Spread the map on the table, with the coffee stain
Put your finger on the places, show me where you've been
Is that California, where your teardrops dried?
You drew a circle around Georgia, can you tell me why?
I see shoulda beens, coulda beens
Written all over your face (your face, your face)
Wrong turns and bridges burned
Things you wanna change
It's history
You can't rewrite it
You're not meant to be trapped inside it
Every tear brought you here
Every sorrow gathered
Yeah, it's history
And every mile mattered
Get the box off the top shelf, with the black and white
Snapshots of your old self, in a better light
Ghosts and regrets back again, I can see it in your eyes
Send them home, let 'em go
Don't you think it’s time? Yeah
It's history
You can't rewrite it
You're not meant to be trapped inside it
Every tear brought you here
Every sorrow gathered
It's history
And every mile
And every road and every bend
Every bruise and bitter end
All you squandered, all you spent
It mattered, it mattered
Mercy always finds a way
To wrap your blisters up in grace
And every highway you'd erase
It mattered, it mattered
But it's history
It don't define you
You're free to leave
It all behind you
Every tear brought you here
Every sorrow gathered
It's history
And every mile mattered
Every mile mattered
"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." ~ phillipians 4:13
"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.You have recorded each one in Your book." // psalm 56:8
"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."// hebrews 4:16
no matter where you have been, no matter what happened, no matter what happened to you, no matter what you wish you did or didn't do, no matter what you wish you said or didnt get to say or chose not to say, every mile you have covered in this life of yours mattered...the good, bad, difficult, horrible, confusing, exhilarating, joyful moments all mesh together in a way that has led you to be where you are now.
every
single
mile
you
have
travelled
mattered
and you my darling, you absolutly matter regadless of how yucky you feel sometimes. :)
hi there! i hope you had a restful weekend. :) mine was productive and good! i spent a bit of it crafting new pieces of hand lettering art. you can check out my new crafts shop (Delali Creates Shop) here! sooo today I'm sharing this song by jeremy camp that just wouldn't leave my head. i keep humming it unconsciously in between the buzz of these past days. the words carry so much weight and i'm hoping it means something to you as much as it does to me. :)
In this obsession with the things this world says make us happy
Can't see the slaves we are in all the searching all the grasping
Like we deserve much more than all these blessing we're holding
So now I'm running free into an ocean of mercy unending
So come and empty me
So that it's you I breathe
I want my life to be
Only Christ in me
So I will fix my eyes
'Cause You're my source of life
I need the world to see
That it's Christ in me
That it's Christ in me
Done with what holds me down the things I once was chasing after
Throw off these heavy chains that I have let become my master
So now I'm running free into an ocean of mercy unending
So come and empty me
So that it's you I breathe
I want my life to be
Only Christ in me
So I will fix my eyes
'Cause you're my source of life
I need the world to see
That it's Christ in me
That it's Christ in me
In this obsession with the things this world says make us happy
Can't see the slaves we are in all the searching all the grasping
So come and empty me
So that it's you I breathe
I want my life to be
Only Christ in me
So I will fix my eyes
'Cause you're my source of life
I need the world to see
Only Christ in me
Only Christ in me
Only Christ in me
Christ in me
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."// galatians 2:20
I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that
the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have
loved Me."// John 17:23
"If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness."// romans 8:10
"The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him We know
by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."// 1 John 3:24
This planet called earth is a world full of decay and sin and death and the only Source of life here is the Word of Father God as His Holy Spirit moves and brings the Word alive in the lives of those who seek salvation in Jesus Christ by believing in Him. If you're a Christian i'd like to encourage you not to give up or compromise on your faith in Jesus no matter what. If you're caught in a cyclone of doubts and unbelief and wondering if this Jesus you keep hearing about is real, well let me just say He is soooooo real, closer than your breath and He is waiting, yearning for the time when you would eventually put your faith and trust in Him. it is worth it. i promise! dear you, please do not allow yourself to be polluted by this obsession driven world. more money wouldn't satisfy the void inside, more stuff wouldn't bring fulfillment, more relationships with guys and ladies wouldn't do it either. we're all broken cisterns and only Jesus truly satisfies the thirst of the human soul. only He can fill the void in the human heart. Christ in you and i is the hope of glory! :)
this sonngg! i checked it out just this past weekend. and i loved, loved it!
i've always been a big fan of for King & country. and when moriah peters got hitched to Joel i loved them even more. ;) hihihihi
aside the richness of the lyrics, i love this song because of how God mysteriously provides help to the characters in the music video through an angel who helps each of them. the whole hooded figure makes it so intriguing.
