Perseverance in Hope

There is one thing that I hate. One thing that scares me. One thing that is super hard for me in following God. Well... more than one thing if I am honest. But there is one thing that comes back me a lot!

Perseverance.

I am caught up with all of these thoughts about it. I am close to God for now. But what about tomorrow?  

I have been reading the Bible for now, but what about later on?

Am I going to lose this? How can I keep it up?

Some of these are silly questions. Ones that keep going around in my brain like a happy hamster running on his wheel.

I know those scenarios are not likely to happen. Yet perseverance is still hard for me on a daily basis.

A friend reminded me a few days ago just how long the Jews waited for Jesus to come.

Four thousand years.

One of my favorite songs is a A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. 

A thousand years seems like forever to me. Yet the Jews waited for four times longer than that. Dip into the Old Testament and see the waiting. 

The wandering, the wondering. Even before entering the Promised Land the Jews wandered for 40 years in the desert. 

Like the Jews in the four thousand years before Christ’s birth we have to persevere.

Persevere in that hope that is the longing for Christmas. Embracing the flaws, suffering, loneliness, longing because all of this is to God.

Sometimes you get to Christmas and it seems like the waiting isn't even over yet. The waiting to be healed and transformed. The waiting to be transformed.

When this happens, realize that you are called to wait in hope, in hope for the coming of the kingdom.

A coming that is not even fulfilled by Christmas. We are still waiting in joyful hope for his second coming. 

Persevere in hope.

Be not Afraid! I am praying for you.

~Emily

Enter in

It's Advent! This strange liturgical season squeezed in right before Christmas where we are supposed to be doing a million things. Like buying presents, going holiday shopping, cooking, decorating all things and keeping up with our normal lives!

Buying presents for everyone who you have ever met? (I may exaggerate.)  It can all be exhausting. I know that it often feels like that for me. Honestly I feel much of the time like Advent is just one last thing to do.. Right on top of a high list of expectations and things we really need to do in our lives right now.

Ever since I have started college, Advent has seemed rushed and even panicked.

Here's how it goes for me. 

Advent Week 1

Thanksgiving happens, which is all well and good, time spent with family and friends being grateful. All is great and  then comes Monday. The day after break when essentially all hell breaks loose and you discover that you have approximately 1,00o things to do this week! Plus it's Advent so you know spend a great deal of time feeling guilty about not being Advent-y enough and shopping because it's Cyber Monday and we all need a jump start on the 1,000 presents to buy.

This week you have just started is also the last week of classes so you can be prepared to be swept away  by classes, projects, and things you forgot to do until the very last minute.

Advent Week 2.

Then finals week comes and you barely manage to pray on Sunday. You subsist more off of coffee than anything else. You eat, sleep ( a little), and dream class notes and exam taking.

Advent Week 3

You arrive home the next week exhausted and promptly sleep/watch Christmas movies for the next three days. Plus go to a few Christmas parties your parents dragged you too. Not to mention-it's the pink week of Advent which means joy and quite realistically the only joy you can imagine is your pillow. Besides the fact that you still have not even thought about Advent or done anything about it because exhaustion has set in. 

I hope I am the only one who experiences this beautiful season in this magical way (sarcasm intended. ) But I know that is not the truth. The hustle and bustle, the business that accompanies all of this can drag us down.  Our expectations and the Target website failing to respond can get to us.

Which is why I am going to enter in. To enter into the crazy, the stressed, the mess. I am not going to wish it all to go away. Often I think, if only this were different, if my life were different I could enter in more fully to Advent. 

Only that is not true. It's my life. I will still have the same life 10 years from now because I am still me.

So I am going to enter in, and I am going to ask the Lord to enter into it all with me. To enter in with me to the stress, the websites that refuse to respond, the exams that have to be taken, the shopping that needs to be done. I am going to get the important things done but I am not going to do them alone. I am going to enter into it all with the Lord. To have him help me everyday because no matter what season it is, He is and always will be my lifeline.

