Sleeping Beauty

On April 30th I went to Messiah Dance Theatre's production of Sleeping Beauty.



I had started that day off by reading my friend Kaitlyn's blog entry, "He is coming" and listening to her playlists. http://hereinyourpresence.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Kaitilyn122#p/p
(If you go to the link above the five links on the right side of the page starting with "I Will Praise Your Name" are her playlists.)


Starting off the day thinking about Him coming for His bride (me), thinking about being with Him in Heaven, and thinking about His GREAT love, mercy, and tenderness toward me even though I am so sinful, filled me with joy and peace.


Then at the show the song lyrics filled me with SO much joy. Especially the song "Here In This Moment."


When Joni came out, reading from the Bible and sharing her poem, I was overwhelmed. The symbolism of Christ and the Church from Sleeping Beauty is something I've never thought about before. It is beautiful. And so true.


Though this world may fill us with pain and sorrow, one day in Heaven Jesus will awaken us with a kiss. Our life here on earth will only be like a dream. A tiny part of a much much bigger picture. We will be fully awakened to His deep deep love for us. Love that is beyond our earthly understanding. And we will finally live happily ever after with Jesus.


This fills me with so much joy and peace when I think about it. I am overwhelmed by the Beauty of it all. And by His love. :)


Joni also talked about how God wants to awaken our hearts right now to His love. Though we can't fully understand how much He loves us and we can't fully feel the peace and joy until we reach Heaven, He desperately wants to awaken us right now. To open our eyes to Him.

To awaken those who are sleeping. Lost. Afraid. Or living without Him.

And for all of us who do know Him, He wants to awaken our hearts to something deeper every day. He wants to awaken us to live for Him. Powerfully and boldly. Defeating Satan. Sharing His Word with others. Being One with Christ by allowing ourselves to walk with the Spirit in all we do.


God awakening those who are lost or struggling to His love is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. It relates to what I wrote about in my post "Prayer Warrior part one; Not dead, merely asleep." As the show continued I was thinking hard about one of my greatest desires: for all to know the beautiful peace and joy that comes from knowing Christ's love and promise of Heaven. I just want everyone to be saved so badly. It brought tears to my eyes, making me want to cry.








Joni's poem:

Sleeping Beauty

I am Sleeping Beauty, I was hidden in the earth
I knew not my calling, nor the purpose of my birth
Awaken me, awaken me to thy Divine Love
Let my thoughts be lifted up to that which is above
To know that destination for which I was born
To be by Your side, for this Your heart was torn
My passage on this earth may be brutal at times
full of sadness and sorrow
But when You awaken me with Your kiss in Eternity,
I will know it was only a dream

My prayer is that right now we can find our peace in His grace. In His love and forgiveness for us even though we sin and fail Him day after day. I pray that His compassion, mercy, and His daily rescue and saving grace can fill us with joy! And make us want to share His grace and love with others. I pray that the promise of Heaven, even when this life is horrible, hard, ugly, and unfair, fills us with hope as we walk through our days.

If you could pray for me about the following I would greatly appreciate it: I want to allow Him to awaken my heart daily. To more and more of Him. To what He has for me right here and now! I want to live for Him. Stop making excuses. Stop getting stuck in my ruts or pulled down by my anxiety and fear. I'm awake and alive with Him!! Now I want to start living like it. Letting Him work and love through me.

I'm at war with the world
And they try to pull me into the dark
I struggle to find my faith
As I'm slipping from Your arms

It's getting harder to stay awake
And my strength is fading fast
You breathe into me at last

I'm awake, I'm alive
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life

(Here, right now)
Right here, right now
Stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake, and I'm alive

I'm at war with the world
'Cause I ain't never gonna sell my soul
I've already made up my mind
No matter what, I can't be bought or sold

When my faith is getting weak
And I feel like giving in
You breathe into me again

I'm awake, I'm alive
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life

(Here, right now)
Right here, right now
Stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake, and I'm alive

Waking up, waking up
Waking up, waking up
Waking up, waking up
Waking up, waking up in the dark

I can feel You in my sleep
In Your arms, I feel You breathe into me
Forever hold this heart that I will give to you
Forever I will live for You

I'm awake, I'm alive
Now I know what I believe inside
Now it's my time
I'll do what I want 'cause this is my life

