The learning continues...

I've woken up to the sound of birds having a concert by my window. I've woken up to the sound of a rooster announcing that the morning has arrived. I've woken up to the annoying sound of leaf blowers on a Saturday. I've even woken to the sound of a truck picking up the trash in the neighborhood. But today? Today was a whole different deal...today I woke up to bad news.
Both my Sister and her husband came into my room at around 5:30 am with a very concern look on their faces. They proceeded to tell me that my car, yes, the one I was so excited to have finally been able to bring to LA...it had been hit by a drunk driver (messing up the back) and pushed right into my brother in law's truck (messing up the front). This was the first time something like this happened to me, so, after the initial shock and the one eye inspection outside (since half of my brain was still asleep), I went back to bed with question after question: Why did this happen? Why did God allow me to spend $750 dollars to bring my car not even 3 weeks ago, if this was going to happen? Why, if I was so happy to finally have my own transportation here in LA?
The questions went on for a while, bringing with them anxiety, sadness and even anger toward the horrible person that did this...I was mad! Then I started thinking (I guess the other half of the brain had woken up) that God is too good to have me go through this just for His amusement, too loving to want to see me worried, to smart to not have a plan in this situation and too faithful to not come through for me. It hit me, "God, what do you want to teach me?...help me see it."
So, what have I learned about on the first day of this adventure? 1-Mercy. I went from being mad and calling this guy every single name on the book (in my head) to asking myself "is this the neighbor the Bible tells me to love?" Oh man!...I guess so. It took me most of the day, but I finally gave in to the nudge and prayed for him. For God to set him free before something even worse happens to him or to somebody else because of him. 2-Gratitude. I could have been in my car when this happened and I could have gotten hurt. But that didn't happen. God kept me safe and I'm grateful.
God will indeed come through. Nothing happens to His little ones without a purpose and an opportunity for us to become more like Him.

Good stuff from quiet time...

I had never read this verse found in Zechariah 4:10
"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin..."

Joyce Meyer comments:
We need to remember that God anointed David to be king long before he actually became king, and David was tested in many ways while he waited. Patience must be tested, humility must be manifested, and faith must grow. Only after we pass our tests do we get promoted into the next level of what God has in mind for us.


If we're faithful now (with the small things), God will promote us. There's no limit to where He can take a humble and willing heart.

Just sharing...

Pris(cilla)

Promise of a lifetime - Kutless

I have fallen to my knees
As I sing a lullaby of pain
I'm feeling broken in my melody
As I sing to help the tears go away

Then I remember the pledge you made to me

[CHORUS:]
I know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside
I'm clinging to the promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime

Will you help me fall apart
Pick me up, take me in your arms
Find my way back from the storm
And you show me how to grow
Through the change

I still remember the pledge you made to me

[BRIDGE:]
I am holding on to the hope I have inside
With you I will stay through every day
Putting my understanding aside
And I am comforted

Magnify Him...

MAGNIFY

1. To increase the apparent size of, as a lens does.
2. To make greater in actual size.
3. To cause to seem greater or more important.

This word blew me away at Oasis yesterday. Right before the third service, we were asked "Is there anything in your life today that seems too big? Is God bigger than that? With these questions we (the choir) were urged to magnify God, to make Him bigger than our circumstances, bigger than our mountain and to worship Him with everything that was inside of us, making that mountain seem totally insignificant compared to our greater than all God. Man, that made all the difference.

Is there something in your life that seems too great, something that's bigger than you? Magnify God and His presence will make all the difference...I dare you.

We're His beloved...

Let the beloved of the Lord (you and me) rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves (you and me) rests between His shoulders.

Deuteronomy 33:12

Walk on....

And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage you can bring...
And love is not the easy thing...
The only baggage you can bring

Is all that you can't leave behind
And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on
What you got, they can't steal it
No they can't even feel it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight...

You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen
You could have flown away
A singing bird in an open cage
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

Walk on, walk on
What you got they can't deny it
Can't sell it or buy it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

And I know it aches
And your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Home...hard to know what it is if you never had one
Home...I can't say where it is but I know I'm going home
That's where the heart is

I know it aches
How your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

U2

To think about...

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you."
- Unknown

Need I say more?

My wings have arrived...

After almost 2 1/2 months, my wings have finally arrived. My 1999 Corolla has never been more loved and appreciated. I even walk by it and look at it with sincere affection now. These past two months without my car were extremely challenging, to say the least. So true that you never know what you've got until it's gone...

God, thank you for your provision and faithfulness. You take your time in order to teach and mold us as we wait...but you ALWAYS come through.

In the storm, but not alone...

At Oasis, P. Phillip Wagner has been teaching about prayer for the past copuple of weeks. This weekend's topic was "prayer in the middle of the storm." And, since storms are pretty much guaranteed for all of us, I thought it would be good for me to share some of my notes.

24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
Matthew 8:24-26 (New Living Translation)

Was the storm happening because Jesus had gotten off the boat? No. Did Jesus disappear when the storm started? No. He was there, still present.
The presence of a storm in our lives does not mean the absence of a saviour. When tough times come, Jesus is still present. He does not panic when we do. Instead, He's in complete control...able to rescue us when we cry out to Him.

