† Jesus Heals †

Today, I'll share with y'all a true story. ;)  It starts out a little sad but I'll give a hint ( it doesn't last like that for very long ;) ) I really hope each of you, as you read this, feel how effective God's love can be and how He can work in your life in the best possible way!!

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There was this young lady, who had a past, and her past brought a lot of pain in her life when she would think on it. It hurt a lot and left a lot of sadness and heartbreak. Even long after God helped her through the pain and hurt and forgiving, she would still have flashbacks of what she went through. Because of the things this girl went through, it left her with a trusting issue. This trust issue stopped her from building relationships with new people. She would feel like she couldn't trust or depend on anyone without feeling like they'd turn on her at some point. The only person she turned to was her personal Saviour, Jesus Christ. He was always there for her with open arms, ready for her to run into. He comforted her in the hardest times and He helped her with so much and to get through so many things with His unfailing love. She knew that God wanted her to make godly, Christian friends, but because of this trust issue this girl dealt with, it kept her from making new friends.

So one evening, the girl started talking with a friend on this issue. The girl started telling her friend why she had these feelings. How she couldn't go through building friendships and then getting hurt by them, how she couldn't go through it physically, mentally, or emotionally again. Her friend had the perfect answer for her..Here's what this person told her... That the past was the past, she needed to face it. she couldn't let it take any more of her present. She needed to let go of any bad memories that she had. That the people and the events from the past, is just it, the past! ("Brothers and sisters, 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, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)) She couldn't let it take any more of her thoughts or time. She needed to stop letting it bring her down and stop letting it keep her from building new relationships.  But most of all, She needed to give God her whole past and let Him mend her heart fully. Of any past hurt, heartbreak, and trust issues she had...

The girl didn't realize that even though she forgave everyone of her past and let go of everything that kept her back, she didn't let God truly mend her heart fully..enough to not let the past creep back into her thoughts and to stop holding her back from trusting others.. So this young ladie's friend told her to do these things: Play this song  (I surrender - by Hillsong) and pray HARD, asking God to take away her past and ask Him to mend her heart.

{ I Surrender - Hillsong }

She did just that. She played that song loud on her headphones so no sound could distract her, kneeling down, with arms stretched wide reaching towards heaven, as she sang along to the lyrics and praying at the same time. Feeling each word and the strength of them. Desperate to be filled with His love and mercy. She knelt there, surrendering herself to her Lord. As tears flowed down her cheeks, she told God she was ready to give up the memories that caused her to have trust issues and gave Him her whole past and her whole self. Everything that held her back, she gave to Him. As she cried out to the Lord, she could feel Him taking away her whole past. She could feel Him mending her heart like never before. She just kept saying, "Lord have your way in me". It moved her so much, the tears couldn't stop flowing (out of happiness)!.. She couldn't be more thankful and happy. She was so grateful for her friend to pray with her and had this amazing experience of God's mercy that took away the thing that held onto her so tightly. That her past hurt was gone! And now she could trust again!

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If you caught on or was wandering, yes, that story was based on me and my amazing experience of God's great mercy and love that happened recently. I wanted to share this story with all of you because lately, I've been having so many people tell me how much hurt they're going through right now or went through and just don't know how to feel like that part of they're life is over and just want to start living in the now for Christ, letting go of the past. One huge part of this process of having peace again is Forgiving. Forgivness is such a huge part of a Christian's walk with Christ and moving on in life from those who hurt you. ¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matt. 6:14-15). You can't move on in life having this burden hanging over you because you haven't forgiven your past and the people in it...I have this huge heart for God and wanting to please Him..He forgave me of my sins and died on the cross way before I repented of my sins.. "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:8-12)."  So I, out of love, forgave anyone and anything from my past. When you forgive, it has to come out of a heart that truly means it. You haven't truly forgiven if your heart didn't really mean it..With all my heart, I love those who have hurt me and I pray for them all the time.
¹² 

I'm overjoyed that God mended my heart, wiped away my past, and took away my trust issue. "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." ( John 14:13). I now see that I need to build friendships that are established on the same thing and priority. Which is honoring Christ in everything we say and do and giving God all the glory.

