Extreme Makeover

I have always thought of my heart as a house, where Jesus can make His dwelling place.
When we first give our lives to Jesus, our Spirit is made completely new and holy and perfect and pure. That is clear. So when I speak of renewing things I refer to our soul, which starts the renewal process once we have become a new creature in Christ.

I want you to close your eyes and imagine (apparently you cannot really close your eyes... but you know what I mean). Imagine an old house that has not been lived in for a very long time. When you walk into that house you have to watch your steps because you do not know if it could collapse or break. The windows inside are really dirty and merely let in any light. Where you look is dust and spider webs. The air is heavy and smells like mold. It's hard to breathe.
This is the state we were in before we met Christ. We were like an old house, moldy and run down. But when Jesus comes into our life, makes His dwelling there, He completely renews us, not only restores us, but makes us completely new.
Now, of course this is a process. He comes into every room and floods it with His light. He cleanses every area of our life. We get new windows, the dust is wiped away.
Yet sometimes there are areas in our life that we hold back, that we keep for ourselves. We close the door to these areas and do not allow Jesus to come in and renew. These are usually things we like to hold on to, because WE like them and they are enjoyable. But Jesus is a gentlemen. He will not kick the door open and force us to let go. In my life it has always been a soft knock on the door, a question of, "Will you let me in, will you let go and let me give a go in this room?".
Then it is up to us, to open the door. Sometimes this can be a hard process, but I can assure you, it is the best thing you can do. Once Jesus enters that room, that certain area of your life, which is still dusty he comes in and floods it with His light. In His light nothing can be hidden. Every little corner gets enlighted. What happens next? He opens the window, let's the fresh air come in and than he restores, paints the room new and makes it look bright and beautiful. It is then no longer your room, but His room and He dwells in it. The things which were once in that room find no dwelling or existence there anymore. It is completely renewed.

What happens when every single room in our house is flooded with light, restored and renewed? It cannot be hidden. You will start shining even more. When you enter a room His purity and love and dwelling that is upon you will enter the room. You are the light in the darkness and everybody will see it. People will be drawn to you, because they see something in you that they want.

Therefore today I want you to look into your house. Does Jesus live in there at all? And if He does, what rooms do you still keep for yourself? Can you hear Him knocking?
I want to encourage you to let Him in, let Him take residence in every area of your life.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." (Math. 5:14-16)

xoxo

Ramona

Dance-Fusion

Ok, I saw this today and simply have to share it with you because I haven't seen anything this great in a while (probably because the new So you think you can dance season isn't out yet).

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The fusion of the strings with ballet, contemporary and hip hop is phenomenal!

xoxo

Ramona

Umbrellas

I’ll make you mine if you would have me.
With a silver ring that will hug you tight,
Our life begins.
Our life begins with this.

I’ll prove my love if you would let me.
Over and over and over again.

We’ll bring a child into this world
And we’ll say the one thing
Everyone should hear:

You were meant for amazing things.

Give me your hand, it’s time.
It’s time to show new eyes their home.
When fences divide our land,
I would catch bullets with my bare hands.

Because you were meant for amazing things.

The White Wall

You sit in your room. Everything seems so familiar, so known, so close to your heart. You have been living at this place for the last decade and you know where everything is.

Right now your room looks somewhat organized and clean, but you know would you look into some of the corners or open some of the drawers, you would find old things, memories and things which have not been needed for years. You look around you. The furniture you see is pretty old and the things hung up on the walls are not really the way you would do it now. You would really like to change the look of your room, make it more like you.

People have already come up to you and offered their help. You neglected their help. You want to do this on your own.

When it comes to decorating other rooms you do great but somehow whenever it is about your own room, you feel hindered, held back. It is as though creativity just leaves you. You really do not understand this because ususally you are such a creative person...



You know what, I know the feeling because I have been there and I know now why it has been like this.

We have a tendency in our lives to clutter things - at least I do. Then at some point it is so much it hinders you. It is like a wall that is built up and all that helps is tearing down the wall, starting from ground zero.

That is what I did when I moved into a new appartment. Yes, I took some of my furniture with me, but in the process of packing things I took time to declutter my life. I threw many things aways and started a whole new, empty clean room and I decorated it the ways I wanted and liked it.

