Passion 2012

Well, it has happened. . . we got mixed up on our post dates :) whoooppsss. Savannah and I (Jessica) will pick up back up on kindness, Thursday and Friday. I hope your day is moving along perfectly, but if not here is a "pick me up" just for you: "I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."Psalms 18: 1-2. Do not dwell on what has already happened, keep moving forward with a positive attitude and make the rest of this day great !

 On a different note, I want to share with you about Passion 2012. Passion is a conference that is held in Atlanta, Georgia where tens of thousands university-aged people gather together to worship and strengthen their faith in God. Watch the videos below and see what it is all about, my words will not do this event justice !! I am so excited about this unique event and I hope to see you in Atlanta !!!!! 

Also, perfect timing because tonight there is a live podcast at 9 p.m (livepodcast.268generation.com)

Go to the following website for more information about prices and registration, http://268generation.com/passion2012/#!/register/

Much love to you all !!!! :) 

Life's Greatest Challenge

"I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never-I promise-regret it. Live out this God-Created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. Our father is kind; you be kind." Luke 6:35-36 The Message. 

I'd be willing to bet that most of us have someone in our lives that we just don't like. Maybe they did something to hurt us, or maybe there is just something about them that irritates us, maybe we feel like the choices they are making aren't right. Whatever the reason, most of us have had a person like this in our lives at some point. We build up these negative feelings towards them in hopes that we will make ourselves feel better. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Usually we end up feeling worse and the negative feelings consume our lives. It eventually ends up effecting other parts of our lives that are not even related to this person. 

As Christians we are called to love our enemies. The love described here is a general love, meaning you don't romantically love them or even love them like you love your best friend, but you love them in a genuine way-meaning you care about their well-being. To love your enemy is to find it in your heart to put aside differences and love them regardless.

This is life's greatest challenge. 

But why? Why would we want to love someone who has harmed us or someone who gets under our skin. It's simple: because Jesus loves us. We are sinners, we hurt the Lord time and time again but guess what.. he doesn't leave us. He loves us unconditionally just as we should love others. 

Showing love to your enemy is to show Christ's love on earth. I feel like so many people have this warped view of Christianity because they see those who claim to follow Christ making judgements against their enemies. As followers of Jesus we are called to love EVERYONE-no.matter.what! 

I know it's not easy, let's be honest the last thing we want to do is smile and act like that person doesn't bother us.. but if we think about it in terms of Jesus' love for us it makes a whole lot more sense. Jesus is a friend to sinners, and so should we. If we want people to come to Jesus we have to love them like He loves them. Let our hearts be lead by mercy and not judgement. 

Listen to the lyrics of this song and really think about the relationships you have in your life. Are you loving like Jesus? Are there some people you need to make things right with? 

"Help us to remember we are all the least of thieves let the memory of your mercy bring your people to their knees, no body knows what were for only what we're against when we judge the wounded, what if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines and loved like You did?"

Click here for video :)

Be Blessed,

Jamie

It was His idea

Monday morning to YOU!  I hope every one of you had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving with your friends and family.  There is something so special about Thanksgiving week for me (Nicole) and I look forward to that week full of remembrance and thanksgiving all week.  This year was extra special.  I spent the weekend before thanksgiving week in Georgia with Jamie, Jessica, and Savannah!  Yep, the Fearless gals were all in one place together, and it was perfect, y’all.  I’m sure you will hear more about our fun weekend at the end of the week, but I can’t wait that long to show you a picture of us ALL TOGETHER.  :)

As Jessica likes to call us, “The Fearless Four”! Ha!

We are starting this Monday with a little post on kindness. 

Let’s just jump right in the Word, shall we?

“Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in the world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:7 MSG

If that doesn’t make you want to jump up and down on a Monday morning, I don’t know what will!

Let’s unpack this verse a little bit by looking at it from the end to the beginning.  It is IN Christ that we are shown kindness.  God shows us kindness THROUH the life of Christ.  Isn’t that essential to our faith?  Because of Jesus Christ, all good things flow. 

Let’s look at the next few verses in that passage before going back to 2:7.

“Saving is all his idea, and all his work.  All we do is trust him enough to let him do it.  It’s God’s gift from start to finish!  We don’t play the major role.”

Wow, rich stuff.  Kindness originated with God.  When Adam and Eve sinned and caused the human race to fall, God decided to send someone to take the blame.  Even though we did NOTHING to deserve the grace that came through the blood of Jesus Christ, He sent him anyway.  God IS kindness.

As Ephesians 2:7 says, God has all the time in the world and the next to shower us with his grace and kindness.  Do you know what that means?

His grace and kindness won’t stop.  EVER.

Grace, love, forgiveness, kindness and every good thing was his idea.  Nothing that we have ever done has made us worthy.  The “saving thing” was all his idea and all we ever have to do is trust him.  That’s it!  We don’t have to wrap our lives in a little bow and pretend everything is perfect.  We can rest in his perfect love, forgiveness and kindness.

To lead us into our discussions about having kindness towards others this week, let’s apply this:

God showed us eternal kindness by sending his son to die for us, even though we mocked him, laughed at him, and are ultimately unworthy of his forgiveness.

God showed us THAT kind of kindness.

Aren’t we supposed to reflect the heart of God?

Here is my challenge for you.  This week think of someone that you haven’t shown kindness to “because”.  You know that that “because” is for you. 

Maybe the person really hurt your feelings.

