So probably a lot of you won't see this because you are busy studying for finals, but I just wanted to say that my version of the bible says "casting all my anxieties on Jesus" which I think was a perfect statement to have the week before finals. Trust in God and give him all your fears and anxieties about finals and school.

I love you all and will be praying for each of you as you start finals!

overwhelming reminder

As I have been going through these statements, i am just continual reminded of what being in God and being a new person means. I apologize in advanced because this is somewhat general and not focusing in one particular statement. Recently God through other Sonshine-ers has been reminding me of the importance of those around me. He has really brought me back into the "everyone is a camper" reality and that these statements don't just work for Sonshine staff but for everyone we encounter. He has really just been convicting me with the reminder that I need to be reminding people daily of Christ's commitment to them as His children. I recently moved out of my old room and into a new one because of some really interesting situations with my old roomates. The new room I am in I share with two sophomores and it is such a cool opportunity! I daily get to see their walks with Christ and serve them loving through these statements. I don't know if my tangent makes any sense but I just wanted to share a brief look into my current journey with these. I love you all and I am always here if you need anything. Please call with prayer requests or just to catch up! I miss you guys.

Love,

Haley

POW.

I am sanctified.

I am a new creature.

I am a partaker of His divine nature.

No matter how many times we mess, no matter how many quiet times we skip, or how many times we sin, God makes us sanctified.

Sanctified: to be made holy.

Idk about you guys but I know that I'm not holy, nor do I deserve to be holy. But God tells me "Micaela, I make you blameless in my eye, and I have made you holy, not once but every single day.

"You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God."

1 Corinthians 6:11

God doesn't make it comlpicated He just says...you were sanctified. You are holy in my eyes. POW. WHAT?! This is such a struggle for me to wrap my mind around. That no matter how many times I do something silly God just tells me to learn from it and that I'm forgiven.

jeez, God is good.

Oh and random verse but not really: Romans 3:26 "This not nonly clear, but it's now-this is current history! God sets things right. he also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness."

This just reemphasized it for me. This is current history! God does this daily for us! Which brings me to "I am a new creature."

God makes us a new creature every day renewing our faith, our mind, and our soul. He forgives us daily because we sin daily. 

You and I are saved from the prison that Paul describes in Romans? I think. If we are prisoners than that means that we were caught for something bad that we were chained to sin. So if we are freed from the darkness and we can finally let our wrists breathe after years of the chains cutting off the circulation, then we should do everything in our power to not go back to that prison. God frees us from the opression of sin and tells us that we have a new life.

I choose to run out of the prison as a new girl, a new person, a new soul; no longer slave to sin but a humble servant to righteousness and God. POW. I am new and I don't even have to think about my old sin because it doesn't exist anymore. Sanctified and a new creature. Wow, God is good.

Finally Partaker of His divine nature.

He tells us that we are prince and princesses in His kingdom which therefore means that we get to take part in this divinity. We get tou have a divine romance with him that is not like any other parent-child bond. He loves us so mcuh that he allows us to sin, repent, be forgiven, AND STILL BE ROYALTY. say what!?

That is sick. end of story.

Alright I feel like I have rambled a little but that's okay.

I love you all and am praying for your years =]

Micaela

Lost moments

I feel a little ashamed coming into it this late, and cannot believe that it's been 7 weeks since i've started college. But im here now, and though I most likely won't be that consistant, I wanted to be a part of this, to stay connected with people that played huge parts in shaping who i am.

week 7- I am a new creature (I think thats the one, lemme know if it's not)

When reading 2 cor 5, and mulling it over, my mind almost read over v17. When it comes to being a new creature the concept almost goes in one ear and out the other i've heard it so many times. Hardly ever do i actually think about it. This time though i stopped myself and forced myself to think, to chew, to listen. I realized that being a new creature forces us to act differently than everyone else. We cannot act like them any longer, we still live with them, walk around and communicate with them, but we're different, set apart. But with that comes the problem, we stand out. When we properly renew our minds and bodies, we become a startling anomaly. Not only do we stand out, but we have the responsibility of acting in Christ's stead to reach the world. Basically every moment in our new lives is an opportunity to walk as Christ, the more exactly we follow His steps, the better chance we have of making an impact even greater than the one He had. The best part? We aren't called to do it perfect, God knows we can't, we're still attempting to figure out how our new bodies work, how they move, how they react, and it's the lifelong process of discovering God's plan for this new life, a plan we won't ever know in this life on earth.

Now I know i've jumped around all over the place, and parts of this won't make sense, but this is my brain process written down.

Anywho, I miss you all, and love you dearly

Jonathan Hale

So this is a week early but today God just yelled at me and I had to share. Next weeks I am statement is A new creature. Yes I have changed since I accepted Jesus, yes I am a new person, but he is also continuosly making me a new creature. This morning I was reading the utmost for his highest and it talked about being on the mount and being in the valley. This summer on houseboats I was on the mount, everything I heard and saw was a miracle, a gift, God was there no questions asked. Sometimes I look back and wish I could just live on houseboats my entire life and be constantly filled. But we can't stay on the mount, God wants us in the valley, he wants us with the sinners and and the broken so that we can advance his kingdom. On the mount (houseboats) God did not only teach me but he changed me, he made me a knew creature. And now that I am back at college living with non-christians distracted by the things of life I have to remind myself of who I became this summer, and who I am now. I want people to not only know what I learned this summer but see the change in me and the work God did in my life.

This blog has gotten me through a lot, when I begin to focus on myself and rely on me I come here and you all bring me back to God. Thank you so much for being a loving and encouraging community. I miss you guys a lot.

<3 Sammi

Hello everyone! This doesn't really go along with the I Am statement of the week but the pastor at church talked about something today that I thought was awesome and want to share it with you.

