When the saints

Go here and click the play button on the right and listen to this song.

Pay particular attention towards the end of the song.

Just does something to me.



Lord I have a heavy burden of all I've seen and know
It's more than I can handle
But your word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones
and I cannot let it go

And when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them

Lord it's all that I can't carry and cannot leave behind
it often overwhelms me
but when I think of all who've gone before and lived the faithful life
their courage compells me
And when I'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

I think of Paul and Silas in the prison yard
I hear their song of freedom rising to the stars

I see the shepherd Moses in the Pharohs court
I hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord

I see the long quiet walk along the Underground Railroad
I see the slave awakening to the value of her soul

I see the young missionary and the angry spear
I see his family returning with no trace of fear

I see the long hard shadows of Calcutta nights
I see the sisters standing by the dying man's side

I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come and kicking down the door

I see the man of sorrows and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

And when the Saints go marching in
I want to be one of them





We are not alone.

Many have gone before us and done incredible, impossible, inconceivable things to bring hope, justice, and love to a VERY injustice, hopeless, and self-defeating world.

Do not think its impossible for a second.
Well actually, go ahead and think its impossible, because it is.

But then remember that we were sent into a extremely messed up world for the purpose of doing the impossible.
And its not like we don't have examples to prove to us the possibility of doing the impossible with a mighty God.
I'm almost positive that if I lived in the 1820's, I would have thought that it would be impossible to end slavery. I truly would have thought that.
Thank God some people did not think it was impossible. OR thank God some people knew it was impossible, but believed in and followed a God of impossibilities.

If I was Elizabeth Elliot and her friends, I'm pretty sure I would have thought it would be impossible for the Waodoni people to live in peace and know Jesus, AND THAT I would be one of the people to share that with them AFTER they murdered my husband.
Good thing God empowered her.

Living right now today, I believe it's almost impossible to free the girls in the brothels in India right now, but good thing Kate Brushnell did not believe it was impossible for God to free the girls that were being forced into prostitution during slavery in America.
And good thing there are men and women at International Justice Mission right now, today, freeing those girls from the brothels, because they are following a God of impossibilities.


I want to be one of them.

Ancient Discipline?

I listened to someone talk about some "ancient disciplines."

Things like: fasting, taking communion, reading liturgy, and others I can't remember.
One of them that stuck out to me was: praying at certain times a day, every day.

This kind of made something in me rise up and say 'no, that is too legalistic. That's a box. I don't like boxes.'

But when I really thought about it, I found some solid truth in it, so I decided to just try it out.

She recommended praying at 9, 12, 3, 6, and 9-o'clock. You stop whatever you're doing and you just say a little prayer. If you're at work, just stop for less than a minute and pray about something. Talk to our Father. If you're not doing anything, than you can pray longer! Just whatever. Just a reminder to talk to him in our crazy, busy world

And the point of it is to know that there are others, in the body of christ, praying at the same time as you. It's community. It's uniting your spirits, no matter where you may be. Now, you have to get others to do it with you in your community for that part to be true. Which is what I'm hoping will happen. =)

I've been doing it for like 3 weeks.

When I first thought about it, I thought there was no way it would work because I would just forget....then I realized that my cell phone comes with all these different alarms you can set that, up until now, I had no purpose for! So I set them for noon, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00. (i'm not awake at 9 am a lot so ill skip that).
Most of the time the alarm goes off, I'm with people, talking or something. So I just don't do it right then. (But its still a nice reminded to be thinking about my Father) And that's okay. Other times, I'm doing something alone, so I can stop for about a minute and just lift some things up to Daddy that have been going on in the past few hours. Other times, I'm driving or I'm not really doing much, so I can pray for much longer. But those times are few and far between.

Another thing I first thought about was, 'well juliette, you're kind of always talking to Father, aren't you? Something comes to mind, and you just start talking to him about it. So will this be any different? Why would I need to schedule a time for it, when its a normal almost moment to moment sort of conversation.' So I tried it out to see if that was the case.

Turns out it IS a little different.

First off, Juliette needs things to make her just STOP sometimes, because she is always going, going, going in that head of hers. Even when she's talking to Daddy, it just can get a little crazy and all jumbled together. So this is a time where a physical alarm goes off that then triggers a spiritual and mental alarm inside of me, saying "Stop whatever you're doing or thinking, Juliette, and just breath and talk to your Father. Talk to him about what you're thinking crazily about." And that has been great for me, even when its just one minute.
One minute is better than no minute, eh?

Second off, this will provide a more communal spirit than just praying and talking to God whenever it happens through out my day. Of course, I continue to do taht, but it would be great to know that at these certain times there are other brothers and sisters praying with me. We may be praying about the same things sometimes and most of the time it might be completely different. Who knows!

So I feel no legalism; no boxes; no failures. None of that poop. Just a reminded every now and then, and if I can do it, then I do it! And if not, then oh well!

My invitation to those reading this: join me!
The times are there. Set your own physical or mental alarms.
Do whatever.
Let me know if you would like to try this so we can know we're doing to at the same time.

If its not for you, that's totally cool. I'm just offering, in case some one is interested!

I saw what I saw

Watch this.

I saw what I saw

In the words of my dear friend, Blaire,

"How often have we seen injustice/pain/poverty/etc. and just let it roll right off us?

We're numb to the things around us that don't directly effect us."

We truly are numb to the things around us that don't directly effect us.

And I don't want to be numb.

I admit, sometimes the pain is too much for me to handle and my emotions get out of control about it all.

But it's better than being numb.

There is no life in numbness, can't we agree on that?

If you've felt true numbness in your own life, you know there is no true life in that.

Well I don't want to be numb to others' lives either.

Because we are deeply connected. We are one body. So I can not be numb if the rest of my body is not.