Grace for Grace

I've grown up learning that my heart was a dangerous place that could not be trusted. The Baptist church that we went to would teach lesson after lesson to elementary kids that our hearts were evil, to be despised as fleshy and untrustworthy. I know there is an aspect of truth to that, but it is not the whole truth. Jesus longs to know our hearts. Out of the heart are the issues of life. We live out of our heart, so if we are constantly fighting it, fighting our feelings and emotions, then our life will be exhausting and confusing. There's a difference between recognizing that one aspect of something is bad, vs taking that to mean the whole thing is bad. But with all the good of the heart comes the bad: the confused, swirling feelings that you don't have words for yet, or even the ones you do have words for but leave you feeling tired and weighed down. These are not to be run away from. These are not to stuff down deep in your heart because if you feel anything other th...

I expect my future to be grand. I have lived from fear of my future for so long, but I'm learning that He has not given me grace in vain. He didn't choose poorly when He poured out His blood and beauty over my life. I am still dealing with the fear that my future will be small and insignificant. The Holy Spirit has shown me that God does not dream small dreams. He is not a dreamer of insignificant dreams. every destiny that He holds for us is meant to be realized. I've had such a clear picture of what my life plan would be, and it's grand and beautiful and thrilling. I haven't wanted to give it over to Him because I've been afraid that He will take it away and replace it with something tiny. I still need to reach the place where whatever it looks like doesn't matter, as long as my life is pointing back to Him. I know that if I am surrendering myself in every step, I will never feel like my life is empty. I know that. It hasn't settled into my heart y...

I fully believe that the breath God exhaled into Adam's lungs was carried to his children, and his children's children. The Breath of God does not fade, it would not dissipate. His Breath, just like His Word, endures. I believe that every breath I take is marked with that life-giving exhale. Every word I speak is propelled by that breath. I refuse to use God's Breath to speak evil.  By being created in God's image by God, we are bound together by love, and is in our very DNA to love. Everything we are is from love and for love, the breath He exhaled sustaining us still. We live off of His mercy and love. Yet I look around at the Christians I know, and I do not see love propelling their lives. I see duty, and immaturity, and self-focus, and confusion, and false identity, and fear. And I am just as guilty as they are because I have seen glimpses, yet still cooperated with fear and confusion. I am done being uncertain of what others will think, especially unbelievers. ...

I can categorize each season of my life through songs. As soon as I feel myself moving on to another song, I know that I am moving into a new process and idea to process. Pieces: Pieces is a song that will never not be relevant in my life because it is the song that opened my heart a crack so God's love could come rushing through. I've lived from performance my whole life, and this was a season of learning that nothing I could ever do good or bad will ever affect God's love for me. Reckless Love: The intensity of God's love, revealing the foundation for the nature of the Father. No Longer Slaves: a lot of stuff broke off me during this time period, chunks of fear falling away when I stepped outside my comfort zone, feeling conviction rise. King of My Heart: God doesn't change. He is not bendable or only sometimes strong. He is always victorious, always steadfast, always faithful, always powerful, and always always good. We will never reach the end of the sta...