Me, unmasked.

Tonight was IPOC's event: "Unmasked: A mother/daughter masquerade."

The funny thing was, I went into the planning, thinking, even honestly believing that everyone that came to this event would be impacted. I didn't even dream that would include me.

But God is amazing like that.

He takes the experiences, the opportunities that we are to go through, and uses them in our lives.

I believe that Cass, who headed up the whole thing, would say the same.


This event has been a dream for over a year. Andrea Rasmussen had it in her heart to put this together early last fall. She met multiple times with several individuals to get it in the works, and had even set a date for early August of this year. But as that day got closer, several things factored in that made us have to postpone it.

In stepped Cass, willing & full of heart, who boldly began to flesh out what this dream would look like as reality. She met with Shawn & Sarah Withy-Allen, worked out the budget, and coordinated performers. Yet, even with all of her administrative giftings, it was still clear in all of this that it was ultimately God pulling it all together.

The dance that God laid on Cass' heart became a vision that was imparted to Andele & Ashley.

The monologue that Cass' found became a burning passion within Brandie's heart.

The decor became a reality; it turned out beautifully with the help of many willing hands (thank you everyone who helped!!).

The speakers were kind enough to agree to come and share their wisdom with us- Thank you Mrs. Gloria Cotten & Mrs. Cheryl Rasmussen for all of your time in preparation & in teaching.

If there is one thing that this night has caused me to realize, it is that God is the dream giver and the dream fulfiller. He puts these incredible dreams in our hearts, and if they are in line with His will, He will ultimately bring them to pass.

All creativity is ultimately from God- and this night was a convergence of God's creative heart on so many levels- the magnitude of it all simply takes my breath away.

So back to the whole story of how I was impacted personally...

In the past year, the Lord has brought me through so much healing. It has been a process of growing, being stretched, and trusting completely in His goodness. Recently, I've been feeling like I am in such a place of vulnerability. It's as if all is stripped away. Everything that has been a barrier in the past between myself and my King, it has slowly been turned into rubble, and now it's being cleared away.

Tonight, I honestly did believe that I would come away with some nugget of truth.

Yet, I came away with so much more. I came away with the reality of the overwhelming love of my Savior. The sense of unshakeable protection within His arms of love. The security of realizing that He is always with me. And with the earth-shaking truth that no matter how sinful I am, God's righteousness covers my my iniquity. Nothing that I do can ever change that.

I've tried to hide from Him. I've tried to hide from myself. Yet as I stood in the embrace of a dear friend, I realized that I didn't need to hide.

Why do we hide?

It's the same reason that Adam & Eve hid in the garden: we are ashamed.

Ashamed of our sin. Ashamed of our vulnerability - our brokenness.

Why is it ok for people to be all crazy & happy, yet we shrink back if someone is honest in sharing their true feeling of pain or guilt?

It makes us uncomfortable.

Yet Jesus comes and covers us with His feathers, in the shadow of His wings. He whispers words of comfort, love, and adoration. He has set us apart as a people for Himself. He will not be satisfied until we are consumed with a passion for Him and His name. Let us be a people set apart for His name and His renown. Let us now grow weary in doing good- let us reach out to the hurting, the broken, the lost & lonely sinners.

Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me/I once was lost but now I'm found- was blind but now I see.

I have been broken. I once was shattered. Yet the hand of the Lord has restored.

How can I do anything less than share this gift of life with others, who are lost and dying?

Reach out. The world doesn't need to hear a really good sermon.

They need to see love in action; be the light that shines so brightly it catches their eye.

Once they see the difference in your life, they will want 'it' too.

Majestic.

Simply in awe of the majesty of God's creation.

God knows us, in and out, better than we ourselves.

He knew that I went to these beautiful gardens a couple months ago, that featured a wildlife exhibit. They had rehabilitated owls, and I "named" them all...I believe the first one was Horace, the second was Theodore,
and the female owl was Rosaline.

It was kind of hilarious, because I had rationalized that owls represent
wisdom, so they had to have scholarly sounding names to match.

Recently, I read an article in Creation magazine, on how marvelous owls are. I enjoyed learning more, as I had obviously been admiring them immensely as of late.

Did you know that they can almost rotate their heads all the way around? That's because their neck muscles are specially constructed so that they have an unusually high level of flexibility in that area. Also, their eyes are HUGE in proportion to their body. If they were as big as humans are, they would look really creepy because their eyes would be so big.


Tonight, I was leaving a party, and this house was back in sort of a forest. I was walking to my car, and I saw what appeared to be an enormous bat overhead. At first, I just paused and watched. Then, I realized it must be some sort of bird of prey. As soon as it had perched in a tree, I saw these huge eyes gazing back at me.

It was an owl. I decided right then and there that his name was Hubert.

But the cool thing was, that he was probably only 10-15 feet above me when he took flight.
I got to see his wing span- it was between 4-5' it seemed.
The majesty of flight in that moment was indescribable.

I probably didn't make Hubert too happy by turning the brights on my car, but I just had to get a better look. I wanted to see what his features were so I could look up what species he was. Which reminds me, I will probably go do that now; I love classifying birds.

This experience left me in awe of a God who could be so incredibly creative in His design.

Divine Focus

Divine Focus.


This is my prayer.

This is my one request.

That God would show me exactly what it is that is key right now,

what is simply a distraction or something that is extra or excess.


I used to say "yes" to different activities, only to become burnt out.

How is it glorifying to God if we are tired, drained, worn-out Christians?

It simply isn't the way that God has called us to live!

In order to be effective, we need to dwell in God's peace.


This is the mark of Christ: His fragrance.

How can we truly 'smell' of Christ if we aren't dwelling IN Christ?

How do we expect to react to a situation in a Godly way if we haven't

experienced the love of God, being poured into our hearts, or felt the

renewal of our minds by the power of God's word?


What I long for: to know that I am exactly where God wants me to be.



Oh, how I love to simply hear His voice, instead of the constant noise of this hurried life.

To simply
Breathe.
Pause.
Reflect.


It purifies.


Purify our hearts, Lord.

Purify our minds.

Let us be a people who are set apart for Your name, and Your renown.

Oh Jesus, let us not be pulled away by all of the distractions of this world.

Let us fix our gaze upon You, Father.

To know You, Father, is our hearts cry.

Jesus, we are the reward of your suffering.

Let us see You, Lord. One glimpse brings us to our knees in awe of

Your glorious splendor.

-Lysandra Elena

(Ps. 119:32)
"I run in the path of Your commands, for you have set my heart free."