Your sister in Christ,
Christina
As you're waiting for some new content, here's a song I've been loving lately!
I've had to take a quick break from blog writing to focus on finishing university. As graduation is quickly approaching, I have a lot of schoolwork to get done in the next 2 weeks. Please pray for me as this exciting and rather stressful chapter of my life is coming to a close. I'm GETTING MY DEGREE Y'ALL!! See you soon (mid-May). Your sister in Christ, Christina As you're waiting for some new content, here's a song I've been loving lately!
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Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This holiday feels a little more special this year since my husband and I are celebrating as a married couple for the first time!! But on a more serious note, let's talk about grace shall we? I think it's an important topic to cover because, well... I claim to be "Full of Faith and Grace" and I'm sure you do too but, are we really? Now I'm certain that I am full of faith, anyone that knows me can tell you that... On the other hand I think God's grace is easily overlooked, when really every new day is proof of how much He really loves those who have faith and why we receive this grace through faith. "through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." -Romans 5:2 Here's your reminder to not only focus on your faith in God, I've heard a lot of people say that grace means forgiveness. But if we dig a little deeper we learn that it means so much more. Our sins are covered by God's grace, why? Because we're all sinners and we all fall short of His glory. Grace is a gift given to us because of Jesus. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.” -Romans 3:23-24 So if we have faith in God and in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior (which I'm sure we all do *wink wink* that means we're covered by God's grace. His grace brings us:
His example allows us to show grace to others in the way of forgiving, how He forgives us and in being a light to people just as Jesus was when He was here on earth. I think it's important to note that although God's grace is a gift given to us freely, it shouldn't be taken advantage of. I've heard a lot of people say, "well, only God can judge me," without realizing the truth in their words. One day He will most definitely come and He will be the final judge and it's not going to be pretty. As followers of Christ, we should be examples of who Christ is for others to see. Yes, we get angry. Yes, we become jealous or envious. Yes, sometimes we're ungrateful. Yes, we make mistakes. Yes, we fail God daily! We are not a perfect people but thankfully, He is! Lord, thank you for loving us and giving us this hope and salvation. Thank you for this gift of grace you've given us through faith in You and your Son. So this is what I learned as I studied to gain a deeper understanding of what grace really is and how it’s relevant in my life. If you'd like to add anything, comment below for others to see! Grace be with you all, Amen. -Hebrews 13:25 It's a brand new year and I think it’s a really special time to start off on a positive note. A lot of my posts are stemmed from finding the Lord through a bad experience but I really want to turn things around and speak about praising God and having faith just because of who He is and all He has done! So this year I want you to focus on this one task and that should be to constantly pursue God in this new year by expanding your faith in Him. A new year shouldn't only mean you're starting off with a clean slate, it's also the perfect time to reflect back to your faith in 2017.
God loves us so much. He forgives. He was, is, and always will be there; Not only at the start of a new year or even a new week... but always! His love is constant. So together, let's start this year off with this one goal in mind and that’s to lean on Him during every moment of our busy lives and in turn strengthening our faith in Him. Our Father has done more for us that can ever be repaid. It’s crucial to give yourself some time to have simple and short prayer-filled moments. Not only will this build a greater faith, but it will bring more peace and joy than ever before because of your positive growth in Him and with Him. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. -Psalms 116:2 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! - 1 Chronicles 16:11 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. -Proverbs 3:5 I hope you'll enjoy this acoustic cover by my favorite artist ever! The lyrics are a great reminder that every little creature and thing God created was made to worship Him ♥ Life has been pretty crazy for me lately, but in the time that I've been gone I've learned a lot, seen a lot, and thankfully my faith and trust in God has continued to grow (although we all have days where we fail, believe me). Through this season of my life I've realized that the world is full of selfish people. We may not even see it in ourselves sometimes, but there seems to be this thought process of, "If I help this person, or if I do this thing... what will I get out of it?" "Can I gain anything out of doing this? Will giving this person this money help me?" "If I help that woman with her kids or car will I be rewarded?" Selfishness is everywhere, and this may be a hard pill to swallow but it isn't about what you can gain... it's about what you've already gained. You've gained the love from a man that willingly died for you. He endured so much pain because He loves you so much and thinks you are precious. He completed the most selfless act EVER, for you. Jesus specifically tells us: For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Mark 8: 35-36 The bible is your life source. There is an answer in the bible for every single problem or struggle you face; whether you like the answer or not, it's there. Sometimes the solution seems so simple, you'll think, "THAT CAN'T POSSIBLY BE WHAT GOD IS TRYING TO TELL ME!" But it is... I remember these words flowing out of my mouth so easily while encouraging someone about faith during a hard time and it was this, "God tells us to have faith like a child." After hearing those words, I actually questioned what I said, and felt that response was rather naive than encouraging when I quickly realized, "yes, keep having faith like a child!" I know some pessimists may think that statement is silly or "the real world hasn't hit her yet," but it's what the bible says so I CAN'T BE WRONG! Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:3-4 Simply put, life isn't always great. It's extremely difficult to constantly feel happy. Us humans live fickle lives--one moment we're thankful for everything we have and the next we're freaking out over the most minute problem. It is so easy for us to try and take control over every situation we come face to face with; all the while, being forgetful of the God we have, who is with us in every moment of our lives, and who ultimately has the final say. This past week I had a moment where my faith was seriously lacking. There were tears, lots of stress and unnecessary worry. I felt defeated and lost all hope. I was so consumed with the problem, I had forgotten who I am living for!
