I Can Feel You

April 25, 2012 6 Comments

My brother is always finding cool artists on Bandcamp, so I decided to look up some artists.  With finals and end-of-the-year stresses, God knew I needed some encouragement tonight.  He led me to Jake Walter‘s music.  What a blessing this song has been to me today; hope this song blesses your heart just as much as it has blessed mine!

“When I see your face, my troubles fade away.
We’ve made it this far. We can’t look back.
I will try my best, with all of my heart.
To give you the love, that you’ve given me.”

~”I Can Feel You” by Jake Walter

Filed Under: Christian Music, My Life Tagged With: , , ,

Accepted in Christ

April 25, 2012 4 Comments

I have to be honest with you today, I am struggling.  As much as I try to tell myself that I don’t long to fit in and be accepted, I am struggling with just that.  Whether it be trying to find acceptance with my peers or those on  blogs and Twitter, I have been struggling with wanting acceptance.  As humans, we long to fit in and be accepted,  but what makes all the difference is realizing that we are already accepted.  We are accepted by a loving Savior.  When we forget to look to Him for our purpose and acceptance, we look to the world to fill the place in our life.  The world can never fill that hole in our heart, only Jesus can.  Even as believers, we know we are already accepted but we forget that and start to look for acceptance from friends, family members, peers, and boyfriends/girlfriends.  I don’t know about you, but when I go searching for acceptance from others, it leaves me drained and worn out.

“You don’t have to try so hard to ‘fit in.’ God thinks you’re pretty great just the way He made you.” Caleb Grimm (Member of Anthem Lights)

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” Psalm 118:8

I have to find my true happiness and peace in the loving arms of my Father.  It shouldn’t even matter how many people are following me on Twitter or how what my peers think, I need to find my acceptance in Christ.  Sure, I get pretty excited when people want to follow me, but that can’t provide me with true happiness, it is just a tool for me to share the Gospel and encourage others.

It is time that I let go of what has been holding me back.  I don’t need to search for acceptance from others because Christ has already accepted me.  I need to focus my eyes on Jesus and surround myself with Him because when I take my eyes off of Him, that’s when everything falls to pieces.  God is really working on my heart in this area of my life, and I can’t be too busy to take the time and listen to Him!  Does it mean that I won’t struggle at times with acceptance?  No, I am work-in-progress and I will still struggle.  But, when I focus my eyes and heart on Jesus, I will find the strength I need to ward off the negative thoughts and lies!

Are you struggling with acceptance today?  Run to the arms of your loving Heavenly Father—He loves and accepts you!
Filed Under: Learning Along the Way Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Single and Living Happily!

April 24, 2012 2 Comments

Reblogged from Life of a Sinner:

Mondays are always be least favorite day of the week. I am scheduled to be busy from 7am-7:30pm with one two hour gap of break before noon (I'm skipping a class today). However I there is one good thing about Mondays, and that is Blimeycow. Blimeycow is a youtube channel that comes out with a new video every monday. They are always very entertaining, funny, aimed at college/high school students and usually have a Christ based message.

Read more… 325 more words

A wonderful post about finding happiness while being single!
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Made for a Beautiful Purpose

April 23, 2012 2 Comments

My friends took me to a beautiful area outside of town today.  There was prairie grass and streams, with some walking paths throughout the park.  I soaked up the beautiful scenery, praising God for His wonderful creation.  While we were walking, we saw this bench by the path.  My friend said, “Wow, that bench if really broken and beaten up.”  After she said that, I start to think about our lives.

The bench is broken and worn down, but it serves a purpose.  We are like the bench in many ways.  We have hurts, pain, and brokenness from our past.  We have things in our past that might be ugly.  The coolest thing about our walk with God is that He uses our brokenness and and our past for His purpose.  Our life has purpose, even if we feel that God cannot use our past or  brokenness, He certainly will use it for His glory and purpose.

“God uses broken people to reach a broken world. The mistakes of yesterday say nothing of the possibilities of tomorrow.” ~Gov. Rick Perry

We all have a story to share with those around us; stories of hope and redemption.  No matter where we’re from or what we look like, God can use each of us for a greater purpose—to bring glory and praise to His Name.  People will see God through you when you share with them how God saved you and used you for a purpose.

God is so amazing!  He takes broken, beaten down people and turns their mess into a message.  God turns nobodies into somebodies.  No matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, their is hope in Jesus Christ.  We are all meant for a greater purpose!

