1. prayer is awesome. listening to God is awesome. just make sure it’s God you’re hearing (compare it all to scripture) cuz i had some wannabe trying to tell me stuff and i was like no that contradicts what you said in such-in-such verse get lost! and that’s no fun so then i turned on music and meditated on the scripture in the lyrics b/c Scripture is the Word that we can depend on. Thank GOD! I’m still learning to distinguish his voice from other voices. If you’re ever unsure of something you hear from anyone, spiritual or otherwise, check it against Scripture. If it doesn’t line up, there’s a problem

well that turned into a rant… anyways, moving on to:

2. Do. Not. Worry. Seriously. Do not fear, do not worry, do not be anxious about ANYTHING. Today I went to get my TB skin test read, and it was positive; I have tuberculosis in my system. I still have to get other tests done and probably meds too, but it freaked me out for a minute. But I don’t have all the information. None of us do. God allows weird things to happen, and it’s all for his glory! TB is treatable, which I’m thankful for! but I spent a few long hours wallowing in self-pity and anxiety about it. My heart was not willing to lean on God, and that feeling you get when you’re not trusting God is icky. But God is my stable rock, and he pulled me back to him, and I’m clinging to him with all my trust. No matter what happens to me in this life, I will love him and cling to him. And if I fail, I pray he just keeps pulling me back.

3. There will be people in your life that are like thorns. Those certain people that dig into you and irritate you to no end and it’s so hard not to lose it when you’re around them. I have people like that in my life, and I think there’s a reason. I think God puts people like that in our lives so we can learn to love people even when we don’t want to. To love people for his sake and not ours. To love people because of Jesus instead of b/c they deserve love. That was a humbling and convicting realization for me. Definitely something I need to put major effort into!

4. Going the speed limit really isn’t bad. Cruise control is your friend. And then when you pass by cops who’ve pulled someone over, you won’t be anxiously glancing around to see if there are anymore cops on the road.

5. It’s 4 days till the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. GET EXCITED! Or at least, ya know, find joy in who Jesus is and meditate on what he’s done during this winter season. Whatever floats your boat, so long as it’s about Jesus :)

Wow. You want to really get your perspective straight on stuff? Hear the stories of our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. These people have endured so much, yet consider it nothing compared to the treasure they have in Jesus. It’s simply inspiring! 

If you’re curious about where to read such stories, a good place to start is the Voice of the Martyrs website. Seriously, it will give you such encouragement to read their stories. I hope it will bring you to your knees in prayer as it has for me.

frolickingfrivolities:

Regardless of who you voted for this election, please read this if you are a Christian. It is something that is good to remember for today and for our future.

Some awesome points from the end of the movie “Beware of Christians”:

*living differently, living like Jesus… it’s not for forcing the world to be righteous. It’s for showing the world that there is a better way.

*Christianity has different meanings to different people. For some, it means praying a prayer when they were in church one time. That’s not following Jesus. Saying a prayer doesn’t change anything. Jesus calls us to give up our lives to follow him, to know him personally. 

*Dear Americans, God is bigger than the borders of the USA.

*Quite literally, following Jesus is completely surrendering your entire life to him. It is a radical thing that completely changes your life, and it sucks a lot of the time, it’s really hard most of the time. But it’s the best decision you’ll ever make.

*Stuff in this world is temporary, but this whole God thing? Eternal. 

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sn: this is some of the more serious stuff, but this documentary is also got some hilarious scenes in it :)

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I leave you guys with this part of an interview from the movie.

“And your friends that are Christians, can you tell that they’re Christians by the way they act? 

No, no, not really. They’re just busy on Sundays.”

carryingmycrosses:

I need your help spreading God’s Word on my campus.

I’m a student attending the University of Wyoming in Laramie right now. Anyone who goes to this school knows that every couple of weeks, someone stands out in front of the Union and screams and shouts about God until their lungs are numb.

That’s not what I want to do.

Hear me out.

I just want to sit out by the Union and read my Bible. Have a sign up that says something like, “Free Prayer, Just Ask” or “Tell Me Your Story.” You know. Minding my own business until someone decides they want to speak to me.

