Blessed evening

Last Friday I got a chance to go to " An Evening with Mercy Me & Francis Chan". People have been asking if I wanted to go since last month, but I was not sure if I could / wanted to go. Last minute, one of our friends who has ticket decided not to go because he has to take care of new students - so I got spare ticket for me - and I'm really glad that I got to go. Having Mercy Me & Francis Chan shared their experiences with the Lord was great, having Rachel Chan (Francis' oldest daughter) also onstage was a cherry (or sprinkles?) on top of ice cream!

I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan (eventhough Nana's been advertising the book for years now) and I am very encouraged and challenged by his passion to take the Bible really seriously and follow Jesus without compromise. One thing that really impressed me was Francis' life example. He truly models what it means to put God first - sharing with the poor (bulk amount of royalty earnings from his bestselling books goes to charity), leaving a mega church (and all its fame and reputation) to start church planting movement among the poor in Tenderloin District of San Francisco. He always gets confused why people calls him radical because he is convinced that's exactly how a follower of Christ should live.

Throughout the night, the Holy Spirit gently speaks to me through the band & Francis. One of the things that was a highlight for me was when Bart Millard shared how he imagined to be in heaven, meeting with all the greatest saints in the Bible. He would ask Moses, "what is it like when the Red Sea parted", then Moses would asked him back, "No.....YOU tell me what is it like to have the Spirit of the Living God in you?"
For as we received the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit come and dwells in us, believers. Through Him we found power to live in His light, to obey Christ, and to minister in His name.

Although I'm pretty sure I've heard it somewhere before, I was so blessed to be reminded of this fact. I often take for granted the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I do pray as I studied the Bible that He would open my mind and give understanding, but I often belittle the POWER of the Spirit to change lives.

Another highlight was when Francis come up to the stage with his daughter, Rachel. For the whole time they were at the stage together, Rachel has her arms around Francis waist, hugging her dad. Then Francis shared one prayer he has for his daughter is that she may love God. He also shares his frustration in early years when he doesn't think his daughter got it, and the realization that you can't make someone to love God. It resonates with me as I too share this kind of frustration.

Throughout this week I've been praying for God to help me to love Him more, to know what it means to love Him and put Him first.  

I've said earlier that having Rachel onstage was cherry on top of ice cream, so I saved it for last. I love all her songs - I think I have found a new favorite artist! =)
Despite being young, all the lyrics reflect a sense of security in her identity in Christ. The songs also talk about friendship, boys, uncertain future, peer pressure in an honest way - all in light of who she is in Christ.
Go check it out for yourself!

Have a blessed week!

Fonda