Month: January 2024

Categories
Everyday Battles Insecurity

Dealing with Insecurities and Body Image

Yep there it is, the word we all know to well, Insecurities. The struggle can be real when facing these. For women I feel like it has to do more with body image but for men maybe more of am I good enough but both can happen to all of us. Regardless of what insecurities you face lets talk about how God can get us through them!

I struggle with body image on a daily basis, its not always the prettiest battle and its not always the easiest. Insecurities can make you feel like complete crap and facing them can be rather difficult. The good news is God left us a whole book (The Bible) with so many helpful words and advice on how to deal with these stubborn thoughts from the enemy!

Let’s start with Genesis, Genesis 1:27 states “So God created human beings* in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” We are created in Gods image, he made us exactly how he wanted us. He picked our body, our hair, our eyes every single detail! But yet we can struggle so much with the enemy getting into our head telling us “you’re ugly” “you’re to fat” “you’re to skinny” “you’re not enough” etc…

Now fast forward to Psalm 139:14 which states “You are beautiful, for you are fearfully and wonderfully made.” and Song of Solomon 4:7 “You are altogether beautiful my darling there is no flaw in you.” You see God knew the enemy would fill our heads with these thoughts and insecurities but he prepared Bible verses for that. He tells us we are beautiful and without flaw because he made us in his image. Just knowing that you are beautiful to God is enough, knowing he looks at you and automatically thinks that.

The problem is in todays culture if you aren’t up to date with the latest trends, fashion, or even up to someone’s standards they will let you know which is not okay. “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 3:3-4) We should not live our lives based on what the world thinks or says about us, we should live our lives off of what God said about us and what God thinks about us.

After reading 1 Peter 3:3-4 we learn that our beauty doesn’t come from the outward appearance, our beauty lies within our spirit! You can quickly conclude that insecurities come from the world because the world only wants to look at what’s on the outside, they don’t want to take the time to see what’s on the inside. Someone could have the sweetest and purest spirit but they would still get labeled ugly by the world because of their outward appearance. We can’t allow the world to get in our heads and change the way we see ourselves, our self image needs to be in Christ!

Insecurities are an issue within the flesh. Here’s what God says about flesh related problems: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.  For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” -Romans 8:12-14. You see if we continue to allow insecurities in, we are slowly killing our spirit. We are supposed to die to self everyday, “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3), “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In order to face the insecurities we have to go to God, we have to leave them all at his feet trusting he is going to help us get through them. We have to die to ourselves and pick up the new creation that we are in Christ! Get in his word, he left us a whole book that is filled with so much advice regarding any insecurity you may face. “I’m not good enough” -Jeremiah 1:5, “I’m ugly” -Isaiah 64:8 and so much more. I’m telling you the Bible is filled with so many kind words our heart and head need to hear and know when facing insecurities so that with the help of God we can defeat that enemy!

Key Bible Verses:

–“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” -Romans 12:1-2

–“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” -Galatians 2:20

–“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” -1 Corinthians 3:16

Songs to help:

-You say By: Lauren Daigle

-God only knows By: For King & Country

Categories
Relationships

How your relationship with God impacts the ones around you

Hanna here, today I want to talk about how your relationship with Christ impacts the ones closest to you! I’ve been growing my relationship with Christ more in the past two years than ever before! I’ve noticed how its started to impact the people around me. I got baptized last February and not long after that I picked up on some changes with my husband. First he got saved! I then noticed instead of stressing out in situations he would say “its going to be okay”, “Gods got it”, “stop stressing” etc… Its the little things that start to go a long way. If the people around you see how your relationship with Christ is changing you they will soon want that to and they will start to pick up on certain things and think maybe I should change how I do this etc…

Our relationship with Christ could be a saving grace for someone else. You never truly know how you can impact someone or how you have helped them without physically helping them. God may have given you a certain characteristic that someone else may need help with and through you He helps them. There are so many things God is doing through you that you may not even realize. Look around you, has anyone around you slowly started to change little things? I’ve also noticed that when people are around me they tend to cuss less and if they do they always say “oops sorry Hanna” well there is no need to say sorry to me, say sorry to the Lord but the fact they are realizing its wrong is a starting point!

