Anchor

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I've fallen in love with photoshop. Yesterday, I taught myself how to make wood. Yeah, that's right. Wood. I'll show you tomorrow :)

But for now, how's about you pin this graphic? :)

A quote by Frank Moore Colby:

Christ; A Spotless Rose

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What a wonderful day and celebration of a generous and glorious gift from God. I hope each one of you is filled to the brim with joy and thankfulness on this day and that those sentiments spill over into all of your other days :)

Being musical in nature, I often find my most celebratory and touching moments come, on this day, through the form of music. I wanted to share a lesser-known Christmas song that is jam-packed with meaning for me.  I recorded an edited version on a MacBookPro while sitting in my car in a parking lot a year ago. How's that for... raw? Check it out at the end of the post if you're interested.

Lo, how a rose e'er blooming, from tender stem hath sprung,
of Jesse's lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
The rose of which I'm singing, the rose I have in mind
is, from its sweet root, springing; the virgin mother kind.
In a cold winter's night, 
through God's great love and might,
She bore to man a savior.
The shephards heard the story, proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory, was born on earth this night,
O, flower whose fragrance, tender, with sweetness fills the air,
Dispel, with glorious splendor, the darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God, 
come share our every load,
From sin and death, now save us.

This song is originally German, called Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, and written by an anonymous author. It is often translated as "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" (as titled here), or "A Spotless Rose."  The second translation really strikes me.

It describes Jesus as a divine and perfect, spotless rose, in a world in which the rest of the garden is filled with stained and thorn-covered roses. Sound familiar? Wasn't Jesus born a divine and perfect human in a world in which the rest of us are stained and covered in thorns?

The more I sit here, thinking about it, I drift from Jesus' birth in a world filled with our stains and thorns to his death. Was he not crucified with thorny branches wrapped around his head? Was he not stained with blood as he took his final breaths? This perfect, divine incarnation of our Lord had not become thorny and stained; rather, as he left this world, he took away our thorns and our stains.

Why? So that we may have everlasting life! So that we may have perfect life. Drift back, for a moment, to how perfect and divine the rose is in this song. Spotless. It comes from a "sweet root" and its fragrance is tender and fills the air with so much sweetness that it dispels darkness. 


Does this not sound... well, heavenly? Of course it does! Because we were made for the garden in which that flower grew! In Eden, I think, all flowers are beautiful, stainless, and without thorns to prick an admirer. As each flower is perfect, sweet and fragrantly powerful, so are we meant to be, in Heaven. And, just as this flower has sprung from a sweet root, so are we sprung from God, our father, who gives us tender sweetness to emulate and show His love for others and help others grow.

What a wonderful thing. A perfect salvation begins with a spotless rose...


Take a listen :)

 Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming by carlytaylor

Strategy

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Happy Friday :) Don't forget!

Wheaties For Breakfast!

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**Just an update: The "Pin It" button FINALLY works! At the top of every post, click "Pin It" to pin any images on the page to Pinterest! Facebook, Tweet, and Stumbleupon are working, too! **

Something crazy happened last week. I woke up early to workout and, instead of being pissed off at the alarm (I went to bed after midnight), I woke up with energy and my very first thought was a recognition of my hunger for scripture.

I opened my Bible to a story in which Jesus describes a field of wheat (Matthew 13:24-29). The story is of a farmer, who plants good seed in his field and has high hopes for his crop. Over night, however, his enemy shows up. He is deceitful, merciless, and sneaky. Full of hate and jealousy for the farmer and his plentiful crop, the enemy has hatched a plan. He plants weeds among the wheat, then vanishes.

When the crops begin to grow and produce grain, the farmhands notice that there is something wrong. As the wheat began producing crop, the weeds also grew. In haste, the workers seek to solve the problem. Weeds cannot be left in the field, free to roam and suffocate the farmer's precious crop, can they? The workers approach the farmer. They ask, "Should we pull the weeds?"

Here, I would have expected the farmer to respond an enthusiastic yes. If it were me, my anger at my enemy for plotting to thwart my hard work would have prevailed. I would have said absolutely. Get those freaking weeds out of my field.

But the farmer's mind reacts differently. He responds... "No. You'll hurt the wheat if you do."

This is revealing, I think, about our lives here. I have often wondered (and I know I'm not alone in this) why God allows evil to run so rampant. Why bad things happen to good people while good things happen to bad people. Why there are so many weeds everywhere.