Here’s where I need your help.

I would like you guys to donate Bibles to me that I can hand out for free on my campus.

I’ve heard a lot of people misquote the Bible, both Christian and not. With all these guys screaming about salvation, I’ve seen a lot of people who appear to change their thinking. But how many of them go home and pick up a Bible? How many of them even have a Bible?

I’m going to be working with a local church. If you have a Bible you would like to donate, please contact me ASAP so I can get the address to you

I’m going to need a lot of Bibles. Preferably ones that don’t have a lot of markings in them, but you never know. Maybe something that you highlighted will mean a lot to whoever gets your old Bible. Also, if you want to write a nice note inside the front or back cover of the Bible addressed to someone, feel free to do that, as well!

Come on guys. I’ve been waiting forever to be convicted and have the courage to do something like this. I’d really, really appreciate you guys sending me Bibles. 

Spread the word!

Much love and God bless

—Heather

One of my lovely friends here is gonna start giving Bibles to people at her school who don’t have one. Read what she’s up to!

narniaandthenorth:

If you happen to come by this, im praying/believing in big things for western North Carolina. God has laid it on my heart to move here and take a part in spreading the news that Jesus came to fix, and restore. That He came to draft people into His renewed creation and reenter into oneness with His people. Pray I have strength and boldness to stand firm, pray God sends more workers for his harvest. Pray I have a servants demeanor when I talk to people. Pray for humbleness and love in my heart. Pray I find a community of believers here to get plugged into.

Thank you, sincerely.

Matthew 18:18-20 NLT

“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.
“I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

yes. NC has only been my home for 4 years now, but I’m right with you in prayer here.  (and for other states, and the world…but NC definitely holds a more personal place in my heart right now). And definitely praying God guides you to where you need to plug in! We are meant to walk this life out in community with other people, so I’m sure God will help you out :D

I’m gonna be honest and say that I’m writing this with a lot of distress in my heart. Maybe you’ve heard of the Chick-fil-a thing going on, maybe you haven’t. I’m not going to sit here and write a position paper for you. If people would like to know where I stand on certain issues, you are free to ask me (anon or not), but what I don’t want to do is stand on a soapbox and preach whatever my thoughts are to an already angry audience. Both sides are doing that to some extent, and both sides are angry to some extent. And it’s been really distressing for me to see people on either side act in such a manner towards one another. It’s not helping anything as far as I can tell.

So I guess my point for writing this is to give some advice to myself and to y’all since I haven’t posted on here in a while. My advice is simple: some time this week, find a place where you can be alone. Once you’re there, let all your stuff out to God. Tell him all that’s been going on, how it makes you feel, things you have questions about, et al. Do that for a while, but then stop. After you do that, praise God for who he is. Write his traits down if you want. Praise God for as long as you can (cuz there are infinite things to say about him), and then stop again. Just pause. Take a few minutes, if not more, to simplylistento God andmeditateon His character. Rest in his love and the peace he gives that surpasses all understanding. Trust in his sovereignty and love.

I’m gonna do this before I go to bed, cuz I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep if I don’t. I’ve even gotten off of Facebook for a little bit to take a break from the incessant stream of stuff on my newsfeed. (You know there’s a problem when you forsake normal internet activity lol) Anyways, that’s all I wanted to say to y’all. If y’all have any questions or comments, go ahead and ask or email, k? :)

if-i-sing:

I need to remember this more.

God, help us not to be burdened with things we cannot control. Rather, give us your peace.

Help us to desire You above any other desire we may have. You deserve it, and You are better.

Stir up urgency in our hearts to go forth into the world and share your love tangibly with others. Let that urgency be motivated by sincere compassion for people.

Give us a fuller, deeper understanding of Your love for us.

In Your Son’s name (Jesus, the Christ), I ask these things of You. Amen.

frolickingfrivolities:

I really cannot stress enough the importance of prayer. In the easy times and the hard times, praying to God strengthens your faith and love towards Him like nothing else. Taking that time to focus on getting to know Him is crucial for spiritual growth.

How can you fall in love with someone you don’t know?       Think on that.