Moving!

I've moved and I would be beyond grateful if you would come stop by my new blog: 

http://ashesandbeauty.wordpress.com/

Much Love,

Jordan

Buyer's Remorse

What am I worth?

I ask this question far more than most people would assume.

You see, I have learned to mask the insecurities and fears that are deep within.

But quite honestly,

I question my value and significance far more than I care to share.

But over the course of the last few days,

Jesus has been revealing a healing message and 

touching the deepest parts of my soul.

It all began with a concept presented at Code Orange Revival:

"Why would you question the worth or value of something that has already been purchased."

The second this sentence was uttered,

something clicked inside of me...

When I go to a store and purchase an item,

I take it home and utilize it for its intended purpose.

I do not walk around my home every day questioning the cost of every item,

wondering if it was worth every cent I paid for it.

It doesn't matter. It's mine. I own it already.

There is no point in negotiating or questioning the value of something,

when that has already been decided. 

So why then should I question my value when I have already been bought with a price?

(1 Corinthians 6:20)

The ultimate price, in fact.

I belong to Jesus Christ now.

I am not my own.

And Jesus does not have buyer's remorse.

Maybe I need to repeat that (for myself included)

JESUS CHRIST DOES NOT HAVE BUYER'S REMORSE. 

He paid the price and has not looked back once.

So why should I?

Maybe you are reading this thinking, "Duh! Where have you been all this time?"

Well, I have been where I am inclined to believe a lot of people are.

I have been believing what satan says to be true about me,

rather than what Jesus does.

But since I have had this minor revelation,

I also came to realize He knows my weaknesses and my tendencies.

So although it is enough to understand my value rests 
in being under the ownership of Christ Jesus.

Anytime, day or night, that I bow at His feet and beg Him to show me my worth in His eyes,

He reveals a new layer, a new dimension, 
a new aspect of my worth in and through Him.

He is patient with us.

He loves us through our insecurities and brokenness.

He yearns for His children to see ourselves as He does.

Rest in knowing that your value was decided at Calvary thousands of years ago.

No More Because I Am Made For More

Yesterday, I was feeling a little ambitious after glancing on Pinterest. 

I ventured over to Hobby Lobby and had quite the crafternoon.

[Excuse the corniness]

I gathered everything I needed to make my first Pinterest masterpiece, 

and I got to work.

However, the entire time, I was thinking thoughts like,

"What in good heavens gave you the idea you could do this?"

"Stop now, you're going to mess this up."

"See, you are messing this up."

"The dumpster is about the only homely place for this piece of work."

By the end of the process, I felt condemned...

about a craft nonetheless.

It sounds crazy, I know it does, and maybe I am,

but I could not stop thinking about the 

thought process that ruined my crafternoon.

You see, the end result may have ended up the very same 

as it would have if I had a positive outlook and 

chosen to refute those thoughts,

but the experience was entirely different.

My experience was highly unenjoyable, 
though it had the potential to be enjoyable.

I think life is like that.

More specifically, I think my daily life is like that.

I don't get to enjoy the experience or the process

because I am basking in condemnation.

It hurts, it is awful, and I hate it,

but I accept it and take ownership over it.

So that by the end of an experience, 

I am so wounded and winded from the journey 

that I can't even enjoy the outcome.

Thoughts like,

"How could someone so weak be used by the Lord."

"Cute couple. Better admire from afar. 

That's as close to a Godly relationship as you'll ever get."

"Why try, you will only fail."

"If you looked like her, maybe then..."

You see the destructive nature of these condemning lies and accusations?

No wonder I lay may head to sleep at night 

feeling as though I just fought World War 3. 

I did, in my mind, and I lost.

But I decided yesterday that because, 

"There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus," 

(Romans 8:1) I will not carry condemnation into my daily life any longer.

This too will be a process of change,

but Christ speaks life and love,

so why should I accept anything less?

I do not want to get to the end of my life, 

whenever that may be,

and realize that though the end result looks similar,

I did not enjoy the experiences and the process,

because condemnation ruled in my heart.

Satan wins a victory when I allow this to happen.

He loves to see us so beaten and battered along the journey 

that our destination is no longer desirable.

But we were made for more. 

Choose to believe what Christ says to you and about you. 

My Safe Place

I would be lying if I said reading the Word of God has always been

 something I was extremely passionate about.

I would be lying if I said that I lived with a insatiable hunger 

and an unquenchable thirst for His word at all times.

