Alrighty guys!
So this week we talked about relationships and attractions! We watched videos of Dean Sherman, and it was great. I would highly recommend these videos to everyone in the world. He started off by suggesting that "every problem in the world is a relationship problem." When you stop and think about it, he is absolutely right; and the root of this relationship problem is pride. Why do we have trouble relating to others? Why do we have wars? We either believe that we're superior to others (arrogant pride), or we believe that they're superior to us (inferior pride.) Both of which are lies. Now, he covered so much about relationships, and I would absolutely love to sit here and type out everything I've learned this week! But that would take way too long, and I'm sure there's no way you would have the time or interest to sit and read it all; so I'm just going to tell you guys which part really stood out to me.
The lessons weren't all about "romantic" relationships, but it's what we closed the week with, and it's something I've kind've been struggling with lately. We talked about having a "relationship philosophy," and then about "relationship progression." For the relationship philosophy, we talked about how we should 1.) have the right motives, 2.) avoid "dating syndrome," (dating just for the sake of dating) and 3.) that we should give up our rights to sex and marriage. The first two were already obvious to me, but even though I kind've already knew the third one, it really struck me. Giving up the idea of marriage in order to follow God is something I've had a hard time surrendering; even if it is just for this season of my life. I allow myself to believe the lie that if I don't leave time for it, it will never happen. Even though I know it's not true! Dean said that "if we give it up as a right, God can/will give it back later as a privilege." I really liked that. I know God's not going to allow me to be miserable or anything! That's not what He wants for me, He wants me to experience His love. The only true joy comes from Him, and I would never find a fulfilling marriage outside of Him anyway. Then, under relationship progression, Dean talked about how to minimize the chance of getting hurt in "romantic attraction." First, we need to honestly admit to ourselves whether or not we view the relationship as romantic. If you're not sure, Dean gave the perfect example of how to find out - ask yourself how you would feel if that person married someone else. If it's painful to think about, you're romantically attracted to that person. Second, we need to seek the Lord about it. This seems totally obvious, but it's extremely important. We need to seek the Lord and ask whether or not it's a relationship that would glorify Him; don't allow yourself to be in love without seeking God first. Third, make Jesus the Lord of your emotions!!! This is something I have completely failed at. I haven't been a good steward to my emotions. We shouldn't just give out our emotions to anyone who will take them - we need to keep them safely guarded until God gives us the "ok" to go forward with a relationship! Another amazing point that was made was that when we don't allow the Lord to rule our emotions, then our emotions are ruling us. Therefore, we are allowing them to take a higher place in our hearts than God, and that is a form of idolatry. I had never thought of it that way, so I thought that was a really great point! Fourth, we need to communicate the relationship to an objective person. When we're in a relationship, our vision gets extremely clouded, and others can see issues that we can't. It's really important to have that advice from someone who is not emotionally involved in this relationship. Finally, communicate to your parter. Notice that this is the LAST step! Until you have sought the Lord, gotten the ok, and talked it over with your objective person, do not tell this certain guy/girl how you feel! Now, when communicating with this certain someone, make sure the timing is right. If you do it too soon, you could freak them out; but if you wait too long you could just be leading that other person on. Then after you've communicated, and if you're both on the same page, continue communicating! Don't allow your emotions to go past what has already been communicated between the two of you. You don't want to get too far into it emotionally if the other person isn't on the same page.
So that's what I've been working on this week! We need to determine to please God in our relationships, and not just romantic relationships, but in our friendships too. :)
This is us, Torie on the left and Kaitlyn on the right. (April 2013)
Friday, April 18, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
Exit 0
Hi!
So, while concentrating on how to update you guys on what I've been learning in DTS, I forgot to share about our first local ministry outing last Thursday! It was so much fun! We got to go help out an awesome local ministry called Exit 0.
