Untitled by Kate Crane (April 2011)

You tell me that You are God and that I am not
You tell me that without risking something I cannot become who You truly want me to be
You tell me that I can do nothing to earn Your grace, but rather that it is Your gift to me
You tell me that without letting go, I cannot experience true faith and trust in You
You tell me that You love me, even if I push You away or don’t love You back
You tell me that You care and will be there for me every time I come to You
You tell me that I have value, no matter what I think of myself or what the world says about me
You tell me that You are more than enough for me
You tell me that I am important to You, even though I may just be one small grain of sand on the shore
You tell me that You know everything about me, and love me anyway
You tell me that You don’t really actually need me, but rather that You really just want me

You show me that You are real and powerful through the beauty of a sunset and waves by the ocean
You show me that I can trust You, by providing for my every need
You show me that You know what’s best for me by working out Your perfect and far better plans in my life
You show me that You are behind me and supporting my, by placing friends in my life to do just that
You showed me that You loved me through the ultimate death on the cross, that I deserved

In response, You ask of me some very simple things
You ask me to trust You with everything that I am
You ask me to lay down every part of me at the foot of Your cross
You ask for all my hopes, dreams, struggles, and fears
You ask me to allow You to hold me and to wipe every tear from my eye
You ask me to simply trust You and that You know what You are doing and have my best interest in mind
You ask me to love You back in return
You ask me to follow the rules You have laid down before me, so that I can have life to the fullest
You ask me to seek out my value in You and not in the things of this world
You ask me to trust Your power and not in my inabilities
You ask me to give You every part of me, so that Your name can be heard across the nations

And in return, I will praise You, for You deserve only that
For You were there when the world wasn’t or when I pushed You away
You asked for my all, and did not relent when instead I slammed the door in Your face
Rather, You stayed there waiting for me to be ready for You
You took the penalty I should have suffered and gave me a shot at a relationship with You
You gave me Your love, even when I was full of sin
You gave me each and everything that I ever needed
For You, and You alone are holy and worthy of my praise

I will give You my heart, for You and You alone to mend form the torment caused by a sinful world
I will give You my life to take and use just as You please, in every way You desire
I will give You my plans and my desires, replace them with Your own
I will give You complete control, take it out of my hands
I will give You my scars, my fears, my shame, my hurt, my pride, for You to deal with as You please

And so I ask of You simply to mold me and change me to be more and more like You
I ask You to teach me how to trust You, how to love You and how to serve You more fully
And I ask that You would guide me only in the paths of righteousness
For my one and only desire is to serve You and You alone

A Snowy Monday Encouragement

"Joy is a serious problem for Christians. Actually, the real problem is our lack of it. Believers feel oppressed, depressed, stressed and burned-out at alarming levels. Why? Because we feel disconnected from God's plan and purpose. We don't comprehend how our daily to-do lists fit in the eternal landscape, or how our month-to-month survival leaves time for an everlasting vision. We want every moment to count and every activity to bear fruit, but we don't see how they do. And worst of all, we don't see how His desires for our lives fit our desires for our lives. We get discouraged because we lose our vision.

Two proverbs give us insight into human depression: "If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what He reveals, they are most blessed" (Proverbs 29:18, The Message); and, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12). In both cases, whether from impaired vision or denied gratification, discouragement is a result of the disconnect between human hope and God's design. When we're on the construction site while the Architect's plans are hidden away in an office somewhere, we're lost.

But His plans are not hidden away. If we think He'll post them on a billboard, we'll be disappointed, but if we seek them like buried treasure, life will be an adventure. And an adventurous life is a joyful life. The exhilaration of being led by God is the sure antidote to a life of discouragement. It leads to shouting and gladness.

How would you describe your life today? Are you in a glad shouting mode, or are you in burnout survival mode? If the latter, why? You have access to the Architect's design and an open invitation to be a part of it. not only that, you can rest assured that His desires for you line up with the deepest needs and appetites of your heart. The disconnect between your will and His and between your hopes and His is an illusion. He crafted you to fit your place in the plan. That should be worth a joyful shout."

(Worship the King by Chris Tiegreen)

Something that God has really been challenging me about is this: Am I stuffing God into my plans or am I stuffing myself into God's plans? There is a huge difference between the two. When I lay out my life and what I want, and then look to God to fit, He isn't going to fit. Because more often than not, my plans are not His. Rather, I need to sit down and ask God to show me what His plans are and how I am supposed to be a part of that. I then need to allow Him to craft and mold me so that I fit perfectly into all that He desires. Be encouraged by the perfectness of His, and join me in the adventure of trusting Him with all that I am and allowing His plans to unravel in my life and yours.