Destination: Chincoteague Island

Last week I went on a trip to Chincoteague island with my family. It was an enjoyable trip, and I could get away and clear my thoughts. Recently I have been in a busy season of my life. I am one to constantly be moving and going from one place to another. I’d rather be busy than bored, and I live by this stance. I also try to be productive with my down-time as well. Where I end up not really resting at all. It’s not necessarily a sin to be busy, but it’s not something we should be doing all the time. God intends for us to slow down and rest. This leads into where I saw God on this trip. The first area was the importance of resting, and the other was the blessings of being spontaneous.

God wants us to be able to rest. He wants us to take the time out of our busy schedule to redirect our focus on Him. If we get too busy we can lose the bigger picture of what we should be doing. God calls us to love others and spend time with Him. One way on the trip that I felt restful was when we were watching the sunset and waiting for a NASA rocket to launch, which by the way ended up being canceled. I still had fun looking out at the water waiting for the launch though. The waves have a calming effect for me.

Being spontaneous isn’t necessarily a good thing in the Bible. In a lot of areas God shows planning ahead as a good thing. That in many stories there was a lot of planning before blessings of God showed. I believe though that planning can be abused. We can be extremely focused on doing certain things at certain times that it starts to be a ritual. It can also be easy to lose focus on God when we are focused on what to do when. It was nice on this trip to be on “Island Time”, and not having to be at certain places at certain times.

Usually my family is one that goes into a vacation with a game-plan of what we are doing each day.  This trip we somewhat had a game-plan, but one day we ended up throwing the plan into the wind. We went to Assateague National Park. One cool thing about this park is that there are wild ponies and a lighthouse there. This made my mother very excited. We went in with a mission to find the wild ponies. At one point, we went to the visitor center and was told that on the Maryland side of the park had better sightings of ponies. Next thing I know we’re driving to Maryland! This was not in the original plan at all! When we got to the Maryland side of the island we could see the wild ponies just a few feet away from us! I think in a way God blessed us when we decided to follow when He prompted us to go in a different direction.

In every trip, there are times that we can see God in what we are doing if we look for Him. For me it was as simple as in wild ponies and in the sunset. The key to noticing God in your life is by opening your eyes to Him. We should slow down and rest in Him, and he will reveal new things to you.

Scripture References

• “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” ~ Hebrews 4:11 ESV
• “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ~ Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
• “And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’” ~ Mark 2:27 ESV

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Here is another picture from the trip!

Recently I decided to pick up my Bible and start trying to read through the whole Bible again. I started with 1 John. I honestly chose 1 John, because I knew it was short. I hoped it would give me momentum to keep finishing the books of the Bible again. Little did I know how much conviction it would lead me in just the first three chapters.

What really struck home for me is when it says that we who hate our brother is still in the darkness. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean our biological brothers. Our brother or sisters are anyone who is in Christ. The reason that this passage struck home to me is that I have been recently complaining about a situation with one of my brothers in Christ. I realized that I am in the wrong with this situation.

Just today I have been complaining about this situation, and I have contemplating leaving the situation completely. This is running away from my problems, but I realized that I need to face my problems in this situation. It might not be easy or something I want to do. Especially since I am not one who easily faces confrontation. Though I am starting to see that this might be necessary to face.

It is constantly a struggle to not hate your brother, but it is something we should work on. We should strive to not talk bad about our brothers and sisters in Christ. I have realized that when we talk bad about our brothers to other people, then as a result they might start to not like the person as well. Instead we should only try to have positive and encouraging things to say about our brothers. You don’t know what battles they are facing, and we should not let ourselves add to their struggles.

Another thing I realized is that sometimes we will be hated by the world. God doesn’t call us to an easy life, and we might be hated for it. I know the problems I face are minimal compared to the opposition that other Christians face. I know in America I currently have the freedom to express and show my religious beliefs and love of Christ.

If you are following Christ and running towards him then you will face opposition. I know this is not easy for many of us. I want to give you hope that the opposition you face is worth it. Don’t give up on your relationship with Christ just because you face opposition.

Scripture References:

• “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” ~ 1 John 2:9 ESV
• “But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” ~ Matthew 12:48-50 ESV
• Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you” ~ 1 John 3:13 ESV

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Destination: Fort Mill, SC

The destination of this trip was to the town I lived in for almost 10 years. It’s where I lived from when I was in 5th grade to before I entered my sophomore year of college. The reason for our weekend trip to Fort Mill, SC was for a graduation party of a friend I had since high school. We started being friends when she was still in middle school, and her family has become very close to my family. This family was one of the families that we would sometimes celebrate holidays with.

