God's purpose is to give you peace by being the most glorious person in your life. Luke 2:14

Something that I've been having in my heart this past semester

[73:1] Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
[2] But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
[3] For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
[4] For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
[5] They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
[6] Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
[7] Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
[8] They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
[9] They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
[10] Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
[11] And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
[12] Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
[13] All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
[14] For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
[15] If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
[16] But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
[17] until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
[18] Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
[19] How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
[20] Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
[21] When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
[22] I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
[23] Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
[24] You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
[25] Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
[26] My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
[27] For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
[28] But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
(Psalm 73 ESV)

Your love is extravagant
Your friendship, it is intimate
I feel like moving to the rhythm of Your grace
Your fragrance is intoxicating in our secret place
Your love is extravagant

Spread wide in the arms of Christ is the love that covers sin
No greater love have I ever known You considered me a friend
Capture my heart again

Spread wide in the arms of Christ is the love that covers sin
No greater love have I ever known; You considered me a friend

Capture my heart again
Your love is extravagant
Your friendship, it is intimate

Jesus,

I need an awakening that would awaken my soul instead of dulling it. Jesus, open my poor eyes that I love to shut. Crank open my sullen heart and burn away the dross that I love to hold on to. Clear my ears to my mind to blow away the dark clouds that cloud my heart and thoughts. Cut away the lies that encompass my heart that tells me that I have everything to lose if I don't hold onto my selfishness. Jesus, show me the reality of Your World. Jesus, give me the heart to believe the depths of what You say is Truly True.

Love,
Ellen

A genuinely good steal

‎"The ministry of evangelization is an extraordinary opportunity of showing gratitude to Jesus by passing on His gospel of grace to others... To evangelize a person is to say to him or her: you, too, are loved by God in the Lord Jesus. And not only to say it but to really think it and relate it to the man or woman so they can sense it. That is what it means to announce the good News. But that becomes possible only by offering the person your friendship; a friendship that is real, unselfish, without condescension, full of confidence, and profound esteem." - Brennan Manning; Ragamuffin Gospel

Wish

For just a moment
I wish I could have been there
To see Your first step, hear Your very first word
Tell me, did You ever fall and scrape Your knee?
Did You know Your wounds would one day heal the world?
For just one moment
I wish I could have seen You growing
Learning the ways of a carpenter's son
Just a little boy gazing at the stars
Did You remember creating every one?
If you passed by, would I have seen a child or a King?

Would I have known?
I wish I could have been there
My only wish is to see You, face to face
Wish I could have been there
Just to see You, Jesus, face to face

For just a moment
I wish I could have been there
When You left Your footprints upon the waves
To walk along beside You and never look away
Just Your whisper and the wind and sea obey
To see You feed the people
To feel Your healing in Your touch

I wish I could have been there
My only wish is to see You, face to face
Wish I could have been there
Just to see You, Jesus, face to face

To hear you pray in the garden alone
Laying down Your will with each tear
To see You walk that lonely road
Willing to die for me
And in that moment
I know I should have been there
You took my cross and gave Your life
And you live again, oh
And You live again!

Wish I could have been there
My only wish is to see You rise again
Wish I could have been there
My only wish is to see You, Jesus, face to face

Someday I'll be there, I'm gonna be there
I'll see Your face, Your mercy, Your grace
Someday, someday
I'm going to see You, Jesus
Face to face

Jesus, my Word of Life. Jesus, my Bridegroom.

My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
(Proverbs 4:20-27 ESV)

Not set in stone for everyone, but...

we as people tend to remember only:

• 10% of what we read
• 20% of what we hear
• 30% of what we read & hear
• 50% of what we hear and see
• 70% of what we say
• 90% of what we say and do

I think this helps in school and in life.