It's an outreach that helps out the homeless in a lot of different ways, and it's really neat! We were going to go help with cooking and serving dinner, but because the timing didn't work out, we got to go help them in other ways! We went to their base and the guys helped build a shelf for their storage, and we girls helped sort through a lot of the clothes and things that had been donated. They also told us a lot about what they do and how they got started. They provide daily meals, clothes, toiletries, and other things too! They also have a school bus that they're going to be using to bring showers to the homeless. Not only for them to be clean, but also so they can go to job interviews! This all started with one man and his family who began passing out care bags, gallon sized ziplock baggies filled with several different snack foods, and a pair of socks. Now it's a big local outreach! All because a man decided that, instead of just thinking about making a difference, he would actually take those first steps to doing it! Now they are making a difference in the lives of others, and sharing God's love along the way! :)
The whole time he was sharing his story with us, I was so inspired! I'm so glad we had the opportunity to help out with their ministry, and I hope we get the opportunity to do it again sometime!
So, while concentrating on how to update you guys on what I've been learning in DTS, I forgot to share about our first local ministry outing last Thursday! It was so much fun! We got to go help out an awesome local ministry called Exit 0.
It's an outreach that helps out the homeless in a lot of different ways, and it's really neat! We were going to go help with cooking and serving dinner, but because the timing didn't work out, we got to go help them in other ways! We went to their base and the guys helped build a shelf for their storage, and we girls helped sort through a lot of the clothes and things that had been donated. They also told us a lot about what they do and how they got started. They provide daily meals, clothes, toiletries, and other things too! They also have a school bus that they're going to be using to bring showers to the homeless. Not only for them to be clean, but also so they can go to job interviews! This all started with one man and his family who began passing out care bags, gallon sized ziplock baggies filled with several different snack foods, and a pair of socks. Now it's a big local outreach! All because a man decided that, instead of just thinking about making a difference, he would actually take those first steps to doing it! Now they are making a difference in the lives of others, and sharing God's love along the way! :)
The whole time he was sharing his story with us, I was so inspired! I'm so glad we had the opportunity to help out with their ministry, and I hope we get the opportunity to do it again sometime!
Saturday, April 12, 2014
YWAM, Week Two!
Hey Everyone!
So this past week went by SO fast! It's crazy! Since we've been learning so much, and I've only been posting once a week, prepare for this to be a long post! Haha.
We had an amazing speaker, Steve Sizemore, come share with our DTS this week. He taught on so much, I definitely can't cover it all on here; but I can cover the ones that really stood out to me!
First, we talked about what it means to be a disciple, and what we're called to do as disciples. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus says, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." We talked about the four big verbs in this verse - Jesus tells us to go, to make, to baptize, and to teach. Steve asked us what we thought the most important verb in this verse was, and we all voted. I voted "go." Going is definitely important, but he explained that the greek translation for "go" in this context could actually be "as you are going." So if you're already going, then the most important verb is "make." A lot of the time it seems like we need a special calling to be and to make a disciple, but really God calls us all to do it! To follow God is an amazing thing, but discipling shouldn't be "special." As Christians, it should be normal to us! We are all called to make disciples, and that doesn't mean you have to fly halfway around the world to do it. It can be as easy as talking to your next door neighbor! I loved the way Steve explained discipling to us. He made it seem so casual, when in my mind it always seemed so difficult.
Second, we talked about God's grace, and how we tend to mainly focus on only one side of it. We focus on His extravagant grace, the grace that forgives and continues to forgive our sins. We forget to realize His empowering grace. Steve phrased it like this - "Grace is an empowering presence. It's the dynamic force/power given to us by God, through which we have the desire and power to do God's will. To become Christ-like." In 2 Corinthians 12:9 God tells Paul, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Titus 2:11&12 says, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives in this present age." So God's grace is more than just forgiveness, it's also the power and strength that He gives us, His disciples, to live for Him.
We have also been focusing a lot on pride and humility! We talked about different forms of pride, the core root of pride, and why God hates it so much. 1 Peter 5:5 says, "…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble'." So exactly why does God oppose pride? Because the core root of pride is lies. Where there is pride, there is either a lie about God, myself, or others. When I'm prideful, I am either believing a lie that I am more than I really am, or less than I really am. God hates pride because it is the very opposite of who He is - He is truth. God wants us to humble ourselves, because the more humble we become, the more He can reveal to us His character. We also talked about how to recognize our humility without being prideful, how gratitude is a great way to exercise humility, and how grace relates to humility.
