GREEN-LIGHT revolution

what's the difference? from Amie Fox on Vimeo.

Going green!
Amie

fear or faith? from Amie Fox on Vimeo.

Going green!
Amie

Oh beautiful ones,

Sorry for taking so long to post this last one! Things got busy this week as me and many friends were preparing for a wedding that took place last night. Elijah Stanley and Anna Miles (now Stanley) tied the knot! It was a great night. Everything about the ceremony and reception completely reflected their personalities. We had a fantastic time of worship; there was tons of laughter and maybe a few tears; it was so evidently bathed in love. All in all - a very successful wedding! I'm very happy for them both.

As a single lady, weddings can sometimes be difficult. It can be tempting to give in to feelings of despair and desperation, or even lies about being alone or unlovely. I'm very happy to say that didn't happen at the Stanley wedding, but it's certainly something I've experienced in the past.

God showed me at one point that what my heart is longing for is not necessarily the wedding; the groom waiting at the end of the aisle for no one but me. What my heart is really wanting is the kind of love and commitment that symbolizes. There's something unmistakably glorious to know that you've been chosen - handpicked out of everyone to receive a love that will stand by you no matter what; challenge you to change into a better person; protect you from harm. The absolutely wonderful thing is... I have that kind of love and commitment from Jesus! He chose me! He didn't have to, but he did. He looked around the whole world and saw me, reached into my heart and completely consumed me in his love.

This last song that I want to share with you is one that God sang to me as I listened to it on the radio on the way to work one morning. Every word popped out as God's words directly to me. The DJ might as well have come on air at the end of the song and said, "That one was dedicated to Samantha from Jesus." It's by Celine Dion (bear with me if you don't normally like her music) and I think it shows a pretty good picture of how God allows himself to love me and want to be with me and even need me, even though there's no reason that he has to do any of those things.

I want to the be face you see when you close your eyes
I want to be the touch you need every single night
I want to be your fantasy
And be your reality
And everything between

I want you to need me like the air you breathe
I want you to feel me in everything
I want you to see me in your every dream
The way that I taste you, feel you, breathe you, need you
I want you to need me
Like I need you

I want to be the eyes that look deep into your soul
I want to be the world to you, I just want it all
I want to be your deepest kiss
The answer to your every wish
And all you ever need

I want you to need me like the air you breathe
I want you to feel me in everything
I want you to see me in your every dream
The way that I taste you, feel you, breathe you, need you
I want you to need me

Cause I need you, more than you could know
And I need you to never, ever let me go
And I need to be deep inside your heart
I just want to be everywhere you are

I want you to need me like the air you breathe
I want you to feel me in everything
I want you to see me in your every dream
Cause baby, I taste you, feel you, breathe you, need you
I want you to need me
Like I need you


Going green,

Samantha

I'm no sailor, however I do have a little experience with boats. Some friends have a house right on the lake and they're kind enough to invite people out to spend the whole day on the lake. It's fabulous! We'll often load everyone onto the boat and find some peaceful cove where we can all jump out and swim. I remember the last time we were there, we found a great spot to swim, dropped anchor and everyone started getting in the water. Very soon someone noticed that the anchor wasn't holding and the boat was beginning to drift. Not only was there danger of a run-away boat clocking some poor swimmer on the head, but if no one was paying attention, it could have drifted far enough away that we would have all been left to chase after it. Luckily, that wasn't the case. We found a place that the anchor would hold.

So, I may not be a sailor, but I understand that an anchor is important. I love the verse in Hebrews 6 that says, "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek." (vs. 19 & 20) God is always so faithful to remind me of the promises he's given me. I was just reading in a devotional book a friend gave me. One of the entries is talking about Jacob from a couple verses in Genesis and it says, "He began by quoting God's promise: "You said." He did so twice ([verses] 9 and 12). Ah, he has got God in his power then! God puts Himself within our reach in His promises; and when we can say to Him, "You said," He cannot say no. He must do as He has said.... Be sure in prayer to get your feet well on a promise; it will give you purchase enough to force open the gates of heaven, and to take it by force." (From Streams in the Desert)

One of the ultimate promises that I get excited about, is the promise that we will one day see God face to face! It doesn't matter what's going on in my life: big things, little things, good and bad - I have this hope that I can anchor in the character of Jesus, and what's more stable than that?