When confusion's my companion
And despair holds me for ransom
I will feel no fear
I know that You are near
When I'm caught deep in the valley
With chaos for my company
I'll find my comfort here
‘Cause I know that You are near
My help comes from You
You're right here, pulling me through
You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness all on Your shoulders
Your shoulders
My help comes from You
You are my rest, my rescue
I don't have to see to believe that You're lifting me up on Your shoulders
Your shoulders
You mend what once was shattered
And You turn my tears to laughter
Your forgiveness is my fortress
Oh Your mercy is relentless
My help is from You
Don't have to see it to believe it
My help is from you
Don't have to see it, ‘cause I know, ‘cause I know it's true
My help is from You
Don't have to see it to believe it
My help is from you
Don't have to see it, ‘cause I know, ‘cause I know it's true
I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm— He will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and goingboth now and forevermore.// psalm 121:1-8
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.// psalm 91:9-12
“Because Heloves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for He acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”// psalm 91:14-16
Praise the LORD, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out His plans, listening for each of His commands.// psalm 103:20
our help really comes from the Lord. sometimes we kinda forget, right? in the video right before the crash Joel was all worried, so of course the enemy stood on that and made him lose his awareness of where he was and BAM! the other car hit right into his.
moral? when something bugs you, channel all the worries into prayer instead. thankfully, we have angels on assignment who help us when we tell God what's going on in our lives and submit our requests a.k.a prayer.
and sometimes we make it by the skin of our teeth like Joel did. and He sends help.
our angels are always with us, waiting for us to talk to God i prayer so that he can help us.
this song reminds me of a book on angels i finished reading earlier on this year titled Angels on Assignment by Charles and Frances Hunter. it gives much explanation to how angels operate.
angels are so real. they are the means by which God answers our prayers. they protect us, guide us, even communicate with us.
I've come to really understand that God loves us so much!
as our Father, He wants the best for us. so if you're having a bad day or week or month do remember that God is waiting for you to talk to Him, and His answers are not always, yes. sometimes they are "no" or "wait."
He has us on His shoulders, He's cool like that! :)
it's another lovely monday! and yours truly is right here to share an equally lovely song with you. I was singing this song the whole of yesterday. i so love it! it's amazing how Jesus is the only Person who actually loves me without being manipulative. His friendship and affection is what I'll always long for and i hope the same for you too. enjoy! :)
the only name (Yours will be)// big daddy weave
Yours will be the only Name that matters to me
The only One Whose favor I seek
The only Name that matters to me
Yours will be
The friendship and affection I need
To feel my Father smiling on me
The only Name that matters to me
Yours is the Name the Name that has saved me
Mercy and grace, the power that forgave me
And Your love is all I’ve ever needed
When I wake up in the Land of Glory
And with the saints I will tell my story
There will be one Name that I proclaim
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, just that Name
The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.// luke 1:30
But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.// genesis 39:21
For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."//romans 9:15
So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man.// proverbs 3:4
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,is God in His holy dwelling.//psalm 68:5
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.// ephesians 2:8-9
the wonderful Grace of God leaves me in wonder so much. His grace is what enables us to do the very humanly impossible things.
He pours blessings I so don't deserve upon my life and tops up with mercy.His love is so devoted to me, and you too!
when we have God as our Father we need to remember that He is the One that we're living for and it's only His applause that we should expect to hear.
Let's live for the audience of One, King Jesus! and no matter what anyone says or does to distract us from the assignments He has given us to fulfill, His name is all that should matter to us. :)
travis greeeeeeene! he was in town over the weekend for a prayer/worship time to stand in the gap for the nations. twas an awesome time! i sang and danced my heart and body out.
i love, love his songs! especially this one. it's special to me because whenever God leads me to win a battle it comes up on my shuffle. i usually have my songs on shuffle, and somehow, someway, whenever i face what seems like an insurmountable hurdle and God makes a way to overcome it's this very song that comes right up. and i just look up at the skies and laugh and laugh in awe and breathe a 'thank You' to Him because He did it again. He's awesome!
