Hear Him Pt. 1

I think the most important exchange that can happen between us and the Father is when we HEAR what He is saying. When you hear God, you get vision for your life. You feel understood. You have Hope, Freedom, Joy and many other blessings that come from hearing the Word of the Lord. And really, above all you are engaging your Daddy. That is enough in itself. But because of the fruit that comes from hearing God, it is the most attacked aspect of our intimate walk with Jesus.

There have been many, many times where I have struggled with hearing God. I go back and forth..."Is this me talking or is it God talking?" or "God couldn't have really said that...asked me do to that...said that about me..."etc.

In talking to people about hearing God these are the most common lies I see people believing (and lies that I have believed myself).

1. I don't hear God.

2. I can't tell if it is me or Him.

3. I think part of it is true and part of it isn't.

4. That Word can't be from God. It is too good to be true.

Those are all lies from the pit of hell and they have got to GOOOOOOO. There is no room for fear in hearing God. Just faith.

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matt. 13:9)

Everyone is created to hear God. It is in our very nature to be in relationship with Him. It would be a really lame relationship if you heard all about him from the mouths of others but never heard it directly from Heaven.

Just as unnatural as it would be to not have ears, it is even more unnatural to not hear God on a daily basis.

Everything changes when you hear from God. Everything. When you are carrying the Word of the Lord around with you, everything changes. Hopeless situations become the new site for a miracle. Places in your life that have been broken become restored. Daily decisions don't have to be made alone.

I mean think about it. At anytime you can get access to Heavenly revelation. COMMME ON! All you have to do is connect with the Father.

Here are some practicals that have not only worked in my life, but have been really life giving to people around me.

• You have to get away and start talking to Him.
• Find a place...for me it is my room. I just wait. Every time I spend time with Jesus, I invite Him to speak to me. And then I just wait. It is like He is driving the car. I'm just a passenger. I go where He says.
• God speaks quickly. Usually the first thing you hear when you ask God a question is God.
• Ask God questions often. All the time. Just start practicing. My friend kait and I went on a walk and we decided to ask God at every turn which way we should go (left, right, straight). After we asked him to ourselves, we both shared what we heard from Him. Up until the very last two turns we both got the exact same answer. every time. it was so cool.
• Don't over spiritualize it. Just talk to your Daddy. Engage with Him.
• Above ALL, remember that YOU HEAR GOD.
• one last one, surround yourself with people in your life that hear God on a consistent basis and spend time with them. Ask them questions. Hear God together. Go on walks with your best friend and talk to God together!

There is nothing sweeter in the whole world then when the Father comes down and speaks to your heart. That is worth a million minutes just sitting and waiting.

So GOOOOO. and Hear God. He is waiting, beloved!

Decorate!

I LOVE decorating. I mean really it is just the best.

I like it when you find little things here and there when you're out and about and think...Oh my, I can create an entire room all around this one little object. For me, I found this tree (pictured below) and I just couldn't resist not putting it in my room.

I think the BEST thing about decorating though is that I get to do it with Jesus. He's got some good style. seriously.

The majority of pieces in my room were old and are now new. So be inspired and go make art!

The pictures below are decorations in my house.

ENJOY!

Fishing...Jesus Style

I don't think I have shared this here on the blog world. But months ago, August to be exact the Father and I set on a journey to create a space on the Colorado State University campus that empowers and equips young revivalists to go and change the atmosphere. Why? well, Transformed people Transform cities. and secondly, cause HE SAID TO!

The Lord just breathed such wonderful vision into my heart and then truly carried me and the rest of my pals through the entire process. Do you want to know when you are dreaming with God? When the ideas and plans that come to mind are WAY bigger and require way more strength than you can muster. you can pretty much count that is Holy Spirit. Then comes the Peace.

It was just a couple of my pals. Just totally young, dumb and IN love with Jesus.
Love requires action. Love is not passive. Everything you do and say should come from a Love with relationship. All else outside of Love is religion. Stay away from that garbage...religion that is.

Anyways, Holy Spirit showed up. People started getting healing, set free, excited, full of life. And we thought, oh my goodness we've got something here.
We got to a place though (with the help of wise council) that we didn't want Pursue (our service) to be just a weekly service where people feel a couple goose bumps and wait for next week's service. That will NOT change and disciple a city. Period. Pursue is not the answer. Investing and giving your life to people is the answer. Walking together as a family, community, together. That is the answer.

