Here is just a little snibbit of part of the book i'm writing called Crazy Beautiful. Hence the name of the blog...
I didn’t realize, until recently, that the world is constantly telling us to do one thing over another. It’s everywhere. Almost every place I turn, I see how the world wants me to live and operate. How could I be blind to it? It’s been happening ever since I came into this earth. It’s the norm. It’s an every day occurrence. And yet, we are called to a higher standard than the world sets for us. Christ calls us to be set apart from the world. To be in it, but not of it. Impossible? No. Difficult? Most definitely.
We want to be accepted in this world. We want to be seen and be set apart. But we also want people to think we are beautiful and worth something.
Over and over God tells us not to fear. And yet, fear seems to be an almost daily occurrence for us, women. Whether it is fear of man, fear of self, or any number of other fears; fears are interwoven into society. Especially if we feel like we don’t measure up. Like when you don’t get into the school of your choice, or when you didn’t get the internship that you thought was yours. All the days that we walk with Jesus, he will wash away our fears if we ask. Yet, most of the time, we forget, because we don’t see it as fear, we see it about caring about what we say, how we dress, what we look like, and we don’t realize that the root of it, is fear.
If we let it, fear will determine how we act. I can name so many women that I know who let fear determine how they act. What gets me is the fact that they don’t even probably realize it. You know what though, most likely, I do the same thing. But I’m trying to make a change because God didn’t intend for us to live in fear. It’s not his good and perfect will for us. Yeah, it might be hard to do it fully, because we’re human. But I know that if God intended for us to live in fear he would’ve told us. God has created us to only fear him. A couple weeks ago I was talking with a friend, and we were talking about how much we want to have one fear, and that is of the Lord. We want every other thing that holds us back that is fear related to be gone.
Now, everyone has fears. You can have legitimate fears. There is always a reason behind the fear what we have. But God can bring healing.
The truth is, if you aren’t someone who has a fear of what people think of you and you start hanging out with people who do you WILL become like them. I know, I’ve been there. Our fear will always be there, if we let it.
Confidence means “with faith.” As Christians this means that we are going with faith in Christ. Every day God gives us new mercies. That fear that we hold onto can be taken away when we wake. Will you let it?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Hopes and Dreams
So much of the time we're pushed to do things that other people want to us do or that they think we'd be good at and we do it cause we think we should. But has anyone asked you what you're hopes and dreams are for your future?
Do you ever wonder if they'll actually come to pass?
I wouldn't say i'm a dreamer, i wouldn't even say i day dream that much. I like living in the present; i like knowing what's going on and what will happen, but not necessarily dreaming about things.
But my one dream, my goal, my biggest desire is something that I will never ever back down from. It pushes me to do things now, so that I can reach my goal.
About a year ago a old high school friend about what my dream was and you know what he said to me, he simply said, "You can't." I'm not the kind of person that takes that lying down, you tell me I can't and i will prove to you that I most certainly can! Then I will say, "I told you so." Yes, i'm one of those.
In all seriousness, you have your own hopes and dreams for a reason. God put those desires in us to give us a goal. If you're like me, you press forward in the things you do so you can accomplish that dream. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't, cause with God all things are possible. He wants to bless us and show us the mighty things he can do in us. Let him guide you and show you his glory.
Dream big, don't be afraid to do that. And also remember, if God wants to make your dreams come true he will. Lift it up to him and know that his will is better than your own :)
Do you ever wonder if they'll actually come to pass?
I wouldn't say i'm a dreamer, i wouldn't even say i day dream that much. I like living in the present; i like knowing what's going on and what will happen, but not necessarily dreaming about things.
But my one dream, my goal, my biggest desire is something that I will never ever back down from. It pushes me to do things now, so that I can reach my goal.
About a year ago a old high school friend about what my dream was and you know what he said to me, he simply said, "You can't." I'm not the kind of person that takes that lying down, you tell me I can't and i will prove to you that I most certainly can! Then I will say, "I told you so." Yes, i'm one of those.
In all seriousness, you have your own hopes and dreams for a reason. God put those desires in us to give us a goal. If you're like me, you press forward in the things you do so you can accomplish that dream. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't, cause with God all things are possible. He wants to bless us and show us the mighty things he can do in us. Let him guide you and show you his glory.
