Forgiveness is a tough thing to do. When someone hurts or betrays me my natural tendency is to either lash out or write these people off.

My parents raised me that if I don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all. This is a good concept in theory, but I don’t know if it’s the best way to approach conflict. If I get upset from someone, then I give them the silent treatment instead of handling the conflict. I don’t think this is what Jesus would do.

Judas deeply hurt and betrayed Jesus. He still interacted and showed Judas love even though He knew that Judas would hurt him. I think Jesus would want us to do the same.

Sometimes we don’t realize how much Jesus forgives us when we mess up. Who are we to pick and choose who we forgive? It’s important to still show love to someone that has hurt us in the past. It’s a difficult thing to do, but it’s worth it!

I have recently realized that I haven’t been as forgiving as I could be. Dealing with the hurt is more important than writing someone off. It can be awkward at times, and you might wonder if it’s worth it. We should learn to forgive and expect nothing in return. When we forget to forgive then we’re missing out on mending broken relationships.

Scripture References:

1. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” ~ Ephesians 4:32 NIV
2. “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” ~ Colossians 3:13 NIV
3. “When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’” Matthew 26:20-21 NIV

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I love being busy. I am someone that can’t stand to be at home the whole day. I actually get excited when I add something to my calendar.

Sometimes doing a lot of things makes me feel better about myself. I tend to think that I have purpose because I am doing a lot. I tend to find worth in the things I am doing instead of where I should.

Now don’t get me wrong the things that I am doing are good things that I believe that God wants me to do, but I shouldn’t lose my focus from Christ. When I get caught up on what I am doing instead of spending time with Him, then I am in the wrong. I hate to admit this, but there were at least two times this week that I was planning on spending time with God that I got distracted and did something else instead.

Our relationship with God should be at the top of our list, and spending time with Him shouldn’t be something that I check off my list of things that I accomplished during the day. It should be the most important part of my day, and it should fuel my choices that I make during the rest of my day.

Culture tells us that we need to do everything, and that achieving different things is where we gain our validation. Though this wrong. God commands us to be living the way Christ would, and I know Christ would never lose focus on God and get caught up in doing different things. Sometimes when we get caught up in our activities we can miss living in the present. I tend to focus on what I am doing later or tomorrow that I forget to cherish the moment I am given now. God can present opportunities to share the gospel and show Christ to others. It’s a shame that we can miss being able to be a part of these things just because we were too busy.

Scripture References:

1. “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” ~ Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV
2. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” ~ 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
3. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” ~Romans 12:2 NIV

I would Love to hear from you!

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The other night did not turn out how I expected, but something even better came out of it. Originally I was going to hang out with my friends after work. Before I went to hang out with them I stopped at the grocery store to grab a few things for the next day. While I was there I spontaneously decided to get a coffee drink made for me.

As I was waiting in line I could tell the worker wasn’t having a good day. You could tell that she was new and was not adequately trained to be by herself yet. While I was in line I could vividly hear God say to me to encourage her. When I got up to order I told her what drink I wanted and then I told her something along the lines to breathe and that’s it’s going to get better.

Then while she was making my drink I asked her how long she had been making coffee, and she said 3 weeks. I then told her how I was in her shoes last year, and that it does get better. I also told her to just remember that it’s only one day. That by tomorrow more than likely everyone will forget what had happened today.

I don’t tell you this story to brag about myself, but to brag about God instead. I don’t know what this lady was going through, but I could tell she needed encouragement. I’m thankful that God chose me to encourage her. I hope to live a life that people don’t see me, but God through me. I also share this story to encourage you that if you find an opportunity to encourage someone else, then you should do it!

Scripture References

• “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us” ~ John 3:24 ESV
• “I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me” ~ Psalm 119:30 ESV
• “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” ~ Thessalonians 5:11 NIV
• “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” ~ 1 Peter 4:8-10 ESV

I would Love to hear from you!

