weakness and strength

2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

My grace is sufficient for you. Isn't that an amazing promise?! It is incredible. I love that promise. It means that no matter how much we mess up, or how many times we sin, God's love is able to wipe over all of that and give us a brand new start. 

How awesome is it that we don't have to be strong for Him to use us? When we are weak and vulnerable, God intervenes on our behalf and He gives us strength to keep going and to push through. I love that thought. 

Tonight I am weak. Things can be stressful, it can be hard to want to keep pushing through and to keep going. I get tired easily, and my emotions can be dependent the stress and tension going on around me. I am learning how to be totally dependent on Christ's strength tonight! 

Giving Thanks

Writing what I am thankful for seems like the easiest thing in the world. I could sit down and type out the “normal” things to be thankful for: family, friends, and my house. I could even sit down and type out things that are important to me: nail polish, hair products, or makeup. Even though I am thankful for all of the items I listed, being thankful has is so much more than rambling off a list of things we like. I think that being thankful is having a deep and sincere gratitude for something. When I say I am thankful for something, it means I could never imagine not having it in my life. It would feel unnatural if it wasn't there. So while I am thankful for all of the cliché blessings God has given to me, I am really thankful for words, confidence and the ability to serve my Savior.

Have you ever stopped to think about the power that our words have over people? A single word, or a series of words, can change a person’s entire day. Words have the ability to start wars, create terrible works of fiction, or to convince a person that he or she does not deserve life. Words also have the power to change hearts, build others up or to create a literature phenomenon for young teenage girls. Words are everything and I am so thankful that God gave me a voice and the ability to be heard. In my own life, I use words to express myself. I am thankful for encouraging words or prophetical words that have been spoken over me and that have shaped me into the person I am today. I am thankful that I have the power to use my words to motivate a middle school girl, or encourage one of my friends when they are hurting. Whether in speaking or writing, I deeply hope that my words reflect the person of Jesus Christ. I also like to think of myself as an acceptable writer, and I am thankful that God has given me the ability to put my thoughts down on paper in an understandable way. I am extremely grateful for my words.

Along with the ability to speak, I am thankful for the confidence that God has given me. There was a time in my life that I had little to no self-confidence. My opinions and my ideas didn’t matter, I was average, and I didn’t exactly have friends. I am so thankful that God was able to change my perspective. He showed me a beautiful woman whom He created and blessed with her own unique talents. I am thankful that God showed me how special and exquisite each human being is, and that comparing myself to them was useless because I am my own person. I am thankful that God has also blessed me with the ability to speak truth into young women’s lives, those who do not see that they are a beautiful creation. I no longer fear the ministry that God has called me into because of the confidence I carry.

I am also thankful that God can use my words and my confidence to bless those around me, and ultimately to serve Him.  I was called into ministry at a very young age. I was probably 5 or 6 when I understood how God wanted to use me to help others around me. I walked away from what God wanted me to do because of my lack of confidence and my dwindling trust in the Lord. Luckily God never gave up on me. He graciously extended His hands and opened my eyes to my stubbornness. I am thankful that God is currently developing the gift of public speaking in me. I know that He has huge plans for my life and I am so thankful that He has chosen me to serve Him in a ministry capacity.  I am thankful for the spiritual gifts that He has blessed me with and for sending others into my life to help me develop them. I am in awe at how willing God showers His blessings on us.

The Bible tells us to “give thanks to the Lord.” It is easy for me to include a few thank you’s in my nightly prayer, but I would definitely like to become more attuned to thanking Him each day for the special gifts He has given to me. Another way to respond to God’s blessings in my life is to use the talents that He has given me. I know that I did not use them when I was younger, but now that I understand the importance they have on my life, I will be mindful to use them. I am thankful that we serve such a powerful and magnificent God who is so generous. Being thankful shouldn’t be something reserved for a Thursday in November, thanksgiving should become an act of worship in our daily lives.

Friendship never ends...

I am overwhelmed by the love and the friendship that I have experienced at Bethel. Tonight I had an incredible evening spent with some of the greatest friends a girl could have :) Whether I need a hug, or a really good laugh I know that my friends have my back. They are the answers to my prayers.. literally. So here are to some of the greatest.

Kara Walterhouse- she has been with me my whole life. She is my other half, my twin, my partner in crime and my best friend! She has a beautiful heart and there is always a smile on her face :) and she is like my favorite person ever!

Brittany Burk- She is always smiling. Her love for Jesus is so incredible and it spills out in everything she does! She is my go to girl with questions and I know that I can always count on her for prayer and encouragement. Its crazy to think how strong our friendship is so soon.

Joe Rasbaugh- he might just be the coolest person you ever meet. Seriously.  He is a caring and compassionate person who always has something fun to say. His love for Christ is so evident. He is one of the greatest friends I have ever had.


And to all my other friends. To everyone that stuck beside me in high school and as I continue to grow. You have blessed me in more ways than you understand. I love each and everyone of you :) Especially Aly Callahan, Nina Fader and Lauren Fahey :)

I am loved by my Savior, and I am loved by people who are beautiful creations of God :) Thank you all for your friendship :)

Dating and Waiting

I would like this to be distributed to every young woman out there. I am here today to discuss dating- what to do, and what not to do. I would like it to be said that I have never dated. I am in college and I have never had a boyfriend- that is 18 years being single. I cannot tell you that it has been easy. There have been times that it has been really hard.

