Thursday, April 28, 2011

Psalm 28

"To You, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your most holy sanctuary. Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord or the work of their hands; He will tear them down and build them up no more. Blessed be the Lord! For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him. The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed. Oh, save Your people and bless Your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever."

He wants me! He hears my plea, my surrender. My gratitude is weak.


Will I cling to the Rock? Will I surrender? Will I give up because I can't do it? Do I look for the fingerprints of God in this day? Am I looking for strength from someone or something other than God? Will I rest, trust, and believe and let Daddy carry me on His strong shoulders?

What's it gonna take to make me that desperate?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

the joys of Pandora :o)


so i've been listening to Pandora a lot lately and I have the Kari Jobe station playing this week-- i fall in love with lyrics quite frequently..but some i just can't help but share! so here is In Your Arms by Meredith Andrews!

I'm turning the world off

Embracing the silence

Walking away from all the voices

That are screaming in my ear

I've been to caught up

I've been so stressed out

And all of the noise replaced the whisper

That used to be so clear

So I close every door

And put my face back on the floor

And I'm in Your arms

Where I belong

There's no other place for me

Than right where You are

Some things just don't change

When I call Your name

You never hesitate to wrap me in endless grace

When I'm in Your arms

I'm letting my fears go

Giving You control

For You are the One who holds me closer

In my soul's darkest night

Everything I see

Is so temporary

So help me to run the race before me

With eternity in sight

Now I close every door

And put my face back on the floor

And I'm in Your arms

Where I belong There's no other place for me

Than right where You are

Some things just don't change

When I call Your name

You never hesitate to wrap me up in endless grace

When I'm in Your arms

To sit at Your feet

At Your table of mercy

To gaze on Your beauty, my Lord

To drink from Your well

And be changed by Your glory

How could I ask for more?

Jesus, how could I ask for more?

Than to be in Your arms

Where I belong

There's no other place for me

Than right where You are

Some things don't change

When I call on Your name

You never hesitate to wrap me in endless grace

When I'm in Your arms


I feel like this song describes where I'm at right now. Hallelujah that God continuously wraps me in His endless grace!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

that place i hold so dear

Hallelujah!

Jesus is SO good. That phrase seems so simple, but if I were to try to describe all that Jesus is and all that He is doing...I think it'd be something like the whole world would be covered in books about a thousand feet high!! Hard to believe that I am almost finished with my sophmore year in college..I'm almost halfway. That's just CRAZY. As Summer approaches, I find that I am bubbling over with excitement for all my brothers and sisters who will be serving people all over the world and making Jesus' name famous! It excites me even more that there will daily be new members added to the Lord's family as they begin their new journey in following Jesus and learning how to become a disciple.


There are four different trips that i know of right now that are going to one of my favorite continents-AFRICA!!!! Although, I myself am not going..i feel like i am. I have spent so much time in prayer for these teams and these individuals who are preparing and for the people that they will be coming into contact with. God doesn't need them to reach these people, but He has chosen to use them and that is just such a crazy awesome thing. My new friend and brother in Christ, Thomas Fancher is going to South Africa with the Chi Alpha college ministry through UCA. I don't know a lot of details of what they will be doing or exactly where they will be or who they are working with..but God does, and I'm excited that there is a team carrying His name to those people. Then there's my family of brothers and sisters going to Kampala, Uganda through TeensServe. What an awesome ministry that I have had the privledge of being apart of! I am so excited for those who are returning and those who have never been before. They are going to be spending precious time with orphans and widows in the slums of the capital city. My prayer for them is that they will have such unity and guidance from the Lord as the interact with each person! And then another new friend of mine and sister in Christ, Taylor Bramlett, is going to Kampala as well through a ministry that a friend of hers has started. They will be doing a lot of the same stuff as TeensServe I imagine and how cool that these two teams will be in that city at the same time--covering more ground and showing that city the love of Jesus and what it looks like to follow Him and be recklessly abandoned!


These trips have been so much on my heart today, especially, but more and more as summer draws near! I want to know what my brothers and sisters are doing to build the Kingdom this summer! please tell where you will be and what you will be doing so i can join in prayer for you and your ministry!


For those who don't know-- my ministry this summer is VINTAGE. Vintage is a discipleship program that i have the opportunity to be apart of through First Baptist Church in Russellville. I will be spending the majority of my summer May 31st-July 28th living in Russellville and learning and growing with a team of believers. We will be focusing on these areas: Evangelism training, Prayer, Small Group Bible Study, Inductive Bible Study training, large group teaching sessions, and focus trips. This program is all about learning how to be a better disciple and how to disciple others! I am really excited to learn and grow and be even more prepared to make Jesus famous on the ATU campus. Another awesome part of Vintage is the opportunity to serve in Toronto, Canada. Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the entire world and almost every religion is represented there. The Toronto Trip is July 6th- July 13th. This trip will be an awesome opportunity to experience different cultures and learn about different religions and will also be a way to put into practice what we have learned to reach different people groups there!


Please be praying for the group of 21 students who will be doing Vintage this summer! We are extremely ready to get going and we're looking forward to seeing God move in some big ways. :o)


All to my God and King


Taylor