"As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'" Romans 10:15

I love this verse for so many reasons. One of them is that I have a phobia of feet. I really don't like them. I think they're disgusting and freak out if anyone's feet touch me. So I think it's so amazing that God finds my feet beautiful. One of the things that I hate most in the world, he finds beauty in them. And what's even more cool is the reason why. He loves them because they "preach the good news." God loves my feet when I use them to faithfully deliver his message. Another cool point that the pastor pointed out was that it's not only God that loves our feet when we preach the good news, but those who we deliver the news to. The people who are receiving his message love my feet too! And thinking about it, it makes complete sense. Even I, who strongly dislike feet, am so grateful for the people who have delivered God's message to me in different ways that I am thankful for every single thing about them, even their feet. I am so thankful that God put it in their plan to walk to wherever I was at the time to preach the good news to me so that I could learn something new and fall deeper in love with Jesus.

One other thing that the pastor pointed out that really hit me was the fact that it's called "good news." I've heard this term countless times, but never really thought twice about it until today. When I have good news, I want to share it with everyone I know! For example, I play on the club team at USD. We had our first game yesterday and I scored a goal, and I was so happy! I considered this great news and as soon as I got back to my room I told my roommates, called my family and friends... I wanted the people I cared about to know. Today I started thinking, why don't I have the same attitude with the good news of Jesus Christ? Why don't I have the same courage and desire to tell my roommates, who don't know Jesus, the good news that Jesus brings? I am so willing to share other good news with them and my other friends who aren't Christian, and I want to have the same attitude with sharing my faith with them.

That has been one of my main struggles and prayers of this semester, and the message of beautiful feet was exactly the encouragement and reality check that I needed. I hope everyone is doing well and I miss you all!

Clean Counters

This week, I've been meditating on what exactly it means to be sanctified by Christ. What stuck out to me is an image from the lyrics of Jesus Paid It All: SIN HAD LEFT A CRIMSON STAIN, HE WASHED ME WHITE AS SNOW.

I feel like I've sung this a thousand times before this summer and just accepted it, like it was no big deal. But as I thought about this image, it made me think back to the service we did this summer and the love that we are called to live out here at home. For my Barneys, do you remember how often we had to clean? After every meal, every night, and as needed. We cleaned those boats so they could be a welcoming and inviting place for all. We worked hard, long hours not just so campers could hang out but so the Spirit could dwell. But, time and time again, those boats got wrecked, even and especially when we didn't expect it- usually right after we finished cleaning them. Those counters that we cleaned spotless, those floors we swept and mopped, found a way to dirty themselves up again seconds after we looked away.
When a camper stepped forward and apologized, I would say, "hey man, don't worry about it! I'll take care of it" but on the inside frustration began to build as more things like that happened.

This week, I've been checking myself a lot in those moments and fixing my eyes on Christ's example. I think of His relationship with Peter and how Peter denied Him three times. When Christ looked across that courtyard and locked eyes with Peter as the rooster crowed, shame and guilt formed in Peter's heart... but I don't think Jesus looked at him in condemnation. I think when they locked eyes, Jesus thought," Hey man, don't worry about. I'll take care of it." And as he thought that, he followed up by dying on the cross even while Peter was still dwelling in his self-inflected condemnation.
Like Peter, like those houseboats, we find a way to dirty ourselves up, even and almost especially right after we've already been sanctified. If it was up to us, we would clean the messes but roll our eyes as we did because the "as needed" cleaning can be so tedious.
I can't even imagine how much more of a mess I am for Christ to clean, and yet, I know when I am washed as white as snow, He does it willingly and He does it lovingly. Despite how often I make a mess of myself [which, to be honest, is like a thousand times a day], He doesn't get frustrated or angry with me. He doesn't roll His eyes like I would. He just says, "Hey man, don't worry about. I've taken care of it."

Philippians 2:6 says "Your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus".

"Where you feel you have stooped low to serve others, remember that Christ has stooped lower."
For as long as I've been home, the feeling of being a new creature in an old, familiar place hasn't left and I really hope it won't because although His Kingdom is not from this world(meaning we aren't of this world), it is FOR this world and so we should be too. Allow yourself to be broken and vulnerable, so you maybe wiped clean and sanctified as needed. In doing this you make yourself an inviting and welcoming person for all. In doing this we attract people to Christ and allow the Spirit dwell in us.

I love you and miss you all! You are prayed for and thought of daily. If you have any prayer requests, send 'em over :) I hope all is well

The least among the lowly

I don't know what the I am is this week... but I wanted to share with you what the Lord taught me about who I am yesterday:

Brennan Manning writes, "The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the whole moral problem and the epitome of a whole outlook on life.That I feed the hungry, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ - all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto Christ. But what if I should discover that the least amongst them all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the offenders, the very enemy himself - that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness - that I am the enemy who must be loved - what then?"

He goes on to say, "As a rule, the Christian's attitude is then reversed; there is no longer any question of love or long suffering; we say to the brother within us, "Raca" ["Worthless!"] and condemn and rage against ourselves. We hide it from the world; we refuse to admit ever having met this least among the lowly in ourselves."

I've read that probably 20-25 times, and I have never heard it like I did yesterday. I was so convicted by the reality of the self-hatred I fall into so easily. I would never look at another person and think, "Worthless!" and instantly hate them. And yet that is my attitude toward myself?! So backward, so wrong, so sinful.

Here was my realization: I am not the junk that I find in myself when I spend long enough in introspection. I am also not a person full of hatred towards others, nor should I be toward myself. I am, however, someone with a need for identity, truth, love, and full acceptance without a hint of rejection.

Brennan says that "Jesus discloses God's true feelings toward us. As we turn the pages of the Gospels, we discover that the people Jesus encounters there are you and me. The understanding and compassion he offers them, he also offers you and me."

And he concludes by saying that [my paraphrase] the longer I spend time in the presence of Jesus, the more accustomed I grow to his face, the less I will look elsewhere for identity and meaning because I will have discovered for myself that He is enough. And in that presence, I will delight in the discovery of what it means to live out of who I am really... who I am in Christ."

I live out of the truth of who I am really when I live in the presence of the I AM who created me, saved me, sustains me, and defines me. I am still learning who the person I am actually looks like... but I am at least learning how to have compassion for the self that I wish I wasn't, and I am trusting that's at least a step in the right direction!

