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. :)

Love Conquers All

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7

The first time I remember having a "favorite Bible verse", it was this one. I have quite a few more favorites nowadays, but this one still holds a very special place in my heart.

Everyone experiences fear. It's a natural human emotion. Today more than ever, there are many things in the world that we could be afraid of. But we were not made to be afraid. 

We were made to love. We were made to be in relationship with Love Itself. God is Love.

Love conquers all. 


Peace be with you. 
~Caitlin 

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

Trust In The Lord

For the past few days, I have been contemplating what to write about in this first post of mine. Late last night, after a long day of paper writing and studying for my upcoming SATs, I realized I should probably be putting more thought into this.  I wanted to find the topic that I could relate to the most, but the thing is...my mind was blank.

So I procrastinated!


I was watching one of my favorite YouTube vloggers, and in the video he raised this question:

"What would you do if you weren't afraid of anything?"

This really struck me. It made me realize that I am afraid of a lot more than I think.


I'm afraid of starting this blog, because I'm scared I won't post frequently and consistently enough.

I'm afraid of writing this post, and every future post, because I'm worried about what people will think.

I'm afraid that I am not worthy or qualified enough to be in this position.

I'm afraid of making myself this vulnerable to begin with!


Then tonight I decided to open a little paper booklet with 9 days worth of reflections in it, and start at Day 1. The scripture passage read:

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of Him, and He will make straight your paths.

-Proverbs 3:5-6

I'm sure you've all heard this verse millions of times. But at that moment, it had a completely new meaning to me. Especially the line in the booklet that proceeded it:

"Ask Jesus for the grace to learn how to completely let go of all your worries and trust in Him with all of your heart."

This really hit home, and I took it as a sign to start writing. Because if I'd let go of all of my worries, if I'd put all of my trust in the Lord before now, I would've started writing this post days ago! I think we tend to underestimate just how hard it is to trust, to let go of all of our fears, and let God have control.


I know it seems silly, but when it comes to starting The Bible Freaks, there are a lot of things that scare me. But the difference between the past few days and now, is that I have let go of those things and all my other fears, and put them into God's Hands.

Yes, I still have those worries, but they don't scare me anymore. I know that I have a God Who understands me, a God Who has a beautiful, divine plan for me beyond my wildest imagination, and He most certainly has one for you too.

And to answer the question, if I weren't afraid of anything, this is what I'd be doing.


-Sarah :)

He Must Increase

I must say it's a daunting task, much more so than I anticipated it would be. A blinking cursor and a blank page are perhaps the most forbidding pair I've chanced to come upon.

"It's just a post," I thought. "It'll be fine, easy even."

Wrong.

It's not fine. It was not okay for me to repeatedly put this off. It is now exactly 9:03 p.m. the night before this post is set to be published. And I have writer's block.

Fantastic.

Nothing I can think of is good enough. It's not funny enough, it's not witty enough, it's not deep enough...so on and so on. I am so worried about being clever and wise and having everybody think I'm so smart.

Unfortunately, I am just a little bit prideful.


It's sad, but it's also true. I don't like it, but I can't deny it. I'd like to say it's not a dominant trait of mine, and I hope I'd be right. I can say, though, that it is probably causing my writer's block.

I've been becoming increasingly aware of this self-centeredness. One place I've found it is in my faith. I have a terrible tendency to make it about me: what I do or don't do, how good or bad a person I've been. I spend a lot of time gaining knowledge about God, and not a lot of time getting to know Him. I talk a lot about God, but I rarely talk to Him. I make my faith all about me, not about Him.

I'm worried I will make The Bible Freaks all about me too.


I was thinking about all of this while brainstorming for this post. A verse came to my mind. It is one of the few verses I know by heart, and one of my favorites.

He must increase; I must decrease.

John 3:30

It's not about me. Nothing is supposed to be about me! If this project is about me, it is worthless.

My thoughts are nothing. My plans are nothing. My life is nothing if it's not lived for Christ.

And so...we at The Bible Freaks move forward with the realization and the conviction that this blog is not about us. It's about Him. It's all about Him.


My pride is not a good thing. It's a flaw. It's a failure. The most amazing thing about it though? It's fixable.

The God who conquered death itself is more than capable of conquering my pride. Not only that, He can fix everything else that's messed up about me and you. He can and will make our brokenness beautiful.

I hope He will use The Bible Freaks to do that.


Peace be with you.
~ Caitlin

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