Letter to a Dear Friend

May God’s peace be upon you, and may His love light your path in all that you do. You are a beloved child of God, in whom he is well pleased. A perfect woman in Christ Jesus; covered by the blood of the covenant. As Jesus is before the Father so are we. As you remember who you are in the eyes of God nothing can stop you. When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert it was right after Jesus had been affirmed by God that he was God’s beloved son, in whom he was well pleased. Then Satan comes up and says “If you are the son of God…” He almost quoted God but he left out one very important part, Beloved. He does the same with us. He knows that if he disconnects us from the knowledge that we are the beloved children of God then, at that moment, he has us. God’s protection for us is his love, and as we walk in his love and choose to believe and remember that we are beloved of God nothing can touch us. But when we forget and look away we hear the other voices and start to sink. But as we continue to look to God and learn to cast our eyes to Him we can walk through a den of lions and not be touched. We are the beloved of God, who can stand against us? We are the Beloved of God, who can stand against us? Who should we fear?

I was having a conversation with God the other day and I noticed something very interesting. You notice how God never accuses Satan? He never says things like, “look what Satan has done, look what Satan is trying to do, all I’m doing is trying to help you, it’s Satan whom you should blame.” Satan accuses God all the time to us, “Look what God did to you. Look what God let happen. Look what happened. How could that have happened if God really loved you?” He also accuses us. “Look what you’ve done; God could never love you now. How could anyone love you? What, you think they actually like you? What if you stopped trying so hard, do you think anyone would remember you existed?” There were two things that I found interesting about this, the first is, you notice how when Satan accuses us its always about our relationship to God? “If you are the son/daughter of God…” “If God loved you…” “Why would God let that happen if he actually cared about you?” The other thing I found interesting was the reason why God never accuses Satan, besides the fact that it is not in the nature of God to need to defend himself. If God were to accuse Satan he would be putting us in the position of judges. He would be looking to us and saying, “Look, here’s my side of the issue, who do you think is right?” God is the judge of the living and the dead; it is never our place to stand up and judge God as good enough or not. It breaks our hearts and God’s to even try. But Satan comes to us and says “Surely you know all things, you have seen the pain in your life, you have seen the pain life has caused others, you have seen the grief that has surrounded you all your life, surely you have seen enough to judge. What do you think, could God actually love you? Does he? Then why do things still hurt?” We don’t want to accuse God, so we justify God’s behavior. He must know what He’s doing right? But even then, the most important question has not been answered; do you know, down to the very depths of your soul, that God loves you. That beyond everything else, is what Satan doesn’t want you to realize. You are a beloved child of God, in whom He is well pleased. If you don’t believe me, ask Him, He’d love to tell you. God likes to brag on His kids.

Prayer Request

I would like prayer for my ministry. I pray that I will have a clear vision of who I am in God and what His call for my life is. I pray for courage and boldness that I would always remember God’s grace and redemption. I pray that I especially remember His grace and redemption in the times when I stumble, that I remember that I can run back to His arms rejoicing that I am His beloved and He is big enough to redeem even the mistakes I make. I pray for the courage to make mistakes and the courage to excel. I pray that God’s spirit is so vibrant in me that people around me find His joy, His faith, His courage, His peace contagious in my life. I pray for blessing in all that I do. I pray that everything I do whether washing dishes or some ‘great’ act of service I do it all in service to my Lord and I do it in His power and with His strength and guidance, as well as His spirit of praise.

I pray for His blessing as I prepare to leave the country in a little over a year. I don’t know yet how I will end up leaving the country but God told me a little over 2 years ago that in 3-4 years I was going to leave the country, though He didn’t tell me where I was going. Now I have a very strong sense that I will be leaving some time next summer or fall for Israel. Which I am very excited about. I pray for blessing and strength as I prepare to leave; I have no idea how long I will be gone. I pray for clarity and a sound mind. I pray that God will pave the way for me and bring people to my life who can help equip me for my travels. I pray for provision and guidance, as well as help, I don’t want to go alone. I pray that above all I am continually living in the awareness of who I am in Christ.

I ask that you join me in this prayer and in thanking God for His wonderful blessings and for both calling us and allowing all of us to work alongside Him and serve Him wherever we are and wherever He sends us. Hallelujah! Praise God!

God bless, and may His grace be with you always. Amen.

