Humble_Soup's Xanga

Friday, January 30, 2009

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:34:07 GMT

This week has been a really neat week.. i think probably because my small group was praying for me this week. I love them, sigh. Anyways, I think God has been slowly peeling away layers and formations I've constructed where I find my acceptance in. What a relief, to come out of a place where I have to perform or do the right things to earn other's acceptance, including God. It's kind of sticky and dark in there. He's guiding me into a place of freedom in relationship!

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death.

For example, last night, I was all agitated and upset over something small. I was in a bad mood, and not treating Matt the best. So, I was trying to talk with God about it, and in a way, asking him to "fix" me. Then he said, "Moriah, I like you even when you're in a bad mood." Hehe! I laughed at that with him. And then I felt like I didn't have to "fix" my heart, but just give it to him again. Just in little things like that, it just seems like he's taken off a big barrier between us. The one where I always feel like maybe I'm not doing something right, and I need to fix that before I come to him. Yay. :) Love you xanga-ers!!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:08:33 GMT

The other night, I had a really cool dream. I was at a friend's kid's birthday party with a bunch of people. When we headed out the door, all of a sudden we were on this huge metalscape with different bridges, walkways, floors, etc. that seemed to go on forever. We were wandering out on it, and as I was going over one of seven bridges that all ended up in the same place. It was skinny, about 3 ft. wide at the beginning and end, but only about 1 ft. in the middle.

All of a sudden, I realized the bridge I was on (in the middle of the seven bridges) was Holiness. The first one I also knew meant the Fear of the Lord, and another meant Righteousness. I didn't know what the other ones meant, though. (Melanie, you were on the last bridge, I'm not sure which one that meant.) While I was heading over the bridge, an older woman out in front of us (potentially my hero, Annie Schumaker) suddenly said, "Do you think the Lord will show up in this place!?" As she was saying that, she walked straight over to me, looking at me. I wasn't sure how to respond. "I think He will!" She said. Right as she said that, I started doing flips over the railing of the bridge, but I wasn't trying to - I knew it was the Holy Spirit.

I've been thinking about this dream a lot because I feel like a few different hard things have come up in the few weeks, and it's been encouraging to remember that God will show up in this place (hopefully bringing a spirit of joy!), and that I haven't fallen off the bridge He has me walking on right now. (Those are the things I got from it.. any other ideas, anyone?)

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:31:21 GMT

Having an older friend is the best...

I got to hang out with my friend Cindy who is older and generally awesome yesterday. She gave me some really good life wisdom. I can't remember exactly how she said it, but she said that you don't always have to go by what your emotions are telling you to do. For example, when you don't feel like doing a loving action towards someone, that doesn't mean you have to let your emotions make you not do it. Isn't she the best? Y'all would like her...

I remember Melanie and I were teasing one of her friends a few years ago about getting more excited about a lady with grey hair than a cute guy.. haha. Now I can see why!

(Did I mention I also have a really cute/handsome husband?)

I'm getting excited about our night watch at AHOP here in a little while. :)

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:58:26 GMT

The other week, we were having 10 days of 24/7 prayer at AHOP and I was in charge of emailing everyone to remind them of their prayer time they had signed up for. I sent a reminder email out to John (or Dr. Cogdell) one day, who is one of the most faithful people I know as well as a few generations older than me. His reply was that he would be there, God willing. I really liked that. His trust was not in himself, but God willing him to fulfill his promises.

Little Heart's New Home

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:09:21 GMT

Well, this started out as a poem, but turned into a children's story! Let me know what you think :)

Little Heart was new to the neighborhood. She had just bought her very own cozy house. While she was decorating her new place, she thought, “I will leave all the doors open and all the windows up for all of my neighbors to come over. Then, my friends, Happiness and Joy will surely come and stay as long as they want!” She laughed with glee at the thought of it. In the next couple of days, all of her friends did come. They brought beautiful gifts, treasures, and tasty food. Little Heart had such a great time with them. However, unexpected guests came over, as well. Sometimes, Pain came in the night and stole some of the precious gifts that Happiness and Joy had given her. Sadness unexpectedly showed up and stayed much too long, leaving a great mess to clean.

The thing was, Little Heart couldn’t tell which visitors would show up, or when. Often, Sadness came over when Little Heart was expecting a visit from Happiness. Joy’s stays seemed much too short. Then one day, after Little Heart woke up to find that Pain had stolen from her in the middle of the night again, she said, “I know. I will close my house to everyone. I have strong Never locks that will close these doors for good, and sturdy Always windows coverings that will last a lifetime. Then, my house will always be fine and neat, and Pain and Sadness will not get in again.

And no one did get in. The weeks and months passed by, and fewer and fewer visitors knocked on Little Heart’s door, or peeked through her window. Inside, things were going fine, and the house was always neat. However, no light came in so she could hardly see, and always seemed to bump into things around the house. Also, her house seemed to grow colder and colder no matter how hard she tried to warm it up.

One morning, after one especially cold winter night, Little Heart heard a knock on the door. She waited, then heard another.
“What is it you want?” Little Heart moaned from her couch.
“I want you to open up, Little Heart.”
Little Heart knew the voice. It was that of her dearest, most faithful friend, Love. She stood up to answer, yet quickly remembered why she had locked up the house in the first place.
“How can I open the door?” she replied, “Pain and Sadness will surely come. Their stays are much too hard for me to bear.”
She looked through the peephole, then sighed as she leaned on the door.
“I know it is hard for you when they come, Little Heart," Love said, "but if you let me, I will stay with you whenever you would like. Even when they come.” Love said.
“Well, that is nice... but I’m really doing fine in here by myself. Things are always the same, so I know just what to expect, you know?”
Love did not respond. She knew deep down that she was not doing just fine. Love’s presence stirred up the desires she had often felt in the cold, dark house to be with friends again. She also longed for her house to be filled with warmth and light like it once was.
“Well, if I did open the door, would you really come be with me whenever I wanted?” Little Heart asked, looking again through her peephole into Love’s face.
“I promise” Love said with a gentle smile.
“You know, I do miss you and my friends so much, and it is getting so cold in here…”
Her heart sank when she remembered. “These locks are Never and Always brand!” she said. “They’re guaranteed to never open the doors, and always keep the windows shut. I don’t know how I will ever open them.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Love chuckled, “I have the key. Let’s open the door together.”
“Really? Well, Okay. Let’s do it!” Little Heart said.