 So with what God has done for me and shared with me to share with all of you who have a past that you no longer want, I really advise you to get into deep prayer ( also, if you have someone that you're close to, ask them to pray along with you ). Cry out to Jesus and ask Him to take away all the pain that Satan has caused. Plead to Him to mend your heart from hurt and to fill it with His love. Search your heart and surrender to God. Have the Love like Christ to forgive those of your past and really mean it with a heart full of love for them. You'll gain so much in return for obeying Christ.

~ It's a incomparable feeling to Have our Lord Jesus fill you up with His love that never ends and for Him to work in your life so powerfully. I want each of you to feel it..The power of prayer is so mighty and strong..God calls each of you to come to Him..if you haven't, break down and surrender to the One who gave Himself for you. There's no greater joy. ~

- He's got us taken care of -

What is it to truly rely on Christ and His timing..This has always been hard for me to fully grasp. It's hard not knowing answers when you want to know them now, or not knowing why things are happening the way they are but you just want to feel comfort in knowing how things will turn out. Well recently, I've felt the LORD telling me to fully rely on Him..On His timing, on how He will move in my life. If you know me, I really can't handle waiting for answers. I like to find them out then and there or at least try to, but lately, I can feel God saying "Rachel, please don't worry about it. I have everything under control. Everything and everyone I have placed in your life is here for a reason. Don't worry My child. I have done and given you these things because they have a purpose.. and I will reveal them to you in My perfect timing when I know you're ready for it. Take comfort in Me right now and keep faith and trust in Me.. I won't let you down"... I'm not sure if you understand, but when He speaks to me and I hear this, I get all emotional ( we girls have our moments ;) ) because it's such a miraculous thing to hear God speaking to you. It truly does give me comfort when I realize that God has placed everything and everyone in my life for a reason and even if I don't know what tomorrow, next month, or next year will bring, I can take joy and comfort in knowing that God will work things out for those who truly love Him and want His will for our lives. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). That is not promising that it wont be tough. I'm sure each of you reading this has something in life where there's uncertainty. Everyone does. Not sure where things are going in your life or when God will move in certain areas.. It will get really hard not knowing things.. but all this leads to one thing. Relying on Christ. . . 

We need to keep reminding ourselves that Jesus Christ, the King of all Kings, Our  Lord of all the Earth is holding us in His mighty hands, Never to let us go.  "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." (Hebrews 10:35)  We need to keep our faith in Him up with a spirit of rejoicing. Because there in Hebrews it says we need to keep our confidence(Faith) high in Christ because when we do, He will reward us with what we desire in Him. That includes keeping our confidence and faith in how He will bless us, when he will reveal the things we want revealed (His timing is perfect), And we need to know that all we do will be done for the Glory of Christ. 

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It is important for you to have like minded Christians helping you be lifted in God's word and encouraging you in your walk with Christ. To help reassure you that your not alone in this world and that we are going to continue to walk with Christ throughout the good and bad times. Always being a blessing and loving each other.  I am blessed to have my friends and family here to help encourage me in Christ and lift me up with scripture. "Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future." (Proverbs 19:20). Even friends that I haven't known long, it's a blessing that I've met you. Because having a friend that I've not known long but has helped uplift and motivate me to become a better Christian is better than having a friend your whole life who has not been an encouragement to Christ and who is leading you away from Him. The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. (Proverbs 12:26)

And I love this song ( The Struggle - by Tenth Avenue North ) for so many reasons... Because we are free, we are free to struggle. We are Children of the Lord struggling in this world, dropping dead weights as we continue to sing praises to Jesus. And yes, we Christians will still have to struggle in this world but Jesus' might blood He shed, washes us clean. ^"for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for manyfor the forgiveness of sins." (Matt. 26:28). So as we continue to rely on Christ and what great things He has planned for us, let us keep our hands help high and voices singing to the One who gave us life and continues to bless us, even when we can't see it just yet. His wonderful plans will reveal in Christ's perfect timing. 

