A Picture Captured by God

“But You are always the same;
You will live forever.
The children of Your people will live in security.
Their children’s children will thrive in Your presence.” Psalm 102:27, 28 NLT

I was thinking about how following a dream is similar to taking a photo. Sometimes we see different points that we’d like to focus on and may need to adjust our vision somewhat. Sometimes the subjects we want to include in the photo don’t stay in the one place, or leave the shot altogether! But patience pays off in both cases. And once the final shot is taken, there is immense satisfaction in the finished product. Years ago God promised that He would raise up young men and women from university campuses in Melbourne that would impact the nations for His glory. Thankfully, even though our focus has often been split, and the people we had thought would journey with us have moved on, God has always remained the same. He still has a beautiful picture to capture on campus and I really want to stick around to enjoy it.

I wonder which dreams He has stirred inside of you. What beautiful scenes is He setting up in your life that seem a little blurry right now, but just need His sovereign touch to bring them into focus. I know I can't wait to see His masterpieces unveiled!

This is Who I Am

Recently I let down a very dear friend of mine and it's forced me to reflect a lot on friendship. Being a good friend has always been a high priority of mine. A lot of my thought-life goes into how to care for my friendships in the best way possible. This has developed in different ways but one thing that has remained is a desire for me to be transparent with my friends. I have never wanted to present anything different than "me". In fact, sometimes I wish we could carry a book around that fully discloses everything about us, and that when we meet someone we'd like to connect with, we could just hand it over for them to read. "This is me - take it or leave it." It occurred to me that God did just that. He moved a collection of people to write down His very Being in a book and commissioned them to pass it around. "This is the Bible. This is Who I Am. Take Me or leave Me." When we shy away from immersing ourselves in His Word, we miss out on the most perfect friendship of all time.

Below is a quick clip from a song about friendship my daughters have been working on. Thankyou for Subscribing to our Youtube Channel!

Relentless Love

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?
How can I let you go?
How can I destroy you like Admah
or demolish you like Zeboiim?
My heart is torn within me,
and my compassion overflows.
No, I will not unleash my fierce anger.
I will not completely destroy Israel,
for I am God and not a mere mortal.
I am the Holy One living among you,
and I will not come to destroy.
For someday the people will follow me.
I, the Lord, will roar like a lion.
And when I roar,
my people will return trembling from the west.
Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt.
Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria.
And I will bring them home again,”
says the Lord. Hosea 11:8-11 NLT

A few weeks ago my son ran away from home. It was a strange thing to do because I had just taken him out on a date and we'd had a fantastic time together. But something upset him - an injustice he had felt, and he was off down the road intent on leaving this horrible family behind. We brought him home and all turned out fine in the end but it reminded me of the way we often respond to our own heavenly Dad. Yet His love is so persistent. So, so relentless.

My Love For You

I chose to bring you to this world
To hold in my embrace
I chose to share my life with you
And never turn away

How could I deny a part of me
How could I reject you child or what you have become
Even if you turn your face and run the other way
My love for you will never be undone

Each time you run, each time you hide
I promise to pursue
There’s nothing that will change this truth
My heart is set on you

How could I deny a part of me
How could I reject you, child, or what you have become
Even if you turn your face and run the other way
My love for you will never be undone

All I Can Do...

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honour come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your heart to him,
for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:5-8 NLT

For as long as I can remember I have been passionate about telling people the Gospel. I remember in primary school one of my friends made our RE teacher cry and leave the school, never to return. I stood up for her that day in the classroom, challenging my friend and making it clear that I supported hearing about Jesus over her. As a 10 year old I made a stand for my teacher and I made a stand for Jesus.

My drive to see Him known to everyone around hasn’t made life easy, that’s for sure - I am desperately unsatisfied seeing people live lives apart from Him and I mourn very deeply for them in their brokenness. I have been through a season in my life where my concern for people caused so much anxiety that I took medication to calm it down.

Thankfully Jesus has graciously met me in each of these periods of intense emotion and He is slowly giving me the tools so I wont be consumed by my passions, but rather pour them out to Him…

Pour Out My Heart

Let all that I am
Wait here before You
Words aren't enough
For me to adore You
My rock, my salvation
My fortress unshaken
Your vict'ry and honour
In me You awaken
My refuge, my rock
I'm safe from what's broken
I carry inside
The words You have spoken

I pour out my heart
I pour out my heart
All I can do
Is give back to You
All that is in my heart