oh my soul faint not

oh my soul. faint not. no faint not. oh my soul keep up. up in love.

"the ransomed of the Lord will return. they will enter Zion with singing. everlasting joy will crown their heads. gladness and joy will overtake them and sorrow and sighing will flee away." Isaiah 51:11

delight.

"the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love." psalm 147:10
"the Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him." psalm 37:23
"take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." psalm 37:4
"for the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory." psalm 149:4
"i delight greatly in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God." isaiah 61:10
"for the Lord will take delight in you." isaiah 62:4
"the Lord your God is with you,  the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you, in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." zephaniah 3:17


delight.

this word keeps coming back to my mind and heart. i can't get it outa my head. the idea that God delights in me. not an idea, but a reality. He does delight in me and in you. in a bible study we had to read genesis 1-2, which i've read many times, but this time we had to look at the attributes of God in the scripture. the thing that really hit me was that when God created us, He had a purpose and enjoyment in doing things for us that would please us. In genesis 2 is says, "now the Lord had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food....the Lord God took man and put in him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." God put us in the garden and made trees that would be pleasing to the eye and good for food. He really wanted to delight in us and do good things for us. He gave us a purpose by putting us in the garden to work it and care for it. God specifically chose to make us and give us good things, He wants us to have food that is good. the little things that affect us are important to Him. He didn't just create us and leave us with nothing. God wants us to be taken care of and He delights in seeing us have life.

on the flip side of God delighting in us, He wants us to delight in Him. He tells us that if we delight in Him He'll give us the desires of our heart. if we are delighting in God then our hearts will be growing more like His heart  and we will have the same desires as God's heart. the things in this world are worthless to delight in. they will never fulfill. the times in my life when i have felt the most joy are the times when i am wasting my life sitting at the feet of  Jesus, delighting in Him. i want to want Jesus. i want to need Jesus. i want to delight in Him and i love it that He delights in me. it's very hard for me to always believe that He does delight in me. i feel so worthless and so unworthy, but i want to trust the promises God has spoken in His word telling me that i am His daughter, that He loves me not matter what, that i am His heir, and that He does take delight in me, His creation. i pray that this relationship of delight will grow stronger each day. God i delight in you!

be my everything. you are everything. Jesus. everything.

irrevocably for us

"What the Bible teaches is that God becomes 100% irrevocably for us at the moment of justification, that is, the moment when we see Christ as a beautiful Savior and receive him as our substitute punishment and our substitute perfection. All of God’s wrath, all of the condemnation we deserve, was poured out on Jesus. All of God’s demands for perfect righteousness were fulfilled by Christ. The moment we see (by grace!) this Treasure and receive him in this way, his death counts as our death and his condemnation as our condemnation and his righteousness as our righteousness, and God becomes 100% irrevocably for us forever in that instant." John piper

my friend kristen

photo by kristen doornbos

photo and dress by kristen doornbos

today i am thankful for my friend. i have watched her over the past couple years. when i first met her she was this little girl who desperately wanted to know God. she was shy, quiet, full of emotion, unsure, deep in thought, and timid. i have seen God transform her this year from that pure and innocent girl into a young woman. she has obeyed God when he told her to go to far away places. she has taken leaps of faith that inspire me and those around her. he has trusted God. she has used the gifts and talents that God has given her to love kids all summer at a camp. she has searched for God's direction and purpose in her life. she has taken on the challenge and joy of reading God's word from beginning to end. she has shared her heart in writing words. she has created and sew quilts and other beautiful things in worship of Jesus to give as gifts to those he has shown to her to give to. she has captured precious moments of my girls' lives on film.

photo by kristen doornbos

she is so full of life and passion for Jesus. God keep working in her, use her for your glory. when she lived with me for those 4 months, i can count the number of times i heard her play her guitar and sing. for the past 3 days i have not been able to stop listening to her songs. God has truly gifted her with His words in lyrics and his composition of music. God thank you for pouring your love into Kristen and i bless you that she is now pouring it out to the world around her.