New Years resolutions

Realign me, oh Lord

bible, christian, Christian lifestyle, encouragement, lifestyle, prayer, Worship

Living in a society that pushes us to “follow whatever your heart desires” can be exciting but oh so very dangerous. As followers of Jesus, we claim to have made the decision to give up the world and follow the God who gave up His son. But often times, we only truly follow that claim to an extent…

With a heart longing for excitement, we let our spiritual boundaries get stepped on, tip toed next to, and even sometimes crossed behind the excuse of “it wasn’t that bad”. But that is not how God called us to live. He didn’t design safety rails in life so that we could hang off the edges. As He is the literal embodiment of all things good, joyful, loving, kind, forgiving, compassionate, etc. We can bet on His boundaries having something to do with His desire for us to stay close to Him and away from everything evil, manipulative, vengeful, and so on.

Though sometimes intriguing and easy to fall into, the “harmless sins” in life are honestly anything but harmless. The one command He emphasized in the new testament was to love God and love people. A life spent loving God cannot be truly lived while intentionally flirting with sin.

So in this new year, may this be our prayer. May we long for a heart so hungry for God that we feel uneasy at just the thought of splitting our attention between Him and the world. May we humbly ask the Holy Spirit to rid our hearts of anything and everything that does not glorify God as we desperately thirst for Him to fill us up. May we look at every part of scripture for what it is; the living, breathing word of God and may it enrich our souls so much so that we feel weak after just a day spent away from it. The enemy may be no match for our Lord, but on our own, we stand no chance against the things he throws at us. We need revival. We need redemption. We need a spirit made new. So my dear friend, please never forget amidst the pleasure of life…we NEED Jesus. And I mean ALL of Him, not just on Sundays, but in every second of every day. Consistently live for a soul that prays this over every step, breath, and thought throughout your life.

Made to Worship

christian, Christian lifestyle, encouragement, lifestyle, prayer, Worship

Towards the end of 2022, I began this infatuation with a few phrases. I forced myself to memorize them in an attempt to prevent myself from falling back into my old ways when I would feel upset. And one of those phrases was “Made to Worship”. This phrase caught my attention when I first saw it printed on a sweater while scrolling through instagram. And after that, I have run into signs, stickers, and other posts stating those very same 3 words.

As I contemplate the kind of changes I hope to make this year in order to accomplish my “new years resolutions”, I find this phrase running laps in my head. Made. To. Worship. So simple yet so powerful. It is a phrase that gives us identity, purpose, and hope.

Aiming to pursue a Christ-like character while trying to balance the responsibilities God has given me, I have often found it easy to stumble into seeking my identity through my success or status in things like my blog, school, or social life. But this phrase, I would argue, captures the message of WHO we are to God and why things like our successes, failures, titles, or awards have no place in determining our value. We were simply made to worship. Not to become rich, or have the best family, or be the valedictorian, or have the most friends. Not to say those are wrong, but that’s not who we are. We are children of the one true God who sees us as free, loved, chosen, cherished, and beautiful. Who we are ought to be based on the identity our Creator gives us. And honestly, I believe that can be described as a beloved worshiper in every circumstance and every new day God brings us into.

Yet our identity is not where God stops. He proceeds to go deeper in our value so that we may see ourselves through His same lens. He gives us purpose. A reason to keep going. To keep cultivating life. Though our individual journeys can be completely different, we collectively have the same thing driving us. We have been given the purpose of worshiping God in all we do. Through every season, we have the responsibility to praise Him and bring glory to His name. When we begin living with the mindset of “how can I fulfill my purpose by glorifying God today?”, we begin living in the most prosperous way. It no longer remains all about you or the goods you can store here on earth, rather, it becomes truly Christ-centered. This kingdom mindset is not just a great lifestyle, it is essential to living in the way you were designed. You were made to bring glory and worship. It is your purpose and embedded in the very core of who you were made to become.

What a beautiful life it is to live humble yet confident in the fruit that you produce simply because you rest assured in the faithfulness of your Creator. There is an overflowing well of peace that floods the hearts of those who live a life dedicated to following their purpose because of their identity. In 2022, life felt like it went up, down, and even in some spirals. To say the least, my circumstances changed an unimaginable amount of times. But one thing that remained the same was who God was to me and who I was to Him. The consistency behind His character and design allowed me to collect these random phrases I would find, like “made to worship”, and be confident that their meaning was timeless. Meditating on the word of God is a spiritual discipline EVERY Christian ought to implement in their lives. These day-to-day reminders may seem a bit agitating and in some cases, the last thing you want to hear during a trial, but my dear friend, it is worth everything. As we begin to see the world and ourselves more and more like God sees it all, His beautiful plan becomes so much more exciting to follow and reliable in the hard times. It is just the beginning of His limitless hope.