 

Heaven bound

As I woke this morning and walked outside, the weather screamed out "fall is here". I have waited all year for weather like this! So I am so grateful for this weather and want to enjoy as much of it as I can! :) So for my morning devotion, I grabbed my bible, some coffee, and my thoughts and sat outside soaking in the sunshine, breeze and nature around me. Right now, In my morning devotions, I'm reading through Psalm.. Today was Psalm 84. As I read this chapter and after, I felt restored, refreshed and invigorated as to what's to come! I'll share a few of the verses I read this morning. When I'm reading through Psalm, I read really slowly and taking in every word that is there..because there is so much information and words with meaning in there. So the verses I share with you, please take the time to let them sink in. Feel the power of them and how strong just a few words are. here is Psalm 84:1-2...

   

How lovely is Your tabernacle,

O Lord of hosts!
 My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Yes! My heart and flesh is crying out for Jesus..Wanting to be with Him in His courts, in Heaven. Longing, yearning, wanting to be in the presence of the Almighty. . When I think of Heaven, I think of how pleasant it will be, how wonderful it will be to have knowledge like never before. To have no more trouble, hard times, or sorrows like we often have here on earth...Everything and Everyone will be perfect. What a thought. I mean really, perfect is a word we cannot use here on earth unless we are referring to Jesus Christ. He is truly the only One perfect."As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him" (Psalm 18:30)" So to one day have the knowledge like Him is mind boggling! . . Here is some more verses from Psalm 84:10-12...

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in

 the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness 

For the Lord God

is a sun and shield; the Lord will give

grace and glory; no good 

thing will withhold from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Yes, one day in heaven would be better than a thousand anywhere else. Wouldn't you agree?! ;) I also find so much comfort in this part "no good thing will withhold from those who walk uprightly". Being a true believer, we need to follow what God commands us to do. Yes, we will surely fall down but we need to acknowledge when we fall down and then pick ourselves up again asking God for forgiveness. We are imperfect persons living in an imperfect world, but being a Christian, you will know what is right from wrong in God's eyes and you will want to strive to do right before the Lord. You will feel conviction from the Holy Spirit and the main thing is, that we strive to be like Christ in all of our ways. ^"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (Philippians 3:12). The Lord knows we will have bumps in the road that causes us to sin but He also will know who continued to ask for forgiveness and made the effort to walk uprightly before Him. God can not stand Fake Christians. Those who speak of God and then live like the world, you can't truly be saved. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:21-23)  See, many will live there lives acting as Christians yet are lying to themselves. God is a merciful God but He is also just. He gives people what they deserve, like a good Judge.


I'm not here trying to talk down about people who are truly not Christians, rather try and give hope that there is a truer way to Salvation that actually leads to eternity in the most high place with our Creator.  It is so very important to know that you have a close relationship with Christ. To live out the Bible to your fullest, giving it your all. "But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." (Luke 11:29)  That your mission here on earth isn't to please yourself, but please God. We are here to encourage, uplift, train, mentor, and bring people to truth about God. "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:13). We are here not to hate, but to Love everyone Like Christ has loved us. If we are to be like Christ, we need to try and love like Him. Think of all the love Jesus had/has for us. He loved each and every one of us so much that He died an unspeakable death so that we ( anyone who comes to Him ) might have eternal life through Him in heaven. He loved us so much, that He didn't want to see us end up living eternity in hell. (John 3:16).  So He gave His life, to the ones ( like me before I accepted Christ in my life ) who spat at His face, who mocked Him, who tortured Him and nailed Him to a cross. After we did that, what does the Lord say? "Then said Jesus, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do'..." (Luke 23:34)  . . .That, people, is what you call true love. I know if that was me, I wouldn't have forgiven them. I would have had more hate in my heart than I could bare. But you see, He went through all of that so we don't have to hate, so that we can love those who persecute us, who beat, hurt, mock us.. That one day we can glorify God in Heaven. That is true definition of LOVE. . .