Fortunately, God is always working behind the scenes and in my desperate time I said out loud, "Lord, I need you..." I decided I could no longer handle this on my own (FYI: we're not supposed to) and a few moments later, my boss (a fellow believer), pulled me aside and showed me his tie which read: "I am the vine, you are the branches" John 15:5. After reading that, I was speechless. The only thing I could think of doing was praising God for showering me with His peace and showing me His simple reminder from a TIE of all things!! So life is going pretty well for you. You are completely content. You have the latest iPhone, money is being poured in, you have an amazing group of friends, grades are great, you have a reliable car, a beautiful house with a beautiful family, you read your devotional every morning, you get your daily coffee fix from Starbucks before work; but suddenly all of that is taken away... You're left with nothing at all. Would you still be on fire for Jesus? Would you physically open up your bible even though it isn't as accessible as a smartphone? Would you still rejoice and be glad? The bible specifically instructs us to stay in communication with God, whether we're completely content or worn down.
This post comes from a brief moment of feeling unworthy, unloved, and insufficient. When it comes to writing for my blog, I've always told God to lead my writing in a direction where I can pour my heart out fully, and that usually comes from personal experience. And what better way is there to reach out to people other than by experiencing these emotions and difficulties first hand?
Well these emotions I felt for a short period of time happened to be pretty painful. Satan is the king of ruining and interrupting good things. He hates good, he hates light; He comes to deceive, scheme, and steer us away from the one who created us. So how can we overcome his deceit and lies? By drawing closer to God, always. You are not perfect. I am not perfect. We are all flawed. There seems to be a stigma amongst Christians that we must portray a perfect, Christ-following life for others to see. We post pictures on social media showing off our happy-go-lucky lives, filled with adventure and merriment. We walk around day by day faking a smile so people will think we don't face daily trials. We dress nicely and act a certain way because of this invisible standard Christians hold themselves to. But I want to challenge you to be authentic. We are all flawed, and guess what? That's okay! It's okay to have bad days. It's okay to feel sad. It's okay to feel a little weary. It's okay to show your emotions beneath the surface level. It's ok to be a human being! I recently came across a saying that reads, "I am an imperfect person, loved by a perfect God."
After reading that, I thought "wow there must be so many people out there that can benefit from such a simple saying." Everyone struggles. No one expects you or me to be happy all the time. The thought of being judged and shamed by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ because we've shown human emotion shouldn't even be feared. Judging another isn't anyone's job but God's. We as believers must be able to earnestly listen and guide broken people towards God's word -- we're not called to shame people for being human and dealing with struggles that come with this life. In order to be authentic and true to who God has called us to be, I think it's important to throw away the idea of believing you're better than another person. God says, "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another." Colossians 3:12-13 Today, I had a sort of light bulb illuminating above my head, epiphany moment. For a while now I had an ache for something. It felt as if no one understood or accepted me. I didn't even know I felt this way until I listened to a song today recommended to me by a family friend. Once I listened through this song twice and had my alone time with God (yes, I cried a little), a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders that I never realized was there.
I felt the need to write a post about this because I am sure there are plenty of people who have or currently feel rejected, alone, disconnected, left out, unloved, misunderstood, forgotten, and invisible among their friends and family. Starting from elementary school to now I could never keep friends. Especially being a young kid, children would always figure out ways of why you weren't allowed to be in the "group" anymore. So, being around family has always been an escape for me because I could be myself and be assured that I was loved, accepted, and thought of from time to time. Recently I was having a discussion with family about my thoughts on not being able to find people my age or with the same mindset that would "just get me!" We all want to surround ourselves with people who make us feel accepted or like a family member apart from family! We all long to make special connections with people to feel like we belong, it's a part of human nature. |
Hi. I'm Christina! I hope my posts inspire you and motivate you to grow closer to the Lord.
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