(Here, right now)
Right here, right now
Stand my ground and never back down
I know what I believe inside
I'm awake, and I'm alive

Waking up, waking up
Waking up, waking up
Waking up, waking up
Waking up, waking up


















So here I am ready to have all of You
So here I am waiting for You and

Nothing can change the way
I feel when I’m with You
You give me a peace
That surpasses all understanding
And no one can tell me
There's a better place than with You
You give love everlasting

Oh, here You come
Arms open wide (come fill me)
Oh, cause You are the one
Who fulfills all my desires

You are love, You are life
You're the air that I breathe
You're my day and my night
You’re my joy, You’re my peace
You're the wings for my flight
And vision to my sight
You are truth, You are power
You gave me faith to believe
Brought me straight to my knees
Now I'm standing
Here in this moment, with You
There's nowhere I'd rather be

There's only One who can truly satisfy me
Only You can give me everything that I need
And as high as the heavens are above the earth
You’ve shown me Your love so unconditionally

Oh, here You come
With Your arms open wide (come fill me)
Oh cause You are the one
Who can fill me with this fire

There's nothing that I can do without You
I know life only because of Your love
I just can't breathe without You
I'm so crazy about You
And I know love only because of Your life
Oh You overwhelm me with Your love
Oh You overwhelm me, You overwhelm me

Sleeping Beauty and the Price; Christ and the Church

Marriage here on earth is a beautiful illustration of Christ's relationship with us (the church.)

"²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband"
-Ephesians 5:22-33

In Messiah Dance Theatre's production of Sleeping Beauty, the way Aurora was awakened from her sleep by the prince and taken into his arms so that the two could dance together filled with love and passion for each other was beautiful. It gives us a picture of what God wants to do in our hearts. On earth, and even more so in Heaven. He wants to awaken us from our fear, from turning to this world, so that He can dance with us. He wants us to walk with and dance with Him, making us one with Him. He is filled with love, passion, care, and grace for us. ... Wow. :D



This also paints a picture of what marriage should look like if it is doing what God made it to do: symbolize Christ and the church. ... And this is a beautiful picture!





I have so many prayers and thoughts concerning all of this. We are living in a broken and fallen world where marriages and relationships rarely paint a good picture of Christ and the church. It is also so easy for us to idolize marriage and relationships. To try to find our main source of satisfaction from them instead of from the only relationship where true joy, hope, peace, and love is found: our relationship with Christ. I pray that we romance Him, grow in love for Him, and spend time with Him, more than we do with any person, even our husbands or wives.


For all the marriages or relationships that are already broken, I pray for forgiveness and healing. I also pray for all to turn to Christ's love and the hope of being with Him in Heaven to get them through. I pray that our eyes will be opened to see that Christ covers all of our brokenness, weakness, and pain perfectly like no one else ever can. I pray that all the struggles and trials bring us to Him. To the cross. And to the hope we have of dancing with Him in Eternity.


For those who are single, who want to be in a relationship somday, I pray for patience. That they can really enjoy this time, using it to grow closer to and romance the Lord. That they wait for the one person God has for them. It will be worth it!!! And that they find enough hope and love in Christ to fill them with peace and joy during any hard times.

I pray that girls would not be afraid to sing and live by these lyrics:

"So what I'm not your average girl
I don't meet the standards of this world
Chasing after boys is not my thing
See I'm waiting for a wedding ring

No more dating
I'm just waiting
Like sleeping beauty
My prince will come for me
No more dating I'm just waiting
'Cause God is writing my love story

Boys are bad that's certainly not true
'Cause God's preparing one for you
If you get tired waiting till he comes
God's arms are the perfect place to run

Sleep that's the only thing
For me 'cause when I sleep God's
Preparing one for me"

-"Average Girl" Barlow Girl

For all relationships, I pray that they would be filled with Christ's love, care, and forgiveness. That they would show the world a picture of Christ and the church. I pray relationships would be used to bring those in them and others closer to God. That both good and bad times would lead us to romance, grow closer to, and find hope in our eternal Lover, Jesus.

Tiny glimpses

I am blessed.
Beyond what I ever dreamed or imagined.
Far beyond what I deserve.


To have someone here on earth who shows me glimpses of His love.
Glimpses deeper than I've ever seen or felt before.