{ Please listen to this worship song :) }

One of my favourite thing to do is get lost in worship. Music is definitely a big thing for me but more than the actual music, it's the time I have with God and the lyrics I sing to glorify Him. To listen to worship music while eyes closed and feeling God's presence all around me. It's a feeling I wouldn't trade for anything. After I read through my morning verses, I played a song that was on shuffle hoping to get a good worship song with meaningful lyrics. And wow, Did I! ( the song I'm sharing with y'all ) I have only heard this song once before, but right there, surrounded by God's creation after reading those verses about Heaven, I went into total worship mode.  I didn't want to come out of it. . . Ever. I wish I could stay right there praising God until He comes back. Then I was thinking, "Wow, if I love it right here praising God in my back yard surrounded by fresh air and worship music, and to think heaven is going to be so, so much better! "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9) It excites me people! We need to share our excitement with others. We want others to see how much peace we have in knowing we have a Saviour who holds us in His hands and will never let us go. Unbelievers will see this peace in our hearts and know that something is different about us. Curiosity gets the best of most of us, hm? ;) So maybe just us acting as Christians should, will bring someone to Christ. And not just showing God's love while out in public, but around the clock, because we will want to.  

I thank each of you for reading through my posts that are always typed out of what the Lord lays on my heart to share. I also encourage you to take a few minutes to be alone with just you and God. Turn on the song I've shared and have this precious time alone with Him, worshiping His name. It's a feeling no amount of money can buy. 

Blessing to each of you! <3

Great Are You Lord

You know that feeling when you're reassured? . . . Reassured in Christ, that because you are His child, He won't let you down. That feeling when someone reassures you that, hey! just live for God and his wonderful will and then you will know that He has great plans for you and you need only give yourself fully to Him. . . Yes, I love that feeling! Another feeling I love is when I go to church to hear my paster preach his heart out for us. He is so gifted in the area of explaining the Bible so well that you understand so clearly what God commands us to do and how to live for Him. How to live a godly life that is pleasing to the Lord. Also, he is not afraid to teach on sin. I find that a lot of churches these days really don't want to teach on that topic because they might loose/scare off people... So the fact that he is not ashamed to preach truth just excites me! . . . I took as many notes as I could to share with y'all. 

He was teaching on the Book of Habakkah ( I will admit that I haven't read that book of the bible before, but once he started teaching on it, I was like, "wow! I was missing out" ) . .  He taught on  6 discourses... Here we go :)

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1.) The theme of Habakkah is "To live by faith in God's sovereignty even if we don't understand." . . .  I know there were many times where I would not fully understand why God would allow bad things to happen to me. I know I am a child of God.. He said He would take care of me. But I realized that I have to put all my faith in God, even when I have no clue where things are going in my life. I can't live by the standards of things or people of this world but live by Faith. I may not understand His will right now for my life, but He does and has great plans for me... And this goes for anyone who is a true believer in Jesus Christ. And that leads us to the next part. 

2.) "It is okay to ask God questions but He is not obligated to answer them" - Oh, this one definitely hit home for me. I am sure we have all asked God many questions. But we can't expect God to answer any of our questions right after we ask. Because we can be asking something that He is not obligated to answer because he might have a better answer for you in another area .That is why it is very important that when we ask God questions, we have to always ask it according to His will. I have asked God questions before that I thought He would answer because I figured that God would answer in the way I wanted, but I was wrong. I did not ask it according to His will and I was only thinking of myself. I think another reason why He didn't answer that question was because He wanted to humble me. But I do believe that He is going to answer that prayer/question but it will be according to His will and it will be WAY better than what I was asking for first.  

3.) "Trust that God is working even when we can't see" - As Christians, we definitely have to have this mindset. We can not be discouraged. When we can't really see God working in our lives, that is when Satan creeps in and wants us to think that God doesn't care about our problems and isn't worried about us. We need to flee those thoughts and continue to tell each other that God, right now, is working in and through each and every one of our lives. 

4.) "Trust that God will judge sin in His timing" - My paster explained this so well. If someone claims to be saved and sins (here are some examples : does bad by someone, hurts others with words, does things secretly to hurt others, lies ) then their sin will find them out. They are not hiding it from God. "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." (James 4:17)   God sees and hears all. I mean, if you are a true believer, you wont want to do those things. So if you aren't saved ( or you may think you are but truly haven't given your life to Christ ) and keep sinning, God will bring justice to those who commit the sins. They will be found out either here on earth or on judgment day. But they will be judged. So when someone continues to try and hurt me, I keep reassuring myself that God will have his justice in His timing. I am relying on His timing for everything. Because His timing is PERECT! 

