Resolutions

Verse of the Day:

Philippians 3:13-14

Brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us to.

When I think of all the things that have happened in the past year, I am amazed at how much I have grown up and changed and where His plan has taken me to.  We can never really what God has planned for us in just one short year of our lives, but so far He has never ceased to amaze me!

Although our plans don’t always go as we would like them to and God throws us curveballs when we least expect it, it is important to look into the future and think where we want to be next year at this time.  What do you want to do differently in your life in 2011?

I am an avid blog follower, and I found this great advice on another blog that I’m going to steal – giving them due credit of course. J Anywho, the guy who writes this blog focuses on how to write New Year’s resolutions that are SPECIFIC, MEASUREABLE, ATTAINABLE, RELEVANT, and TIMELY – all characteristics of a great resolution.  I highly suggest checking out his blog for a better idea of what he means.  (http://www.lifeteen.com/blog/make-2011-better-a-teenagers-guide-to-crafting-a-new-years-resolution)

A resolution in any area of your life is a great way to start the year, but I challenge you to make a spiritual resolution.  This could range from praying more to going to church on a regular basis to starting a prayer journal.  Anything that will bring you closer to God.  It’s just important that it is something that will be meaningful to YOU. You will be amazed at where these actions will take you.

Where do you want to be in your relationship with God on December 31, 2011?

The Simple Truth:  Setting goals to improve your relationship with God will improve everything in your life.

Pray:

Lord, help me to grow much closer to you in this coming year.  I trust you with my life and I know the plans You have for me are so much better than any I could ever make myself.  Amen.

Peace, love & prayers-

K

Honor Yo' Father and Yo' Mother

Verse of the Day:
Sirach 1:6

He who respects his father will life a long life; he who brings comfort to his mother obeys the Lord.

The older we get, the more we realize how ridiculously awesome our parents are. As kids/teenagers, we were never really too upset with any of our parent’s rules, but even the rules that they did have, we understand now. Our parents have always (even when we didn’t realize it) been a powerful example of what it means to be great people, as well as great Christians. 

Our mom constantly gives her time and energy to organizations and events that we were/are involved in. She is always chaperoning dances, volunteering for committees, or encouraging us to have friends over to visit. She has made all of our friends feel welcome and like a part of our family for many years. She has been like a ‘second mom’ to many of our friends, and we feel lucky that she cares so much not only about us, but about the people we care about too. We think this is a great example of how to be a loving, accepting, and giving Christian figure. 

Our dad is the greatest man we’ve ever known. He is an amazing example of what it is to ‘live the faith’ and he does it in a way that never forces it upon you, but silently encourages it. It has always been routine in our house to go to church every Sunday, pray before each meal, and just live our lives with Christian values. We attribute a lot of that to our dad being such a committed man of Christ.

The Simple Truth: Even though you might not realize it now, God has blessed you with great parents. They might be parents that show you to live in the faith, or they might be ones who struggle with their beliefs. Either way, it is part of His great plan.

Pray:
Lord, help me to respect my parents, even when it is hard. Help me to appreciate the things they have done for me and to know I will have great rewards for living Your Word. Amen.


Peace OUT,
K & Lo

The Power of Prayer

Verse of the Day:

Mark 11:24

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

I keep a prayer journal. Basically, every night I just write my prayers down and leave it at that. The reason I started keeping a journal was because I wanted to see how God was working in my life by looking back and seeing what I had prayed for in the past.

I have this friend. I wouldn’t say she was on the wrong path, but she was not exactly heading in the right one. I could tell she had lost her faith and that she was struggling with things in her personal life. I didn’t really know what do to about it, so I just decided to pray.

One night, I decided to look through my journal and see what God had done. I kept seeing my friend’s name. I read things like “Help her find her way” and “I pray she finds trust in You”. I didn’t realize how much I had been praying for her. I didn’t think much of it, and that night I prayed for her again.

The very next day, she came up to me in class. She asked me to go to church with her, and if she could be added to my list of cell phone contacts that receive Bible verses from me every night. A huge smile spread across my face. First of all, I was extremely excited for her. Secondly, I had just witnessed first-hand the power of prayer.