I am going to enter into the mystery, that is the here and now, the today. I am going to enter into this season and savor all of it. I am going to enter in with the Lord.

If two minutes in the Bible is all the time I can spend while trying to get it all done then I will enter fully into those two minutes. 

Be not Afraid!

-Emily

Biblical resources

I just came across this awesome video!

How to get through the Bible in just one hour.

Bible in an hour.

If you have the time click on over or save it for later.

It is well worth a watch.

Be not Afraid.
~Emily

5 Awkward Things About the Bible

Some fun Bible facts for you!

...or really just Five Awkward Things About the Bible! Enjoy.

Do you have any favorite Biblical YouTube channels? I think I need to find some more. :)


You are so loved.
-Emily

All Things Work for Good

"For we know that all things work for good for those who love God who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

This verse is one of the hardest to accept and to believe.

All things.


It does not say that some things work for good. That I could believe quite easily. But this means that the messy works for good.

That my brokenness works for good.

That my struggles work for good.

That my weakness works for good.


All things. That includes those parts of my life and of me that I like the very least. The things about myself that I do not love.

God uses it all for good.

The good, the bad, the ugly, the messy. He uses all of it for good and there is nothing you and I can do to change that if we let Him have it all..

He will use your struggle and your failure, your doubt and your fear, your insecurity and your insincerity.

He uses all of it.


This verse then, as hard as it is to believe, is what I turn to in tough moments..

Because no matter what the struggle, even when I do not know how, I do know that he WILL use it for good.

This is one of those verses to write out on a notecard. To put it somewhere you look often, to read it over and over again. So in tough moments, the words will come back to you.

"For we know that all things work for good for those who love God who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28


Be not Afraid.
~ Emily

No One Wants to Be Paralyzed

There are certain Bible passages that I tend to go to a lot.

One of these is the story of the man who is paralyzed and his friends let him down through the roof into a crowded place where Jesus heals him.

I have put myself in this Bible passage multiple times. For this one I like to really use Ignatian Contemplation.

I can see the crowds. I can hear Jesus preaching. I am on top of the roof and it is really hot outside.

Put yourself in that situation. Right now. Practice using Ignatian Contemplation with this passage before you read any further. Mark 2.

Smell the smells, drink it in, soak in the moment.


After reading this passage through many times over a period of several months, someone asked me...

"Who were you?" 

"Were you the paralytic?"

Then I realized that in all that reading of this passage, I had always put myself in as one of the people on the roof. I was always the one lowering my freind down so they could recieve healing.

I was never the one recieving healing. Never, not once.


Then, I realized that I didn't want to be the person on the mat.

As a person, I want to help others. I want others to receive healing. I want others to become better. I want my friends to reach their fullest potential. As a serious empath, I feel when my friends are suffering and I want them to be healed.

I have struggles like everyone. I have areas where I desperately need healing. I know about these areas and yet I had never put myself in the story as a the person on the mat.


I need healing and I know that, but I do not want to be the person who is broken. None of us do. We shrink away from our own brokenness. I would rather tell you about all the struggles I have had. Not the struggles that I have now.

I am relatively comfortable telling you I used to have a eating disorder. Telling you I suffer from anxiety and depression now is another story however.


We do not want to be in need of healing so we pretend we are not. Even to ourselves.

I would love to tell you about the healing I have received, how I am all better.

But that is not the truth.


The truth is that as humans we are scared of vulnerability. We are scared of being hurt. We are scared of showing someone else our gaping wounds. We are scared of showing our brokenness.

I do not want to admit my own brokenness, my own need of healing. That is why I never put myself as the man on the mat. I'd rather just pretend that I'm just fine and go on lying to myself, my friends, and even God.

Only the truth is that He knows.


No matter how much I pretend that I do not need healing, that I am totally fine, He knows. God knows how much I need his healing.

He knows and all He wants to do is heal me. He wants me to be the man on the mat.


I know all of this and yet I am not healed. I do not know how or when he wants to heal me. I do know that he has given me my struggles for a reason, so that I can help others.