made a way//travis greene
Made a way Don't know how but You did it Made a way Standing here not knowing how we'll get through this test But holding unto faith You know that Nothing can catch You by surprise You got this figured out and You're watching us now But when it looks as if we can't win You wrap us in Your arm and step in And everything we need You supply You got this in control And now we know that
You made a way When our backs were against the wall And it looked as if it was over You made a way And we're standing here Only because You made a way You made a way
And now we're here Looking back on where we come from Because of You and nothing we've done To deserve the love and mercy You've shown But Your grace was strong enough to pick us up
And You made a way When our backs were against the wall And it looked as if it was over Lord You made a way And we're standing here Only because You made a way You made a way When our backs were against the wall And it looked as if it was over Lord You made a way And we're standing here Only because You made a way
And you move mountains
You cause walls to fall With Your power You perform miracles There is nothing that's impossible And we're standing here
Only because You made a way
You move mountains You cause walls to fall With Your power Perform miracles There is nothing that's impossible And we're standing here Only because You made a way
You move mountains You cause walls to fall With Your power Perform miracles There is nothing that's impossible And we're standing here Only because You made a way
And we're standing here Only because You made a way
And we're standing here Only because You made a way
You made a way You made a way You made a way You made a way
Don't know how but You did it Made a way Don't know how but You did it Made a way
Don't know how but You did it Don't know how but You did it Don't know how but You did it Don't know how but You did it Don't know how but You did it
Don't know why but I'm grateful Don't know why but I'm grateful Don't know why but I'm grateful Don't know why but I'm grateful Don't know why but I'm grateful Don't know why but I'm grateful
And we're standing here Only because You made And we're standing here Only because You made a way And we're standing here Only because You made
'Cause You move mountains You move mountains You move mountains You move mountains
And You cause walls to fall You cause walls to fall You cause walls to fall You cause walls to fall
And You cause chains to break You cause chains to break You cause chains to break You cause chains to break
And giants fall Giants fall Giants fall Giants fall
'Cause you move mountain You move mountain And everything is easy for you 'Cause you move mountain Yes You move mountain
Mountains are moving Mountains are moving Mountains are moving Mountains are moving
Strong holds are breaking now Strong holds are breaking now Strong holds are breaking Strong holds are breaking
'Cause you move mountain You cause walls to fall
With Your power With Your power With Your power With Your power
You perform miracles You perform miracles You perform miracles You perform miracles
My son is breathing My son is living My son is breathing My son is living
When the doctor said no You said yes When the doctor said no You said yes
When they pronounced me dead You said not yet When they pronounced me dead You said not yet
You perform miracles You perform miracles
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I
am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.//isaiah 43:19
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.// ephesians 2:4-10
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do
not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.// galatians 5:1
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.// isaiah 59:1
i know my life is an offense to the devil and his demons because i am he apple of my Father's eye. i am a Princess of the Most High God and there's no power, no flesh that can thwart His plans for my life. and because the devil what damage i do and will continue to do to his useless kingdom he comes at me pretty often. sickness, accusations, lies, false rumors, slander...you name it. he has tried it all but i aint going nowhere till my Master asks me to come Home.
And because i am a threat to his kingdom he keeps trying all the time to take me down. and each time i'm like, nah uh, satan! and i fight him with the armor of my Father.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.// ephesians 6:10-18
keep praying child of God, wage war against the enemy of your soul with the Word of God. and i pray that you'll be sensitive against double minded people. there are so many phonies out there who pretend to be on your side but are only trying to know your mind and work against you. be careful what you share and with who.
talk to God and He'll give you discernment to know who's genuine around you. as you pray, the angels on assignment are working for your good and destroying strongholds!
the miracles God wants to bring your way will leave you speechless. the power of His Holy Spirit is available to you! USE IT!
battle on, faithful soldier of the Lord! you can do this! and keep your joy! it's your strength!
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”// nehemiah 8:10 :)
I see shattered
You see whole
I see broken
But You see beautiful
And You're helping me to believe
You're restoring me piece by piece
There's nothing too dirty
that You can't make worthy
You wash me in mercy
I am clean
There's nothing too dirty
that You can't make worthy
You wash me in mercy
I am clean
What was dead now lives again
My heart's beating, beating inside my chest
Oh I'm coming alive with joy and destiny
Cause You're restoring me piece by piece
There's nothing too dirty
that You can't make worthy
You wash me in mercy
I am clean, oh yeah
There's nothing too dirty
that You can't make worthy
You wash me in mercy
I am clean
Washed in the blood of Your sacrifice
Your blood flowed red and made me white
My dirty rags are purified
I am clean
Washed in the blood of Your sacrifice
Your blood flowed red and made me white
My dirty rags are purified
I'm clean, I'm clean, ohhh I'm
Washed in the blood of Your sacrifice
Your blood flowed red and made me white
My dirty rags are purified
I'm clean, oh I'm clean, I'm clean
Oh You made me
You wash me
Clean
Oh You made me clean
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.// romans 8:1
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we
may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.// hebrews 4:16
For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.// isaiah 54:5
For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice
over you.// isaiah 62:5
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.// john 8:36
if you've done something that you feel guilty about ad you feel like the Lord will not be able to forgive you, please hear me when i say that that's such a lie! the Lord is ever waiting for s to come to Him with a repentant heart and confess our sins to Him and He's soooooooooooo loving, ever ready to forgive His children.
if the enemy keeps whispering lies to your heart and bringing thoughts of condemnation to your mind about something the Lord has already forgiven you about, silence those voices with truth of the Word of God that says you are worthy, loved, redeemed, adored, cherished.
sing the truth of this song over your precious soul and dance in the freedom of knowing that you are clean! because in the sight of God He has covered you in the righteousness of Jesus and you're clothed in radiant white garments.