Prayer works. Give it a try.

The Simple Truth: God answers our prayers. It may not be right away, but He has a plan up His sleeve. Prayer is a powerful thing.

Pray:

Lord, help  me to not give up on my prayers even when they don't seem like they're working right away.  Help me to be patient with You and your plans, and to do my best to be an example to those around me.  Amen.

Peace, love & prayers-

K

God's Medicine

Verse of the Day:

Proverbs 4:20-22

My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.

Medicine is pretty awesome. When I have a headache, it’s always relieving to know that I can take some Advil and the pain will go away. When we’re sick, most of the time the doctor can prescribe us something to help us overcome an illness, and in a couple of days we feel fine. But medicine isn’t any good unless you take it. You could go to the doctor, get some medicine, and return home and set the medicine on your nightstand right next to your bed. And then you could grow sicker. You might call the doctor and say, “I don’t understand. I got the prescription, I paid money for it! Why doesn’t it work? I’m getting worse.” The doctor might ask if you’re taking it according to the directions. You might say, “Well, no. But I’ve got it right here in the bottle by my bed!”

The medicine won’t work if it’s in the bottle. It’s gotta be inside you.

The same thing goes with God’s Word. It won’t work if your Bible is sitting on your nightstand next to your bed. It won’t even work just because you read it, or memorize a few lines of scripture. It’ll work when you get it inside of you, to your heart. When you meditate on it and act on what his Word says.

The Simple Truth: Just like medicine, God’s Word will not work until it is inside of you.

Pray:

Lord, help me to read your Word and to take it all in. Help me to take Your medicine of the Bible on a daily basis and to really meditate on it.

Let your light shine.

-Lo

Treasures

Verse of the Day:

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust to do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”

There is always a lot going on during the holiday season… family get-togethers, church services, presents, Santa, delicious food, cookie baking, etc.  And when you talk to people after Christmas, I think one of the first questions you probably get asked is “What did you get?!”  We place A LOT of focus on the items that we receive as presents, earthly things.  How often do we ask someone how it was to spend time with their family? Or how their Christmas church service was?  Probably not as often…

 This year I found myself treasuring time with my family, church services, and long talks with my cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents more than I ever had years before.  Although I’m thankful for all the presents I got, I would trade them any day of the week for time with my family and a baby boy being born to save the world from sin.  My treasure this year was not in my presents, but in my family and my faith.  And that is where my heart is now more than ever.

The Simple Truth: I can’t think of a better way to put it and I think Jesus will be okay with me stealing His words… “For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”

Pray:

Lord, thank You for a wonderful Christmas and for sending Your son for me.  Help me to remember what is important during this season and keep my heart in the right place.  Amen.

Peace, love & prayers-

K

A Helping Hand

Verse of the Day:
Luke 6:38


For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.


I was having a very busy day. I went to school, went straight to babysit for 2 hours, then rushed to a voice lesson and then had to straight to mock trial practice. After my voice lesson, I was running short on time and I was super hungry for dinner. There is a boy, let's call him Jack, who needed a ride to mock trial. I had two options. 


1) Call Jack and tell him I couldn't give him a ride and stop at Subway to get a sandwich.
OR
 2) Give Jack a ride and go hungry.


I decided to help Jack, despite my hungry stomach. When I pulled in his driveway, he came out his front door, carrying two brown bags. When he got in my car, he handed them to me.


"I thought you'd be hungry, I knew you usually don't have time to eat on Mondays. My mom and I packed you a  dinner" 


It was the best packed dinner I HAVE EVER HAD. A PB & J sandwich, celery, yogurt, Mountain Dew, green tea, cookies, and craisins. All of my favorites. To top it all off, his mom gave me $25 for driving Jack around.


Here's the lesson. I had a choice to make, and I decided to help out Jack instead of getting a Subway sandwich. When I made a decision to help someone, I got out even more than I could ask for. 


The Simple Truth: You will get rewarded for putting others needs before yourself.

