s a l t & l i g h t

7/9/17

Fun at work

God you're such an artist! I always thought of you of an artist but more like a scientific artist. But you made me! Everything that's in me is in you! That means you're a dreamer too…

Show me how to be happy Show me how to live in truth Spirit, filter my thoughts, cleanse my soul, river of life rush through me Make my home your word Make my life abide in truth Not based on feelings Not reality that can be warped by changing in atmosphere or position Not anchored in fantasy and expectation that steals my reality and ability to see and embrace what is now Wake up my mind, remove the veils of sleepy deception, open my eyes, and uncage my control and trust issues to unleash wind of joy and peace Renew my mind so it’s aligned with peace Renee my mind so it points north towards heaven, fixed on Your eyes always I reject lies of rejection, isolation, fear, hopelessness, disarray, failure I am your daughter I have purpose, a future, I am worth more than ten thousand rubies I am precious in your eyes Sink my roots deep in your presence Fill the soil of my life with your word and life Spirit lead me where your trust is without borders Build me up, armor me with Yours, God I give all I have, all I dream, all I think, all I am, all I could, should, think i need to be, all I could ever want to be, to You. Only You. I don’t rest on my feelings but Your unfailing love for me. I rejoice in Your freedom and my name in You. To You be all the glory, forever and ever. Amen. 4.28.17

10.23

10.23 Jesus you are my only hope in this world. I am so weak, and can’t do anything good or love anyone wholly without Your holiness and the Holy Spirit. Thank you for Your sacrifice, gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit, and the Word. I hold onto Your promises and trust You to take care of everything (including my mistakes). It’s difficult to let go of control. Out of my anxiety I’m so tempted to take matters into my own hands. You tell me to cast my cares onto You and lean not on MY understanding.. this stretches my faith. But what is my alternative? I want to be where You are. Yes, I choose to trust You despite my logic or how I’m feeling. Thank you for making diamonds out of coal.

👌🏼

10.21.16

This video has given me rest tonight, and presses into a verse I go back to so often, Psalm 91, and tonight I will sleep with the light off facing away from my door, taking hold of my Jesus and my rest where it’s meant to be. 5.25.16

Almost a 10 year gap from when I was saved to when I first tasted freedom. The cross has serious implications that I PRAY every single person can understand. You will never be the same. #andthetruthwillsetyoufree

Love, marriage, and pursuing God’s best in us. There is nothing sweeter than the freedom of letting go of who we think we need to be or do and, instead, just resting in Him and then in that secret place feeling Him move in us

So I'm sitting on my couch utterly exhausted mentally and physically with another friend waiting for me to come to the plans I helped make with them. As time goes by I realize that I have nothing to give once again. Frustrated and mindlessly scrolling, I come across this podcast. Not even a third of the way through it was speaking salt and light into my life. It's painfully honest and very beautifully and practically articulated. "I run out of soul often times long before I run out of time. But I plan my time and not my soul." "Wow.. That's me," I could hear myself thinking. My friends past and present can attest that I have good intentions, but have a tendency of failing to follow through- not exactly something I like sharing. But here's where God's grace and incredible redemption comes into play: I am so glad to boast in my weaknesses to showcase the incredible breakthrough I've made in this area through His strength and not my own. There are still times this is a struggle for me, and has been this past month. I appreciate this podcast's transparency and practical application, and am so encouraged by the insight it offers. I truly believe that regardless your personality, this is relevant to everyone- especially in the culture we live in. I encourage everyone to listen to this if they get a chance! "Rest isn't just the absence of labor, it's the presence of peace." Happy weekend! "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/kris-vallottons-podcast/id158029989?mt=2#episodeGuid=tag%3Asoundcloud%2C2010%3Atracks%2F260410458

Is it weird that I love listening to trains? Especially at night. When I catch ear of one outside my window before I go to bed I’m instantly transported somewhere in my memory. I think about the stories my grandma used to tell me about her walking the train tracks as a child picking up coal to heat her house. I think of the time in college when my roommates and I raced windows-down screaming alongside a roaring train at two in the morning pretending we were trying to catch the train to Hogwarts. And I always arrive to the first night after I officially moved out of my parents house when I was 19. I had this tiny room in Holland right by the university soccer field, just 15 minutes from Lake Michigan. I remember I was unpacking my garbage bag of clothes into my closet when I heard the sound of wheels and whistling outside. It was so close to our house- I couldn’t remember the last time I had actually heard one! I went outside and sat on our front porch, listening to the train until the sound was gone. It was at that moment that it hit me that I was starting the next chapter of my life. I fell asleep to the train probably every week that summer. It’s so peaceful from far away and yet almost breathtakingly powerful when you’re driving next to one. It’s amazing how so many things have evolved so quickly, even in the last 10 years. And yet I think of trains like I think of our twenty year old aluminum Christmas tree back at home or my dad’s (now fashionable) sweaters that he’s had since I was born. They’re oddly comforting to me in their timelessness. And while I’m sure there will be a day that my Christmas tree and my dad’s sweater will fall apart, we have something more tangible than memories and things to hold onto. And our hearts never have to age if we reject the voice telling us to “grow up” and not let the heaviness harden us when life hits. So for that reason, no matter how old I get, I will never stop myself from experiencing joy like a kid, like watching the sunset on my drive home from work, my dad’s sweaters, the first day of fall, my Charlie Brown Christmas tree, and the sound of a train. It’s funny. I’ve actually have never ridden on a train before. Maybe that’s another reason I love them. Bucket list? 🌃 Matthew 18:3-4, 19:14