Hope

There is something inside all of us that awakens our soul every morning.

Something that gives us a reason to keep going.

I have realized that every morning I awake hoping for something.

And even when the day passes and what I hoped for never happened,

I fall back asleep dreaming for tomorrow.

And in the morning, I awake again with a renewed sense of hope.

Something about the changing of days gives us inspiration.

Another chance. Another moment. Another day to keep us going.

Even after months and months of unfulfilled expectations, we continue to hope.

Sometimes we see our desires fulfilled and sometimes they never come to fruition.

Sometimes we want to give up. But mostly we want to keep going.

Because we believe in something bigger than ourselves.

We know that life is not about our desires being fulfilled.

And it is this knowledge that helps us to rejoice even during storms of disappointments.

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

The Lord answers with yes and the Lord answers with no.

It is His privilege to do so. The Lord does not owe us anything.

Yet He alone knows what will satisfy our souls.

So when our hope is in the Lord, even during the “no”s, even when He takes away, our hope remains.

Sometimes it takes a while for us to find it. Sometimes we want to pretend it isn't there.

But nevertheless, it is within us.

Christ in me, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus' blood an righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly trust in Jesus's name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand,

all other ground is sinking sand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,

I rest on His unchanging grace.

In every high and stormy gale,

my anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,

Support me in the whelming flood.

When all around my soul gives way,

he then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,

Oh may I then in Him be found.

Dressed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ the solid rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand;

All other ground is sinking sand.

Perception

This is a video I made during my 2nd year of college.
It's titled "Perception" and it deals with all of the appearance issues women face.

I wanted to make a video that shows a woman struggling with these issues.
Then I wanted to show her literally running away from all of the lies that the world has told her.

I know so many of us struggle with this, myself included.
I hope you girls enjoy this and that it meets you right where you are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pSdESBYOW0

Boxes or Swirls

One of my favorite things about being in an airplane thousands of feet in the air, is looking out the window. I have always been intrigued by the way things look from up above.

I love to see the "big picture" it reminds me of how small I am.

It also reminds me of how things can appear so differently, depending on your perspective.

About a month ago, I was flying back from Wisconsin.

I was looking out the window as we flew over a city.

I noticed that we as humans put everything in perfectly shaped patches and squares.

Everything is measured so accurately with lines and expected patterns. The freeways and the streets all intersect at foreseeable times. Even the grass fields are purposely cut off at designated areas. Everything is controlled with the human mindset of parallel lines and boxes.

And then we flew over a river... something humans had no control over.

Its pattern was wild and unpredictable. There were beautiful swirls and squiggles.

There was no rhyme or reason to any of it.

With all of the human tools and reasoning in the world, the pattern of that river will never make logical sense to us.

As I was comparing our workmanship to Gods, I realized this was a picture He had been painting for me.

We as humans have spent our lives trying to put Him into boxes of our understanding and reasoning.

Why? Because we are more comfortable with Him there.

We squeeze Him into places He isn't meant to fit into and then wonder why our relationship with Him is dull and lifeless.

We long for Him to romance us with beauty and mystery... but then we get scared because we can't wrap our minds around it.

And so we try to find reasons and answers for everything.

We shove Him into spaces He will simply never fit.

And little by little, we create a world without mountains and rivers.

And although the flatland is boring, we prefer it because it makes sense to us.

Because we can draw lines around it and live in the comfort of our circles and squares.

Seeing this was a huge reminder to me that the Lord desires more for us.

That is why He takes us to places we don't understand.

Sometimes it requires patience on our end.

Sometimes getting us there is the most confusing part.

We don't understand the twists and the turns of His plan.

In our realm of understanding we go from point A to point B.

But God is not confined by our numbers and our systematic thinking.

And we wouldn't be ready for what He has for us if we walked in straight lines.

Every corner we turn is preparing us for something.

He works outside the realm of our understanding to grow our faith and to teach us to trust.

Because His ways are not our ways.

He wants to take us to the unfathomable, intangible places and show us the splendor of His glory.

The only problem is... we are afraid.

So we have to ask ourselves this question ... what is scarier?

Following God outside the realm of my understanding.