I feel that this week God really showed me that the principle I need to be applying to my life right now is humility. I know, obvious answer, huh? But in order to have a deeper relationship with the Lord, I need to humble myself. I need to recognize just how much I really do need Him in my life. I need to fully rely on Him, and stop trying to depend on myself. I need to constantly thank Him for everything He has done in and for my life. And I feel that the character trait God chose to show me this week is His love for me. He humbled Himself, came to earth, was beaten and humiliated, and suffered a horrible death - for me. Sometimes it's hard to follow what He wants me to do, and it can be scary to share what I believe; but even when I fail, He still loves me and always gives me another chance. His love never fails me, even if I don't deserve it.
So this past week went by SO fast! It's crazy! Since we've been learning so much, and I've only been posting once a week, prepare for this to be a long post! Haha.
We had an amazing speaker, Steve Sizemore, come share with our DTS this week. He taught on so much, I definitely can't cover it all on here; but I can cover the ones that really stood out to me!
First, we talked about what it means to be a disciple, and what we're called to do as disciples. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus says, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." We talked about the four big verbs in this verse - Jesus tells us to go, to make, to baptize, and to teach. Steve asked us what we thought the most important verb in this verse was, and we all voted. I voted "go." Going is definitely important, but he explained that the greek translation for "go" in this context could actually be "as you are going." So if you're already going, then the most important verb is "make." A lot of the time it seems like we need a special calling to be and to make a disciple, but really God calls us all to do it! To follow God is an amazing thing, but discipling shouldn't be "special." As Christians, it should be normal to us! We are all called to make disciples, and that doesn't mean you have to fly halfway around the world to do it. It can be as easy as talking to your next door neighbor! I loved the way Steve explained discipling to us. He made it seem so casual, when in my mind it always seemed so difficult.
Second, we talked about God's grace, and how we tend to mainly focus on only one side of it. We focus on His extravagant grace, the grace that forgives and continues to forgive our sins. We forget to realize His empowering grace. Steve phrased it like this - "Grace is an empowering presence. It's the dynamic force/power given to us by God, through which we have the desire and power to do God's will. To become Christ-like." In 2 Corinthians 12:9 God tells Paul, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Titus 2:11&12 says, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives in this present age." So God's grace is more than just forgiveness, it's also the power and strength that He gives us, His disciples, to live for Him.
We have also been focusing a lot on pride and humility! We talked about different forms of pride, the core root of pride, and why God hates it so much. 1 Peter 5:5 says, "…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble'." So exactly why does God oppose pride? Because the core root of pride is lies. Where there is pride, there is either a lie about God, myself, or others. When I'm prideful, I am either believing a lie that I am more than I really am, or less than I really am. God hates pride because it is the very opposite of who He is - He is truth. God wants us to humble ourselves, because the more humble we become, the more He can reveal to us His character. We also talked about how to recognize our humility without being prideful, how gratitude is a great way to exercise humility, and how grace relates to humility.
I feel that this week God really showed me that the principle I need to be applying to my life right now is humility. I know, obvious answer, huh? But in order to have a deeper relationship with the Lord, I need to humble myself. I need to recognize just how much I really do need Him in my life. I need to fully rely on Him, and stop trying to depend on myself. I need to constantly thank Him for everything He has done in and for my life. And I feel that the character trait God chose to show me this week is His love for me. He humbled Himself, came to earth, was beaten and humiliated, and suffered a horrible death - for me. Sometimes it's hard to follow what He wants me to do, and it can be scary to share what I believe; but even when I fail, He still loves me and always gives me another chance. His love never fails me, even if I don't deserve it.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Week One as a YWAMer!
Hey Guys!
So, today is Thursday, April 3rd! That means that it's the fourth day of my first week here at YWAM Louisville! I'm so excited!! It has already been so great. I have been able to make new friends so quickly, which is practically a miracle for me! Everyone is so amazing and so friendly, it's literally impossible to not make friends here. It's also been pretty easy to get right into the swing of things. I haven't felt out of place, or even too homesick yet, which has been another big surprise to me. All in all, I'm already loving my YWAM family!
