Today, I Sinned...

Yep, that's right. Today, I sinned and today, I hurt God. What did I do that was so horrible, you may ask? Well, it doesn't really matter what I did, does it? All that matters is that I hurt HIM. I disappointed HIM. But, today, there is something I can be sure of:

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

So, really, what did I do today? Well, let's see. First off, I had negative thoughts. I spent time thinking about things that were not constructive in pleasing my Lord. I thought about the way people looked, or the way people acted. And, while we are to judge people in accordance to their Christian walk, I had no right to have those negative thoughts. 

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Second, I worried. I worried about school. I worried about my friends. I worried about the past. I worried about the future. Hey, I even worried about the present. I'm a natural basket case. This is something that I struggle with, but I know that only through the blood can I be sure that whatever fate is in store for me, I am safe and sound. No matter what, worrying really isn't going to change anything. Because what will be, will be. If it's meant to happen, it will. So, can we really justify WASTING our time (that's right- wasting) with worry?! The time is going to pass, so we might as well spend it focusing on what we can do to glorify His name rather than our silly thoughts and worries. 

I could pick many verses in The Bible on the topic of worry, but this is by far my favorite:

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matthew 6:24-34

God does not want us to hurt. He does not want us to let Him down. But, unfortunately, it's something that happens all too much. The devil is a sneaky creature, constantly trying to trick us, but if we stand firm in Jesus, the devil will lose.

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7

We sin on a constant basis. We may not think that a little negative thinking here or a little worry there can actually disappoint God, but it does. Thus, it is important to remember that you are letting Him down. If you want to really put your mind to use, go to Him in prayer and ask Him to help you. Read scripture. Learn about what The Bible says about worrying and negative thinking. And, if you find yourself doing it, repent.

Being Blessed

Each and every day when I wake up, I realize how truly blessed I am. I mean, first of all, God woke me up today, right? He allowed me to have at least a few more hours of life on this planet, right? He keeps my heart beating and my lungs working and my eyes blinking, and every other intricate part of my body working, right? It is not until we start to realize that being blessed doesn't only mean we have a "good life". If you are alive, you are blessed. So many (and I have definitely been guilty of this, too) think that they are only  blessed if they get that new car they wanted or if they get that promotion they've been wanting. But this just simply isn't the case. And, once this is realized, life become even more amazing.

Make sure you are constantly thanking God for your life- not just for the things in it.

Image courtesy of [graur razvan ionut] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A Christian in College

Image courtesy of [scottchan] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"It's like being a cat in a room full of dogs."

Well, that pretty much explains it. And I could leave it at that, but I won't. I will be starting my senior year in college this fall (yay, me!!),  but let me tell you- it has been HARD. And let me just say this before I continue....you hear all of those statistics about how so many people lose their faith and walk away from the church, but I am so proud to say that I actually found Jesus while I was in college. I guess I'm an exception, but I feel like this is important for you to know before reading the rest of this. And that is because I used to be one of those "secular students". And by secular, I mean wordly, not focused on God and letting the devil take hold of me. This all changed dramatically during my sophomore year of college (yeah, that's a different topic) and, after that, I started really understanding how wrong the average person's "college life" is.

"They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity." Ephesians 4:18-19

 A lot of kids think that going to college is going to be so fun. Not because they are going to be filling their minds with new material and information, but because they get to be away from their parents and on their own and without any restrictions. And, frankly, most KIDS go crazy once they hit college. Many drop out because they didn't prepare for learning, just for parties. Some stay in school but make the lowest grades possible just to get by, because they are more focused on the parties and events.
Now, don't get me wrong. I don't think participating in events (if they are appopriate) in college is wrong. No, I encourage these things. But that all depends on if you can handle it. It's important to remember that classes come first and if you can't join that club because you'll have to skip class, yeah- don't do that. Don't even think about it. I am a student ambassador for my school. This entails giving tours to people looking at the campus. This takes a lot of time. But, I only do it because I know that I can handle it and balance it along with my other needs.
But, back to the main point here. What I'm trying to get at is that it's really difficult to be a Christian in college and maintain your faith. Each and every day you have to fight temptation and walk past inappropriate situations and circumstances. But, I truly believe that after the 4 (or 5, or 6, or however long it takes) years are over, it makes you that much stronger. After I was saved, I thought "there's no way I can do this. I can't be a true Christian and still be in college." But, then my attitude changed. And now I think of it like "hey, there all these people here that are lost. They either left the church or they were never in it to begin with. And I actually have the possibility to help here." Yeah, that's right- help. 

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:1-3

As a Christian, you should be ministering to everyone around you all the time. This includes when going to school. Now, I'm not telling you to go around shoving the Book down people's throats. No. BUT. People notice things. People notice how you dress, how you act and what you do. By not dressing immodestly, for example, like so many other girls do in college (you know, the booty shorts and super tight shirts) you're already standing out. And this isn't a bad thing. You should strive to be different and to be a guiding light everywhere (in this case, in college) and never want to lower your standards just to fit in with the other people. 