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Recently I have been facing a lot more obstacles than I thought I would. I realized that a lot of the obstacles I was facing was because of fear. I have been fearful of the unknown and I was upset by these circumstances.

These obstacles were part of the reason I haven’t been posting recently. I didn’t feel like I could encourage others when I couldn’t even encourage myself.

So as a result I started to have doubts. I started to doubt that God’s plan is always good. It’s hard for me to even admit this to you guys.

A couple of months ago I decided to surrender my plans, and also decided that I was going to work on my pride and fear. Even though I was so eagerly trying to combat these things I still struggled.

In the past couple of days I realized that I have been working on combating these things the wrong way. I kept trying to control these things in my own power. I wasn’t really seeking God’s help in these areas.

This past weekend I feel like God finally got through to me and opened my eyes to these issues in my life. I decided that all the self-help articles weren’t going to help if I wasn’t willing to go to God first with the struggles. Though I’m still struggling with some of these circumstances I decided I’m going to seek God’s help as my first priority.

Scripture References:

• “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” ~ Romans 12:1 NIV
• “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” ~Psalm 34:8 NIV
• “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” ~Romans 8:31 NIV

I would Love to hear from you!

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At the beginning of 2019, I took a trip to Washington D.C. to go to the Passion Conference. The Passion Conference is a conference specifically for college aged students to learn more about Christ. I went to Passion with my church. It was a great experience for me. I definitely learned a lot, and I believe my relationship with Christ grew during and after going to this conference.

The most powerful thing I realize while I was on this trip was to not doubt God. In the last session that was taught by Louie Giglio, he was mentioning the story of Thomas doubting. This is the story where  Jesus walked through the wall, and Thomas wanted Jesus to show him his wounds. This story is found in John 20. After hearing this I realized that I sometimes I doubt God as well. I know that God has great plans for my future, and I have seen God do better than I could imagine in the past. Though I sometimes doubt if God will continue to show up in my future.

I sometimes think that I am on a dock about to get on a boat. I question if I should take the first step into that boat. I think this is rooted in fear and uncertainty. I might ask God, “Should I really get into the boat?”. Other times I realize that I just jump in the boat without hesitation, but then I question God if he’ll actually keep the boat afloat or if he’s about to sink the boat that I am on. I realized that I shouldn’t question God, and trust that even if He sinks this boat then that is a part of his plan.

On this trip I built relationships that could be lasting. When I bought my ticket to go to Passion the only person I knew that was going on the trip was my brother. Prior to leaving for the trip I knew my brother and two other friends that were going on the trip. Those three people were the only ones I knew out of the 30+ people that went on the trip. I now probably know about 20-25 people that were on the trip, and most of these people I would now call friends. There wasn’t one person that I met on the trip that I couldn’t see myself getting to know better in the future.

Overall, this was a great trip for me and I am extremely thankful that I had the opportunity to go. I’ll hopefully remember this trip for a long time, and I hope that I have the opportunity to go to Passion again next year.

Scripture References:

• “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones” ~Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV
• “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” ~James 1:6 ESV
• “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” ~Matthew 18:20 KJV

I would Love to hear from you!

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When going into 2019 I was thinking about what my word of the year would be. I had a few good words that I was thinking would be my word, but I decided to go with “Pray” as my word for the year. I think out of the words I was thinking about this one is the one that I could work on the most, and it’s the word that I think could impact me more in the long run than some of the other words I was thinking of.

I think that I can grow in the power of prayer. I cognitively know that prayer is a crucial part of the Christian Faith, but sometimes I don’t take full advantage of the access to God we have through prayer. I want to become a prayer warrior that surrenders my desires to God through prayer.

I also want to pray for others more often as well. Sometimes I realize that when I pray I tend to be self-focused and don’t take the time to pray for other people as much as I should. I want to see God move in other people’s lives as well, and I should be spending time to pray for their needs also.