However, I have found that in this season of my life, 

my safe place has become the Word.

Lately, I'll catch myself thinking,

"If I can just sit down and get in the Word."

Why so?

I think I've come to realize that there is security in knowing that when I don't have much certainty to stand on, when I don't have the answers, when the future is unclear,

the privilege and honor of opening up God breathed scripture is comparable to none other.

For a moment in time, when I choose to stop the striving and be still before Him,

I can trust that there is no uncertainty about the fact that His Word is true, without error, unchanging. 

And peace flows like a river from that understanding.

Because when I can trust nothing else,

being able to fling every ounce of my security 

onto the only One who can carry that weight is relief at its finest. 

Are you burdened, desperate, confused, or feeling alone tonight?

Fling yourself onto the One who died to give you an easy yoke and a light burden.

If you are looking for a safe place,

may I encourage you to share with me in mine.

You will never be more safe and secure than 

the very moment where you are firmly rooted in the Word of God. 

Psalm 18:2

The Lord is my rock & my fortress & my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

If that is not a safe place, 

I am not sure where else is.

Jesus>Religion

religion says [do] when Jesus says [done].

It Is Finished.

3 Million

When I last posted, 

I spoke of the $1,000,000 given in just two days

 by the 42,000 college students at 

the Passion Conference this year in Atlanta. 

However, I said, "to stay tuned, because we were not finished yet."

And that we were not.

By the end of the conference,

over 3,000,000 dollars was given to end modern day slavery.

We are a generation said to be obsessed with 

consuming unreal amounts of Ramen,

 spending all of our free time at the movies, 

and constantly being hyped up on Starbucks. 

But really, 

we are a generation fighting for freedom,

for justice,

for the name and cause of Jesus Christ. 

We are a generation that gave over $3,000,000 in just 4 short days.

That is 8,571,429 packs of Ramen,

300,000 movie tickets,

1,714,286 tall Starbucks coffees.

I know that numbers do not mean everything. 

But that number - $3,000,000 - 

will help to change the number - 27 million - of slaves in the world today.

So, in a sense, numbers do matter quite a bit.

In fact, the message that was sent to the world by donating to fight for freedom,

spoke so loudly that CNN caught wind of it. 

However, we are fighting to end more than literal slavery in the world,

we are fighting to bring people out from under the bondage of sin,

and that freedom is found in Christ alone. 

You see, freeing 27 million people from slavery would be a good thing,

but freeing 27 million people from slavery and sin,

by presenting them with the gift of freedom & eternal salvation,

will be a God thing.

Let it not be said of us that we did not get in the fight. 

We are not looking for excuses, we are not indifferent, 

we are passionate.

God is at work in and among us. 

Oh, what a glorious, holy mystery. 

We are the freedom generation. 

Freedom Generation

http://live.268generation.com/

Having someone believe in you is arguably one of the most empowering things ever for a human being. Unfortunately, many adults are quick to condemn and write off this generation, my generation.

To be honest, it is disheartening, because I see the potential. 

I see women my age committing to purity and to ministry.

I witness men surrendering their lives to Christ & falling passionately in love with the Word of God.

No, we are not perfect, but we are redeemed. 

The potential and power, through Christ, of those redeemed must never be discounted. 

And, thankfully, at a 'little' gathering called Passion, that potential was and is being proven. 

You see, a couple by the name of Louie and Shelly Giglio chose to not write my generation off, they chose to believe in us, and I am forever grateful.

The Giglios not only chose to believe in us,

 they have invested their lives to empower us through Passion. 

This annual conference of college-aged students attracted 40,000+ young Jesus lovers to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia this year. 

I have watched religiously online, because at the last minute, I wasn't able to go this year.

The experience has been far different from watching on a computer screen,

but the Lord is moving both here and there. 

If you happen to have read a few of my recent posts, first, bless you : )

and secondly, you may have noticed something that has been heavy on my heart this year: 

modern day slavery.

Ending this injustice has been a focal point of Passion this year.

Ignorance is not an excuse for my generation any longer,

because we have been equipped with the crippling facts 

about the 27 million people living in chains today.

We weren't looking for excuses though,

we were looking to step up,

and that we did!

In just two days,

the 42,000 college students at Passion raised over 1 million dollars to free slaves worldwide. 

Stay tuned, because we aren't finished yet.

We are hungry for freedom, hungry for justice, hungry for Jesus.