Maybe the person went out to hurt you on purpose.

Maybe the person turned their back on you when you needed them most.

Maybe the person has been downright MEAN.

Whatever the “because” is for you, I want you to think about one way that you can show the kindness of Christ to them.  God could urge you just to pray for them, or he may push you to be so bold as to step out of your comfort zone to show kindness to them.

Whatever the case, be Jesus to someone else.  Show kindness to them in a world full of people who don’t because of their “because” situations.

After all, Jesus showed kindness to you through the cross regardless of all the reasons he could have withheld it “because”.

We love because Christ loved us. 1 John 4:19

Nicole

TGIF :)

Happy Friday y'all!! I hope you have learned something about patience this week, I know I sure have! The Lord really tested me with patience this week and thankfully I was able to take everything we talked about this week and apply it :)

I wanted to end this week a little differently than normal. Usually our Friday post is a wrap up of everything we talked about throughout the week, but today I want to show y'all a video that my church made, it takes us into our next topic, kindness.

Enjoy!

for some reason it won't let me embed this video so just click here for the link!

Be blessed,

Jamie

**Also, please note that we will be taking this next week off to spend time with our families over Thanksgiving break!**

Patience Produces Endurance

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help up develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” Romans 5: 3-5

I (Jessica) went home over the weekend to spend some time with my family and relax. Saturday morning I would have have been quite content on the couch with my Mom drinking coffee; however, I decided to go for a run because I am training for another half marathon. Reluctantly, I started off my run stiff, I was freezing, my legs felt like the weighed a million pounds, my chest was hurting more like burning, and running up an incline on gravel is flat out HARD. I wanted to give up so bad because I felt like I was running at the pace of a turtle; however, I continued to push forward in hopes that my run would get better. Finally, I reached some level ground and I start picking up my pace. My pace continued to increase greatly throughout the run, and I was able to actually enjoy the run. Even though my run started out awful, it ended up being one of my better runs. I did not give up in the beginning when it was brutally hard, and I kept driving forward even though I had doubts and was experiencing physical pain. I find so much truth in this verse, "And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith." Hebrews 12:2.

Life can throw strong punches, and they will hurt if you do not have defense against them. God is your defense. Life can seem to be just like the beginning of my run, unbearable and hard. Do you ever feel like you can not move through life one second longer because you feel as if you are carrying more than you can bear ? Do you ever question if you are ever going to get an answer to prayer ? Yep, we live in a twisted problematic world; however, God is right by your side and he will help you push on though anything, it takes endurance though. 

To endure means: "Inch by inch, anything is a cinch"

To endure means: "There is no gain without pain."

To endure means: "When faced with a mountain, I will not quit. I will keep on striving until I climb over, find a pass through, tunnel underneath . . . or simply stay and turn the mountain into a gold mine, with God's help"

We all want our lives to run smoothly without problems, but without adversity there would be no challenge to push to be successful. Everyone would just be on even ground, there is no glory for God in that type of lifestyle. We cannot always get what we want when we want it, that is just life and you know that, but do you accept it? When we can not see any good in our lives and everything seems to be up in the air, you must find the strength not to give in, instead push twice as hard. You cannot push harder without God, and all you have to do is put your FULL trust in Him and ask for his help. We all get impatient, but you must not let those feelings control you or else you are going to be pushed to exhaustion and failure. God is not trying to tease you or ignore your requests about what you desire, instead he is building your endurance while you are waiting. Align your desires with God by praying, and in His time through the endurance that he produces in you, the blessing will come.

You may be asking well how long am I going to have to suffer through this--  I can only take so much. God will not push you harder than what you can handle, He knows what He is doing. Give thanks for everything that you do have and do not focus on what you do not have; by doing this you are expressing trust to God. If you keep your mind set on what you want you are going to completely miss what He has planned for you. 

I know that waiting for what you want seems impossible and at times it is painful in the midst of the process. However, I do know that God has a purpose behind what He is doing in your life. God is never going to fail you because He loves you more than we can fathom. God's love is your strength, and it will hold you together. Constantly remind yourself that nothing that keep you from His love, and that is your internal push towards eternity.

Whenever you receive what you have been patiently waiting for it is going to be SO rewarding and fulfilling because you know that it is fully deserved because you waited patiently. You did not give into your own selfish desires to try and seek out what you wanted on your own, instead you stuck it out with God. Do not give into those temptations of giving up, just endure everything and keep moving forward. Do not ever back down or let negative thoughts win you over. The problems that you are facing do not define you, God defines you, and all you have to do is keep moving ahead in strong faith with a heart that is patient to his plans. Your patience will pay off, and the moment you start to fade just remember this, "Because he (Jesus) never lost sight of where he was headed--that exhilarating finish in and with God--he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God." Hebrews 12:3 The Message

Much Love,

Jessica

Waiting on God and HIS timing

Have you ever heard, "good things come to those who wait"? This statement is so true in all aspects of our lives, especially when it comes to God's timing. I think that learning to have patience is a struggle for everyone, but once you learn how to be patient it makes life so much easier. 

I (Savannah) can remember when I was little and I couldn't wait for my birthday. I would be so excited for my party and it would be all I thought about for weeks. One particular year, my parents had a huge Barbie cake made for my party. I thought that it was so amazing and I couldn't wait to show everyone. Well, my little 7 year old self decided I was going to take matters into my own hands and pick up that big Barbie cake to show everyone. How do you think that turned out? Yep, it fell flat on the floor and along with the cake, I was absolutely crushed. 

