Oh Lord, how precious You are to me; How thankful I am for Your blood which was shed for me; for every moment, every ache, every turn and every mistake, Your blood was preciously sacrificed for them all. And as You found me, in my brokenness and despair - surely You held me close and nurtured me, personally, intricately and delicately- You took me, and I found you working from the depths of my heart within; You took my humble life; undeserving as it was, and transformed it into royalty. You blessed me with the beauty of Your eternal presence, coursing through my veins, beating through my heart, inhaling and exhaling from within my lungs. You dwell from the very depths of my soul, You are my treasure and my one true love. How blessed I am to know You, my creator, my maker, my restorer and my King. I am a part of Your royal blood line, through my acceptance of You as my Father, and viewing myself as Your child. Oh Lord, despite my status of royalty in Your eyes, I will forever bow at the foot of Your throne; for You alone are worthy, of all glory, all honour and all praise. May my veins flow with your courage and confidence freely, and my heart beat for your burdens, always.

If you will give Me your body, I will come in, and make it My home. And I will take those hands of yours, and make them My hands. I will take those feet of yours and make them My feet. I will take that mouth of yours and it will speak My words. I will take those eyes of yours and they can now see what I need you to be seeing in this world. And I will take your heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh, so that it will beat with My burdens, and you will care for the very things that I care about. And your prayers will become My prayers, And your life, and your attitude and your behaviour, every minute of every hour of every day, will be the very behaviour of God. Will you allow Me, to overtake your life? Because then you go into this world, as little lambs - with the faces of lions; because the all consuming, all mighty Father goes out, within His children. - God

Your Holy Word fills my soul; as I open it’s pages and find Your life within. Page after page, turn after turn, verse after verse and prayer after prayer, You fill me with the richness and goodness of Your truth. As I delve deeply into Your gift to me, Your word; I find encouragement, inspiration, conviction, deliverance, peace, compassion, understanding, guidance and identity. How blessed I am that You have allowed for Your word to be found on this earth- Your living, life-breathing word; Your road-map for our lives, Your manual for our thoughts, Your script for our actions. As I find completion and confirmation in your word; the accounts of Your greatness, the fruits of Your spirit, the love of Your sacrifice and the patience of Your heart for me - are magnified.. Just as the rose grows from within the softened soil; so Your word is growing, sprouting and rooting itself deeply within my heart, daily. May I forever water the garden within my heart; by remaining and dwelling in Your presence, and drinking from Your cup daily. Thank you for the gift and blessing of Your Holy Word, Father. It is the manual for which You designed me to live by, and without it, I would not remain assembled in You, always.

My Brothers; Christ is calling you, our dear Lord and Saviour is beckoning you from your resting place; and desiring you to come forward in Him; He desires to raise you up to be true and honourable men in Him; Men who cannot be bought; whose word is their bond; who put character above wealth; who do not hesitate to take chances in Him; who will not lose their identity in a crowd; who will be as honest in small things as in great things; who will make no compromise with wrong; whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires; who will not say they do it “because everybody else does it”; who are true to their friends through both positive and negative days, in adversity as well as in prosperity; men who do not believe that sneaky and cunning are the best qualities for winning and success; who are not ashamed to stand for the truth when it is unpopular; who can say “no” with emphasis, although the rest of the world says “yes.”; who can stand up and be counted as a sinner, but also as righteous and redeemed; who will admit proudly and boldly to being made new through the perfect sacrifice; who willingly will let words of praise for The Lord leave his lips, and dwell within his heart.

And so He gently said to her, in the midst of her self-doubt, “My dear, why is it that you desire to find your self worth from others? Why is it that you do not seek to receive your worth from Me? You see darling, I’ve already given it to you.. Remember my grace. Yes, my grace - It’s a free gift and it does not come through anything you believe you deserve or can achieve by aiming higher. It is designed perfectly for you; freely. And so I urge you daughter, to rest in My grace. You will tire from seeking to find recognition in the eyes of others, from desiring to be well-liked and to be included in the worlds view of popularity. I see your heart, my daughter. I see it, I see within your want to be appreciated. But dear, I want you to know that you already have an elevated position. It is because of your relationship with my son, Jesus Christ, that You are already appreciated. Already a part of My kingdom as my daughter, and co-heir with Christ. Because you are the daughter of Me, Your Lord, Your King… You are given the position of being a princess. You are My princess, dear. Remember the truth that I tell you; in that an earthly princess is not made wonderful and precious because of who she is or what she can do nor offer, No. She has status and position for her father is a king. She has royalty in her blood, running through her veins.. You, my daughter; You have royalty in your blood as well. You are my daughter and I am the King. And no matter what you do, your status will never change. I have chosen you and I have planned out your life. I will not forget you and will be with you forever and always. I have engraved you in the palm of my hands. And so I urge you now, my beautiful daughter - to rest in the knowledge of who you are in Me. Nothing else outside of me, will ever be enough. Not words, not actions, not thoughts you can produce- But above all -You are my daughter and I love you. And in that you may rest.”

