Finding the Art In Your Life... a new Incourage Community Group

I have always been crafty... well, artsy anyway! That sounds a little better, right?  Whether it be with a pen (or keyboard), paper and scissors, paints and canvas (or blank walls! #swoon!), or a camera in hand, I have long loved to create beauty around me!

I remember being asked to join Company 7 when I was in elementary school and it was this school for the arts and I was all like, "Oh Yeah! Finally... someone sees Art in me!"  I was all of eight years old.  And yet that invitation was like a nod of acceptance and it planted in me a sense of purpose.  I suspect now that the leaders of that little organization fully believed that we are ALL artsy... and they most likely reached out to the ones who made Art, but couldn't quite see it all the time.

We would write poems and plays and act them out.  We would learn dances, and finger paint, and learn to use a potters wheel.  Well, by 'learn' I don't mean to imply that we acquired actual skills... but we were exposed to the arts and we were free to love it or hate it and the good news was if we didn't like it, there would be something new the next week!

I don't remember how long I attended this class. A year or two maybe.  It was a huge bonus that it happened on Tuesdays... during school hours, thank you very much! (This may explain why I feel the most creative on Tuesday afternoons - even to this day!)  I remember the smell of paints, and old furnaces clicking on... a mixture of oil, dusty heat and polished wood floors in an old empty school building. I remember the laughter and joy in the creating.  Everyone was welcome, encouraged, inspired to just try... no pressure!  Kids can be mean - but there was no room for that there.  Everyone was good at something and we were on a mission to each find our thing... well - things! It turns out, we were good at lots of things that we never would have guessed!  We were to stay positive and learn to look for what we liked... to train our eyes to see the art.

Fast forward years and years... ok - maybe a decade... I remembered the joy of creating beauty as God was creating beauty in my womb. I dug in to paper crafts and card making, scrapbooking and photography.  Art pulled me up and reminded me of gifts I had forgotten... of the pleasure of mixing color and texture and letting happy accidents simply have their own way.  I crafted and created for years but it was only recently, in the last two years maybe, that I have felt confident in claiming the title of Artist.  

I am.  You are too, you know!

As Emily Freeman writes in *A Million Little Ways:

"Art means believing that the God who created the world with words alone creates with words still, through us --whether it be on a stage to thousands or in a corner with one. 

Maybe you make paintings, or maybe you make pie. Maybe you live confidently in the midst of scary situations.Maybe you are brave enough to listen, to wait, to trust.Maybe you see potential in situations and in people that others aren't able to see.

Art is what happens when you dare to be who you really are.You have the power to influence, to move, to make, to become. You have the capacity to perform the human act of making art, of doing work that comes from deep within you and touches something deep within me.
We make art with our lives."

Enter a new season of (In)courage Community Groups for the 2014 Spring/Summer session and I am honored and oh so excited to be co-leading a super fun artsy craftsy Group entitled, Art in Your Life: Adding Beauty as Co-creators with Christ.

My amazing, talented co-leaders are Rebekah Ellis and Sarah Jo Burch and oh my goodness if we don't have some serious fun planned for ya'll!  Our vision for this group is to create a bench... a community where we can encourage each other in our art (because we all battle doubt and insecurity all the time from time to time!)  We want to give space to share in all the many ways we create art and we invite you to join us... create with us... learn together with us how to make art with our lives!

So no matter what kind of art you make... whether you use paper, fiber, fabric, paint, pen (or keyboard), glass, beading, wood, camera, or other mediums, we'd love for you to join us as we scoot over on the bench, share what we love, what we want to learn to do, and where we find art when we train our eyes to really see... 

We are finalizing the schedule and plans now, but I can tell you that we have fun things planned (like weekly prompts/themes to inspire you to create, great resources to share, and hopefully some fun Twitter parties, Hashtag fun, and Interviews with a few Artists.)  Of course, we want to see all of your lovely art, too!  

As with all the Incourage groups - space is limited to 30 so don't hesitate! Jump in, dare to be brave and create beauty with us in the next 6 weeks! 

Join us HERE and determine to make Art in Your Life this Spring! 



Linking up over at Incourage.me today, as all Community groups are now officially open for Registration!


* Non-Affiliate Link

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 44

Happy Spring everyone!  We have actually had near Summer-like conditions this week... temp's in the 80's and 90's and I am in love with all the blue skies and flowers in bloom and sunshine, warm on my shoulders. (And clearly I am not an allergy sufferer! I do feel for ya'll!)

