Learning to Acclaim Him

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

love and faithfulness go before you.

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,

who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

They rejoice in your name all day long;

they celebrate your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn.

Psalm 89:14-17

Righteousness: without guilt or sin

Justice: Fair and reasonable

Love: Deep Affection

Faithfulness: loyal devotion to one’s cause

Blessed: Recognized and saved

Acclaim: to praise enthusiastically and publicly

Exult: Show or feel elation or jubilation, especially as the result of a success

Your throne is built on your guiltless, sinless, and reasonable character.

Deep affection and loyal devotion blaze your trails.

Recognized and saved are those who through life have learned to praise you with enthusiasm before everyone they know, who walk through life knowing you are present and moving.

They celebrate your name from the moment they wake up to the moment they lay their head to rest.

They rejoice in your name all day, because you are their glory and strength, and it is in your favor you raise up our cause.

Love, Chloe

Gethsemane

The Garden of Gethsemane from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

Life Giving

 (a gold miner in Mozambique from National Geographic)

Been on this topic of the mind lately.

How as a follower of Christ, it is no longer I who lives, but Christ in me.

My body is dead, spiritually, purposeless and deteriorating, but my insides, my soul is now spotless and blameless, eternal, because of His death.

It's a regeneration, an eternal second chance.

When given the option, I'll choose incorrectly every time. Without fail. And in this, that God-given righteousness is my only option.

But you see, obedience to Christ, and therefore His spirit within me is a choice. It's active, aggressive even. Life in the Spirit is a choice of the will, but it is only possible because the Cross made it possible. It is a life of peace and fullness.

Want to know what I think is one of the coolest promises given to us as believers?

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 8:5-17

Abba, Father? We can call the God who created starfish, water, popcorn, and baby squirrels the same name that His Son called him? Over and over Jesus cried out Abba, Father. And in Him, we can too.

Because we don't have a spirit of fear, and we do not have to be subject to the wear and tear of brokenness, we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.

Here's how I am approaching it:

1. Memorize catch phrases or verses.

Life is God's forte. (Beth Moore)

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

Worry steals my joy.

God is a God of purpose.

2. Actively choose to not think of things that cause sadness, hopelessness, fear, or unrighteousness. Pull a curtain across mental images. This takes practice and commitment.

3. Recognize that I am powerless against my sin nature apart from the Word and the Spirit of God. No matter how many times I try to choose life, choose well, I will fall apart from Him.

For in him we live and move and have our being... Acts 17:28

4. Keep myself from pollution, fluff, destructive environments, and mindlessness. Just because something isn't blatantly immoral or consequential doesn't mean it is doing me any good.

5. Pray for boldness to choose life, resolve, and vivid reward.

Love, Chloe

I'm going to Uganda!

I'm in a holding pattern. Trying to finish school, researching, learning, resting, all with the goal of being back in Uganda. God has been so incredibly good, that even in a frustrating situation that requires patience, He trudges along with me, and teaches me how to dance. 

So I'm surfin' the web one day, and I come across a Visiting Orphans trip to Gulu, Northern Uganda next May.

My history with northern Uganda goes way back, years even, to my petition-signing, TOMS wearing, activist days. Even in the more recent past, Uganda devastated me with its people, beauty, injustices, and the moving presence of God. 

Well, I'm going back! (At least for 11 days this time...)

Myself, along with Amanda Lawrence, the executive director of VO, and a team of people, will be making the journey to a part of Uganda that has been severely affected by the Lord's Resistance Army and a war that has gone on for far too long.

We will work with Sixty Feet in children's prisons and the Zion Project, a ministry for young Ugandan women who were formally trafficked as well as other orphanages and ministries in the region.

This trip is duel-purposed.

To research and hone in on what types of ministry exist and flourish in Northern Uganda, in the hopes of making Uganda my home in the next couple years.

To experience, taste, see, love, engage, and tell women about the person of Jesus.

This time, I need your help!