Justified

Before you read anything else, I just want to say how encouraging it is to read all of these posts. I haven't posted in the last few weeks but as I catch up and read through these beautiful posts of pure truth in action, I know God is using and working through this blog to bless us and bring glory to Himself! Thank you to all who have been pouring your heart out. It's been such a joy to read! :)


I feel like my whole life, I've strived so hard to justify my actions and sins. Like Adam, I'd totally try to blame someone else for my own wrong choice. I wanted to save face! To look innocent and clean before others. I had a "deficit in identity".
My validation came from people and I was only pleased with myself when others were pleased with me.
PROBLEM!
Throughout Scripture, it says that no can stand blameless before God. How could we? He knows me better than I know myself. He's seen the unspoken thoughts and the selfish motives. He's even seen me when I thought I was alone! He's seen me like no one else.

HOLY JUSTIFICATION
COLOSSIANS 1:21-22
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²²he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him

Christ has interceded on my behalf. Where I once strived to appear blameless, Jesus made me truly immaculate. When I wanted to look innocent and clean before others, Jesus freely washed me with his own blood so I could be seen as holy and blameless before the God of the Universe. All in grace, He died so that I wouldn't have to stand alone and be condemned. Before the God who has seen it all, Jesus holds me and says "Spare him and take me. I will make him My own and he will be innocent. I've seen his silent thoughts and motives. I was even there when he thought he was alone. He isn't worthy of my love but I will lavish it on him." He sees me like no one else does.
If grace begets grace and God could calls us all His beloved immaculate, innocent children by the blood of Christ, then its our turn to see ourselves and each other in that identity, even and especially, in the worst of it as Jesus did.

For the first time.

A poem was read to me today one of the lines was, "Its like being called pretty or beautiful...no its like truly realizing what those words mean for the first time." I don't know the author of the poem otherwise I would totally give im credit but at that moment I had a num-chuck straight to my face.
I don't know why god chose that moment but he did.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-"
Grace saved us.
Because we have faith.
The faith isn't in ourselves.
It is in God.
Grace is a gift.
"Its like truly realizing what those words mean for the first time."
I don't if this made sense to you but it had rocked my world today.
Grace is a gift from the almighty creator. Its no longer just grace but its grace granted to us by the one King of Kings and creator of this awesome universe.

So I don't know if this is going to make a ton of sense, but today when I was reading in Ephesians, the idea of the gift of grace through faith reminded me of my high school pastor. Twice I have seen him give somebody a gift and tell them that they must have faith that the gift is actually there (example: faith that a gift card is actually loaded with money). One time the gift was there and the other time (giving somebody an iPod) it wasn't. The only difference is that God's grace is NEVER NOT there. We receive grace by faith in God, and as long as you believe in God you will receive it. Sure it's cool to go to church and MAYBE receive a gift from your pastor, I mean there's a kind of excitement in that, but how much cooler and exciting is it to DEFINITELY receive the most amazing gift of grace from God? I know I don't deserve it but because of my faith, I have grace from God, and what gift is better than that?

Silly Elizabeth, grace is for free!

This is my first post for the I Am statements. Sorry for the novel, I'm making up for lost time.

I think I just need to start by saying that God is so good. This whole idea of grace has really been on my heart for the past few weeks. You see, I was really confused a few days ago when the idea originally popped into my head. It has been ages since I have actively thought, "Hmm, maybe I am trying to earn grace." When I evaluate my life and still can't see it, somehow God still makes it known to me. Earning grace doesn't necessarily mean I am trying to be a better person or thinking straight up, "I need to do this better so that God will love me more." It comes from a place much deeper than that. It comes from a heart that is not willing to sacrifice. People who try to earn grace do not understand surrender. They (I) might see God exactly for who He is and still try to hold onto things and fix them. I think this especially happens in the midst of doing ministry. We get so caught up in serving the Creator that we forget our purpose for serving in the first place.

Today in class I had a random thought. We always talk about this concept of how salvation requires nothing of us. All we have to do is profess faith and boom, saved. But as I was sitting there, not paying attention to a single thing my teacher was saying, my head started spinning as I thought of how this could possibly be. What happened to James telling us that faith without works is dead? Or Jesus telling us that in order to follow Him we must pick up our cross daily? Those don't seem like free rides to me. Those seem like quite the opposite. As I was sitting there thinking all of these things, my mind suddenly calmed. Frustration at the seeming contradiction eased and I was left in a peace I have only known the Father to bring. It was then that I remembered my life is not my own. In order to recognize that grace is free, we must first realize that our lives are not ours to begin with. So when we find out that following God will cost us our lives, we can also rest in the fact that all we are really doing is relinquishing our position on a stolen throne. The art of surrender reminds us that God has everything under control. His grace is sufficient for all of us. Embrace weakness and live in submission.

(Fun fact, the title of this post was almost my status on facebook over the weekend. I couldn't figure out why God kept leading me to the idea of grace, so I didn't post it. When the idea came up again today, I still didn't understand. Today was my first time participating in even looking at the statements.)

SAVED

As I read through Ephesians 2:8 yesterday morning I wasn't really sure what part I would take with me or how God was going to use it. Since being at Biola I have had my idea of what a Christian should look like completely shattered. I keep comparing every person I meet with this idea of what I already think they should be. This has been exceedingly difficult because one of my roomates swears like a sailor and is constantly yelling profanities and on a desperate search for Biola's underground party scene. So yeah, its hard.

Aside from that random tangent, the reason this stuck out to me was the aspect of being SAVED. We are saved and in His arms simply by believing and its not by our works, but its by His GRACE. So if that means that these people I meet and are surprised to find they are Christian, its ok, because they have been saved by the same grace I have through their faith and that alone. They don't have to fit this idea or this role that I have unfairly placed on their head, they just have to believe and they fit the role Christ has prepared for them.