Now, what if I would have waited on my parents to help me? What would have happened if I would have been patient and let them hold the cake? The outcome would have been much prettier, I can promise you!

Well, our relationship with God is very similar. Are there times in your life when you want to take matters into your own hands? I know that for me, it is something I struggle with often. Many times I think that I know what's best for me and I don't take the time to wait on the Lord. However, I have found that the outcome is never fully satisfying. Only God and His plan can satisfy your desires, dreams, and plans. Without Him working in your life, you will never be 100% happy with how life is going. In the end, if you try to take matters in your own hands, your cake will be crushed. 

So, how do you keep from dropping your cake? 

WAIT ON GOD AND HIS PERFECT TIMING!

I want you to think of something in your life that is causing you to be inpatient. It could be a relationship, a job, future plans, etc.

How is it going? Are you getting frustrated? Do you find yourself living only in the future and not enjoying the present that God gives you each day?

If this is you, I want to encourage you to give it over to God. Pray that He will fill you up with patience about the situation and allow Him to take control. Allow Him to take the cake out of your hands so you don't drop it. I can guarantee that it will take such a burden off of you and you will be able to start enjoying the present and stop worrying about the future. If we all start waiting on His timing and forget our own, big things will take place! He is going to begin to work things out in your life that you couldn't do yourself. You just have to be willing to wait. Good things come to those who wait. It's that simple friends.

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14

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Savannah

To be Patient is to Show Yourself Christ-Like

I'll be honest with y'all, when I realized I would be writing today on God's patience with us I was kind of confused.. I was so lost on where to even begin. It's one of those things that I know is true yet I've never really understood the depth of the truth of God's patience with us. Once I started really digging in and reading my bible and discovering about God's patient with us I came up with two views of God's patience and I have really been rocked with this truth!! The first is that we can ALWAYS return to Him no matter what, he always stays the same! And second, God having patience with us is what gives us the ability to have patience with others!

In the story of the prodigal son in Luke 5:11-32 we are told the story of a son who strayed away from his father after he gave him his share of his assets. The son left town and went off and spent all he was given. Then a severe famine struck and he was left with nothing. Eventually he had to shamefully return to his father. He was sure his father would write him off because of the things the son had done, but instead, to the son's amazement, "while he was a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him." (Luke 15:20) This story is meant to reflect to us the patience that Jesus has with us. He doesn't care what we've done in our past. He wants us with Him. Regardless of the "bad" things we think we've done the Lord will rejoice ALWAYS and throw his loving arms around us when we return to Him. Our God is a God of love, mercy, and PATIENCE, not a God of judgement.

The second thing I think it extremely important when understanding God's patience with us is that not only is His patience a foothold for our patience with others, His patience with us is like a great comforter. God is actually called "God of patience and consolation" (Romans 15:5) because he has such great patience with us. We must become like-minded and imitate Christ's example when our patience is tested.

God's patience is a fountain of comfort because it is proof of His grace.


Think about it like this: If God has patience with unbelievers, think how much patience He has for those who live their lives according to His will. If God were not patient, salvation would be impossible. God's promises, despite of our weaknesses, still hold true. THAT IS GRACE.

My challenge for y'all as we continue through this week is to imitate God's patience as we deal with other people. I know it is SO easy to get frustrated with other people, trust me, I work in a Kindergarten classroom with 17 five and six year olds, I know how easy it is to loose your patience, but we would be unlike Him if we were to loose patience with others. To be patient is to show yourself Christ-like and prove that you know Him!!

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect"-Matthew 5:48

Be blessed,

Jamie

Waiting for the Harvest

I (Nicole) don’t know about you, but patience just might be the biggest struggle of mine.  I’ve always been the girl with a mile long list of life plans.  Since I was a little girl, I have “known” when everything would happen and how my life would go.  But, like it so often happens, God’s plan has been different than my plan.  And, to be honest, it has frustrated me.  What if we want something that’s GOOD?  Maybe you want God to move in your marriage, in your friendship, or in your work place.  Surely God wants that, right?  Absolutely!

God wants good things for you (Jer. 29:11), but those things might not happen in the way that you imagined.  I was talking to a friend recently and as she told me about a current situation she was in she said this, “I just rest in the fact that God is helping me to pour into her the way he wants me to, even though my way would be drastically different.”  Wow.  What truth that holds.  Even though we may want the same things that God wants doesn’t mean that those things will happen when and how we want them to.  From the words of Paul in Romans 11:18 “You are just a branch, not the root.”  God is the only one capable of making the decisions.  He is the root.  He is the one that knows all.  We just grow out of him and without him we couldn’t grow on our own.  Oh, what a vital thing to remember.  Just the other day I had to remind myself, “Nicole, you are NOT God!”  It seems simple and silly, but so often my actions don’t say that He’s God.  They say that I try my hardest to do his job.

Waiting on his will is something I struggle with and it can be a place of discouragement for me.  But, if we are planting good seeds, there is no need to be discouraged!  Check out what Galatians 6:7-10 say…

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

If we continue to plant in response to what God is calling us to do, we WILL reap the harvest… at the right time. 

Are you discouraged that you don’t see God working in the way that you’d hope?  Maybe God has different plans for that situation.  Maybe his plans are BIGGER and BETTER for the plans that you have for yourself.  Keep sowing the good seeds.  Keep doing what the Lord wants.  You will harvest the good crop exactly when the Lord planned it. 