I felt so fresh, new, cleaned, organized and I try to keep it that way. Now I do not allow any stuff to hoard up anymore. I know that when I open my drawers and look into some of the corners it will be what I like and what is there for a purpose.



Do you see where I am going with this? I am trying to give you a picture (which actually happened) of something that can also happen in our spiritual and emotional life. We let things from the past heap up in our lives. These things hinder us to be creative in our life. But not only that, sometimes they hinder us from seeing the future, the new things, the new way. Sometimes it is good to renovate and renew our old room and make something new. Start fresh with Jesus. But you know, renovating is always a process of tearing down some old walls, cutting things away to make the room look brighter and more beautiful.

What are some of the things in your life that hinder you, that hold you back from where you should be and what you should do?



Renovating and renewing is a process of hard work, pain, being soar but it is also rewarding because the outcome is far more than beautiful. You tear down an old wallpaper and all of a sudden there is a new white wall. Give Jesus room on this wall, on every wall in your room to paint His picture on it, to fill it with His thought and to show you a new decoration, a new You and ultimately a life far beyond of what you could have ever imagined.



Start today!



xoxo



Ramona

Timelapse

"only the eyes of owls can be seen here;
they are the stars, they radiate.

and every constellation
is a fraction of God's DNA
that we were made to notice and navigate.

as the moon commands the tide
to balance the weight of change,
we must learn to follow all the same.

when the northern lights were born,
the color poured into our eyes,
like tipping a glass with the ocean inside.

into the darkness,
we will send our symphonies -
a shorthand of existence,
a slowly turning key,
the voyager will leave us
with this modest memory of home.

when the sunlight wakes the earth
from its deep sleep,
all creatures bloom.
and through lifted lashes, all is new.

as a newborn recognizes
its mother's voice from inside the womb,
may we remember the warmth of our youth.

the overture was written,
like the calm before a storm.
with hummingbird precision,
we must follow every chord...

time-lapse reveals a slight of hand,
it unties the rules of time and plan.
stillness is only a state of mind,
a blind spot that brightness has left behind.
wet paint is a privilege that we will find.

as the wrist of an artist
pulls the foreground into the frame,
we must learn to focus, all the same.

all these restless conversations
have tied a string to every living thing,
and our illustrations will draw them near."

~ Sleeping at Last

Enough to let me go

I have been listening to the new Switchfoot Album a lot lately. One of their songs always gets to me as it can be interpreted on so many different layers. The song is called "Enough to let me go"
Here's the song:



One of the lines of the song says: "Do you love me enough to let me go?". I want to show you 3 different angles to view this from:

1. God let us go
Now maybe you think, what? What do you mean God let us go? Remember the garden of Eden and how God created everything out of love? We were creating by love and through love and because of love.
When God created us he could've made us like puppets, but he created us with our own will, risking that we would forsake him and not love him back. But he had breathed His life into us and loved us enough to let us go to trust that we will turn back and love him back and have community with him.

2. We let God go
This phrase can also be looked at as a question posed to us by God. What do I mean with this? Often times we just try to do things our way, the way we want it, but we have limits, we can't do it all by our own and we can never reach our full potential if we don't draw out of God's guidance, potential and love.
Therefore we can be asked the question if we love God enough to let him go. And with go I mean let Him do it, fulfill it, make it happen. It will always exceed our wildest imagination.

3. We let People go
Of course there is also a very obvious interpretation which I think is very essential too. Imagine you love someone, a good friend, a boy/girlfriend but they just keep going into another direction, making decisions which are not good for their lives, do you hold on to them, trying to hold them in your grip so you do not lose them? Or are you willing to let them go, like God did, trusting and knowing that everything will have a good end and that they will come back on the right path?

I know that letting go is a process of pain and trust and putting yourself out there, making yourself vulnerable, but it sets us free and sets other people free as well.

Therefore, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." (1 Peter 5:7)

xoxo

Ramona

A Psalm for every day

Sometimes it is so interesting how certain things come together. Today I will post a Psalm and it used to be one of my favourits (it still is!). When I watched The Book of Eli lately, Eli quoted this Psalm. Then yesterday at you(th) all of a sudden I had to think of it again and then my youth pastor quoted it also. I love verse 5 because it reminds me of yesterday's post Security is like a table.
Therefore I have to share it with you!

Psalm 23

1The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

xoxo

Ramona