Waking Up in the Fish Bowl

I've begged God for a life of peace... but I have been denied. Believe me, I've asked "Why me? Lord?" Many days. Many times. At times, many times in one day.

You see, He has chosen me to be:

• a Princess--Crowned such not by a wordly king but by The Universal One
• a Warrior--knighted into THE epic battle of eternal consequence where hearts, lives, and souls are at stake

How did this happen you ask? Jesus picked me to tell other people about Him... through the story of redemption He has told the world through the undoing and reparation of my frayed and worn tapestry of life. He picked me as His own. On top of that, He picked me to be the wife of church planter.

And, I am feeling passionate today. We are planting a church in Lake Mary. A city that many have called 'unplantable'. A community of wealth and prosperity where the anesthesia of choice is stuff and success and a maxed out schedule to go with a maxed out mastercard. A community so rich and 'needless' that the enemy has convinced it that they do not need God or to make time for Him.

But I have got news for the Kingdom of Darkness... You are not welcome here.
The Church is on the war path. We have invaded 'your' territory and we lay claim to this ground with the only Blood that ever needed to be shed in this war--the blood of Christ. Do you see it, evil? Do you see your defeat? I do and I have a few words for you.

We deny you the families in this City.
We will not surrender them to you.
We deny you the hearts of the people here.
We will fight for every last one of them.
We will not surrender our marriages to the worldly distractions that you present here.
We refuse to surrender our children to this world and it's standards of success and happiness.
We refuse to allow you to exploit the many blessed and gifted people of this place.
We refuse to be enticed by your mirage in the desert, because we know you will leave us thirsty and dead.
We trade in our mastercard for the Master.

We hereby break the cloak of deception that you have cast upon this place.
We do so permanently and completely--not by might, nor by power, but BY HIS SPIRIT!

We will love one another.
We will honor God and his standards in our families and in our relationships.
We will teach our children that they are the beloved of God.
We will bring them up in a way so that they know the only way to quench their thirst is through the LIVING WATER.
We will convert the means of this community, that you have exploited over and over again as a stronghold, into a vehicle for bringing THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD into this world.
We will fight and battle and wage the war against the evil in this world--weilding the sword of the spirit and really just let Jesus do His thing which is to straight up kick your you know what.

Your stronghold in this city ends here.
Right here. Right now.
Not because of our greatness or our willingness to war with you, but because of the greatness of the One we follow and serve, and His complete and triumphant victory over you.

Once again, as though this city has forgotten and been woken up from a long and dreamless sleep...

It.
Is.
Finished.