A Reason

Jesus has given us... A reason to hope again. A reason to love again. A reason to trust again. Jesus is the Reason. Jesus is the reason why we can hope. The reason why we can love one another as He loved us. His love for us is the reason why can we can trust HIM fully.

Transparency

Transparency. Light.
I was thinking about what a person of full transparency would look like, and I thought it would look like light. A person full of light where no darkness or sin can hide. I believe Christians should be known for their transparency- their openness- to others. A Christian should be a person who isn't afraid to let others know that they too struggle and have faults. A person who doesn't lie about who they are or they aren't. Are you that kind of person? If so, continue to be so. If not, why aren't you? How can you be more so without feeling like you are going to be hurt or broken?

The rain will come...

The rain will come, but when it comes, will you be ready? Will you be ready to cling close to your Savior? He will help you get through the storms of  life.
Will you be clinging to your Savior whenever the storms of life come your way? Think about it.

As Christians we need to be like molding clay - ready to be shaped and formed by Christ. Are you ready to be shaped and formed into the vessel Christ has planned for you?

During those dry times......

All you do is give. Give and give. Give encouragement. Give advice. Etc. Not taking any encouragement or  advice back in. And now, you are dry. You are empty. You are running out of stuff to give out. It's one of those dry seasons. So empty. So dry.

This is sort of how I've been feeling lately. I've been so busy and so tired. And I feel as if I am becoming dry inside. Yeah, people do give me encouragement and advice; it just does not seem like it happens that often. And after running this way for a while, I'm running out of energy. I haven't been in the Word as much as I should be. I noticed this morning that that was a lot of the problem. I should be drinking in nourishment from God's Word. And that's what I'm not doing.
So, advice for you guys. If you ever feel like this, talk it out with your Father. And then, get in the Word. Drink in it's life giving advice and encouragement.
God bless! And be filled! ;) 

Only God Knows

So what?!? I stink at poetry. 

This was in memory of a young man my family had prayed for for about 6 years. Riley finally lost his fight with cancer, and I wrote this in his memory. And now, I can say this is for my grandma too. 

ONLY GOD KNOWS

Someone I cared for went to be with the Lord last night.

Why He decided to take him, I don't know.

Only God knows.

He is now in God's arms, at home and free of pain.

Where God's light shines bright,

And I know I shall see him again.

One day soon.

                                                                                                  - Bekah G.

The Struggle to Surrender

Surrender.
Never.
Right?
Well, it shouldn't be that way. At least not between your Maker and you. It should be more like:
Give Me your heart.
Yes, Lord, I surrender my whole heart, my whole soul, and all my strengths and failures over to You. Please do whatever You want through me and use me to bring glory and honor to You alone.
But is it really that easy?
No, probably not.
You see, Surrendering doesn't come naturally. We were born with a nature that was totally against God. To put that part of us to death and allow God to make us His children is a constant fight.
When you want to surrender, you can't just choose to surrender the easier things. You need to fully surrender to your Savior.
Imagine this picture..  God reaching out. Reaching out to hold your heart. Reaching out to grab your heart. And then all of a sudden, you rip it away from Him. Leaving Him there with His hand outstretched waiting for you to give it to Him - waiting for you to fully Surrender your heart to Him.
The other night, God showed me an area I need to surrender to Him. I didn't want to. And then, God gave me a picture sort of like the one I just described.
You see, God wants each and everyone of our hearts. And He doesn't just want part of our heart. He wants the whole thing. About a week before God gave me that picture, I had told God that I wanted to surrender to Him, I just didn't know exactly what that meant. So, lately He has been showing me a lot of areas that need surrender. My friendships. My unforgiveness. My bitterness. Etc.
So, search yourself. Are there any areas in your heart that you need to surrender over to the Lord? If so, talk to Him about them. He is waiting for you to fully surrender.
And no, it won't be easy.
But yes, it will be worth it. :)