Launched for the Lord

It all began with prayer.

Prayers of thanksgiving for the opportunity to serve. Prayers for God's truth breathing and heart healing to pour over struggles and lift up spirits and launch out students in His name. Prayers to renew a group of thirsty souls. 

Prayers for the mission that God had for us in the week to come.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..." - Ephesians 3:20

Resting with faith on His promises to accomplish the impossible, the love of Christ did nothing less than launch this group on mission for God. With hands lifted high in praise and linked strong in prayer, we were united. 

It spread through souls like wildfire. Revival. 

There were hearts hearing and minds seeing, eyes opening and lives growing closer, drawn together by the blood of Christ; the very blood that gives love and gives life became fuel to launch the next generation. 

And as the perfect Father, God overwhelmed us with certainty that in His Word, we would find the guidance needed to face the world.

Every day was a gift to watch. 

I smile at the memory of morning devotions where tired eyes read life into awakening souls. Campers, leaders, speakers, singers, all students of the King, soaking in wisdom through His Word. 

A realization that provision proceeds the mission:

"All scripture is breathed out by God and as profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy:16-17

A warning to be rooted in truth and strong in the Savior:

"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."- Colossians 2:8 

"And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." -Colossians 2:10
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A reminder that to launch is to live out our ministry:

"Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season...for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine...they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." -2 Timothy 2-5

An encouraging truth that we wear the armor of God:

"Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day..." - Ephesians 6:13

A call to lift off:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..." -Matthew 28:19

God's love launched lives. And the sleep deprived were revived with hope and strength in the Lord.

Backyard Mission

Lord, for months they had all been called on mission for You; called to shine Your light and show Your love and share Your word. 

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..." -Matthew 28:19

Twenty-three were called to "Go" for You, and not one of those twenty-three were me. They say that practice makes perfect but I don't think patience can be mastered, and so I sat and I struggled and I sorted through reasons why You chose not to take me on mission. Lord, why must I sit still? 

And in my wrestling and wondering, Your word speaks wisdom and so I wait on You. 

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." -James 1:2

Father, thank you for the book of James, the book that always speaks truth and humbles hearts and reminds me to have faith when I am falling and trust in the midst of testing. 

Now twenty-three are on mission and Father, I can feel your hand holding me here. Spirit searching and heart yearning for an adventure, for a mission. I hear you whisper to me-- daughter don't you ever forget to find rest in Me, "For I know the plans I have for you..." -Jeremiah 29:11

And in His perfect timing, God brings me a backyard mission. While twenty-three are gone and two or three are here, He calls me to serve on a mission for Him and so I rejoice in this provision for the soul.

"This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24

Today we will launch, and we will praise, and I will pray, pray, pray, for guidance as we dive into God's Word. 

Lord, help me to walk in Your light and to reflect Your light in dark places.

Lord, help me to be in Your word and to share in Your word with those around me.

Lord, help me to find strength in You and to share strength through You.

Lord, help me to follow You so that I may bring others to be followers of You too.

Lord, speak to my heart so that I have the strength and the words to speak to this world.

Lord, move in me so that, together, we can move for You. 

In Jesus' name, Amen. 

When We Want To Tell God What Time It Is

Far too often, we let our relationship with God be ruled by time--too many assignments to complete, not enough hours to sleep, working over-time, prioritizing friend-time...

Truthfully, we are worst at using time when God isn't ruling our time

Shouldn't it really be the other way around? Letting our relational God be the ruler of our timing? 

These consumers begin to run over, and run after our days, and we run faster as if we can beat the ticking turns of the counting clock and it hurts.  Hurry hurts.   

The rush only snowballs from there; simple weekly agendas turn to a collage of life plans and I begin to wonder if maybe I'm not so bad at timing after all. If maybe now is my time and I've just missed the green light. If maybe God forgot what time it was and so I'd point to the clock hands and let Him know just maybe I missed the train. .  