For the months to come, I would love for you to pray for me in my long-winded journey en route to central Africa. 

If you would like to donate, click the link on the left of your screen, select "Gulu, Uganda, May 15-26, 2012", and enter my name in the team member field.

Take some time to read the stories of women living in the Zion Project home, and pray with me that God refines, exacts, and creates a story of my own in Uganda. I can't wait to wrap my arms around them!

Love always, Chloe

"I was only 13 when they came while I was asleep and said I must go with them if I didn't want to die."
Florence spent the next 12 years in captivity with LRA rebels. Even though she was only 13, she was given to a man who was 60 years old. "When I refused, they beat me. They wouldn't feed us; we had to eat weeds to survive."
Florence finally escaped only to find out she is HIV positive. She wanted to kill herself, but somehow she found the strength to go on. She is a hard worker and has managed to sell produce to put her children in school, but it is a continual struggle. Just last year, neighbors burned her house down because she is viewed as a soldier after spending so much time with the rebels. But Florence is a survivor and loves to now go preach God's message of hope.

“Life is hard up to now,” Irene says softly. “Terrible things happened in my camp in 2005. Many, many people died.” Her mother and father were killed in that LRA attack while her and her younger siblings ran to a nearby camp to stay with their Aunt. Because this Aunt did not want them, the children began staying in a hut alone and Irene left school to become the sole caretaker for her younger siblings at the age of 13. A young boy came along and convinced her he would take care of her and her family, but once she was pregnant, he left. Her son is now 2 years old, he was a twin, but his brother died at birth. Irene dreams of being able to provide for herself and her family. “Even if I had some small training, like catering, I would be happy.” Zion Project rejoices with Irene for God's provision! Since joining the Zion Project House Irene has begun catering training as she once only dreamed of!

Homesick

Sitting on the Hillside

What does it mean to be a peacemaker?
What is gentleness?
How do I maintain a pure heart?
What is prayer? How do I pray?

All question I am asking myself and others since I have started to study the person of Jesus,
stripping away religion, doctrine, theology, words, confidence, pride, things I've always known.

Knowing about Jesus just isn't enough anymore, you know? I've maxed out on the benefits of being a Christ-follower. You know you aren't pursuing the person of Jesus at all if you reach a limit in your knowledge of Him.

There's this guy, sitting on a hillside overlooking the sparkling waters of the Sea of Galilee, we're all sitting around, some of us looking at him, I'm looking out over the expanse of the sky, the sea, and listening. And he just starts teaching. It's the same stuff we've heard for as long as we can remember, but something about it just isn't familiar. Maybe it's the way He is wording it, maybe I'm just in more of a reflective mood, but then as I listen closer I realize that it's not at all what I thought he was saying.

I used to think that being a law-follower was enough; that all that time I spent making sure I honored my parents, saving my virginity, and holding my tongue when I really had something to say was honorable, pure, and right. I'm sorry sir, but is that enough? I'm supposed to be salty now? What does that even mean? You say you aren't coming to abolish the law, but isn't that exactly what you're doing?

But something about his kind eyes, the way he looks at me, his eloquence keeps me from speaking up, arguing with him.

He is intoxicating. I want to know this Jesus of Galilee. He's an open book, but somehow I can never know enough. The way he touches people, goes against the authorities at be, but somehow everything he does makes sense, like it should've been human law all along.

I don't even know what it means to be salty, but if Jesus said it, I want it. I want to be and learn and see every word that comes from his mouth, even if it means I have to leave things behind.

He's irresistible, beautiful, and there's just something about the person of Jesus that I can't shake, that I want to embody and know.

So I am beginning to ask questions, real, practical questions, sitting on that hillside and asking if he can teach me what salty is, what it means to be a peacemaker, how I can be pure of heart, to tell him about all the things I am mourning.

It's all part of the adventure.

Love, Chloe

When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:


You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.


You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.


You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.


You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.


You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.


You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.


You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.


You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.



Matthew 5:1-10