Because of that... and well, last week (as I mentioned) was hard... my list may be shorter than usual. Then again... as I search out a few things, I just may find more than enough! So I am off, collecting a Gathering of Awesome... let's see how I did!

Happy Reading!

* This one by Emily Freeman on the Sacred Work of Sitting... "We like to talk about celebrating the gifts, but facing the losses might be important, too. Not to wallow, but to keep company with them long enough to recognize what part they play in our story, to name them, and eventually release them in the presence of Christ.

Sit and consider what you no longer have to hold or what you’ll soon need to let go."

* This post by Jamie Wright with a little reality check and a refreshing approach to parenting in 'Not All Pastor's Kids Are Christians'... "We are so incredibly proud of the bright, thoughtful, courageous heathens we're raising. And while, as Christian parents, we cling to certain hopes and dreams for our children's faith and future, we trust that the God we believe in is near to them, fully present, and doing His thing."

* This post by Cindy Coloma over at Outside the City Gates on When You Are Counting On Change... "Change is the unexpected guest that we should always anticipate by savoring the now and not digging in to the belief that now will always be. That we own our today.  Because change never fails to show up."

* This post by Alia Joy on making beautiful amends... "We are a partnership built of sorrow and grace and joy. I know now what I never knew as a girl, these things are not opposed. We find our filling in God alone and only then in each other. We are never enough.

My mind has been tempted with all the ways I chose poorly, or he did, when we said I do and committed our lives without having any idea what that meant. But we know now."

* This one features two of my favorites in one post!  Read words by Kristen Welch & Ann Voskamp on How to Say Yes to God When Safe Faith is No Longer Enough... "...for most of my pew sitting years, I ignored something very important. I was full of faith, but I wasn’t obedient. I could quote scripture and talk about all my blessings, but I couldn’t show you my faith in action. And it took an orphan boy’s question to shake me to the core."

* This post right HERE from Abiding Love, Abounding Grace where I talk about Living a Lifestyle of Worship...  "Worship is the constant breathing in and out with His breath in our lungs... it's the gifts of blessing out in the wide open and hidden in darker corners of our days.  Worship is an All In attitude and a heart surrendered to his goodness."

Finally... this weeks' video pick, because that is how we do... This was a post by Sarah Bessey  so it's like a win-win!  In Which You Are Not Forgotten...

So - what did you think? Had you read these yourself already?  Did you find something that is not listed above? If so - share some Linky Love in the Comments below!

Break - The Five Minute Friday that Wasn't (kind of)

Happy Friday!  So - this feels a little odd.  I normally write this "Five Minute Friday" post on Thursday nights, after a little lot of Twitter party fun.  However this week, our fearless (cheer)leader/hostess/sister/friend took a MUCH DESERVED break!  And we say, "Amen, girlie! ...and Halleluyer!"  We ALL need a little breaky from time to time and once again, Lisa-Jo leads the way in knowing when to say Time Out! (We Mama's need Time Outs WAY more often than anyone else, am I right?)

...and yet! We just can't help ourselves! This idea of writing for five minutes flat, with no editing or over-thinking and just hitting publish all willy-nilly for the sheer love of writing and creating art and saying whatever is on our hearts... 

Apparently, we can't stop.  We won't stop. (sorry... I don't know what is wrong with Miley me!)  So - here goes:

Five Minute Friday(ish) - The Word Prompt is: BREAK

{GO}

It really doesn't matter if you have been crazy busy doing all sorts of errands and activities, marking things off a bossy list like a - well, like a boss, or if you have been having a hard time finding motivation to get up and out and on with whatever is facing your day!  We all need to take a break now and then.  

To give ourselves permission to slow down, to skip at least some of All. The. Things. and to sit... rest... breathe!

Emily Freeman wrote about this beautifully this week and I found such a gust of breezy fresh air in her lovely words; in her invitation to find a bench, and just sit.  

After a difficult few weeks, I felt like I should just move on. I should just muster up some energy and press through and get back to all the busy already. (Keep in mind, my Only is nearly grown and - sob sigh - just signed her first lease and is moving out in a couple of weeks... so my busy may be quite a bit different than yours, but busy can be good, or bad, or often a mixture of both!)

Reading about the Sacredness of sitting, I gave myself the time I was needing even though my list was still Bossy.  When we allow ourselves to sit in the quiet, we can find solace in the silence and we can begin to hear again.

