God Wills; God Does!

As we were traveling to NC today, a Tractor Trailer pulled in front of me and the Lord reminded me of something and I thought I would share....

Genesis 12.... Those were the words I heard as my Band instructor urged me to warm up my instrument during practice... "Warm up your Clarinet with Genesis 12 please!" Shouted Mrs. Sydney.  I thought, "seriously... thats not a warm up, but a chapter in the bible!" Feeling confused....I was awakened by the sound of my alarm. Being a new Christian and a Senior in High School, I seriously thought I had just eaten too much pizza the night before. I had no Idea that the Lord could speak to you in a dream, plus it had been 2 years since I was in marching band! 

Weeks later I was telling a friend of my outrageous dream and she simply asked, "Well what does Genesis 12 say?" Naively I never read it! She insisted the Lord was trying to speak to me and urged me to read the scripture. This is what I found in the first eight verses...

Genesis 12

The Call of Abram

  The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

 ² "I will make you into a great nation 

       and I will bless you; 

       I will make your name great, 

       and you will be a blessing.

 ³ I will bless those who bless you, 

       and whoever curses you I will curse; 

       and all peoples on earth 

       will be blessed through you."

 ⁴ So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. ⁵ He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

 ⁶ Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring ^[a]I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

 ⁸ From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. ⁹ Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

This may not mean much to you, but at the time, it meant the WORLD to me! Not only did I come from a non-Christian home, but I was at a point in my life where I was seeking the Lord's will for my life. I was at a turning point, getting ready to graduate college, I desired nothing more than to fulfill the calling the Lord had given me. Within these scriptures we see God calling Abraham to leave his home, so that he could establish a nation of blessings for him. To me this speaks of generational blessings. Here God was promising me, just as He promised Abraham, "If you leave the comfort of your home and follow me I will bless you and your descendants with MY blessings!" The Lord was giving me an invitation to live a life fully devoted to Him and to build a family that would be blessed for generations to come of His Love!

  

Shortly after, I attended a Christian youth camp where I had my encounter with the Lord the previous year. Anxious to find that warmful embrace of the father within the small town of Dunn, NC, I soon realized He had much more in store for me. That first night in March of 2003 I heard the Voice of the Lord Loud and Clear and there He called me to Heritage Bible College. I was weeping so hard I had to leave the auditorium. Approached by Camp Counselors I was asked, "Whats Wrong?" I said in the middle of my tears, "I think the Lord wants me to go to college here!" LOL... I knew without a shadow of a doubt the Lord was calling me to Heritage Bible College and if I was to ignore this call, I would be disobeying him. As I checked out the table for the college I realized there was not a single degree there that I thought was for me... Needless to say, this move was a BIG leap of FAITH for me... but the thought alone, excited me very much...

My Room Mate/Life Long Friend, Rachel Kitchens, from Heritage Bible College standing in the lobby at HBC before I had my first born!

Months later, I packed up my little red 2 door escort to travel back to Dunn, NC to begin the application process and as I pulled out of my neighborhood onto a main road the fears, excitement, and anxiety overwhelmed my soul. I looked up to find a tractor trailer had pulled in front of me. Something was different in the dust and dirt on the back of that trailer. I found the words that read, 

"GOD WILLS; GOD DOES!" 

There the Lord spoke to me again! He said, "Amber I have willed for you to go to Heritage Bible College; therefore, you need not to worry about ANYTHING! Because I have WILLED this, I will supply ALL your needs and much more!" Little did I know, that the Lord was planning to fill the desires of my heart in this little town of Dunn. 

2 years later, after many trials (thats another post), I met my God Destined, Wonderful husband, Mike Thornton. Today we are joyfully serving the Lord, pursuing full time ministry, with two beautiful daughters.

Thank you Lord for knowing our hearts better than we know them and for fulfilling our needs and dreams before we can even dream them... I shall ever be thankful to you! Because you looked upon me and pursued me with your love, I shall ever be grateful to you....

My Thanksgiving to the Lord!

Psalm 116 1-2; 12-14; 16-18

 ¹ I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; 

       he heard my cry for mercy.

 ² Because he turned his ear to me, 

       I will call on him as long as I live.

¹² How can I repay the LORD 

       for all his goodness to me?

 ¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation 

       and call on the name of the LORD.

 ¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD 

       in the presence of all his people.

¹⁶ O LORD, truly I am your servant; 

       I am your servant, the son of your maidservant ^[c] ; 

       you have freed me from my chains.

 ¹⁷ I will sacrifice a thank offering to you 

       and call on the name of the LORD.

 ¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD 

       in the presence of all his people,

He Makes Our Dreams Come True

I stumbled upon this video a few weeks ago and since I have watched it, my heart just burns to experience the Father's love on a whole new level.  Yes by the looks of it, it IS about a proposal, but what struck most me was the story that Jessica tells before it. My words wouldn't give it worth, so I will let you hear it for yourself....

The Lord ravished her heart on this beach in Caesarea, Israel. I too have been to this beach and it is BREATHTAKING! What a LOVE story she has with the Lord! And to make it even sweeter, He gave her a painting to mark this memory for her. This tells me that the moment they shared on that beach was just as important to Him as it was to her!!! 

This story gets even sweeter! 

A year later she met her future husband in Israel!

 And months later, He surprised her there on this beach to ask her to be his wife because he knew how significant it was to her!!!

The Lord longs to ravish our hearts!! 

If we seek HIM first, with no boundaries and no conditions, he will fulfill our dreams, overwhelm our souls, and give us the desires of our hearts!! He did this for Jessica, He did it for me, and He can certainly do it for you!

PURSUE HIM WHOLEHEARTEDLY and just watch how God's love will overtake your life and give you the peace and fulfillment He created us to have!!!

RAVISH MY HEART, O GOD! 

I want to see you FACE!!!!

How priceless is your unfailing love! Both the high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. 

Psalm 36:7

Have you seen Brad?

And no I am NOT talking about Brad Pitt....

Yesterday my hubby and I were able to steal away for a few hours to enjoy dinner without the babies. Of course this was all thanks to Grandma who agreed to watching the girls. After a nice meal alone Mike and I decided to head over to Barnes and Noble and enjoy quietness around some of our most favorite things, books.  

Unfortunately it was later than normal and B&N was about to close. As we rode past the door, a young gentleman caught Mikes eye. As I was driving away Mike urged me to turn around. Mike said, "I feel like I am suppose to talk to this guy." Now Mike is known for taking compassion on the homeless, so I looked at him and said, "I don't think this guy is homeless." Mike responds, "I don't know, but God wants me to speak to him, I think he needs help." So trusting the voice of the Lord we turned around and decided to enter B&N.  As we walked by, it was clear that this young man was distraught. Mike turned and asked him if he was alright, and he responded, "I am stranded and no one will give me spare change." So Mike said, "please come in, Lets have some coffee and I will get you something to eat." Feeling so at peace with this stranger, we walked in to B&N and was awakened to a new found love of God. 

As we told him to pick out something from the Starbucks inside, he only got a small pretzel and insisted that he only get a cup of water from the sugar stand. It was clear that this man was not looking to take advantage of the help. Something burned in me, it was like I longed to know his story! 

So as we sat down, we learned that his name was Brad and that he was recently kicked out of his mothers house because of his addiction to Heroin. Having family members who struggle with drugs and Mike being one who came from a lifestyle of drugs, we felt complete compassion for him. Unfortunately the phone rang and Abigail was home needing me to feed her. So our time was cut short with Brad, but my mind has never left him. 

As I crawled into bed that night, I thought about Brad. Where was he sleeping? Where would he end up? How must his mother feel knowing that she had to kick her son out on the streets because of his addiction? All these thoughts crossed my mind... 

That night I was reminded of the blessings in my life, but most importantly I was reminded of how important it is for us as Christians to take time out of our busy schedules to impact others with the Love of God. As we left Brad that night we learned that he once knew the Lord and that he longed to know him again. 

So Lord right now I pray for Brad. Wherever he is Lord, I pray that He would encounter your love! I pray Lord that you would send your angels to minister to him and encourage him to seek your face. God I pray that the bondage's of addiction would fall off his shoulders and that his burden would become light because of your grace and Love. 

Lord may I be burdened to no longer drive by being consumed by my day, but be challenged by your Holy Spirit to go and tell him of your saving grace! 

Tonight, I challenge you (as well as myself), 

have you seen Brad lately?

Love Came Down

 I wanted to begin this blog with sharing the true inspiration behind the title. Brian and Jenn Johnson are phenomenal worship leaders in Redding, California. They exhibit true worship to the Father. It's not about performance or genre or even the style, but simply loving on Jesus. As worshipers, we should long to minister to the Father's heart, and undoubtedly Brian and Jenn Johnson teach us to do just that!

Words can not describe the sincere gratitude towards Christ that you feel when the lyrics of this song hit your heart; therefore, I thought I would allow you to feel it for yourself. Experience the Love of the Father.