Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts

A couple of helpers

11:49 AM

I am so happy that we live in a world where we can carry around our devotionals, bibles, and apps that help us in our daily faith walk- right in the palm of our hand- in our smart phones.

I mean, how great is it that when you're in line, waiting on car repairs, or on the train, you can have a few precious minutes with God? Amazing!

So, I thought I'd share some of my favorite lock screens from She Reads Truth, one of my all time favorite apps. The lock screens help with my scripture memorization, so I change them every time I memorize one. Every little bit helps!

What apps or aids do you use to help get in more of God's word in this busy world? List everything below so we can share!

Leave a Comment encouragement, faith, Jessy H.

Modesty?

10:16 PM

Lately, modesty has been on my mind a lot. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, and the younger gals are wearing less and less clothing, maybe it's because my Christian walk is getting deeper... whatever the reason, I am diving in to find out what it is exactly, and what I should change, according to my own personal convictions.

Last year, I found this video, which really hit the modesty point home...

And I've been googling, reading, listening to, and Youtube-ing tons of things on modesty. I mean, aren't we supposed to help each other not to stumble?

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” ~ Mark 9:42

Jami from Young Wife's Guide has TONS of blog posts about this. So, if this is something you're interested in learning more about, then check out her site.

Ultimately, I feel this is a subject a lot of us don't really learn that much about. I mean, you're taught, in the words of my Grandma, "Don't let out all your goodies for God & everybody to see!" But, as a young lady, you think it's just because you will get the wrong kind of attention from guys. And that's partly true, but I think as you get older and married, it becomes more about respect for God #1, then respect for your husband, and finally- just respecting yourself.

Will I completely throw out everything but dresses? Probably not. But I know, for a fact, I will continue to seek God's wisdom on this, praying that He will guide me to what He wants me to wear. I know that may sound kinda hinky to some of you, and that's fine. To each his own. For me- it's important at this point in my life. And I think if it's tugging at my heart, then it's God tapping me on the shoulder saying, "Hey, let's talk about this."

I know I'm probably opening up a can of worms here, but ... what are your thoughts on modesty?

1 comment faith, Jessy H.

You are chosen..

4:00 AM

How many times do you think God is calling you to do stuff, but think of excuse after excuse?

BUT I DON'T COME FROM A PERFECT FAMILY...

Neither did Jesus. Think about it, read the start of Matthew the genealogy of Christ's earthly family. The only perfect person in that family is Jesus. Keep reading through the Bible, it is story after story about people in his genealogy that struggled, but still were great warriors of faith.

I'M NOT OLD ENOUGH....

Look at David, read 1 Samuel 16:8-13. Jesse put all his sons in front of Samuel, except his youngest. He left David out with the sheep. Jesse didn't think he would choose his youngest son, but oh was he wrong.

I NOT PRETTY ENOUGH, TALL ENOUGH.....

Again, look at David. 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or his statue, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart."

I AM SCARED....

Read Luke 12:7 "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.

How often do we feel like God is calling us, but let our fears stop us. Can you imagine is we jumped all in? Can you imagine if we completely let go and let The Holy Spirit fill us? Lets's go MOVE MOUNTAINS.

Leave a Comment Emily Anne T., faith, God, praying

Those Jesus movies

10:28 AM

Did you guys watch those Jesus movies from Pure Flix Entertainment? I see a lot on Netflix, and it's pretty much regular people, involved in some sort of crisis, and this guy comes around, saying he's Jesus, revealing their past and secrets that he couldn't possibly know... and then they come around to give their life to him in the end.

This is the last one I watched...

It's kind of the corny acting jobs on here, no really huge stars, but you'll recognize a couple of the actors from other Christian movies. Honestly, the message is stunning. And got me to realize, what in the world would I do if I was just going about my day and BAMMM Jesus appears? Would I believe him, that he is the Son of God? Or would my heart be calloused and my worldly brain not accept that this is real? After he started talking to me, some weird stranger just coming up to me... would I run away or would I listen? Of course, my pride would like to say that I'd know it was him and fall to his feet in worship... but is that really the case? What if he come to me, looking like a homeless person? Honestly, I'd probably do the fast-walk-don't-look-them-in-the-eye thing. And that's sad!

