free to be me

I recently read a quote from Randy Alcorn that says, "We are made for a person and a place. Jesus is the person, and heaven is the place." We are made for Jesus. I am made for Jesus. Say that to yourself a few times, and you should already feel a boost of confidence. And you know what else? We all have the potential to be beautiful. In the Lord's eyes, we are all beautiful. If we follow the Lord and show who He is to the rest of the world, we are making ourselves even more beautiful. Song of Soloman 4:7 says, "You are altogether beautiful, my love. There is no flaw in you." Christ doesn't see a flaw in you. We are created for Him, and we are created in His image. He created you the way you are for a reason, and no one is to be exactly alike or anywhere near perfect. We were created sinless, but that quickly changed. However, with Jesus, we all have the opportunity to be forgiven. We can be forgiven once, twice, ten times, etc. If we continuously confess our sins and follow Jesus, we will begin to sin less and less as our relationship with Christ becomes stronger. Another quote I like says, "Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get." Well, one "thing" you can always get is Jesus, and He always wants you to pick Him. He's the best one in the box, and He loves you and thinks you are beautiful. Now that should make you smile:)

free to follow

AHHHH!!! Right now, I am SOOO excited about camp! I think I had a little too much Mountain Dew... But anyway, I've been working on getting some devotional material ready, which pretty much means putting a few memory verses on poster boards and taking some notes on daily devotional plans. I'm using a kids lesson book that I got from Lifeway and compiling some stuff from that as well as incorporating the fruits of the Spirit! I'm anxious to see what the Lord has in store for the 6 weeks I will be spending at camp this summer. Fortunately, I will be home during July to reflect on what God does in June and to prepare for August camp. Also in July, I'll be planning Samford's yearbook, the Entre Nous, and getting ready for my sister's wedding on July 17, as well as going to Panama City for a few days! Tonight I was thinking about everything that is going on and happening soon. First of all, it is just so crazy to be in Peachtree City for more than half the summer, and also to think that this will be my last summer here. Furthermore, this is the first summer that I will be in so many different places, and so much change is happening. So, one of the verses I chose to write on a poster tonight for camp is Psalm 37:4, which is one of my favorite verses. The verse reads, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." I was reading a comment someone had made about the verse online, and he had asked, "What's the catch to this verse?" Sadly, this guy did not fully understand the meaning of the verse. I understand how it could be misinterpreted because I know when I first read the verse, I thought about it in a different way. Based on the wording of the verse, you might think that if you pray to God, asking for something, that you will get it because it is your desire. However, "delighting" in the Lord does not simply mean praying, and especially does not involve selfish prayer. I think the verse means that if you delight in the Lord, praying, confessing sins, asking for wisdom and strength and praying for others, living for the Lord in word and in deed, your desires and His desires will end up matching. When you realize that the Lord has given you your heart's desires, you will see His faithfulness and also know that you are following Him. For me, it's really hard to know whether or not the desires of my heart and the choices I make are for myself or for the Lord. The easiest way to find out is simply to pray and think about what I want to follow before I do so. Today, one of my best friends went to Panama City to start Summer Beach Project, which helped me in my walk last summer and still encourages me today. It is life changing, and it's been hard to see her so excited about it because I want to go back so badly! The community at beach project is so uplifting and Christ-filled, and there is almost no way you can't grow at beach project. Even though I feel like I'm missing a lot this summer by not going on beach project, I have chosen to follow God and go in another direction, and I'm confident that it was the right decision. I have prayed a lot about this summer, and I think that God is going to work everywhere I go this summer and in everything I do. I am thrilled to be able to share my faith with girls at camp, and I hope that God allows me to show them the love and joy of Christ. Last summer I learned how to share my faith, and this summer I follow God's will to put that knowledge to the test and live amongst young, growing girls who may or may not have a relationship with Christ. Telling anyone about Jesus is both exciting and challenging because you never know exactly what to say or how they will respond, but ultimately, it is what God commands us to do. Matthew 28:19 says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," and how can we not obey the most important command He has given us? I don't have an answer for that, and I doubt that you do. However, we so easily fail to follow His commands. When we don't follow God's commands, we aren't following Him. That's it-- there isn't a "but" or an "it's ok" to be said. I confess that I am not nearly as intentional as I have the potential or be or want to be, and I pray that God will stir up more confidence in me to do so. We are free to follow Him, we just choose to do what we want to do most of the time. Unfortunately, until our desires match God's, we will not be given those desires, or we will at least not be happy with the results. There is a purpose and a plan for everyone who chooses to follow Him, but that requires trust and commitment, as well as a free spirit willing to take on any challenge that comes. Whatever your plans might be this summer, I encourage you to let God intervene, and to allow Him to show you and lead you, so that you can follow, delighting in the Lord, and allowing your desires to conform with His.

free to move

There are many definitions of the word "move." According to dictionary.com, it can mean "to proceed," "to take action," "to change from one place to another," "to affect one's emotions," etc. Moving has been a big part of my life this year. At the beginning of this year, my family moved to Shanghai, China, where my dad has been working for the past 2 1/2 years. Right after they moved, I moved back to Samford. This year at Samford, God has moved in my life in many ways. After beach project, I came to Samford on fire for the Lord and with the desire to be intentional in every aspect of my life. I had become a more content, confident but less prideful person, and I was ready for God to help me take even bigger steps in my faith. Fortunately, He helped me to do that through the good and the bad. No matter how hard you try for it not to happen, there is always going to be some bad, but the good thing is, God works through everything. Nothing can separate us from Him. Romans 8:38-39 says, "neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." And when we are with Christ, we will always be moving--physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, etc. This August, my family will be moving to Jupiter, Fla. After living in Peachtree City, Ga. for the past 20 years (almost my entire life), it was a huge shock to find out that we would have to sell our house and move to a city over 11 hours from Birmingham. The move to China was a huge one, but I still had a house to go back to in Peachtree City, and now that would be gone. When I first found out, I was initially shocked and sad-- I would be leaving my hometown, where I grew up! Most people would react the same way. However, there is also a positive way to look at it, and when I realized that, it made reality so much easier to grasp. The reality of it is that God is in control, and He has blessed my dad with another job! Going to Florida is going to be a great opportunity, and with today's economy, it is such a blessing just to be employed. Also, they could stay in China and have to sell the house, and then it would be worse! Or they could move all the way to the West coast! Who knows what could have happened. What matters is what did happen, and what's going to happen, and that we don't worry about it. After all, God says we shouldn't worry about tomorrow b/c today has enough troubles of it's own, and it's so true. And, worrying about anything is simply a waste of time and energy. Instead of worrying about life, whether it be work, school, a guy, money or what you're going to wear tomorrow, let God move in  you by letting Him into your daily life. I encourage you to read the Bible and to soak it in and use it as a model for your daily life-- don't just let the Word flow out of you. Instead, let it flow through you and move you to become more like Christ and ultimately, help you to be more content, to bear fruit and to enjoy life. :)