It’s so easy to look at yourself and look at your life and focus on the negatives. To focus on that friend or boyfriend or girlfriend that stopped liking you or thought you were annoying. It is easier to remember and focus on those people and situations instead of what is right in front of you. Sometimes we need to be reminding ourselves to look past it…

When we are put into situations that cause us grief, sadness, or anger those feelings are very easily triggered. Whether it’s the thought of words, the thought of a place or even the person. A lot of people including me sometimes struggle with focusing on the good. But what if we took a step back and thought about the bigger picture. Let’s take a look at a couple different verses and see what God has to say about focusing on the good.

Proverbs 17:22- “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” having a joyful heart is not only good for the soul but for health. When we have a crushed spirit it is hard on the body and on the mind. Focusing on the good and having a joyful heart is what keeps the soul alive, and is apart of what keeps us in good health mentally and emotionally.

Colossians 3:2- “Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” It is important to keep in mind the things above and not the things on earth. We need to be mindful and aware of things on earth but focus on the above. It is easy to focus on the bad, but when we set our minds above we begin to think of the good. We think of Gods everlasting love and his amazing grace and suddenly we remind ourselves that God is what matters. One day everything we held onto.. every hurt, every tear, every bad friend.. it won’t matter anymore. Because when you’re in the presence of the lord there will be nothing greater.

Proverbs 3:5- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Often times we sit and we replay situations over and over. Debating what we could have done differently, what we did wrong. But the truth is, we need to stop that. There isn’t an answer to be found and God has a reason for everything. We may not always understand why something happened but we have to trust God. So if something is bothering you, let it go. Stop trying to find the answer and trust God, give it to him. Focus on the good in your life and stop trying to worry about the bad and why it happened.

Those are just a few verses that help us understand more of how God wants us to live and what he wants us to focus on. God doesn’t want us living our lives debating on the past and focusing on the bad. Instead he wants us to focus on the good and what makes our soul feel alive. Focus on the above and let him have control of our lives. And trust him with our lives. So I challenge you this week to step back and look at the bigger picture of what God wants for us. Try to keep those negative thoughts out, and focus on the above. Focus on the good!! (:

Some days we sit and contemplate everything we have gone through, everything we have said and done. We wonder how anyone like God could ever love us, ever forgive us. I have heard from so many people that they believe they have lived too far of an imperfect life to become a christian now. That they know what they need in life. But the truth is… God is the only one who knows. The only one who knows what tomorrow promises, What tomorrow will bring. He is the only one who knows everything you have done, everything you have thought. The best part is… He KNOWS everything about you and still continues to love you. He forgives your sins completely, and he accepts us for who we truly are. He is reaching out with his arms open wide because he knows you, and he loves you!

We all have a moment in life that we regret or a situation we let consume us. A person that you let hurt you too many times whether its emotionally, physically or verbally. So I encourage you to take whatever burden you have been carrying on your shoulders and give it to God. Ask him to help you with it and he will. None of us are perfect, in fact we are all imperfect. But we are loved by such an amazing God. And he has given us the gift of forgiveness, of kindness, of love, and of grace. We do not need to carry anything around with us. It is so easy to pack feelings away, pack situations away. But imagine just giving it to God… Letting him handle it.

So lift your eyes up, Lift your eyes up to the one true God. You are free from burdens, you are free in Jesus’ name. Embrace his open arms and accept his love. Because he knows!

As I sit here and think about this verse over and over I can’t help but be overwhelmed by his love. The section we are going to be looking at today is Ephesians 2 verses 4-10. Let’s start with verses 4 and 5. “But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved.” WOW ! How strong and how powerful is that. It is because of Gods grace that we have been saved. It is because of his love for us that we have been saved. Transgressions refer to acts that go against a law, rule or code of conduct. So even in our darkest moments, we are alive because God has saved us. We are alive because of his grace. We are so undeserving of his love yet we are loved by him. We are forgiven of ALL sins.

Verses 6,7 and 8 read “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. I find myself reading those verses over and over again. It is hard to grasp the fact that we are loved and we were created by someone so amazing and full of love. God raised us up with Christ in order to show us the incomparable riches of his grace. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.” Just let that sink in… “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.” We don’t deserve it, and we did not earn it. But he loves us and because of his grace we have been saved. God gives us his love and his son, even though we have done nothing to earn it.

On that note, I want to pause and share with you another verse that shows just how much Christ loves us. Romans 5:8- But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He died for us even though we were still sinners. He died for us to take away our sins. It is because of him we are Saved, because of him we are no longer slaves to fear. We are children of God. Because of him, we are beautifully and wonderfully made. And how great is it to be loved by someone full of so much grace.

