I'm Not Afraid To Say That I Am Waiting

In regards to my last blogpost "The Lord Knows Who Your Soul Loves" I put a song at the end called "Hide Your Love Away" by Anthem Lights. In today's culture it is seen as such a cliché or a taboo to save yourself for the one that the Lord has made for you.

But as a Strong Christian Woman who has never been in a relationship and has received so many questions regarding that choice to wait until the love is wakened for a christian gentleman. I love that this song speaks volumes to the regard that waiting for your Prince or Princess is God's plan. Because the truth is the Lord has something so magnificent in store for your life. He knows that someone who is going to be your other half on this earth. That someone who through your love for Jesus you will love each other so wholly.

So if you listened to the song from the last post I highly encourage you to watch this short video on the reasoning behind the song. If you are waiting that is amazing. Don't be afraid to say that you are because in the end the Lord will bless you well and you will be more than happy that you did.

The Lord Knows The One Your Soul Loves...

The Lord Knows Him

"Put not your trust in Princes."-Psalm 146:3

In my earlier teen years I had a fixation on a guy, lets just refer to him as Contender 1, that I thought was very much my ideal guy. Looking back a those moments I can see that while he was the epitome of the christian guy I was looking for he is not the christian guy that the Lord has planned for me in my life. I know that during that time I spent countless moments wondering about the future that could be. When in all actuality I should have been going through that time focusing the most on how I could please the Lord more. 

When I sit and think about it now, I realize that the Lord 's purpose for that time was fulfilled. More often than not we think we know a lot more about our lives than we actually do. So where in the time that I spent invested in someone else who was a little less interested in me I gained a little more patience through such an experience. 

The Lord knows my heart. He knew it then when I was experiencing young love. It is the same for everyone; believers and non-believers alike. The Lord knows your heart. One of my favorite verses to refer back to when thinking about this time in my life and this current single time is, Song of Songs 3:5 "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." 

 As a single christian women I know what it is like to be in love. I was in love, I had that experience. The Lord's plan for my life was not to have a boyfriend or even be in a relationship in the time where he wanted me to be seeking him and growing in his love for me. So you may have experienced something similar or may be experiencing it. Know that the Lord has a plan for your future Husband.

Not every boyfriend or love interest is going to be a contender for your Prince Charming. The Lord has planned out your life from beginning to end and knows him. He knows his heart as well as he knows yours. So if you have not found him yet, thats ok because that just means that neither of your hearts are ready yet. What the Lord wants is for your love to be His. So young love may seem like the most important thing but as christians we know that ultimately all our love is for Jesus and we share our love with those whom we care about dearly. 

As women and simply as christians we strive for that love that is "patient and kind...rejoices with the truth...and always preservers." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) That is a love made after God's own heart. The love that the Lord has planned for us is perfectly crafted after his own heart and we need only be patient. 

Sure there will definitely be people we fall in love with and it might happen more than once. But the Lord knows when your heart is ready and he will arouse and awaken love in your heart. We will know when the time is right because the Lord will be so present in all of it and it will be a love made after his own heart. 

So my Contender 1is just that, a contender. While I did spend quite a long time loving him he wasn't the one the Lord has planned for me. He still has a place in my life as a brother in Christ but that is all. So until the time is right I will continue to pray to the Lord for my Prince Charming and follow the path the Lord has for me as I pray you will do the same.  

We may stumble...

God, What if I stumble?

Psalm 37:24 says that "If He stumbles he is not down for long; God has a grip on his hand." 

Recently I was talking to one of my friends in my college dorm room about Jesus and His AMAZING love. She was asking me questions and telling me that she wanted to feel that closeness and that warmth that the Lord exudes and it got me thinking...and I decided I had to write about it. My friend went on to tell me that she felt that she was more or less stumbling through her faith and going through the motions instead of feeling it on a heart level. So I began to think about stumbling and it brought me to the question; "God, what if I stumble?" Will I lose the amazing feeling that I get when I feel your presence so strongly in my life? 

So while I was brainstorming I realized that no matter what happens to us, if we fall, the Lord is there to pick us right back up. We need only remember that he is our Saving Grace and he will  meet us in every moment of  our lives even when we  fall into a slump and don't feel him present. 

In psalm 119:165 it says that "For those who love what you reveal, everything fits-- no stumbling around in the dark for them." So with that we know that whatever God reveals to us we know that EVERYTHING fits. We shall not stumble around in the dark if we truly accept all that the Lord reveals. I love that simple fact that with God there is no darkness, only light. So when you truly yearn for the God and you live that everyday you will be consumed in the love and warmth in him. 

