Treasure in Jars of Clay

First, a song from Jars of Clay!! Which, yes the band name does go along with the theme verse and title for this post, but I didn't pick this song until after I chose the verse and title, and it was amazing how well this song fit with what I have to say and with the verse I chose, which is also something I stumbled upon while flipping through my Bible.

So, let's dive in here....

It seems to me that when there's sin in our lives or tragedy happens around us or life becomes frustrating, etc, everything all seems to become chaos all at once. It seems to never be in small doses.

Lately I've been struggling with doubt, among other sins, but this one in particular. I have had such little faith!! And I look at myself and think, my goodness. How can you not trust God? The one who formed all things without lifting a finger. The One who holds my life in the palm of His hand, who knew what each day would hold before a single one came to be. And it seems that every time I have struggles and strife in my life, this same verse finds it's way to me (yes, the Holy Spirit is always at work!!):

                           "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
                                                                     2 Corinthians 4:7-9

HE is in control, not us. HE has the power, not us. HE protects us and watches out for us; HE gives us the strength to persevere and carry on throughout the struggles of life. He will not let us be crushed, in despair, abandoned, or destroyed! He will uphold us, keep us strong, and carry us through the fire. No matter what that "fire" may be, you can bet your boots that God will see you through to the end.

Love and Blessings :)


1 Peter 5:10-11
"And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

1 Peter 5:6-7
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.CAST ALL YOUR CARES UPON HIM, BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU."

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

Philippians 1:6
"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

1 Corinthians 1:8
"He will keep you sting to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 12:9
"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"

Galatians 6:9
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Ephesians 3:16-19
"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

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

Psalm 37:4
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Love Takes Wing

Some of you know, though many of you probably don't, that I've currently been reading the Love Comes Softly Series by Janette Oke. Let me start by saying how absolutely wonderful and touching these books are!! I'm down to the last one, Love Finds a Home, but I just finished Love Takes Wing.

Now, Love Takes Wing was not my favorite one of the books. Don't get me wrong, it was a great read and I enjoyed it, but it just wasn't my favorite one of the series of books. And if you've not read the books but seen the movies, they're absolutely nothing alike so you can't go off the movies and know what's taken place in the books. Very disappointed at how far they ventured from the real story-line when they made the movies. Good movies, but absolutely nothing like  the books!!! But anyway, moving right along...

Love Takes Wing was a very good book and, like I said, even though it wasn't my favorite, I really did learn much from this book. Especially at the end. Belinda, the youngest Davis child and the protagonist of Love Takes Wing, is realizing how much she has put God on the back burner in her life. Upon her realization, she withdraws to her room and has some alone time with the Lord "crying out to a forgiving God." Indeed He is forgiving and loving, and I'm so glad, because like Belinda I know I intend to do the same. I've had so many different emotional/spiritual troubles lately. And then when I read that part of the book, I realized myself how much I've placed God on the back burner in my own life, skipping out on reading His word, not attending Sunday fellowship in Sunday School and worship service, and only praying right before bed and only for a couple of minutes, nothing in depth. I'm not spending enough one-on-one time with the Lover of my soul, the One and Only that deserves all my attention and affection. My prayer now is that I will get back on track in spending time with the Lord and in attending "Sunday go-to-meetin'" :)

True joy comes from God. We will only find it in Him. Nothing and no one in this world can give us the joy and satisfaction Yahweh can provide, that only He can offer and fulfill. We must seek Him, and with all out hearts. Then, and only then, will we find true joy, peace, love, fulfillment, and satisfaction.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in My love. If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:9-11

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."1 Corinthians 3:11


Much love, many blessings, and thank you for visiting!

What Keeps You from Following God?

First, a word from the Skit Guys!

http://skitguys.com/videos/item/what-keeps-you-from-following-god

What does keep you from following God? I know fear usually plays a huge factor in what keeps me from following God. Fear of what others may think, fear of failing, fear of things that could go physically wrong like disease, injury, etc. But 1 John 4 tells us this:

              

                    "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in Him.[...] There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear."

So why should we be afraid to follow God?