Pray:

Lord, help me to put others before me and to realize that helping people out will give me great rewards. Help me to make the right decisions on a daily basis.

Let your light shine.

-Lo

MERRY ALMOST CHRISTMAS!

The Relationship Triangle

Verse of the Day:


Ecclesiastes 4:9-12


Two are better than one, because they have good return for their work:  If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  


Sooo I have heard this verse at pretty much every wedding I have ever been to.  But I feel like it is something that we can all apply to all the relationships in our lives.  Two ARE better than one.  It's great to have a friend, sibling, boyfriend/girlfriend, or another person along with you on your life journey.  And if you fall down or they fall down, the other person is there to be the strong one and help the fallen friend up.  But the part of this that really stands out to me the most is 'A cord of three strands is not quickly broken'.  The three strands obviously being the two people and God.  I truly believe (and have experienced) that a relationship with God in the center is a more fulfilling and meaningful one.

I heard an analogy once about a triangle and a relationship.  I feel like this lovely illustration I did explains it pretty well.  ;)  But the moral of it is that if God is at the focal point of your relationship (any type of relationship at all), and you and the other person are both moving toward God, you will consequently grow much closer to each other at the same time.  Neat thought, huh?





The Simple Truth:  If God is your center, your relationship will be stronger.

Pray:
Lord, keep Your love, grace, and forgiveness at the center of all my relationships and help me to grow closer to others around me by growing closer to You WITH them.  Thank You for blessing me with faithful people to surround and influence me.  Amen.

Peace, love & prayers-
K

Every Little Thing is Gonna Be All Right

Verse of the Day:

Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Does he like me? Am I wearing cute enough clothes? Will she be mad at me tomorrow? Will she think I'm stupid?

Did I study enough? I wonder if I got an A. Do you think my parents will kill me if I don't get higher than a B? What if I don't get on the honor roll?

Where am I supposed to go to college? Did I apply to the right schools? How will I know which school to choose? How far away from home do I want to be?

Did I get everyone on my list a Christmas present? Will they like their presents? Will so-and-so be upset that I didn't get them anything? Do I have time to go shopping tomorrow?

If you're like me, you're a worry wart.
Guess what?
You don't have to be. God tells us straight up that we don't need to worry. He's got us covered.

So, the next step is to take all of those things that worry you and lay them down at the foot of the cross. Jesus will totally help you out. He's got your back.

The Simple Truth: Worrying about things will not help us. Lay your fears about tomorrow down to Jesus. Every little thing is gonna be all right.

Pray:

Lord, help me not to get too caught up in the worry of every day life. Help me to know that you will help me with my struggles and that you already know what tomorrow brings for me. Help me to come to you whenever I have fear or doubt or worry, knowing that You will help me.

Let your light shine.
P.S. HAPPY CHRISTMAS BRAEK! :)
-Lo

A Social Network Christmas

Verse of the Day:
Hebrews 13:8


Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Nick and I (mostly me, of course) were Facebook creeping at lunch today and we found this video.  It is literally the story of the birth of Jesus, just told as Facebook statuses, wall posts, and all that.  We laughed through most of it, but at the end realized that it IS the exact story.  Pretty cool stuff.

A Social Network Christmas

The Simple Truth:  The story of Jesus (just like Jesus Himself!) will never change.  It doesn't matter if it is told through words, pictures, or Facebook.  God sent His Son to be born and to eventually die - just for us.

Peace, love & prayers-
K

I Will Follow You

This is an AWESOME song. Listen to the words. It's about following Christ. Enjoy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnwz3xx_yGs

Why do you doubt?

Verse of the Day:

Matthew 14:28-31

“Lord, it it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” He said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

We all probably know the story of Jesus walking on water.  I actually didn’t know until I read this a couple days ago that Peter walked on water (for a little while at least), too.  Peter puts his trust in Jesus by telling him that if Jesus says it is him out there that he will walk out to him.  Jesus reassures Peter that it is Him and Peter starts walking toward Him, but as soon as the wind starts to blow, Peter’s faith is shaken.

