A Beautiful Reminder{this one's for you ladies :))}

God is lavishing, incomparable; His beauty is on display for the world to look at in Awe. I struggle with everyday things such as insecurity, beauty, temptation, wanting to feel accepted by everyone I come in contact with, putting my identity in what others view me as or what a boy says about me. I want to let you know GIRLS you are NOT alone. We all have insecurities and believe the lies that the world puts out on display about us. Most girls today believe those polluted lies that creep in and destroy us. I want to let you know what God says about you,

1. You are adored. You are cherished and made beautiful in the eyes of your Creator who looks at you and it takes His breath away. 

{Proverbs 31:30} – “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

{Song of Solomon 4:7}- “You are altogether beautiful, my love; There is no flaw in you.”

2. You are only defined by what God says about you NOT what others say about you.

{Ephesians 2:10}-“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

{Colossians 3:12}-“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”

3. Your identity is found in Christ and NOT a boy or a friendship, {this is a HUGE one for me}

{1 John 3:1}-“What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.”

~Your identity should come from who you are in Christ, not what a boy says you are even if its what you want to hear. The only person who can fill the void of identity and who you are is God. No one else can define you. If you put your identity in a boy you will ALWAYS be disappointed. You will never be satisfied by only what they tell you. It is not enough for a reason. God created it that way in order for Him to be the ONLY fulfillment and for you to put your identity in Him and no one else.

4. You are not defined by your past. WOW is this one SOOO hard for me to wrestle with. I have been down the wrong road and experienced that life, but God REDEEMED me!! HE LOVED ME THAT MUCH!!! You are a NEW creation in Christ the old is GONE the new has arrived!!! Praise Jesus for His unfailing forgiveness.

{2 Corinthians 15:18}- “The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.”

God wipes away the crimson stain of blood on us and makes us white as snow! He forgives and washes all the sins away and looks at us no differently!! How cool is that? Oh what love the Savior has for us! His unfailing love is refreshing. 

I am with You

Lately, I have been doing my quiet time more frequently because I find myself having so much peace about everyday life when I make it a priority. As I read more and more, I find myself constantly coming across passages that God reassures us that He will never leave us. How reassuring to know that He will never abandon us, even when times get so rough and sometimes feel unbearable. He is there for us arms wide open ready to help us and carry our burdens. Isaiah 43:2 paints a beautiful picture of the help God provides us in desperate times of need. It says," When you're in over your head, i'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end." That verse is highlighted marked all up because MAN how much comfort does that bring you? It let me know that even when i am in rough waters or in over my head and life seems to all be falling apart, He will be there through it all carrying us. I am a huge believer that scripture is God breathed and so incredibly helpful so, I want to provide you with some of my favorite verses that I hope and pray bring you the peace and comfort you are looking for. 

Isaiah 41:10
"I've picked you. I haven't dropped you.' Don't panic. I'm with you. There is no need for fear for I'm   your God. I'll give you strength. I'll help you. I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you."

Isaiah 52:12,15 
"I, I'm the one comforting you. What are you afraid of?"
"For I am your God, your very own God, who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves, named God-of-angel-armies. I teach you how to talk, word by word, and personally watch over you." 

Nahum 1:7-8 
"God is good, a hiding place in tough times, He recognizes and welcomes anyone looking for help, no matter how desperate the trouble. But cozy islands of escape He wipes right off the map. No one gets away from God."

Deuteronomy 31:7-8 
"Be strong, Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He is right there with you. He won't let you down; He won't leave you." 

Hebrews 13:5-6 
"I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote, "God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?" 

There are so many more verses in the Bible that talk about Him never leaving us, but these are some of my favorites. I find myself constantly going to scripture when rough times do come and I feel like I am drowning. The more you read and dive in to what God says about how to tackle this crazy life, i promise you, you will feel a million times better. You will be ready to face what you are going through head on because you have the one who is the ULTIMATE helper on your side. When you feel like you can't stand any longer, get on your knees and He will give you the strength to stand up. 