To help us see how our relationship impacts the ones around us and how God can use us, I asked a few of my close friends and family how my relationship with Christ impacts them and here’s what they said:

-“I love it! It inspires me to become closer to God and it helps me feel more relaxed knowing there’s people around me who are willing to be closer to God.”

-“We build our relationship with God together!! So it influences me to keep building it and growing the relationship I have with Him!”

-“Hanna’s relationship with Christ helps me do better as a Christian. If I say or do something she helps me stay on track. My relationship becomes stronger with not only her but with God because of her strong trust and faith in the Lord.”

-“You made me see the bright side to things, the way you show me bible verses to help me understand and you make me realize more and more of the things He is in control of.”

-“It makes me want to become closer to Christ and to set an example for my daughter. With you being so young its amazing to see you on the path and I pray my daughter follows that same path.”

-“You inspired me to make prayer boards!”

-“I see how God has played a part in your life and it makes me want to have a relationship with God like yours. Your relationship has made me open to going to church again and I feel like God is working on me.”

You see if God didn’t put it on my heart to ask the question of how my relationship with Christ impacts the ones around me, I would of never knew I helped/ made this kind of impact on the people above. My mind is blown that God has been doing this through me the whole time. You see we often times wonder what our purpose is and we ask Him to lead us to it but we could be in the middle of it without even knowing. He truly has opened my eyes and heart by this. Maybe you feel as if you aren’t doing enough but just remember God could be doing something through you that you aren’t aware of yet!

Challenge:

I challenge you to ask the people around you how your relationship with Christ impacts them and see what they say, maybe your eyes will be opened to how God has been working through you this whole time. You’ll be surprised by their responses and what He can do through you!

Key Bible Verses:

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” -Ephesians 3:20

“It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” -Philippians 2:13

Categories
Fear

Fear

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” -Deuteronomy 31:6

Fear, an emotion we have all felt and experienced more than once in our life. After all it is known as one of the most basic Human emotions and works like an instinct. We get the sense of fear when we are in a place we have never been or going into the unknown, when we don’t feel safe or feel as if there is danger ahead. But God tells us not to fear because He goes before us and protects us!

You may be wondering how are we supposed to truly respond to fear when we start to feel it, well the answer to that is the Bible. When we start to feel fear creeping in we should go to the Bible for comfort, knowing that God has so many things to say to us when we feel this emotion. In fact did you know the term “fear not” is written in the Bible 365 times…. there’s 365 days in a year… look i’m telling you God works in mysterious ways. Right there is proof, it was written 365 times because every day we face fear but are told fear not!

If we allow fear to continue to come in, we are giving it the opportunity to steal our joy and peace. I was doing a Bible study the other day and it was talking about the time David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish, but the officers that were there knew who David was and when David heard their comments he was afraid of what they might do to him. David knew they would try to kill him but instead of freaking out and letting that fear take over he knew he had to do something. “So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.” (1 Samuel 21:13)

God wants us to have power filled faith to be able to stand in a world filled with fear. When fear comes in we have to stand in faith knowing that God is with us and He went before us so He has already won the battle. We have to trust Him and take the step of faith. I know we face some scary things in life like, death, losing a job, illnesses etc… but we have to be at peace knowing all of these things are happening because it was all in Gods plan and He has a reason for all of it. Going through storms is how God prepares us for the rainbow after. Instead of letting fear come in and take over, pray over it, leave it with God and take the next step he will be right there with you. Don’t allow the emotions to get the best of you and rob you of the joy and peace God has already provided you with!

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” -Isaiah 41:10

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” -Psalm 34:4

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” -Psalm 23:4

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” -Psalm 27:1

Challenge:

I challenge you to read some of the stories in the Bible about the ones who overcame fear so you can see what faith as small as a seed can do to fear!

