Someone I love.

I have a few friends that truly know me. That will be honest with me. That will tell me when I need to adjust my attitude, my spirit. I love these friends with all of my being. I love when someone I love and cherish tells me to pull it together, for that makes a lasting bond.

I went walking with one of these friends the other night. For a long time. We talked about anything and everything but the best of which was the suffering of Christ. To know Christ is to experience His sufferings. Does it hurt? Like nothing else. Is it worth it? Above everything else.

My friend is going through a time of suffering. A time of loss. Her heart, mind and soul are grieving, yet she feels the heartbeat of Jesus lift her and pull her near to Him. She gets a glimpse of her small sufferings in comparison to His sufferings and it makes everything easier. Make sense? The more you suffer, the easier it is.. It's the peace of His nearness. The mercy He pours. The hope He gives.

Not sure how anyone that experiences hard things in life is able to cope without the hope of something to come. I heart Him. I heart how He changes us, how He allows us to see His love in the midst of our hurt in this fallen world. I heart how He will come and rescue.

Realness.

I've recently been so turned off by people that only want to talk about how to grow, how to be better, how to love better, be more joyful, etc in every conversation (I guess I should say they want to talk to others about how to change). Possibly it's me being ridiculous, possibly it's me being allowed to see it from an unbelievers perspective. Whatever it is, what I'm learning is that people need to see realness and experience grace.

So here's something to know about me. I love Jesus (have you not gathered that from my blog, I have failed). But here are some other things to help you know that I am real:

1. I got angry this week. Angry. I had to work through it over a two-day period. I knew I was being ridiculous.
2. Sometimes I'm extremely insecure. Sometimes I'm extremely confident. Sometimes I'm in the middle.
3. I love to go see romantic movies, comedies, suspense movies. But not scary or horror movies. NO. And occasionally I watch a "R" movie, although I know it can affect my purity, my thoughts, my language - I have to weigh this out and determine if it's worth seeing the movie.
4. I love to dance like a wild woman when Rihanna comes on my iPod. Well, not just Rihanna, any good music with a beat.
5. I struggle with being single.
6. My big brother calls me everyday, and greets me by saying "Hey Ho". I am not a ho. But this is his term of endearment for me.
7. I have to work on my tone with my mom. It's gotten a ton better, but if we discuss money, I fire up.

Needless to say, those are just a few real things about me. Just because I do them, say them or think them doesn't mean I don't know that I need to change. I'm being real. I am not perfect. I am challenged by my shortcomings daily. Hear that. Just because I love to talk about the goodness of grace and love does not mean sometimes I wonder just how HE could love ME so much for I am but a filthy rag.

Hope it lets you see a little more of me. My heart is dark, yet He loves it the same.

So much more...

One of the youth ministers at my church just tweeted this and it challenged me: "Eternal Life is so much more than going to heaven. It is the pursuit and the knowing.... JOHN 17:3"

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3

Heaven and Hell.

Just got done talking to someone about Heaven and Hell. Jesus as the Messiah. What happens when we die.

He said he thinks often about where he will go when he dies. But He's unsure. He asked me what I believed hell was like. He said He believes that Jesus was real, but can't believe He is the Messiah.

He is skeptical. He said "I'd believe if an angel appeared to me and revealed to me that it is real". I told him I'd pray that Jesus himself would come face-to-face with him and let him see.

Please join me. Power of the prayer of the saints can make a blind man see.

Pray for a miracle to happen.

Sunday's coming.

It's Friday but Sunday's coming! from Pinelake Church on Vimeo.

The Real Face of Jesus.

So yesterday I was sitting out on my parents porch, enjoying the oh-so-beautiful Easter day until my dad turned it on the "The Real Face of Jesus" on the History channel. Not wanting to watch, I left to play ball with the dogs in the back yard.

You see, I am so skeptical of shows about Jesus. I think oftentimes people make believe Jesus into their own story, with their own conclusions, and disregard scripture.

I talked to my dad once about the life of a believer. The conversation went much like this:

Me: So, Dad, you really have to have alotta faith to believe in something that is unseen. Stuff from a long time ago, in a book, right?
D: Yes. You do. What has you thinking about this?
Me: Oh, I don't know. I just think sometimes I am challenged to think harder and search harder about why I believe what I do.
D: Sweetheart, you know the only way to squash that wander is to read scripture...that is how God reveals himself.
Me: Oh, I know dad. I know.
D: And why wouldn't you believe in a faith that teaches you to love others. To feed the hungry, to give to the poor. To love the lepers.

SHEESH. The last sentence my dad said explains it all. WHY WOULDN'T YOU?! This faith is built on love. LOVE.

So back to the show. I came in from playing with the dogs and sat down to watch this show, unwillingly of course.

The facts were concrete. The information was legit. This group of people had taken what appeared to be the shroud of Christ, and analyzed it to see what could be the face of Christ.

The main scientist believed! HE BELIEVED IN CHRIST from his study. From the information he had gathered and the dimensional work he had done. I had chills all over my body listening to this man talk. He was a scientist. HE BELIEVED IN JESUS. (To see more pictures from the show, click here.)

And then they revealed the face of Christ (insert still scepticism) - and the face was precious. It was beautiful. The eyes were full of grace, mercy, love. He looked Mediterranean. It seemed legit. I teared up. It was absolutely amazing.

I had a moment of sweet thoughts thinking about the day that I will see him face-to-face. The moment that I am emptied from my earthly body to live in the heavenly realms. He will be full of grace and love, mercy and kindness. His eyes will capture my heart all over again. I believe with everything that is within me that one day He will come get me.

Do you? Read Luke 16:19-31. My heart breaks to think that anyone suffers like the rich young man.

What a Beautiful Friday.

Today is Good Friday. The day that Jesus died some thousand years ago. The day that He was crushed for our sins and the punishment that was upon him brought us peace. The day when he was separated from God for you and for me. The day when he became a leper so that we wouldn't have to be.

The veil was torn, and it was finished. Done.

He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

⁸ By oppression ^a]">[a] and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken. ^b]">[b]

⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes ^c]">[c] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

¹¹ After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life ^d]">[d] and be satisfied ^e]">[e] ;
by his knowledge ^f]">[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.