I cannot help but think what the outcome of 42,000 driven Saints fighting against slavery would be. 

In fact, I am choosing to believe we will bring an end to modern day slavery. 

Audacious? 

Yes.

But I'm tired of sitting back, wondering.

We are acting, we will continue to act, to move, to change things,

through the limitless and abundant power of Jesus Christ.

Christine Caine delivered an extremely powerful message at Passion about slavery and something she stated has stuck with me ever since,

"the light shines brightest in the darkness."

Slavery is darkness defined. 

We are children of the light. 

And we must step outside our comfortable clusters of light

and penetrate the darkness.

To the 42,000 Passionate lovers of the Lord,

let us bring the freedom we have been given in Christ

to the 27 million worldwide who know nothing of life outside of captivity. 

May we truly be known as the Freedom Generation. 

Passion goers giving to freedom. 

Passion.

Wow. We are united for freedom. 

Corduroy

I had the privilege of spending New Years Eve with one of my most favorite people in the world: 

Miss Lily Claire. 

She didn't quite make it to the New Year because her bed time came around 8 pm, but we had a ball nonetheless. 

I have learned a lot from this precious girl in her short 3 years of life. 

The concept of childlike faith has really taken on an all new meaning because of her. 

As bedtime rolled around this evening, one of my favorite childhood storybooks was on tab for tonight:

Corduroy. 

It's a must read...really : )

Odd as it may seem, while reading this book about a Teddy Bear who misplaces a button on his Overalls, I was reminded of a portion of the redemption process. 

At the end of the book, Teddy Bear Corduroy is finally purchased and given a home despite his flaw of a missing button. 

His new loving owner, sits him down gently on her lap and says,

"I like you just the way you are,

but you will be more comfortable 

with your shoulder strap fastened,"

and proceeds to sew a brand new button on Corduroy's Overalls.

This may seem overly simplistic,

but this story reminded me a lot of what Christ has done for each of us. 

We were all once orphans, longing for a home, characterized by many flaws,

just like Corduroy the bear. 

And we too had a loving owner come along and choose to overlook our flaws and take us in.

I believe Christ is saying,

"I love you just the way that you are,

but you will be more comfortable like this..."

and so He begins to transform us bit by bit.

I don't believe that means the transformation process is comfortable.

In fact, I believe we can often expect this process to be seemingly unbearable, 

but when we remember Who is renovating us,

we can trust that His ways are higher.

As 2012 quickly approaches and I reflect on the season of life that I have found myself in,

I believe Christ is reminding me that He has given me a home, adopted me into His family,

loves me just as am, and is therefore changing me day by day.

Don't miss the process, don't fear the pain,

be still and let the power of God transform you,

in the coming year and all of the rest. 

We Are

If you have yet to hear Kari Jobe's newest release,

take a couple minutes to watch the acoustic version above. 

This is worship. 

Every secret, every shame
Every fear, every pain
Live inside the dark
But that's not who we are
We are children of the day

So wake up sleeper, lift your head
We were meant for more than this
Fight the shadows conquer death
Make the most of the time we have left

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine

 
Let the light shine, let the light shine

We are called to the spread the news
Tell the world the simple truth
Jesus came to save, there's freedom in His Name
So let his love break through

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine
We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine

Battle

Silence. 

I have been silent lately because i felt as though the Lord was being silent.

I came to a realization this weekend, after the Lord graciously allowed me to see my sin...

He was and is not silent,

I have selective hearing. 

When I set my pride aside, I was able to hear what He was saying.

It was hard.

I didn't like it.

But He is making me new.

His love for me is so deep, so profound, that He will not leave me where I am,

despite how much I think I may want to stay here.

When I chose to listen, He taught me a marvelously painful lesson: 

So often as Christians, we assume our job, our purpose even, 

is to 'have it all together,' to be joyful and content and patient in affliction.

And while these are fruit of a relationship with the Lord,

we are never called to ignore, diminish, or hide 

areas of sin in our life for fear of being less than the 'good Christian.' 

In fact, I am beginning to believe the Lord loathes this common trend amongst Christ followers.

We will never be transformed to the likeness of Christ if we put all of our time and energy into "having it all together."

So I am here to say that I don't.

In fact, the Lord is beginning what I have no doubt will be one of the most painful reconstruction projects in my life that I will ever endure.

