Let it be love that plants the seed.

First Corinthians 13. Christian or not, I think most people know at least one verse to that portion of scripture. There's the part that says basically that without love, you're either annoying, are nothing/meaningless, or have nothing. There's the section that describes the characteristics of love. Then it talks about understanding, how love lasts forever/never fails, and love is the greatest of faith, hope, and love.

I love the last line. It pretty much sums up everything in the first section.
Faith, hope, and love last forever. They never go away. But the greatest is love.

Faith. It's a pretty lofty topic now adays. "Just have faith! And you'll be healed! You need more faith! We must increase our faith! We must have faith to declare the sick are healed! The dead are raised!" All that is well and good, but without love... YOUR FAITH IS NOTHING. Which means even if the person gets up out of their wheelchair and walks, if you don't have love, it means nothing. You can move the mountain of cancer without love. But without love, it is nothing.
Its such a hard concept to grasp because there's fruit. But just because there's fruit to our clouded eyes doesn't mean there's love.
Verses 10-12 take care of that.

Then there's hope. This is for all the dreamers like me out there. Whew. I'm a dreamer. Some of you used to dream that thousands would come and see the Lord. That they would be saved. That they would be restored and live a life of abundance and freedom. You wanted them to be saved because you LOVED them. But now you just want them to come. But when they come, what do you have to offer them now?
NOTHING. You've focused so much on getting them here that you now have no idea what to do with them when they arrive. And so they leave as quick as they came.
Your dreams have crumbled to the ground.
Without love, your hope is nothing.

Then there's love. When you love, guess what you get. love. When you love, guess what you spread. Love. When you love, guess what you get the keys to. EVERYTHING.
So you can either love and get everything. Or do all the other religious crap and have NOTHING, be NOTHING, do NOTHING, and love NO ONE.

It's so easy to say, "Well we should love. That should be our motivation. So, we need love to be our motivation."
I'm sick and tired of hearing people tell people that if we want to see people saved, our motivation needs to be love.
I know people mean good and well when they say that, and its no attack against anyone who ever says that. I've said it PLENTY. But its not something you can just say, "Oh! Ok sooooo from now on my motivation will be love. YAY!"
No. You'll know when you've arrived at love when you love without realizing it. It becomes a way of life. It inhabits everything you do. You smile. You're kind. You are patient. You don't envy. You don't boast. You don't have an attitude. You aren't easily angered. And even if you are, its your fault, so just bite your tongue and don't hold your own agression against someone who is just being innocent and being themselves and had no intentions whatsoever in their heart of making you frustrated. And YES, YOU WILL KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. (Most of the time, LOL).

Love isn't something we can just decide that from now on we're gonna BE better at. We have to GROW better at it. And that's where many fail. We have to grow. We have to give lots and lots and lots of MERCY. BE MERCIFUL. Ask Jesus for His heart. He'll give it to you. Tell Him that you want to- want to love.
Do you actually care about the person in the checkout line? Do you actually care when you see someone hurting and not having the best day? Or do you go about your day? Do you get overly frustrated when that person that talks forever about their personal problems to you stops you when you have somewhere to be? DO YOU EVEN listen? Or do you let love win? Do you care? People need your love more than they need theology. Who cares what they've done. You are exactly LIKE THEM, even if they've "done" "worse" things than you (TO YOU.) You're exactly like them, but in a Jesus suit. He gave you that robe. You didn't purchase it. He gave it to you. Underneath you are exactly like them. I'm sick of the pompous. (This could go on forever so I'll save it for another post and another scripture lol)

Let your dreams rise out of you like a mountain and let the faith to see them happen flow down like a rushing creek.

And let it be love that plants the seed.

The Voice of the Lord

Hearing the Lord is a part of the foundation of everything we believe.
Hearing the voice of the Lord, in context, I think the best way to put it is to WEIGH the OPINION of the Lord.

Take some time to think back to everyone who specifically was directed by the Lord, in communion with Him. Noah, Abraham, Moses, David. Those are the big ones we all know. I could list WAY more. Then of course, there were the high priests of the temple who had specific communion with God, more than any common man could.
We look to those specific four stories for hope, for faith, and we mention their lives as evidence to the Lord's working in our lives, and the Lord's leading, guiding, and directing us. They are often lifted up on a pedestal of great uncommon faith.