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm." Psalms 20:7-8

You Have Brought Me Back To Life

 

Really reflecting today on how amazing my Creator is. I thank Him for who He is. His caring and loving nature. No matter how many times we turn away from Him, He's right there waiting for us with open arms. The God who created everything....the big things....the small things.....He cares for it all. Every human heartbeat is controlled by Him. Every creatures breath is controlled by Him. Every gust of wind.......that was Him. I will never be able to fully show God how much I love Him. Nothing I ever do will be enough. And He's ok with that. We just have to surrender our lives to Him. Put Him first. And the rest He will effortlessly and beautifully take care of.

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.
Psalms 34:8


Check out this song by Hillsong Young & Free. "Back to Life"

Seek HIM First

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33

This is a verse we, as Christians, hear all the time. We hear it in church, we hear it at home, we hear it in movies and we even hear it in songs. But, are we really listening to what this simple verse is telling us?

Let's break it down so we can fully understand what we are being told.

"Seek ye first"- This is pretty simple. Here, we are being told that we are to do this first. Not second or third or fourth. We are to make this a priority in our lives.

"The kingdom of God"- Here, we are being told what exactly it we should be seeking. We should be seeking God. His kingdom. And what exactly does "kingdom" mean? Well that can be easily defined also. A simple Google search for the definition of kingdom tells us that it is defined as "A realm associated with or regarded as being under the control of a particular person or thing." Well, since God is the controller of everything, this becomes pretty straightforward. 

"And his righteousness"- this is the second thing we are told we should be seeking above all else. You can find this righteousness through Christ himself. This is the state of moral perfection. And, it should go without saying, that this is impossible to accomplish without Christ himself & having faith in God. 

"And all these things shall be added unto you"- this is my favorite part of the verse. This is the reward we will receive for following His direction and Seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. "all these things" is everything we could ask for. These are our rewards.

So, all in all, this verse could very well be one of the strongest rules we could receive from The Bible. We need to let the things of this world pass us by, and not get caught up in them. We need to seek God first and foremost. And then, only then, will everything be added unto us. 

I'm From the Country and I Like It That Way

I'm proud to say that I am a country girl. I can go out wearing jeans, a tshirt, and boots and feel more confident than if I were in a dress. Taking a walk in the woods or riding fourwheelers in a big open field is more fun to me than actually going out. Don't get me wrong, I love going shopping and going to dinner every now and then. BUT being a country girl is just how God made ME. It’s like I can’t help it. I love my dogs, I love being at the barn and smelling that “barn” smell and I love taking my fourwheeler through a big mud hole. I just love being outside in general. I am a Vitamin D junkie. I can never get enough of the sun. Sitting on the porch in the evenings with my bible and notebook is one of my absolute favorite things. While I can talk to God inside just as good as I can outside, being outside for some reason helps me think better. Playing my guitar sitting on the swing helps me really clear my head. Takes away a lot of stress. I also want to mention how much I love having a long driveway. If you have read any of our previous blogs, you may have read the one titled “Working Out And Eating Healthy:)” I talked about how I like to run. Well, I actually run down my driveway. It’s so open and spacious, not like being at the gym on a treadmill. On an episode of Duck Dynasty, Willie and Jase were outside talking about going to the gym. And Jase replies “This is God’s gym!” That couldn’t be any truer. If I could reach out to anyone that suffers from depression, I would tell them to go outside. Get involved with activities that are outdoors. Nothing takes away sadness more than some good ole Vitamin D. Enjoy "God's Gym". I'm so thankful and grateful that I live in the country. My childhood was a blast. From rolling out a big piece of tarp to make a slip n slide to jumping on the horses bareback...I can say I was blessed with some fun childhood memories. Sitting in the driveway making mud pies and getting lost in the woods and in the corn field, are things I will treasure for the rest of my life. God placed me here. For a reason. And I am so happy that He did.

 

                           

Summer Reflections.

Here it is the beginning of August.....wow how time flies. Am I the only one who gets that bittersweet feeling when the summer is coming to a close?.....sigh. Anyways. These are some of my summer reflections and things I want you to know :)


1) Time is a precious gift. Don't wish it away. Stop being in such a hurry all the time. Enjoy every moment. Yeah that probably sounds cliché. It's true. We spend most of our lives wishing time would speed up so we can get to where we want to be in life. God has a purpose for ALL times in our lives. Even those times that seem so insignificant. "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven"- Ecc 3:1

2) God is in full control of our lives. BUT we make our own decisions. God does his best to keep us on the highway, but we are in control of the steering wheel. "The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."- Isaiah 58:11

 

3) Quit playing it safe. Quit staying in your comfort zone. So you're scared to go out into the world? No worries. God has you in the palm of His hands. And nobody can take you away from Him. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

 

4) Be confident in who you are. Walk out into the world knowing that Jesus died for YOU. And he still would have done it, if you were the only person in the world. You are a daughter of a King. You are precious and special to Him. "A woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." -Proverbs 31:30




5) Without spending time with God and talking to him (daily), you are not going to have any kind of direction. You will be overwhelmed and all over the place. So if you aren't grounded and standing firm in your faith, you will make stupid decisions. Take some time out of your day to show Jesus you really want to walk like him. "Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge"-Proverbs 23:12