BLOOM =)

You Are Part of God's Perfect Plan 

by Emily Matthews

God planned the smallest detail

on the day He formed the earth,

And, just as carefully, He planned

each detail of your birth-

He knew the color of your eyes,

the texture of your hair,

The circumstances of your days,

each how and when and where.

And God has had a perfect plan

from all eternity

To touch the lives of others

through the lives of you and me-

He blesses us and fill us

with a joy beyond all measure,

For He considers each of us
a rare and priceless treasure.

God has a wonderful plan for your life- unique and as special as you-
For using the talents and gifts
you've received
as only you're able to do.
And so as you praise Him,
reflecting His goodness
and celebrate all that He's done,
May He bring fulfillment
and joy to your heart
making each day a beautiful one.
[Thanks to my loving parents for giving me this card on my birthday!]

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The blooming season overlaps the desert season ->which tends to be a difficult and confusing time because of the tension between who you've been and who you're becoming and also with other people around you, all the voices seeking to direct you. The confusion comes in when we compare ourselves with other sunflowers. That leads to pride-> thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to or false humility {low self-esteem + self-pity } -> thinking of yourself more lowly than you ought to. But our job as sunflowers is to face the Sun coz that's when each of us finds our identity and purpose (we are Sunflowers after all lol). People around you will want to guide you and they have good intentions but they don't always have the best vision. Only God sees the full picture. He sees what you're blooming into that's why it's really necessary to fix our eyes on Him and listen to His directions.

This song from Joseph, King of Dreams says it better: ♫ You've seen the damage words can do, When full of thoughtless pride, Now heed the wiser voice in you, That calls to be your guide. The flowers reaching for the sun are all uniquely blessed, But though each is special not a one is better than the rest. Bloom, bloom, may you know, The wisdom only time breeds, There's room, bloom and you'll grow, To follow where your heart leads, Bloom and may you bring, Your colors to the vast bouquet, There's room, bloom, learn one thing, Your gifts are meant to give away. ♫ =)

♫ Just keep believing, you'll see a New Season soon. You were made to BLOOM ♫ :)

A New Season's coming! and it's here! We'll see :) "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare My praise." (Isaiah 43:19-21)

This whole blooming business is by God and for Him. For His glory! Let's praise Him even in the process! Let's wait on Him to satisfy us with His Living Water. He is so loving and so faithful to us! He is faithful to complete the good work He begun in us. Thank You God! =) I'm thankful for God's faithfulness to me in this desert season but I'm ready for it to be over lol (But He's the Potter and I'm just the clay n I'm learning patience, stillness and joy in the process lol). I'm excited for what's to come!!! We were made to BLOOM :D

Stealth : /

Hidden Lion. 

Crouching Leopard.

Can I come out now?

....Is it safe yet?

Uhm, how about now?

... or Now?

....NOW?

I went to the prayer shed for their prayer and prophecy this past Monday night. So if you've never been, it's basically: a group of people from IV Church pray for you and God gives them words for you/get visions/pictures (They prophesy over you. In InterVarsity, people refer to it as "Listening prayer." It's a cool place to go if you need encouragement/prayer). So this one guy, Israel told me "You have a prophetic gifting. We prophesy over people but you see stuff that's coming. That's cool." I was like "Yeah" but in my head I was like, "It would be cool if people actually listened to me though and not treated me like I was crazy. But yeah, "Every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of Lights who does not change like shifting shadows."-James 1:17 And then the others prayed for me, then Israel asked me if I liked leopards coz he got a picture of a leopard. I told him no but in my head I was like, "But I like lions." Then they finished praying for me and just as we were wrapping up that guy got an interpretation for the leopard picture. He told me that leopards are powerful, they are among the big 5, but they are especially known for their stealth. Then he tried to apply it to me. So he was like, "You are powerful-You have the power of the Holy Spirit in you. But maybe because of your personality, it's not 'showy,' so people don't notice but know you're still powerful though, maybe the people around you will notice."

