As I’ve been looking at the first couple chapters in John, I began to see a theme emerging that has been striking my heart and I figured I would share it, as I often find that writing my thoughts helps me to process and flesh out what I hear the Spirit speaking to me.

John 1 starts with a powerful and captivating description of Jesus as the Word of God and the Light that shines in the darkness. He goes on to say, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”

We then hear John the Baptist say something similar as the priests and Levites are questioning him about who he is and why he is baptizing. He says, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

When John the Baptist finally sees Jesus for who He is and recognizes Him as the awaited Messiah, he says, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!…I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” John had been tipped off by God that he would see the Spirit of God descending and remaining on the Christ, so when John witnessed this very thing happen as he baptized Jesus, he declared, “I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

The problem of that day was largely, if not entirely, that the people of Israel did not know their Saviour when they saw Him. They didn’t recognize Him and couldn’t receive Him. Their eyes were blinded and covered with a veil that prevented them from being able to see the One who stood before them. This is the same epidemic we have today. A lack of the true knowledge of Jesus.

John the Baptist hadn’t known Him either, as they would have likely grown up together as cousins, but the day came when the veil was lifted and he was able to see Jesus for who He truly was. After John sees and testifies of who Jesus is, two of his disciples are compelled to follow after Jesus. Literally – they just started stalking him and following him wherever he went. Jesus turns around and sees them shadowing him and asks them, “What do you seek?”

I imagine there were a thousand things that came to mind! “Who are you?? What are you going to do? Is it true what John said about you? Are you really the Messiah? What can you show us about God? Can you teach us? Are you the Prophet that Moses spoke of? Are you going to rescue Israel from her enemies? Who are you??” But all they ask is, “Where are you staying?”

There would be plenty of time to ask questions, to observe, to listen, to learn, but at the moment, all they wanted to know was where He was going to be, because they knew that they had to be with Him wherever He was!

I love Jesus’ reply to their question. “Come and see.”

That simple phrase causes my heart to ache with longing! Yes, that’s what I want! I want to come and see! I want to behold the Lamb of God and gaze on Him, watch Him, follow His every move, listen to His every word, hang on His every breath. I want to be as His disciples and watch as He turns water to wine, heals the blind man, raises the dead little girl to life, multiplies food, walks on water, calms storms, sets the demoniac free, forgives sins, teaches of the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven – I want to come and see!! I want to know Him for who He truly is.

Yet what happens once you have seen? These men encountered something Divine and as Jesus revealed Himself to them, their eyes were opened and they were so impacted that they had to tell others about Him. They said to their friends and family, “We have found Him!! We’ve found the Messiah, the Christ!!”

When one of these friends, Nathanael, expresses his cynicism and doubt, the disciple Philip responds with the same words as Jesus, “Come and see.” It’s as if he’s saying, “You may not believe me, and I know you’re afraid to believe it could really be true. I know you have doubts, but just take a risk and take a step of faith and simply come and see for yourself. Give Him a chance and let Him show you who He is and how He feels about you.”

Nathanael didn’t yet know Jesus, but Jesus knew him. Jesus saw him sitting under the fig tree and knew every detail of Nathanael’s heart and He spoke to him, telling him that He saw the purity and righteousness of his heart. Jesus simply showed Nathanael that He knew him, had always known him, and that He loved him, and that was enough to win Nathanael over!

Jesus then promises, “You will see greater things than this. Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open…” Now, I don’t know if he was talking just to Nathanael, or to all of his disciples, but in the book of Revelation, this is exactly what happens to John the apostle.

In Revelation 4:1, John looks and sees a door standing open in heaven and Jesus speaks a very similar invitation, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” John goes on to witness the most incredible description of heaven and the throne room found in the entire Bible.

Do you hear the invitation? He is saying to all of us, “Come and see. Come up here and I will show you things greater than you’ve ever imagined!”

I want to see Him in all His beauty and majesty. I want Him to manifest His glory in my life and I want to then be one who says to others, “Come and see!” I want to be a messenger, as John the Baptist was, and bear witness to what I have seen and testify of His character, His beauty, His goodness to those around me who do not yet know Him.

I had hoped to have this post up earlier, but we are still trying to recover and catch up with life after being on a road trip for over 2 weeks with our three young kiddos, so things are taking a little longer to get done.

