Life Listenings (Hebrews 13 And a Photo)

 ¹ Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ² Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. ³ Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

 ⁴ Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. ⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

   “Never will I leave you;

   never will I forsake you.”

 ⁶ So we say with confidence,

   “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

   What can mere mortals do to me?”

 ⁷ Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

 ⁹ Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. ¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

 ¹¹ The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. ¹² And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. ¹³ Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴ For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

 ¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. ¹⁶ And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

 ¹⁷ Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

 ¹⁸ Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. ¹⁹ I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.  ²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 ²² Brothers and sisters, I urge you to bear with my word of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you quite briefly.

 ²³ I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

 ²⁴ Greet all your leaders and all the Lord’s people. Those from Italy send you their greetings.

 ²⁵ Grace be with you all. (Hebrews 13, New International Version)

My Oh my, what a week it's been.  Let's catch up.

Sunday, VBS started, then Starbucks.

Monday, VBS, then Starbucks.

Tuesday, VBS then Starbucks,

Wednesday, Lauren's to practice for VBS, VBS, then Starbucks.

Thursday, VBS, then Starbucks.

Friday, Opening Night for Annie Get Your Gun.  Whoo.

Saturday, evening performance.

Long week it was.  Didn't wake up all week, was just wiped after every day.

Life Listenings (Colossians 3 And a Photo)

 ^1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.
 ^3-4Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
 ^5-8And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.
 ^9-11Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
 ^12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
 ^15-17Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
 ¹⁸Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master.
 ¹⁹Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don't take advantage of them.
 ²⁰Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end.
 ²¹Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits.
 ^22-25Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work. (Colossians 3, The Message)

I'm working on a post, I promise!  I shlept in too much last week...Sigh.

That's Kacy.  She's awesome.

Life Listenings (Philippians 3 And a Photo)

 ¹ And that's about it, friends. Be glad in God! I don't mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don't mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry—so here goes.

 ^2-6Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they're interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book.

 ^7-9The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness.

 ^10-11I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.  ^12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

 ^15-16So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.

 ^17-19Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.

 ^20-21But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him. (Philippians 3, The Message)

Great words.

In the news, Passion City totally changed my thoughts, and really has another fire burning in me.  Details to come.

We got a kitty! Her name is Mykka, Finnish for Mute. (cause she doesn't talk much!) Cutest cat ever.

Repost from my sissy's blog :)

Oh my gosh. I went to Atlanta with Sissy and Jules to Chris Tomlin's church, oh my gosh. It was so powerful! I'll post my take tomorrow if I wake up (promise I will!) but for now, read up :)
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My Fountains are in Jesus!
Oh my. Passion City Church was incredible.
We arrived in Atlanta early so we could shop in Ikea. Let me tell you, I'm in love with Ikea. So dang cool! I saw so many wonderful ideas for my future home. They were so invintive with limited space and made beautiful areas for living. I was in awe. I saw so much I want to be able to buy. Can I possibly buy all of it? Haha, I know. Lord knows I don't need another problem like I have with buying so many books!
After we finished up in there we grabbed a snack because we had a feeling the service might last a bit. It was okay. Honestly I was suffering from nausea and cramps. No fun, let me tell you.
After getting a little confused and frusterated we arrived at 515. The church is actually called 515 instead of Passion City Church. The building was soo cool! Its solid white with giant red 515 painted on the building. We walked up to the door and these super nice people greeted us and welcomed us in. They've got this incredible area for the kids but they aren't restricted just to that area. Louie wants the children in the room. He said that they are our future generation (which is true) and said he wants them to be able to see all the generations together leaning towards the love of Jesus and worshipping Him with all our hearts. I thought that was incredible!
Evie and I bought shirts to support the summer camp coming up for the students of the church. I love my shirt and it was totally worth the $20. I saw this great project I want to help with. If you want to help with me go visit www.haiti-rising.com and look into this project. Its to help purchase heavy machinery to remove the rubble left over from the disasters.
We went into the auditorium to get seats and my mom made friends with this really sweet lady named April. Honestly, everyone I came in contact with was so sweet and so welcoming and so passionate about God. They were so in love with our Father! We waited patiently and then before we knew it, Chris Tomlin was onstage ready to lead us all in worship. He began with "How Great is Our God" and I was crying in the first song. Everyone was praising God together and loving Him with all that was inside of us. We were all so passionate for Him and the music was powerful. He then began on this song about how our fountains all flow for Jesus and it had this wicked awesome clapping beat and everyone was dancing and excited. We did "Oh Happy Day" and some other song I didn't know but it was lovely and powerful and wonderful. I was in awe of the music. Chris was a wonderful worship leader. Everything was so intimate.
Louie Giglio came out and began to talk to us about the open heart topic they had all been talking about the past few weeks. He talked about Revelations 3:19-20. How Jesus is speaking and saying that He loves us so much that He has to discipline and rebuke us in order to lead us onto the right path that He has planned for us. Then Louie read verse 20. Jesus says "Here I am!" with an exclamation point. He is here for us. He loves us so much. He's not saying "here is what you need to get to this path" or "here is a ticket to forgiveness", He is saying "here I am" for us all to have in our lives. He says that He is waiting at the door of our hearts knocking and if we hear His voice and let Him in He will dine with us, and us with Him. How wonderful is that?? Our Jesus! Wanting to have intimacy with us! Can you imagine how blessed that makes us? He wants to sit one-on-one with us at Starbucks sitting side-by-side to have intimate discussions with us about
our deepest desires in our hearts! How blessed we are! And all I can think is, shouldn't it be us banging on Jesus' door begging to come in and dine with Him? Why is it that He has to knock on our door? But He loves us enough that its no problem to Him. Louie said that Jesus sees all the crud in our lives and that is why He is knocking. He wants to come in and fix all of that. How is it that He came to love us so much? Why are we, such wretched sinful creatures, the love of our perfect Savior's heart? We're His. That's all I can say to explain. He loves us because we're His.
Chris came back out and did another song I didn't know that was so moving, then they started up in "Blessed Be Your Name" and the whole room was singing so loudly and proudly to worship our King! I'm still in awe. There were so many full on proud Jesus Freaks celebrating our God's love for us! It was an incredible experience.
If you ever get the chance, go visit Passion City Church in Atlanta 515. It will be well worth the trip to visit that church. I'm so in love with my Savior. I'm so proud to be the daughter of a King!!
Xoxo
S.Graciebelle<3
Posted by S.Graciebelle at 6:16 PM
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The building is so contemporary and lovely. Don't even get me started on the tech side of it!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Life Listenings (2 Thessalonians 1 And a photo)

