7.9.2008- a reminesce of the fire.

More than ever before I am done with my past. I have let go of it and completely committed my life to Christ. I am focusing on chasing after what lies ahead, just like Paul encouraged us to do. Funny how just when things get going for you and you begin to feel so confident about things, a little something from your past seems to pop up. It's a challenge. It helps you grow. Stretches you. Refines you through the FIRE. It burns. It aches. It polishes. I am left shining as new.

I thank God for His Healing.
Restoration.
Confidence.
Liberation.
Freedom.
Significance.

Without these things I would be nothing. I wouldn't have the strength to push through my past and reach out for the future. Stretching for it, I'm grabbing hold of the promises He has given me and holding fast to the truth of it all that I am not who I used to be, but that I exist as a new creation. The new wineskin is fashioned to contain the new wine. The old will cause it to burst... to be ruined.

The oppression of the past will not define me. The hurt that tries to lurk its way back into my life will not swallow my joy.

Thank you God for the work that you have been doing in my life. For knowing me better than I know myself and giving me just exactly what compliments my passions and vision. Thank you for answering prayers, for hearing my voice, for providing and directing.

Let me shadow your silhouette, being in step with every footprint you plant whether it be through mud, sand, dirt or grass. It is my desire to be mistaken as You.