Good to me

Life is so busy right now. Probably the busiest it has ever been. It’s a challenge trying to get through this time in my life, but I am making it. Almost every day I wake up exhausted. Also, this year my allergies have been bothering me. My eyes are puffy and itchy, and I have hay fever-like symptoms, which isn’t very fun, of course. Even though it’s difficult, I am surviving. I would never make it without Jesus. I literally would not be able to get through each day without Him. I thank Him every day for helping me and for giving me His strength when I don’t have enough.

“I put all my hope on the truth of Your promise. I steady my heart on the ground of Your goodness. You are good to me. Good to me. ” -Audrey Assad

A New Perspective

Hi everyone!

Tonight I was listening to one of my favorite bands, Tenth Avenue North, and I randomly decided to check out their YouTube channel. I do this from time to time since they upload some unique videos every once in a while. Sometimes the videos are of Mike (the lead singer)'s hilarious character sketches, and sometimes, Mike talks about something a bit more serious. And that 'something more serious' is actually always definitely worth hearing. So today I listened to Mike's experience and thoughts on happiness and pleasure in life. He talks about the freedom that comes with shifting our perspective on what, or rather who is most important in life. I could explain more, but this video truly and awesomely says it all. Hope it resonates with you as much as it did with me. :)

                                   

Hope you have a wonderful week!

~foreverfaith <3

Standing on the Promises

Hello everyone,

Tonight I was thinking about the promises of God. He has given us a lot of amazing promises. And not only has He given us a lot of amazing promises, but tonight I was thinking about how He keeps them. He doesn't keep them sometimes...not only if He's having a good day...not only if He's "in the mood." He always keeps them. Humans will fail us, but He never will. His promises stand. They don't waver or change.

Who changes? I do. We do. We doubt, we question, we worry, and we fear. And when we do these things, our focus is shifted from trusting in Him, to focusing on our own efforts to solve our own problems. But when has relying all on our own strength ever ended well? We weren't created to carry our burdens alone. We need His help. I want to remember to keep trusting Him to keep all of those amazing promises.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." -Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)

I am nothing without Him

When I was little, I remember singing this hymn with my parents. I sang it with all my heart, and though I don't remember if I fully comprehended it at such a young age, it helps me a lot today. Sometimes it will pop into my head when I am feeling down, or when I am confused and unsure of what to do.

Standing on the promises of Christ my King. Through eternal ages let his praises ring; glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God.

Refrain:

Standing, standing,

standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;

standing, standing,

I'm standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God.

(Refrain)

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,  bound to him eternally by love's strong cord, overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword, standing on the promises of God.

(Refrain)

Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit's call, resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God.

(Refrain)

-"Standing on the Promises" - R. Kelso Carter

I hope you enjoyed this post :) Happy Weekend!

~foreverfaith <3

The Velveteen Rabbit

Hello everyone!

Today I am sharing a really amazing quote from the story The Velveteen Rabbit:

"Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long long time, not just to play with , but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.' 

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and our eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

-Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

Interpretation/Thoughts:

This quote really got me thinking. It made me realize a few things. If everything in our lives had been perfect and if we had never needed to experience various hardships, would we be able to appreciate and understand the wonderful things in our lives? Would we be able to fully comprehend the greatness of beauty, grace, or love? Would we feel as deeply? Would we be the same people that we are now? Would we be able to say, "I cried, I was hurt, and I fell down, but that's how I knew how to appreciate laughter, healing, and standing back up?"

The imperfections and scars that the Skin Horse refers to should not hinder us or make us feel insignificant, but they should be reminders of how far we have come. Reminders of what it took for us to not only be able to receive love but for us to be able to give love as well.

Whatever our scars are, we shouldn't allow others' judgements or our own judgements to hold us back from living a full life. Why feel insecure or ashamed by what makes us who we are? Those scars are proof that we have "become." They are proof that we haven't given up, but that we are still going. They are proof that we are not perfect, fragile, porcelain dolls on a lofty shelf, but that we are picked up, beautifully loved, and beautifully and completely Real.

Thank you for reading. :) Hope your weekend is wonderfully real.

~foreverfaith <3

Pressing On - Bible Reflections

A verse that inspire hope and a promise for the future:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14

I just love this part: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize..."

I press on.

Toward what is ahead.

Sometimes I feel like we can dwell on the past so much. We have regrets that we keep reliving in our mind's eye. But we have so much more than the past. We are forgiven, and we can move on from what is behind.

Something that I want to work on is looking at the positive things that I have now and the positive things that will come instead of looking so much at the regrets of the past. An approach I used so much was that I focused on what I needed to get over more than focusing on what I was going to do in the future to live a victorious life through Christ. I am not perfect, but I need to concentrate on Him and the blessings I have received through Him. Because at the end of it all, the Bible says that I will receive the prize. So why do I keep looking back at yesterday? It's time for me to press on and take hold of my future that is promised in Christ.

The Christmas Story

     Around this time of year, it can be easy to get caught up in all of the busyness. With shopping for presents, wrapping presents, decorating, cleaning, visiting with family and so much more, sometimes the real reason for this season gets put on the back burner. Though all of these things are great and important, I don't want Jesus to be on the back burner this year. I want to make sure to thank Him and remember the amazing reason that He was born. :)

(This video is just too cute) :)

And Live!

I remember singing this song (Come to Jesus by Chris Rice) during VBS at my church when I was volunteering as a group leader this past summer. The children watched a video with hand motions as they sang the song, their sweet little voices ringing into the air.

As the song played, I remember looking around at the children in the room and just being absolutely overwhelmed with such emotion at the sight of rows of wonderful, innocent little children raising their arms up to Jesus.

I don't know how to describe the emotions I felt as I witnessed such an amazing experience. It was a once in a lifetime experience; a moment captured in time. I never want to forget it. And I am SO GLAD I could be a part of those children finding out what it meant trust and follow Jesus.

Understanding Faith

Hi, everyone. As I was reading my Life Application Study Bible, I came across this great side passage in Romans, so I thought I would share it. Hope you find it helpful :)

"We must be very careful to understand faith as Paul uses the word because he ties faith so closely to salvation. It it not something we must do in order to earn salvation - if that were true, then faith would be just one more deed, and Paul clearly states that human deeds can never save us (Galations 2:16). Instead, faith is a gift God gives us because he is saving us (Ephesians 2:8). It is God's grace, not our faith, that saves us. In his mercy, however, when he saves us, he gives us faith - a relationship with his Son that helps us become like him. Through the faith he gives us, he carries us from death into life." (Pg. 1881)

Faith

     Today was a really windy day which caused me to remember a time when I made a discovery about the wind. It was about five years ago, when I was struggling with faith. Trusting in what was unseen. I remember I was in the front yard getting ready to go somewhere. The wind was so strong, rushing through my hair and clothes. It seemed so urgent and sure. Like it was trying to make a point. And that's when it hit me. Faith was like the wind.

     You can't see the wind but you know it's there. You can feel it. Hear the sound. You can see its effects. You can see it rustle the leaves on the trees as they dance and twirl. You can hear it as it weaves through the grass. Wind is invisible, but it sure is powerful. "Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain in what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 finally made sense to me.