Idols

oh MAN! I heard this insane talk tonight about idols.
The guy preaching was going over Daniel 3 about how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace. I can't begin to tell you how insane it was. He started off by giving us tons of background of the context and everything. And the fact that God wants us to be on fire for him! When we are, it's contagious to the people around us.
And how we, as humans, make anything an idol. Even when we think we haven't, if it is before God then we have made it something we're worshiping. Really take a look at your life and see if this is an issue for you. Are you putting anything before God? If your answer is yes, then you have an idol. The God we serve is a jealous God. He says in his commandments NOT to have ANY idols before. He wants all of you, every last part, and when you won't give everything to him he is jealous! Some things you know you haven't given to God completely and they are becoming an idol to you, and others you know that you're holding onto them too tightly and something needs to change.
So, whats yours?

Understanding

I titled this understanding because for me, it's been a time of understanding. God is showing me how much he wants all of my heart, all of my love, all my mind, all of who I am...He wants as His.

At the beginning of the week he was telling me that one thing that he wants from me is to not depend on other people's words so much. My love language is words of affirmation, which means that i LOVE LOVE LOVE when people tell me what I mean to them and how great they think I am. It may sound vain, but it's not meant like that in any way, it's an encouragement, an affirmation in words. Tonight God hit me with the reality of what it looks like. He showed me that I tend to put others words first, before his. He wants the first spot. He wants to be my number one word encourager. The only one that truly matters is what he says to me about me.
I was writhing in pain emotionally, balling on the my knees before him after I realized that all he wants, is to be my number one word encourager. That everyone else might give me praise, but first and foremost, he wants His to be heard.
Lately, I've been feeling that no one is truly excited for me to go and do what God has called me to do. It's not just an opportunity, it's what God has told me that I need to do. Without question. And sometimes I doubt myself after hearing how much I'm needed at a particularly place. In Luke 5:5, Peter says, "...Because you said so..." In the context he's saying that simply because Jesus said to let down his nets he would. Even though to everyone else, it was pointless to do so. He could be mocked and ridiculed for what he did, because to the world it doesn't make sense why he would let down his nets after he just pulled them in...EMPTY. And yet, he does it because Jesus told him to. That was the only reason.
And really, what more reason do we need?
My goal now is to listen to his words first and base everything I do off of his words. Listening to other opinions is good, because of the perspective, but they should never go before what God has told you to do. Ever.
Live in that truth. I challenge you to do that. Whether it's big or small. Seek Jesus first, and when he talks, listen. Then obey.

Because you say so...

So I've been reading Luke for my personal devotion time. I ran across Luke 5...I remember talking about it a while ago when i was at a Bible study for my church, but hadn't really read it, i went cause Anthony and I were making this video for announcements. Anyways, one of the verses that stuck out to me was Luke 5:5 and it says...
Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

Can you imagine doing something regardless of fears and doubts and doing it simply because God said so?!
I can't wait to just do this! I've started already and boy is it freeing! I love the fact that we can just rely and trust in God for everything. There is no reason to be afraid and doubt what will happen because I know my God is in control of everything and he has my best interest in mind! it's INCREDIBLE! go GOD!!!

I challenge you to do things without doubt and fear and do it "because he said so" :)

Modesty

Sometimes I don't understand the way girls dress. The motivation in their to dress the way they do is mind boggling to me. Even girls who know and understand what it means to be a follower of Christ and to be in relationship with him. I suppose I should watch what I say, but in all reality, why do girls dress immodestly?

I've heard it said that what you wear is an expression of what is in your heart. If you're heart is to grab attention, and not care about what you wear might make your brothers stumble, then dressing immodestly makes sense. Simply because your motivation is there. But if a young lady understands how visual guys minds are, they would know better the effects their clothing has.

It's not being legalistic, or putting too many rules on a person. It's understanding the reasons why we dress modestly. God gave us 2 greatest commandments, they were to first, love God with all your heart, soul and mind. The second is to love one another. Loving one another is putting them first, before yourself. The heart behind dressing modestly, is love. Do we love our brothers in Christ more than we love the attention that they could give us if we dress immodestly?

I'll be the first to admit that when we dress a certain way, we get attention, and as girls, we like that attention. But at the same time, we have to understand that that attention is not needed. God loves us for who we are, and he gives us all the attention we need! Isn't it more important to protect our brothers in Christ from stumbling, than it is to gain attention for ourselves? When we put ourselves first, it only brings glory to ourselves. Bringing glory to God is way more important than bringing glory to ourselves. What better way to do that then serving others by the way we dress.

Let's face it, the guy that God has for you, will give you attention even if you're wearing a long skirt and long sleeves. He will love you for who you are, not what you wear. God knows that, and he created it that way for a reason. By dressing and acting modestly, you will not only glorify God, but you will also be serving and loving your brothers in Christ.

Acting modestly is something I forgot to mention early. It's not just what you wear, but how you handle yourself. There can be a girl covered in clothing, but if her actions are portraying something other than modesty, that is just as bad as wearing immodest clothing. But that is also a heart condition.

Being modest may be drilled in your head, and it may be something that you've grown up with, but understanding the heart behind it can make all the difference. When you ask God to reveal his heart to you, he will show you that he wants us to live above reproach. If your heart isn't there yet, then ask him to give you that heart. Ask him to show you what it means to be a modest young woman in Him. You will bring glory to his name, i can guarantee it.

My challenge is for you to better know God's heart in this area, and ask him to give you his heart for it, so you may glorify him in actions and in dress.

Communication

Ah yes, the old adage, the better communicator understands more.

Okay, so maybe it's not an old adage but it's so true. This past week has shown me that in more ways than one. God has created us to be creators who desire to be in relationship. And I don't know if you know this, but being in any type of relationship requires work. Even if you don't think it does, it does. You need to understand that.But it also takes a lot of communication. Whether it be talking to one individual, small group or big group. If you don't communicate, it's very hard to operate within that relationship. What does God have to say about communication? He tells us to pray, talk to him and communicate with him. Yeah, the Creator of the Universe wants us communicating with him even though he knows everything we're saying, then you know it's important to do so with people, who know nothing about what is going to happen next.

When someone does not communicate with you, that thought/feeling doesn't exist. How in the world can you expect someone to pick up on that kind of stuff? There is no way to know what someone is thinking or feeling if they don't communicate in some way.

There are many ways to communicate. A few examples are with your body language, your eyes, your mouth, the computer, the telephone, instant messenger, text messages...and the list goes on. The best way to communicate, in my opinion, is face to face. In that context you are able to pick up on the tone of voice, influx in voice, body language and eyes. Each of these are important to notice during a conversation.

The Lord has a lot of ways of communicating with us. Some he talks to, some he gives dreams, some he gives visions, some he gives prophesies, some he gives knowledge, some he gives wisdom. But he knows the best way to get our attention which is why he communicates with everyone differently. God allows us to be who we are in him and he speaks to us in that way.

Remember that communication is key in any relationship. It can make or break it. As sad as that may seem, it's the truth. Don't be afraid to say something, because when that happens, nothing good comes of it. Someone's feelings get hurt cause they don't know what's going on and the relationship is broken, the trust gone down.

The moral of the story, COMMUNICATE! Not only with your family and friends, but with your Savior. First and foremost, your Savior, because then the rest will fall into place.

Fear

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?

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 :)