Dare to Listen

As I sit and reflect on the amazing opportunity I had to be a part of such a great movement, I was left speechless as to how God works and reveals Himself in the most amazing ways. Participating in Urban Confessional last Thursday opened my eyes and heart to so many people with so many different stories from all walks of life. By holding a sign that simply says, "Free Listening" it surprisingly brought so many people up to me and Nick. Many people were curious as to why we were holding up a sign with "free listening" on it, while some truly saw it as a gateway to open up to us about their lives. As we began to speak to people, my heart began to soften and my nerves began to cease. God had brought a sense of peace upon me that He was about to show me something great. Before we left school to travel down to Centennial Park,  I was excited, but man did God make me even more excited as He was bringing people up to Nick and I. It blew my mind. God is good always. I took so much away from just listening to people and not having to fill the space with my words, but fill it with someone else's words.The crazy thing about all of it was that so many people were telling me, "What you are doing is so inspiring," but to be totally honest, the people I talked to, their stories inspired me more than anything. It made me reflect on my own life and how God has blessed me in every area of my life. It made me appreciate all the amazing people, places, and things God has abundantly blessed me with. All the people I talked to, their stories affected me, but one in particular hit me very hard. A man walked up to me and Nick and asked us why we were holding up a sign that said "Free Listening." We answered shortly and simply with the phrase, "we are here for you and to listen to you." The man was taken back, he said he had never seen a group of people who wanted to truly listen to someone about what's going on in their life. He continued to tell me and Nick that he was about to graduate from a recover program centered around ministry that is held right near Centennial Park for broken men. He said he was interested in going into ministry when he was done with that program. I, being so curious about his background, boldly asked him why he wanted to go into ministry and what was his story. He took a second before preceding to talk. Through this silence, I learned the art of not filling the empty silence with words, but just simply silence. I learned how powerful that silence can be. He eventually started to open up telling us how he was addicted to drugs and alcohol. He paused for a second and looked at me and said, "no offense, I took advantage of a bunch of women, I was addicted to sex, and addicted to the thought of being with a different woman every night." It made me cringe for a second realizing the reality of that. He told us about the night he hit rock bottom as he began to say. He was downtown around Little Five Points with his friend when they both decided to take some drugs and alcohol together. He made it known to us that he loved that style of living care free and being able to mask all the bad things in his life. He looked at me and Nick with hurt in his eyes as he unraveled the result of that night. He made it short and simple as he said that they had both over dosed on drugs and by the grace of God, he woke up, but his friend did not. He said to us as he drove his dead friend to the hospital he realized the need for something more than the life he was living. He realized he needed to get his life together and get rid of all the things in his life that could eventually end up killing him. He then told us that he researched and found the ministry that was for men who specifically needed to recover from drugs, alcohol, and many more things that were ruining their lives. I was in awe of how God worked in such a horrific situation and called this broken man to Him. He smiled when I asked him what type of ministry he wanted to go in to. He said he wanted to share his story around the world and travel over seas to spread the joy he had found in the Lord. I couldn't help but tell this man how much he had inspired me through his story and inspired me to keep pursuing God in every area of my life. One of my favorite things to talk to anyone about is my faith and how God brought me out of a broken and dark place and renewed me, so exchanging the conversation about how God had worked in our lives was unforgettable. As this man walked away, he told me never to give up and keep doing the Lord's work no matter who tries to stop me. I took that small phrase to heart because this man had gone through so much and had found Jesus in the midst of addiction and struggle. It made me realize that God will always bring us back to Him no matter how far we run or how far we stray away from Him. I had chills when this man left and my breath felt like it had been taken away as God had humbled me in my walk and showed me someone else' struggles. It made me realize that I don't have it all together either and that even though I was there to show Jesus to these people, God instead showed Himself to me through the people that came up to me. I learned the secret to listening and closing my mouth and letting someone else open theirs and let them be heard in a world where silence is rare. I throughly enjoyed being a part of this incredibly humbling experience and I encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zone and see how amazing God works through people around you. I encourage you to learn to be silent and learn to listen to people's stories and struggles because I promise you, God will show you how great He really is.

Psalm 22:24 "He has never let you down, never looked the other way when you were being kicked around. He has never wandered off to do His own thing; He has been right there, listening." 

Let it Go

When I hear the phrase, "Let it Go" i think about the movie Frozen. I mean doesn't pretty much everyone think of that? Letting go of something can be one of the hardest things to do. Wether it is letting go of a past boyfriend/girlfriend, feelings for someone, a parent that left,detaching someone from your life, its SO hard to let go sometimes. We don't always want to let go of what is making us angry, stressed, or hard hearted. It does us NO good to hold on to the anger or the burden. Sometimes, we just have to surrender it to Him who is the ONLY one who can rid you of those feelings. He is the only one who can soften your heart and take away the burden. He will lift it right off of you with no cost. Maybe it's that person you need to forgive for hurting you so badly or maybe its someone who you need to remove from your life because they aren't worth the stress and anxiety that comes along with them. When we start putting material and earthly feelings and things before God, you know you are too consumed with what this world offers. You need to surrender it to God, let it go, and let God work in His mighty ways. If you ask, He will give you the strength you never thought you had to forgive or let go of whatever you are struggling with. Do not let things that are out of your control, affect how you live life. God wants us to realize that He is the only one in control and the only one who can relive your pain. You just have to trust that He knows what He is doing. If you are confused or don't even know where to begin, start by just being real with God. Pray and talk to Him like your best friend, He cares more than anyone I promise you that. "You are all around me on every side; you protect me with your power. Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding." Psalm 139:5,6 He is in complete control. Surrender ALL,not just some,but ALL your anxieties and worries and feelings that are not from Him and ask Him to fill your heart with love. Ask Him for strength to let go and trust that He is good through it all and will renew your spirit. I promise you He will give you the strength to let go. Give Him the every part of your life and stop holding on to the things you want to control because those will crash and burn without Him. 