5.) "Are you broken?" - Are we truly broken and humble for the Lord? Are we offering ourselves fully to God? No strings attached to this world. Willing to do anything for Him..No going in half way. We need to be willing to fully rely on God. We need to be fully submissive to Him. Giving our everything to glorify Him.  

6.) - "Are you living in sin?" - Something that we need to do every day is examine ourselves. Say, "Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours". . .  I continue to say "Lord, if what I am doing is going against what you called me to do, take it away, throw it out. If it does not glorify you, break it away and cleanse me with your love" . . . I urge you to really ask yourself if your lifestyle or how you act is God honoring and Christ like. Because soon and very soon, the Lord is coming back to take all His children up into the clouds. I would hate to see anyone be left here when I had a chance to tell them about God and His gracious ways. How He can save you from an eternal life of misery. That there is hope in Jesus Christ. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) . . . He died on that cross for whoever would believe in Him. It is never too late. Don't let anything, not even pride get in the way of acknowledging and confessing our sins. Do right to others, help each other out. Continue to ask yourself "would I do this if Jesus were standing right here in this room" but again, we forget sometimes that God sees and hears everything we do. . .

Until next time my dear followers, I'll leave y'all with a very beautiful song. 

God bless y'all!

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We sang this song this morning. 

One thing I love is to worship my God with songs of praise!

Hurricane Isaac

I'm sure like 99% of y'all know that hurricane Isaac hit the gulf coast states and more. I have been trying to update all of y'all that follow me on Instagram but I have family and friends that don't follow me on that so I thought I would just do one nice size post telling y'all how things went and what we did. It'll be easier. :D

For this post, I would first like to thank God for not letting any real big damage be done to any of my family, friends, or our home. He has been so good to us and I continue to thank Him for His blessings. When we first saw Isaac's path heading straight for us, our first thought was "Evacuate".  But after lots of discussion, we decided not to... We boarded almost every door and window there was on our home, so it felt like living in a cave. Isaac decided to take a long visit over Louisiana and Mississippi. Way longer than we expected... I thought the rain and horribly strong wind would never end. I will never forget the sounds the wind made. . .We lost power a couple times and tried passing our time by talking, praying, and watching the news. We did get tornadoes but they came at night, which was perfectly planned.. God knew that we would really freak out if we could see them during the day. He even thinks about the little things that help us. :D

I think so many people underestimated hurricane Isaac. I think God wanted us to realize that even though it was only a category 1 and then turned back into a tropical depression, that it could cause a lot of damage. My prayers are with everyone who flooded or lost so much in it's path. God is in control and people need to not underestimate God's power. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. And as Isaac hit on the 29th, all I could think of was when Katrina hit. How so many people lost their lives, family members, houses, and so much more. We really need to have compassion on all of those people and send our prayers out to them.

And to that, I want to thank everyone who has sent so many prayers our way. They meant the world to me. I felt so much comfort from every comment you sent me saying you were praying! It was like the Lord giving me a big hug. I can't explain with words the comfort of prayer brings. . I can't thank y'all enough. <3



These two pictures are of our lake that over flowed with water.

Our lake over flowed with water. To the point it breached. 

And to that, I think I shall call it a quits. This past week was pretty interesting. But I will continue to pray for anyone else who was affected by hurricane Isaac. I'll leave y'all with this verse below. Someone showed it to me before Isaac hit us. Even though he said it's meant for a spiritual storm, it could go both ways. :) 

Love to all,

In Christ. . . Rachel

Let it go

Ah! Monday. .  A fresh start of a new week! Mondays are a favorite to me. A new week to look forward to. To see what this week will bring and what the Lord will teach and reveal to me. Yes, I love Mondays. =) 

Last night, someone pointed me to this song and many others. He suggested I go look them up. I believe God laid it down on that person's heart to tell me about this song. I really needed to hear these lyrics. . . The lyrics are just, A.m.a.z.i.n.g.!  I have never heard of this song or band but I just let the words soak in!