So anyways, I don't know if that made sense to anyone but me. But I love you all! Please if you need prayer about anything , shoot me a phone call or a text

-Haley

My Identity In Roles vs. The Eternal "I AM"

I never know quite where to start when typing a blog. I am an avid journaler, but in that case I just start and since its pen there is no taking it back or re-thinking wording... the thoughts just flow out onto the paper. On the computer however, I am given the chance to re-think and re-word and it ultimately ends up being so hacked up I never am happy with the product. So, fair warning. Apart from spelling mistakes I am going to just bang these thoughts in my head out to share. Not sure how on the "I AM" blog topic they will be, but I need to get them out somewhere and I just caught up reading and meditating on the last four weeks I AMs.

I think as a whole I am being severely nun-chucked in the face (not sure where that phrase came from in this blog, but i like it) by the overall concept of the I AMs. Its challenging to re-think who I am not in terms of the "I" but in terms of the "Him" and how I relate to Him. Its kindof funny that I was inspired to catch up on this blog today because I have been having somewhat of an identity crisis. Lately I have realized how caught up in a role I have been... for the last three years. I was an RA at Poly and long story short... now I am not. For nine months out of each of the last three years I lived and breathed Housing and my residents. Loved every second of it and learned/grew so much. But now... today is move-in day for freshman and (silly as it may sound) its really REALLY weird knowing I'm not going to be a part of that. I'm not even going to be taking the same classes with the same people anymore... talk about pace change from Quantum Mechanics last year to "Education in a Pluralistic Society" now. I am living off campus instead of on, which means my friends aren't living all around me within walking distance.

Altogether my point is that any sort of physical "I AM" related to my life in SLO that I had last year... is plain gone :) Didn't really realize thats why I've been feeling so blah the last few days until I printed out the I AM sheet again and began reading through them this morning (aka 11am). Suddenly I began feeling better, feeling more purposeful, feeling like I had an identity again... but not a superficial identity that I had become so comfortable and safe with over the last three years... but a deep, dynamic, life changing, eternal identity because rather than being grounded in a role it is grounded in the creator of the universe who simply is THE ORIGINAL AND ONLY I AM. With that in mind, I devoured the I AMs, drinking in their promises and the way they empower me to identify not of myself.

This weeks especially about grace is especially meaningful to me. I lived much of my life not really understanding grace because I saw the brokenness around me in the world and decided that I wasn't that broken... so what about grace? Then my life shattered and now it can be a daily struggle to rest in that grace and not fear, hide, or run away from my brokenness. His grace is enough. I need not anything else.

Whew. I needed to get that out. Sorry for the long post if you read all the way through. I got kinda teared up and the thoughts just kept pouring out. Love you guys. Thanks for creating this place to share :)

grace is a funny thing.

So...a friend of mine last night posted a note on Facebook titled "grace is a funny thing." it's perfect for the "I am" statement we just started. With her permission, I am sharing her  thoughts...because it's just so good. Here it is:

When you look up grace, there are a few definitions. 

Many say grace is a flowing movement that one possesses. Others say its unusual favor. 

Grace.

It’s a beautiful word in general. It flows beautifully. And it’s a beautiful thing. We can look in the bible and grace is clearly defined as undeserved favor with God.

We, horrible sinners, killers, liars, have favor with God...and we didn’t have to do anything besides choose. Can we just take a second to think about that? So what I’m saying is that all I have to do is make the choice to accept it, and its mine? I have favor with God, for free? Incredible. I feel like grace is a word that’s thrown around too often, much like love and I’m sorry. We use the word so often that is loses its really power. Grace is such an incredible, beautiful thing. Yet we just take it and say 'thanks God, catch ya on the flip side.' what is wrong with us?! This goes for me too. What if someone walked up to you and gave you $1,000, no strings attached, just out of love. Would we just grab the money and walk away, forgetting all about that person? If your answer was yes, well, I know some people you can talk to. So no, we wouldn’t just run away skipping and go on with our lives. I would run and tell the whole world that someone loved me so much that they gave me such an amazing free gift. See where I’m going with this yet? Guys, we have done nothing to deserve grace. Let me repeat that, NOTHING. Yet it’s ours for the taking because we are made clean and wonderful in the eyes of our creator. Whatttttttt. He gave us the ultimate gift, how can we not shout it at the top of a freaking mountain what He did?

“Your grace has found me just as I am, empty handed but alive in Your hands.”

His grace is a living action of a living God. His grace finds us, even when we are empty, even when we have nothing to offer. Sometimes we drag ourselves to His feet with nothing but our tears and broken hearts and plead for Him to help us and give us any amount of strength to just fight through another day here. And while we are so broken and we feel so dead, His grace makes us alive in His hands. No strings attached, He picks us up and loves us, end of story. There's no ifs, ands, or buts. He loves us when we are empty, He loves us when we sing Him praise, He loves us when the world crushes us, He loves us, always. He loves us because His grace finds us in any state, and makes us new. How convicting.

Grace.

There’s so much power in 5 simple letters that form the most beautiful gift ever given.

Ephesians 2:8 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Thats just whats been on my heart lately. "

Good stuff right there. I'm trying to get this girl on staff next year too! :)

It Is Finished!!

Here's some quick thoughts on "I am redeemed from the hand of the enemy." ...short and sweet.


Redeemed. to free from what distresses or harms. to free from captivity by payment of ransom. to help overcome something detrimental. to release from blame or debt. to free from the consequences of sin. (via Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

It Is Finished. Every time I thought about this "I Am," the first thing that came to my head was, "it is finished." I have been redeemed. How? The work at Calvary. When Jesus died, he redeemed me from the enemy. The enemy has no power over me. Jesus won that victory on the cross. The hand of the enemy has no grip on me, so where does that mean I am? ...in the arms of my Daddy. Because I am redeemed, I can rest in that embrace. And...if the enemy has no power over me, why do I fear? I have no reason to fear because I am loved by the father, and His perfect love casts out all fear! I am loved, and I am redeemed.

Love you all.

We won't be quiet

Sooooo...

redeemed.

Today for whatever reason it num-chucked me today.

I read Jordan's blog post about Beautiful Things and it resonated with me all day.