I do know that God knows my struggle and more than anything else He wants to be with me in my struggle. He just wants me to acknowledge that I am hurting so I can acknowledge just how much He desperately wants to be with me in my struggle.

I do not know the mind of the Healer or the ways that He works. But I do know that He is with me, by my side every step of the way.


I was talking to a friend about all my struggles one day and he told me, "It might not feel like this, but God is closer to you now than ever before."


So... when you feel like the man on the mat, remember that.

God is closer to you now than ever before.


Be not Afraid.
~Emily

Not Ashamed

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek.^" Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel.

These were the words that stuck out to me and I wondered what they meant. That sounds silly, juvenile even. But what do those words mean?

What do those words mean to me?

 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel.

What does this mean for me in my life? It does not mean that I run around with my Bible all the time trying to get people to read it. (Well that's kinda exactly what I do with this project, but people choose to read it, so that's different.)

Talking about the Bible is one thing that I do on here, for one simple reason: I feel called to talk about and share the Bible in this way with all of you.

In my (non-virtual) life however, not being ashamed of the Gospel more often than not means not being ashamed to live it out.


We notice how people live, more than we care or even notice what they have to say.  Still we look at how they live and their lives scream volumes.

I want to live the Gospel out. I do not want to even have to talk about it using words or at least not explicitly.

I think we all know the over-quoted line often attributed St. Francis.

"Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words."

St. Francis got what it means to not be ashamed of the Bible and he preached the Gospel with his life, with the very way he lived and breathed.


So how do we do that? How do we live the Gospel in our day to day lives?

The way we live the Gospel is first to immerse ourselves in it. To read it. To spend time in the Word not just occasionally but on a daily basis.

I know just how hard this can be. I get distracted or busy. I  try to have a Bible time everyday; actually it is a Bible and coffee time first thing in the morning.

(Full disclosure: Sometimes I totally miss this or forget. Well, I forget the Bible part... but not the coffee part...)

When I do read the Bible, sometimes nothing hits. Nothing really stands out. Most days though, I read it and one part just jumps out at me.

One verse hits me. I try to take that verse, whatever it is, throughout my day. I try to have that verse influence my day and the way that I live.


To live the Gospel, to let your life be a living proof of the Gospel... that is living the Gospel and not being ashamed to do it.

It is less about telling others what to do and more about showing it. It has a lot more to do with living it out. When you make a habit of reading the Bible, even when nothing about it stands out to you, you will stand out to others.


Let your own life be a witness to the truth of the Gospel.

Do not just read it, live it.

Be not ashamed of the Gospel.

Be not Afraid,
-Emily

Being the Samaritan Woman

I happen to love the woman in the Bible. There are a lot of reasons for that, one of them being that I am a woman and another being that there are not a lot of women in the Bible so I pay special attention to the ones that are.

Each woman in the Bible has a special message, so I listen to each one individually.

One of my favorite of all the woman in the Bible however is the Samaritan woman, commonly known as the Woman at the Well. (John 4:1-42)

Read the Bible passage first! You can find it here: John 4


This woman is a Samaritan. If you know the story of the Good Samaritan and the history behind it, then you're well aware that the Samaritans don't have many friends outside their community. But this woman is an outcast within her community.

How do we know this? Well, most women would have gone to the well in the early morning or later evening, when it wasn't as hot outside, but not this woman. When she comes to the well, it is at the hottest part of the day, alone. She came at the time when she knew no one else would be there; she didn't want to see them, or they didn't want to see her. Either way, we know she's not part of the group.

So here is this woman: a Samaritan, outcast from the world and even from her own people.

I imagine that she felt like the lowest of the low. She is the one that no one wants to talk to at all. She is the one who is spurned.

If I were her, I would feel pretty low.


Who knows how many times the woman walked the hot and dusty roads to a from the well alone? Today is different. Jesus is here, and he asks her for a drink. Then He talks to her and she talks back all about the water and living water (which quite honestly must have sounded like nonsense.)