Lord, I dressed myself for so long, in the garments I believed I deserved. Creams, off whites and muted earthy tones. I wore them with acceptance, and yet; I hung my head in shame. They were the sum of my past mistakes, my present aches, and my worldly tastes. Whilst white dresses I saw, I passed them by - for in my eyes; discoloured, tainted and stained was all I justly deserved. But wrong I had been. For it was in the midst of my admiration for all garments white and precious - that You showed me Your magnificence and Your true sacrifice and promise for me. You took me through Your cleansing process, Your refining fire and Your refreshing waters. You took my rags and turned them to riches. You took my creams and made them white as snow. You raised me from earthy tones, and placed me in garments of pure praise. You stripped me bare and washed me clean - and there I stood before You; purified and sanctified, by Your perfect love for me. How blessed I am to come before You and raise my head high, in that I am made whole and righteous, in You and by You. 

From the inside out Lord, consume me. So deeply, so heavily and so passionately- that when those who are searching for You break me apart and tear me to pieces; they’ll surely find You. Saturate me Lord, so much so, that they would see me bare and laying there- and scan me down, from head to toe in wonder. They’ll pull at me, and flesh by flesh they’ll see- bone by bone, they’ll pick apart, knowing these bodily things inside of me are only masking what is hidden within me.. And as they are searching for the truth of my heart, for the way that I work, and pondering the way that I move and breathe- they will finally press through to the core of my being- my heart… There, they will see, find and know, that it was You all along. Your word, Your promise, Your sacrifice, Your presence, Your love, Your grace, Your truth and Your saturation that shone brighter than the sun. Envelope me, Lord, so they would see, that aside from flesh and bone- that there is nothing good in me, but You. 

I am the subject- made clean by Your sacrifice, whitened to a clear canvas- refined and processed, ready to be painted by You. You are my paint, You are my artist. You are the brush that creates the beauty that I represent, that I hold, that I provide. Nothing of my blank canvas, my self-glorifying ways, is beautiful. Without Your perspective, Your vision, Your living water and paint, I am blank and empty - discarded and wasted.. But through waiting and dwelling on Your easel, in Your presence… Through allowing myself to be painted.. Through patiently taking Your brush strokes with willingness and acceptance, with understanding and submission - I am slowly layered, created and brought to a new image. I am no longer a blank self-glorifying canvas, no longer a frame waiting to be stretched and covered. I am whole, I am ready, I am in the making and in preparation for the day, when finally Your paint will have set, hardened, and I will be firmly grounded beneath Your layers of perfection- After years of reflecting you on earth- You will take me; Your precious artwork- and place me in Your beautiful gallery in Heaven. How blessed I am to be Your creation, Your artwork… Your masterpiece.

Your bridge is steadfast, and upon it I stand firm, in the knowledge that although it may be narrow and long, and at times I may be tired and withdrawn- I am strengthened by the promise of Your eternal Kingdom. Though I may find myself distracted, or fear that I have wandered too far; I am gently reminded by Your Holy Spirit, that I am within your grasp. That I am firmly hemmed in from all angles, sides and avenues. Stitched together by Your grace that surrounds me, Your love that overwhelms me, Your protection that shelters me and Your peace that comforts me. How blessed I am that I do not journey alone, not for one day, one hour, one moment… You are forever with me. Replenishing, reviving and restoring me as I press on, with the desire to find myself in future- resting on the other side, hearing Your precious words spoken to me, Your child.. “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

When my wings are tired and worn, and I am exhausted from flight- from fighting against the winds and the difficulties of life; You call to me.. You welcome me back home, to the place where I belong- into your arms, open and waiting for me. Though my journeys often cause me to stumble, trip, fail and fall- You replenish me, revive me and refresh me every time I seek You out. You fulfil my hunger, and quench my thirst- You mend my wings, and coat me with Your grace. I rest in You and I am restored. You prepare me every evening and every morning- and send me out into the world with Your blessing, surrounded by Your love. I am filled to overflowing, and fly in the strength of Your provision. How blessed I am that you tend to my emptiness, my brokenness and my shame. You tend to my weak and mild body- and remind me every morning, that Your mercies are new, and I am precious in Your sights. Thank You Lord, that You are forever holding me near.