"Let it go" by Jesus Culture

What do you think about it?  How amazing is our God, His arms always open for us to run into and always there to hear us call out to Him. We need to give everything to God. We need to "let it go". He hears our prayers and hears us cry out to Him. We do not go unnoticed by our all powering God! He will work out everything in our lives, as Christians to His perfect will. We pray to Him, and say "according to your will Father" and in His timing, He will give us the desires of our hearts. "And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him." (1 John 5:14-15)...God will see that we are asking our prayers to be answered according to His will. He will see that we are submitting ourselves to Him. He notices and will make our paths straight. "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." (Hebrews 11:16)...So here we see that we have to have faith to please God. And also, here is says that God will reward those who seek Him. I am not living for praises and rewards here on earth. Those come to me when I am in Glory. But that verse plainly states that God will take care of His people, those who have faith in Him! What a wonderful promise He gives His children. 

I am living for God alone. As a Christian, my passion is to proclaim God's word and His truth. Like the song says "And we are never going to let this song die out..and we feel the heart of God, so we cry out". . . As long as I am here on this earth, my fire will not stop burning for Christ. His name will be proclaimed. I won't be ashamed to spread His word. People may persecute me, make fun of, or tell me I'm too religious, but as a Christian, that only makes me want to proclaim Christ even more. "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

Our God is surly alive and watching down on us. How must we use our time then, here for this short while we are on earth? If we call ourselves Christians, we definitely need to be using our time wisely. Let even the little chances you get glorify God. We want the people who don't know Christ, to look at us as and say to themselves "There is something different about him/her". . . A good different! . . . I want to be God's hands and feet. I want Him to use me as much as He can on this earth. I consistently ask the Lord to just take me and mold me into what He wants me to become. To conform me into His image. 

I urge you to do the same thing. God answers prayers, reveals revelations, and shows you so much in your life if you let it go and give everything over to God. He knows even the deepest part of our hearts. Our thoughts..What our real intentions are in life. As God's children, let's be the brightest light we can to shine for Christ.

~ He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ~

= Mark 16:15-16 =

When I accepted Christ into my life

I think this will be my favorite post so far on my blog so share with my readers. This specific moment in my life, I will never forget. Because that was the one day that changed my life forever. That day I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. Some of my friends who follow my blog hasn't yet heard my testimony of when I accepted Jesus into my heart. I think it is important to tell each others testimonies as Christians. To be a born again Christian, you have to have a testimony. Not everyones testimony is the same. Each one is different, each one unique. But there has to be that one time in your life where you gave it all to God. Repenting your sins and asking God for forgiveness. To come and give us a clean heart and to give everything we have to God. . . . So today I decided to share mine with y'all. 

~ ~ ~ 

It's not like I was once an alcoholic, abuser, or drug dealer. . . It wasn't like I didn't know about the Lord. What's worse is that, I knew that there was a God who was worthy enough to accept the unacceptable... I knew that He was the only way to heaven. But that's my point! Others who haven't really heard of The Lord and His ways don't think anything is wrong with what they're doing. Or they do, but they don't think much about the consequences of their actions. I am growing up in a Christian home. My parents are devoted Christians..Living to please God and take care of their children. I always attended church with my parents, prayed at night and before meals, and tried to obey my parents. . But what I was really doing was faking myself out. Yes, I would go to church, or go into public and act like a Christian but then come home and not act as a Christian should act. I wouldn't want to devote my time to the Lord. I thought that I was doing good though, I had even prayed a prayer asking God into my heart, but that wasn't true repentance. I was only playing a role in a Christian home, telling myself that I was a good person and I'd make it to heaven. But here Matthew 21-23 says “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’  I was only faking myself into Christianity. This next part I'm about to say is my favorite part of this story. :)

