Men and women of great valor

I have no tattoos, but if I were to pick a scripture tattoo right now it would definitely be this one:

One man of you shall chase a thousand,

for the LORD your God is who fights for you,

as He promised you.

Therefore, take careful heed to yourselves,

that you LOVE the LORD your God.

-Joshua 23:10-11

I'm trying so hard to write this on my heart and believe it in my life.

Sometimes I find myself wanting to write scripture all over my body, just for the sake of remembering it! I'm the type of person who constantly needs reminders in front of me. I'm not good at memorizing verses, so I need to stay constant in the Word in order to keep it at the forefront of my mind.

I bet God had a plan in that. Sneaky God. ;P

As I'm reading through the Old Testament, 

I've been noticing God referring to certain men as, men of great "valor." I love that.

Here's what the dictionary has to say about "valor."

val·or

boldness or determination in facing great danger,

especially in battle; heroic courage; bravery: a medal for valor.

I think I could go on and on about this, but for the sake of time I won't.

I just pray that God shapes my heart and your heart in such a way,

that we too can be called:

:: Men & women of great VALOR ::

In ONE sentence...

...share what God is teaching you at this time.

Mine: To be CONSTANT in the WORD!

Matthew 4:4 - Man cannot live by bread alone. He must feed off every Word that proceeds the mouth of God.

Zephany, Pilgrimage Collection

I found this picture online when searching the word pilgrimage. I love it.
To me this painting symbolizes, wounds, faith, grace, strength, beauty, and war all in one. 
As Christians, that's a lot of what we represent. 
We're on a continuous pilgrimage. 
Although our path is narrow, our hope is wide. 
Often times I get discouraged, trying to figure out what carrying my cross actually looks like daily, but then again I'm reminded, I don't have to take the lead on that, Christ in me has already gone before me.
I just need to simply follow.  
He is the author and perfecter of our faith. 
Hebrews 12:2
Keep pressing. 
He is the perfect leader. 
The perfect guide. 
The perfect companion. 
The perfect role-model.
The perfect inspiration. 
The perfect peace. 
The perfect faith. 
The perfect hope. 
The perfect truth. 
The perfect friend. 
The perfect helper. 
The perfect strength. 
The perfect anchor. 
Simply, perfect.

Dependence

I titled this post "Dependence," because the more I read the Bible the more I realize how much my dependence needs to be on God. Also, the more I read and fellowship with Him I realize how unworthy I am to be used by Him. I've been struggling these past fews days feeling guilty for not measuring up to the Love God has for me. I'm fighting a battle of guilt that comes when you realize how badly you NEED Him. I know I shouldn't feel guilty, because Jesus paid it all...so I'm trying. I press on in hopes of believing and living out the truth. I'm surrendering these feelings, and this helplessness to Him. 

The following came to mind last night while I was wrestling with this tension. 

He encamps my heart.
     He calls me to a mission of obedience,
        to a surrender of love,

          and to a commitment of faith.

:: New Beginnings & Fresh Starts ::

I'm all about new beginnings and fresh starts and that is what the New Year is to me. 

I might not always the best at keeping to these new beginnings and fresh starts, but I like to think that I at least try, which is better than nothing right?

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.  -Dale Carnegie

Be always at War with your vices,
at peace with your neighbors,
and let each New Year find you
a better person. -Benjamin Franklin

For me personally I read B.Franklin's quote as "your vices" being the iniquities within myself. 

If I don't turn to fight them daily, then their is no hope in trying for anything greater. 

The war begins within myself.  

It begins with self-examination, which by choice either leads to change or stagnation.  

Lord willing, I choose the change.

Change is already there. I must be willing to reach out and take it. 

Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. -LORD

 

Here's most of our goals for the year. 

We decided to write them out like this so we can observe them daily. 

Our #1 goal is to read the Bible daily and read it all the way through in one year. 

I personally have never done this before. So far we're on track, and I absolutely LOVE it. 

I feel guilty that I've been missing out for so long. God has been pouring, more like DOWN POURING into me through His Word. I am SO blessed by it. 

I could go on and on and on about the things He's teaching me through it.

The Word is meant to be our life. Our substance. Our truth. 

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.- Matthew 4:4

How can we be and make disciples if we ourselves are not being discipled through the written manual God specifically ordained for US?  

This is my focus: To experience more of God's POWER in my life through His Word, and through a relationship with Him. 

We have a choice to either allow Satan's power to rule, or God's power to rule in and over us. 

Lord willing I'm striving to choose God's power and I hope you are too.

 

I transformed this frame into a chalkboard, wrote our goals on it, 

and then both Kevin and I signed it. 

 

:: Cheers to new beginnings and to fresh starts!!  ::

Matthew.

Matthew; Chapters 5-7 are killing me. 

I can't bring myself to read anything else in the bible. 

God is speaking something to me here.

His word is life changing.

Read the Sermon on the Mount.

Don't stop until you really do all that it says. 

This could take me AWHILE.

I hope to share more later.

¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

Urgent

This thing called God is real, 

and it's only going to keep getting realer. 

...for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
   "Wake up, O sleeper,
      rise from the dead,
          and Christ will shine on you." Eph.5:14

So God, in his greatness, has been beaconing my spirit, etching at my heart, and captivating my mind. Everywhere I look, everything I read, all the devotionals I hear have been urging me to go deeper. To get real, because God is only going to keep getting realer. When he returns I want to be ready...

"...for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Luke 12:40b

This theme keeps playing out in my life, like a song getting stuck in my head. I think God is trying to catch my attention, I think he's trying to woo me in, I think he's trying something new with his potter hands. With the countless entry's of truth hitting my heart lately, I believe he's calling. Calling me, to no longer live lukewarm, to live wide awake, and to renew. It's time I answered his call.

I've been reading this book with College Life called "Wide Awake" by Edwin McManus. I just have to say, it's awesome. I've only begun reading it and would already recommend it to somebody.
Here's the gist of it so far. These are the random note's I've taken while reading the book. Maybe it will entice your taste buds as well. :)
Notes:

Life is a work of art. 

Paint your dreams born of burdens. {love this thought}

Your life becomes the brush, you are an artist.

Dream of things that don't exist, but must exist. {awesome challenge}

If we want to live the wide awake life of our dreams, 

we must trust God to guide us on a journey we cannot take on our own.

At church yesterday, Matt Cote spoke and presented a challenge that I feel I must take. DANG YOU MATT, for challenging us!  I had already begun challenging myself to go deeper and get more serious about my personal time with God, but today's message put the cherry on the cake. Matt presented a challenge that's going to be tough, it's not conducive to my schedule, it means I need to move things around, figure some things out, and work it in. His challenge you ask? To RENEW. For 40 days, read the bible for at least 25 mins. I know what your thinking, because as I type this I'm thinking it too...this seems like a simple-easy-no-brainer-task, well if it is, then why am I not doing it already? Not so simple anymore.

Matt's message touched on the fact that Christians {some % that I forget, but it's a lot} no longer consider the Bible the Masterpiece that it is. {my take on what he spoke on} --> At the end of the day, our dependancy isn't on what God's word says, but instead our lives become dependent upon our own understanding. We no longer depend on the Word of God, but instead we brush it off like an annoying fly. Our motto is no longer "God Speaks", but instead "We Speak".

Matt went on to say that, "God is not a matter of talk, but of power." 

"For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power." 1 Cor. 4:20

The challenge now is to .RENEW. through the Word of God. To actually read it. To actually get to know it. To actually live out the masterpiece that is it.

"It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, 

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

So, today begins the journey of 40 days in God's word. 

If you're doing it too, send me a link to your blog, I'd love to follow you.