Having patience is hard, but it’s worth it.

Don’t be discouraged.  Keep planting seeds.

The time of the harvest will come.

via

Nicole

It is well

Happy Friday, friends!  

I hope that you've enjoyed being on this journey with us, because I can promise you that we are so glad to be on it with YOU!  We are learning so much and being challenged by each post.  I hope that the peace posts this week have spoken to you in a special way like they have spoken to us.  I want to end this week with a song that I think speaks directly about peace.  "It is well with my soul" is one of my all time favorite hymns.  No matter what your circumstances are today, God is still the Lord of it all.  Rest in Him and let Him refresh you.  A little fun fact about this video:  I (Nicole) have known these kids for ages and continue to get chills every time they sing together.  Enjoy Daves Highway's version of "It is well with my soul"!

Have a wonderful weekend, y'all!

Having Peace Over HIS Plan

There have been many times in my life that I have prayed and prayed for peace over a decision I was having to make. I want to share one particular story with you that really changed my family's life forever.

When I was in middle school my mom had a miscarriage. That was a very hard time for our family and it was something that caused a lot of pain in all of our lives. It was a time where we sometimes found ourselves asking, "Why God?" However, we stayed close and we got through it together.
A couple years later, God started moving in my heart big time. Through a couple different circumstances the idea of adoption was put in front of me. My family had never talked about adopting, and I honestly had never really thought about it. However, the idea kept popping up in my everyday life. At the time, Steven Curtis Chapman had just released a song about seeing his first daughter for the first time in China. I began praying big time about this. I wasn't sure how my parents would react, so I prayed that God would bring PEACE into their hearts about this. When I first talked to them they were very surprised that I was bringing it up. It was somewhat random to them because like I said, we had never really talked about it. I began to explain what God had been doing in my life and told them about all of the things He had recently put in front of me pointing to adoption. After praying hard about this, I told them that I felt like our family was called to adopt from China. They said they would pray about it and that was pretty much the end of the conversation. A few weeks later, I asked my dad if they had talked about it again. He said they were still praying about it. I knew that it was somewhat scary to them because they were honestly still getting past the miscarriage. I finally confronted them one day and told them that God is giving us this amazing opportunity, and if we choose to ignore it He would move on. At that point, I think they really started praying hard about this. They began praying that God would give them PEACE about this and that they were making the right decision. A few weeks later, we started the paperwork and the journey began! 

My whole family traveled to China in March of 2006 and God changed our lives forever. We adopted my precious sister, EllaKate at 11 months old. She is now a beautiful 6 year old and she is such a joy in our lives! 

Well, the story doesn't end there, friends! Little did we know, God was going to keep working in our lives, and this time He spoke to my mom about going back to China. When she told us she felt like we should go back, we all were very surprised. However, we began praying for PEACE once more, and God provided it immensely! We began worrying about how we would pay for everything, but God took care of that too! He sent so many amazing and generous people in our life, and that continued to provide PEACE. In September of 2010 my parents and EK traveled back to China to bring home sweet ShayleeJoy! She has also changed our lives forever. She is the most tender-hearted little girl and we love her so much. 

Well, God STILL wasn't finished! Guess where my parents are right now?

They are in China again and they are adopting my little BROTHER, Will Perry. God had to once again bring PEACE over this decision for all of us. However, He did and I'm so excited to meet my brother in a week and a half. Friends, God is so good!!! Imagine if we wouldn't have prayed for PEACE over all of these decisions. Our family may not have been blessed with 3 amazing children.

Here is a picture of the "littles", as we call them~

As Christians, we are faced with so many hard things in every aspect of our life. With hard circumstances comes hard decisions and many times those hard decisions can cause much distress and worry. However, we were not called to live a life of worry. God wants us to be at peace always, and I believe that if we are constantly praying for God's guidance and PEACE in every decision we make, we will be filled with PEACE! I also know that when we are at PEACE with a decision, we find ourselves in the center of God's perfect will. How amazing is that?

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"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." 2 Thessalonians 3:16

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

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Savannah

Fight fear with Faith = Peace

This past Fourth of July, I (Jessica) went kayaking down the Broad River with some of my family and a great friend of mine, Jen. I am not one to check the weather, and it definitely never crosses my mind to check it on a gorgeous day. About an hour into our trip on the river, it starting getting really dark and the clouds started rolling in. The next thing we knew it was raining and then the floodgates opened, it was pouring. We continued down the river because we thought it was just going to be a summer shower, turns out this was not summer shower, at all. As the rain poured down and the winds started picking up, I started to panic on the inside. A huge bolt of lightening struck in front of us, and that panic on the inside turned into screaming and yelling in terror. My heart was racing and the thunder rattled and boomed with great intensity. I was flat out scared to death. We all somehow made our way to the edge of the river and climbed up a steep embankment, and then the hail came that pierced and pounded against our skin. To make matters worse the winds were blowing so hard it was causing the trees to bend, which were nearly touching the river. We all grabbed onto one another scared for our lives, and as I sat helplessly I prayed with all my might that God would let the storm pass. After what seemed like hours, the storm finally did pass, I was in disbelief that we made it through the storm. Lets just say I will never forget the bang of that 4^th of July. EVER.

