passion::part one.

"this freedom song is marching on. we raise our white flags, we surrender all to YOU. all for YOU. we raise our white flags, the war is over. love has come. your love has won."

oh my heart is so full as i sit here and reflect on passion. ever since i went to passion last year my heart has longed to be back in that place. so to be back this year was a great feeling. really i havent stopped thinking about it since i got home yesterday. jesus wrecked me. he restored me. and my life was impacted there. but i think it takes coming home and just resting and reflecting to really process it all. the emotions are hitting now and the amazement in what jesus did is in really in full swing. and its something i will continue to process and be amazed by. most be thankful for.

freedom. freedom is what rings in my head when i reflect on passion. freedom for the 43,000 students there that got to literally dance in the freedom of christ. in the freedom that he gave us from the bondage of our sins. and for the freedom of 27 million people trapped in the bondage of slavery & human trafficking. the 27 million that we raised the banner high for. raised our voices for. we were 43,000 voices for the oppressed. it was something beautiful.

jesus was present this week. he promises where two or more are gathered he will be there. and you better believe where 43,000+ are gathered he is there. and moving like a mighty wind. standing in the same place with 43,000 others worshipping jesus is one of the most incredible feelings. i dont think anything could shake that. im willing to say that every single person there felt changed by christ. and felt free in christ. the lord taught me so much this week. and i have so much to share that im going to break it into a few posts.

day one.
it was hectic and it was a rush. i thought last year was crazy with 21,000 people. but oh man. 43,000 this year. it was crazy. but amidst the hustle and bustle jesus was there and speaking straight to my heart. louie taught the first night and said that passion is happening in this season of my life because jesus is intersecting in my life right now. we talked about how we are all being carried to our death but jesus steps in and saves us. he brings us back to LIFE. he is intersecting in MY life all right. i was reminded that jesus deeply desires to heal me but sometimes i dont let him. he wants to heal me and restore me. why would i not let him? sometimes i let the enemy convince me otherwise but jesus is FOR ME. here is the beautiful thing...the enemy may have a plan to destroy me, but jesus has the POWER to raise the dead. and to raise me. ephesians 2 says that without christ, i was dead in my sin but because of his great love i am alive. he gave me life and i have to ask myself if i am trusting him with my entire life right now? because i know a lot of the time i am not. and i got a nice slap in the face when louie said that anything less than total surrender to christ is not following him. ouch. his deepest desire is to raise me from the dead and for me to fully surrender and love and follow him with wreckless abandon. he is a god of mercy & grace. there is no other possible explanation for why he would want to save me. when i was lost and burried so deep in my own sin. i was trapped in the bondage of my sin & i was dead. and he pulled me out the pit when i did not deserve it! GRACE. MERCY. GREAT LOVE. his grace is here at the right time. his grace is here all the time. and the best part is there is freedom in that. there is freedom in him. thank you jesus. and thank you for the reminder that you want to crown me with your beauty. jesus sure is intersecting in my life right now. he intersected especially at passion. because i was in a dry place. and he filled me. he filled with me good & hopeful things. the lord is good. and he was SO good at passion.

after the first session we headed to community groups. one of my favorite parts of passion. out of 43,000 we found ourselves in a community group of 4,500. and out of that we found ourselves sitting in a circle with 8 complete strangers. we start with whats your name, where do you live, and where do you go to school. and maybe five minutes later we are sharing our hearts and what the lord is doing in them. and its the sweetest thing. last year i was seriously obsessed with my family group and i thought no way could this year compare. but as usual the lord laughed at me and blew me away with my family group. both years the community group leader said ok on the count of three everyone point to one person in your family group that you want to be your leader and they will just need to be here early each morning and lead the questions and stuff. and both years it went like this...one, two, three...everyone pointed to me. but you know both times i have really enjoyed it because i have gotten the privilege of getting everyone in my groups numbers and be able to text them throughout the week and let them know i am praying for them and cant wait to hear what the lord is doing. and now they are my friends. and i am thankful for that.

late night on the first night was so so so good. david crowder band. whom i love. it was their last concert ever. their last hoorah. kind of bittersweet. they are just so talented and have produced such great music so i, along with everyone else, am sad it to see it end. but you know its actually incredible because they are following the lord. this was a season and now its ending and they are being obedient to that. but the concert was AWESOME. and on the bright side, they are releasing their last album and it is a double cd with 35 songs. and they let all of us at passion get our hands on it early. and let me tell you...its incredible.

it was a late night. we didnt get back to our hotel and with four girls sharing a hotel room who all need to shower i wasnt in bed until 2:30 am. yikes! it was up early the next day but im glad because i wanted to soak up every second there. day two held so much promise and the lord delivered. i cant wait to share about the rest of passion and the things the lord did in me. but i have to skip ahead a little to last day. this year passion teamed up with several organizations for do something now. all for the cause of freedom for the 27 million people trapped in slavery and human trafficking. its all around the world. but it is also HERE. and that breaks my heart. we had the privilege for raising our voices for the oppressed. we saw videos and heard stories of those who were once slaves but are now FREE thanks to these organizations. we were reminded over and over that ignorance is not an excuse. and indifference is not an option. its time for us to RISE UP and raise the banner for freedom high. we are the generation and we are the voices. and i would say we rose up. because the passion team set a goal for do something now of $1 million. and the lord provided because we raised $3,660,670 to end slavery. god is so good. he really is so good.

some pictures from day one. just a few, more to come. (almost every picture i took is from my phone)

some of my favorite songs.
"your love never fails. never gives up. never runs out on me."
"it will be my JOY to say, YOUR will, YOUR way. always!"

"be lifted HIGHER than all you've overcome. you're name be LOUDER than any other song. here is no power than can come against your love. the cross was enough."

"great god. wrap your arms around the world tonight."


watch this. it was the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. when that childrens choir from uganda sang you better believe i was weeping.



more from passion coming. more of what jesus taught me. more of what jesus did. more pictures. more favorite songs. and more of meeting two blog friends!