"The Earth explodes

She cannot hold Him!

And all therein is placed beneath Him

And death itself no longer reigns

It cannot keep the ones he gave himself to save

And as the universe shatters the

Darkness disolves

He alone will be honored

We will bathe in his splendor

As all heads bow lower still

All heads bow lower still"

( The lyrics and intensity behind this song get me every time)
Lower still- My Epic 

____NatalieEmma____

Forgiveness

"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? “Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21-22 

Forgiveness like this is a hard concept to grasp. To be able to forgive someone over and over again. No matter how many times they mess up, no matter how many times they hurt you. We are called to forgiveness. 

What a hard concept to grasp. But if you put it in the eyes of Jesus, that is what He does for us. Even if we talk poorly about him, try to lie to him, attempt to hide things from him, or knowingly do something that hurts him. He forgives us." Be Joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12 No matter what is going on in your life. I pray that God would bring peace into your heart. Have your hope placed in Christ, have your roots in his love. And in every season, bear fruit that will honor and glorify his name. You are children of the Almighty God. John 7:38 says that if you place your heart in Christ, then out of your heart will flow rivers of living water.

So I challenge you to look up to Christ in every season. Forgive those who hurt you. Honor them, love them, and bless them as best as you can. Ask God for the Ability to forgive the people who hurt you, 

Ask Him for the courage to love even when you are in pain. For this is Gods will for you.

 " Bless those who curse you, bless them and do NOT curse them." (Romans 12:14) "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who hurt you." (Matthew 5:44) "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, and do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you." Luke 6:27-28
--NatalieEmma

"I have been thinking hard about us trading places. Maybe I could wear Your beauty, if You put on my shame. Jesus, I've been trying so hard to look like You that I almost missed the worst of what I put You through. You didn't die for sins, You died covered in them. A prideful, lying thief, gasping out my final breath."

Alone by My Epic
-BrookeAnn

Jesus, You're beautiful.

Thankkffffullllnnnessssss

                 ^{Psalm 16
7} I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
⁸ I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful^[b] one see decay.
¹¹ You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

          

             Okay, so recently, I've found that when I read that verse, I'm reading a list of things to be thankful for. How cool is that? When your day proves to be hard, stressful or frightening, it's nice to know that God has lists of reasons to be thankful. God has recently been highlighting the things, people and experiences in my life that are worth being joyful about. It's easy to fall into the cycle of sadness. It's simple to point out our frustrations, hurts and disappointments. However, It's so worth it and rewarding to recognize the good things. I've really been thinking about that idea. Lists. If I'm being completely honest, I'm a list person. I write my days down. I write my groceries down. I write lists for almost everything. So that made me wonder. What about my mental list? What kind of a list am I making for each day. Is it a list of hurt, frustration and anxiety beat down with depression? Or is it a list of thankfulness, joy and courage? I decided to start making a list. I'm writing down (mentally and physically) a list of good things for each day. It has shown me how to be truly thankful for each day and the people in it.
             And, with that I'd like to challenge you. If you can, grab your favorite pen and a piece of paper. Write down your highlights or lessons learned. Most especially, you should write down the things you're thankful for.

My list for today:
1. God's continuous grace for me.
2. My lack of extraneous amounts of school.
3. My keyboard.
4. My family's Mississippi gumbo.
5. My Dad's job ending for now.
6. Sleep.
7. A seemingly never ending poking war.
8. Random text messages from fantastic friends.
9. Singing..sometimes;)
10. Warm sweatshirts and blankets.
11. Good friends.
12. Choir music covers.
13. Slowly but steadily learning guitar.
14. My Bible.
15. The Left Behind Series.
16. Good music.
17. This connect the dots game. It's harder than it sounds.

       I would encourage y'all to get your thankfulness grove on. It's fun and I know it helped me to recognize God's hand in my life.

                       Colossians 2

⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him,

⁷ rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

 ANNNDDDDD, so ends my late-night thoughts. Goodnight, everyone. Happy Monday.

-BrookeAnn

Not my own will, father. But yours.