The song that I want to share with you today is one that always gets me excited about this hope. It's an instrumental song, so I'm going to give you this link to it. The song is called "Making Ready" and whenever I listen to it, I see pictures play out in my head of a King and his right-hand men galloping through the countryside, returning home after a long time away. In the meantime, all the servants at the house are excitedly getting things ready for his return. I know that not everyone will hear/see these same things when they listen to the song (some of you may not even like it very much), but I hope that it encourages you to a) look for God to speak to you in everyday things like songs, movies, nature, etc. and, b) remember the hope that we have in Jesus: a firm, strong, stable hope that anchors us to God through the promise of one day standing before him face to face!

(If for some reason the link to the song doesn't work, I apologize. It's by Don Potter, if you'd like to look it up.)

Going green,

Sam

Well, hello there! I'm going to start the way all my blogging colleagues have and introduce myself. My name is Samantha Bryan, but most people call me Sam. I've lived in St. Louis, Missouri for about 5 1/2 years and have been apart of Jubilee Church for that same amount of time. I love God with all my heart and I'm so, so grateful that he's put me in the Jubilee family. My time here has certainly been some of the best years of my life. In just a couple months, I'm going to turn 35, which I think gives me the distinction of being the oldest Green-Light writer!

I love music! I'm a musician - not professionally, but I play several instruments and love to sing. There's nearly always a song of some sort going through my head and I tend to hear music and rhythms all around me in everyday things: car horns honking, chairs squeaking, the tonal whine of the copier, people's footsteps and the cadence of their words. So I guess it's no wonder God often speaks to me through songs. This week, I'd like to share with you three songs that God has used to speak to me about faith, hope and love (talked about in 1 Corinthians 13:13.)

This first song bolsters my faith whenever I sing it to myself. It's something God reminded me of a few years ago and I felt like I heard him singing it to me when I was having a particularly hard time waiting for my husband and watching others around me find that happiness that I so badly wanted. Keep in mind that I'm 34 years old and have never had a boyfriend. Believe me when I say that there have been times that my faith has faltered. But thank Jesus that he remains faithful to his word and his promises even when I feel ready to throw them back in his face out of frustration and impatience - which really just boils down to a lack of faith and trust in him that he really will do what he says he'll do. That's exactly what this song reminds me of - God's faithfulness to fulfill his purposes in my life. His faithfulness stirs up my faith in him.

If you don't know me very well then the source of this song is probably going to make you scratch your head, but I'm OK with that. It's from the Disney movie "The Rescuers" - a childhood favorite of mine. I hope that God will use this to dissolve any unbelief you may have towards his ability to fulfill the promises he's given you in the same way that he continues to use it to do just that in me as well.

Be brave, little one
Make a wish for each sad, little tear
Hold your head up though no one is near
Someone's waiting for you

Don't cry, little one
Ther'll be a smile where a frown used to be
You'll be part of the love that you see
Someone's waiting for you

Always keep a little prayer in your pocket
And you're sure to see the light
Soon ther'll be joy and happiness
And your little world will be bright

Have faith, little one
'Til your hope and your wishes come true
You must try to be brave, little one
Someone's waiting to love you

I'd like to tag on here at the end that whenever God sings this to me, or I sing it to myself, I'm always quick to remember not only God's promise to me of a husband, but that I never have to wait to be loved. God's promise of his own love for me is enough of a driving factor to spur me on in faith! (But that's something I'll get into a little more in my last post of the week.)

Have faith, little one!

