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I’m so aware of the ache inside of me for Jesus.  I’m so aware of how desperately I need to be consumed by Him.  I’m so aware of my proneness to sin – to pride, to lust, to seeking to be satisfied in what has no lasting value.  As I face my 29th birthday I’m so aware of my lack. And so I’m full of prayer for less of me and more of Christ. I MUST become One with the One called Love.

Oh Jesus, let me finish my twenties more disciplined in love – giving my strength to what has eternal value.  Let me love my family, friends, and strangers both with my words and with my life.  Make me a vessel of truth – not consumed with my own agenda but with Your very groanings.

Oh God, I want to be whole-hearted, FULLY pleasing you – taking up my cross and turning from immediate comfort, and pleasure for the sake of Your name.  I want to be near to You forever, so draw me nearer today. Let me have no regrets upon the day I stand before You.

Let the thoughts I think and the words I speak bring joy to Your heart and a smile to Your eyes.  Oh, though I be unseen by man -  I want to be great in Your eyes.   Give me a greater resolve for sacrifice as I choose to fix my gaze upon Your throne and Your face.  Give me a vision of Your beauty.  Open Your word to me and let me stand with You there.

Let me see You, beautiful Man.  Let me hear You – Your voice like thunder… even if You choose to whisper.  Let me know You.  I have no other option but to stay in the ache of this prayer. Oh Jesus, I love You – let me know You more.

On the eve of my 29th birthday, I ask Lord, let me bear the cross of my lack of You and humbly ask for more.

I don’t know who you’re supposed to marry, where you’re supposed to live, or what career path you should take – but I know the will of God for your life.

1 Thess 4:3 – “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”

God’s highest desire for me as He looks at my life – both in this age and the age to come – is that I would become holy like He is holy. That I would be conformed to His image and become one with the One who IS love – both for His glory and unto greater and greater joy for me.

When I was younger this answer would have frustrated me to no end.  I would have said, “That’s it?! His will for me is to become holy? I want to know what kind of ministry I’m going to have! I want to know who’s going to fall in love with me! I want to know how many kids I’m going to have one day! I want to know His will for me! What am I supposed to DO with my life?’

I’m by no means old (fast approaching 30) and I am NOWHERE close to ‘figuring things out’ but the more and more I come back to seeking to become holy (which is seeking the First Commandment – loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength) the more all the other details come into focus.

I LOVE that the Lord cares about ALL of the details… He cares so much about who I married (and I married REALLY well).  He cares about how I invest my time and about every step I take.  And He is so committed to leading me day by day and step by step – I am so thankful for His leadership!! God loves to speak to us about intimate aspects of our lives. We should ask Him about everything.

But as I go about my day to day business, and I ask Him questions about what’s next and which way to go, if I can come back to Jesus’ desire for me and live from there – I find peace. His desire for me is to be His. The longing in His heart is that I be His pure and spotless partner.  When I focus on HIM then my anxieties dissipate, my decisions become easier, and life becomes simpler.

1 Thess.  4 goes on to say – “4 that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. 8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.”

God wants me to agree with every part of Him, and as I say yes more and more to His leadership on what is clear in His word – He WILL lead me and my joy will overflow.  Oh, that I would set my heart to just keep looking at Jesus – for He is writing my story and He will see it to it’s completion.  This is the will of God for my life (and yours) – looking unto Jesus (Heb. 12:2) and becoming more like Him.

I have avoided Twitter like the plague.  I didn’t want to just be another person posting about my latest trip to the grocery store or the fact that *gasp* I was out of toothpaste. (This was my preconceived notion about what Twitter ‘was’.)  I also tend to have a bit of an addictive personality, so I didn’t want to get hooked on yet another form of social media.

But a few things persuaded me. (I’m really into lists lately, can you tell?)

1) I heard John Piper (@JohnPiper) was tweeting.

John Piper the ‘Desiring God, Focused On the Word, Don’t Waste Your Life’ Guy.  Here is his explanation as to why and how he tweets.  If you’re going to read anything – read his post.  He explains it much better than I do!

