"Take these dreams

This is me.

All I am, here at your feet.

Take me as I am, with you I want to be.

Of all this world it's you I want to see.

So I'm here, here on my knees.

And all I have is all I am In you."

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because,

having stood the test,

that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has

PROMISED to those that love him."

James 1:12 

God, it is the cry of my heart to see you. I want to be your warrior. I want to be a carrier of the Kingdom of God, humble me so that I may rely on you for all that I am, and not on myself. You are the Lord of my heart, You are the Lord of my life, and I am not alone in this. I surrender everything I am to your grace, Father. Even though I may be discouraged, it is in YOU that I find joy, not in my circumstances. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear what you have for me. 

--NatalieEmma

Reading the Bible

Recently, reading the Bible has been a challenge for me to do. With all of the challenges and hardships that are currently coming into my life, I've been fussing at God to much ( I don't know if you can call it praying ;p ) and I have been forgetting the importance of reading His word. I've practically been yelling at Him and begging for him to answer, yet I haven't even looked for them in the words he already gave me. Surely enough, after taking a moment to just open the Bible, I found that the answer was there all along. He gave me peace, he showed me the importance of trusting him. Being the person I am, I have always had difficulties trusting people. And I noticed after reading through Deuteronomy1:30(The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.") that I had started considering him untrustworthy. I caught caught up in him "not responding" and "abandoning me" and I stopped trusting him. At that point, I wasn't even giving him a chance. I was blinded by the walls I had subconsciously built against him.
God showed me through all this that it is important to consistently read his word, even in the times where all I want to do is scream at him. He wrote those words for me, and for me to neglect them just cause I'm tired and upset is like a smack in the face to him.
So I encourage you, challenge yourself. Read the Bible every day, and give God the ability to speak to you through it. Dedicate 10 minutes of what could have been sleep, and open up the Bible. Take time to understand it, to learn it, and to study it.
God is doing amazing things, be encouraged everyone (:
--NatalieEmma

Someone Worth Dying For

MikesChair-Someone Worth Dying For

 

"You're worth it, you can't earn it

Yeah, the cross has proven

That You're sacred and blameless

Your life has purpose

 

You are more than flesh and bone

Can't you see, you're something beautiful?

Yes, you gotta believe, you gotta believe

He wants you to see, He wants you to see

 

That you're not just some wandering soul

That can't be seen and can't be known

Yeah, you gotta believe, you gotta believe that you are

Someone worth dying for, oh

 

You're someone worth dying for, oh"

These lyrics seriously hit home for me. I'd heard this song so many times before, but never really grasped it. I still can't fully grasp it. God is so madly and crazily in love with us and He was so willing to give up everything for us. I'm awestruck, everyone. We have worth because He has worth.
-BrookeAnn

The love, joy and strength of the Lord will win EVERY SINGLE time when put up against depression, hurt, anxiety, fear and heartbreak.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Mathew 11:28

We are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well; for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us, because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:5

Though sorrow may last through the night, joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
Psalm 126:5

Help us, Jesus, to realize it. Help us to live it out. Help me. Thank You, Father.
-BrookeAnn

"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