I have a huge desire to activate people to live lifestyles of worship.  Music is actually not the only form of worship.  This is something I try to teach the teens on my youth worship team.  Last night I saw them practice a form of worship that made me so proud.  All of the chairs in the sanctuary were stacked up in other rooms because the floor had been waxed.  Rusty was still bringing the chairs back into the room while the band was arriving.  So what did the teens in the band do?  Start helping him put the rows back together!  That, my friends, is worship.  Now it is true that worship must come from a heart that wants to love on God.  

For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.  Hosea 6:6

God wants our hearts, not our works.  Now the deeds that we do that come from a heart of worship, that is good.  But doing deeds in order get something from God?  That is messed up.  Think about it: if someone did something special for you because they just simply loved you, and they didn't expect anything back from you, isn't that the kind of friend you would want?  But if someone did the same thing but with the motive of getting something from you, would you be pleased?


Here is an amazing clip on a living a lifestyle of worship:

There are a lot of amazing points that Kim makes here that I absolutely love and I think it would change the way we worship when we come together on Sundays.  I won't mention all of them (because hopefully you watched it and heard them ;) but I will point out a couple.


1) "Why do I feel like I have to work it up?"


Okay, this question is HUGE. Keeping my connection with Jesus throughout the week is so essential to having an amazing corporate worship experience whenever I gather with the brethren.  This right here would change the atmosphere of corporate worship drastically.  


2) Having an un-offended heart


This is also very huge.  It's so easy to be offended with God about whatever circumstance in our life. Sometimes we can't get to a deep place with God because we are offended.  And believe me, I have definitely been there and withheld my heart from him.   A verse that comes to mind is James 1:2-3:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 

We must persevere through the trials and questions we have.  We need to lay down our "right" to answers and say, "God, I want YOU more than I want answers."  

I've been wanting to start a fresh blog for a couple months now. I am hoping for this to become a place where I can share my heart for worship and what is going on in my process of life.


I have recently made many big steps of faith. For one, I stopped working on my graduate degree. This was a difficult decision because I don't like to quit, and I really felt like God called me to move to Arizona to get a Master's in counseling. But something in me shifted about three months ago. Close to New Year's, I was watching Lord of the Rings:Return of the King. There is a specific scene that struck a chord with my spirit this time (I have watched it many times). Aragorn is sleeping in his tent, the eve before riding across country to war. This war is on his homeland, and this land is actually his inheritance. You see, he is the rightful king of the land, but he has been living in the wilderness in hiding for many years. He is awakened to an unexpected visitor, Elrond the elf lord. He brought Aragorn his reforged sword. This is not any old sword, this is the sword of his forefathers. The sword that defeated the darkest enemy of his ancestors. The sword of his inheritance. This sword is not his inheritance. It is symbolic of his inheritance. He must use the sword to summon armies that can only be summoned by the one who can wield this sword, and it is with this sword that Aragorn defeats the enemies occupying the land and kingdom that he is the rightful ruler of.


This moment of the movie shifted my spirit to believe that I 1)have an inheritance and 2)I have the ability to occupy the land that is mine and 3) battle is required in order to take that land.


As this was brewing in my heart for a couple weeks, I remembered the moment I knew that I was supposed to move to Arizona. I was visiting over spring break, leading worship at the Two Rivers Church youth retreat. Could that be the reason I moved here God? What was that seminary thing all about? Why would you call me to do something and then ask me to lay it down before I finish it? This didn't fit in my paradigm of how God works. He is not who I thought he was. I am not who I thought I was.


Today, I am not in school. I don't have a plan except to get closer to Abba. I am learning to listen to what he is saying, instead of asking for answers. I'm dreaming with him. A lot. Probably more than the American church is comfortable with. Probably not enough.


I'm writing this personal experience here to be an encouragement to you. As I am discovering more about myself and God, I fully realize that he has an inheritance already waiting for every single person. We are all sons and daughters of the King of the universe, and he loves you. He really REALLY loves you. Those dreams in your heart that seem impossible to accomplish, He put those there. They are impossible and you cannot accomplish them by yourself, but God so eagerly desires to accomplish them through you.

EVERY good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created. -James 1:18

Every inheritance is a good and perfect gift from Him, and He has birthed amazing dreams in our hearts. And isn't it wonderful to know that he isn't shady about it?


I think I can dwell in the truth that God is a good Father for the rest of my life.