Today I purchased Kari Jobe's new CD "Where I Find You" and it is just SO amazing and filled with truth. There is this song titled 'Steady My Heart' that I just wanted to share with you all - simply because it speaks such volumes to my own heart.
| Steady My Heart | {lyrics}
Wish it could be easy Why is life so messy Why is pain a part of us There are days I feel like Nothing ever goes right Sometimes it just hurts so much But You're here You're real I know I can trust You Even when it hurts Even when it's hard Even when it all just falls apart I will run to You Cause I know that You are Lover of my soul Healer of my scars You steady my heart <3 I'm not gonna worry I know that You got me Right inside the palm of your hand Each and every moment What's good and what gets broken Happens just the way that You plan And I will run to You You're my refuge in Your arms And I will sing to You Cause of everything You are You steady my heart
Sorry the blog has been quiet for a little while. Last week my grandfather who has been fighting cancer for over 3 years passed away, so my family and I had to travel up North for the funeral. For those of you that knew about it, thank you for the prayers and encouragement.
This post won't be super long, because I've got my college work calling me, but I just wanted to quickly talk about something that has been on my heart recently.
Trust: noun >(1) Firm reliance on the integrity or ability of a person or thing. (2) Something committed into the care of another; charge. (3) The condition or obligation of having confidence placed in one. verb >(1) To rely or depend (on); have confidence in. (2)To hope.(3) To expect with assurance. (4) To believe.(5) To entrust.
As servants of God, we are constantly being told in scripture to trust Him. With all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Even though this sounds really great, we all fail at doing this one thing. Trusting.
Deep within my soul, I want to trust.
I want to give up fighting.
I want to surrender it all.
But everyday it's a choice.
| God | or | me |
We don't trust because we're scared of what He might do when we give Him control. The fear of our lives being radically turned upside down overwhelms us. Frankly speaking, we are a bunch of wimps. Ok, I AM A WIMP.
The truth is, trust IS scary. Trust is overwhelming. Trusting will hurt. Trusting will be hard.
Trust is not easy, but it is worth it.
it takes love.
commitment.
it takes time.
energy.
daily battles.
it takes fight.
dedication.
it takes your entire life. all of you.
This may sound rough, but trusting another person more than you trust God is like saying you think that person is better than God. It's perfectly fine to trust others - because you should. But your entire trust should be in God first before you begin giving your heart out to everyone around you. God knows you. People only know how much you tell them. God's love lasts forever. He won't hurt you like others will.
Trust in God should not be put on hold when your trust in another is broken. It should get even stronger.
Trust in God should not be put aside when a trial is put into your life. It should be what gets you through it.
Trust in God should not make your life perfect. It should be what perfects you.
-----> look back at that definition of the word TRUST. Now (honestly) ask yourself these q's:
To whom have I committed myself to?
Who or what am I relying on?
To whom does my confidence belong?
What is my hope placed in?
Who am I expecting to get me through each day?
Where is my assurance placed?
Who do I believe in?
Who do I entrust my entire heart to?
These questions tear me to pieces. but in a good way.
I want to change. Lord transform me from the inside out. Consume me. Change me.
Today - right now - I'm making the choice to trust. Who's with me?
I was on facebook this afternoon and someone I know posted about an article titled "A Letter to the Girls I Know - by anonymous guy". I read the blog post and I have to be completely honest...it was the best thing I have read in a really long time. So please take the time to read this guy's letter - it could really change your outlook on how you act around your "guy friends" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Letter to the Girls I Know: Dear Girls,
There are two kinds of men: Godly men, and worldly men. What kind of man do you want? I’m betting most of you said “a Godly man.” Someday, you want to marry a man who loves God with every fiber of his being because he will be an excellent husband and father. He will honor and be true only to you. Most women want a Godly man or at least think they do. Well, I think I have found a way to tell you exactly what kind of guy you will get. I don’t even have to know you! All I have to do is look at you. The kind of guy you want or will get is advertised by the clothing you wear. I know what men want. Trust me, I am a guy. I know more guys than you do and I know them better. I know what we think, what we talk about, what we want, and what we look for, and it is different for each one of us depending on our relationship with God. I’m sure you already know this, but men were created differently than you. We have different desires and priorities. Our eyes and minds react very differently to some things than yours do. It isn’t disgusting, perverted, or wrong; it is wonderful and good! It is how God made us. It’s how we handle these differences that separate a Godly man from a worldly man.
A worldly man doesn’t control himself, rather, he looks at anything that attracts his attention or gets him excited. A worldly guy has no problem when girls wear clothes that show off skin, like boxers, high or low-cut shirts, low-rise jeans, and “cute” little swim-suits. He’s a fan of tight-fitting shirts and pants that show off your form, he thinks they’re fine! Worldly guy watches a lot of TV and R-rated movies, isn’t really offended by sexual content or nudity and secretly dabbles in pornography. He’s a “Christian” and makes up a significant portion of your church and youth group. He’s a really nice guy and sees you mainly for your body. If you were to marry worldly guy, he’d bring lots of baggage into the relationship, have intimacy problems, entertain thoughts of other women, and possibly cheat on you.
