advocacy

in one sense, i feel like i have so many thoughts inside my head, that at any moment they will just all come flooding out...in perfect, outlined, and understandable form. 
in another sense. i feel like i have so many thoughts inside my head, that at any moment i will just explode, because i can't even figure out a way to express or even understand all of them.


i haven't blogged in forever.
mostly, because we had adam's brother and family come last monday and stay until thursday morning. 
thursday night, my sister and her family came and left yesterday afternoon.
i thought it would be terribly rude to be sitting on my computer while they were here.


it was actually hard to even justify going to bed at all, because i wanted to just soak up every minute possible with them. 
it is so hard to have such great family, but have them live far away.


another reason that i haven't is because i want to post pictures and there is something up with my computer, making it so slow that the very thought of opening photoshop makes me crazy.


so those are my excuses.


i thought i would at least write and say a couple things.


one was a thought that came to me about advocacy. 


i was sitting a table with 2 of my close friends last night, and a girls name came up...
to which we all started saying...i just love her! 


she is a girl from our young adult group that i'm pretty sure is closely related to the sunshine itself.
she is so full of joy and happiness that she literally glows.


what that made me think of was...what do people say around their tables when MY name comes up?
and if someone were to start saying...oh i just hate her...would i have an advocate there?


the definition of advocate is "a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor"


wouldn't it be nice if we just all had those around?


someone to stand up for us, and plead and argue for us when people started putting us down?


then i started thinking about the passages in scripture where it tells us that if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father...which is Jesus.


amazing to even think about.


i know that satan is an accuser of christians.
it blows me away to think that satan would start accusing me of things...


which would not be hard to find


and i have an advocate right there...saying...


oh.. riiiight. 


Rachelle. 


yep. i saw her attitude right then too, and YES i saw that look on her face.


wow...she really is awful.


but. um..ya know what? everything she has ever done? and everything she will ever DO?
ya.
that's covered under the blood. 
you know...when i died on the cross for her?
ya.
you got nothing.


alright...maybe Jesus doesn't actually talk in the tone of voice i just typed.


but you get my point.


i do fall.


i do mess up.


read the book of Romans. 


the great apostle Paul had the same struggle...


BUTTTT...


we have an advocate.


i don't have to live under my own, or anyone else's condemnation.


i am so thankful that Jesus himself, is MY advocate


amazing.


i am so grateful...and humbled. 



i also hope that i live life being other people's advocate.


looking at the other side of the story for someone who is not there to defend themself.


wouldn't that be a great thing to be known for?


so those are my thoughts for the night.


and after re-reading this, i'm pretty sure it didn't come out in perfect, outlined, understandable form, but hopefully it made some sense!