Blessings

   I am thankful for the sunshine today. This long winter is getting...well, too long. The hope of spring is here. What a beautiful day to begin the weekend. I am looking forward to time to refuel and catch up on some sleep. I am excited to spend time with friends and get ahead in a few of my classes. It really is the little things in life that can bring so much joy to life. I honestly get so excited when I think about making a cup of tea or taking a hot bubble bath, having a good conversation with a close friend or cuddling up in a blanket. These are such little things but they really do bring happiness to my life. I am blessed.
   I have really been seeking God during my time here at Northwestern. Through my classes, through the lessons taught in chapel and through the different conversations I have had with the people here, God has revealed Himself to me. I have been challenged in my faith. I have been encouraged in my faith. I have made some of the best, genuine friendships I have ever had. I have learned to encourage others and to support others in ways that I have never had to before. I have been pushed out of my comfort zone at times, but it has helped me grow into the person I know God is calling me to be. I am much more secure in my identity in Christ and trusting in the plan He has for me.
   I have learned to count my blessings rather than my frustrations. I have learned to focus on how to utilize the strengths God has gifted me with rather than getting discouraged by my weaknesses. I have learned to be thankful for the gifts God has given me rather than having a heart of discontentment. I have found my identity in Jesus Christ rather than the world. I have found that true joy comes from spending time with my Heavenly Father. I have learned that having a beautiful heart is much more valuable than having a beautiful appearance. I have learned that serving others brings more fulfillment than serving myself. I have learned that prayer is powerful. I can see God's hand in the beauty of His creation around me. I have learned to find God's blessing in every day circumstances.

   Daisies are my favorite flower. They are beautiful on the outside, but to me they are also a symbol of hope. This past summer I was struggling through some difficult circumstances. I was on a walk one evening on the sidewalk in my neighborhood. As I was walking up the hill back to my house, I came across a white daisy. It had grown through the crack in the sidewalk. I was amazed. God knew daisies are my favorite flower and I believe He put that daisy in my path to remind me of His faithfulness to me; how He will restore my spirit, bringing beauty to it once again. Looking back to that summer night to where I am now, that is exactly what God has done. 
   Whether it is daisies or sunshine on a winter day, God is active and alive in everything. I have learned to find hope and joy in the ordinary things in life because with God nothing is ordinary. He can use anything to get our attention and He is faithful to us through every situation. It is amazing how when you begin to focus on God, everything becomes clearer. Purpose is given to ordinary things. Joy is found in simple circumstances. Blessings are discovered every day because God is present and alive. 

Authentic Relationships

   I am feeling especially thankful for my family today. At the end of one of my classes this morning, I checked my phone to find four text messages, two from my sister, one from my mom and one from my dad. I had to chuckle to myself. I enjoy the independence and freedom I am gaining by living away from them, but my relationships with them will always be so precious to me. Throughout my middle school and some of my high school years, I took my relationships with my family members for granted too often. When I moved here to go to school, I realized how important these relationships are to me and my deep desire to strengthen them. God has been showing me the importance of having authentic relationships, with my family and with other believers. 
   Today in one of my classes, the professor was talking about how having authentic relationships with other believers will lessen the temptations in our lives because of the accountability and encouragement those kinds of relationships bring. That made so much sense to me. It seems so obvious, yet we struggle with this daily. He discussed how our thoughts turn into words and our words into our behaviors. It is a slow fade. When we have those authentic relationships, people willing to call us out when they see sin in our lives, we have that support and encouragement to help us as we work through those different situations. 
   God has placed people in our lives and blessed us with the opportunity to have these kinds of relationships, rooted in His truth and love. However, I know there have been times in my life where authenticity has scared me because I was trying so hard to appear "put together" on the outside. We know that being real with someone else will require us to look at our hearts, look at our inner world. It means being vulnerable and open to someone else. It means admitting to those mistakes, struggles, and regrets we have, instead of burying them deeper or ignoring them. 

    
   God has placed people in all of our lives for this purpose; people to guide us, support us, protect us, and confront us, people to challenge us, encourage us, and pray for us. People that will be faithful to us in good times and bad times. People who accept us for who we are and encourage us as we seek out our identity in Christ. God is using us in this way in other people's lives as well. Through God's work in us, we can help others and show them God's love. Having these authentic relationships in our lives will help us grow into the people that God has created us to be.

