WHATEVER

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."-Philippians 4:8

What does it mean to fill your mind with things that will inspire worship of God and service to others?

It is crucial that we bring our thought life into submission to Jesus Christ by learning to think biblically through EVERY aspect of our lives.

All sin begins in our thoughts.

There is a war going on inside your soul every second of every minute of every hour.
We have to understand that in order to conquer our thoughts, we cannot simply recognize the little devil that sits on our shoulders whispering lies in our ears constantly, but we must learn that the battlefield is our mind. The devil is our enemy, but the battlefield is our mind!

God has given us the ability to choose the thoughts that we respond to.

Choose to think on truth. Don't even begin to communicate with the enemy. You've already lost the battle at the moment you choose to open yourself up to dialogue with the "father of lies."

Oswald Chambers said..."To think is an effort; to think rightly is a great effort; and to think as a Christian ought to think is the greatest effort of a human soul."

Romans 12:2- "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

So, how do we think right?

Think on whatever is true:
The only way that we can know the truth and walk in it is to saturate ourselves with Scripture. We should know God's Word so well that everything we come into contact with filters through it.
We should follow the example found in Acts 17:11-"Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."

Think on whatever is honorable:
This word means "that which inspires reverence or awe; dignified, worthy of respect." JESUS.

Think on whatever is just:
These are things that are worthy of respect and right-according to God's standard. JESUS.

Think on whatever is pure:
Things that are wholesome! JESUS.

Think on whatever is lovely:
This means what is pleasing, agreeable, and attractive. This means to think on what is both pure and attractive. Jesus Christ is attractive and so we should think on Him. Things that are kind and gracious. JESUS.

Think on whatever is commendable: 
These are things that are highly thought of. JESUS.

Colossians 3:2- "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

Romans 8:5-6 "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Sprit. For the set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."


Psalm 119:15- "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways."

Is 2 Corinthians 10:5 true in your life?
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."

You can't stop the noise that is going on around you and you can't determine what thoughts are going to come, but you can block it when you choose to think on Jesus.

If you want to hear what God is saying, you're going to have to block out whatever the enemy suggests.

You are plugged in to the promises of God.

Think on the WHATEVER God's Word suggests.

Dreamer Gone Wild.

It's a typical Thursday morning after the turn of a brand new year. Welcome, 2014.

I've been sitting in Starbucks for a little over an hour. I've overheard countless loud conversations, tweeted several times, drank a half white/half dark chocolate mocha and currently sipping on a vanilla chai latte, I've kept my eye on a super handsome employee (I can do that because I'm dating him), and then I caught myself dreaming.

I know, I know. Logan dreaming? Of course!

The strange thing about this moment is that it was so real. I was beginning to plan out how I could make this dream real life.

I like to talk about what is happening in my life and then I like to dream about what my life would be like if the problem I'm facing didn't exist or I like to imagine what my life would be like if I were born in a third-world country. I dream about the day that my daddy will walk me down the aisle and hand me over to the man that as a little girl I could only imagine what that day will be like. Now, I've met the one that I get to grow old beside. I dream about what my kids are going to look like. I dream about traveling the world with my best friend. I think about the things that I deal with and I imagine my kids struggling with the same things. I dream about ending human trafficking. I dream about being a coffee connoisseur. I dream about Eric and I adopting kids that were born into families that couldn't care for them. I dream about what life will be like in 20 years. I dream about chasing the things of God. I dream about ending child hunger. Sometimes, I dream about writing a book on what it means to be missional right where you are.  Basically, I'm a frequent dreamer.

Sometimes, dreaming can get me in trouble.

I catch myself getting sucked into my dreams and forget everything that is going on around me.

You see, God created me to be a dreamer but He created me to live full of purpose and full of obedience where I am. The moment that I forget that God works EVERYTHING for His good, is the moment that I miss God completely.

I think that's the problem with this generation. People who dream are often looked upon as disconnected, unreliable, spontaneous, sprinters from responsibility, and overall never content with reality.

So to all of you dreamers reading this, let me ask you a question. What is your role as a dreamer?

What separates you from being what society labels a dreamer is the motivation behind the desire that is in you. If your motivation is to get rich, get famous, and promote you, then you deserve a reality check. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU. 

God, the One who knit you together in your mother's womb and fearfully and wonderfully created YOU (Psalm 139:13-14), He has woven Spirit-motivated dreams deep down inside of you for the purpose of bringing himself all of the glory. The thing is, when your dreams are self-focused, you take the very thing that God has put inside of you and use it the wrong way. God created you as a dreamer to chase after the things that you have discovered.

