A Place of Once and For All

Once and for all

The Father’s love 

He is the light in the darkness  Who took on flesh     

And took our place   

The weight of the world on his shoulder  

The weight of the world on his shoulder

I am overcome by these words tonight. Once and For ALL. On this day 2000 years ago, my Lord rose from the dead and conquered the grave. Death tried its hardest to hold HIM in the grave but it could not.

We believe our God is

We believe that He is Lord

We believe that He has saved us

From sin and death once and for all

Once my Jesus was brutally beaten and crucified on a cross. Once my Jesus breathed His last breath on earth. Once my Jesus was finished.

Once and for all Our debt is paid

There on the cross it is finished

The lamb of God

For us was slain

Up from the grave He is risen

Up from the grave He is risen

That one act, our Jesus slain on the cross, finished us. We are offered everlasting life because of his act of “Once and for All.” There is NOTHING you or I can do to deserve salvation. There is no good act we can do to break even to get to Heaven. That act on the cross solidified it ALL.

ONCE AND FOR ALL.

Jesus, Jesus
God from God
Light from Light
You are our salvation
Jesus, Jesus
God from God
Light from Light
Your Kingdom is forever

A Place of Single in the City

So I am going to assume that we are all somewhat familiar with the ever so popular HBO series that chronicled the lives of 4 single, fabulous women in the energetic New York City. As women we were all fueled by their power, dating advice, and fashion sense. I have to say I never really was into it, but to still say that it never had or still has any affect on my single life would be a lie. I mean who doesn't think on or often reference Carrie's famous articles on love?!

The thing that is missing though is the reality of being single in the city! Especially a booming metropolis such as Amarillo, Texas. Most of the time you forget we live in such a small town, we have great things going for us. Until it comes to our dating! It's like being stuck in fish bowl! Everyone knows everyone, and if you don't know them, your friend will and she will have something to say about them!

Sometimes I wish it were as easy as it seems on TV. Boy meets girl, girl likes boy, they date. Nothing complicated or over calculated. Maybe it is just me, but I feel like dating is the most stressful part of being a single adult. Talk about the added pressure from inquiring friends and family who mean well. Maybe I see it all as too simple. I see dating and finding a good one as something that should just happen. Something natural and organic. Possibly I am naive, and completely shut off to the REAL world of dating, but something inside me says there just has to be more. I have to hope as well that there has to be some guy out there who believes this too.

A Place of Blessing

I looked up recently and all I saw around me was blessing. 

Let me explain. 

This past year has been one of abundance. Abundance of answered prayers, abundance of dreams realized, and an abundance of the Lords tangible presence in all that I did. 

Thats not to say years past haven't been great, or this new one won't hold just as much abundance, if not more. All I am saying is that, when I stopped and really thought on it, I am doused in blessings.

It really all came together for me the night of Valentines day. I spent what is meant to be a romantic holiday making cupcakes, coffee filter hearts, and cuddling little ones as they drifted off to sleep. As I lay in bed that night discussing life, love, and relationships with a dear friend who came to babysit with me, my mind drifted not to what I don't currently have, but all that I have had even just in this last year. I am so quick to dwell on the negative, the never ending wondering of why my life doesn't look like I pictured it as little girl. Sure the desires of my heart fuel my thoughts, but what about what the Lord has already done in my life. 

Blessing after blessing. 

I know that the Lord holds me in the palm of His hands. So in that comfort I rest. He knows the desires of my heart, and hears them as I repeatedly give them over to Him. My Father blesses me and I know He has good for me!

For those people in my life who have played a major role in these blessings, I say thank you. Thank you for being the good light in my life! 

An Unrealistic place

Sometimes, I am sure like most, I find myself in a day dream. The kind where everything has a beautiful Instagram type filter. A soft haze of golden tones and just a slimmer of a blur. We use buzz words to describe the beautiful image portrayed in that perfectly formatted square. What is though that we don't see about that image? What is the "real" that is being hidden? What are we missing in that edited form that for some reason we don't want to show the true colors that it is?

In this place of life I am battling the world of the unrealistic. Lets take for example Hollywood crafty movie plots. Sure it seems harmless in the beginning. That unrealistic haze slowly seeping into my everyday thinking, until one day {{{like today}}} I become acutely aware of the spell it has put me under.

Follow me here. As a young girl I watched movies like Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and The Little Rascals. All of which I might add, are some of my all time favorites. Yet, at my most impressionable of ages, I was slowly molded into a girl of unrealistic view points. As far as I knew my life would follow as such: Girl meets boy, Girl likes boy, Boy sweeps girl off her feet {{{add in song and dance}}}, boy vows an undying love for Girl, and they ride off into the sunset living happily every after. Without me knowing it, like a thief in the night, my way of thinking was SET. So as you can imagine the next 20 or so years were filled with heartache, questions, and sheer disappointment. Where in the world was my movie plot? Where in the world was MY prince charming, MY knight in shining armor, My Alfalfa.

