A letter to the ladies

   Dear ladies, 

  Every girl goes through that stage where she struggles with self confidence as she seeks to figure out who she is in this world. For some girls it is harder than others to find her way out of that, to discover who she is in Christ. This is something every girl must figure out on her own, with help from those who love her. My prayer for all of us is that we will daily be reminded of who we are in Christ as defined by the Bible, and what we mean to Him.

   In a world that constantly seeks to tear you down and mar your God given image, you can laugh in the face of this evil for you know this: the world's verdict of who you are or how you look is not what defines you. The vanity and pride that chase you, trying to wreck your God given confidence will have no effect  on you if you dwell in the light of who God says you are. 

   In a world that try to fit you into one mold, you can defy this image and make your own. When the world says you're anything less then perfect, God says you ARE perfect. When you look in the mirror and see less then "perfection" God sees His child, His beloved daughter created to be who she is. When the world says you're anything but pretty, God looks on in love and says "my child, you're beautiful"  When you're not a model, Barbie or movie star, you are still perfect just as you are. To God all your "flaws," imperfections and "errors" are just the opposite: they are the perfections that make you who you are. They are the unique qualities and features that set you apart from the rest of the world. Don't hate your appearance or personality because it doesn't match up with the world's image of who you should be. Rejoice that you are one in a million, fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) by a God who adores you just the way you are.

   I beg you my sisters, do not let the evils of this world get to you! Remember who you are in Christ and take comfort in that. Do not let this world try to redefine you, God has already defined who you are and you are afterall, made in HIS IMAGE, therefore only HE has the right to define who you are and how you should look. As young ladies, we don't need to look like this world nor fit into it, for we were made to be who we are and to stick out in this world, shining for HIS glory. When the world puts us down, God will lift us up.When the world says we're not, GOD says we are: priceless, treasured, beautiful, perfect, sacred, beloved. 

Sincerely,
Your sister in Christ

MercyMe "Beautiful"
http://youtu.be/FhWf-SnCaU0

Johnny Diaz "More beautiful you"
http://youtu.be/r7UJE22Td9s
~turn off music to hear songs~

"For the glory of God!"

We are:

    We are: created

       We are: fallen

    We are: unworthy

      We are: sinful

  

                                                           We are: rebellious

                                           

       Yet in HIM we are:

         picked from our ashes,  

           forgiven, saved, redeemed,      

                                        

 made new,   

                                            

 righteous,

                           

                                                       set apart, holy,

  

                                         complete, lacking nothing,

 beloved, adored, priceless, precious, treasured

    We are HIS! 

 "I am my beloved's, and HE is mine" 

Solomon 6:3

"For the glory of God!"

Solomon 6:3. "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feeds among the lilies." - See more at: http://www.chacha.com/question/what-is-the-bible-verse-that-says-%22i-am-my-beloved%27s-and-he-is-mine%22#sthash.AumuMn5p.dpuf

 

"I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine:

"I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine:

Broken hearts

I’m driving home from work when I see him. An elderly man, maybe 67-68, frantically searching for dropped change. I pull into the parking lot, he is now going through the garbage can. I drive past, he looks up. His eyes are desperate. Hungry. Lonely. Sad.  As I pull into the drive through, 5 people walk past him. Each one ignoring his need. I give him food and pray with him, his hands shake and tears fill his eyes. “Phil,” he tells me, “Phil, is my name.”  (How long has it been since someone has acknowledged him by name, as a human being and not a “dirty homeless man”??) 


    I walk past a tired young mom in Walmart. She’s cranky, tired, lonely. No ring on her hand. Alone and sad. She never asked for this.

     Walking through the mall a man lifts his eyes to mine. It is the same look. Desperation, sadness. Often fear.

     It's the look in their eyes that tells their story. The tears that gather on their lashes and the quiver of their voice, that tells you it's been a long time since someone has cared about them, loved them, prayed for them. It’s the same look I’ve seen in the eyes of  orphans and widows. I’ve seen it time and time again. It is the look of a broken heart, a heart that needs love.

When you see these people, does not your heart bleed for them!?! It should. Jesus’ did. That’s what made Him a servant to His people: the love in His heart. The love that we need to share. Christians are called to stand in the gap and look after our fellow man, yet  when was the last time we walked past someone with that look and stopped to show them that we care about them? That GOD cares about them? That they are loved??

It’s time to make a difference. Next time you see that look stop and do something for that person to show them LOVE. To BE Christ to them.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God,and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7

"For the glory of God!"

Peace in His plan and timing

 Hmm, contentment. How can something sound so simple yet be so hard? Next to patience I do believe contentment is one of the hardest things to learn and put into practice in life. Yet it is so necessary in the christian walk. This is something I've really struggled with this year, learning to be content with where God has me at the present moment. All my life I've dreamed of graduating high school, going off to the mission field then coming home and marrying at 19,  immediately setting out for Liberia together. The problem is that was MY plan. Not GOD'S plan for me.

