Stop and Let God Show up

Man...this morning at church was amazing!! There is no other word for it. Truly awesome!! OK, so maybe there is another word for it!!

I keep trying to start telling the story but I kept having to delete and back up a little more in the story to get the entire picture. So....I am typically not in "big church" first thing because I lead praise and worship with the kids. But this morning because of Tyler and I's dance...we were in the right from the beginning. At Breakthrough, we do declarations in faith each week as a body. There are wonderful. Because I am not usually in there...I had forgotten how powerful and amazing they are (I keep using that word today...AMAZING!!) We say things like "I put on the whole armor of God and no weapon formed against me shall prosper" or "I am victorious against my enemies" and "I am the head and not the tail" or "I will carry the spirit of this house in our businesses, our homes, our schools, and our communities"...I got all choked up right from the beginning this morning....I was worried that I would be too stirred up to dance....HELLOO!! IS there ever such a thing as too stirred up in God????

SO then it was time for Tyler and I...first she read Ecclesiastes 3:1-4....in a nutshell it says there is a time on earth for everything!! I tell you what this entire experience....and especially THIS day was right on time for me!!! I almost busted hearing her read that scripture aloud. It warmed my heart so much...to know how much this means to her...to see her grow in the Lord, to be excited to be at church and not feel dragged to church each week like most kids do. I was about to explode...and this was all before we even got started. As an aside...I love our church....our Pastor said to everyone one beforehand please don't sit down and watch...get up, get excited, even do a little holy dance too if you want to.....and everyone did!!! Everyone was on their feet, singing, and clapping and encouraging us....it was amazing!! (There's that word again!!) It was an incredible feeling....for 2 reasons for me....first I wanted everyone to see its ok to worship God with movement, in fact it is incredible!! 2ndly....I was so proud of Tyler...for putting her mind and heart to something and really going after it...she worked so hard, and you could see in her face that she really felt it too....she loves Jesus and praising Him. Again...I could have exploded...but it keeps going....

We went from that into Praise and Worship...which is always great at Breakthrough....but today, it was different, everyone seemed free-er (I'm not even sure that's a word) We sang "there will never be a friend as dear to me as you"....and the whole time all I could think was...the word friend does not even begin to explain it, it's not near big enough of a word...He is so much more than that. Friends can come and go...friends get into arguments....friends can still hurt your feelings sometimes....but He is so much more than that! SO much BIGGER! So much better!!
Our last song said "I will praise the Lamb of God who sits upon the throne. He who was and is and is to come, I will sing before your throne forever" But my favorite is the second verse "all the angels sing and they bow down and they sing holy, holy". I have told the kids lately that there are angels that fly around the throne 24/7 just saying holy!!! I love any song that says HOLY....it gets me all stirred up. In fact I looked for the verse about this and couldn't find it....if you know it please let me know. So this particular goes into "holy, holy" and I just feel to my knees and thanked Him for everything He has done, is doing, and will do!! I got lost in the moment actually....then I realized EVERYONE was lost in the moment....God was definitely at Breakthrough this morning. It was amazing!! The Holy Spirit was moving through us all....so many were praying and worshiping. I can't even begin to explain the incredible feeling that was just in the air....

This is getting way long so let me get to the point of all this rambling....Nate started talking about going through the motions of church, being a member, doing the right things, but do you really know Jesus??? It stopped me in my tracks....its true, yes of course I know Jesus....but do I really "KNOW" Him? Do I have a relationship with Him? Is He truly IN me? The answer was no....I had let what I thought was a lack of time keep me from really seeking His face. I had some things from my past that were really bothering me lately...things I wasn't sure I deserved forgiveness for....then it hit me...I don't deserve forgiveness, but He gave it anyways!!! By the grace of God I am released from it, and redeemed from it. So...since He let it go, I have to do the same....I have to allow myself to stop looking back, and just move forward with Him. And God said to me to leave it behind, and that may mean leaving some of those people behind too...the ones that remind me of those times when I wasn't all I was supposed to be, the ones who try to keep you as "that girl they used to know".....that's not me anymore!! And thank God its not.

I still have some soul searching to do over this....but I am determined to seek Him more...not just when I need something from Him....but all of my days!

I am adding the link for this song that I talked about...let it speak to your heart today.