As much as I talk about Busy... I am not a fan of it. Especially when it is a self-imposed schedule and full of things we are not necessarily called to be doing.  Sitting in silence can help change our perspective, slow our heartrate, and find the rhythm of our Song once again. 

Sometimes it is not 'Busy' that is bossy at all.  Sometimes your Day Planner may be empty, but your heart is heavy and your mind is full.  Giving yourself time to simply sit and be, helps you to (re)connect your hopes and dreams and while you are taking a break, God just may be wanting to Be a Bench.

That's right! I talk about us being benches for others but ultimately, He was the first to hold us up... to invite us to lay aside our heavy burdens and sit awhile with Him! 

Jesus bids us to come... to rest... to find refreshing in His Presence!  Jesus is always a Bench for us!  And after we have taken a little break, He equips and enables us to be a Bench for someone else!

{STOP}

So... Happy Friday! Don't be afraid to take a break... to take some time this weekend to sit awhile... allow Jesus to be a Bench for you in the areas where you need Him.  Just Breathe.  And then... watch for Him to lead you out to be a bench for someone else!




Five Minute Friday gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Normally, I would send you to Lisa-Jo's to read what others have to say about our one word prompt... 

but, well - she took a well deserved BREAK... (ya get it?)  Check back next week!  

Because we love the freedom to have a 'night off' - and yet, we just can't help ourselves, some of us are still linking up over at Trending Mama for "Break" - feel free to join us this week over there if you'd like to play along!

Living a Lifestyle of Worship

It was way back in the day when I was a new Mama... all sleep deprived and angsty - unaware of what to do or how to be... unsure of who I was, or who I was becoming... it was in that season, as a new(ish) Christian, a newer wife, and a brand new parent, that I first began hearing Him call my name.

(Resisting the urge to post - yet again - that old photo of me and my girlie because - did you see that here last week, uh - twice? #swoon!)

It was in those early babyhood years that I first tuned in to the Voice of the One singing my name.  He was whispering to me... bidding me to come.  He got a bit louder... or clearer, anyway, and I realized then that I had a choice.  I could choose to roll over and go back to sleep, or I could choose to heed His call and get up!

In the midnight hours of moonlit skies and peace filled quiet, God called to me and said, "I just want you to come and be with Me!"  I wrote about this conversation with the Lord in my Encountering God series last Fall... you can read that in full HERE.

Basically, I shared about how in my frazzled, convicted for not giving Him enough (fill in the blank), and exhausted state of stumbling out into a dark living room - feeling as if I was just barely living at all, I attempted to 'right' my 'wrong' by praying All. The. Things.  He let me ramble on for awhile, but then gently spoke over me.  He whispered soothingly to my wits end heart, "...I just want you to be with Me.  You don't have to DO anything. In fact, sometimes I just love to watch you sleep."  

Ah - this I understood! I loved to watch my baby sleep.  This was the beginning of my learning how to live a lifestyle of worship!

Here is the thing: Worship is more than songs. It is more than the beginning of church where we still visit or sneak in late.  Worship is also more than that intercessor you know who spends hours on her knees, or even the midnight hours where you are awakened to pray.  Worship is the constant breathing in and out with His breath in our lungs... it's the gifts of blessing out in the wide open and hidden in darker corners of our days.  Worship is an All In attitude and a heart surrendered to his goodness.  

Webster's defines it this way:

worship

verb

: to honor or respect (someone or something) as a god

: to show respect and love for God or for a god especially by praying, having religious services, etc.

: to love or honor (someone or something) very much or too much

transitive verb:

1:  to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power

2:  to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion 

Extravagant... Devoted... giving and bringing Honor... yes, Lord! Let that be said of me!

No matter our gifting, our purpose in life, our vocation or social status, our passions or hobbies... our one call... the greatest command that we are to run after, is to 'love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, our mind, and strength.'

In the Gospel of John, worship is described this way:

“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” (John 4:23-24 The Message)

There have been seasons in my life when I have had more time to set aside, and when I have had little to seemingly no time.  There was a season where we had set aside a Prayer room in our home... at naptime, when my Girlie would sleep - I would press in and pray through and worship with all of my heart.  It was a short season - but I am reaping from it still! There have been seasons when all I wanted to do was crank up some worship and pull out my flags... seasons when a song would capture my heart and attention and I would pour out my worship full force, not holding anything back... Seasons where Worship happened in the quiet... in the car... grocery shopping, over coffee, or playing at the park!

