love songs

I've grown up hearing plenty of love songs (that would be my daddy:), and when I first heard Eric and Leslie's music, I was amazed! Their songs are so Christ-centered and inspiring; not sad, meaningless or discouraging like so much other stuff out there.

I love it when my brother sits down and plays their songs and we sing together. It is so sweet; I wish he would do it every day. (was that a hint?:)

This particular one my sister has played beautifully on the piano, but I had never actually heard the whole song/lyrics before today. It is great; I especially love Leslie's background vocals.

~Be sure to turn off the music at the bottom of the page before you play the song~

You can find more of their songs here.

You Are My Stronghold

Lord, You are my light and my salvation

Whom shall I fear if You are near?

Lord, You are my peace when there is war all around me

And even here inside me I will have no fear

Oh Lord, You're my protection from my enemies

You set me high upon a rock and You defend my soul

And when their ways advance against me I am confident

that they cannot make me less, for You have made me whole

O Lord, You are my stronghold

You are my stronghold

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Lord You are my strength so let my head be lifted up

That I may glory in the ways You've overcome

Lord You are my home because You've created in me,

a heart that lives the victory that You've already won

Oh Lord, You're my protection from my enemies

You set me high upon a rock and You defend my soul

And when their ways advance against me I am confident

that they cannot make me less, for You have made me whole

O Lord, You are my stronghold

You are my stronghold

Safe

It is amazing how often Christians are heard praying, "Lord, keep her safe... keep him safe.... keep me safe." Those same words have come from my own lips more times than I can count. While asking for God's protection is great, I wonder if we have gone too far. Did Jesus ever promise that we would be safe?

Here's a definition of SAFE:


1. Free from harm, injury, or risk; untouched or unthreatened by danger or injury; unharmed; unhurt; secure; whole; as, safe from disease; safe from storms; safe from foes


2. Conferring safety; safe from harm; not exposing to danger; confining securely; not dangerous; to be relied upon; not dangerous; as, a safe harbor; a safe bridge, etc...

He has promised supernatural protection to those who fear Him and walk in His will, but our common idea of safety may actually be quite different from His. Ours is more of the "risk free, not exposing to danger; confining securely" idea rather than Christ's promise of "You will be persecuted. You will be hated. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul."*
Perhaps we confuse safety in trouble with safety from trouble.
I would encourage you to go to scripture. Do a Biblical study of "safe". How is it used in the Bible? What does God say about it?

My brother recently drove down to Mexico to minister alongside the Church there. The first night we received a call which scared us a little. He had arrived at the old church building (safely), and then waited about twenty minutes until the man who is living there arrived and let him in. This man is involved in a ministry that rescues girls out of sex slavery. (From what I heard of the story), he had been out of town, and when he got back he was told that there had been problems at the rescued girls' home (which is across the street) the last few nights. Men had been there pounding on windows and causing the problems, and so a confrontation of some sort was expected again. And my dear brother arrived right in the midst of it. Prayer requests went out to our whole church, and everyone began asking God for the safety and protection of Ian and the men involved in the ministry.

Now, it could have been easy to desire that my brother hop right back in the car and come home immediately. You know.... let's just keep him away from all that risky stuff, surrounded with a wall of fluffy pillows, where he can read his Bible and pray for the safety of those men far away in Mexico who are doing all that *ahem* radical stuff.
Don't misunderstand me. I love my brother dearly, more than you could know, and I greatly desire his well being. It's just that I've been doing some studying of God's Word, and now I find myself cheering him on instead of wanting him safe at home surrounded by pillows.



It seems that there is something within men that yearns for adventure, risk, and rescue.
Why else can they spend hours in front of computers and televisions killing bad guys, blowing up enemies, fighting battles, and gaining victories? What is in them that makes them so desire to be strong and brave and courageous?
I believe that Satan has a great victory in the deception of men. He has produced a brilliant counterfeit: When you play this game, you feel brave. You are strong. Yes. Spend your energies on cheering for this football team; what a good battle to fight! You like to win, don't you? It makes you feel like a real man. (can't you just feel the slime?)
The problem is, we don't see that it is a counterfeit! It is not the real thing! Men were made to fight... just for entirely different things!