Love and Little Heart opened the door. She shielded her eye from the very bright light, and gave Love a hug. Then, she saw Happiness and Joy sneak out from just around the corner behind Love! Together, they unlocked every door, and pulled up the shades on every window in the house. Then, they all sat down to eat come cookies Joy had brought over with her. They talked and laughed all night. One time, Little Heart looked out the window to see if Pain and Sadness were nearby. Then, she remembered. Whatever happened, she would always have one very special guest, Love.

Saturdays

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:09:37 GMT

One of my favorite traditions that Matt and I have started is our Saturday morning trip to Sweetish Hill Bakery. We get two bialys (mine garlic, his sesame) with two butters and jelly. In case you don't know, bialys are the lightest, fluffiest bagel you could imagine, I think invented by the Swedes. Matt gets a small coffee and sometimes a scone, too, that he shares with me, all for under $5. Today we walked there, about twenty minutes away. We saw our friend who runs another coffee shop on the way back, and Matt guiltily hid his coffee cup. :) The weather was beautiful, and I got to see Spring blooming all over our neighborhood. It was perfect. Especially with such a great husband. The only bad thing was that I didn't wear my brown pants...

Friday, March 28, 2008

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:14:51 GMT

I'm starting a new hobby, drawing! I'm pretty excited about it. I have an artist friend who's going to give me lessons, and a beginner's book for drawing. I can see it already: headlines flashing: Moriah LaCour, artiste extroardinaire. Haha. New hobbies are fun, though. Matt's also wanting to start a new hobby: making his own beer! I think it'll be fun for him, but one downfall is that it will stink up the whole closet it's in. Good thing we have a second room! What's been your favorite hobby ever?

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:56:15 GMT

OK, the sweet entry about my brown pants is coming soon, but right now our room is calling me to be pick it up. Here's an overview of the entry, through, in case you feel let down that it's not here yet: it would have basically been about how awesome they are, how much I wear them, how I try to avoid people noticing how much I wear them by selective wearing, how you can tell how much I want you to like me by the amount of times I wear them around you, and other things that would probably cause you to enjoy my cuteness/silliness.

I'm reading a book called Listening Prayer by David and Linda Olsen. It's encouraging to know that God wants to speak to us and that we can hear his voice. (John 10) It's been really useful for everyday life to listen and hear from God. At the house of prayer, I usually have a hard time connecting with or liking one of my co-workers because he's so different from me. I asked God what He thought about him last week, and He said that he has a sincere heart. I didn't realize until this week how much I doubted his sincerity in things he said to me, or others. Things have been better between us this week. :)

The other month, I was getting angry and upset thinking about something Matt had done earlier (that he had already asked forgiveness for), and started to think, "I don't want to forgive him. I have the right to feel upset about what he did." Then, I heard God speak to my spirit, "So do I." Meaning, that he has the right to hold my sins against me in unforgiveness, but that he mercifully, abundantly forgives me. Kindness does lead to repentance.

Anyways, I'd love to hear what ways God has spoken to you this month, or any other time.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:27:03 GMT

Sweet entry about my brown pants coming soon

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:38:45 GMT

I've been reading Jesus' triumphal entry in John this week, which is exciting. Steve Hawthorne, a guy at our church, says it's a picture of what will happen when Jesus returns: whole groups of people and cities welcoming and celebrating Jesus with plenty of people conspiring to kill those who welcome him. Two things from this passage have really stood out to me.

First, that Jesus will come back to actually be King on earth. I know most of us who are Christians believe this in our head, but I don't know how often I truly believe it with my heart. Having new perspective on that is really exciting to me.. having Jesus as ruler of the earth in perfect mercy, perfect justice, perfect love us. No more heartache in relationships, No more stress in work! Always joy and peace. I know Jesus won't be too busy for me to come and sit and talk with him, too, but I'm still wondering how that will work, since most of us will probably want to be close to him, and he will have all these other things going on, like being king of the earth. Maybe the time perspective of eternity will work to our benefit there..

Secondly, those who welcomed Jesus had their eyes fixed on him. Not worrying about what others would think about their worship-dancing, or shouts of praise, or laying down their coats for the one who would reign. They had their gaze on the one coming seated on a donkey. What was his expression like then? Full of joy, or maybe a hint of sadness that the ultimate fulfillment of his entry to Jerusalem wasn't yet? It seems that those who were plotting Jesus' murder had their eyes fixed on those who used to satisfy their need for respect, affirmation, even worship. Those who were now giving Jesus all of their praise and attention. It seems like they hated Jesus for stealing away those who used to praise and affirm their self-worth and position in society. I just have been feeling like I'm one of those people so often, looking for those who will love me and tell me I'm OK, or beautiful, or loveable, etc. However, I so want to be one of those who celebrates your coming to reign with dancing and singing. My worth comes from your thoughts about me.

My friend encouraged me to read this book she is reading called Heaven, about what heaven will be like. Are you excited about heaven or not? What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about what it will be like?