What are you up against?

Life sometimes has it's challenges...

it's battles where the outcome doesn't look good.

We all have moments where we want to to give in,

because the competition seems to tough.

Lately, I have had more friends come to me with problems that are bigger than they can handle. As I sit and listen to their stories, my heart breaks to hear the pain they are going through.

Families are falling apart.

People are loosing there jobs or not finding jobs.

Loved-ones are struggling, in battles, with cancer or other health

issues.

Standards are shifting because society says "Its okay now."

Doubt and fear are causing my generation to stop dreaming dreams

and believing they have a future.

Stress and depression are running higher everyday...

and "Doctor's recommended drugs" seem to be our new salvation.

What is happening?

Where did our hope and peace go?

Why are we giving up and giving in?

Tonight I was reminded of a scripture in 2 Chronicles 20:15b,

Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.

For the battle is not yours but God's!

In the moments you feel your world is caving in, remember there is still hope for tomorrow!

God still loves you! He will still wrap you in His arms, and carry you through the darkest night, the hottest fire, or the most disastrous storm.

The world might have let you down and told you, "You are nothing," however God will never let you down and you are everything to Him!

He still has a future and a plan for you!

Trust Him, follow Him, and see how He can change your life!

Grounded...

What kind of fruit can you produce if your living in a desert?

How deep can your roots grow if your soil is dry and crumbling?

How long do you believe you can stand, if you stand alone?

God calls us to bear fruit: Galatians 5:22-26 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

God didn't say we could pick and choose which characteristics we would like to have; He refers to them at one, "The fruit of the Spirit is," singular! However, we cannot bear this fruit at all if we do not get ourselves planted firmly in good soil.

Jeremiah 17:5-6 says: Thus says the LORD, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. "For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant."

Thankfully God didn't stop there...He went on to say in Jeremiah 17:7-8, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of

drought nor cease to yield fruit."

Luckily we aren't like trees and we have a choice where we are planted! We can choose to plant our roots in the desert or in the lushes green!

Where are YOU CHOOSING to plant your roots??

Who are you surrounding yourself with, people who will lead you to refreshing water or who will leave you dry in the desert?

Humans are like miracle grow.

We can encourage each other and lift each other up, but unless we are planted in good soil, we'll shrivel up to nothing...

A plant in bad soil will still die, no matter the amount of miracle grow you pour on it!

Observations

My heart for the "unchurched" is radically being changed.

I have grown up in church and have attended many churches in the past 5 years. Having said this, I believe God gave me a new insight on the church this past summer. At the beginning of the summer I began wondering, why is it so difficult for someone new to enter a church?

I began to pray that God would show me and I became increasing observant of the churches I experienced.

In my exploration of churches this summer, I found it was very difficult to just walk into a strange church.

Thoughts of:

Will they accept me?

Will what I wear be appropriate (dressy enough/not dressy enough)?

Should I just stay home...it would be much easier?

Will they judge me?

I attended several different churches, faithfully going to the same services. I created different tactics as I observed:

-Arrive early & find a seat (usually in the middle), this was to see if anyone would go out of their way and speak with me.

-Arrive early & try to talk to people in the entryway, trying to show I was interested in getting to know them.

-Attending other events beside the churches main services, to view how the church interacts with their members and with their guests in a social environment.

I found: There are a select few who take the time to recognize a new face, and the rest hold on tight to what they know, their friends.

Even if the church has a "greet the new people time" during service, most people would greet their friends and not the new people.

The select few greeting = pastors/leaders & the greeting committees.

The Church desires to grow, yet it gets so caught up in its own "church clicks" it forgets to accept new members into the family. We (the church) mingle with every familiar face, yet do not take time for the person who does not belong...YET SHOULD BELONG.

The church does one thing right, they focus on children, which brings in families.

I found that the majority of churches have 3 focus points:

Children, Teens, & Adults (over the age of 30 & primarily married couples)

My question is what about those who don't fall into these categories?

For example: college students/young adults between 20-30 or senior citizens who aren't completely sure what their place is anymore.

My Challenge is to "The Church":

-Step out of yourself and do something selfless:

Invite someone to church

Talk to someone new who comes to church

-Put aside your agenda and see how God could use you!!

Beautiful People!

Have you ever looked around and realized how truly beautiful people are?

It doesn’t matter their shape or size, their height or color. The beauty is what resonates from inside of them.

I watched my roommate take a blank canvas and create a beautiful piece of art. She sat and stared at the canvas, choosing carefully each color and the way she would stroke each brush of pain.

I was quickly reminded of our Creator.

How carefully He molds us.

There are moments He paints and moments He sits back and watches us, until He is ready to paint the next detail. He doesn’t throw the painting together, but he carefully crafts it into the masterpiece He wants it to be!

God doesn’t make mistakes, but carefully forms each of His children. He created you just how you are and He said it was very good!

You ARE a BEAUTIFUL person!

If what people thought didn't affect you...

What would you say.

What would you wear.

How would you live your life, if the opinions of others didn't matter to you.

I met this phenomenal women, this summer, who encouraged me to start a blog.

She said that my thoughts and ideas might encourage and challenge others.

As I started thinking about a blog questions came to my mind like:

Will people actually read this?

Does it matter to me if they read it and what their opinions will be about it?

What will the purpose of this blog be?

I came to the conclusion that this blog will become a journal of sorts...

Not about what I do each day, but about issues that people deal with on a daily basis.

Loneliness. Friendship. Self Worth. Music. Jesus. Change. and so on.

So, if you are a blogger:

What are you blogging about?

Are you so concerned about what your readers might think

that you don't truly share what's on your heart?

As I begin this adventure of blogging,

I am determined to break out of the box.

If people read it and love it, great!

If people hate it and challenge what I'm saying, that might become even better.

Stop worrying about who will read what you write,

and start writing about what you believe in!