Then there was Jesus. He had something different; something special at the time. He was in communion with the Father so much so that every single move was directed by the Father's voice. He could access the presence and the power of the ONE TRUE LIVING GOD, because He was HIM. It's mind blowing to think about the trinity in that regard, but that's for another day.

Jesus did nothing apart from the Father. (John 5). He had perfect communion with the Father. He was fully God yet fully man. With that being said, would we have thought He was a complete fake and flake because He said He heard the Father? The way we react today to the voice of the Lord shows us the answer.

Why is it that the choice for most Christians is to either be labeled a complete flake, weird, and unsound in the eyes of some Christian, OR just ignore the voice of God? I feel like many Christians judge others by their use of "God said".  I get it we are human. I get it that all of us can be flaky. I get it that we can be manipulative.  I get it that we can be perverted.  I get it that so so so many people abuse it. I get sick when I see that and I seriously passionately despise it.
But why is it considered flaky to try to hear the voice of the LORD and why are people so worried about it like its supposed to be an uncommon, "special" thing?

In the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, it was an uncommon, special thing. But when Jesus ripped that veil, anyone could see straight through to the Holy of Holies. HE made the way for us.
It was a common, completely constant thing for Jesus. It wasn't like the voice of the Father thundered down from heaven whenever He wanted to speak to Jesus about only the important things.
Their communion was consistent. It was common.

Would you have looked at Jesus and accused Him of "lacking accountability"? "lacking the earthly guidance to 'reign Him in'"? "Spiritually unbalanced so He must be extremely inaccurate and flaky"???

#1. Hearing the Word of the Lord should be a constant thing. Jesus proved it could be done.

#2. The way you keep people from being flaky and weird and 'unbiblical' is you disciple them. Not only that, but it comes with time.

I completely agree people should not be able to do whatever they want just because they label it "God". I am not saying ANY of that. I am simply saying, WHAT are we DOING with the OPINION of the Lord?? WHAT are we saying to those who are following behind us? How are we labeling those who have gone before us?
Why have we labeled the opinion of the Lord as weird if people "hear" all the time?

There has got to be accountability but let it be true accountability, not a restriction, a taboo on the opinion of the Lord. Let it be weighed, let it be put into perspective. If you know the Lord, You will see His opinion clearly. You'll realize what will make Him happy. You'll realize that He is ALWAYS speaking.

If we truly believe what we claim, what will we do about the opinion of the LORD?
Let yourself LISTEN to Him. The more you do, the more He will speak. The more you will know His voice. The less flakey you will become. THE MORE YOU'LL KNOW HIM.

I don't want to forsake His voice when the people that went before Jesus hardly had a chance at communion with the Father. THIS is WHAT WAS BOUGHT FOR US. Not just salvation from HELL. Communion, the voice of the Lord, His presence, etc.

WHAT will YOU do with the voice of the LORD?

Waiting to Hear What I'm Waiting For

I have to admit, there are some sounds of worship I wish I could just type on the internet and find and play through my house or through my headphones.
But when you start searching for what your heart is longing for online, you realize you've pretty much heard it all. There's a longing for more, for newness, that your spirit is just craving.
But that's where we come in. If you are in the same boat as me, and have any musical abilities, I know that God is calling on us to release a new sound that He can only put into our hearts.
Some of my greatest friends are the most musically talented.
My own mother is AN AMAZING worship leader and I am so thankful to have sat under her for as long as I have. My dad can SO belt it and I love hearing him sing with his strong yet gentle voice.
My brother is amazing at playing the piano sooo intricately and has this crazy passion that just runs through his fingers. Its so beautiful. And when he sings, its so pure!! HE JUST LOVES GOD!!
And then there's my dear Hannah Rene. She plays so beautifully and plays so... so like a daughter. Like a princess. And what she writes, its like deep heart wells. Its so cool. And its so easy for me to relate to her music, spiritually, emotionally... its so amazing.
And my Taylor Elaine.. she sings so beautifully. I don't even know if I've even told her how much I enjoy her singing. Its so pretty. =) Its the type of singing that I just enjoy. Its so heartfelt. And she can totally hold her note. Without even that much experience, and not that many lessons. SHE'S A NATURAL.

