Monthly Archives for June 2012

Little Love Notes: Put Yourself First.

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…”
Phillipians 2:12

Lately I have often found myself thinking thoughts such as “I need to develop greater discipline in my life so that if it is God’s will for me, I can be a better wife and mother in the future.” Or thoughts such as “I need to start interceding more so that the souls of the kids at our youth group may be saved.” While these two thoughts in and of themselves are great, it just seems as though my motivation has been a little bit off. The motive behind why I do what I do should not simply be for the benefit of people but ultimately for the glory of God.

I have really been learning in my life lately that it is very possible to be doing all of the right things and yet have it all wrong.

So easily we get caught up in ministry opportunities, raising godly families, and all of the other beautiful and great things that present themselves in the Christian life. As we get caught up in doing all of this great “stuff” we forget what is truly important: our first love.

More than God desires to use us, He desires to know us.

The ultimate reason for our existence is to know God intimately and personally. As we do the things that God has called us to do we must never forget this. It is so easy to care so much about the souls of others that we lose focus of the condition of our own.

Our salvation is of the upmost importance to God and honestly, in order for us to even be able do any of the great “stuff” well, our salvation must also be of the upmost importance to us. Daily seek to know God more than you did yesterday. Make growing closer to God the greatest priority in your life. 

Put yourself first.

A Life Of No Regrets.

Just a little while ago I was thinking about a mistake that I made recently. I have been making a lot of little mistakes lately. These are things that may not have been noticed by any other human eye… But I know. And so does God.

A lot of the mistakes that I have been making lately are simply the result of a lack of faith in God. This lack of faith has affected my daily walk and communion with God in immeasurable ways. God has been asking me to put all of my trust in Him but time and time again I choose another way.

It never works.

Today as I was thinking about this area of my life I felt God speak to me something that I already knew in my head… but obviously did not know in my heart:  If I follow after my own ways I will ALWAYS end up disappointed, but if I follow after God’s ways I will be continually satisfied.

Why? Because God can never lead me in the wrong way.

Which leads me to my next thought… So often in times of crisis I ask God to show me the way. But in actuality this is not what I need at all. I simply need for God to lead me through. I don’t have to see everything, I simply have to trust that God does.

I cannot fix all of the mistakes that I have made in the past few months (like I so often attempt to do) but I can purpose in my heart that from now on I will only follow where God leads.

A life lived in full surrender to God cannot be regretted.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in Me.”
John 14:1

How To Successfully Talk Behind Someone’s Back.

I have found there to be times in my life where I seriously need wisdom in regards to a relationship (family, friend, etc). One of these times happened to be today. As I grow in Christ I am learning the importance of guarding my mouth and being so careful with my words. So how am I to effectively relay my problems and seek godly counsel without offending the people involved? How am I to get help without causing hurt?

Here are just a few things that have helped me to successfully “talk behind someone’s back”:

1.) Go to a GODLY person!
I cannot stress this enough. If we genuinely desire to please Christ in our relationships then we cannot go to an ungodly person who we know will only fuel our emotions… whether they be anger, hurt, betrayal, jealousy, or anything else. This is exactly what we want. A person who will be mad with us and tell us how right we are for thinking the way that we do. But this is not what we need. We must go to a person who is full of godly wisdom and bearing the fruits of the Spirit… those same fruits that we desire to see manifest in our own lives.

2.) Don’t name names… generally.
Remember that our main goal in bringing our problems to a godly person is to receive wise counsel. This is NOT our time to vent. Do that with God in prayer. It is with Him that we need to share our deepest emotions for only He can truly understand them (“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses…” Hebrews 4:15).  If it is at all possible to effectively share our burdens and receive advice without naming any specific names then I would definitely advise going that route. I’m sure that there are some cases where names might be mentioned because it is necessary and perhaps even helpful but I would certainly use discretion in this area.

3.) Don’t say anything that cannot be repeated.
This especially applies to those cases in which we are speaking very specifically and names are being used. We should REALLY avoid doing any of that “I’m going to tell you this but don’t tell him/her” business because that gets us into trouble really fast.  It is so easy for us to allow our emotions to let loose and as a result we often say things that we really shouldn’t. These things may be true… but that doesn’t matter. We should only speak things that we wouldn’t mind the subject hearing if it just so happened to “get around”.

In conclusion…
We ought to be truthful… yes. But even with a godly person it is not always necessary to be completely transparent about our issues with another. Some things are best left in the privacy of prayer. We must be so very careful with our words. It will require much self-control which is never easy… but it is good. The power of life and death are in the tongue.
Never forget that.

IDK My BFF Jill… (The Importance Of Godly Friendships)

“It’s hard to miss something that you’ve never really had…” 

This was a thought that entered my mind earlier tonight as I talked to my amazing friend Julie on the phone. In that moment I was realized just how thankful I am to have godly friends in my life. Not Christian friends but godly friends. Friends that won’t just stand by and watch as I drift away from my first love. Friends who aren’t afraid to ask me the hard questions. You know, the ones that I really, really need to hear but really, really don’t want anyone to ask me… those ones. #accountability

Well I have a few friends like this and Julie is definitely one of them. Despite the fact that I moved a little over a year ago and now live 1,000 miles away from her, we are closer than ever!

Tonight we talked about where our relationships with God stand right now. The good and the bad. We shared the awesome things that God has done and is doing in our lives and we also shared with each other the things we are struggling with.

I shared with her how in my heart I know that I have not been being 100% faithful to God. Sometimes (*cough* many times) lately I have found myself forsaking prayer and time in God’s presence for other worthless things. Not necessarily bad things but definitely worthless.

When I was done sharing this with Julie, she said to me, “Well, what are you going to do about it?”

Yikes, Julie! Way to put me on the spot! But this is why I love her… because she’s not afraid to ask me these questions and I know that I can do the same with her (she’s personally asked me to do this for her). I love that she is not okay with me being at a standstill in my walk with God.  This is friendship.

During tonight’s phone conversation, Julie and I decided that we desperately NEED to be closer to God and we NEED to be actively seeking to make it happen! We have decided to seek God about something we can do together to help keep each other devoted to strengthening our walks with Him. For example, studying a book of the bible together, memorizing scripture together, committing to praying together, etc…

Ahhhh, what a joy to have a friend who cares not only about me but about my salvation!

So basically, the thought that I mentioned at the very beginning of this post was in regards to Christians who are committed to growing in the Lord and do not have a friendship like this. I pray that God would open a door for one… because it is SO edifying. Love and accountability working together through a friendship brings great POWER into our lives!

 And seeing as I’m talking about godly friendships right now I might as well throw in these throwback pics of  my bestest friends ever in the whole wide world… and fellow “ambassadors of Christ 4 lyfe!” (Rachel Halek, that was for you).

The Girls: Rachel C, Me, Rachel H, Abbie. (Yikes! This pic has got to be at least three years old… but I <3 it!

Another oldie but goodie! =)

“The Crew”… A.K.A. Discipleship Group