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

I try to put myself in this scenario and each time, if I'm completely honest with myself, I would probably not believe it. Of course after he starts telling me of my past, and knowing the details, I'd start to know something was up, but would I listen that long or run away and call the cops, saying I have a stalker?

What would you do?

Children of the Light

4:00 AM

Isn't it funny? What once would be okay to do, or be around, or even hear and see, is now deemed inappropriate in your eyes. Your good friends who were always a blast at parties now seem to crude for you. You still love them, but it's like 2 days too late old milk, you just can't seem to stomach things that they may do or say. It just doesn't feel right anymore.

Romans 5:8 - but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Or maybe things that you've done in the past, that you knew wasn't quite right- but you could always justify it away in your mind, "Oh what's a little white lie when... (insert excuse in here)." Why did this happen? Because you, my dear, saw the light. You have been shown just how much God loves you, by giving His only son for you. You now know what that action of love took to complete- and how can you continue down a path of less than stellar activities and thoughts when you KNOW who is jealous for you?

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Give God a chance. Follow His leadership, and your life will change in ways you never even dreamed of. Yes, you may lose a couple of friendships, you will definitely lose sleep wondering how could you follow the wrong paths when God was chasing after you all along. But end the end, folks, the reward, a chance to walk with God everyday and feel His love- is so much better than whatever "bad" things you are hanging on to.

Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.

Does God Brag On You?

4:00 AM

Job 1:8 Isn't that a powerful verse? I mean God was bragging about someone who truly fears the Lord. If the Devil came to God and asked about you, would God brag about how you turn away from evil and fear God? Look at this verse!

Job 1:10 This verse is Satan talking to God asking about the hedge that has been placed around Job. How cool is that? There is proof that He guards those who fear Him, turn from evil, and love Him. Our God is so powerful! Do you have a faith that is strong enough for God to brag about you? Would you have enough evidence to "convict" you for being a Christian?

Leave a Comment Emily Anne T., faith, God

4:00 AM

This could have many titles.  I couldn't  pick just one, so...

Goodbye status quo

New normal

Mouse to a lion

Living the life Jesus made for you


 I like music when I am thinking, so here is an amazing song to go along with my thoughts.

What's holding you back? Do you want a life that is full life? Do you have the God designed life? You can't have it with things holding you back.  John 10:10

To grab on to promises you can't hold on to what is holding you back.  Ephesians 3:20

Some steps to get this life. Find the excuse. Stop listing to the voices. Don't get in a rut. Always look for ways to show Jesus. People in the bible used excuses also. Moses. Giddion, Jeremiah they all found the excuse but then went on to make history. 
Let it go. Most excuses are linked to fears. 
Replace it with something. Replace it with a verse. 2 Timothy 1:7.

See the life that God bought for you. Forget the land you have been living in. Think about your promised land that God has given you. Israel went to the promised land in 40 years. It should have taken 11 days. We as humans we mess up His plan so much but he sees His plan through when you are ready to let it go. Don't be the person that misses out because you are holding on to mediocrity. Joshua in the battle of Jericho, before the battle he was told he had already won. Then was given the battle strategy of walking around walls for seven days, their faith of carrying out the crazy battle plan since they already knew the promised land. Joshua 6:2

 Ready to step into life after giving up what's holding you back? Psalms 37:3

 Trust God! Take the first step! Joshua 3:8

 In the scripture they had to take the first step before his promise was fulfilled. His opinion is the only one that matters. Don't you think Joshua's fighters felt weird and thought other would think they were crazy for marching around a city and blowing horns? Accept his promises in your life and know they are for you.  Psalms 37:3-5

 Get in the habit of looking to him first. Take delight in Him. Get to know him, get to know his heart. Experience his hearts Psalms 37:4-5

Commit everything to the Lord. Romans 12:1-2

God brings out the best in you and develops well formed maturity. He is the great I am. He wants to show the best of us. When Moses, Jeremiah, and Giddion were telling his excises, God said, "I am. I am with you."

