Mary, Did You Know?

 It's Christmas Eve and I have this sudden urge to write, so I have stepped away from my family, nesseled myseld into my bed and here I am.  It has been a couple of months since my last post.  I have purposefully taken a break from blogging.  I needed time to become situated in my new life, in my new house with my new job.(I'll blog more about all of my changes later.)

Tonight, I want to write about something that has laid heavy on my heart over these past few weeks.  And what has sparked it was a simple Christmas song, Mary Did You Know.  I have heard this song many, many times.  Infact, it is one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs.  These past few weeks, I have truly been trying to really grasp this song.  I wish I could tell you by now I totally get it.  I completely understand it.  Mary, did you know.  Did you know that you were going to have a Son that was going to save the world?  Did you know that your Son was going to heal the sick and broken.  And the real question...Did you know your Son was going to save us by being beaten, mocked and nailed to the cross?  Did you know?  Yes, Mary did know.  But I still have a hard to grasping and understanding.  I am not a mother so I don't fully understand what it is like to love a child of your own.  I have a very good understanding as I have a mother who has modeled what a mothers love should look like.  I have an understanding what it is like to love a child because God has put many in my pathway that I have truly fallen in love with.  But to actually understand what it is like to love your OWN child, I am not able to understand that quite yet.  Mary had the understanding of what it was like to love her own child.  I have questioned myself, would I have been like Mary.  Would I have said yes to birthing and raising a child who I knew would be taken from me?  Could I have sat there and watched him become hated by so many that they gave Him the death sentense.  Would I have been able to watch Him be mocked, beaten and nailed to a cross.  Would I have said yes?  Mary said yes with no questioning.

Mary was just like me.  I don't know if I will ever understand how she said yes.  But on this Christmas, I want to have the happiness and be filled with the same kind of love Mary had when she birthed baby Jesus.  I want to be like Mary. I want her courage, her faith, her love, and her great understanding.  Mary's love for her son Jesus was just as strong as any mother's love for their child but because of her love for God, she was able to say yes.  Baby Jesus was born to an amazing woman of God.  Mary is the type of woman I want to strive to be.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Ask. Seek. Knock.

Prayer is so powerful.  It's our way of communicating with our Heavenly Father.  It is how we develop that intimate relationship with Him.  I can't even begin to describe what prayer has done for me.  I have cried, laughed, yelled, scream, and simply just talked during my prayer time.  Prayer can heal the sick, heal the heart, sooth your soul, fix the broken, change people's hearts, help the poor, and mend broken relationships.

 

Prayer is the most powerful tool we have as christians but I often feel people get prayer confused with action.  What do I mean by that?  I have heard people say, "I need to pray about it" more as an exscuse for being scared to actually do something about it.  I have been guilty of this.  Don't get me wrong...every decision you make should be prayerfully considered.  But the biggest mistake you can make is to use it as an exscuse not to pursue what you feel God is telling you to do.  With prayer comes action.  "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Col. 3:23.  Do you notice the key word?  Work.  It doesn't say, pray with all your heart.  It says, "work with all your heart."  Work means action.  Of course you should pray first, but it should be immiantly followed by action.

 

One example that comes to mind is finances.  I have heard many people, including myself who often complain and pray about finances but was never faithful to tithing.  We are commanded to tithe.  How do we claim to have faith God will come through without action.  Simply praying about it without following His command through action will lead us to disapointment.

 

James 2: 14-17 says, "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

Luke 11:9 says it best, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. Do all of these things and God will bless every part of your life. You will receive blessings you could never have even asked for. "

 

And that my friend is what we must do.  Ask (pray). Seek (listen).  Knock (action).  Prayer must be immediantly  followed by action for you to see answers from prayer.  Don't use prayer as an exscuse not to take action.  The Gospel is to urgent and to important to not take action.

 

Do work!!  That is what God commands of us!

Walking Away From Ministry

How do we know when it is time to step back from ministry?  This is a difficult topic to write about because most people in ministry do not want to own up to the fact that this could be their reality one day.  After having over four months to process the reasons why I chose to do so, I finally feel that I can blog about it.  I was in paid ministry for less than a year (which is a whole different ball game than volunteer ministry) but I quickly became "burned out."  For many months I chose to put on a, "everything is perfectly fine face."  I made people believe that I still felt like youth ministry is where I should be.  I was able to make people bellieve that because I was doing everything in MY power to believe that.  But the more I was telling myself that, the more God was making it clear to me that I need to bow out.

How do you know when it's time to step out of ministry? 

When you start looking at it as just a job rather than your calling.

Ministry is never "just a job."  It is not something you take lightly.  Ministry is an urgent calling.  Going into ministry, we are held to a different standard in non-christian eye's.  We have to make a commitment to try and obtain that standard because we are being watched like a hawk to those people.  We have to be willing to throw the job title, the paycheck, the nice big office out the window when it comes to being in "paid" ministry.  Ministry will never be a "job."  When it becomes a "job" to you, it is time to re-evalute what God is calling you to do.

When you feel a disconnect from God.

Everybody goes through their valleys as a Christian as I have blogged about in previous post, but there is a huge difference between going through a valley and being disconnected from God.  Being disconnected means you are intentially turning away from God.  You are trying to hide from Him so you can live your life for yourself instead of living your life to bring glory to God.

When you start to feel resentment torwards God.

This is a very difficult one for me to admit but it became real feeling for me.  When you start to blame God for everything that is going wrong in your life and in your ministry, resentment is the only natural feeling that follows.  When you begin to question God out of anger of why He called you into ministry instead of questioning Him for direction.  It's okay to questions God and what he has planned for you in order to go into the direction He wants you to go.  If someone asked me to go jump off a cliff, you best believe I am going to question them as to why.  It's okay to question God, as long as you are doing it for direction.  When you begin to question Him out of anger and blame Him for everything that is going on in your ministry and life, it's time you step back and ask yourself; is it really God or is it the devil who did this.  Who are you following?  God's will for you or are you believing the devils lies that he feeding you.

When you have to talk yourself into believing that this is what God wants you to do.

When you have to tell yourself over and over that you are following God's plan for your life, you are most likely not.  When you know God is telling you to do something, you should not have to convince yourself that this is what you are supposed to do.  If it's God's calling for you, you will have absolutley no doubt in your mind.  If you are truly seeking His will for your life, He promises to guide us in the direction He wants us to go.  