Then it totally slapped me during the silliest moment of the day. I was helping my little brother with his Algebra homework right after my dad had gotten on him for failing a test. My brother sat there frustrated as he totally didn't understand the problem. He told me that he was a failure. I was baffled and completely heartbroken. My brother thought he was a failure because he couldn't do a math problem. Then BOOM. I thought of how God tells us constantly that we aren't failures. No matter how small or big it is we aren't failures. Because we are REDEEMED. No matter how many times we don't take the opportunities He gives us. No matter how many times we mess up. No matter how many times we feel like failures. God redeems us and tells us that we rock. No matter how many times the devil gets in our head and tells us that we stink God comes in and saves the day. Sick much?

"Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe... cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and HE delivered them from their distress."

(Psalm 107:2-6)

AHHHHHHHH HE DELIVERS US. He tells the devil to gget out and then tells us that we are redeemed from whatever we were doing and tells us that we can be and are better. dskafjaskdfjasdlkfalskdjf AHHH GOD IS SO GOOD.

So moral of the story. My brother is redeemed. I am redeemed. YoU are redeemed. God redeems you.

So yeah.

Love you guys.

You all are amazing!

Beautiful Things

Something that really hit me this week (well... yesterday to be exact) was the idea of being CONTINUALLY redeemed. I read through the passage to go along with the redeemed theme, and I thought it was cool, but it wasn't until yesterday at church that I finally got it. Like, really got it. The band played "Beautiful Things," which is an amazing song about how God makes beautiful beings out of us, even though we sin and have so much baggage, he still manages to make us beautiful.

"You make me new, You are making me new." These are the lyrics that finally defined redemption for me. It is being saved, and being in a constant process of being made new every single day. This was so cool for me, because lately I feel like I've been doing so many things wrong... by not completely trusting Jesus, not sharing with my friends about Him as much as I should, judging others... the list goes on and on. But through that song God totally spoke to me and told me that becoming more like him is a process. A process that doesn't happen overnight, but instead one that will be a continuous journey throughout my life. He is making me new right now, and will continue to do so every day of my life. I am so thankful for a God who loves me despite my many imperfections, and who redeems me every single day. I don't deserve or understand this amount of love, but I don't think I ever will, so I just accept it and live in Jesus' love.

A child of God

I know I'm a week behind, but Week 1's I Am has lingered for week 2...

On Monday, I read Romans in my quiet time. Romans 1:21 says, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

This verse really convicted me. For though I know God, I have not been honoring him as God in all areas of my life. I have not been letting him be God, I have not been faithful to his daily calling on my life, etc. I have not been giving thanks, and my thinking about myself, God, and the world, has been futile. I wasn't sure on Monday how that related to being a child of God (carrying forward the I Am from the week before), but I could sense that there was some type of call to be more of a child of God that I was choosing to be. Almost as though living as a child of God stands in opposition to living as Romans 1:21 describes.

This week, I've continued to be mindful of this child of God imagery. I don't get like a distinct picture of what that looks like, but there is a distinct feel or sense that I have when I know the Holy Spirit is bringing that truth to mind. Yeah, I'm redeemed from the hand of the enemy, but I haven't been able to shake that I am a child of God. I am called to live as a child: I am called to live out of trust in my father, to let him be God, and to give thanks in all things.

My times with the Lord have been pretty dry in the last 1-2 weeks, and I couldn't/can't quite put my finger on why. I know some of it is the ebb and flow of authentic relationship, but it has seemed to go a step beyond that. But this morning, the image of being a child (which I can't actually describe, other than to say there's a distinct sense that goes along with it) resurfaced. It was like my soul resonated with the truth of being a child of God, and I almost pictured myself standing as a four year old in front of my heavenly Father. My hands are behind my back, and I have my four year old serious face on trying to tell my Father that I'm not keeping anything from him. It's nothing big... it's just one extra crayon when he's asked me to hand them all over... but he's asking for it nonetheless and he knows as well as I do that I'm holding back.

There is no completion or happy ending to this image, except to say that I walked away this morning with a clearer understanding of this I Am statement and what it looks like to actually live out of the truth of it.

Emily you are a child of God... and you know exactly what being a child of God requires of you. So hand to your Father what he has gently asked for, and patiently waits for. Because neither of you are going anywhere until you do.

Oh the futile, defiant thinking of a four year old!

The Daily Blinding

Our lives, as characterized by living in a world surrounded by sin, deceit and pride is essentially a deep dark pit. For those who have seen Sponge Bob Square Pants, there is an episode where Mr. Crabs builds a well in order to make money, for greed but thats beside the point, the point is that he sends Sponge Bob down to the bottom to collect money as people throw it in. Now think about the darkness, the loneliness and the emptiness at the bottom of that well. Completely surrounded and fully engulfed in that darkness, and in that place often we are worked on, our hearts are transformed. "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into spacious place; He rescued me because he delighted in me (Psalm 18:16-19)." Now I am a big imagery guy if you cannot tell and what I think of when I imagine our God rescuing us is the same as being slingshot out of darkness and into that blinding glorious light. How warm, how inviting that feels to know that we are no longer in the place of disaster, submerged in deep waters. The hardest part is knowing where to go and what to do first, how to better seek after Him, we are blinded by the light which we slowly accustom our eyes too. This can also be somewhat of a terrifying idea though because we are never supposed to grow to comfortable in our faith, we are always supposed to seek a deeper relationship with Him who is the creator of all, our Father. I suppose that this is why he makes life such an adventure though, so that we may not only have to come to Him once, but daily because we are not perfect people in the slightest. Every day we need to accustom ourselves to the light that is the truth of our God.

Bought with the Precious Blood of Christ

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain.
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again.

And as He stand in VICTORY,
sin's curse has lost it's grip on me!
For I am His and He is mine,
bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in Life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,
could ever pluck me from His hand,
'Til He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I stand


These lyrics speak to me the most about being redeemed. To be redeemed means to be bought back or to be recovered. I'll only ever want to buy back or recover something if I really think it's worth the investment or if I desire it. Through His grace, God calls us worthy and beloved. He says we are worth the investment of His one and only Son. Through His death and resurrection, and in our new found redemption, as Romans 8 said, we are no longer obligated to act in our sinful nature- no guilt in life, no fear in death. THIS IS THE POWER OF CHRIST IN US!
It's everlasting, always faithful and strong!

