The one on perseverance

   Last week I was with my church at our lake baptism. Although I wasn’t there to be baptized, I was just there to enjoy a time of fellowship and support those who were being baptized. And even though I chose not to swim in the lake, I did find myself enjoying messing with the sand. (I would say playing with the sand, which in all honesty is what I was doing, but I was looking for a more “mature” word.) Anyway, as the water would occasionally wash up upon the shore, I enjoyed sinking my feet into the soft, damp sand before watching my small footprints wash away. There was nothing quite like the joy from the feeling that there was nothing else going on, just me, the beautiful weather, and the peacefulness of my feet in the sand, with the tide that would nicely brush my ankles. I honestly wanted nothing else in that moment except what I had - which, c’mon, doesn’t happen much in the selfish, demanding world we sometimes surround ourselves in. But, even if only for a few moments, it was wonderful.

Eventually I found myself kneeling in the sand, pushing the sand into clumps that would form a cross. The tide managed to stay a few inches back, so it didn’t wash away. It wasn’t anything extravagant now, just a small cross. I smoothed the edges, I leveled the top, and there it was - my little cross in the sand. I was quite proud of it, even if it was short lived. Shortly, as if on cue, the water from the lake started pushing its way further. It brushed the edge of my cross, causing it to soften and crumble. I pushed some more sand back onto the cross, and all was well again. I’m sure you can manage to assume what happened next. The waters came further, harder, faster, and stronger. My little cross in the sand was nothing but a soupy glob that kept washing away, and getting smaller, and smaller. I tried desperately to fix it, but to no avail. Yeah, okay, so most people would look at it under the impression that it’s merely a little cross built in the sand. It was destined to wash away, anyway, and surely I must have known that.

Then it reminded me of something.

And all of a sudden I saw that little cross in the sand as a newly-placed faith in Jesus Christ. As if, when I sculpted that cross...that was like a new believer taking the first steps to committing their lives, and all the faith they have, to God. And when they step back and look at what has been done, what has been sculpted in their life...it’s...well, like that small moment of joy I experienced on the beach - Even if only for a moment...wonderful.

Then the waves come.

Then, the world comes.

As if the water sensed a symbol of surrender, a symbol of hope, in that little cross in the sand...and, of course, came rushing upon it. No matter what you do to try fix it, salvage it, or re-build it...the waters just keep coming. Determined to wash it away – like how the world seems to be determined to bring anyone who calls themselves a Christian to destruction.

So what’s best to do? Keep sitting there, pushing the sand back onto the cross in soupy globs, hoping it will keep its form? Or shield it completely from the waters that are coming. Perhaps let the waters destroy it and go build another one elsewhere?   Or...wait...maybe this is all a trick question. Like, “Hey, what’s my cross doing in the sand anyway? Wasn’t I supposed to go build it on a rock or somethin’?” And that’s the key. Don’t focus on the world. Focus on the cross. Build your relationship firm in Christ from the beginning, and let the waves come. No matter how hard they come at you...your faith is built on a rock, which cannot wash away. Let the world see that no matter what it can throw against us, we will persevere.

Perfectly Flawed

 I’d like to start by quickly apologizing for the fact that I haven’t posted much. As you can see - In All Faithfulness has new look! Also, if you scroll down a bit, you'll see on the sidebar a new little box where you can send me feedback, ideas, prayer requests, questions, and suggestions for what to write about. Thanks!

     It’s pretty hard to disagree with the fact that almost every single woman, of any age, struggles with the way they look. We look in the mirror every day and see nothing but imperfection and flaws. We see the opposite of what society says we should look like. We start to allow what people say about us slowly sink in and break us apart. And every day, the lies we tell ourselves start to become a part of us. And we allow it.

     People don’t realize how young girls are when we start to feed them these lies. And as they grow up they learn that the world sets standards for the way women should look. They teach us that we have to fit these standards in order to be accepted or even presentable to society. And the more they start to grow up the more they start to realize they can never achieve those standards. And I can’t even begin to explain how haywire it gets from there. And what’s it all for, anyway? For men? Some might say that. Because women need to have confidence? I hear that one a lot. But people don’t seem to realize that our confidence, and our beauty, comes from a very different source. And today I’m going to share what that is. Even though most of you already are very aware of it, I want to go in depth with it. I want you to leave this blog with a new frame of mind. Maybe that’s wishful thinking, or maybe it’s simply impossible, but we’ll see.