But I am not avoiding it any longer,

and if that means I don't fit the "good Christian" mold,

so be it.

I am a work in progress,

I am dependent on my Savior,

I am safe in His arms,

and I don't think He would have it any other way. 

What area of your life has pride not allowed the Lord's transforming power to permeate?

Give it up.

I believe it is far more honorable, noble and courageous to honestly lay your sin and burdens at the foot of the cross than it is to attempt to conceal them.

Let Him work, beloved. Let Him move and transform.

It's His speciality. 

Standing in a restaurant yesterday, 

I noticed a quote by Theodore Roosevelt hanging in a frame on the wall 

that really gripped me...

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

I want to be one who is in the arena,

who is marred and has battle wounds, 

because we are in a war. 

My cause is Christ and my loss is gain. 

The victory has already been won,

but I want to that victory to reign true in my own life. 

Let us battle. 

Vanished

In a recent post, I spoke about my burden for modern day slavery and human trafficking,

with an emphasis on the need for awareness and action.

Since then, I have continued educating myself on these issues 

and have honestly been broken over my findings.

One book that has greatly opened my eyes is Half The Sky 

by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. 

I highly encourage you to take the time to read it for yourself, 

but I want to share a view portions that have furthered my zeal for action. 

Below you will find a few facts extracted from Half The Sky:

39,000 baby girls die annually in China because parents don't give them the same medical care and attention that boys receive - and that is just in the first year of life. 

In India, a "bride burning" - to punish a woman for an inadequate dowry or to eliminate her so a man can remarry - takes place approximately once every two hours, but rarely is found to be news worthy. 

In Pakistan, Isalamabad, and Rawalpindi, 5,000 women and girls 

have been doused in kerosine and set alight by family members or in-laws - or perhaps worse, been seared with acid - for 

perceived disobedience just in the last nine yeas. 

Amartya Sen, the ebullient Nobel Prize - winning economist, has developed a gauge of gender inequality that is a striking reminder of the stakes involved. 

"More than 100 million women are missing."

Did you catch that?

100 million women are missing.

Think about the profound impact that your 

mother, wife, sister, daughter, and so on have had on your life.

Now consider your life without them,

as if they had just completely vanished from the face of this Earth,

because that is what has happened to 100 million women.

100 million world changers.

100 million nurturing mothers.

100 million loving sisters.

100 million wise grandmothers.

GONE.

You see, women statistically have a longer lifespan than males, 

so in much of the world there are more females in males. 

However, in places where girls have a deeply unequal status, they vanish. 

2 million women disappear every single year as a result of gender discrimination.

Successive research on gender discrimination has proven that in India, 

a little girl dies from discrimination every four minutes. 

How is this so? When a little boy in India is in need of medical care, He is taken to the hospital. When a young girl is in the same situation, her parents often times choose to wait it out, eventually resulting in the child dying a preventable death. 

More girls have been killed in the last 50 years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the battles of the twentieth century. 

This is the reality of the world that we live in today.

Prior to reading Half the Sky,

the weight of gender discrimination did not resonate with me at all.

In America, gender discrimination is typically confined to issues such as

unequal pay and a crude gesture here and there in the workplace.

I acknowledge that these are problems,

but America will have truly reached the pinnacle of a nation without virtue

if we are at the point where we would rather spend time

 fighting for equal pay amongst men and women,

rather than working to end maternal mortality, sex trafficking, and gender violence,

which are direct results of gender discrimination. 


Better yet, where is the Church in terms of these issues?
We serve a God who came to this Earth to proclaim a radical message of
freedom and liberty for those held captive,
a message that swam greatly against the tide of society,
by proclaiming that 
"In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female."
We must get out of the pews, out of our million dollar sanctuaries, 
out of our state of comfortable Christianity, 
and do something. 

Please hear me out,

the 50 cents less that women in America earn in comparison with men

is a form of discrimination,

but this is not a life or death issue.

To women in China, Pakistan, Istanbul, and countless other foreign countries,

gender discrimination demands their life.

In fact, every year, gender discrimination will claim 2 million female lives. 

Women's ministry has been my passion for some time now,
but I never understood the weight of this call until I opened my eyes to the plight of women today.
Satan is after women, and I firmly believe that He is
fighting with the full force and fury of hell to see to it that 
gender discrimination continues on the path which it is currently taking.


John 10:10 says that "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy," 
but Christ has come that "they may have life, and have it to the full."
Modern day slavery and the extinction of millions of women
marks the success of Satan's goal and desire:
to steal, kill and destroy.


