Friday, September 27, 2013

Faithful Fridays ~ Truth.

Hi, everyone!  :)  Friday has rolled back around, and I am super excited.  Why?  Because we're leaving for Disney World TOMORROW.  Yes, that's right.  :)  Luke and I are first-timers, and it's been over twenty years since my parents have been.  We'll be leaving tomorrow morning and won't be coming back until next Saturday night.  So, I won't be hosting Faithful Fridays next Friday.  If you're on Instagram, you can follow our trip there.  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog. I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog. If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post! :)
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I'm taking a Bible apologetics class right now with our homeschool group.  It's so refreshing to be able to learn about how the Bible just totally makes sense with what we see in the world.  We have the same evidence as evolutionists and atheists, it's just that we're pushed around and we don't think for ourselves and dig into God's word, which should be our foundation.  So much of the "evidence" that evolutionists find supports and confirms the Bible more than anything else.  We do have a logical reason for believing in our faith and we shouldn't allow others to tell us otherwise.

"But in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."
-1 Peter 3:15-16
God's truth is truth, whether or not we believe it.  Right and wrong is right and wrong, even if the whole world says it's otherwise.  Truth doesn't change.  Majority doesn't decide truth.  Feelings don't decide truth.  Truth decides truth.  We have to stand on God's word as truth.  We have to use God's word as the glasses through which we see the world.  Our foundation.  Our core.  Our everything.  It's solid and wise.  It won't disappoint.  Read it, study it, know it, pray it, believe it, stand on it, act on it.  Live it.
God bless you guys and have a great day.  :)
Joy :)

Friday, September 20, 2013

The Thing About Modesty.

Hi there!  :)  It's time for Faithful Fridays!

Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog. I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog. If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post! :)
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Something that's kind of been on my mind and heart is modesty.

And not in the way you think.  I'm sure I've talked about modesty before in some way, and there are tons of posts about modesty in the way we dress and act.  So much so, that I think sometimes in our own little Christian circles, we feel more pressure and judgement on the side that's telling us to be modest in our dress than from the side that's pressuring us to dress skimpily for attention.  Do you know what I mean?

Different people have different ideas of modesty--kind of like how in the church, we have different denominations and variations of beliefs.

These things in the church aren't salvation issues most of the time.  But still, we get crazy over this stuff.  We get in fights, hold grudges, even split off into other churches because of these minor issues.


And within the circles of Christian girls and women, some of us do this over modesty.  We silently (or maybe not so silently) intimidate, belittle, and shame each other if we don't wear skirts or if our shorts are too short or if we don't wear a tank top under our blouses.  And it's not really that it's really immodest--we know when something is truly immodest.  It's that different people have different ideas of "exact" or "true" modesty, and we try to push them on each other.  And it results in people feeling judged and intimidated.

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
-Proverbs 31:30

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get so tired of people pushing modesty articles in my face and discussing hemlines and routines and rules.  And then there's the polls and the opinions and the videos where they get guys to come in and talk about how they can't stand it when a girl wears this or that.


Modesty IS important--that's for sure.  We don't want to be careless with what we wear.  But we also don't need to let these things divide us and rule us and get in the way of making Jesus first.  It doesn't need to be blown up into a big, over-the-top, life-ruling argument.  We have to keep things in proportion and keep our priorities straight.  We have to keep ourselves from getting a judgemental, "I'm-more-modest-than-you-are" attitude.


It all comes down to this: most of us know when something is immodest.  So if you think or feel it isn't, don't wear it.  Bottom line.  Get advice from your parents.  Beyond that, things like whether or not we wear skirts or earrings or shorts or whatever isn't really important.

We get so wrapped up in these issues that we forget what a big part of modesty is about--inner beauty.  And if we're too busy haranguing each other over what we wear, aren't we forgetting about that?

"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 3:4

Girls, we have got to stick together.  Being a girl is hard.  Being a teenage girl is harder.  And being a teenage girl trying her best to follow Jesus with her whole being is the hardest.  But we can do it.  Just lean on Him and let everything else fall under that.