Going to my hometown was a destination very familiar to me. I have made a few trips there since I have moved away. If I am not careful it could become almost a routine to go to this place. Though I am still going to be conscious of where I saw God each time I go there.

For this vacation, I saw God in the people I connected with while I was there. It gave me a glimpse of memory lane for me. For a moment, it would take me back to when I lived in this town. I absolutely loved seeing my old friends. It was one of those trips where I saw a lot of the people I would have wanted to see while I am in town. There were people I wanted to see that I did not have the opportunity to see, but for the most part I saw a lot of the people I cared about. I was also able to see how God has worked in these people’s lives. I could remember meeting many of these people a while ago. One of my friends that I reconnected with was someone I have been friends with since I was in 6th grade, and many of the people I saw I met while I was in high school.

Going on this trip gave me hope for the future as well. It was cool to see how time has gone on in the lives of these people, but it’s also great to see how far I have come since this time. Some of these places brought back memories that were not the best, but I was able to look at these places and surprisingly be happy. I was happy to see I am not the girl that I was during the times at these places. I would say I am a better version of myself than I was when I lived there.

Scripture Reference

1. “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” ~Proverbs 18:24 ESV
2. “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” ~Psalms 34:3 ESV
3. “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” ~Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

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I am someone who enjoys traveling and exploring new places. I also think other people would like to hear about exciting places they could go to in the future. I decided that every now and then I am going to do a blog post about where I have traveled recently. For me a trip could be an hour away, another state, or maybe another country! I believe a trip or adventure could be any place where you don’t typically go to on a regular basis.

I know for many of us it can be easy to travel and not think about why you are going on these trips. I believe it’s important to see where God is shown throughout a trip you go on. I think that everyone is meant to be at the places that they go to. I’m hoping to blog about where and how I saw God on each trip or adventure I go on. God can be shown in many places. This might include a conversation with someone, something I see, or wherever else I notice God on a trip or vacation. 

I hope you decide to join me on these journeys, and that you read along! I also hope that my blog posts will partially take you to these destinations in your mind! Also, if you have any cool places or connections of where I should go to next, then let me know as well! I am open to a numerous amount of possibilities for these adventures! I’m excited to where the journey of life will take me!

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Currently I am in a pretty good season in my life. So far junior year has been the best year of college so far. So things might change later in the year, but currently things are going good. Honestly if I had a choice of reliving a past year or to be in my current life I’d actually stick with my current life.

I have realized that I have been taking this season for granted. I am starting to see that God has put me in this season for a few reasons. One reason is to give me hope that times do get better. Prior to this season I was starting to lose hope in God. I felt like things would never get better, and that my future was just going to be mediocre. I had big goals for my life, but I felt like I could never achieve them. Since this time God has allowed me to reach one or two of these goals.

The second reason I believe God has given me this season is to challenge and grow me. I have noticed I have had a tendency to only reach out to God when things are going bad. That the times I truly felt closest to God was when he was the only thing that I had. When things have been going good I would have the mindset that I don’t need God, because I am in control. I’m starting to realize that I need to give him the control and continue to grow closer to God during these good times.

It’s sort of been like I have been on a teeter totter with God. That my relationship with God would just go up and down based on my current situation. But I now know I need to get off the teeter totter. Instead I need to start climbing the mountain (or at least a hill). That my relationship with God should only go up and closer to him.

The third reason why I think God has given me this season is to teach me to treasure these moments. I cognitively knew I have many blessings in my life, but prior to now I haven’t fully grasped that concept. I’m now starting to count my blessings. Some blessings I have taken for granted is the ability to live in America where we are so privileged, the opportunity to go to a college that I love, and even the ability to breathe and to be in good health. Now each of these things I have listed are blessings, but sometimes I have found myself complaining about these things. I find myself constantly complaining when I shouldn’t be. I have been trying to have the mindset that when I am about to complain about something to look for the good in it.

Now I don’t say all this to brag about my life right now. I know some of you might be going through the darkest days you have seen, but I want to give you hope that it does get better. I have seen that in my life, and I know God can do the same for your life. Regardless of the season of your life you should treasure the season you are in, because just like the seasons change so will the seasons of life. Also know that whatever happens in your life you should start or keep climbing that mountain, because at the top of the mountain of life is a spectacular view.

Scripture References:

• “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
• “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his[a]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” ~Psalm 100:2-4 NIV
• “He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’” ~Acts 1:7-8 NI

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God has been pressing on my heart a few things since the beginning of the year. I have been asked “What is one word that describes your goal for 2017?” I never really thought about what my word would be before. But the first word that came to mind is “present”. I want to focus on the circumstances God has given me. I feel like I need to slow down and focus on what God is doing in my life now. I know I have a tendency to always focus on the future. I’m very goal driven. I like to see what God is going to do long term.

