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Thoughts/Encouragement/Records/Ideas
I went to YouTube for some encouragement- to be spoken into by the words of those whom I respect and listen to. I always go directly to Sadie Robertson's channel to see if there's anything new. Of course she is amazing, and her video that I clicked on led me to this video. There was no reason for me to watch this video- I would rarely click on a video this long, and I'm not even a huge ambassador for Bethel. But God knew exactly what He wanted to say to me, and He showed me through this video. I am going to spend some time with Him directly after I write this, but I feel like I just need to share this with you. Kristene tells us in this video that she was asked when she was 21, Why is God Jesus? At the time, she didn't know how to answer that. She realized that she didn't have the answers- why was she even a Christian? Why did she believe in God? I'm not doubting what I believe right now by any means, but I have been challenged recently to look into what I believe, and why I believe it. It's also ironic that Kristene allowed Christ into her heart when she was 3 years old. I was also 3 when I decided I wanted Him to always be with me. This does create quite a challenge in our hearts because we were so young when we accepted that. But God has said that we should return to a "childlike faith". I believe in Him because I can't imagine living without Him. It's not because I was young when I chose to love him, it's that I've tried to make decisions on my own, or think of what would happen if I didn't consider His words, and I can't see it going anyway good. We NEED a leader, a mediator, a SAVIOR. I am so glad that He loves me, and that by loving me, He gives me the power to freely and absolutely love others, and share the incredible, unexplainable love and FREEDOM that is ONLY FOUND IN THE ONE WHO MAKES US NEW. I understand her experience/thoughts on a level that I can't describe.
---->Hope is alive today, because HE is alive today. ---->LOVE transforms way more than religion. ---->He is very present in people's sorrow. "I realized that everybody I would meet the city already know that God's real, they just don't know His name" "Unless the Holy Spirit says something to me, I don't have an answer...personally." "[I was thinking] the promises that were spoken in my life, in this Bible, they need to be for me, I need this to be real" "I'm not gonna listen to these lies anymore... I'm gonna wake up and choose to believe that God is who He says He is...I don't have any options. It's something really beautiful that happens, when God becomes your only option." "I was meant to carry a lot more than I understood, or believed that I could." "I needed Him to be outside of every idea I ever had of who He was......I needed a rescuer." Have you experienced a similar moment with God? Tweet me @lifeasemilyhope
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....Ezra 10:4....
Wow. It has been quite the New York minute since I've posted anything. I am sad for that, but if only you guys knew what has been going on these past several months..... I'm not trying to avoid talking about all that's happened, by no means, but there is just so MUCH that I haven't written about. I'm sure you will see bits and pieces of it in the upcoming posts, but at this point I'm not planning on going back and re-living and recording all of those moments. I will say, however, that I am back in New York. Actually, I am back in my parents' house. Tennessee did not work out, not that I thought it definitely would. I just had to DO something. I am so glad that I have become the type of person who is willing to take risks and do something that most people would call crazy, or be too scared to try! It is a little sad when I am asked to explain why I am back in NY. The Sunday before I left for TN, I was asked to speak in front of my entire church and explain that I was leaving, and what was "next" for me. Less than two months later, I was right back where I started. Actually, further back from where I started. However, life is unpredictable, and I didn't go to TN to pursue anything specific anyway. MOVING ON, to my life now in NY. I started a new job on January 2nd, 2018. Wow. I can't believe time goes by so quickly! I now work in a chocolate factory (get all those jokes out of your mind now), and I actually really like the work. I work a night shift, which has created quite a difficult lifestyle for me, but it is what it is. The people are very different from what I'm used to, in that I have sheltered myself verrryyyy well up until this point in my life. But I have a few people looking out for me, and I am doing pretty well there being "buds" will all these different people. It's actually quite amazing. This leads me to the cool part, and honestly why I think I ended up right back in NY in the first place. Soooo many of my coworkers have been broken. There are people there that tell my constantly that they're losing hope, they are stuck in addiction, they want to cease to exist, etc. Lots of them do not believe that there's a purpose for their life. Many feel like they have no control, because of the types of situations they are in. No one likes feeling like they have no say over their lives. BUT, the cool part is, I get to share Jesus with these people every night. I've had multiple people ask me if I'm a Christian, when they had no reason to ask. Guys, when you have Jesus, PEOPLE SEE IT. It is truly beautiful and incredible. A lot of people view Christians in a very negative light. The most common issue that people have with us is that they see us as judgmental or stuck up. I try really hard to listen sincerely and understand where people are coming from- but sometimes, people still have it in the back of their minds that, since I am a Christian, I am judging them. Where does that mindset come from? Christians, we have to do something about this. I want people to know Jesus because they know me. I want to be so filled by my Savior that when people see me, they absolutely see Jesus, and WANT Him. It's not about me. I can only pour out what I am filling myself with- so I completely recognize that I need to be spending more time with Him and his words. I want to know Him and love Him even more, because I am nothing without Him. SO, THAT IS MY CURRENT LIFE SITUATION It's not glamorous, it's definitely not where I thought I would be at this point in my life, but it's my new reality. God literally brought me back to NY for this. When I left, I knew it wasn't led by God. He gave me an incredible opportunity, that literally seemed like a miracle, but He also gave me the choice of going my own way, or going His way. I hope that next time I try to do something crazy and incredible, I stop to ask my best friend and supporter what He thinks I should do. Because His opinion is the only one that matters anyway. Why do you think you are in the current life situation you are in? Do you know your purpose? Tweet me @lifeasemilyhope |
AuthorI'm a girl from Upstate NY who aspires to inspire. Archives
September 2019
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