#FineArtsProbz

Thanks to Timehop, little reminders from previous District Fine Arts Festivals are filling the app each and every day now. To say I don’t miss those days would be an enormous lie.

Five years ago around this time I began my first Fine Arts season. Throughout five district festival and three national festivals, I was taught true determination, a lot of patience, and most of all God’s calling upon my life.

I’m beyond thankful that Fine Arts has taught me more than any “how to” book ever could.

1. No matter what, it’s about Jesus.

--It took me almost five years to understand but when Nationals is over all that has happened through the year is done. I learned to perform like Jesus was in the room and I didn’t just want my ministry to just be “good.”

2. The devil took a pit stop at a Fine Arts Festival when he fell from Heaven.

--If you’ve ever felt the stress of one, you’d understand.

3. Meltdowns are an always.

--Bed Bath & Beyond’s floor, a Detroit10 hotel hallway, the PHX11 airport, the Russvegas IHOP after night one to just name a few. By my last year, I was mentally prepared for a meltdown at some point during Fine Arts season.

4. No matter what your scoresheet says, it’s only 3 people’s opinion.

--Every single district FAF I’ve been at I’ve heard this said by my wonderful DYD. This also took a while to understand the true meaning. I’ve seen NFAF merit winners walk away from God’s calling and I’ve seen people who didn’t even qualify for Nationals be so actively used by God; your score is only three people’s opinion.

5. Celebration Ceremony is simply one of the best nights.

--My last celebration ceremony wasn’t just a celebration of the merit winners but even more so what God was able to accomplish in five years of Fine Arts Festival.

6. No matter how many reminders you send, someone will always for get something.

--Whether it be when practice starts or their drumsticks for Worship Band at Nationals, I could always count on this.

7. When Springfield says registrations are due June 10th, they aren’t going to take them on June 12th.

--The final deadline for Nationals is much like the Rapture; if you miss it, you ain't getting in and are just straight outta luck.

8. Chances are you’ll watch hundreds of human videos over time and totally understand maybe five.

--I’m pretty sure that after five years of being in this I’ve seen a whole three human videos I could completely explain to someone else.

9. If you don’t have it by the time you’re there, practicing in the hallways isn’t gonna help.

--When you congregate in the hallway attempting to get your last practice in, you’re not gonna learn it any better there.

10. You will never see a group of teenagers look as rachet as they do on the bus ride home from nationals.

--There is nothing like rolling out the floor of a church van after sleeping for three hours to see another church van of rachets just like yourself.

All this to say, THANK YOU JESUS for things like Fine Arts Festival!

What You Deserve As A Woman

A man worth dating will never put you down. He will never say bad things about you. He will never call you names or make fun of your body. 
Instead, he will treat you with respect you deserve. 

A man worth dating will refuse to pry you away from my standards or beliefs. He’ll never try to talk you into doing things or going places you're uncomfortable with. 
Instead, he will respect the choices you've made for yourself and learn to accept and appreciate them because they’re a part of you.

A man worth dating will lead you, but never stand over you. He will be a partner who supports you and not a dictator who orders you around. He will never try to hold power over you or see you as a servant.
Instead, you'll be his partner in equality and he’ll work to make you feel empowered. 

A man worth dating won’t try to make you jealous or flirt with other girls when you two are together. 
Instead, he’ll respect the boundaries of your relationship. To him, you'll be enough. 

A man worth dating will never make you feel like you’re worthless or short on value. 
Instead, he’ll show you day after day just how much incredible value you hold. 

A man worth dating will never take advantage of your feelings for him by manipulating you or playing games with your heart or mind. 
Instead, he’ll simply appreciate them and be thankful he has them. 

A man worth dating won’t say things he doesn’t mean, make promises he won’t keep, or lie to cover his own mistakes. 
Instead, he’ll be honest and forthright about everything in his life. To him, you knowing the truth is more important than him being seen in a favorable light.

Nothing But the Blood Of Jesus

Oh! precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

(Nothing But the Blood, Robert Lowry | 1876)

The Blood. The precious blood of Jesus.

Too often as we go about our daily lives we begin to discount the true value of the Blood. We go to church and sing songs that talk about the blood like we sing along with songs on the radio. We sing along with the words on a screen, listen to a sermon, spend a few moments at an altar and walk out the door stuck in the same routine most churchgoers find themselves in.

When Jesus died His cruel death at Calvary, His death didn’t just purchase our salvation, but through it, we, as believers, can now experience redemption, forgiveness, justification, and sanctification. We now have access to the very throne room of God. No wonder we refer to as the precious blood of Jesus.

You see, I've walked where the blood so graciously was poured out. No longer can I merely stand and sing about Calvary and the shedding of His blood without something rapturing in my heart. Calvary isn't just a place in old school hymns that my grandparents sang but it's now a place where I've felt His love realer than before. There's something precious about Calvary but there's something even more precious about the blood that was poured out there at Calvary.

The blood is precious because of who He is. 

God's one and only son became a man. He's the one that left divinity to enter humanity. He left the perfection of Heaven to enter the sinfulness of Earth. He left perfect peace to enter human pain.

The blood is precious because of why He came. 