Hi friends, this past weekend has been quite hectic and busy for me since I had to pack up and leave for school. But the good part is that it’s my very last semester as an undergrad! Ever. The past three and half years in school hasn't been easy, but I survived it all only by the blessed grace of my Father. I’m excited and at the same time a bit nervous about what the future holds. I choose to believe there’s so much good at the end of my undergraduate studies and Jeremiah 29:11 helps ease my uncertainties about the unknown. It says “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Isn’t this wonderful? To know that I don’t have the slightest idea about what could happen tomorrow, next month or next year, but God does. I am His child and there’s no way He’s going to bring me to harm so I choose to believe in His Word.
The whole packing, unpacking and settling in was quite overwhelming as usual. I’m still settling in and trying to get into a familiar pace. I’m back to the place full of worldly parties, fornication, perversion and all sorts of ungodliness, where few people are willing to stand, unashamedly for their Christian beliefs, a place full of lukewarm Christians and people who compromise to get whatever it is they want... a place where ‘Christians’ look exactly like the world and there’s no clear cut distinction. This is a world where you get mocked at because you refuse to go with the crowd which is doing the wrong thing, and people try to make you feel weird for choosing the road less traveled by, making it impossible for you to trust anyone at all but yourself. It’s a world where good is bad and bad is made good. I'm not some perfect person who doesn't sin, no. I fall but I'm determined to cling to God like crazy and walk in righteousness.I want my spirit to win the battle against my flesh. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20
“Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you may no longer live as Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart; they have become callous and given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness.” Ephesians 4:17-19
I’m back to the world where guys pass silly comments because you ignore them when they hit on you. (They seriously need to grow up and give that a rest.) It’s interesting how people do just about anything to cover up their wounded egos and try to belittle you. SMH I’m back to the world where some people try to pick a fight with you in the library because you tell them to shush up. (Yes, even when you say it in a polite way.) It’s like they just don’t get it that libraries are supposed to be quiet and not for chit chatting or cranking up their music. Sigh. This world can get crazy demanding from school stuff to extra curricula stuff and everything else in between. It can be a drag...and that’s the thing, I don’t want to be caught up in all these things in school and end up forgetting to live and not exist. I don’t want to get so caught up and forget my relationship with God.
In this final lap, I want to remind myself not to rush anything. Not my conversations with God or with anything else. Like this morning I had to rush to lectures and I didn’t have some quiet time with my Father. No, I don’t want to get too busy for God. He gave me this life in the first place and I want to acknowledge Him all the time because He doesn’t fail to wake me up and take care of me each day.
I want to take in the scenery of my college more slowly and enjoy the cool breezes. I want to stop and smell the flowers, enjoy the skies above and simply live. I’m going to take a deep breath, take it all in and love it all out. I want to live the colorful and beautiful life that God Himself intended for me. I’m bracing myself up for the days ahead when things seem too tough and fear creeps in. In those days I want to remind myself of John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
When I get weak and frustrated, I want to believe in the words of Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” I don’t want to do this thing called life without Jesus, at all. He’s my peace in this messy, troubling world. So on the heavy days, I don’t want to forget His peace and His many wonderful promises. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:3,4
I choose to be unmoved by the difficulties I’m encountering and the ones ahead. I may begin to panic but I’ll always run to the loving arms of Jesus, because He’s my hideaway, my closest friend who calms me and refuses to give up on me. Aaahhh, how comforting! I don’t want to lose focus in my walk with Him and I don’t want to feel discontentment creep up on me. I believe God’s words about me and I’m letting all insecurities fall to the side. 1 Timothy 6:6 “There is great gain in godliness with contentment.”
I’m not going to follow what everyone is doing because the Bible, not people is my standard. I’m going to look within me and shine effortlessly because God is my source and provider. I’m going to try and be as nice as possible to those who push me to the wall and irritate the very life out of me because I choose to be like Christ every breaking dawn and each breathtaking sunset.
I pray for grace and mercies to embrace me and see me through this final semester. A number of unfortunate things have already started happening, causing some students to lose their dear lives. I’m holding these verses close to my heart in these times; Psalm 121:7,8 “The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.” And Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” I will not come to harm because God protects me each second and I’m going to finish everything I start. (Can I get an Amen?!)
A verse that totally warms my heart is Romans 8:37-39 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I hope you believe in this truth, that absolutely nothing can keep you away from the soothing love of God. No matter what you’re facing, He’s right there with you and He’s asking you to trust His plan. He loves you unconditionally. The love of God never fails, it never gives up and never runs out.
Have a great week! And know that you’re dearly loved. xoxo