Division

As a leader in the church, you are most likely accountable to another leader in the church.  When you are unable to follow the other leader because you feel you both have a different vision for the church or differences on theology, it is time to move on.  You can not lead a ministry when there is division within the church.  In a church, you cannot have the mindset that someone works for YOU or that you work for someone in the church.  As leaders, we all have one goal and that is to lead others to Christ.  We work for our Lord, not for the church.   Having the mindset that you work for the church is a sure way to lead a church to its grave.  As leaders, working together is essential.  If you can't work together then move on.

Leaving the ministry is a very tough decision but if you are experiencing these feelings, then you have no choice but to step out of ministry.  As christians, the day we gave our life to Christ we made a promise to follow Him.    Jesus  says; "follow me and I will make you fisher's of Men. (Matthew 4:19) God promises that if we choose to follow Him, He WILL use us to bring other people to Him.  If you are staying in ministry because you are scared to leave, God will not use you.  That might sound weird but just because you work in a church does not automatically make you a christian.  Just because you chose to step out of paid ministry, does not mean God won't use you.  He promised us He will if we follow Him.  It is our obligation as Christians to be fishers of men.  God never said, you have to work in a church to be fishers of men.  He simply said, "FOLLOW ME and I will make you fishers of men.  Just because God is calling you to leave the ministry does not mean He won't use you.  It just means He as a different plan in using you.

Do I believe God completly wants me to leave ministry all together?  Paid ministry? yes.  Volunteer ministry? no.  God has broken my heart for the youth of this world.  I have laid out some heavy stuff in this post to make it obvious that I clearly need to work on my broken relationship with Christ before going back into ministry even if it's just vounteer.  I have faith that God will open doors for me as to what ministries He is calling me too.  I know that seeking His will is what will lead me to those opportunities.   Although I have failed God miserably, He has never failed me.  I know that He will use my story and my experience to glorify Him.

  

Fairy Tales do come true...

Forgive me for the cheeziness of this post.  There is no other way to blog about this without the mushy cushy, cheezy, lovey dovey, fairytale romance.

Once upon a time there was a girl.  She knew that one day she would find love but never knew that it would be found with one click of a button.  (I literally mean one click of a button.)  Sitting there at her computer, scanning through profiles one seems to keep catching her eye.  So with nothing to lose, she sends him a "wink."  A "wink" on a dating website indicates, "hey I'm interested, lets get to know eachother."  The next thing she knew, they decided to meet.

After their first meeting, she called her sister to let her know how it went.  According to her, the date went well.  But several days passed by where she didn't hear from him.  Her very bright, charming, lovely sister told her to drop him like it's hot.  He's obviously not interested.  ( Her sister doesn't hide her feelings very well.)

Luckily...she did not take her sister's advice.

They did go out again.  But she was still a little confused.  He would goes days on days without texting her.  Was he interested?  She sure was.  Her sister felt the same way...drop him.  There are plenty of fish in the sea!

Once again...she did not take her very charming, smart, lovely sister's advice.

This went on for a while.  Finally, she decided to have the DTR talk. (DTR=define the relationship)  Of course her younger sister had to tell her this.  They finally DTR their relationship.  It was official. They were an item.  It didn't take long for her sweet, charming, intellegent sister to make up a nick-name for him.  Prince Edward.  During this time, the royal wedding was going on so it only seemed appropriate to call her sister's new boyfriend Prince Edward.  Edward being his real name and all.

Thank goodness she did not take the advice from her amazing, talented, wonderful sister.  Although her sister is still not sure what his whole, "I'm not going to call her for a few days and make her suffer thing was about."  Apparently he was "playing it cool."

Their love quickly grew.  They bonded over politics, education, simular interest, importance of family, but most of all they bonded and fell in love with eachother's love for God.  They made it a priority to have God at the center of their lives and relationship and it was very clear.

He got the parents approval.  Now it was time to get the amazing, sweet, caring, awesome sister's approval.  Her sister was always tough on the boyfriends because she knew that her sister only deserved the best.  Her goal was to scare off every guy who wasn't anything but perfect for her sister.

Luckily, Prince Edward met her awesome, smart, charming sister's approval.  Her sister knew then, she was going to marry this guy.  It didn't take them long to realize that too.

After several months, Prince Edward ask her parents for her hand in marriage.  The parents were thrilled and ofcourse gave their approval.

Prince Edward chose August 18th, 2012 as the day he was going to propose.  He planned everything out to be absolutley perfect.  Since both were living and working in DC, he chose to propose at the Jefferson Memorial at Sunset.  He had his brother and mother hiding in the bushes to tape the whole engagment.  They also had an audiance of 5 people who witnessed the whole engagment.  It even brought some to tears. (mind you, they were still drinking from the night before.)  After he proposed, he planned for them to go on a day cruise.  Prince Edward then had it planned for her family to come and surprise her.  He knew how much that would mean to her knowing that her family meant everything to her.  They came back to his apartment where his Mom had champagne and appetizers  their waiting to celebrate this joyous time.  They finally arrived and needless to say she was very surprised her family was their waiting to congratulate her.  

We then all watched the video of the engagment.  Which she had NO idea about and neither did her family.  After taking many pictures, googleing over the gorgeous ring, crying and celebrating we continued the celebration by all going out to eat.  We shared stories, listened to the newly engaged couple talk about their day, laughing about the unexpected audiance who watched the whole engagement, watch the couple share a dance, and simply talked to eachother.  Two separate families were quickly becoming one.  After dinner, we went to leave to find a limo waiting their to take us around to different historical places in DC.  We all piled in the limo, still in shock continuing the joyous celebration of this engagement.  The family was later dropped off and the two lovebirds rode off together to hit up their favorite spots in DC until they finally went home.

I am proud to say that the girl in this story is my sister, Janet and Prince Edward is my new future brother-in-law.  

This story was written through eye's of Janet's, sweet, charming, amazing, smart, awesome, caring younger sister.  Their love story continues to unfold but I can honestly end this story by saying...

And they lived happily ever after.

If grace were an ocean, we are all sinking...

