Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Sweetly Broken

At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

We played this song last night during worship. (Worship was awesome by the way. I am so thankful I am able to play with such talented musicians! You ever have that feeling when you are just so happy and excited you start smiling and laughing? Yeah, I get that overwhelming joy when I play with a really awesome team.) So before we started, the band sat down and discussed all of the songs and what they meant to us. And I got this song. (To be honest, Chad switched me songs and I was really disappointed I got this one) But as I sat there and read through the song, God showed me how relevant it was in my own life. 

It's incredible to me that the God has the power to break us down. He doesn't do it in a prideful way, but in a humble sweet way, that brings us to our knees. God is breaking me down. And He's not whispering in my ear "I told you so" or "Look at how far you have fallen". But He is telling me "Come back to me baby girl, it's okay". God wants me to rely on Him and Him alone. Earthly things will fade and will let us down. And that is why I must be completely reliant on Him. 

I mean, it is the most precious thing to me to see God take away things in my life that are pulling me from Him. Even though it hurts, God has shown me how much He loves me. And it is just the most beautiful kind of love that I can imagine.

I can do all things

I think I spend way to much time trying to figure everything out. How I should act, what I should say, how I should feel, when I should feel, and how I should let go. I have spent these past couple of weeks trying to figure out every single detail of what I should do next. When I think God just wants me to be. To just be with Him and trust in His plan.

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in and and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13)

I lost sight of what it means to be content through the Lord. I began to rely on others and earthly things to satisfy me. But what happens when they go away? Where does my heart stand? Who am I resting in? Where do I lay my trust?

I need to learn how to be content with the Lord alone. If I am not content by myself, how can I expect to be content with someone else? God wants me. All of me. Not just some of me. But my whole heart. Every little piece of it. And now I have to learn how to be content. And strive to give my whole life to the Lord.

I want to be at a place where I am content with who I am and where I am. In whatever circumstance, I want to be at peace knowing "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength."

Lost... (No Really)

So, I took my sis to Disneyland today. I was really excited to drive there and be with her and just have a good time. So after school, Allie and I grabbed a bite to eat and headed out. We got there, and I have never seen so much traffic in my life. We had to park in the overflow parking lot; I'm pretty positive we parked in the very last parking spot in the whole lot. But it was all good you know? I was in the happiest place on earth! Then we got inside, and world of color was sold out. I might have cried a little bit. So in return, I forced Allie on California Screamin'. And she liked it! (I think. She cried, not sure if it was from how fast we were going or how scared she was..) The rest of the night was fun, crowded, but fun. Now the drive home is another story... I got lost so many times. I have never prayed so much in my whole life. I made so many u-turns to try and get back on the right street. Pretty positive I made someone mad, but I honestly didn't care at that point. I just wanted to get home! Good news, we made it home. Praise God! But over all, great night hanging out with my sister. I wonder if she knows how pretty she is. I should tell her.. ya, I'll get on that.

Set A Fire

There's no place I'd rather be,

There's no place I'd rather be,

There's no place I'd rather be

Then here in Your love, 

Here in Your love

So set a fire down in my soul

That I can't contain,

That I can't control

I want more of You, God

I want more of You, God

Be Light

We are called to be a light. In order to share the Gospel, we need to know who we are through Christ. We focused a lot this weekend on different things we worship and how we see ourselves. They asked us: What is it in your life that you believe will make you ultimately happy and whole? What compared to God and make you ultimately happy? And it's true. As I took time to reflect on my own life, I found that everything I aimed for that I felt would make me happy, never satisfied. Only God.

They also spoke on this passage: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10). God created each person with a specific will. Every strength and insecurity will be used for God's plan that He is preparing for us to do. So why do we choose to be someone different, when the person we were created to be is perfect for God's plan. Why do we compare ourselves to others when were made specifically for what God has planned for us?

So, we use our strengths and weaknesses to allow God to shine through us. So we can be a light in the darkness. And allow His will to be done here on Earth.

Through Christ Who Strengthens You

Philippians 4:13 is a very popular scripture that is often quoted out of context. It says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." That doesnt mean you can just do anything you decide to do because you want to do it. Paul was talking specifically about how he was able, through the power of Christ, to be content no matter what his circumstances were.

I do believe that, by God's grace, we can do whatever we need to do in life. I think that's the mindset we need to have. There's nothing that's too much for you if you're trusting God. you can handle whatever comes your way because God promises that He'll  never put more on us than we can bear and deal with.

So keep a positive attitude no matter where you are right now, no matter what's going on in your life. Cheer up, God is on your side. Stop being upset about things you can't do anything about.

God wants you to know that He has an individual plan for your life, and He wants you to accept His unique plan for you and not compare your plan with anybody else's. You have to trust God knows more about what you need and what you can handle that you do. After all, He knows you better that you know yourself.

Lord, like Paul, I want my contentment to come from You, not my circumstances. Show me everyday that Your plan for me is perfect and that I don't need to worry.

"I can do all this through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

It's okay

It's okay not to be okay. I have felt so much peace today after hearing this. Sometimes I feel like I have to say I'm okay in order to show that I trust God. As if saying I'm okay will show God is stronger than I am. Or looking like I have it all together makes me a good Christian. But, that is so not true. It's fake. And I want to be real and be humble with my struggles. I have peace knowing that God is in control, but now I also have peace knowing that I can just be. And it's okay

Lost in Him

 

I pray that my heart will love God like this

My whole life

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart." -Jeremiah 29: 11-12

No one really focuses on the second part of that verse. (Or maybe they do, I just didn't focus on it) What does it look like to seek God with All Your Heart? What would my life look like? God will reveal Himself to me when I give Him my whole life. All my fears, worries, dreams, routines... It's when I give up my whole life to Christ is when I will truly find the Lord. Thank you God for having a plan. What an undeniable peace that is!

Lost

I don't know what I'm doing. I feel like I am doing something wrong. Still. I really thought my time with her today would not be about everything that happened. would not be about how sad she is. or how bad I made her feel. I really thought that after two months we would be able to talk, and laugh, and feel normal. Now i just feel sick. (Now i dont know if I feel sick from all of the food I just ate, or what went down today) To be quite honest, I dont know what to believe. And I really didnt want to hear half of the things she told me. And then I get her sister who hasn't talked to me in two months, asking if I want to hang out and to hear my side of the story. No. No you don't get to hear my side of the story. You ignored me for two months and now your good? No! And then I spend my rest of the day with him. Its weird how not weird it feels. its strange how normal it was. i mean, is it normal? was it normal? I dont know!! I dont know what to do! or what to think, or how to feel... I am so lost. I know God has my back, and I know He has a plan greater than mine. But i just dont know...