The Rhythms of His Heart

Hey blog browsers!  Lately I have been incredibly encouraged by the following people that you will see in these two videos!  They are mighty warriors whose stories God has used on many occasions to bring joy and strength to my tired heart!  So if you have time like 1 hr or more...sit back with your favorite cup of warm tea, ( I recommend Chai Tea or a cup of some strong java), maybe a box of tissue (if you are like me) and ask yourself the question , " If God can use them what could HE do with me?" The first video is of Gianna Jessen & then the last two clips are of a preacher named David Ring.  I have never met these two people, but they are definitely some people who I would LOVE to have dinner with someday...even if I have to wait til Heaven.  HE IS ABLE!

Yesterday I got word that a dear man of God & one of my supporters went to heaven on Saturday.  He went to sleep only to open his eyes and see the face of Jesus.  So this blog will not be my usual stories about life with my Youth, or something God has been teaching me, but rather a tribute to a quiet, gentle white haired lover of Jesus who is now in heaven.  Though I am sad, I have hope that I will see him again. I Remember  . . . him pronouncing my name wrong There were many days I would walk in my church back home in New Glasgow and he would be there with the biggest smile ever saying, "Hi Dana!" Hi Dianne" " Hi Deana" & though he could not always get my name right there was never a time when I didn't feel welcome  in his home or did not feel the warm, kind heart behind that smile.  Pat knew that God knew his name and mine-- that is all that mattered. I Remember ...his singing I remember when they first started coming to our church and t...

I sit looking at her and inwardly praying for God to take the conversation deep. I sit and listen to your favorite song as you scream the lyrics at the top of your lungs. I sit and  be interested in your video game, your next crush and all your family drama. I sit in my kitchen and figure out how to make your favorite Birthday treat and all the while there is that word going through my mind this week: "JEALOUS" I am not jealous of you, but for you.  Like Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:2, " I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy." This is the kind of jealous that burns straight from the heart of God into my heart.  God is jealous for my attention, my love, my heart & though I cannot perfectly exemplify this jealousy that is Him, I do know that He  has been and is stirring up in my heart a jealousy for the hearts of girls (youth) in Portage to be His.  I desire with every fiber of my being that they will turn to Him.  He has loved me with a lov...

Today I felt like I was running!  How can you run, Dee, you may ask?  Well, let me tell you....even a crippled girl can feel like she's running sometimes.  I love, love that I get to visit schools, prepare talks, small groups, and programs and meet kids for a meal or coffee, but there are days when I feel like I run from the moment my feet hit the floor and I don't stop until my head hits the pillow (Can I get an "Amen!") On days like this, I often feel like David in I Samuel 21 when he was running from Saul. He went to the priest and asked for some bread & a weapon.  I love the picture here because it says that the priest gave him 'the bread of the Presence' and he gave the sword that he killed Goliath with.  If David would have stopped running from village to village for a second and realized what these things represented in his life (the bread representing Christ --the bread of God's presence to us & the sword reminding David that with God...

I sat in the back of our YFC van laughing until my sides hurt! We were on our way back from a High School Girls Campout and our two summer staff gals were singing about this moose who liked to drink a lot of juice?!  Crazy I know, but this was just one of the many moments during the summer that brought a smile to my face!  You see , these two girls (pictured so beautifully above) prayed, laughed, planned and ran our programs for the summer!  I knew as I watched and worked with these ladies that God was working through them.  They not only were the hands and love of Jesus to the Youth of Portage this summer, but also to me!  So now, sweet summer girls staff of 2013...the summer is done, You worked your heart out and now look what God has done!  Thank you for being the sunshine in my life this summer!  Stay Strong and Live out His love in the hallsof Westpark & SBC. This guy is an exceptional leader and keeps us all on track!  He too was ...

The last few days I needed to be alone...it is so hard  for me to admit that I have limits.  I was tired after my week of hanging out with Teens and kids and just needed to breathe a little before heading into this week of my crazy days at YFC , plus an added ministry of VBS in the evenings. I even gave up a really fun camping trip with a friend & all of it was not in vain!  Can ministry become an idol?  Can too much of a good thing become a bad thing?  These are all questions and things God continues to work out in my heart. I have come to realize that I need HIM more than social gatherings, text messages, and friends. I need to be still! I need to be that Jar who is broken at his feet....whose fragrance of worship fills the air. When I  just keep going without taking time at His feet the fragrance is not as sweet and doesn't go as far. I want to be broken  that I will gladly be spent and poured out!!  (Check out John 12:1-8 for the story of...

 "Little girl, LIVE!" is a phrase that I heard a few weeks ago as I listened to a testimony of a woman who as a child was thrown down a well and left for dead. It was this phrase that her rescuer said as he lifted her from that place of death and darkness.  It is a phrase that beats in the heart of my Father God  for those who have been condemned to death.  It is phrase that I will never forget!   Jesus came to give eternal and full life...this was His mission and I think as He sees the girls that I have come to connect with here, He holds out His hands and constantly says "Little girl, Live!" You see, that day as I listened to this story...I thought of a the "little girl" in my world that had lost the power to live, feeling abandoned and alone, having no one...no father to love her and it was like God had spoken to my heart as I sat there with tears in my  heart & eyes and said, "Dee, pray that over her!" So I prayed.."Spirit, give Lif...