As I think about my thoughts of fear and feelings of helplessness in the storm I was caught in, I can relate to how the disciples must have felt in the midst of raging storm on the Sea of Galilee. In the book of Mark we find the story, 

“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” I was thinking that too as the hail beat down on my skin, I was begging for God to calm the storm because I struck by fear. During the storm Jesus “rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet, Be Still!” (4:37-39). 

So there you have it, Jesus with all his great power stopped the storm with no problem at all. We have to come to grips with the fact that He is always in control and He can calm any storm no matter how great we think it is. Jesus replied to the disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” It is so important to realize that even though we do not always feel that God is with in the midst of the storm is really is right there with you, and the good news is that peace comes through him when we put our complete trust in him.

What is Holding You Back ?

What do you do when the messiness of life comes flying at you, which makes you feel scared, defeated, helpless? 

What happens when you are so stressed you feel like your suffocating? 

Or maybe your relationship is so messy you cannot find an easy way out?  

Does money seems to always be an issue, are you in the hole and that debt is piling up? 

Maybe someone has let you down and it has broken you into a million pieces, how do you overcome the sadness and anger you are feeling? 

Are you sucked into sin that you cannot seem to shake, is the temptation just too strong? 

I could keep going on and on because the Devil feeds us all this mess and He is good at it because He is trying to make you feel scared, defeated, and helpless!!! These feelings of fear is A LIE that the devil is pouring into you. I do not know why you do not have peace, but I do know that God can give you peace if you let him in on the situation. I know that you want the storm to pass because it is scary and it is painful, I have been in plenty of storms.

So I will lay it out straight for you, everybody STRUGGLES with something, but not everyone handles their struggle the right way. So you have got to get over your thoughts of my problems are too messy to fix, everything always goes wrong, or maybe you are event to point of feeling like there is NO WAY that God can bring you peace. Well I will say, if you keep on with those negative thoughts then yes you are absolutely going to continue to be in your hole of misery. . . keep playing your pity party game it will only get worse though. I have been in the midst of all the messiness before, and I thought because my life was unsteady and broken that it was not even possible to fix it, so I continued to shatter it more through continuous sin. Take this for it's worth, QUIT THINKING YOU ARE TOO FAR GONE and take action and responsibility over you life. I know the storms are brutal, but I am here to let you know that God will stand right by your side as you fight through it, just let him in and he will bring peace.

No, I do not have it all together and I still struggle, but I do have great God that I have it alltogether with, and he carries me through storms all the time. I seek him and pray with my everlasting might, and he follows through with peace every single time. Maybe you just are not even buying that God can mend your brokenness and bring peace into your life. 

Well I am living proof that God pours peace out freely to those who love and trust him. I was so caught up in sin that I could not see the light of what was coming at me next, I was just fighting for a breath in the moment of life to keep me going. I got fed up with the junk that I fueling my life with, it was ridiculous and I was a million light years away from peace. So I slowly started pulling myself from negative influences and surrounding myself with more positive ones, and with time God showed me that he was a forgiving and loving God and that I did not have to maintain the uneasiness of my life any longer. I let go and let God take control, and I am telling you from the bottom of my heart that I have never felt SO much freedom and peace in all my life. He wants you to obey and walk with Him in peace and we know we can find the truth in Jeremiah, 

"Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they (Israelites) did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward." (verses 23-24 NIV)

I will leave you with this wise man,Oswald Chambers, words, “Then look up and receive the undisturbances of the Lord Jesus. Reflected peace is proof that you are right with God because you are at liberty to turn your mind to him. If you are not right with God you can never turn your find anywhere but on yourself.”

Challenge

Change your thoughts 

memorize truth, &

ditch the lies:

Quit throwing a pity party for yourself.

"He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the muck and mire; He set my feet on solid rock" Psalms 40:2 NIV

Obey God and believe he will save you from your situation.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not own your understanding; in all ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5-6

Believe that you are an amazing person made by a GREAT GOD, who wants peace to be with you !!!

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

Peace and Blessings,

Jess :) 

Because of His love and our faith...

I don't know about y'all but one of the things that I've really been having a hard time with over the last year or so is just having PEACE. I feel like I'm always planning my future and not living in the now. Up until recently I have just been in a place of discontentment. Just waiting for graduation. Just waiting to get engaged. Just waiting, waiting waiting. BUT WHAT AM I WAITING FOR? I only get one shot at this life and I would really hate to look back when I'm older and think to myself that I didn't fully live out my life because I was always constantly worrying about the future.

But what I've come to realize over the last few months is that God has my future, and he has yours too. We just have to find a place of PEACE and believe that He will take care of us. Because of His love and our faith in Him we can have peace. no matter where we are in our lives. even in the darkest, scariest, most awful times of our life we can have peace. One of my FAVORITE bible verses is in 1 Corinthians ch. 7 verse 17 [the message], it says "And don't be wishing you were some place else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there." I'm not sure there could be a verse that paints a better picture for us about peace. 

Life is scary and hard and just plain dumpy sometimes.. but when your best friends with the God of the Universe you have peace that no one can take from you. 

So this week as you think about the areas in your life that you don't feel peaceful, remember this verse...

Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you.", we can boldly quote, "God is there; ready to help; I'm F E A R L E S S, no matter what. Who or what can get to me?"~Hebrews 13:5 [The Message]

and here's a little video for you that I think perfectly illustrates having PEACE in God's plan for our lives. "All of my life, in every season, you are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have reason to worship." 