 I have not been myself this past year and I am still working on  getting back to my normal, happy self who loves life.  Every time I feel like I am doing it, I do something else that puts me back in the valley.  The slump.  The rock bottom.  The hell hole.  Whatever you want to call it, I go right back to that place.  What's even more frustrating is that it's by my own choice that I can back to the place.  I wish I could answer why I make the decisions that I make but I simply can't explain them.  The only thing that remotely makes sense to me is that I am human.  I was born a sinner who simply needs grace.  I am also a born-again christian who needs to obey and I have failed at that miserably.  Sin can capture your life and spin it in a huge web to where you can see no way of untangling it.  Not only that but you can't seem to un-stick yourself from this massive web.  As much as you want to find a way out, you can't.  As much as you want to let go, you become stuck.  You become numb to the sin that has captured your life.  But because of God's grace, we do have a way out.  

My faith has been tested more times than I can count over this past year.  Some of it were by choices that I have made and some were not.  Just yesterday, I had a conversation with my Dad.  He was expressing to me that we all go through these valleys.  If we didn't go through these valleys, we wouldn't know how disparately we need Jesus.  My response back was, "but how long do we have to go through these.  I feel like I'm never getting out."  I knew the answer to my own question but I didn't want to own up to it.  My Dad then goes on about how we are suppose to be obedient to God and when we are not that is when we begin to see our lives spiral.  

Have I been an obedient servant to God?  No.  

Was I aware of that?  Yes. 

 Did I want to be obedient?  Absolutely. 

 Did I know how?  Yes.

Was I willing to do it? No.

Did any of those questions and my answers make sense to you? No? Me either.  The only way that I can make sense of all of this is to know that I am simply a sinner and I need God's grace.  But it's also time to own up to my web of sins and except His grace.  

I always seem to find comfort in Psalms 23.  It was the very first chapter of the bible I memorized as a child. It has never failed to bring me comfort.  

Psalm 23

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, 
³     he refreshes my soul. 
He guides me along the right paths 
    for his name’s sake. 
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a] 
I will fear no evil, 
    for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; 
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Though the valleys seem long and dark, He is with me.  He will never let me go.  I pray that I to will be able to extend grace and love to people just as God does with us.

I'm FINALLY in Ethiopia!

The anticipation for Ethiopia has come to an end because I am FINALLY here! Yes, I am writing this blog all the way from Africa!  How crazy is that?  I have been here for almost two days and so far the experience has been absolutely amazing.  (sorry family, I may not come back.)   I have certainly fallen in love with Ethiopia and the people here.

Since arriving, I have been able to see the city by bus, I was able to spend a few hours at Hannah's Hope Orphanage, and I was able to go to a church service where I worshiped with several hundred Ethiopians!

I knew that coming here, I was going to have a bit of a culture shock but when I actually got here, it was more of a culture shock than I prepared myself for. (But God never calls us to stay in our comfort zone!)   I would be lying if I told you that I thought Ethiopia was beautiful.  The streets are filthy, there are animals roaming around everywhere and there is this awful smell.  I was shocked to see people freely and openly using the bathroom right on the side of the road. When walking down the street in Addis Ababa, you have to be aware of your surroundings.  You might fall down a huge hole or step in something that you do not want near you! (Remember, I said people use the road as their bathroom.)  There are many, many animals roaming the street.  They're tons of goats!  Also, I have learned that when you see a heard of goats on the side of the street, don't look at them!  They are most likely being slaughtered and sheered right there on the side of the road.  Cows like to stand in the middle of the road like they own the place.  I tend to laugh every time I see one just standing there.  There are stray dogs everywhere!  I have had to do everything I can to keep myself from going up to them and petting them.  (I don't think my family wants me to come home with rabies or something.)

Kids fill the streets trying to earn money.  I have noticed that shoe shining is really popular for younger kids.  I have seen kids anywhere from 6-18 doing what they can to earn money.  Also, you see many kids playing soccer (football).  Sometimes right in the middle of the highway (no joke.)  One of the biggest things that I  was not prepared for was the driving here!  It is crazyyy!  I made the mistake by sitting in the very front seat of the bus.  Bad idea!  I nearly hyperventilated from a panic attack!  Our driver of the bus kept looking at me with a huge grin on his face saying, "it's okay" as he is about to hit a lady trying to cross the street.  He also told me that in order to get a license here, you have to know how to break the rules.  I have to say, he was a very comforting fellow. (insert sarcasm.)  I have yet to sit in the front seat again.  Also, I have had a hard time adjusting to the food.  But on the bright side, I'll most likely come back to America several pounds lighter!

Besides the huge culture shock, I LOVE IT!  Everyone that we have met or come in contact with are amazing.  You can tell that they are genuinely happy that we are here.  They are overly willing to help or assist us with anything.  Before coming here, I was very worried about the language barrier but that has not been a problem.  I am completely shocked by how many know english.  They are all so welcoming.

Several hours after arriving in Ethiopia, we were able to go spend some time at Hannah's Hope!  Although I had been up for nearly 48 hours at that point, I was still completely stocked!  We got a tour of the orphanage and it was so nice.   They don't have very many older kids at that particular orphanage.  The oldest one was maybe 4.  I was able to hold and play with the babies there.  I immediately fell in love with their sweet faces and adorable personality.  At one point, I did get a little emotional where I needed to step away from the children.  It was most certainly not from their living conditions or lack of love that they are shown because they are provided for both physically and emotionally there.  There are many house "mothers" that are there to bathe, feed, and love on them all day long.  You can see that these wonderful ladies truly do love and care for these children.  But knowing that the kids may grow up without having a forever home was really difficult for me. During my short time here, I hope to show these kids so much love.  It's hard for me not to try and smuggle one home.  (I'm joking. Kind of.)  The whole experience for me at Hannah's Hope was a little overwhelming.

 I was warned that my heart would be broken over and over again while on this trip, but I was not prepared for it to be completely shattered just within the first few hours of arriving.  I do hope that my heart continues to break for these children and people in Ethiopia.   God has certainly put orphans on my heart and has lead me to Ethiopia for a reason.  I pray for me to continue to be humble about this whole experience.  The reason I am here is to show these children God's amazing love and mercy.  I can sometimes get caught up in the selfish side where I like the "feel good" part of helping someone or the "I'm doing such a good thing...look at me God!!"  As hard as that is for me to admit, it is true.  So my biggest prayer is to stay humble and remember that I am doing this solely for the glory of God and for His kingdom.  God chose me to be HIS hands and feet in Ethiopia.  What a huge honor.  I can not express how grateful I am for this opportunity.

The Invisible Child

I often wonder if you see me. Do you know who I am?
I am the one who wonders if anyone loves me.
I go to sleep every night dreaming of you.

Dreaming of what it would be like to love you.
Dreaming of what it feels like to be loved.
Dreaming of what it would be like to know you.

I am starving for your attention.
Do you know how hard it is to be invisible to you?
Am I not good enough to be loved?

We are created to love and to be loved.
Do I not deserve to be loved by you?
I feel an emtyness that I can't seem to fill.

Filling this emtyness means I need your love.
You are called to love me. You are called to help me.
But you still look right through me as if I am invisable.

Is it to hard for you to except that I am out there?
It seems to be easier for you to ignore me.
You seem to be protecting your heart from showing compassion.

How can you know about me but feel as though you are helpless.
Your love should be so overpowering that even I should feel it.
It doesn't matter how far you are, I should feel your love.

I just need you to do what you are called to do.
You are supposed to be a Father to the fatherless. (Psalms 68:5)
By you I should find mercy. (Hebrews 14:3)

You are called to defend me. (Isaiah 1:17)
You are called to speak up for me. (Proverbs 31:8)
You are called to care for me. (James 1:27)

Being loved by you will truly show me what love should feel like.
I need you. I need your love. I need your compassion.
You are my only hope to know what it feels like to be loved.

Be what you were called to be to me.
Don't keep me in the back of your mind as if I am invisible anymore.
I need to feel your love. I don't want to be invisible anymore.

We Serve a Perfect God!

There have been several different times my sister would say, "Hannah, your blogs lately have been quite depressing." She was not saying that in a mean way. She gives me nothing but compliments on my writing (but does make sure to point out the grammatical and spelling errrors! I blame spell check for that! I am trying to get better though!) She simply is telling me this out of concern. One thing about both of us is that we act on our feelings, we dramatize everything, we are both very passionate, and when we are concerned about someone...we are going to let them know. I wasn't shocked hearing her say that. My blog post this past year have been very heavy reads. I write to release my feelings. That is the only way I know how to deal with my feelings. I've never been good at verbalizing them. My family and close friends will tell you, if I need to talk about something very serious, I will normally write a letter or email first. I have learned that writing is my biggest therapeutic form of expressing myself. So when Janet said, "your blogs have been quite depressing" I was not surprised one bit. I have said several times this has been the most difficult year of my life and my writings have reflected that.

And so you are probably wondering, why do you feel the need to post your writings on the internet for anyone to read? Well when I first started this blog, my very first blog post and in the about me section, I said "I am using this blog as an on-going testimony." This journey of life is not always an easy rode to travel, but I have the most amazing and faithful God to walk on this rode with me. I hope that I have been able to express my trials in life as well as how I am getting through these trials by being a follower of Jesus Christ.

I am not one to tell you that being a Christian is all roses. If anyone who claims to be a christian says that it is, they are not giving you the whole truth. But being a Christ-follower is the best decision that anyone could ever make. God will be faithful to you during your troubled times, your confused times, your hurt times, your sad times, your happy times, you excited times, and your lost times.

As a Christian you realize that your identity is in Christ alone. I am not perfect but I am loved by a perfect God; I do not have the perfect story but it is written by a perfect Author; I do not have the perfect family but I have a perfect Father; I do not have the perfect record but I have the perfect Judge; I don't have the perfect life but I know one day it will be perfect. To get through this journey of life make sure you are in the arms of your perfect Creator. He will not only walk with you but He promises to carry you when you need Him most.

The spark is back! Hello Ethiopia!

Once again, I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop, The Midnight Rooster enjoying my delicious Frappes, diving into the word, and writing. My mom came by to visit me a little while and I joked with her, "don't you know ALL christians seek out an adorable coffee shop to have their quiet time?" You most certainly are not a christian if you don't." Of course I was joking. But everyone knows that it is very typical for you to go into a coffee shop and you will find someone reading their bible or a group of people having a bibble study. I simply love the atmosphere of a coffee shop and I am assuming most other people do. That is why it is such a hot spot for many Christians. I can't tell you how many wonderful Godly conversations, quiet time, or writing I have experienced in a coffee shop. Not to mention, if I stay here all day, I am able to enjoy my yummy frappe and later enjoy a glass of their wonderful Chardnay. You can never go wrong with Coffee and wine!

This week I have spent more time at the Midnight Rooster. Aside from trying to be the social light of the placee (because if you know me, I will talk to anyone who will listen) I have been preparing for my trip spiritually and emotionally. Just this morning as I was emailing back and forth one of my dear friends, Beverly, she asked me if I was ready for Ethiopia. As I read the question so many things ran through my head. Beverly knows almost everything about me (probably to much, haha) so I had to tell her the truth. I wanted to reply with, "YES! I am more than ready for the mission trip!" I am so excited to see what God has in store for me!" unfortunately I was not able to answer with that. Honestly, I have not been preparing for the trip like I should have been. There are five lessons that the organization that I am going with (All God's Children International) wants us to complete before we go. To be honest, I have not started looking over these lessons until this week. I simply replied to Beverly saying, "I don't feel worthy enough to go." I wanted to go on and say, "I am not good enough to go. My life has been so messed up, that there is no way that God is going to be able to use me." I did not say that to her though. Of course when I first applied to go on this trip, these were not the feelings I had. I was so excited, I knew that is where God was leading me and I could not wait to get there and see those precious kids that I will be able to work with. Beverly responded back to my email with this, "Well I am proud of you for seeking the Lord spiritually! I know it will be an incredible trip and feeling unworthy is exactly how you should feel- Humility is key! God will use you, my friend!" That is exactly what I needed to hear. Beverly knows everything about me. She knows my flaws, she knows what I have been through yet she still says, "God will use you." I know I brag about my friends a lot, but it's only because God has put some amazing people in my life who except me for who I am, who hold me accountable, who loves me regardless of what I have done.