All around me, people are shifting and lives are starting and journeys are beginning and the truth is, transition is scary. 

At times I find myself in a rush to find out what my next chapter is. But as the perfect heavenly Father, God knows that hurry hurts and that He heals and so He smiles at me in my all-consuming worry that just maybe I've missed my time. 

As I reach for my mug that holds sips full of staying on schedule, He orchestrates the most perfect moment; a God-given red light. 

Ah, comfort for the searching soul. And in all my efforts to tell God what time it is he speaks to me through His word saying, 

"For I know the plans I have for you' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11 

In this moment, I am reminded just how silly I am and just how sure God is and I wouldn't trade anything for being corrected by the King who leads in love. 

The chorus of another gift floods my thoughts and I sing both in search of steadfast faithfulness and in surrender to the God who's hands are the hands of time. 

Sidewalk Prophets , Help Me Find It

I don't know where to go from here

As long as I know that You are near

I'm done fighting

I'm finally letting go

I will trust in You

You've never failed before

I will trust in You

If there's a road I should walk

Help me find it

If I need to be still

Give me peace for the moment

Whatever Your will

Whatever Your will

Can you help my find it

And although transition is scary and facing time always means facing a test of patience, I sit in stillness with God, my thoughts an echo of Psalm 25,

Show me Your ways, O lord;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day.  -Psalm 25:4-5

Sky Songs of Praise

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." -Psalm 19:1 (NIV) 

Driving home, I'm struck by the magnificence of God's creation.

My car quickens and my heart hastens and I find myself chasing after the traces of God. The skies display His majesty and I crave to get closer to the source of such undefiled beauty.

Moments like this pass so fast and so I slow. way. down. and breathe. Breathe in the hand-painted, God-given gift of the sky that points me toward my ultimate heaven home. 

                           

Every hue sings holy holy holy and the clouds swell with His might. 

I weave down the side roads of my neighborhood, fighting time for a last glimpse of the sunset sky; as if getting closer to the clouds, closer the the colors, will bring me closer to the Creator. 

God said, "Let there be light."

In the beginning of a new day, I find myself in the beginning of God's word. Eyes tired and adjusting to the lamp light that spreads a circle of security in an otherwise dark house. I open the blinds in the living room and sit in the stillness of mornings last few minutes of darkness. I love this time of the morning, this gift of witnessing the darkness recede to reveal all the wonders and blessings of a brand new day. And in this moment of stillness, I feel the presence of God. 

I sit giving thanks for the beauty of the beginning, and that is exactly where He leads me: Genesis chapter 1. 

"In the beginning...darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." -Genesis 1:1-2 

So in the beginning, there was darkness and there was God. And I smile to myself because Genesis makes sense of this beautiful moment of early morning darkness and the hovering presence of God. 

"Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. " -Genesis 1:3-4 

Ah, and again I give thanks because this time of day is a gift; a gift to remind me of the very moment that God first demonstrated His power over darkness and spoke light into the world. 

So this morning I sit in the stillness, watching for the sun and waiting for the Son, and God paints for me a beautiful story. My thoughts ping-pong back and forth between Old Testament truth and New Testament truth and the pieces come together to bring light to a searching soul. 

God's gift to me this morning: A reminder of the joy that surrounds the transition from darkness into light.

"In the beginning...darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." -Genesis 1:1-2

"Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. " -Genesis 1:3-4 

[Then God said] "You are the light of the world." -Matthew 5:30

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." -Matthew 5:16

"No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house." -Matthew 5:15  

And my heart responds,
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. -Psalm 119:105 

"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.' " -John 8:12

"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light." -Luke 8:17 

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord..." -Ephesians 5:8

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name o the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." -Matthew 28-19-20

"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." -1 John 1:5 

And my soul sings with praise and thanksgiving this morning for both the darkness and the light. For without the darkness, it is difficult to fully appreciate the gift of light. 