I could go on and on and on. My Melody with her POWERFUL voice for such a little girl. SO EXTREMELY TALENTED. Her voice is the type of voice that ROCKS THE WORLD.

And everyone I know, really. I mean I can't really mention all of you. But you all know who you are. Hilly and her songs with her style the Lord gave JUST for her, cause she's special. Lisa Marie and how she can hold a note and harmonies LIKE, INSANELY amazingly.. Austin. Andrew K. Josh D. Lisa P. Kels. Everyone. !!! <3

The things that you desire the most to hear out there in worship.. its yours to write.
The Heavenly Father has hidden it in you.
Dig into Him. Let Him stir things up in you. And when you feel it, WORSHIP.
When you are getting stirred and you don't know why, WORSHIP. and Record it.
When you have had a horrible day, WORSHIP. and record it.
When the best thing ever has happened to you in a day, WORSHIP. AND RECORD IT.

There are some things waiting to be released, and I know Josh and I are ready. We are ready to hear what He has to sing and play through us. And we're going after it. Its so rewarding, though. He touches you when you do that. Its kind of funny. You long to hear something new.. In a sense, you long to hear what only you can produce.
<3

So get ready for us to be releasing some music to you guys that has come straight out of times spent with Him and our hearts pouring out.
Love you guys,
Lauren

I've Been Living a Lie

(If you are going to read any of this, please read all the way through.. otherwise, it defeats the purpose. thanks! love you all.)



This past Sunday night I had a deep, deep revelation. It wasn't a deliverance by any means; its something I have to trust and keep trusting and push through even when I can't see. But I WAS changed.

I realized I had been living a lie. A lie I realized no human had ever told me. So who, I asked, ever told me this lie? I gasped. It had to have been the father of lies, satan himself.

It had to have been. No human has ever told me I am ugly. I just looked in the mirror and believed it. I knew it. I knew it.

Its one of those things where I said, well, I know I am not the best looking creature on the earth. I know I am mediocre, and I can deal with that. If I just accept it, at least I won't look like a doof. If I let people know that I KNOW that I am not that beautiful, then they'll know I'm not living a lie, believing a lie, thinking that I am oh-so-pretty when I am just average. I wanted everyone to know I KNEW I was just average. BUT I was living a lie!

And honestly, it may be partly due to the "world"'s standard of beauty. In fact, I am sure it is part of it. But its not because THEY know or hollywood knows what beauty is- its because they were all told the same lie. Its because our vision is MESSED up. Its because we do not know what beauty is. Its like we can't even see. THAT is the problem. Its not that what they say is beautiful is beautiful- its that WE. CAN'T. SEE.

When my eyes opened to this reality on Sunday night, it was so freeing but so so so sad. I realized I was BLIND. I can't see how He sees.

So this is what happened. My husband was singing some spontaneous songs with his guitar by himself up front on stage, and there were just a few people left, scattered in the room, sitting in His presence. He started singing about the sons and about rising up. Then he started singing about the daughters and what God is saying to us. And how God takes us and shows us off to His angels and shows us off to the elders and the creatures. Heavenly beings in awe of His creation, of these humans that have CHOSEN His love. And in that picture, I pictured Him leading me around and showing me off to them. Saying this is my daughter, isn't she beautiful? And in that moment, I felt like I was. Because I realized something:

HE MADE ME.

HE MADE ME!

HE MADE ME.

I said it to myself over and over again. It was like I was really realizing it for the first time. I said it and said it and said it again. HE. MADE. ME.!

My eyes were literally opened. I sat there and it was like a lightbulb moment. My head was down and as I kept saying it my eyes got wider and my head lifted little by little. I REALIZED IT.

AND I REALIZED HE MADE ME. AND IF I REALLY BELIEVE THAT I HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT I AM BEAUTIFUL. AND WHILE MY NATURAL EYES MIGHT SEE ME AS LESS THAN AVERAGE LOOKING, THOSE STANDARDS ARE NOT REAL. THEY DO NOT EXIST. THEY DO NOT EXIST. I EXIST!!! THEY DO NOT!!!! They are made up!!! They are made up rules to the game of lies that satan loves to play with us. (when I say they do not exist, I do not mean they are not real issues we deal with, I just mean that they were not meant to exist from the beginning of time.)