Don't let side issues distract you from keeping your eyes on Jesus.  He doesn't want us to let these things get first place in our lives above Him.  Lay away all the small, petty issues and seek Jesus--He has such a high plan for you!

God bless you guys and have a great day!  :)
Joy :)

Friday, September 13, 2013

Faithful Fridays ~ Don't Judge Yourself.

Hi, everyone!  :)  Sorry I'm a bit late today.  We got up this morning, packed, and finished school so we could head off to spend our weekend in Alabama with family again.  :)


 
Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog. I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog. If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post! :)
 
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Do you ever evaluate yourself?
 
Do you evaluate your relationship with the Lord?  Your walk?  Your thought life?  Whether or not you're being a good Christian? 
 
I know I do.  I guess I'm trying to keep a check on my heart and the condition of my relationship with the Lord, but I worry myself into a tizzy.  I start to feel guilty and anxious a lot.  I don't feel close to the Lord and I feel like it's completely my fault. 
 
But it's not my job to keep tabs or pass judgement or evaluation on myself or others.  The same verses in the Bible that talk about not judging others apply to judging ourselves and judging situations and relationships. 
 
Here's the deal:
 
It is by grace alone that I have a relationship with God.  Not in my own strength.  Not in my own will or power.  All grace.  It was a gift, and a mavelous and mind-blowing one at that.
 
So, my job is not to work tirelessly at my relationship with the Lord, trying to grow it in my own strength, but simply to draw near to Him and know that only His grace and His word and His power can pull me closer to Him and keep me there. 
 
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
-Ephesians 2:8-9
 
"'I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
-John 15:5
 
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
-2 Corinthians 12:9-10
 
So today, if you're judging yourself over something, just step back and give it a break.  Remember that you are weak, but He is strong.  You can do nothing on your own, but in His strength you can do all things.

Relax and rest in His grace.
 
God bless you guys and have a great day.  :)
Joy :)
 

Friday, September 6, 2013

Faithful Fridays ~ Amazing, Incredible Love

Hello there, everyone, and happy Friday!  :)

Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog. I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog. If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post! :)
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I don't know about you, but I have some days when I just feel like everything I do is wrong.  I keep making mistakes and losing my self-control and I get so frustrated and disappointed with myself that I just can't stand it.  
When I have these moments...and hours...and days...and weeks, I have to remind myself to stop and remember a couple of things.  
1. Regardless of whether I feel it or not, God is standing right there with me, offering His hand to me, waiting to help me get back on my feet.  I just need to get away from all the stuff and seek Him.  I need to pour out my heart to Him, read His words, and find refuge in Him.  
2. Often, I'm not doing as bad as I think I am.  I tend to be really hard on myself.  I think we're all like that at times.  We want to please God, and we don't give ourselves room to fail sometimes.  I'm not saying that we should accept sin in our lives or make excuses for ourselves--of course not!  But we have to remember that we are going to mess up sometimes, and that if we realize what we've done and repent and ask God's forgiveness for it, He is so quick to pick us right back up and His forgiveness is instant--Jesus already paid the price.  God's love is so amazing.  It's incredible.  Incomprehensible.  No matter how many times we fall and mess up, God is still standing right there, waiting for us to reach up to Him with a repentant heart.  He's standing there saying, "You know what?  You can do this.  Just get right back up."  Even when we feel like we're just the most messed-up people and we'll never stop making mistakes, He's reminding us that His love is eternal and that it never stops.  It keeps on.  

3. This too shall pass.  This is something my mama says all the time.  Often the things that we see as big and threatening and scary are not as big and bad as they seem.  And they will get better.  These problems will pass away.  Besides, God is bigger than any problem we could ever have.  Isn't that just the most comforting thought ever?

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."
-Psalm 68:19

God's standing there, waiting for us to give up our worries and anxiety and problems.  He's the God that takes the burdens off our shoulders.  So just stop, get on your knees, and give it to Him.  

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 4:6-7

God bless you guys and have a great day!  :)
Joy :)
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