The Lord is light and he assures us that we will not eternally stumble around in the darkness. Isaiah 8:14 speaks volumes; "and he will always be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a tone hat causes men to stumble and a rock makes them fall." This tells us that either the Lord is the cornerstone of our lives (28:16) or he is a rock over which we fall. So we have a choice. We can can either choose to put all of our trust in him or we will stumble our way through life in a meaningless way, just simply wondering why we aren't feeling the warmth of the Heavenly Father. 

God says , "Watch closely. I'm laying a foundation, squared and true. And this is the meaning of the stone: A TRUSTING LIFE WON'T TOPPLE. 

Therefore as Christians if our complete trust is in God and not in people, we will have a solid rock of a foundation to place our lives upon and stay. So we put all of our trust in God because he is THE rock and the firm foundation made so that we will not stumble. 

Jeremiah 31:9 says; "Watch we come! They'll come weeping for joy as I take their hands and lead them, Lead them to fresh flowing brooks, lead them along smooth, uncluttered paths so that they will not stumble." The truth of the matter is that the Lord takes our hands and leads us to the fresh flowing well of his word. When we trust fully in him he leads us along uncluttered paths so that we might not stumble. 

So my dear friends if you feel as though you are stumbling and not connecting with Jesus in those warm glimpses into the kingdom know that the Lord is there. He will always be with you in every moment. As Christians we are the body and we are called to live a Godly life. So when we lead that life daily we will feel his warmth and love and those glimpses into the kingdom will only grow until the day where is becomes more than a glimpse but eternity in the Kingdom with the most amazing Heavenly Father. 

Love and Blessings to all of the Sons and daughters of the Kingdom.

All Of The Moments...Start And End In Jesus

There are moments,

These moments are pre determined because the  Lord takes so much care in our lives to plan out each and every little thing. The minute details are often the most exciting and important. I love the fact that our lives are a series of moments, moments where the Lord constantly loves us, no matter what.

Some moments in my life...
Finding God in the smallest things,

Like a smile 

A laugh 

The sun 

A question  

Words 

Moments we await... 

Awaiting the moment...That's natural

Wanting a boyfriend, someone to spend time with and be romantically close to

Well of course thats ok and important to want that moment, those moments. But it is not a moment we can choose and plan out for ourselves. There is an amazing someone out there for us. The Lord took careful time in picking them out. As the Lord is growing in our lives, he is growing our hearts to be open to the love of another. It is such a gift. A gift worth waiting for. So as I wait...As we wait...we know God will always be at the center and he will be forever great!

Recently I was given some fabulous words of wisdom that could only have come straight from the Lord, 

"Rest in God's love and the other things will come in His time when you are ready. Remember you don't need an earthly man first and foremost to define you. You are a daughter of the king with all the keys to the kingdom. You are strong in the faith...smart, beautiful, and so much more...God is preparing the perfect match to your needs. Try to be patient... Focus on refining your gifts and following the path He has given you...Just know God has a plan to give you hope and a future.. Don't doubt your significance go Him...He wants nothing but the best for you...Continue glorifying Him in all you do. Be open and ready for all that He has in store. Good things come to those that wait for his perfect timing. Don't let our people's relationships steal your joy. Walk in his love and light. Satan wants to steal your joy distract you and make you doubt. Don't give him the power to bring you down. When you start to feel sad because you don't have a guy just remember...God is hand picking your guy...Don't settle for any guy...Your Prince charming is out there. Trust in the Lord's timing and know that he only has the best plan for you." 

God is so good. His timing is something we will never understand and yet it is everything we will ever need. The moments he plans out for us are exactly what we must go through to get closer and closer to him and his amazing love.

When I look at where I am in my life right now, I am so blessed. We are all so immensely blessed. The moments of today, tomorrow, next month, and 5 years from now are already planned and in that I  know the Lord will be so much more than present throughout them all. 

If ever you are struggling with a moment, you are stuck in a moment you want to move from, just remember that there is a time for everything. In Ecclesiastes 3 it is said; "there is a time to weep and a time to laugh...a time to embrace and a time to refrain...a time to love..." Our Heavenly Father knows what our times, our moments are going to be and that is amazing!!

So why worry about that guy that who can't seem to find you? There might not be any available gentleman that are what you need or what you are meant to have. The timing is simply not right. The Lord knows your heart and your head and all of you. He knows the type of gent you need to be with and that is simply why it is not happening. Not because you are not desirable, because the Lord made you in his image. It is because you are too amazing and grounded in the Lord's love that there is no guy willing to take a chance.God's timing is not right. But it will be. 

Relish the moments. Trust that the moments are perfect. Because they are. Put your trust in the almighty Heavenly Father. For he plans out the moments. I am so in awe when I read psalm 40:5 "The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare." 

