Who are You?

I thought I'd share the comment of the woman on Lysa Terkuerst's blog-

"I am a daughter of the Most High God, an atmosphere changer, sent to dance upon injustice, release from captivity those who are bound, and bring reconciliation to the broken. I am anointed to declare the Word of the Lord through word and music. I am highly favored, a wellspring of joy, and I walk in righteousness, honor and purity. I am the beloved friend of Jesus."

If you don't have the words, simply "open your mouth wide and He will fill it" Ps. 81:10

Remember, God's intentions towards you are magnificent. He wants you to know who you are in Him. He is more personal and intimate than we can even think or imagine. Step outside the box into the glory you had with Him before the world was born!

Do you know where you're going to? Part II

What's your destiny? For years I never knew to ask. I guess I didn't know I was allowed to have one, other than heaven, I mean. And some days, destiny looked like collapsing in bed. I couldn't see past the laundry heaps to even focus on my spiritual horizon.

But after this encounter with my heavenly Father, I began to ask. and listen. And I realized how important it was to know my identity and purpose in Him. Funny how last week, I read Lysa Terkuerst's blog on pursuing our dreams, and she wrote of how important identifying these two areas are before you ever start "becoming famous." Because recognition starts with lots and lots of rejection. And if you don't know where you've come from and where you're going, you will be caught in a tailspin of existential proportions.

I kept reading and got to the comment section. One woman's response blew my mind. She actually wrote out her personal identity and purpose statement! Imagine that. Well, she inspired me. I made two lists: everything God has revealed about who I am to Him and then another about what He has called me to do for Him. I then married the two lists:

I am a precious crown jewel, a glorious daughter of the King, a fireflower lifting up a sweet aroma of adoration to our God. I breathe His fresh fragrance onto the ashes of others' lives, igniting Abba's beauty and destiny within them. He has called me to dance wildly as a firefly before His throne to bring about healing and freedom to the daughters of Zion. Joy and laughter will spill out like a fountain gushing forth, as I overflow His tenderness and strength.

I share this with you delicately. I hope, like me, you will be encouraged to seek God for your own encounter. He has no favorites. But oh, that you would know His favor. And where you are going! I would be thrilled if you would write me your identity and destinies-you are so worth it!

Do You Know where you're From? Part I

Landmarks whiz past. Road signs are a blur. Until we come upon a city sign in the middle-of- nowhere Nebraska. "Hmmm," my husband muses. "Omaha, isn't that where Craig Langemeier from Pine Cove is from?" How does he do that? It cracks me up everytime. We could be in Mosheim, Texas and he remembers the guy with the balding head from chemistry class his third year at Baylor. For some unknown reason, knowing where people are from is important to Duane.


Isn't that one of the first things we ask people at the church bar-be-que (that's Texan for picnic)? It's a hard question for me in a sense because I moved seven times before I was nine, and then at 13, we moved from upstate New York to Plano, Texas. And I never have embraced saying "ya'll." I have hung on to "you guys" even to the point of embarrassment! My high school band director accused me of being a "woman's libber" when I ran all over the practice field picking up pivot points that he told the "guys" to get. It really helps to know where you're from.

Jesus knew. John 13:3 says, "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. I think knowing from where we come gives us our identity. Are you Scottish? an Aggie? an orphan? And then I think knowing where we are going fuels us with purpose and power. What's my destination? I just put together that destination and destiny come from the same root word. wow. Maybe a better question is, what's your destiny?

Where do you come from? Have you ever wondered where you come from in God? For years I have known in my head that I'm a child of God, but I've never really experienced that. Until February of this year. In a hotel room I encountered God as my Father. Through one crazy little verse: Job 38:28-"does the rain have a father? who fathers the drops of dew?" I lost it. His glorious presence filled the room until all shreds of doubt were squeezed out of my heart. I guess I should explain that a year ago, I was challenged to ask God a question. "God, who do you want to be for me in this season of my life?," Graham Cooke posited. He offered others' answers like, shepherd, defender, bridegroom, or friend. Well, I heard "dew." Huh? "yes, dew."

My search through scriptures for verses on dew was quite refreshing and surprising. But the verse that revealed the biggest clue as to dew was Proverbs 19:12, "A king's rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass." Favor, what's that? What does it mean that I have God's favor? Jesus said that he came to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Lk. 4:18-19), so I ought to know what that means. In Hebrew, the word for favor is rasah and means, "to be pleased with, accept, take pleasure in, delight in, to like, love, be fond of, to be favorable to." Astounding. Because of Christ, God is especially fond of me. Graham Cooke adds that having God's favor means that He has an "intentional bias" towards us, His children. He wants me to live, and move, and have my being in His "unceasing magnificence" towards me!

In that stale hotel room, He magnificently whispered, "My little dewdrop, you are being born into a kingdom far, far away where joy reigns and love rules the land. " I now know that I know that I know, I am not of this world. I am from above. Where are you from?

Innocence Found

Six little girls,

lipstick blurring,

hats tipping,

diamonds pretending,

laughing outside the lines,

adjusting tresses, buckling mary janes.

Twirling in their glory!

do you see? do you notice the beauty that is me?

Whispering secrets long since forgotten . . .

dusting off cobwebs in the corners of our hearts.

. . tears dissolving crusty dirt into velvet mud pies

Maybe the grace in you can mingle with the grace inside of me and together we are enough.

We are loved!

I could feel the energy in the room almost vibrating the air molecules. Have you ever been with 5 friends who were beginning a journey of deeper vulnerability? We were almost giddy, playing tug-of-war over the air space. It was hard to take turns. Sharing the miraculous always is. But it was glorious. I think it was what Jesus meant when He said, "they will know you are my disciples by your love for one another." Love was almost palpable. I think we each felt celebrated and received. Even with all our junk.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." I looked up mercy and it's defined as "compassion for someone's suffering that moves them beyond their pain." My friends offerred each other Abba's tender mercy. It's hard sometimes to sit in another's ashes for as long as it takes. But in the sitting, transformation happens. We learn we are not alone. And the power of that truth is life changing! So here's to more days of laughter, tears, dress up and twirling!

Brave

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."