One of my assignments as a DTS student is to keep a "creative journal." So basically, at the end of every week I answer questions and write down something that God has taught me. I'm keeping an actual journal, but they said it could be nice to post a public one too, so family and friends can keep up with what's going on in my life right now! It sounded like a good idea to me, so I figured I'd post it here on the blog! So I'll go ahead and just jump right into it!
When I first got here and learned that we have an hour every morning set aside for quiet time before starting our day, I honestly got a little nervous. I've never really had a consistent quiet time, let alone for a whole hour. I didn't really know what I was gonna do! So for the first couple days I kinda just sat outside on the bench swing, read my bible, talked to God, and enjoyed the sunrise. I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be waiting for, or expecting to hear. I wasn't even sure I could hear God's voice, because I hadn't experienced what the other girls had been telling me they experience. I thought maybe He just wasn't speaking to me yet. After the first couple days of class though, I started to realize that God had been speaking to me all along. I felt like God had used what we were being taught in class to confirm what I had been thinking in quiet time. The first big issue that was addressed was surrender, which I had just been working through that morning in quiet time. I realized that there are quite a few areas in my life that I thought I had surrendered to the Lord, but really I was still holding onto them in my heart. Then we talked about our relationships with God, how they're personal for each of us, and that because they're personal God speaks to each person in a different way. That struck me too. I had been getting so worried that I wasn't hearing from the Lord, when really I just didn't realize that He had been speaking to me all along because I was too busy comparing it to someone else's relationship with Him.
Now, the two questions I'm supposed to answer are "what is one aspect of God's character that He has highlighted to me this week?" and "what principle or character trait is God challenging me to apply to my life?" Needless to say, I feel that in this first week God has shown me that there are still things in my life that I need to surrender to Him in order to really seek Him with my whole heart. Total surrender is definitely the principle I need to apply to my life. As for what aspect of God's character was highlighted to me, I have to say it was His guidance. At first it was difficult to know whether or not the Lord was speaking to me, or if it was just my own thoughts that I was hearing; but now I already have a better sense of His guidance, on just the fourth day! And I know that I'm going to learn so many more amazing things while I'm here!
So there's a bit of what I've learned this week! I'm so excited for what the Lord has in store for my DTS group! I know it's gonna be great. :)
So, today is Thursday, April 3rd! That means that it's the fourth day of my first week here at YWAM Louisville! I'm so excited!! It has already been so great. I have been able to make new friends so quickly, which is practically a miracle for me! Everyone is so amazing and so friendly, it's literally impossible to not make friends here. It's also been pretty easy to get right into the swing of things. I haven't felt out of place, or even too homesick yet, which has been another big surprise to me. All in all, I'm already loving my YWAM family!
One of my assignments as a DTS student is to keep a "creative journal." So basically, at the end of every week I answer questions and write down something that God has taught me. I'm keeping an actual journal, but they said it could be nice to post a public one too, so family and friends can keep up with what's going on in my life right now! It sounded like a good idea to me, so I figured I'd post it here on the blog! So I'll go ahead and just jump right into it!
When I first got here and learned that we have an hour every morning set aside for quiet time before starting our day, I honestly got a little nervous. I've never really had a consistent quiet time, let alone for a whole hour. I didn't really know what I was gonna do! So for the first couple days I kinda just sat outside on the bench swing, read my bible, talked to God, and enjoyed the sunrise. I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be waiting for, or expecting to hear. I wasn't even sure I could hear God's voice, because I hadn't experienced what the other girls had been telling me they experience. I thought maybe He just wasn't speaking to me yet. After the first couple days of class though, I started to realize that God had been speaking to me all along. I felt like God had used what we were being taught in class to confirm what I had been thinking in quiet time. The first big issue that was addressed was surrender, which I had just been working through that morning in quiet time. I realized that there are quite a few areas in my life that I thought I had surrendered to the Lord, but really I was still holding onto them in my heart. Then we talked about our relationships with God, how they're personal for each of us, and that because they're personal God speaks to each person in a different way. That struck me too. I had been getting so worried that I wasn't hearing from the Lord, when really I just didn't realize that He had been speaking to me all along because I was too busy comparing it to someone else's relationship with Him.
