Divine Interventions

The Lord has been very thoughtful and loving towards me. He has set many people in my path to be an ear to listen, a voice to pray, a hand to hold or simply arms to embrace me.

He has brought these divine interventions through conversations, not having to eat dinner alone when I thought I would, a glass of water, just the right amount of money to send out packages, a note from a friend and friends that are going through similar troubles and can relate to me and pray with me.

He Is Faithful

"My hope is in you God, I am steadfast, I will not be moved, my anchor is never shaken, all my hope is in you...

I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love,

for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to my enemies but [you] have set me in a safe place.

- Psalm 31:7-8

I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health.

-Psalm 30:1-2

He's bringing hope to the hopeless, giving his heart to the broken, sharing his home with the orphan, he is the joy, he is my joy, he is the hope of the nations, the fathers heart we're embracing, he is the song we're declaring, he is the joy, he is my joy."

- Hope's Anthem by Bethel Live

...I'm not saying this is easy, I'm just saying that this is how I'm seeing God work - what I'm going through is actually really difficult - God is SO good in it. I want to have a thankful heart and become like the God I worship.

I lift my eyes up, my help comes from The LORD

Jesus, you are my Rock, you are my strength, my refuge, my life, my love. You will always come through. You are faithful and you take care of the needy and comfort me when I need it the most. You know that I am dust; that I am fragile and limited. You know how you wired me father. Just like a Pansy flower - I look fragile, but I am the last one standing...Only because of you. Without you life would be hopeless my father. But because of you I have hope and salvation - FREEDOM. Here I am seeing how much I need you. I am seeing how you answer prayers of me acknowledging my total dependence on you papa. Thank you father for ALL of the amazing blessings in my life. Only you could know exactly what I need, even when I think I know what is best. I pray that all of this truth would sink in deep. I pray for peace to fill my heart as I enter into this new season. I pray for joy to produce from trials, and that I would see each trial as a chance for more joy and growth. Lord, Open my eyes to how you are working in my life everyday - I yearn to be dependent on you abba.

My foes are many, they rise against me
But I will hold my ground
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way

Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always

Troubles surround me, chaos abounding
My soul will rest in You
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way

Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always

I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
From You Lord, from You Lord

Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always

Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always, always

One Thing Remains

"Nothing stays the same, but change."

...Didn't I say that at the beginning of the summer? Well, that is because it is true. Here I am with one week left of summer. In one week I will be, beginning my junior year of college. I will be living in an apartment with three other girls and hopefully having a job (very much needed). It's just crazy that the summer went by SO fast. It was nothing like I thought it would look like, but it was so good.

Here are some verses and a song that have spoken to me this summer:

Isaiah 41:14b-16:

I am the Lord, your Redeemer.
I am the Holy One of Israel.’
¹⁵ You will be a new threshing instrument
with many sharp teeth.
You will tear your enemies apart,
making chaff of mountains.
¹⁶ You will toss them into the air,
and the wind will blow them all away;
a whirlwind will scatter them.
Then you will rejoice in the Lord.
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 45:2:

² This is what the Lord says:

“I will go before you, Cyrus,
and level the mountains.^[a]
I will smash down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
³ And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—
secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

Psalms 138:8

⁸ The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains
One thing remains

Your love never fails it never gives up it never runs out on me
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jesus_culture/one_thing_remains.html ]
On and one and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never ever have to be afraid
One thing remains

In death and in life I'm confident and covered by the power of your great love
My debt is paid there's nothing that can separate my heart from your great love

-One thing Remains by Jesus Culture

"A Noble Warrior Does Not Run From Fear"

The child of God Papa has created me to be does not live in fear. The daughter, so loved by Papa, lives with an adventurous and trusting heart. No matter how small or fragile I may feel I am strong because of Jesus: Not out of my own strength, but out of depending on Him. When I look at this picture of Reepicheep from Narnia this is what is stirred in my heart. He is expectant. Nothing holds him back. He sees life as an adventure, and even when troubles arise he sees the good. He is also there for those that others may be annoyed by.