God allowed His son to come to earth that we may find abundant life (John 10:10). He came to die so that we might be able to live; what a love that would compel Him to come for you and me!

The blood is precious because of what it provides. 

Not only does His blood being us eternal life when we choose to accept Him but along with that comes healing through the 39 stripes for each and every disease we experience (Isaiah 53:5). It brings us freedom from sin (Revelation 1:5). The blood provides us with ability to overcome (Revelation 12:11)

I pray that there never comes a moment in life where I forget the true value of the blood oh Jesus. The purchase He made for you and me was the greatest purchase ever made and one to not be discounted.

It's the blood that gives me strength

From day to day,

It will never lose its power.

(The Blood Will Never Lose It's Power, Andrae Crouch | 1945)

To My Best Friend

184 days ago my best friend walked into a church camp office where our friendship began.

In the last 6 months, I've learned more about life, myself, and Jesus all because of a God ordained friendship. I could list 184 things I love about this friendship but I'll spare you and only list a mere 6.

1. You inspire me to to be more like Jesus. 
There's nothing more that I could ask for in a friendship than someone who makes me strive to take on the very heart of God. You're a prayer warrior on any and every occasion for whatever need may arise. You're love for Jesus and His calling is so contagious.

2. You've saved me so much money from therapy. 
Sometimes a text or even a phone call can fix more than weeks of therapy ever could. From laughter to tears, there's no one who's been more willing to stick by my side than you. I know that no matter what may come my way I'll never have to face it without Jesus and my best friend.

3. You've taught me that it's possible to smile through the tears. 
I wouldn't trade our laundry room heart to hearts for the world. In folding those 237 towels every day I learned more about how love and life can hurt but it's not the end of the world; there's still far greater ahead.

4. You bring out the kid in me. 
From water slides to blanket forts to juice boxes to upstairs dance parties, you've been able to bring out the carefree, worry free part of me that the real world tries to take captive. You let me admit my crushes like one would at a 8 year old's sleepover without any judgement. You let me live life to the fullest.

5. You make my world brighter. 
Within the last six months there hasn't gone a day by that your name hasn't come across my phone screen in some manner. You have the ability to make me laugh so hard that I have to say "stop or I'm gonna pee my pants!" You've been the sunshine to my gray days too many times to count.

6. You love me for me. 
No ulterior motives. You've seen me at my best and my worst and still love me the same. You challenge me. You motivate me. You've become the family I've always wanted, something I wouldn't trade for the world.

There's another gazillion things I could say, but that's another blog for another day.

Thank you for being my best friend. I love you, all the way to the moon and back.

-M. xoxo

A Perfect Plan in the Messiest Mess

I did something yesterday afternoon that I don't think I've EVER done before. For the first time in walking out of my office, I left papers strewn about my desk, file folders with pages out of them, and post it notes galore. Long story short, I left a big, stressful mess upon my desk.

For many, this isn't anything out of the ordinary. For me, this is a RARE occurrence. But as I made it out of my office, the Lord began teaching me something.

I love cleanliness. I love organization. Even more, I love a plan. To me, a mess complicates all of this.

God began speaking to my heart that sometimes it's okay to have a "messy" life. The organization of what I THINK He has in store and what I believe may be the "perfect" 5-year plan, sometimes, aren't really what He has in store. I know He has a plan, but more and more I'm seeing that His plan is so much greater and better than even my "perfect" plan.

So from now on, I'm learning that it's okay to have a mess every now and then; God is the one who can take that mess and transform it to the perfect plan.

I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart. (Jeremiah 1:5)

What Now?

What now? These two simple words formulate a question that fills my thoughts on a daily basis. 

The last 472 days have been filled with every emotion possible. From confusion to security; from hurts to triumphs. From loneliness to community; from nothing to everything. 

For the first time since I was 14 and a freshman in high school I've had a season which has been focused on me. For the first time in over 4 years, I've had a season where there has no boy (emphasis on the word boy, not man) I was dreaming about, texting, or dating. 

Has it been difficult? Yes. 

Has it been worth it? YES. 

My "perfect plan" never contained this. If you asked me 2 years ago if I thought I'd ever be single for this long, my automatic response would have been "oh no!" 

I grew up quicker than I thought I would. At just 19, I'm pursuing ministry in the Assemblies of God. I'm a year away from graduating college. I have a full time job and a full time paycheck. This is where I pictured myself 3 or 4 years from now, but not this time. 

"Single life may be only a stage of a life's journey, but even a stage is a gift. God may replace it with another gift, but the receiver accepts His gifts with thanksgiving. This gift for this day. The life of faith is lived one day at a time, and it has to be lived--not always looked forward to as though "real" living were around the next corner. It is today for which we are responsible. God still owns tomorrow." -Elisabeth Elliot

What am I really saying in all of this? Truth be told, I'm not really sure. 

But about what I do know. 

This season of singleness is a gift; it's a gift to be thankful for.
God has a plan. He has a plan for me to prosper and for good. 

God hasn't forgotten the place and season in which I am now. 

Someday, a man will come along and this season will make sense. 

Until the time comes where all of this makes a little more sense, "I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ."

For I am sure of this very thing, that the One who began a good work in [me] will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)