How many times do we do something like this? 

1.       Think about starting something new and scary and ask God if He will be there for us our new path (maybe walking on water? ;)

2.       Actually start the something scary trusting that God is right there with us.

3.       Venture out a little further on our journey (possibly slightly unsure of our steps…).

4.       Spot something that makes us nervous (like some scary wind).

5.       And doubt that God has our back anymore.

I know I have gone through those steps many times.  I don’t give God the trust He deserves even though He promises never to leave me.  His hand will always be there to catch us, even when we DO doubt.  We’re lucky people.

The Simple Truth:  Even when we doubt, He NEVER lets us fall.

Pray:

Lord, help me to trust You when I am setting out on new adventures.  I know You will always be there for me even at times when it feels like the whole world is against me.  Amen.

Peace, love & prayers-
K

Open Doors

Verse of the Day:
Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

So, I went to my voice lesson the other day, just like usual. I pulled up the the back parking lot and headed for the door. The door is always locked. Week after week, it is always locked. So, as my usual routine goes, I called my voice teacher to open the door for me. He didn't answer. I called him two more times. No luck. Shivering in the December air, I headed back to my car and drove around to the other side of the building where there were doors that were actually open, and ended up being 5 minutes late to my voice lesson. When my half hour lesson was done, another girl came in right after me. I asked her if she had to go all the way around the building, like I did, to find an open door.

"No," she replied. "The back door was open today!"

Yep. I was so sure that the door was locked that I didn't even TRY to open it. Turns out, it was open the whole time.

Relating this to God. Sometimes I feel like I have to pray a certain way at a certain time, or go to church so many times a month, or go to youth group, and do all of these extra things to get God's love. But the thing is, there are opportunites right in front of us to love God. We don't have to take the long route. We can get to God's love easier than that, just how I could have gotten to my voice lesson without that whole other pointless detour.

The Simple Truth: God's love is ready and available to us. We don't have to take a bunch of twists and turns to find it.

Pray:

Lord, help me to realize that You are ready to talk to whenever I need You. I do not need to pray a special way, or go to church a special number of times, or go to my youth group to get Your attention. You love me no matter what, and Your love is always ready, right in front of me.

Let your light shine.
-Lo

(P.S. Sorry about the no-blog thing yesterday, it's been a busy week!)

l-o-v-e

Verse of the Day:

1 John 4:19

¹⁹We love because He loved us first.

Love.  What a wonderful word.  Love is talked about all over the Bible.  Like seriously, I looked it up and it’s mentioned 697 times.   

There are many different kinds of love in our lives.  Love for your family, love for your friends, romantic love, love for God.  I could go on.  All of these loves are similar, but they have their own qualities as well.  What it really comes down to is that the people you love are YOUR people.  They are the ones you would do anything for and the ones your life would be so different without.  And we feel like this and love this way because He loves us this way.  We’re HIS people.  The ones He would do anything for.  The ones He would send His only Son to save.  The ones He so desperately wants to live in Him.  It is in love, earthly love or divine love, that we can experience all that God has to offer us in this life.

‘Love opens people up to each other and ultimately opens them to God.  Love causes us to experience the divine gift that others are to us.  It causes us to trust the world a bit more.  If we open ourselves up to love, then we are more ready to accept the divine presence that comes hidden in others, a presence that, perhaps, we have also hidden from ourselves.  We become more open to God, and consequently, all things become possible.’ – (Donna Freitas & Jason King - Save the Date)

The Simple Truth: God = Love, Love = God.

Pray:

Lord, thank You for all the love in my life.  Help me to see You in everyone I love.  I know that I know how to love only because You’ve showed me such a great example.  Amen.

Peace, love & prayers -

K

Justin Bieber Prays

I love Justin Bieber a little more than I should at 21 years old.  You can find me dancing to his songs with my roommates on a weekly basis.  Embarrassing, I know.
I came across this video and it made me love Biebs even more than I already did.  I think seeing celebrities who have kept their faith, care about those less fortunate than themselves, and aren't afraid to make a song that won't be played at the next high school dance are celebrities worth looking up to.