   Here I am 10 years after receiving my call and I find myself in America with absolutely no exciting plans for the near future. For months I was not ok with this. I wanted so badly to get back out there, I was bored with every day life here and felt useless in my inability to hands on help those kids. Don't get me wrong, I loved being back with my family and church but I had the hardest time adjusting to the fact that God had me here for an unknown amount of time. (My poor family put up with a lot those months!)  But in the last month something in me has changed. I realized how badly I was hurting my family by my lack of joy at being here and more so, how I was hurting and even disobeying GOD by not accepting His plan.

     I look at life as a series of learning experiences, each day offers a chance to learn from and about God if I am only searching for His lessons. By doing this I have learned so much!! Most of all, I've learned true contentment in His plan and have peace at where I am in life because of this. Yes, where I am now is not what I would have chosen, but I wouldn't change this for anything! Every day here is a special gift from the Lord, one that brings numerous blessings and abounding joy! I treasure the fact that I am still living at home, that I get to go to sleep each night with one of my little sisters in bed with me, that I get to greet my Daddy at the door with a kiss on the cheek, that I still get to make meals for my family. The list goes on, and each day I'm filled with more joy and contentment. I still miss Africa and will be thrilled when He calls me back but for now, being here is a little piece of heaven on earth! I thank God that He knows better than I the plans He has for me and the outcome of this time here.

"So he will do to me whatever he has planned.  

He controls my destiny."

Job 23:14 

"For the glory of God!!"

The joy of the King

       He giggles with glee as I tickle his bare tummy then turns and runs to the other side of the room where he eagerly calls me, "Bee! Aun Bee!" then squealing in delight he runs into my arms. It was the game we played over and over last night. My darling little nephew with his laughing blue eyes and feisty temperament is such a joy to my heart. As I laughed with him last night it got me thinking. God delights in His children and rejoices to bring them joy right? But what brings God joy? 

    God is a God of emotion, which means He is a God of joy, a GIVER OF JOY. He delights to shower us with blessings that will bring us joy. Personally, I believe that when we deliberately choose to shun the joy of the Lord and dwell on our negative emotions we are taking away from His joy. If we want to bring our Father joy we need to LIVE IN JOY. One of the most easily recognizable characteristics of a Christian is their joy, so if we want the world to recognize us as a Christian one of the things we need to do is live a joyful life. It's not always easy, but we need to be purposely seeking to find even a hint of joy in our day to day lives to thank God for that cheer, being in communion with Him through the simple things that bring a smile to our face.

 "But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice; let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over them and defend them;

 let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits" 

Psalm 5:11

"For the glory of God!"

The honor of The King

“While we continue onward in the face of a world filled with uncertainty, we can rejoice for hidden within it’s mysteries is the honor of a King” –‘One night with the king”   

  While the rest of the world lives in fear because of the chaos sin has created, we as Christians can be at peace knowing that hidden in this world of darkness if the mystery of God’s plan.Yes, the world is a dark place and daily getting darker and more evil but God does have a plan. A plan for the world and an individual plan for each person on this planet. Not one person goes unnoticed by God. Not one day goes unplanned by Him. There is no birth, no death, no tragedy and no joy that is not part of His plan. True, people often interfere with His plans but He always has a way of leading the willing heart back to where they should be. 

    Every person is a unique being with a unique destiny and calling for their life. We can rest assured that if we let God have His way with our life His plan will lead us to the best life we could have ever imagined and blessings beyond our wildest prayers. Dreams He has for us will unfold into great beauty as we are tried and tested in the holy fire and come out strong and purified in our faith.Our King's honor is hidden in this dark world, hidden within our hearts waiting to be lived out as we reveal His glory to the world through our humble lives. He that honors the Father is in turn honored by the Father.(1 Samuel 2:30)  The whole purpose of life is to live a life on honor to our King. So let us return to Him the honor that is due His holy name!

  "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, 

which are God's."  1 Corinthians 6:20

"For the glory of God!"

More than something to claim

      "Do you ever go to church?" I asked the 4 year old I was babysitting. Her answer shocked and surprised me, "Church? What's church?" When I proceeded to explain to her what church was her answer further shocked and saddened me, "who is Jesus?"

      "Who is Jesus!?" My mind reeled, "how can you live in America and not know Who Jesus is?!" Even at 4 years old  most of the children in America have at least heard of Jesus, even if they don't know Who He is, right? Wrong. This sweet girl is just an example of the many people world wide who haven't heard of Jesus. In the back of our minds we seem to think that everyone knows of Jesus, but the population of those who have never heard of Him is larger than we realize. With that being in mind how can we claim to be Christians yet sit around ignoring the cry of the world!?

 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’  Matthew 25: 34-40 

       Our lives need to mirror HIS, we need to live as if we were serving. helping, loving and walking with Christ everyday with everyone we interact with. For He is in us and reaches out to others through us.

       Christianity is more than just a title, it is a life style.  It is more than something you claim. It's something you live by and share with others! Make a difference in this world. Live out your faith. Prove Who Christ is.

 "...The world has enough people, but not enough disciples...when will YOU decide to become disciples?" -Pastor Jeremiah Steepek