It is in these moments, when we are at our absolute breaking point. When the tears are flowing and our hearts our hurting. When we feel as though we are beginning to lose all that we have ever known. That we as people, must turn our face to God, we must humble our hearts before him, and we must lay down the desires of our hearts.
Any one who knows me knows that I cannot stand to see hurting, broken, or lonely people. My heart is for those who have seen the depths of depression, loneliness, and confusion.
Because of this, I am currently learning how to be the friend that God has called me to be. I am learning how to suffer not for my own name, but for his. God is bringing me into a place where I am used by him to tend to the broken. And it is by far the most humbling experience of my life.
As a Christian, I am a strong believer in that fact that we have to place our roots of happiness in the love of God, and not on the happenings of this world. I live by the Bible verse 1 Thessalonians 5:16 " Always be Happy." Now, That isn't to say that I am never sad. I could never claim that without being a liar. However God had shown me through many personal encounters with sadness, and what feels like the death process, that just as Jesus was strong in the midst of death, so must I be when I am face to face with something that seems bigger then me. We all have our battles, we all face what feels like spiritual death, but it is in those moments. When we feel like the smallest people in the world. That we must discipline ourselves to not look side to side and try to find fulfillment in this world, but we must look up to the Creator of the world.
For " Jesus did not die on the cross so that we wouldn't have to, he died on the cross to show us how."
Pick up your cross and bear it with honor, even when beuing brutally whipped. Scream out the name of Jesus and pray for those surrounding you. Look up. Look up to the one who made you, the one that you depend on for your strength, pick up your cross and truly learn what it means to suffer for Christs sake and for the establishment of the Kingdom of heaven,

Phillipians 4:5-7  " Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

BE ENCOURAGED. YOU ARE LOVED MORE THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE. AND GOD IS WITH YOU EVERY. STEP. OF. THE. WAY. 
--Natalie Soto

“You are a unique creation made by God to live and not simply exist. You soul longs to find its ultimate purpose. It will not rest until you do. Your soul craves its destiny. Your soul desires. It always will. You were created as a creative being. You were made to grow, to dream, to achieve. Your soul is letting you know you come from God and your life is intended to be God-sized and God-inspired."-- Erwin Mcmanus 

Genesis 3:8

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

We went over this chapter in my worldviews class this week, and I got caught up in this verse. I've been reading it every morning since. I wonder what the sound of the Lord is. To think that with every animal in existence was living in the same garden as them, yet they didn't even have to see the Lord coming. They heard him, and they knew who it was. He didn't even have to speak. His very existence and presence was a sound that they were familiar with. 

So profound. I  want to know him that well. To the point where he doesn't have to say a word, I don't have to look around the room and see him. I want to know the sound of his presence so well, that there isn't a doubt in my mind that he is there.

I want to learn the sound of my King. 

--Natalie 

“In this world, it is not what we take up, but what we give up that makes us rich.”-Henrey Ward Beecher

" A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. "

C. S. Lewis

Challenge #1

Who does God say I am?
I encourage ALL of you to take the challenge of learning what God says about you. I just completed this challenge and it has helped me in so many ways it is ridiculous. One of the most profound ways that this has helped me is not in my own Identity issues, but in the way I view others. Often times my perception of others gets blurred by personal feelings, wounds, and issues I have towards that person. I  start to lose veiw of who God says they are, and I start to see them how I want to. I no longer think of them as citizens of heaven (Phillipians3:20), Blameless before God (Ephesians 1:4), or as a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 6:19). But instead I think of them as terrible people, I blame them for everything that is going on in my personal life, and I lose sight of what God says about them.
So this challenge has helped me not only learn to love myself, but it has helped me learn to love others. It has helped me to see people as Christ sees them. It helped me learn to love people in the midst of arguments.
I STRONGLY urge everyone to do this.
Maybe sometime next month I will post my list of who GOD says that we are through him.
--Natalie

Don't Hold Back.

If we want to do something, we can. There are no limits to what you can accomplish if you honestly put your mind to it. Also, what you want matters. What you do matters. If you're striving for something, than go for it with all you've got. Get yourself out of your routine of normality and bring yourself into the life you want to live. No one is holding you back. The only person capable of holding you back from what you want to do is yourself.
1 Corinthians 15:58 -"With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort."