Justin Bieber - Pray

Happy weekend! :)

Peace, love & prayers-
K

Working Hard

Verse of the Day:
1 Timothy 4:7-8

On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

I just got back from the boys basketball game, and they WON! And it was a super awesome/intense/cool game to be at! I was so impressed with the guys and how hard they worked. Then it occurred to me...

They didn't get that good overnight.

In order to get that good, they worked. They worked really hard too! They practice every day after school for four hours. Sometimes even in the mornings. They memorize plays, they lift weights, they spend time together to develop team chemistry. They spend so much time into playing basketball, and the outcome is success.

I think for everyone there is something that we are really dedicated to, whether it's basketball, band, student council, or getting good grades. Working really hard and keeping discipline help us reach our goals in those areas. Think about if we had that much dedication and put that much time into our relationship with God. The outcome, success.

The Simple Truth: If we put more time and energy into our relationship with God, the result would be awesomeness.

Pray:

Lord, help me to realize that while things like basketball, theater, and school are very important, my relationship with You is also important. Help me to discipline myself so that I can become closer to You.

Let your light shine
-Lo

Guard Your Heart

Verse of the Day:

Proverbs 4:23

²³ Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Guard my heart, huh God?  This sound difficult…

I’ll be the first to say that I haven’t always been the greatest at guarding my heart, and I also haven’t always treated others hearts with the respect they deserve.  When I was in middle school, I remember being ‘that girl’ who had a different boyfriend every week, and I loved it.  Boys liked me!  Silly reason to feel valuable, but gimme a break – I was in middle school. ;)  Once I got to high school, things got slightly more serious and I found myself having some control over other people’s hearts, and giving them some control over mine. And there were times that I didn’t guard my heart well enough, and I got hurt.  In college, it was the same story.  Only things were even more serious.  And I got even more hurt.  From all of this, I’ve learned that first and foremost, I need to fill my heart with God.  He will allow someone to fill my heart if its right and I trust that if it isn’t right, He won’t let them in. 

Right now I have this padlocked and dead bolted door on my heart.  It’s possible I am guarding it a little too closely.  When you make mistakes and let people into your heart who shouldn’t be there, that can happen.  But God is showing me a lot and I completely trust that He will open the door soon. 

The Simple Truth: There IS someone out there who your heart doesn’t need protecting from.  Trust God to lead you to that person.

Pray:

Lord, help me to not be reckless with people’s hearts and lead me away from people who may be reckless with mine.  I know You have a great plan for me.  Fill me with You and help me to guard my heart with all I have.  Amen. 

Peace, love & prayers-

K 

"I'll go with you"

Verse of the Day:
Matthew 28:20

And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.

It's a comforting thing when we face something difficult and a person says to us, "I'll go with you." Whether it be a doctor's appointment, or a difficult talk, or a new experience. Actually, it's nice to have someone say "I'll go with you" even when it's not serious. I have a friend who always has to have someone dish her tray with her at lunch, go to the bathroom with her between classes, and go to basketball games with her. We all like the company. And let's face it, we feel a little more confident about what we're doing if we have someone right along side us to support us.

Guess what?

God is with us. All the time. In every situation. Right along side us. He tells us in Matthew 28:20, I am with you always. THAT'S SO COOL. Although we may not feel his physical presence, it makes a difference to remember that wherever we are, God is there with us. He tells us, day after day, "I'll go with you"

The Simple Truth: No matter where we go, no matter what we do, God always tells us that he'll come with us.

Pray:

Lord, help me to remember that you will always be with me wherever I go, in every situation. Give me comfort to know that you will guide and protect me all the days of my life.

Let your light shine.
-Lo

Hurt & Healing

Verse of the Day:

John 9:1-3

¹ As Jesus went along, He saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

This weekend I was blessed to have a 6 hour round trip car ride with two of my favorite people I have met in La Crosse.  These two people have had more influence on me and who I am right now than most of the other people who have come in and out of my life.  Anyhow, we got into a great conversation about getting hurt by others and enduring that struggle.  One or the other of these friends, sometimes even both together, have helped me through many of my difficulties in the past year, and it got me thinking about the people that God brings into our lives. 

