13 September 2012

buy the lie, subscribe to issues

Buying lies requires expensive currency. It takes the currency of the soul and spirit which affects what is done with the body. How expensive is this currency? According to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "you are not your own, you were bought at a price" The life and blood of Jesus not only purchased you but gave you a redeeming value that is unable to be counted, measured or quantified.

Take a moment a reflect on the the authority you had in your purest form in the garden of Eden. Who you were before the first lie was bought bringing its subscription to a myriad of issues that are still being sorted out. You could call something forth, name it and give it purpose. This authority was restored to you, when you accepted Jesus as Lord and you were reconciled into the family of God. This is the power of the Holy Spirit inside you; your original intended state.

The enemy of your soul will spin whatever set of lies he has to in order to keep you distracted. The lies, the wickedness of partial truths that make darkness seem as though it is good. He does not want you to know the power you possess in a place of surrender unto God. Isaiah 30:8-17 is a grim reminder of what we are capable of doing when misled by deception. This is the destruction the enemy wants us to fall into. But God's love is greater than any lie and His desire is to restore and heal us, to bring us into Him. Isaiah 30:18-26 shows His graciousness and love, how He longs to bless us! God's love, His truth is the only thing that can free us from the issues of bondage brought by the subscription to "The Daily Lie" I choose to change my subscription based on scriptures like John 3:16-17 which is evidence of His love and the truth that makes us free! (John 8:31-32)

Picture Credit: PMActionItems, "Got Issues?" found on CafePress.com
(Originally written June 21, 2010 in my journal. Again it encouraged me so I wanted to share)

12 September 2012

a quick word of encouragement

Sometimes the hard thing to do is simply to believe. Once the belief is settled within you, there is no stopping the transformation and subsequent elevation and revelation that will come. Submit. When your prayer is as the model, "as it is in heaven," you are setting a series of occurrences in motion that require faith. Stand on the truth of God's Word. Rely on the Holy Spirit in every place and watch doors unlock and your eyes open to things you never dreamed you would see. The Lord is truly Lord over all things.

(Journal entry originally written April 11, 2011 - this was an encouragement to me and I wanted to share)
Picture Credit: Panoramic Images "Clouds with God Rays"  found on allposters.com

11 September 2012

i remember

I remember what happened 11 years ago today. I pray for those still feeling the aftershocks; for their healing, courage and their comfort. My heart is almost overwhelmed by what I sense in the atmosphere today but I, like the United States will not be overcome. America you are beautiful and your people strong. We will continue to love our freedom and we will continue to move on. In God we trust.

06 September 2012

comfortable (the beginning)

Comfortable. For me this word is rich with meaning. It is the title of a favorite song by John Mayer and it is also one of my favorite states of being. Today I would like to approach it from a different angle. One that is a little uncomfortable to discuss but I believe it's needed. This post will give you context, a little back story and the next what can happen if allowed to become too comfortable.

His name was Alex (name changed to protect the not so innocent) We were 14 when we met; one of those "chance" occurrence type of things. It was a school field trip to the most unromantic place ever, The Super Conducting Super Collider. Although we learned many interesting things that day and saw scientific marvels the most amazing thing was our discovery of one another. He had curly brown hair, big brown eyes, was tall and a genius. The perfect boy!

I still remember my classmates teasing me, they said they knew something was going on because I was never that quiet. I obviously spoke at some point but it was after a while of him looking at me until I would turn around and then I would look at him until he looked up but then look away really quickly because we realized we were busted. When the bus arrived at its destination he walked up to me and introduced himself. I'm sure I blushed as I shook his hand.
     "I've never seen you before." smooth with the words he was :)
     "No I'm at Science in the morning so I guess that makes you an afternoon student?" well duh Aisha obviously, but come on I was 14 and a real live BOY was talking to me!
     "Yeah. So you wanna hang out today?" forward, wasn't he? (and by the way he was actually quite shy so this was huge for him)
     "Sure!" could you try not to sound so desperate? (geez!)

