I AM Strong and Courageous

Moses is dead. 

Joshua will lead from here. 

Get ready, we're crossing the Jordan.

I am strong and courageous. 

He is always on my lips.

I meditate on Him day and night.

I am strong and very courageous.

I am not afraid.

I am not discouraged.

For my Father is with me wherever I go.

I am strong and courageous.

Brave. 

Fear does not lead me.

My identity in the Father does.

I am strong and courageous. 

I am more aware of Him than I am of any fears. 

I fix my eyes on Him. 

And I don't look away, 

not even for a second.

I am strong and courageous.

I am headed for the Promised Land.

A place for me. 

A place of rest.

A place of freedom.

I am strong and courageous.

I enter the land.

I take the land.

I possess the land.

The land the Father has given me.

I am strong and courageous.

With Him.

In Him.

I AM His

Hey there Mariah Carey.
I almost forgot about you...








_____________________________________________

[individually and collectively]
We have always been His...
We will always be His...



We were as one babe
For a moment in time
And it seemed everlasting
That you would always be Mine
Now you wanna be free
So I'll let you fly
'Cause I know in My heart babe
Our love will never die

You'll always be a part of Me
I'm part of you indefinitely
Boy don't you know you can't escape Me
Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be My baby
And we'll linger on
Time can't erase a feeling this strong
No way you're never gonna shake Me
Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be My baby

I ain't gonna cry no
And I won't beg you to stay
If you're determined to leave boy
I will not stand in your way
But inevitably
You'll be back again
'Cause you know in your heart babe
Our love will never end


I know that you'll be back boy
When your days and your nights get a little bit colder
I know that you'll be right back baby
Oh baby believe me it's only a matter of time

I AM...Whole

I say it every day with math students:

Frustration is not a bad thing.

Frustration is healthy.

Of course you’re having trouble understanding it, you just learned it.

Of course you’re going to make mistakes. 

Mistakes are not a bad thing.

Mistakes are healthy.

Of course the fact that you just spent 20 minutes on that problem and got the wrong answer is not a waste of time.

It is so obvious to me.

Of course.

And the one who surrenders to that process comes out stronger.  Fuller.  Whole.

And constantly, as I encourage this very thing to students –day in and day out;

Reminding them that the process of frustration and mistakes is healthy and necessary;

Constantly as I know this in math—

I forget it in every other part of life.

Frustration.  Mistakes. 

These are not designed to take us further from our vision.

They are designed to more fully, more wholly, more foundationally take us into our vision.

When they rise their head, see them for what they are: Tools.  Spring boards.  Insights into the whole.

We are a family that does not give up. 

No. Matter. What.

Let whatever may rise, rise. 

Keeping our eyes, our vision—fixed on Him. 

Full in Him.

Whole in Him.

I AM...worth it.

I can't hear this song without hearing Isaiah 55 and Hosea 2-3.


Justin Timberlake "Not a Bad Thing" 
All I want from you is to see you tomorrow,
and every tomorrow;
Maybe you'll let me borrow your heart?
And is it too much to ask for every Sunday?
And while we're at it,
throw in every other day to start?


I know people make promises all the time;
then they turn right around and break them.
And someone cuts your heart open with a knife;
while you're bleeding.
Don't you know I could be that guy,
to heal it over time;
And I won't stop until you believe it;
cause baby you're worth it-- So-o...


Don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love-- with Me.
You might look around and find your dreams come true-- with Me.
Spend all your time and your money just to find out that My Love-- was free.
So don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love-- with Me.
It's not a bad thing to fall in love-- with Me.


And EVERY MORN-ING,
I just wanna see you staring back at Me.
Cause I know that's a good place to start.


And if you fall,
you'll always land,
right in these arms.
These arms of Mine.


_________________________________

Isaiah 55: 1-3
“Come,
all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money;
come,
buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen,
listen to me,
and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen,
that you may live."
_________________________________
Hosea 2-3
“Then she'll say,
'I'm going back to my husband,
the one I started out with.
That was a better life by far than this one.'
She didn't know that it was I all along who wined and dined and adorned her.”
…
“ 'And now,
here's what I'm going to do:
I'm going to start all over again.
I'm taking her back out into the wilderness where we had our first date,
and I'll court her.
I'll give her bouquets of roses.
I'll turn Heartbreak Valley into Acres of Hope.
She'll respond like she did as a young girl,
those days when she was fresh out of Egypt.' ”
…
“ 'And then I'll marry you for good-- forever!
I'll marry you true and proper,
in love and tenderness.
Yes,
I'll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go.
You'll know me,
God,
for who I really am.' ”
…
“ They'll come back chastened to reverence before God and his good gifts,
ready for the End of the story of his love.”
_________________________________

I AM trusted.

