• Faith,  Life

    how to experience J O Y in every day life

    August 6, 2015

    Okay so my computer has a virus and that’s why I haven’t been blogging all that much. I’m currently on my work computer (shh don’t tell anyone). But my plan is to buy a Mac, hopefully tonight actually.

    I love sharing what God’s doing in my life in hopes to encourage others too. God’s really teaching me how to experience joy amidst my every day life.

    Joy.

    Real joy. Something that I’m not too familiar with if I’m being honest. God’s really teaching me how to really enjoy my life. Wanna know the secret? Focus on the good. Only the good. Acknowledge the bad, sure. But focus on the good. Dwell on it. Be thankful for it. All of the good, even the small stuff. Especially the small stuff.

    A fresh cup of coffee

    Sunshine at lunch

    Good smelling lotion

    A cute coffee mug

    A sweet kiss

    There’s so many good things to be thankful for on any given day, it just takes us to direct our attention towards them to realize they’re there. I also found this is the key to struggling with contentment as well. It’s hard to be wishing for more when we realize just how much good we already have. We are blessed, truly blessed and I don’t ever want to forget it. Join with me and let’s commit to never getting bored of the blessings in our lives.

    Read More
  • Faith,  Marriage

    Life Update: God Cares About The Small Things Too!

    July 29, 2015

    Disclaimer: This is super long and way more personal than my prior posts. I hope you guys will enjoy learning more about my life and what God is doing in it. I’d love to hear about yours as well! Leave a comment with your blog website and I’d love to check it out 🙂

    God is SO good guys! My main reason for documenting this is because I really want to be able to clearly remember how God showed up and answered my prayers in such an amazing way. My hopes is that it encourages you too and helps you to remember that God is always here with us and cares so so much about us.

    So let me let you to what’s currently going on in my life a little bit. As I’ve written about in an older post, I have been dating Tommy for quite some time now – tomorrow is actually our 9 month anniversary! Tommy and I by no means have a perfect relationship, we have our struggles just as everybody else does but I know that this is the man that God has made for me to marry. He is the most thoughtful and caring guy I have ever known. He loves Jesus, most importantly, which is what makes our relationship so great.

    Tommy and I have gotten to the point where we know that we want to marry each other but we are trying to figure out the details and getting ready for that point. Obviously this means that we would both need to be financially able to live on our own. I am most likely going to have to find a new job within the next six months or so because my bank has been pending a merger for about 3 years now (lol) so if/when that goes through I will be let go. I just graduated from college in May though and am not too worried about finding something, just because I know that God will provide and take care of me.

    Tommy happens to be two years younger than I am and he has not exactly figured out which direction he wants to go in when it comes to jobs. His dad is a welder and for a while his plan was to learn from his dad and become a welder also. This path however is a little uncertain because his dad would have to be able to get him a job at the quarry that he works at and we weren’t sure that this was 100% going to be able to happen. Tommy also has an interest in business and has been debating continuing his education and getting a business degree. (Did you catch that?? He’s hands on (wanting to be a welder) and also super smart when it comes to managing money… am I a lucky girl or what?!)

    But this has been tough for me because I can be quite an impatient person sometimes and always one to want to be in control of things. Both Tommy and I have felt that our relationship is at the point where we want to take the next step (& get engaged!!) but we obviously need to make a mature decision and make sure that we can provide for ourselves once we’re married. So to the impatient part lol I have realized that if Tommy chooses to continue with his education that we will most likely have to wait until he graduates before we are able to get married, which could be about 2-3 years. I’m not going to lie I went through a time where I was really struggling with this. I admit that I don’t want to wait that long, and I had a time where I was really unhappy thinking about him doing this. But I also really wanted to be able to support him no matter what he chose to do and I wanted him to make the right decision for himself. I spent a lot of time praying and telling God how I was feeling about it and I can honestly say that He gave me the grace to trust that His plan was way better than mine and be 100% okay with whatever Tommy chose to do, even if that meant that we had to wait 2 or 3 years to get married.