But there have been seasons where I really wasn't feeling it.  Where things weren't going the way I wanted them to and I was heavy and tired... a little disappointed and let down by the world, by myself... In my flesh... I wanted to just sit this one out. I fought against thoughts of 'I will worship later!'  I couldn't muster up the energy to go through the motions and I just didn't want to fake it. 

Can I tell you, even in those times... I was living a lifestyle of worship! 

Original painting by Karrilee 2013                                      

I would breathe Him in deep... hold Him close even when it felt like I was holding everyone at arms length.  It's the simply turning our thoughts and our heart back to Him and saying yes Lord! Yes, I choose you... again and again... always and forever... I choose you!  This is worship!  Being real with Him... being honest... vulnerable. He can take your heart when it's messy and jacked up, and when it's cleansed and pure.  It's His anyway... your heart... He purchased it, bled out for it and redeemed and purified it already! Worship is simply giving it back to Him. Choosing Him. Trusting Him with what is His already!

This is worship on the good days, and on the hard ones, too!

To lean in... to bow down... to cry out... with your whole heart and with a broken spirit... and with a broken heart, and your healed spirit.  

Some days - it's a joy and you are so filled to overflowing with His Presence already that worship just spills out.  And there are the other days - when it feels more like a choice.  When you must settle your mind and quiet your heart and choose to battle and war your way in to worship.  

Let us be like Peter... on any day - on every day... let us say, Where else would we go, Lord? For you have the words of eternal life.

Every day... we choose You, Lord!

We choose You!

P.S.  I'm linking up with:

Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

Holley Gerth for #CoffeeforYourHeart

and Holly Barrett for #TestimonyTuesday

What images or emotions come to surface when you think about Worship?  What is your current favorite song? I'd love to hear! Please share in the comments below!

In the In Between... Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

In honor of today,
and in celebration of
my Girlie's birthday this weekend,
(and - to be honest -
mostly in obedience to the Lord)
what we have here is our very first attempt
at two things:

A Vlog Post and Poetry

So... without further ado...
here we go:

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 43

Happy Saturday, everyone!  I pray you are enjoying the weekend already and have plans to rest, relax, do something fun with people of your choosing, and - of course, enjoy some down (aka reading) time!

This is the part where I keep it real and let you know that this week was a bit rough... I wasn't feeling up to reading All. The. Things. and really wasn't feeling up to a whole lot of anything.  We lost a friend after a long battle and while we know that, even still, God is good - it's in these times that we must choose to believe... to lean in... to trust anyway... even though it looks like our prayers went unanswered and our hearts are broken... It's in these times that we most need a bit of unplugged quiet and to be left alone with our own words that lead us back to His.  Her funeral is today... the day before Mother's Day... and my heart breaks for her children... her husband... her family - and yet I rejoice that she is with Jesus and that He gave her the years she had here.  She spent them well and was a joy and a blessing to all who knew her.  

But do not despair... I did manage to find some Awesome across the Interwebs because -well, because there is just so much Awesome to be found! So - a shorter list than usual... but then again, it is Mother's Day weekend and whether you are the Mom or you have one, you should probably not be online so much, right? (Yeah.  You're welcome!)

Happy Reading!

* This one by Ann Voskamp  on how Mother's Day is for the birds... "Just let them sell their truckloads of perfect Mother’s Day Cards.  There’s far more Velveteen Mothers who are broken into real and worn into beauty."

* This post by Marc Chernoff  with 20 Questions that Will Free Your Mind from Negativity "In the long run, the simple questions you ask yourself on a regular basis will determine the type of person you become."

* This post by Jennifer Dukes Lee on What You Need to Know About Your Critics... "Look. There will always be critics. Some are well-meaning; and some are, well, mean.   But don’t let either of them stop you. Don’t stop making your art. Don’t stop writing your story. Don’t muzzle your voice, or consign your paint brushes, or bury your dreams in the cemetery of good intentions.  The only effective way to avoid criticism is to stop what you’re doing. "

* This post by Sarah Bessey In Which We Pray #BringBackOurGirls ... "Our Father who art in heaven, bring back our girls.  Two-hundred-and-twenty-three precious young women are still lost to us.  We are weeping for our children, hear our prayer."

* This post by Jessica Hoover over at Hand Me Down Grace, on Mother's Day Redeemed, for my friends' Littles... one day... "What I have come to believe is that those of us who have lost mamas are a rare breed. We are the women who know the full value of motherhood. The worth of a mama who loves well and the richness of that relationship isn't lost on us.