Jamie

Keep Our Eyes Fixed

I hope y’all had a great weekend full of JOY.  I (Nicole) don’t know about you, but the statement about joy that Savannah’s husband made totally rocked me on Thursday.  Just in case you missed her post, here are Josh’s wise words.

“Joy is something that can’t be shaken by outside events.”

Whew, is that good or what?  Even though this week is all about peace, we have to keep building on the “fruits” that we’ve learned.  I think Josh’s statement leads in perfectly to our discussion about peace, the third fruit of the spirit.  What happens if we decided to choose peace BEFORE outside events shake us?

What happens if we choose peace SO THAT outside events don’t shake us?

I have always struggled with keeping my security in the Lord.  It seems that the smallest of circumstances can rock my unleveled foundation of peace and send me flying into a pit of fear.  The well known story of Peter walking on the water is a story that reflects instances in my life. 

I’ll give you a little context to the moment that is recorded in Matthew 14:28-31.  Jesus had just taken the five loaves and two fishes and fed a crowd of THOUSANDS.  Jesus then instructed his disciples to get in their boat while he went to pray.  The disciples went through a huge storm and when it was almost morning, they saw Jesus walking on the water.  Here is what happened with Peter…

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”  “Yes, come,” Jesus said.  So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.  But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink.  “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.  Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him.  “You have so little faith,” Jesus said.  “Why did you doubt me?”

At first, Peter was eager to get out of the boat and walk towards Jesus.  He had his eyes fixed on him.  As Peter got out of the boat, he let his circumstances get in the way of his view of Jesus.  Aren’t we like that?  We say we trust Jesus and that we have peace in his plans, but then when the wind picks up and the waves rise around us we start to sink like Peter.  That’s been MY story.  I’ve let my fears and my situations get bigger than Jesus.  I’ve moved my gaze from Jesus to the rising waters around me. 

How different would our lives be if we kept our eyes fixed on Jesus?  What if we choose peace over fear?  Y’all, I can tell you one thing for sure; True peace will never come if we don’t keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  When we keep our focus on Him, He will guide us EXACTLY where He wants us.  Will it hurt sometimes?  Yes.  Will we face scary things?  Yes.  Will He still be the God of the Universe?  YES!  Jeremiah 29:11 says that God KNOWS the plans He has for us.  They’re already written, already planned.  The only way we will ever find peace is if we LET GO of all control and hand it all over to him.  The more that we focus on the wind and waves in our lives, the smaller our God gets.  But, the more we focus on HIM, the more PEACE we will have.

Do you want to experience peace?

Here are some steps you can take:

-Ask the Lord to show you the areas of your life where you DON’T trust Him.

-Pray about these things and ask God to give you the courage to hand them over.

-Make an effort to realize when you are choosing fear over peace.

-Stay IN THE WORD!  His voice is there, his heart is there, his peace is there. 

Don’t be afraid to trust the Lord.  Have faith and get peace in return!

Love y'all!

Nicole

Friday Post

 I hope y'all have had a great week, and I hope God has done something BIG in all of your hearts. Joy is such a major part of our lives as believers in Christ. I found this great reminder on Pinterest this week and loved it! I think I'm going to print this and frame it!

{via}

Happy Friday friends, and I hope your weekend is wonderful

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Savannah

Joy: Savannah’s Story

While I (Savannah) was pondering on what I wanted to write this week, I asked my husband his thoughts on joy. He simply said, “Joy is something that can’t be shaken by outside events.” I sat there very impressed with his wisdom, and it immediately got the wheels turning.

Throughout my life I have always been very involved in my church. I went to the same church from the time I was born until I went to college. I was there every time the doors opened, and I loved being there more than anything. A big reason why I loved church was because of my friends, and my boyfriend also went there. I met him when I was in 7^th grade and we were together until our senior year.  He not only was my boyfriend, he was my best friend. For a long time I just knew that was who I was going to marry.

However, towards the end of my senior year, I didn’t feel like it was right. I felt like we had begun acting more like friends, and I knew I was meant to have more. I began to pray about it and I really felt like God wanted me to move on. It was a very difficult decision to make because he was what I knew and I was so comfortable with how life was going. Everything made sense when you looked at it from the outside, but I knew that it wasn’t what God has planned for my life any longer. I prayed and prayed and I was obedient.

It’s really amazing what God does in your life when you’re obedient. He eventually brought an amazing man into my life. Yes, that would be my husband. All of the things that didn’t feel right in my previous relationship felt right in this one. Josh was everything I had always dreamed of. Everything fell into place and God showed up big time!

Throughout all of the life changes that happened, something was always there. Because my trust was in Jesus, the JOY in my life was steady. IT WAS NOT SHAKEN BY THE OUTSIDE EVENTS. Even when I was scared and sad that I was loosing my best friend, I had JOY in my life. I knew that God always provided, and I knew I could trust in Him.

I think that as believers in Christ, we are so blessed to always have something that gives us JOY. We can always depend on Him for anything. How amazing is that? He’s not going anywhere! What more could we ask for from our King?

I know that many times it feels like God is not going to show up, but I can promise you that if you pray consistently and with great expectation, He will never disappoint you.

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Pray today that God will fill you with JOY that can’t be shaken. Thank Him that you always have Him there to talk to and find comfort in. Thank Him for the JOY that He brings you every single morning.