Now, the two questions I'm supposed to answer are "what is one aspect of God's character that He has highlighted to me this week?" and "what principle or character trait is God challenging me to apply to my life?" Needless to say, I feel that in this first week God has shown me that there are still things in my life that I need to surrender to Him in order to really seek Him with my whole heart. Total surrender is definitely the principle I need to apply to my life. As for what aspect of God's character was highlighted to me, I have to say it was His guidance. At first it was difficult to know whether or not the Lord was speaking to me, or if it was just my own thoughts that I was hearing; but now I already have a better sense of His guidance, on just the fourth day! And I know that I'm going to learn so many more amazing things while I'm here!
So there's a bit of what I've learned this week! I'm so excited for what the Lord has in store for my DTS group! I know it's gonna be great. :)
Friday, January 31, 2014
YWAM
Hey Everyone!
Wow, time is just flying by so quickly! For one, I can't believe it's already been almost a whole year since we started this page. Even though we really haven't posted that much. I guess we kinda fail at this whole "blog" thing haha. Time just got away from me I guess! After my sister's wedding, (which was a blast!) we got to go visit them for Thanksgiving, then we traveled for Christmas, and now here we are in the New Year!
Another reason I've been so busy is because I've been getting ready to go to YWAM this Spring! For a while I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't be ready in time for the DTS (Discipleship Training School.) I had applied last summer for the DTS, and I thought that I would be able to get my forms out no problem. That was the easy part, right? Wrong. I wasn't able to get all the forms sent out until this month. Then I still had to get a new passport, get shots, and raise the rest of my tuition money. I still had a long way to go before I had the rest of that tuition. Needless to say, I was starting to freak out a little bit. I kept praying and reminding myself that God will provide the funds, but it was still difficult to keep from getting worried that maybe it wouldn't work out. I believe that God was just testing me, seeing how long I would keep trusting Him, because sure enough, one day I got a letter in the mail. I never expected what would be inside! I had received a very generous donation, and from that moment on everything else started falling into place! I was able to send out the rest of my forms, I set aside the last bit of tuition money I needed, and I had applied for my new passport! A huge weight had been lifted, and I was so amazed to see God working in this process! My new passport has now arrived, and all I have left to do is get one more shot!
My DTS date is creeping up on me, and I'm so excited to see what God will show me in this season of my life! I'm going to be gone for five months, and it's going to be really hard to be away from my family for that long; but I also know that I'm going to make new friendships, and that this will be an experience I will always remember. I can't wait to see what's in store!
Wow, time is just flying by so quickly! For one, I can't believe it's already been almost a whole year since we started this page. Even though we really haven't posted that much. I guess we kinda fail at this whole "blog" thing haha. Time just got away from me I guess! After my sister's wedding, (which was a blast!) we got to go visit them for Thanksgiving, then we traveled for Christmas, and now here we are in the New Year!
Another reason I've been so busy is because I've been getting ready to go to YWAM this Spring! For a while I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't be ready in time for the DTS (Discipleship Training School.) I had applied last summer for the DTS, and I thought that I would be able to get my forms out no problem. That was the easy part, right? Wrong. I wasn't able to get all the forms sent out until this month. Then I still had to get a new passport, get shots, and raise the rest of my tuition money. I still had a long way to go before I had the rest of that tuition. Needless to say, I was starting to freak out a little bit. I kept praying and reminding myself that God will provide the funds, but it was still difficult to keep from getting worried that maybe it wouldn't work out. I believe that God was just testing me, seeing how long I would keep trusting Him, because sure enough, one day I got a letter in the mail. I never expected what would be inside! I had received a very generous donation, and from that moment on everything else started falling into place! I was able to send out the rest of my forms, I set aside the last bit of tuition money I needed, and I had applied for my new passport! A huge weight had been lifted, and I was so amazed to see God working in this process! My new passport has now arrived, and all I have left to do is get one more shot!
My DTS date is creeping up on me, and I'm so excited to see what God will show me in this season of my life! I'm going to be gone for five months, and it's going to be really hard to be away from my family for that long; but I also know that I'm going to make new friendships, and that this will be an experience I will always remember. I can't wait to see what's in store!
Saturday, October 19, 2013
YouTube video I came across... worth the watch!