A while back a heard that a local pastor had invited his two assistants over to his house on a Sunday afternoon to watch football.
"So?" you might ask, "What's wrong with that?"
How heart-breaking! Is that really all there is? Is there nothing more worthwhile to spend one's energy on? I'm not judging them, it's just that there has to be more. Can we really go home from church, having heard the GOSPEL, and then sit on the couch and cheer for a football team?
Please don't get me wrong. I know my own self very well. This complacency, this ease, this sluggish, comatose soul within me is most horrifying in the light of Christ's risen life.
What if that pastor and his assistants had spent the afternoon praying?
I know these are not very comfortable things to think about. But I don't recall the Gospel being comfortable either.


My brother has been driving around with the lead Rescue-man (may I call him that?) the past few days in what they call "the zone". They are looking for girls to rescue!
This excites me. Yes, it is risky. Yes, it is dangerous. Yes, that is my brother you are taking along with you, mister! He's never been exposed to such things, he isn't your man to take along, find someone else! He's so innocent and naive. He would do much better in a ministry much tamer than this!
No! This is the kind man that I have prayed he would become. The kind of manhood that is willing to take risks, willing to step out and fight.

I love the words in Job 29, as he testifies of how he lived as a man:

"Because I delivered the poor who cried out,

the fatherless and the one who had no helper.

The blessing of the perishing man came upon me,

And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

My justice was like a robe and a turban.

I was eyes to the blind,

And I was feet to the lame.

I was a father to the poor,

And I searched out the case that I did not know.

I broke the fangs of the wicked,

And plucked the victim from his teeth."

-Job 29:12-17

Job was honored because of the way he lived, and surely any man such as this is worthy of honor and respect! I've heard it said that while women have Proverbs 31 as their example of true womanhood, men have Job 29 as their example of true manhood. I wholeheartedly agree. It is an awesome picture.

Few men are "willing to shoulder the full responsibility of manhood, to take the risks and make the sacrifices of courting and winning a wife, marrying her and fathering her children in obedience to the command to be fruitful"**, let alone risk their lives to rescue little girls out of slavery and "pluck the victim from his teeth"!

Few men are willing to lay down their video game controls and instead get down on their knees and ask God for the Spirit of Jesus and of Job--- to search out the case they do not know.

Ian, I am praying for you, cheering for you, excited for you, and honored to be called you sister.

I admire your courage to obey the Lord and go and serve in Mexico. I wish I was by your side! May the Lord teach you much of what it means to be a man, entirely seperated unto God and devoted to Him, dependent, obedient, and fruitful. I love you and miss you!

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Extra thoughts:

"Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell,

I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell."

- C.T. Studd "

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."
-G.K. Chesterton

And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives…and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted."

- Nate Saint

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves."

-Christ

"Therefore prepare yourself and arise,

And speak to them all that I command you.

Do not be afraid of their faces,

Lest I dismay you before them...

They will fight against you,

But they shall not prevail against you.

For I am with you," says the LORD,

"to deliver you."

-Jeremiah 2:17, 19

"At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

-2 Timothy 4:16-18

*Matthew 10

**Elisabeth Elliot, Keep a Quiet Heart, page 166

Congratulations Ian!

2010 College of the Redwoods Valedictorian!

In front of a huge crowd,

he was given the opportunity to boldly lift up the name of Jesus Christ in his Valedictorian speech!

He has now departed to bring the good news of the Kingdom to the people of Mexico.

Goodbye, Ian!

We will miss you!

