Family.

Today a Brazilian evangelist (this is already a great story) came with his team and ministered to our staff. He called people to the front for prayer if they were unsure about their future. I stayed in my place but Eric and maybe 15-20 others knelt at the stage steps. As the rest of us prayed for the Holy Spirit to move as he pleased and speak life and destiny over our staff family, we watched as the man prophesied over each one. As he called forth the things in God's heart for them, we fought for them. We said "Yes Lord!" and we spoke powerful words over them. We were unafraid for our voices to be heard as we stood and prayed for each other. In those moments of weakness we were not embarrassed to call each other family.

Whether or not you have been involved in a church body, I want you to know that this is what it's supposed to look like. In this moment we were admitting before each other and before God that we weren't where we wanted to be and calling forth the heaven that was established in each other before we were even born. With power and authority we stood before God and said, "This one has purpose. Heal him. Release him to love. Anoint him to go forth in power and authority. This one's life is marked."

I know that the body of Wesley isn't perfect. Trust me, it's not hard to see what we struggle with. But if you want to take anything from what the Lord is doing us, it's that the body needs to fight for the Lord's glory to be called forth from each other, no matter how scary it is.

I know that it is safe to put on a mask. It is safe to feign perfection before the ones we love. I've done both. But we will gain nothing and the kingdom of God will not advance this way! I know it's easy to sit in a church pew and hide for your life. Good luck with that. I invite you to come before the Lord naked and unashamed, realizing that He is a Father taking you by the hand and leading you into dreams of eternal worth.

So I have a choice. You have a choice. We can be afraid and hide or we can trust Him. I know that this is what He is asking of me. It's the difference between nothing and everything.

The truth about you and me.

Here are some truths I am fighting for. Feel free to believe with me and receive these truths for yourself and those you love.


I have a voice, in Jesus' name.

I have reasons to hope, in Jesus' name.

I am not the ultimate protector or fighter - You are.

My name means fruitful.

Nobody can take away who I am or who You are.

I am GOOD. I have nothing to hide. All of You covers all of me.

I was made to be me and no one else.

My worth as a human being has absolutely nothing to do with what I do or what role I occupy.

My destiny and identity are so rooted in You that they cannot be stolen.

There is nothing to be gained by being hopeless.

I can expect much of You.

You have the best for me. There's enough "best" to go around.

I have the choice: to believe what You have said or to be afraid.

I am not alone.


And what You think is what really matters. Nobody determines truth - You are the truth.

Breakthrough.

The testimonies never end.

We were singing “I Cannot Hide My Love” and something just broke in the room – something was unleashed. Your Spirit just fell. You walked into the room. I felt like heaven opened over me. I felt not only your love and delight in me, but I felt it for You. I know that this is what I have been asking for. You are transforming me.

Only a few weeks ago, God completely surprised me. Up until our last staff prayer meeting of the semester (7 Dec 2011), I had been praying for three things:

1. Do what only You can do.
2. Deliver me.
3. Show me Your delight again.

At the beginning of the semester I allowed the Lord to search my heart, and what I discovered was that there was a depth of His love that I had forgotten. To condense a many-months-long story that is full of beauty for ashes… the Lord responded very directly to those three prayers. It was a process, but I can say with confidence that a wall was destroyed that morning! And it was all because of Him. I didn’t pray or worship any differently that morning than I normally did; His presence just came, and that was enough. This wasn’t years ago; this was only weeks ago. He is always at work. It is His nature to be faithful.

Something that used to grace the front of the UGA Wesley Foundation bulletin every week was this simple phrase: “We gather each week because we believe that Jesus is real, He loves you, and He will save, help and even heal all who call out to Him.” I desperately believe this. Why? Because all of it has happened to me. And most of it has happened to me here in Athens.

This is why we're here. Everyone we work with at Wesley is giving at least a year of their lives to see Him do what only He can do, living as the Church doing what only She can do - partnering with Him as He rains His love down on the city. I don't know any former staff member who has walked away believing it was a waste of time. If anything, it has been the most abundant two years of my life, and I don't plan on looking back.

Awakening.

Yesterday at dinner Bob said something that has been running through my head over and over and over.

"He is awakening our hearts to Him."

Our last day on staff (about a month ago), and then continuing this past week, something has been blooming in me, waking up, getting a glimpse of "Christ in me the hope of glory." It's like a woman who has been receiving letters from her love for years and then out of the corner of her eye sees his face in the window or hears his boots on the wood floor behind her or feels the weight of his shadow coming over her shoulder. That moment right before you turn around, screaming and whispering at the same time, "This is it. This is it. This is it."

This is it. It has always been it. Now has always been the time.

Now I believe it. I feel it. Now is the time to dream. To be fearless. Now is the time of favor and salvation. Our world waits.


Our Beloved waits.

Answers.

Psalm 30.


¹ I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
         And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
 ² O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
         And You healed me.
 ³ O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;
         You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
         
 ⁴ Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
         And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
 ⁵ For His anger is but for a moment,
         His favor is for life; 
         Weeping may endure for a night, 
         But joy comes in the morning. 
         
 ⁶ Now in my prosperity I said,
         “I shall never be moved.”
 ⁷ LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
         You hid Your face, and I was troubled. 
         
 ⁸ I cried out to You, O LORD;
         And to the LORD I made supplication:
 ⁹ “What profit is there in my blood,
         When I go down to the pit? 
         Will the dust praise You? 
         Will it declare Your truth?
 ¹⁰ Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me;
         LORD, be my helper!” 
         
 ¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
         You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
 ¹² To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
         O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.


Life update to come soon.

Worthy.

You are the pearl of great price.

You are our reward.

You are worthy of all praise, all renown, all attention.

You are not just beautiful - but all beauty flows from you. Your nature is beauty.

Your delight is worth all our labors, our time, our thoughts, and our intentions.

You are the only pure and holy and righteous and true.

You are humble and have given all of yourself.

You are the faithful one.

You are the one we have been looking for.

You are worthy of the hidden things.

Your goodness and nature are so vast that we will spend eternity searching you out - and You are worthy of that too.

You are the only one worthy of eternity.

You are trustworthy - and so submission is a gift to us.

The joy of knowing you and seeing Your kingdom come is worth all the pain of getting there.

Update & Wedding - Clair & Jeremy.

Hello friends. Once again, our bloggy blog has been neglected. I've been in the process of developing branding for my new photo website, so I don't feel too bad. I am hoping to launch said new blog by the end of the summer/early fall. Something to be very excited about! New horizons and adventures.

Last month I had the privilege of photographing Clair & Jeremy's wedding. They were so sweet and their wedding day was full of joy and peace... I left feeling so blessed. Their families were so kind and hospitable. Clair decided on an all-white wedding - they wanted their wedding to exude purity and holiness, and it did. All the white details were just gorgeous. I loved how laid-back and gentle this couple was. Another thing I loved about this wedding was the flower girl, Clair's cousin. She has Down's syndrome and was totally the life of the party (something I can relate to - my brother has Down's syndrome as well, and also a charmer).

So without further ado...

Yes ladies, her dress had pockets...

Cheers to love!

Love lavished,

Autumn