Oklahoma

Winds In The East, Mist Coming In – Something Is Brewing About To Begin

Posted on by lainamunoz

“Like a rushing wind
Jesus breathe within
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way in me
Like a mighty storm
Stir within my soul
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way in me”
-Hillsong Music

So, I missed posting last Friday because March in every way kicked my butt. It was a beautiful month full of serving and giving and making sure our church was set up for Colour Conference and Easter Sunday. Now it is time to refresh and breathe a little bit until we vamp up into our Conference for July.

Today in our 2nd Year Chapel we had a beautiful opportunity to worship as a body of students and to sit in G-d’s presence and be refreshed. One of the songs we sang today had the lyrics I listed above (also click here if you want to take a listen for some nice background music whilst you read). Now I’m a good ol’ girl from one of the fifty United States of America – Oklahoma. When you’re from Oklahoma this song means something entirely different to you. I stood there in worship thinking about my Facebook feed recently being bombarded with pictures of a tornado that just hit back home. A few little things I know about storms:

  1. Storms cannot hit an area without changing everything about the area.
    ((Even if it’s just a ‘bad storm’ and not a tornado it still tends to bring an abundance of rain that changes the very look of a town. I’ve never seen the outdoors look as peaceful and vibrant as after the storm; the greens of the earth are richer and the sky reserves a crisp blue for these moments. And in cases of tornados and strong winds you see the very foundations of buildings moved. Things never remain the same after a storm. You’re given an opportunity to rebuild things that may have been unstable in your life and to build better than before.
  2. Pics or it didn’t happen. You can be one of two type of people in Oklahoma, you can be afraid and hide in the closet even though the tornado is in Pryor and you’re in Oklahoma City. Or you can be like the rest of us out on the front porch with your fancy camera phones out taking a picture of you smiling with the storm in the background. People notice when the wind shifts and when change is happening. People stop to take note of G-d I promise you that. When is the last time you stopped to really focus in on what G-d was doing in your life?

Like a mighty storm
Stir within my soul

When I think about what I’m truly praying – Lord STIR within my soul – and I think about what this could actually do to my life as I know it I realize it’s a terrifying prayer to pray. I’m asking G-d to come in and shake the foundations that may need rebuilding in my life and to cause me in that moment to never be the same. I stood in worship pondering what these lyrics truly meant and I realized I didn’t want anything else.

Lord have your way, Lord have your way in me

It’s hard to keep this in focus when you’re human though, I fail probably daily but I also had a subtle reminder that I’m no longer who I was but I am not who I will be. G-d is GRACIOUS and so faithful along the journey and I am so blessed to call Him mine.

G-d move in my life to where people notice and have to sit back and make a memory of who You are and what You’re doing in me. Move my unstable foundations and cause me to have to rebuild with the truth of Your word to something different, stronger and more lasting than what I was holding onto before. Bring the rain and then bring the spring of all the new things you want to do in my life. Lord have your way. I surrender.

OklaHomeSick: Mind, Body, Soul

Posted on by lainamunoz

About four weeks ago I specifically remember telling my friend Maggie, “No it’s ok I don’t really ever get sick I have a great immune system”. One week later I began showing signs of a cold or maybe a flu, I’m not sure but I was in fact sick. Loads of college students were sick so I didn’t think much of it other than the common cold was going around and sucks to suck now I’m sick too. I had a day of being in my bed wondering why the sun was shining if I felt so terrible followed by a few days of forcing myself to school with a bag full of cough drops to keep handy. I got better after 5 days or so but still had a cough and couldn’t breathe all that well. I believe it was about 2 days later when I got sick again.

I wasn’t able to serve or go to class without feeling light headed and I had to give up a pretty cool opportunity that I was excited about. I wasn’t able to do my normal routine of mornings at the coffee shop with Krysia or going to the gym or doing any extra activities. I finally went to the doctor after my lovely friend Maggie was diagnosed with Whooping Cough. I just had a sinus infection but I knew chances of it getting better on it’s own were slim to none with how Christmas-toned my mucus was. I’m feeling much better now and with the advice of my teacher purchased some nasal spray and antihistamines to take every day.

Something happened though in these last three weeks of being sick. I got homesick as well. There is nothing I want more when I don’t feel well than my big queen sized bed and a mommy who will bend over backwards to make sure I have all the soup, Cheez-its, Poweraid and Ice cream I need when I’m sick. My friends here did an incredible job and shout out to Krysia for making me some bomb soup to help me along the way. I just felt weak and wanted to be home.

It seems to always happen that way actually, when my physical body isn’t doing so well neither is my spirit person and in turn neither is my heart. I begin to break down when I’m sick and can’t fight the mental battles on my own. When I have no physical strength in my body it is very difficult to fight the spiritual battles as well. I began fighting feeling overwhelmed and not enough for what I was called to, I began to believe the lies that I didn’t fit in or look pretty enough or thin enough or strong enough to be who I know I am able to be. I’m not at all surprised that when I feel weak I mentally retreat back home. I retreat to the need for my bloodline and the strength in my family. I was sick and just wanted my mommy.

Maybe this is the reason we are commanded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30) G-d knew (because He created) how connected we were in our body, heart, soul, strength so much so that He knew if we were loving Him fully with one of these we’d be loving Him fully with all of these. We are intricate beings that are connected at every level within us. I can’t explain all of the science but I know that when its sunny out I’m typically happier and when I’m happier I’m more productive and feel better about what I accomplished that day. When I’m sick and its storming outside I’m proud of myself for getting out of bed. When I have the chance to work out consistently I feel a little bolder about who I am and the way I was created and when I’m taking care of myself I’m a little less insecure.

((When I’m sick it’s hard to fight.

I think this is also why we’re commanded to take care of our bodies, we aren’t loving Jesus well with them if we aren’t and if we aren’t loving well with our bodies, our spirit people suffer. We are so beautifully and wonderfully made. G-d knows what He is doing when He tells us to love and serve Him with all of us. We can’t serve with half or we really aren’t serving at all.