So lets first start by saying that if you are not yet in high school, the thought of dating should be far from your head. You don't have your license which means that you don't have a car. So please ladies, put the thought of dating out of your head for a while. Try being friends with him-and yes I do mean "just friends." Enough of this "we are friends with benefits" or "we are more than friends" The only benefits you should be giving your guy friends is maybe letting them steal one of your fries at lunch. Throwing "with benefits" behind the word Friends is only going to confuse you and stir up emotions in your heart that you don't need to stir up. Please try focusing on school, church, family and your girly friends. All of those things should outweigh any feelings that you have for boys.

Secondly, lets talk about your self worth. How do you feel about yourself. Do you look in the mirror and think how wonderful you are? Or do you look in the mirror and see everything that you want to change? If the first, you go girl! You are on this incredible path towards being who God created you to be :) If you can relate to the second scenario better, I want to begin by telling you that you are beautiful. God created you and he thinks that you are absolutely perfect. I used to be where you are. I used to look at myself and think ..ICK! I used to think that I needed a boyfriend to complete me or to make me feel worth something. It took me a long time to change that thought. A really long time. It wasn't easy. I don't know what your insecurities are, I don't know why you don't feel confident, but I want to tell you to stop believing everything the world classifies as beautiful. You need to love yourself before you can start to let another person, a boy, love you. Plus I will give you a little secret, boys really, really like confident girls.

The third thing we need to talk about is how a man should treat you. You should never feel unsafe with a boy. You should never feel fear to be around him. You should never feel worthless or insignificant. You should never feel like an item. He should make you feel beautiful, you should feel protection and safety. You should feel happy and you should feel like you really matter to him. The second that you feel fear, unsafe, scared or anything like that, you need to leave. I don't mean fear- as in nervous about the future. I mean fear as in something bad could happen. If he is ever abusive- physically, mentally or emotionally... please leave. I know that you may care for him and that he can be sweet, but your health and safety is so much more important.

This concludes the first thing that I want to say about dating. And i want to encourage every young woman to wait for the right man to come into your life. I am still single, but when I know that the perfect guy is going to be worth it> I also know that every older woman will say this to you. But please take it from me.... I UNDERSTAND how hard it is to be single and be patient. But believe me, it will be worth it!!

as you wish

Have you ever seen the movie "Princess Bride?" Can you quote the movie "Princess Bride?"

I was on pinterest tonight... per usual... and I cam across a sign that said as you wish with the grandpa from princess bride and something struck me. Think about how much Wesley loved Buttercup. He loved her so much that the only thing he would say to her was "as you wish." And we all know what he really was saying was "i love you."

So how come we can't have this same attitude with our savoir? Why can't i respond this way when God tells me to do something? I rarely say "as you wish." My responses towards His callings are normally: well okay I guess if you are going to make me do it I can grin and bear it.

I want to have the same attitude as Wesley the farm boy.

I dont know where this is going.

Family

I am home from college this weekend. Yes, I know, it is such a far drive. And I am so happy to be home. I see my family every week at least twice, but there is just something about being in your own home with the things that are familiar to you.  I spent some majority of my time alone too and it made me realize how social i am. I don't like to be alone. The silence when you are alone is so loud. I also realized what family really means. The way I see it now, I have 2 families. I have my real family, you know people I am actually related to. But I also have another very important family. This family is more diverse, maybe even a slight dysfunctional at times, but I love them and that would be my friends at school who have over the last few weeks become my family. No seriously, we are one giant family and I love it.

Its not good for us to be alone, and yet there are times through out the week where all I want to do is be alone and to be by myself.

And it is times like today when I wonder what my family will be like when I start one. Will I have a family of my own?

Then I realize that I don't really care. Family is always changing. Most people come into your life and stay from the very end, but some family members come later in life, or leave earlier and I guess that makes life interesting. But there is one member of my family who never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. And i love that about Him. See God is my daddy and I think that is the greatest family anyone could ever be apart of :)

Keep Walking

I was sitting in my room a few days ago and really just pouring my heart out to God. As it turns out, when you are growing up, things get a little more complicated then they used to be. So anyways as I was pouring my heart out, I clearly heard His voice. And He reminded me that He created me, actually all of us, for a purpose and a plan. How cool is it to think that this HUGE GOD, who is all powerful and can LITERALLY do anything He wants, cares so much for you that He has your whole life laid out! It is phenomenal! And not only does He have your whole life planned out, He knows exactly what you are going to do before you do. Even before you even think about something, He knows your thought. He knows where you are going to live, who you are going to love, where you are going to work.. He knows it all!

So today I want to encourage you, where ever you are in your walk with God to just keep walking with Him. Keep trusting Him, keep loving Him and keep worshiping Him. If you ever doubt God's presence in your life, look where you used to be, look where you are now and look ahead to where He is going to take you and NEVER for a second doubt that He is right beside you. Every day all day. And not only is He right beside you, He is hovering over you singing a beautiful love song over His beloved child. Friends, I wish I could start to put into words how loved you are! I couldn't even being. Be blessed today. You are a beloved Child of God who has a purpose in this World.