In this verse, Jesus heals the blind man and probably proves Himself to many of the people watching that He is the true Healer.  Sometimes I think that God allows us to go through difficult situations to prove to us that He WILL take care of us when we’re hurting.  And although we can’t see the healing He does like the blind man witnessed it, He sends people into our lives that are able to repair us through Him – even if they don’t know that’s their purpose.  God knows what He’s doing when He allows pain and struggle in our lives.  I can look back on my past year and realize that I wouldn’t be as close to these friends as I am right now if we hadn’t all gone through situations that we needed each other to make it through.  They probably don’t even realize how much they have impacted and healed areas of my life. Sometimes God sends us down some crazy paths in order to get us where we are meant to be.

The Simple Truth:  God allows us to experience pain and suffering.  But He also sends amazing people into our lives with a purpose.

Pray:

Lord, thank You for all the struggles I have gone through and the people in my life who have made me the person I am today.  Help me to look for Your purpose in all of my difficulties, as well as all my relationships.  Amen.


Peace, love & prayers-
K

Contentment

Verse of the Day:
Ecclesiastes 1:9

What has been done is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

NEW! IMPROVED! We often see these two words in many ad campaigns. No matter how good a product already is, sooner or later it'll be even better. When I was 10 years old, I thought it was SO COOL to have a portable CD player. I took it to school and listened to it, brought it with me on road trips, and basically thought it was the best thing I owned. A couple years later, everyone had an mp3 player. I thought to myself..now I want one of those! After I got an mp3 player, I saw everyone with iPods, and I thought to myself, now I want an iPod! They're WAY better than an mp3 player! Now I have an iPod, but it's really outdated. Now those iPod Touches look pretty awesome to me...

You get the picture.

The writer of Ecclesiastes invites us to just enjoy what we have now. Sometimes it's hard, when we see someone with the latest BlackBerry or the newest Uggs. We want new things. But a real gift is being thankful and content with the things we already have.

The Simple Truth: Improvements to earthly items will always be done, but we should be content with what we already have.

Pray:

Lord, help me to be content with my life. Help me to praise and thank You for the things you give me every single. Help me to not get caught up in wanting the latest item.

Let your light shine.
-Lo

Let Your Light Shine

Instead of a verse of the day, I have a quote of the day.

It's deep, and true.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves. Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

We are children of God.

The Simple Truth: Let your light shine, it'll help others do the same.

Pray:

Lord, help us to live as Your children. Help us to let our light shine on a daily basis to let others do the same. Help us not to play small and insecure in this big world.

Let your light shine.
-Lo

Who am I living for?

Verse of the Day:

John 5:30

³⁰ By myself I can do nothing, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me.

I’ve tried a few times to live by myself, to take over my life and put God on the backburner.  Without going into detail, I’m just gonna say it didn’t work out very well.  I’ve heard many speakers say that when they’ve tried to take their own paths they have been left with a God-shaped hole in their heart, and I can totally relate to that - because I’ve learned that I CAN do nothing by myself.  I feel empty and I don’t have a direction.  The point is, when I try to live by myself, I am definitely not living to please God.  I am living to please myself.  When I live to please God and I do the things that I know He wants me to do, say, and believe, I am happy.  There is no God-shaped hole in my heart.  I am good to people and I feel like my life is going in the direction I want it to be going in.  And it’s all because of a simple reason.  I AM LIVING TO PLEASE HIM.  Living for God isn’t easy, and I think that the decision to follow Him is one that you have to remake every morning of your life, but I can’t think of one day that it wasn’t worth it.

The Simple Truth: A life lived for God isn’t always fun or easy, but when you’re living to please Him, it’s impossible to go wrong.

Pray:

Lord, help me to recommit my life to You every day.  I know that by myself I can do little, but with You by my side I can accomplish great things.  Amen.

Peace, love & prayers-

K