Or following a God who fits inside a box that I created.

I think we all know the answer to that one.

Lets be bold. Lets follow Him into the unknown.

It may seem risky... but that is where our faith comes in.

Boxes or swirls. What will you chose?

Because you ARE beautiful.

God put you on my heart today … so strong… that he woke me from my sleep.

I feel it would be wrong not to write to you. 

I want to let you know first off, that I am not writing out of judgment. I am writing out of love. 
Love because you are my sisters in Christ. You are my friends, the ones I am running the race with. 
And I would not be justified in any form of judgment since I was in the same place myself, a few years ago.

You are beautiful. You are a treasure. You are good. You are lovely, none can compare. 
You have the heart of a warrior, the mind of a dreamer, and the spirit of a child. 
You are our Savior’s beloved. He calls you His beloved. You are HIS. 
He sees you differently than you see yourself.
He does not see your failures or your flaws. He knows your weaknesses, but he does not use them against you or allow them to keep Him from loving you. 
His love isn’t filtered by what you do and don’t do. It is unconditional. It is unchanging. It is never ending.
And even when you are done loving Him, He is not done loving you. 

Ladies, there is nothing we can do to remove ourselves from His love.
But there are things we can do to remove ourselves from His best. 

Nothing hurts me more than to watch people walk away from His best.
For some reason, we choose momentary satisfaction even if that means eternal disappointment.

I know you are dealing with pain. I know you have been hurt by false teachers. I know the words people have always spoken over you, echo inside of your mind. I know you are afraid of becoming what they always said you would become. I know you are afraid of disappointing. I know you are afraid of not being good enough. I know you are disappointed in yourself.

I also know all of these fears and disappointments make it easier and easier for you to give up and lose sight of what you know is true. 

But I encourage you to take every one of these fears and thoughts and disappointments captive. 

I encourage you to give them to God and let them go.

Do NOT allow them to shape your decisions and choices any longer. Do not let them have the victory.
The Lord is you shepherd. 

He wants to bear the burdens that are trying to cripple you.
These same burdens have been following you ever since you can remember. They are heavy and they are trying to slow you down. WHY? Because the enemy knows what you are capable of, he knows the good you are supposed to do. And He will do whatever he can to distract you and slow you down. He wants to keep you from reaching the high places. He wants to take every alter you have ever built, everything you have learned along the way and shove it in your face. He wants to make you forget.

He puts every possible thing in your way to distract you.
And as much as it pains me to say this…right now… you are enabling him. 
You aren’t fighting like you used to. Something has caused you to lay down your armor. 
You are on the front lines of battle where you are most susceptible to injury… but you don’t have your shield or your weapon.  

You need to guard yourself. You need to protect the beauty and the purity of your heart and of your future.

You do not know what a day can bring. You do not know where you will be tomorrow.

If you are awakening intimacy with someone who is not yours, knowing that you cannot fulfill this intimacy, I urge you to stop. 

Because the choices you make now affect your tomorrow. 

You could be hurting someone you love, or are going to love, very deeply with the decisions you make today. 

If you truly love each other… you will guard each other. You will protect each other’s purity. 
The best way you can show your love for one another right now, is not to be physical. The best way you can show your love is to be strong for one another. 

In a world where innocence is a massive struggle to hang on to, please CLING to yours. Do not let it slip away so easy. You have a God-given right to remain pure. It is YOURS. Even if it has been taken before, God is the re-builder and replenisher. Do not allow yourself to be convinced that you are beyond repair. 

If you have lost your innocence, lift your hands to God, repent, rebuke the enemy, and demand that purity back. Claim it. God makes things new. Thats what He does. And in Christ, YOU ARE A NEW CREATION. 

Please do not awake love until it can be fulfilled. 

Quit flirting with danger.

It is fun I know. But there is only pleasure in sin for a season. And after the season of pleasure… comes the season of regret. 

You are way too beautiful of a treasure to get trampled under foot. 
So I ask you to PLEASE rethink some of the things you have allowed in your life. 
Know your worth. Know your beauty. It is something to be kept safe and pure. 
It is a gift you get to give away all at once. Not piece by piece. 

