young people and it has been very eye opening for me. I am so grateful that God can use my horrid past and my mistakes to help me minister and share with these young women.
Saturday, July 14, it was my 6 year anniversary for being sober but most importantly, it was also my anniversary for making the best decision of my entire life. I surrendered my life to my Creator that day. I am in awe of all the things the Lord has done in my life in just 6 years. I really need to write about it and I am going to before I leave on Friday.

The Call

What a weekend! It took us (me) 11 hours to drive to Tennessee but almost 14 hours to get home yesterday! I am so tired but spiritually energized!

The Call was amazing. Imagine tens of thousands of Christians on fire for God praying, weeping, fasting and crying out to God to draw us back to Him. There are almost no words to describe it but I will try to. We worshipped all day, they had many bands and many speakers and testimonies. I don't think the Tennessee Titan stadium ever had the presence of God in it as it did on Saturday.

One of the main points of this event was to call the nation back to repentance about the decision to legalize abortion. There was a lady who was a doctor who used to perform abortions before becoming a Christian and she could barely get out her words of asking everyone in the stadium for forgiveness, it was truly amazing. There were pastors who were African American, American Indian, Hispanic, etc and they were asked forgiveness for the way we treated them and to hear each one of these groups accept the forgiveness was heart wrenching.
They had many people sharing, one was a couple who adopted a crack baby that the mother just didn't want. I bawled like a baby.
They also had a time of ministry to women who had abortions and I wept and wept. I had 2 over 20 years ago and I carried so much shame and guilt about it before I came to know and accept Christ's forgiveness. It ate at me and when I was in my 20's, I had a miscarriage and I thought God was punishing me by taking my baby since I took the life of 2. I now realized that Satan used that for most of my life to keep me from finding grace and mercy in Christ and I am so thankful I did.

I was able to share with the 2 teens that went with me all this and my testimony and it was amazing. We had many God moments and I hope that what I shared with them and my mistakes will help them.
They also called all pastors, youth pastors and anyone in leadership to come all the way down onto the grass. We prayed for forgiveness about how we are supposed to be the leaders and help turn the nation and this generation around. They shared statistics about online porn addictions and how it is rampant in the church and how the porn industry makes the most revenue when Christians come to events like this by watching x- rated movies in hotels. They told all the people who have ever looked at porn or acted immorally (in thought or action) to ask God for forgiveness and we held our hands over our eyes and made a covenant with God to not look at anything not pure. I was on the grass and I have never, ever seen so many men (and women) broken and openly weeping before their Creator. We got intop small groups and prayed for one another and I know that many chains of bondage were broken that day.

I could go on and on but I am still processing what the Lord was doing in my own heart. I feel like He is calling me to step up and help with this generation more. I have committed to being a world changer, so I know it has to start with me having a pure heart and clean hands and I want to be a woman of integrity. It was so powerful for me to share with these 2 young ladies that although I made mistakes in the past, since I have surrendered my life to Christ, I have made the choice and stuck to being a woman of purity. It is so freeing to not to have to deal with the shame of being immoral anymore and I love that the Holy Spirit can live in a pure, righteous body, not because of anything I have done, but because of what Christ has done in me!!!!

I am rambling so here are a few pictures:

The red tape over the mouth is the trademark of JHop. They exist to raise up a house of prayer (24/7) to contend with every other house that challenges the Lordship and supremecy of Christ over all affairs. They have young people who stand in front of the Supreme Court in DC with the red tape over their mouths and pray 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for unborn babies and so many other things. They handed out the red tape and the entire stadium was silent with these over our mouths while we prayed silently.

Road Trip

I get the privilege to drive 2 teens to Tennesee tomorrow. It'll probably take about 11 hours to get there, depending on how many Starbucks I stop by!
We are going to an event called The Call and it's in Nashville at the Titan's stadium. We are going to pray, fast and worship the Lord all day with several thousand other Jesus freaks!
I'll post pics when I get back in a few days.

Independence Day

Galatians 5:1 says, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Woohoo, we are free indeed!!

What a day it was yesterday. My friend Tilda and I took the metro downtown (thank God for her because I would have probably ended up somewhere else!) We got down there and walked around and checked out a few museums. I am so thankful for my new knee. I had a partial knee replacement (my 4th surgery to the same knee) about 8 months ago and I was able to walk around with no pain!! What a miracle it was. As a matter of fact, I wanted to keep walking but my friend was getting tired of it!
The Freedomfest festival with Christ on the Mall was great. People from all religious denominations were serving people. I love to see the Church doing what we were called to do. God doesn't see us as separate denominations like we do. He sees us as His Church, His Bride. How cool is that?

Here are a few pictures of a few of us speaking:

La Toya breaking it down:

Scott preaching it

Me sharing my testimony

I'll post better pictures that our photographer took of the event when I get those.

Here is a picture of our nation's capital: