When Oceans Rise

These past few weeks have been tough for my family. In my lowest moments the Lord keeps bringing the chorus of this Hillsong United song to mind. There is no greater comfort than to rest in His embrace.

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery

In oceans deep

My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours and You are mine

ambassadors for Him

my lovely sister and I are now going through the She Reads Truth: Fresh Start plan and are absolutely loving it. The whole plan has been great, but my favorite day so far was about how we are Christ's ambassadors.

The devotion mentioned how we are often ambassadors without realizing it.  How many times have I found a new company or great product that I share & recommend to my friends and coworkers? I am being an ambassador for that company by being a representative of their product. I should be doing the same thing for Christ everyday! [but He is so much more awesome than that adorable necklace I purchased!]

My passion to represent Him should outweigh my passion for everything else, by far. 


“That seems fairly elementary and straightforward,” you might think. And yet, there is so much more to it. To the world, we stand in as Christ. Broken, angry, hurt, desperate messes that we are, and yet He chooses us to be His light in a world of darkness. He trusts that we love Him enough to give our very, humanly best. 

We have the great responsibility of not only representing Him, but doing it in an authentic way that draws others in."

Are you ready to take on that responsibility? To be Jesus to those around you? It seems like a daunting task but with the Spirit's help, I believe it can be the best job we have ever accepted. 

the full armor of God

I recently finished the She Reads Truth, Ephesians devo plan and the last day really encouraged me. (the reading was Ephesians 6:10-20) It starts out with the awesome encouragement that we can be strong in His might and then lists the armor of God. I think the author of the SRT devo for this day hit it on the head:

"I love that this section in Ephesians starts with the (correct) assumption that on our own, in our own strength, we've got nothing. Yet it ends with us fully armed & able to stand as warriors in the kingdom of God.....& when Paul bids us farewell with grace and peace we can contently sigh. Yes, we feel both those things." 

it's so good. What an encouragement that He gives us everything we need to be protected from the "schemes of the devil." He is so good to us, it is seriously ridiculous. If you haven't read Ephesians recently I'd encourage you to! It is fascinating how much more you learn every time you read His living Word. 

That's all I got for now! (whew, writing really exhausts me!)

not for a moment

I've been wanting to write a devos post for a while but it takes me about 4 hours [only a slight exaggeration] to finish a post full of writing. So, until my schedule allows me to share what He has been teaching me, I will leave you with this wonderful [and beautifully designed] lyric.

[it lives here]

happy 2013 [& a free download!]

Happy NYE! Are you ready for 2013? The last year has had it's great moments mixed in with some of the toughest stuff yet. But He is so faithful & I am excited to see what this next year brings. I thought I would make my last post of the year a fun one. I made a sparkly desktop background just for you wonderful readers.

download the "Shine for Christ" background here

be worshipful and bright.

Tonight I was convicted by a j. biebs song. [how sad is that? yes, the Lord can use everything] In this busy time of year I find myself being perfectly fine with sleeping an extra 30 minutes instead of getting up and meeting with Him. If anything I should be so in awe of my Savior who came as a baby to save me from hell, but somehow I find myself too busy...too preoccupied. [does anyone else have this issue?] This changes tonight. He is not only the reason for the season, but the only reason I am alive.

Now that He has got my attention I have a goal: to be worshipful this Christmas season. 

Be worshipful. Be bright for Him. 

He makes everything beautiful

When I purchased my iPhone case I never thought it would affect me daily, but it absolutely has. I got this gem a few weeks after I got my phone, the verse on the back is Ecclesiastes 3:11,

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart." 

[how great is that?! this has grown to be one of my very favorite verses] I love that our searching for purpose, for meaning that everyone has is from Him! He set it in our hearts from the very beginning! What a wonderful truth.  He set that desire in us and through Him we can fulfill that longing. 

The simple action of reading this everyday when using my phone has taught me how powerful meditation can be. I'd encourage you to put a verse somewhere [desktop background? bathroom mirror? phone case?] were you will read it everyday [multiple times a day] & see how He can use such a small thing to do great things in your life.

God with us.

"So now we, as His bride, are the ones waiting

Like the saints that came before, we’re anticipating

He has shown us that this world is fading

And He has caused our desire to be for Him"

These words from Folk Angels' God with Us have been echoing in my mind for the past few days. [the fact that this world is dying has been so very apparent to me lately] My dear momma always told me that this life is just a blip on the timeline of our existence that will continue into eternity. 

Today, I am so thankful that this messed up & painful world is not my home. 

[p.s. see? I told you I was bad at this. Here's to hoping my writing skillz improve!]

unsure but willing.

I've been thinking about starting a blog for so long. [after all, I read them all the time] But what would I write about? I am a visual communicator, why would I start a blog? [writing seems rather vital in this whole blogging thing....] I am so inspired by things I see, what else am I inspired by? [His word.] Ok, so...combine the two? 

design & devos

Will it work? [who knows] Will it stretch me? [absolutely] I'm willing to try it out. 

here goes nothing friends!