the wednesday of guts

so tomorrow i'm speaking at youth. yikes! it wasn't exactly my plan but whatever. it's too late to change things now! obviously i'm super super super nervous about it, but i'm believing God will calm my nerves and that my words will be annointed.


What is worship & how can I live my life according to it?

What is worship? Merriam Webster derives the word from the Middle English worshipe: worthiness, respect, reverence paid to a divine being, and from Old English weorthscipe: worthiness, respect; from weorth worthy, worth + -scipe –ship.
*Reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also: an act of expressing such reverence.
*A form of religious practice with its creed and ritual
*Extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem

In today’s culture most would simply point to the Sunday morning singing, and the clapping or raising of the hands. Yes, that’s correct, but that description only scratches the surface of the true meaning of worship, and what our hearts are called and created for.
Romans 12:1 ‘Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship’.
‘…present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship’. This scripture even states that worship is more than Sunday morning; our bodies are the holy temple of the living God, meaning that we are to represent His dwelling place with pride and honor. Whether this is in the way we dress therefore upholding a Godly appearance, being mindful of the media we watch and listen to, for what you put in is what comes out and is evident in the fruits we bear, (Jn. 15) the things we say, the thoughts forming in our minds, or the way we interact with others, all of it reflects worship, our worth offering, our life sacrifice. Let every act of your body in living be an act of worship. That is, let every act of your living body be a demonstration that God is your treasure, that Christ is more precious to you than anything else, let it be a death to all that dishonors Christ.
Colossians 3:17 ‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him’.

In the song “The Heart of Worship” the words pinpoint the mindset each worshipper should take, “I'll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself is not what you have required. You search much deeper within, through the way things appear; you’re looking into my heart.” Only the Father knows your heart’s intent; just because you can raise your hands, bend at the knee and sing the words on the screen, they mean nothing if your heart isn’t connected. Are you sincere in what you say? Do you sing one thing, profess that “it’s all about you God”, “I surrender all”, “So I’ll stand with arms high and heart abandoned…my soul Lord to You surrendered, all I am is Yours”. Do the words that pass your lips hold worth? What is worship if it holds no value, if it becomes just an ‘act’, just a ‘ritual’ as Webster put it? There’s no need for worship to be a show and tell of how passionate and right you are in your walk with Christ. Your worship should be intimate—just you and God. “When the music fades and all is stripped away”, come and sit at the feet of your maker. Abandon yourself, let the one who thought you into existence capture your heart again and again and again; become vulnerable to His ways. You don’t need a worship band, a room full of jumping and excited people, only the love the King of Kings has set upon your heart. Ask yourself, what is at the core of my actions, my thoughts, my desires, my time, my life? Offer your praise to the one who is self-deserving, because he loved us first—even when we weren’t even worthy.
John 4:23- ‘Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks’. When it comes down to it, that is the heart of worship.
The point I’m trying to reach is that in your acts of worship, let all that you are, and all that you do become a sign of your reverence, your love, adoration, service, submission, acknowledgement of the Lord your God, the King of Kings, and your father who loves you unconditionally.

fanciful ideas

so i think i'm gonna continue drawing my little creatures, and maybe start painting them on canvas, perhaps sell them?
or scan them in somehow and get them on a t-shirt or bag.

i believe that i'm crafty enough.
there's a website called etsy.com, and as i've been scanning different sellers' profiles, i've gotten some ideas, and i'd love to learn how to become good with the sewing machine. i think this would be a fun and money earning endeavor during my college chapter. :)

work in progress.

so it's july 4 already, and in just a matter of weeks i'm officially off to college. august 10--the marking point of new: chapters, friends, experiences, struggles, information, treasures. i can't help but be overwhelmingly excited/anxious, but at the same time, in doing so i realize i'm pushing the now to the wayside. scary. how often will i be able to wake up at eleven, mop the floor, then play uno with my sister and her boyfriend? how often will i make a million trips to Meadowlakes? how often will my friends and i schedule late night worship on the golf course? how often will i have 11:00 pm visitors sitting in my living room? how often will i celebrate family with our lives all waiting to spring up into all newness? mom is now a 3rd grade teacher. dad's construction has him up to his neck in business. sarah is on her own in high school. i'm going to brownwood. it's as if our time as the old locklears is teetering on a fine line. we're movin on up. one thing i'm really scared for is sarah. i'm not gonna be at home to be a nosy but private eye anymore. she's sneaky. i dont' want her to fall into traps unseen but only leading to sticky and unfortunate situations. we're not the same. she's the wild child without a doubt, and i pray that this year and those following God would just place his hedge of protection around her. yikes, i just know that after my first couple of months in college she'll have already grown up so much. i guess that's one of my absolute favorite things; going away returning to a new person. it's like a brand new story ready and waiting to unfold and be told at the word.

but lately i'm in love with the group hillsong. wow. that's all i have to say about that.

i'll finish when my focus is back