What keeps us from following and serving God? I challenge you to ask yourself this question, along with other hard questions such as: Why do I let this keep me from following God? What can I do to overcome this obstacle that keeps me from following God? Do I need to cut certain things/people/places out of my life in order to follow God? If so, what steps do I need to take to get to that point? And most importantly: Will I do what I need to do in order to follow and serve God? 

As you ask/answer these questions, be honest with yourself and be honest with God. First of all, He already knows your heart so there's no point in being anything but 100% honest with Him. Second, be honest with yourself because you're not really getting anywhere by not. 

Following God means being a sacrificial servant. Being sacrificial means giving up things even when we don't want to, even if we think it's harmless. This includes how we spend our time and who we spend it with. This includes the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the books and magazines we read. Every area of our lives is included. As Christians, we are called to be holy and sanctified. 1 Peter 1:15 says, "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." In ALL you do. Once again, don't lie to yourself about areas in your life you should be giving up so you can follow and serve God correctly. ALL things we do, hear, see affect our hearts in a big way, even if you think "it's just a little bit." 

Christ said, "and anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matt. 10:38-39)." 

Christian, I implore you, take up your cross today. Lay your burdens down at the feet of Christ and follow Him. 

Much love!

Thank you for visiting! 

Grace that is greater than all our sin...

Most of us let our sins keep us from serving, whether from the past or from 5 minutes ago or anything we've ever done. I know for me the sin from my past has kept me from taking the big steps. I've always let satan tell me, and convince me, that I wasn't fit for the service of God's kingdom because the sin in my past was too ugly. I was too dirty, too unholy, too unworthy. And I am, but Christ certainly is not. He died for me so that my sin would be washed away. He came and made me clean so that I CAN be fit to serve Him. Because it's not about me, it's always, ALWAYS about Him. And that's true for all of us! I think too often we forget that's it's not about what we've done, it's about what He did on the cross to make us clean so that we can worship Him forever!!!

All that being said, watch this video by the Skit Guys, because it's really, really good!!! :) here's the link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhoFEuw2GPA&feature=relmfu

Much Love! Many blessings! Thanks for visiting!

This not-so-little Light of mine

Ok, so on my commute home from Seminole today one of my favorite songs came on! And it made me so excited, not only because I love it, but because it's been sort of one of my "theme songs" lately. I have many, which I'm sure I will share later! But right now I want to share this one. It's by Kari Jobe and it's called We are. If you haven't heard it, here's a youtube link to it :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij5FoBWLd1o

Awesome, right?! This song has been such a blessing to me. So when I came home I went looking for this verse in the Gospel of Matthew 5, verses 14-16:

            "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

WOW!! How amazing is it that God has chosen us to be His light in this world so that we can carry the message of His love, grace, and mercy to others!!! We are so blessed to have this Light in us, but we are not to keep it to ourselves or "put it under a bowl." We are to share with all, to give "light to everyone in the house."
I'm so excited to share my light with those I will encounter in Haiti!

And I want to encourage all of you to shine your light to others today and every day!! Pray for me and for each other! Much love :)

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and PRAISE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN." Matthew 5:16

Blessings & thanks for visiting!

First time for everything...

Ok, so I always  thought I would never actually have anything interesting enough to say to start a blog of my very own but......here I am, writing my first ever blog! You see, I'm going on my first ever international mission trip in June of this year to Haiti and Teryia (our Team leader/mission organizer/wonder woman) suggested that we each keep a journal from here one out through the time we are actually on the trip. So, as I got out my fresh, yummy-new-notebook smelling journal  and designated a particular "journal pen" I just thought to myself, wouldn't it be cool if there was some way to share my internal experiences with those who have supported me throughout this journey as well as the external experiences? The spiritual as well as the physical, each and every step of the way. And then blogging popped into my head, so here I am! Officially a blogger!

In this blog I will be sharing my thoughts, feelings, and experiences throughout my preparation for Haiti. This includes just my daily Bible reading, and other things will probably be thrown in as well! Because we all know I always have plenty to say.

It is my hope that my Beautiful Feet blog will be uplifting and encouraging to all who encounter it, that I will shine the light of Jesus, which He has placed in me by His Holy Spirit, and share His love with each and every word.

Much Love,

Julie