Hitting the Road

I'm going to be MIA for the next few weeks for some exciting reasons!

Reason number 1: I will be spending Christmas with some family at home!

Reason number 2: I will be leaving almost immediately after Christmas for an all-expenses-paid trip to Kansas City for the One Thing conference at IHOP... which is partially work-related, but I'll be ringing in the New Year with people like Mike Bickle, Misty Edwards and Cory Asbury so I don't mind!

Reason number 3: I will be heading to New York City for a week long mission trip with the rest of my co-workers and 25+ college students.

All this to say, there will be no new posts from me until the middle of January!  But when I return I'm SURE that I will have some amazing stories to share!

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone! Catch you in 2011!

out of the heart, the mouth speaks

I learned something pretty valuable a few weeks ago when I was reading through some chapters in the book of Joshua.


For anyone who hasn't read it, the book picks up right after the death of Moses. Moses was instructed by God to make Joshua the new leader of the Israelite tribes. That was quite a promotion! One day he's an assistant and the next he's the "go-to guy" for masses of people. No doubt he was a little frightened. How do I know he was frightened? Because several times in the first chapter of Joshua the Lord tells him:


"Be strong and courageous.."

*(1:6-7) "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous..."

*(1:9) "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
*(1:18) "Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous."

-emphasis added-

God wouldn't tell him that over and over again if Joshua wasn't shaking in his boots, if even a little bit. The repetition of that phrase is very hard to miss and I know now that it's because God was trying to push it down into his "heart knowledge", not just to retain it in his "head knowledge".


Joshua went through quite a journey with God by his side once he assumed command. He lead Israel into Canaan, the "promised land" and was victorious in battles against Jericho and Ai. By the 10th chapter it is clear that Joshua had great favor in the eyes of God because he made a bold request of the Lord. During a battle against the five kings and their armies who were attacking the city of Gibeon (which happened to be an ally of Joshua and his people) he asked God to help them by commanding the sun to stand still "until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies" and the Bible says, "And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man;.." 10:13-14

Talk about a confidence boost! By that time, Joshua's relationship with God was so much closer and he'd matured and grew wiser in so many ways that not long after the "sun incident" he started giving pep talks to his men with the very same pep talk he received from God:

The five kings had fled and hid themselves in a cave after the Lord helped Israel destroy the kings' armies but they were discovered and brought to Joshua- "When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him,...'Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies with whom you fight." So..Joshua struck them and put them to death..." 10:24-26

-emphasis added-

When I was reading this whole story I realized that God is always multi-tasking in a way. Because he sees the bigger picture all the time, the things He tells us usually serve more than one purpose. In this case, telling Joshua to be strong and courageous and not be dismayed was serving two purposes. The first was for that particular moment. He was building up His child and telling him that Joshua was worthy of his new role and that He would be there with Joshua every step of the way. However, He was also planting a seed in Joshua's heart that would grow and bloom down the road. Joshua had learned through many valleys and victories with the Lord that God can be trusted and as the Bible says "Out of the heart the mouth speaks" so the confidence and comfort Joshua was bestowing to his men came from the seed of courage God planted in his heart in the beginning.

"music video announcement video, video"

Do you remember this time last year when I shared an auto-tuned announcement video that my friend made for our church service?
(then click this first)

He made another one and played it yesterday and man did he out-do himself! I love it. I've watched it at least 5 times in total.

2010 Music Video Announcements

Enjoy!

It's Funnier This Way

What's better than buying little tiny angel ornaments with your name and your roommate's name on them? Buying little tiny angel ornaments with names that somewhat resemble your real name when the correct ones are sold out!

Merry Christmas Season from "Dana" and "Kelsey"!