I choose Joy. I choose Trust.

Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 
I am here with a praise report. I have been in one heck of a slump lately. One "bad"  thing after another has come into my life this past week, but I am done getting caught up in the bad.  I don't know about ya'll but when multiple things just aren't going my way I just go ahead and write my day off as bad (which is absolutely terrible). So lately all these things, some big, some very small, have been piling up. And I let them take over my attitude and my spirit. I almost expect more bad stuff to happen and more things to go wrong. Someone told me today to get anxiety before it gets you. So that's exactly what I've decided to do. I can't fix all my problems but GOD SURE CAN. I have to wait on Him to do so, and while He's doing it, be anxiety and worry free. His word says multiple times that anxiety is not from Him. I'm going to start taking the things that I can't control and handing them straight over to God with confidence that He will take care of them. I have to repent of doubting for even a second that He won't take care of me, or that something won't work out. His word says that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28). And over and over and over again His word tells me that He is with me and will never leave me or forsake me. He is always going to be right here with me. How the heck am I worried about anything when the CREATOR OF THE WORLD has already told me that He's got it....
1 Thesselonians 5:16 says to be joyful always. Not just when my hair looks good and i'm feeling extra sweet, not just when someone gets saved, not just when I do well on a test, not just when I get to see someone special, BUT ALL THE TIME. 
This includes the times when my car breaks down and takes months to fix, when my friends aren't being very nice, when my sandwich isn't perfectly made, when it comes time to pay my school bill, and even when i'm overwhelmed with life. 
I choose joy. I choose to trust my God. 

You're invited...to God's dinner table!

   God, who gets invited to dinner at your place?

How do we get on your guest list?

“Walk straight,

    act right,

        tell the truth.

“Don’t hurt your friend,

    don’t blame your neighbor;

        despise the despicable.

“Keep your word even when it costs you,

    make an honest living,

        never take a bribe.

“You’ll never get

blacklisted

if you live like this.”

{Psalm 15:1-5}

I can think back to several times when I was not invited to something that I wanted to be a part of, then later I saw the Facebook pictures of the event or whatever it was, and got upset. Verse 1 made me laugh out loud. Who cares if I get invited to _____'s birthday party, or _____'s wedding?! There will always be room at God's dinner table.

How do you get to be on His guest list? Well, this passage clearly (very clear, it's the message) says what we need to do. 

1. Be honest, walk the straight & narrow path, act right (like Jesus). 

2. Don't hurt your friends, don't blame other people, only despise the truly despicable. 

3. Always keep your word (no matter what it costs you), make a living the fair and honest way (remember to work as if working for the Lord), and never take a bribe, because they are not right. 

Then scripture goes onto say that you will never be uninvited from God's dinner party if you continue to live in this way. (v.5)

I am definitely going to RSVP to God's dinner party. I hear He's a great host ;) 

praise You in the storm

I'm confident that I am not alone in saying this...  sometimes life is hard. 
But, I like to think about the positive things....
I am alive, I am loved by my perfect Father, I am protected by Him, I can bring all of my problems to Him, He is using me now and will continue to, I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I am getting a great Christian college education, I have lots of passions, I have a job, I have enough money to survive, I have amazing friends (more like sisters), I am growing everyday, I know true peace and true joy, I can freely worship my God without being persecuted for my beliefs, I am going to Kenya this summer to share the love that He shares with me, I have been saved by JESUS CHRIST, I will spend eternity in heaven, I witness miracles, I am a part of the generation that is going to awaken revival in the Church, I have plenty to look forward to at all times, I have people in my life who love me, I am healthy, and I it is well with my soul. 
there is always something to praise Him for. 
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Part of the plan.

I have this perfect job where I get to shelve books for an hour, while listening to music and worshiping my Creator. (BLESSING).  So last week I was doing my thing then He spoke to me through a song...
"He's not a baby in a manger anymore, He's not a broken man on a cross, He didn't stay in the grave very long and He won't stay in heaven forever. He's Alive!"
He is so alive it's insane. He is moving whether we see it or not. But if we take the time to look, we can clearly see He's working. I am only alive because He is alive. It's a crazy but thrilling concept. Why is Jesus put in a box so often? I hate that I do this to Him without even realizing it. He is HERE, He works through us everyday, He is using us for His perfect plan. It blows my mind that He chooses to use me. 
Be encouraged today with the truth that He is using you. He is very alive through you. He is not in a box. He is working, He is moving. 
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Phillipians 2:13

media fast

My school has been doing a campus wide fast preparing for an upcoming conference that is going to completely change the atmosphere on campus.
This week we're doing a media fast so I will be disconnected from the world for a little while. I am beyond excited for what God is going to do! I can already feel change coming. 
Please be praying with SEU as we prepare for what is to come! 

The sick need a doctor

I love the word of God. It is alive and teaches me everyday.  I went through a period where I had no hunger for the Word, I still loved the Lord but didn't see the importance or value in digesting it continuously. After a long period of prayer I have developed a hunger for God's word like no other and through discipline and obedience He is teaching me how to read His word.
Matthew 9:9-12:

  As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth.“Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.  But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”  When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”  Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

For some strange reason it's easy to lose sight of what Jesus says. In fact we sometimes do the opposite of what Jesus commanded us to do. I have been to churches where instead of being welcomed with open arms a sinner is made to feel unwanted and unworthy of being in the presence of the "perfect saints" who make up the church. Everything Jesus says in this passage is completely contradictory to the religious spirit. We are supposed to be on the hunt for disreputable sinners so we can introduce them to our Savior and they too may be saved. This is such a humbling scripture, reminding me that Jesus has come to call those who know they are sinners, instead of those who only think they are righteous. Pride and a religious spirit are straight from the enemy and trying to get to us in any way. 
Jesus, Help me to become the lowest of the lows, a servant just as you are. Teach me to humble myself and think of no one as better than myself. Give me strength to overcome whatever the enemy throws my way. Lead me to the people that need your love the most, and help me to remember my purpose.

Ultimate Healer

HOLY SPIRIT...........
Tonight was insane. First of all, I have the greatest church ever. Thursday nights are my favorite.  But tonight was not just any Thursday night at my church. I came very expectant, not just because God always moves (which He does) but because I knew something special was going to happen tonight. We had a healing prophet come and boy did our God heal! 
A woman with hip injuries, a girl with knee injuries, a woman who couldn't breathe without a tube, a guy who couldn't walk without crutches, the fear of cancer, premature death, a babies ear issues, anxiety....HEALING took place. What a beautiful demonstration of God's love and power. Glory to GOD!!! 
Jesus is the perfect healer and He lives inside of us. Something that always blows my mind is that I too have the power to heal. Why? Because the power of Christ is inside of me as well. My prayers are the same as any man's would be. But not until recently did I have the faith to step up and pray for healing in an expectant way.  "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:11
"Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."  Mark 11:24
Hmmm....Why did it take so long? Why do people intimidate us? 
God continues to draw me out of my comfort zone, and in that scary leap of faith I always end up deeper in His presence. I want more. All day, every day I want more. But to get more means I have to continue  being obedient, even when it may seem scary, uncomfortable, or weird.