today in the book i'm reading people died for sake of the cross, later i heard a message on Stephen a martyr for the gospel, and in between these two instances i had a conversation where i was urged to really think about what's important in my life.

on top of the weekend i've had, all i can say is that i am so blessed. even if i'm not currently physically dying i know what is important in my life and i will run towards that, and i pray i would do so regardless of the cost.

pray without ceasing

whatcha doin'?

QT, praising with Jesus
waking up, waking to Jesus
brushing my teeth, brushing with Jesus
taking a shower, talking to Jesus
walking to work, walking with Jesus
working hard, working with Jesus
eating lunch, eating with Jesus
meeting up, ministering with Jesus
going to bed, talking to Jesus

talking to Jesus, eating with Jesus, walking with Jesus, working with Jesus, ministering with Jesus.

think about it. so sweet.

someone i knew in a different life wrote this on his twitter today and i thought it was pretty powerful:

purity is not the principle of holiness applied to the area of sexuality. Holiness not abstinence is the standard.

thursday nights

Coming into this year I knew God had crazy things in store for me to see, experience, be broken by, be blessed by, but I had no clue that my Thursday nights would be this insanely blessing. If you talk to me, I often say I have the best servants team ever, but in light of the fact that I have been told recently that I need to explain the reasoning behind my words- here is my reasoning. I often find myself an incapable leader, not because I'm not commanding or demanding or don't have a vision, but because, for me, I run on emotion. I make my mind up through logic then run on emotion full forced. So, though I'm methodical, I think it's hard for people to grasp why I love or why I w/e the way I do...therefore bad leader. Good leader = being clear, showing the vision, preparing people, etc etc.
Despite this, I really feel like C and I have come to see my vision and have joined along with their own swag. And it's so good. Beyond good. So good. I am so encouraged by the ways that you're growing. I can SEE it. It's tangible...it's like right in front of me like a big billboard. I'm so blessed by the way that we work as a team. We all have our little jobs and it works like a oiled machine. I am so challenged by your ideas and thoughts. I love how we are testifying of what God is doing in the little things. I am overwhelmed by how God is using you two to teach our family group members. I love how after our servants meeting...we just sit and share and enjoy laughter, stresses, awkward moments, but generally just our little B-1 culture bubble.
One things I shared with one of the pastors earlier this year is that I get really overwhelmed at the thought that I am leading people who are going to "grow up" to do even crazier things than I ever did for God. Thank you C and I for letting me see and experience what it means to be a part of growing leaders who will do far beyond what I will ever do- I am so blessed by you two. I am so blessed by our Thursday nights.

water diluted sweetened condensed milk [SCM]

is not as sweet, or rich, or yummy on top of strawberries.

As a kid, I was allergic to food coloring (don't worry it didnt last too long) so my sweet tooth was relegated to eating fruit. Mind you, I LOVE fruit, but I honestly wanted to eat cake and the awesome brazilian treat things at birthday parties (see: http://www.mybrazilianportuguese.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/brigadeiro.jpg) So to spice up my strawberries came SCM. If you haven't had it. Try it. It's awesome. On top of almost anything. But I digress.

Today, I brought strawberries topped with SCM...but...I made a fatal mistake of washing my strawberries right before applying the SCM which lead to just sweet milk by the time lunch came around. The "condensed" is the texture, the richness, the yum. Though still sweet and milky...the concentrated yummy goodness is GONE.

And because I have a strange thought process, I thought about how often God tops his blessings with SCM but I choose to dilute with many other good things (washing fruit is good). Today I just want to rest in his rich, concentrated, sweet goodness to me. Don't dilute your SCM today.