I know he said that to encourage me but it was actually discouraging to hear lol but helpful at the same time. It was nice to get more confirmation. When I came home I looked up the meaning of stealth: "Marked by or acting with quiet, caution, and secrecy intended to avoid notice."So it came down to the main problem I have- I'm not myself -> I'm not fully expressing who I fully am, which you find out in the "About me" section. And this is because of fear of standing out as well as all my other fears. So yeah, once again, God was telling me: Remember who you are! And be yourself. My identity crisis is the source of most of my other problems. He was showing me that I can't even use my gifts well if I'm not being myself. I want to use my gifts to obey Him and build His body coz that's what they are for and to prepare my family and friends but I can't do that if I'm busy hiding, being quiet when I have something to say and trying not to get noticed due to fear. Because if I try to hide I will make no impact, which is really selfish. The gifts of the Spirit are for sharing. So yeah God was reminding me to keep my eyes on Him and His Kingdom, to stop worrying about what people think because He sees my heart and knows my intentions, and to just share. Coz that's what love does. (But feel free to ask questions if you have any. I share to obey God but also to communicate. So if you are confused about stuff please ask and I'll try to clarify. And also be patient with me. Thanks :) I'm really tired of being selfish - not being myself and sharing all that I have to give with others. When they prayed for me they said, "Thank you God coz she is bold. Just give her the courage to step out and be herself and to know that that's enough. To know that being herself is good enough." And that's my prayer too. Lord, help me to stop hiding, to stop hiding You in me. Give me the courage to be myself. In Jesus' name, Amen. ♫ I will stand and face the mountain, confront my fears ...By His strength, by His power I will conquer all.... I will stand. ♫

 

Jesus, please shine on me and make me a light for Your glory :-)

P.S: In case you missed this in the Revolution post: I don't know the order or exact timing of stuff but God showed me that the "2012" prophecies He gave me are actually referring to the Hebrew year that starts in September so it will overlap into 2013. And I do have lots to share that I haven't shared yet coz it's not what you think, there are lots of twists- the Holy Spirit has revealed some cool mysteries that have been sealed till these days, these endtimes. It's exciting stuff! But yeah I need to take my time on it instead of frantically sharing unfinished stuff. And I'll be breaking down the super-long posts and summarizing them. But point is it's time to seriously seek God for yourself right now. I feel like some stuff's going to go down really really soon and He has great things in store for those who seek Him- details later. K, Let's surrender our all to Him. Let's ask Jesus to search our hearts, to purify and refine us. To prepare us to soar with Him in the coming season. K, later! Peace! :)
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 Update: 5/23/2013.
A friend of mine told me she doesn't take me seriously coz of my "happy personality" and I just sent her this:

• Hey, thanks for what you told me. It's true. I use "happiness" as self-defense. I anticipate rejection when I'm about to share my true feelings, so I use happiness to try and disarm the person (who may not want to interact with me in the first place if i tell them my true thoughts and feelings upfront or just doesn't care... or that isn't close with me is satisfied with that) but yeah, it aways backfires since it makes the transition harder... or like you said, people don't take me seriously.
• 

  4:36pm
  

  Charlene Wambũi Macharia

  So yeah thanks. And I hope you make it back in time for the With One Voice event. I know you and everyone else may not care for the revival... and don't believe it will happen... But God, who has been faithful to me when no one was there for me, told me that it will happen. So it'd be cool if we were all part of it - the start of it. But if you can't, it's ok. You'll see the results when you come back
• 

  4:38pm
  

  Charlene Wambũi Macharia
  

  
  

  And another reason I smile... not just for self-defense... but because I want people to know that whether or not they believe what God gives me to share, whether or not they want to do life with me, stuff that I want to do, I still care for them as individuals. And their action/inaction to the message I share or what I stand for, doesn't affect how much I care for them.

Dry Bones

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, "Sovereign Lord, you alone know." 

