Nathan Jess - Be My Hope

So, tonight I went to a Bluetree concert. Normally Aaron travels with the members of the Bluetree band, but this go around he and a guy named Nathan Jess traveled together. It was a beautiful night of worship. Sometimes I have those moments where God uses people, music, or stories to show others His presence, His intimacy, and His love. Well, I am usually overwhelmed by God's presence when this happens. Well, tonight, these men, Nathan Jess and Aaron Boyd, shined their light before men, that they might see their good deeds and glorify the Father in heaven. Beautiful. God is just beautiful. And this is Nathan's video for his ministry in Uganda. Watch and ask the Lord what He wants you to do in response to Him.

Emotional to Devotional: Living Hope Church Sermon 2.

Dr. Jeremy Westbrook

Living Hope Church, Marysville, Ohio

Emotional To Devotional: Depression: “There is Victory in the Valley”

Have you come today to meet with God? We did not come for entertainment. We need to realize church is to meet with God. The one TRUE God. The Holy Spirit is so important. BUT we don’t like talking about the Holy Spirit.

1 Kings 19:1-18:

New Living Translation (NLT)

Elijah Flees to Sinai

19 When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”

3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”

5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” 6 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.

7 Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”

8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai,[a] the mountain of God. 9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.

The Lord Speaks to Elijah

But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

11 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He replied again, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

15 Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. 16 Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimshi[b] to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet. 17 Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! 18 Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”

Footnotes:

A.19:8 Hebrew to Horeb, another name for Sinai.

B.19:16 Hebrew descendant of Nimshi; compare 2 Kgs 9:2, 14.

Jonah 4: Jonah struggled. God called him to go somewhere and he couldn’t stand the people. And God spared the town, when the town repented. Jonah battled depression and said Lord, just take me.

“When God opens the windows of Heaven to bless us, the devil will open the windows of hell to blast us.” –Leonard Ravenhill

Disappointments become His appointments when you take the D off, and put an H.

“I of all men, am the subject of depression sometimes.” –Charles Spergeon.

“I am helpless. I am hopeless.” – US.  “I am what you need”- GOD

Your hope is not in a man, in a pastor, in a person, or in a country. It’s in God alone. – Jeremy Westbrook

These emotions were crippling the men of God.

Moses was oppressed over stress.

David was depressed over guilt.

Jonah was depressed over anger.

Romans 12:1-2:

New Living Translation (NLT)

A Living Sacrifice to God

12 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Footnotes:

12:1a Greek brothers.

12:1b Or This is your spiritual worship; or This is your reasonable service.

Roots of Depression:

1. Focus on feelings, not facts. (vs.3)

“If you’re forgiven, then act like it. If you have been set free, then live like it.” – A. W. Tozer.

You are a new creation in Christ. Focus on the facts, not your feelings.

2. Compare Yourself to another Christian or people. (vs.4)

2 Corinthians 10:2

Quit comparing yourself. Do not look to other people. Measure yourself to the Lord, and not others. We all sin, but HE DOES not. We need to stop trying to live like everyone else and say, “Lord, what do you want from me?”

3. Focus on Falsehood

Acts 16: The Lord opened the heart of Lydia. We cannot implement change in someone that is the Holy Spirit’s business.

4. Maximizing Man & Minimizing God. (vs. 10)

For every mountain top there is a valley. The valley is when you grow and where you know who God is.

(vs.17) I still have 7,000 people who haven’t bowed down yet. God always has someone in supply. God’s plan is perfect. It is Sovereign and He knows what He is doing.

Do not elevate your foe over your faith.

Remedies for Depression:

1.Physical needs (vs.5-7)

“Every Christian needs to have time to come apart. And if you don’t come apart, then you will fall apart.” –Vance Havner

You need to get away sometimes and hear from the Lord.

2.Emotional Needs (vs.9-10)

God doesn’t criticize him or condemn him. Cast all your cares on me. For I care for you. –God.

Elijah vents to God. He expresses being afraid, lonely, worried, guilty, and fear. But he ran to the Lord. He is your help and He is your hope.

3. Spiritual Needs (vs.11)

Elijah needed a fresh touch from the Lord. God took those needs and made them what was best.