I know that I never object to someone praying for me, though I have a hard time doing the same thing for other people. I also want to be better at when someone asks for prayer stopping immediately to pray for their needs. People don’t come to you for prayer unless they legitimately want you to pray for them, so why should I be hesitant to do what they have asked me to do.

I am far from having this Christian life figured out, and I pray that this year God shows up more than I can imagine. I hope to see some of the prayers I am pray for now answered in the future.

I have already seen God grow me in the power of prayer this year. I have noticed that God has given me opportunities to pray for others more. I also have noticed that God has answered one or two of my prayers already for this year as well. I can’t wait to see how God will move even more in my life and in other people’s lives through me focusing on prayer.

Scripture References:

• “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” ~Psalm 5:3 NIV
• “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” ~1 John 5:14 NIV
• “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” ~James 5:16 NIV

I would Love to hear from you!

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My pastor challenged the congregation to read the whole Bible in a year. I have come close to reading the whole Bible in a year, but I have never been able to do it completely. I was one book away from finishing the Bible one year in the past though.

Yesterday I was reading 2 Peter 3, and there was a part that really stuck out to me. The thing that stuck out to me was about how God is patient with us. In 2 Peter 3:9 it says that God doesn’t want anyone to perish, but instead He wants everyone to come to repentance. This made me rethink patience. I have a hard time with patience.

Last year I really tried to focus on patience, which God greatly taught me more about last year and into this year. I went into last year praying for certain things, and ironically after the year only 1 or 2 of those handful of prayers were answered. I’m still waiting on the other prayers of last year to happen. Well after reading 2 Peter 3:9 I realized that God wants us to be patient, but that He is even more patient with us than I have realized prior to reading this scripture. This changes my perspective on patience. I realized that God’s character is patient.

To Him time is different than we can start to imagine. In 2 Peter 3:8 it says that to God a day is like 1000 years and 1000 years are like a day to Him. To me this is hard to comprehend. So even though in my perspective certain prayers are taking forever, but to God they are not taking forever. I have prayed multiple times in the past for things to come in God’s timing instead of mine, but tonight this prayer took a whole new meaning. Reading this chapter tonight gives me new hope and encourages me to be more patient with my prayers.

Recently, I have been discouraged about some of the prayers that I have been praying for years haven’t been answered yet. I have always been a planner, and I have noticed that I have put time tables on what my future looks like. Well, God is definitely not following my plans or time tables. I am now surrendering my plans and time tables to God. I know that God’s plan is better than mine, but I have had a hard time trusting this. Now I have a renewed faith in God where I am trusting He knows better than me when it comes to my future. He has constantly showed His blessings in my life, so I shouldn’t doubt that God will continue to bless me in the future.

Scripture Reference:

• “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” ~2 Peter 3:9 NIV
• “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” ~Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
• “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” ~2 Peter 3:8 NIV
• “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” ~Philippians 4:6 NIV

I would Love to hear from you!

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I slightly mentioned this in an earlier blog post, but I didn’t go into specifics. I want to inform you about what God has been placing on my heart for my future.

I believe that God is calling me to start a Ministry Organization. I have had this idea on my heart since high school, but now I have the opportunity to finally make this idea a reality.

Essentially I am going to sharing the gospel with the children through the aspect of the arts. I hope to be able to have four different art forms. The four forms would visual arts, theatre, dance, and music.

I’ve been working on starting this since this past spring. I have made a lot of progress, but there is still a lot of items that need to be worked out before it can become a reality.

I believe this will be an organization that anyone could become a part of regardless of your circumstances.

If you’re wondering how you can get involved, then I have some suggestions for you.