Going green,

Sam

There are times when I struggle with keeping the right perspective, and occasionally I find myself throwing a “Pity Party” for none other than--yours truly. The urban dictionary defines a Pity Party as: “A way of experiencing grief, in which you spend your time feeling sorry for yourself and whining endlessly about how crappy your life is.” (And yes, I just quoted the urban dictionary!) Even just yesterday, I found myself enjoying a wonderful little pity party. It all started when I began to think about myself and dwell on the things that I don’t understand in my life. I was so consumed with dwelling on myself that there was not much space left in my thoughts for anyone else. But then, as He normally does, Jesus so graciously crashed my Pity Party. This time, it was in the form of Psalm 16:11:

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

When I thought of this verse, I was filled with inexplicable worship for my King. I knew that opposed to my prior worries about my life, this verse IS the truth. It IS true that God is making known to me the path he has for my life. It IS true that I can have FULLNESS of joy in His presence AND, it IS true that I will be able to enjoy Him forever. Wow! Forget the pity party and give me Jesus!

Another thing, I was so overcome with during this encounter with Jesus was His unending Grace and Faithfulness towards me. This was not the first “pity party” I’d ever thrown for myself and this was certainly not the first time God had countered my self-absorption with truth about who He is. Once again, He’d shown me that worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth can always trump a bad mood or a skewed perspective in life. God is so Faithful to continually remind me of His Goodness! And not only does He continually remind us of His Goodness but He showers us with good things. Friends, let's take a minute to think of anything good that's ever happened in our lives, well, everything coming to mind right now has come to us from the Lord! Like the Psalmist says in Psalm 16:1:

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

So, whether or not life is turning out the way we want it to... We do have all the good we could ever need, because we have Jesus and His promises are GOOD!

I'm so thankful for a God that doesn't let me wallow in self-pity but instead, brings me into His presence so I can experience fullness of joy while worshipping my saviour! Thanks Jesus!

Going green,

Abby

P.S. By the way, how fitting is it that I post a GREEN-Light entry on the "green-est" holiday of the year!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Ladies! :)

Sometimes I am guilty of thinking I am too good.

See how nice I am? See what good works I do? Did anyone notice how I ...?

I constantly have to ask God to break this attitude.

Here I am sitting in my favorite quaint coffee shop, sipping organic jasmine tea, feeling all euphoric, ready introduce myself to the GRL world and all I have is: Hello my name is Caris Stewart.I live in St. Louis and I’m 22 ☺ …mmm profound. That’s a great way to be known... “To be known,” there it is staring straight back at me, the root of many sins and idols in my life.

Whether striving for a title or fighting against one, there is this deep desire for being known. In my life that desire has taken many forms: a desire to be known by my siblings as more than “little” sister, a desire to be known as smart and dependable, a desire to be known by men and even something as great as a desire to be known as a Godly woman. Why do I desire to be known these ways? I would love to say, “so that God would be glorified and magnified in my life,” but the truth is the majority of the time it’s a desire to feel lifted up myself.

So of course after God revealed this desire to be known, I quickly repented and received His grace with open arms. HA! Nope, I beat myself up for having this desire. I worked to “fix” my heart. I scored the bible looking for condemnation, focusing on “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and ignoring the next scripture “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus(Romans 3:23-24ESV).” Self-condemnation then turned into a desire to be known as sinful by others because that’s not wanting to be known (as you can tell fixing myself was going really well). I was still magnifying myself over Jesus’ sacrifice and power.

Then one Sunday Bryan Mowrey shared this truth; true humility is not thinking less of myself; it’s forgetting myself. The truth is God put a desire to be known in my heart, a desire that is only filled by the realization that I am known by God; “even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows (Luke 12:7ESV).”

After hours of tears, repenting and then basking in His grace, God shared with me Colossians 3:1-4ESV-

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

God is calling me to daily die to myself and walk in the truth that I am raised with Christ. He then will be known and glorified through my life!

Going Green...for the first time!
Caris