I will stand, I will stand.
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground, all other ground,
is sinking sand, is sinking sand.
So I stand!

Click Here to Redeem

The word "redeemed" always makes me think of a gift; more specifically, a gift card...probably to iTunes. Most importantly, though, it emphasizes a purchase, not made by you yourself, but one made on your behalf that you get to freely enjoy. Now, I'm not saying that grace is a gift card, but I am saying that because of God's great love, we get to freely enjoy his purchase of us, in blood, back from the hands of death.
But it is not enough to say that we are saved from death. Rather, we were saved for life! Life to the full (John 10:10); to be inhabited, to not be our own.
I was wandering through Jeremiah, praying for God to bless this new journey I am on. I believe that in Jeremiah 29:11, God is addressing plans for our souls far more than he is concerned about being a script writer; and in facing my future, I find comfort in the fact that grace means I can never screw up God's plan - He is true to his word even when I am not to mine. His grace and goodness is more than enough to accomplish his will in the times when I have Stockholm syndrome, when I fall back into the way that I behaved when I was a slave to sin, before my redemption.
Somedays I treat redemption like a gift card: something that happened once, benefitted me, and, yeah, maybe I listen to the songs I got every once in a while, but it is not something that's on the forefront of my mind. Instead, what I should do and what I desire to do is to face each tomorrow remembering the rest of the passage of in Jeremiah about God's plan for me (context! gotta love it)
"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declared the LORD, 'And I will bring you back from captivity!' " Jeremiah 29:12-14a
I AM A CAPTIVE SET FREE.

This song has been on my mind in relation to this week's statement. It's called "Exodus" by Bethany Dillon. And maybe some of you know it, but I'd encourage you to listen to it. Hear the struggle, the hope, and the joy of being freed from captivity.

http://www.myspace.com/bethanydillonmusic/music/songs/exodus-faithful-5741066

Imagine literally being a hostage in a distant land where your language is not spoken. You are cut-off from hope and helpless.
But there is someone who rescues you. Sets you free. You did not initiate your own salvation; rather it is by grace you have been saved.
This is not some one-time event that you will forget. It is a single life-altering action that will inform your every decision from now on.
This is not something you just keep to yourself. You share it with everyone, that they too may find themselves joyful in redemption.
You had a near-death experience. Live everyday as a step further from those chains, only by the power of your redeemer; and as a step closer to the cross.
Saved from death to die to self so we might be saved for life in Christ, who himself is life.

A Father's Love

God's love is strong. Those four words can speak volumes if you let them. A father's love is also strong. A father's love is strong in a way that ushers in discipline and care. The love that a father shows his child is always backed with care and the undying revelation that it is unconditional. There is absolutely nothing that can come between or belittle the love a father has towards his children.

The simple fact and words that God declares us as His children, is awesome. That same unconditional love, is right there. That same love that is strong, is right there. That SAME love that disciplines us, is there. I find that the kind of things that usually get through to me the most are instances of tough love. It appears that "tough love" seems to get down to the core of things, no sugar coating (TOUGHNESS), and gets to the point. A lot of things get in the way, but tough love pushes right through those things to get to the inner self and tell the inner self what's up. I guess what I'm trying to get at with the whole tough love thing is that, God shows us tough love sometimes, but the key to tough love is that it is always backed by the caring aspect of love too. Because the second word of the phrase "tough love" is, LOVE. And we all know that there is pretty much nothing better than the Father's love.

Being a child of God is AMAZING. And I am always super thankful and feel so blessed whenever I stop for a second and think about how lucky I am, because the creator of the universe created, AND still loves me, forever and ever. Do you know how many Lego creations I used to make as a kid? I'm an only child, so it was a lot. And I definitely did not love every single creation I made. So the fact that God keep creating and loving is such a warming feeling.

I miss y'all a lot!!!! I wish I could be in California to hang out with y'all.

Heavenly Father

I don't even know where to start... This I am statement hits me hard and was slapping me all up and down the lake this summer... I got up to Shasta for my session and really began to miss my dad more than usual. It was as if the being surrounded by the trees and clear waters took me back to when I was little and we would camp in Sequoia. But every time I would get to that point up at Shasta God would remind of this I am statement. It was as if He intentionally brought me up to Shasta to show me that He is my Father and I am his son. Its taken almost two months to even begin unpacking what that really means and how to live in that. But I can tell you that our Heavenly Father is good and full of Love! He desires to be our dads and teach us how to be men and women.

How sick and gnarly (and all those other words that would apply) is that God, The creator of the universe calls us his sons and daughters!?!?!?!

my daddy's love

When I was little I would always try to convince my dad that I loved him more than he loved me. But he told me that I would never fully grasp how much more he loved me until I had children of my own. Now that I'm older I understand that there is a love that a parent has for their child that is so much more than a kid can understand. And this love is so much greater and so much harder to grasp with our heavenly father.

Its crazy how the God of the universe not only calls us His children and that we get to call Him daddy, but He loves each of us so much more than we can even understand. Now as I am growing in my faith, I am seeing how great that love is for His children, but I'm pretty sure I will never be able to completely grasp how much our daddy loves us no matter what we do. I'm just glad that my daddy and His love will never go away!

I love and miss you all so much! This blog is so encouraging and I cannot wait to read more!

Waaaaiiit A Second

First of all, let me say I have not had Internet for a week, and I was SO excited yesterday when the Comcast guy left my home to jump on here and read this blog. It's such a blessing to continue hearing how God is moving in everyone's lives!!

During my Monday quiet time, I read over the Romans passage and then coincidentally (NOOOTT), a passage in Hebrews that I read that morning talked about being a son (daughter) of God. I thought this week God would continue to reveal to me how loved I am as His daughter and just the...sweetness of that. But God decided to remind me of the harder part of being a daughter of Christ.

"In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:

My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

because the Lord disciplines those he loves,

and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Hebrews 12: 4-6

Waaaaiiitt a second, but didn't you say you're my daddy? And he says yes, I did. And that is exactly why I want to discipline you, to REBUKE you...because that IS love.

