calling & vision

the other day i was praying into my calling and vision. this is what i heard from God.

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.  

² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit,

 and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.  

³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.  

⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit 

if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, 

will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.  

⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away

like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 

⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for 

anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, 

you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.  

¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, 

just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 

¹¹ I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 

¹² This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 

¹³ There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command.  

¹⁵ I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. 

Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 

¹⁶ You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, 

so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

  ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other."

//// john 15:1-17 

so many treasures in this passage.

God told me to write out the main components of a tree. so i wrote;

soil, trunk, roots, fruit, branches

then He gave me these words;

perspective, beliefs, values, decisions, fruit

& then God told me to match them up.

beliefs - soil

values - roots

perspective - trunk

decisions - branches

fruit - fruit

i asked God what message He wanted to come 

across to me and it was simple yet profound

(should i expect anything less) 

plant seeds in me and me alone & I will

unveil my plans & promises  

welcome to 23.

today is my birthday! i asked God for a word for my 

23rd year of life and this is what God gave me.

"I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.  For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God." //// philippians 1:9-11.

how good is our God?

God, here's to a year of discovering new levels of love and knowledge and understanding of You and the people in my life and the people who will come into my life. God, i want to live completely and wholly for You. God, i live to worship you. thank you for another year.

amen.

growing pains & rainbows

i finished my 21 day fast!

was it worth it? yes, very very much so.  

was it hard? yes. 

would i do it again? of course. 

when i started it God spoke to me that january and february would be months filled with growing pains. & that word has proven itself. but one thing that has remained through the growing pains is God. i would be hungry and i would pray and instantly the hunger would be gone. 

God sustained me beyond belief. 

He stretched me beyond belief 

& Him and i grew closer than we ever been.

yesterday was hard. i was wrestling through something with God. 

i spent the majority of my morning in worship and tears. 

but God moved and spoke. He began to reveal to me the discrepancies 

between my plan and His. it was physically painful. 

after about 3 hours of wrestling with God, i was exhausted. 

i decided to take it easy the rest of the day. another growing pain.

later in the evening i went out for coffee with a group of my young adult friends. 

we talked about our lives, our struggles and our breakthrough. 

it was awesome and an answer to prayer. 

about 4 months ago i had prayed for more solid girl friends. 

that doesn't mean that the ones i have weren't good enough 

but i prayed for God to send specific women into my life somehow 

who would help me grow in Him. 

since i prayed that the size of the young adults group 

my roommate and i lead doubled in the amount of girls attending!

God is good right?!

because yesterday was hard i am still feeling the exhaustion today.

but God never fails.

this morning on the way to work i told God i was

fully surrendering to God's plans and letting His plans be my plans. 

i prayed that God would send me visible signs that 

He was with me and guess what.

i turned the corner and there was a sun dog/rainbow.

i started to cry and thank God for His goodness and faithfulness.

how great is our God?!

with all this being said & all these stories and rambling.

i want to make this clear. through the growing pains

and through the trials, remember your foundation.

remember who has overcome the darkness.

remember that God is the God of the impossible

and He will help you slay the giant in your life.