Look at the moments of present, for yes the future moments are planned. So don't worry about being single, don't worry about that moment when you think you ruined an audition, that moment you didn't  do so well on a test, the moments that are unknown; those are the most exciting. Those minute moments are all part of God's plan for your life. 

Our lives are a series of carefully planned moments...

We don't plan them 

We trust in the Lord 

His timing is perfect 

His plan for each of us is beyond what we could ever imagine 

Those moments

He planned them

We are infinitely blessed

This moment 

The next 

Forever 

Are all 

In The Lord 

ALWAYS 

"Perhaps  this is the moment for which you were created."  Live it.

Stressing Is A Part Of Life...But It Is Not The Center

Why must we stress? 

There really is no concrete answer to this question "why must we stress?" And yet here we all are stressing over the simplest, most minuscule things in our lives. It is human nature to be stressed in all kinds of ways at different times in our lives. That is something as a race that we cannot seem to get away from, it is inevitable. And yet with the Lord it is so possible. 

God is so good. When we are stressed He wants us to come to Him. "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."-Psalm 68:19 Not just once in a while, the Lord bears our burdens DAILY. I don't know about you but I find so much comfort in that. So we are going to get stressed but in the Lord that stress becomes a testament of our love for our Heavenly Father who will never leave us to bear our own burdens. 

So this is midterm week at Meredith and for many, and in particular some of my close friends that can be major stressful. It is possible that you could study for hours on end, stressing yourself out over what? A midterm? When you think about that one college midterm or maybe that one relationship that didn't pan out and you harp on it you stress. But what for? Paul says in Galatians 5 that "Christ has set us free to live a free life. Take a stand and do not let yourselves be burdened again." So instead of succumbing to the stresses of school, relationships, friendships, jobs, commitments; take a stand for Him and do not let yourself be burdened by worldly things. For we are not of the world, we are are not home in the stresses and burdens of worldly things, but instead our home is in the Lord. 

If there is something you are struggling with at this very moment...stop...tell the Lord of your struggle, your stress; and give it up to him and do not let yourself be burdened. The Lord wants us to live a life in Him and be a light to those who do not know of his unfailing love. We should not waste our time stressing over worldly things that do not near compare to our AMAZING, burden-bearing Heavenly Father. 

The next time we begin to stress about some irrelevant worldly thing we must stop and remember we have a wonderful Savior who died for our sins, and daily bears the burdens that we may have a life in Him and His love. We live for him and are a walking light for His love for us. Stress does not touch Him. So therefore stress should not be something we let control our lives. The center of our lives is the Lord and shall forever be. 

We must seek His peace daily by filling our minds with His word, by lifting up our hearts to Him in prayer, and simply sitting at His feet in awe and reverence. For, it is ONLY by His mercy, grace and His never-ending love, that the stress we hold onto so tightly in our lives can be taken away. 

The Lord says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." What more could we even ask for? We are blessed by Him so immensely. So do not stress dear ones for the Lord almighty is here and always will be. 

Today Is The Day The Lord Has Made Let Us Rejoice!!

Today has been such an amazing day! The Lord and his timing is most definitely so perfect and unexpected! I look forward to every Thursday because though The Lord is present throughout my entire week Thursdays are just such a blessing! Attending the weekly CRU meetings is definitely what my closest friends and I look forward throughout our week of stressful classes. 

http://www.ncsucrusade.com

Yesterday I was having a valley day, struggling with my single christian woman status, college classes, friendships, and everything that I could have imagined that could go wrong went wrong. So at the end of the day the only thing I could do was to give it up to The Lord. No problem, issue, or valley day that we may have he is so much bigger and greater than we can even begin to imagine. At the end of the day I went to The Lord in prayer and laid down all my problems at his feet and asked him to pour his cleansing love over me and set my heart at ease with what I had been dealing with and what my friends had been dealing with as well. 

And to my delighted surprise The Lord definitely made this such a wonderful day. We are all so immensely blessed beyond compare and today that was so ever apparent. Tonight my amazing friends and I went to the Vine before CRU which is this wonderful gathering at the manor of the sweetest Christian lady where a group of wonderful Godly women bless us Meredith girls so well by sharing The Lords love with us. Tonights speaker spoke right into my soul and the souls of my friends. Everything that she said we could all relate to. It is so completely and undeniably true that our future is not in our hands but instead of the AMAZING hands of the Father. 

