Even through afflictions, I still know Your affections.

I feel like I have been going through one of the roughest seasons in my spiritual life. I'm so occupied with school that I hardly get to do other things which is getting me stressed. I know God has to be preparing me for something, perhaps leaving to KC or something bigger.

Last night I was up most the night, because I took a nap yesterday and when I finally went to sleep I had really terrible nightmares. I woke up scared but relieved that I was awake. I started asking God what was going on and there was just silence for a few minutes. I started telling Him how this spiritual warfare or whatever it was made me feel and I started to cry a little bit. In one of the dreams, I got the revelation that my identity in Christ was going to be what scared the enemy the most. In the dream I started to declare that I was a daughter of the Most High, I was an heir of Christ, I said "I am His and He is mine! I am His and He is mine!" As I said that I felt empowered, not from mere words but from the realization that Christ loved me, He was going to see me through this valley of shadows. 

When I woke up I kept declaring over myself my identity in Christ and He spoke to me through a song that Misty Edwards sang last week in the prayer room. It says, "Angels, O Angels gather 'round! Angels, O Angels look and see! Angels, O Angels look and see, through that dark night of faith she's still gazing at Me!" I just broke down crying. I knew that God was there in the room with me. I knew that He loved me, He really loved me! It sounds cliche but I was filled with the Spirit and started crying out "You love me! You REALLY love me!!" It was such a tender moment with my Father. I knew that He would do ANYTHING to protect me and wouldn't let anything harm me. I knew that He heard my cry. I felt that I needed to release everything up to Him because He knows me better than I know myself. So I had an incredible encounter with the Lord at dawn. What an amazing God I have! <3

Beauty in Nature

Tuesday's sunset on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande.

Thursday's sunrise on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande.

(Later) Thursday's sunrise on Rio Grande.

Despite what violence is going on in this region, which took place only a couple of miles from this site, I still see this as beautiful. There was a sense of serenity as I stood by the river and just watched the sun rise and shed its light on this magnificent scene. The colors in these shots didn't clash but wonderfully co-existed, they accented each others best hues and values. One reason I love sunrises is because EVERYTHING is completely dark and motionless but as the sun begins to peak over the horizon, it's almost as if everything comes to life. Everything is filled with color and you can see the Spirit of God stirring the atmosphere. It's incredible. I am undone every time I experience a sunrise. I feel the love of God and the warm embrace of the Sun He created.