"For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the FATHER OF OUR SPIRITS and live!" Hebrews 12:7-9

Oh man, I could quote this whole thing. The Father of our Spirits, and it's my soul that He's caring about. It goes on to say this discipline is painful but that it "produces a harvest of righteousness and peace." That's what my daddy wants for me. Righteousness and peace. And so post-houseboating He is continuing to rebuke me, to show me my faults, to change me. To encourage me to resist my sin to the point of SHEDDING BLOOD. He pleads with me to keep my eyes on my Father so He can produce such an amazing harvest in my soul. So I guess I lied...partly. God did reveal the harder part of being a daughter but perhaps the sweetest part. That He intends such good for me and knows exactly how to bring me to the sweetness of His Kingdom. Sounds like a pretty good dad to me.

me? child of God?

for me when i am reading about how our Lord is our daddy i instantly question why?
i think of all the times i fall short, i mess up, i utterly disobey or deny his presence and i
think after all those times, after all those things, he still calls me his child. [major question mark on that one] i think of how disappointed my earthly father could be when i do these things and then on a grander [much much grander] scale of how God feels. it blows my mind that after all of my downfalls Christ still calls me his child, his daughter. i am nun-chucked at the fact that his mercy and grace extends beyond all possible failures and imperfections and that he loves me regardless. its so beautiful! and more than i could ever ask for, but theres God for ya, always blowing our minds with his abundant love.

i am a child of God.
i am a son of God.
[despite all my sins and convictions he still calls me his son, or daughter in this case]

john 1:12 says:
"yet to all who receive Him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God."

galatians 3:26:
"so in Christ Jesus you are all children of God, through faith."

1 John 3:1
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."


all we have to do is believe in his name and he bestows this title of child upon us.
how gracious is he! he lavishes his love upon us. that is the ultimate father right there.
one that loves unconditionally, one that calls us sons and daughters though we are underserving, one whose grace and mercy extends through any downfall, and one who cherishes his precious creation.

amen to that.

That's My Boy

A journey through the I AM statements:

So I don't know if you guys have ever heard the song "Cats in the Cradle," but it's honestly the saddest song I have ever heard. What always gets me about it, though, isn't exactly the story of it. There's a line at the end of it where the singer calls his son "my boy," and it's then that the eyes get watery and the chills migrate to everywhere on my body. Something about that phrase just melts my heart. Especially when it's used by my dad in a letter he hid under my pillow in my dorm. But when a father calls his son "my boy," I can't help but think that that is one of the most intimate, albeit short, expressions of fatherly love that there is.

Fatherly love had a huge impact on my life this summer, and it still does today. In week 6, Josiah gave a message about the prodigal son, and that story became the body of my own story. When I was working through my testimony, I made this page in my journal that still fills my heart to look at. Essentially it's the words "THAT'S MY BOY" scrawled across a page and all around those three big words are written this:

"That's my son, whom I love and who has returned home. He was lost and is found; he was dead and is alive. I don't care about your sins, I don't care about your rationalizations or excuses, all that matters to me is that you're home safe and sound. You are forgiven, and your guilt is forgotten. I don't care what you've done; come and dwell in my house and live the life that I have prepared for you. You are my son, my boy; I made you and I bought you with my own disgrace and the blood of my son so that you could return home to me safely and live in my arms. Your sins are paid for; from the grave I have risen victoriously for you. I am patient, I am kind, I always protect, I always persevere, I never fail. I am love. Through my grace you are saved; the disgrace of the cross and the blood of my son are your forgiveness, your salvation, your redemption. You're my son. My boy. And I love you."

God used my story to show me just how much He loved me, and to show me that He accepted me and welcomed me as His son. Hold in your head the image of the father tearfully embracing his son, weeping because he has returned and pulling him closer, holding him tighter at every opportunity. The father whispers through the tears, "My boy's come home; I love you." Now imagine that that's you. You're the child. You are His beloved, and He will never, ever let you go.

Clinging to my Daddy.

God spoke to me a lot this summer about being his child. My weeks on the lake were characterized by me realizing the absolute truth in the statement "I am a child of God." And then running into his open arms, feeling the embrace, and resting in his fatherly love. After giving my driver message during week 8 on this exact passage, I felt like I had a good grasp of me being his daughter and the need for me to cling to my daddy. But God totally numb-chucked me again while I was a barney on the Delta for the last week of camp.

My week on the Delta was the toughest week I've ever had on the water. Through a host of different situations I felt alone, unsupported and without purpose. I struggled a lot with finding a sense of why I was there. Prior to the week starting, I was reminded to not cling to a role, but cling to a person. And I understood that, I'd been hearing it all summer...and I wasn't a driver anymore, I couldn't cling to the position I had been in all summer. I thought, "I got it, don't cling to a role." In my head I had it down. Throughout the week, I realized (with the help of some other staff) that I wasn't clinging to a role...but I also wasn't clinging to my daddy. I was clinging to my driver team, I was clinging to the place of Shasta, and I was clinging to the experiences I had throughout the summer.

By the end of the week, I was broken in a million pieces, but I was in my daddy's arms. I had no where else to go, no one else to run to, nothing else to cling to. I ran back to my daddy and I clung to him with all I had.

Yeah, God called me to the Delta...but ultimately he called me back to himself, to his loving embrace. And I had no idea how far away I was.

Being at home, this has continued to challenge me. The challenge of looking nowhere but Him for that fatherly love, the challenge of not clinging to what happened this summer or what is to come in SLO. I know that I need to cling to my daddy and rest in his arms. And honestly, there's no where else I'd rather be.