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 37:1-6)

♫ Jesus, You're the one who saves us. Constantly creates us into something new. Jesus, surely you will finds us. Surely our Messiah will make all things new. Will make all things new :-) Life is breaking out, it's breaking out. Life is breaking out, it's breaking out, it's breaking out! =) ♫

"Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. (Ezekiel 37: 9-10)

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People, it's Time to Remember Who We Are! =)

"Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord." (Ezekiel 37: 11-14)

In the post Real Identity, God confirmed to me that we are in a season of awakening. He is awakening us to our REAL identity, who He made us to be, His children. And along with that He revealed to me that there are "dry bones" among us (Jewish bloodline) and we don't even know it and the Jewish blood is not just somewhere among the three ethnic groups I mentioned, I don't have all the puzzle pieces, but I believe it's in more ethnic groups than that. I'll go into that later (I'm breaking down my posts) but yeah, it is in God that we find our identity so it is time for all of us to turn back to Him and seek Him with all our hearts. He has so much in store for us in the new season we're going into!! :D Let's return to His rest and He'll do the rest. He shall renew, revive, restore and redeem! Yay! I'm excited! =)

*N.B: I say "we" and "let us" because I'm actually talking to myself as well. Yeah God taught me that stuff a long time ago but I still have identity issues (I get distracted/forget easily) so this quarter He's been telling me over and over again: REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE! So yeah,  I'm still on my way to who I am but I like to share the journey. K, let's remember, let's return, let's rest :-)

Summer Drama. Confused?

Hey :) If you were one of the people confused by my summer posts to InterVarsity but afraid to talk to me please re-visit the respective post(s): Are you Comfortable yet? and Let My people Go At the very bottom of the posts I've added a video which is some of the confirmation God led me to during the year. It's the same message of the post but maybe you'll receive it better coming from someone else. It's just Truth; it may hurt but it's for our good since God is refining us. As our Father, He disciplines us out of Love. As our Shepherd, He goes to great extents to lead us on the right path and bring us back when we stray. I share because I care for my family and friends and even people I don't know, and I just want to be obedient to God. And just because I share stuff doesn't mean I'm perfect God's working on me too. Ok. I hope the videos help. And if you have any questions please feel free to ask me. Let's not fight. Let's be friends :) We need to wake up though. It's time for love and unity. K, peace. Love, Charlene :)

P.S: I'm moving on. I brought that up again because I heard that there were people who were confused. I don't know who they are since they didn't talk to me; only a few people met up with me. Anyway, that's why I put up the videos. You can also check this one out in your free time (it's much longer though). K, I'm going back to share stuff my style. And please feel to share your questions if you don't understand what I'm saying.

Last thing, the point of such piercing Truth messages is: it's time we seriously seek God for ourselves.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

"Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until He comes and showers His righteousness on you." (Hosea 10:12)

I go into the practicals for that last verse in my Winter Rains post (last section. It's basically pray+ fast+Word but I give more examples for how to apply it) and I'll keep sharing stuff as I'm learning (and re-learning) so that we can help each apply it and pray for each other. K peace! :)

Blessed are the Thirsty

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

 (Matthew 5:6)

Word of the day: Righteousness

Definition: God the Father is righteous (just); Jesus Christ his Son is the Righteous (Just) One; the Father through the Son and in the Spirit gives the gift of righteousness (justice) to repentant sinners for salvation; such believing sinners are declared righteous (just) by the Father through the Son, are made righteous (just) by the Holy Spirit working in them, and will be wholly righteous (just) in the age to come. They are and will be righteous because they are in a covenant relation with the living God, who is the God of all grace and mercy and who will bring to completion what he has begun in them by declaring them righteous for Christ's sake. :-) (Bible Study Tools)

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Psalm 42:1-2)

"Blessed are those whose strength is in You,

whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baka,

they make it a place of springs;

the early rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion."

(Psalm 84: 5-7) :-)

♫ Love is all we need ♫ :) "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." (Psalm 107: 8-9)

"My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you." (Psalm 63:5) =)

Related post: Thirsty? ( God told me it's okay to thirst - He gave us that desire in us- the longing for love and intimacy but we also have to wait on God coz He is the only One who can satisfy our innermost longing, our soul thirst. The scripture I've posted above gives me Hope. So let's thirst and wait. Thirst and wait :)

Journey

"Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy.
Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds, many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home."- The Odyssey by Homer.


