Are you ready for this?

I believe that God is calling me, my sister, my brother, my friends, and this entire generation into a time and place of intense communion with him. I believe (like the crazy fool I am) that Jesus is here and the Holy Spirit is gearing up for an awesome outpouring.
I can say this because of the evidence in my own life: A deep, abiding hunger for something more, an incredible boost of faith and belief. A desire to be 24-7 in the presence of God. And a cool understanding that making mistakes is okay because Jesus' forgiveness is there for me. And that he loves me.
I'm beginning to venture deeper into who God is. Watch out, here is a secret:
I speak in tongues. Have been since I was eleven when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit while listening to a Spirit-filled friend of the family playing a song on the piano which she had never learned. The idea has always been normal to me, along with the spiritual world. More real than this one, for sure. Even growing up in a church that does not venture into the Spirit realm (although they have the most rock solid theology!) I have always been very...'at peace' with it all. Praying in tongues, spiritual warfare, worship, the presence of God, prophecy, miracles, etc.

It's real for me. Has been since I was young and stuck in a bedroom all by myself as it got darker and darker until I was screaming and screaming and my entire family right outside in the living room could not hear me at all. When the presence of darkness and fear finally lifted enough for me to bolt from the room I stood there staring at my family wondering why they hadn't come. Why they hadn't heard me.
I was afraid of the dark for years.
Now I understand more clearly that the presence I felt was evil and manifested in a form I could feel, sense, see. I also realize that the Name of Jesus (my savior) can dispel that darkness.
I know because I've experienced it.

God's presence for me is like a warm, golden glow. Thick, like you can run your fingers through it. It's sparkly, and pretty and so, so comforting.
I know because I saw it, felt it at the age of nine or ten.

Prophecy is such a wonderful gift from God and a word given to me through my uncle for my thirteenth birthday has set me on a path of communion with the Father, freedom, and encouragement.
I know, because my relationship with God is so much better because he chose to speak to me through my uncle.

Singing to God in tongues has been an immensely intense experience at times as I praise him in the midst of my day, whether it be the best ever or the worst. It's drawn me closer to him and at times opened the ears and eyes of my heart to hear the Spirit speaking.
I know because the presence of God has come in the midst while I praise him, the word the Spirit is speaking is life, encouraging, and timely. Sometimes prophetic.

I've fought and I've fallen hard as a result of not being fully prepared going into battle. Partly because of my naivete, partly because of my youth, and mainly because of my pride.
But I know that the war is real because of the attacks that come when I go to war in the heavenlies. I know it's real because I've seen the victory that comes.

Some of the best times in my life have come in the middle of the storms, when I feel like I'm drowning I 'lift my eyes unto the hills' and sing my praises to my maker-creator, my God and King.
I know the power of worship because it has set me free from bondages, addictions, depression, and despair.

When I was younger, I can't remember the year, I had several miracles occur regarding my pet dove. The first being God miraculously, in the middle of my weeping and crying out to him, allowed the baby dove to live by sending the daddy bird to feed it right before my eyes. Ask me sometime to elaborate. The second being when the same dove broke her back flying into a window. She couldn't walk, she couldn't stand, wouldn't even open her eyes although she was still breathing. I cried, wept, and begged God for a miracle. Two days later, she was flying. The third, or fourth, or fifth time is when she flew off and disappeared. With bad flying skills (perhaps because of her healed back) she has no control over where she goes. And she'd never flown outside. After about 2-3 hours of persistent prayer and weeping before God, he sent her flying back to land right at the feet of my dad, at the back of our house.
That is only part of how I know miracles are true. I've witnessed spectacular healings and even now am believing God for one in the life of a family friend. He's going to heal him. I know it because God spoke to me through the Spirit and gave me a word.

This is why I believe. This is why I do it. I'm not perfect. I read the Bible less than I read works on the Bible. A greater desire for the Word is one of my requests to God and a discipline I need to work on. I have low self-control. It's one of the reasons I struggle with my weight. I eat for comfort instead of going to God. I have minuscule amounts of patience although I've already seen God working in me and thankfully it's growing through the grace of Jesus...Also, I let my fears and insecurities take me down all the time, with me ending up angry and acting proud. Or being proud, I guess.

But the work Jesus is doing in my life and the work done on the cross are becoming the truths that I stand on and the reality of me.

I'm one of those crazy fools. I desire to spend multiple hours in prayer (two-way communion) with him and have a desire to grow in the spiritual gifts as I grow closer to him. Not very popular these days as 'safe' and 'sure' are better and you don't want to 'go off the deep end'. While that is true, I'm taking that leap of faith, jumping off the cliff into the ocean of God's love, and I'm doing it with Jesus. The deep end is what I want. A relationship that requires all of me. Less self, more Him.

So I hope you're ready for this because God and I are on a journey that will take us places that are not politically correct, religiously bound, or hopelessly boring. I'm emerging from the dust, a dry bone which God is inhabiting and bringing to life. A soldier. In an army.

Will you join us? (God and the rising generation)
Are you ready for this?
So as Steven Curtis Chapman says:
"'So here I go
I'm diving in
I'm going deep
In over my head I wanna be
Caught in the rush
Lost in the flow
In over my head I wanna go
The river's deep
The river's wide
The river's water is alive
So sink or swim
I'm diving in
I'm diving in."

--MovingGirl