After going back through the first lesson I am supposed to complete before going on the trip, Paul came to mind. I have been feeling like I have messed up way to much to be used by God in any way. But when I go back to the scripture, God doesn't care who He uses and He completely ignores their sin record. Paul went from persecuting the Church to God calling him to go out and preach the gospel. In Galatians, Paul says "Obviously, I'm not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ's servant." Wow, thank you Paul for pointing out my biggest flaw. I am a people pleaser. I go out of my way to please someone without thinking twice if this will be pleasing to God. I have no one to answer to on this earth, I ultimately answer to God. That is hard for me to remember and also very dangerous. But just as he used Paul, I know that God will use me. I think my story and my testimony will be used in so many ways throughout my life. This year has been the most difficult time for me that I have ever encountered in my life. I know that this is the devil trying to get to me, but it's not going to happen. God has been there for me through this whole year even when I was hiding from Him. He uses constant reminders throughout the day to let me know tahat He loves me and He will protect me from what the devil was trying to do in my life. He has lit that sparkk again in my heart for Ethiopia. 2 weeks ago, if I had the opportunity, I would have backed out of the trip. But God knows what He is doing. I am so excited to see how God will use our group in Ethiopia! I am more than ready now! Thank God the spark is back! :)

Please Let Go of the Rope, World

World, I am addressing you. You are my problem.
I am yelling out to you World, but you won't listen.
Why don't you understand?
How can I make it any clearer?

You hear my cry, you see my pain.
I am crying out to you, World.
I am begging you to get it.
I am begging you to understand.

World, you are crumbling down on me.
I am being buried alive from your lies and your deceit.
What have I done to deserve this?
Is it me who doesn't understand?

World, I see your hurt. I understand your pain.
Why don't you see mine?
Why don't you show me compassion?
The more I beg you to understand me, the more you crumble, World.

World, why do I depend so much on you?
What have you done for me?
All you do is cause me pain.
All you do is cause me hurt.

You are deceitful yet I still run to you for comfort.
World, I think it's time I leave you for someone who cares.
I am tired of being hurt. I want to get rid of my pain.
You don't care about me. You never will.

There is someone much greater than this World.
Someone who has never ending love towards me.
He cares for me. He hears my cry. He understands my pain.
World, you are nothing compared to Him.

He saved me from you, from your wicked ways.
He sees my flaws and still He calls me His.
You on the other hand, World, have rejected me.
You wanted me to fail. You thrived off of seeing my flaws.

But He takes me flaws for me. He takes my pain and provides comfort.
Why did I ever depend on you, World?
I knew about Him yet I still wanted you to understand me.
Why are you so tempting? Why are you so attractive?

World, while you were causing me pain, He was crying for me.
While you were causing me hurt, He was comforting me.
While you were tempting me, He was praying for me.
Why did I ever trust you, World? I knew better, yet I still trusted only in you.

The whole time I was crying out to you, He was pulling me closer.
My soul has been playing tug-a-war.
You vs. Him. World, I know you have a strong hold on me.
But I must tell you World, I am slipping from your hold.

The closer I get to you, the tighter His grip gets.
He made me a promise to never let go.
Long ago, I made a promise to follow Him.
You might as well give up, world.

I am done looking to you for comfort. You can not fill that void for me.
This life I am living is not for you, World.
He is the one I live for. He is the love of my life.
I live this life for Him, my Savior.

Let the rope go. You will not win.
I gave Him my heart long ago.
My soul belongs to Him. Give up, World.
This war has already been won.

Just please let the rope go.

God, where are you when I need you most?

Where are you, God? I need you. Why have you left me? Do you ever find yourself asking those questions? Do you ever feel as though God must be hiding from you? God, where are you when I need you most? If you find yourself asking this question, im here to tell you that it's okay. When you finally get to the point to where you start questioning where God is; you start to realize when YOU LEFT God and started your life apart from Him. Let me tell you, that is a scary, scary road that you are about to embark. When I feel as though everything is right on track, you contanstly feel spiritually fed, and everything in your life seems to be falling into place; that is when I feel that God is walking right along side of me. Not ahead of me and not a few steps behind. Right beside me. How do you go from a spriritual mountain top to the deep, dark valleys? It does not happen abbrubtly. God is fighting for you until you make the choice to run ahead of Him and leave Him in the dust. You start dwelling on your own insecurities. You begin to tell yourself lies that you eventually start to believe. You start looking for something or someone else to fill that insecurity. That's when you start to run. Then you become so vulnerable that whatever it may be that is consuming you, you begin to see it as the finish line and you begin to sprint towards it. The next thing you know, God is no where to be found. The devil is going to find that crack. He is going to slip right in it when he feels that God has been left in the dust. You then get to the point where the sin controls you instead you being able to hand over the sin to God which he is already carrying for YOU. During your weakest moments, during your darkest times, in your most vulnerable state, that is when the devil will use his opportunity to attack. I want to tell you, there is a way out. God did not leave you. You left Him. God did not hide from you. You ran from Him until you were lost. Whatever it is that you may be going through or whatever it is that you may have done, nothing is too big for God to handle. Run back to Him, lay it at His feet, and ask for forgiveness and healing. God will never give us anything that we can not handle.(1 cor. 10:13) Lay it at the foot of the cross. And that my friend is when you begin to heal.

One of those days...Holy Week!

Do you ever have days where you feel like this?

Sorry Tyra but this picture describes me perfectly.

If you have never had one of these days, I want to take my hat off to you.  Also, I need your secret.  This morning I woke up at my normal time and started my normal routine.  After getting out of the shower, I went and stood in my closet for what seemed like days.  I have plenty of clothes.  Believe me.  But it just dawned on me...I have plenty of Fall/winter clothes.  Fall/winter are my favorite seasons and my favorite style of clothing.  Because of that I tend to shop that way.  Bring on the scarves, boots, leggins, and sweater dresses!  But when it comes to spring/summer, I have t-shirts and workout shorts.  That don't fly at my work. 

Nothing I put on looked good.  I felt awful in everything I tried on.  I ended up breaking a MAJOR fashion rule and that was I ended up puting on a pair of white lenen pants with a greenish/bluish top, nude heels, and gold jewrly.  I finally felt like I looked pretty.  I didn't even care about the you cannot wear white until after Easter rule!  I felt cute and I was going to rock it out.  As I was walking out of the house, It dawned on me.  I am wearing white pants with panties that have all different color peace signs all over them!  Always keeping it classy.  Myself just 8 months ago would have said, "oh well...it will give people some laughs."  Myself today said, "Hannah, GO CHANGE!"

