From beginning of time with Adam and Eve in the garden, God designed us for daily, intimate fellowship.
The above picture is the breathtaking view I woke up to every morning during the summer of 2017 in Brasília, Brazil.
“Being captured (lost) in Your presence makes me free-er than I’ve ever been.”
Everyday Treasure is the title of my fifth song off my latest album from 2018, On My Face. The beauty of these first lyrics is this: being captured (lost) in His presence means you are being found and seated in higher, heavenly places.
Besides the feeling of overwhelming peace, freedom is the best word to describe the presence of God. Religion sets realistic boundaries and rules, while the raw presence of the Lord breaks bonds and shifts the atmosphere. Being with the Lord grants me permission to unlock supernatural breakthroughs.
The picture above is of my amazing American team who went to Brazil with me. From left to right starting on the back row: Parker, Sam, Ashley, Laura, Peter, me, Sam, Abby, Neely, Erica, and Brianna. These people are some of these best people on earth. They are individually talented, fun, loving, and crazy passionate about the good news of the Gospel!
I wrote this song while living in Brazil for two months during summer of 2017. I was working summer camp with Winshape Camps. God molded me in a powerful way during that time of my life. We traveled around Brasília and Saõ Paulo doing camps for kids in churches each week. During this time, I had this revelation that my relationship does not stop with Salvation experience, or baptism, or being filled with the Spirit. Just like a relationship between a married couple does not stop after the wedding day, our relationship does not stop after we invite Him to be our Savior.
“The beauty of creation reminds me of the love within.”
Brazil is a huge country filled with adventure. I looked around me and saw the beauty of the sky, land, and bodies of water while flying to Brazil. I was reminded that the vastness of that creation lies within me.
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” –Psalm 139:14
"You take me on a trail but I’m never alone. The wonder of adventure is the unknown.”
Adventure is defined from Google as “engaging in exciting activity, especially the exploration of unknown territory.”
The first key element to notice is the word engaging. To engage in an activity requires full attention. Maybe you are missing out on this adventure with the Lord because you have not learned how to engage your heart appropriately.
The second key element to notice is exciting activity. Serving Jesus is EXCITING! I do not understand Christians who are sad all of the time. The joy of the Lord is our strength!
The last key element to notice is unknown territory. God wants us to discover things about Him that has not yet been unveiled. There are unknown territories that He wants you to discover. It requires time and proximity. How do I know that?
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
-1 Corinthians 2:9
This scripture suggests that there is more to God than what you know or conceive or imagine at this very moment and time. The key element in that verse is the part that says, "for those who love Him." Do we love Him? He is faithful to grant us exciting activities in unknown territories when we learn to long for Him.
Have you been on an adventure lately? Often times the best adventures involve elements of surprise. If there is no surprise element then I would argue that it was not much of an adventure at all.
Daniel Francis wrote an article in 2017 on the subject of adventure:
He wrote, "Adventure stories revolve around a single, central, heroic character. In an adventure story, there is always an event or series of events the hero or heroine must overcome to gain something or to survive. The hero is known as the protagonist, and the antagonist supplies the circumstances that the hero must overcome."
This sounds very familiar, doesn't it? Who is our central, heroic character? Jesus Christ. What series of events did he overcome? The cross, where he died for the sins of all humanity.
Francis continues by writing, "In adventure stories, rising and falling suspense supply the pace of the story. As one conflict rises, another must be diminishing. To heighten the tension, the diminishing conflict can move slowly while the rising conflict continues to increase. Some element of surprise enters into the story when the audience comes to expect one action and another action instead takes place. The protagonist's unknown response to the surprise helps increase the suspense and continues to define the hero or heroine."
This is so true. I know there is a time for everything. There are seasons in life. God is faithful through every season--good and bad. One thing that frustrates us as humans is not having control. When we predict something to happen and it does not happen, we become confused, impatient, angry, and all the above. But the beauty of adventures with Jesus is that His ways are always higher than our ways. His plans for us are good.
Speaking of surprises, God surprised me with this wonderful friend in Brazil.
The above picture features me and my close friend, Athan. I love this guy! He is a worshipper, and his vocal chords are powerful. We became close friends over the time I spent there. He traveled with our Winshape team, along with other awesome Brazilians on the Lifeshape team. The necklace in the picture is very significant. If you have seen me recently within the last year, you might have noticed this necklace I wear often. This necklace is from Athan. Many people mistakenly think this necklace is a whistle; however, it is a speaker stand pin. One of the first times I met Athan, he was wearing this. I knew exactly what it was when I first saw it on him. This necklace is awesome because of three things: 1) it is from a close friend from a different part of the world 2) it has symbolism in that a speaker stand pin is used for security purposes in case the screw is not strong or tight enough to hold the weight of the speaker 3) it is an audio production item.
This girl had my heart during the first week of camp in Brazil. The above picture is credited to Brianna. There’s nothing like camp, and there’s nothing like the adventurous love of the Father. I am excited to go to Costa Rica with Winshape Camps again this summer 2019!
I encourage you to engage in His presence today. There are new revelations, new promises, new dreams, new visions, new challenges, new victories, and new blessings waiting to be discovered today. Choose to engage in the things of the Father; you will be amazed by the way He reveals His Kingdom to you through His grace and mercy. It is a constant, everyday pursuit after the one thing: His presence, His righteousness, His goodness. He is all we need.
Listen to the song here:
Much love in Christ,
Carson
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