The second word that pops up into my head very quickly once I was thinking of a word is “direction”. I know this might seem contradictory to what I just said. I know I need to slow down. But I feel like if I slow down and focus on what God wants me to do now, then he will show insight and direction on what I need to do in the future.

Now I know I am only a few weeks into the calendar year, but I can already tell God really showing up and growing me with being present and having direction. I have seen my attitude change. I have found myself more uplifted. I feel like I am not being bogged down with the weight of the world. I don’t need to focus on my plans for the future as much as I thought I do. There is a scripture about God taking care of the birds, and how much more he can take care of us. That he created us in his image.

Another thing I realized since I stopped to slow down is that God has a plan for every gift he places in my life. That he isn’t just doing things by chance or unintentionally. He doing these things for a purpose. That things that might seem like an inconvenience right now could be used for a greater good, and that he has potential for these things to be for my good.

It’s cool to see how God can work in just a short amount of time, but I can’t wait to see what he can do if I focus on this the whole year! I know the God I serve is a great counselor, and he has the potential to do great things in my life and in yours if you allow him to work in your life.

Scripture Reference

• “Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” ~Proverbs 1:7 NLT
• “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”~Matthew 6:26
• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” ~Matthew 11:28
• “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” ~James 1:17
• “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”~ 1 John 2:17

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January 18^th is a date that I will never forget. I remembering celebrating this date every year for the past 5 years. In the past I would think about this date for months prior to the actual date. I would plan every detail of a present to be something that I thought would be significant and just the right touch of how much I cared. I would think ahead of time what would be the best thing to say to him on this date.

Though this year this date has a little different memory in my head. I remember the heart break shortly after this date. Even though it’s been over a year it still stings at every thought of this time in my life. I thought we would have a future ahead and things would ultimately be the way I wanted. I had no idea that January 20^th would come, and I would be sobbing my eyes out from my first real cut at my heart. That’s the date that everything changed. I knew this day could potentially happen, but at the same time I was optimistic and didn’t expect it. Even when it did happen I didn’t believe the truth. I thought there were still a chance that he didn’t mean what he said. I continued to make the excuses for him even though I shouldn’t have been.

After this date he suddenly disappeared out my life for a good while, which looking back I am thankful for. I know if I was still running into him at the usual places it would have made it even harder for me to move on. During this time it was the longest we had ever went without seeing each other. Though this period in my life was hard I learned to accept the situation and how to move on to other possibilities.

I hope one day I get to the point where these dates just become a date like every other day of the year. That I don’t look back on what could have been different. I can tell I’m getting closer to being able to forgetting these dates. I almost forgot this year, but in my heart something still told me that this date was significant.

Scripture Reference

• “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” ~Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV
• “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit” ~Psalm 34:18 NIV
• “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ~Isaiah 41:10 NIV
• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” ~Matthew 11:28 NIV

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**DISCLAIMER: I wrote this post in August, but with the new semester starting I thought it could still be relevant.

I’ll be honest the first week of the school was a hard week for me. It was also the first full week that my fellow college students had returned. I live in the same town as my university, and I was in that town for the most of my summer. I kept looking forward to the return of my friends and I was thinking when they return my social life would take off. Well that didn’t necessarily happen. I was hoping people would be contacting me to hangout or do things with, and when that didn’t happen I started to get real saddened by the situation. I’ve learned a few things from this situation.

First, I realized that friendships are not going to be handed to you. That friendships take work, and if you want to do something don’t assume that they will read your mind and invite you to do things. I’m sure everyone has people in their lives that they wish they could spend more time with. Focus on these relationships, because obviously you value their friendship. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to do something. If you ask someone to do something and they don’t seem interested in spending time with you, then they aren’t the friends you want to have.

Second, take the time to find ways to make friends. If you are feeling lonely then I am pretty sure that there is someone else that is feeling the exact same way. I have noticed that some of my best friendships have come from people that were looking for friends as well. There are also ways that can set you up for making friends. Join activities where you’ll be meeting new people. Or talk to the people in your classes. Really you can find a friend anywhere if you are actively looking for opportunities to make friends.

Third, I realized that your happiness shouldn’t be dependent on other people. I’m extraverted by nature, so I have a hard time being alone for a long time. Instead your happiness should be dependent on God. That when things are going right with him, then everything else will fall into place. Some wise person (AKA my mother) told me, “Who besides yourself can fix your friendship situation? The only one that can bring you friendships is God”. Then she asked me if I have ever thought of praying for friendships. I hadn’t really thought of that before.