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“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but JOY comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5

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Savannah

Joy: Jamie's Story

From the time I was born until about Kindergarten my family was extremely involved with church and we were there all of the time. At some point our pastor left and my parents decided it was time for us to find a new church as well. We never found another church. We became professional church hoppers. Then we just quit trying at all. If we went to church it was because it was one of those random weeks that my parents felt bad that we weren't in church anymore. Every time we would go I would secretly wish that we would go again the next weekend. I would see girls from my school and see how happy they were during worship. I wanted to be just like them. I wanted to sing the songs, but I was too embarrassed. What if someone saw me? They all know what I've done, I can't be a "church girl".
I lived with this belief inside of me for a very long time that I wasn't good enough for church. God didn't have time for someone like me.
I was a cheerleader, I was popular, I had a lot of friends.. yet I was always longing for that relationship with Jesus. I just didn't have anyone around me striving for the same thing. This made it very difficult. I fell into sin after sin until it just became who I was.
I was that girl.
That was me and there was nothing I could do about it.
I had no self-worth, I was a hopeless fool....

Fast forward into Senior year of high school. I had been working at a restaurant for about a year and had made some great friends. One of the girls I met invited me to this thing called "Young Life". I had heard of it before and knew it was some sort of "church thing". This girl went to a different school than myself so I wasn't expecting to see anyone I knew there, but I was wrong.. there were A LOT of people there that I knew...people just like me! I remember having so much fun and wanting to go back the next week. I went back week after week. Eventually I started dating a guy that I was friends with who was there the first week I went. He invited me to go to church with him, and before I knew it God was transforming my life before my eyes. All it took was that first time and I was hooked. I was meeting so many great friends. It was the craziest feeling in the world, but I knew that it was what I wanted to do. It was so tough because I felt like I was living a double life. I had my school friends and then I had my church friends. Even though it was hard and I was really worried that my friends at school would think I was weird and crazy I knew that I wanted to keep pursuing the Lord because I could feel him pursuing me.

It felt like over night that I went from being a crazy, popular, care free cheerleader to a bible reading-worship singing-prayer warrior-jesus freak. and I couldn't have been happier. It's like I knew that this was what I was missing in my life but up until this point I just didn't have the resources to get myself there. It's amazing who God puts in your life.
And it's amazing how powerful prayer is. I can remember praying SO HARD to God that I could just let go and give my life to him. I wanted this, I knew I did, but I was starting to get scared. Over time and with the great guidance from my new found church friends I completely surrendered my life to Christ and it is still the best decision I have ever made.

The Summer after Senior year is what I like to refer to as my born-again summer.
I made some AMAZING friends. I grew so much in my faith and even got baptized!
I will NEVER forget that moment.
Such freedom.
Pure JOY.

After the summer was over I headed off to college.

I lived with 3 girls that I knew from high school.

This was the best decision I could have made for myself against everyone else's better judgement. I knew God was challenging me to stand firm and to be obedient to Him. I know that He was with me every step of the way that year.

I learned how to really lean on God. In the good times and the bad. I learned how to obey and honor Him with every decision I made.

After a year and a half I decided to end my relationship. I knew that this was what God wanted for me. Even though it was a tough decision I knew it was right. God promised He would take care of me and provide me with a man who would be my husband someday.

And take care of me He did. I had never depended on the Lord like I did the two weeks after our breakup.

Two weeks later God provided for me just like He had promised.

He allowed Adam and I to cross paths again after three years and fall in love.

He also provided a new living situation (and just for the record, I still do not regret living with those girls, I love them a lot and am still friends with them it just wasn't where I needed to be). I have now lived with McKinley for the last three years, and Katie the last two. Two amazing, Christian girls, who have helped me SO much! I am SO thankful for their friendship.

God also provided me with my Jessie Bear. I have never felt so connected to someone in my life. God knew what He was doing when he introduced us ;-)

Time and time again God has provided me with the things I've needed.

To this day I am still madly, deeply, forever in love with Jesus.

I have NO SHAME about my past. He has washed me clean. 

I know my God will come through, always. 

My life is filled with so much happiness and Joy because I am best friends with God. I am still SO thankful that He met me where I was and brought me back to Him.

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"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy."~Psalm 30:11

"But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me."~Psalm 13:5

"With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation"~Isaiah 12:3

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."~Luke 11:9

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My prayer for you, sweet friends, is that you will live a life filled with joy, that you will trust in Jesus always and know that if you knock He will answer. God is pursuing you, He wants you to stay in His presence. 

And now a song that encourages you to always trust that God will bring JOY to your life..no matter what you are facing, God will come through!

Joy: Jessica's Story

Ever depended on someone or something to try and fill the emptiness inside? Throughout high school I was constantly seeking something to fill me with happiness. From the outside my life looked pretty perfect, I had all the "cool" friends, varsity football cheerleader, I made good grades, and yes I was pretty much that "preppy girl" you got it ; however, I was constantly seeking happiness and approval from what the world wanted of me and not seeking God. 

