The more I know you

The more I know you God,

The more I understand your love for me,

The more I understand your great love for me, the more my heart melts and the more I love you in return, 

The more I get to know who you really are, the more I trust you

The more I trust you, the less I doubt you

The less I doubt you, the more my faith grows in you

The more my faith grows in you, the more I can't wait to get to know you even more! 

<3 <3 <3 

God I love you 

Most of the time I am the first one to leave the house in the morning so I make sure to be quiet so I don't wake anyone up. This morning I was going down the stairs like I usually do. Before I go down I let my Chihuahua go down first and wait until I see him get to the bottom. Then I turn off the light and I go down. I can see a little and know the stairs well enough. (Btw: There is no light switch at the bottom of the stairs. Lol.)

But sometimes, like today, my Chihuahua gets scared when I turn off the light and tries to come all the way back upstairs towards me. Lol. I guess he gets scared and wants to go back where he felt safe. 

Then I thought, isn't that what we do sometimes? When God tries to bring us into some place new, away from the norm, we think about the place where we once were? I know I have had that thought before. However, I have learned that I can trust God and that He is there in the unfamiliar and the unknown. :)

New places, if we allow them, can be times of growth and opportunities to know and trust Him more. <3 

God is for us and loves us so much! He has helped me in many different kinds of new places. He helps me when I'm trusted with new responsibility and I can go forward with excitement and expectancy, He comforts me in the hard times when I'm disappointed or sad and uses that time to heal me and work on my heart, He guides me through tough and challenging times and He shows up to work on my character. 

If I'm moving, I want it to be forward, towards God. He proves Himself faithful time and time again. I really do value knowledge and growth in Him. I may not understand at times but I am glad for the places He has brought me through because without them I would not have learned what I know now. I can look back and know that it was only God who could've helped me and changed me. I give You all the glory God. 

Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

Jeremiah 29:11, "'For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

1 Corinthians 13:11, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." 

As a way to celebrate the one year anniversary of my blog I want to encourage anyone to go forward with a dream that God has placed on their heart. For years I wanted to start a blog and knew that God wanted me to. I kept making excuses and I let fear and insecurities hold me back. Now as I look back at one year later I am so grateful for the experience and opportunity to be able to share my writing. He is so good to us. 

A few things that have been helpful to me along this journey are:

-I don't always have to have everything figured out. This was so hard for me to accept. I am a recovering perfectionist and really have to try not to be so hard on myself. 

-He will provide. When I thought I was all out of ideas He kept putting things on my heart to share. He is the cup that won't run dry!

I read this scripture last night and it brought a peace and joy to my heart. I was so glad and excited to learn another new thing from Him and put it into practice with expectancy. 

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." John 14:27. 

So what does this mean? Let's take it piece by piece, shall we?

Jesus is speaking to His disciples and says, "Peace I leave with you." He gave us His peace. But He goes on to say that He does not give as the world gives. What does that mean? To me it means that on this earth we can be given things even with the best intentions but some things don't always last. Things can break, fall apart, or just get worn out after we have used them for so long. But not the things that Jesus gives! :)

He gives us a peace that is life changing and everlasting. It's like something that we've never known because it's not as the world gives. It never gets close to running out. 

The second part of the scripture says,  "Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." This tells me that I can make a choice not to let my heart be troubled or fearful. It's not to say that I won't ever feel hurt or disappintment but I can take control over my heart and keep directing it back to Him.

Jesus is not asking us but telling us in a statement, "Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." I can give my heart to God and be confident that He will take care of me.

This is not the only place in the Bible that it says, "Do not let your heart be troubled." He's getting our attention. Why would He tell us that if it wasn't for a reason? If He couldn't follow through? If there wasn't a powerful significance to follow? We can trust Him! 

I will make great use of my freedom

I wanted to capture what has been on my heart lately. I was encouraged to do this by reading the book, Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. (See previous post) This is what I wrote today:

I will live my life for God. I will be concerned about that which is on God's heart. I will be contagiously happy and will give free smiles. I will be loving and kind to others even if they don't return it. I will trust God with the things that I cannot see. I will be who God made me to be. I will do what you have placed before me God. 

I will not get so lost in my own troubles that I can't help others with theirs. I will be encouraging to others. I will go out of my way to be there for someone who needs me. I will love God by loving His people. (John 21:15-17) I will lift His name far above my own and make His name great. 

I will be at peace. I will live my life for God and not for man. I will not let myself be limited by people pleasing or get caught up in trying to perform for others. (Galatians 1:10) I don't even have to perform for God because He loves and accepts me just as I am and I can't earn His love. 

I will be obedient to God even when it doesn't make sense because I don't have to understand to be obedient. I will not be concerned with others but keep my eyes focused on Him. He will show me the way. I will make lots of mistakes but I will keep getting back up. I completely abandon all of my old ways and trust God to lead me. (2 Corinthians 5:17). I will honor God by enjoying my life. 

I am currently reading the book, "Crazy Love" by a Pastor named Francis Chan.  On page 48 he shares a very inspiring essay by a young girl named Brooke Broncowski, written when she was about 12 years old. The title of the essay is, "Since I have my life before me". This is what she wrote:

"I'll live my life to the fullest. I'll be happy. I'll brighten up. I will be more joyful than I have ever been. I will be kind to others. I will loosen up. I will tell others about Christ. I will go on adventures and change the world. I will be bold and not change who I really am. I will have no troubles but instead help others with their troubles. 

You see, I'll be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age. Oh, I'll have moments, good and bad, but I will wipe away the bad and only remember the good. In fact that's all I remember, just good moments, nothing in between, just living my life to the fullest. I'll be one of those people who go somewhere with a mission, an awesome plan, a world changing plan, and nothing will hold me back. I'll set an example for others, I will pray for direction. 

I have my life before me. I will give others the joy I have and God will give me more joy. I will do everything God tells me to do. I will follow the footsteps of God. I will do my best!!!"

The book goes on to say that, "During her freshman year in high school, Brooke was in a car accident while driving to the movies. Her life on earth ended when she was just fourteen, but her impact didn't." 

God is still using her essay to touch peoples lives today. <3 This essay really encouraged me and challenged me. What a great word and from such a young girl!

What do you want to do for God with the time you have left on this earth? It's not too late. Come up with a plan and write your vision down like Brooke. Every day counts and every day is precious. <3