Yeah 6 easy steps right?! Ha! It was easy to type but is hard to actually do in your life and my life daily. I will have to remind myself daily, when I am picking up my cross and following him. The John 10:10

life is waiting on you, when you lay down your life and live His.

Leave a Comment Emily Anne T., encouragement, faith, scripture

You won't find the right church (& why you shouldn't try) Part 3

2:00 AM

Part 3

We're at the end of this three part series on why you won’t find the “right” church (and you shouldn't try). Today I want to talk about the third major reason why a consumerist vision of church is wrong and how it reveals where we place our faith.

I hope you're ready, because this is sort of the most important reason.

God doesn't want you to find a church. God wants you to be the church.

Read that again.

Now read it a third time. Out loud.

The church isn't about you as an individual. It’s not about your needs or your wants or your desires or your fears or your anything. It’s about God. Full stop.

Now “about God” looks like a lot of different things to different people, and this is where we run into trouble. To some of us it looks like hanging out with other Christians. To some of us it looks like doing good in the community. To some of us it looks like getting deep into His Word. And to some of us it looks like praise and worship.

None of these are wrong. Every single one of those things are centered on God! We all have our favorite things about church… and our not so favorite things. But what I think it all boils down to is being involved in the church and loving others.

If you're shopping for a church there’s simply no way you're jumping in and getting involved in that church, because you're too busy judging it by your criteria. And if you're shopping for a church there’s no way you're loving others, because you're too busy sizing up their performance of Christianity by your criteria (and it often falls short of your own, doesn't it? Hard truth, people!).

We're in a precarious position as followers of Jesus Christ. There’s no way we will ever be anything close to as perfect and amazing as Jesus is, because we’re not God in human form. But we’re called to follow Him: His teachings and His example. We are called to be both in the church and to be the church.

We aren’t called to find the perfect church. Or to pick apart the churches we don’t like. And when we do these things what we’re revealing about ourselves is that we’re so focused on judging others we’ve forgotten why we’re looking for a church in the first place.

Rachel blogs at Choose Happy, and spends the majority of her free time chasing a 2 year old. She was not raised in a religious home, and was an atheist before God found her and made her His.

1 comment Church, faith, Rachel M.

You won't find the right church (& you shouldn't try) Part 2

2:00 AM

Part 2

Last week we discussed how there is simply no such thing as the “right” church. This week, I want to delve a little deeper into this discussion of our tendency to treat church as just another commodity in our consumer society.

The second reason why we shouldn't view our church experience through this lens is that our feelings should not be our spiritual guides.

Do our feelings and opinions matter? Of course, but they shouldn’t be the only thing we think about when it comes to our church experience. And if you’re church shoppingthen you’re most likely thinking about yourchecklist of what you need in your church.

To put it simply: you’re relying on your heart to tell you how to live your spiritual life. And your feelings don’t matter more than God’s plan for you or His church.

The Bible describes the heart as being “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). Now this isn’t the only description of the heart in the Bible, but through my research I found that most positive descriptions of the heart are rooted in God’s role in our hearts. The negative descriptions? God hardening someone’s heart or people relying on their own hearts at the exclusion of God.

So what does this all tell us about where we place our faith? Well, if we’re relying on our hearts to lead the way in our decision making – especially in our spiritual lives – we are not trusting God. Instead, we are getting caught up in our desires, fears, and comfort. We aren’t giving God a chance to settle us, guide us, and love us through our discomfort. And discomfort is oftena tool God uses to help us grow out of our self-imposed boundaries.

That’s a hard truth, isn't it? But it’s also a beautiful truth, because it’s absolutely something we can change! We can change our tendency to rely solely on our feelings and on ourselves by working on our relationship with God and trusting Him.

Rachel blogs at Choose Happy, and spends the majority of her free time chasing a 2 year old. She was not raised in a religious home, and was an atheist before God found her and made her His.

5 comments Church, faith, Rachel M.