Psalm 47:3

If we are truly saved in Christ, we don’t want to sin. We will sin, but repentance will be quick.

4.Directional Needs (vs.15)

Sometimes when you get focused on the kingdom, and God, He will give you a new direction and a new assignment. Moses had a people problem. But Moses had a promise. That God would fight for him. Jonah had a pouting problem, but the Lord gave Him a new perspective.

God’s not dead. HE IS ALIVE.

Emotion to Devotional Series: Living Hope Church Sermon 1.

Dr. Jeremy Westbrook

Living Hope Church, Marysville, Ohio

Emotional To Devotional: Insecurity: “Your identity Determines Your Eternity”

Missionary Prayer Partners: The Bartlett Family. 

“Do you ever wake up and say, ‘God look what you’ve done for me.’ You overwhelmingly feel his grace. That is a missionaries heart. They never get over what He has done for them. They go when He says go. They do when He says do. – Jeremy Westbrook

Small Group Announcement: See the website, or bulletin.

Who has emotions? All of us. Some of us have it more than others.

We all have emotion. God gave us emotion. John 11:35, Jesus wept. He had emotion. The bible said that God was sorry for His creation. This is the Father having emotion. And the Holy Spirit can be grieved. This is an emotion. There is emotions all within the trinity. The emotions just need to be in check.

The first step is looking into the Word of God.

Ephesians 1:1-14

New Living Translation (NLT)

Greetings from Paul

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a] who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Spiritual Blessings

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.[b] 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,[c] for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own[d] by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Footnotes:

1:1 The most ancient manuscripts do not include in Ephesus.

1:6 Greek to us in the beloved.

1:11 Or we have become God’s inheritance.

1:13 Or he put his seal on you.

This is the longest sentence in the Greek New Testament. It’s like Paul just keeps going. For English majors, it’s a nightmare. There is no punctuation. Paul get’s excited about the Glory of God and His greatness.

Who is our identity?

Who are we?

We find our self in our job status, a boyfriend, a friend, a theme, or many other things.

The theme of Ephesians is “IN CHRIST”.

John 8. Says that you have an identity. You are either IN CHRIST of OUT OF CHRIST. You are a child of Christ, or a Child of Satan.

Ephesians 4:14:

New Living Translation (NLT)

4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

Paul uses banking and lawyer and legal terms. Sometimes we think banker and lawyers are greedy and all. This begins in GRACE and ends with GLORY.

EMOTIONS ARE GOOD IF THEY LEAD TO DEVOTION.

How to be secure:

1.     God the Father Selects Us.  (Ephesians 1:1-6)

“When we are confident about the future. We can concentrate on the present.” –Unknown

1 John 2:2

 New Living Translation (NLT)

2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

IN CHRIST: That is our identity. We are adopted into our own family. That is the beauty of the Gospel. Do you understand the ministry and the power of adoption this morning? It is critical to a child of God. It is critical in ministry. We are not insecure. If we are in Christ WE ARE SECURE. You can’t let someone down that you aren’t holding up. Focus on what you can do. Not on what you can do. God the Father has selected you. I don’t know what your childhood was like, but BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. HE SAW YOU. HE SELECTED YOU. AND HE SENT HIS ONLY SON TO DIE FOR YOU. HE LOVES YOU.

How much does Jesus love you?

John 17:23

New Living Translation (NLT)

23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

Ecclesiastes 4: 12

New Living Translation (NLT)

12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

The strongest chord of three strands in Ephesians.

Cate and Chris Franke adopted baby Jonah Friday. This has been a long journey. God is working through adoption in our church. Get excited. T“his is the GOSPEL.

(We have an adoption ministry called Hope for Every Child” Monday, January, 20, 2013. )

2.     God the Son Saves Us.  (Ephesians 1:7-12)

There were a million slaves in Roman during this time. Jesus purchased our freedom with the blood of the cross. And freed us from our sin. We have been transferred from slaves, to saintly sons. Forgive, the idea word picture of the great high priest in the new testament. The high priest would take two goats and they would atone for the sins of the people. (The book of Hebrews is the theme that Jesus is the ultimate High Priest. Without the shedding of blood there is no shedding of blood for sins.) The high priest would slit the throat and take the blood and put it on the mercy seat for sin. In the garden with Adam and Eve, after sin, God has always required blood as a sacrifice. (The wages of sin is death. Death and blood are associated with us.) Then the other Goat got set free. This was the escape goat. We are the escape goat. And Jesus freed us with His blood.