Contentment

   It has been quite a week so far, very busy and exciting with the end of the school year coming to an end and all the different activities that go along with that. I have started a couple new classes with four quarter starting, Biblical Worldview and Personal Responsibility, along with Principles of Biblical Interpretation. I already know that both classes are going to challenge me, but both are going to deepen my faith and understanding of God's word as well. I am excited for what God is going to reveal to me through the opportunity to take these classes.
   I have talked a lot lately about obstacles that we face in this life. I think this is because I have recently been feeling overwhelmed by my own challenges. God has been showing me what it means to be content right where I'm at, despite the circumstances. Today in chapel, the speaker talked about contentment. She talked about how challenging it is to be content and that it is a life-long learning process. We seem to always be able to think of something that we think we need and then our lives will be better. We think if we have that certain thing, relationship, opportunity, image, talent, lifestyle, or circumstance then we would be fully content. This is never the case. Once we get one thing, something else always catches our hearts and minds. We end up thinking we need that thing too. We keep on living this way, always wanting the next thing and never being fully content where we are.
   There is no way we will ever be fully content in this life, not until we meet our Father face to face. We will always be let down. That thing we so badly wanted and thought we needed will never satisfy us the way that being with our Father for eternity will. Our contentment is not based on our outward situations, but our hearts and our desires, the things we decide to put our time, energy, and heart into- these are the things that our hearts will be devoted to. When we spend time with the Lord and soak in His truths, our hearts will be there too. Only through spending time with our Savior will we come close to experiencing true contentment.

   I have definitely went through continuous cycles of thinking certain things will bring me joy or contentment and I am learning every day that this is not the truth. I have come to a point that being content is not about the fulfillment of what I want, but rather the realization of what I already have. God has blessed me abundantly. Instead of focusing on uncertain outcomes in my life or trying to use earthly things to fulfill the desires of my heart, I have learned that by focusing on the gifts that God has already blessed me with, I am content. 
   There will be many, many more times in my life that I am going to return to that cycle of thinking that something on this earth will make my life more complete or that I will be happier because of it- we all will. However, even when I do go through those times of doubt, I know that my God is faithful. He will pursue my heart. God is showing me each day that He has plans for my life and every day my excitement to get to know Him more grows. I am content because my God loves me for me. I am content because my God forgives my past mistakes and regrets. I am content through any circumstance because I know that my strength comes from the Lord. I am content because my God has given me a purpose on this earth that He is going to reveal to me in His perfect timing. 

Challenges

   Today is the beginning of my last quarter of my freshman year of college. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. I can still remember move-in day and my first day of classes so well. I remember how anxious and excited I was for my first year of college. As I look back now, I have learned so much over these past several months. I have made such good friendships and have become so much stronger in my faith and in my identity in Christ. I have gained freedom, along with responsibility. I have become much more independent as I have adjusted to not living with my family. I have had to trust God in ways I never had before. All of these experiences have challenged me and stretched me, but I have grown in such awesome ways and I am excited to see how God will work next.
   I have been thinking about challenges I have faced in my life. Some of them have been very difficult and others have been small, but all of them have pushed me to even more fully rely on God. We all go through difficult circumstances. I know that many of us question God during these times. We set expectations on our lives and become worried when things don't go the way we plan. I believe God brings us through these challenges so that our faith in Him will deepen. I find it easier to trust God during good circumstances. When I am feeling happy, it is easy to say that I trust God based off of how I am feeling. However, God's faithfulness to us is not based on how we're feeling. He is a constant God, with us always. 
   God has shown me that even when challenges arise or when obstacles come across my path, I have no reason to be intimidated or full of fear. God is in control. He knows that these times in life will come and He promises to walk through us as we face each trial. He is sovereign and faithful in all circumstances. 

   We face challenges in our lives. Instead of being intimidated when these situations come into our lives, let these circumstances give us courage and strength as we are reminded that our God is sovereign. Let these circumstances send us running into our Father's arms. Only there will we find true peace, security and purpose.

A Faithful God

   Today I am reminded of God's faithfulness. As I have embraced God's truths and the impact that they have on my life, I am reminded how faithful He is. Through the hope that He gives us, the joy that He brings to our lives, and the peace that He provides, His faithfulness to us is so evident. God brings stability and purpose to our lives. He is faithful to us through every circumstance. 
   When we go through trials, God wants to be there with us. He wants to guide us, protect us and help us as we face these hardships. When we are discouraged or confused, God's faithfulness brings us clarity. God brings us hope and shows us the path we need to take. When we go through times of thanksgiving, He is there as we experience the joy He brings. His faithfulness does not depend on the situation we're in; He is a constant God and is faithful to us through every season of our lives.
   Even when we are not faithful to Him, His faithfulness to us does not change. We are His creation and He loves us unconditionally. He will not give up on us in anything. There are so many fall outs in this world that have to do with unfaithfulness and broken trust. We sometimes have doubts that we can completely put our trust in something, but we can be assured that God will never let us down. His faithfulness to us has no conditions or restrictions based on our performance. We do not have to earn His love or faithfulness to us; He has already paid the price for us to have this gift freely.