In the new year, people tend to seem most inspired. This is the time where journals, planners, and anything related to working out is at its peak selling point. Why? Because to most, having something to live for is important. It gives value, joy, and peace in knowing we have reason behind our breath. So as you enter into the first few weeks of this fresh start, hunger for spiritual growth. Seek to develop the habits and mindset to praise in every scenario. Dear Christian, you are made to worship. May you see that as an honor instead of a responsibility this new year.

Silence – Giving God the Chance to Speak

christian, easter, encouragement, lifestyle

The past few weeks have been absolutely insane if I am going to be completely honest. After starting my job, I have been on a tight schedule, dedicating any and all of my free time to school. I wish I could say that I manage things well, but lately, I have been slacking on posting these blogs at the right time, reading the books I need for class, and finding time to do what I am doing now…sitting at the park I talked about in the “finding your quiet place” blog.

It seems as though every hour I have has been strictly set for work, school, or church. And truthfully, it is exhausting. I love church and serving at youth, but that’s about it. School has been draining and work has been killing my body. But the other day, I realized something absolutely crazy. For the past week or so, I have been getting ready for the day, driving, doing homework, and eating in SILENCE. Not a single beat of a song. Not even instrumental music!!

For some, this may not seem that big of a deal, but for me, it is HUGE. I like to live my life like I am in a movie. I have songs blasting in my ears almost every hour of the day. But not recently. Why did I start doing this? I have no clue. I didn’t realize it until I finished getting ready one morning and was humming a song, then realized there was nothing playing! I found this to be the case again and again after that. I honestly never thought I would be one who enjoyed silence, but with so much on my mind, and so many to-do’s, silence has become my saving grace. The only time I feel like I can breathe and remember that I am a human being, not a human doing.

After taking the last few days enjoying my silence as I get ready or drive somewhere, I remembered this park I am at now. The one that I use to come to just a few months ago to hear God and just talk with Him, not worrying about any distractions. It honestly ached my heart to realize how long it has been since I last came here.

So this morning, I had no idea I would end up here, but after being denied entry at chapel because they were full, I felt the immediate hunger for these towering trees, perfectly short grass, and countless leaves that often hit me in my face because of the wind. So I stuffed my fat face with some chicken pot pie in the cafeteria and then headed out.

On my way here, again I drove in silence. Somewhat talking to God then singing some worship songs that have been stuck in my head, then talking to Him again. During that time, I realized how easy it is for us to stop prioritizing the things that we say mean the most. I asked God for this job at Chipotle, but not too long after, I spent weeks obsessed with the blessing He gave me, but not Him. The multiple hours a week that I used to spend with Him turned into maybe 3 hours total. I forgot about Him unless I was struggling or coming back from church.

Terrible. I know. But as I found this great value in silence and became more aware of it, I started tuning into His voice more. I began saying short prayers and leaving the rest of the time for Him to speak. And Holy smoking macaroni! It has been so good. It’s not like I heard His literal voice, but I felt His peace. I was reminded of verses I haven’t read in a while. I thought about songs that I often forget the lyrics too. God showed up big time.

His faithfulness is something I knew always existed and I have seen before. But recently, my church has been talking about God being the Good Shepard. The one who will consistently search for His sheep, regardless of how far and long they wander. And wowza. I can joyfully vouch for Him on that. I was so worried and focused on my own things in life, that I didn’t realize how far out I was grazing. But oh what a beautiful and loving God we have. He knows us by name, face, and personality. He seeks nothing but our trust and love.

With silence, God had room to speak. Not room that He had to force me to give Him, but room He gladly filled as I offered it to Him.

Too often we get bombarded with our daily obligations. We get so jam packed with work, school, family, etc. But I pray you do not forget your source of true life. I pray you do not forget your first love.

Silence has never been something I liked, but as I realized the value it can have when I lay it in God’s hands, it has become all that I long for. I may never see a bush on fire while a loud voice speaks my name, but living in silence that is dedicated to God (get that? not just plain old silence, but that in which you intentionally lay in God’s hands) has filled my life in so many more ways than music ever could. It has made my heart more aware of the moment and more sensitive to His guidance.

I am so happy because in the last blog, you can see that I struggled to realize the time has gone so fast that passion week is already here, yet in the last few days, I could not be more joyful that THIS was the lesson God showed me this week.

Easter is just around the corner. Amidst the egg hunting and family visits, I encourage you to make room for God to move and speak to your heart.

Whether you have five minutes or five hours, will you give your heart a chance to rest in the hands of it’s beautiful creator?