     I’m sure you’ve heard about or read this verse before – 1 Peter 3:3-4. {pictured}. But we’re going to go in depth of what this verse really means. Let’s start at, “Do not let your adorning be external – the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - ...” Now this was written way back in AD 62-63...yet we can see that women adorned themselves in all the same ways. They would attempt to beautify themselves in order to be accepted, liked, and admired. Maybe even sometimes you, yes, I’m talking to you, don’t even feel comfortable leaving the house without makeup covering your face? You can’t let society see your blemishes, right? And I can’t be the only one who spends sometimes hours picking out what to wear because nothing is “just right”. I want people to think highly of me, and I’m sure you do too. But stop and think with me here – in what ways have our methods of beautification gotten in the way of who God created us to be? Let’s look further into the verse, “But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,” What Peter is saying in the first part of this verse, is let your beauty come from “the hidden person of the heart.” Or, you. Too often girls get caught up in trying to be somebody else. God created you with a purpose in mind – don’t let your desire to be as perfect as those photo shopped women on magazine covers get in the way of living out God’s grand design for your life. The Godly woman hidden inside you...that is more beautiful than any makeup or clothing can give you. Which leads us to “...with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,...” This is something we see in the characteristics and attributes of a Godly woman at heart. Close your eyes and think about a “gentle and quiet spirit.”... Seriously, close your eyes and picture it. Why do I get the feeling you still haven’t done it? Just take a couple seconds and think about it. Then picture those attributes in yourself. Does it match up with the way your spirit is now? Probably not. I know mine doesn’t. To be gentle and quiet is someone who focuses on God before anything else in the world can come between them. Their relationship with the Lord is intimate and highly cherished. They do not take delight in evil, instead the live out their lives peacefully in the Lord. This is the hidden person of the heart, don’t you see? With that, take a look at the very last part of the verse... “...Which is God’s sight is very precious.” Isn’t that beautiful? That God would look unto us, His children, and see us as precious. God. Like, creator of the universe, ya know? And He sees me as precious? That’s pretty incredible.

So, if there’s one thing I hope you leave here with. It’s this...

When you start hating on yourself, maybe it’s your body size, your complexion, or anything that you just dislike, or even hate, about yourself...remind yourself of 1 Peter 3:3-4. If you can, write it on your bedroom/bathroom mirror, or write it on a note card and stick it someplace where you will see it every day. Eventually you will memorize it and you will carry that peace of knowing that your beauty comes from a more magnificent source. Don’t let the influences of this world impact your idea of beauty. The maker of the universe created you to be just the way you are – everything about you reflects your Father, for He doesn’t make mistakes, and His creations are flawless and perfect. Rejoice in that, and share it with others.

~Faith

Bold is Beautiful

Hey there everyone! Okay, so I may not have posted in almost three weeks... #oops. Today's post is actually a very important topic to me, it's something I've personally struggled through and that I really want to share with others. I feel like most everybody has a hard time with being bold. Quite frankly, we don't know how to be "bold"...I feel like we're taught, somehow, that being bold is a bad thing. I look around and all I see, from people of all ages, is that we don't stray far from our own little circles (Some may call them cliques). We don't welcome new people, talk to the new kids, or do anything away from the friends we're comfortable with. And to be honest, sometimes it angers me a bit. Especially because I know that I'm one of them. You see, being bold isn't something to hide or be afraid of! Yes, sometimes it can create slightly awkward situations (Which everyone seems to spend their whole lives avoiding at all costs), but in the end, as I like to say, bold is beautiful.

 I'd like to bring up a piece of scripture that I've kind of based this post off of. Acts 28:31. (Pictured) We'll start by breaking down what the verse means, and then we will work on applying it to our lives.  Now, I'll talk more a little bit further down about what boldness looks like in all aspects of our lives, but more specifically in this verse it talks about boldness in proclaiming the kingdom of God. What does that mean? It's quite simple, telling everybody, everywhere, in all ways possible, who God is and what He's done. But not just that, no, because it goes on to tell us to teach about the Lord Jesus Christ. So, now we see that we aren't just talking about God, but we're teaching of Him too. See the difference? It's like going around all day proclaiming "Jesus is life!", or "God is love!". That's great and all...but people that don't know Jesus won't know what, or who, you're talking about. Unless you actually sit down and teach them about the life that Jesus gave us by bearing the weight of our sins on the cross. Or you actually tell them how unfathomable God's love for us is - that he would send His one and only Son to be crucified so that we could have a relationship with Him. You see the difference now?

But wait, we aren't at the end of the verse yet. It ends on "With all boldness and without hindrance."

Wow. Just take a moment with me and think about "With all boldness." Every ounce of boldness and courage that we have should be put to use. All that we have. So that we would, without a trace of doubt whatsoever, jump on every opportunity with the boldness of a lion (And lions are quite bold if I do say so myself). "And without hindrance" - without any obstacles in our way, and without any doubts or fears. There would be no stopping us, for we are God's children, His chosen people, proclaiming the good news of our Savior without worrying about the things we do now, like "what will people think about me.". We would all be solely concerned with God's commandments, God's purpose, and we'd be driven by the fear of the Lord. Wouldn't that be pretty cool if we were all like that? We're supposed to be. Instead it feels like we all take our faith, we take what Jesus has done, and we go like crawl under a rock or something. We don't show it to anyone, we don't rejoice over this amazing grace that we've been given, no. It's like we just don't care. When we should be living out the opposite! Chew on that for a while.

Okay, you may be wondering, how much "bold" is too bold? Well, your boldness must be driven by the right amount of kindness. Being bold doesn't mean shoving the Gospel down people's throats, no, no. What I mean by it is that, with love, patience, gentleness, and kindness we should share with people the love that God has shown us. Being bold just means that we aren't afraid or ashamed in any way of His word. True boldness in a person is a rare and beautiful find, but it's one that once you share it, it keeps on going like a chain reaction. People follow, you set an example, and that's pretty cool.