My prayer to The Lord last night on my valley day was answered tonight at the vine and went on into the always exciting and unexpected CRU primetime meeting. The Lord made it clear tonight that the book of James chapter one that speaks of trials and tribulations and surpassing that. The "testing of our faith develops perseverance" and we grow in Him. What more could we want? As we struggle in our lives with whatever it may be we must know that his plan is greater and he is at work in our lives. In James 1:16 it is said "that every good and perfect gift is from above" The Lord does not forget us in our times of struggle he may simply be asking us to wait and giving us exactly what we need at times we would never have imagined. 

It always means so much more when The Lord speaks to you when you least expect it. It comes likes waves, unforced and perfectly timed to His crazy-perfect clock. So I know this week I have had my fair share of valley moments, as have my friends, as I am sure you have as well; but just know The Lord has most definitely not forgotten you he will bless you at the perfect time. 

As I am so full of The Holy Spirit and in reverence at how amazing God's timing is; I pray that you always have faith and trust that The Lord calls all times soon. No matter what the circumstance he has a plan! I heard The Lord loud and clear tonight at The Vine and CRU and for that I am so incredibly full. But it doesn't matter where you hear Him or feel Him in your life. Just simply LISTEN and you will be so amazed and the blessing will be so worth the while. 

I leave you with the word Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares The Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to five you hope and a future." How crazy is it that our perfect Lord has planned our lives out our lives 2 seconds from now to 2 years from now? We are so blessed beyond compare and each day that becomes even more clear in my life. God is so good and perfect in his timing and all of his ways ALWAYS and FOREVER. 

The Background Story

Throughout High School and essentially all of my formative years I had never been that girl who was in relationships. I had actually never been in a relationship. Relationships never actually seemed feasible or necessary at that point in my life. So as a High School christian girl I accepted that The Lord's plan for my life at that moment was to remain single. I never viewed that as a disadvantage or a problem, though it was definitely not always easy.

Watching my friends in their successful and happy relationships definitely made it harder for me to be happy being single. Although my friends were seemingly happy and content with their relationships, I too was happy in the lack thereof. The Lord was, and still is my number one. He is beyond a shadow of a doubt the one I love first and foremost and with all of myself. That in itself is seemingly the most important thing. Before you can even think or dream of being with someone else you need to love God and through him love yourself in the best way to honor him.

I had always viewed relationships seriously. There has never been a time when I wasn't waiting for that "Prince Charming." My Prince Charming, who loves Jesus unconditionally and would come and rescue me from my single christian girl status. In high school I brushed of the fact that I didn't have that AMAZING christian boyfriend who loved Jesus and loved me. I didn't need a guy. I was content. I loved myself because The Lord loves me unconditionally. But all that's not to say that not having a boyfriend and experiencing that isn't extremely hard.

Fast forward to college. I am currently a college woman still loving The Lord and trusting in his plan for my life. Coming to college I never would have imagined that I would make a good number of christian girl friends so quickly, it has been such a blessing and I thank The Lord everyday for that! Needless to say I am still single but I am now fulfilling his purpose for me as a strong woman.

That being said, I never would have imagined how much harder it would be to avoid the "do you have a boyfriend?" conversation. While I love my college setting and my fabulous sisters in Christ it has become so much harder to avoid the fact that I am a single christian woman. Being single in college as a christian woman has its advantages, yet for me as of late it seems to have more disadvantages.  I have found myself, like never before, strongly wishing I had a boyfriend.

Some of my closest friends now are in relationships that I only hope reach the marriage stage long down the road. And then there is me. A single christian woman waiting for that single christian guy to come along. A single christian guy whom The Lord has intended for me. It seems as though now more than ever that has become of a high importance to me. Going from independent and happy in high school to single and waiting in college is something that I am adjusting to.

The Lord's timing is something that is so perfect and yet so unknown at the same time.

So as a single christian woman in college, it becomes even more real as the years go by and you grow in The Lord that you're very own Prince Charming is out there. You may not know who he is, you most likely don't. But that is expected and that is okay because The Lord has a plan and he loves you more than you can ever even imagine. Of course it gets hard at times being single, I know I go through that irrational struggle more than I ever should. Because the fact is The Lord's plan for you romantically is out of your control. As we live each day when simply trust and live in faith that it will all work out.

I know that personally when I read, Song of Songs 3:5 "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" The Lord is working in my life and that of my future beloved.

At this point in my life and always my beloved is Jesus. But somewhere there is my Prince Charming, your very own Prince Charming that The Lord made for you. Patience and trust in God is what we need. No matter the valley or the loneliness you feel regarding your single christian woman status, the college influence, there is nothing greater than God's love for you and his plan for your life and your love.

We are so immensely blessed by our King, we needn't fret over not having a Prince quite yet. The Lord calls all times soon and soon enough you Princess will have your Prince.