-Brooke

“It can turn away sin, addiction, depression, or suicide. It can undo every lie, and heal every wound. It’s hope.”

--Mattie Montgomery

Christlike Community:)

Proverbs 27:9(b) "A sweet friendship refreshes the soul."

I'm trying to understand that point of Christianity and community. What does it mean when we have hundreds of people in church when people are afraid to share a prayer request. What does it mean when we've got a hundred kids in youth group and everyone is frustrated because they feel unimportant? As Christians, we're called to Christ-like relationships. We are called to specifically go out of our ...way to make sure the people in our church or just the people in our lives aren't drowning. We are called to more than simply drowning in our own frustrations, because it's all to easy to do so, trust me. I know. We were made to make a continual difference in the lives of those around us. Right now, we have a duty. We need to surround people with Christ's love. Because by doing so, we create a community of love, joy, peace, understanding, encouragement and we emulate Christ-like relationships. I know I'm going to need God's grace to start living the actions that I'm speaking, but I know that He will freely give it. Let's get started.
2 Corinthians 13:14 The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

-Brooke

• “The basis of courage is individual initiative. If we cannot act alone, we cannot act together”-John C. Maxwell

A relationship with God is not a one way deal,

·           We have to make sacrifices if we want more of him. We can’t only hold ourselves to a high standard of morality when we are standing in a building that we call church. We can’t have more respect for the building then for our God. Why do we though? Why do we as people act like we can hide from his presence? Why do we walk out of church to say a curse word? Why do we hide in our rooms to set unholy things before our eye? Why do we turn off the lights in our bathroom when we bring harm to ourselves? Why do we act like we are hiding when we sin against our creator? Psalms 139:7 says “ where can I go to escape your spirit? If I were to climb to the highest heavens you would be there, and if I were to go to the deepest depths you would be there." There is no where, and I mean no where, that you can go where God is not present. He hears you when you praise him, and he hears you when you curse him. But do not be discouraged, for our God is a loving God. He forgives us. Isaiah 55:6-11 says that if we give up our evil ways God will forgive us. HE WILL BE MERCIFUL  Ephesians 4:1 says to live a life worthy of the calling that we have been given and to not live like those without God. In that same chapter, verses 23-24 it says to let the Holy spirit change your way of thinking, and it says that we are created to be like God, so we must please him with our lifestyles. 1 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says not to ignore Gods spirit, but to accept his words.

We are called to live holy lifestyles.  We are not called to “ Sunday service lifestyles.” We are called to sacrifice things for the glory of God.

So this week, be mindful of the fact that God is ever-present in your life. Place your honor for God above the level of respect you have for church building. If you know in your heart that your words are not pleasing to him, do your best not to say them. And thank God EVERY DAY for his mercy

It is critical to our Christianity that we continue to pursue Gods spirit with everything in us.

  Recently, I have felt that God has been putting a really weighty word on my hearts. This is what I feel he is saying:

God has called us to more than what we are living up to. We have become content with the bare minimum. We stopped pushing, we stopped fighting, and we started looking at things and saying “It might not be fantastic, but it is good enough.” We have created comfort zones in the presence of God. We’ll reach a new level and then instead of continuing on into Gods presence, we stop. We become comfortable. We create a comfort zone in the presence of God. Romans 12:11-12 says to eagerly follow the Holy spirit and to serve the Lord, it says to be patient in times of trouble and to never stop praying. Psalms 149:6 says to praise the Lord with a song in your heart, and a sword in your hand. So why do we stop fighting. Why do we stop pushing. Why do we reach a new level in Gods presence and then stop. We have started to limit the amount of passion we put into it. We use the term “breakthrough” as though it is something that only happens once. We walk around and talk like the only days that we can go deeper into the presence of God is on Saturday at youth group.

So this is my challenge to you: pick up your sword and sing your song. For God does not stop moving just because we do. We need to be ready, we need to be pushing, we need to eagerly follow the Holy spirit and serve the Lord. Do not wait for breakthrough, but rather be carriers of the kingdom of heaven. Speak out, stand up, and do not be silent.