Stories:

-The disciples being afraid of the storm: Mark 4:35-41

-Peter walking on water: Matthew 14:22-33

-Abraham sacrificing his son: Genesis 22

Categories
Controlling Your Thoughts Everyday Battles

Everyday Battles Part 2- The Struggle Is Real

Proverbs 10:31 — The New King James Version (NKJV) The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be cut out.

Hey, it’s Allison here to talk about another everyday battle Christians deal with. The thing about us Christians is that we are warriors. We go through a lot of the same battles each day. We get better and worse and proceed to go back and forth with the devil. We are strong because we have Jesus on our side and that is how we keep fighting the same battles.

How many of you have used a curse word? I’m sure a lot of us have. Growing up I heard my parents curse out of frustration and once I hit middle school everyone was using foul language. I began cursing in middle school because other people were doing it. I thought it was cool because everything other people are participating in is cool, right? No, absolutely not.

Cursing does not honor God, not even a little bit. We curse when we are angry, frustrated, sad, confused, and during so many other emotions. Sometimes we let a word slip out and apologize to God immediately after, I know I have done that. We are not perfect Christians and as I have said before we all make mistakes. Cursing happens to be one of those mistakes. Even inside our minds we curse or under our breath so no one will hear. Guess what? The Lord can read our minds, he sees everything, and hears everything. God knew you were going to say that word that starts with an F. He knew it when you were an infant before your innocent self got exposed to the evilness of this world. The things you see and hear that don’t seem like they honor the Lord are from the devil. It is to distract you and turn you down a different path.

Prayer is a powerful action. Pray to make the temptations of cursing go away, to make the thoughts go away. If you have to distance yourself around those you care about to do better then do so. Maybe tell them you don’t like to here them talk that way. I’ve been told before that is not lady like to curse and it is not. It is not Christian like to curse so by all means if you can refrain from it. Our journey with Christ will always have obstacles, but when we pray, read the Bible, listen to worship music, and attend church we have a better chance at overcoming those obstacles then on our own. The struggle is indeed real, the question is are you going to let that struggle take over?

Categories
Forgiveness

Forgiveness

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you.” -Colossians 3:13

Why is forgiveness so important? Why should I forgive them for what they did to me if they don’t seem to care? Do I really have to? Do these questions sound familiar? Today we are going to talk about why it is so important to forgive in all circumstances.

We all sin and fall short of the Glory of God “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). Here’s the thing none of us are perfect but we are all forgiven through Jesus! So let me ask you this why is it so hard for us to forgive someone when they do us wrong, or cause us hurt? We are called to be like Jesus, loving and forgiving as He has. When he was on the cross, he asked for forgiveness for the ones who were hurting him “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). Can we just pause and take a minute of amazement at this one verse…. He was being stabbed, spit on, and nailed but yet still went to God in prayer asking for forgiveness over them!

That just simply leaves me speechless every time. I know forgiveness is not always the easiest thing because you can forgive someone but still remember what happened but that’s the thing, the devil will keep putting it back in your head to make you feel those emotions all over again. The key is to keep forgiving it/them every time it comes back up in your head! Keep choosing forgiveness no matter how many times or how long it takes.

Now just because you forgive someone doesn’t mean you still have to be around them, or be their friend. You can forgive someone and set boundaries and love them from a distance. Forgiveness is so important because in order for us to be forgiven we also have to forgive! “And Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors… For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:12, 14-15).

Forgiveness will also help you heal, it will change you as a person! When you forgive you are choosing to grow, you grow into a better person, a better version of yourself, and you grow your relationship with Christ. When you choose not to forgive you are choosing to hold that grudge in your heart until eventually you take it out on someone else who didn’t even cause it and you hinder your spiritual growth. Forgiveness will stop those built up emotions from forming inside.

I personally know it’s not easy, I’ve been lied to, cheated on, taken for granted, taken advantage of etc…. but the moment I chose to forgive I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders like God saying “okay I’ve got it now you don’t have to hold on to it anymore”. Forgiveness frees you from those chains that are trying to hold you down and guess what? God is a chain breaker!

