Operation: Sanctuary

WOW. This post has taken forever for me to get to. Operation Sanctuary actually began back in late November. My wonderful and beautiful friend, Miss Laura K, shared the idea with me. Operation Sanctuary began as a way to make your space in which you spent your time with God, which was our bedrooms, obviously, more organized and pleasing to God. The idea was to make your quiet place more enjoyable, and a place you WANT to go to spend time with God. It took me a while to get the project started, considering I wanted to paint my room. I had to wait until Christmas Break to start. It now being mid-March, I'm pretty much done with everything I wanted to do (Took long enough, huh? :P)

Let the pictures begin!

MY ROOM FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS:

Don't mind the Christmas decorations. ;)

 

THE PAINTING PROCESS:

AHHH, IT'S SO AMAZINGLY GREEN. It was called Lime-ade. :)

Wall numero uno, complete.

Yeah. Don't mind my occasion boredom during this tedious project of trimming. :P

I guess my boredom wasn't so bad huh. :)

Wall numero dos, complete.

Wall numero tres, complete.

Thank you K-Love, for keeping me such good company. :)

I used the whole gallon of paint and had to buy another... AND SOME SWEDISH FISH! Mmm!

Wall number quatro, complete!

After a total of eight coats of paints, I FINISHED YAY!

THE FINAL PRODUCT:

 

Curtains > Blinds

My lovely, wonderful, amazing, little corner. :)

The end! :) 

Operation Sanctuary was awesome, I love my room way more than I did before. It definitely encourages me to spend more time there, especially in regards to my quiet time with God. Maybe your changes won't be as drastic as mine, but I definitely encourage you to try it out sometime! :)

A New Found music love!

For my 17th birthday, an old dear friend of mine, bought me several CDs. One of them being tobyMac, whose music I LOVE! With such excitement over that specific CD, I seemed to forget about the other two I received. Recently I picked up one of the other CDs, realizing I had a growing love for that artist. Who is this artist? BRITT NICOLE!

Her music is really growing on me! Generally speaking I am more interested in male singers as opposed to female singers, not quite sure why, but I am. After giving her CD a chance, I realized how much I love her music and more importantly her lyrics! I've seen several videos and interviews of her and realized what a profound and continually deepening love she has for Jesus Christ! Her love is inspiring and encouraging to me! I wish I had listened to it sooner. :)

I encourage you to check out her music and find out for yourself what an incredible artist and witness for Christ she is!

"How We Roll" if you're in a more groovy mood. ;)

"Feel the Light" if you're in a calmer and softer mood. :)

I'm Forgiven!

While doing my school work today, I've been listening to K-Love. The song "Forgiven" came on, which is by Sanctus Real. It's one I haven't heard in a really long time and it brought up some past memories of mine in which I do regret but through the lyrics, I was reminded of what Christ has not only done for me, but for you and anyone else born into this world.

Here are the Lyrics..

"Well the past is playing with my head

And failure knocks me down again

I’m reminded of the wrong

That I have said and done

And that devil just wont let me forget

In this life

I know what I’ve been

But here in your arms

I know what I am

[chorus]

I’m forgiven

I’m forgiven

And I don’t have to carry

The weight of who I’ve been

Cause I’m forgiven

My mistakes are running through my mind

And I’ll relive my days, in the middle of the night

When I struggle with my pain, wrestle with my pride

Sometimes I feel alone, and I cry

In this life

I know what I’ve been

But here in your arms

I know what I am

[back to chorus]

When I don't fit in and I don’t feel like I belong anywhere

When I don’t measure up to much in this life

Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ ‘cause

[back to chorus]"

I'm quite sure that all of us have done things, said things, thought things, that we wish we hadn't. It's very easy to get caught up in the regretful things we have done and forget the meaningful, God-glorifying things we have yet to do.

If your past ever seems to bug you or even go so deep to ache your heart, I encourage you to remember that you ARE forgiven. Let God's Word speak for itself:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.” Isaiah 43:25-26

When you come to Christ and repent, He no long remembers your sins but they are completely blotted out! There is hope in the name of Jesus Christ!

My Challenge to you: Whether you struggle with things in your past or not, praise Jesus for His amazing love, mercy and forgiveness! There is nothing that can hold you back, no sin that you cannot conquer, no challenge that you cannot overcome, no past regret that you can't make peace with - in the Name of Jesus. Beneath His wings, there is a promise for all of our futures! :) What an encouraging promise that is!

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus …”

Romans 8:1

True Love

I came across this song today by Phil Wickham..



I love it! My favorite line is:
"We were free and made alive
The day that true love died,
The day that true love died"

It's such a beautiful and piercing song! Check it out! :)

Also, here's a challenge for you: Listen to only Christian music for the next 30 days! K-Love announced this challenge on their radio station and I thought it was a great one! Generally speaking, I don't listen to too much secular music, but I think this challenge is worth it! (Sorry 80s music... :P)