There is no need to feel insecure of what you know. Because you have the mind of Christ. Are you using what God’s given you? With what He has gifted you with?

YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE KING. DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE GOT?

3. The Holy Spirit of God is Our Seal.  (Ephesians 1:13-14)

(underline Guarantee in verse 13)   “People are fickle. But GOD is FATIHFUL.”

Seal: a legal term. It is a transfer that has been complete. Your ownership has been transferred if you have been saved. The seal is a document of your transfer.

Security is not found in a place. And it is only found in the person of Christ.

If you are ME, you are secure, no matter where you are. God never takes you off His list. He never takes you out of the Book of Life. Once you are saved, you are always saved. There is nothing you have to do with salvation. John 10: no one can pluck you from His hand.

If we must share His glory, we must also share His suffering.

God calls you not to a place, but to HIMSELF. He called Noah in the ark. Which means that God was already in the Ark. This means that God calls you not to a place but to himself.

THANK God for grace. Noah may have fallen into the ark, but he never fell out of the ark.

In 1937 they built the golden gate bridge. 23 people died building that bridge. Then they spent 100,000 dollars to buy a security net. This kept death away, and made the works secure so they increased production. We all want to be secure. But we will never truly be secure, until we are secure in Christ. This doesn’t mean you won’t struggle, or have those moments. But if you are secure in Christ, that is SECURITY.

Are you truly in Christ? Are you truly saved?

1 John 2:2.

New Living Translation (NLT)

2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

 Yes. God had you in mind. But will you repent of your sins. Will you put your trust and faith in Christ?

Other wise. You are not saved. And your security isn’t in Christ. But hell is your guarantee.  He wants to redeem you. He wants you to feel secure. 

Second Chances. My adoption. God's family.

We humans. We have problems. We often turn to things that we don't want to do, or do things like those who we don't want to be like. We are like sheep. Without being led, or sometimes even disciplined with God the Father taking his staff and gently nudging us back in the flock, well, we'd be lost, alone, injured, or worse, left for dead. I know this is true about my own life. That's the beauty of gospel. It's Good News not for the beautiful, but for the broken.

Isaiah 53:2-6. 