THOSE STANDARDS ARE NOT REAL.

BEAUTY THIS WORLD SAYS IS BEAUTIFUL IS NOT REAL.

WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL.

And if I TRULY BELIEVE that HE is REAL, that the LIVING GOD IS REAL AND MADE THIS EARTH AND MADE MEEEE, then IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO BE UGLY. IT IS ABSOLUTELY 100% IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!

THIS LIE THAT SOME HUMANS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND SOME ARE UGLY IS FALSE. THERE IS NO SUCH THING!!!DON'T YOU GET IT? THIS STANDARD WAS MADE AFTER THE FALL. THIS STANDARD WAS MADE IN OUR OWN EYES. AND ITS ROOT IS THE LIES FROM SATAN THAT HAS SHAPED HISTORY AND SHAPED STANDARDS.

I can't make you have the same revelation as me. And its something I am still dealing with and processing in my head. I have to catch myself because I lived and believed this lie for so long I speak all these things and I realize that I have been speaking lies over myself. I have been questioning and questioning my beauty and all of it for what??? For WHAT?? I AM!! HE MADE ME AND I TRUST HIM AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO BE ANYTHING BUT BEAUTIFUL. And the way I look at other people has BEEN through this LIE!!! The way I judge others and their appearance has been through this lie. Oh wow she is so beautiful!! And ofhwow, she's so nice, but boy.. she's kinda homely.. :-( I will never look at people the same way again. NEVER. I AM WRONG. MY EYES ARE WRONG. I CANNOT SEE. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT BEAUTY IS!


I want to say so much more, but I fear I would just be stating the same things over again.

Its extremely hard to just post this as is because I just want to say it and say it and say it. HE.MADE. YOU. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT?? DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD?? DO YOU BELIEVE THE LAMB WAS SLAIN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD??



If you do, then you have to know.

YOU. ARE. BEAUTIFUL.

The every day awakening.

I have not written in a while.. God has done so many amazing things. I got married in March; I love being married, it is such an adventure.
I was reading some scripture today and I was in Galatians. On my way to Galatians, a few verses in Ephesians caught my eye. When I was done in Galatians, I went back and read the same few verses a few times over.

NLT:
Living by the Spirit’s Power
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This sample of scripture is so simple. But yet it awakens in the deepest parts of me. I'm really not sure why. But it is such a basic explaination of what we are supposed to do. It is so black and white, and it is to the point. And I love it. And there is joy in my heart reading this; there is joy in my heart doing these things. This scripture alone creates such a deep longing in my heart. If we could just be obedient and LIVE these 5 verses, how much unitity would we walk in, how much grace, how much passion and fire, oh how we would stop struggling and be IN HIM. Being obedient to these 5 verses means you desire to please Him. It also means that you are satisfied in Him. And you KNOW that that is where you get ALL your joy, ALL your peace, ALL your strength. You are desperate. But you've come to a place where it is the NORM. So its easy. It's easy to look at this passage of scripture and say, 'YES, I CAN DO THAT. YES, LORD. YES.' Because there is nothing else for you.

I just love it. "Don't act thoughtlessly, but UNDERSTAND what the LORD wants you to do."

Are we in that communion where He is constantly able to speak? Or do we have to be in some sort of special setting or mindset and ask? Yes it is good to ask the Lord what to do. But sometimes we have to UNDERSTAND. We have to come to a place where THe HOLY SPIRIT is so WELCOMED in us that He is always able to speak without any stifling.
This is just such a joyful piece of scripture to me. I don't really know what the point of this is, (do I ever? lol) but I definitely felt compelled to write about this scripture. I really don't have anything else to say about any other part of it, other than... it awakens me.

I encourage you to have an every day awakening. Get to that place. It could be the simplest thing. But be open to Him changing you ever day to His mindset. Awakening you to something you've never seen before. It's so simple. Yet it is such a treasure.