At the end of the day, I can only speculate on His plan... But it seems as though there must be a reason for the presence of weeds in our lives. God keeps them there because he wourather preserve us for glory than hurt us in haste. The fact that the farmer's immediate response is concern for hurting his crop is insightful -- yet what would you expect from a farmer? His chief role is to watch over his crop, as a shepherd watches over his sheep. And so it is with Christ, who watches and protects us as we wade through life as wheat in the midst of weeds and sheep in the midst of wolves.

Today, I am choosing to continually reflect on this story and ask myself... Am I being a weed, which twists or suffocates life around it and spreads its poisonous energy like wildfire? Or am I being wheat, which grows tall and strong, giving life by way of producing bountiful crops, sustenance, and nutrition?

Flawless

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Wonderfully Made

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Faithful

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Wow. God knows us so well and knows what we want and need. I got an email from my Girlfriends in God newsletter on Friday... I had rushed all morning, lost my keys, frantically searched for them, sped to the train station, and sprinted from my car to the platform. During my first two minutes on the train, I was greeted with one of my favorite lines from scripture:

Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today ... the LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:13-14, NIV).

The email went on to tell a story of one woman's road through hardship... And one line in particular struck me. She wrote, "Scripture assures us that even when we are faithless, God remains faithful."

This is something of which I find myself in frequent need of reminding; that, in my darkest days, when I am least faithful to God, HE is ALWAYS faithful. I am a victim of guilt and battle it daily, hourly, and by the minute. I often fear the consequences of my actions when I fail to follow God (Did I make the right decision? Am I being selfish?). My fear is not like a child fearing a tough spanking, but a child fearing that her father will be disappointed and ignore her. I become overwhelmed by wondering 'Does God hear me?' or 'Does He even want to help me now?'

But He does hear me. And not only does He want to help, He is faithful. He will not ignore us or leave us to fend for ourselves. He will come through for us, even when we are not 'coming through' for Him! Like a lover who selflessly lavishes another, with no hesitation in response to rejection. If we saw this from a man or woman, one might quickly comment on the level of desperation or stamp on the labels "foolish," "pathetic," "sad." But not with God. When God remains faithful in the face of our selfishness, faithlessness, and rejection, He is giving. Loving. Faithful. Merciful. Benevolent. And most of all, He is THERE. Whether we are walking the path right by Christ's side or have impulsively left the path to pick flowers, whether we are fighting or standing still, He is there. And He fights for us.

On My Heart

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(Via Source)

Let's Multiply Our Blessings

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Hey, friend :)

As I finish my project for the day, I wanted to share something with you. My friend Jennifer has been raising money for a trip to Ethiopia to combat sex trafficking. Last night, when I couldn't sleep at 2am, I suddenly realized that I wanted to help. This woman has been so beautifully blessed that she seeks to take those blessings and multiply them in the lives of others.

How beautiful is that? I couldn't not help.

In Jennifer's words:

Hillsong United has a line in their song "Hosanna" that says "break my heart for what breaks Yours." Well, in the past few months this has been both a prayer and a reality. God has broken my heart for the people of Ethiopia. I dream about them. I ache to serve them. I cannot wait to be hand in hand with them. Why? In Ethiopia the sex trafficking industry is huge. The Red Light District there is known all around the world for trafficking these girls, some as young as 5 years old. These facts just made me sick to my stomach. The more I have heard about sex trafficking, the less content I am to sit and do nothing. God has really broken my heart for these people and those around the world living under the weight of injustice.

So I am doing something. I am following the call and going to help those in need in Jesus' name. I will be going with a team from ICA to help rescue these girls, feed the starving, love on orphans and much more. The trip is costing me $3750. God has provided in amazing ways, but I still have a long way to go. One thing is for sure, I cannot wait to get there and pour out the blessings that God has poured into my life. We are so blessed with material things in America, and I don't want to waste it all on me! I am praying that this trip is just one step toward moving in towards leaving behind the American Dream and embracing the radical call of Jesus Christ.

How can we help?

Jennifer is selling headbands to raise money for this trip. Stop by her online shop and get one of these beautiful things :)

If you have a website, she is offering paid sponsorships which will provide you with advertising space in exchange for your donation to her mission.

Or, if you feel so inclined, head on over and make a donation.

Thanks for reading :)

Reminders

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Good morning, friends. :) 

Do you see the shadow of a cross in that picture? <3

"God is not made greater when you worship him, but you are made greater when you serve him."

"And the joy of the LORD will fill you to overflowing. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel." ISAIAH 41:16

"You are honored and I love you." ISAIAH 43:4

Have a fabulous day. :)

Rest

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