   God's faithfulness to us brings us hope, peace, and the constant reminder that we are never alone. God desires for us to seek Him and trust Him with our lives. He will never leave us or forsake us. He has chosen us and we are His children. As we seek God's purpose for our lives, we can be sure that our God is with us every step we take, everywhere we go because He is faithful and will never give up on us.

The Lord Provides

   Yesterday I was blessed to spend some time in worship at my home church. I am singing on the worship team this Sunday there and we had a short rehearsal yesterday. Afterwards, my sister and I were the only ones left in the sanctuary. We ended up spending some time just singing different worship songs together while she played guitar. It is such a blessing to sing and worship God with my sister. It brings us together and I can sense God's pleasure when we're singing. I was also able to spend some time with the high school junior girls Bible study last night as well. Since I am home this week for break, I was invited to talk with the girls. I really enjoyed sharing my heart with them and listening to their thoughts as well as their transition into college is approaching quickly. I feel very blessed that God is giving me opportunities to share His love with others, through my words and through song. I am very encouraged by God's work in my life and I am reassured by the fact that He will continue to. 
   I have really been resting in the fact the Lord provides. For a while, I was wondering how God wanted me to use my gifts and abilities. I want to serve Him and live out His purpose for my life, but I wasn't sure what that looked like or what I should do. This will obviously be a lifelong process in His time, but I am really learning that trusting God is so important. It seems simple, but it is so true. He will make it clear, in His time, what we need to do. He will provide us with the means for His work to be done.
  When I went to Set Apart, a women's conference last weekend, the theme was "Trust. Trust! Trust?" This is often the cycle we go through as we learn to trust God. Trust. When we rest in the Lord and the hope that He brings us. Trust! When we proclaim the truth the Lord brings us and are fully surrendering ourselves to Him. And then Trust? There are times when we have uncertainty and trouble fully trusting God because of the mistrust and broken promises we experience here on earth. God is showing me every day how His promises are the only ones that will never be broken. We can trust Him because He never fails and will never let us down. He is a God who provides for our every need.

   Our God provides for us. At times He asks us to be patient as He reveals His plan for us, but He will always provide for us exactly what we need at the time that we need it. Even though we think we know what is best for us at times, God knows much better than us and we need to trust Him and His plan. As we rest in the fact that our Lord provides for us in every circumstance and in our every need, His purpose for our lives will continue to be uncovered to us each day.

Persevere

   Today I am blessed to spend some time with my younger brother and my little cousin. Children are so full of wonder and imagination. I love the carefree way they view life. It is sometimes fun to step into that role for a bit and experience the wonder of this world with them. They are amazed by the littlest things and are always finding something to laugh about. They are so passionate and focused on what they are doing in that minute, not worrying about what the next minute will bring. I have enjoyed just sitting here watching them as they play. They are so adorable and so full of life.
  Something that has been on my mind lately is perseverance. I am on spring break right now and at some point each day of break so far, I have thought about all the things I need to do when I go back to school. Lately, I have been slightly overwhelmed by different situations in my life and circumstances happening around me. It has been difficult for me to push forward at times. God has been reassuring me that He is with me and with the strength that He provides; I will be able to persevere. 
   I was discussing with my mom earlier this week the tragedy in this world and the brokenness of it. Without my Savior and the hope I have in Him, I would have absolutely no motivation or reason to have any. God puts purpose in our lives and a reason for us to push forward, despite the circumstances we may be in. When we reach those points in life where we feel hopeless, God reminds us of the hope that we have in Him. When we are weak, God provides us with the strength we need for each day. When we want to give up, God restores the passion and courage in us to persevere. 

   Our God is a God of peace, of hope, of life. He has plans for each of us and desires for us to seek Him as He reveals those plans to us. God knew we would experience weariness and sadness many times in this life, but He made a way so we may have hope in Him. This life can leave us feeling tired, worried, and overwhelmed. It can leave us feeling like we aren't good enough or strong enough; this would be true without our Savior. But the good news is our God cares for us and has made us perfect in Him. With Him, we are strong. With Him, we are a new creation, perfect and blameless. With Him, we are able to persevere.