Saturday, December 31, 2011

Things are about to change.

New Years 2012

I went out with some friends of mine to celebrate New Years tonight, and we made our way to one of those clubs with lots of drunk, poorly dressed girls and bad dance music. Don't get me wrong, I love dancing, but these types of places usually turn me off. I can't help but notice the sea of faces that peer back at you with that lost and empty gaze. I see the voids and the desperate searching for identity, finding themselves in all the wrong things. My heart is always broken and grieved.

As midnight approached and the DJ starting counting down for the new year, I heard a warning in my spirit. I looked out over the shouts and laughter and knew that, very soon, their laughter would turn into mourning. All their lives are about to change as our country is about to move into a new season. A season of hardship and grief. A season of desperation and questioning.

I am not a nay-sayer, and I don't like it when people are overly dramatic about seeing doom on every corner. Yet, I could not deny the Lord's earnestness, nor his mercy.
Matthew 9:36 states: When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd." 
I felt so strongly God's desire to call all of us home into his loving and capable arms. I felt his desire that we would stop looking to this empty world and start looking to him to supply all our needs. The world will only ever steal and suck the life from us. God wants to give life back to us and them some.

Things are about to change, but no matter what, God's mercy is ever-present. He is always waiting to redeem us from our perils. And he will redeem us from the perils to come.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Hope for the Future

Yesterday for Christmas, I had the privilege of going to a juvenile detention center with Char Penn and the Youth group from Vineyard Tuttle Crossing. It was an incredible time, and God's presence was so thick with love and compassion. Char gave a message to the girls about how Jesus was born in a lowly place so that he could meet us in our low places. She spoke a message of hope to these young girls. She spoke about a God who wants to meet us in our brokenness and restore our lives, piece by piece. We also had the privilege of singing some worship songs for these girls, as well as giving them Christmas presents and praying for them. The whole time I was there, the Holy Spirit was all over me and my heart was just breaking. I felt so strongly, the love that God has for people like these girls. When we got to pray for them, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them and to speak healing words over their lives. It was just another conformation of what I want to do with my life. I want to be apart of sharing the love of God with the world. I cannot think of a better purpose or a higher calling. It is my dream and my gift. It is what I hope to do in Brazil. Each day in so many ways, God is preparing me more and more to be his servant. I am so grateful that he met me in my lowly place and gave me a hope for my future.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

I'm starting a Blog!

Hello All,

I'm starting a blog so that everyone can follow my progress as a get ready to move to Brazil. This will be a great way for me to stare with you how things are going and what my needs may be. Please join!


Allison Rupert