I can be a kid! Me.
Filled with loud laughter and joy.

I can express all my thoughts and feelings, whether they are deep or random to someone who is eager and always ready to listen.


I feel free. Alive. Unafraid.
Able to show my love for Christ boldly and passionately.





And often I come, ashamed. Feeling guilty, anxious, afraid, horrible, and ugly.
But ready to confess the wrong I've done.
I am scared.
I've done something against God and Matt.
Something that hurts them.

But instead of the anger and punishment I so rightly deserve, with my honesty, my words of "I'm sorry," with my repentance, I am covered.

Covered in love. Forgiveness.
Words of "I love you." "I forgive you." "You are so beautiful."
He takes my hand and holds it. Gives me a warm hug.
And lavishes on love that I could never, never deserve.




I am so incredibly thankful.
Thankful that God has blessed me with Matt.







That through his love for me I am able to see tiny glimpses. Reflections. Of His GREAT love and mercy for me.


I can neither imagine or comprehend the depth of God's heart for me. His blood covers all my sins. His strength covers all my weakness perfectly.

He is a generous, compassionate, merciful, gracious Father, Best Friend, and Lover. He is always excited to lavish me in WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY more love and forgiveness than I could ever deserve.



I am thankful for Jesus more than anything.
His beautiful beautiful heart for me.





I can't wait for Him to come again.
For our wedding.


To walk with Him.
Hold His hand.
Dance with Jesus in Eternity.


His love is Amazing.

"Some day, we'll be together.
Some sweet day, we'll be together..."

The Bridegroom.

About two month ago when I was at a prayer meeting, other brothers and sisters of Christ where sharing visions and prophecies from God.

One person shared a vision of Christ (the Bridegroom) and His bride (you.) Here is what I wrote down from the beautiful vision...

"The bride is waiting at the door. This time the Bridegroom doesn't wait for her at the alter. He meets her at the door, to walk her all the way down the aisle. Once the Bridegroom touches her hand her garments are illuminated. (meaning illuminated by light. they can now be seen.) Rags. Filth! Rags clinging to her body. Covering her. Clinging to her.

It isn't until she touches His hand that these rags and filth covering her become visible. But once He touches her they are illuminated for all to see. For her family to see! All of her [disgusting sin] is exposed before those closer to her. Before her family's eyes!"

(I don't know if I remember the rest of the vision right, but I think) As the Bridegroom walks her down the aisle the rags and filth start falling, peeling off, falling to the floor.

... This vision reminds me of my friend James's dream. He told me about it awhile ago, and I asked him to send me a facebook message describing it...

"I remember being in a building and wondering around. It was a party of sorts, the mood was one of mixing with people - a good feeling. I didn't really have a purpose for being there per se, but I was engaged in moving around at the time. Anyway, eventually I came through a door standing in the middle of the room that people were passing through and moving on to another section of the building. I didn't know why I was passing through it but as soon as I did, I realized I had lots of dusty spider webs hanging on me and I was suddenly aware that I was very bent over. I straitened up and dusted off the webs with disgust. The dream was a description of death and the release of disgusting sin. I'm so looking forward to when I'll finally get all of this sin off me!! I can't even feel all the disgustingness of it while I'm alive either. For Christians, death means FREEDOM FROM SIN! I just want to be with my Jesus forever and not have to deal with anything that takes me away from Him. Praise God because He deserves it!"

When he first described the dream to me it was a picture of light illuminating the darkness. He described it also as when he touched Jesus's hand as he entered Heaven that he finally realized how incredibly bent over under filth he was. And that only by touching Jesus's hand was the filth able to fall off.


... what beautiful visions for us to look forward to as we await the coming of our Bridegroom. I can't wait to get all this disgusting FILTH and sin off me either!!!

I can't wait for freedom.
And to dance with the Bridegroom.
My Jesus. :)

"They came to John and said to him, 'Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.' To this John replied, 'A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.'"
-John 3:26-30



(Paul writes:) "I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough"
-2 Corinthians 11:1-4

"Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the Word, so that He may present the church t Himself as glorious--not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless."
-Ephesians 5:25-27

'"Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.'

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

Then the angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' And he added, 'These are the true words of God.'

At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, 'Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.'”

-Revelation 19:7-10