Then...I ran into another issue.  The HAIR.  The past several weeks my hair has been very uncorraporative.  I have decided I was going to grow it out.  I will see how long that last.  My hair has had a weird texture to it.  It won't straigten properly.  It feels gunky.  I probably have spent $200 on hair products in the last month to try and fix it and nothing seems to work. My poor baby brother who has to share a batheroom with me.  My hair products are taking over I do believe.  For all of you pinterest lovers...make sure you never take pinterest for granted.  It will save your life.  okay, I know that was a bit dramatic.  But since my hair is saying no bueno to being down, I found a super cute, adorable spring up-do.

Ta-da!

http://pinterest.com/pin/196117758743277442/

My hair is not as long has the girls hair in the picture.  Mine is more shoulder length.  I also use a bigger flower to cover up the imperfections such as loose hair that I can't get to stay in bobby pins.  This is such a fun up-do and so simple!  I have gotten so many compliments!  And I love flowers in my hair during spring/summer time! 

Then it was time to put on my make-up.  I pull open my make-up draw only to find that I am out of my powder foundation.  Since being in my 20's I have had the privileged to develop adult acne.  I had a zit here or there while I was a teen but NOTHING like I struggle with now.  So not having my foundation, it is quite certainly almost the end of the world for me.  Once again, I may be a bit dramatic, but I'm a girl...i'm allowed to every once in a while right?  I got away with just using concealer...so it's all good.  Hopefully.  

After getting to work, I tried figuring out why it was that everything today just seemed to be going wrong.  Well, today is Maunday Thursday.  The day Jesus was sentenced, beaten, mocked, nailed to a cross, and died.  I probably didn't wake up the happiest.  I can't help but be a little upset on this day.  In fact...at the start of Lent, I leaned over to my pastor during a Lenten service and said, "this is just depressing."  It is depressing.  I am mourning Jesus' death.  I can't help it.  Maybe it's just me?  But I know it had to be done.  It had to be done so I could spend eternity with Him...my risen Savior.  How beautiful is that.  There is ALWAYS beauty from a tragedy.  To me...the story of Jesus's sacrifice is the most beautiful love story that has ever happened.  I am so grateful for the sacrifice of God's only Son.  

Yesterday I had the opportunity to prayer at a Lenten service where all the denomination had the opportunity to come together as one to worship.  I wanted to share the prayer with my readers.

This is my prayer for the end of the Lenten season:

Dear God, thank you for this beautiful day that you have given us.  Thank you for giving us the opportunity to come together as one to worship you.  I pray that you take away any distractions that we may have so we can fully focus on you during this  time of worship.  Lord, as we continue this holy season of Lent, grant us a change of heart that we might turn away from sin and follow your son's Gospel.  We ask you to fill us with hunger for what is just.  By your grace, may our lives become more deeply rooted in prayer, self-sacrifice and a willingness to share your love and grace with everyone we meet.  Please be with those who are hurting, who are angry, who feel like they have no one to turn to.  As your followers, help us to be what you have called us to be to these people.  Let them see You through us, through our actions and through our words.  Thank you for the gift of your Son.  We are so undeserving of Your grace that you so freely give us.  Because of your sacrifice, we do not have to travel this journey of life on our own.  We have you guiding us every step of the way.  Even in we fall down, you are always there to pick us up.  You are there to celebrate with us at our happiest times and you carry us through our darkest times.  We fail you daily, but your love never fails.  Help us to be more humble, more forgiving, more loving.  Help us to have a servant heart.  Help us to be more like you.  I can't even put into words how awesome you are.  We love you so, so much!  

In your precious, precious name,

Amen 

Writers block

Once again, I am having another case of writers block.  Generally when this happens, my life is normally in turmoil.  But honestly, I don't necessarily feel that it is.  Maybe I am in denial?  I will say that my faith walk has been struggling for the past several months.  I am still working on getting my life refocused on what I feel God is calling me to do.  I do know that things are turning around for me.  I have finally made some decisions that I feel is best for me for my future, for my faith walk and for my happiness.  I do finally feel like my life is falling more into place.  

The past couple of years have been difficult.  I have had ups and downs.  I have been disappointed with myself.  I have been angry with God.  I have been confused.  I have been lost.  But even through all of that, God has carried me through.  Being a Christian is not all roses.  It's hard at times.  But during these hard times, I ALWAYS have God to lean on.  

I'm not able to yet blog about what changes are coming up in my life, but soon I will.  I am more than excited to see what my future holds and what the next season of my life brings.  God is always faithful through everything that I go through.  He is always there to pick me up and carry me through.  

I serve such an amazing, awesome God!!!!!

Do You Want A Revolution?

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take 5 of my wonderful youth to Revolution 2012.  For the past three years, the SC Methodist conference has put on the Revolution retreat.  Revolution takes place in Columbia, SC at the Colonial Life Arena.  Thousands of students come together as one family in Christ to worship, learn and grow together in Christ.  This year, the theme was ONE.  The verse that we reflected on this weekend was from 1 Cor. 12:12 “12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by  one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”  There is only ONE God, ONE body, ONE spirit, and ONE Savior.  I got to witness hundreds of youth surrendering their lives to the Lord for the very first time as well as some rededicating their lives to the Lord.  Knowing that God captured so many students during this one weekend for me is so incredibly hard for me to put into words.  We serve a mighty God who can do anything.  That includes reaching the hearts of these teens who many believed had no hope in them to begin with.  Just hearing the stories from some of these students will break your heart into pieces.  Just when they thought they had no hope and no one to turn to, God showed up and consumed their entire being.   

One of the worship songs that we sang this weekend became one of my biggest prayers for me and for my youth.  The lyrics say: “Set a fire down in my soul that I can’t contain or I can’t control.  I want more of you God, I want more of you!”  I am here to say that a fire was set down in the souls of every single youth I had the opportunity to meet and talk with including every single youth from Wesley and there’s no putting that fire out!

I live to serve ONE God.  God sent His ONE son for our sins.  He paid the ONE sacrifice that had to be paid for us to live with Him for eternity.  The day I finally said, “Okay God I will surrender to my calling into ministry.  I am tired of running from it.”  That was the day that  God spoke to me through Jeremiah 20:11, “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 hope and a future.”  I realized then that there was only ONE plan for my life and that was to surrender everything that I have to Him and trust in Him. (Even if I do argue with him from time to time if I believe I should be doing what I am doing.)  Seeing these teenagers surrender their lives to the Lord reassures me that this is what God has called me to do and this is why I do what I do.  All the glory and honor goes to the awesome God that we serve!! 

My wonderful group! I love these guys and girls! 