But this man is talking to her. She is the woman who no decent man would speak too, but there doesn't seem to be anything seedy about Jesus. I'm sure the poor woman was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Which it does.

Because then things get personal.

"Jesus said to her, 'Go call your husband and come back.' The woman answered and said to him, 'I do not have a husband.' Jesus answered her, 'You are right in saying "I do not have a husband." For you have had five husbands and the one you have now is not your husband.'"
John 4:16-18


Jesus knows her. This strange man, a Jew no less, knows things about her. He knows what she has done and He knows how her life has played out. He knows her struggles and her fears. He knows the hidden burdens that she carries. And He looks at her with love. All I can think when I read this passage is I want to see the eyes of Jesus look at me with such love. 

Jesus has just told this woman everything that she has done wrong. He tells her he knows about all of her sin. That doesn't sound very loving to us. We live in a culture that refuses to believe right and wrong even exist, so to us, Jesus sounds like He's being anything but loving.

There are no words where Jesus says "You are loved by the Father", none of that. He simply talks to her. Still, I know that He must also be looking at her with eyes full of the love that he has for her, because nothing else could explain what she does next.

"The woman left her water jar and went into town and said to the people, 'Come see the man who told me everything that I have done.'" John 4:29


We have all done things we are not proud off, some a long time ago, some as recently as yesterday. This woman has been living a life of sin for years...and Someone knows.

Someone knows about all of her sin and all of her mess. He knows. . . and she wants everyone to meet Him?

It's like if I ran into a stranger at Starbucks who started to list all the bad things I had done in my life...

That conversation would be awkward...and at the end of it I would be trying to get away as fast as possible and never go back ever again.. (Even though fall and pumpkin spice lattes are coming. )

Yet this woman turns around and tells everyone. Come meet this man! Based on our modern day methods of communication, that would be like tweeting it, taking a selfie with this man and instagramming it and of course posting it on Facebook...

Can you believe that status?... (complete with selfie):

"Hey look me and the awesome man who told me everything that I have ever done wrong."

Awkward.

This is why I know that when Jesus looked at her, He looked at her with eyes full of love.

She did not want to run away. She did not want to hide. She felt loved and she felt forgiven. She turned around and (at the expense of everyone knowing all she had done) she wanted everyone else to know the love of Jesus. That's what love does; that's what conversion does.


So often, I am the Woman at the Well. I get mired in sin and I let it consume me. I focus on how bad I am. The things I have done. The mistakes I have made. I forget about the love of a Savior which can take it all away. When the woman got that chance, she jumped on it; I forget that I can do that.


The woman was not prepared for the saving encounter at the well. She just wanted to get her water and leave.

Then Jesus stopped her. He looked at her and He saw her. He saw her not for what she had done but for who she was.

That is the reason she turned around and wanted everyone to know. She had been seen for who she was as a person: intimately loved by God.


All that woman did was let herself be open to the love of God. That is it. She opened herself to the transforming power of God's love and He changed her.

This is a lesson for me, and probably for you too. Don't stay mired in your sin or in your muck. Don't stay mired in all the ways you feel inadequate or useless. Don't focus on what you can do for God.

Just let him love you. Just let him love you.


That is why I go back to this Bible passage a lot. I need to be reminded of the love of God, the love of someone who sees all my mess and sin and loves me anyway.

He's one whose love can transform my life.





Be not afraid!
-Emily

Salvation History Bible Saga

Since we all love Youtube, I love finding videos that are actually applicable to the Bible and then sharing them with you.

This is a ridiculous video that has a timeline for all of Salvation history. It's pretty spectacular.

It's kind of long but totally worth a watch at least once... or twice. :)


Enjoy Salvation History Bible Saga. :)


Because we all need something to spice up our Friday. 




Be not Afraid.
~Emily

Ignatian Contemplation

There are two main ways to study or enter into Scripture. One is Lectio Divina, and the other is Ignatian Contemplation.

