she saw the love of a Man
she left what she knew and ran
her voice cried out after Him
dawn until the lights were dim
she was not led by reason
but by what her Love had done
love as the light in her soul
violent warmth filling the hole
bright, vibrant reality
sealed on her heart the decree
to seek after His Kingdom
for righteousness to overcome
His name a beacon of light
proclaimed in the nations with might
radiant from what she beholds
the story of Jesus unfolds.

a poem inspired by a word spoken over me as being a beacon of light as well as having the desire to be a voice versus an echo.

i have a voice to proclaim His story and mine which is encompassed into it!

stop acting as though you can earn it
i don't love because you deserve it
i love you because that's who I am
let love win.

Dancing at midnight in a thunderstorm encompassed by His rain.

Sorting out postage stamps on the kitchen floor enthusiastically gazing at each stamp from Indonesia to Barbados to Japan to Switzerland to the Netherlands to the US.

Talking with an older couple in their 70’s at a rummage sale with two friends explaining to them IHOP as they eagerly asked more questions.

Cleaning the kitchen with the utmost detail dialoguing with my Father.

Finding a delicate pink flower right outside of my front door on a Friday morning which matched so perfectly with my outfit or at least I though it did.

Eating applesauce in my living room on a Thursday afternoon.

These...

were...

just a couple of events or moments that occurred this week where or when I could feel the Lord’s delight. He loves when we enjoy what He so graciously gives. He delights in us enjoying how He intricately and perfectly made us. Wow. He really enjoys when I dance in the rain… my Father loves to watch me leap and frolic around as the rain pounds down. I want to know my Father’s heart, how He is so perfect, how He is so kind, how He smiles upon me, why He dances and sings over me.  Last night He asked me, “Didn’t I make you an extravagant worshiper?”  Only ten minutes later His question was confirmed when people came up to pray for me and kept on mentioning worship in my life. He loves us so much. He knows us perfectly. “How precous to me are your thoughts, O God. How vast is the sum of them. If I would count them, they are more than the sand.”

“When he has leveled its surface,

Does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,

And put in wheat in rows,

And barley in its proper place,

And emmer as the border?

For he is rightly instructed;

His God teaches him.”

Isaiah 28:25-26

There is an acronym, TRUST, that I try to pray out on a daily basis.

IHOP really appreciates acronyms as do I.

The last T stands for Teaching. So I ask daily that God would teach me, instruct me, give me insight into comprehending more of who He is.

I once again get this vivid picture of God taking my hand and holding it the whole time in planting and constructing my garden. (Maybe I should plant a garden… I keep on receiving these most wonderful and detailed pictures.) But anyways I love the thought of being rightly instructed. Who wouldn’t want to be led by the perfect Leader who holds all the wisdom of the world? Who wouldn’t want to be taught by the most knowledgeable Teacher?

Her Tired

Weary

Wrinkled hands.

Marked with the character of her Beloved.

The creases deep in her palms.

Holding rivers of strength and power.

The loose, flexible skin gently falling on the plow.

The cold touch of the metal grasping her heart with words of Excellency.

“she considers a field and buys it;

with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.” proverbs 31:16

“she dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.” proverbs 31:19

after reading these verses I wrote the above passage which seemed so real and fresh in my mind. i could actually see these woman’s hands and envision them being placed on a plow. i think it is because i long for my hands to look like the image that came to mind. i long for the creases to be deep with power and strength. i want to tend to what i have been prepared and called to do. i want to work for the Kingdom’s sake because of the love i have for the Father and the authority of the power i have living inside of me. some weeks ago i was at Shiloh, a retreat center that IHOP owns, going on an adventure and i came across a tree that had tipped over and had been uprooted. just minutes prior i had asked the Lord to remind me of a passage that i could mediate on or memorize. instantly when i saw the uprooted tree, the orange, stoic, wearisome looking roots made me think of ephesians 3:16-19. it is a prayer we often pray at IHOP and as i sat there looking at the roots i felt charged as i said with authority, “that according to the riches of His glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being…”

strengthened with power.

once you proclaim the truth, actually speaking it out that is when Holy Spirit can show up with His power.

it is knowing we have the victory… when He says He will fight for us He has… He has already won… and it is up to us declaring the victory and rebuking the enemy.

to plunge forward i know i need to plant a vineyard with the fruit of my hands.

Mike Bickle often uses the illustration of us demanding God to come and till the soil, to plant the seeds, to do all the work. He will provide the sun, the rain but we have authority, we have His strength by Holy Spirit’s power to do the work.

these next six weeks (only a month and a half left) are ones I want to be relying on His strength and grace to adorn me. i want to bear fruit!