When I think of my motherless sisters I think of brave. I look at you and I know that not one ounce of you doubts that motherhood is a gift. I see your determination to mother well. I want to link arms tight and believe with a full heart that we can be the mamas who shout it from the highest hills that motherhood is the highest of callings."

* This post right HERE from Abiding Love, Abounding Grace where I write about making a Map and finding Treasure...  "Mostly, I whisper it quiet... I hear from God.  I say it hushed at first because it can seem strange, be misinterpreted, make people feel uncomfortable - but is this not what should be breaking our hearts?

God WANTS to be heard.  He is speaking to us - all of us - in our every days and He desires that we catch the tune of the melodic love song that He is constantly singing over us.  I don't always hear it, oh but when I do..."

Finally... our video! Because, of course!
Enjoy!

So - what did you think? Had you read these yourself already?  Did you find something that is not listed above? If so - share some Linky Love in the Comments below!

I will be posting a special blog post on Mother's Day... my first Vlog attempt.  (Grace, ya'll!) So come back by on Sunday to celebrate what it's meant to be a Mom with me.

GRATEFUL - Five Minute Friday

So, ya'll... this has been a WEEK! Just a little sad and heavy and not feeling so great... but it is Thursday night and you know what that means and oh my stars, how I love this community and how I am in need of them! So... here goes...

Oh but - first - the fine print: if you don't know what FMF is!  Five Minute Fridays are hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  It is open to anyone, so to learn more about it - and to jump in yourself (the more the merrier!) or just to find a linky to see what everyone is writing about today - click HERE!  The idea is to simply write... for Five Minutes flat... no editing, no deep thinking - or at least REthinking, no spell check - just write! Let it flow! We all write using a prompt that Lisa posts at 10pm Thursday night (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!

So - here goes: Five Minute Friday - The Word Prompt is: GRATEFUL

{GO}

Oh My Stars... I adore her so!                                         

My (shy, tired) Girlie, circa 1997                                         

Grateful... oh sweet Jesus... I am grateful! This week, in the midst of losing a friend, bad health reports left and right, and my Girlie talking once again of moving out (I know, I know... it's time but still!)  I have battled this week to stay grateful... most days it comes easy. But hey, it's those other days that we must FIGHT!

As Ann Voskamp said this week, we get to choose how happy we want to be because we get to choose how grateful we are willing to be! 

"Lord... I am willing!" 

And so I count them slow... one by one, and in the beginning it feels like a fight... I can feel the battle weighing down and winning, but the more I count on - the more I feel strength shifting, power in the punches, and freedom in the swinging.  

This battle has already been won!

With all that is going on this weekend (my Daddy's birthday, my Girlie's birthday, and Mother's Day too!) I abandoned my Bossy List of Things To Do to sit shotgun with my Girlie, and we hit the road! (Sure - it was to go buy furniture, for her apartment that she's hoping to move into soon... sniff sniff!) But I choose Happy because, hello? My nearly nineteen year old asked me to go with her... out of town... for fun!  

So while I work my way around being grateful for the hard eucharisteos like "She had time to say goodbye" and "She is no longer in pain" - I feel my shoulders slowly release the tension... I feel Peace rushing in.  I am grateful for 'being brave' (Come back on Sunday for my 1st ever Vlog post for Mother's Day! Gulp!) and for 'road trips with my Girlie'... 

Some gifts are easy... clearly a gift!

It's the others that we must bend low and lean in to in order to see from His perspective, trusting that He is good... that He is God.

And He is! (He is both of those things!)

{STOP}

Seriously... I love love love that Lisa-Jo did a Vlog post tonight... I just filmed mine for Sunday this afternoon and was half tempted to post it early! Come back on Sunday and celebrate Mother's Day with me, ya'll!



Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click here to read what others have to say about "GRATEFUL"  

When You Make a Map and Go Out Looking For (His) Treasure...

It was several years ago at a writer's conference in California that I first saw this little book... I was drawn to it, but I confess - I did not buy it. Not then.  Not for a year or so actually. It scared me. At first glance, this was not my kind of book.  I am an introvert not an evangelist.  I am not your average street corner preacher... even if I do have sidewalk prophet tendencies.  