This is the way that I am not as familiar with, although this project should change that. Therefore, I found a wonderful website to explain it. It explains it way better than I ever could.

Ignatian Contemplation

Basically, you're placing yourself into the Bible story. You imagine what it's like to actually be there. How cool is that?


What do you think? Have you tried Ignatian Contemplation?

You are so loved.
~Emily

10 Minutes

I want to issue a challenge. One that I am sure to fail at more times than I will ever care to admit. But that is why it is called a challenge.

First I have a few questions...


How much time do you actually spend on Facebook everyday?

How much time did you spend on Pinterest today?

Not to forget, Buzzfeed, Twitter, Instagram and my personal favorite: Netflix.

Think about it for a moment. Think about all the time we spend wasting time.


I know we have busy lives. I have one. We have days where we go, go, go and we feel that we never have a minute to spare.

The days when that line at Starbucks is just way too long because we have so much to do! (First world problems much?)

We all have busy lives.


Yet somehow we usually make time for social media. I know you do it. At least I do. :)

With all the busy-ness and noise, we let God take the back seat. Yes, we do. You know we do.


So I am issuing a challenge.

Spend 10 minutes reading the Bible each day. Just ten minutes. Try to make it a daily habit.

That's it. It's simple.

We all have ten minutes. Let's spend those ten minutes in the Bible.


I said simple. I didn't say easy. Making any kind of good habit is usually hard, but it's totally worth it.
Here's a little bit of advice to help you get started. In most cases, it helps when setting goals to have a specific time to do something. For me, that is going to be the morning. I always have coffee in the morning, so now I am going to try to wake up a little bit earlier to have coffee with Jesus, in His Book.

And for the days when I wake up late, I can always spend ten minutes reading the Bible before I fall asleep.


I hope you choose to take this challenge. I promise the Lord will blow you away with what He has to say to you when you open His Book and listen. It's well worth the time. What better way to spend ten minutes?

Be not Afraid.
~Emily

Does It Matter?

A few weeks ago, in anticipation of the upcoming school year, I was doing research about the best ways to study and learn.

What I found overwhelmingly (using a search engine and Netflix) is that we remember what matters to us personally.

And it made so much sense.


There are things I remember so well, defining moments in my life that I will never forget. I remember exact words that were once said that changed my life.

I remember them because they matter to me, personally.


So a few months into this project, I wanted to go back to the purpose.

Why the Bible Freaks?


The answer is very simple. Because we want the Bible to matter to us personally. The Bible is not just words to read and then forget about. It is not just words on a page.

But if  we're not paying attention, we can let it be. We can read the Bible and totally let it pass us by. We can read the Bible everyday and never really "get" it.

The Bible has a message for you and me and it needs to matter to each one of us personally.


My greatest fear with this project is that you will just read our reflections and posts, without letting it affect you and without engaging the Bible in a real way.

My greatest prayer for this project is just the opposite: that it will help you to see how the Bible applies to you personally.

This project calls me to search, to pray, to deepen my faith, and to dive into Scripture. It invites me to take a look and see what God is doing in my life and to see what messages He has for me. That's what I want it to do for you.


I find myself in the Bible more often than I would like to admit. I find myself in the Prodigal Son, and I find myself in the Woman at the Well. I see myself in them and I see my mess, but more importantly I see God's love. I see a love so great it gave everything for me...and then He wrote it down.

I don't want the Bible to be just words on a page, not for me or for you. I want it to become alive in your life. I want your life and mine to be a reflection of the living Word.

Because these words were not just meant to be written or read; they were meant to be lived!


So live it. Start right now. Take some time to think about if the Bible does matter to you personally. If so, why? If not, why not? And do you want it to? Because it can.

The Bible is God speaking to us. The God of the universe is talking to us! He's been waiting for all eternity for you to take the time to listen, and if you're anything like me, you spend more time on Facebook than reading the Bible.

Take the time now. Pick up your Bible and find yourself in the greatest love story ever told. Listen to the God of the universe tell you just how much He cares, and let it matter.