“Tick, Tick…BOOM” – Slowing down and listening to Jesus in a world pushing you to speed up

Uncategorized

Tick…tick…boom. I just finished watching the movie about Jonathan Larson on Netflix and all I could say was wow. It took me multiple sittings to actually finish it because ironically, when I began playing it, I felt as though I was wasting my time on a movie I didn’t understand. However, as I remembered Andrew Garfield and Lin Manuel Miranda’s amazing reputations, I knew there had to be good reason behind all the hype. So there I sat, for my third attempt at watching this movie and trying to understand it without any clue of who Jonathan Larson was in real life.

To say the least, I was very impressed with the music and acting. But what intrigued me the most was the fear many of the characters, mainly Jonathan and somewhat Michael, had throughout the movie. Running. Out. Of. Time.

What a serious fear to have. With a perspective of only living once, time seems as though it is our biggest enemy. Waiting for no one, and making no exceptions. Yet for those with a hope in the beyond, that being, everlasting life with Jesus Christ in heaven, time’s threat becomes less and less…or does it?

As I watched Jonathan pace back and forth in the movie, trying so hard to formulate the perfect words to this very important song which his show, his career, his life, all depended on, I could not help but feel very similar. I think those who know me personally, or even just had one moment to speak with me, would agree that I speak as though I am reading the ingredients on a deadly medicine. So fast and so intense, my audience will often lose track or sometimes feel overwhelmed. Why do I speak this way? Well because of the loss of time that every one of my breath’s take.

This fear of never having enough time brings so much pressure to making sure every word counts and is as meaningful as possible. Soon enough, I realize this rushing of words becomes a rushing of actions. Whether it be in the short focus towards my friends and family, or the skimming of a book I need to read for school, or filling my sentences on this blog with random words for the sake of having SOMETHING to offer in case I don’t find the time to finish it before I decide to post it. Every movement is rushed. Every thought is unfinished, or capped with aluminum foil because I didn’t have enough time to look for the plastic cap that fit.

This seems very chaotic as I write it out. But what I find humorous is how slow my life actually is. Yes, I have obligations like school, blogging, social events, volunteering at church, work, etc. Yet even on my “busiest” days, none of that equals out to 24 hours.

If that is so, then why is it that I am rushing everything I do? Well, I would say that remembering God will make room/ways for His purpose through my life is a rather hard thing to do. I am being slightly vulnerable here, but I know I am not the only one, so if this reaches even just one person…thanks be to God.

Nevertheless, God is too gracious to leave me here as I am. So what I’d like to do now is share with you all the great news that God has for those of us living as though the boom will be in the next tick.

I believe the first thing we must recognize is the fact that God is over time. He is the creator of it, so time bows to no one but Him. That alone should lift a little weight off your shoulders. However, what we should also engrave in our minds is the intimate relationship God seeks with each of us. He is a God who desires a connection with each individual person from Adam and Eve to the very last person to ever be born on Earth. His attention is vast and without the limit of time, He is able to spend and extend every second with each of us on a personal level.

Now that we established a foundation of recognizing God for who He is, we come to the harder part…

Believing God’s plan will come into fruition on HIS timing as you go about your journey of pursuing Him.

Or in a more blatant form, believing God will finish His plan in your life before you die.

Living in a society that puts us on deadlines from the moment we are born is not at all easy. From being told you should be walking by 18 months (at the latest) after coming into the world, to graduating high school after 18 years, to being in a stable condition to retire by 65 years old, we humans have quite a tight schedule to get a lot done.

Yet my encouragement to you today is to slow down. Take a moment and remember who your God is. I am not saying you should wait until you’re baby is 5 years old to start walking, or to flunk high school so you graduate at 25, I am simply saying to take a moment of your day right now to just refocus.

God gave us each an individual mission, but we all have the same purpose. To love God, and love people for the sake of spreading God’s glory.

So as you pause for a moment, ask yourself if what you are so desperately giving so much of your attention to, the same thing God called you to?

If not…why? How can you make a change so that it is? When will you begin making that change?

If so…why are you rushing towards a goal that you did not even form? How can you begin to let God guide you through what HE designed?

Fixing our focus, especially when you have an impatient heart can be hard, but it is the only way we can slow down enough to see the next little step God is directing us to. We must not let our fear of time running out become our priority, or soon enough, we will come to the end of the clock realizing every waking moment was spent worrying about what was already lost or what will soon be.