Thank you Jesus, for the every day awakening. I love seeing new sides of You. You are too good to me and my sometimes lack of consistency. You pour out Your wisdom to me even when I don't deserve it. You are always with me, You are always speaking. You are always guiding me, and I see You. I follow You. Thank You for always having something to say to me. Thank You for awakening my heart to always understand You in every situation. To always be aware of You.

Count it all JOY...

James 1:2-4," 2 Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

I had a revelation this morning while talking to Lisa... and you know.. for us true believers, full of faith and authority in the Holy Spirit, TRULY knowing we have that, I think sometimes we forget this scripture. Most of the time, we that KNOW healing is possible AND probable, forget this. Most of the time, we sulk and we just want God to heal us, saying, "God, heal us! Even if we have to wait! Heal us! We know You can so do it! Man, I wish God would just healll meeee" But we never stop to think about this. We have brushed off, in the past, people that have said, "well maybe it's God's will for you to have cancer, or die," or whatever. We KNOW that is NOT the case! God desires healing and restoration for us. But we miss the bigger picture sometimes. We say we will wait for it, but we never think about counting it all JOY. We just want our problems, our situations, our uncomfortableness, or disease to just GOO AWAYYYYYY. And God desires that for us.
But look at what this scripture says. Consider it an OPPORTUNITY for great joy. When our faith is tested, our endurance has a chance to grow. So LET IT GROW, for when our endurance is fully developed, we will be perfect and complete, needing NOTHING.

When Jesus was dying on the cross, He could have had ten thousand angels to take His place. He had that authority. He had the POWER OF HEALING IN HIS HANDS FOR HIS OWN SELF. But He didn't. Why? So He could be made perfect and make perfection possible for us. He knew this concept. JESUS COUNTED IT ALL JOY.
Hebrews 12:2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne."
WOW. because of the JOY set before Him HE ENDURED THE CROSS. HE IS THE PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH!

This is exactly WHY we can do this. This is WHY we can count it all joy, and why every opportunity we have when trouble comes our way is like the Lord reaching out His hand, saying,"here, here's another opportunity toward perfection."

You guys, all bets were off when Jesus died and rose. We are without excuse, because He made a way for us. We are WITHOUT EXCUSE. The excuse that we are only human DOESN'T WORK. Jesus partook in our sufferings, and we partake in His. He was able to fully hear God as a man, and not falter! He OBEYED. He walked, He heard, and He obeyed, and He didn't choose to heal Himself even though He could. He COUNTED IT ALL JOY, SO THAT WHENEVER WE FACE VARIOUS TRIALS, IT WOULD NOT BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO COUNT IT ALL JOY. He was made perfect and we can be made perfect too, IF WE KEEP TAKING THESE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR FAITH AND ENDURANCE TO GROW. THIS IS JUST another verse that says, "BE LIKE JESUS!!!"

He can do it. So can we. and our endurance will be GREAT. We are WITHOUT excuse if we have or do anything else!
So let's remember this, ALONG with the fact that the Lord heals, restores, redeems, and moves mountains, that that's just HALF of the job description. We are to do the same, but let's count it all joy instead of sulking and wishing He would take away all our troubles! For TRUE healing and the best kind of healing is when we are healed, but also come away with the endurance that was MEANT for us to receive out of it!
:-)

Leading by Example

Written January 28th, 2009, 10:07pm- myspace/facebook

You know the saying, "Do as I say, don't do as I do."?
Well.. that is such a cop-out. I'm not going to say that I THINK it's a cop-out. Because for a fact, it is.
That saying rids you of every single ounce of accountability that is required. It rids you of all responsibility.
People can argue this all they want, and say well, if I'm a leader, boss, instructor of some sort, authority of some sort, and say "well, if I mess up they shouldn't follow me." Well, THAT'S a given. Anybody with common sense KNOWS that.

1 Cor. 10:33- 1 Cor. 11:1 says, "I don't just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. Therefore, imitate me, as I imitate Christ."

Paul does NOT just say "Do what I preach, because God preaches through me, BUT DONT DO WHAT I DO!!" no, HE REALIZES that it is a HEAVY WEIGHT HE CHOSE to carry WHEN HE DECIDED TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. NO, even BEFORE THEN. When He dedicated His life to Christ. WHEN HE SAW THE LIGHT.