Let it matter to you. Personally.



Be not Afraid.
~Emily

Be a Kid, Be Not Afraid

"My only criticism of you is that you need to learn to be a kid, to soak in the moment. To live in the moment."

My employer told me that. Think about that for a moment: my employer!

It's true. Not being able to be a kid is a weakness of mine. It is partly personality. I am always trying to get things done. I have goals, dreams and I am insanely driven.
 

So like any responsible person who was told they needed to be more of a kid, I started to think about kids, especially in how that relates to being a child of God.


First of all, kids think in a totally different manner than how I think, but they fascinate me. One of the things about them that fascinates me is how they live. They have no worries, no fears.

Most of all though, they are not afraid to fail.

Kids are not afraid to fail. Think about that for a moment.

What would you do if you were not afraid to fail?

A lot of things.


Kids are willing to try anything because they are not afraid to fail. Kids have an ability to live fearlessly because they are not afraid to fail.


Me, on the other hand, I live in the adult world where failure seems like the worst possible outcome ever. This makes me afraid, especially afraid to fail.

This fear leaves me stunted. Stuck.


Like the Taylor Swift song Fearless reminds me, kids are fearless. But why?


They are fearless because they know they are loved and they know that their worth is not dependent on what they do.

Pope St. John Paul II is widely known for saying "Be not afraid." There's  a good reason for that.  "Be not afraid." is one of the most often repeated verses in the Bible. (Be not Afraid)

Over and over again. "Be not afraid." Genesis 15:1

John Paul II also said, “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures. We are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son…”  I think there is a connection here.

Kids can be fearless because they don't find their worth in what they do. But neither should we. We can truly live out the phrase "Be not afraid." when we know that we are more than our failures.


So what does it mean to be a kid? What does it mean to be a child of God? It means not being afraid to fail.

It means not being afraid to go outside of your comfort zone. It means putting yourself out there. It means listening to the Lord and spending time with him, because kids don't have schedules. Then it means going out and not being afraid to tell others.

The Lord asks us to do a lot of things, if we listen to him. Things that are scary. But the Lord is calling you to be like a child, asking you to trust Him as a child trusts and to "Be not afraid."


You are so loved.
-Emily

 

{This is part two of about being like a child. Part 1 Be like a child}

Martha or Mary?

I am Catholic, and in the Catholic Church we have this thing where we have feast days where we celebrate certain saints. One day last week it happened to be the feast day of Martha and Mary. I think we all know the story, but click here for a quick review.

People were posting on Facebook all about, "Are you a Martha or a Mary?" Because we live in the digital age, and the only way I even know if it is a feast day is if Facebook tells me. 'Nough said. Actually I rely on Facebook for all news, but that's not totally relevant here....


I read the passage and I gave it a brief second of thought before realizing the Martha or Mary question is barely a question. The truth is that I am so Martha my name should probably be changed to Martha.

Martha is about doing things. About doing things for God and I am the very same way.

I am about doing things in general. Sitting at God's feet listening to him is soo not my thing. In fact that just might be the total opposite of my personality.


Still I think many more of us in this day and age have become Martha's. I read an article last week in which the author said that the problem with the modern age is that we base our worth totally on what we accomplish.

 He went so far as to say that until we can reach the end of a day without accomplishing anything important and still know our own worth; we will never be happy or satisfied (loosely paraphrased because I lost the link).

So I would beg to argue that we have become an entire nation of Martha's. Our worth is so dependent on what we do that we cannot just be. We cannot just sit at the feet of Jesus because we feel that we are not enough, because we base our entire worth on what we do.

I know this is true for me. I spent a day resting after a long week and weekend. I was working on recovering from a cold and still feeling sick. I read books and rested. I tried to just be. But for me that is nearly impossible because I have bought into the lie that unless I accomplish something I am worthless.


You might not be a full blown Martha, but I think this culture of accomplishment has affected all of us. The question then is not so much are we a Martha or a Mary but do we feel like we are enough?

