The picture above is a road in Belize close to where I will be staying Where God guides, He provides. For many years now, I've been taught to live my life the way that God leads me to, but I never understood what that really meant. I understood the 10 commandments and that I wasn't supposed to break them, but I knew that's not exactly what they meant. God has a plan for my life, but how do I live it? I knew that He wasn't going to come down from heaven, knock on my door, and tell me what He had in store for me. It'd be nice if it worked that way though, right? God works in mysterious ways, but that doesn't mean it's always hard to figure Him out. He can be very blunt with how He wants you to live and love. I never quite knew how to live according to Him, but I always knew how not to. I knew the things I wasn't supposed to do, that's the easier part of this whole plan. But how was I supposed to know that I was doing things that would make Him happy? I still haven't really figured this out for my own life and I probably never will, the important thing is, I know what it looks like to live the way God has called me to. When God wants to do something He will be sure to let you in on the plan. I prayed to Him for a long time to use me in whatever way He needed and it didn't happen overnight, but I definitely received some answers. It is incredible how God works in our lives when we're doing things for His will. I will be attending a mission trip to Belize this summer, as many of you know, and I was definitely hesitant at first jumping into the unknown, but I felt God pull on my heartstrings, and I knew I had to say yes. Sometimes saying yes to God is one of the hardest things we can do. I've been a little weary about this trip for a while: a different country with people I didn't really know, with a church I don't go to and a mission trip that I've never experienced. If you know me at all, you probably know that I like to have a plan. I like to know exactly what I'll be doing when I commit to something. I've been on 5 mission trips with my youth group and I know exactly what I'll be doing each time I go, but Belize? I still have no clue what I'll be doing there, I just said yes. Normally this would freak me out, but I feel peace with my decision. I know that God is going to do great things with me there and I can definitely feel his presence throughout this whole process. He has put this whole puzzle together that I never could have pictured, and that's the incredible thing about Him. He is so much bigger than we think. I can't even put this into words, but I felt that I needed to share this feeling I've had for a while. I've had some trials in my life recently, but I've felt nothing but peace through each of them and I think that when we let God into our lives and just say yes to Him, there's nothing to worry about. I encourage each of you to just say yes. Yes to God and the plan he has for you, whether you know what it is or not. You don't have to say yes to something crazy like going on a mission trip to Belize with people you don't know, but just say yes to something.
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When you think about summer vacation, the first place that comes to mind is the beach. It's a place of beauty, relaxation, and sun. It's one of the most popular places to vacation. I'm not a big fan of the beach, but I love lighthouses. Growing up, my great aunt and uncle had a Christmas tree that was decorated with beach themed ornaments and there were tons of lighthouses. They were always my favorite to look at, especially the ones that had a working light in them. Last summer, my family and I went on vacation to Chincoteague and we discovered a lighthouse there(the one pictured above). Besides the outward appearance of them, I think lighthouses are interesting because they warn sailors of danger. Danger of getting too close to land or a cliff or anything else that could ruin their ship. They shine there bright light out to sea to protect those who may encounter danger. Recently, my favorite song to listen to is My Lighthouse by Rend Collective. The words just spoke straight to my soul and it instantly puts me in a better mood. It's one of those songs that I could listen to 100 times and never get tired of it. The beginning of the song starts out like this: "In my wrestling and in my doubts In my failures You won't walk out Your great love will lead me through You are the peace in my troubled sea You are the peace in my troubled sea". He is the peace in my troubled sea. That is something so incredible to think about. No matter how bad our storms are, He will never leave us to battle it alone. He calms all of our storms while also calming our hearts. His love will lead us through the hardest of times. The chorus then says: "My lighthouse, my lighthouse Shining in the darkness. I will follow You My lighthouse, my lighthouse I will trust the promise. You will carry me safe to shore (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) Safe to shore (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) Safe to shore (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) Safe to shore" His love shines through the darkness of days to lead us through the storm. Our safe shore is Him and He is trying to lead us home to Him. I encourage you all to listen, you won't be disappointed. Lighthouses, for the most part, are generally constructed on a rock. Not sand or grass or land, but a ledge of cliff, or something that's elevated and solid. Lighthouses stand on a firm foundation. We need to be more like lighthouses. We can shine a light for others to follow and lead them to the love of Jesus Christ. We need to build our lives on the firm foundation that is God. He tells us this is Matthew chapter 7: 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Use your knowledge of the Lord and be a light for others. Lead them to safe shore and in the arms of Jesus. If we stand firm and tall on the word of God and relay not on our own understanding, our lives will be changed forever. Follow the light of Christ, and shine it in the darkness for others to see. Check out this over verse from the bible about shining our light! "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew, 5:15-16 Shine your own kind of light. Happy lent!! I'm sure many of you are thinking, what should I give up for lent this year? And I'm here to tell you; I have no idea. You can Google search "things to give up for lent" and you will receive a lot of answers. Fast from your favorite food or beverage, attend church, pray more, give to others, and fast from a bad habit are just a few from the Christian website Christianitytoday.com. If you look on lifeteen.com, you'll get answers such as, snacking between meals, Instagram filters, and emojis. There is quite a big difference between both of these searches and that’s because most people don’t think of lent as a religious holiday. Most don’t even know what they're giving up things for. The whole point of lent is to give up something in your life that keeps you away from growing in your relationship with God. It's going to be different for everyone. The things that keep your relationship with God from growing may not be one Google search away. We have to talk with Him and pray about the things that keep us away from Him. It may be soda or some kind of food but don't just decide something last minute. It's okay to start lent off a little late. Take your time to pray and meditate on what to do. Maybe it's not giving up something, maybe it's starting something. It could be to pray and talk to God everyday or read the Bible everyday. Everybody is going to have something different, and it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else, it just had to make sense to you and God. Some of you may be wondering what I'm doing for lent this year and I have put a lot of thought into it. I've found myself constantly planning out the perfect picture to post on Instagram and the perfect caption to go with it, or the perfect thing to write on Facebook and none of that is important. God even tells us this in Matthew, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothes?" (6:25). Now, I know I've used this verse before, but I feel like it's very relevant to the season of lent and to my problem with social media. The edit on my picture or the words underneath of it do NOT matter. It doesn't have to be perfect because I'm not. I get so consumed with always having my phone or camera just in case the "perfect" picture opportunity occurs and I can post it on my Instagram. That altars my relationship with God. I'm so caught up in what other people think of me that I'm not worried about what God thinks of me or whether or not I feel close with Him. For 40 days I will not b using social media. My focus is on Him. I'm not saying that all of you should give up social media too, it can be an amazing resource, but for me it was blocking the ultimate resource, Jesus Christ. I challenge each of you to seek Gods assistance in choosing what you want to give up or start doing for lent. 40 days can change your relationship with God forever. I pray over each of you that this season will be one of learning and growing. Happy Ash Wednesday and happy lent!
(P.s. I'm not counting my blog as social media because I don't feel as if it is hindering my relationship with God. To get updates about new post during lent, sign up for email reminders! I won't be posting updates on my Facebook or Instagram. Thanks y'all!!) |
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