One evening in January, 2011,  my Dad called us in for a family devotion. We would all sit around in our living room and listen to daddy read a verse or two in the Bible and then teach on that. I can't remember the exact verse we were reading but it was in John. It was so convicting and the whole time my parents were talking, I was thinking to myself how much of a sinner I was. I remember feeling how heavy my heart was because I knew I was only "playing" Christian before. My mom must have noticed the look on my face when He was reading because she asked if I were alright and understanding everything. I told her that I was understanding what he was saying but that I didn't think I was saved. I think it might have surprised her because I had an "experience" a couple years before that. I had prayed to God to come into my heart but it wasn't genuine . . . I told them that I knew that if I were to die right there, I would go to hell because I didn't truly repent of my sins and ask for forgiveness. So I asked if I could pray with my dad to accept Christ into my heart. So Daddy brought me to his room so we could have quiet time. He showed me these verses. . . Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.". I definitely felt that one hit me. I knew I had been sinning my whole life. Lying, Playing a fake Christian, quick to anger and attitude. I definitely knew I fell short of the glory of God. Dad also showed me these verses - Romans 3:10-18. When he read me those, I had knew without God's grace on me, I would be sent straight to hell without a doubt when I come to die. But after he showed me those verses about sin, he read me this. Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." . . I thought, Christ, who was blameless and perfect, gave His own life for me, a sinner.. Me, worthy of nothing but to be sent to hell. Then went on to read Romans 10:9 "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.". Daddy said that it was a life long choice to make but it would be the best decision of my life. So I asked Daddy to pray with me. As tears flowed down my face, I asked the Lord to forgive me of my sins. Thanking Him For dying on that cross for me. So that I could live with Him one day in Heaven. I then went on and asked the Lord to come and live inside me. To be my one and only personal Savior. To live in and through me and let His grace show through me. I asked Him to use me in every way I could to tell people about His great love He has for His children and how He changed my life in the best way. And after thanking Him over and over again for giving me a new life, I said "Amen". After I prayed that prayer, my heavy heart was so light and happy. I felt this warm feeling inside me. It was like I was a new person. And I was. I was born again!! I was so happy with tears of joy still dripping off my cheeks and chin. I thanked Daddy for praying with me and showing me those verses and then went to see my mom and sisters to tell them what just happened. They were so happy for me. That I now was a true believer in Jesus Christ! - Romans 5:1 "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  &  Romans 8:38-39 "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  . . . I had such a peace in my heart after I gave my life over to Christ. Now my goal is to grow closer and closer with my Lord.

So that is my Testimony of when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.
The best day of my my life. When everything changed. . .


Love to all my friends and family! 

Mountain of God

It is amazing how God reveals so much to Christians, through their walk with Christ. When I was first saved, It was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to me. I had this peace in my heart.. To know that I now have this personal relationship with Christ. To have full understanding about His love for me and the Ultimate gift He gave to us. His Son, Jesus, who gave His life for those who believe in Him. So that we don't have to be sent to hell but have an everlasting life in heaven. - Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

As I am maturing more and more in my spiritual walk with God, I am realizing that satan will use any person, object, or well, anything to distract us from growing closer with God. Satan feels intimidated by us and feels he needs to try harder on Christians to turn away from our faith. That is when we need to be grounded most in God's word. Studying scripture daily, praying, and spending time just thanking God for what we have and not complain about what we don't. 

So growing a deep and deeper relationship with God wont be easy. There are going to be times when you may question where is God. Why isn't he helping you through something tough or hard. You could be thinking to yourself, "He said He was going to take care of His children..why is He letting me go throughout something like this?". . . Think of it like this... You can't expect to win first place in a race without trying hard to run for that goal. There will be bumps in the road, challenges to face, and problems along the way. That doesn't mean you wont win it. It only means you need to try hard to pass those up and keep your mind focused on what's ahead. . . Just like your walk with Christ. No one ever said it was going to be easy. No one ever told you that it was going to be a perfect walk down the road and then instantly you would have the perfect relationship with God and with out any problems along the way. Actually, God allows things to happen in your life.. If that may be trials, tribulations, temptations, or hardships. He may let things happen to you so that you may come out of it stronger in your faith. Trust me, throughout my life, God has allowed many things to happen to me, but especially after I was saved. I see now that I am grateful for the most part the He has allowed those things to happen to me. Because It showed me that I didn't have the kind of relationship that I should have with my Savior. My mind wasn't focused on God entirely like it should have been. By letting me go through what He did, I have a truer, closer relationship with Him. And I wouldn't ask for it any other way. If you are a TRUE believer in Jesus Christ, He will NOT let you down. Even though life may get hard, He will carry you through anything. So yes, God will allows obstacles in your life but He is only doing it for your good. I can't keep from thanking God from what He might have saved me from. To look back at how God worked in my life is amazing. Allowing me to go through those things and coming out so much stronger and knowledgeable through Him. I can't keep from praising and thanking His name.