Challenge:

The next time you get hurt in a situation, choose to forgive instead of holding a grudge, choose to grow into a better version of yourself, chose to grow into the Godly version of yourself the one who wants to be more like Jesus. Don’t hinder your growth by holding grudges!

Categories
Friendship

Where To Draw The Line

1 Thessalonians 5:11 — The New International Version (NIV) Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Hey, Allison here. I’m going to dig into my past again this time discussing friendship and where to draw the line. This happened when I was in high school and as you know drama tends to exist in high school. A lot. For me the person I was friends with created the drama so when it followed her around it followed me to. If you’re like me you don’t want any part of the drama.

When starting high school I didn’t have a huge slew of friends. My best friend went to another school and I had to find new or old friends. The one that had drama follow her around was a friend I had known since preschool. We fell out of touch over the years and high school reconnected us. It was like we had been good friends this entire time and no space was ever between us.

Junior year is when she and I were very close. This was the first year we got to attend prom because no juniors or seniors had asked us the previous years. We were both excited. We will call my friend T. T was dating a guy who was a senior at the time and wanted to set me up with his best friend who we will call A. I wasn’t 100% sure I liked A or that I wanted to be set up. It of course didn’t work out like I had thought and soon T and her boyfriend broke up. The next week I had found out T cheated on her boyfriend with A and now T was going to prom with A too! What happened next was even crazier. T blocked me on social media and I didn’t do anything at least not that I was aware of. Now T and I were not friends. Fast forward to prom T and I saw each other and were civil to one another. We didn’t talk much and it was as if we hardly knew each other. I was hurt by her actions.

Summer came and T reached out to me to apologize. We reconnected for a little bit and then T blocked me again. I didn’t understand why she was acting this way. We had been good friends and grew up going to school together. Why did she not want to be my friend anymore? T did this a few more times and I kept saying yes. I wanted to be her friend. I thought there is no way she would do this to me again, right? Wrong. The last time I said yes to being friends with T was right before the start of senior year. We agreed to be friends and have no drama between us. Everything went fine up until December. It was two weeks before Christmas break and if you read my blog about Christian dating you probably remember the part where a guy ghosted me. Well the guy ghosted me and T stopped being my friend on the same day. Crazy enough I remember the exact date. Tuesday, December 10, 2019. T, the guy, and me all shared the same first period. T didn’t talk to me nor did the guy and T had blocked me again. I was lost and upset.

I had other friends that stuck by my side that week, but the following week they were gone too. The guy that ghosted me and another friend of mine chose T. I didn’t know that people would pick sides when I wasn’t in the wrong. To this day I don’t really know or understand what happened but I think someone must’ve stuck a dirty shoe in their mouth. One of my teachers noticed T and I weren’t speaking one day because we sat next to each other. That teacher had me and T called up to the principals office. I was not happy because out of all the years I had been in school I had never been to the principals office. Our school was big and we had assigned principals by last name. T had a different one than me. When my principal asked what was going on I told her the truth. T was being toxic. My principal had T moved away from me in that specific class and things went back to normal. Other friends backed me up and I became okay. After all I was graduating early and did on January 21, 2020. I left the drama behind me.

Jesus wants you to love everyone and forgive. I know that is hard, but if our Lord can do it then you can too. Sometimes we have to draw the line and say no. I always wonder if I would have said no sooner would it have saved me from the pain and heartache I went through? I wouldn’t change what happened even if I had a time machine because what happened was God’s plan. The things I went through made me a stronger person. If someone is being toxic in your life whether it be a friend, a boyfriend, or a family member it is okay to love them from a distance. They do deserve your forgiveness too. Everyone makes mistakes because we are human. Love your friends and encourage them. Don’t degrade them. As the saying goes treat others how you would want to be treated and most importantly be more like Jesus.

Categories
Joy

Are you letting others steal your joy?

“This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” -Psalm 118:24

Everyday our Joy comes from the Lord, so why are we so quick to let someone or something ruin it? Are you letting someone’s attitude, actions, mood, or words ruin your day and change your mood? For most of us this happens on a daily basis, we wake up hoping to have a good day only to start the day and let what someone else did or say ruin the whole day (like the car you said some words to this morning because they pulled out in front of you) haha Guilty?