I’ve talked about my friend Amanda at ohamanda.com several times before, as she is the writer of the fantastic eBook “Truth in the Tinsel“. Recently, she has also started a series on her blog where she is doing a Monthly Mission with her kids and inviting others to join in with her. They have focused on raising money for mosquito nets, clean water, writing letters to your sponsored child, and this month the focus is PRAYER – which I am ALL about when it comes to my kids! So, Amanda invited me to join her this month and share how our family will be focusing on prayer this month and I am pumped about it! The mission is to pray for someone who needs to know Jesus, but for this post, I’m going to take a slightly different approach.

One issue that we have encouraged our kids to pray about from a very early age is the issue of LIFE and the ending of abortion. I know this may seem like a really intense and difficult subject to broach with young children, but I believe there are many ways we can include them in praying about this topic in a way that they can understand and here are a few ideas to get you started!

1. Justice Loves Babies Book
Our firstborn son Justice, who is now 5 years old, was actually named from a children’s book that we discovered, which is geared exactly towards teaching children about the value of a baby growing in their mommy’s belly and how to pray for them. The book is called “Justice Loves Babies“, written by twin sisters Darlene and Danielle Wibeto and I would highly recommend you buy it for your kids or watch the video with them. It is a fantastic starting point to introducing children to this topic and teaching them about how much Jesus loves babies!

2. Pray for Pregnant Moms
A great way to start teaching your kids about praying for LIFE is to get them to pray for women they know who are pregnant. For us, this started with teaching our kids how to pray for me when I was pregnant with their siblings still in the womb. They would put their hands on my belly and we would encourage them to pray that the baby would be healthy and strong and would be filled with the Holy Spirit! From there, we started praying for others we knew who were pregnant or families who were trying to get pregnant and praying that God would give them a baby. We have seen the actual result of these prayers in amazing ways and it’s been incredible to show our kids how they were a part of those miracles being born!

3. The LIFE Prayer
Another way we have exposed our kids to this idea is that my husband and I have gotten LIFE bands from an organization called Bound4LIFE, that we wear on our wrists to remind us to pray. They have a simple prayer that is easy to learn and goes like this: “Jesus, I plead your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to your nation .” You could buy one for each member of your family (the small ones will fit older children) as a visual reminder to pray and be an advocate for LIFE. Another idea I’ve heard of, is that whenever you are sitting at a red traffic light, use it as a reminder to say the LIFE prayer together.

4. Pray for Adoptive and Foster Parents
We have come to recognize that if we desire to see an end to abortion, that we also need the Body of Christ to rise up and be willing to adopt and take in the orphans and children that would need a home and a family. You can encourage your children to pray that babies would find mommies and daddies to love them, that couples trying to adopt would be matched with the child God has for them, that God would provide them with the finances and support they need to adopt or foster, etc. etc. The picture above is of a beautiful little girl (playing with my husband’s LIFE band ) that friends of ours recently adopted. Her birth mother had actually made several appointments to have an abortion while she was pregnant, but had inexplicably been unable to go through with it. I have no doubt that this was because our friends were already praying for their baby and her birth mother, before they even knew who she was. This is a great opportunity to expose your children to the idea that there are children out there who do not have a family and to partner in prayer with these adoptive and foster parents!

I hope this has given you some ideas on how to pray about the issue of LIFE with your kids and I would love to hear if you have any other creative ideas as well!

Of course, I’d also like to invite you to join in with us on the Monthly Mission and include your kids in praying for others, no matter what format or subject! I’m hoping to write a couple more posts this month with other ideas of things to pray for with your kids. Have fun and if you write your own blog post, link up on Amanda’s site to share your ideas with others!

“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me…She has done what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Mark 14:6, 8-9

Most often, the story of Mary anointing Jesus with perfume is told in the perspective of the disciples, as they harshly rebuked her for the perceived extravagant waste of the expensive oil, which could have been sold and used to help the poor. We are encouraged to be like Mary and give up those things that are costly, sacrificing our lives in extravagant devotion to the Man that we love. I love this picture and I desire to be one who is willing to give it all for Jesus!

Yet, recently I read this story in a slightly different way…

Photo credit: Emily Mineo

It seems that Mary had a greater revelation than those around her of who Jesus was, His worth, and the death He was about to experience.