Dream big, don't be afraid to do that. And also remember, if God wants to make your dreams come true he will. Lift it up to him and know that his will is better than your own :)
Monday, May 24, 2010
People and Relationships
This is one that i wrote a while ago...enjoy :)
this is one thing i've been thinking a whole lot about lately. one of my close friends asked me, "why even bother? you're gonna get hurt anyways. what's the point?"
the point is, that this is what were called to have here on earth. God placed us here for a reason, a purpose. and that's to bring people to His Kingdom. part of doing that is learning how to build relationship with others to show God's love and bless them. relationships are tricky things though. they deal with emotions, personalities, different ways of doing things, different ways of thinking. as people, were always going to mess up, one way or another. you're always going to get hurt by someone at some time. that's just reality. it's the price of being imperfect.
how are we able to go on without relationship though? God wants to have relationship with us. and he's the ultimate source of not being hurt. he's perfect. with him, we'll have an incredible relationship. he might do things we don't like, or we don't think is right for us. but he knows. so just don't mess with him. but you can talk to him. he can fill the void of the person that you're missing, or wishing you could talk to. and through that relationship with you, we are able to know how to have relationship with other people.
one of my big things is having relationship with people. i love it. it's one of my greatest joys in life. but no matter what, each person i have relationship with, will hurt me at some point. whether it be something they say, or how they treat me, or something they do. regardless, i'm willing to take the risk, take the chance, and simply trust. that's the one thing about relationship though, it takes trust. a wise friend once told me, "you can only trust someone as much as they trust you." in some cases this is wrong, but in my experience, it is true. Trust is a big issue for some people, because they've been hurt in the past or simply cause it's just not something that is a norm for them and they don't know how to let others in. But being in relationship with others is such an important part of being human. even for those of us who aren't normally relational people. The kewlest part of being in relationship with God is that when you have a strong relationship with him, relationship with others comes easier.
i was talking to my mentor, Jen, the other day and we were talking about relationships. She told me that the relationships i have now will not necessarily be life long relationships, even though that's what i want them to be. God puts people in our lives for a season, however long or short that season may be is up to him. but my mindset when she said that changed from, "yay! i love my friends and i can't wait to have them with me for the rest of time!" to " well, if they're not going to be my friends for long, why invest in them now? why even bother." ha. talk about extremes. what i realized later is that that was simply a ploy of the enemy to not want to be a good friend to others. God showed me that each of the relationships in our life has a purpose. There is a reason for each person that you come in contact with, especially those closest to you. and if they aren't going to be in your life forever, then why hold back now? you have a short time with these people and i want to make the most of that time!
i'm not saying to just spew all over them and don't think about what you say or what you reveal. But ask the Lord for guidance. Don't be afraid to talk to others and to love on them with Christ's love. It's important to do just that. who am i to stand in the way of God's plan for every person that i come in contact with? if i wait, i may miss an opportunity to show them God's love or learn from them. and i definitely don't want to do that.
As God places people in your life, remember that they are there for a reason. Whether you like them or not. Loving people is so important. It talks about how to love in 1 Corinthians 13 which has become scripture that i try to live by daily.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always hopes, always trusts, always perseveres. Love never fails."
At church on Sunday, Pastor Bruce was talking about love and what it is. One of the things that he found in a translation said that love is not irritable. Then at college group Jen and J challenged us to work on something this week that had to do with what love is. So i'm working on love not being irritable. I didn't realize how much that happens. Here's what i do, i repeat the phrase "love is not irritable" when i am irritated and pray that God will help me. J also gave us this article that we read together (J is Jen, my mentor's, husband, for those who don't know). The whole article was talking about people and how to talk to them about Christ. One of the kewlest things that it said was how we need to "talk together rather than talk past each other." Listening and loving go hand in hand. Love is PATIENT! Meaning, LISTEN and be PATIENT! yeah, and that's true for me just as much as the next guy.
God truly loves us because he gave us the ability to relate to one another and he is willing to give us His love to love others. How can we pass that up? I sure can't and i never want to.
Take a moment and look at the scripture and I challenge you to do this! Try loving people in a way that you know you aren't to great at. God will bless you for loving others.
this is one thing i've been thinking a whole lot about lately. one of my close friends asked me, "why even bother? you're gonna get hurt anyways. what's the point?"
the point is, that this is what were called to have here on earth. God placed us here for a reason, a purpose. and that's to bring people to His Kingdom. part of doing that is learning how to build relationship with others to show God's love and bless them. relationships are tricky things though. they deal with emotions, personalities, different ways of doing things, different ways of thinking. as people, were always going to mess up, one way or another. you're always going to get hurt by someone at some time. that's just reality. it's the price of being imperfect.