As followers of Christ it is important to know that our joy doesn’t come from worldly things, it doesn’t come from the people around us, it comes from Christ himself! “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) I’ve noticed in the world today, a lot of people say “I’ll be joyful when…” but the thing is you can be joyful now without having what you think you need in order to experience joy!

You see God loves us so much that He has already filled us with his Holy Spirit, he’s already filled us with His joy, His peace, His strength, etc. But so many people think they need all these things just to simply feel joy. The Key is you have to tap in to the joy that is already inside of you. For example instead of letting one car pulling out in-front of you ruin your good mood how about you just say a prayer for them hoping they get to where they are going safely.

Or lets say you woke up and it wasn’t the greatest environment in your household, instead of carrying around the negative energy with you, take it to God so he can handle it while you are at work so that you can come back home to peace! When you choose to let one thing or one person ruin your mood or your whole day you tend to carry that energy around with you and eventually you either one, rub it off on the people around you causing them to have a bad day or two, you lash out at someone else not even realizing you are doing to them what was done to you and in turn you have now ruined their day too.

Before you let someone else steal your joy remember that each day is a day that the Lord has made, He woke you up this morning because He is not done with you yet! He has already filled you with the joy and strength you need to get through each day. Instead of saying you’ll be joyful when you have this, this and this, tap in to what is already inside of you knowing that God has already filled you with everything you need! If this is something you really struggle with I encourage you to ask the Lord to change your heart, change the way you look at situations, change what your joy depends on, and help you to depend on Him more.

Strive to be more like Jesus each day, spread His joy. Take every battle that you face to Him in prayer, leave it with Him instead of taking matters into your own hands, Pray for the people who are having bad days instead of letting them ruin yours! Prayer is the most powerful weapon against anything. “I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers.” (Ephesians 1:18)

Challenge:

As you go through this week, I challenge you to not let anyone or anything steal the Joy God has given you, I challenge you to pray for the ones who try to steal it instead of letting them and pray over any situation that tries to steal it! Stand firm knowing that God is always in it with you, and fighting for you!

Songs to help:

God is Not Against Me By: Elevation Worship

I Surrender By: Hillsong Worship

Categories
Christian Dating

Christian Dating

“Relationships should draw you closer to Christ, not closer to sin. Don’t compromise to keep anyone, God is more important.”

Hey guys, it’s Allison. This time we’re going to discuss dating as a Christian. We all want that man of God or woman of God that the Lord has for us. I’m here to dig a little deeper into my past about my experiences with dating.

Firstly I want to clarify I have never had a boyfriend or my first kiss and I’m 21 going on 22. Now I don’t think not having those two things is a bad thing it’s just a little odd because the majority if not all of my friends have had boyfriends and their first kiss. My standards are set at a high level. Ladies if you have high standards keep them there do not bring them down and the same for the guys. Do not settle for less because I have and I’ve never dated anyone!

When I was in high school I liked some guys here and there but it never went anywhere. I did get ghosted and if you have been you know it is not fun. For me I really liked the guy that ghosted me and if I am being honest it messed up my trust issues. I’m not proud to admit that I have even ghosted people which I never did until it happened to me. I think it was out of fear of them doing it to me first or because I couldn’t communicate my feelings. We all make mistakes and we learn from them.

My first date didn’t take place until 2022 and it was a guy I had started talking to off of the dating app for Christians called Upward. Some of you may have heard of it. At first we hit it off, but I felt it was going to fast and the relationship was going to be long distance if we made it official. We never made it to a second date. The guy claimed to be a man of God, but in my opinion he was not. There were times when I was like woah that’s a little forward. I ended up taking a huge step back and we did not work out. Fast forward to a month later I went on a date with another guy that I met off of Bumble. Again I felt that it went too fast and I took a step back.