Valentine Hug...

Today I want to celebrate you, my friends. I'm blessed to have you and determined to keep you. I hope and pray that I may be a blessing in your lives as you have been in mine and that I never, EVER, take you for granted. I love you all...seriously...I do ;)

Happy Valentine's Day

Proverbs 18:24 (New Living Translation)
24 There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

Big hug...

Tonight at Oasis...

As I walked into the Creative Arts Meeting tonight, I saw everyone standing. There were way over a hundred volunteers, some with their hands up, some on their knees, some at the front of the stage...all worshiping together. It was impossible not to be captured in the moment, it was impossible not to surrender in worship. What an amazing experience when passionate, creative, crazy about God people get together and worship. It doesn't have to be hours, it doesn't have to be a bunch of songs or an hour and a half message. One tag, not even a full song, was enough to take me to the throne: "You never fail me Lord, you never fail me Lord, you never fail me Lord. You are good, always." Wow....I sang, cried and was renewed.
We can't deny that where two or more gather in His name He shows up...and after He shows up our lives are never the same.

There's something about proclamation....

Last night, we had God Chicks Unplugged at Oasis. A night for women to worship together and hear a great teaching by Pastor wife Holly Wagner. The night ended with an unexpected proclamation of love, as one of the ladies received an amazing surprise. Diona, one of the dancers, was called to the stage to be honored as volunteer of the month. Holly spoke highly of her, shared her story and how much of a blessing she's been to Oasis. Out of nowhere, Diona's boyfriend showed up nicely dressed and the microphone was handed to him. After a few words, he proceeded to get down on one knee and propose. An auditorium packed with women, an amazing testimony and a sudden marriage proposal...If you guessed that I was crying you're totally right...we all were. There's just something that gets me about love proclamation. I don't think I'm the only one though.

God proclaimed His love for you, me and the world by sending His only son to die in order for us to be able to live. He told the world "I love you this much" the day Jesus died on the cross. Now, that's love proclamation right there. That's the most beautiful love story I've ever been part of.

I hope my life proclaims my love for Him always. I hope my every move yells to the world "I love Him this much!"

I thanked Him...then He gave me a job

So this morning, as I looked for work and applied for different positions, I decided to thank God for the job I knew and trusted He would provide. This time I wasn't praying "God, give me a job!", instead, I was saying to Him "God, thank you for the job you will provide." I think that made all the difference.

Tonight at around 6:30pm, I got a phone call. It was from Zara, the clothing store...I've got a job.

I know the ladies understand when I say "Yeah baby!...looking forward to that discount!!!"

"Not in my list"...what is that!??

Then Peter replied, "I see clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right." Acts 10:34-35

As I read this verse this morning, I couldn't help thinking of times when I have shown favoritism or have thought of some people as "not in my list." Shame on me. Who am I to minimize someone's value? Who am I to pick and chose who deserves my attention? Who am I to be so "selective"? Imagine if God did the same. If He was to pick who to love or whose prayer to listen to or who to use in His kingdom based on our level of performance or based on how clean our hearts are, I know I would not be on "His list." What a blessing is to know that his love is the same for all, that He He doesn't have a "click", a preferred list, but that instead we're all royalty to Him. All children of the same father...the King of kings.

God, thank you for loving everyone the same. Thank you for giving us all priority. Help me look at others the same way as you do. Close friends, not so close friends and those I don't even know...that I may think of them and treat them with the same respect and love as you would. You've chosen to see the best in me...PLEASE, allow me to see the best in those around me. Help me remember that when it rains, it rains for everyone and when the sun rises, it rises for everyone.

God,

As the earth falls asleep in your hands tonight, help me rest knowing who I am in you. Help me remember that in your presence, everything else becomes small. The mountains, the worries, the challenges, my limitations and fears...they all turn to nothing when I stand before you. So as I sleep, can you whisper in my ear one more time how much you love me? Call me needy, but I'm proud to proclaim how much I need you...your love is what keeps me breathing.

Held...

This is what it means to be held:

When the sacred is torn from your hands and you survive.

This is what it is to be loved and to know that the promise was:

When everything fell, we'd be HELD

Natalie Grant

Self worth...

We all know where we should find it or, better yet, in whom we should find it. But do we really?
Many times I don't. I need to keep reminding myself that my worth comes from being His child, His creation, His loved one. No matter what the world says, no matter what my own standards say, knowing that He calls me His own gives me value...we're talking about the Creator of heaven and earth here. Think about it...

Promissa's first video...

Promissa report

It was a busy weekend for Promissa. We had a concert on Saturday night and sang at 4 services on Sunday. Each time we sing together, we learn new things about ourselves, the audience and our role as women in ministry. This time we also got more creative by splitting songs and switching leading parts with each other. One thing that never fails is how God always brings a message to us. A message of encouragement that always tells us that we must keep going.

There's a lot more to see, a lot more to hear from Promissa...God's not even close to being done.