I was in a relationship with a guy from my sophomore year until midway through my senior year, and it was not healthy. The relationship was my way of dealing with the uneasiness and loneliness that ate away at my heart, and I found that my relationship was a temporary fix to those awful feelings. However, I was investing my broken and unhealed heart with this guy, which is TOTALLY wrong on my part. During this relationship I got caught up with partying, which became another way of dealing with my emptiness. Obviously, the relationship was not built on the right foundation and eventually it ended. Things took a swing for the worst, my Dad unexpectantly died my senior year of high school. I will never forget that dreadful morning that my Mom and Grandmother awoke me to tell me the deepest and most sickening news that I had ever heard. After my Father's death I was filled with complete darkness, and I rejected my family's help. I grew very distant from my Mom. I dealt with the pain by avoiding the thoughts about my Father's death.  During this time I was very lost, and I was completely consumed with pain that I was trying to subside through guys. I was broken and so lost that I was longing for someone to simply love me; however, God was right there waiting on me with open arms ready to show me that He loved me more than anyone or anything. I just did not get it. 

By the end of my senior year of high school, I met an amazing Christian guy. I was in no place to start a relationship, however; we did start dating. His family invested into my life, and I would attend church with his family as well. I grew a lot within myself, but I was still broken from my father's death and I was still carrying the sins from my past, which were heavy on my shoulders. However, I was on the edge of understanding that I did not have to carry the weight of my past regrets, but I never fully surrendered to God because I felt ashamed and unworthy of a relationship with Christ. The summer of 2009 my boyfriend's father died of massive heart attack, which really rocked my foundation. I was broken because I loved my boyfriend's father, but I was also hurting for their entire family. I wanted to jump inside each of them and take all the pain away because I knew exactly how they were hurting and longing for him. By January 2010, our relationship had became very complex because of the deep emotions that were going on within him and myself. 

So there I was stuck, VERY STUCK, and confused. . . I looked back to my old journal and found this entry from February 2010,

"I want a stronger relationship with you (God) !! I want to find myself, but I am scared to be alone. I need your strength and guidance. Please help me!"

I wanted out of my misery very badly, and maybe you are in that place right now?! Well let me give you some advise, DON'T DOUBT GOD because he is right there with YOU, and in Colossians 2:5 we find, "for though I am absent form you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."
 He was with me in the midst of my dark days, but I was so focused on the negativity of my past that I was very prone to just give up.  God delights in your strong faith, and all you have to do is rest assured that you will make it through the dark because he is with you. The moment that you are going to fail is when you start resisting him, and when you jump away from his arms into the darkness you will trip and fall.  

I remember being very conflicted during those months about things in my life; however, I wrote,

"God I want to give thanks to you. I am sitting here because you gave your one and only Son to come and save me and everyone from their sins!! I am forever grateful." 

So there you have it, I had a breakthrough with God and trusted him. I started the devotional "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore, and that was the last entry in my journal for awhile. I fell apart once again because I did not have strong support system, I felt ashamed to talk to anyone about my past and I did not feel like I would ever fit in with the "goody-goody Christians" yes, those were my thoughts!! 

I was not seeing the light and  the evil one had a strong grasp on me, and I jumped right out of God's arms straight into the darkness of the party scene. There are many times I remember being SOOO incredibly empty and mad at myself even though I was in the midst of a ton of people having a "great" time at a party or bar. I was a mess, and eventually I found myself at rock bottom and knew that I had to figure out how to get out of this lifestyle.

I started attending Athens Church in January 2011, and my journaling began again. I wrote, 

"God, I pray that you help me to create a stronger relationship with you. Help me to move past my regrets and mistakes and give me hope for the future. I am now yours and I want you to guide me and protect me from all evil things and people. Help me to always be JOYFUL"

 So that is my story and to God be the glory because he saved me, and in the bible Colossians 3:9-10 it says, "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator"!

JOY is abounding in my heart. . . 

I am in love with JESUS CHRIST, and this love fills me completely (answered prayer). So therefore, I am no longer constantly searching for something or someone to fill the emptiness inside of me.

I completed the "Breaking Free" study by Beth Moore and it changed my life radically. I gained a deep understanding that the regrets and pain of my past no longer had to hold me captive. Slowly, I began pouring out everything to God and asking for forgiveness. I also forgave myself. 

I have many wonderful Christian friends (answered prayer) that I am SO thankful for. I believe that God is using each and everyone of them to push me forward in my faith. Having a strong community of believers helps to keep you accountable and they are there for encouragement. 

I am giving back to God through leadership at Athens Church. I am a 6th grade Transit leader, and I am so thankful to be a part of these girl's lives. My passion lies in helping these girls develop a strong and personal relationship with Christ. Two of my girls gave their life to christ at our retreat in September, and I was completely consumed with an immense amount of JOY! 

I still struggle and my life is not fear or worry free, but I am building a foundation on Christ's solid rock. I find strength through reading the bible, and I cannot get enough of reassurance and wisdom from it. I find that talking with with my friends about my faith helps me to grow, and I also depend upon them for support. Another way that my strength in my faith is built is through and constant prayer and journaling. I am a much more positive and joyful person all because Jesus Christ lives within me. This is the life that you want because it is so full of joy that it will knock you off your feet !!!!!

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My Challenge

1. Give into God and put your trust in him. His plan is greater for your life than you can truly envision. He loves you and those past regrets are not going to keep you from his love and they joy that can come alive inside of you.
Romans 8:38-39 

"For I am convinced that neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD" 

2.Start reaping good and uproot all the negativity and bad influences in your life. 

In Romans 6:21-22 we find, "What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

3. Figure out what you are depending on to fill you with happiness ?
Whatever it may be, I can promise you that it does not compare to the love Jesus can ignite inside of you. That fire and passion will burn in you, which will keep you striving positively forward with a joyful heart.

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With SO much Love,

Jessica