Perhaps she truly saw and understood that this Man was not only the Messiah they had been longing and waiting for, but He was truly the very Son of God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the One who is wrapped in splendor and majesty and who sits upon a throne next to His Father in the highest heavens!!

Perhaps she realized that her bottle of perfume, though a seemingly lavish gift in the eyes of man, was actually a minuscule, insignificant offering in comparison to the greatness of the One upon whom she poured it.

Perhaps she even felt unworthy to bring her gift, wondering if it would be accepted, if it could ever be enough to show her love and gratitude for Jesus, if it could ever be considered an offering fit for the Creator of the Universe??

Perhaps she wished she had more to give, wished she had more time to express her love, wished she had a better gift, more eloquent words…just more!

Wasn’t He deserving of it? Was He not worthy to have all of heaven and earth bow down and worship Him? Was He not supposed to have a crown of gold instead of a crown of thorns? Honor instead of persecution? Adoration instead of hate?

How could her small bottle of perfume possibly make a difference? How could it impact and touch His heart? How could it ever be enough?

At least, that’s what I imagine I might have been thinking. And it’s what I often think of my small offerings. My fifteen minutes (or fifteen seconds) of prayer, my brief journal entry, my weak worship that is distracted by children tugging at my pants, my small act of love for a neighbor – will it ever be enough? I wish I could do more!

And yet, Jesus’ response was, “She has done what she could.”

Not, “she has done what I demanded, what I’m deserving of, what the world says she should have done.”

She did what she could. She looked at what she had, what she had been given, what was within her means, what she had in that moment, and she simply gave it.

I’m so often tempted to look at what others are offering, wishing I had more to give, feeling as though my gifts, my abilities, my time, my money just aren’t enough. But instead, I now want to look at what I DO have and then simply do what I can, knowing that it is extravagant in the eyes of Jesus.

Her small gift was momentous enough, filled with enough of her love and adoration, that Jesus deemed it worthy for the entire world for endless generations to remember and esteem – and He does the same for you!

Do you have five minutes? Do what you can and whisper a prayer of love.
Do you have five dollars? Do what you can and give it to someone in need.
Do you have five words of encouragement? Do what you can and speak them to a friend.
Do you have five tears? Do what you can and cry them on behalf of the broken.
Do you have five seconds of patience? Do what you can and show mercy to someone who doesn’t deserve it.

It will be a sweet fragrance that Jesus will remember and treasure for all of eternity!

On March 21st, my husband Joe got to share this same joy as he led our daughter Rayah in her own acceptance of Jesus as her Savior! If you don’t follow his blog, I wanted to give you the opportunity to read the story – Part 1 and Part 2.

As we did with Justice, we took out the family to celebrate her decision and to party together with the angels! What joy there is over just one little girl saying she wants to love Jesus forever!

Hello, you . . . The one looking for more purpose and listening for God’s plan. Here’s what that restlessness is really all about: there’s a God-sized dream knocking on the door of your heart. Before you think that sounds too big, let me assure you, God-sized dreams aren’t really about size at all. They’re about the desires God places within you that perfectly fit your heart. God-sized dreams are an essential part of who you’re created to be and what you’re called to do. They lead to more meaning, joy, and connection with the One who gave them to you. In the busyness of life, it’s easy to ignore them or let fear shut them out. But this is your moment. Now is your time. The “more” your heart is longing for has been there all along. Let’s open the door to all God has for you together.

After only one chapter into the book, I knew I was in trouble! This book has begun to stir up several dreams that I have carried in my heart for several years. Dreams that I had allowed to be put on a shelf and lie dormant – whether it was because it just isn’t time yet, or because I’m afraid of stepping out and taking a risk and failing, or because the dream just seems so big that I don’t know where to begin!

I have always been a vivid dreamer, literally – my dreams at night could be made into very entertaining movies. However, I am also a big dreamer when it comes to the things that I desire to do and become in my short life on this earth. And while Holley says it’s not about the size of the dream – it’s about the God who gives them to you – unfortunately, these big dreams can paralyze me with fear and feelings of inadequacy. Holley’s book has been such a breath of fresh air with her sweet words of encouragement, a wind at my back propelling me forward into my God-sized dreams, a big wooden spoon stirring up the pot and not letting me settle in passivity, a source of truth that bolsters the heart with courage to face those fears.