"what does boldness look like in an everyday life?"

   Boldness in an everyday life, especially that of a student, is when you aren't afraid to venture outside that little circle we talked about earlier and maybe talk to that kid that's sitting in the corner all alone. Invite them to sit with you and get to know them. That's boldness, and kindness, that you just exhibited right there. Being bold in your everyday life can even be speaking up when some kids are talking about, or doing, something that you know is wrong. It takes boldness to speak up and show them God's love. Or maybe you have a friend who's wavering in their faith...a lot of times we just remain quiet because...well, sometimes I don't even know why, but we do. And we shouldn't. Be the friend that helps point them back to the Lord, be the girl (or guy) who is constantly talking about God, be the one who isn't afraid of what people think of you, be courageous, be kind, be bold. Bold is beautiful, my friends.

Check Your Connection

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     Does something else in your life ever come between you and your relationship with God? Is He always your main focus? Most likely, He's not always. Because we're humans and the desires of our corrupt nature seem to grab our attention away from Him. It's a daily battle just to keep Christ at the center of our lives. And I, personally, do not always win that battle.
  
     But you see, when Christ really is the center of everything in our lives, all that seemed to be such a struggle before...well, it just falls into place. I remember one Sunday school lesson from a little while ago that has really stuck with me. One of my Sunday morning small group leaders was talking about things that come in the way of our relationship with God. She explained it kind of like this, think of your relationship with God as a cell phone. If something is blocking the signal to your phone, then you can't reach anyone. It's like when you go under a bridge or  in a tunnel - you can't get reception until the thing that is blocking it is removed. But sometimes it can be hard to know what is distracting you the most, and it's even harder when you love that thing so much that you can't pull yourself away. Do you ever hear the Holy Spirit speaking to you at times? And you feel God telling you to spend time in His word, but you just push those thoughts away and away until you become so calloused that you can't even hear Him anymore. I want to admit it just as much as you do, but that's what we do. Our distractions get the better of us...So, in class, we proceeded to make a list on the white board of some of the biggest distractions in our lives. The number one thing was, you guessed it, phones. That and excuses ("I'll do it later", when later never comes) seemed to be the biggest competitors for our attention. As I reflected on this I could see all of the things that are keeping me away from God. I have tried to let go of the distractions and put more of my focus and attention on God...which hasn't been the easiest thing ever, let's just say. In other words, it's just plain hard to let go of these things that please our worldly desires. And yes, it has gotten easier over time, but like I said before, it's a daily battle. But it is most certainly a battle worth fighting! To truly focus on God before anything else...that's our (or one of our many) goals. Because, then, all those obstacles that we used to face in our daily lives...they're simple. Because we put God's commandments first, and we put His will above our own.

        You may think "It's not that simple to just drop all of our worldly distractions." Yeah, I know, I know. And it takes time, but it's worth it in the end. Start by listing a few of your biggest distractions.

• Phones
• Excuses ("I'll do it later.")
• Sports
• School
• T.V (Netflix is a big one..)
• etc. etc.

      Now when you hear God telling you to spend time in His word, instead of ignoring it until you no longer can notice it...listen to Him. When you start to feel like you're drifting away, check your connection. Find what's blocking the signal and make it a priority to drop whatever it is. I know a lot of my friends are reading this right now, so I challenge each and every one of you (myself included) to check your connection this week. Just like you can't call someone from a tunnel, you can't keep Christ as your main focus with too many distractions in your way.


Faith

The First One...

 

~Why I'm writing this~

 

 

     Ah, yes. The glorious world of blogging. I suppose I always saw myself as a blogger, but I always figured that no one would take what I have to say seriously with me being so young. A verse that kept coming to my mind was 1 Timothy 4:12. "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. But set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." I kept reminding myself of this, that I am to be setting an example, no matter what age I am. I found myself constantly giving advice and encouragement to many of my friends...which, in fact, I enjoy quite much. It was strange, although in a good way, knowing that something I say can be that meaningful to others. Now, combine this with my passion for writing, and here I am. And I'm excited to see what God has planned. 

    Now, I'm asking y'all to bear with me as I figure out all of this, for I am still growing and maturing in my faith as well. In the past couple of years I have grown closer to God more than I ever imagined I would. And it's beautiful. Even at a young age, I had been through quite a bit. I was so far off the path that I needed to be on that I didn't even know where the path was anymore. I can look back now and see that it was part of God's plan...which is still unfolding before my eyes. But, I'll get into all that later. 

    Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that blogging is my life's purpose, no. However I feel like it is most certainly a wonderful place to start. The internet (Or, as I call it, "the inter galactic web") is a great little tool that can be used to reach so many people from all over the place... so why wouldn't I take advantage of such an opportunity? And let me just say I am very excited, as I've already said, to see what might become of this, and how God may use it to reach people. Thanks for reading along, and I hope you'll continue this little journey with me. 

~Faith

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