♫I'm restless, and I rustle like a thousand tall trees; I'm twisting and I'm turning in an endless daydream. You wrestle me at night and I wake in search of You... But try as I might, I just can't catch You. But I want to, 'cause I need You, yes, I need You. I can't catch You, but I want to. How long, how long until I'm home? I'm so tired, so tired of running.♫ (Song: Lament by Audrey Assad)

So I'm taking this Greek mythology class and we read The Odyssey by Homer. I wasn't being a good student the week we started it (I blame the rain and thanksgiving! lol jk) so I got behind on the reading so I decided to watch the movie first to get the gist. When I watched it I was blown away because it described my situation and God taught me lots through it. He answered my questions and gave me hope and direction. So yeah, I'll be making comparisons between the book and my life lol (Study tip: You remember stuff better if you can relate it to yourself -> "The self-reference effect" haha). Main section: Homecoming! (but you'll miss out on the journey if you jump to the conclusion lol)

"The Man of Twists & Turns"

So I had a restless start to the quarter as I already mentioned in earlier posts. God kept telling me to chill out and I would, for a moment, but then I'd somehow go back to twisting and turning till I found myself in this very familiar dark valley surrounded by these very familiar noisy mountains and I'd be like, "Oh no! I'm back here again??! Really? Fail! I'm meant to be making progress by now! What went wrong this time? When will this cycle ever end??!" Yeah I was just tired and discouraged by all my misadventures but God gave me hope :)

The Odyssey is an epic journey and it focusses on Odysseus' nostos ("return home"/ "homeward voyage"). It begins in the middle of things -> midway through Odyssey's wanderings. It concerns itself much more with the unseen universe of the human heart; with feelings of loneliness, confusion and despair. Odysseus is introduced in a very unheroic way: sulking on a beach, yearning for home, alone (except for Calypso, a goddess who had imprisoned him there). [Sparknotes!]

So yeah through the movie (you can watch it on youtube) God showed me that though I ran into lots of obstacles and had many setbacks I will make it home. (Actually He told me that days before; the movie just painted it out for me and gave me lots of confirmation. Thanks God for accommodating visual learners! -Those are the kinds of "visions" I get lol). And though it may seem like I'm not making any progress I am on my way there (homeward voyage) so that was relieving to know :)

Obstacles & Setbacks

I got hope for the future and I knew I had to move on but then I was like "What was the point of going through all that over and over again??" I lacked closure and I needed to find it otherwise I'd swim in regret.

1. Wisdom & Love:"Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds."His many experiences, though painful, matured him. God showed me that I was focussing too much on what I didn't have and not paying attention to what I had gained. He allowed me to grow in Wisdom through my different cross-cultural experiences (some products of that is the Real Identity and the Revolution post). And He told me that I had learnt to love through my experiences because love has different faces ( 1 Corinthians 13) and must stand the test of opposition (Matthew 5) [post: Love Me]. He told me "Well done" coz that was an important lesson to learn because when we get to heaven that's the question He'll ask us: "Did you learn to love?"[I got those words/confirmation when I went to prayer and prophesy at the prayer shed when I was super-discouraged mid-quarter so it was encouraging to hear].

2. Can clearly identify obstacles- The most dangerous obstacles are the nameless ones but if you can name it, you can conquer it faster (just made that up lol but it's true. If you don't identify something as a problem then it will slow you down/keep you from working towards the solution). At most of the setback locations he landed in, Odysseus would get warnings: descriptions about more obstacles in his path. That info helped him keep an eye out for those obstacles and he could prepare himself to tackle/avoid them. "Many of the obstacles are temptations :Immediate, visceral desires distract him from his nostos (homeward voyage), but a deeper longing and a more intellectual understanding of his mission's importance keep him tied to his course." [Sparknotes!] 