Dating can be scary and that’s okay. I learned that I wasn’t ready. Today I still wonder if I am ready. I’ve been on and off of the dating apps wondering if I should even be on them. There is guys I have hoped would stay in my life even as friends, but it never worked out that way. If someone is meant to be in your life they will be. It could be the right person and wrong time. Sometimes its both the wrong person and wrong time. Let me tell you this if God has someone for you he will not keep them from you forever. We don’t know God’s plan, but we have to trust him and his timing. It’s been over a year now and I am still single. I have not went on any other dates. I’ve talked to a couple of guys and it didn’t work out. I’ve been discouraged and I have cried. A lot. I struggle with being content in my singleness but I know it is all for a reason. If you’re like me you can’t wait to be in that Christ-centered relationship. We have to play the waiting game sometimes. It could be later today, tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. Jacob waited a long time for Rachel. Fourteen whole years, can you imagine? We have to put our trust in the Lord and wait on his timing not ours.

Each day I pray for my future spouse and I encourage you to do the same if you don’t already. Pray for patience in both you and them. It could be a long wait or a short wait it all depends on where you are in your faith journey. Know that God will send him or her into your life when the time is right. He could be working on both of you or maybe there is something one of you needs to accomplish first. I know it will be hard because it is for me. I still struggle and you know what? It is okay to struggle. We won’t be stuck on the struggle bus forever. Take one day at a time and pray. You and I will get through all of our hardships together. You know why? There is only one correct answer and that is Jesus.

Categories
Trusting Gods timing

Understanding/Trusting Gods Timing

“Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”” -John 13:7

Hanna here, Have you ever been in a moment or situation where you thought to yourself, Lord why is this happening or what’s the reason? Well let’s talk about those times because everyone has had them! As we go through each day, we often don’t realize why things happen the way they do, we just continue on without even thinking about it. But then at some point it could be the same day or weeks from when it happened, it all of a sudden hits you like Oh my Gosh this is why that happened then, I get it now…. Ring any bells?!

I’ve come to realize that God works in those ways, where he doesn’t want you to understand it until it will fully make sense to you. In today’s world everyone expects answers on demand and in that moment, but our God is a God who answers on His timing Not ours! I think that’s why people get so quickly angered when they pray and don’t get an answer in that split second and they start questioning and not understanding.

Here is a part of my story with understanding and trusting Gods timing:


Me and my husband had started looking at houses about 9 months ago. To begin with we started with One mortgage company who came back and told us we would only be approved for 160,000, well as most of you know that’s almost impossible to find with the prices of things today. We started searching, we finally found one that was listed at 165,000. We make an appointment to view it, we get there, and the foundation is cracked, automatically my husband said no. So, the journey continued on, well at this point we were about 2 months in and still nothing. As you could imagine I was getting aggravated, frustrated and ready to give up, but I knew there was a reason behind all of this.

Fast forward a month or so we thought okay maybe we start with a rental, well again as most of you know rent payments are more than mortgage payments these days so we quickly eliminated that. Four months later we are back to looking at houses again but with a different mortgage company. This company comes back and tells us we were approved for up to 180,000 and they gave us a cheaper monthly payment estimate than the first company did. I automatically thought oh my gosh that was God, God did that. He made us wait, so we would go through a different company who would better fit our needs…. Have chills yet?

He wasn’t stopping there either! The house hunting continues, we go to several different houses and don’t really like any of them so again I was getting frustrated. A few days later I get an email from Zillow that a house I had looked at previously was back on the market… y’all I had loved this house from the minute I first saw it on Zillow but before we could view it the first time, it went under contract and was pending. Then I got the email saying it was back on the market. We immediately jumped on it, went to view it and as soon as we walked in, we both looked at each other like this is the one. Sure enough it was the one God had planned for us this whole time! Of course we had some bumps in the road through the mortgage process because that’s what the devil does but God always came back ten times stronger getting us through those problems.

When I tell y’all God works in mysterious ways, He works in mysterious ways! I went from being aggravated, frustrated, and wanting to give up to living in the one we loved from the start that we thought was gone! Naturally we didn’t understand what He was doing when we kept going from house to house to house and mortgage company to mortgage company but now we understand he was teaching us patience, he was teaching us that he knows the dreams in our hearts, he knows what we truly want, like and need, he was teaching us that he answers in His timing and he was teaching us that He works all things out for our good! If it weren’t for Him, we would not be here right now, but He knew what we could afford and what we truly wanted from the get-go!

