Alvis

  I love how everyone at one point was a stranger to you until an introduction was made, then they had the potential to become a friend. I used to be the most shy little girl in the world. I wouldn't look strangers in the eye. I let my mom talk for me. My how I've changed! 

  

  I mainly want to write this post to remember a man I met tonight and what an impact he made on me. His name is Alvis. I was in downtown Nashville shooting a music video with a friend. On our way to eat afterwards, we passed a man asking for a quarter. A quarter? Can you even buy gum for a quarter these days? This was so intriguing to me. I kept walking and heard him saying to people "I know you have a quarter" in this harsh tone. Though I didn't actually have a quarter specifically, the Lord led me to give what I did have. God wanted to take it further though, because I really felt an ache (a good one) in my heart to just find somebody to love on, and it wouldn't leave me alone. We ended up walking back by this man and Holy Spirit just took over as I asked the man how I could pray for him. I adore his honesty, as he said he was trying to get off of drugs and needed help. Now, ya'll gotta know I don't typically walk around just asking people how I can pray for them, but like I mentioned in my last post, I keep asking God to stretch me in how I love others and He's answering. So God used my friends and I to just pour truth over him about who he is, speak blessings over his life, and pray for his deliverance from substance abuse. We got to know each other. What our passions are, what kind of music we like, etc. Al was so shocked that we were just a bunch of youngsters out on a Friday night loving on a stranger. This shouldn't be shocking, it should be expected. He told us he liked to dance, so naturally I ask him to show us his best dance move. Ya'll, he was GETTIN IT! I'll definitely be doing the "Al" next time I go dancing. I saw him go from a seemingly bitter man, to a man whose mourning was literally turned into dancing, all because of a little love. We sang his favorite song to him, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Isn't that amazing? Even though he was in the midst of struggle, he is so drawn to a song that is full of wonder and hope. He's a dreamer, as we all are. The thing that I love most about what he said in his story is that it really was up to him to change. It doesn't matter how far we fall, whether we are in the valley or the mountaintop, we all have a natural awareness that we are broken people who simply have to choose God's strength. I'm excited about what God will do in his life.

 I just encourage you guys to look for ways to let God do His thing through you. I used to always pray for boldness to do stuff like this...then when I complimented a friend on his boldness recently, he said he doesn't have "boldness," he's just "dead." Meaning, he no longer lives for himself, but for God. It's kind of ironic how much more fully alive we become in doing so :) 

Love to Carry

Love...mmm how I love that word! How I love that Person! I enjoy asking God to just give me fresh revelations of His love, and tonight He revealed just a little more of it's depth.

  I was just pickin' around on the ol' guitar and worshipping God this evening. I was simply singing the words "I love you." He must really enjoy hearing this from His children, because the next thing you know I have tears running down my face (no it's not just because I'm a girl with emotions.) Holy Spirit took over and moved me. I knew He was singing it back to me in a beautiful, intimate way. I realized in that moment that no person, achievement, etc has ever brought me more joy than Abba, He just makes me smile! Get this...He feels the same about us, but in the most grandiose, magnificent way possible!  We are His world, His treasure, His beloved. This literally leaves me in awe the further He takes me into that thought. Love is so important because it's the greatest message we have been assigned to deliver to this world.

  So a thought randomly popped in my head...carrier pigeons (doves). Historically, these pigeons were used in war times before the advent of radio to deliver important messages. They were a primary means of the head quarters communicating with the soldiers. Obviously, this was a dangerous job, since the pigeons were often shot at. Yet, these birds saved hundreds of thousands of lives because of their invaluable information. They couldn't just go out there and hope for the best though. They had to be trained over time. There was a season of preparation before they were able to successfully complete their mission.

  Like the carrier pigeons, we have been sent by God to deliver the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His love across the nations. We are the primary means of delivering the good news. Even though this is typically safe in America, there are many parts of the world where you risk your life to do so, and I have BEYOND respect for those doing so. We face spiritual warfare, because the enemy knows what we carry (but we know that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world, amen?!) Our love call isn't comfortable, convenient, or easy. It stretches us, takes us out of our comfort zone. These pigeons went under extreme circumstances, and we should be willing to do the same to show love. God's so super creative that it will constantly be manifesting itself in different ways to us and through us. It's exciting! Yet before we embark on some of these adventures, there's a growth and preparation that must happen. He has us wait on Him and develop faith, hope, and most importantly love. As Bethany Dillon sings, "You can do more in my waiting than in my doing I could do." The word of our testimony has to be built by HIS doing and our obedience in the waiting. If I don't know how much He loves me and the ways he demonstrates it, I'd be telling a story of someone else's life (Bible) without knowing what it's like to be radically changed by it. Loving people doesn't just come naturally to us in this fallen world. I often fail at it, but when I let His love come, it never fails.

  I always looked at 1 Corinthians 13 and was like...hold up, if you give all you have to the poor, isn't that loving? If you'd give over your body to hardship, isn't that loving? Obviously it goes deeper than that or the Bible wouldn't say we still "gain nothing without love." I realize now that I can still give from a heart that says "look at this awesome thing I did," or I can give over my body to hardship and complain about how "hard" it is. We do it all the time! This is why we have to keep asking God to search our hearts and try us for any grievous way in us. A healthy core is a healthy everything!

  It's easy to marvel at His gifts (peace, joy, provision, favor, etc) and earnestly ask for those things. These things are amazing, but we can't give them to others. I think the real gift we have to gain in this life is a genuine, continuous heart knowledge of our First Love's love. It lives like a person inside of us and introduces itself to everyone we meet. You encounter people everyday who have been waiting to meet Love. Let them.

Carry on love doves :)