The word noble fits him so well. He lives with honor because he keeps his heart set on the one who made him and takes great joy in him. Reepicheep knows he is safe, even when his circumstances would like to tell him otherwise. As I was beginning this post, I was listening to the song "Always" by Kristian Stanfill. At the same time I was looking at this picture and felt as if these were the words that may be going through Reepicheep's head:

"I will not fear His promise is true, my God will come through always."

I pray that I would become more and more like this.

Family

This summer has been one of great growth. I too, along with Ser, have been living in the basement of the Kundel's residence. Last night my brother asked, "So are the Kundels having an orphanage over at their house or something?" The answer is No...it's just me and Ser. I decided to take this step of faith in order to leave the house of rebellion (FEAR) and enter the house of the Lord. I needed to make a geographical change in order for emotional and spiritual change to happen. Needless to say, even though it was hard, I have seen the fruit of obeying my Papa. He has given me His power to stand against Fear and my voice within His strength. I am also learning that I am not responsible for other people's feelings and I am not at risk when others are feeling however they may be feeling: negative or positive. I am also learning I can be myself and be where I am at with Papa -- He wants my heart.

Last night I got the chance to spend time with my family. I felt so blessed. I got to have dinner with my mom and brother and go on our walk with fifi (our dog), my mom, brother, my mom's friend and her dog. It was such a blessing to spend time with my brother and talk about life and wounds of our past. Both of us can understand one another when it comes to our past more than maybe any other human being could because we both experienced the exact same thing. At the same time I have some friends that are experiencing loss and pain that breaks my heart. Although it is hard to know they are going through that, I feel very blessed to have moments with my family because life is so fragile. I have been reminded of this in the past few days.

I praise God for the time I get to spend with my family and what God is doing in each of our lives. It is so crazy how God can use anything and everything to get to us. He is so working in my families life and I am just ready to keep obeying Him. The Lord IS good.

Choices

We all have to make them. Daily, hourly, minute by minute; once we wake up to the moment we lay our head back down on our pillows we are making choices whether we are aware of it or not. We choose what we will wear, what we will have for breakfast or if we will eat breakfast to who we will talk to that day or who we want to associate ourselves with. What we choose determines a whole lot. God has been presenting me with many choices lately. They are not easy, but truly all I have to say is "yes" or "no." It's as if I am looking at a trail, mapping out which path to take. I see the two paths ahead of me and what they contain. That's what God does - He shows us clearly what each path has in store for us and then we get to choose. The path that He has for us in each point of healing is obviously the one he wants for us. And I am seeing how my "yes" is very important right now. My choice determines how my life can look. There is a path of destruction and there is a path of life. I'm realizing that God is sooooo gracious with me because he lets me sort it out. I get to think through what I'm feeling and then see what I really want. I always end up saying yes, surrendering and seeing how I really don't want destruction. I believe that I have come a long way to be able to make these choices and take these courageous steps. This truly is where the rubber meets the road, crossing boarders and into the house of the Lord I go, one step at a time. One Choice at a time.

Change.

"When life seems unpredictable and uncertain...

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
-Hebrews 13:8

We take our first breath of terrestrial air in total shock. Christ alone is unchanged and will remain unchanged for all of eternity. We, on the other hand, are in constant, hair raising, stomach-turning flux. As the old saying goes, nothing stays the same but change. The truth is, God uses change to change us. He doesn't use it to destroy us or to distract us but to coax us to the next level of character, experience, compassion, and destiny." - The Promise of Security by Beth Moore

I have been experiencing a lot of change lately, and it is not easy. Each thing that is changing in my life makes me feel uncomfortable. I feel at risk. What I know to be true is that what is changing in my life is actually bringing me to safer places. Safety is found in the name of the Lord and the Lord is everything that is true.

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe." -Proverbs 18:10

Much of the change in my life that is happening is inward change. It is me choosing to walk out of darkness into light, out of the house of rebellion into the house of the Lord, out of sin into truth. It is time for Jamie Boone to grow up a bit more. And that calls for change. I know in my mind that this is good. Even though it is unknown, feels scary, and brings up many emotions, it is good. I believe these changes are coming from my Father God. And that is why I surrender to Him. And I have found that there is a feeling of great freedom in surrender, knowing that God is good and He knows what He is doing.
I so know that this is what He is calling me to.
Truth is: it's not easy, but it's good.

-Jamie