Fresh Perspective

So after friends, family, and mentors advising me to start a blog, I am finally joining the blogging world. I am uncertain as to whether or not anyone will read the ramblings of my soul, but luckily, I do not write to be read by my peers ~ I write to worship the One who has brought me out of death and into life. God gave me a passion for writing so that I might bring glory and honor to His Holy Name.

If you are curious about the address of this blog (brightlightdarknight) let me be honest and tell you I'm still discovering its depths even now. I had a handful of creative ideas for addresses, but this is the only one that hadn't been taken already. One thing I will expand on later is the fact that "Light" and "Truth" have been theme words for me this summer. The Lord's Light shines bright in me and through me, even in the darkest night. The same goes for all of His children that He has chosen to adopt into His family.

My prayer for this blog is this:
Father, I pray that whatever I share here would be Your word that You have written on my heart and not my own. I pray that You will make use of each word on this page in the lives of those who read this - that these posts would not bring attention to myself, but would direct attention to You and what You desire to speak to others and myself. Thank You for the freedom that You have so richly provided me to write about You and the freedom for others to read such writing. I pray now for those who are under a different form of earthly authority, that are facing extreme persecution for their faith in You - I pray that You will overwhelm them with the peace and confidence that is found in walking by Your Spirit. May You grant them the endurance necessary to continue to seek after You and Your Kingdom above all else. And may Your Gospel be made strong in them and be demonstrated through them in such a way that could only be fueled by the mighty power of Your Holy Spirit. May You continue to reign over every detail of this blog so that it might be a tool of surrender and a platform of humble worship before Your Throne and nothing more or less. I pray that if this begins to become something of my flesh or the enemy that You will extend to me the discernment necessary to see the Light of Your Truth and not fall prey to the darkness, nor cause brothers and sisters to stumble. Thank You for not only listening to our prayers, but for answering them in Your perfect way and perfect timing. Thank You for the privilege You have blessed me with to call You 'ABBA, Father'. And thank You for the joy that I find in being called Your daughter. I love You, Father. Thank You for loving me. May all these words be holy and pleasing to You.

Last week I woke up to the sunlight peeking through my window with this word on my heart that I have shared with a few of you, but decided would be fitting for my first post in light of my blog title: "Redemption & Restoration". Those two words prove themselves powerful in my life more and more with each day the Lord gives me breath. So I believe they will continue to echo through the journey of this blog:

Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder.
As a camera cannot capture the beauty that our eyes can see, so we cannot capture the beauty that God sees - in us and our surrounding universe.
"The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord." -Psalm 45:11
"The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." -1 Samuel 16:7
Let's live this day for the One who gave His life so that we might experience His beautiful redemption to the last breath.