Never allow your dreams to cause you to miss out on this moment. Don't forget that God has you interacting with certain people, living in a specific place, working at a specific job, or going to school because there are things that He wants you to experience before you move from that moment. Your future will be determined by your obedience in the now. Don't miss God because you're sucked into a dream.

Don't be afraid to make dreams a reality. Dream BIG. Chase after them. Just make sure that they are God-initiated.

Spend time discovering Jesus so that you can run hard after the things you've discovered!

Ask the Holy Spirit to begin stirring up dreams that you are to bring to life.

Your role as a dreamer and my role as a dreamer is to point people to Jesus.

So let's change the labels that dreamers have. 

Label me as a "dreamer gone wild" because there are dreams that the Holy Spirit has put inside of me that are burning deep within my soul like a fire that can't be extinguished. 

The dreams that I listed earlier are all great. But, they are nothing in comparison to the things that I haven't even scratched the surface of discovering about God. May I be a chaser of Holy Spirit motivated dreams that are woven deep down within me.

Join me. I dare you.

What Will You Do?

86 Christians killed and 146 injured.

Numbers that I cannot get out of my head. They flash over and over and over in my mind as I sit in America, "the land of the free and the home of the brave". I'm your average college student. I like to drink coffee, spend more time with my friends talking about the most random things rather than studying. I attend a small, private Southern Baptist university in the Bible Belt and I thank God for the opportunity to invest four years of my life here. I sit in classrooms all day and study how to understand the Bible and how to share the gospel in a cross-cultural setting effectively. This is my life. I enjoy the comfort that I get to experience on a daily basis.

I often need a reminder that it is crucial to be educated nowadays. Maybe, just maybe, we put the emphasis on the wrong education though. Maybe if we spent more time in God's Word, we might be a little more passionate about the people around us. Maybe if we are spiritually educated, it will transform our lives. I don't like to admit it sometimes, but the thought of transformation kind of freaks me out a little bit. To admit that I have flaws, to admit that I need to change so that Jesus can be evident in me, to admit that I am so so weak- that makes me sink into my chair.

Today, my heart hurts. It aches. As I sat in class today, I couldn't help but to think of the 86 lives that were lost because they chose Jesus. I have news for you--- THAT IS ONLY ONE PLACE! Every single day, people are giving their lives for the cause of seeing people reached for Jesus.

One of my heroes, Lottie Moon, once said, "How many there are ... who imagine that because Jesus paid it all, they need pay nothing, forgetting that the prime object of their salvation was that they should follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ in bringing back a lost world to God." When you make yourself available for transformation, the Holy Spirit is going to make you so uncomfortable. 

Conviction+Confession+Commitment=Transformation

He will take your ordinary, everyday life and it will become a radical, transformed, extraordinary life. 

I'm convinced that as we spend more time allowing God to chisel away at our weaknesses that He replaces it with boldness. God's desire for your life is not to sit in a comfortable building everyday working your way up the corporate ladder so that you can have the nicest house with a fancy car. God's desire for your life is that your heart would break for the people that you see everyday. That the people next to you in class will burden your heart. That the people you see in the drive-thru window at Starbucks every morning on your way to work will take precedence over getting to work a few minutes early. 

I'm convinced that we are called to live life like Lottie Moon, Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Paul, and Noah. Ordinary people who aligned themselves with the Holy Spirit and were transformed! You are no different. 
The moment that you decide to press into God's Word, things will become difficult. Stand firm, though. He has the victory! 

Pakistan, China, India, Korea, USA, you name it, someone is daily putting Jesus first and laying down their life for the sake of the gospel. 
Will you do the same? 

What will it take to break your heart for what breaks His? 

When will you choose to go, whether that's right where you live or to another nation, when will you GO and MAKE DISCIPLES? 

All I know is that I choose Jesus. I will choose Jesus until my dying breath just as the people in Pakistan have done. Just like some of the most well-known missionaries have done. I choose Jesus because only he can take something filthy like me and transform me into his image so that I may be a vessel into making himself known. 

May we ponder on these words of Lottie Moon. "The needs of these people press upon my soul, and I cannot be silent. It is grievous to think of these human souls going down to death without even one opportunity of hearing the name of Jesus...Once more I urge upon the consciences of my Christian brethren and sisters the claims of these people among whom I dwell. Here I am working alone in a city of many thousand inhabitants, with numberless villages clustered around or stretching away in the illuminate distance: how many can I reach?" 
How many will you reach?

86 Christians killed and 146 injured. 

What will you do with these numbers?

Swings, Laughing, and Exhaustion.