Filed Under: Encouragement Tagged With: , , , , ,

Learning Curve

April 20, 2012 Leave a Comment

Just when I thought I was mastering my iPhone, I realized I have a lot to learn.  I was trying to comment on a blog post but instead I created my own blog post.  Sorry to all my followers who received emails about those posts!  Thanks for your patience :)

I got to thinking that in life we start to think we know it all and that we have everything under control, but it fact we are far from knowing it all.  We need to humble ourselves and remember that everything good in life comes from God.  We can’t accomplish anything without God’s help and direction.  Most of the time when I start to think I have it all under control, situations in my life humble me and remind me of my dependence on God.  We are nothing we out God.  

“‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’  As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” Acts 17:28

We are all a work in progress.  Praise God that he has our back and that he never fails to help us learn and grow!  If we ask for wisdom, He will provide us with wisdom.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5

Filed Under: My Life Tagged With: , , ,

You’re Worth More Than Gold

April 18, 2012 5 Comments

We’ve all had those days–the days when we feel that we are not pretty enough, smart enough, or cool enough.  Maybe your family doesn’t accept you or maybe a friend just said such hurtful words.  Or even in school, maybe you were bullied and rejected by your peers.  Well, I hope you already know this and believe this: You are worth more than gold in the eyes of your Heavenly Father!  

Unkind words can be painful but you don’t have to listen to them because the only thing that matters is what the God of the universe thinks about you.  Other might reject you but your Heavenly Father accepts you just as you are! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christian Music, Encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

My Story

April 16, 2012 6 Comments

I was inspired by Uplifting Tweets to share my testimony…so here goes nothing!

It’s hard to remember a time when Christ wasn’t in my life.  During a Sunday school lesson when I was a Kindergartener, my Sunday school teacher talked about a wonderful friend, named Jesus that we could have in our lives.  She explained to us how we disobey and make him feel sad but He loved us so much that he died to take those sins away.  I wanted to have Jesus be my friend and come into my life, so my Sunday school teacher helped lead me to Christ.

Now fast-forward to fourth grade.  Up until now, I knew Jesus was in my life and I did all the Christian activities (Church, Sunday School, Bible School), but once I hit fourth grade, Christ became a bigger part of my life.  Fourth grade was a tough year for me because I didn’t have many friends and I was pretty depressed.  I even thought about ending my life because I felt so hopeless.  One day when I was feeling pretty depressed, I decided to open up my Bible.  As I read my Bible, God was speaking to me; I realized that Christ wasn’t just some guy I accepted into my life or someone who I sang about at Church—he was my friend.  He cared about me, He had plans for my life, and He was never going to leave me.  I kept reading and reading, and Christ began to lift my spirits and focus my attention on the things that really mattered. [Read more...]

Filed Under: My Life Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Making Time for God

April 16, 2012 2 Comments

I am a big fan of the folks at Blimey Cow.  They are a group of hilarious, young Christians who are transparent in their struggles and walk with Christ.  Their Messy Monday video really hit home today.  How many times I have been to busy to “pencil in” God?  I shouldn’t be pencilling Him in because he should already be in my day.

I use to think that if I read my Bible and prayed so often in a day that I would be a good Christian.  Don’t get me wrong, it so important to have quiet time with God, but our relationship with Him is more than spending 30 minutes a day reading the Bible.  Our relationship with Christ should be evident in all areas of our life, in school, in work, and in home.  Our faith should be evident by the way we love and serve others.  Just like in the video, you can read you Bible but if you don’t put what you’ve learned to practice than how will others know you are even a Christ follower? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Learning Along the Way Tagged With: , , , , ,

Fighting Childhood Hunger in the U.S.

April 14, 2012 Leave a Comment

Tonight,  I sat down to relax and enjoy some TV.  I turned to the Food Network, and I saw there was a documentary.  This documentary was called, Hunger Hits Home.  I was going to switch the channel until I realized how important it was to watch.  Millions of kids across the U.S. struggle to find enough food to fill their bellies.  It broke my heart to hear about a young man who sometimes goes for 3 days without eating.  I always thought hunger was a problem in developing countries but our country, too, faces hunger.   [Read more...]

Filed Under: Charities Tagged With: , , , ,

Who Can You Pray for Today?

April 13, 2012 11 Comments

Yesterday, my friend had a small car accident, and praise God she is okay!  I told her how grateful to God I was that she was okay, and I told her I would pray for her that night, thanking God for His hand of protection over her.  My friend is not a believer.  She said, “Wow, I get a mention tonight!”  Then I told her that I pray for her every day.  She thanked me and I told her, “Thats what friends are for!”

I started thinking–how often do we pray for those around us?  How often do we pray for our friends? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Learning Along the Way Tagged With: , , ,
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