Unfortunately, there are more worldly men than Godly men. And to make matters worse, to the untrained eye, a worldly man can look a lot like a Godly man. So what can you do to only attract a Godly man? An important way of delineating between them lies in how you dress. As mentioned before, the clothes you wear advertise what kind of guy you are looking for. If you dress immodestly, you will attract worldly guys and scare away the Godly ones. It all comes down to the kind of man you want to spend your time around and eventually marry. You cannot afford to be complacent in this area of your life! You will pay the price someday.
This issue isn’t limited strictly to you and your future relationship. The way you dress directly affects other men and women and their relationships. You don’t see the struggles, the pain, the tears and the sin that you cause, but I can promise that you would be shocked if you did! Ask any Christian young man; we’ve all seen it. It’s kept hidden but it is definitely there. By dressing immodestly, you effectually spit on the struggles of our weaker ranks, appearing to care more about toying with us than helping us. You’ll never know how many broken relationships and lifestyles of sin you’ve contributed to simply by the way you dress. You want to marry a Godly man someday, well so do many other women. Don’t just help yourself and your future, help all women and their relationships by showing discretion in your dress.
Of course, I understand the desire to look stylish, attractive, and “cute.” It’s important to fit in and get attention. Trust me, it can be done modestly! I also understand that it is easier for some girls to find stylish and well-fitting clothes than it is for others. This is an area where guys really don’t understand what you are up against. But just remember, for every sacrifice you make to honor God with your image, Godly men are making sacrifices in their lives that are just as hard, if not harder! They will and do respect you so much for choosing to be modest! A real lady is conscientious of the image she presents, and real men want a real lady. And you can forget about any guys missing out on how attractive you are because you don’t wear revealing clothing. You could wear a circus tent and we would still know; it’s a gift we have.
And so the question still remains: What kind of man do you want? Answer me with your clothes.
Hey Everyone! Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend so far.
Just wanted to pass you onto the amazing Tessa Hall's blog "Christ Is Write" to read the post I wrote for her "What's God Doing in Your Life" segments.
This past weekend I got to spend some time with good friends in Baltimore while they were at the Radiate Conference. The night that I was there, I got to listen to some great worship and a speaker who shared some good points about the idols in your life.
Idols. You know, those lovely things you make more important than God. Those things that are holding you back from experiencing the life you were made to live. Those things that make your flesh crawl with "I WANT" cooties. Idols. Yuck.
We all have those certain things, or weaknesses you might say, that we have a really hard time of saying "no" to. Things that we've allowed to slither menacingly into our everyday lives and hold our conscious hostage. We know it's wrong. We know we shouldn't do it. In the back of our minds that "smart voice" is screaming, "Step away from the computer. T.V. food. friends. relationships. etc. etc. etc."
We have the capability to step away. Let it go. Do the right thing. Why don't we do it? Why do we have these idols that our lives are obsessed with to the point of enslavement? It's wrong. So wrong.
Our idols come in every shape and size. They don't have to be materialistic things, but in many ways, can appear in the form of emotion and desire. As girls, this really stinks. You know, since emotional is like our middle name. Times a million.
To be wanted. Noticed. Given attention. Praised. All of these things are idols that we often make priorities. We let our heart take control instead of stopping in our tracks and thinking ahead to the consequences that await us. Idols seem innocent, fun, and cool at first. So innocent in fact, that sometimes we immediately let down our "smart guard" and ignore the stop signs surrounding it. By the time we are completely hooked on this idol, that small voice in the back of our minds has disappeared because it has been droned out by our own lies. We tell ourselves that what we are doing is OK. We make these idols respectable in our own eyes. The funny thing is, most idols have nothing good about them
whatsoever...we just screw with our vision until we convince ourselves
that they do.
Once we finally realize "um, this really isn't what I wanted and I really really want to get out", we're so trapped in the mess we have made that it's often a long, painful process to clean it up.
The speaker on Saturday night shared this video during the seminar. You may have seen it before, since it is absolutely hilarious, but as you watch it, look at it from different eyes. Like that marshmallow is your idol. That thing you want SO BAD.
So, now I ask you - what is your marshmallow? What is that thing you find yourself running to to fill you up instead of running to Jesus? What is it that is holding you hostage? Or what is the marshmallow you are staring at from a distance. touching. licking. tasting. but not fully eating yet?
Like with the lady in the video who promised another marshmallow if the kids waited, God has something so much better for you than what the idols in your life have to offer. We're so impatient and our flesh is so weak. Our idols know this. They always seem to come out just at the "wrong" time - when we're really tired of waiting and really want some satisfaction right now. Those idols suddenly appear saying "Come on...I've got it all for you. Don't wait. Enjoy now."
The question is, are we going to give in or are we going to remember the promise of something better?
An idols main purpose is to take your focus off of God and allow you to become the source of your own destruction.
Idols want you to fall. Don't give them the opportunity.