I am not at all claiming I have overcome the fear of running out of time. But I am claiming that my God is bigger than this fear and one day, either here or in heaven, God will help crush it for good. Until then, I want to encourage you with a few verses that have helped me, alongside some things to remember as we fix our focus on the one and only all-powerful, time creating Lord:

Bible Verses that may help:

  • Luke 10 : 38-42 (aka- the story of Mary & Martha)
  • Matthew 11 : 28-30
  • Psalm 37 : 5
  • Ecclesiastes 3 : 1-22
  • Matthew 6 : 33-34
  • Luke 12 : 27-28
  • Isaiah 40 : 31
  • Psalm 27 : 13-14
  • Proverbs 3 : 5-6
  • James 5 : 7-8
  • 2 Peter 3 : 9
  • Psalm 130 : 5-6

Things to add in your daily lives:

  • Reading God’s Word to see how God has kept His promises. And how even in some lives that seemed unfinished, God used for an impact greater than one could imagine.
  • Pray for patience, trust, peace, faith, a surrendering heart, and obedience.
  • Keep accountability partners who will make sure you di bit overwhelm yourself with rushing everything.
  • Set out time in the morning AND night for nothing else but God.
  • Evaluate your motives behind your actions and goals regularly.

The reason this is so important is because the longer we focus on our own way of achieving success, the more time we lose the chance to fulfill the plan God had for us.

Let Your Heart be Holy Ground

Uncategorized

 Then He said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Exodus 3:5 (esv)

I officially completed my second day of my second semester of college. To get a glimpse of what my days have looked like, simply imagine planning. Planning my daily schedule, planning my weekly schedule. Planning my monthly schedule. And most thoughtfully planning my new years resolutions.

I know, the year has already begun and it is almost to that point of getting blank stares if you are still wishing people a happy new year. But in all honesty, when am I not late to something?

So as I sat in my dorm for these past two days, trying to put in order all of my syllabi to make sure I do not miss a day of homework or an assigned quiz, I decided to take a break and make a daily routine just for fun. This routine would include my new years resolutions that I am rather extremely determined to achieve, alongside any hobbies or activities I wanted to focus more on. This blog being one of those activities.

This routine included starting AND ending my day with God, working out, reading, writing, setting out more time for homework, and drinking a lot of tea.

I can’t really explain the tea besides the point that I love it and it saves me from spending every penny to my name on chai latte’s. But as for everything else, I specifically chose these for two reasons. I like to do them and they will help me lean more into God. Not to mention, they will set my body and mind in a good position to where I can be truly intentional in all of my actions as I stick to the allotted timeframe. Furthermore, they help me acquire the discipline skill…which some would argue I need lots of.

I was inspired to make this routine in this way after hearing the song Holy Ground by Passion. I highly recommend it. As the woman sang “let every burning heart be Holy Ground”, I immediately thought of the story of Moses.

Moses was a murderer, riddled with anxiety, but God saw more. As Moses witnessed a bush on fire, yet not burning up, the Bible says “Then He [God] said, ‘Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.'”

Chills. Absolute chills.

What a sight to see. Not just hearing the voice of the Lord, but to stand in His presence as He made this impossible event happen.

I just love this story so much because as I listened to the song and heard the woman say for “every burning heart” to be similar to what Moses witnessed, this “Holy Ground” became so much more real. I understand there will always be a certain distance between us and God, for we were meant to be with Him, not be Him. Nevertheless, the idea of our hearts, and I would say our bodies too, to be a form of this “Holy Ground” is what all Christian’s should pursue.

Not by works or anything that we can do on our own, but by drawing as near to God as we can. Letting every step, breath, and thought be lead by the Holy Spirit. When we live with this main goal, we become a heart that is impacted by God and live a life doing all things for God. We become a vessel of the Lord’s will.

We are given 24 hours in a day. That is a lot of time, even with subtracting 8 hours for sleep. So whatever you fill your gift (day) with, let it be for Christ. Who better to live for than the one who died for us?

I will list a few common things to include in your daily routine and elaborate on ways you can do it for the glory of God. These are not the only examples, simply the ones I know of or am going to implement in my own life.

– Morning/Night devotionals: direct time to sit and talk with God and grow in your knowledge about Him.

– Working out: maintains healthy temple for the Holy Spirit. Helps brain be more alert which is helpful before studying God’s Word.

– Reading: Intellectual growth as you read God’s Word or books that help you grow closer to God.

– Writing: Personally I like writing blogs to share Jesus, but even journaling about your thoughts and or new things you learned about God are perfect.

– Engaging in Social Activities: this is the best way to express God’s love to others. Loving them where they are and helping them with whatever they may need is obedience to Jesus’ commands.

There are many more but hopefully these can spark some ideas into your mind as you still have a chance to add to your new years resolutions. Let this year be a year of simply obedience and listening to God. Believe me, when you direct your focus on Him, He will help you come closer step by step, but it takes discipline and a true desire.

Will you step back and let God tell you what your takeaways from 2022 will be? Aim to bring chills to every person you encounter as they feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, this amazing “Holy Ground”, residing in you as the Father is at work in your life.