You Won't Relent

You won't relent
Until You have it all
My heart is Yours

I'll set You as a seal upon my heart
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love

Come be the fire inside of me
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me
Until You and I are one

 

"You Won't Relent" -Misty Edwards

 

I remember when I was growing up, my mom would put songs on repeat always or we would listen to the same Brooks & Dunn cd in the car for over a month. It drove me insane! Apparently, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because I have been listening to this song on repeat for over a week now. Each day a different section speaks to me. How do I treat Jesus? Is this what I say to God? Come be the fire inside of me, until You and I are one. Do I truly say this? If so, what does it look like?

 

Many people who know me, know that I tend to use the emotional side of my brain more than the intellectual side. I've never had the strong desire to know all the details. "It is the way it is; I feel this way about it; I can't explain it, it's just a feeling I have; God gave you a gut for a reason." These are all catch phrases that I use. I find myself in a culture that wants to know the intellectual side of God and struggle to explain it. The need is to first rationalize God intellectually and then emotions can follow if they want to. It's challenging. How do I show the emotional side and be open to learn from the intellectual side? I am commanded to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Therefore I need the intellectual AND emotional side.

 

I believe I'm going to be learning more about the need for both of these sides. God made us complex. He is complex. And He won't relent until He has all of us. This is a comfort to me and excites me for the life long journey of learning ahead of me.

Retreat = Rest

I spent the past week in Lithuania with other EMM Workers for our annual Missions Retreat. Coming from a frantic, exhausting week, I was ready to put some distance between my schedule and myself for a week.

After a long and hilarious journey, Stacy and I arrived late at night in Klaipeda, Lithuania. We were warmly welcomed in by the Brubakers (missionaries living there). The following day we went to a gorgeous retreat area, filled with wood carvings, cottages, and pumpkins. In a word: tranquility. This required photoshoots throughout the week.

Our time together was wonderful! We were a small group but all got along well and were able to share openly about what we have been experiencing, as well as our hopes and dreams for the next year. I loved when all of us gathered around to pray for one another. I loved having people speak into my life and being given the opportunity to do the same for them. I also had the chance to lead some worship sessions which I had forgotten how much I love doing it! I have to chuckle at myself...I had Czech worship songs in my head most of the week.

God knows how to bless His children. Marsha and I were blessed by a day visit with our friend Sarunas. He was in training with us at HDC. We couldn't visit Lithuania and not see our friend who lives there! We had a blast walking around Nida, seeing the great sand dunes, and looking at videos and pictures from Sarunas' life. He encouraged me a lot just by driving 3 hours to visit us!

Another way God blessed me, was allowing me to see the seaside twice in one week. I love the ocean and beach. It's a place of rest for me. I felt all stress wipe out of my body as I laid eyes on the Baltic Sea. The women who were with me said I was glowing.

Stacy and I finished our week in Lithuania resting after the retreat. It was nice to just be and have no expectations. Our flight was moved up one day, so we spent Saturday relaxing in Prague.

It is time for the schedule to pick up again. But I feel at peace about the upcoming weeks and I am looking forward to how God will work in the days to come.