Spreading Joy

When I hear the word Joy, MAN does it fill me with such happiness and comfort. Joy is something we decide to choose daily. It's a choice we make every morning when we wake up. We decide what kind of day we are going to have. Are you going to let others steal your joy or embrace the greatness of the day ahead? Are you going to face the day with happiness and thankfulness and love? Do not let anyone steal your joy because, true joy comes from the Father!! He gives us ETERNAL joy!! Think about how amazing that sounds! Imagine having never ending joy that fills you up every single day!! Be a light to others because you are a child of the King. He wants you to show others love and encourage everyone you come in contact with. You have no idea who could benefit from you spreading the amazing joy that comes from Him and Him alone, the creator of Joy!! Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of green hope fill you with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy spirit, will brim over with hope!" How cool is that?? I don't know about you, but that gives me so much encouragement and fills me the happiness and joy. Make an effort everyday to show His love and remind others how important and special they are. “It is His joy that remains in us that makes our joy full.” ~ A. B. Simpson I LOVE this quote wow! If we remain in Him and find Joy in Him, He will make our joy complete and He will remain in us and continue to give us the amazing joy!! If that doesn't make you happy and put a smile on your face, I don't know what will!! If you choose God daily, you are choosing a life of joy every single. You were created for greatness and a purpose!! You are SO loved and SOO cherished and SOO valued!! He loves you beyond measure!! You are a RADICAL human being who is a beautiful light. You are important and special, NEVER forget that. I will end with this verse that sums it all up, wow is God so good at saying such a little phrase that can bring so much peace and joy. 1 Peter 1:6 "Be truly glad. There is WONDERFUL joy ahead." Spread Joy wherever you go!! Never stop showing others the joy you have found from loving Jesus. Be an example to everyone around you make Joy NOTICEABLE!! #spreadjoy 

Love

Love is the most misused word in the human language. We use the word love for multiple things such as, "I love this movie" or "I love this certain type of food" or "I love this person." Most of the time we tie love to the material things of this world when really is that truly love? That leads to the question, what is love? Its 3 words 9 letters, God is love. God talks about the subject of love more than any subject in the Bible. In order for us humans to understand the concept of love properly, we must love the right way, which is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. You must love God with everything you got. He also talks about loving your neighbor as yourself. For some of us, loving someone as much as we love ourselves is BEYOND your call of duty, but we can not love until we have learned to love the one who loved us first. God's love story is the ultimate love story. Think about it, He sent His ONLY son to come to earth and take on the harshness and trials of this world FOR YOU. Then His son took on sin and dies for YOU even before the world met you. You were un deserving of His love, but He extended it to you so you could have an intimate relationship with Him. Tell me that is not the greatest love story you have ever heard?! It totally beats any Nicholas Sparks novel or love story thats for sure. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us because He wanted to know us. He wanted to know us on a different level than any person could ever know us. The coolest thing about God's love is that, it's NEVER ENDING. His love is unmeasurable. His love is incomprehensible. His love is unlike anything we will ever be able to understand. His love NEVER fails and overcomes all sins. We must learn to love Him in order to love those who hurt us and disappoint us. We are called to love others because God loved us first and because He loves us when we mess up and fail Him every single day. Romans 12:9-10 says, "Love from the center of who you are: don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply." We must love deeply and passionately and selfless. The love we demonstrate on a daily basis should be sincere and genuine. Philippians 1:9-10 says, "This is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much, but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Love a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of." Love others the way Jesus loves us daily and learn to look at people with eyes filled with love and not hate for one another. Any person who is full of hate can not love God because again, God is love. Finally He sums it up with a small statement in 1 John 4:21, "Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both." He does not try to make it complicated, but very simple. If you learn to love like Jesus you will find yourself looking at other people the way God sees them, a precious child of the King. I challenge YOU, live out a life of Love. Be willing to love others the way God loves you, with a unconditional sincere type of love that can only come from loving Jesus first. 

You Belong

Sometimes we feel like we don't belong or we just don't fit in with anyone or anything. We tend to change who we are just to fit in with a certain crowd or group of people. We sacrafice our greatness to meet other people's greatness. I want to let you know, YOU BELONG. You are a child of God who loves you more than you know. Sometimes we feel alone when we don't feel like we belong, but we are NEVER alone with Christ. He is always there and you always belong in His eyes. When people don't see your worth, God sees it. If a certain group of people don't accept you for you, then those people are missing out on how amazing you are. You are special and have a special place in God's heart who says you do belong and you don't have to change for anyone. I love how God tells us to come as we are, not dressed up nicely or come to Him thinking we are the best. He tells us we are accepted, we belong to Him and we can come with open hearts. He comes with arms open wide ready to accept us.  1 John 4: 4-5 says, " My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over the false teachers, for the spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ- denying world. They talk the world's language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and BELONG to God." You always belong to your Heavenly Father who loves you more than you will ever be able to comprehend. He has His arms open and full of love for you. Do not worry about fitting in or going along with the crowd, but focus on how Christ sees you, someone who is created beautifully and BELONGS to the King.