Similarly, through my wanderings, I learnt the names of my obstacles: the famous fear of rejection, fear of standing out, the newly named fear of failure, people-pleasing, false humility, discouragement, low self-esteem, "eye/memory" problems (easily distracted), issues with receiving love. That's most of them, if not all lol. You can read some descriptions I gave in my "The Fall" album on facebook. Now that I know what my problems are I can keep an eye-out for their future attacks and I can ask God to shine His light into all those areas of darkness (instead of giving up and hiding in a dark hole lol. Pray for me!). He told me not to think of the desert season I am in as a waste of time because even when there's no fruit showing, there's stuff growing. He is The Potter, I am the clay and He's still working on me! :)

3. Main Lesson: I'M ALL WEAKNESS.
"Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth, our mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man. So long as the gods grant him power, spring in his knees, he thinks he will never suffer affliction down the years. But then, when the happy gods bring on the long hard times, bear them he must, against his will, and steel his heart. Our lives, our mood and mind as we pass across the earth, turn as the days turn . . ." (Odysseus)

So Zeus and the other gods gave the okay for Odysseus to be finally set free from Calypso's island. Calypso, also a goddess, wanted him for herself but she had to do what Zeus said so she told Odysseus he was free to go home. He can't believe it but she re-assures him and helps him build a boat to continue on his nostos. When it's done he goes off sailing home but after a while Poseidon the god of the sea spots him and forms a storm which tears apart his boat and leaves Odysseus floating on a plank. (Poseidon was still mad at him for injuring his son the cyclops). Odysseus is really pissed off and heartbroken.

Poseidon: My goal is not to kill you. You must understand. Odysseus: What? What? [shouts]
Odysseus: What do you want me to understand? Poseidon: That without the gods, man is nothing. 

My failures reminded me of this Truth: Without God I am nothing. I have no power to change anything or anyone. I can't fix myself. I can't even do life without Him. This was a humbling reminder and at the same time really relieving. My fear was that I would fail God. That I would fail to share the stuff He gave me to share in time. I was overwhelmed and I freaked out coz I thought I was going to mess up. But that reminder put me at ease coz it reminded me I'm human. It's my nature to fail. But He reminded me that when He calls me to do something He goes with me so all I need to do is remain in His rest and it is out of His rest that I can operate -> do what He called me to without rushing it due to fear of failure (coz that leads to messy-ness) and plus that's what it's all about rest (relationship with God. Finding rest in His love) so I don't wanna get caught up with working for Him and miss out on the most important thing (resting in Him and out of that, working with Him). He also reminded me that He is God lol. He holds time in His hands (so He literally has all the time in the world haha) and He has a time and season for everything. I don't know His time schedule but I just need to trust Him in the now and know that if He has called me to something He will have enough time for me to get there and He will be molding me along the way in preparation (read the message in the photo at the beginning. Click on it if you can't read it). This gives me hope and peace and joy! :-)

“This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” Corrie Ten Boom. ♫ Faith has made it easy to see the best thing I can do is put my trust in You. For You know better than I, You know the way. ♫

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." (Lamentations 3: 19-26) ♫ I know now, You're my Only Hope. ♫

Direction & Hope: HOMECOMING!

So after Poseidon destroys Odysseus' ship with the waves, Odysseus floats along hopelessly but then the goddess Ino gives him a protective veil and the goddess Athena watches over him as well. He floats into a river which takes him into the land of the Phaeacians. Athena then guides his entry into the land and his interactions with it's people. After Odysseus shares his story of his sad misadventures with the King and Queen of the land they give him a ship with men to take him home. Odysseus sleeps all through the journey and they drop him off at Ithica (his home) without waking up. He is finally home! but when he wakes up he doesn't recognize it because of the mist. Athena appears to him disguised as a shepherd and tells him where he is. She later revealed her identity and let him know the state of his palace-> Many suitors were waiting for Penelope (Odysseus' wife) to choose another husband but she delayed it because she had hopes for Odysseus' return but they wouldn't leave so they stayed at the palace eating all the food and getting drunk and they were planning to murder Telemachus, Odysseus' son. So Athena told him that he needed to fight them and win to reclaim his world (his home: wife, his family, his throne, his kingdom). Athena assures him that he will regain kleos (glory) at the end. But then:

"Odysseus worries that he and Telemachus won't be able to conquer so many suitors, but Athena reassures him that through the gods all things are possible. -Athena's word of encouragement to Odysseus make it sound as if victory is already assured and that she, not Odysseus, will be the decisive factor." [Sparknotes!] So Odysseus did everything she told him and he and Telemachus, with Athena's help, conquered all the suitors. He reclaimed his throne. Was re-united with his wife. Victory was achieved! But there was unrest in the land because Odysseus killed all the suitors (the finest men of Ithica) so their parents were pissed and a war was about to break out against Odysseus and his family but Athena steps in, speaks to the people, re-establishes order and restores peace. The end :) So what did I hear God say to me through that?

"Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:14)
"Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

I faced all my fears and they knocked me down and I felt like a failure. I was stuck in the same cycle, making the same mistakes and I was just tired. I felt like I've wasted so many years of my life living this way. When will I go back to living life full of life? Because each time I came close to that something would always happen and I'd get blown off course. I was really discouraged because I let myself get distracted but then God has been telling me, "It's not over. It's not over. I'm not done with you. I am with you and I will help you. I'll put back all the broken pieces of your life. I am making you new. I'm bringing restoration to your life. And I'm going to use you. You just need to rest though."I was restless all quarter (bouncing in and out of His rest) but He kept telling me the same thing through different ways. When I went home one weekend I was watching Maid in Manhattan and this jumped at me."What we do does not define who we are. What defines us is how well we rise after falling." So yeah God was telling me that my life will not be defined by my failures because, by His grace, I will rise again. Not by my own strength (I tried that and failed harder) but by resting on His. Yeah I just need to listen to Him, keep my eyes on Him and follow Him. So yeah, pray for me peeps I'M COMING HOME and this time it's for sure. IT'S NOT OVER! (Check out this song by Astar, a Kenyan gospel rapper. It really captured how I felt)

K peace! Thanks for joining me in my journey. God's blessings on yours! I'll explain further what I mean by "home" in other posts. Oh yeah, some practicals God gave me to help me out in this Homeward vovaye are:

1. To remember who I am -so I wanna journal more about my past and He gave me the idea of journaling a little bit everyday coz I usually let stuff build up then I get overwhelmed then I don't write or it turns into a rushed super-long post (I'll try that after my finals). So you can join me on my "Journey to the past" series for the story of my life lol. He told me that I need to listen to Him and believe what He says about my identity. One practical He gave me is spending less time on facebook coz that's a source of distraction from resting in Him. So yeah, I can use my free time to journal (among other things) instead of wasting it on facebook lol. 
2. Use my wings- He reminded me that He has given me wings so I can fly. I encounter more obstacles when walking, it's easy to get caught up in the world's perspective but I can rise above that and travel faster and more joyfully if I use my wings -seeing things from the spiritual perspective but to soar I need to rest (related posts: Free to Fly and Rest-> Soar) But I'll do both fly and walk. So if you don't get my flying posts don't worry, just wait for the walking ones and it will make more sense :)
3. To remember who He is -fixing my eyes on Him by praising Him and also declaring His promises that He gives me in His Word (which is actually a weapon against the devil's confusion and discouragement). And I'm learning that giving thanks in everything and being hopeful for the future is key to joy in whatever season. K bon voyage! Till next time ;)

Oh yeah, this message isn't just for me, which is one of the reasons why I share. God told me we are going into a HOMECOMING SEASON. God is our Healer, Redeemer and Restorer. He has brought us this far by His grace and mercy but He's not done with us. He has so much more in store for us! And we are going to see His Glory soon! Yay! =) (Related post: Sow in Tears -> Reap in Joy). So yeah, let's cooperate with Him by returning to Him, finding rest in Him. I'm re-learning to do this (resting/ being still/waiting on God) so going through my past posts has been helpful and I'll have another post about that too (called Wait).

"Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you." (Psalm 116:7)

"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."(Exodus 14:14)

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10) K, peace! Let's Let go and Let God :-)

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Update: 4/9/2013

So I mentioned in this post that God told me that I had learnt to love but there was actually more for me to learn. At that point I had learnt Tough Love- Telling the Truth to those you Love but after that point God wanted to teach me Loving when it's tough  (as I said in the LOVE ME post) and I'm still learning that... it's hard coz to learn how to love like Jesus requires that I die to myself... and yeah I'm still in the process of dying... I'm letting go... Jesus take over!
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PRIDE ROCK =)

Jesus You are my Firm Foundation.

Let us return to Pride Rock.

Let us take our place in the circle of life. 

In the arms of our Creator.

In Him we move and have our being.

Let's look into the water, into the Truth.

Coz in your reflection, He lives in You!

You come from royalty, there is a King in you!

GREAT NEWS! This is the year of restoration!!! :) But restoration begins with rest... So God's been telling me: Just rest in My Love. Rest in your identity in Me (My beloved daughter). And all the rest shall follow. It's pretty simple right? Yes it is. But there are so many distractions and obstacles that keep us from resting in God's love. I listed some of mine in the Journey post. So the desert season is a time to re-focus and to find rest; a time to wait on God (post: WAIT!). [Main Section: The last one- You better claim those blessings!!! :) Coming soon! A Call to Wait. A Call to Fast]

So the latest obstacle that keeps me from resting in God's love is...I like to share. So I feel guilty waiting on God to show me His glory and satisfy me with His Love when I'm on my own coz I feel selfish. Ridiculous right? But yeah, I usually feel like I should be sharing that experience with others. I'm a giver but that showed me that I have issues with receiving. But I've been letting go of my insecurities and I can feel God at work. He is renewing my mind which allows me to see His great love for me and to just rest in Him. His restoration begins within us. He wants to fill us with His love, joy and peace regardless of whatever craziness is going on around us. He wants us to know Him as our Father and know that His Love is all that we need. To find our identity and security in Him alone. To be rooted in His great Love for us =)

Promised Land! New Season! Renewal! Restoration!

So if you've been following my blog you've probably heard all of that before so what does it have to do with you? Like I said, I'm a giver so when God teaches me something I like to share. So I look at those around me who may be in the same position I am in because that Word would apply to them as well and that's how God started showing me the bigger picture. So this Word is for everyone. It's for me but not just for me, it's for families, it's for Africans in America, it's for bloodline Jewish people, it's for the Church, it's for everyone! :) I'll go into separate posts about those but here's a little preview.

For the Church: A New Season is coming and it's here. God wants to usher us into a time of increase which is great and I'm sure we all want that. But the thing is we have a part to play, we need to be thirsty for more and to wait on Him to fill us with more. So in this case complacency stands in opposition with what God wants to do. I realized that's the main Word that God gave me to share with InterVarsity: to wait on Him. We got distracted by focussing on what we already had, what God has already done in the past and that's great; let's be thankful but let's not stop there, God wants to do more. All the drama happened as prophesied (spiritual warfare. The devil trying to oppose God's plans) and kept distracting me from sharing this great news. The desert for me has been a time of extremes: feeling unseen, unloved, and misunderstood but when I looked up Jesus would find me and overwhelm me with His love which is too good to keep to myself so I'd want to share this treasure I had found but the cycle kept happening. Anyway, Church, this is the Word God gave me for us (His body): We are going into a season of increase! More prophesies are about to be fulfulled! This is the season of the latter rains! The church will be filled with greater glory than before and we shall do greater works than Jesus did! And all He wants us to do first is wait on Him. He shall fill us up and add to our numbers. He shall fill us up and send us out. Revival starts with us :) Isaiah 61 and Acts 1-2. So yeah, let's thirst and wait for Him. The King of Glory wants to show us His glory :) It helps if we did it together coz that's what God wants us to do as a body (Acts 1 and 1 Samuel 7) but waiting for everyone to be on the same page to apply God's word is a distraction in itself (it has been for me). So don't wait for people, wait for God (with or without people). "How thirsty are you for more of God? What's keeping you for going after more?" Answering those questions will reveal idols in our lives (anything we put before relationship with God). So yeah let's wait on God! He wants to draw us closer to fill us with His love, to heal us, to refine us and to prepare us for the greater works we were purposed for. We are going to be who we were created to be. This is our destiny church! Let's embrace it! Let's trust God with our all. Greater things are yet to come!!! =) Confirmation: You can watch the beginning of this clip:  New Season just around the bend :) God gave him a vision of the coming season that the church is about to going into. God showed him young people, high school and college students ... just watch it for yourself. It's so exciting! Heaven's coming down =)