Ephesians 5:1 says Imitate God in everything you do. It doesn't just say DO WHAT HE SAYS OR ELSE!!! No, God is GOOD and His character is good and God IS LOVE! and He ENDURES! So IMITATE WHAT YOU SEE, IMITATE HIM, FOR HE IS GOOD!

Another example is 1 Cor. 4:16.

There is so many times in the Bible where one person or another is beseeching you to imitate them! and it is ALWAYS FOLLOWED BY "FOR I IMITATE CHRIST!" it's never a "because I am the bomb and I wanna create my own following" type thing.

Man.. last night I was kind of just spending time with God in my room, and I asked Him, I was like GOD I wanna be like You sooo bad. Please show me You! Show me Your character God so I can be like You! I wanna know you!!! I wanna know You! I WANT TO KNOW YOUR CHARACTER, I HAVE TO HAVE IT!"
and IMMEDIATELY He said "then read 1 Corinthians 13."

SO. CHECK THIS OUT. THIS IS AMAZING.
verses 1-3
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

EVEN GOD must hold to these standards. FOR HE IS LOVE. If He had not love, HE WOULD NOT HAVE GAINED US. (VERSE 3!!!) HE DID SACRIFICE HIS BODY! HE DID GIVE EVERYTHING HE HAD TO THE POOR! GOD GAVE HIS SON JESUS! JESUS SACRIFICED HIS BODY FOR US!! Without LOVE being the chords that tied HIM TO THE CROSS IT WOULD HAVE MEANT AND DONE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!!!!

DON'T YOU GET IT!! THIS IS THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE!!!! He could BOAST ABOUT IT TO SATAN EVEN! SAYING HA I GAVE MY BODY! but it would have MEANT NOTHING! IT WOULD NOT OF SAVED US FROM HELL!!! BECAUSE THIS IS THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE!! WITHOUT LOVE YOU GAIN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!
There would be NO RELATIONSHIP WITH US!! HIS DEATH WOULD HAVE BEEN IN VAIN! because it would have not established a relationship with us! He would have been like another dead lamb.
BUT HE LOVES US!!!!!!!! OH IT WAS LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Verse 8: 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!

LOVE WILL LAST FOREVER. GOD IS LOVE! GOD LASTS FOREVER! GOD IS FOREVER!!! HE ENDURES ALL THINGS!!!! HOPES ALL THINGS! BELIEVES ALL THINGS!!! IT ALWAYS PROTECTS!

1 JOHN 4:16 GOD IS LOVE!!


LOVE leads by example.
LOVE leads by example.
LOVE doesn't say "Do as I say, don't do what I do."
LOVE says "WHATEVER IT TAKES, I WILL SHOW YOU THE WAY, I WILL BE GOOD AND RIGHT UNTIL IT HURTS, I WILL MAKE THE SACRIFICES I NEED TO TO SHOW.. YOU.. THE WAY... THROUGH THIS FIRE, I WILL GO, I WILL NOT TELL YOU TO GO THROUGH THE FIRE. I WILL BE IN THE FIRE, CALLING YOU TO COME IN WHILE I MYSELF AM ON MY WAY THROUGH."


Personally, I am at the place where I have always wanted to be. EVER SINCE I CAN REMEMBER!! EVERY SINCE I CAN REMEMBER SEEING OLDER TEENAGE GIRLS IN MY LIFE AND OLDER 20 SOMETHINGS IN MY LIFE I LONGGED to be an example!!!

and here I am... I am at such an amazing time in my life. All the tumult, all the raging seas, everything.. its so WORTH IT TO BE HERE, AND BE AN EXAMPLE IN THE FAITH!!!
to all my girls, YOU ARE ALL SO WORTH IT!! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AND I LOVE YOU ALL!! And I want to continue to be an example to you ALL and all of you are GETTING IT!! YESS YOU ARE GETTING IT AND I LOVE THAT!!! AND I've shed so many tears for you all! You have no idea!!


MY HEART IS EXPLODING WITH SO MUCH JOY RIGHT NOW.
:-D
I love you all. :-)