Mostly, I whisper it quiet... I hear from God.  I say it hushed at first because it can seem strange, be misinterpreted, make people feel uncomfortable - but is this not what should be breaking our hearts?

God WANTS to be heard.  He is speaking to us - all of us - in our every days and He desires that we catch the tune of the melodic love song that He is constantly singing over us.  I don't always hear it, oh but when I do...  When I do, I remember that He is singing all the while and once again I let Bossy Lists, multi-tasking, earthly chatter, every day living, and all the noise crowd out His still small Voice.  I don't mean to... it just happens!  

Eventually this little book found it's way to me.  My little group of Happy Intercessors read through it slow several years ago.  Only one or two of us were bold and excited to approach strangers; the rest of us were scared... more than a little shy and unsure!  But here's the deal... we were kindred and we knew we each heard from God! We had spent years tuning in to His heart and practicing quieting ourselves to hear Him speak while gathered together. 

So at the end of each chapter... we would pull out a piece of paper, and pray - and write down "clues"... we didn't wait long... didn't over-analyze it... just wrote down the random things that entered in to our minds.  Next we would share our lists and make a Treasure Map... and then the fun would begin. Sure - knees knocking and half hoping we would come up empty-handed, but fun was at the center of our search as we headed out in teams to bless our city because here's the deal - here is the message of that book:

Find people and tell them that God treasures them!

Simple... no pressure, no twisting arms, no doom and gloom...

just show them the Map, tell them that we were sent there to find them and let them know how crazy in love He is with them, and then offer to pray!

Easy Peasy. 

I share that here because other than a handful of times, I haven't done that on purpose - with intention - for quite awhile and just like with anything, if you don't practice it can feel like you are starting from zero all over again. (Hint - It may feel like it, but you aren't! You have all that past experience behind you now... all those testimonies and treasures found to stir you up!)

Last week, during Soar (the Bible college/BSSM satellite school we attend) we went out on a treasure hunt.  I teamed up with My Honey and another friend Steve, and we prayed, made our maps and hit the road looking for whomever God would highlight to us.  This is literally taking the call He gave me to another level... to Speak Life, to Be Love, to Shine On... This puts feet on that statement and my how I fight off fear of man, but I lean in and do it anyway! I am learning that we just need to do it! Do it brave, or do it scared, but for the love - let's just do it! (Nike got that right!)

So - here is a peek at my Map...

 

We set out on foot because last Wednesday it was Gorgeous, ya'll - and one of our clues was park.  There were two within walking distance and we assumed with it being so nice, there would be people out enjoying the near-summer like weather!

The park was empty... but another clue was Bird bath, which this park had.  Then we noticed three people sitting on their front stoop across the street from the park, and they had a Black (rod iron) Fence on the porch, which was also on our Map.  We approached them a bit shyly, asking them about a car accident that had just happened in the park the week before.  They were ready to share their experience and how the accident had impacted them.  We then explained what we were doing and that we felt that God led us to them... that they are treasured by God and so very loved.  They remained open and we were able to pray simply for one need, and then another, and then another.  At one point when my Honey was sharing more things on his Map, one of the men asked, "Who have you been talking to?"

"God.  We've been talking to God!" was the only answer to give.

In talking of physical issues, neck pain was on our Map and the gal had already had two surgeries and was going in for a third.  She let me lay my hands on her and pray... twice... as she felt heat go through her body and pain leave.

Yes... God.  We've been talking to God.  The God who loves... who heals... who sees.

As I wrapped up my prayer for her neck, I heard Him whisper a word of encouragement for her, and as I shared that, she began to cry... nodding her head, trying to believe that what He said about her was true. We saw Hope begin to unfold as we walked away, looking for more people to bless.

"For God so loved the world... that He gave His only Son..."

He is giving still...

P.S.  Speaking of giving... (ya see what I did there?) If you want to help be an encounter... to put some feet on 'Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.' in a different way, we are still raising funds for Phase 2 to help build a Community Kitchen and Welcome Center in South Africa.

For more info, or to join with us... with Him... and give, click here:

I'm linking up with:
Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

Holley Gerth for #CoffeeforYourHeart

and Holly Barrett for #TestimonyTuesday

When was the last time you heard (or sensed, felt, discerned) God speak your name or sing over you? Have you ever? What kind of God Encounters have you had, and have you ever BEEN one for someone?

More than anything you hear today - more than any words that I can write... I want you to hear Him speaking... to hear His words over you... singing and sinking into your heart!

He LOVES you... you are His Treasure!