There are some really practical things that will help you take those small steps towards those dreams that God has placed in your heart with great questions and assignments at the end of each chapter to take you deeper. While I haven’t had time to go through all of these yet, because of the deadline for this review, I fully intend to actually read through the book again – slowly this time, highlighting and answering the questions.

I feel like we could probably all use somebody like Holley as a friend in our lives – lol! She speaks right to you as the reader, as though she were sitting across from you, and tells you that you can accomplish your dream, to not give up, to not believe the lies, to go after it, to go after the God who gave it to you! But it’s not fluffy-puff-you-up-with-false-self-confidence talk of a motivational speaker – it’s truth from God’s word and what He would say to you. I’m sure He’s been trying to say these things to me all along, but I’m not always a very good listener, so having Holley speak it to me on His behalf was a great reminder!

I would highly recommend this book to any of the women in my life – young or old, in all walks of life – we all have dreams in our hearts and we could all use that little push to get us to obey what God is calling us to, or to give us the strength to keep going and persevering in the dream we are in the middle of pursuing. Also, on Holley’s site, she has a coupon code right now for 25% off – so go check it out!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

So, anywho, this post is to share some pictures I took of Eden as a grown-up little one-year-old. I had dreamed of taking some lovely pictures of him outside in some beautiful spring weather, but alas, as we are in “second winter” as I’ve seen some call it, with loads of snow that isn’t going anywhere fast, I had to concede and take some pictures indoors and just a few outside in the cool, crisp air. I hope you enjoy them!

Budding musician

Sweet smile

All laughs!

Inquisitive

Curious

Pensive

Chubby cheeks

Whistling a tune

Melt my heart

Just keepin’ it real!

Love this kid!

Happy 1st Birthday Eden!!

I know this post is EXTREMELY late, as Eden turned 1 year old on February 12th, but better late than never! I started back at work this month, so life has been a little busier, to say the least, and blogging has sort of fallen to the bottom of the list these days.

However, we had a lot of fun celebrating our little guy and he is such a delight (as is the meaning of his name)! In his 12th month of life, he started learning how to walk (2 months earlier than his siblings did) and learned how to go down the stairs on his own!

He didn’t cut any more teeth, though his top two teeth did finally emerge a couple weeks after his birthday.

Other than that, there haven’t been too many other new things. He learned how to wave, he’s doing laps all around the house like he owns the place, and he loves to laugh and scream a lot! He’s really at such an adorable stage and his cuteness is at an all-time high right now.

He LOVED the chocolate cupcake with icing that he got for his birthday and fully enjoyed devouring it! He got fun gifts from both grandparents and though we kept it pretty low-key, we made sure he felt loved and celebrated. So, because I get a little like the paparazzi sometimes & I can never choose which pictures to leave out, here’s a plethora to show how the whole thing played out.

Trying to touch the flame…

First taste of the icing…

Got his first fistful of cupcake!

Now he REALLY dug in! Notice the big chunk he’s cradling in his arm.

Oh yeah – holding nothing back!

Double-fisting it!

Gah! Love those eyes!

Smushing it all in…

Finger-lickin’ good!

Ready for a bath…

And then a couple more cute pictures of Eden to finish off.

Oh…I almost forgot! A final collage of all the guitar case photos from his first year!

I think 4 & 9 months are my favorites.

Love you Eden!!

I have a headache this morning…again.

My daughter is throwing a tantrum and I’m losing my patience…again.

I’m folding and putting laundry away…again.

There’s spit-up on the floor, dishes on the counter, weights on my eyelids…again.

Sometimes it’s tempting to get overwhelmed with the repetitive nature of life and all the little burdens that come with it day after day after day. But then I am reminded that Jesus encourages us to ask Him for help – no matter how many times we need it. Like the persistent widow who continually came to the judge to ask for justice until he finally relented. Like the admonition to pray without ceasing. Like His invitation to ask, seek, and knock until we get an answer. And so here I am…

Praying for healing…again.

Repenting for my own bad attitude…again.

Whispering a prayer for grace for the mundane…again.

Thanking Him for His mercies that are new every morning…again and again and again.

I am so grateful that He never tires of me coming to Him with my requests, my burdens, my cries for help, my song of worship. In fact, He encourages me to do so! He wants me to draw near, to come close, to talk to Him, to say I love Him, to persistently seek Him…again.