Mr. Shuttle Man

I was just remembering a funny story from last summer in Colorado, and I thought I would share it with you.
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The Set Apart Girl Conference had ended, and all the girls were packing up and catching their rides to the airport. I watched as they all headed off, having enjoyed a great weekend but also glad to be going “home”-- which consisted of all parts of the nation and even the world.
My sister and I would not be leaving for a few hours. I thought for sure we would be the last ones left, deserted in the big, empty University Center. I headed up the elevator to the Panorama Room where we had spent the weekend and was glad to find people still there. Annie, Grace, Bex, Eric, and a few others were still around finishing clean-up. Annie and Eric both kindly asked me if I needed help with anything, but I told them that I just had a late shuttle and would be around for a while. I chatted with them for a few minutes and then headed down to wait with my sister.
We sat in the big room with huge glass windows and watched for our shuttle. All the while it thundered and hailed and flashed lightning outside. Finally our shuttle appeared, and by then it had calmed down a bit outside, for which we were thankful. We ran up with our bags and the shuttle man saw us and hopped out. He looked about the age of my grandpa, and after greeting us he kindly took our bags. We jumped in the back of the van and waited for him to have a smoke before getting back in the drivers' seat.
As we headed off he made small talk, asking a few questions like “Where are you from?” and “What brings you here to Greeley?”. I told him that we had been attending a conference and were now heading home to California.
Then, with a chuckle, he asked, “So did you meet a lot of nice-looking young men while you were here?” I turned a little red but replied, “No, we didn’t.”
He didn’t give up. Now grinning at me into the rear-view mirror with a twinkle in his eye he continued, “Well, surely you at least met a few good looking young men while you were here...?” to which I replied with another definite “No” and hid a smile. Now he was nearly blown-away, and paused as a confused expression now crossed his former joking countenance. I laughed and told him that actually we didn’t meet one single young man because we were attending a girls’ conference! He was still bewildered that we had indeed not met any “good-looking young men”, and didn’t seem to understand.
Next he proceeded to take a different approach and asked, “So what was this conference about?” Ah. I knew he would ask that. I began to tell him that we had attended what was called a Set Apart Girls’ Conference, and that the focus of it all was actually on purity. I told him that 200 girls had gathered together who all wanted to keep themselves for one man, their future husband, and not chase after guys but rather use their energy and single years toward pursuing Jesus Christ.
If he had been bewildered before, now he was positively at a loss for words, and I was able to say only a few more sentences before he grew uncomfortable and changed the subject completely.
Later I laughed as I thought about his jesting attempts, but realized that he really was just approaching from the mindset that he thought was the "norm". He thought that all young girls only had one focus- guys. He didn’t know any different I suppose. I’m sure he grew up quite differently than the 200 girls who had just spent their weekend together.
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Sometimes it's easy to forget that the people we meet when we go out in the world don't know.
They don't know the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the wondrous love of the Father, or His saving grace. How could they? "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" -Rom. 10:14
How careful we must then be toward them! How needful that we be in tune to the Father's thoughts about these lost souls. May the Lord give us wisdom!
"Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." -Colossians 4:5-6

May the Lord give you wisdom and grace today as you walk as His kingdom-bearer in the midst of this lost world.

tell me a secret...

here I am again

So here I am again...

willing to be opened up and broken like a flower in the rain

Tell me what have I to do to die and then be raised?

To reach beyond the pain

like a flower in the rain

-jaci velasquez

The feast of passover had begun. Jesus knew that His time had come. He was leaving. He was going to His father. He had loved His own who were in the world unto the end. But He also knew that one would betray Him.

And knowing that His Father had given all things into His hands, that He had come from Him, and was going to Him, Jesus rose from supper and laid aside His garments. He took a towel and girded Himself, poured water in a bason, and began to wash His disciples feet...(1)

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Jesus never ceased to do the absolutely unexpected.

Why would He wash feet? In a few hours He would be hanging on a cross, bearing these men's sin. At the same time, they would be running for their lives, denying His very name, and leaving Him alone. He knew this would happen. Why then did He do this?

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Sometimes I want to do great things. To rescue the lost. To wrestle in prayer 'till victory comes. To abound with fruit for my Father's pleasure. To see the enemy conquered, and God's people rise up strong. To have a place in the kingdom come.

But then, in gentle voice, He whispers, "Do this little thing. The one that is right before you. Wash these feet. Lay aside your own gain, and get down on you knees. Take up you towel, and follow Me. Wrestle in prayer for this person, who will never know you did so. He who is faithful in that which is least is faithful in much. "

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have you taken up your towel today?

(1) John 13:1-5

Ladies Against Feminism

This is another wonderful website for ladies!

It was just recently re-launched and has many new authors sharing

inspiring and challenging thoughts.

Check it out!

A Wise Woman

I would like to mention a little something about the blog that I recently added to my list of "sites I visit". It is called A Wise Woman Builds Her Home. What a blessing it has been to me to read bits and pieces of this site! It is full of practical, inspiring posts on Biblical Womanhood, Femininity, Rich Christian Living, and much more. Though primarily directed to mothers, it has set me thinking and preparing my heart for whatever God has for me in the future, echoed the words of Scripture that I have been pondering lately, and further established me in truths that were swimming in my mind. It has given me ideas to ponder, truths to wrestle with, and kindled a vision in me for true womanhood and Christ-centered family life. Some of the posts which I have especially liked are: Top Ten Things Ungodly Cultures Hate That the Bible Tells Men, Would You Love Her?, The Controlled Mother (helpful thoughts for my baby-sitting), The Broad and Narrow, She Beautifies His Life, and Pioneering Biblical Femininity in a Post Christian Culture.

If you get a chance, I would encourage you to visit this beautiful site for some worthwhile reading.