Do we feel that we can just sit with God, without doing anything and be enough?

Because you are, because we are enough and we need to learn to accept that and Be Still. 

 

 

 

You are so loved!

~Emily 

Childlike: What It's Not

"Unless you become like a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven." Mathew 18:3

I want to talk about what this doesn't mean. I will write another post about what it does mean next week.


When I see myself before God as a child, I am in a candy store.

The whole event is perfectly ingrained in my mind. I can visualize myself. I am 5 years old, small and adorable with lovely blond curls.

Like most kids in a candy store, I want the candy.

I want it so badly that I am throwing a royal fit. I am lying on the ground, screaming, crying and kicking my legs. I want that candy and I want it now!

The only part of this story that's real is that those are the kind of fits I threw as a child. Thankfully, I don't throw those kinds of fits anymore when I don't get what I want. At least not literally.


But I have to admit, when talking to God, I still throw those fits.

I yell at Him and think, "Why won't you just give me what I want?"

I want something and I want Him to give it to me. I know that it's childish to demand and beg and get mad when I do not get what I want.

Still, when I look deep down, I know that I still do this with God. I still throw fits and demand he give me what I want. Like I said, it's childish.


Childlike is something totally different. Stick around for next week when I go into detail about what it really means to be a child.


Trust me, it has nothing to do with throwing fits....


You are so loved.
~Emily

Sorry for the lack of posts last week... we all went on an unplanned blog hiatus. The good news is that Sarah is back and will be posting again! :)

Still Sinners

 

 

No words need to be added for this verse. It stands totally on its own.

On a side note this summer posting is a little sporadic and all over the place because it's summer! Enjoy the sunshine and sporadic posts. :)

You are so loved.

~Emily

God's Plan vs. Mine

This verse kept coming back to me. It haunted me, even in the daylight.

It persisted and demanded to be taken seriously-not brushed off or ignored as merely consoling words of comfort. I think we have all heard this verse a lot, which is why I failed to realize its significance in my life. 

When I really think about this verse, I realize that those plans that God has for me look nothing like the plans I have for me. 

For instance, a popular thing to do in Christian circles is to write down a list of qualities or traits that you would like in a husband. The goal is to know what you value and to help you stick by those values.

I cannot even write out that list. Every time I try and think about it, I write down attributes of whatever particular guy I like at the time. 

I try to tell God, "This is the man I would like. Now change your plans." 

I am a planner, a controller. I want to make my own plan and follow it. For me, not having a plan is really scary. The problem is that my plan is just that: mine. It is not God's. 

Time and time again in my life I have wanted something and not gotten it. I did not want something bad, I wanted something good. Each time my desire faded and I was left without. 

Every single time without fail, when this has happened, something way better has occurred in my life. Something totally unexpected and way better than I could have ever imagined. 

I can just imagine God saying "See, this is my plan...and it is way better than yours!" (Yes, He has sass.)

Still, every single time, I doubt him. 

I doubt him because I know pain. I know disappointment, as does anyone who has really lived. I write this to say that it is hard. 

Life is hard. Trusting in God's plan in the midst of it all; That is hard.

Trusting in God's plan is something that I fail at, all the time. Still, I choose to trust in God's plan for me, even when I do not know it.

You are so loved!

~Emily

The Skit Guys

Some weeks are utterly crazy during the summer. Those weeks you do not have a chance to breathe... or write a proper post for your blog! Well, this is one of those weeks. But other weeks when we have all the free time in the world we get to internet browse!

Today I have for you some wonderful picks of Biblical browsing to aid your faith.

Today we are talking about Youtube and the Bible, two of Sarah's favorite things.

A few years ago, I found these guys called The Skit Guys on Youtube. They talk about God and the Bible, and they seem to be pretty awesome! Although I cannot vouch for all of their stuff, what I have seen is really good.

I hope you enjoy and I hope this is one of those weeks for you when you have tons of time to peruse the internet. :) I'll get there one of these weeks.

