Walking the Walk

To my future husband, I've been praying for you. I pray for your well-being, your work, your schooling, your family. I pray that you are earnestly seeking and searching for God's ultimate plan over your life. I pray that, wherever you are, God is constantly shaping and molding you into the godly, kind, genuine, and passionate world-changer that you are intended to be. I pray that you are so hidden behind the cross that you are blind to the inconsistencies of this world. I pray that your love for Christ, His Word, and His work far exceeds the love you have for me. I'm not gonna lie, when I was very young I made a list of the qualities I wanted in a future husband. While you may or may not be the tall, athletic guy with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes that I desired when I was seven, I wholeheartedly believe that you are far greater than what I could ever imagine for myself. Of course, I have envisioned (and even somewhat planned, thank you Pinterest) how ...

Hey guys!!! I am so excited that you are here! This blog that I have created is explicitly designed to convey the importance of Jesus Christ in my life and how I strive to live my lifestyle according to His Word! But to begin this story, I must first tell you of the time that I first experienced God's goodness and His grace! So let's take it allllll the way back to September of 2006, while watching a movie about the September 11 attacks. I don't remember much about the movie except that Nicholas Cage was the main character, but I do specifically remember asking my parents what happened to each of those people after they died on that fateful day. Now, I grew up in church and I knew all the right answers. Of course Jesus was the son of God who died on the cross and rose again three days later, but I really didn't know the significance of that until later in my life. In middle school (the worst years, I know) when life was starting to get really tough. I had gr...

Little things become big things.  This applies to literally every single thing that we encounter. Over the course of a day, you are faced with millions of decisions. What to wear, what to eat, how to respond to a question, whether to take the stairs or the elevator. These things add up to create habits, which become building blocks of your identity. These choices -- no matter how small -- greatly affect your day and who you are creating yourself to be. The little things make the big things happen. We see beautiful houses, but we forget about the nails and the caulking that hold it together. We see beautiful pictures, but we forget about the detailed lighting and the numerous poses that make it aesthetic. We read beautiful books, but we forget about the small events until we see how they create the big picture. It is easy to examine some aspects of our lives and see how these small details can create larger, positive results. For example: to stay in shape, you must exer...

Okay, before I start, you should know that I LOVE Instagram. I will unashamedly scroll for hours upon hours on the social media site, stalking my cousin's boyfriend's sister's cat. It happens. But  Instagram has a wicked way of making people feel absolutely terrible about themselves. One look at the Explore page and there is picture after picture of these seemingly perfect girls with perfect bodies in their perfect swimsuits with their perfect friends. And it leaves you wondering, "what am I doing wrong that I don't have this perfect life?" Except "this life" that you see is so NOT perfect. In reality, it most likely isn't even real. Pro-tip: Do NOT compare your life to the ones you see on social media. ..... People say it takes 21 days to break a habit, so I deleted my Instagram account for three weeks, and this is what I discovered: 1. Instagram is a highlight reel. People glamorize their lives to give off the impression...

Tattoos are one of the most controversial debate topics, and also one of the most popular trends of the 21st century. The argument is especially prevalent among the Christian community. Using the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, several biblical scholars debate tattoos and whether they are derived from a sinful nature. Sin is defined as anything that does not bring glory to or point people to God. Several Christians carry a very antiquated, ritualistic belief that any marking or piercing on the human body is blatant disobedience of God's Word; however, from a devout Christian perspective,  the Bible provides a clear explanation that these tattoos and piercings are indeed no longer of sinful nature because of the gospel message of Jesus Christ. The widely held belief that tattoos are sinful was once a true statement. The Old Testament reads, "'You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead, or tattoo any marks upon you,'" a Levi...

I get it. The mundane days. The repetitive schedules. Seeing the same faces in the classroom or in the office every day. The continued workouts that promise results, but just leave you feeling empty and unmotivated. Life has just gotten to you lately. It seems as if the waves of life are about to crash into you at full force. Expensive bills, annoying bosses and coworkers, busy schedules, family problems, relationship issues. You are so overwhelmed that you feel like you are about to drown in the deep waters that are surrounding you. But what if I told you there is someone who will stand with you in that ocean when the storm and the waves are continuously knocking you down and ferociously tossing your boat around, and just when you feel like you are about to capsize, this person assures you that you will make it out alive. It would be hard to believe, right? You are about to drown in these rough waters and to your knowledge, there is no escape, yet there is someone next...

"Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God." - Romans 12:2  There is a question that plagues my mind daily: How are people ever going to come to Jesus when we Christians look, act, and think like the people of this world? Let's break down Romans 12: 2: "Do not be conformed to this age." Here, Paul uses the words "this age" to describe the secularized, increasingly unholy society in which we have been a part of since the fall of man as recorded in Genesis. This consists of those who have yet to put faith in Jesus Christ alone and those who do not acknowledge the authority of the holy God. In the second part of the verse, Paul states, "but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." As for Christians (those who have indeed put full faith and trust into an almighty Savior), having a renewed mind is the direct res...

"It is about the greatness of God, not the significance of man. God made man small and the universe big to say something about Himself." - John Piper Have you ever looked around at the colors in the sky, the animals in the wilderness, or a newborn baby and just thought about how powerful our God is? He is so mighty. And He is so powerful. And He has the power to do anything. He has the power to speak anything into existence; God created the universe by a simple utterance. Tell me that's not insane, falling-on-your-knees type of power!!!! Sometimes, our sinful nature inherently takes the power from God and puts in our own hands. We tend to forget just how present and powerful God is in every single situation. "The ways of God are without fault." // Psalm 18:30 There are lots of things in this world (that we like to forget about) that scream God's power. Have you ever thought about the human body and how each part works perfectly together? Li...

Life is so hard, I get it. There are days and weeks, sometimes months and years, that are full of disappointments, loneliness, and heartbreak. It seems as if the world is fighting against you and it seems as if God is far away, but there are undoubted truths about suffering as a Christian. We must know that following Christ promises persecution, yet He is walking beside us and helping us carry our burdens; we are to rejoice in this affliction because of the eternal life promised to us by the cross. And although suffering is very real, there are three absolute truths that we are guaranteed as Christians. Suffering is promised.  Throughout the Bible, written are many promises of the persecution that Christians will face during their times on earth. We live in a sin-ridden world with billions of fallen people. While Christ was on earth, He was constantly persecuted; the Son of God Himself was chastised, ridiculed, and embarrassed. And the world hasn't changed. We...

"He proclaimed, 'It is finished!' Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. " – John 19:30 It is finished. T etelestai - (def.) accomplished, completed, fulfilled. So... what exactly did Jesus finish? These words were the last of those spoken by Jesus before He let out His final breath on the cross. Suffering, tortured, anguished -- He was thinking of us. During Christ's final moments of life,  He was thinking of us. The structure and arrangement of these words are essential to our understanding of its significance. Grammatically, this phrase is written in the perfect passive indicative tense, signifying that an action has been completed in the past, yet the result is ongoing and in full effect. Christ mutters these words in an exhausted, yet passive voice; He emphasizes the verb of the phrase in place of emphasizing the subject. Get this. Christ emphasized "finished," as in "the work here is done." As stated by all of the gosp...