I came across this YouTube video, a Q&A on dating and relationships, done by a young newly married couple who love the Lord. There are so many perfectly made points. Definitely worth a watch! Some of these questions aren't even one's I'd ever thought of, and some of them are questions that I ask myself often..
In the video Jeff uses the metaphor of a triangle, it reminded me of another metaphor I've heard like that. Here it is, picture it with me.
There are two baseball players in the field. The ball is hit. Both baseball players see the ball and start running. Their mind is on the ball. Their eyes are focused on the ball and nothing else. They aren't looking around, they're only looking at the ball. All of a sudden "SMACK!" the guys hit each other...
In the video Jeff uses the metaphor of a triangle, it reminded me of another metaphor I've heard like that. Here it is, picture it with me.
There are two baseball players in the field. The ball is hit. Both baseball players see the ball and start running. Their mind is on the ball. Their eyes are focused on the ball and nothing else. They aren't looking around, they're only looking at the ball. All of a sudden "SMACK!" the guys hit each other...
In the same way, if we focus on God, not letting anything draw us away from Him, He will bring us to the right person. We have to first focus on God before we can focus on the guys around us(speaking from a girl's point of view.)
Here is the link to the video, really worth the watch! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ww0ho3VUmM
Monday, September 9, 2013
My Testimony :)
Hello Everyone!
Wow, I can't believe we haven't posted since June! Time's just flying. My sister's getting married in a couple of weeks so I've been busy with all that joyous wedding stuff! I also just haven't really had anything to share lately. Until now! There's this song that I hear on the radio pretty often, it's called "All This Time" by Britt Nicole. In the first part of the song she says :
"I remember the moment, I remember the pain. I was only a girl, but I grew up that day. Tears were falling, I know you saw me hiding there in my bedroom, so alone. I was doing my best, trying to be strong. No one to turn to, that's when I met you." I love this song, and the more I hear it the more it reminds me of how I really came to know God. So I thought I would share my testimony with you guys! That first part of the song, as cliche as it might sound, perfectly describes the moment I truly discovered the Lord.
I grew up going to church and learning about Jesus, but I never fully understood it. The best way to describe how my relationship was with the Lord at the time would be to say that I had my "fire insurance." You may have heard this term before, but if you haven't, what it means is that I believed in God and I had asked Him to forgive me of my sins, and I knew I would be saved from going to Hell. But it was just a surface relationship, I didn't really get it yet. So when I was about fourteen I had been going through some difficult stuff, and the best way I knew how to deal with it was to shut down. Slowly I began to shut out my friends and my family, I didn't want to do anything or see anyone. I just wanted to sit in my room alone and wallow in my own self pity. I didn't understand life, I didn't want to live it anymore. What was the point? All life gives us is a bunch of pain and suffering, and then we die anyway. I had been having suicidal thoughts for a while, but I couldn't bring myself to actually do anything. So I prayed to God to take me away, I just wanted to be with Him, life on earth was pointless. Then one day when I was about sixteen my Dad had enough, so he started yelling at me about how I need to snap out of it and change my attitude. Although this only sent me to my room hating life even more, this time I decided to grab my Bible. I just sat on my bed for a while, looking at it and asking God to guide me to the right page. When I opened my Bible it was the book of Philippians, and the first verse I saw was Philippians 1:21, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." So I thought about it for a while. I understood the second part, it's what I'd been wanting for the past couple years. But the first part is what I needed to focus on. "To live is Christ." Then it came to me, like God was speaking to me Himself (which He was.) My whole purpose as a Christian while on this earth is to share the Lord with others. Christ died to save us, and when we accept Him as our savior His Spirit lives in us. Therefore, to live is Christ. At that moment all my confusion, my fear, and especially my anger was gone. God had revealed His purpose for my life to me, and for the first time I truly understood what being a Christian was all about.
So now here we are, two years later, I've finished high school and have now applied to YWAM to attend DTS next spring! Looking back now I feel so ashamed of the way I had been acting, but I also know that God used that time in my life to reveal Himself to me, and I couldn't be more grateful. Near the end of the song Britt says "I hear these people asking me, how do I know what I believe? Well I'm not the same me, and that's all the proof I need. I felt your love, I felt your grace, You stole my heart that day." I think that's the best proof of Christ we could ever share. People are always looking for "facts" because they need proof before they believe anything. But we have proof - our personal experience of God's love and grace towards us. Whether they believe it or not is up to them, but we're supposed to share it anyway.