Dear Hannah... Love, Your Sponsor Child

A couple of weeks ago I got a call from my Mom while I was still at work saying, "you got mail from your sponsor child!"  My Mom knows that I have been waiting for months for this letter.  I started sponsoring a little girl named Alemshewa who is from Ethiopia this past November.  I have been anxiously waiting to hear from her since the day I sent her a letter.

Finally that day came!  I rushed home from work and immediately grabbed the letter.  I must have read the letter 5 times.  I didn't want to miss one detail of what this precious little girl wanted to tell me.  Every time I read it, it was like reading it again for the very first time.

I wanted to share with my you this beautiful letter from Alemshewa:

Hannah Ownley.  How are you? I am fine. Praise be to God.  Thank you for you are willing to help me.  I am learning my education to be active. When I grow up I want to be a doctor. I will let you know about my family by the next letter.  Do you have children?  Where do you live?  Pray about me and for my education to be active.

My favorite things:

Best game: childrens game

Best food: bread with meat

Best school subject: english

Best pet: cow

Best bible story: about Jesus

Best color: yellow

Best song: spiritual song

Best holiday: Christmas

Alemshewa

In the letter she included a picture that she drew for me and her sweet thumb print.

I am once again anxiously waiting for her next letter.  Until then, I will continue to pray for this precious little girl. Please join me in praying for Alemshewa :)  Prayer is so powerful!

Be still and know that I am God

As I sit here in a cute, little quaint coffee shop called the Midnight Rooster, known for its amazing coffee, delicious sushi and yummy wine; I can't help but want to write. Yes, I realize it sounds like I just described a movie scene of an inspiring writer who sits in a coffee shop, sipping on their coffee writing hoping to one day make a break in the world of writing. Honestly, some of my best blogs or personal journal writings come from a quaint coffee shop. I have discovered that I sometimes need to escape from reality, and enter a fantasy world where bad things do not exist, everyone is friendly and the word drama isn't even in the dictionary. According to movies and TV shows, coffee shops paint the perfect picture of a drama free, friendly, non-evil environment. 

Why do I feel as if I need to escape the reality world? Because I can't help but to hurt for our world. So many bad things, so many hurt people that I just need to escape. By no means am I complaining that God gave me a heart that breaks for our world but it does and can take a toll on me physically, mentally and spiritually. I become so caught up and worried about the issues of our world that I forget to take care of myself and my spiritual life. One of my biggest struggles as a Christian is anxiety and stress that I carry with me from day to day. Yesterday as I was getting ready to start my day, "be still and know that I am God" (Psalms 43:6) kept repeating over and over in my head. I knew then that God was telling me to slow down, and realize I cannot fix the world myself. I am burning myself mentally, physically and most of all spiritually. Proverbs 12:25 reads, "anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad." I can't help someone if I am spiritually weighed down myself.

 I am a people pleaser.  There is nothing wrong with that if you know how to properly deal with being a people pleaser. You have to know when it's not appropriate to please the person if that means it may hinder your personal spiritual life. When someone is struggling I struggle. When someone is hurt I hurt. When someone is sad I'm sad. If someone is upset I'm upset. I tend to try and carry other people's burdens. Yesterday while ai kept repeating over and over in my head, "be still and know that I am God" I had no doubt in my mind that God was telling me; "who do you think you are to think you can carry these people's burdens? I already did that for you and them. The day that I died on that cross was to show my love for you and to let you know you are not alone on this journey called life. I am already carrying the burdens of the world. It is your job as my disciple to show the world what I already did for them and you. It is not your job to do it alone. Be still and know that I AM GOD." 

For me, escaping the world of reality is one of the only ways to get me refocused on my relationship with God. I know that I need to take a step back in certain situations that are going on in my life and completely hand it over to God to take care of. 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Casting all your anxiety on Him, because he cares for you." With knowing that I am able to do that brings me great comfort. It is time for me to focus on what is best for ME and what I believe God is calling me to do. Everything that is going on in my life, it is time to give over to God and trust in Him that His plan is perfect. Yes, I sin on a daily bases, I fail God daily and I am so unworthy of God's grace and unfailing love He has for me; But He believes I am worthy, and I deserve His unconditional love. He wipes me clean and carries my burdens for me. If I can't carry my own burdens, what makes me think I can carry everyone else's burdens? As proverbs say, “anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down." I know it is time for me to let go and hand everything over to God and trust Him to guide me in what He wants me to do. Even if it's hardest of the two choices I have to make. It's time for me to do me. As God continued to remind me yesterday, "be still and know that I AM GOD!"

Dates gone bad. Real bad.

I often wonder if I am the ONLY single lady in this world who absolutely despises the dating scene.  During my Jr. High and High school years, I was not interested in dating.  I have always been strong-willed, independent, and free spirited.  Dating someone at that time in my life was not something that I cared to do.  After graduating high school and moving to Charleston I thought the normal thing to do was test out the waters in the dating pool.

Ladies, let me give you a few tips through my experience of dating: 

DO NOT let one of your professors set you up on a blind date with their nephew.  If their uncle is known as the player, and the nephew shows some of those same qualities. Say NO!  As the saying goes, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."  

This one is a no brainier for most but if you are anything like the young me thinking you can change the world and everyone in it, you might have found yourself in this situation.  When a guy in your class singles you out among all the other girls and picks on you, it's not because he doesn't like you, it's because he DOES like you.  You would think that 18 and 19 years old, those games would stop but they don't.  Then when the day finally comes that he gets the nerve up to FINALLY ask you out on a date...JUST SAY NO!  Especially knowing that he is a KNOWN pothead.  You cannot change him.  He will most likely come to pick you up for your date high.  No joke.  It happens.

