Everything changed in a moment. His heart melted. He found love, life, music, and affection once again.
I love the character of Maria. In the very first scene, we see that she is a dreamer, often lost in the music. She is bold and willing to sacrifice everything to live by her core convictions of love, celebration, fun, and music. At one point, she tells the Reverand Mother that her life purpose is to find and live by the will of God. She is young and exudes LIFE!
Yep. I can see why I like Maria.
This year, I have taken ownership of the following core value: Celebration! First-Year has been a banqueting table, a picnic where I am rolling on the grass, star-gazing, and laughing. But as much as I have received, I have stewarded. I know that the environment in France, SoCal, or wherever I travel will be a lot less optimistic than it is at Bethel, so I decided that I was going to develop my own environment. That way, no matter, where I go, I will be easily adaptable and influence others by who I am and what I carry, not necessarily by what I do. I realized last year in France that I just refused to live by the lack mentality I saw in most of the world. My abundance mentality will shift things, because I celebrate me daily.
This was the word I got about South Africa, and it was true! I saw people revived as I sang, danced, talked, and laughed with/other them. It was life-changing...not only for them, but for me!
So, I have spent the past few hours coming up with ways that I have cultivated this. We are all different, so I'd encourage you to ask God for original ideas of how to celebrate yourself and how your relationship with Him is unique! Once you are confident in yourself, it all overflows into your life! If you can learn to live by personal keys and values during the best seasons of your life, it will be easier to get throught he more difficult ones.
Dream with God
Have Fun and be Spontaneous!
Feed your Passions and Desires
Wrong.
So, now, I naturally celebrate who I am by feeding myself on what I am passionate about!
Examples
Cultures
I listen to French podcasts about globe-trotters, explore the world via Wikipedia, etc.
The Spirit of Adventure!
I have friends who I have conversations with about our adventurous lives, our dreams, and the lives of others they have read about/met
Music:
I teach myself songs I like on piano, I discover new music on Pandora, I go out of my way to take Composition, Theory, and Songwriting classes at school
The Kingdom of God:
I read the life stories of revivalists and missionaries such as Heidi Bakers, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Jackie Pullinger.
Figure Out How you Work
"This is the most accurate prophetic you are going to get all year."
Then she started:
"As an INTJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally. INTJs live in the world of ideas and strategic planning. INTJs focus their energy on observing the world, and generating ideas and possibilities. Their mind constantly gathers information and makes associations about it.Their need for closure and organization usually requires that they take some action."
Our whole room was laughing for the next half of hour. It was SO me! And there were other "Scientists" like me in the world!
I am not limited to a personality type...but taking the Myers-Briggs test really helped me define myself and realize that God made me intentionally! My mind was as beautiful as my spirit and was going to help usher in His kingdom! I also realized that I was not a horrible person because I naturall was not that sensitive; it was a personality trait that I needed to develop like a skill. By being intional and praying a lot, I have!
To read more about the Myers-Briggs test, click here:
http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
Then, to see your complete profile and partner qualities, read this:
http://www.personalitypage.com/html/portraits.html
Be Intentional about Being Fed
Write down and Live by Core Values and Boundaries
Do Unto Others what you would Have them Do Unto You
Worship
Intercede
Some Intercession Songs I Recommend:
"Where You Go I'll Go" --Bryan and Jenn Johnson
"All Around Me"--
Submit Yourself to Accountability
Develop Relationship and Community
Serve Leaders in Humility
Pray the Epistles!
Speak from your Spirit
There are times where my brain doesn't want to shut off. I just want to keep planning, when what I need to do is rest. Other times, I am worried about something. So I command my mind to align with my spirit. The more I do it, the more results I see. The basis of this technique is speaking from authority.
Pray in the Spirit
I would seriously recommend studying the gift of tongues to anyone interested. It is a powerful form of intercession and intimacy with the Lord! I take prayer walks where I will sing in the spirit, and then sing out the interpretation and come up with a new song!