how are we able to go on without relationship though? God wants to have relationship with us. and he's the ultimate source of not being hurt. he's perfect. with him, we'll have an incredible relationship. he might do things we don't like, or we don't think is right for us. but he knows. so just don't mess with him. but you can talk to him. he can fill the void of the person that you're missing, or wishing you could talk to. and through that relationship with you, we are able to know how to have relationship with other people.
one of my big things is having relationship with people. i love it. it's one of my greatest joys in life. but no matter what, each person i have relationship with, will hurt me at some point. whether it be something they say, or how they treat me, or something they do. regardless, i'm willing to take the risk, take the chance, and simply trust. that's the one thing about relationship though, it takes trust. a wise friend once told me, "you can only trust someone as much as they trust you." in some cases this is wrong, but in my experience, it is true. Trust is a big issue for some people, because they've been hurt in the past or simply cause it's just not something that is a norm for them and they don't know how to let others in. But being in relationship with others is such an important part of being human. even for those of us who aren't normally relational people. The kewlest part of being in relationship with God is that when you have a strong relationship with him, relationship with others comes easier.
i was talking to my mentor, Jen, the other day and we were talking about relationships. She told me that the relationships i have now will not necessarily be life long relationships, even though that's what i want them to be. God puts people in our lives for a season, however long or short that season may be is up to him. but my mindset when she said that changed from, "yay! i love my friends and i can't wait to have them with me for the rest of time!" to " well, if they're not going to be my friends for long, why invest in them now? why even bother." ha. talk about extremes. what i realized later is that that was simply a ploy of the enemy to not want to be a good friend to others. God showed me that each of the relationships in our life has a purpose. There is a reason for each person that you come in contact with, especially those closest to you. and if they aren't going to be in your life forever, then why hold back now? you have a short time with these people and i want to make the most of that time!
i'm not saying to just spew all over them and don't think about what you say or what you reveal. But ask the Lord for guidance. Don't be afraid to talk to others and to love on them with Christ's love. It's important to do just that. who am i to stand in the way of God's plan for every person that i come in contact with? if i wait, i may miss an opportunity to show them God's love or learn from them. and i definitely don't want to do that.
As God places people in your life, remember that they are there for a reason. Whether you like them or not. Loving people is so important. It talks about how to love in 1 Corinthians 13 which has become scripture that i try to live by daily.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always hopes, always trusts, always perseveres. Love never fails."
At church on Sunday, Pastor Bruce was talking about love and what it is. One of the things that he found in a translation said that love is not irritable. Then at college group Jen and J challenged us to work on something this week that had to do with what love is. So i'm working on love not being irritable. I didn't realize how much that happens. Here's what i do, i repeat the phrase "love is not irritable" when i am irritated and pray that God will help me. J also gave us this article that we read together (J is Jen, my mentor's, husband, for those who don't know). The whole article was talking about people and how to talk to them about Christ. One of the kewlest things that it said was how we need to "talk together rather than talk past each other." Listening and loving go hand in hand. Love is PATIENT! Meaning, LISTEN and be PATIENT! yeah, and that's true for me just as much as the next guy.
God truly loves us because he gave us the ability to relate to one another and he is willing to give us His love to love others. How can we pass that up? I sure can't and i never want to.
Take a moment and look at the scripture and I challenge you to do this! Try loving people in a way that you know you aren't to great at. God will bless you for loving others.
The Beginning...
Well, hello blogging world. I just want to write a quick little diddy about this here blog that I've created for myself. This blog is intended to encourage and uplift young women, who are struggling or just need someone to relate to. It's focused on God's truth that he tells us in his word and the things that he has taught me. I feel like he wants me to share these things with you. Hence, this blog. I'm in the beginning stages of writing a book, so I'll put some of those thoughts in here as well as stuff God has been teaching me. If you don't like it, just read it and see what you think at the end. If you like it, read it and tell me what you liked. If you're just looking for something to read, have an open mind to see what God will do. You never know what he might teach you. This is as much for me as it is for you.
Don't think that O have all this stuff down, by any means. I'm human, i screw up and i know that i'm not perfect, i'm very far from it. But i'm learning, and growing.
If you have any thoughts that you want to be heard, just comment. I'll read 'em. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask. I wanna know you're thoughts. :)
Blessings!
Don't think that O have all this stuff down, by any means. I'm human, i screw up and i know that i'm not perfect, i'm very far from it. But i'm learning, and growing.
If you have any thoughts that you want to be heard, just comment. I'll read 'em. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask. I wanna know you're thoughts. :)
Blessings!
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