I love you so much. 
I will be the accountability you need... if you'll let me. 
 

I am praying for you. 

-Brittany 

A prayer from a selfish sinner

Father I am sorry.

I have been selfish.

I have made this life about me and not about you.

And I have blamed you for the things I have allowed to go wrong in my life.

I pretended that you didn’t care because it gave me someone else to point the finger at besides myself.

I know you are good, yet I convinced myself that goodness could be withheld.

I looked at my life and saw all of the things I didn’t like…all of the things that sin has provoked in my life and I blamed it all on you.

I allowed myself to believe you caused me pain. I allowed myself to believe that your gifts are not good and perfect.

I know this is wrong.

I know every good and perfect gift is from you.

I also know that even when I suffer… that is a gift.

Because sorrow and suffering reap joy and peace.

I may sow tears now but because of this I will reap joyful shouting.

I know that trial and tribulation produce in me wisdom and understanding that will not and cannot be gained anywhere else.

I know that it is not your will for us to be in pain, but you will allow it because you know it helps us to grow.

You love me and you allow me to call you Abba.

Because of your goodness and love I don’t have to face an eternity of sorrow.

And though sorrow may last for the night joy WILL come in the morning.

You have given me a gift that cannot be tainted. You have given me the promise of your love forever.

Help me to focus on what is important.

To remember that those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.

Trust is a beautiful thing. I don’t want to doubt you again.

I trust in your unfailing love.  

 

Adored by God

A friend of mine was talking about a guy she was slightly interested in. She was explaining their relationship and how this guy went from pursuing her to asking her for advice about another girl.  As I listened to her talk I could hear the frustration in her voice. This was not at all the type of guy that she wanted to be with. His morals didn't match hers, his choices were obviously immature and there was no consistency in his affection. But regardless, he gave her attention and made her feel desirable, so her interest remained. 

As we talked, I could see how much it bothered her that he brought another girl into the picture. This guy, who wasn't even close to the type of guy she dreams about, was hurting her and she was enabling him to. 

I couldn't understand it. This girl was beautiful, talented, smart, funny. A hopeless romantic who's heart has been kept safe and protected. She had spent 19 years growing into the type of woman the bible urges men to find. She was carrying around the most amazing gift that was intended to be given fully to the one who God had reserved for her, but she was beginning to break off pieces and hand them to all of the impostors along the way. 

I thought to myself, "This is crazy! Doesn't she know that God has something so much better He wants to give her." 

And God whispered in my ear "No she does not."

This girl didn't see herself as special to God. She believed in His goodness, and she believed in His blessings, she just didn't believe that His goodness and blessings were for her.

Her perception of her heavenly father had been distorted by her earthly one. 

Her earthly father was good, but he gave all of his love and affection to her two older sisters; and when it came to her, there was never anything left to give. 

She had been found wanting her entire life. 

Her expectations were never met. So she decided not to expect anymore. 

And finally, this carried over to her relationship with God.

I once heard a pastor say,

 "How we view God has everything to do with how we respond to him." 

So many of us have a distorted view of who God really is. 

Many times our view of him is affected by prominent relationships in our lives. And more time than not, that view is a negative one. 

But the inconsistent nature of humans should never be thrust upon the unchanging nature of God. 

How we look in the eyes of other humans is nothing like how we look in the eyes of Christ. 

He is a God of love who came to give us abundant life.  He does not desire to withhold good things from us. On the contrary, He desires to bless us. 

The Lord is our shepherd We SHALL NOT WANT.

The Lord is our shepherd, He does not leave us wanting.
The Lord is our God and our care taker. He watches over us and supplies all of our needs.
The Lord is our father and the lover of our soul. He delights in helping us. He longs to bless us.

We have no ranking in the eyes of the Lord our God. He does not see us as the youngest. He does not see us as a number on a list. He simply sees us as His child.

There is no line we have to wait in. Our God is not confound by titles, numbers, or time. He is a good God that blesses us far beyond what we deserve.

And the sooner we can change our perception of Him, the sooner we can experience the amazingly abundant life He came to offer. 

I want you all to know that God adores you. He sees you differently than anyone else sees you. He sees you differently than you see yourself. 