Swings, laughing, and exhaustion. That has been my life for a week and a half so far and I love it! At the end of the day I am so tired because I completely wear myself out during play time at school. From swinging kids on my arms to playing chase, every second is worth it. Every interaction is important. Every word spoken is intentional. Every time I see a kid smile, hear little girls just cackling because they love being tickled, seeing joy on their faces when you enter the room- all of those moments drive me straight to Jesus.

 I've been in Romania for 11 days so far. God is teaching me something during this trip that I did not anticipate at all. I knew that I would be challenged. I knew that I would see things that I need to fix and I would see my strengths come out in certain areas. What I was not expecting was to realize and pinpoint the exact moment that the calling that God has placed on my life is going to look way different that I ever imagined it to be. I know that the Lord is calling me to work with cross-cultural people. I've always assumed that was overseas somewhere in a far off distant place. That's what I love about God though, I do not have to worry about planning my life. God takes me through seasons. The next season of my life looks crazy different than the one that I had anticipated God would take me through. 

Even when I don't understand what is going on, God is unchanging. Even when there's a thick fog and I can't see exactly what the object in front of me looks like but I can see the outline, God gives clarity as time goes on. I am so glad that I can cry out to Jesus and He hears every bit of it. He wipes the tears away. He stands in my place. 

When I'm exhausted, He stands in my place. When I laugh, He hears what is making me laugh. When little kids are cackling with joy, He hears it too. When I have kids hanging on every limb of my body, it's all for Jesus. There's no greater joy than doing the very thing that you were created to do. 

Because Jesus was a servant, that's what I want to spend my life doing. I want to be about John 3:30. The very purpose of life is that He must become greater, and I must become less. 

Jesus, you never change. Thank you for being the God you say you are. Thank you that in the moments I'm afraid you steady my heart. Thank you for staying the same. 

Jesus, you're always enough for me! You're all I need!

 Your presence satisfies this heart. 

Thank You that when I can't, you always can! 

It is my joy to say Your will, Your way, always! 

So, for the next week and a half, I am going to serve. I am going to swing more kids, I am going to make them laugh and make myself laugh. I am going to exhaust myself knowing that I gave it all. I am going to serve quietly when necessary. I am going to serve boldly when necessary. I am going to serve with the intentions of pleasing my Father. I am going to serve because these kids are WORTH it! 

Bread please

I'm tired! This journey all started bright and early. The food is good. Church was great and the people are awesome! I love being able to worship with my Romanian brothers and sisters. It's heaven practice! Every nation and every tongue will stand around the throne and worship Jesus. Una-Una church was only a glimpse of that! There's something exciting about the body of Christ during corporate worship. We all serve and desire the same God. As I sat in worship Sunday, I began to think about my heart issues. So many times I am just like Thomas. I hear the truth all the time and I see God at work all around me. Yet, I still choose to remain distant from God. I know He is trustworthy and faithful to His promises but I look towards myself and say "I can do this on my own." The moment I choose distance over determination is the moment I am in complete desperation of a Rescue, a Redeemer, the One is LIFE! 

We've eaten bread at every meal so far...I like bread. I expect it at every meal now. It sticks to your tummy and it's a sustainer food. That's what Christ longs to be to us. We are to expect Him to show up in every circumstance, every conversation, in every moment and stick. He fills us up with the Holy Spirit so that we aren't hungry for anything else. 

We are created to actively seek Jesus and live in constant worship of the Almighty God. 

That is LIFE! God is teaching me so much in the first few days here in Romania. I know that challenge is coming. I know exhaustion is coming. But one thing I know for sure, I can rest in the presence of my Savior!

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)

Great is Thy Faithfulness

You can trust God's promises!!

Don't let your lack of trust in people spill over to doubting your trust in God.When God says something,He is going to do it.He is faithful.

Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God. He keeps his commandments! Deuteronomy 7:9.

When we are faithless, God is faithful! (2 Tim. 2:11-13) He can't stop being who He is. Faithful is His attribute.

You don't have to fight the temptation of sinning for the rest of your life on your own. God's going to fight it for you.

In Ezekiel,the dry bones couldn't come to life on their own.They needed breath ("numa").God breathed his Spirit into them and LIFE happened.
Just as we didn't come to Christ on our own, we don't remain in Christ on our own. That's what the Holy Spirit does. He breathes in us every morning. New breath. He gives us new life and He operates through us! You aren't alone! Why? Because God is faithful to His promises.

"They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and FAITHFULNESS!"( -Lamentations 3:23)


Your actions do not change God.