Crowned with Love and Power (ROMANS 8:11-17)

I AM A CHILD OF GOD! YAHWEH IS MY FATHER. HE IS MY ABBA! The King of the Universe loves me so much that He adopted me into His family and crowned me with Love and the Power of the Holy Spirit.
All other creation was spoken into existence, but from the very beginning, we were made different. The Lord God took up a heap of dust from the ground and formed us gently in His hand- not one muscle, bone or ligament was over looked- everything was intricately woven together. Once the frame was set, He could have stopped there and called His work good like everything else, but He kept going. He filled us with the Breathe of Life, and He called us His masterpiece. We are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God and from our very conception, He has fathered us and protected us as His own. Even while we were unaware, He loved us and called out to us. As Christ, he lived, bled, and died to buy us back from our sin nature. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, now lives in you! By the same power of that same spirit, we were adopted and no longer obligated to do what our sinful nature urges us to do. HIS SPIRIT IS GREATER AND STRONGER THAN SIN NATURE! He has already overcome the world with His Power and Love.
"Child of God" is a title of endearment, identity and authority we have been crowned with by grace. Because of it, we should not live like cowering, fearful slaves anymore- You should behave instead like God's very own children- Bold, Fearless, Confident, Humble and Beloved! You have been crowned as a prince or princess with Love and Power.

"And since we are his children, we will share his treasures... But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering." Romans 8:17

"In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have already overcome the world." John 16:33

This I AM Statement, totally took me for a loop. When I unpacked it with a friend last week, I felt so nun-chucked. I took it as a challenge to always remember to live boldly- seeking my validation in Him alone, which is definitely something I struggle with and is my biggest prayer request. This was the perfect first statement to start with and I can't wait to see what else He has in store for us in this devo :)
I love you and miss you all. God bless you and keep you!!!

Daddy.

So I don't know about you guys but this summer God nunchucked me with Romans 8.

So the fact that its the first "I am" statement is priceless...

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry 'Abba, Father.'"

Romans 8:15-16

AHH!!!

First off He has blessed us with the "Spirit of sonship" we no longer have to be fearful. He is there protecting us just like my earthly father would do for me but to the 100000000th power. He is always with us, loving us, encouraging us, and calling us sons and daughters of his kingdom!!

Second..."Abba"

this word gives me chills every time I think of it. This word means simply "daddy" it is so unbelievably intimate...and we get to call the CREATOR of the ENTIRE universe...daddy. Our daddy is with us always. He is protecting us wherever we go. He is walking next to me when I'm walking to class. He is always there.

Daddy.

We are children of God.

We are children of the creator of the universe.

We are children of the King of Kings.

We are prince and princesses in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Ummm yes.

That is awesome.

God is great.

Add Two to the Family Tree

“The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:16)

When you were born, you were held in your mother’s arms, and soon after you were passed into your father’s caring nurturing and ever-faithful arms. Now think about that Father who is holding you not as your heavenly father, but your heavenly Father (granted this may be a little hard to picture His face). Your brother, Christ, is standing next to Him, looking over you with caring eyes and you know in that moment that these people/person will lay down their life for you. What an intimate relationship you begin to cultivate. Personally, I like to think that Jesus is walking next to me wherever I go, sitting in the car next to me as I drive, and yes if the car is full, then that means He is on the hood. For a long time I had this image of a God who was far away, because He is whole separate from us except through Jesus. Lately I have come to the knowledge that he is indeed more intimate and close than I had imagined, instead of being just a puppeteer, he is a teacher, one who ever loving lets you choose how you want to do something, and then shows you the proper way if your way does not coincide with his. He does not grow angry; instead he must have a sense of humor, for his irony is ever present.  He is your father, your brother, and in a way he is you as the Holy Spirit works within you. How’s that for intimate? 

I AM statements.

Okay so if you somehow lost the I AM statement sheet here they are =]

1. A child of God (Romands 8:16)

2. Redeemed from the hand of the enemy (Psalms 107:2)

3. Forgiven (Colossians 1:13-14)

4. Saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8)

5. Justified (Romans 5:1)

6. Sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11)

7. A new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17)

8. Partaker of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)

9. Redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)

10. Delivered from the powers of darkness (Colossians 1:13)

11. Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)

12. A son of God (Romans 8:14)

13. Kept in safety wherever I go (Psalm 91:11)

14. Getting all my needs met by Jesus (Philippians 14:19)

15. Casting all my cares on Jesus (1 Peter 5:7)

16. Strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Eph 6:10)

17. Doing all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)

18. An heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17)

19. Heir to the blessing of Abraham (Galatians 3:13-14)

20. Observing and doing the Lord's commandments (Deut 28:12)

21. Blessed coming in and blessed going out (Deut 28:6)

22. An heir of eternal life ( 1 John 5:11-12)

23.Blessed with all spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3)

24. Healed by His stipes (1 Peter 2:24)

25. Exercising my authority over the enemy (Luke 10:19)

26. Above only and not beneath (Deut 28:13)

27. More than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)

28. Establishing God's World here on earth (Matt 16:19)

29. An overcomer bu the blood of the Lamb and the Word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11)

30. Daily overcoming the devil (1 John 4:4)

31. Not moved by what I see (2 Corinthians 4:18)

32. Walking by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)

33. casting down vain imaginations (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

34. Bringing every thought into captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5)

35. Being trasformed by renewing my mind (Romans 12:1-2)

36. A laborer together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9)

37. The righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)

38. A imitator of Jesus (Eph 5:1)

39. The light of the world (Matt 5:14)

40. Blessings the Lord at all times and continually praising the Lord with my mouth (Psalm 34:1)

41. Crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)

42. Free (Galatians 5:1)

43. Created for good works (Ephesians 2:10)

God said "I AM that I AM" (exodus 3:14)

Jesus said, "I am the Way the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6)

TOMORROW! SO STOKED!

OK so here is the sitch...(kim possible anyone?)

We are going to start this amazing journey tomorrow!!

So all I ask of you is to post when you feel like God moves you to. We will do one "I Am" Statement a week, read the verse that goes a long with the statement and maybe the chapter or whatever you feel you need. Then see how God reveals this truth to you throughout the week, finally tell us about it!! I am so excited to go through this with you guys, to continue to grow in fellowship and love! AHHHHH IM SO EXCITED!

okay so

remember.

YOU are a CHILD of GOD.

Lets start this craziness!

-Micaela

This is EPIC

Soon we begin!