Throughout that whole process I had to continuously keep telling myself, God didn’t bring us this far to stop here. The devil will try to attack you every second of every day especially when its something big coming and boy was he trying to fill my head with all these negative thoughts and naturally in those moments you won’t understand why it’s happening then. In order for me to stay on the course God had us on I just kept reminding myself it’s in His timing, it will all come together at the time He has planned it. If God brings you to it he will bring you through it and where he guides he also provides!

So the next time you are getting frustrated, or aggravated and you don’t understand just remember that there’s a reason behind it all. God will show you why when the time is right. Just like John 13:7 says you might not understand it now but later you will! Stay the course and trust in His timing because I can tell you His timing is way better than any of ours! I hope this helps keep at least one person motivated to stay the course, do not give up. God is always right there, He has a plan and He will let it be known in His timing!

Tips to keep you on the course:

-Keep telling yourself everyday: It will happen in Gods timing

-Continue to put your trust in Him through everything

-Bring every situation to Him and leave it with Him, don’t try to figure it all out by yourself!

Songs that help me every time:

-Trust in God By: Elevation Worship

-Make a way By: Elevation Worship

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Everyday Battles Part 1

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” – Ephesians 6:11 ESV

Hey, Allison here. I just wanted to talk about some things that I struggle with and maybe you do too. Every day is a new day. We are so blessed to be able to wake up each morning, but what awaits us is some sort of battle. The devil will always try and work his schemes into our day the question is are you going to let him?

As Christians we face all kinds of battles. To name a few there is doubt, depression, lust, maintaining your relationship with Christ, guilt, and cursing. I want to talk about different battles that we face and how we can overcome them. Our journey as Christians was never made to be easy, trust me if everything in life was as simple as snapping your fingers it would be boring.

First off let me tell you I have been a Christian my entire life. After I came home from the hospital my mom told me they took me to church, and I have gone to church ever since. Now I am not a perfect goody two shoes. No one is perfect except our savior Jesus Christ. I admit I skip going to church every now and then or opt to watch online. Sometimes I don’t do either and it’s something I need to work on.

Since I have been a Christian my whole life, I have struggled with maintaining my relationship with Christ. I own a Bible. Matter of fact I own about six of them now, but that doesn’t mean I have read them cover to cover. They’re different versions and each of them help me get a better understanding. For example, one of my Bibles lets me take notes on the side and color while another one does not have that. I’ll highlight in one Bible, but not the other. I even have a KJV mini-Bible that lives in my car. I’ve used it a few times, but it helps remind me the Lord is always with me.

Growing up I rarely read the Bible or did much of anything to strengthen my relationship with Christ. All I did was go to church, pray during meals, and pray at night. As I got older, I started to understand more and I wanted to do more. One thing I did as a kid was read and I loved it! I attempted to read the Bible, but noticed it was hard so I gave up. Over the years I kept trying and then once I hit high school that was when I tried even harder. I began reading devotionals each morning before school and soon read the Bible cover to cover.

All relationships need work in order to thrive and that means Jesus needs you to participate even if it takes a little time out of your day. After all he did die on the cross for us the least, we can do is spend some time with him, right?

Today, I continue to struggle with maintaining my relationship with Christ, but we can only do our very best. My morning routine involves Jesus. I wake up read my devotional book, say a prayer from my prayer journal, and read a chapter out of the current book I’m reading from the Bible. Little steps of faith is all it takes to make your relationship stronger. You will fall down and maybe be down in the dumps about forgetting. Pick yourself back up and try again. Don’t give up and have patience! Jesus is here for you. He wants you to succeed and he loves you no matter how many times you fail.

Put on that armor of God. Tell the devil and his schemes to go away because Jesus is waiting for you to pick up that Bible, to turn on that Christian song, and to get on your knees and pray. Do it. Do it all for the glory of God.