Father has been talking to me lately:
"I trust YOU."
"It's not about making a 'wrong' decision here."
"What do YOU want to do?"
"What do YOU want?"

We are scared to be given authority, let alone walk in it.
The thought of failing or messing up seems much more detrimental than perhaps it is in actuality.
But He has GIVEN us authority.
He WANTS us to walk in it.
It is His JOY to have us walk in it (EVEN if we mess it up!)
That authority,
that freedom,
releases us to fully become.
It prepares us to be able to carry more.
Steward more.
More. And more.

The very thing, as a child, I asked of from the Father:
To have the power, the choice.
And now, when given that --
My initial reaction is to shrink back.
To say, "No."
To cry out for someone to guide me.
To cry out for someone to tell me what to do.

I am scared.
Freedom.
Power.
Authority.
It's scary to me.

and yet I still hear Him whisper, "I trust you."
He trusts me.
I am trusted.
When I have His heart---I go and HE follows ME!

...now I just need to figure out where to go...

I AM...sometimes offended.

I am sometimes offended.
Offense.
Makes me feel: Ehh. Yuk.
I get frustrated when I see others respond in it.
I get frustrated when I see myself responding in it.

I think the more and more we mature, the less and less we find ourselves offended.

Instead of offense, seek true understanding.
Instead of offense, see hidden opportunity.
Instead of offense, self reflection.
Instead of offense, Jesus reflection.
Instead of offense, vulnerability.
Instead of offense, walking with each other amidst our process. 

Why are we offended? THIS IS GOOD.
Why are we offended?  THERE IS AMAZING OPPORTUNITY HERE.
Why are we offended?  WE SIMPLY HAVE DIFFERENT VISIONS.
Why are we offended?  WHAT'S THE REAL ISSUE?

I think offense is more often a ME problem than it is a YOU problem.
I am offended because I need to work through something in ME, not because of what YOU did to me.
What YOU did simply revealed what needs worked through in ME.


Let our hearts not be offended. 
On the other side of our offense, is opportunity. 

And I don't want to miss out...

I AM...tamed.

So...you want to know what's been stirring in me this week...well here it is... 


Relationship.
I believe in it.
It is a good thing.
Marriage.
I believe in it.
It is a good thing.

A good, healthy, fruitful relationship/marriage allows two individuals to grow each other into who they really are.

I realize we don't all have 100% awesome experiences of relationships.  Whether that be past or present personal experiences or the past or present experiences of those close to us.

And still...
My heart says YES to marriage.
It says YES knowing, that seasons (both short and sometimes so terribly long) could possibly sit around the corner waiting to pour in.
It says YES knowing, that commitment is hard-work.
It says YES knowing, that it's never only about me anymore (but was it ever only about me?)
It says YES knowing, that sometimes my heart will be broken.
It says YES knowing, I could break someone else's heart.
It says YES knowing, at any moment, out of my control, the other person could call it all off and despite all my efforts and fights and commitment, it could be over...
It says YES.

I say YES.
YES, Marriage.
I believe in it.
It is a good thing.

Relationship is always worth it.

We are not alive unto ourselves.  We are alive in unity with those around us. 

In marriage with Jesus the bridegroom or in marriage with earthly man:
We invest in each other fully only to become more fully alive --each of us.


Love is worth the risk of pain. 
My heart screams this.
My spirit believes this with everything that's in me. 


I can't describe it any better than with some quotes from one of my favorite books, "The Little Prince.":


“ONE RUNS THE RISK OF WEEPING A LITTLE, IF ONE LETS HIMSELF BE TAMED."

“Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.”

“…but if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world…if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow.”

“What does tamed mean? It's something that's been too often neglected. It means to create ties.”

“I am beginning to understand," said the little prince. "There is a flower... I think that she has tamed me...”


I'm sorry but isn't that crazy beautiful?  Does this make anyone else just burst into tears? 
AMAZING. 
I want to tame. 
I want to be tamed. 
I don't want to stay in my burrow hiding from potential pain. 

It is SO worth it. 
Let our walls come down. 
May we open ourselves up, vulnerability come forth, trusting.

It is SO worth it. 
We are SO worth it.
HE is SO worth it.

I hope you hear my heart in this...