1. Pray for Artistic Creations with a Mission: Pray that children will come to learn about Christ. You can pray that students will enjoy and possibly find a passion in the arts. Pray about how you or someone you know should get involved.
2. Support By Giving: There is no contribution that is too small. Also, it doesn’t have to be money. It can be items as well.
3. Buy a T-shirt: I’m selling T-Shirts to help raise money for the organization. If you feel led, then please buy a shirt for yourself and/or your family members.
4. Use Social Media: One way that you can help is to share my post on social media about the organization. For children and youth to be reached, then they need to know about it. This can be especially helpful if you live in the Central Virginia area.
5. Send your kids to camps: If you have a camp in your area, then please send your children to it! If they have any sort of interest in the arts, then they should have a good time while being exposed to the gospel.

Scripture:

• “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” ~1 Peter 4:10 NIV

I would Love to hear from you!

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This past June I went to Siesta Key, Florida. The reason for this trip was for a Celebration of Life ceremony for my grandmother. She died this day last year. I loved the opportunity to go to Florida and spend time with my family. Even through this was a hard time it was obvious that God was still evident on this trip. I saw God in a few ways while I was in Florida. On this trip He taught me the importance of family and leaving a good legacy.

During the trip I learned the importance of family. There has been times over the years that my extended family has had some ups and downs with other family members. In the past there have been conflicts that have happened during family reunions, but this trip was different. There wasn’t any serious conflict that I was aware of. It seemed like everyone tried to make the best out of a sad situation. We haven’t all been together in years, and it was good to see family members that I have only seen a couple times in my life. There were also newer family members that I had never even met before that were there. The reasoning for this was partially because my extended family is all across the country. We decided as a family we’re going to try to do more family reunions. We are already working on the details for the next family reunion.

Another place I saw God was in the life of my grandmother. She had a difficult life, and she made a lot of mistakes over the years. I love my grandmother a lot, and there has been good aspects of her life that I miss tremendously. One of these things is her artistic abilities, which she passed down to me. She is the one that has inspired me to enjoy the arts, and she has taught me many skills when it came to drawing and painting. We have to look at the good of a person, and we need to choose to cherish the good memories with her. One of the last words she told me was the regret she had in later years with not seeing me more often. Unfortunately, on this side of heaven there won’t be more opportunities for us to get closer. So I hope if you still have the chance to forgive and look past the negative aspects of a person you should really try, because one day it might be too late.

Even though I miss my grandmother tremendously, it shows that God can use a tragic situation to bring good to His people. It’s important during this time that we look to God to show us a positive outlook. That sometimes the situation doesn’t change, but we can look to God to help us change our perspective.

Scripture References

• “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.” ~Psalm 127:3 NIV
• “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” ~Psalm 34:18 NIV
• “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” ~John 14:1 NIV

I would Love to hear from you!

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I’ve been thinking about the United States and about freedoms recently. These are very popular controversies in the USA today, and I have been pondering what my beliefs are on these subjects.

I’ve been really thinking about what God and Jesus would want me to think and do regarding controversial subjects in today’s society.

I’m going to try to not be too political in this post, because I’m not one that wants to push my views on politics. If you want to ask for my political opinions, then feel free to contact or email me privately.

I believe freedom is a powerful subject, and I believe that everyone should find freedom. Though there are many types of freedom in our lives. Freedom is more than just political borders and rights. I think God is very much involved and cares about this kind of freedom. But I believe there is a greater freedom than these subjects.

I believe God is more concerned about a spiritual freedom. It is so that we can have freedom that he sent Jesus to die for our sins. If you accept Jesus and repent of your sins, then you can find the ultimate freedom.

I know I have found a spiritual freedom since I accepted Jesus. I have found freedom in the bondage from sin, trusting God’s in control, faith that God will reveal himself to me, and trusting that God will use me.

I pray the same for you! If you don’t know these freedoms or you want to learn more about freedom, then don’t hesitate to contact me!

Scripture Reference

1) “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” ~2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV

2) “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ~Galatians 5:13-14 NIV

3)  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” ~Galatians 5:1 NIV

4) “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. ~Acts 13:38-39 NIV

I would Love to hear from you!

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