When you are in the gym getting your workout on and a guy approaches you.  Run.  Sure, it may be flattering that a guy would be interested in you when you look at your worse because let's face it, hair up in a messy bun, sweaty and no make-up is NOT attractive.  So feeling like you could conquer the world because you sparked someone's interest when you look like poo; you decide to give them your number.  Oh, let me add that you work at this gym so basically you just gave your personal number to a MEMBER.  You find out this guy is a pilot in the Air force and you know you can't turn down a man in uniform.  Especially someone who flies a plane.  It doesn't take long to make a date with this guy.  Then after finally coming back down to reality, you start thinking to yourself...well if he is already a pilot in the Air force that means he had to serve time first, then at least have 4 years of college behind him,you begin to wonder...how old is this guy?  So knowing that you are capable of looking him up in the system at the gym (because you do work there) you find out he is 30 years old!  For someone who had JUST turned 20...30 seem like a grandpa.  But you already said you would go on a date, so you do.  I am here to tell you...just because you agreed to do something does NOT mean you have to follow through.  That is what texting, Facebook or email is for.  You could get out of a date without ever having to speak to him again.  Long story short, you go out with him, you have the most awkward time of your life, he seems to think you are totally into him and ask you out for a second date.  Feeling bad for him and not having the courage to say no, you say yes and end up going out with him on 2 more dates!  You would think after turning him down from trying to kiss you 4 times over the past 3 dates he would get the hint.  Instead, he thinks it's time to move to the, "next level."  That is when you have a freak out moment in the middle of the restaurant and explain to him that he is just too old and you are not interested in him.  Of course you say it a bit nicer than that.  And his response is, "wow, I feel like you just stabbed me in the back."  You finish eating in awkward silence then leave the restaurant and have the LONGEST car ride home.  Ladies, do not let this be you.  I am trying to save you a lot of stress and anxiety.

Just when you think that you are so over dating, you meet a guy at church.  Ladies, JUST BECAUSE YOU MEET A GUY AT CHURCH DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING!  After 3 weeks, he finally decides to ask you out.  You say no.  He is a persistent guy so the very next week he asks again.  Once again you say no but in the back of your mind you are hoping he will ask again.  Every girl likes to be pursued. Next week rolls around and he ask again.  You say no yet again.  He then says okay, why don't we just grab coffee?  As friends.  I will not come pick you up.  We will not call it a date.  We can meet at Starbucks and have a casual conversation.  You finally break down and agree to casual conversation and coffee with this guy.  So that day comes around and you go meet up with him for coffee and conversation...remember, it's not a date. You get your coffee, sit down and start talking.  The next thing you know, you look at your watch and realize 3 hours has past!  You are thinking, wow...this only felt like 30 minutes!  You go home that night, still on cloud 9.  You decide it's time to stalk his Facebook because any smart girl would check out a guy’s Facebook to find out more about him.  You start going through his pictures and come across wedding pictures.  Then all of a sudden, it finally dawns on you that you are looking at HIS wedding pictures that were only dated a year ago!!!  Your heart immediately sinks.  You grab your phone and without giving much thought, you send him a text saying, "You have a BEAUTIFUL bride! Loved your wedding pics on Facebook :)"  Ladies, if he is a charmer (which he was) RUN far far away!  It's the charmers that will suck you in!

All of you single ladies out there...if you have had similar issues in the dating world, you are NOT ALONE!  I understand.  These little blurbs of stories don't even tell half of what went on these dates!

Let me clarify, all of these dates were a couple of years ago if not more.  I have learned a thing or two about dating since then.  Maybe?

I am going to do a follow-up post on what I believe the dating world should look like as a Christian.  I thought I would give you a good laugh first  :)

All Glory, Honor Power is Yours

I went to write this very same post several days ago but I could not bring myself to publish it.  I wrote the post out of frustration and if I am going to be honest, I wrote the post out of anger.  I am so glad that I decided not to publish the original post.  I would have gotten my point across but it would not have been with an appropriate Christian attitude and certainly not with a loving heart.  It would have caused division within the church and that is not my goal and should not be anyone's goal who claims to be a Christian.  We ALL pull for the SAME team.  We ALL love the SAME God!  We ALL NEED God's love.  We are ALL in this Christian journey to let God use us to bring people to Him to better glorify His kingdom

This post is simply written out of concern for the church as a whole.  What sparked me to write a post as raw and honest as this is going to be is the "Code Orange Revival" that Elevation church in Charlotte felt led to do.  Let me start off by saying, I love Steven Furtick.  He is an amazing communicator, a captivating speaker, and he has a love for God that simply radiates off of him when he enters a room.  I had the privileged of hearing Steven Furtick when I was only 13. He was still in school, not married and he had spiky blonde hair.  (I don't think I could ever forget that hair!)  When my sister attended Winthrop University she attended Elevation Church.  When I would visit her, we went there for our Sunday morning worship.  It was an amazing experience and you could literally feel the Holy Spirit moving throughout that church.

With all that being said, there are a few concerns that I do have.  I keep up with Elevation Church and Steven Furtick through twitter.  During the 12 days of this revival, they were constantly tweeting about the amazing things that were going on during the revival.  There were a couple of tweets that really sat with me the wrong way.

Steven Furtick @stevenfurtick 

Download ALL sermons from #CodeOrangeRevival -OUR GIFT TO YOU! I

I absolutely love that Elevation is being kind enough to let everybody in the whole world to be able to download all the sermons, but what confuses me is that they say, "OUR GIFT TO YOU!" As easy as it is to take credit, we have to remember that all credit, glory and honor goes to our loving most awesome God.  It is God's gift to us that this revival took place.  He uses us, but God still gets all the praise and glory for this revival.

Steven Furtick @stevenfurtick

As w/ all our #CodeOrangeRevival experiences -there is NO CHARGE/NO TICKET for tonight's event-it's our gift to you.

I have never seen a church have to clarify that there is "NO CHARGE/NO TICKET for tonight's event."  To me it almost sounds as if we have to clarify that for this event tonight there is no charge.  Since when does a church have to advertise for a Free Church service?  The price for us to go to church, to worship openly and freely has already been paid.

Steven Furtick @stevenfurtick

“@ShannonMcgevna1: @stevenfurtick you have the most amazing staff, complete courtesy & respect #COR is changing my life”

I know that this staff is absolutely amazing.  I have no doubt in my mind that every single one of them is wonderful men and women of God.  The staff of a church can make a huge difference in the lives of the members.  One thing as staff we have to remember is that WE are not the one's changing lives of the people; it is God who is changing the lives.  Once again, we need to give all honor, praise and glory to God.  We would be nothing without Him.

As I have said, I love Steven Furtick and I think Elevation church is amazing.  I believe that this "Code orange revival" was a God inspired event that took place all over the world.  I believe that lives were changed.  I believe that relationships were restored.  I believe that God captured the heart of thousands during this revival.  We just need to remember who deserves all of the praise and glory for this revival.  We are nothing without Him.  We cannot do anything without Him.

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Revelations 4:11