Great news!

I have been officially accepted into the 2nd-year program at Bethel! :D I had my interview today with Theresa Dedmon (one of the 2nd year overseers and head of the prophetic/creative arts department), and it was a wonderful time of getting to talk about what God did in me this year, areas in which I've grown, others that still need work... All in all, it was great, and I'm so thrilled to have been accepted. I was already secure in my heart about going but to have their official approval feels great :).

Just as a thought to leave you guys with... With the year coming to a very speedy end, I've been spending an immense amount of time pondering all the things that have happened this year... all the things that God has completely changed in me, others things that that I didn't know already existed inside of me that He has simply revealed , and more things still that He has ushered me into, territory in the Spirit that I didn't know I had access to... However, even in light of God doing all those amazing works, such pondering has also led me to think upon all the things that I didn't break into this year... skills I didn't acquire, connections I didn't make, areas in which I feel that I fell short...

But as I was cooking my dinner tonight, I just surrendered all those thoughts and feelings to the Lord, and asked Him what He thought about my year and all that was accomplished. And of course in His completely loving and gracious way, He brought me to this understanding: that what was accomplished in me and through me this year was truly an incredible and marvelous work, above and beyond all I had imagined or anticipated. And yet I have only just scratched the surface, and there was even more available to me than I laid hold of. But the difference between Him telling me that, and what I was thinking up on my own was that from Him, there is absolutely no condemnation or shame! He is completely pleased with me in every way, while still pressing me onward towards the more that's available. He alone can create such a divine tension!

So the point of all that is this very simple truth: I cannot afford to have any thoughts in my head about me that He doesn't have in His head about me! Any thought or question that causes me shame, confusion or condemnation is certainly not from Him! So in that place, I must simply go to Him and ask Him to reveal the truth about where I stand. And let me tell you, He will always have an answer that sets my heart and mind right back where it should be ;). And it brings such a freedom to know who I am in His eyes, who He says I am...

Love you all! Ask Him what He's thinking about you! ;) I promise that it's wonderful! He loves you SO MUCH.

Blessings,

Melissa