    Now to the exciting part… God seems to really have answered Tommy and I’s prayers in a crazy way. Right when we felt that working with his dad was not really an option anymore, God brought this option back and I can’t tell you how grateful I am. Tommy’s dad is planning to try to get him learning more about welding throughout the rest of this year and hopefully get him in at the quarry sometime early next year! When Tommy told me about this I couldn’t believe it, I’ve never had God surprise me in such a way and it really shows me how much he actually cares about the details of our lives. If Tommy gets the job with his dad, we will be able to get married, and he will also probably have enough time to go back to school to learn business as well. It’s a win all around and so amazing.

    Although I do recognize that God could change his plans again, and it is possible for Tommy to not get the job with his dad, I still am insanely grateful for the hope that He has given us that this is the path that He is leading us down. I’m so excited to see what He has in store for us, even if things do change and Tommy and I aren’t able to get married for 2-3 years. I just am so grateful to have such an amazing man in my life and a God who loves us so much that He takes the time to care about the small details and leads us down the correct path.

    If you managed to read all of this and make it this far, you’re the best!! This was super long haha but something I felt I really wanted to share. Would you mind just praying for Tommy and I – that we would keep following down God’s path for us? Thanks so much guys!

    Read More
  • Faith

    For Those Of You Who Have Anxious Hearts Like I Do….

    July 14, 2015

    This post is for those of you who know how it feels to be anxious. Anxious about life. Anxious for no reason at all sometimes. This post is for those of you who want so badly to trust in God’s good promises for you, who want to experience the peace that Jesus offers – but just can’t seem to grab a hold of this peace and keep it in your hearts.

    Instead you know how it feels to keep repeating the same anxious thoughts over and over again not sure how to make them stop.

    “If only…”

    “What if…”

    Now I want to let you know I am no expert on this. I too struggle with grabbing a hold of the the peace that Jesus offers. I’m on the same journey as you but I want to share with you what God is teaching me along the way.

    I don’t know about you guys but sometimes when I’m feeling anxious I think that I can figure out God’s plan if I think hard enough about my life. Now I realize how ridiculous this sounds admitting it but I’ve realized that that’s exactly what I am trying to do when I can’t stop my anxious heart from worrying.

    Sometimes I even examine other people’s lives and think that I can figure out how God works.

    So she grew up in a Christian home and has had a good life so far so ultimately something bad has to happen to her eventually, right?

    Or, I’ve had a really good year.. that must mean that something bad is lurking around the corner…

    Or, I better not enjoy this too much because then it might get taken away from me…

    Just admitting those thoughts out loud and bringing them into the light makes me realize how ridiculously wrong they really are.

    ” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

    – Acts 1:7

    This verse hit me hard when I read it today. No matter how hard I try to figure out what is going to happen, I simply cannot. It is not in my ability to do so. That again is reserved for God alone. Just like I mentioned in my post “If God’s Ways Are Higher Than Ours Why Does He Allow Bad Things To Happen To Us?”.

    God must really be trying to tell me something huh? Our jobs aren’t to figure out our future, what might or might not happen. Our jobs aren’t to go over every bad thing that can happen to try to figure out how we are going to deal with them if they do.

    Our jobs are to rest in His great love and provision for us. God is faithful guys. He promises to always meet our needs. That’s His job, not ours.

    But more than that, let’s remember how good our God really is. What I’m learning is that this is at the root of our anxieties and worries – we do not ultimately believe that God is good…

    And how wrong we are. God is really transforming my mind about who He is and the main thing that He’s showing me is that He is good! So good we can’t even fathom. If something bad is to happen to us, He’ll be there – every step of the way.

    Holding us, loving us, and growing us.

    We’re never alone, and never without what we need.

    “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

    Pray that God will open your eyes to just how good He really is – it will rock your world.

    Read More
  • Faith,  Life

    I Wish…

    July 9, 2015

    Some days are harder than others. For no reason at all. Today is one of those days. I feel crushed by my own desires. Contentment is what I struggle with. Some days more than others.

    I wish…

    I wish I was prettier.

    I wish my skin was clearer.

    I wish I was married.

    I wish I had a job that was more stable.

    I wish my home life wasn’t so stressful.

    But then I hear a still small voice whisper, “You are exactly where I need you to be. Stop wishing your life away.”