Psalm 14

There are those who say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are foolish and their minds have been corrupted with my enemy’s lies. To live with this belief is to live without restraint, doing whatever pleases you, completely disregarding what is right and good. For without me, there is not one person in all the earth who is good or who can please my Father.

We are always looking and searching the earth for those whose hearts are turned towards us, for those who seek after God. Yet they have all turned aside to their own ways. For truly, men are consumed with their own desires and corrupted by their own knowledge and interpretation of what is good and evil.

You can really only turn to us if my Father first draws you. Nobody can even claim to have found God on the basis of their own power or strength or wisdom, for you cannot even come to God without Him first reaching out and inviting you.

Yet, what greater invitation has ever been issued than the one He sent when He sent me to the earth! I was His living and breathing invitation to come to His banquet and feast at His table. I was and I am the answer to the sinful condition of mankind and to the searching of my people Israel for a Messiah. They saw the desperate and deplorable state of man’s heart and they longed and prayed and hoped for their salvation to come out of Zion. I am that answer! I am the salvation of the world.

My Father sent me to reveal Him to you and to open your eyes to the truth and reality of God’s existence. There could no longer be any denial that God was real – there I was in the flesh! And I came to bring release from captivity to all those who were bound by darkness and lies. I came to bring freedom to my people, that they could again rejoice and be glad.

For God is with the generation of the righteous. For those who accept me and love me, my Father and I will make our home with you, and we will be your refuge from the wicked.

** This post was influenced by the following scriptures: John 6:44; Revelation 3:20; John 14:6-11, 23-24; Isaiah 61:1-4 **

Let me say, I really love this album!

Johan Heinrich’s song “Fascinate” declares the beauty of Jesus and how He overwhelms our hearts with longing for more of Him, with this great melodic line that reminds me of Cold Play. “Heaven”, also by Johan, is an upbeat song describing the scene of God’s throne room, our desire and destiny to be in His presence and for Jesus to return. You can read Johan’s story behind this song for more insight into the heart behind it.

“Invisible God” by Jon Loeppky, contains multiple layers of choruses all resounding with the cry of the heart to see the glory and face of our beautiful, invisible God. Jon’s song, “One Found Worthy”, the title track, is taken right from the book of Revelation with proclamations of His worthiness to receive our praise and adoration, as the slain Lamb who bought us with His blood and redeemed us and was the only One found worthy to open the scrolls that usher in the end of the age!

I am personally loving Joel Agustin’s devotional song “Joy Is Mine” right now, as the themes are very closely linked to the song I sang, “Rise Up”. To me, “Rise Up” is the invitation of Jesus to His Bride to rise up and come after Him, whereas “Joy Is Mine” is our response to that invitation, declaring that we will run after Him. I had this song cranked up in my ear buds the other day and was singing it at the top of my lungs in my kitchen and it was so good for my heart!

Rebecca Peters’ song “Maranatha” is another favorite of mine on this album and I knew right away that I wanted to learn it, so that I could play and sing it myself. It’s a great corporate worship song about the beauty of Jesus (a recurring theme on this album) along with an expression of gratitude that He is Immanuel, God with us, coupled with the tension that Jesus is not here now and the cry of His Bride saying, “Maranatha!” which is usually interpreted to mean “Come, Lord!”. Her second song, “Nothing’s Gonna Keep Me Away” is a super happy song that fills your heart with joy and faith at the simple truths of God’s unfailing, inseparable love.

“Matchless”, by Cherie Schellenberg, is the hands down favorite song of my kids, with its fun dance beats, and they ask to listen to it on repeat, dancing and jumping all over the place! It’s all about the incomparable beauty (there it is again!) of Jesus with many descriptions of His character and glory.

Then of course, there’s my husband Joe’s song, “To the Most High”, which surprises you with its raw edginess right from the start and you just can’t help but smile! This “rock anthem”, as Joe described it, is about ascribing Jesus the praise He is due as our mighty warrior King. My favorite line, “You stand alone” combined with the slightly dark rhythms and melodies, gives me the goosebumps!

Overall, this album is one that invites you into intimacy with Jesus and to behold His beauty and give Him the worship due His Name. I really love it and encourage you to get yourself a copy! Not only will you enjoy it and hopefully be ushered into His presence, but you will help support the worship leaders at Sanctuary House of Prayer to keep doing what they’re doing, ministering to Him as the only One worthy of our praise.