When we are faithless, God is faithful!
Like Hosea, God keeps saying "I want YOU! Whatever it takes, whatever the cost, I want you back." He will not give up. Why? Because He is faithful. That is His very being. He is who He says He is. I can just picture Gomer who has chosen to sale herself for sex. She's chosen this lifestyle. She's in the midst many beautiful girls- she's exhausted because she's been with so many men in one day and she's all messed up. Then, I picture this auction happening in a brothel and the men get to Gomer and they're only offering half the price of her normal rates. She's looking down. Not caring who buys her and she hears this voice saying, "i want you." and it get's closer to the stage and it kept saying "i don't want all these other women, i want you. just as you are. you. all of you." It's a voice that she recognizes. And she starts thinking "wait a minute, that's my ex husband. I left him for this. What's happening? Why would he want me?" Hosea wanted Gomer just as God wanted Israel, his people. The ones he taught to walk. (Hosea 11)
His son, His child. The one that was called out. Chosen. Israel was God's. Can you see how much God loves us in that story? While we are prostitutes, selling ourselves to whatever, God looks at us and says, "Logan, I want you. I don't care what you've done. I don't care about your past. I do not change. I am a faithful God. My promise to you will not fail. I keep my promises. You can trust me. I'm trustworthy. I am who I am and I do not waiver in my very being. I want you."

God remains faithful to his people! There's an if though. He remains faithful IF we remain in him!
No matter what you've done, you can't change who God is. He wants you! All of you. Not the clean part. He wants all of your filth. Your dirt. Your grossness. Just as you are. He wants it. And he's going to remain true to his promises and you can trust him because he is a faithful God!

#Luckiestgirl #Lovestory

February is known as the "month of love." It's a month where couples post on Facebook how much they love their significant other, they tweet to them, they leave sweet notes on the mirror for their spouse, and plan an extravagant dinner and buy presents and flowers, and okay you get the point. I'm about to be very honest with you. I've never really wanted a huge wedding. I mean yes, what girl doesn't dream about dresses, colors, flowers, cake and first dances? I even have my "How Sweet It Is" board on Pinterest that has all sorts of wedding ideas but I doubt I'll ever put any of it to use. I want a wedding and I want to be married but I don't want to be caught up in all the fluff. I don't really think about my "dream proposal." Of course, I've been on YouTube and watched countless videos of amazing proposals; crowds of family and friends all lip-syncing the couple's favorite song as the man escorts his soon-to-be fiancé to a candlelit beach at sunset. I just don't give much thought to what my own proposal might look like. I don't have the slightest idea of the ring I'd want. Sure, I've admired engagement rings on other women. Yes, I've gone to try on engagement rings but in all honesty, I still had no idea what kind of ring I would like. I skim through Jared or Helzberg Diamond catalogues when they come in the paper. Don't get me wrong, I love diamonds as much as the next girl but I don't have the cut, color and clarity of the diamond picked out awaiting my future husband's credit card. I have the God-given desire to be married and it seems to intensify with age. Maybe it's the fact that others my age are all trying the knot or maybe it's because graduating college, marriage, child birth and death are the only major milestones that I haven't crossed off of my list. I've spent time praying about marriage and the desire to be in a relationship. But, I've been thinking about the whole idea of marriage and it's the symbolism of it all that matters. Not the ring, the sobbing that occurs when saying vows or the romantic proposal. When I notice a lady who is wearing a wedding ring.. I think "lucky her!" Not lucky because she has a huge rock on her hand, but because she's been chosen. She's different. It means that a man is so in love with her that he can't picture his life without her. Chosen. I want to feel set apart. I want to feel special, chosen, and unique. I want others to look at me and say, "wow, lucky her!" Not lucky because of my ring, but because I have been chosen. Here's the thing though. Because I wanted that feeling, I settled and entered into a meaningless relationship that I changed who I was because I thought the guy was special enough. I was going to be called "lucky." I was going to be chosen. Then I woke up. I came back to my first love. A man that loves me for exactly who I am. Yea, I changed some things for Him but these were changes for my good. Rather than getting down on one knee and asking for my hand, this man got on a cross and asked for my sins. This man chose me, set me apart, and took time to write my ending before my beginning. He knows my thoughts before I think them and I love spending time with Him. I can walk with my head high now. It has nothing to do with who is around me. It has everything to do with who lives in me. With who loves me. With who chose me. With who proposed to me, on a cross, long before I was born. I dare you to find a better love story than that. With all this being said, use this "month of love" to shine bright for Jesus. Go back to your first love. You are chosen by Jesus. Set apart by Jesus. Rest content knowing that you are one of the luckiest people in the world.