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

We all like sheep have gone astray. The truth in this statement we all know in our hearts. But so many people have hardened their hearts to believe that they do no wrong. Honestly, I am willing to admit, to have any healthy relationships, I need Christ to lead them and to show me, how when He came as a man, how he dealt with sin and overcame it. I realized today as I was watching "LifeUnexpectedly." that I for so long have pushed people away, even God at times. I am a stubborn person which has happened out of callouses of hurt, frustration and anger from and towards others. We all want someone to understand. We all want love. No one likes afflictions. However, Christ was afflicted, he was hurt, he was crushed, DOES HE UNDERSTAND? Yes.  But what happens in America when we do not get our way? We can't have something because we didn't work for it, we open credit cards and incur huge debts, we can't eat something to be healthy, we eat it anyway, we know the truth of something we did was wrong, we lie, we are ashamed of our sin, we cover it, we know there is something more. However, that something more goes so much against our culture. IT requires hard-work, trust, love, peace, patience... Oh, I said a no no. Patience. Who needs patience anyways. We do. We have to have patience to have Christ in our lives. He is our Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, Friend, Savior, Husband, Protector, Provider, and Rabbi (teacher). The truth is to be a good Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, Friend, Husband, Protector, Provider, or Teacher you have to have patience. But to understand the love of all those people, or qualities, you have to have patience to receive them. We don't get our way in America, we make it happen. We never listen to the "NO's" in our life and only listen to how to make it a "YES". We care nothing about what it means to be patient. And we all because we have the freedom of INDEPENDENCE have taken things to a level of not trusting other, never depending on anyone, and by means of our own hearts, not letting anyone in. After all if we aren't independent we have to fight battles, we have to hear the words NO. We have to work together, we have to forget about self. But forgetting about self hurts. We have the freedom to chose not to be hurt. Or do we. The truth is those things we see do not hurt us in the moment, they hurt us for the rest of our lives. But we think, SELF GRATIFICATION INSTANTLY is more important that long term GRATIFICATION, and EDIFICATION of the Spirit. Why, if we believe in a higher power, WELL- we give up our desires, we realize we didn't do anything, we cannot be independent anymore and have our desires for self gratification written off. I even hear my own mind convince myself of these things often. "Marissa, that person hurt you, you have rights to be mean." "Marissa, don't be a door mat." "Marissa, that will get you what you have been wanting so long, right now, don't wait." The truth is. I often give in. Because if I have freedom not to wait, why would I wait. Why? I want to wait, because in the end, Christ is the one who loves me. Christ is the one who died for me. Christ is the one who constantly pleads on my behalf before a Father (who unlike my own) loves me. A father who chose me. A Father who created me. A Father who wanted me. He pleads before a Mother. A mother who is "Mother Nature". A Mother who loves. A mother who gives birth to new life in Him alone." Christ is my Husband, a husband who leads, a husband who provides, a husband who gave his own life for his bride. In Him we are one. One with the Spirit. A spirit who teaches me. Teaches me, who Christ is, who pleads on my behalf to Christ and to God the Father. A teacher who is a helper, the same kind of helper a man becomes one with as his wife. A husband and wife to have a working marriage have to have trust in each other. They become one, and they make decisions together, they are not their own. A husband loves his wife, and a wife is submissive to her husband. Wives, you are like the Holy Spirit in so many ways, you are submissive to your husband the way the Holy Spirit is Submissive to the Father, and then to Christ. The Holy Spirit is a helper to Christ, and so we are to our husbands. The truth is. I want to wait. I want to wait to see my Father in heaven who loves me. I want to wait, I want to wait on my Christ who died for me to come back for me. I want to wait. I want to learn as the Holy Spirit lives in me to be patient, and to be submissive to Christ and the Father. Without waiting... I have nothing. I have me. And me is lonely. But in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, which makes up the church, I am the bride of Christ and I... then am a part of the biggest family in the world. The family of Eliohim. The family of God. The family of Yahweh, the only eternal family. Please, if you do not know what I am talking about, or you do not know who God the Father is as I refer to Him or what Christ has done for you, or who the Holy Spirit is, then know this. Email me. Read the bible, the Christian bible. And pray for understanding. Being a Christian is the only way into eternal life. And knowing those 3 bodies as one body, it will change your life. But you have to be willing to say, YOU CANNOT DO IT ON YOUR OWN. After all, You are not you own. You were loved and created by my Father too. You just have never searched for your birthright Father, who is God the Father. 

Also, for more info visit Living Hope Church. It's a church of second chances. We all need them. 

Glorifying Christ in all that you do.

Glorifying Christ in all that you do seems almost impossible with todays world. However, we know that through Christ all things are possible. And nothing is impossible with God. These verses can often be used out of context, but when it comes to serving Him, I believe it's true. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, and He came to set us free. In America, we really misuse this statement and context. Christ did not come to set us free so that we may be free to receive salvation and walk in flesh, but so that we may be FREE indeed. Free to walk in Him. What does this mean exactly? Well, think about yourself... Everyone has a flesh side (your desires, your wants, your natural heart), everyone has a sin nature (the nature of imperfection with God in our lives because of the fall of man, and the fall of satan and his angels), then there is the Holy Spirit. The last is not present unless you believe in Christ, and receive Christ as your own, by taking up your cross, dying to the first two daily, and repenting daily. Christ came to set us free from sin, and flesh. This is done through the Holy Spirit and sacrifice of Christ. He came to set us free that we should repent and be free not sin, or if we do to be redeemed by His blood! One thing, I think many Christians struggle with, and I do too, is that we often forget than in setting us free from flesh, He, Christ, has set us free from the culture that we are bound too, and His word is the only proper mirror in which we rightfully see our selves. See being set free from culture is one of the most difficult things. It defines your family, your walk, your words, your actions, your understanding, and sometimes your citizenship. BUT that's just it. Our citizenship transfers from earth to heaven once we are set free in Christ. And therefore, we are set free from the customs and culture of the day. How is this done? Through Christ. How is this not done? Not by being conformed to this world, but rather by being transformed and renewed in Christ.

