Day 3 In Him we find...

Two things you should know about me...well, three actually. One-I love music. I definitely can feel the Holy Spirit in music. Two- Audrey Assad is my all time favorite singer. Her voice is like butter and I could listen to her all day, everyday. Three- my  all time favorite band is Tenth Avenue North. I saw them a few years ago when they opened for Casting Crowns and I've loved them ever since. Their sound is unique & their lyrics are full of meaning.

So last night was a great night. You wanna know why? I went to Tenth Avenue North's concert and Audrey Assad opened for them, along with The Rend Collective Experiment (Irish Christian band-they're one of my favorite bands now). Yep, it was pretty, stinkin awesome. It started with an upbeat Irish band with cute accents (I'm a sucker for an Irish accent haha), then we were serenaded by Audrey and then we were jammin out with TAN. Let me tell you, these guys are so energetic and Mike (the lead singer) is hilarious! I laughed so much. If you have a bucket list, go write down "Go to a Tenth Avenue North concert", if you don't have a bucket list, I suggest you create one just for them...go on...I'm serious...you won't regret it. I promise. I still can't stop thinking about last night...it was that good.

Moving on. Their latest album is called The Struggle and the songs that explain how in life we often struggle. Most of the time we think of struggling as a bad thing. I mean, who wants to struggle, right? However, a lot of times God uses struggle to show us something. Whether it be for us to cling to Him or to learning something, there is purpose. It may sound mean, but it isn't...it's love. Mike said last night "He cut us to heal us, He died to revive us." Word!

I think one of the reasons last night was so awesome was because I could relate to the message. My Lyme Disease has been a struggle, BUT God has used it. So I'm thankful for this struggle. The Bible never tells us that life will be easy, but that we will face persecution and struggle. Jesus says (John 16:33), "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." However, if we seek out God, He will use the struggle for His glory. I know I may talk about this a lot, but it is so important. Everyone struggles. That's life. Good news though, "we are free to struggle, we're not struggling to be free." Those are the words of TAN's song, The Struggle.

Galations 5:1 says, "It is for freedom, that Christ has set us free." When He died on that cross and rose from the grave, He was saying that death has overcome. Death and struggle cannot keep God from moving. It only shows His glory much more. It's hard to think that death can be a good thing, but with God all things are possible. A lot of people think that Christianity is all about rules and never missing church, but that's not it at all. Jesus has made us free from our sin. All we need to do is believe in that truth and follow Him. Let Him use your struggle. Whatever struggle you may be facing right now, He can take that struggle, use it for His glory and restore you.

In Him we find freedom.

John 8:31-32- Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Hebrews 9:15- For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-- now that He has died as a ransom to set them free. . .
2 Corinthians 4:8-12- We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Check out their song "The Struggle"! "Don't Stop the Madness", "Worn", and "Losing" are good ones too...heck, just check out the whole album! Let me know what you think!

 

 The girls- my eyes are glowing, aren't they? I can't get them fixed :/

The crowd raising their arms up to the Father...love it!

 

Scripture today is Luke 17-18.

Have a great weekend & don't let struggle get you down, let it lift you up!

Living in a birdcage

If you could be an animal, what would you be? Okay...think about it & we'll get back to that in a bit... So I don't know if Labor Day kicked my butt or what, but I have been totally beat the past few days. However, I've been a good patient...trust me! I didn't even need anyone to tell me to stop and take a break! In fact, I did a small craft project this morning and took quite a few breaks! Yay me!

So my project today is designed to match this project (below-sorry it's a little blurry) I did a couple of weeks ago for my mom's kitchen.

With that in mind, this was today's project.

Did you pick out the theme of both projects? Birds...freedom...you might say? Ding ding ding, you're correct...for both! I picked the first verse (2 Corinthians 3:17) because I like it and I'll be honest..I saw it on Pinterest. It was perfect for our kitchen because the theme is birds. Then, I saw something like today's project on Pinterest and I thought "that would be perfect for the kitchen!" So I did it. It was a lot of fun and I may do something like it again!

Back to my question...what animal would you be? This probably sounds silly, but stick with me. There is a point to this question, I promise. If you asked me this question yesterday, I would probably answer with a "horse," of course, but after I finished this project, my answer changed to a bird. You might say, "why?"Yeah I know some birds are locked up in cages in homes or at the zoo, so trust me, I wouldn't want to be one of those. I would want to be the bird that can fly anywhere at anytime! They are truly free. I guess you could say, "Well, Chelsea, wild horses are free." I would answer with, "But wouldn't the view from a birds viewpoint be much better than a horse??? I think so!" 

Good news though, you won't be seeing me with feathers trying to fly (thank goodness!). I don't need to be a bird because Jesus has set me free. Galations 5:1 (The Message) says, "Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you." Because we are saved by Christ, we have all the possibilities right at our feet. He wants us to soar and reach new heights.  Isaiah 40:31 says, "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength,. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." With Him all things are possible (Matthew 19:26) , so we should never let fear or anything get in the way of what God wants us to do with our lives. Pray about it, seek God's guidance & then fly!

A lot of times sin can keep us locked up, just like a bird in a birdcage. Everywhere the bird turns, it sees bars and can't escape. God doesn't want us to feel like a bird in a birdcage. He wants us to feel like a free bird without rules and chains. In fact, He wants that for us so badly that He sent His only son, Jesus, to be crucified and resurrected. Romans 8:2 says, "because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." Just like Jesus was free from death because of His resurrection, we are free from our sins. When we give our lives to God and confess that we've messed up, striving for a new start, He gives us freedom! So let's live like free birds rather than caged birds (I don't know about you, but I'm claustrophobic anyway).

Oh yeah, the words "I sing because I'm happy....I sing because I'm free" is from Audrey Assad's song, "Sparrow" (love it)! Check it out if you'd like!