Living a life in this haze of an unrealistic place has tainted so much of my heart. Especially now. Being a 20 something year old the always looming question often sounds like this "So, when are you going to settle down?" or any variation of the main point.... When are you getting married?

Can I pose a few questions to this idea. Who decided that the standard of life equals marriage before 25. Who decided that immediately following college graduation if you didn't already have a ring on your finger, surely you would have one soon. And for those that didn't, well, you certainly must have missed out on something or some sort of college experience.

I have heard and seen it all. From the friends and family who mean well attempting to play matchmaker, down to the pitiful eyes I get from people when they hear of my seemingly "awful" single life.

Sure I have grown up in a society that places heavily the importance of finding "The One", and by no means am I saying that I don't believe in love, because believe me, I am love's biggest advocate. What I am saying though is why the pressure, why the rush?

I want the kind of love that builds and flourishes in its own time. Not on some time line set out before me. I want the kind of man who is willing to swoon for my affection, fight for my honor, and protect the idea that I am precious.

The only evidence I have of this in any man is the one who already has my heart and continues to whisk it away daily. Let me tell you what, He knows what He is doing with it. He has taken the mangled up beaten parts, destroyed by past suitors and resurfaced and shaped it whole. He takes my hand and never lets go, promising his undying love for me... for eternity. Not for a moment, not until He gets bored, or something better comes along. I am it for Him. So how in the wold could I ever chose to accept something less than from an earthly man.

I most often times think Hollywood has created an unrealistic picture of a prince, but not when I compare them to my Heavenly Prince. He is worth waiting and pining for.

It is so easy to get lost in the beautiful haze of this Instagram lifestyle our society has created, but when the picture is right and focused on the main character, I promise, you won't have to add a single filter.

Life in the Last Place

I had a “last place”, a certain and definite one. It was definitely a solid place, a distinguished place, one that I thought was the end all of places for me. But, like all places go, they are fluid parts in this ocean of life. Like the ocean we see defined and established waves. We can see large white caps as the energy breaks on the surface, and we know then that the “place” that wave existed in, is now past.

My oceans waves seemed to crash in one after the other.

Looking back on my “last place”, Namibia, my waves seemed to grow larger and larger with every obstacle. But then the energy they created fueled the relationships built, and fueled the connections I got to make with beautiful people.

The funny thing about the “last place” is that now we are in a new place, and we can look back on the “last place” with different colored glasses. Sometimes we can glamourize that place, other times we look back with disdain. We all have our reasons for the colored lenses that we choose, but have you ever stopped to think about your choice before you make up your mind.

Maybe your “last place” was really hard, lonely, and just plain awful. How in the world are you supposed to view that place with rose-colored glasses? I am by no means saying I have all the answers, but I have had to face the same question.

My “last place” was full of it all. Joy, pain, loss, love and any other noun you could conjure up. In the coming out of that place, and into this new and all together confusing one, I had to make a choice. I had to choose to accept the way things ended. I had to choose to believe in the unknown reason for my sudden departure. I had to choose the color of lenses I was going to look back with on this place in my life with!

So choose your glasses. Pick a color, but remember the choice is yours. The “last place” doesn’t always have to lurk over your head with the questions of what ifs and what should have beens.

So What....

So, what is life in the certain place? 

More importantly, what is a certain place? 

How do I know I am in a certain place?

Well first let me give you the back story on this idea of the certain place. It was the words of Priscilla Shirer who opened my eyes to this idea of this so called certain place.

What is the definition in her words? It is simple really, in between your past and your future - there lies the certain place. Sometimes this place can seem dark, your vision a little foggy, maybe you even feel lost in your own identity and surroundings.

Most of the time we would prefer to just mindlessly fall asleep in this place and wake up in our idea of a new and better place.

The problem with that idea is that we could end up, and most of us do, end up sleeping our lives away. Guess what, that is exactly where the enemy wants us. Sound asleep.

He knows the secret, and now we can all know the secret. These certain places is where our Father chooses to meet with us, chooses to speak to us, chooses to draw us out of our sleepiness and into a life that is vibrant, full, and joyfully overwhelming. Because you see, these places, they are sacred places. And to be honest, I am tired of missing out on my own life.

In these certain places we are blind to the good. But I have to believe it is there. It exsists, because why wouldn't it? Our God is to good not so show good in all situations. The question is simply this, am I awake enough to find that good.

So I owe a HUGE thanks to Priscilla Shirer for opening my sleepy eyes to my certain place.

What is this certain place I am in anyways and why am I choosing to blog about it for a whole bunch of strangers to see? Well, I have to believe this certain place in my life is happening for a reason. I am half awake, and I have a story, a purpose, a call even if it feels to dark to find anything here.

But HERE is where I am, and here I will remain until He decides to take me there - wherever there might be.

So follow along, pass it along...or don't.

I do know this, I am just starting to wake up.

13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—

and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—

not as unwise but as wise...

Ephesians 5:13-15