Let us.

Let us have the boldness to trust that God truly uses everything for the good of us who love Him.
Let us not be blind to those around us because we are so full of pride that we cannot look beyond our own state.
Let us constantly, through prayer and serving, continue to develop a deeper heart for others and God.
Let us not only listen for God's voice, but also obey it despite the limitations we can place on ourselves.
God has such good things in store.

Amazed.

God knows what you need. He knows the right time to speak. He knows how long to wait. He knows what to speak. He knows how to speak to you. He knows you.
He knows your desires, your hopes, your dreams.
He sees through you.
Trust in the Lord always.
What He calls you to do, He will enable you to bear.
If you've come to the end of yourself, good.
If you are desperate, good.
If you are crying out for help, good.
If you don't think you can make it, good.
God will reveal what He needs to reveal at the perfect time.
He knows what you can handle.
He knows what you can bear.
He will not give you more than you can take.
However, He will push you to your limits to learn to trust and rely on Him and to lean not on your own understanding.
God is a good God.
Everything, every season we encounter is for our good.
Maybe sometimes He tries to bring us back from our complicated additions to our faith to kneeling in amazement at the cross.

Treasure.

Life is but a moment. At least sometimes that is how it feels compared to eternity; especially when we cannot even fully wrap our minds around how long eternity truly is. And if life is so short compared to our afterlife in Heaven, then why do we do what we do?
What do we do?
Everything we do on this earth should be to glorify God. It glorifies God to exalt His name by spreading the Truth...His love.
Therefore, if life is so short, then every single thing we do here is pretty much worthless unless we have somehow affected our eternity or another person's eternal position.

What is the point of friendship unless you encourage and build each other up to do the Father's will?

What is the use for marriage unless the person you are joined with strengthens and further aids you in growing in the Father's love?

What is the point of going to school unless you are taking what you are learning as valuable and learning to apply it to life to somehow take others with you to Heaven?

What is the point of a job unless you are showing the love of Christ to your coworkers and using your money to support God's children?

I think the point has been clearly made.

Everything in this world is useless...unless it is being used to GLORIFY GOD.

What are you doing? Where are your thoughts? Where is your motivation? Where is your treasure?

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20

Trust.

God knows others more than I do. He knows their hearts, needs, and desires more than I do. Above everything, He desires even more than I do for them to know Him and His overwhelming love. Therefore, I am called to trust God. I can't mend broken hearts. I can't make a rebellious person become faithful to God. I can't break strongholds off of others' lives. So I choose to trust. I choose to love God above worrying about if I am adequate to help others. Trust.

Satisfaction

Stop seeking the things that satisfy you temporarily, and start seeking the One who will satisfy you for eternity.

Brother

I love my brother, and yes, that alone was worth a blog post.

Prayers.

I pray that even if distance or time separates us, God would have touched my heart strong enough to touch yours...leaving a footprint that cannot be erased by such things.

I know that I am not perfect. Not anywhere near it. I think sometimes that scares me because I know in a way that humans are always capable of destruction. However, I also know that God's grace is sufficient for me, and that in my weaknesses, He is made perfect. No matter where in life you are...if you seek God, He covers you with grace. I have made many mistakes, oh so many. And I can either sit here in shame or believe that God has covered me. Believe that God has helped those that I have hurt forgive me or at least me be free from my past. Your past influence you, but it does not determine you. I believe it.

Anyway, I pray that even those who I do not speak with much anymore were somehow affected despite my weaknesses by Jesus Christ in me. I know they were, and I will trust God.

Dreams.

You think you have dreams that you would die to fulfill? That hunger...that urge to see something completed...that desire...that is a piece of God's heart. If we can feel the effects of His desires as much as we do, I don't believe we can even wrap up in our minds how much more He fights for those dreams to come to pass. Therefore, we can be still and trust. Stillness in our hearts.

For my ladies...

I have a word for you...
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

Guard your heart. Don't let your heart be deceived by anyone or anything.
Sometimes the only person who can see deception is Jesus, so follow after the convictions He places in your heart. Don't smother your convictions with your desires. It grieves the Holy Spirit and leaves you uneasy and out of protection.
I urge you to follow after Him and what He says no matter how extreme it seems. He sees more than you. He protects you. If He asks you to let go of someone in your life, do it. You don't know others' hearts the way He does. He sees everything, and you, being the apple of His eye, are worth protecting to Him. Follow Him. Never look away. For the moment your eyes are captured by something else, is the moment you step into unprotected territory. Stay covered.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Psalm 91:1-4

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
Psalm 91:!4

Girls, you are loved by a PROTECTOR.

Brennan Manning

A few good quotes from Brennan Manning:
Because the character of the worshiper will always be molded by the character of what he worships: If it is a cruel and revengeful God, the worshiper will be the same, but if it is a loving, tender, forgiving, unselfish God, the worshiper will be transformed slowly, wonderfully, into this likeness.

What we believe about God determines the way we will live.

When Satan wanted to tempt the woman to rebel against God, he did so by planting in her mind a seed of doubt about God’s goodness: Genesis 3:1

A great many things in God’s divine providences do not look to the eye like goodness. But faith sits down before mysteries such as these, and says, “The Lord is good, therefore all the He does must be good no matter how it looks. I can wait for His explanations.”javascript:void(0)

Read The Furious Longing of God

Nature.

The earth is filled with the Lord's glory. Habakkuk 2:14
This is one of those seasons where I am literally craving an intense...I mean intense moment with God. I wish I could just leave civilization for at least a week and go to a cabin in the middle of the woods...Something about nature makes me so sensitive to God's voice. Tree-hugger to some, but I just think nature speaks of God's glory. It offers me hope. Anyway, I would love to climb in a tree and worship for hours. Through the busy moments in life, I know He offers guidance and revelations, but there is something so unique about just being...with nowhere to go...no time limit...just being.

Change.

"In a desert land he found him, in a barren & howling waste. He shielded him & cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest & hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them & carries them on its pinions." Deuteronomy 32:10-11

This verse I would say is the anthem of my present season. God has been, what feels like, ripping me out of nest...my comfort zone. I would say it has been pretty painful. At first, it was really confusing, but then I realized that God was trying to get me to fly. Have I experienced the flight yet? Not quite. At this point I don't even really know what that means. The one thing I know is that if I fall, my God is ready and willing to catch me. The only thing I can find security and comfort in is Him. It can't come from my friends, family, or even pastors; it has to come from Him alone.
I know the promises spoken over my life. Right now, faith to me means believing in His promises...even when my feelings try to convince me otherwise.

For now, I must sleep.

The Beginning...

I would have to say more so recently than ever I have kind of been overwhelmed at the things I encounter everyday...whether it be an obstacle, a intimate word from God, a life lesson, or just a moment of overwhelming love. This is just an outpouring of my desire to be honest. To be me. To be free. So often people say or do things just to present a false idea of who they truly are, and no, I am not innocent. Frustration has been building to the point I am at now...where I have decided to break through. I don't care if what I say seems foolish or immature to some...I can only be me. I don't think I can truly learn or become who I am called to be unless I am me. I would much rather my core be revealed and sifted through than to never experience complete freedom. So, I guess this is one of those life choice moments. Here I am. My life is not perfect. I am not perfect. And that makes the God I serve all the more beautiful. Despite where I was, He found me. Despite where I am, He delights in me. I can not seek to be "myself" without seeking to know my Creator. Hello, Jesus. Teach me truth.

Hopefully this blog will be filled with encouraging messages, stories, and incredible memories.
Memories are an anchor that remind us of God's goodness.