Jesus discipled the 12. The 12 discipled the nations.

What did Jesus say to do? Go and make disciples of many nations. He wouldn't have said that to tease us. You are fully capable and anointed to go and make disciples. To push people into the Love of Jesus.

Now, don't misunderstand what I am saying. Church meetings and conferences and that good stuff is FUN. Necessary. There is something so sweet about corporate worship and praise. BUT, 2 hour church services can not be your only life source.

Jesus is the Life Source. Hook up to Him daily. Then go give it way. Go and walk with a people that are like minded and completely JAZZZZZED about Jesus.
My life has radically changed in the last couple months because I have started to embrace this commission. Wow, Jesus really wants me to give away what He has given me.
So GO all you FISHER'S of men!

People are hungry for The more!

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matt. 28:19
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

New Year:New Hope

I was cleaning out my suitcase this morning from a trip that I was just on. I found this old wrapper that held this diet powder that I used to take. A couple years ago, somehow I found myself broken, hopeless and utterly confused. I started taking diet pills. Although this lasted only a couple months, the toll it took on my body and spirit lasted longer.

It was such a sweet moment to hold this old wrapper and think back about what used to be. And stand today with what is. Jesus really is THE Redeemer. There is nothing too big, too small, too insignificant, too broken, too boring, too unthinkable that Daddy God cannot bring back to life.

The best way I can describe my 2011 is Jesus taking a defibrillator to my life and awakening to me to His love. Those couple seconds of shock were a bit painful, exciting and extreme, but my GOSH I am so alive and SO THANKFUL.

I believe that 2012 is the year that Love prevails. As the body of Christ begins to transition into deep relationship with the Father, Love is going to trump hurtful circumstances, painful memories, lifeless dreams, and unsatisfied hearts. This is the year to Hopefully Expect, Radically Risk and Explosively Receive.

Give yourself to Jesus in new measures. If you aren't being challenged, you probably aren't growing.

Instead of making lists of New Year's Resolutions that are self-motivated only because they have not been accomplished for the past 10+ years...Ask Jesus what His Promises are for your life this year. What is He saying, doing and responding to in 2012. Man made resolutions often fail because they are responses to insecurity and inadequacy. BUT God's promises are not done by your strength alone. Only by the blood of Lamb. SOOOO much Grace.

Happy 2012. Oh! the places you all will go!

Those Christmas Lights

I've always loved christmas. Half the time for good reason, the other half not so much.

This Christmas I'm choosing to play it a little different.

Coldplay's new Christmas song is brilliant. There is this line that says, "When you're still waiting for the snow to fall, it doesn't really feel like Christmas at all."

Yeah, I get that.

I've never been more excited for Christmas than this year. Why? because I have never seen Jesus the way I do now.

He came so near. So close. He took on human frame and in that, Jesus became the connecting point between Heaven and Earth. Jesus, the air you breathe.

I pray that for you this season. That you draw near to Emmanuel, God with us.

Holy Spirit: Best Wedding Planner Ever.

I follow this eclectic, UK hipster wedding blog.It is called Pocketful of Dreams. check it out...http://www.pocketfulofdreams.co.uk/

Now, I love weddings. More so, I like the idea of the perfect day. And above that, I just love the pictures and decorating ideas that come from the Pocketful of Dreams blog. So much goes into a wedding. So much money, energy, resources, stress, love, friendship, thought. just a lot of work goes into this PERFECT day. the day that you get to publicly declare and unify this crazy, wild love for someone.

I had this thought.

Holy Spirit is like the best wedding planner ever. Everyday when you wake up, the Holy Spirit is there planning your day. Your best day. your perfect day. You see it says, "We are assured and know that all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose." Romans 8:28.

So here it is: Everyday God is working for YOUR good. To love on you. to empower you. to set you free. to open doors. to make your day PERFECT. and that happens everyday. He plans your best day. your wedding day. all for this end goal. So that everyday you get to put on a wedding dress. You know, clothed in purity, grace and righteousness. Then the Holy Spirit plans your triumphant walk down the aisle to meet your groom, Jesus. OHH, come on.

Live in that reality. Know that the God of the Universe is working on your behalf. He is your defender. Why? cause He is mad about you. I just encourage you to wake up and put on your

sunday best...your perfect wedding day attire. Cry out to the Father and ask him to awaken you to His mercies that are new EVERY morning. oh, how he loves you.

Go forth and walk down that aisle.