This is the Good News!

Now I won't deny
The worst you could say about me
But I'm not defined
By mistakes that I've made
Because God says of me

I am not who I was
I am being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy
And I'm dearly loved
I am new

Who I thought I was
And who I thought I had to be
I had to give them both up
Cause neither were willing
To ever believe

I am not who I was
I am being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy
And I'm dearly loved
I am new

Too long I have lived
In the shadows of shame
Believing that there
Was no way I could change
But the one who is making everything new
Doesn't see me the way that I do
He doesn't see me the way that I do

I am not who I was
I am being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy
And I'm dearly loved
I am new

I am not who I was
I am being remade 

I am new
Dead to the old man 

I'm coming alive
I am new

Forgiven beloved
Hidden in Christ
Made in the image of the Giver of Life
Righteous and holy
Reborn and remade
Accepted and worthy this is our new name

This is who we are now...

Now I won't deny
The worst you could say about me
But I'm not defined

If you are in Christ, this is who you are!! What a relief and an outstanding joy to know who we really are and to tell ourselves that all those bad things inside of us have no place. With God, we can rebuke the demons and sin inside of us and tell them that they have no home inside us! What power! I pray that today you thank God for who you are and for who he is. What a loving God we serve.

Overflowing! Praising! NEW!

-Christy.

another day, another adventure.

The list could go on and on of new experiences I had this past week and things I discovered about myself, but for now I will list a few and tell you a little about each one.

new experiences:

-driving to a state 24 hours away that i have never been to and know nobody that lives there.

          My best friends and I loaded up the car last Friday night and headed out bright and early Saturday morning to the great state of Utah. We had no idea what to expect and only hoped for the best. Along the way we saw tumble-weeds, insane rock formations, house sized boats being transported down the road, and quiet a few mile-markers.

-camping for more than one night.

         We camped for a total of 4 nights at the incredible Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Utah and I highly reccomend that campsite to anyone and everyone who travels that way. Apart from waking up freezing and to the sound of yapping coyotes it was a great camping experience.

-climbing to the top of a mountain.

          I'm not sure how this happened, but before we knew it we were slowly shimming our way along a very narrow cliff holding on for dear life to the chain attached to a very big rock (mountain). The top seemed like it only got further and further away as each step developed a fear of imminent death. Overall though, very fun and thrilling adventure.

self discovery:

-i love taking care of people.

         The way I budgeted for the trip and planned it, my friends each payed my their part of the trip at the beginning and I took care of all reservations, gas, and food along the way. The thing I loved most about this was that when we'd stop for lunch, I just loved letting my friends order whatever they wanted and being able to pick up the bill at the end, I also loved getting to have to responsibility to check in to new locations and have the plan for the day laid out ahead of time (remember, i love planning).

-christian music is a great blessing and keeps me focused.

          Doing quiet a bit of driving on this trip, I also got to listen to quiet a bit of music. I love christian music and most of the music on my iPod is of that genre, so I loved getting to have so much continuous time to be on the road and soak up all the things that God has revealed to the different artists. A few time one of my friends would choose to play different music, whether it was rap, pop, country, whatever, and I would notice that my heart would become distracted, and my mood was more easily swayed. What a influence the things we expose our ears to can have on our attitude.

-God made nature to entertain us.

          There is no way I could drive through and look at all the different landscapes without giggling and thinking to myself, "God is so creative!" Every hike, every drive, even our campsite had a different style of God's magnificent creation and it just begged to be enjoyed and delighted in.

Well, that's a short overview of some of the many many things God is allowing me to experience and discovery. I hope and pray that you take the time as well to reflect on what God is trying to show you in your every-day life.

Delighted, adventerous, and smiling.

-Christy