~ ~ ~

This song has to be one of my favorite songs because it demonstrates exactly what I am trying to say here. Every time this plays, I just close my eyes as I let the words sink in and as I sing along, praising God..Thanking Him for what He has allowed me to go through that made our relationship much closer. I couldn't ask for anything better.   

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" - John 16:33

A Psalm. . .

Hi y'all! Scary to say, I can't believe it's already July! So I thought I would start  up a new blog post series called "A Psalm". Right now I'm reading through Psalm along with my daily Bible reading. I would love to share more scripture that I'll be reading. It won't be every chapter and it's not going to be in order. :)

Today I will share with y'all chapter 5. I let these words sink in as I read them slowly. Reading how we pray and cry out to God. He heres our prayers and knows what's best for us. The Lord will bless those who rejoice in Him and destroy those who speak falsehood. . .

Psalm 5

 (KJV)

5 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

² Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

³ My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

⁴ For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

⁵ The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

⁶ Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

⁷ But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

⁸ Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

⁹ For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰ Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

¹¹ But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

¹² For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

<3 I pray y'all all have a great week and 4th of July holiday! . . .God bless! <3 

Random Me. . .

Yes! Another "Random Me" post because so much has been going around here i thought pictures would be the best way to tell y'all what I've been up to. A lot of these pictures I had posted on Instagram but some of my followers don't have instgram so. . . :)

Here's some random pictures of my random life. :) ;) 

Summer sleep overs. . few words can describe them. Deliriously funny, fun, and interesting. ;)

Must come over again soon Ashley! =D

Balderdash.. very fun game

Summer days. . 

I love my siblings! 

Exercising with my sister. . oh yeah!

So I'm sure y'all all heard Katey's going to be going on a mission trip to Canada this August. Well the Church she is going to be going with had a fish fry. So Katey, Christie ( our good friend who is also going on the mission trip) and I were there helping earn money This Saturday. Along with others who are going to be going and others who just volunteered. ( All of there work was greatly appreciated ). So we did our part in trying to get people to come in and buy some of our (awesome) catfish by holding signs and doing all sorts of stuff to try to bring people in. And not to mention that most of the time we were outside it was raining. We might have made fools out of ourselves but it was for a good cause and we really didn't care what we looked like. And of coarse I had my trusty iPod to snap some photos of us throughout the whole time. I warn you, we weren't what you called pretty. Putting on makeup was a definite waste because by the time we had went in the rain and came back, most was all off and looked even worse. . But then again. It was for a very good cause and we had fun! :) let the pics begin!

Alright. So before ( and after ) the fish fry started, we got to eat some. yum! But Katey, wanting to be all good, brings oatmeal... you heard it right, "Oatmeal". . .to a fish fry! You can probably guess that she got teased the whole time we were all eating. I mean, who brings oatmeal to a fish fry. Only Katey. But that's the kind of stuff that makes her her. Without doing stuff like that, she just wouldn't be Katey! haha! ;)

Don't you love our Neon signs!?!

Break time! I promise we were on our feet 98% of the time ;)

Oh, our faces! ;). . At this point we were dreadfully tired, wet and looked, well horrid. haha ;) 

Lots of greasy food! 

 hehe

This is a little challenge I'm doing on my instagram. It's fun and interesting so far. 

Sucking tea with twirzzlers. . hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. no straws in the house. . plus if you guessed it right, it was Katey's idea. haha ;)

And here's a song that I thought I'd post. It's a fun song and had a really good tune. I also really like his voice!! hope you enjoy! :D

Well, I think I shall call it a quits for now! I hope everyone had a nice weekend, even though most of y'all got rained out. :( Pray y'all have a nice beginning of this week! Until next time, God bless!! :)