May we embody the will of Christ as we act out of 
His strength and for His glory to 
bring the abundant life in Christ
to the modern day slaves who are begging for you and I to speak and act on their behalf.

Joy

I had one of those moments today where I was just overwhelmed with joy.

With my favorite winter Starbucks drink in hand,

(tall skinny peppermint mocha for any of you wanting to know the key to my heart)

being subtly serenaded by the beautiful voice of Brooke Fraser,

watching the sunset on a cool fall afternoon,

I could not help but smile.

No, this Earth is not our home,

every day we are at war with our very selves,

but there are subtle reminders of goodness all around 

and constant opportunities to choose joy.

The Lord longs to captivate our hearts and very lives.

But we must open our eyes to His presence and stirring.

And in those moments, I believe the peace of His presence brings an assurance of joy.

1 Peter 1:8-9 reminds us that "Though [we] have not seen him, [we] love him.

Though [we] do not now see him, [we] believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Here is the realization I came to:

Joy in a world fixed with such sorrow points to someone worth being joyous over.

Joy turns our focus heavenward and glorifies the Father. 

Choose joy today.

Rejoice in salvation, rejoice in knowing that your Heavenly Father delights in you.

Set The Captives Free

Isaiah 61 became a passage of refuge during a season of my life where I needed to constantly be reminded that the Lord desires "to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty, and open the prison doors to those who are bound." 

During this time, I learned that the heart of the Lord is freedom. 

He desires that His children live life unencumbered and unfettered.

Time and time again, Isaiah 61 began to show up after I came to Samford.

I thought it was just a wonderful reminder of the place the Lord had delivered me from,

but it has become so much more.

I remember sitting at Brook Hills one Sunday morning, the first time I heard this passage applied to a subject area that has since captivated the core of my being: human trafficking.

Over the years, I heard tidbits of information about those 'extreme' scenarios in foreign countries where a young girl would be abducted and sold into a life of modern day slavery, being used and abused for sex.

This was a harsh but distant reality for so long, 

until the Lord brought me out of the darkness of my own naivety. 

Literally every day, one piece of information after another has bombarded my comfortable reality to the point that I simply cannot passively sit back and act as if I do not know that which I now do.

Human trafficking is not a distant issue or something of the past.

It is taking place in the very airports that we fly in and out of,

as a result of the products that we purchase,

in the restaurants we dine in,

as well as in foreign countries.

My heart is so broken over this issue, because it could not stand in any greater opposition to the gospel.

The gospel brings light, this is darkness.

The gospel brings freedom, this is captivity.

How can we as Christians proclaim the freedom of the gospel to people living in physical chains?

Freedom is a foreign concept to them.

There are more than 27 million people in modern day slavery.

There are currently 2.1 billion people who proclaim to have faith in Christ. 

We can bring an end to modern day slavery.

Here is what we cannot do:

We cannot remain uninformed. Choose to educate yourself on the realities of human trafficking.

We cannot remain inactive. Do something! So often we question "what the Lord's will is for our life."  He undoubtedly desires freedom for these slaves.

 "For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong." 

These are the words of the Lord.

Human trafficking is unjust and wrong,

and therefore the object of the Lord's hatred.

By actively doing nothing,

we are no better than the pimps exploiting young women in Africa,

or the factory owners overworking boys in China.

With this one voice and this one life I have been given,

I will not turn a blind eye to this issue.

I will speak and act on behalf of the 27 million in bondage,

because I know what it is like to be a slave set free.

In fact, every Christian can resonate with the concept of bringing brought out of captivity.

Join me in the effort to end modern day slavery.

If you would like to begin acting to end human trafficking,

here are a few resources that I have found quite helpful:

Organizations

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

http://www.ijm.org/

http://www.traffick911.com/

http://www.wellspringliving.org/

http://www.tinyhandsinternational.org/

http://www.polarisproject.org/

Books

God in a Brothel by Daniel Walker

Not for Sale by David Batstone

Passport Through Darkness by Kimberly Smith

Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof 

The Slave Next Door by Kevin Bales

Action

Before purchasing products, research to see whether the company is itself perpetuating the slave trade or is engaging in fair trade.

Buying products from a company that utilizes slave labor in its supply chain is 

only furthering the prevalence of human trafficking.

http://www.free2work.org/home