I haven't really shared this much before, but I hope it's helpful. If any of you are going through a hard time and just don't see the point in going on anymore, don't let Satan trick you into thinking life is pointless. We're supposed to live our lives to honor the Lord and bring others to Him, but that's exactly what the enemy is trying to prevent. He's going to lose in the end, don't let him get the best of you. Stay strong in the Lord. :)
Wow, I can't believe we haven't posted since June! Time's just flying. My sister's getting married in a couple of weeks so I've been busy with all that joyous wedding stuff! I also just haven't really had anything to share lately. Until now! There's this song that I hear on the radio pretty often, it's called "All This Time" by Britt Nicole. In the first part of the song she says :
"I remember the moment, I remember the pain. I was only a girl, but I grew up that day. Tears were falling, I know you saw me hiding there in my bedroom, so alone. I was doing my best, trying to be strong. No one to turn to, that's when I met you." I love this song, and the more I hear it the more it reminds me of how I really came to know God. So I thought I would share my testimony with you guys! That first part of the song, as cliche as it might sound, perfectly describes the moment I truly discovered the Lord.
I grew up going to church and learning about Jesus, but I never fully understood it. The best way to describe how my relationship was with the Lord at the time would be to say that I had my "fire insurance." You may have heard this term before, but if you haven't, what it means is that I believed in God and I had asked Him to forgive me of my sins, and I knew I would be saved from going to Hell. But it was just a surface relationship, I didn't really get it yet. So when I was about fourteen I had been going through some difficult stuff, and the best way I knew how to deal with it was to shut down. Slowly I began to shut out my friends and my family, I didn't want to do anything or see anyone. I just wanted to sit in my room alone and wallow in my own self pity. I didn't understand life, I didn't want to live it anymore. What was the point? All life gives us is a bunch of pain and suffering, and then we die anyway. I had been having suicidal thoughts for a while, but I couldn't bring myself to actually do anything. So I prayed to God to take me away, I just wanted to be with Him, life on earth was pointless. Then one day when I was about sixteen my Dad had enough, so he started yelling at me about how I need to snap out of it and change my attitude. Although this only sent me to my room hating life even more, this time I decided to grab my Bible. I just sat on my bed for a while, looking at it and asking God to guide me to the right page. When I opened my Bible it was the book of Philippians, and the first verse I saw was Philippians 1:21, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." So I thought about it for a while. I understood the second part, it's what I'd been wanting for the past couple years. But the first part is what I needed to focus on. "To live is Christ." Then it came to me, like God was speaking to me Himself (which He was.) My whole purpose as a Christian while on this earth is to share the Lord with others. Christ died to save us, and when we accept Him as our savior His Spirit lives in us. Therefore, to live is Christ. At that moment all my confusion, my fear, and especially my anger was gone. God had revealed His purpose for my life to me, and for the first time I truly understood what being a Christian was all about.
So now here we are, two years later, I've finished high school and have now applied to YWAM to attend DTS next spring! Looking back now I feel so ashamed of the way I had been acting, but I also know that God used that time in my life to reveal Himself to me, and I couldn't be more grateful. Near the end of the song Britt says "I hear these people asking me, how do I know what I believe? Well I'm not the same me, and that's all the proof I need. I felt your love, I felt your grace, You stole my heart that day." I think that's the best proof of Christ we could ever share. People are always looking for "facts" because they need proof before they believe anything. But we have proof - our personal experience of God's love and grace towards us. Whether they believe it or not is up to them, but we're supposed to share it anyway.
I haven't really shared this much before, but I hope it's helpful. If any of you are going through a hard time and just don't see the point in going on anymore, don't let Satan trick you into thinking life is pointless. We're supposed to live our lives to honor the Lord and bring others to Him, but that's exactly what the enemy is trying to prevent. He's going to lose in the end, don't let him get the best of you. Stay strong in the Lord. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)