Take Ownership of Your Beauty
Be Selective in your Choices.
Make Declarations
http://ignitinghope.com/declarations/
Plan for the Future; Live One Day at a Time.
Sometimes, I make plans and then he changes them all anyway. Like, I wasn't expecting someone to sow $2000 into my mission trip in one night. I wasn't expecting all my tuition to be paid off in January by an anonymous donor. I definitely wasn't expecting to live where I am now!! But as I have learned...with God, we are to expect great things!!
Often, it is frustrating not to know the whole picture! Jesus must have been very serious about not worrying about tomorrow but living for the day (see Matthew 6:25-34.) A few weeks ago, I read the book of Esther while eating breakfast. It is a fast read, because all the puzzle pieces fit together. The first thing God told me was, "See? I am so big that, as long as you take the next step, I will fit everything together perfectly!" The next thing was, "Remember that Esther and Mordecai and Haman did NOT see the whole picture! Esther was scared for her life; Mordecai spent weeks in misery, expecting the genocide of his people; Haman expected to live a long life of success. Because Mordecai and Esther honored their people and their values, they were willing to partner with God. But not until the end did they see the final result and how all things worked together for their good. So, I am praying that I will live in a state of peace, knowing that one day I will see things clearly.
Think about Such Things.
1) What is going on in your life? Jesus said everything goes back to you heart; Solomon said that as a man thinks in his heart, he is (see Proverbs 23:7.) Hmm...
2) What are you expecting. I have good news for you: God is the God "with whom NOTHING will be impossible!" (Luke 1:27.) When your Daddy is that big...limitless changes everything!!!
Live by God's Voice so that it Becomes your Entire World
1) Pray into It
2) Prepare for It
Every other life word, Scripture, or dream I get is about the prophetic, creativity, ministry, and going to the nations. I also know that I have a certain amount of time before I will launch my personal ministry. One of my words is that I will bring life to broken people through music and dance. So, I have begun to think about earning enough money to be able to enroll in dance classes and taking piano lessons. I have been thinking about buying a good Bible commentary. I have made a list of churches and ministries I am going to visit in countries all around the world.
3) Change the Way that you Talk
"When He speaks to you, you no longer have permission to say anything else but what He said. "You have to absolutely be consumed with the word of the Lord. So many people want to be revivalists and world-changers but then they get distracted: they finish school etc. It can't be a side thing. My entire life is filtered by this one thing: what He said was my mandate. Every decision I make is filtered with that."
4) Understand that you are on a journey and that there is a process
"God shows you and then He grows you!"
I used to want things to happen right away.
5) Write it down, Remind yourself of it, and Meditate on It
This is my own tip, but it is highly Biblical. God told the Israelites to meditate on the Law day and night. I believe that De of my core values is stewardship. After God speaks to me through a dream, Scripture, a prophetic word, or something else, I am intentional about recording what He has said, transcribing it into my journal with a specific color, and then typing it out on my iPad. The wall by my bed is filled with such things (see photo below.) So, the current promises about the season I am in, my core values, etc. are the first things I see when I wake up and the last things I see before I go to sleep. This has caused at least 50% of the breakthrough in my heart. I also take Screenshots of symbolic photos and personal Scriptures and use them as wallpaper on my iPad and computer, so I am reminded of them all the time!
Give Holy Affection
One day, I was just like, "Wait a minute! I have value! I have the right to give a hug too!!! And to kiss my roommate on the cheek! And to rest in my brother's arm!"
Affection was meant to be holy. "The disciple whom Jesus loved" lay against his master. Paul told his readers to "greet one another with a holy kiss" (Romans 16:16.)
I'd encourage you to listen to the last part of "Healing and Wholeness," a message by Kris Vallotton that transformed my life, for more on how the world needs to be celebrated and needs affection!
Love
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, would have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God." (NIV 1984)
I encourage you to pray this Scripture over yourself--put it on your fridge, by your bed, read it daily--then ask God how you can be intentional about receiving and giving life. Your whole perspective on the world will change!