Dear Diary Blog Friends...

I started blogging and then well. I stopped.

I'm sorry.

Please don't misunderstand my sorrow to be interpreted as fear that my blogging has been desperately missed. :) I apologize because as soon as I decided to Journal online well.. somethings in my life turned... not so pretty.

And that's ok. And I've been fighting and wrestling, but most of all I've been learning. And it's really ... really exciting. :)

Something I've realized often throughout the last few months is that I often find myself in the same cycles. Up, down. High, low. Same attempts. Same plans. Same lists. Same ideas.

Same results.

[Start over.]

Same attempts. Same plans. Same lists. Same ideas.

Ya feelin me?

I literally laughed out loud when I heard someone recently say that one defintion of insanity is "repeating the same behaviors and expecting different results." Oops.

I don't know about you.. but um. Some things apparently aren't workin to well for me that way.

I don't know about you, but even through my small (and sometimes circular) attempts, I sure have seen some mind-blowing glimpses of my God. And I'm so hungry for more.

I want to see more of the God who leads us to victory over any enemy. Who gives abundant life and limitless peace and joy. Who moves mountains, parts seas, and makes the lame walk. That's my God.

And He stays the same. He's already with us. He's already given us access. He's already shown us where to find the "Promised Land." And I'm afraid I may have spent some time wandering in the wilderness relearning things.

Don't get me wrong here. God has used those times to teach me more.
To take me deeper.

Praise the Lord!

Another important disclaimer: I'm NEVER suggesting that we try to shake things up and "try something new" that is outside of the bounds and guidance of Scripture. After seeing the reality of God, well, that's just crazy talk. :)

What I AM saying... is that in taking the time to step back... to simplify to what I KNOW.. has brought the strength and power of Christ into my life where my own strength and ability has run dry.

And it's far exciting, abundant, fulfilling, and victorious than anything I can do on my own.

What I AM saying is that rather than running to refer to a list, to a "way", to a method, I have learned to GO DEEPER.

And I mean that literally.

I have learned to hit my knees and wrestle with God and tell Him that I want to hear His voice. That I'm willing to stay on my knees until I know I've met with Him.

You see I don't need to run harder, move faster, or be better... I need to go deeper to the source of answers, of life, and of victory.

Because He's already there. Waiting for me to stop running in frantic circles. To hit my knees and look up... "I lift my eyes to the hills (that'd be above the valleys... by the way...) from whence cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord... the Maker of heaven and Earth!" (Psalm 121).

Here are the things that we should always keep the same. That are our CORE. The are our FOUNDATION. They are our STARTING POINT:
The things that we know about Christ Himself.
We can dig deeper into them, but we should never compromise them. We should never move them.

We should stand on them.

The Bible tells us over and over ... and over... again... that we should sing a "New Song" unto God.  The God who is the same from beginning to the end. The God who we read in Hebrews is the same "yesterday today and forever". The God who Psalm 121 says "never slumbers or sleeps."

Same God.
New song.

Have you ever stopped to think of the sheer coolness that we can ALWAYS sing a NEW SONG... to the SAME GOD?!? David had a song to sing. Moses had a song to sing. Peter had a song to sing. And so do I. And it's not finished yet. I have MANY songs to sing... and I have new giants in my life. I have bigger giants in my life. And I KNOW who my God is.

I'm all in. And you can hold me to it.

I can't wait to see how God will change me. How God will reveal Himself. How God will choose to glorify Himself. And to see how He takes down the giants that are the hardest of all. Not just my circumstances that sometimes steal the focus and seem overwhelming. Nope. They'll change. They'll  move. (Or.. something.) But the giants of fear. God's whooped that one outta the ball park for me when I couldn't do it myself. So many giants that we can't defeat ourselves... God is our song in the night.

Another giant for you too? Well. That's just another invitation for a miracle. Just listen for his voice.

I doubt he'll tell you to defeat a giant or feed a multitude.

He'll probably send you to the creek for some rocks or ask to borrow your lunch.
The miracle is guaranteed. So is the presence of God.

Let's just make sure that we're listening for His voice.
Love, Mary