plugging into the right Source

Today as I was driving to work I figured I should plug in my iPod to the car charger since it was almost dead. When I plugged it in, an error message popped up and it said something along the lines of "charging is not supported with this accessory" so, needless to say, it would not charge. Huh, that's interesting...I began thinking about my relationship with the Lord and how, when I don't "plug in" to the right things (Bible, prayer, Jesus), and I start looking for other things to recharge my battery, it gets sucked dry. Such a simple truth, but I need to constantly be reminded to plug into Jesus daily and seek His will for my life. I need Jesus now more than ever.

Jesus,

Thank You for constantly speaking into my life even through the little things. I pray that You would continue to prepare my heart for this amazing adventure You have called me to. As I embark on this journey, give me peace and comfort and help me to seek Your will daily. I need You, Lord.

Amen.

by the power of Your name.

Last weekend, I went on a hike down to a beautiful clear blue mountain lake. The scenery was absolutely breath-taking!! However, as I began to take my eyes off the path before me to look around at the beauty I realized God was trying to teach me a life lesson. When we take our eyes off the path the Lord has called us to and begin looking ahead to the end result we often get distracted and even begin to stumble and fall.

Lord, You have placed me on this course to go on The World Race. When I begin looking to the future (marriage, kids, etc.) I begin to forget what You have called me to and I often get caught up in the things of this world. I want to lay down MY life and stop chasing MY dreams to live for YOU. Nothing else in this world matters. I want to reach the lost for YOU. I want to make an impact for YOUR name's sake. I want my life to reflect Yours. Help me, Lord!

"And I will live to carry Your compassion

to love a world that's broken

to be Your hands and feet

and I will give the live that I've been given

to go beyond religion

to see the world be changed

by the power of YOUR name"

Cassie

"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." --1 Thessalonians 5:24

learning, trusting, bearing fruit...

Ok so this is a follow-up to my October 12th post called "Remove the Old Stones" from the book of Leviticus. Lately, I have been reading a lot in the book of Isaiah and God has really been revealing some things to me--two things in particular that took me back to that post from a few months ago. At that time, I was struggling with some habitual sin issues and I was feeling God telling me He wanted to break me down, remove those things from my life, and build me back up on a firm foundation. These verses from Isaiah speak to where I'm at in my life right now as I really feel like God has taken me through that process of being broken down and removing the sin; and now He his beginning to build me back up on a firm foundation.

"...and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing."

--Isaiah 27:9

"...for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter; therefore thus says the LORD God, 'Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: Whoever believes will not be in haste."

--Isaiah 28:16

"And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward."

--Isaiah 37:31

God has also been teaching me a lot about trust, and the stability and peace we find in Him...

"...You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

--Isaiah 26:3

"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength."

--Isaiah 30:15

"Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you."

--Isaiah 30:18

"O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble...he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure."

--Isaiah 33:2,6

I just wanted to share what the LORD has been teaching me lately...I hope you were blessed!!

sunrise

My absolute favorite part about my drive to school in the morning is the beautiful sunrise painted across the sky. One day last week, there were dark clouds spanning across the sky and the sunrise was a pinkish purple color. The sun was not quite at the horizon yet, but its light was reflecting off the bottom of the clouds and it was absolutely breath-taking. As the sun continued to rise, it began shining its light on the mountains, but much of the mountain range was still in darkness. The LORD began reminding me of the verse I had read the night before in the gospel of John.

"For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God." --John 3:20-21

The higher the sun rises in the sky, the more light penetrates the shadows and darkness of the mountains. The more I magnify the LORD in my life, the more darkness is exposed to the light. As I continue to seek the LORD, He begins to show me my weaknesses and secret sins and expose them to the light--allowing me to open up to others and let them know my struggles so that they can pray for me and hold me accountable in hopes of weeding these things out of my life.