Alright, back to the last section. The last two verses, verses 9 and 10 read.. “not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork,created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We have great purpose here one earth, and each of us were created uniquely and beautifully. “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” Our purpose here is to serve God and to share his grace and love with those around us. Be the light to others !

HALLELUJAH, WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE!

We all worry. Worry about our job, money, food, our families, those around us. Imagine the freedom of not worrying, of not carrying that weight on your shoulders. Imagine not worrying about your job, or money, or food, or those around you.. that’s what we can have with God. A life with no worry, a life in which we trust God and allow him to be in control of our life.

Matthew 6:27 reads “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.” I read this over and over, and each time the power in that verse hit me. We worry about things in life that we shouldn’t. Often times we spend so much time worrying.. and where does it get us? Matthew 6:28-30 continues “And why worry about your clothing ? Look at the Lillie’s of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing. Yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And If God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith.”

The Lord is teaching us not to worry for our future needs. Do not worry about life and what you will eat or drink, or your body and what you will wear. Do not even worry about tomorrow because he will provide all of your needs. He uses an illustration of nature to show us just how much he cares for us. And to doubt him providing for us is having “little faith.”

He is not saying that we do not need to work for our needs, but that rather we need to not worry. We need to trust in him. For through God all things are possible! Worrying will not add any time to our lives nor help us. The only one who can truly help us, is our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a quote I have been looking at a lot lately. If you would have asked me a year ago where I thought I would be right now, I would have told you finishing my first year of College. Passing all my courses, working hard and doing great. But then the unexpected happened. I failed my Nursing course by 4%… 4% thats it. Yes, I was so so close to passing but I did not. And that hit me hard, because it was the unexpected. I expected myself to pass, everyone around me expected me to pass. But sometimes that doesn’t happen, sometimes we fall short!

I had this vision in my head of how college and my life was going to be. I was going to start college, finish in 2 years, get married and finish my BSN and live happily ever after. My plan, my vision was crushed when I failed this semester. This is not how I thought it would go, and that is not how I thought I would do academically…. But its okay. It is more than okay, because God has a plan. All along God has had a Plan and he is the only one who knows how my Journey truly looks. So I can have “visions” of what I want my life to look like, but God is in charge. God is the one I need to trust.

When I first found out I failed. Not only was I disappointed in myself but my parents were too. Being told the words “you didn’t try hard enough” or “we didn’t see you putting the work in.” They hit me hard. I worked between 28-36 hours a week while being a full time student. I paid my car, I spent hours studying… None of it mattered because I failed…I tried my best to please everyone around me.. And that’s where I went wrong. All my life I have been a people pleaser, but when does it come time that I think about myself. That I think about what I want to do with my life ? When I realize that I can not please everyone in my life?

These past few months have been nothing but easy, and Ive learned to trust God in ways I never have before. Praying constantly asking God “where next” “where next, what do you have in store for me.” My parents don’t understand my path or why I now want to do LPN school and then bridge to RN, but that’s okay. Because I have been praying and I know where God wants me and what he wants me to be doing. And though the path may not be easy, and I may lose people along the way. I will never lose God, I will never lose God. Life is full of unexpected twists and turns, life is full of hard times, and mistakes and times of failure. But how we get back up, how we come back that’s what matters most.

There will always be more to life than what we know. There will always be an unexpected turn, but it is how we handle it and how we continue to live after it, that really plays a role in our lives. “Life is short and unexpected. So live for the moment and be thankful for every breath.” So sure, I may not be where my parents wanted me to be academically, I may have failed. But life is short and unexpected. So I can sit here and cry and be upset, or I can pray and trust God and continue on. I choose to get back up and continue on, because though life will be full of more unexpected turns, I continue to trust God and follow him.

“Enough” this is a word that I have struggled with for a long time. I found myself comparing myself to other girls, wishing i looked like them or had what they had. It is so easy for me to just put myself down and compare myself to other girls. But that’s not what God wants for us, that’s not what God wants for me. For the past couple weeks I have been really focusing on this phrase “enough” and reminding myself that I am enough. That I don’t need to compare myself to other people or try and fit in with other people. I was listening to Klove last night and the lyrics to the song that was playing were “I am who you say I am. I am chosen not forsaken, I am who you say I am.” God created me in his image and me being me… I am enough!! No matter what anybody says or no matter what thoughts the devil tries to put into my head, I am enough. And I am no longer a slave to fear. I don’t need to be afraid to just be myself because I am brought! And I am proud to be a Jesus lover 🙂 It is amazing through God just how much peace we can find within ourselves and how much love he shows us.
Here’s a great verse to remember and repeat whenever you feel like you aren’t enough or you find yourself comparing yourself to others.
“I am fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalm 134:19