loving to repent...

is a high truth. because what could be more enjoyable than knowing that my thoughts are changing into His thoughts. i want to fall in love with the act of repentance because i know it's making room for infinite Him in finite me, making old into new, replacing confusion with understanding, replacing loneliness with intimacy.

Lover, i change my mind (repent). Turn the thoughts coming out of it into yours.

evernew

The Lord never changes in His character but He is ever-changing things and ever-moving forward. He has never stopped creating. And when we ask for Him to change us He releases a flood of grace to start making things happen. It may seem nothing is happening at first, and that is usually what happens because He likes to stretch and build our faith. But in the Spirit an unstoppable flood has been released. It is on it's way. And it will overwhelm you, this grace. It's the grace that empowers us to change and and become what we could never be on our own. Grace that grows us like a blade of grass grows after a deluge of rain. The blade has no control over the weather. It's completely helpless when it comes to its provision from the sky. It can only stand and reach up, as if to say "please come." And when its grace comes, it gives glory back by growing tall and green with life.

keep dreaming.

and let them grow. be encouraged. be blessed. see flowers begin to bud on the new ones. see fruit grow heavy on the old ones you've maintained and not let go of. be encouraged!

it's increasing...

Amazing day at Convergence yesterday! I led worship and there was such an ease and flow (and I love that I'm finally feeling confident leading on electric guitar...it adds such power and depth, I feel).
As the service moved into the message, some CSSM students and some of the youth just started laughing and laughing...and laughing. Steve's message was on joy and laughter and how it's warfare and brings breakthrough to laugh over our problems and trials. Well, those people just kept on laughing through the whole message. :-)  I felt it's what God's doing to accelerate His Church that as the word is spoken, there's a simultaneous demonstration of it. Let there be more!

into the city...

Wednesday was CSSM's first day for outreach this year and we sent out teams to a nursing home, an elementary school, a homeless shelter and a neighborhood park near the Convergence campus. I went with the team to the homeless shelter, Union Gospel Mission, and it was ah-mazing! It was great to see the joyful hearts of our students as they sorted donated clothes, worked in the kitchen and put on a chapel service. A particularly fun event was getting to pray for a lady who works at the mission. She said her hip had been hurting since the day before and she was having trouble walking. Matt Bomhoff and I asked if we could pray for healing and she said, "well, of course I'll always take prayer!" We prayed a quick little prayer and she said there wasn't any change. But as we started walking to the chapel to get ready for the service she said it started feeling a bit better. A few minutes later as our team was about to start the chapel service, she came in and sat down and said with joy "my hip feels completely better!" It's fun to see Jesus do His stuff as we walk with Him...and this is just the beginning!

Unless the Lord builds the house...

I'm dwelling on that verse in Psalms today..."unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it." It's so amazing what God is doing these days as we enter into our second year of CSSM. It's evident through the people He's brought to lead it, the alumni He's brought back as interns to serve it, and the students He's brought to attend it that only the Lord could have done this.

He's made so many "and suddenly's" happen in so many people's lives to get them here from across the country and the world: people with jobs and careers...people with families and small kids. People who look, in the natural, settled into normal American lives have totally uprooted themselves to answer God's call to become revivalists. In them is a fire to not settle for the traditions of man but to do whatever it takes to seek and find the concealed glory, the greater things, God wants them to experience and be transformed by. This is so jaw-droppingly amazing to see first-hand, and so much fun too!