 ^1-2I, Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, greet the church of the Thessalonian Christians in the name of God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. Our God gives you everything you need, makes you everything you're to be.  ^3-4You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it's a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it's only right that we give thanks. We're so proud of you; you're so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. We tell everyone we meet in the churches all about you.

 ^5-10All this trouble is a clear sign that God has decided to make you fit for the kingdom. You're suffering now, but justice is on the way. When the Master Jesus appears out of heaven in a blaze of fire with his strong angels, he'll even up the score by settling accounts with those who gave you such a bad time. His coming will be the break we've been waiting for. Those who refuse to know God and refuse to obey the Message will pay for what they've done. Eternal exile from the presence of the Master and his splendid power is their sentence. But on that very same day when he comes, he will be exalted by his followers and celebrated by all who believe—and all because you believed what we told you.

 ^11-12Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he's called you to be, pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely. (2 Thessalonians 1, The Message)

Stay strong and true in your faith.

Goodness gracious!  So busy this past week, my apologies for not getting content up!

Youth played Ultimate Frisbee Wednesday, but we didn't feel like getting sweaty so we took pretty pictures in the park :)

Life Listenings (Titus 2)

Titus 2

A God-Filled Life

 ^1-6Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don't want anyone looking down on God's Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives. ^7-8But mostly, show them all this by doing it yourself, incorruptible in your teaching, your words solid and sane. Then anyone who is dead set against us, when he finds nothing weird or misguided, might eventually come around.
 ^9-10Guide slaves into being loyal workers, a bonus to their masters—no back talk, no petty thievery. Then their good character will shine through their actions, adding luster to the teaching of our Savior God.
 ^11-14God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.
 ¹⁵Tell them all this. Build up their courage, and discipline them if they get out of line. You're in charge. Don't let anyone put you down.

No photo this week, but new stuff next week for sure.  Got some change going on so I'll get into that soon.

Go to church today.

Life Listenings (1 Corinthians 11 And a Photo)

 ^1-2It pleases me that you continue to remember and honor me by keeping up the traditions of the faith I taught you. All actual authority stems from Christ. ^3-9In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God. Any man who speaks with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. In the same way, a wife who speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. Worse, she dishonors herself—an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic acts, men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other, submit their "heads" to the Head: God.
 ^10-12Don't, by the way, read too much into the differences here between men and women. Neither man nor woman can go it alone or claim priority. Man was created first, as a beautiful shining reflection of God—that is true. But the head on a woman's body clearly outshines in beauty the head of her "head," her husband. The first woman came from man, true—but ever since then, every man comes from a woman! And since virtually everything comes from God anyway, let's quit going through these "who's first" routines.
 ^13-16Don't you agree there is something naturally powerful in the symbolism—a woman, her beautiful hair reminiscent of angels, praying in adoration; a man, his head bared in reverence, praying in submission? I hope you're not going to be argumentative about this. All God's churches see it this way; I don't want you standing out as an exception.
 ^17-19Regarding this next item, I'm not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I'm reluctant to believe it, but there it is. The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.
 ^20-22And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord's Supper, you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can't believe it! Don't you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God's church? Why would you actually shame God's poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I'm not going to stand by and say nothing.
 ^23-26Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord's Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,

   This is my body, broken for you.
   Do this to remember me.
After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
   This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
   Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
 ^27-28Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of "remembrance" you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe. (1 Corinthians 11, The Message)


Don't forget to go to Church, have an unforgettable experience with God today.