2) I saw a couple of people that I respect doing it really well.
Stuart Greaves (@stuartgreaves) – tweets thought-provoking and inspiring 140 character messages that are focused on the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

Bob Sorge (@bobsorge) – I am learning so much by single sentences from this man.  I am spurred on to press on toward the prize because of the truth he is proclaiming through Twitter.

Josh Hawkins (@joshprays) – Josh is an musician and intercessor at IHOP. I have been learning a great deal and am challenged to look at the Word in new ways because of his tweets.

3) It’s a simple way to be provoked!
I want to use Twitter as a tool that encourages me to go harder after God.  This means following people that are focused on the word (in their tweets).  I can even ‘follow’ AWTozer and CSLewis – which basically means I get quotes from them on a daily basis.  How cool is that?

You can use Twitter any way you want to.  Some people use it to follow all the people they love. That’s great, but I use Facebook to do that (I’ll save that for another post).  I’ve decided also, if a friend’s Twitter feed posts in Facebook as well, I probably won’t follow them on Twitter. No need for double duty.  I like it simple!

4) It’s an easy way to encourage others and proclaim Christ.
I love the challenge of trying to say something meaningful and inspiring in 140 characters.  I mentioned this to my friend, Bret Mavrich (@jbmavrich) who was also influential in my choice to join Twitter.  He gave me this quote by William Zinsser, “Make every word work.”  Twitter is the perfect application for this!

I can post a bible verse, a book recommendation, or a favorite quote and then share it instantly with anyone who is following me.  John Piper currently has over 64,000 people following him on twitter… He can influence so many people for the good, in a moment, with a simple sentence.

5) Twitter can be used as a resource.
You can ask a question like, ‘Does anyone know a good local mechanic?’ or ‘Does anyone know who wrote this worship song?’ and within seconds you can have your answer.   Or it can be a way to ask for prayer.  What a great way to get the word out in an emergency!

Those are the main reasons.  These may not be new to some of you – as I realize Twitter has already been around for a long time! But it’s still new to me!  I think I’ve been on Twitter for about a month, and I have been surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed it.  I find that I’m growing more intentional about what I want to say overall.  My desire is to proclaim His heart!  I love things that are focused, to the point, and cause me to fall more in love with Jesus.  Used intentionally, I think Twitter can do just that!

PS – For those of you new to the world of Twitter – those are my Twitter updates in the right-hand column.

I’ve been at IHOP since the spring of 2003 (can’t believe it’s been 7 years!) Over the course of that time I’ve had difficulty explaining to many of you what we do and why we do it.  As IHOP has expanded they have also been able to put forth some amazing media resources to help us explain and show what really is happening at the International House of Prayer – Kansas City.

If you are a friend or family member (or just someone who has known me over the years) and have been confused as to what Caleb and I are up to, check out this video and brief explanation.  There’s also an overview booklet that you can download.

I’m primarily a singer and intercessor at IHOP and Caleb is ‘operations staff’ right now.  We both desire to carry and convey the heart of the Lord in this hour and help raise up others who do the same thing.

I’m also happy to answer questions! Bless you!

A new day and a new blog! Almost a year has passed since I ‘closed’ my last blog.  (For the record, I closed it to everyone – not just you – if you were wondering.) I wanted to take time to figure out where I wanted to “go” with blogging and I needed to focus on some other aspects of life.

Around the time that I closed my blog, I jumped back on staff at IHOP.  I think I was holding my breath to see if I’d be able to sustain a ‘staff status’ before I made any ‘I’m back on staff!’ announcements. Been there. Done that.

Of course, life is unpredictable, but thus far the Lord is giving me grace to maintain being on a worship team and serving in a few other capacities.  I am SOOO thankful!  I LOVE being in the House of the Lord in this season – worshiping Him and reaching to hear and proclaim what He is saying.  And doing that with others who provoke me and help me not to give up – priceless!!

I guess I could take some time to recap on the past year at this point… but I’ll save that for another day.  For now – check out the links in the sidebar.   I will most likely do individual posts devoted to them at some point.

I want this blog to be a place of great resources – things that are coming out of IHOP, things I’m reading/learning, and things that focus on the Word of God.  I’m sure there will be random posts mixed in there, as well… but it is my prayer that this blog is a place of edification and encouragement! Oh, let it be so Lord!