We literally spent the whole day with one another. At one point during one of the afternoon sessions, he got the courage to actually hold my hand. It was so cute! The bus ride home we sat together and began to learn about each other while our classmates made sure to interrupt with teasing as often as possible. We exchanged phone numbers, I told my mom about him and so it began.

Sometime between his birthday (Valentine's Day) and mine 6 weeks later we were officially "going steady." We were so adorable and clueless and innocent... in the beginning. He was my first kiss! You know the first one where it's all sweet and innocent and quick, just a brief encounter of the lips. Then comes the 2nd and 3rd and by the time you get to the 5th or 6th you realize you're playing with fire because you begin to want something more. At least that was my story.

We had some semblance of relationship for a year and a half. It was odd but it was what we had. He would do this crazy thing where he would tell me he loved me and I would tell him to shut up. "We're too young to know anything about love!" And just in case you're wondering, I was serious. Poor boy, it took 15 months for any reciprocity to occur on the speaking of those 3 little words. When I finally did, he got the words and my tears... how dare he go to Argentina for a month and make me miss him like that?!

He was someone I could be goofy with, someone I could do homework with, someone I could talk about the future with, someone fun to be with, a good friend, and I could just be myself around him. It was good... it was comfortable.

And believe it or not in that nearly 2 years together we only ever kissed, nothing more. But I will tell you we did consider sexual relations. We were both hormone-driven teenagers and trust me it was going on all around us. Here was the deal though, I didn't want any babies; I had a drive to graduate, go to college and have a great career. That was more important to me. That drive and determination kept my guard up for a while but as time went on... well you know how it goes; my defenses were weakening.

So how did I dodge that bullet? God! Alex and I started going out our freshman year. The summer before our junior year I met a family who introduced me to the Lord in a way that I had never known. I had gone to church for years but this was the first time I heard about the Kingdom of God and understood the idea of truly having a personal relationship with Him. I learned about discipleship, accountability and a worldwide movement to share the gospel. That was so much more exciting than this impersonal Jesus I grew up hearing about. I began going through Bible studies and learning how Jesus loved me and had a plan for my life. What? This was awesome!

I began to learn about the value of purity and what a premium God put on it. I met guys who were living a life of purity, those who would rather serve God than chase skirts. This was, even at 16, almost unheard of. There were actual gentlemen who loved God and were learning self-control and did not have to "have it" to consider themselves real men. Whoa! I also learned the importance of making sure that the person that you are in relationship with loves Jesus. Alex, I learned quickly, did not. So after all that time we parted ways. We decided to be friends, he took it well and to be honest, it wasn't that bad.

I had these friends around me who were concerned for me, who were helping to learn about God, teaching me ways to be a better daughter, sister and student. I was learning to become a friend. I learned that my life had meaning and a plan and a purpose. Up to that point in my life Alex had been one of the few people who accepted me for who I was and didn't shun me or try to hurt me. Now, in the Lord, I was accepted into an incredible new family. We would often pray for him, I wanted nothing more than for him to know the Lord because I wanted to share with him this most amazing love that had radically transformed my life. But he never accepted that call. I didn't see him much based on our schedules and before long I had pretty much forgotten about him.

Just before graduation I heard from him. He was going to the University of Texas (Austin). I was so excited for him because that was the school I wanted to attend but did not for reasons I won't go into right now. For the first time since we parted ways my heart actually twinged at the thought of him being so far away. I thought that was a little weird considering it had been over a year but I decided not to dwell on it as it was going to be a long time before I saw him again. And believe me, it was a good while.

But what happens when someone who was so comfortable shows up in your life again, especially during a time of great emotional discomfort? What happens when what you hoped for seems all but lost and dashed into pieces at your feet? How can you find comfort again? Is it a person that can help you heal? I wanted comfort and a form of it literally passed my way a few years later in college.