I guess sometimes I get so focused on the situations around me that I forget the one who is control of these situations. It’s easy to get bogged down on what is happening in your life that you lose focus on the power of God. If you are struggling with friendship than keep working at it. And really it’s better to have a few close friends than 50 lukewarm friendships. So focus on building these friendships. The things that are worth it are going to take time and effort.

Scripture References:

• “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” ~Matthew 6:33 ESV
• “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” ~Colossians 3:2 ESV
• “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil” ~Ecclesiastes 4:9 ESV

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To My Younger Brother:

Some people might hate having a younger sibling, but for me it’s one of my greatest blessings. Having you as a brother is great because I always have someone to be there for me. It’s also great because I always have someone to do things with. You are probably one of the few people who knows me and gets why I do the things I do, because you have been there through every part of my life.

Though at times it’s been hard having you as a younger sibling. The day you were the born the world stopped revolving around me in our family. Since then I have had to learn how to share the spotlight. I have also had to learn how to share countless other things with you as well. There have been times we haven’t always agreed on things, and many fights have been started.

Another thing that has been hard about having you as a younger sibling is that I know you are always looking up to me. I have always tried to leave the best impression with teachers growing up so that if or when you had them they would have a good first impression of you. I never really thought how it would be to follow in my footsteps. I just wanted the best for you, and I thought I could make things easier for you. I know that doing this has been equally challenging for you, because you always wanted to compete with me and beat me at whatever it may be.

Though most importantly I want you to know that I love you. I know I might not say this often, but I want you to know that it is true. I wouldn’t want to have anyone else as a younger sibling. In this world there are only a few people I can count on to have my back, and you are one of them. You have been there for me through every circumstance I have struggled with in the past.

I know that whatever you decide to do in the future that God will use you. I have already seen how much you have grown in the past couple years in your walk with God. I know that God is up to something great for your life, and I can’t wait to see how he uses you! I pray that you seek God in everything you do, because ultimately God will help you through it all. If there is ever a day that you are down and feel like no one is in your corner know that you have me as one of your biggest supporters! Love ya Little Bro!!

Scripture References:

• “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” ~ 1 John 3:16 NIV
• “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity” ~Proverbs 17:17 NIV
• “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” ~ 1 John 3:17-18 NIV

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I come from a background that every Sunday you were at church. I’ve been attending church as long as I can remember. I came to know Christ as a child in elementary school. Since then I have learned a lot about what being a Christian means. As I have grown up I have realized that the church isn’t perfect. They make mistakes, and there will be hurt feelings at times. But it is how you react to these moments is the key.

Now I don’t begin to know what you have gone through, and how the church has affected you. I know some of the deepest scars can come from the church. I don’t want to minimize the pain that could be there. There are a few legitimate reactions to when the church hurts you. Some of the options you have is to run away from church in general, run away from the situation at hand, or you can try to resolve the conflict. I’m going to discuss each of these reactions in further detail.

The first reaction is to run away from Jesus Christ all together. You might think of how someone who is aiming to follow Christ could hurt someone. I know as a Christian we should be striving to follow Christ, and when we see his church hurt us than it can be easy to give up on Christ. That you don’t want to be a part of the church and hurt people like these people did to you. But I want to say that not everyone in the body of Christ is like this. I don’t want you to think that we as a whole will hurt you. Christ will accept anyone regardless of their actions.

The second reaction is to run away from the situation. This is one that I struggle with. The natural tendency of me is to avoid conflict with all costs. This can be seen in multiple ways: by avoiding the person involved, the group involved, or the church you attend all together. Conflict and pain are something that is hard to approach. That we want to put on a front that doesn’t show we are hurting inside. Now this isn’t necessarily a bad thing to try to be positive when you are hurting. During these times remember that Christ and the church are there for you during this time.

Or the third reaction is to resolve the conflict at hand. This is the best solution for when the church hurts you. Sometimes when someone hurt you they didn’t even realized it. You need to approach the matter with love and kindness towards the person. It won’t help the situation if you approach a person with anger.

There is something that applies to each of these people’s reactions. Every one of us should seek Jesus when these conflicts arise. Because he will be there for you during this difficult time, and he will walk through each moment with you and guide you to make the best decision for the situation at hand.

Another thing that applies to every one of us is that we should seek forgiveness in these situations. One that I have realized is that refusing to give forgiveness hurts you more than it does the person that hurt you. One thing that has helped me to forgive is to pray for the person that hurt you. It makes it hard to be mad at someone when you are praying for them and looking for the good in them.

Scripture References:

• “This would be my comfort; I would even exult in pain unsparing, for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.” ~Job 6:10 ESV
• “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ~Genesis 28:15 ESV
• “And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” ~Psalm 50:15 ESV
• “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” ~ Matthew 6:14 ESV

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