So, what made me write this? God is stirring my heart. It's constant. And when you take dirty water and stir it, all those things that have settled at the bottom began to surface and become evident that the water needs to be poured out and refreshed. This is done, only through the Living Waters, which is Christ. Thank you Lord for that. But also, something I have never thought about before until recently in this bible study I am doing at Living Hope Church with the women in our group. Is that our hearts have to be made new (that part is not the new concept for me) but rather our hearts go from a rock to God replacing it with a sponge. When you first replace a sponge with a rock, well, the sponge can be hard, and rough. But once water begins to flow through that sponge it absorbs what it needs too. Then the sponge, just like the heart becomes soft and teachable. Christians, we need to be teachable. However, God is teaching me right now. He is bringing to my mind all the things He promised when I first started serving Him. I want to be faithful in that. One of my favorite verse that I have come to love is Daniel 12:3. Look it up.

I am trying to let my heart be a sponge and one that is clean and constantly absorbing His will and not my own. This is the danger in a new heart. Sponges absorb things, but make sure it's absorbing His word. Secondly, through Daniel and other biblical studies lately, I am learning to glorify Christ in MIND, BODY, and SOUL. Which means I am learning to glorify him with my actions toward my future husband (something I have been working on for years, as I am still single) and with my body (something I didn't have to worry about until 3 years ago when I started gaining weight, so this is new to me.) and with my soul, constantly giving my flesh to him, and letting the Holy Spirit guide my life. So please pray for me.

The Bus.

Spiritual Warfare. It's a very sticky word. One in which sometimes meanings and such give Satan more glory than he deserves. But, I must say, sticky or not, it exist and cannot be over looked. Currently at Living Hope we are doing a sermon series called "BASIC". It's like basic training on how to live, function, and give you proper identify in Christ and in Christ alone. It has really stripped me of a lot of things and really made the focus of the basics in my life real. Through this series last night, God was really doing a work in my heart. As I woke up this morning I felt not rested and very weird. All night my dreams consisted of the battle of heaven and hell. When I woke, I realized God's already and conquered, Jesus has already won, and the Holy Spirit was giving peace and equipping me. Praise God for those moments. In that very moment I put those thoughts out of my head, woke up, got my mind ready for work, and headed out to the Y. As I got there the kids were great. We had fun talking about different things. It was a normal morning. I drive a big white bus and well, the kids call it the "white prison bus'. I know, not really the thing you want to be known for, nonetheless, it's about Jesus not me. Well, we get on the bus, I drive to the first school, and the news crews and everything are there because in the middle of the night a truck drove through a wall. The wall caved in and news channels were covering the story as we arrived on scene. Nothing too unusual. Then I drop the kids off like normal and head out to my next location. As I am driving down the road, watching the quiet kids left on the bus for the next destination, I hear what sounds like an airplane taking off, then a big "CLUNK". I look behind me to see if anything has fallen off this monster bus. Nothing, I thought, just a bump probably. Well, I turn off on the exit for the next school and realize the battery light is on, the brakes do not work, the power steering has gone out. As I am driving and children are still on the bus, I just pray. That's all I can do. It was a simple prayer, but I didn't pray it over and over again because the Lord had already prepared my heart. I thought about the dream last night and knew that God would guide me. I made it all the way from that school through the carpool line and back to the Y. The bus is being fixed, and the Lord is faithful. I recognize that not all things are spiritual warfare but I really feel like this was. I am so thankful for God bigger than me. Personal enough to love me, and graceful enough to protect me. Praise Jesus.

Marysville, OH

The sunlight breaking through the corn is just beautiful. 

When not in Uptown Marysville then corn is all I see. There are crops everywhere.

This is part of uptown as well. Everything is right here together. And it's only 5 minutes to get anywhere in the town. 

This is my favorite ice cream shop in Marysville. I have had a many "Milk & Cookies" shakes here already. 

This is my new home. I love being downtown Marysville, or as they call it here Uptown Marysville. I meet new people everyday, and I pray Christ gets glory for all relationships I have or make.