The Perils of Pride and the Grace of God

"And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

1 John 2:17 (NKJ) 

Squeezed in the middle of oldest gets the front seat and youngest gets a piggy-back ride, I am number three in a crowd of five kids and for a while, that was my identity. A trail of ducklings that waddled through childhood in age-order and I keep it a secret but really, the middle child gets the best place of all: independence.

I was brought up in a Christian family, exposed to the Bible and its teachings from a very young age. Sacrifice, Salvation, Savior, Surrender, all words I had woven into my vocabulary of the factually understood; but knowing in the brain and knowing in the heart are worlds apart and so I lived with my identity in the world.

There’s a sense of security in testing out new things, wading in the shallow waters of life, just steps away from comfort zone. But I was born independent number three, the dive-deep type and so if you asked me about myself, there was little hesitation.

 My days were a mess of mud pie mixing and skateboard riding, tree fort climbing and snow ball throwing. In third grade I’d tell you I was Gabrielle, the tom-boy.

Scraped knees turned to smooth keys as I practiced hours a day, fingers dancing and metronomes ticking to a melody that consumed my being. In sixth grade I knew who I was—Gabrielle, the pianist.

It happened first in middle school. That awkward stage of getting taller and feeling smaller all at the same time, the feeling of not knowing where I fit and so my identity became a sticker with nothing to cling to…except a report card.

By the end of high school, clubs outnumbered courses, varsity was synonymous with valuable and GPA was life or death. I plowed my way through semesters and sports seasons standing on the fact that I was able to accomplish whatever tasks I took on through my own strength, diligence, and hard work. With four years coming to a close, I had figured out who I was—Gabrielle, the graduation speaker.

My identity was buried in my accomplishments so deep that pride had slammed shut any window for a lord in my life. I had made the world my dictionary, my identity, my value, and the things of the world lorded over me.

Then, amidst blizzard snow and a spirit numb to life, God did an amazing thing; He began to melt a frozen heart. With tear soaked cheeks I sat trembling in the congregation of a community church, trembling with joy and love and peace, the symphony of emotions that sounds in the presence of Jesus.

But I kept on being independent and being logical and being stubborn and God kept on keeping pace and giving grace. It was the pursuit of the undeserving. It wasn't until the following winter, when I had exhausted all that I was, that I reached the end of myself. 

In a city ruled by desire and secularism, I found myself in way over my head and struggled day after day to keep up with the world’s expectations for me as well as those standards I had set for myself. I struggled with anxiety I had never faced before. I was physically broken, weak, exhausted and lonely yet through every struggle, I was led by a faithful mother who turned my gaze upon the Savior who loves the lost and lonely.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” Luke 19:10 (NLT)

The year had stomped on my pride, and worn my body weak and withering into the loving arms of Jesus. On the cold tile floor of the seventh story dorm room, I gave my heart to the Lord. One of my favorite quotes from scripture reminds me of God’s faithful promise every day.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.”-Isaiah 40:31(NKJ)

On an undeserving daughter, God has poured out

Peace "...and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding..." Philippians 4:7

Strength "...He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24

Love "...God is love." 1 John 4:8

Hope "...I think toward you, says the Lord...to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Joy "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10 

Rest "Come to Me... and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 

Despite my perfectionism, I can never and will never be perfect in the eyes of the Lord; yet He loves me anyway, unconditionally. He continues to reveal to me, every day, the areas of my life which are not pleasing to Him and shows me what I must work on in a loving and gentle way. Who could ask for a better teacher than the one true God who will never leave our sides?

I now find my identity in a Savior, who gives more security in life than any career could offer, whose love is stronger and more passionate than Nicolas Sparks could ever explain, and whose knowledge reaches far beyond the value of a 4.0 I pray that my life would unashamedly shout my new-found identity in Christ--Gabrielle, child of the One True King. God has changed and renewed me, and I will live the rest of my life giving thanks, praise, glory and myself to Him.