Téa Vranish a beloved daughter of our Lord God

Worth It

Worth it

you

totally worth it

worth it all

has no one told you?

how wonderful you are?

how amazing your smile is?

how your eyes shine like the stars?

so many stories, they make up your life

all you've known

let me retell those stories

tell you about my love for you all through your life

let me tell you

your worth it

so totally worth it

I'd give it all, everything I am to tell you

that your worth it

to help you see how much I delight

in who you are

in your smile

the way you laugh

everything that is you

don't try to hide

I love you, I like you, just the way you are

no more pretending

I love you

the childlike heart behind the mask

so totally worth it

everyday totally worth it

Come my love, come dance with me

forgot the others, the voices that cry in your head

the ones that tell you that you are anything less

than totally worth it

There is this Dream that I have

There is a dream that I have. A dream to see the world. To travel to its furthest reaches, to see the people who live with us on this earth. I have this dream. I want to see the children. I want to see them laugh and dance in their play. I want to see them in their homes. I want to see them in the midst of destruction and despair. I want to travel the world and be there with the people amongst the worst toil and grief this world has to offer. I want to be there. I want to weep with them as they weep. I want to offer hope to them as they heal. I want sing with them as they walk through life on this earth and remember with them that there is one who has already overcome the world and He is the one whom we serve. I want to learn their songs and sing with one voice in praise to the Lord our God and King. There is this dream that I have. I want to live it.

A New Song

such a sweet sound of sorrow haunting my soul,

what is this melody? I recognize the tune.

the steps of my feet match the beat as I move with my heart

what does it mean? I feel lost in a soul full

of this haunting melody.

hear the wind in the background? listen to its lonely howl.

it is a part of my song.

you asked once if it was ok,

if I would mind,

if you asked me to always be sad,

I said no, I wouldn't mind.

but now, you ask another time

would I mind

if I chose to never be sad.

now my answer is harder to know

can I say yes? this song is a part of all I've known

I love the haunting tune

I'm used even to its harsher melodies

you want me to give it up?

give up my tears? give up my loneliness?

sacrifice of joy,

can I even do that? what would the world look like

without pain?

I used to run from the pain,

run away and run to, cover my face

but hide in the wings

of pain.

can I give that up?

I did once, you asked me to and I did,

I didn't want the pain,

but today, it feels so a part of who I am.

who am I now?

if I say yes I will have to learn to dance to a new song

a song of a new heart.

what does that mean? what will that look like?

will it be beautiful? beautiful like your laugh? like your smile?

I have seen the pain, stood my ground and faced it.

Now I can turn away and leave it?

what does that mean?

is turning away different from running? I'm done with running.

I don't want to run away, but dancing to a new song, I can do that.

I will run to you, my Lord, the musician of my life.

And if that means I leave the pain behind

then God bless the day,

I learned to dance

to a different song.

Words of Your Heart

what if I told you

the words of your heart?

what if I reached down and plucked them

held them up for you to see?

would you like what you saw?

would you even know what you were looking at?

what if I told you that your words are beautiful

would you believe me?

what if its true?

I like your words

the ones that come from your heart

I like how they reveal who I made you to be

I love the tears that fall from your eyes,

the ones that bring healing and love

the tears, falling, healing,

the words, breaking, singing

thank you for saying the words of your heart

I'm the one that put them there.

-God

Beautiful Sister - A Song for Your Heart -

Broken hearts are slow to heal

ripped apart and left alone

touched and crushed

is nothing left?

Why, why? I want to know

but even now

I don't know what exactly I'm asking

God are you there?

I'm sure your listening

but sometimes I'm not sure you care

do you remember me?

Do you know the things I see?

do you hear the words I've never said

the ones I don't know what they mean?

how can I know you,

how can I trust,

you can help me sure, but can you help the ones I love?

I want to know your there, that something really matters

not just that you care, but that you have the power.

will you help me now? I'm not sure I want you

what if I say no, how could I still trust you?

Thank you that you listen, from up so high above

I am a part of your cosmos, but am I one you love?

Listen

How beautfiul is a world

in which there is so much suffering

so much sorrow

and yet children still smile

how preacious the beauty

of the simple flower

in a field of destruction

Listen to the music, the laughter

in the rain,

even in the midts of starvation and death

songs of the heart are heard

in bitter words there is kindness

in haunted eyes there is light

in sorrow weeping there is Joy

in a heart breaking there is life

never stop listening

never stop looking

never stop seeing

God in every man, woman, and child,

in every breath spoken, every word uttered

there is life, God's life

listen and you will hear His music in every heart

His light in every eye

His song in every mouth

because Jesus is Lord

all else doesn't matter, not compared to Jesus our Lord.

His is the light of our eyes and the song in our mouth

His is the world that we see, the words that we speak

His is the power to make all things new

and His is the power to reveal Himself in the midsts

of chaos.

When He is revealed, the chaos changes to order. Because He is there

and where the Lord is, there is freedom.

Let us rejoice!