Believe in His promises. Believe that His blessings are for you. 

It will change the way you think. It will change the way you dream. 

Pursuing Holiness

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy;

without holiness no one will see the Lord. 

Hebrews 12:14

Wow. Has anyone ever really contemplated the second half of that verse. 

Without holiness NO ONE will see the Lord.  

We are given a huge responsibility here. Holiness is not just about winning favor with the Lord. 

Holiness is about helping others to see Him. 

We look around at our nation and the surrounding godless countries. We wonder why everything looks like it is on a one way train to hell. It is in our movies. It is in our music. It is in our relationships, it is in our government. It is in everything.

Everywhere we look people are lost.  And we can't figure out where to place this blame?

We even go so far as to blame God. 

Well I have a very sad truth. A truth that brings tears to my eyes and a sickness to my stomach.

A truth that sends chills down my spine as I sit here and write this to you. A truth that convicts me to my core. 

We are the culprit. We are the ones to blame. And we can continue to point our finger at God. We can even continue to point our finger at the devil. But until we realize that we are responsible, we will live in a desperately lost godless world. 

I am not saying the enemy plays no part in this. He is definitely a confuser, a deceiver, and a tempter. And he deserves a good amount of the blame. 

But one of the easiest ways for us to forfeit all responsibility is to blame everything on the enemy. And if we forfeit all responsibility then we live as if their are no consequences. 

We have been made holy by Christ Jesus. And we are, therefore, called to be holy on a daily basis. Holiness should be something we desire. 

"If there is not, then, at least a yearning in our hearts to live a holy life pleasing to God, we need to seriously question whether our faith in Christ is genuine.... True salvation brings with is a desire to be made holy. When God saves us through Christ, He not only saves us from the penalty of sin, but also from its dominion."

Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness

Holiness is not a condition of salvation because we are not saved by works. But it should be a byproduct. As children on the King, we should be grieving over the sin in our lives, not trying to justify it. 

My problem is justifying the little things. The movies, the innuendoes, the jokes, the language, the humor. There are so many little things we allow into our life that are in all actuality disgusting.  

We fill our heads with mindless garbage and then we wonder why we don't have the influence we would like to have. We want revival for our generation. We want change. But we are no different then the people we are trying to save. And we wonder why God wont use us. 

"Holiness is necessary for effective service to God....' If a man cleanses himself from ignoble purposes, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.' (2 Timothy 2:21). Holiness and usefulness are linked together. We cannot bring our service to God in an unclean vessel."  

Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness

This doesn't mean that we have to be perfect for God to use us. We all know that is impossible. We are flawed human beings.  And on our own we are desperately wicked. But "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2. Cor 5:21). Our righteousness is not our own. To live a holy life we have to surrender ourselves daily to God's righteousness. We have to understand that strength begins with Him. The moment we think righteousness is our own, is the moment we become overwhelmed by the calling on our life. Living with that mentality will cause us to stumble in our salvation. It will cause us to despise ourselves instead of the wickedness that lives within us. It will cause us to give up.

We need not live with that kind of burden. 

"You, if you diligently pursue holiness, must often flee to the Rock of your salvation. You flee there, not to be saved again, but to confirm in your heart that you are saved through His righteousness alone. You begin to identify with Paul when he said; 'Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners- of whom I am the worst' (1 Timothy 1:15). It is at this point that Christ's holy life lived on your behalf becomes so important to you." 

Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness 

We need to recognize the sin in our life, realize our need for His righteousness and begin to live lives that are holy and pleasing to the Father. 

We need to stop settling for moral mediocrity and call sin what it is. Our hearts are wicked and they will justify, rationalize and excuse our actions. We need to ask our Father to search our hearts and  make us aware of our iniquity so that we can turn from it. 

We need to realize that Satan is the accuser and he will spend forever trying to discourage us in our sin. He will make us believe the battle isn't worth the fight. 

But let us remember why this battle rages. There are hearts and souls on the line. There are people who need to see the image of Christ in us. And they will not see it, if we do not strive for it. Holiness is not a request. Holiness is a demand.

 "Be Holy because I am holy." 

(1 Peter 1:16)