You are so loved.
~Emily

If the YouTube videos in this post don't work for you, just go on over to YouTube and explore The Skit Guys. :)

Esther: Old Testament Princess Diaries

I know that every single girl of my generation has watched the The Princess Diaries...and if you have not, you should because that might make this post a bit confusing!



SPOILER ALERT!!!
Here is the basic story line: A girl named Mia discovers that her Dad was a Prince and that she is the Princess of a small country called Genovia. Mia is now faced with a choice. Will she choose to be a princess, with all of the duties that come with it? Or will she decide to remain a relatively normal American teenager?



I have always wondered: What would I choose if I were Mia?

Would I choose to be a Princess, or would I choose to simply be a typical teen?

Esther in the Old Testament was also faced with a similar choice.

She was a normal Jewish girl, just living her life, when she was chosen to be part of a group of girls from whom the new queen would be chosen. (Imagine something a little like the modern day Bachelor.)

Esther was given an opportunity to be queen, to make a difference. But she had to decide what to do with it, just like Mia.



We know the rest of the story. We know what Esther chose, and we know that through that choice she was able to save her people.

Still the question remains: What would you choose?

Not that any of us are likely to become the next princess in  foreign country that we've never heard of! However, like Esther, we will probably have an opportunity to take on a position where we can do a lot of good by going out there and doing what is scary.

It was hard for Esther. After all, Queen Vashati had been ousted for not obeying the King's orders.

Esther chose to put herself out there, and make a difference no matter the personal cost. The end result was that she saved her people.

But to do that, Esther had to risk it all.

When she is confused and torn up about what to do, her Uncle Mordecai says to her:

"And who knows whether or not you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"



This is the line that strikes me to the very core of my being and calls me to do something great.

We are all called to do something with our lives. Something that only I can do, something that only you can do.

So I invite you to ponder this verse:

What is it that you are called to do for such a time as this?

For me, personally, this project has been one of those things. It is a small contribution that I have been called to take part in, and it is scary. Still, I ponder those words because the meaning changes and grows as the Lord calls me and reveals to me His plan for my life.


You are loved!
~Emily

Only a Youth

A few nights, ago I was flipping through the Bible.

Earlier that day I had texted my friend about this project and I wrote:
" I don't have the prayer life for this . . ."

I really don't.

I am not a great Scripture scholar at all. The month preceding that night I had not even opened my Bible once. Not once in thirty days.

As I flipped through, I realized just how ill-prepared I am for this project. I don't have all the answers to Scripture. I do not even have a regular habit of reading the Bible.

Honestly, I find Scripture intimidating.

There is so much to it, so much depth and a lot of the time I do not even know where to start.

I am no theologian. I cannot explain the meaning behind all of Scripture.

All I do know is that I love the Bible. There is a richness and a depth that can only be found in the Bible. Reading and studying the Bible should be an integral part of our lives as Christians.

The entire purpose of this project is for people to read the Bible more, to become more familiar with it, and consequently to grow in relationship with Christ.

If even just the three girls who write this blog spend more time reading Scripture as a result, then we will have succeeded.

But... back to my original problem, which is that I am the least qualified to do this.

Odds are I do not know more about the Bible than you do.  I might not even read it as much as you do. I am just a girl with a passion for God's Word and a desire to spread it.

Still the task is intimidating.

What I want you to know about me (about all of us) is this: None of us have all the answers. We might be wrong a lot. We personally screw up a lot. We do not know everything there is to know about the Bible. We often do not even know where to start.

Still, despite our personal flaws and incompetencies, God can use us. And He can use you as well.

"Ah, Lord GOD!” I said, “I do not know how to speak. I am too young!” But the LORD answered me, Do not say, “I am too young.” To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Jeremiah 1:6-7, emphasis added

from usccb.org

I read this verse and I knew I was called to write this, to be a part of this project no matter how young or unqualified I might be.

Never doubt or be afraid to do what God is asking of you. 


Know that you are loved.
~Emily