    Sometimes I so easily forget how far I’ve come and how much I DO have.

    I have…

    I have a loving mother.

    I have a job that I love.

    I have the best boyfriend I could ever ask for.

    I have awesome friends that I can have fun with.

    I have Jesus.

    Isn’t that the most important of all? He is all I need. How easily I forget that sometimes. He is my fulfillment. I do not need any of those things I wish I had. I need to rest in His love.

    “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 

    This is what He’s been trying to tell me. Be content with what you have now, there’s a season for everything and you are exactly where He needs you to be.

    Rest.

    Enjoy where you are.

    Love.

    Read More
  • Faith,  Life

    Trusting That God Really Is Good…

    June 29, 2015

    This is something that I struggle with on most days if I’m honest. I’ve gone through some tough things throughout my life and sometimes I blame God for allowing these things to happen. I mean don’t get me wrong I know “logically” that God is good. I am completely thankful for the fact that Jesus died for me. It’s such an amazing truth, but sometimes I struggle with really grasping that truth and keeping it in my heart.

    I notice that the times I’m struggling with this truth I tend to look for my happiness elsewhere. A lot of the time it’s either in my boyfriend or just in having a comfortable life. Sometimes I think that if I do the right things or am “good enough” God will allow my wishes and dreams to come true. Other times I deceive myself and realize that I am living for my own dream and think that once I’m married I will finally be happy.

    How wrong I am.

    Good things come to us because God is good and He loves us. True happiness comes from believing that.

    We truly do not deserve any good thing that we have. This is something that I am trying to remember more and more. I notice the more time I spend with Jesus the easier it becomes.

    What about you guys? Does anybody else struggle with this and if you do what are some tips to help me to stay on track and get my identity solely from God?

    Read More
  • Faith

    If God’s Ways Are Higher Than Ours Why Does He Allow Bad Things To Happen To Us?

    June 27, 2015

    I just want to start out by saying that I’m really excited about starting this blog. I have been going back and forth with the idea of having it be a blog page or a devotional page but I think I decided with a mixture of both.

    “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:9

    This verse is an interesting one because it is probably one that we read really quickly and be like okay got it, I already know I don’t understand God’s ways because well.. He is God. He created everything and I didn’t – that’s an easy one. But I wonder how much more we would get from verses if we just sat down and took the time to really ponder each one of them.

    My pastor said something a few weeks ago that really stuck with me that ties in with this verse. He said:

    When a dog sees his owner leave the house, he can’t comprehend what or where his owner is going or doing. The owner is more advanced in his or her thinking than the dog is therefore the dog cannot comprehend the depths of his owner’s actions.

    When we really think about this it reminds us that there are just going to be things that God does or allows that we just do not have the ability to understand. We have to remember that God literally created everything we see from nothing.. absolutely nothing. We as humans have the ability to recreate things but never create anything from nothing. We always have to start out with supplies in order to create something. The ability to create from nothing is reserved for God alone and something that we just do not have the brain to understand.

    So when something so awful happens in our lives that we just cannot understand, maybe instead of trying to understand why, we can just rest in the fact that God’s ways are greater and more importantly that God is love.

    Jesus came to the earth to die for us, because he so loved us that he couldn’t stand the idea of us being separated from him. Let’s rest in that rather than our current circumstances if they are difficult. Remember that God’s ways are never easy and sometimes beyond our comprehension but one thing we do know is that He loves us more than anything.

    When we remember what God has done for us it helps us to realize that God really does love us and does not want to see us hurt. He promises that “All things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).

    And trust me, I know this can be a lot easier said than done. I do not want to come off sounding ignorant or insensitive to anyone or their situations. I have been through some hard times too but I do know that God is greater than anything we’re going through. If you’re going through something difficult, I do not know why God allowed it but I do know that it is possible to glorify God through anything. Let’s pray for his help to do it.

    Pray: Jesus, sometimes our circumstances are too hard for us to even comprehend. Help us to remember that your ways are higher than ours and help us not to dwell on finding an answer to why they may have happened. Rather, help us to look to the cross and be reminded of what you did for us and help us to rest in your love instead.

    Read More