For families, Africans, bloodline Jewish people = Like I said, God has been showing me the bigger picture out of stuff from my life and experiences. He showed me that this is the year for restoration for hearts back to Him and also for families back to each other. Through the promises He gave me for my family, I realized that He gave me passages that were about the Restoration of the people of Israel (like Isaiah 49). So it went hand-in-hand with what He revealed to me in the post: REAL Identity. So yeah, God is doing something new this season. He is flipping things around. Lifting up those who are bowed down. He shall bring deliverance to the oppressed. We are not forgotten. The Lord is our Redeemer. Let's wait for Him :)

For Everyone: God is turning things around for those who trust in Him and wait for Him. So whoever you are. Let's all return to pride rock, Jesus is the only firm foundation, the only One who we can trust even when times are changing. He is the manifestation of God's Love for us. So let's receive God's love. It's FREE!!! :DHe shall wipe away all our offenses and restore our hearts and give us new names: Sons and Daughters of the Most High God (post: I have a Father). In the post Journey God told me that it's Homecoming Season!!! Not only are we children of God but heirs to the Kingdom and if we live with Him then we shall also reign with Him. This is sooo exciting!!! You don't wanna miss out on this! It's gonna be the time of our lives!! =D God is going to bring restoration to our lives then send us out to restore others =)

"Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago." (Acts 3: 19-21) Below are  some external blessings God wants to give us as well.

To repent just means to turn back to God with all our hearts and to find rest in His Love. I've been really weak and hopeless many times this past year, not just due to my own brokenness but carrying the brokenness of those I love and it's been tough. But in those dark times God shone through and gave me hope and strength to move on. When I lay my burdens down at His feet He keeps raising me up even when I feel powerless. He is Faithful. He is Love and I shall praise Him for His Goodness all day long! Let's give thanks! Let's hang onto all His promises. They shall come to pass. And while we are waiting let's just praise Him in advance =)

  

This is THE year of God's FAVOR and RESTORATION! It's Time for RAIN! =)
*Deuteronomy 28*
"If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

 The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them."

"This is what the Lord says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you. This is what the Lord says: “In the time of My favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances” ♥ Isaiah 49: 7-8 ♥ 

"For He says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Here's some confirmation I got for the message of this post: A New Season of Change :)

♫ IT'S TIME! ♫ =)

Application: Let's Love God with our all (Let's seek Him now more than ever). Let's love each other as ourselves. Let's Wait on the Lord and He shall renew our strength! =)
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Update: So I just watched this video clip: Build My tabernacle and it got me excited. It gave me more confirmation. In the video, she talks about how God has issued the call for people to re-build His tabernacle in Israel where His glory will dwell in the endtimes and provide healing for the nations. That reminded me of this post and also the beginning of The Bubble post. The video also gives a Call to fast for 10 days starting tomorrow 2/3/2013. I've been wanting to fast this week but I wasn't organized enough so that gave me confirmation and motivation (which has also been the case in the past). So yeah, let's fast, it will increase our hunger and thirst for Him and let's wait on Him to fill us. There's different kinds of fasts. I talked about the Daniel fast in previous posts so you can click on the label below.

Let's wait on God and ask Him to prepare us so that we can be a dwelling place for Him. Worship really helps me to be still and press into His presence and I like worshipping with other people so let me know if you wanna join me this week :-)